Anno 1800: My Favorite Game Mechanism

Jamey discusses his favorite mechanism in the commodity-conversion game, Anno 1800.
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[@hpjk772]

The endgame trigger is amazing, too (despite getting changed in the coming expansion). The fact that you try to get rid of all your cards when you're ahead adds several meaningful choices/considerations to the game:
- how many workers are enough? (since new workers add cards)
- will the next card add 2 workers or maybe even allow me to drop 2 cards?
- will I be ahead in x rounds?
There's another a full round after the trigger round but what's more is that you have to start losing cards earlier than that so you have to anticipate the twndency of the coming rounds.
- Is my opponent trying to trigger the endgame?
- are the goals I'm trying to achieve worth it to let them run with the first finish bonus?
- If no, then can I beat them to the finish?

[@rossjaax]

The trading was my favorite mechanism also. It created the most interaction between players and kept me keenly interested in what other goods and technologies my opponents had built. The game would be so much less so without that

[@mattbook]

I think the issue you raised at the end is addressed in the advanced rules available on BGG. You can lock out a tile/technology you just purchased or created until your next turn. This prevents the exact scenario you described.

[@v44n7]

Also in late game, using other player tiles is quite expensive, so even if they used all your tiles to make a more tech tile, is often worth making the same tile just to avoid paying many trade tokens in late game

[@suikodin2501]

Played my first game this evening, and ran into that same instance. I of course traded for it on the next turn. :)
I ended up trying to shift my mentality to a communal tech tree. I don't get the full satisfaction of accomplishment, but I still claim that tech as partially my baby.
There are of course strategy downsides, and I haven't played enough to see how it affects my game theory and strategy.

[@overtlyzealous]

As a fan of being sneaky in games, put yourself in the opponents position, they suckered you into doing all the hard work and in the end got the pay off.
I think it works fantastically as a mechanism because really it doesn't hurt you as you still can access it or even still build it as there are 2 of each factory. So you are not locked out from using it either way!
It also provides a great pivot point since you can now save an action since you no longer need to build it you could (possibly) fulfill the card you needed that tech for on your next turn instead of 2 turns time.
As games go this system really rewards multiple plays, the more you use the systems the more fun they become, I highly recommend playing it a few times to really get the best out of it.

[@jameystegmaier]

I do indeed like some sneakiness in games--that's a great point!

[@ElaDivine]

There are 2 instances of each factory, and there are plenty of motivation built into the game to have an instance on your island even if another player has the other one -
1. Its way cheaper to use one red worker to make a thing that you require a lot than spending 2 trade tokens each time (on purple and teal tiles it might not be the case because they are used less but usually is).
2. Goal cards in the game can reward you for specific factories on your islands with endgame points.
This is my top 2020 game and its seen the table the most since it was bought by far (like 25 times at least). Works best with 3-4 players but 2 is fun too. And it really reaveals itself with each play and gets better with experience.
Also no other game makes me ask "whos making sausages?!" :)

[@peterk822]

Similar to the resource sharing in 7 Wonders. In 7W, we houserule you can trade w/ non-neighbors at a greater cost (the extra cost going to the bank instead of the other player to preserve balance).

[@mmikoff]

Got Anno 1800 in November 2021. First couple of days after we got it we played non-stop - 3 back-to-back games on a Saturday - we were hooked. The trading system, the tech tree, the worker/resource management, the cards with their one time bonuses - it's really a great streamlined system. At that point I rated it 10/10.
We're now over 20 games in and I still like the game a lot, it still feels like a very streamlined and clever system, but I'm starting to get annoyed by the randomness and imbalance of the cards - there are cards with the same benefits, same points that require totally different goods (one is much easier to fulfil than the other). Yes, you can spend a turn just redrawing, but there are no guarantees what you're going to get, and having someone with a lucky starting hand just crush you in 30 min after fulfilling ~10 cards can feel underwhelming.
But I find the trading system is very clever. You don't actually want to build too much tech if you can use your opponents, especially if you only need it for a card or two. Also after some plays overbuilding techs that you don't need but are useful to your opponents becomes much more prevalent.
I've dropped the game down to 9/10 (which is still very high). I think Brass still provides a more robust framework for player interaction.

[@gordo6908]

lancashire, birmingham, or either?

[@mmikoff]

@@gordo6908 I've only played Birmingham, but the basic interaction model is the same

[@jacobmartin9021]

Hmm I was just starting out and do you think allowing players to take a mulligan would help balance out this issue? What about a rule where you can exchange cards as a free action when you take a festival? I really like the game systems so I'm keen to try to fix this.

[@haakonts]

Love th shirt! Anoo 1800 is a great game. I see where you are getting at with your question, but generally it isn't a big issue. Even if you don't need to make the end technology, there is almost always other techs tha can use the underlaying stuff, and you'll earn some gold too.

[@anthonytsai2346]

Nice timing! I just got this game yesterday and am looking forward to digging in!
Curious about your thoughts on the end game trigger of someone having to play out their hand.