Trading in the Ancient Desert

Set in the 3rd century AD, Resafa takes you on a journey through the Middle East, where players act as merchants managing trade routes and resources in a desolate desert outpost. Historically, Resafa was a bustling hub, dependent on ingenious water management to survive. In this game, you’ll not only trade goods and collect resources but also build water canals and workshops to help your business flourish amidst harsh conditions. As a medium-heavy euro game, Resafa blends resource management with tactical decision-making in a dynamic setting.

Layered Gameplay with Multi-Use Cards

The core mechanic in Resafa revolves around hand management and multi-use cards, providing a satisfying layer of strategic depth. Each round, players choose one of three action cards, with each card offering two distinct choices—one on the top half and another on the bottom. Selecting the best option is crucial, as each decision can significantly affect future actions. This design creates a strong sense of tension and flexibility, forcing you to adapt on the fly. With a limited number of turns, planning efficiently becomes key to success.

Canal Building and Network Strategy

One of the most exciting elements in Resafa is the canal-building system, which forms the heart of the game’s network-building mechanics. Water is scarce, and building canals to move water across the map is a shared resource management challenge. Canals provide not only instant benefits but also crucial end-game points. You’ll have to carefully consider when to invest in expanding your network and how to best utilize the water to support your workshops and gardens. This interconnected system adds depth to the gameplay, as players vie for the best routes and resources.

Workshop and Garden Placement

Workshops are essential in Resafa, allowing players to produce valuable resources that are used for building canals, trading goods, and expanding businesses. Garden placement between workshops adds another layer of strategy, as these gardens provide additional bonuses and victory points. The puzzle of arranging workshops and gardens is both rewarding and challenging, requiring players to balance short-term gains with long-term goals. Every placement matters, and optimizing this layout is key to gaining an edge over opponents.

Trading and Resource Management

At its core, Resafa is a trading game. Players will buy and sell goods in various cities, always needing to keep an eye on their resources—coins, marble, stone, and camels. Trading allows for a surge of points and money, but it requires careful planning. The process of buying low and selling high is a familiar mechanic, but here it’s paired with a tight action economy that makes each decision feel meaningful. You’ll need to invest resources wisely to maximize profits while keeping your engine running smoothly.

Color Actions and Track Advancement

What sets Resafa apart from other euro games is its unique color action system. Each action card not only dictates a primary action but also triggers a secondary color action. These color actions allow players to advance on corresponding color tracks, gaining powerful bonuses and special cards as they progress. Moving up these tracks can be critical to unlocking game-changing abilities, but the limited number of actions means you’ll have to prioritize which track to focus on. This system introduces a delightful puzzle within a puzzle, as you balance primary and secondary goals.

Strategic Flexibility and Pivoting

The action economy in Resafa is tight—players can only take three actions per round over six rounds, for a total of 18 turns in the game. With only six action cards in your deck, and each card offering limited options, you’ll often find yourself needing to pivot your strategy based on the cards in hand. Sometimes the ideal move simply isn’t available, forcing you to get creative. This element of unpredictability keeps the game engaging and ensures that no two playthroughs are alike. While you can plan, you’ll need to stay flexible and adjust your strategy as the game unfolds.

Tight Action Economy

With a limited number of turns, Resafa demands efficient decision-making. The combination of a tight action economy and the multi-use card system means players will need to carefully weigh each choice. Every action has the potential to open or close doors for future moves, so it’s crucial to think several steps ahead. However, the game does offer ways to mitigate bad luck, especially through the use of bonus cards and the flexible color actions. This keeps the experience challenging without feeling overly punishing.

Replayability Through Depth and Variability

Thanks to its layered mechanics, Resafa offers a high degree of replayability. Each game presents new challenges, as the available workshops, bonus cards, and color track cards can vary significantly from one playthrough to the next. Additionally, the dynamic nature of the network-building and trading mechanics ensures that no two games play out the same way. As you refine your strategies over multiple sessions, you’ll discover new synergies and paths to victory, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging.

Verdict

Resafa is a strategic delight for fans of euro games, offering a satisfying mix of resource management, network-building, and tactical flexibility. The multi-use card system and tight action economy create a tense, engaging experience where every decision counts. While the theme is subtle, the gameplay depth and variability ensure high replayability. If you enjoy medium-heavy euro games that reward careful planning and adaptability, Resafa is well worth your time. Its combination of interconnected mechanics and thoughtful design will keep you coming back for more.

– David

Scratches: 7.5/10.0