My attraction to the game started when it was first announced, although there were equal parts excitement and skepticism. There were two reasons for my anticipation. First, it was a Luciani game; he has to be my designer of the decade, as his big hits ( Tzolk’in, Voyages of Marco Polo, Grand Austria Hotel, Lorenzo il Magnifico, and Newton) are all big favorites of mine, so any meaty game of his attracts my personal spotlight. Second, the game’s basic concept—generating energy from flowing water, which could be reused and rerouted as it flowed—sounded intriguing and very different. But this also led to my skepticism, as I couldn’t imagine how they could implement this without it being hugely complicated. But I figured if anyone could pull this off, it would be Luciani, so this was my most anticipated title of the year. Each player represents one of the four international companies who are gathering machinery, innovative patents and brilliant engineers to claim the best locations to collect and exploit the water of a contested Alpine region crossed by rivers.

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These are just examples of interactions on the mainboard. The worker placement is also quite tight. Be thankful that each player has their own places to use for building structures, otherwise, the game would be incredibly cutthroat. As the game is, often there are moments where a player will want to curse when the action they want is taken. The map is divided into 3 areas: the Mountains, Hills, and Plains. Water starts in the 4 headstreams at the top of the In addition, each player adds up their residual Credits + Excavators + Cement Mixers (not counting those Put the machineries you must use to build that structure in the open segment of your construction wheel, below the tile you have just placed. Whenever you see this symbol you can activate a production, eventually applying the bonus or malus indicated by the number in purple.

to the supply). The Technology Tile, Excavators, and Cement Mixers will return to you when they eventually circle Income: Receive bonuses on your player board (you also earn these same bonuses at the time you build the structures). (Water is also placed on the Headstream tiles according the number shown on each tile (not in round 5).) Put the technology tile related to the structure you want to build in the open segment of your construction wheel. Barrage is a resource management strategic game in which players compete to build their majestic dams, raise them to increase their storing capacity, and deliver all the potential power through pressure tunnels connected to the energy turbines of their powerhouses.

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It is always built over a Base or another Elevation belonging to your color (there aren't building spaces with the Elevation icon).

I. Income and Headstreams

The Water Drops moved to a Powerhouse thanks to the effect of a production action will then follow their natural course flowing through basins, rivers and Dams. When water arrives at a Dam it stops until the Dam is full; however if the Dam is already full the water simply overflows and continues its course towards the lower basins.

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Conduits cost 2 brown Excavators multiplied by the Energy Production Value of the Conduit (1-5). For example, a will typically be assigned to a specific structure and provide an additional bonus when played. The Patent Office is only Place the Map in the center of the table. The side with no icons is recommended once you have mastered the game.

Components

It is not difficult to parse by any means. It is just one of those games where early decisions are going to fuel how a lot of the game is going to progress. First plays of Barrage run between 120 and 150 minutes and plays better with more players, maxing out at four players. Gameplay Overview: I really like games changing and evolving turn after turn. In Barrage you have to play the first turns trying to maximize your points building up your engine and structures for the last turns where you can really score a lot. Like in Marco Polo I love the contracts mechanics that provide several tactical goals inside a strategic structure. I really suggest to play with the advanced technology tiles.

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Each player receives every component in the color associated with their Company board and a Construction Wheel which must be placed next to their Company board as illustrated below. Each player earns Income Bonuses for the structures they’ve built so far (as indicated by the! symbol). Take the requested Engineers from your personal supply. If you don't have the amount of Engineers (or the additional Credits) in your supply required by the action space, you can't perform the corresponding action. Furthermore, you cannot place Engineers in an action space without performing the corresponding action. The 1st structure you build in a round requires 1 Worker. The 2nd requires 2 Workers. The 3rd requires 3 Workers. AndThere’s another thing I really like about the game that’s somewhat subtle. Because of all the options provided, the intricacies of the game, and how interactive it is, you might think this is a very unforgiving and brutal title. Surprisingly, a) it really isn’t; and b) I like it that way. We’ve found that getting off to a slow start is by no means a death sentence, as the bulk of the points come later in the game. Early actions matter, of course, but there’s still plenty of time to adjust and make some killing plays later on. The other really appealing feature is that you always feel as if you’re accomplishing something—either building things, adding to your infrastructure, or generating energy—and rarely as if you’re just treading water. It gives the game a nicely positive feel that is sometimes missing in complex designs. End-of-round Scoring: Players earn bonuses for the Energy they produced during that specific round. Water Management: Place 1-2 Engineers to place 1-2 Water on any Headstream(s), to be released during the Water Phase, or place 1 Water on any Headstream, which is then immediately released downstream. Over 5 rounds, you’ll be constructing Dams, Elevations, Conduits, and Powerhouses to produce hydro-electric