CONSTANTINOPOLIS BOARD GAME Review & Tutorial How To Play - Undiscovered Games Episode 39
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2024
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EPISODE 39: Engine Building Greatness features a gem from 2010 called Constantinopolis. I wanted to make this video to motivate you to get this game played! The rulebook can be daunting when you see it, but if you just watch this video, you should be able to read through the rules once and dive right in. The game is not nearly as complex as the rulebook makes it seem. Constantinopolis is an engine-building resource-management euro game that provides such a satisfying gaming experience. Players compete by buying buildings and adding them to their personal tableau, which builds up a little engine that gets bigger and bigger as the game progresses. The buildings generate resources, allow for special abilities, score points, and convert resources. Ultimately, you are trying to ship resources on boats for money and points, and you can also donate resources to the city for points. This game has everything I want in a euro game. It's thinky and crunchy with lots of room to explore different strategies, and the symbology helps you easily remember all the rules (despite the long rulebook). This game is a top-tier game in my board game collection, and I am excited to share it with you here in Episode 39!
RULES CLARIFICATIONS: At 9:39, when discussing the turn order special abilities, I said you cannot take a cube that you already produce. The rule actually states when activating this turn order's special ability of "take 1 cube," you must take a cube that you already produce. This is confusing because later, when you buy cubes at the market , you cannot buy cubes that you already produce. That part I correctly explained. It's just the "collect 1 cube" from the turn order space that I got backward in the video. We had been playing that wrong for years; luckily, I don't think it drastically changed the game, but it is an important clarification. And this rule is hidden in the very back of the rulebook, so it is easy to miss, especially when the market limitation is in bold lettering in the rulebook. Thank you to the kind CZcamsr who commented!
Please note this is not a full tutorial video. It contains a detailed look at the rules of gameplay, I encourage you to please read the rulebook; even though it's long, the rulebook is very well organized, and it does a great job of teaching the game.
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Disclaimer: This video is not sponsored. All the games I feature on CZcams are games I freely choose to feature. The opinions shared are always my own and are presented for entertainment purposes only.
Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
3:10 - Setup & Board Overview
7:05 - Step 1 Bid For Turn Order
11:00 - Step 2 Intro (More Later)
11:21 - Step 3 Production
12:26 - Step 4 Buying Buildings
17:55 - Yellow Buildings & Market
20:40 - Step 5 Draw Contracts
21:14 - Step 6 Intro
21:54 - Step 6 Contract Cards
22:41 - Step 6 Ships
23:50 - Step 6 Example
27:37 - Step 6 Warehouses
29:25 - Step 7 Donations
30:03 - Step 8 Board Upkeep
30:38 - Step 2 Sailing Ships
31:13 - Game End & Scoring
33:16 - Review & Rating
38:07 - Outro - Hry
*SLIGHT CLARIFICATION:* At 9:39, when discussing the turn order special abilities, I said you cannot take a cube that you already produce. The rule actually states the opposite: when activating the turn order's special ability of "take 1 cube," you _must_ take a cube that you already produce. This is confusing because later, when you buy cubes at the _market_ , you are _not_ allowed to buy cubes that you already produce. That part I correctly explained. It's just the "collect 1 cube" from the turn order space that I got backward in the video. We had been playing that wrong for years; luckily, I don't think it drastically changed the game, but it is an important clarification. Sadly, this rule is hidden in the _very_ back of the rulebook, buried in regular text, so it is easy to miss. The market limitation is highlighted nicely in bold lettering in the rulebook, so that one is easy to see. Thank you to the kind CZcamsr who commented below!! Much appreciated!!
It’s official… this is my favorite board game channel on CZcams! This game looks awesome and as usual I’ve never heard of it. Thanks for the awesome overview!
You’re too kind. I appreciate that ☺️ More importantly, I hope you get to try this awesome game sometime soon! Come back and let me know how you like it!
I love as much as you those kind of undiscovered games, Germans the most. Thanks for your precious contribute.
Thank you for the comment! It’s always nice to meet others who share my appreciation for these older games. 😃
The right video at the right time! I've bought Constantinopolis a few days ago on a whim (and at a big discount price). Love your channel, great discovery. Immediately subscribed!
Great timing!! That’s awesome! I hope this video helps and I hope you enjoy the game as much as we do! It gets better the more you play it. Thanks for the sub!!! 😊
That's why mine has been on the shelf. Thank you for making this game much easier to learn.
Haha, that's awesome; thanks for the comment!! I knew I wasn't the only one!! I hope you enjoy this as much as we do. It's a solid game.
