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: 25-30 minutes
Number of Players: 2-4
Mechanics - Tile Placement, route/network building, dice rolling, push your luck
Difficulty - Pick-Up & Play (Can be learned in 20 minutes, takes 1-2 plays to get a grasp of the flow )
Components - Good
Release - 2005
Designer - <PERSON> -( Chateau Roquefort, Ido, Laguna, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter - Das Wurfelspiel)
Overview and Theme
Water...the final frontier...err wait...no that's not right.
Water, that life giver that literally dictated where early civilisations formed. In Aquadukt each player represents a family preparing to settle a new patch of land. In doing so they will build houses, locate wells and establish aquadukts to ensure that their little piece of the planet is irrigated. Failing to provide water to your households is a dire outcome and people will be forced to leave such dwellings...and with them go victory points.
Such is the backdrop for the playing of Aquadukt, a rather overlooked title from over a decade ago. It is a Euro at heart and yet the designer decided to throw a 20-sided dice into the design. Intriguing don't you think?
Here, carry this pail and I'll tell you all about it on the way to the well.
The Components
Aquadukt was produced in a very different time to today, when components tend to be quite ‘blingy’ and in direct competition with miniature heavy kickstarter projects.
Board - The board is a classic case of functionality over form. It consists of square locations that are grouped in slightly larger areas or districts, each of which is numbered from 1-20.
Each area is surrounded by some small graphic or other to make them stand apart from those that are adjacent. But in truth there is really not much to look at.
Then, as if the board is really trying to make you hate it, the whole thing is coloured a sickly shade of green, much like mashed peas or the interior of your toilet bowl after a hard night on the drink. 470
This last visual is only enhanced by those minor graphic flourishes that are meant to denote one area/zone from another.
It really isn't very appealing, but like most good things you learn to love it over time...much like a parent loves a child despite their flaws.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON> - The <PERSON> are represented by mid-sized dark blue glass beads. These seem an odd choice at first but they grow on you, especially when the light shines through them and lights them up.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON> - The Canal pieces are blue in colour and are slightly longer than a road piece, but otherwise much the same design. These are functional if nothing else.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
Dice - The dice is a 20-sided affair and to be honest it's a rather basic design in terms of production. I wouldn't be too certain that it has a perfect distribution.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
House Tiles - The house tiles are the last major component. These are small square tiles that feature a number of houses ranging from 1-4. These tiles come in four colours to accommodate up to 4 players. Not only are their 4 colours but each colour features its own house design. This helps give the board a more varied look as the tiles get added and it also assists those with colour-blind issues.
The tiles also feature a linen-finish, which ups the quality somewhat.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON> - These square tiles are even more bland to look at than the board...if that can be believed. The image of mountains is odd to say the least and on the reverse side a number is featured, either a 0 or a +2. More on the significance of these values later in the outline.
Image Courtesy of Alice87
Rules - The rules are well written and leave little ambiguity as to their intent.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON> the production values of Aquadukt are quite good. The only thing letting it down overall is the visual aspect, with that big green and rather nondescript board dominating proceedings.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
Set-Up
The set-up for Aquadukt is easier than most games. 872