Returning to New Bedford and the Captains of the Sea
Build up a bustling seaside town with unique constructions and discover different whales off the coast of New Bedford.
Long, long ago, New Bedford was a solo game that made it into my rotation fairly consistently. I loved it! Although it has a whaling theme, I’ve always treated it as an adventure to photograph whales. Since last playing nearly 5 years ago, it finally made its way off my shelf and back to my solo table. Onward for a bit of sailing fun off the coastline!
Game Overview
Game Name: New Bedford
Publication Year: 2016
Designer: Nathaniel Levan
Artists: Nolan Nasser & Jorge Ramos
Publisher: Dice Hate Me Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
The town starts off with only a few available buildings and actions, yet this slowly grows over the course of play. Creating these little neighborhoods is important, as is deciding the perfect time to set sail to spot some of the rarer whales. Lots to do in this little fishing village!
First Play
January 1, 2018
Complexity
2
Latest Play
September 21, 2024
Expansions
2
Setup Time
15 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
24
Play Time
1 Hour & 20 Minutes
High Score
31
Game Area
42" x 28"
Low Score
16
Against Every Captain
The solo mode works with different numbers of captains, and I tossed myself into the deep end against all of them!
Each has a different focus and a rondel for their next action. In theory, this is an amazing idea that makes each captain play very differently. Unfortunately… In theory.
I forgot how many rules questions there are. I have the fixed tiles, I’ve read multiple resources, and I remember the little nuances. Still, I was immediately confused.
Once, this was a very nice little game with a unique theme. As I returned to it, I was reminded of its very murky rules.
Common Sense…
There is certainly the potential for a wonderful solo mode, but I was greeted with one of my most-dreaded phrases.
“Use your common sense judgment” is not what I want out of my solo plays. That puts a lot of extra work on me so that I’m not just focused on my own winning strategy.
As I played, the solo opponent turns were lengthy. I had to re-evaluate every building at times, or look up some special rules about the captain’s orders or preferences.
I know I could certainly get better to avoid the confusion, but I was chasing an impossible white whale.
Many, Many Buildings
One of the neatest gameplay elements is how the town expands from its meager beginnings to a busy village with more and more actions. This is a really great mechanic!
But setup involves sorting tiles, drawing some, and then placing them all out. I had about 30 tiles to look at. Costs, abilities, and victory points all had to be understood.
And when I followed the solo opponent’s orders, it was an exercise to simply look for specific buildings.
I hope this shows how excellent it can be to choose various buildings, but goodness… Too much to think about!
Welcome to Town
This is my favorite moment: Stepping back at the end of the last round to admire how large the town is!
Different captains have their own priorities, which explains why some of these neighborhoods are large or extremely small. I built the library and distillery!
Action buildings cost money for other players to use, so it’s important to snap up a few of the more common ones.
I had a pretty great strategy going on, but I was constantly in need of an answer to a rules question. Worse yet, I wasn’t really sure if I was winning or not. Confusing.
Confusing Trips Down Memory Lane
The obvious piece of advice for myself is probably to go ahead and find a few helpful player aids or updated rulebooks. I looked into this a bit, though, and still had so many questions. When I was first getting into the hobby years ago, I went ahead and made sure I spent the time to understand every solo game. If I didn’t get it, I assumed I was inexperienced.
Yet as I’ve explored tons of different games, it’s clear that if I struggle to learn a game or remember the rules, my time is better spent with an experience I’ll enjoy a lot more. Rulebooks are important! I don’t mind some confusing elements that make sense as I play, or even a few small mistakes. But when I can’t figure out the sequence of events… Nope.
This might also come down to this solo mode existing before solo started to take off. It has a lot of potential and it works well in some ways, but I’ll admit that I’m getting stubborn and picky… I just want to play games! So I may sound a little harsh here, yet I still appreciate the good times I had with this one back in the day. Time to sail away, though.
Out to Sea
The choice of when to set sail and launch ships is another neat aspect of the game that works really well.
Further spaces offer first pick, but cost a lot of food. The timing is also important: With just 12 rounds, it might not make sense to launch a bunch of short excursions later on.
I had a pretty great thing going on near the end, until Captain Flask had himself a grand ol’ turn. He pulled ahead and I couldn’t do anything to choose before him.
Whales slowly get replaced with empty ocean tiles, too, so waiting too long to head out to sea can be catastrophic!
All of the Sights
I saw plenty of whales on my journey! It cost money to bring back these paintings or photographs, though, and I had to give up a couple near the end. Uh-oh!
Captain Flask managed to find the rarest of the whales, and I would have been able to choose them had he not jumped ahead of me. Absolutely rude sailing behavior!
But the end was mired in confusion regarding reaching a captain’s limits and how that would affect the last choices.
I was still pretty happy with this outing, as I even found something rare out in the ocean. Not a complete wash!
Session Overview
Play Number: 24
Expansion 1: New Bedford: Rising Tide
Expansios 2: New Bedford: White Whale Promo
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Expert Difficulty Level with 5 Captains
Outcome: 25-18-30-15-14 (Loss)
The artwork was lovely to look back at, yet the confusing solo rules made me realize I would always have questions. This was still a challenge against Captain Flask and each play can be quite different, yet I believe I’ve sailed these waters for the last time. I concede to the lonely ocean!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
5
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
3
Quality
Components & Rules
4
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- Building up the town is a wonderful part of gameplay that ties into new actions and expands the play area.
- Deciding when to set sail is a very powerful choice that has a lot of elements and nuances to consider.
- Not all of the building tiles are used with each play, adding a fair amount of variety into the action choices.
- Each solo opponent acts very differently and this comes through in the way they interact with the mechanics.
- There are a lot of strategies to explore that range from focusing on one area to finding a balanced approach.
- All of the elements feel connected, since building bonuses are often tied into the state of the ships or sailing phase.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The solo rules are confusing and include loopholes, unclear scenarios, and a rather underdeveloped experience.
- Although playing against all of the solo captains is possible, the amount of extra work is far too much.
- Different player colors are very hard to tell apart with the ships, especially between black and dark green.
- Some degree of luck can make the sailing phase frustrating, even when the first position has been locked in.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 30 points.
Win at least 1 game at the standard difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the expert difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played New Bedford? Do you have a favorite way to play or number of captains to play against? I loved this back in the day when I had the time to work through all of my rules questions on a regular basis. Yet I have many other solo games I enjoy a lot more that have some similar mechanics. It was nice to go back in time for a little bit, though!
I would love to see an updated version of this released!
The core game is great and just needs polished to today’s standards.
One can dream of a reboot in the style of the new Awaken Realms Puerto Rico!
An updated version would be excellent! I still think there’s a wonderful game here, only held back by confusing rules that could use a little bit of help. Maybe we’ll see something one day… Hopefully!