Charterstone
Charterstone is a legacy board game for 1-6 players designed by Jamey Stegmaier and released by Stonemaier Games in 2017. Players work together over a twelve game campaign to build a village, while simultaneously competing to win each game, and ultimately win the campaign.
| Designer(s) | Jamie Stegmaier |
|---|---|
| Illustrator(s) | Lina Cossette, David Forest |
| Publisher(s) | Stonemaier Games |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Players | 1-6 |
| Playing time | 45–75 minutes |
Players build buildings, score objectives, and spend money to open crates, which add new rules, buildings, and special abilities to the game. When the campaign is finished, players will have a uniquely developed copy of the final game which can then be played thenceforth.
Gameplay
At the beginning of the first game, there are six buildings on the board, and players each have two meeples, which they can place on the buildings to collect some of the game's six different resources.[1] These resources can be used to permanently add new buildings to the board in the form of adhesive stickers, which add new actions to the game which the players can take.[2] Players gain points to win each game by building buildings, achieving certain predetermined objectives, paying money to open crates, and spending influence to move up a reputation track.
Opening crates also unlocks new rules and special abilities, and the players also gain new abilities from special cards they acquire each game.[1] The game board and rules develop uniquely depending on the choices made by the players, so that by the end of a twelve game campaign, each copy of Charterstone has developed into a different permanent game.[3][4]
Release and reception
Response to the game has been mostly positive, with reviewers praising the satisfying complex layers of new elements the game ongoingly introduces,[1][2] but noting that the game is slow to reveal its secrets, and can seem plodding in the early stages of the campaign.[2][5]
Matt Thrower writing for IGN asserts that "Your first play of Charterstone makes it feel like the world's dullest worker placement game," but that persistence with the game pays off: "Along the way strategies will develop in depth and push players along a path from co-operation to competition. It's an incredible journey if you've got the time."[3]
Digital version
A digital version of Charterstone is being developed in 2019, with a beta version expected some time in the spring.[6]
References
- Law, Keith (February 21, 2018). "Leave a Legacy with the Fantastic Board Game Charterstone". Paste Magazine. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
- Duffy, Owen (April 28, 2018). "Charterstone: Hot new "legacy" boardgame takes time to find its way". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- Thrower, Matt (March 7, 2018). "The Best City Building Board Games". IGN. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- Jolin, Dan (October 11, 2018). "The 30 Best Board Games To Play Right Now". Empire. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- Hall, Charlie (February 7, 2018). "Charterstone is a well-made but tedious take on the 'legacy' board game genre". Polygon. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- Bolding, Jonathan (June 22, 2018). "Digital adaptations of Viticulture and Charterstone board games in the works". PC Gamer. Retrieved January 5, 2018.