MASSILIA

All the excitement of the Vieux Port when the city was still called Massilia. Board game for 2-4 players aged 12 or more ...

Massilia... Its strategic location on the Mediterranean, has made an important trading port of the Roman Empire, bringing prosperity to the city.

Its market has become one of the most popular on the coast, and merchants are fighting to be able to install their stalls. Competition is tough to make a fortune, especially since the customer is demanding. This requires having well-stocked stalls to attract the wealthy and increase its reputation ...

But be careful not to incur the wrath of the consul as this could cost you. However, you can always count on the gods and goddesses others to give you a boost, with some course offerings. And yes everything is paid in this world ...

The development of Massilia started in late 2009. For 2 years, the game will know many wanderings with no fewer than five different versions of the game.

Each version was playable in itself and received a good reception from the public during the tests but it failed each time a little something to make a game editable to me.

Late 2011, the little something that was missing is finally lifted with the fifth version of the game that offers much more interaction between players and much more chance controlled.

This is the fifth version of the game today that I invite you to discover and support.

MASSILIA is a trading game where each player plays a dealer who will seek to prosper in order to obtain the best reputation of the city at the end of the day. To achieve your goals, you will have to implement new stalls on the market of Old Port, buy at the best prices of goods at the port to feed your stalls and bring customers to sell your goods at the best time. To help you in your task, you will be able to request the help of gods and goddesses making offerings. Finally, if all this is not enough, you'll also be able to buy your reputation. And yes, everything can be bought in this world even the reputation.

The game lasts seven rounds represent the seven days of the week. In each round, players can use a certain number of dice that they choose into a common pot, to achieve specific actions. There are four colors of dice, each representing a specific action, such as buying goods at the port, moving clients or consul, making offerings to gods and goddesses, or buy a reputation (and yes we are at Massilia do not forget it). The value of the dice showing the number of times that the player can perform the action. Of course, it all depends on the player's resources, its level of development and its position in the tower, his choices and choices of other players.

Game of opportunism, Massilia remains no less a game where players can plan their strategy over several turns, some important informations are known by everyone enough time in advance.

A little video of the rules of Massilia (in french) site du Repaire des jeux

Since filming the video, a few rule changes have taken place at the margin. This does not change much in the game itself. It was just to make things more consistent and logical.

MASSILIA could be summarized as: What choice do based on what can be interesting for me and what I give to others players, and in what order I make my choices knowing that a choice will perhaps not be available when it will be again my turn to play or much less interesting due to the action of another player.
The central mechanic is based on the multiple choice to be done at the right time, depending on the strategy that the player will be set and the opportunities that arise.

The mechanic of actions:

At the beginning of each round, each player rolls the present dice before him (these were the dice that the player used in the previous round) and can make them all available to all players or paying some a number of sesterces to keep one or more . Then each player can either use a available dice (common dices or his private dices) and play an action, either to end his turn and position themselves for the next turn, earning sesterces in passing.

When a player takes one die, he made many times the specific action to the color of the dice that the value of the dice who has chose. However, with some cards "god" he has acquired by offerings to the gods, the player will be able to adjust the value of the dice made of +1 or -1 or act on other parameters of the game as change the color of dice, or act on the sale price and purchase goods. Players will also be able to act on the dice by taking tokens "malus". These tokens "malus" give negative points at the end of the game.

The market mechanic:

The price of goods is defined by tiles PRICES (4) placed for the different stocks of goods available (purchase price) and before the temple (selling price). In each round, the tiles "prices" are moved up a notch in the direction of clockwise, thereby changing the value of buying and selling goods. It also helps to know in advance the cost of purchasing various goods and cost of sales. All goods are sold at the same price.
However, if the goods are all sold at the same price, their value in point of reputation will not be the same. Each commodity has a value that will vary from 1 to 3 throughout the game. When a player buys a commodity at the port, it will lower its value automatically. Conversely, when a player sells goods at the market, it will automatically increase its value.

The element of chance:

MASSILIA uses dice and who says game with dice, said the important chance. However, the importance of chance will be controlled and reduced here by the number of dice available (between 12 and 16 dice with the number of players) accessible to all players but also the opportunity to act on dice value via adjustment variables related to the gods card that each player may acquire or taking token "Malus" that will certainly lose points late on but, if properly used, you allow to score more. Finally, players will impacted by random more or less based on their development, their choices and their position in the round. The order of the round will not be linear but chosen by the players themselves.

The interaction between the players:

As with all games that I developed (Mâamut, Vanuatu), the interaction between players is also strong.  It's resulted by the actions of the consul but also through the choices of players, whether for the taken of the dice, moving customers and the consul, or purchase goods at the port. These choices will impact more or less directly to the other players. This interaction gives a  living game where players will not develop it alone in his corner.

For the moment, there are only French rules available. They will be soon translate in english.

Download the French rules

Some pictures take during the game fair of Cannes (France)...

