by Christianv
Make Tea, Not War or Fields of Arle: Tea & Trade ReviewFields of Arle is my favourite of Uwe Rosenberg’s games. The game offers an enormous variety of choices each turn and many different paths to victory. Every game plays out differently, and each game you get to try out something new or refine one of your previous strategies. And boy are there a lot of strategies! One game you might focus on travelling, while in another you could try collecting as many animals as possible. Meanwhile, your opponent producing more wool coats than he knows what to do with. And at the end of the game you hardly even care what your score is because you’ve managed to accomplish so much regardless.
At least, that’s how I see it. Granted, I mostly play solo or “co-op” with my girlfriend (we each control 2 action pawns and play 1 board together), so bear in mind while you read this review that I am not judging Tea & Trade by its balance or competitiveness, but rather in terms of the new options it offers to the game.
All the tea in China or What does this game have to offer?
In short, Tea & Trade brings 5 new aspects to the game.
1) A 3rd player: This sounds interesting, but I have yet to try it out. Also, I’m not convinced it will fit on my table. Still, it is a nice option to have and you can always use the 3-player rules to play a quicker 1 or 2-player game.
2) The titular Tea: By far the most interesting addition to the game, Tea is a new resource which allows you to perform actions better (you can pretend your tool marker is one space higher on a given tool track for a single action) or even to perform an action twice! The implications here are profound and Tea can become a highly valued resource which must be spent judiciously to achieve maximum effect.
3) The (other) titular Trade: While Tea explodes the number of options you have on a given turn, Trade is perhaps an even more important addition to Fields of Arle. My main complaint about the base game is that you are almost required to get a large wagon or carriage if you want to progress in the game. Trade lets you go a different path by investing in ships. You have small fishing boats which can upgrade 1 to 2 resources, and alternately provide food if left unused. You also have large trading ships which can be used to upgrade goods, but can also be sent on trade missions to gain valuable items such as Wood, Timber or (you’ve guessed it!) Tea. Not only does Trade give you an interesting alternative to vehicles, but it also addresses one of my other complaints about the base game, namely a lack of access to the ever-valuable Wood. But as with all things in Fields of Arle, you can always just ignore Tea and keep raising your sheep.
4) Ditches: Speaking of sheep, don’t you find it annoying that your sheep can only breed in a shed? Or that you can only plow one small field at a time? Or that you need to waste a precious action to drain your marshes? Well my friend, have I got a deal for you! Try out the new & improved Ditch today! Ditches are another great new addition to the game, and as with Trade, Ditches open up a new field of possibilities to explore and give some alternatives to some actions which used to be all but essential, namely ‘colonising’ marshes and building large stables to breed as many sheep as possible. I won’t go into the details here, but trust me when I say that Ditches really give a needed boost to farming and wool strategies.
5) Buildings: Tea & Trade replaces a few of the old buildings and adds a couple of handfuls of new ones. I can sum up this addition in one word: Variety, variety, variety! (Incidentally, this is the mantra used to judge the longevity of a board game’s popularity).
What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? or What I dislike about the expansion
While introducing a 3rd player is a nice idea, I’m not sure I will ever use it. 3 is an awkward number of players, especially for a game that requires so much investment to get over the initial learning curve. Still, I’m sure this is a welcome addition for those who will make use of it.
Put the kettle on or What I like about the expansion
In a word, more options! Fields of Arle is already the best euro sandbox game I have played, and Tea & Trade makes that sandbox that much bigger. The sheer amount of content in this expansion is quite impressive and the quality is as good as the base game.
This expansion is a welcome addition if you are a fan of the base game and would like to increase the replayability and the amount of different strategies on offer. In brief, I highly recommend Tea & Trade, it is certainly my cup of tea.