1919 Kickstarter Preview for Black Monk

At Gen Con I met the crew from Black Monk and they Asked me to do a preview for their new game 1919 the Noble Experiment.     It’s  a card game where two to four players race to distill whisky, bottle it, and deliver it to the local bars and pubs.

Here is the Box Breaking.

 

Here we discuss the different card components that the game uses.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a detailed demonstration of the first two turns.

Full Demo Game

 

I played 1919 about 15 times.  Through those sessions I learned a few things that I’d like to share.

 

It is pretty easy to set up.   In fact after setting it up once or twice you’ll never  forget.   The mechanics of the game are very straight forward.  You basically match the recipes needed for purchase, and use the abilities on the cards.  There is however a little bit of a learning curve in remembering what all the icons do.  I see that in the Kickstarter that reference cards are built into the stretch goals.

 

Once you move beyond understanding the game mechanic there is actually learning to play the game.  When you watch the videos you really don’t get a good grasp of all the possibilities.   While 1919 is a race to deliver the most whisky, it is also deeply intellectual.   There are easily a half a dozen strategies that can be employed.  I honestly think the biggest factor in the game is timing.  That is knowing when to use the worker, or to purchase a whisky.  For example players are almost always facing a choice of using a worker.  That choice can be critical, if you purchase distilled alcohol over eliminating an opponent’s worker.

 

With that being said I hope they succeed.