If a player has his fifth point card (with 2 or 3 players, his sixth), the game ends after the current round. For me, Spice Road excels over the older game thanks to its more interesting theme and gameplay that offers a far more engaging set of player options due to its combination of deckbuilding-lite drafting and resource trading, in comparison to Splendor’s more one-note collectathon.

Meanwhile, this year part three has just been let loose into the wild, with A New World offering a twist on the worker placement mechanism. Remember, the winner is not the one who completes the most Points cards, but rather the accumulation of their values. Once purchased, all Merchant cards slide one space to the left and a new card is added to the end of the row.The clever thing about these three games is that as well as being excellent gateway games in their own right, any two of the three can amalgamate, providing a new bumper-game, entirely. Century: Spice Road can accommodate two to five players – however, we recommend playing it at three players and up (at two players it can become a bit predictable). Spice Road also supports one extra player and comes in a more travel-friendly box – small but meaningful differences.

Shuffle these and then deal out five face-up in a row, starting next to the pinch bowls, left to right. At the end, Points card values are added (among some other things), and you guessed it… Most points wins.The game is ok but for anyone looking to get a bit more involved in strategy this probably inst for you. When any of these are purchased the cards slide down to the left and the space closest to the deck is filled with a new one. The other card everyone starts with – two grey cubes with an upwards-facing arrow – is an Upgrade card.

When played, this allows you to upgrade any two spices in your caravan into the next-most valuable spice, or to upgrade one spice cube twice. It’s important to note: your Caravan card has 10 squares on it, meaning it holds a maximum of 10 spice cubes. I didn’t ask her to play I just set it up and tricked her into playing, and since we have played a game every night of this. You’ve spent the first few turns slowly filling your caravan with the dinky coloured cubes that represent the four spices – turmeric, saffron, cardamom and cinnamon – being traded, exchanging them for more valuable seasonings using upgrade cards and filling out your hand of dealers, who allow you to swap one combination of cubes for another. For someone who struggles with reading and learning rules even I managed to pick this game up within 10 minutes.The last round is triggered once a player has claimed their fifth victory point card, then whoever has the most victory points wins.

I will be looking forward to the next installment of the Century trilogy and it will be great to see how they all work together. When you play Merchant cards, consider placing them in an overlapping row, with the spice icons visible to you (rather than in one heap). I really enjoy Century: Spice Road as it is easy to teach to beginners and also can appeal to more seasoned gamers in trying to complete the perfect spice making engine to get those large point cards. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. In Century: Spice Road, players are caravan leaders who travel the famed silk road to deliver spices to the far reaches of the continent for fame and glory.You may carry out the same exchange as many times as you wish in your train as long as you have the necessary spices. Game is easily played in under an hour, which means we choose to play it more often than most longer games.