Century is a trilogy of Euro Games created by Emerson Matsuuchi and published by Plan B Games. The trilogy is set in 15th-17th centuries (one apiece, hence the name), with each based around building trade routes to buy the most points by the end of the game. The first of these, Spice Road, is has players build up a deck of cards they can use to buy, trade, and convert spices as efficiently as possible. The second, Eastern Wonders, goes from the Middle East to East Asia, where players travel by sea and instead seek to optimize their navigation. The third, and final game, A New World, heads to North America, and introduces worker placement as the driving mechanic.
A unique feature of these games is that they were planned out from the get-go to be modular, allowing players to play any combination of the three games, with instructions provided for doing so. A game combining Spice Road with Eastern Wonders, for example, has players travel around the second game's map, while using cards from the first game to allow certain trades without necessitating travel across the map.
The first game in the series accommodates up to five players, while the other two, and any combined game, is capped at four due to board space. For those who prefer a fantasy setting, each game has been repackaged as Century: Golem Edition, using the same rules under a different artistic direction.
List of Games
- Original Trilogy
- Spice Road (2017)
- Eastern Wonders (2018)
- A New World (2019)
- Big Box (contains original trilogy + Golden Deals) (2023)
- Golden Deals mini-expansion (stand-alone 2024)
- Golem Edition
- Original Game (2017)
- Eastern Mountains (2019)
- An Endless World (2020)
This series includes examples of:
- Color-Coded Multiplayer: While the first game has no components requiring player colors, Eastern Wonders and A New World have player pieces in black, white, cyan, and magenta.
- Compilation Re-release: The Century Big Box, holding rules and all necessary components for the original trilogy, is set to release in 2023.
- Distant Sequel: Each game in the original trilogy is set one century following the previous. While the Excuse Plot shows the trading companies being controlled by the same families, very few real life people would live to see the events of all three games.
- Drafting Mechanic: In Spice Road, players take cards from a common pile. The leftmost one can be taken for free, but the others require one cube on each preceding card, with cubes placed on cards coming with them as they are claimed.
- The End: Due to the games' nature as a trilogy, the final installment has "The End" printed on the side of the box.
- Excuse Plot: While the instructions provide brief blurb explaining how you're building/expanding your mercantile empire, none of this bleeds over into the game itself, which is simply the core game.
- Literal Wild Card: Spice Road gives every player a card to upgrade any cube in their inventory twice, or two of them once. While other cards may convert for more value, this card stands out for its sheer flexibility.
- To Be Continued: Due to the games' nature as a trilogy, the first two installments have "To Be Continued" printed on the side of the box.
