Date: 10th May 2002
Game played: Merchants of Amsterdam, The ( Jumbo ) BGG Id: 531

Five of us tonight and Nige was keen to play Merchants of Amsterdam. This is a game based around dutch auctions. Players are trying to acquire the greatest influence in three areas: Amsterdam, the New World and the trading of goods. At certain points during the game, these three areas generate cash for the players, the greater the influence, the greater the cash. Influence is acquired either by using the power of the Mayor of Amsterdam, which each player takes turns using, or by winning the subsequent dutch auction. A clock counts down the auction price from 200 guilders and a player stops the clock at the point he wants to purchase the action. The game is played over a fixed number of turns, but the scoring rounds are random within that overall time frame. The player who has accumulated the most money by the end of the game is the winner.

This is another good Reiner Knizia auction game and it is difficult to be sure who is winning. Gaining influence costs money in the auctions and if you overbid relative to your opponents then you struggle to recoup your money in the scoring rounds. However, you have to win enough auctions to get a decent payback in the scoring rounds. None of our auctions fell below the 120 guilders level, and I nearly opted not to bid on any of the auctions judging that the others were overbidding. However, I succumbed on a couple of occasions to secure my position in Amsterdam and ensure I didn't lose my bonuses later on in the game when markers are removed from the board. Nige seemed to want to ensure he had the best position in trading goods and this together with a couple of other scoring positions enabled him to accumulate the most cash at game-end.

 
Player
Rating
Score
Position
Winner
Nige
8
1370
1
Mark G
8
1220
2
John
8
1190
3
Mark K
7
1160
4
Garry
7
1080
5

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