Game Review: Cavum

By Pete Lane
December 7, 2009

Designer: Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling
Publisher: QWG Games / FRED Distribution / HUCH & friends / Red Glove
Players: 2-4
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 90-120 minutes
Rules Language: Dutch & French / English / German / Italian
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Three, twice with 2 players and once with 4

Wolfgang Kramer and frequent collaborator Michael Kiesling are a pair of innovative board game designers responsible for some classic and esthetically pleasing medium weight Eurogames. Being that my group had rated a few of their classic games highly, (including El Grande, Tikal, Maharaja and Torres) it was a no-brainer for us to give Cavum a shot. Originally released in 2008 in Europe, Cavum is now available in a second edition from a variety of publishers in different langauges.

The first thing we noticed when picking up the box is the weight. It’s shockingly heavy, and once the lid is off, it’s easy to see why. The beautifully illustrated cardboard pieces are thick and sturdy, and almost make you not want to punch the bits out due to the unique design. Even the “un-used” areas on the punch sheets are decorated with evocative “olde tymey” pictures that make them look like an old prospector had used them to keep track of his latest haul. The board (which was wrapped in its own cellophane) continued the stunning art design by incorporating the same “weathered steam century” feel. Since everything in the game is represented by the beautiful, heavy stock cardboard pieces (no cards or flimsy paper), you spend a long time punching them all out. When all is said and done you end up with 189 chips of various sizes, 48 wooden cubes of various colors, and one action board for each of four possible players that help take you through the turns. Thankfully the game also comes with several small-sized plastic bags to keep everything organized!

In Cavum, players are prospectors digging tunnels through a mountain, discovering veins of gems which are sold off for victory points back at the stations they’ve built within cities surrounding the mountain. The game plays in three turns with each turn divided into four phases, with the player who has the most victory points (VPs) at game end being declared winner.

Getting Your Hands Dirty

The set-up of Cavum is where design continues to deliver high marks, with the board clearly marked as to where to place the numerous chips and cubes and how many of each you should use for setup. This area is referred to as the “buy pool” and all leftover items are placed to the side of the board where everyone can reach as a general supply. The chips represent either mine tunnels of four different styles, gem Veins, “2” chips, dynamite tiles that resemble the tunnel tiles only with a red circle icon in the center, “buy” tiles, four “prospector” tiles, several precious gems of different colors, and turn sequence tiles. The wooden cubes represent stations, and one wooden cylinder acts as a VP marker for each player and are all placed at the number twenty.

Everyone starts with twenty VPs as they are used in the next round, which is bidding for turn sequence. Four “exit” tunnel tiles are placed on board where marked, and one gem vein is placed in the center mark with all nine yellow gems on top of it. The other colored gems are placed along the numbered tracks of the same colors. The final thing is to take the pile of rectangular “order cards,” shuffle them, and place them face down next to the game board. Five order cards are revealed and placed next to the stack for all players to see.

In the first phase of the turn, each player takes turn bidding for his “first pick” of the turn sequence tiles using VPs as currency. The sequence tiles are numbered 1-4 and also depict one of the four different kinds of dynamite tiles. Sequence tile “1” gives you first use of actions later in the turn, but grants you a dynamite tunnel with fewer exits (and is therefore not as versatile), while higher-numbered tiles have more exits. Players bid VPs until all but one person passes; the person pays and takes his tile of choice, then the process is repeated until everyone has a sequence tile. (All four tiles are used no matter how many players are in the game.)

Each player then takes nine tiles – four tunnels (one of each style), one gem vein, two “buy” options, one “prospector” tile, and the appropriate dynamite tile – and three station cubes from the general supply. All players then have the opportunity to choose “order cards,” starting with the first player and continuing the process through the other players – starting over with the first player, if needed – with players either passing or taking one of the orders. Players can have more than one order, and any orders not taken are primed with a 2 VP marker for the next turn. The order cards feature an artistic jeweled broach, a line of colored gems across the top that represent which gems are required to complete the order, the VPs won if the order is completed, and a negative number which is subtracted from the owner’s total who cannot complete it by game’s end.