Haha ouch! 32 pages of rules 😹 I was surprised as well, one game from the designer. Bumping this one to the top of the playlist. Another awesome episode UDG! Keep it up! 😺
Thanks B7!! Hope you get to try it soon. It’s very satisfying!!
Never played this, but it gives me a Cuba vibe. Onto my wishlist.
Yes!! Good call on Cuba! I should’ve mentioned that one in the video too. Definitely the tableau-building reminds me of that game. It also reminds me of Puerto Rico a bit with the special abilities during the turn order part. Lots of similar vibes to other games, yet this definitely has its own feel. The shipping onto the boats is really interesting in this game. It’s so satisfying when you can ship like 6 contracts at once. I hope you get to try it soon! I love it.
It’s been on my shelf for 3 years or so, but thanks to this video, I’m definitely going to give it a go. Thank you! 😄
Awesome! I am glad I could provide some motivation to "unshame" it! It's a great engine builder... one of my fav engine builders actually. Hope you enjoy it!
Another great game 🎉
Thanks! Further proof you have great taste in games!!!
What perfect timing!! I just took this game off my shelf of shame last week and decided to go over the rules again in hopes of getting it played. I, too, had initially looked at it about a year ago after picking up second hand, looked at the rule book and BGG complexity rating and decided to hold off. But, after revisiting the game and your fantastic video, it doesn't seem daunting at all. I think some of the older games get a higher BGG complexity rating than they probably deserve due to the time they came out. Can't wait to actually get it played!
That's awesome! It seems this video was perfect timing for several gamers, which is pretty crazy! I'm so happy I decided to make this video when I did. I do think this game has a decent amount of complexity and crunch, but not from the rules. The complexity comes from the strategies (which is my favorite type of game). It's a very easy game to remember how to play, and that diagram on the board is a life saver!! I hope you get it played soon. It's one of my favorite engine / tableau building games! Thanks for the comment as always!!
I just order it!!!Your videos are great!!! Keep the good work!!Greetings from Greece!!
Check if you dont know wendake&papua!!
Thank you for the comment! I have not played either of those games. They definitely look like games I would enjoy, so I am adding them to my research list. Thanks for the recommendations!! 😎 I hope you enjoy Constantinopolis! Come back and let me know how you like it!
Excellent video as ever. If I can pick this up somewhere I may well add it to the collection.
Thank you for watching! If you like these types of resource games, I think you will definitely enjoy it!
Sounds and looks like a lot of optimization fun - and it´s easy to purchase. Thanks again! :-)
Easy to purchase is ALWAYS a plus 😉 And yes, it’s optimization fun for sure. That’s a great way to describe it! Use this building to convert these cubes to get money to buy this ship at a discount from this building and then transport these other goods I saved up from last round, etc. It’s a very satisfying optimization puzzle. Thanks for the comment! Hope you get to try it sometime 😃
already asked a seller on the secondary market ;-)@@undiscovered_games
This game is all right...first game you've done that I don't really just love in fact. I use to own it but moved it as after you play it some number of times it does feel like you've pretty much fleshed out what this game does. It's not bad in any way, just also didn't have staying power for me personally.
Thanks for the comment! Hey, 1 out of 42 episodes that you don't love... I'll take it! ;) To elaborate on your comment, I'm curious if you like Puerto Rico and your thoughts comparing it to Constantinopolis? What I find most interesting here is the turn order track & bidding for those special abilities. To me, that solves the main problem I have with Puerto Rico, which is how the clockwise turn order dictates the special actions available to you, and how that can really determine some important outcomes in that game. Here, it's how badly you want a certain ability, how much you're willing to pay for it, and also the turn order not being clockwise. I also like how Constantinopolis deals with resource production & conversion (it feels more streamlined than Puerto Rico, which has lots of text on the tiles & such). I could definitely see what you say about it reaching a threshold where you feel like you've seen all the game has to offer. So far we have played about 10-11 games of Constantinopolis so far and I feel like it has lots of plays left. I'm still discovering some reactionary/tactical plays based on what my opponents do, some other pathways to victory I haven't discovered yet. But again, I can definitely forsee a time in the future where I've played this game enough... not quite there yet! Thanks again for watching & commenting! I appreciate it!
