Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
This review continues my series of detailed reviews that attempt to be part review, part resource for anyone not totally familiar with the game. For this reason I expect readers to skip to the sections that are of most interest.
If you liked the review please thumb the top of the article so others have a better chance of seeing it and I know you stopped by. Thanks for reading.
Summary
Game Type - Euro Game
Play Time: 40-60 minutes
Number of Players: 2-5 (Plays at all numbers well)
Mechanics - Card Drafting, Area Control, Point to Point Movement
Difficulty - Moderate (Can be learned in 2-3 plays)
Components - Very Good
Release - 2007
Designer -
<PERSON> -( Amerigo, Bora Bora, Bruges, The Castles of Burgundy, In the Year of the Dragon, Luna, Macao, The Name of the Rose, Rialto, Roma, Rum & Pirates, The Speicherstadt, Strasbourg, Trajan)
Overview and Theme
Welcome to the 14th Century...14th Century Paris to be exact. You are the head of an influential family vying for prosperity and reputation. To advance your position you will need to gain power and prestige by improving your borough, enlisting the help of friends and important people throughout Paris and also supporting the grand cathedral of Notre Dame at the heart of the city. But of course you are not the only family in Paris trying to...blah.
Fame and Prestige...xx century setting...we've heard this all before right?!
Well maybe we have and before fans of the game start throwing their virtual shoes at me just hang on a minute as I'm being a little tongue in cheek.
Notre Dame is not a new title by any stretch. 470
But I wanted to cover it for two reasons...one...it is a Feld design long before we all new the 'great and powerful FELD'.
And two, I actually hated this game on my first play...like...I wanted to punch someone in the head hated it and was ready to walk the 3 kilometers to the nearest petrol station to buy me some incendiary fluid...hated it.
Why? Well you will have to read on.
So I wanted to see if this game could win me back so many years later (something like 6 years I think)?
For the record I am no Feld lover either and I tend to only play a Euro design perhaps once every 5-6 game plays. I have played very few of his games and so I figured this would be a good place to start. What am I trying to say? That I think this review will be very objective and assess what is on the table...as opposed to what is in my heart...aaahhh...go hug a panda bear you peace loving beatknicks!
Got a coin? Good then come walk with me to Notre Dame...
The Components
With Notre Dame you get what you paid for...a Euro Game...and that means good quality and a bit of wood!
Player Boards(Boroughs) - The game comes with 5 boards that depict a Borough of Paris. These are oddly shaped to accommodate the number of players from 2-5.
On each board a total of 7 districts are featured and a bluish Harbour region with a number track on it (no it isn't a score track - it's a Plague Track).
Each district features two oval images in a given colour to help denote what they are. A variety of symbols show the effects for each district and once learned they help spell out the game pretty well and reduce the need to go to the rulebook.
The Borough boards also feature paths or roads. These are used by the Carriage to travel to different parts of the city.
The boards are not super thick but they are pretty good.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>Family Friends and Carriages - The two main wooden components are the Doge like Family Friend (I'm thinking the Doge from ) and the Carriage, which is shaped like a classic horse-drawn carriage.
There are a pair of these in a given colour for each player.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
Influence Cubes - In the same 5 colours come a set of 14 small Euro Cubes that represent the Influence of each family within Paris. These are classic Euro fare.
A set of 5 black cubes is also provided to use on the Plague Track of each player.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON> - In each colour a set of 4 Octagonal Tokens are provided to represent the Messages that typically move around a thriving city like Paris.
Each player has access to 4 Message Types and the same icons that are used on the Borough Boards and Action Cards are used here to denote what benefit they bestow. 336