{"id":708,"date":"2012-05-01T19:09:40","date_gmt":"2012-05-01T19:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/?p=708"},"modified":"2017-01-24T21:02:16","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T21:02:16","slug":"silk-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/blog\/2012\/05\/01\/silk-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Silk Road"},"content":{"rendered":"

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La Route de la Soie est un jeu de commerce, dans lequel les joueurs sont des marchands dans la m\u00eame caravane, partie de Chine pour rejoindre l’Europe. Chacun cherche donc \u00e0 amener la caravane dans les cit\u00e9s qui l’int\u00e9ressent le plus, et cherche surtout, \u00e0 chaque arr\u00eat dans un march\u00e9, \u00e0 faire les meilleures affaires avec les commer\u00e7ants locaux. Orientaux ou Occidentaux, selon qu’ils ont choisi de parcourir la route dans un un sens ou dans l’autre, les joueurs sont toujours des commer\u00e7aux, et le vainqueur est donc le plus riche \u00e0 l’arriv\u00e9e, lorsque la caravane parvient \u00e0 Antioche ou Changan.<\/p>\n

Histoire du jeu<\/strong>
\nReguli\u00e8rement, je re\u00e7ois des emails de jeunes auteurs me demandant si je voudrais travailler avec eux sur une id\u00e9e de jeu. Ma r\u00e9ponse habituelle est “d\u00e9sol\u00e9, je peine d\u00e9j\u00e0 \u00e0 trouver le temps de finir tous mes projets en cours”. Ted Cheatham a eu de la chance, son email est arriv\u00e9 au bon moment, et son ton \u00e9tait vraiment amical,
\nJ’imprimai donc un prototype de son “Valencia”, un jeu de commerce dans lequel les joueurs \u00e9taient des joaillers achetant, \u00e9changeant, vendant et parfois volant des pierres pr\u00e9cieuses. Je fis donc une partie avec quelques amis, sur un joli plateau dessinn\u00e9 par gail Schloesser, Greg’s wife. La partie confirmait ce que pensait Ted. Il y avait de bonnes id\u00e9es, mais le jeu tombait un peu \u00e0 plat, en partie du fait d’un th\u00e8me peu convaincant.<\/p>\n

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Valencia Board<\/p><\/div>\n

La science fiction est un univers fort pratique pour le cr\u00e9ateur de jeu, permettant de justifier assez facilement n’importe quel m\u00e9canisme. Je sugg\u00e9rai donc de faire des joailliers de Valencia des compagnies mini\u00e8res rivales s’effor\u00e7ant d’extraire les ressources naturelles de lointaines plan\u00e8tes. Nous part\u00eemes dans cette direction, et parvinmes bient\u00f4t \u00e0 un prototype, Nebula’s Hoard assez int\u00e9ressant mais un peu trop chaotique, qui fut provisoirement mis de c\u00f4t\u00e9. Retour \u00e0 la case d\u00e9part, et une nouvelle id\u00e9e, la Route de la Soie, qui modifiait consid\u00e9rablement le jeu en introduisant une notion de parcours, qui en \u00e9tait jusque l\u00e0 absente.<\/p>\n

Le th\u00e8me \u00e9tait s\u00e9duisant et assez original, et a permis de donner au jeu un nouveau d\u00e9part. En quelques semaines, nous avions des r\u00e8gles et des prototypes qui, de l’avis de tous les testeurs tant am\u00e9ricains que fran\u00e7ais, marquaient un progr\u00e8s sensible sur les versions pr\u00e9c\u00e9dentes. Quelques menus r\u00e9glages suivirent et, en avril 2003, je rencontrai Ted Cheatham pour de vrai au Gathering of Friends d’Alan Moon. Apr\u00e8s avoir essay\u00e9 le jeu ensemble pour la premi\u00e8re fois, nous d\u00e9cid\u00e2mes qu’il \u00e9tait digne de faire la tourn\u00e9e des \u00e9diteurs, en commen\u00e7ant par ceux qui \u00e9taient l\u00e0.<\/p>\n

La maquette de La Route de la Soie suscita pas mal de curiosit\u00e9 chez les \u00e9diteurs europ\u00e9ens auxquels je le montrais, mais tous finirent par renoncer, m\u00eame si je gardais longtemps espoir de voir le jeu publi\u00e9 par Asmod\u00e9e. Ce fut finalement Ted, aux \u00c9tats-Unis, qui entra en contact avec Zev Schlasinger, de Z-Man games, qui prit sa d\u00e9cision tr\u00e8s rapidement. Peut-\u00eatre vendu un peu cher, dans une bo\u00eete inutilement grande, La Route de la Soie \u00e0 \u00e9t\u00e9 un succ\u00e8s critique, mais pas un succ\u00e8s commercial – c’est un peu dommage.<\/p>\n

