Cascadero

Cascadero is an exciting tile - placement strategy game from well - known designer Reiner Knizia. In this game, ministers send envoys to towns. But towns are cautious of single envoys. Newly placed envoys trigger town scoring only when they're part of a group or carry an official seal from El Cascadero. Towns with Royal Messengers or a history of envoy visits are more valuable and offer greater rewards. Players face a choice between two strategies: building long chains of envoys for synergies and objectives or creating smaller envoy groups for timely town scoring. Both strategies earn victory points, but reaching the end of your success column is crucial. Triggering town scoring makes you advance along the corresponding success column, getting bonuses like victory points, further progress on any success column, claiming an official seal, repositioning an envoy, or getting an extra turn. With smart timing and planning, players can create a chain of bonuses to turn the game in their favor. Cascadero offers high replayability through player interaction, variable board and tile setups, and an advanced mode with traveling heralds. The game ends when a player gets 50 victory points or has no tiles left. Players who reach the end of their success column are in the running for victory, and the one with the most victory points wins.

To play Cascadero, start by setting up the board and tiles as described in the game rules. You'll take on the role of a minister, sending envoys to towns. When placing envoys, remember that single envoys might not trigger town scoring right away. Try to form groups of envoys or get official seals to score points from towns. Decide whether to build long chains of envoys or smaller groups based on your game plan. As you trigger town scoring, you'll move along the success columns and get bonuses. Keep an eye on these bonuses and use them to your advantage. For example, use a bonus to reposition an envoy to a more strategic location. In the advanced mode, deal with traveling heralds according to the rules. When it comes to the end of the game, keep track of your victory points and whether you've reached the end of your success column. Be careful not to run out of tiles before you can achieve your goals. After each game, store the tiles and pieces in a safe place to keep them in good condition. Enjoy playing Cascadero and have fun competing with your friends!