In The Princes of Florence each player assumes the role as the head of an Aristocratic Italian
family. The aim is simple, to earn the most wealth and fame of all the families
in the region. To do this each player must woo artisans and professionals to
their cause. If they can keep them in the leisure that they are accustomed then
they will create great works. Selling these will generate the wealth and fame
that the families desire.
The game begins with each player receiving a play board to place various tiles on and it also offers information to keep the game moving. Each player receives 4 profession cards of which they must keep 3. Each of these professions can create a work for their master but the quality of the work will depend on how well their master looks after them. Each profession in the game prefers a type of building, a type of natural terrain (lake, park etc) and a type of freedom (religion, travel or opinion). Each profession card outlines the list of needs and the value that each is worth. It is these needs that the players will struggle to acquire as the game progresses.
The game begins with each player receiving a play board to place various tiles on and it also offers information to keep the game moving. Each player receives 4 profession cards of which they must keep 3. Each of these professions can create a work for their master but the quality of the work will depend on how well their master looks after them. Each profession in the game prefers a type of building, a type of natural terrain (lake, park etc) and a type of freedom (religion, travel or opinion). Each profession card outlines the list of needs and the value that each is worth. It is these needs that the players will struggle to acquire as the game progresses.
The beauty of Princes is that many
of the professions will have overlapping needs in the 3 areas outlined above.
So good resource management and a little luck can see the acquisition of
certain needs pay off for more than 1 profession card.
So how does it play? In the first
phase the players can try to acquire landscapes, builders (makes building
cheaper in phase 2), jesters (bonus value for completed works) and bonus cards
(offer bonus victory points at games end if the conditions are met). The trick
is that once a player selects 1 of these an open auction begins to see who
acquires it. Clever strategy may suggest that the active player pick a need
that they don’t want. If others buy them they will be locked out of future
auctions, then they can select something they do want and have less
competition. Of course money is always tight so overbidding is not recommended.
After all players have purchased 1 need, phase 2 begins. Here the players can
start to build those buildings, buy those freedoms and sell works. This is
straight purchasing (no auction) but each player can only choose 2 actions and
the price is not cheap. Put simply the players will need to sell work sooner
rather than later. Selling a work earns money as well as victory points and the
highest victory points will win the day at the end of round 7.
The Princes of Florence is a classic game as it offers many choices but never enough resources
or time to do everything. The game looks great and the play is well balanced to
offer different strategies an equal chance of success. Highly recommended for the deep thinker and I’ve still
left a few twists and turns for you to discover!
The Princes of Florence is for 3 to 5 players ages 13 and up and plays in about 90 minutes
Game Review by Neil Thomson
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