In 1878 the great city of Pergamon was unearthed for the first time to showcase the amazing archeological finds it had hidden under the ground. This ancient Greek city in modern day Turkey was one of the top port spots in all of Asia. Today we are going to look at a game that digs deep into this ancient city to discover what treasures lie beneath!
Pergamon second edition is designed by Stefan Dorra and Ralf zur Linde. It is published by Eagle-Gryphon games with illustration by Klemens Franz and graphic design by Alex Colby. It is designed for 2-4 players and plays in 45-60 minutes.
Overview
In Pergamon players are archeologists trying to obtain as much research funding as possible in order to start excavations in the ruins of the former great city of Pergamon. Players will dig deep to obtain more valuable pieces of antiquities but keep in mind they continue to get more expensive the deeper you need to dig. Piecing together these artifacts create collections that you will display at the Royal Museum in Berlin. These displays will earn you recognition and a chance to win the game!
Gameplay
To being the game players each take an Excavator figure, museum display markers and two coins. The board is set up with the time marker on the calendar in the middle and the Pergamon site on one side and the museum on the other. Player order is determined on the order track.
The game takes place over 12 rounds. Each round consists of the same 4 phases and they are as follows:
1-Place artifact tiles into the gallery
2-Distributing research funds
3-Excavating, exhibiting, and storing artifacts
4-Evaluations (only in rounds 4, 7, 9, 12)
In Place artifacts tiles into the gallery the starting player draws tiles from the bag equal to the total on the calendar for the current month. These tiles are placed in the correct century based on the number on the lower right corner which is the start of the artifact. These are placed in the correct gallery unless it is full then the starting player chooses to move it up or down one gallery.
Next is distributing the research funds where you will draw the top two research cards and place them next to the player board. They will either be a money bag with 1-4 coins or a chest with 5-8 coins on it. The minimum is the smaller amount, so for example if you see one of each you know there is a minimum of 6 coins but there may be up to 12 in the funds. Players then decide where on the research track they would like to be. Placement on the track is resolved right to left, each player starting with the rightmost getting the total coins on their spot. If coins run out before players are all given coins, then some may get less or none. If there are more than the last player has on their spot they get the entire amount left.
The third step has players excavating, exhibiting and storing artifacts. In player order you may first pay to excavate all of the artifacts in the century row of your choice. The cost is in coins equal to the century, so if you would like all the artifacts from the second century you will need to pay 2 coins. There are also exceptional tiles you can excavate that will cost you an additional coin per tile in that row.
In the next step players will begin to look at adding their tiles to an exhibition. If you would like to make an exhibition selection of tiles you combine them together to form whole artifacts in any amount you would like. Once combined you now have a full year between the two pieces-this is is the age of that piece. Multiple tiles form multiple artifacts and their ages added up determine where in the museum your display piece will go. You gain one victory point for your collection going in and an extra for each extraordinary piece that makes it up.
Finally you can store pieces you don’t use but it will cost you storage fees based on the amount of tiles you have. It may be helpful to keep pieces to make later collections but make sure you have enough funds to keep them around! The first three are free but it costs a coin for each 3 group past that. So 5 tiles would cost you 1 coin but 6 would cost you 2 coins.
The last step is evaluations that only occur in rounds 4, 7, 9, and 12. Here the collections in the museum are scored based on location and each receives that many points. Then the oldest type of the featured artifact obtains an extra two points. Finally each collection looses some interest in the museum and is slid down closer to the exit. When a collection slides out it is dismantled and returned to the box. This gives players a chance to build a new one.
After the final evaluation is performed players also score the three oldest pieces all together and award them victory points from three to one. Players may exchange any extra coins at a 3:1 ratio for victory points and then the game ends at the conclusion of that evaluation.
Players add up their victory point totals and see who has acquired the most. The player with the highest point total is the winner and top Archeologist for the Royal Museum!
Impressions
If you are a fan of Euro games, this one is going to need to be on your radar. One of the unique things about this game is that it gives you that fun, strategic experience in a tight game that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Most of our games at 3 and 4 players played at less than an hour and it moved at a good pace. I love that it is a game that my family can play in a focused time frame and doesn’t overstay its welcome. A lot of games that play at the shorter (1 hour or less) are simple and more “family” oriented and I think that usually means sacrificing strategic play for ease of play. In Pergamon that is not the case. This game gives you competitive play with a great balance of time management.
Pergamon is a game that you will need to play a few times to get the rhythm of when to buy artifacts, when to go for more money and when to race towards first player in the next round. The decisions aren’t hard but the when to do them are. I loved that aspect of the game giving me a chance to really explore the options and learn how to play it out. The people you play it with will really affect that as well depending on the demand of certain artifacts at the right time of evaluation.
The player count for this one is between 2-4 players and it really is a different game at each level. At the 2 player count it is a lot of back and forth with a little easier chance to plan based on what the other player needs and may go for. But watch out for the Tomb Raider who is going to attempt to foil all the best laid plans. At 4 players it can be very tough to make plans and if you are picking last in the order there may not be any pieces left for you to take from which can be a bit frustrating. So managing where in the pick order you are is very important. Your collections will tend to be smaller as well when you send them to the museum so you have to plan it all out accordingly as more collections come in and attempt to shove yours down in popularity. Finally is the 3 player count which is my personal favorite. There is a little more room for planning and it is easier to make bigger collections to send out. Also at this count you are likely to always get something in an artifact row to buy which makes it feel like you are getting to do more.
Players who are looking to play this with more inexperienced gamers will find that it lends itself to that crowd very well. The entry point for this one is easy as there are not a lot of steps to remember or variety in your decision-making (in a good way). It keeps the decisions tight and focused while still giving you a challenge on what and when to do them. The set collection and bidding for turn order is easy to learn but tough to master, a hallmark in any good game that an entry level player will enjoy. I think it is also very important that there is a set number of rounds and then the game is over. This is important because newer players and inexperienced players tend to like having a set number of rounds or turns so they know what is coming in the game.
Overall this is a beautiful update to a classic game many of you may have missed the first time through. Pergamon is sure to be a favorite for you and your friends around the table like it has been for us. Make sure to check out the Kickstarter and back this one today! You can find the link here:
Kickstarter Campaign for Pergamon
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