Welcome to the greatest show on Earth! No, not that one-instead I have for you a look at some of the greatest inventions and achievements in science, technology, culture and entertainment that the world has to offer. And they are all in one location-here in Chicago in 1893! Let’s explore a game that throws us right into that world as we walk the World’s Fair.
World’s Fair 1893 is published by Renegade Game Studios. It is designed by J.Alex Kevern with artwork by Beth Sobel and graphoc design by Adam P. McIver. It is developed by Randy Hoyt. It plays 2-4 players in approximately 40 mins.
Overview
In World’s Fair you and the other players at the table are organizers of the fair, sending out supporters to gain favor with people and secure the exhibits that will be put on display. The game is played over three rounds and ends with a scoring phase at each. Once the fair begins, the organizer who has managed to gain the best reputation will be the victor!
Gameplay
Place and build the central board with the top wedge and randomly place the area tiles around it in the middle of the play area. The ferris wheel is set up with spaces according to player count. The ferris wheel car marks the movement and will signal the end of each round. All of the 91 main exhibit, midway tickets and influential figure cards are shuffled together into a single draw deck and two cards are placed at each area tile to begin.
Each player takes the 22 supporter cubes of their chosen color along with their start bonus card to determine placement on the board for their supporters. A scoring reference card is also provided for each player.
On your turn, you will place one supporter into any of the areas and then play out the 4 steps of a player’s turn. These steps are:
1-Place a supporter
2-Play influential figures
3-Collect cards
4-Add three new cards
In Place a supporter. players will chose an area and place on supporter there. In Play influential figures players will then play any of the cards they gained in the previous turn and discard it after. The third step, Collect cards will allow players to take all the cards from the area they placed their supporter intro their face-up play area. For each midway ticket taken, move the ferris wheel car forward one spot. If it reaches the bottom it stops and ends the of the round and will trigger a scoring phase. In the final step players will add one card to the area they took the cards from and then in a clockwise motion add another card in two more areas.
Turns will continue until you reach a scoring phase, in which case players will go through the steps to first redeem their midway tickets for 1 coin each with the leader gaining an additional 2 coins. Then you can score all five areas on the map looking for the leaders in each area based on the amount of supporters they have. The player with the most supporters and in some case second most (based on player count) will be able to have their main exhibit cards approved. This will gain them a matching approval token which will go towards end-game scoring. Then each player will recall half of their supporters and the next round begins. This will continue for 3 rounds until end-game scoring.
Once the game ends players add all of their coins and medals together for the face value along with the approved exhibit tokens. The wider the variety you have the more points you will score. They are scored in sets of variety with one being worth 1 point and a full set of 5 being worth 15 points.
Impressions
World’s Fair 1893 is a beautiful experience of a game and has fast shot up my list of quick games I enjoy playing. Most of the time setup, teach and play can be well under an hour but you feel like you get a very solid game played in that amount of time. The strategy is solid enough that it really challenges your planning as you try to determine the best places for your supporters to grab the exhibit tickets you need to maximize points.
This game is perfect for a gamer looking for something that is easy to play but still offers some challenges, so a newer player is bound to enjoy the simplicity of the game play here but also see the need for strategic choice throughout. Seasoned gamers will appreciate the balance of trying to push into areas and collect the right amount of exhibit tickets before the end of the game.
Another cool aspect of this game is the accurate history and stories on the cards. It does a great job at detailing the 1893 World’s Fair and all of the amazing inventions and unique exhibits on display there. Each time I play it I feel like I learn something else new!
Overall I really enjoyed this one and expect it to be in rotation for a long time in my house. The game is challenging without being difficult and gives new and experienced players the right amount of challenging decisions to make the game a fun time for all. I highly recommend this one and hope you get a chance to play it and explore the Fair sometime soon!
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