Game Preview: Age of Steam: Barbados/St. Lucia

By W. Eric Martin
July 25, 2007

Publisher: Bézier Games
Designer: Ted Alspach
Players: 1-2
Release Date: October 2007

Aside from the large and meaty America/Europe expansion, Ted Alspach has created a few smaller, more intimate maps for Age of Steam, which he’s debuting at Spiel 07 in a six-pack of new maps. The first set of smaller maps we’ll look at is Age of Steam: Barbados/St. Lucia.

Solo Age of Steam maps have appeared online, but Alspach’s Barbados is the first to appear in print. (Well, another solo AoS map will appear at the same time. Details in another preview...) “Age of Steam: Barbados gives you exclusive rights to build a train system on the beautiful Caribbean island of Barbados,” says Alspach. “The first thing you notice is that all the cities want Pineapples (yellow cubes). The second thing you notice is that due to your remote location, you can take out only one share at a time. And finally, you realize that the only way to win is to be able to pay off your shares at the end of the game. (Your score is any remaining money you might have.)”

While Pineapple is the most desired good on Barbados (who knew?), the other goods come into play as well. Says Alspach, “As you begin to connect the cities and towns, you’ll be able to urbanize some of the towns into cities which like Cherries, Blueberries, and Licorice. (There’s not really a black fruit, is there?) There’s no Purple city or goods (sorry, grape-lovers!) in the game, and you can’t urbanize a town into yellow either. (Cities E, F, G and H are not available.)”

Age of Steam: Barbados features a single-player action selection system to keep the Actions an integral part of the game, despite not having any opponents. “There are four actions available: Engineer, Production, Locomotive, and Urbanization,” says Alspach. “There’s a catch, however. When you choose an action, you put a player marker on it. On the next turn, you have to choose from one of the remaining three actions, and put a marker on that.” Once you’ve chosen all four actions, you clear the board and have all four to choose from again.

The random elements in the game present you with a new challenge each time you play. Says Alspach, “You can play a full game, including setup, in less than 30 minutes, and still enjoy all the strategy and fun that Age of Steam has to offer...with absolutely no downtime!”

The Caribbean nation of St. Lucia is only 239 square miles, but that’s still enough land for a full-fledged rail system, at least in Ted’s mind. “Age of Steam: St. Lucia is full of natural resources just waiting to be harvested from its fertile ground,” he says. “And what better way to get those resources than by building a complex series of train tracks on the island directly to them!”

In Age of Steam: St. Lucia, the goods are scattered across the island, conveniently placed one good per hex. Whichever player builds track to a good has the ability to deliver it. “There are no other goods than the ones placed initially (no goods growth or production),” says Alspach. “You could plan out the entire game before you lay any track—assuming that your opponent doesn’t interfere with your plans...”

Game play is quick, since the map is for two players only, and AoS: St. Lucia features a special two-player turn/action selection system. Unlike AoS: Austria, which has a fixed turn-order system, St. Lucia has a “turn order/action selection mechanism that adds back some tension for turn order and action selection,” says Alspach. “Turn order alternates for the length of the game, but there’s a catch. In order to go first, the player who is scheduled to go first must pay $5. If they do not (either because they don’t want to or cannot), their opponent has an opportunity to pay $5 to go first. If the opponent declines, the original player gets to go first for free.”

Age of Steam: Barbados/St. Lucia is printed on double-sided heavy cardstock that fits in the AoS box with the rules printed directly on the maps. Both maps in this set are compatible with Age of Steam second edition (from Warfrog Games) and the forthcoming Mayfair Games’ Age of Steam.

The preorder cost for all six new AoS maps from Bézier Games is $60 plus shipping, unless you plan to pick them up from Ted in Essen in which case there is no shipping charge. Age of Steam: Barbados/St. Lucia should be available for individual order in October for $20; check the link above for details, and check back later this week for a preview of the final two maps!

Pictures - Click the picture for a larger version
	Barbados: a mirror image of Maine
	So much yellow...
	St. Lucia: a land of plenty
	Lots of goods still up for grabs

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