October 24, 2020 – As part of a 2021 lineup showcase by publisher Grail Games, one point of interest was the new Medici Expansion that is a huge and ambitious game that could be its own standalone title, but is instead meant to be a companion to the original game. Some details were given and rough timing that a Kickstarter was planned for sometime next year.
Medici is considered to be the game that put Grail Games on the map. Released in 1995, a remake of a 1981 game, this was the start of the very lucrative Reiner Knizia (designer), Vincent Dutrait (Illustrator), Grail Games (publisher) trifecta partnership.
They did that remake, they did Medici the Card Game and Medici the Dice game, but now is a huge game that is “for a new era”, a Medici version 2. If you think of Yellow & Yangtzee being like Tigras, Medici: Reformation is a whole new board game that sits alongside the original. It is not meant to replace the original version.
“We are going back to collecting good via auctions. Medici: Reformation feels very similar to the original in the way you score and are trying to find monopolies and filling boats, but now you need to do spacial stuff as well. Now goods are tiles that you need to place in the hull of your ship. Instead of just a row of cards, you are actually putting them in columns and rows in the different decks of your ship. You score not just by having the majority of goods, but where they are on the ship.”
The designer has also designed a few mini expansions on top of that which will accompany this new title. These will come in the box and be part of this new package coming in 2021. There is no new art to show yet, but by the end of the year there should be some available.
“Reformation” is supposed to mean that you are still in the original tale, but it is a few years later. During the reformation of the pope back in the day, he was a Medici, so it is all intertwined.
See The Other Titles Mentioned During This Announcement:
- Hibachi / Hibachi: Hot & Spicy (by Marco Teubner)
- Whale Riders (by Reiner Knizia)
- Yellow & Yangtze: The Royal Palace / Card Game (Reiner Knizia)
- Silicon Valley (Scott Almes)
- Botanic Gardens (Matthew Dunstan & Brett J Gilbert)
- Fjords (Franz-Benno Delonge)
- ChuHan (Tom Lehmann)
- Elevenses: The Guilty Party (David Harding)
About The Original Medici (1995):
Designed by Dr Reiner Knizia (Tigris & Euphrates, Samurai, Ra, etc.), Medici was first published in 1995. This new edition will feature artwork by Vincent Dutrait (Rise of Augustus, Lewis & Clark, Broom Service, etc.)
In Medici, players take on the role of merchants during the profitable age of the Medici family. Players, in turn, reveal lots of valuable trade goods for auction. After a once-around bidding process, players fill their boats with these goods. At the end of each round, money is earned for the highest valued ships, as well as for having monopolies in each type of goods. Medici is full of player interaction and boasts an innovative scoring system that has players bidding on goods with their end game points.
Title discussed in announcement video [05:25 – 09:05]:
