Village: Port Expansion Review

Village Port is an unusual expansion in that it simply replaces one part of the game with another. Instead of traveling to distant towns, that action is totally supplanted by sailing to faraway islands. But this isn’t a simple “side-grade”; it definitely provides an enhanced experience and makes the travel action more interesting.

Port comes with a new board lain over the travel section of the main board. The expansion also gives each player a boat and a cargo ship. The boat moves around the islands to mark your location. The cargo ship reminds you what you’ve included in your hold.

To sail to that distant land, you first must hire a captain. Some are more expensive than others, but the pricier ones let you move your boat farther for less cost. Certain islands are in need of particular goods, so you can drop that material there for points. Some even have a spot for a missionary which occupies a space on the island until his death.

There was nothing wrong with the travel action in the base game. It was a little simple, but so is most everything else. There is no burning need for the Port expansion. And yet, now that I’ve played it, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the base game.

If you liked the Travel action before, you’re now free from the somewhat monotonous chore of gaining a cart prior to each travel. This means that it is easier to pursue a variety of other actions while still maintaining a solid travel strategy. In fact, it requires you to invest in craft goods as well. This opens up not only new point opportunities, but also makes the Market more accessible and it’s less likely that one player scoops up all those points while others are distracted.

While your ship is out there, you can pick up tea bales, cocoa baskets, and chests of coins. The tea bales and cocoa baskets can be brought back and sold at market. Each time there is a market day, they can be traded in for points. And, like the captains, they are removed from the game after use.

The expansion also adds in personal goals worth points. They show particular items you have to have in order to meet goal. But the best part is that you don’t actually have to pay those resources, just have them. It’s enough to really change up strategies and players are more apt to get in each others’ way.

Village Port takes the relatively simple and straightforward action of Travel and replaces it with a more involved and far more interesting version. And Port plays well with Village Inn, including new cards for the new travel action and components for a fifth player. The base game is fine. But if you want to encourage something new in your plays, this expansion is definitely one to check out.