Harbour Solo Review

Ever wanted to trade by the sea? Harbour brings you to the bustling port of Gullsbottom, full of interesting characters and buildings to acquire and capitalise on. Designed by Scott Almes, there are so many great things about Harbour. First and foremost, the art is excellent and is one of the first things that drew me to this game. The flavour text throughout brings the game to another level, as the world is so endearing and feels like the characters (especially Dockmaster Schlibble) know each other well. Apparently I like a nautical theme for games as well, there’s something exciting about the sea (even though you don’t leave the port in this game). Another fantastic component is the ever-changing market, I love a good economic mechanism in a game and this one is really fun. When you purchase something with a resource, the price shifts for all the other resources that weren’t sold. So timing is key when you sell, if you’re too late, you might not be able to capitalise on the markets. The graphics are really helpful when it comes to have many of each resource you have and which direction the resources move in the market. There’s also so much game for such a dinky box, so it’s a great travel game.

The game is great for player interactions as you visit other people’s buildings and for the dynamic market, but how does it hold up as a single player experience?

Loading The Dock

In order to win Harbour you need the most victory points and you do this by acquiring buildings in said harbour. Buildings have different costs, point values and abilities that can be used throughout the game. There are some key features of the game:

• You obtain buildings by selling your resources (livestock, fish, wood and stone) on the market (there’s no change in this game), which subsequently changes the value of these resources.
• You gain resources by going to different buildings and performing the action, for example, at the Ranch you gain a livestock for each anchor symbol you have.
• You can’t go to a building someone else is already at.
• Once someone has purchased their fourth building, the endgame is triggered and points are totalled up.

The single player set up is shown below. You place five buildings (number of players +3) in the centre, randomly shuffle the resources on the market board and gain 3 resources of your choice (I gave the Automa one of each resource).

You also have a unique character card (or you could play as the generic Wharfs but who wants to do that?) that has a unique starting building and ability. For example, if you’re Drover, when you gain livestock you’re able to manipulate the price of livestock on the market. Each character also has symbols which are useful throughout the game:

• Anchors can be accumulated and give additional resources for certain buildings
• Coins give $1 discount for buildings purchased (this is also cumulative)
• Top Hats allow you to use other people’s building without paying them (normally one resource your choice)
• Warehouses allow you to keep a resource even after selling it. The more symbols you have, the more you’re able to keep.

The Automa in Harbour is a dummy (in the literal sense, like it’s made of straw and stuff). This Training Dummy has specific actions and characteristics that are listed at the back of its player card. It’s called a Training Dummy for a reason as it doesn’t always make the best plays and it’s more designed for you to learn the game mechanics and building abilities. And it’s great for that, but it doesn’t provide a challenge.

The Training Dummy’s actions are listed on the front and are pretty easy to remember. The Training Dummy will visit buildings in order, skipping over any building you’re at and then it’ll return to its starting building to try and buy another building. If not, it’ll discard and replace a building in the centre line. If there are any trades that happen in the centre line, it’ll prioritise more valuable resources and remove less valuable resources. If there are any actions it can’t take (and there are some buildings it’ll never understand), it gains one of each resource.

At the beginning, it feels like the Training Dummy is rolling in resources but it’s easy to outmanoeuvre it as its actions are predictable. You know when you have to buy a building before the Training Dummy messes up the market, which is something that’s harder to mitigate in a multiplayer game. As you gain better bonuses from the different symbols, the game becomes a race to get four buildings, whereas in a multiplayer game there’s more strategy about which buildings to take, using other people’s buildings and the first to finish doesn’t necessarily win. The Training Dummy normally has enough money to buy a building every time it gets back to its starting building.

Despite the relative simplicity of the single player experience, it’s still fun figuring out the best way to gain and exchange resources. The icons of the buildings make it really easy to know what each one does. The resource system is excellent and using your warehouse and shifting the market is satisfying in of itself. The game is probably best when you think of it as a high score exercise, as you’ll probably beat the Training Dummy. While the Harbour solo mode doesn’t really compare to the multiplayer mode (and I don’t think it’s designed to be), it’s definitely a fun 20 minute experience where you can try the different characters, learn the different buildings and manipulate the market for your gain.