Phase two, the build phase, is the main section of the game. In turn order, players perform 1-4 actions before passing their turn, with this process continuing around the table until each player has used a total of twelve actions. These actions do not need to be performed in any order other than placing the prospector tile, which is always the final action. Here’s a rundown of possible actions:

• Tunnels are played on the board, each one either connected to another tile previously laid on the board, on top of a tunnel or dynamite tile already placed, or next to an occupied “city” space around the circumference of the mountain. The tunnel must continue a previously laid path from another tile, though it doesn’t have to have a legal exit out of itself. If you cover a tile, the new tile must have more exits than the one it covers.

• Stations can be built either inside of the mountain on a regular tunnel tile or outside on an unoccupied city space. If placed in the mountain, the station must be on an unoccupied tile (not a vein or dynamite tile) and on the last tile placed by the same player; it also cannot be placed on a tile with more than one level. If placed on an unoccupied city space, it must be connected to another station of the same color via an uninterrupted series of tunnels; a tunnel is uninterrupted if there is no other station of another player’s color along the path.

• Vein tiles can be placed only on a tunnel or dynamite tile, and cannot be next to a city space or beside another vein. Once placed, the player takes 1-4 gems from a single color of their choice and places them on the vein (maximum three gems with two players).

• Option tiles allow the player to trade in the tile for an item in the buy pool (station, vein, tunnel, or dynamite). This tile must immediately be put on a legal space on the board according to regular placement rules.

• The prospector tile must be the final of the twelve actions taken by a player, and it allows the player to collect one gem from each vein along an uninterrupted tunnel from a city space owned by the player to a station of the same color. These tunnel tiles cannot be crossed more than once so as to create a loop of multiple gem deliveries from the same vein. These gems go into an area by the player’s action board to possibly be sold or used towards completing an order. If the last gem is taken from a vein, it is removed from the board and put back into the general supply.

After all players have taken all twelve of their actions, the third phase begins: a scoring round dedicated to the city spaces, and the explosion of all dynamite tiles. Scoring is done one city at a time, with players scoring only for connecting a station in a city with one in the mountain via an uninterrupted path (with or without a vein). If a player can claim a station connects with the mountain this way, they count the empty spaces on the city and score one victory point for each. Any station that cannot connect into the mountain is counted as an empty space and scores no points for its owner. Once all cities are scored, any visible dynamite tiles “blow up,” with each such tile and all tiles underneath it or adjacent to it being returned to the buy pool. Any tiles with stations or gems on them remain on the board.

The fourth and final phase of the round is the selling of gems. Starting with yellow and going clockwise around the game board, players can sell their collected gems for VPs. As gems have been taken from their respective numbered tracks, a higher number has been revealed from underneath it. Starting with the highest visible number on the track, the first player chooses whether he will accept a “bid” for this price or pass. If he accepts, the next player can accept a lower bid or pass. This continues until all but one player has passed; that player must then trade at least one gem of this color for the winning low bid. Gems sold return to the game board, concealing the highest numbered space available.

Next, players can trade any remaining gems to fulfill orders, returning the gems pictured on an order to the board. For each order completed this way, the player earns the VPs shown on the card. After each player cashes in orders, the next turn begins; after the third turn, the game ends with an additional city scoring, then players lose VPs for any orders unfulfilled. Finally, each player in order has one last round of selling their gems. The player with the most VPs at the end is declared the winner!

