Game Preview: The Princes of Machu Picchu

By Paulo Soledade, Spiel Portugal
August 20, 2008

Publisher: PD-Games
Designer: Mac Gerdts
Players: 2-6
Playing Time: 90 minutes
Release Date: Spiel 08
Link:

Writing a preview of a game – and not being boring while doing so – is not an easy task, especially when we want to explain the game in a very detailed manner. Also, when we are playtesters of any game, we actually get involved with it in a special way, which makes everything much more difficult to see in a clear and solid perspective. I recognize two things in this preview: the first one is that I cannot not be boring and the second is that since this game is from a friend, someone who created one of the greatest games ever made, Imperial, I probably don’t have the distance that should exist in someone writing a preview. Forgive me both.

Designing a game is very difficult, and being original and innovative all the time is even more so. When Mac Gerdts made his first game and invented the rondel, many players (me included) were waiting for the next one to be released. Expectations became higher and higher. Three games and three rondels after, here is Gerdts’ first achievement without the rondel…

The Princes of Machu Picchu is a game of resource management but not very simple. Each player represents a prince who, while trying to end the curse of Spaniards to the Incan civilization, has to make sacrifices in honor of the Sun God, Inti. But beware! If, in a few days, the curse is not lifted, a traitor will reveal the secret of Machu Picchu to the Spaniards!

The Prince

Our prince moves from place to place within the city, executing the actions that these places determine. Here, the main mechanism of the game lies in the implementation of the action based on the place where our prince is. If he enters the corn fields, farmers will produce corn. If he enters the house of the virgins, then he can engage a virgin to later use in a sacrifice to the Sun God.

The movement on the board is how we implement the actions. Each prince can move only to adjacent regions (usually 4/5 options), but with the use of a llama we can move to any other part of the city, thus being more efficient.

The prince in the city has, then, two fundamental characteristics: It reduces the downtime of the game because it allows players to soon realize what their options are (just like the rondel), and it also connects players with the city, making the theme more real, less abstract.

The City

One of the most recognizable things about the city of Machu Picchu is how everything was organized: plantations on one side, sacred temples on the other, cemetery, central plaza…

In The Princes of Machu Picchu the city has 15 places, each one with a different action. In some of them, players can setup new citizens like farmers, coca planters, shepherds or craftsmen; in others, players can engage priests and virgins to their cause in order to later sacrifice in the honour of the Sun God.

Nine of these places in Machu Picchu have a bonus for the player who occupies each one for the first time of the day and, after that, everyone has to wait for the night, when these places become available for production again.

As a result of this, most of the actions of the game can be performed only once a day. The player who gets into the place first wins the respective bonus, plus everything that his workers laying there produce. (Each worker produces only if paid with corn.) The other players will only get the production of their inhabitants occupying the building in question (also if paid with corn).

This mechanism, although not new, involves all players at the same time after an action is taken. The decision to take these actions is very important in the strategy of the game because players have to assume that every worker in a given building will produce after that building is occupied.

Other places, where workers are not settled in, can be used several times during the day: the Central Plaza, which operates like a market and where players can exchange corn, cloth, pottery, coca and llamas; the Incan Road, used to setup new farmers and shepherds; the houses of virgins and priests, where players can engage both to join them on the cause of Inti; the Royal Palace where players can setup potters, coca planters and weavers; or the sun clock (Intihuatana), sacred altar for the Incas, where players can sacrifice one of their family members getting goods in exchange.

All of these places are important in order to achieve our goal of becoming the most preeminent prince of Machu Picchu.

Stairway to Heaven – The Sun Track

One of the things that turns The Princes of Machu Picchu in a special resource management game is how the smart and creative scoring mechanism is made. Players gain resources when their inhabitants produce, then spend those resources in a way to engage virgins or priests, which will be used later in order to sacrifice in the Sun Track. The process is complex enough to not allow players to play efficiently the first few times. Usually Mac Gerdts’ games require some experience before players can play them efficiently, and this is no exception.

