Istanbul, Not Constantinopolis

...one of the many things I love about A-F Books, namely the Frankfort location, is their massive selection of designer board games. While Target will carry a few titles like Pandemic or Munchkin and Barnes & Noble has a decent selection, albeit the titles rarely ever change to accommodate the variety that actually exists, A-F has everything from Settlers Of Catan to Pastiche and Pixel Lincoln with most available expansions. As A-F's stock continues to be sold and new games have to find their spot on the shelves, some games end up getting marked down to make room. Sometimes, those marked down games find their way into my hands.

Last year on Free Comic Book Day (coming up in less than two weeks), I pulled out the lone copy of Constantinopolis that happened to be marked down to $24 from $60. At that point, I was told that it sat for a long time without much interest and it just needed to find a home. Aside from the gorgeous box art, the components features on the back looked intriguing. Having then recently played and loved Village, another Euro-style resource management game, I took Constantinopolis.

The goal is simple - to become the most famous trader in Constantinople in its glory days. Played out through nine rounds with eight turns per round, you amass resources and find ways to distribute them in order to earn fame and fortune. Each player strategizes the best path to accomplishing this by accepting shipping contracts, constructing various buildings for resource production and wielding political and cultural advantage and holding political office. While it sounds complex, and it definitely is in its way, the flow can be achieved after a few rounds.


When we first gave the game a run-through last Spring, I walked away feeling that it was a game that I might feel let down by had I paid full retail. For barely $20, it was a solid entry, one I could see breaking out once a year or so. It had some similarities to Village with the resource cubes and beautifully rendered board design, but it felt drier and less engaging for some reason. Knowing that Constantinopolis was not popular enough to have warranted any expansions, it just seemed like a game that would not see much play through.

Time can change many things. After talk of giving it another run in the past few weeks, we had the chance to play it again. Every part of the game became quickly familiar, but I felt myself being pulled in to the mechanics very heavily this time. I could feel the pride of accomplishment having been the first to take advantage of building a Commercial structure while later feeling resentful at having missed the chance to grow my storage capability. As you add players, resources can become trickier to manage as buildings disappear into another player's hands and markets do not always exist when you need them the most. There is a heightened feeling of missed opportunity when a really good shipping contract gets into your hands and you do not have the ability to fulfill nor the funds to warehouse it. In this sense, it can become a very good exercise in weighing cost versus need.

Another interesting aspect is the scoring track. Constantinopolis has a similar scoring rubric as Carcasonne, Village or other games of the like. In Carcasonne, scoring can come quickly and pay off big throughout once you become acclimated. Constantinopolis can be stingy in its doling out of Victory Points (or Fame Points). The absolute best shipping contracts in the game will net you four fame points and it will take two solid rounds to complete (or 16 turns). Commercial structures will net you a quick fame point each round if you're willing to give up valuable resources which could cost you a shipping contract later in the round.

Similarly to Agricola, the amount of resources and options available versus the very limited ability to attain all of the ones that you would like to have is what is going to give the base game legs in future play throughs. In one evening, Constantinopolis went from being a game I thought was only good at it's discounted price to a game similar to a movie that I'd like to introduce to a lot of people. The lack of actual player interaction in terms of in-game engagement is outdone by the thought provocation that goes into trying to achieve maximum value with minimal ability. My only complaint is that it feels very much like there will not be any expansions to speak of going forward. That said, I have every intent on heading back into the ancient city for more tight-fisted resource management.