Gain notoriety and lay claim to glorious towers in Patrician: Towers of Influence.
Was this game sent for review or self-purchased?: This was kindly sent to us for review by Calliope Games.
In two sentences, what do you do in the game: This is a worker placement style game where you play as a tower builder competing against other builders, and thus must strategically use your cards to place floors in growing towers. The player with the most pieces in the towers will earn points, and at the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.
Have we played any other titles by this publisher?: Yes! We’ve played numerous games by Calliope Games.
What was surprising about this title: The title is very interesting as my name is Patricio, which means noble man, and a Patrician is someone who is noble. But mechanically, games that have to do with towers usually have the top floor lay claim to the points but this one has the player with the most pieces be the winner.
How likely is this to return to the game table?: Not likely for our table. The gameplay is very limited in choices and it’s a little too dependent on luck with drawing cards. Your choices are essentially based on the cards you draw and how to strategize but it can go sideways if you start placing all your eggs in one basket and then seem unable to recoup your losses. Or you might be completely lucky and be able to place all of your eggs in a few key places and win.
Game length: 20-40 minutes. It’s a nice length for it’s simplicity and it is quick enough to learn and teach within a few minutes.
Language Barrier Playability: Easy. The game is entirely dependent on symbols, numbers and colors. It is also colorblind friendly. This game is easily playable with a language barrier and requires little communication during gameplay.
Artwork: Medieval art syle. It is a game that is based on patricians and nobility and the art reflects it. It’ll quickly transport you to the time period and immerse you in its theme quickly.
Quality: Excellent. The pieces are made of high quality wood and paint. The cards are thick and textured. The board is double sided for varying player counts and everything feels nice to hold and handle.
Strategy: Light and luck based. There is some strategy that goes into playing, you are making decisions on how to play your cards and which choices are the best to take and at which time. The luck component comes in simply with what cards you draw. The game requires you to effectively use the cards you draw and that can be very uneven in terms of luck.
Instruction Manual: Short, simple and straight to the point. You can read the entire rule book in about 5 minutes and start playing. Setup is easy and the game even provides examples of gameplay to clarify any misunderstandings.
Organization: Excellent. All of the components fit neatly into plastic baggies, the cards are organized easily and everything has ample room in the box for storage.
Final thoughts: Patrician is a light game that can serve as a starter game or an introduction for newer board gamers into the variety of modern board games. It is easy to learn and easy to play while still providing a bit of strategy and intriguing game elements. For our table, the dependency on drawing cards feels a little unfair. The gameplay is nice and simple but leaves a little bit of an itch for more complicated rules. That being said it is an enjoyable time at the table and can be great to play with kids or for when your table wants a little snack of a game between heftier titles.
Sushiball Games 