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Kutna Hora is a Eurogame which boasts a dynamic economy. Players will take turns mining, building and organising the construction of St. Barbara's cathedral. By the end they’ll have created the bustling Prague town of Kutna Hora.
Silver Setup
As with most Eurogame's, Kutna Hora has a lengthy setup. First players choose the board which applies to their player count, then they setup the mine, dish out guild factions and organise town budlings in the market. On top of that, players also need to setup up their own player boards, grab their 6 action cards and receive their starting coins. Once all this has been done, the final thing to do is prepare the cathedral pieces and stack the economy cards into cardboard stands.
With the setup complete, how do you play and win this beast of a game?
Understanding Actions
During each round, players will be able to do 5 actions. On their first turn they can do 2 actions, the same again on their second and on their final turn they can do 1. Actions are dictated by whichever card the player chooses. The action cards have multiple uses, which means they can do 2 actions, but players must select which one they are using the card for. This makes each turn strategic, as if you use the wrong cards, you may stop yourself being able to do an action later. With only 5 or 6 rounds in the game, players don’t have many actions to spend. So, what are the actions?
Mine Action: Players can select a mine tile and place it in the mine. To do so, they must pay the cost of wood shown on the mining tile they are next to. Mines can increase your coal output and change the pricing of items. Stars on mines can win you points at the end of the game as well.
Rights Action: If you want to build, you first collect the rights of the building. To do this, players pay the cost of the rights depending on where it sits in the building market.
Plot Action: Before you can build, you have to plot. Players select a plot on the town map. This plot has to be next to an existing building. A plot costs the amount shown on the building next door. If players earn enough reputation, plotting costs 1 coin.
Building Action: Once you have acquired the rights and a plot, you can finally build. Players pay the cost of wood to build. Once placed, they receive the bonuses of the building. Players can only build public or allocated guild buildings.
Income Action: To get money to build and mine, players must take the income action. Looking at their player boards, players work out how much of each commodity they have. After, they check the economic standings and take coins from the bank. Later, they can receive income and pay 10 coins to place a Patrician.
St. Barbara Action: By placing public buildings, players can receive pelican tokens. These are used to help construct St. Barbara. By taking this action, players can receive one-time bonuses.
Joker Action: This action lets you do any of the above, but it comes at a loss to your reputation. If you earn enough reputation, the Joker action can be taken with no negative effect. Reputation is earned by placing public buildings or constructing St. Barbara.
Players will continue using action cards each round to build up their economies and earn victory points for end of game scoring. Yet, building a stable economy isn’t easy when the price is always changing.
A Dynamic Economy
As you go through the game your actions will change the market. This element of the game is hard to guess which may irk those that like to plan ahead. For me, this was a great addition. I enjoyed the unpredictability of the economy as you could profit from another player’s actions. It also felt true to life as it isn’t easy knowing when prices may increase or plummet. The economy is controlled by the movement of cards within the cardboard stands. Cards are either moved to the back of the deck or the cardboard sliders are moved along. Both affect the price of items in different ways.
If a player builds too many of one building, they will find that the price of that item will reduce. It may reduce to the point where they can no longer build that type until the price improves. This is a huge game changer and mixes things up. Alternatively, if a resource becomes in demand, a building of that type is removed from the game and the slider shifts. This mechanic sets Kutna Hora apart from other Euro’s but the unpredictability of it won’t be to everyone’s taste.
At the end of the game, players will be scored on their final income, so you need your goods pricey. To do this, you must build, mine and gain the support of Patricians. All of these mechanisms will help you increase your income but also give you victory points. But who are the Patricians?
The Role Of Patricians
If you didn’t think Kutna Hora had enough going on, you're in luck as there is one more scoring mechanic to throw into the mix. At the end of the game players will earn points for their buildings, the mines they explored, income and reputation. Along the way, they can earn bonus points by adding a Patrician to the town council.
Patricians are added to the pool when a public building is constructed. Players can then put them on the council during their income action. If they do this, they can score this Patrician during the final rounds. This can lead to a lot of bonus points. However, the only downside is, everyone scores the Patrician bonus. Who said democracy was always a good thing? Yet, the more Patricians you have the more points you can receive. Points can be awarded for mines in a row, pelican tokens, public building adjacency or houses removed.
Sadly, this mechanic wasn’t my favourite. With so much going on in the game, this addition felt tacked on. Also, as every player scores, it can be hard to place a Patrician without helping someone else out. In a 4-player game this becomes particularly tricky. You have to monopolise one area to make sure your Patrician points pay off. This felt underdeveloped, and I do wonder if the company has plans to build upon this in an expansion.
A Town Complete
With a run time of 30 minutes per player, this game is quite snappy despite its complexity. As the game concludes, players tot up all their points. They are awarded points on the following things:
Buildings: Each building will give you points based on their adjacency bonuses. Every building has symbols on it. The more you match, by placing next to others, the more points you will receive.
Mines: Each row is scored at the end of the game. The player who built the most mines with stars will win points. The runner up will also receive points.
Income: Your final income is divided by 10 and then converted into points.
Reputation: If you’ve paid your taxes, built public buildings or helped construct St. Barbara's cathedral you may have lots of reputation. The more you have the more points you will earn.
Extras: Any unused plots, pelican tokens or rights will earn you 1 point each.
After all that has been calculated, the winner is announced!
Player Count Matters
Kutna Hora shines most when playing at the 4-player count. This is because you feel the push and pull as you fight over land, buildings and mine space. If you take your eye off one area of the game, you will lose the chance to make points. The economy also changes often, making it a much more intense experience as you constantly rethink your plans.
In a 2-player game, event cards are added per round to try and replicate the 4-player experience. Sadly, it doesn’t quite work. These cards simply raise taxes or slightly alter the economy. For the most part, despite a smaller map, the other player rarely gets in your way.
Components And RE-Wood
This review wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t touch upon the theme or components. As I had the deluxe edition it came with packs of metal coins which felt amazing. Also, for a game all about making money, these coins added a huge thematic bonus which made the experience more enjoyable. On top of this, the game’s pieces are made from RE-wood. This material is a mixture of wood waste and recycled binding material. Meaning not only is the game more environmentally friendly but the pieces are detailed and feel great.
All of the components have a nice metallic sheen on them which tie the theme together. It’s great seeing the silver catch the light as you play. Yet, despite this, the components theming could have been stronger. The art on the cards, mining tiles and buildings are all in different styles. This made the overall experience feel less cohesive.
Also, despite the beautiful silver finishes, the look of the game is very dark and lacks overall presence like other Eurogame titles. This game has a strong line up of components and I do enjoy setting it up, but I do feel like there were some missed opportunities to add more and make the theming slightly stronger.
Final Thoughts
Kutna Hora, is a solid Eurogame. There is enough going on to keep you interested and turns are quick, so it doesn’t drag. I found myself wanting to replay it so I could implement new strategies. However, there are a few niggles. Some mechanics and design elements are incohesive and take away from the general experience. Additionally, the gameplays rhythm becomes samey after multiple sessions, regardless of player count.
This game could definitely benefit from more additions to help refine the mechanics. Let’s hope there will be an expansion coming soon, so I can spend more time in this silver infused town.
