VPG09001 Circus Train Board Game Victory Point Circus Train Second Edition, by designer Tom Decker, is a one- to five-player game in which you are the owner and operator of a small circus train in prohibition-era America. In this game, you and your opponents are vying to employ the best talent while putting on the most magnificent show each month. While touring the country by train, you will have the opportunity to perform while adding talent to your show through hiring the performers stranded in cities by defunct circuses. Just remember to keep an eye on your wages, because your talent definitely will. Through clever card hand management, you control the movement of your train around the American northeast, making strategic business decisions about talent, performances, and payroll in this fast-paced strategy game. Each turn represents one week of real time, and after six months, the circus season closes for the year and the game ends with one player declared as having The Greatest Show on Earth. Inspired by Sara Gruens novel, Water for Elephants, Circus Train Second Edition includes thematic elements such as improving your shows reputation by picking up alcohol for your talent and staff (legally, in Canada), the high costs of supplying big cats and elephants, and the ability to red light (firing by throwing off the train) disgruntled talent or talent that has simply become too expensive to maintain. These elements are blended into the games mechanics, keeping it all simple while adding layers of depth and strategy.
B**S
Great game!
Lots of strategy combined with a little luck make this a great game. And it doesn't hurt that the mechanics follow what a typical circus had to go through last century.
O**S
Watch your back....Its a circus out there
A fun and unusual theme (Circus) with a very common other theme (trains). You run a circus during the depression. This game can be ruthless (really ruthless) yet tons of fun. Production values are not the 100% best (but OK) because Victory Point a little on the outside of the main stream game publishers....but they have tried lately to improve by reprinting older games that worked well mechanic wise. This is one of those games. I think Circus Train use to be one player though in its previous version. Now thankfully it is multi-player, where it really shines.One kind of major thing though. Even though this game looks nice, some of the graphics choices got in the way of reading the rule book for me. Also the die-cut circus tent counters that you place on the board, jam a lot of information on them. This information includes a number and shape for each type of performer and is very. very small even for the best eyesight (which mine is not so much anymore). Playing this may require a magnifying glass at times, but its a great game and well worth that in my opinion. It was a great concept to think of making theses counters tent shaped but it also meant reducing the print area, They also could have just included only the performers that mattered per tent chip, instead of including them all.So far I own two games by Victory Point Games...this and TENKA (also a great card game you should seek out). Being from a on the outside publisher, if you are interested I would just pick this up. Who knows once its gone, maybe it will really be gone forever, and this is a game worth owning
Trustpilot
1 month ago
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