51st State: Ultimate Edition – Second Opinion

This is an excellent game made better by having even more. Even if you have a copy of the Master Set as I do, having the 51st State Ultimate Edition is, in my humble opinion, worth having. Here is why.

It may not be my favourite game, but it is one of my favourites. It is a game I generally don’t turn down the opportunity to play. Ever since I first played this game and then bought the Master Set, I have enjoyed the gameplay and enjoyed a game which has more options for play than perhaps you may think at first sitting. So, when the ultimate edition was available I bought it without hesitation.

Quick recap on the rules

Each player plays a different faction. They are very similar but there is a little asymmetry in that each faction has a slightly different trade ability and income. Then each turn there is a card draft phase and players draw cards that represent locations in their expanding tableau, representing their new empire or distinct cultural group. The locations can give income by way of resources or grants abilities to gain resources or victory points.

Then in the action phase, players are developing their tableau either by adding or developing locations, setting up deals with traders and settlements nearby or by raiding locations for spoils.

Players then continue until the end game is triggered, whereby the round in completed and the player with the most victory points wins.

Good features of this game

There is a huge number of cards in the game. So much so that it is unlikely you will get through the deck in a game. The downside is that the deck is very random and that can be difficult to plan ahead when there so many cards you will never get the chance to access. On the upside, there is so much replayability. There are expansion decks, some of which work well together and others you choose what to play.

Overall, I do like the range and replayability of 51st State. Whether this is because of the range of factions, which admittedly is only nine, the four basic, four expansion and a promo faction, the range of cards or the fact that every game forces you to adopt different strategies as you react and adapt to what the game throws at you.

Another feature I like is the asymmetry. This isn’t just a feature of the factions, but there are multiple routes to gaining resources and scoring victory points. Yes, there are three key categories, namely, construct or develop a building, make a deal or raze a location, but what you do and when will vary a lot based of the options each turn, so even with faction abilities, there is so much choice potentially available, it pays to be flexible.

This includes being watchful regarding what your opponents are doing as sometimes opportunities to use an open location or to raze a location are too good to miss. Whilst it may feel that there isn’t a huge level of player interaction, you need to also watch your opponents’ progress to understand their strategy as there often will be opportunities to impact on this, often by razing a location, and hamper their progress as well as promote your own. I should also mention that whilst it may seem quite harsh having locations razed, it’s not necessary that harmful. Of course, a location granting you an action to gain victory is not one you want razed, but you do get some compensation and you can overbuild the ruins.

I would also add that the flavour and theme are there too both in the mechanics and the artwork and components. It’s a quality production and at the price point I thin it is good value for money.

Components

The components are very good and there a great storage solution which includes extra space for the ninth Uranopolis faction, not available as standard, as well as all the resources and cards. There is a great range of cards too and that includes several new decks to either mix in or use as an individual option. In addition to what is available in the 51st State Ultimate Edition, there are also extras to can buy from the kickstarter game available from Portal Games. The components overall are good quality. The kickstarter resources are a little too fancy and I’m not that fussed by these, but I do like the storage solution and everything fits well!

Convenience

There is a lot to be said for having a good game that’s fairly easy to play and teach, fairly quick to set up and reasonably quick to play. It’s not a filler, but it fits a nice spot in weighting as a game that won’t take a long time to play, but it will still deliver a satisfying experience.

Overall

You could easily just play the Master Set and have a great game, but honestly, for the price point with Zatu it is a great choice to upgrade to 51st State Ultimate Edition. It is great value and will deliver time and time again.