Gugong

Plays: 4Px1.

The Game

Gugong (which means "the former palace") is a heavy Eurogame from Andreas Steding (Hansa Teutonica, Firenze).

The very first thing I noticed was how pretty these player pieces are. Each ship has a recess which fits exactly three workers. Note that this is not a worker placement game. The workers are just a type of resource. Human Resource.

The board is made up of seven sections. Every section has a spot for one card. The seven sections let you do various things, and ultimately they all help you score points. On your turn you must play a card onto one section, then claim the existing card there to become your hand card in the next round. Normally you have a hand size of four, which means you only get to play four cards per round. The hand size can be augmented. When the card you play is higher than the card you claim, you get to execute the action related to the board section. Otherwise, you need to pay 2 workers to execute the action. If you can't afford it or choose not to spend your workers, you are effectively just swapping cards. This core mechanism of swapping cards is meant to represent bribing officials. On the surface, you are courteously exchanging gifts, but when you give something valuable while the official gives you a token gift in return, everybody knows what's going on.

This is the player board. You don't actually do a lot here. It is mostly a reference card. The top half shows what you do in a round, and the bottom half shows how to score points at game end. The green oval at the bottom is jade. If you have one piece of jade, that's 1 victory point. Two pieces, 3VP, and so on. The more you collect, the more valuable each piece is, until the 6th piece onwards, which is worth 2VP each.

These recesses are for keeping workers which are sacrificed when claiming sailing rewards. There is a limit to such rewards. E.g. there is only one space for the double-worker reward, so you only get to claim this reward once per game.

Travel tokens collected when you perform the travel action are to be placed here along the top edge of your player board. Whenever you use the power of a token, you flip it over (none are flipped yet in this photo). You may cash in tokens (used or unused) for rewards. Two tokens for one worker, four tokens for 2VP, or six tokens for one piece of jade.

These are the player cards. Some have an icon at the bottom, which means you get to perform an extra action, provided that the card you play is higher than the card you claim (or you are willing to pay 2 workers).

This section is the emperor's court. Every player has one official here who needs to advance from the gate all the way to the court to meet the emperor. If your official fails to get in the door of the court before the game ends, you automatically lose. You score points if he makes it. You get more points for being earlier than others.

This is the travel section. Every player has a rider who moves about collecting travel tokens. Travel tokens give various benefits.

This is the grand canal or sailing section. You place ships, man them, and move them. The harbours give various rewards. You may claim the reward at a harbour if your ship is fully manned. One of the workers will be sacrificed. Retired, if you will.

This is the intrigue section. Everyone has a pawn which can be advanced. Sometimes you'll get to cash-in its level for some reward. Naturally, the higher the level, the better the reward.

On the right you have the Great Wall section. You send workers here to help repair and extend the Great Wall. Whenever one stretch is fully repaired, the biggest contributing player gets rewarded and all his workers are dismissed. The reward includes gaining 3VP, advancing the official towards the emperor's court, and cashing in the intrigue level. Workers belonging to other players have to stay and continue toiling.

In the foreground is the decree section. The decree tiles are randomly set up at the start of each game, and this gives Gugong variability. Decrees are special abilities you may claim by spending workers and also committing workers permanently, like these ones already on the board. Decrees also have point values.

At the start of every round you roll three dice. These are not the normal 1 to 6 dice. They have a customised distribution and they are not identical. At the end of the round, if you hold cards with these values, you gain extra workers. Using this photo as an example, if you hold a 5 at the end of the round, you'll get two extra workers, because there are two dice showing 5. These dice make some numbered cards more attractive.

This is a double-worker piece. Every player has one, but it is not in play at the start of the game. It is a sailing reward you can claim. You use it like it is one worker, but it has the strength of two. This is useful for subsequent sailing and for building the Great Wall. Siamese twins are cool.

The game is played over four rounds. If your hand size remains constant at four, you'll only get to play 16 cards for the whole game. This is an efficiency game - you need to maximise your card plays and make every action count.

The Play

Every round you need to strategise how to best make use of your cards. It is challenging when you have a hand of low cards. However you are the one making the choices, so you can't blame anyone else. You decide where to play and which cards to pick up for the next round. Starting cards are preset to ensure fairness. It is not always possible to play your cards such that they are higher than the cards you claim. You need to be prepared to forgo actions or to pay workers. This core mechanism presents a puzzle and a challenge, forcing you to prioritise. You don't always get to do what you want to do. Sometimes you want to wait and hope the board situation changes in your favour. As other players take turns, they will change the cards on the board.

Of the types of actions you can do, some need a certain level of commitment in order for the effort to be worthwhile. E.g. if you are going to collect jade, the first few don't score a lot. You need to collect more for a better Return On Investment. Some actions are still worthwhile even if you don't do them a lot, e.g. sailing gives a few specific rewards, and you may only need one or two of them to support your strategy. No need to go all out.

Overall I find the game to be tactical in nature (as opposed to strategic). Just do what's best given the current board situation. Only a few action types need some persistence. For these you need to remind yourself not to neglect them.

I (white) was quite the lackey to the emperor. My official was first to rush to court to greet His Majesty.

That silver coin is the next start player marker. It is placed in the intrigue section. Every round whoever is first to perform the intrigue action gets to claim this marker.

The Thoughts

Gugong is a multiple-ways-to-score-points game. Player interaction comes in small ways which are not particularly damaging individually. They are not directly confrontational. E.g. if you buy something earlier, you force others to buy at a higher price. Or you occupy a harbour which someone else was hoping to get to. I feel the theme is rather thin. The game mechanisms are just that - game mechanisms which support and form a coherent and challenging game. I can't quite associate them with actual history.