For those who enjoy the base game, Orleans offers several expansions and variants that can further enhance the gameplay experience. It is 1598, and you have settled in the middle of France in the city of Orléans on the Loire. Your goal is clear: Build a cathedral in Orléans — all of you together because only together can you meet this challenge! Farmers Adds; Like the roads, the farmers should not be forgotten – they give you food which might avoid the misfortune of losing 5 coins in some turns. The items also score points and going far on this path can be worthwhile. Especially if you can bury the farmers on the board waiting for other tokens to circle round. Time is always a pressing issue. The cathedral must be completed in the third round at the latest, and if a tile can no longer be placed elsewhere with an action, it must go into the bell tower, with that tower’s toll ending the round.

The game isn’t necessarily a, “real time” game but drawing from your bag and assigning townsfolk can be done simultaneously to speed up play. So which? Orleans narrowly takes it for me, having the expansions and the options within the game. However, I do like the movement and streamlined nature of Altiplano. Maybe get both?! Orleans: Invasion – This cooperative expansion requires players to work together to defend the city of Orleans from outside threats, adding a new layer of strategy and cooperation to the game. Action selection. Everyone has the same player boards in front of them and (unlike a-symmetrical games like Scythe) it’s about trying to acquire workers for your unique strategy. Though you all have the same options, what road you go down is your own. In Orleans, players assume the role of powerful leaders seeking to expand their influence and fortune in the bustling city of Orleans and its surrounding provinces. The game is played over a series of rounds, with players taking turns to perform various actions such as recruiting followers, constructing buildings, and gathering resources.Orleans: Stories – This narrative-driven expansion adds a campaign mode, where players can progress through a series of scenarios with evolving objectives, rules, and components. These expansions introduce new mechanics, additional components, and alternative ways to play, ensuring that even the most seasoned Orleans players will continue to find new challenges and excitement in the game:

During medieval Orléans, you must assemble a following of farmers, merchants, knights, monks, etc. to gain supremacy through trade, construction and science in medieval France. For me, the co-operative Invasion scenario is the stand-out in the expansion box. The duel was also great, but I did win it on the first play-through, which gives us less motivation to play it again. It seemed like we were both going to lose it, and if you did, I think you’d be desperate to play again to try and win. We also need to try the additional 1-5 player competitive scenario. This game is quite simply, amazing. It’s very easy to learn but can become quite the brain twister as you try to determine what “townsfolk” you want to put into your bag for the next round. You’ll have 28 rounds to pull it all off. Those 18 rounds are determined by (3X)6 tiles that are randomly shuffled before the game. Maybe in the second round you’ll have to pay 1 coin for the goods you just acquired? Maybe everybody else will get one coin for every trade house they built on the map while you failed to do it because...THATS JUST NOT YOUR STRATEGY!. Players must strategically allocate their drawn followers to various actions on their player board. Each action requires a specific combination of follower types to be completed. The available actions include:Tech for Village; Tech from craftsman is a powerful bonus action that has more effect the earlier you play it. The more turns it is on the board the more you will be able to use it. Getting tech starts with a tech that will cover a farmer – that farmer should be the one for the village. If that’s not immediately obvious, I see it as key because this farmer is one of a three piece set and because this action will be the one that allows you to get more tech. The Duel scenario didn’t ignite my passions in quite the same way, partially becauseOrléansis already a sound two-player experience, but it probably does just about define itself as my preferred way to play two-playerOrléans. OverallOrléans Invasionis a very solid expansion that I strongly recommend to anyone who enjoyed the base game. Fiona’s Final Thoughts Looking for an engaging and strategic board game experience that takes you on a journey to medieval France? In this Orleans Board Game Review, we will provide an in-depth analysis of this award-winning game. Throughout the game ypu’ll be challenged on your strategic planning and resource management skills. With that in mind, let’s explore the heart of Orleans and discover why it’s earned a spot on our board game shelf.

Also, in the base game, the Town Hall Beneficial Deeds board is a bit boring, but it’s the only way to thin your followers from your bag, so you will use it.Player interaction is mid-range with it mainly be racing to get the citizens or build in the nearest areas on the map. Also, in the base game, the Town Hall Beneficial Deeds board is a bit boring, but it's the only way to thin your followers from your bag, so you will use it.Player interaction is mid-range with it mainly be racing to get the citizens or build in the nearest areas on the map.

Expansions and Variants

The game takes place in the Loire region in medieval France, with Orleans being at the heart. You’ll aim to move around the area from town to town, whether that’s by canal or by road. Can you build trade houses along the way? (If so, you’ll get rewarded in the form of ye olde victory points!) Orleans is a Euro-style strategy game, so whoever has the most points at the end of 18 rounds wins. Monks; Monks can be anything. Get as many of them, as early and with as little else in your bag. This is the way to be flexible. this is the way to always maximise your actions. Don’t end up with more monks than you need, but in reality this is almost impossible as everyone will rush for the monks.

However, unlike in Orleans, there is not as much to do with the harder to get resources, other than score points. This makes things simpler, as everyone is broadly following the same path to attempted victory, but you lose the options you have in Orleans. Prosperity : An extensive scenario introducing new Events and a Carpenter that all players may use to build Structures for victory points, designed by Inka and Markus Brand. At it’s heart, Orleans takes place on your player mat. You can send the Followers that you draw each round to locations to accomplish certain deeds. Send the right quantity – or specific combination – of Followers to locations, and you could earn more Followers.Randomness of the workers. That’s to say, you randomly unveil workers that you then have to distribute in the best way possible. Games like Alien Frontiers. Orleans can be a little overwhelming at first as you try to get to grip with the options.The gameplay is straightforward though, and everything on your player board makes sense. It’s especially important to have everything out and set-up as you explain how to play. Set-up is going to take a while too. I’ve upgraded my copy with the fan kit which lets you use meeples instead of the cardboard chits for characters, and technology, plus a fifth player. Want more gold? Recruit boatmen, more resources, farmers. Craftsmen offer technology which can be permanently added to one space on your player board - making it cheaper forever. The trader gets you a choice of extra buildings, which are basically extra action spaces for you. The monks act as a wild follower and I've already mentioned the knights and scholars. There’s also two new Beneficial Deeds boards. It’s a double-sided board, each providing cool new rewards and bonuses. You send Followers here to go on permanent ‘placement’. (Thinking of Orléans as having worker placement traits to it; you place the Followers here, to gain the stated reward.) Before receiving theInvasionexpansion, we hadn’t played a whole lot of Orléans, but the games we did play were really enjoyable two -player experiences.Orléans Invasionis a big box expansion forOrléans which contains lots of scenarios designed by both the original designer and by Inka and Markus Brand who are also really well renowned designers.