@@undiscovered_games Yeah I agree this game does fix turn order problem and overall this game is a fine set of mechanics sitting on a solid chassis of a game. What i believe to be the problem is the game landed in the laps of Fantasy Flight Games. Not a bad game publisher at all, but let's face it Euro games just are not their forte. In my experience their attempts at Euros show them give up on a game too quickly. My feeling is this game had some more chrome to it from the get go (the kinds of things that would extend the playability ofthe game) and they probably culled some of that out thinking (like FFG does) that ship the expansion when successful. Yet when the game isn't an instant success (as they aren't really known for Euros) they just give up on it. Exodus Fleet is another game that excellently fixes the Puerto Rico issues and I love that game.
@@IamTHoiA thanks for the detailed reply! I think you’re probably right about FFG. It’s sad when the business side of the industry takes precedence over the games themselves, but such is the way of the world I guess. I have not played Exodus Fleet so I will definitely be doing some research!! Thanks for the tip!
Just a little note: at 9:47 you said that you cannot take a cube that you already produce, whereas the rule said: "he must choose a type of good that he can produce"
Whoa! That's crazy! I see it in the very back of the rulebook, and you are correct. I apparently got that mixed up with *buying* cubes at the market. You are never allowed to *buy* cubes that you already produce. However, as you said: On the turn order space (where you get the special ability to collect 1 cube) you *must* collect a cube of a type you already produce. That's wild! Luckily I don't think that will drastically change the game either way, but we have been doing that turn order ability incorrectly for years!!! It is in the fine print in the very back of the 32-page rulebook haha! Wow! You would think they would've put that in *bold* lettering. Thank you for clarifying! I will pin a comment at the top.
Another fantastic video! This game looks really fun. It does seem like, in the design of this game, there may have been a missed opportunity for there to be more use out of the player board, when/where placing the buildings. Something a kin to Castles of Burgundy perhaps.
Like every other video you make, though, you make me really want to play this.
I can definitely see what you mean with the Castles of Burgundy correlation! In that game, the player board is the main focus. In this game, the player board is mainly just for storage/organization. I really think the main focus of Constantinopolis is supposed to be those ships and building up your ability to get as many contracts shipped as possible (and doing so more efficiently than your opponents). The buildings are just a means to an end in that regard. It’s hard to get a feel for the gameplay by watching my video, but when you sit down and play the game, you’ll find yourself laser-focused on shipping. You're trying to figure out how to ship more and more cubes each round (it feels less about how the buildings work together, although that's an important part of your engine). But yes, some extra stuff on the player board would certainly add an interesting layer to the game! Maybe something like building your tiles left to right and triggering some bonus resources when you cover up a certain space? Or grouping certain colors together to trigger an ability? It’s an interesting thought! Maybe you could come up with a variant and post it on BGG? 🤔 That would be awesome! Thanks so much for the comment and for watching the video! I hope you get to try this wonderful game soon. It’s awesome.
@undiscovered_games Almost caught up on all your vids and I'm basically going to write every game, I haven't yet played, on a list to play. Definitely including this one!
Awesome! I am so happy you're enjoying the channel. I try to focus on sharing my favorite discoveries over the past 12 years in the hobby. We play a _ton_ of games that never make it to the channel, so my goal is to have a channel filled with videos of games worth checking out. I genuinely hope you enjoy them all as much as we have! Let me know which ones are your favorites as you try them out!
@undiscovered_games Will do for sure! I just need to find more gamers that are as into as I am. Been putting together a game room etc and trying to make it as appealing as possible but trying to build up a loyal gaming group has proved difficult. My wife has been pretty busy but will soon have more free time. Also slowly getting my 7 year old into it.
That's great! If you build it, they will come! We have been trying to get our 6-year-old into it too, but it's still too "boring" for her. She loves Blue Lagoon and is crazy good at it, but she just doesn't enjoy sitting still that long, which I understand. Best of luck on your game room and getting a group together. I know that can be difficult and frustrating at times. All my regular game groups are former non-gamers who I've converted into gamers over the years. I just started forcing all my family, friends, and colleagues to play games with us all the time, and many of them got super into the hobby. Now we do regular gaming meet-ups with various groups of them. I still attend some of the local gamer meetups too, but I don't need to rely on that anymore, which is a good place to be. Stick with it and you'll find some regulars!
Thanx! Looks cool! Do you think it is possible to do a solo variant?
Thanks for the comment and great question! I bet it would be possible, but I am not very good at coming up with solo variants haha. The things you’d really have to focus on would be how to resolve that bidding for turn order part, and making the buildings more limited so you couldn’t buy whatever you wanted all the time. I found this thread on BGG which you might find helpful as a starting point- boardgamegeek.com/thread/713992/page/1
Thanx. Will check it out!