About the Game

Where can I buy the game?

The game is currently available at The Game Crafter. However, I regularly place orders with them so if you live in Sweden and are interested in a copy, please feel free to contact me.

What do the Nova Suecia games have in common?

The games in the Nova Suecia series are all independent from each other with different game systems and mechanisms. Nevertheless, there is a red thread connecting them all:

1. No dice: Instead of luck, a players' abilities to foresee other players' actions determine the game. In for example Christina Regina, the Queen is moved openly one step at the time by one player at the time but each player's goal with the Queen is hidden.
2. Cooperation: A player can rarely execute her strategy on her own but is dependent on the other players. This is clear in for example Tre Kronor Infernum and Mare Balticum, where the players may set up and use routes together.
3. Competition: With the exception of Bellum se ipsum alet, the players don't fight each other directly but by taking advantage of the other players' actions. In Nova Suecia, a player may win by negotiating trade deals or free-ride on other players' tax payments.
4. Ambiguity: Actions and objectives are seldom black or white. This is particularly true in Vasa Regalis, where one strategy benefits from the ship sailing and another from the ship sinking.
5. Historic theme: All games are set in the 17th century Sweden.

What makes Vasa Regalis different from other games?

There are many role-based game out there but the focus in Vasa Regalis is not to optimize the roles, it is to choose the right thing to do with the output. A player may very well be successful in hoarding goods but if he spends everything on the ship, players who save their goods will win and vice versa, if he keeps everything and the ship sinks, players who spend their goods will win.

Isn't the safe strategy of placing mid-value goods (value 2) everywhere always best?

If you always place goods of value 2, you will probably avoid having placed least on a sinking ship. However, it is difficult to get the most at hand without playing any goods of value 1 and even more difficult to place most a sinking ship without placing any goods of value 3. A mid-value strategy will award you a mid-position, but surely you want more than that?

About the Rules

How is the game best taught to others?

Explain the role-based system and explain the actions of each role, using the example from the rules. Continue to explain the objective, using the end game examples from the rules. Be clear about the opposite victory conditions that apply depending on whether the ship sails or fails.

Can a part of the ship ever be partly built?

No, once a player build in a certain part, all players must build in that part. (Since all players start with 1 good of each type, this is always possible.) Furthermore, the Admiral action must always replace a good with a good of the same type.

In the inventory action, I may not lie about the goods I trade but may I lie about the cards I have?

Indeed, the inventory action is an excellent opportunity for bluffing.