WBG Score: 8
Player Count: 2-5
You’ll like this if you like: Arboretum, 7 Wonders Duel, Sushi Go
Published by: Mercat Games
Designed by: Steve Ng Wen Xi
This is a review copy. See our review policy here
Singapore 1889 is from relatively unknown designer Steve Ng Wen Xi. A name, I hope, that will fast become more of a house hold name amongst board game fans. What he has created here with just a few cards is a wonderful experience. There is a delicate balance between everything you do in this game, which suggest to me, that Steve Ng Wen Xi gets it. I am excited to try his others games and see what else comes from Steve, and if he ever looks into something a little more ambitious. I hope so. But with Singapore 1889, we have a beautifully created set collection game with some intriguing scoring. Let's get it to the table and see how it plays.
How To Set Up Singapore 1889
Unfold and place the paper River mat into the center of the play area. Then take all the cards and separate them into the nine different types. Choose goods at random equal to the number of players plus one, along with the Opium cards, shuffle these to form a single deck. Place the deck onto the mat and reveal the first four cards onto the mat. This is called the River. Next, take the Secret Society card and place this above the leftmost card on the mat. Each player then takes one good card from the top of the deck, and finally places one good card above the Secret Society card. The first player is then chosen at random, and the player to their right can move the position of the Secret Society card if they wish. You are now ready to start the game.
How To Play Singapore 1889
Players will now take turns choosing one card from the four available on the play mat. Any card they take is added to their hand. The game ends when all players have seven good cards in their hand. When a player takes a card this way, they must first carry out the action shown on the bottom of the card. This is different for each good, but all give the players an opportunity to manipulate the game in their favour.
Joss Paper lets the players draw two cards from the deck and then place one above the Secret Society card and the other at the bottom of the deck. Cards placed at the top over the Secret Society card like this affect end game scoring. This is called "Seizing," and Seized cards are used to calculate the value of each card in the player's hand at the end of the game. If there is one Joss paper card seized by the end of the game, for example, this means all Joss paper cards in each player's hand are worth one point. However, if there were two seized Joss paper cards, all Joss paper cards are now worth two points. And so on.
The opium is worth one point if Seized but reduces by one if reclaimed. This is a point-scoring variant I will come to later.
The Porcelain allows players to swap a good from the River with any Seized Good.
Salted Fish allows the player who took this card to look at the top card of the deck and then Seize it or place it at the bottom of the deck.
Spices do the same, but you take the bottom card of the deck and either Seize it or place it at the top of the deck.
Silk lets you put one good card from the River at the bottom of the deck.
And Tea lets you swap a good from the River with a good from your hand.
When you take a card below the Secret Society card, you must then move the Secret Society card to be positioned above one of the other three cards.
After a player has taken a card from the River and carried out that card's actions, they will then refill the River with cards from the top of the deck, and then check to see if there are three or more Marked goods in the River. These are cards with the Union Jack flag symbol on the top left, as shown above. If there are, the card below the Secret Society card is then Seized and placed above the Secret Society card, affecting end game scoring. If this happens, refill the River back to four cards again and then check to see if all players have seven cards in their hands. If they do, the game is over. If not, carry on to the next player.
When all players have seven cards, end game scoring takes place. All players reveal their seven cards, placing them face up on the table for all to see. Then each good has its value calculated based on the Seized goods, and each player's final total is calculated.
However, there is a very good small variant, where during set up, all players are dealt a merchant card at the start of the game. These cards allow players a new way to score, such as increasing your total score if you have more than three, four, or five of any one good, or increasing the value of each good by one point if you have at least three of them in your hand.
There is also one crazy one that lets you win the game, regardless of the other players' scores, so long as your score is between 13 and 22! Players keep these merchant cards secret and only reveal them during final scoring, which can cause some real upsets and surprises!
The other variant is a card that is added to the main deck, face down above the card fifth from the bottom. If this card is ever placed onto the River or Seized, then place it to the side of the board and draw another card. But now, the end game scoring completely changes. The Seized goods that are marked with the Union Jack flag are moved to be above this card at the end of the game; these are now known as Reclaimed goods (as mentioned above with the Opium). Any marked goods in players' hands now score two points per copy in the Reclaimed goods. Unmarked cards are worth one point per copy in the Seized goods area.
Is It Fun? Singapore 1889 Card Game Review
This game is so beautifully constructed. There is a delicate balance between collecting cards that have a high Seize value. But when doing this, you know those cards are less likely to come up in the River, as there are more of them above the Secret Society card, and only so many of each card in the deck. And all other players will be chasing them when they become available in the river. So, do you go for the obvious high-value but rarer card, or collect others, hoping their value increases during the game, knowing they will be less sought after and easier to manipulate?
Each game takes around 20 minutes to play, and turns are fast-paced: players take a card, carry out its action, refill the River, then Seize a card if required. That's it. The game flows at a great pace, and you will find the scoring situation changes quickly, especially with more players. Cards you hoped would be the top point earner quickly change as other players manipulate the Seized goods in their favour, against your plans. It's a constant push-and-pull that makes for a lot of fun.
The only thing I don't like about this game is the box. It could come in one-half the size, and that would make it so much more portable. It's the perfect game to take to the pub or out to a restaurant. I may have to move it to a little box or bag.
I would recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of set collection games and is looking for new, clever ways to score. The theme is interesting, the art is lovely, the rules are simple, but the scoring is oh so delicate and strategic. You will have a lot of fun with this.