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Welcome to Darjeeling
One of life’s small pleasures is a nice cup of steaming-hot tea, with a biscuit or two. However, as any tea-lover will testify, brewing a nice cuppa is far from straightforward. Just ask (if he was still alive) George Orwell, who dedicated an entire essay to the subject. Make it too weak and you will end up with milky dishwater, leave it brewing too long and it will taste like paint-stripper. Of course, each to their own, some like a watery beverage, whilst others aren’t happy unless they can stand the spoon up in the mug. However, most of us prefer a happy medium (maybe we could ask them to contact Mr Orwell) – a nice rosy cuppa in a favourite mug – bliss.
In Alubari players compete to set up their very own tea plantations and co-operate to build the Darjeeling and Himalayan Railway. Actually, co-operate is probably too strong a word, this is a pretty cutthroat game. Each player only has two workers, with the possibility of dragging a third from the local tea house. Despite having fewer workers to call upon than in many other worker-placement style games, the spaces to which you can assign them are very limited which leads to fierce competition.
No Time for a Tea Break
Workers can be employed to clear rubble in order to claim tea estates, but waste not want not, this debris can later be used to help build the various stations along the line. Stations obviously need connecting by rail, so players will also be collecting iron ore and other resources, before forging rails and laying track. Extra points and useful bonuses can be earned by purchasing equipment, such as trains and warehouses. Tea can be harvested, and chai can be brewed, a wonderous concoction that improves the work rate of your team of workers.
Players also collect contract cards; these have to be fulfilled by the end of the game to score points. Each contract will require a player to have built a combination of stations, track and tea estates, alongside supplying tea itself. Acquiring these cards requires extra careful consideration since each one not only provides an end game scoring opportunity but also rewards the player with a one-time-use special bonus. These include improving your team’s work rate and allowing you to convert resources.
A Storm Brewing
The efficiency of actions is affected by the ever-changing climate. Alubari may be thousands of miles away from the stark beauty of rural Wales, which was the backdrop for the designer’s previous big hit, but even in the lush Himalayan foothills, rain and fog can still interfere with your plans. No one wants to work in the pouring rain, although it does help your tea to grow.
Whilst rain only reduces the efficiency of some actions, fog can actually prevent your workers from doing certain tasks like laying track. I guess that it is pretty imperative to be able to see which way you are heading, At least the forecast is a lot more reliable than the BBC, making it possible to carry out a bit of forward planning. There is also a neutral player who adds to the tension by claiming their own estates, building tracks and stations, usually at the most inopportune of times.
The Elephant in the Room
Any review of Alubari needs to address the elephant in the room, although this particular beast is probably hauling railway sleepers up the side of the Himalayas. Yes, Alubari does have a lot in common with Tony Boydell’s previous masterpiece, Snowdonia. I would say that they share about 90% of the same DNA. So, if you already have Snowdonia, is this worth adding to your collection, or if you are thinking of buying for the first time, which one should you go for?
If you already own Snowdonia, then Alubari can be considered as a rather expensive expansion. It is a very nice expansion, with a refreshing change of scene and a few new tricks to learn but it will feel familiar. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is a matter of individual choice. New players have a much easier decision to make. The original Snowdonia is tricky to get hold of at the moment, the original has been out of print for some time and the recently released deluxe edition, complete with a vast number of expansions, is also tricky to track down. I’d say give Alubari a try, it may never receive the same level of support as Snowdonia, but it is still a very good game in its own right.
For me, Alubari hits just the right level of complexity. It is not a bland, milky apology, neither is it a headache-inducing over-brewed mess. Alubari is indeed a very nice cup of tea.
