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Der Pate
Author: Michael Rieneck
Publisher: Kosmos
Year: 2010


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As Sicilian mafia bosses we try to gain influence in New York in the 1940s. Via a variety of illegal activities such as gambling, smuggle and blackmail we fill our pockets with big bucks; the richest family wins the game!

'Der Pate' ('The Godfather') plays in seven rounds. On the board four districts are depicted, each containing three (numbered) illegal shops that can be exploited by our family members. A car drives around the blocks; the district where the car is currently located is protected against all kinds of nasty things mafia families are occupationally confronted with. The players receive a board where the can choose their actions, and four development lists. Two of those, the red and the grey list, are important at the end of the game. In the course of the game it becomes clear which colour is relevant; the players that have not reached the end of the accompanying list are not even included in the final scoring process! x
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At the beginning of the game each player chooses a district and places a family member in each of the three shops. Each round an event card is drawn. This card indicates how far the car moves, and whether the marker on the red or the grey list advances one step. Additionally an event is stated which is immediately resolved. Then, all players perform their individual actions.

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The active player throws four differently coloured dice. He selects one die and places it on an action in the first row of his player board, and carries out the accompanying action. The remaining three dice are thrown, and again one is selected, and placed on an action in the second row. Similarly the other two dice are placed on actions in row three and four. Usually the die roll influences the action: a player who places a '5' on the actions 'take over a shop' can take over a shop with the number '5' from an opponent. And a '3' on the action 'influence' means advancing three steps on the red influence list. The colour of the dice indicates for which actions the die can be used: the action 'FBI razzia' is red, and can only be performed using a red die.
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This way all players perform four actions per round. Possible actions are advancing on the various development lists, collect income from the shops on the game board, put an opponent out of business, send an opponent to jail or throw him in the Hudson, bail your own family members out of jail and more of the kind.

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After seven rounds the game is over; first it is determined which colour (red or grey) is overrepresented on the event cards. The players that have not reached the end of the accompanying development list don't join in for the final scoring. The other players receive money for each shop they are running, and a penalty for family members in jail. The richest player wins.
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At first sight 'Der Pate' looks promising; the expectations were high for this game where dice have to be allocated to certain actions, something we have seen before in 'Alea Iacta Est'. But when actually playing the game, 'Der Pate' turns out to be a disappointment. The biggest problem is that the active player is staring at his dice with his brains working overtime, while the other players are waiting, or rather engaging in an entertaining conversation. It is a bit of a puzzle to optimise your actions, but this contemplation is not very interesting for the others.

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In addition to the drive to make as much money as possible and to hinder your opponents, players also have to concern themselves with the red and the grey list: it is unjust that the players who didn't complete the correct list are not allowed to join in for the final scoring. It is a bit weird and does not add anything to the game.
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The actions that are eventually performed after all deliberations are usually of a rather destructive nature. The players kick each other out of the shops continuously, with the consequence that you have to start from scratch every single turn: no shops on the board, half of the family in jail, or worse: sleeping with the fishes, as they say it in mafia-lingo. There is hardly time to develop oneself on the less aggressive white development tracks (income and special actions). Therefore there is no real development in the game, and all seven turns are very repetitive. Because the attention drifts away during other players' turns, and your own turn is also not extremely captivating, 'Der Pate' is a bit dull.
© 2011 Barbara van Vugt


Der Pate, Michael Rieneck, Kosmos, 2010 - 2 to 4 players, 12 years and up, 60 minutes


Interesting transition of the theme and atmospheric illustrations by Franz Vohwinkel can not prevent that the game gets stuck in the tensionless collecting of Monopoly money
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