River Of Gold Review

You’ll hear River of Gold compared to Lords of Waterdeep, and it’s understandable why. Both feature the idea of building a town of sorts, with the players earning rewards when they visit the various buildings during the game. Both have the idea of contract fulfilment. In Lords of Waterdeep it was about completing quests with warriors and wizards and suchlike (cubes, in reality), while in River of Gold you deliver silk, rice, and porcelain (cardboard tokens) to customers in return for bonuses and abilities. River of Gold is a very different game to play, however, thanks to the removal of worker-placement as a mechanism and the addition of – dare I say it – roll and move.

Roll and move? Like Monopoly?? Burn, heretic!

Yeah, yeah, I know, enough punching down on Monopoly. It’s a fair concern to have though, especially as I’ve heard this game described as ‘Lords of Waterdeep crossed with Monopoly’. Those of you recoiling in horror at the thought of playing a game that’s anything like The Landlord’s Game don’t need to worry, because despite your actions being dependent on rolling a die, this game is nothing like it.

Mitigation

Some people can’t bear to play a game that uses dice to decide anything, especially when you’re talking about a single die. At least when you’re playing a game like Can’t Stop, the four dice you roll make heavy use of probability, turning it into a game of considered gambling instead of blind luck. Let’s compare that to River of Gold. In River of Gold you roll your single die to determine what actions might be available in your following turn. In the simplest terms, if you roll a 4, you can move one of your boats four spaces along the river. You could also use it to deliver your collected goods to a customer whose card has the same number on it, or build one of the available buildings in the zone of the river matching the colour and logo of that die’s face.

Your initial impression might be one of mild disinterest. A one-in-six chance of getting what you want? No thanks. That’s where the mitigation comes into play. For starters, you’ve got two boats on the river, not just one. If you play it clever and keep them a little way apart it makes the likelihood of any roll being good. The main way of swaying lady luck if she’s in a fickle mood is through the use of divine favour. Divine favour is just another resource you can collect and spend to change the die roll. Each you spend changes the value by one, and it wraps around from 6 to 1 and vice-versa.

Obviously it’s still a game that someone can get incredibly lucky at and never have to use any favour, while someone else sets the world record for rolling consecutive 1s, and there are some people who just can’t get on with games like that. Those people are better off sticking to games like Lords of Waterdeep with its worker-placement, perhaps. But there are some other things about River of Gold that really set it apart from its D&D-inspired stable mate.

Every space along the river has four buildings adjacent to it. When you dock in a space with your little boat you get the rewards from the pointy end of all of the building tiles that are adjacent. There’s no limit to how many boats can be in each space either, which really sets it apart from Lords. There’s no more choosing what the next-best option is because someone used the building you wanted to. Like Lords, again, the owner of each building gets a bonus when someone – even themselves – visits one of their buildings. One of the things I really like is that each building’s cost is determined by its location, not the building itself. There are some great locations which border multiple river spaces, but you’ll end up paying more than double the cost of somewhere that borders just one.

Boat race

It might not seem like it at first glance, but River of Gold has the feel of a race. There are randomised shared objectives which are first come, first served, and the end of the game is triggered by the last building tile being taken from the available stacks. You’ll find yourself planning to do several different things, but you’re increasingly aware that the end of the game is fast approaching. As with so many other Euro games you’ll never get it all done, so choosing what to chase and what to leave is tricky.

As if there wasn’t plenty enough to think about, each of the six regions of the river has its own progress track to wend your merry way up. There are decent points to be had for doing well on those tracks, as well as one-time bonuses along the way. So it makes sense to fulfil customer contracts that give you discounts on building in that region, right? Or maybe those that give you double points at the end of the game in particular regions. To fulfil those contracts you need resources though, so now you’re trying to work out how you’re going to get those resources and advance up those tracks at the same time, which generally means different building types. But for buildings you need money, money you can only really get by sailing, and…

…phew. The mental gymnastics aren’t venturing into Lacerda or Splotter levels here, but there’s enough to keep your brain on its toes. Not that brains have toes, but you get the idea. All of this is going on while the rest of the players are trying to do the same thing, and everyone is competing for the same communal goals, all the while watching the building piles shrink. Buildings get removed every time someone reaches the end of the river and loops around to the top of the board too.

It all makes for a game which is often done in an hour, and there aren’t too many games being released now that deliver the same amount of game and meaningful decisions in that length of time.

Final thoughts

River of Gold is my new gateway game. It’s that game that I’ll use to introduce new gamers to something a little heavier without getting confusing. Rolling dice is universal. Everyone knows how to do that, and giving new players something familiar is often the key in capturing their attention and making hobby games seem approachable. The remarkable thing is that despite making a game with mechanically simple mechanisms that plays out in an hour or so, there’s enough going on to make it engaging and interesting to nerds like me. I’ll happily play River of Gold with you. In fact, I’m taking it along to my local group tonight as we have a relatively new player and I know it’ll be a hit.

I have to mention the presentation too, for good and bad reasons. Let’s get the bad out of the way first. The insert looks fantastic, and if you look at the publisher’s pictures on BGG it’ll look like the game comfortably fits. The truth, however, is that it does not fit. I’ve read that there are some good 3D printable additional pieces which make it fit, but I’ve thrown it in the bin and bagged it all. On the good side though, holy cow is that board pretty. The river has inlaid gold which looks gorgeous. I’m used to seeing that sort of effect on cards, but never on main game boards. The wooden boats are different shapes for each player colour too. They’re small things that don’t affect the game you play, but pay testament to the level of care and production used in the game. Except for the insert.

Once you’re used to the game there are some asymmetric clan cards you can throw in that make things a little more interesting if you’re experienced gamers I’d throw them in right from the get-go. There’s really very little not to like about River of Gold, which is why I’d recommend it to anyone who regularly plays with a group who enjoy more than just hardcore games. The speed at which it plays out, combined with the number of choices available at any given time, and the ease of taking a turn, make for a cracking game that won’t swamp your table or make your bank account cry.

You can buy this game from my retail partner, Kienda. Remember to sign-up for your account at kienda.co.uk/punchboard for a 5% discount on your first order of £60 or more.

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