Wolfgang Kramer is a well-known German game designer. He is credited with many of the world’s greatest boardgames, including The Princes of Florence and El Grande. He is a multiple Spiel des Jahres winner, his last being Torres in 2000, arguably the best S
dJ winner ever. In all those cases, however, Kramer shared design credit. When the new broke that he was designing a big box game solo for top-shelf publisher Hans im Glück, the game instantly went on many fans’ wishlists. The game is Hacienda, and it was one of the few games from a very weak Essen 2005 crop that caught my interest.
I’m happy to say that Herr Kramer has not disappointed.
Blood on the Pampas
Hacienda is a tile-laying game, which should surprise very few in the know given that Kramer (along with the other big name in good German games, Reiner Knizia) has set the standard for this genre. It comes in a sumptuous package designed by Michael Menzel. Nothing less was expected of a Hans im Glück big box game. The board is of particular note for being double-sided, providing different looks for the game out of the box. In the tradition of the mighty Torres, a sheet of variants is provided in the box as well.
Players are hacenderos in Argentina. Resources consist of titles to land, herds of cattle, and workforces to dig water holes and the eponymous haciendas. Victory points are awarded for large contiguous landholdings, which become more valuable when situated beside watereven moreso when a hacienda is built. Money is provided by herds of livestock, which provide income when taken to market. Livestock are likewise more valuable when situated next to a large grazing area and to water. There is also a little value given to cash on hand, but not much. Uninvested money is wasted money.
The hacenderos take stock of their situation twice, when half the available livestock is purchased, and when all the animals have been bought.
The Nature of the Beast
Hacienda is a timing game more than a resource management game. Many have pointed a passing similarity to Knizia’s Through the Desert. This likeness lies in the value of reaching specific points on the board (in this case, markets) and in the game element of cutting other players off from swaths of land. I will agree with this sentiment to an extent.
Hacienda possesses the “do it now or lose it later” gene. A confrontational mechanism to be sure, this draws tension from guessing whether or not one of your opponents will take an option away from you if you pass it up. Kramer is not new to this, and may of his designs are confrontational (El Grande being the prime example). This element becomes more pronounced as the player count edges closer to the maximum of five hacenderos.
Grafted onto this boardplay is the game’s economic engine. It is not a traditional investment system, as the sources of funds are derived from board position rather than fiscal position. This fits well, since players are forced to choose between scoring and cashflow, and these two elements can be mutually exclusive in many cases.
Cattle Rustlers
Hacienda is not difficult to play. The game’s concepts are easy to grasp, and lightbulbs go off in the minds of new players after a 10-minute rules explanation and perhaps three trips around the table. The tension lies in spending the meager three actions one is given in a turn. There can be two or three viable board plays at any one time, balanced with the need to earn cash and to convert cash into board-playable resources. Kramer succeeds in the keystone of most good German games – so many things to do, so few actions in which to do them.
The game also takes on the personality of the group around the table. Players who shirk confrontation will happily situate themselves away from each other until the shrinking real estate demands a facedown. Those less shy will tend towards the best plays – those that help themselves while hindering others.
Hacienda plays quickly, with 60 minutes being the norm whether playing with three or five people. It becomes ideal as a proverbial gateway game, with its harmless theme, engaging graphics and simple mechanisms. Taught competently, gender, age or game affinity should not be an obstacle to learning and enjoying the game.
The Round-up
One criticism levelled at Hacienda is that it is derivative. The market connections of Through the Desert. Card drafting from any number of Moon games. Set-forming. Sure, we’ve seen many of these things before. Many good and bad games take these mechanisms and try to make new games. Hacienda is one of the very good ones. I will happily play this game in the same evening as Through the Desert and, say, La Citta and be perfectly happy.
The inclusion of variants in the box is welcome. The authorized release of a map making application for Hacienda from the Westpark Gamers is even more welcome. Finally, not one but TWO free-to-play online implementations of the game have been released. All of this serves to help keep the game fresh and varied, and that can only improve the stock of a game that is already quite excellent.