Zev et ses amis ont apport\u00e9 quelques modifications au jeu tel que Ted et moi le lui avions envoy\u00e9. Les tuiles bonus imprim\u00e9es sur le plateau de jeu pour le chef de la caravane sont une id\u00e9e fantastique qui rend le jeu plus riche et plus anim\u00e9. En revanche, le bonus final pour la majorit\u00e9 de cubes dans chaque couleur me semble finalement une mauvaise id\u00e9e, qui complique inutilement le calcul du score final, et je regrette un peu d’avoir c\u00e9d\u00e9 l\u00e0 dessus. D’ailleurs, j’ai tr\u00e8s vite abandonn\u00e9 cette r\u00e8gle et vous invite \u00e0 faire de m\u00eame. De m\u00eame, il n’y a pas tout \u00e0 fait assez de pi\u00e8ces d’or dans la boite, mais il suffit pour r\u00e9gler le probl\u00e8me de d\u00e9cider qu’une pi\u00e8ce d’or vaut 7 pi\u00e8ces d’argent et non 5.<\/span><\/p>\n

Silk Road<\/strong><\/span>
\n Un jeu de Ted Cheatham & Bruno Faidutti<\/span>
\n 3 \u00e0 6 joueurs\u00a0 \u2013 60 minutes<\/span>
\n Publi\u00e9 par Z-man Games (2006)
\n<\/em>Tric Trac<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Boardgamegeek<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Silk Road is a kind of “pick up and deliver” game where all players are in the same caravan going east to west, from China to Europe. Each player tries to have the caravan travel to the cities that fit him best, and once the caravan is stopped in acity, to make the best deals with the local traders. The players can be oriental or european traders, depending whether they start on the eastern or the western side of the board, but they are always merchants – so the goal is simply to be the richest player in the end, when the caravan reaches Antioch or Changan.<\/em><\/p>\n

History of the Game<\/em><\/strong>
\nRegularly, I receive emails from would-be designers asking me to work with him on a game idea. My usual answer is “sorry, but I’ve really no time for it, I’m already busy with too many games in progress”. Ted Cheatham was lucky, his email came at the right time, and sounded friendly enough.
\nSo, I printed a prototype of his “Valencia”, an abstract feeling trading game in which players were supposed to be jewelers buying, trading, selling and sometimes stealing precious gems one from the other. I played it with some friends, on the nice board illustrated by Gail Schloesser, Greg’s wife, and it confirmed what Ted had suggested – there were really good ideas in there, but it felt a bit flat, partly because the theme was not convincing.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Valencia tile<\/p><\/div>\n

Science fiction is a very convenient theme for game authors, since almost anyt mechanism can fit with it, any effect can find its more or less thematic explanation. I suggested to change the Valencia jewelers into space mining companies vying to extract precious ore from various planets. We started this way, and soon designed a game, Nebula’s Hoard, which was interesting but a bit too chaotic, and was set aside for a while. Then came a new setting idea, the Silk Road, which implied a critical change in the game system, since there was now to be a route, with the caravan traveling from one world to the other.<\/em><\/p>\n

The theme was cute and original, and the design took a new start. After a few weeks, we had a prototype which, according to bboth european and american playtesters, was a great improvement over the preceding versions. We made some minor changes and tunings and, in april 2003, I met Ted for the first time at Alan Moon’s gathering. Of course, we wanted to play “our” game together and, after a single game, we decided it was worth showing to publishers, starting with the few who were there.<\/em><\/p>\n

There was much interest in this game from the european publishers to whom I showed it, but all finally declined, even when I though for a while that Asmod\u00e9e could make it. In the end, Ted got in contact with Zev Schlasinger, of Z-Man games, who decided almost at once to do it. The Silk Road got good reviews, and I still think it’s a great game, but it didn’t sell very well. I still regret it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zev and his friends have added a few twists to the game that Ted and I had sent him. The extra bonus tiles printed on the board for the caravan leader are a really great idea and make the game more tense and more balanced. On the other hand, the extra points at the end for the majority in each color are an unncessary addition, and make the final reckoning a bit too complex. I soon gave up with this rule, and I suggest you do the same.\u00a0 Also, there are not enough gold pieces in the game, but the problem is easy to solve – just decide that 1 gold is worth 7 silver, and not 5.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Silk Road<\/strong><\/span><\/em>
\n by Ted Cheatham & Bruno Faidutti<\/span><\/em>
\n 3 to 6 players\u00a0 \u2013 60 minutes<\/span><\/em>
\n Published by Z-man Games (2006)
\n<\/span><\/em>Boardgamegeek<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n


\n\u2022 Insight into the development of a boadgame<\/a>
\n\u2022 Why there are no plastic camels in Silk Road<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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