Games & Comics

Serenissima
2 to 4 players
Ages 12 & up
Playing Time: 2 hours
Aurthor: Dominique Ehrhard, assisted by Duccio Vitale
Publisher: Eurogames / Descartes Editeur

Awards
Best Simulation Game of 1996 Concourse of Games Inventors at Boulogne Billancourt

Renaissance Trading and Conflict around the Mediterranean

In the fourteenth century, the Atlantic was an ocean without end and America was yet to be discovered. The Mediterranean was a sea of great prosperity - the only route between East and West. The greatest fleets of the age battled for the most lucrative trade routes.

Venetians, Genoese, Spanish and Turks fought to seize strategic ports on the trade routes of spices, precious gems and gold. Serenissima recreates this era - the golden age, when the Mediterranean was at the centre of world trade.

In the course of a game players must build galleys, hire crew and buy commodities. Their galleys then sail to other ports to sell their cargo to earn money. The value of goods can be influenced by players having monopolies in certain commodities. Players can also take control of ports thereby earning extra income from other players using the port. The winner must possess the most money together with the most prosperous trading routes.

A balance needs to be struck between trading commodities and taking control of ports - between a fleet of merchant galleys and a fleet of warships. But conflict is costly. A strategy based on attack alone is unlikely to succeed in winning the game. The rules are simple and quick to learn. The game can be enjoyed by both new and experienced players, who will appreciate the depth of thought required to execute the perfect strategy.

This is a game that plays equally well with two, three of four players.

Contents: Rule book, 4 players aid rule summaries, game board showing the Mediterranean coastline in the Fourteenth Century, 28 galleys, 101 coins (worth 100, 500 and 1000 ducats), 105 commodity pieces (wood, iron, textiles, wine, spices, gold and gemstones), 180 sailor pieces, 20 forts, 112 flags and masts, 1 six-sided die, all in a box approximately 43 x 30 x 7cm