by JustinRRizzo
MariettaTennis wrote:
You may take multiple bonus actions at the "Coin Bag" location on the board.
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I'll finish by addressing my last point. The Voyages of Marco Polo MAY leave you wondering why it is so highly praised when you finish your first play. My suggestion would be to stop and consider if you really maximized your character's power.
Spending an entire die for 3 measly coins, in a game where you don't make a ton of actions, is more punishing than it is helpful. You will likely have to "run the bag" multiple times, and suck up a lot of turn potential to do so, especially if playing with more than 2P (since you will need the coins to make moves).
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The game is, in my opinion, too tight and too short. It's difficult to accomplish more than one thing, which is unsatisfying, and it's generally super expensive to do so.
I personally hate games that have fixed number of turns/rounds, especially when they are low numbers. I'm not sure why the gaming community, and designers, are fixated on this. I have kept Tzolkin and Castles of Burgundy because they offer *just* enough turns per game to satisfy me. Lorenzo has stayed because we house-rule the 2P board, and because again, with 24+ actions, it just barely eeks out satisfaction AND it has a fascinating use of dice.
With VOMP, you get 5 rounds and 5 dice. The problem is that this does not equate to 25 actions, which would be great. If you opt to travel or use the bazaar each round, that equates to less than 20 moves per game, even if you buy black dice. Blech! And the "use your lowest die number" rule is repulsive, no one I played with like it. Paying the lower number is fine, but USING the lower number is not "fun".
It might sound like I hate this game. But in reality, I really loved so much about it and was almost desperate to keep it. However, the restrictions, the brevity, and the punishing design choices really soiled it for the wife and I. Thankfully the designers have other titles which have allowed us to fill the void. I can't wait for the expansion for Lorenzo.