Libraries, Gold, and Coffee

This week with boards & brews, we returned to Noble Coffee & Tea to build our libraries with the most books possible.  Biblios is Greek for book.  The premise of this game is that you are abbots in a monastery during the medieval era collecting various books, manuscripts, scrolls and supplies to create the greatest library in all of Europe.  The game has two phases, the gift phase and the auction phase.  During the gift phase, we go around the table and every player allocates a set of cards from the draw pile depending on the number of players in the game.

The individual players then determine which cards will be placed in the public area, the auction pile, and then one for themselves.  After the draw pile is empty, the players then begin phase two by auctioning off the remaining cards by trading existing books for more money or purchasing more books with gold. This game has a great deal of strategic planning, push your luck, and some bluffing mechanics.  Biblios is very easy to teach, but the strategy element can go in multiple directions very quickly so you have to know how you're going to play your cards according to the cards being drawn by others around you as well as how to configure the scoring so that it plays in your favor.  The amount of players significantly alters where the direction of the game can lead.  The more players you have, the more people you have to keep in check and that isn't easy unless you have a very good memory.  If you're a gamer who enjoys small, strategic filler games, you need to get this one.  It's very addictive.  Biblios carries a nice theme, great artwork and has a lot of replay-ability.  A must have for your gaming library!

Biblios
Overall Meeple Rating: 8.5/10


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