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HAZIENDA

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Author: Wolfgang Kramer

Publisher:
HANS IM GLÜCK
2005

Awards: none

EVALUATION

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G@mebox author Ralf Togler writes about the game :

Hazienda was this year's game from Hans im Glück for the game convention in Essen. When I had my first glimpse on the game board, I was really taken with the game and tried to convince my fellows to have the review exemplar. And as you can see, I finally got it!This is a great advantage after the four days in Essen since nobody - maybe Frank excluded - can remember all the games he played and so you only make mental notes on a few games….

The board is divided into a lot of hexagons, representing all different kinds of landscapes. As landowners the players start in the middle of nowhere in Argentina, probably in the early 20th century or so, with only some landscape and animal cards and a few pesos in their hands. From individual starting points on the landscape hexagons they try to build their lands and animal herds right into the Pampa. The bigger a connected animal herd and landscape territory becomes, the more valuable it will be for the landowner in the two scorings during the game. But while landscapes can be composed of different types, an animal herd may consist only of the same animal. Thus, a pig next to a horse herd is a new herd and may not be counted together with the horses as should be understandable. Players may begin to build on different places on the board, but always with a connection to the landscapes and not in the middle of the Pampa.

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During a turn a player has three actions, which can be carried out in any order. First he may buy an object. Landscape or animal cards can be bought faced-up cards for three pesos or from the stable (not visible) for two pesos. A hacienda is a very useful building for the scoring phase, when it is placed on a big herd or many connected landscapes from the player. On the other hand it is rather expensive with a price of 12 pesos. Water can be also bought for 12 pesos and gives a bonus to all connected animals and landscapes in the scoring.

Landscapes and animals can be brought on the board by playing the corresponding card from your hand. Landscapes have to correspond to the hexagon types on the board. So if you want to create a big area of connected landscapes (what you should always try to do since you get more points in scoring), you need the right cards. Animals however may only be placed on Pampa hexagons.

Now you could wonder where you get your money during the game. There are two possibilities. The first one is to reach a side of a market hexagon somewhere in the middle of the Pampa with your animals. You then will get one peso for every single animal of this herd. So it is always advisable to create bigger herds. The second possibility is to place one harvest chip on any of your landscapes. You then will get 3 times the number of connected landscapes as pesos.

Scoring takes place in the middle (when the first half of the animal stack is drawn) and at the end of the game. Both scorings have the same mechanism. Victory points are given for the number of market places a player has reached with his herds, for the length of his connected landtiles, for lands and herds with a hazienda, for water and for the money.

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You also have the choice between two more different scoring mechanisms that should change the tactics in the game. Also noted should be the fact that you can download an editor from the HANS IM GLÜCK website giving you the possibility to create your own Hazienda maps. Especially if you want to play Hazienda with only two players, this is a very good option to build a smaller map.

With Hazienda HANS IM GLÜCK once again has published a well-designed and tactical game. Each player can find his own method to win the game due to the well-balanced scoring mechanism. Hazienda also is an interactive game. Especially with three or more players you have a lot of blocking and disturbing elements in the game. The game is not very complex but the tactical elements will fully stretch the players. Although the game does not reach the quality of some other titles of this line (for example Amun-Re), I truly can recommend Hazienda to people who like tactical, not too strategic games.


Looking for this game? Visit Funagain Games!


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Copyright © 2006 Frank Schulte-Kulkmann, Essen, Germany