Stroganov is live (The Siberian empire)
Update: Stroganov has launched on Kickstarter and the campaign will run for 24 days. You may pledge for a copy of the game. Backers who had paid a yearly subscription on the Game Brewer website will get Stroganov at a discounted price. The Deluxe tier gives you the chance to order a personalized player board with your picture on it.
Our preview post below was published on February 9.
Stroganov is a 1-4 player action selection and worker placement game in which you are a member of the powerful Stroganov family, trying to expand your influence into Siberia. It will launch on Kickstarter on February 15.
In the multiplayer mode, the game lasts four rounds, with each round representing one year. Each year/round is divided into 4 seasons/turns. The first 3 turns (Spring, Summer, Autumn) share the same structure: each player moves, may perform one basic action, and then perform 1 or 2 main actions. On the last turn (Winter), players receive income, turn their stories into songs, and return their Cossacks to their starting tile.
In the Move phase, each player moves their Cossack one or two landscape tiles further on the board. If you wish to move even further, you can spend horse tokens. Then, you can perform one out of 5 basic actions: take a Coin from the supply, take 4 Horses from the supply, Move, Hunt by taking a fur from the tile your Cossack is standing on, or Trade to exchange furs for other goods/benefits.
In the next actions phase, you can perform one main (basic or advanced) action for free, and another if you pay its cost in furs. The advanced actions are: Activate a Village to receive the bonus of the village tile, Use the Yurt for its bonus, Take the Tsar's wish card, Build an Outpost, or Claim a landscape tile to receive its rewards. As mentioned, Winter is for maintenance and arranging any story tokens you have gathered into a song. The player with the most points at the end of the game, wins.
In the solo mode, you play against the Ivan AI which comes with a deck of 18 cards.
PS. Since the beef Stroganoff/Stroganov dish was named after this Russian family of wealthy merchants, I am giving you the link to the recipe. :)