• 1 boardgame
• 4 screens
• 8 markers PLAYER
• 24 tiles STALL
• 4 pawn CHARACTERS
• 21 dices
• 70 GOODS cubes
• 1 ROUND marker
• 3 tiles PLACE IN THE ROUND
• 4 PRICE tiles
• 4 tiles "+50"
• 40  SESTERCE tokens
• 30 MALUS tokens
• 3 POINT OF GOODS tokens
• 55 GOD cards
• 1 Rulebook.

 
Card "goodies" Bacchus:

BACCHUS card brings an additional effect to the game not uninteresting as it will allow a little more control over customers.

Download Rule BACCHUS (FR)

Mini-expansion "The Thief"

This mini extension adds a new character, the thief, who will crack down on the market. At you to profit with the help of the Consul to gain additional reputation.

Download the extension of the rule THIEF (FR)

Here are some explanations and information concerning the proposed counterparties

Recommended Sale Price:

The suggested retail price, ie, the price that is practiced by the shops once the game is available on the market (excluding discounted practiced by some shops) will be 42 €. On average, the proposed counterparties offers about 25% discount on this retail price.

Mini Extension THIEF:

The mini THIEF extension can be purchased in addition to the basic package (€ 30) by adding € 5 to the amount, so 35 €.

Off-print share:

You can choose the god that you require from the 10 deities present in the game: Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Neptune, Pluto, Minerva, Apollo, Venus, Mercury and the god "bonus" Bacchus ".

Hotels Night:

Accommodation in double room in a 3 star hotel located in a minimum radius of 15 km around the room at the choice of KND (breakfast extra and not included). For Essen, the hotel is located at 9km to the fair.

Trade fair in Amiens:

This will take place on 12 and 13 May 2012. On this occasion, the game will be officially presented with several copies of the game demo.

Trade fair in Essen:

This will take place from October 18 to 21, 2012. This fair is the largest game fair in the world  with more than 150,000 visitors.

Participation in the Tric Trac TV:

A person will be randomly selected among those who subscribed to offers qualifying for this counterparty. Travel expenses paid from the Metropolitan France on the basis of a 2nd class train ticket. You can also increase your chances to win. For every € 10 more, an additional sheet with your name will be slipped into the ballot box. Ballot stuffing ;-)

For shipments of the game box abroad:

It remains possible. However you will be required when sending boxes, € 10 for participation in shipping if you live in Europe and 15 € for the rest of the world (Africa, America, Asia, Oceania). You will also be possible to recover the boxes or gaming at the fair in Essen in October 2012. In this case, no participation in the postage will be required.

To offer "group":

Payment is made by one person on behalf of the group. Sending boxes and goodies will be to an unique address. For shipments abroad, participation in the postage will be requested on the basis of 5 € / box regardless of the destination country (without France).

T-shirts:

The T-shirt will be available in several sizes (S to XXXL, male or female). Full Cut T-Shirt: 100% cotton. Double stitching on neck, sleeves and bottom. Fine mesh  for high resolution. 145 g / m² ...

You have the choice of illustration : Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Neptune, Pluto, Minerva, Apollo, Venus, Mercury and the god "bonus" Bacchus ". illustration on the front. Color of T-Shirt : Black. You can see the tee shirts in the news or an example here.

For special offers "Boutique" and "Café games":

Attention. These are special offers for professionals from France.

KND (Krok Nik Douil Editions) is a young company entering its third year, with four games already in catalog. The editorial line of KND try to revisit the big game type (auction, management, development, ...) trying to incorporate new mechanics and a strong interaction between the players, this latter often lacking in these games. The interaction is thus a kind of thread that marks the production of KND and Massilia no exception to this rule, as you will discover through rules and information provided on this page. KND has already published Mâamut, Samarkand Market, Regents and Vanuatu recently.

The website of the Publisher

Since childhood I have always been attracted to the game. If it started as much by the Monopoly and Risk, I quickly discover a more modern production. This will initially be the Valley of Mammoth, Formula Dé and all the range of Ludodélire in the late 80 years before plunging into the german production with Settlers of Catan, Kardinal und Koning, Tikal and El Grande. Since then, the passion still continues with a personal game library that become each year a little bigger. However, from the start, another thing attracted me in the game, namely, the creation process. It began with the modification or adaptation of some games, then by creating my own games. Mâamut will be the first game after long years of wandering, then Vanuatu and finally Massilia. Like Mâamut, Massilia have take a long time of development before that I really like it. A perfectionist at heart, I can satisfy myself with something that not really pleases me .

The author's blog

Maxim is a new illustrator in the gaming world. Massilia being his first game shown. Coming from the world of comics, Maxime was immediately enthusiastic about the project when I contacted him, and as you can see from the items shown on this page has raised easily the challenge facing it proposed. Without a doubt, we will review his name and brushstrokes on other game boxes.

The blog of illustrator