Gilded Age Board Game

Intro

"Gilded Age Board Game" is another board game created by drgn_lord50 using RPG Maker 2003. In fact, this game is essentially built on the same engine he had previously used for "The Odyssey Board Game". Though I'll admit I'm a bit surprised this game hasn't received any reviews yet. After all, it only takes around 30 minutes or so to complete a single run through this board game. Though, I suppose there could be two driving factors for why this game hasn't received a review. The first reason being a lot of people on this site have been out of high school for a while so a board game that asks you history based trivia questions and punishes you for wrong answers probably isn't that fun. And secondly this game lacks the single player mode that drgn_lord50's previous board game had and playing against yourself isn't that fun for most people.

Story

Unlike the previous game that included cut scenes based on Homer's epic. This game is utterly devoid of any sort of narrative and is just a straight up board game about two to four people trying to see who can earn the most fictional money by answering history questions based on events that took place between 1800 to 1900 roughly.

Gameplay

As mentioned previously this game takes the same system used by drgn_lord50 for "The Odyssey Board Game" and tries to refine it somewhat. Albeit this version seems a bit more buggy despite the developer working on this project for a little bit over two weeks. These bugs range from certain tiles not counting as you move over them to being able to lose money even when you win at the gambling hall. Albeit I'm only aware of that second one since it's mentioned in the game's summary page since I tend to avoid gambling as a matter or principle unless I know the odds are in my favor like at the roulette tables in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. The only other time I'm willing to gamble in games is if I can use save scumming to avoid losing money.

At any rate the basics haven't changed that much with the game retaining some of the tiles from the previous game. For example the blue tiles and trivia tiles are still in this game. Albeit the trivia tiles have been changed slightly from being an opportunity to earn additional points at no risk for a wrong answer. In this game you earn $50 for a correct answer, but lose $100 for an incorrect answer. We also gain a few additional event options such as being able to deposit your money in a bank in order to avoid losing it if you get trivia questions wrong. Though at the same time this puts your money at risk as well whenever a player crosses the starting line which triggers a global event which can range from a bank being robbed to the interest earned for money in the bank going up. Though in my experience one of the most common outcomes is Jesse James robbing one of the banks. Apparently the people behind this project thought this was hilarious in the same way people being able to call pitches for a twitch streamer will often demand they hit a batter.

At any rate this game is definitely less fun than the previous entry if you don't know the answers to the questions. This is because you'll both be punished for it and last board game at least offered some narrative fulfillment as you worked your way around the board. Though I suppose if you play this game long enough you'll probably figure out all of the answers. Even my single run through the game using two players I ran into some questions as many as three times as I navigated the board. So the question pool for this game is rather small it appears.

This game also differs from the previous game in that you don't have a set final destination. Instead the game continues until the starting line has been passed ten times. And this count goes up every time a player passes it. So if your playing with four people the round count is going to go up rather quickly since you'll all pass the starting line around the same time. Albeit certain paths around the board are faster than others in my experience, but none of them are fast enough for you to lap an opponent without the aid of items. And unlike the previous game you can purchase multiple items when you visit a store instead of just one. Though the item options all operate the same way as the last game with you able to buy a times two multiplier, one additional die roll, or a pair of additional die rolls.

Graphics and Sound

As far as I'm aware the game largely relies on the RTP for RPG Maker 2003 for it's graphical and visual assets. Obviously a few custom assets are included as well such as the tiles that make up the game board, but for the most part this game is recognizable as something made with RPG Maker 2003.


I suppose I both won and lost when this happened. After all it gave me the lead, but I was also player 2.

Conclusion

"Gilded Age Board Game" is both better and worse than it's predecessor. In terms of gameplay this one does feel superior, but it also is a lot more reliant on you being able to find a friend willing to play against you. On the other hand the overall presentation feels worse since this game lacks the cut scenes of the previous offering. Though, I'll admit that probably isn't a fair assessment since that board game was based on "The Odyssey" by Homer. In comparison the trivia in this game is lifted from an AP History class. And I find myself a lot more mixed when it comes to recommending this one as well. Mainly because it's two-player nature means you'll either have to find a friend willing to share a keyboard with you or partake in the lonely practice of playing against yourself.