'Die Fursten von Florence' by Richard Ulrich & Wolfgang Kramer - 07/03/01
Dicken arrives at Kendall' s house somewhat later than usual and, perhaps as a result finds the place quiet and orderly, with all three children safely tucked up in bed. A remarkable achievement, as Sandi had left Kendall to complete the washing-up whilst she whistled off for a late night binge in Sainsbury' s. Dicken chooses not to comment on the bath in the living room and the toilet in the hall. Kendall thrusts some expense claims into Dicken's hand and begins a monologue of other Ragnar chores completed that day. It's Kendall's school holiday and he has to do something to keep himself off the streets. However, telephone calls to unsuspecting museum proprietors have reaped lacklustre results, leaving Kendall's conversation equally lacklustre. How do those telephone sales people do it ? And, what are they like at the end of a day?
Hearing their father's excited tones, Kendall's two daughters troop downstairs with some pathetic excuse. "Have your friends arrived yet?", "Is it morning?". They are roundly sent on their way. Spiller arrives, but doesn't mention the bath or toilet.
Tonight's game translates as 'The Princes of Florence' , bought for Kendall as a Christmas present by Phil. Before setting-up a few quiet moments are spent considering the end of Phil's glittering career as a footballer. It's now two weeks since the shock news of Phil's knee ligament injury, sustained at the Slaithwaite 5-a-side court. Apparently, "... it just went!" during the Tuesday night ageing professionals (teachers, dentists etc.) match. Phil has been on crutches ever since, unable to bend his knee more than "... 30 degrees !" - which we have translated as 150 degrees - and today he goes under anaesthetic as the surgeon goes through the keyhole to see what's wrong.
This is the second time of playing and Dicken kindly reminds the others of his victory last time. It's generally supposed that we now know how to play, but setting-up requires attention in order to get the lay-out of the many components just right. It's worth referring closely to the German rules for this. Phase A components go on the left of the board and Phase B components go on the right. Four personality cards are dealt to each player and one is discarded back to the deck. Now what do all these German words mean....?
Spiller interrupts to tell the best joke of 2001 thus far - "How many Freudians does it take to change a light bulb?" Answer: Two. One to change the bulb and one to hold the penis .. sorry, ladder". This may also lose something in the translation, but it's worth trying at home. Dicken promises to tell it to the psychologists at work.
It's Dicken to start - he with the longest .... hair. His first task is to decide which of the Phase A components to bid for. These include; woods, parks, seas, jugglers, architects, Prestige cards and Abwerbekarten (often) - but not often enough. For those of you not in the know, 'The Princes of Florence' is all about producing great works of art during the Renaissance period. To do this your artists (Personenkarten) need to exist in a fertile environment of buildings, woods, seas etc. and enjoy the freedoms of religion, travel and opinion and be entertained by jugglers! Or rather, they will each need some of these.
Your job as player is to purchase what these prima donnas need, then cash in for either money (to buy more) or Prestige points (to win the game). What Dicken needs is a complete re-read of the rules; which is just about what everyone gets by the end of the evening. It's not that things haven't been remembered, it's just that the detail isn't quite there. For example; "What does the bidding start at?", "Two hundred Florins. And don't forget bidding increases by one hundred each time. Really? Did we play that last time?".
Dicken places his marker on See and bids 200 F. Kendall passes, Spiller contests and wins out at 500 F. After a quick referral to the rules Spiller is encouraged to position his 'See' on his player board ( 'Palazzo Azurro' ). This is the hook for this game - and a very good one at that. The Palazzo is a grid where buildings, woods etc. have to be positioned - and its very tricky to get the different shapes to fit just how you'd like it. Get the wrong thing in the wrong place and your whole strategy can be in Pisas. 'See' cannot be bid for again this turn. Dicken tries again and bids for an Architect. 800 F may seem expensive, but Dicken can now erect Buildings for 300 F instead of 700 F. Kendall's bid is uncontested (each player buys just one item in Phase A), so he gets a Wood for 200 F.
So to Phase B. Each player gets to complete two actions in Phase B. Most important of these is 'Produce a Work' - a player reveals one of his Personenkarten, adds up the point for the 'artistic environment' (this phrase doesn't appear in the game, but it might help) and scores it on the Success Track. The Success Track is a simple piece of kit, being a track numbered 0-50. The only slight confusion comes from having two markers each; one to record the value of a Work, the other to record the Prestige points scored. Slight though the confusion, Spiller finds plenty of scope for error. Don't forget Buildings (of different types, shapes and sizes mind) can only be erected in Phase B. The other things you can do in Phase B ...... sorry .... I can't go on .... you'll have to read this for yourself, folks. By the way, Stuart Dagger's translation of the rules is something of a Work in its own right. Particularly admirable is the passage beginning: Translator: The German rules are not very well written at this point....
Unfortunately somewhere along the IT super-highway my rules appear to have missed some use of the keyboard Return key. This has resulted in loads of strange, quasi-Germanic conjunctions: "He choose an architect.... More on this under .... ..which again doesn't have ...". Well worth the effort of the read! After ninety minutes play, Kendall is declared the winner. Spiller saw it coming, so didn't play his last turn. Dicken curses roundly and blames his defeat on mis-placing his 'See' early on in the game.
A good game. A great game? We need to try it with more than three - and soon, so that we don't forget too many rules. Phil telephones. He's alive! The surgeon has removed some bits and can confirm that he's damaged his crutiate ligament - another two weeks off work.
Dicken wins the first game of 'Lost Cities' with a staggering score of 81 (remember this is three players), having had seven cards (bonus) in the white suit including three hands. Kendall wins the next three games but still loses and debates whether its the final score or number of games won that really shows who played best. Spiller asks about the bath and toilet. Goodnight.
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