Game Review: The Market of Alturien

By Greg J. Schloesser
January 5, 2008

Publisher: Pro Ludo / Mayfair Games
Designer: Wolfgang Kramer
Players: 2-6
Playing Time: 60 minutes
Rules Language: German / English

There has been a trend lately for designers to revamp and reissue older titles from their body of work. Examples of this abound, and a comprehensive list would fill pages. Wolfgang Kramer, perhaps my favorite designer, has been capitalizing on this trend, with many of his older titles being modified and reissued, including Tycoon (as El Capitan), Big Boss (as the forthcoming Altura), and City. Often, this breathes new life into an older title and introduces it to a new audience who may have missed the original.

Kramer’s City, which was published in the 1990s, has been revamped as The Market of Alturien. It is the first installment in a series of games that are tied to the Alturien stories and mythologies. Sadly, City would not have been one of my choices for games that needed to be reissued. Indeed, it is one of the few Kramer titles I simply don’t enjoy.

I first played City many years ago, and felt no need to revisit the game after just a few playings. There was nothing inherently wrong or broken with the game; it just wasn’t exciting or fun. However, The Market of Alturien promised some revisions and rules changes, as well as far superior components. Both of these changes have been implemented, but I’m sad to report that the end result is the same: a game that works, but is lacking in excitement or fun.

Inner City Workings

The large board depicts the market area of the city of Alturien, which is growing and awaiting the arrival of eager entrepreneurs. Players will erect businesses along the streets of the market and attempt to attract the wealthy customers to their shops. The market is divided into six regions, and the player controlling the most businesses in a region receives the corresponding market leader card which will increase his income by two Reals each time a patron visits one of their businesses in that region. The incentives are to erect businesses in high traffic areas, as well as concentrated in certain regions so as to secure those market leader cards.  Players begin with two businesses on the board and an initial treasury of six Reals.

Each turn, a player will roll one die and move one of the six customers a matching number of spaces. The values on the die range from 1–3, with three sides allowing the player to move the patron from 1–3 spaces. The object is to move a patron to a market space occupied by one of your businesses. This mechanism was later used in Kramer’s Colosseum. Patrons must move in the direction in which they are facing and can turn only 90 degrees when they reach an intersection. Further, only one patron may occupy a space. Often, there are no movement possibilities that will bring a patron to a player’s business. A patron must be moved, however, so it becomes a matter of trying to improve one’s chances of being patronized on a subsequent turn.

When a patron comes to rest at a player’s business, he receives income based on the value of the patron (1–3) multiplied by the number of stories of the business on that space. So if the Marquis (value 2) visits a player’s two-story business, the player will receive 4 Reals (2 x 2 = 4). If the business were located in a region wherein the player is the market leader, he receives an additional 2 Reals.

After receiving income, the active player may invest by purchasing and placing a new business, or expanding an existing business by adding an additional floor to the enterprise. The cost to add or expand a business will range from 2–5 Reals, depending upon its location. High traffic areas on the board are shaded gray and are more expensive to occupy. A player may construct or expand only one business per turn and choosing its location is one of the key decisions to be made throughout the game. Often, a player will find himself in a fight for control of numerous regions and will be forced to alter his placement strategies as opponents threaten this control.

The gray high-traffic spaces have an additional benefit to players who own businesses located on those locations. A player receives income from every customer located on a gray space occupied by one of his businesses even if those customers were not moved during the turn. Maneuvering a customer to one of these spaces is a key tactic, as it forces opponents to use their turn to move these customers off, lest the player benefit from these patrons again on his subsequent turn. This is one more reason the high-traffic spaces are highly prized.

The Point of Doing Business

Alternatively, a player may purchase a Prestige card for 12 Reals. When one player acquires three Prestige cards, the end-game is triggered. Play continues until the end of the round, and the player who has the greatest number of Prestige cards is victorious. Ties are broken in favor of the player with the most Reals. Since Prestige cards win the game, players will periodically need to forgo business construction or expansion in order to accumulate the required funds to purchase these cards.

When playing the advanced game, further investment opportunities are added. Players may purchase special cards that grant them special abilities or rewards when utilized. These cards range in price from 5–7 Reals, and the benefits are significant. However, their cost diverts needed Reals from your efforts to acquire new buildings or Prestige cards. I prefer playing with these investment cards as they add further options to the game and force players to make tougher decisions.

Once one player reaches a wealth of ten or more Reals, the game takes a nasty turn. A thief—Gustavo the Weasel—skulks his way into the market. A player may opt to move the thief instead of another patron, and when the thief lands in front of a business, the player must pay an amount equal to the value of the business multiplied by two. If the player does not have enough funds to pay the cost, he is forced to sell assets to meet his obligations. Apparently, Gustavo is one bold and powerful thief!

If a player opts to move the thief, he may reroll the die and move another patron—or the thief once again. So this does give the player more options, particularly when a number is rolled on the first roll that is not favorable.

As mentioned, the game ends at the end of the round when one player acquires three Prestige cards. The rules suggest that when playing with five or six players, the number of Prestige cards required be reduced to two. I heartily recommend this suggestion, as it does cause the game to play to completion in about an hour or so, which is quite enough for this game.

The Market of Alturien with the prototype of Altura, the next game in the series


I cannot point to some exact mechanisms or examples to explain why the game fails to win my endorsement. Everything works, and it even “reads” as though it will be a fun game. Sadly, it just isn’t. There is little excitement and little tension. Turns feel repetitive, and there aren’t enough options or paths to pursue to give the game depth or staying power. Each game feels pretty much the same as prior games, so it grows stale quickly. After just two playings of this new version, I have no desire to revisit Alturien. Indeed, I can’t help but feel that City should have remained in its prior position—gaining dust on Herr Kramer’s shelf.

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Comments:

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I can’t disagree more.K My two games of Alturien have been great fun - but the game must be played nasty, always trying to hinder opponents and to convince players to bang on someone else. I consider it a vastly underrated game. Posted by Bruno Faidutti on Jan 5, 2008 at 12:51 PM | #

I must agree with Bruno. Alturien is a game where the people playing the game must not simply follow the rules and actions, but must interact with each other.  The interaction that this game initiates, produces excitement, tension and fun, if it is nurtured. Posted by Jeph Stahl on Jan 7, 2008 at 11:54 AM | #

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