The Sun Track has 20 spaces, and when a player reaches the top, he may choose a scoring card. These cards have combined scorings of farmers, virgins, priests, shepherds and all other kinds of inhabitants of Machu Picchu. For example, if a player at the end of the game has a card of weaver/virgin, he will receive one point for each inhabitant weaver and also a point for each virgin he has engaged to his cause. In addition the cards also have a value in gold (one, two or three) that is used at the end of the game if the curse is not fully eradicated from the city, and a traitor would win. In this case, the player who has delivered the most gold to the Spaniards (i.e. the traitor of Machu Picchu) wins. The Spaniards discovered the secret of Machu Picchu!

But how do we go up in the Sun Track? How do we get the scoring cards that will give us the final victory?

Both of these answers are connected to the sacrifice in honour of Inti. In order to make these sacrifices players have to use their engaged priests and virgins. During the game, using our resources we can enter both the houses of the priests and virgins, recruiting them to serve our cause. If someone has, for example, a virgin and if a player (any player) enters the Temple of the Sun, virgins can be used to make a sacrifice if the player pays llamas. There’s a kind of stock market for priests and virgins. If there is only one virgin already engaged for a cause in the city, this virgin allows the player who possesses her to go up nine steps in the Sun Track. If, for example, four virgins have already been engaged during the game, each one of them moves up only five steps in the Sun Track. The same goes with the priests of the temples of the Condor and the Sacred Rock.

This mechanism requires an extra effort from all players in order to balance things. If, for example one player alone has two virgins, and someone enters the Temple of the Sun, this player, paying a llama for each virgin, can go up on the Sun Track in order to get the highly desired scoring cards, moving eight spaces for each one (16 steps total). And the other players do not move at all! But if a player has the same two virgins and two others have one each –four virgins engaged, therefore, with each one of them worth six steps on the Sun Track – when someone enters the Temple of the Sun and assuming that each player pays a llama for each virgin, the player who has two virgins moves 12 spaces, while both other players move six each. In other words the difference between the benefit to players is reduced, allowing some balance.

Final Thoughts

If all priests and virgins have been engaged by the several princes (players), the game ends immediately. The victory of the Sun God, Inti, is achieved and the player who has the most points on his sun cards wins. If, however, by the last day of the game, all priests and virgins have not been engaged, then the victory goes to the player who, in his scoring cards, has more gold to offer to the Spaniards. The traitor wins the game.

The Princes of Machu Picchu has a final alternative that allows some strategic changes. On one hand every player wants to ensure that he has sufficient men on board occupying the various functions of craftsmen, farmers or others, giving enough points in case that the curse is lifted from the city. On the other hand, if we suspect that our chances of victory are small, we can always try to end the game quickly so that the secret of Machu Picchu is given to the Spaniards, with us trying to become the traitor among traitors.

In 90 minutes (tops) we have a very exciting game, with a considerable learning curve, more than one path towards victory and with all options of the game very well balanced. Moreover and in my opinion, the game brings some freshness and newness to the board gaming scene.

Although we are talking about a prototype, this is already one of the games that I like to play the most and I think that all of those who seek a game of medium/high difficulty and density, with a very interesting and well implemented theme, will also like The Princes of Machu Picchu. Congratulations Mac!

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Comments:

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who actually playtested this? because i saw this on BGG as well. From what I have read, I think the theme of the game seems interesting and it seems there are a lot of mechanics in play as well as alternative goals for winning - I appreciate both in any game I purchase/play. The bits look very fun as well..sure beats cubes! Posted by tom moughan on Aug 20, 2008 at 02:28 PM | #

Tom, the author of the preview, Paulo Soledade, was one of the playtesters. He’s posted other coverage of Gerdts’ creations on the Spiel Portugal blog linked to above. Eric Posted by W. Eric Martin on Aug 20, 2008 at 02:30 PM | #

Very interesting! Note that it appears that the two “prototype pieces” photos are identical. Maybe missed a switch? Posted by Matthew Frederick on Aug 20, 2008 at 04:36 PM | #

Thanks for the note, Matthew. I forgot to change the link when adding the fancy boxes on the images. Eric Posted by W. Eric Martin on Aug 20, 2008 at 04:48 PM | #

The fancy boxes with captions look great, btw! Posted by Matthew Frederick on Aug 20, 2008 at 06:37 PM | #

My group is also playtesting this.  We thought it was publish-ready three iterations ago, but it keeps getting more polished and things keep getting adjusted to ensure the balance is just right. It’s going to be very, very good in my opinion. pk Posted by Patrick Korner on Aug 20, 2008 at 08:30 PM | #

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