Panning the Dirt

Cavum seems like quite a headache when reading on the page, and I would venture to say this is one of Kramer and Kiesling’s more difficult games to grasp. However, there is enough depth and strategy to appeal to the right kind of player that it’s worth stumbling through. The design is more abstract than their previous works, but it has a shockingly fast learning curve. While the first turn was usually filled with rules checking and stumbling around, once everything “clicked,” the second and third turns whistled through without much confusion. In fact, we questioned the designer’s suggestion that the game would take two hours to play. My two-player games never went over an hour, and the four-player game took less than 90 minutes, despite teaching the game to new players each time. With a seasoned group, I cannot see Cavum taking longer than an hour unless your gaming group suffers from severe analysis paralysis. In itself, this could be considered a downside, but the game plays smoothly and has plenty to offer a game group that enjoys medium to heavyweight Eurogaming.

Highlights of the game include trading option tiles to the buy pool, which replenishes itself each round, as doing so allows a player to customize his rounds to a smart and strategic level. Options make the game fresh and interesting in addition to giving the player falling behind the ability to use multiple dynamite tiles or add a desperately needed station to catch up. The action points were also cleverly done, with Cavum being the first game I’ve played that allows a player to spread their allotted action points over several sessions in a phase as opposed to using them all at once. Sometimes the smart play is taking 1-2 actions, then passing to allow the other players to make the first deadly move while blowing more actions doing so.

The sequence tiles are also well thought out, and the bid to win them is a refreshing change from other “bid and get the best options” style of game. Which sequence tile is best for a player really depends on his individual strategy, and just because you’re the first player, it doesn’t mean you automatically gain the upper hand. This auction also allows players behind on points to still have satisfying options left to them, especially in a two-player game when three interesting choices are left to the second player at minimal cost.

Where Cavum falls flat is the tunnel system. While it makes sense to have four different kinds of tunnels available, the board inevitably becomes a terrible mess of gems, tunnels, veins, stations, and dynamite. Dead-ends and incomplete areas are everywhere late game, which can cause major headaches for gamers who like to keep a tight strategy. It becomes confusing and intense when you realize that you have lost track of where your own tunnel connects and forgot to keep an eye on the opponent’s progress all at once – not to mention repetitive when dynamite blows and forces you back to square one. This issue is more apparent in a four-player game, which becomes chaotic quickly; in a two-player game, it’s much easier to stay focused and keep track of how the game is playing out. As a result, fewer players may work best for this game. Tunnels tie together theme and game play, but can lead to heavy analysis paralysis and moments of confusion by game’s end.

Cavum is not a game that translates for everyone. While it’s easy to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the game, it will really rub some people the wrong way. Competitive players who enjoy “gotcha” moments will absolutely love how intense this game can be. Fighting for gems is huge, and when a player purposely blocks paths with stations or blows up a carefully constructed tunnel with dynamite, you know cheers and jeers are to follow.

This being said, direct confrontation is not for everyone, and no blind bidding, no secret choices, and no random elements – all present in previous Kramer/Kiesling games – exist to help avoid vicious plays. Everything available to all players is laid out, and any actions players take are done very deliberately, sometimes to the frustration of the opponent you’ve just hurt. The game can also be quite fiddly and has way too many bits. You find yourself surrounded by piles of chits, many of which have little use other than decorative.

For the player who loves direct conflict, deep game play, and beautiful pieces, you really cannot pass up Cavum. The game is full of interesting choices and clever twists on existing mechanisms. Those who should avoid it are folks who cannot stand Euros masquerading as wargames. From game designers as loved as Kramer and Kiesling, it’s hard to believe they created a game that involves so much dark intrigue.

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We’ve enjoyed many games of Cavum with 2.  It is good, but not great.  Personally, the semi-chaos of the tunnels is the most interesting aspect of the game (outside of the action system).  My main complaint about the game is the scoring system.  The jewelry cards are uninteresting, and the penalty for not completing them is so small that usually by late game you can pick them up for free.  Furthermore, the economy of the game is really under-realized, at least with 2 - not much to think about in terms of the gem auction.  Overall, it winds up seeming deeper than it is. Posted by Alan Goodrich on Dec 8, 2009 at 11:31 AM | #