Compete to build the most valuable picturesque walled city in 13th-century Granada. 2-6 Players | 45-60 Mins | Ages 8+ Features: Hand Management, Memory, Open Drafting, Set Collection, Tile Placement Theme: City Building, Medieval Description: Granada, 1278. At the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, one of the most exciting and interesting project of the Spanish Middle Ages begins: the construction of the ALHAMBRA. The best master builders in the whole of Europe and Arabia want to demonstrate their skill. Employ the most suitable teams of builders and make sure that you always have enough of the right currency. Because no matter whether they are stonemasons from the north or horticulturalists from the south, they all want a proper wage and insist on their "native" currency. With their help towers can be constructed, gardens laid out, pavilions and arcades erected and seraglios and chambers built. In Alhambra, players are acquiring buildings to be placed within their Alhambra complex. The money in Alhambra comes in four different currencies and is available in the open money market. The 54 buildings of six types become available for purchase in the building market four at a time; one building is available in each of the four different currencies. On a player's turn, a player may 1) take money from the open money market, 2) purchase a building from the building market and either place it in his Alhambra or reserve, or 3) engage in construction and re-construction projects with buildings that have been placed in the player's Alhambra or reserve. The game rewards efficiency, as when a player purchases a building from the market for the exact amount of money, the player may take another turn. Players with the most buildings in each of the six building types in his Alhambra score in each of the scoring phases, and points are awarded for players' longest external "wall" section within their complex. The game ends when the building market can no longer be replenished from the building tile supply, and there is a final scoring, whereupon the player with the highest score wins. AWARDS & HONORS 2005 Vuoden Peli Adult Game of the Year Winner 2005 Vuoden Peli Adult Game of the Year Nominee 2005 Nederlandse Spellenprijs Nominee 2005 Juego del Año Finalist 2005 Hra roku Nominee 2005 Årets Spill Best Family Game Winner 2005 Årets Spill Best Family Game Nominee 2004 Hra roku Nominee 2003 Spiel des Jahres Winner 2003 Spiel des Jahres Nominee 2003 Japan Boardgame Prize Best Foreign Game for Beginners Nominee 2003 Japan Boardgame Prize Best Advanced Game Nominee 2003 International Gamers Awards - General Strategy; Multi-player Nominee 2003 Essener Feder Best Written Rules Winner 2003 Deutscher Spiele Preis Best Family/Adult Game 2nd Place Personal Review and Recommendation After many years this game is still great and I won't hesitate to play a game if someone offers. An classic that has passed the test of time. Alhambra offers a unique gameplay of purchasing garden and building tiles where no change is given, but if you pay the exact price you'll get bonuses! Will you hold out and try and get that exact change, or will you miss your opportunity to grab that tile you need whilst your opponent snatches away! Several challenges are presented in this game, and careful watch on other players as you build the Alhambra to ensure yours is the best in every way. And don't forget those walls, ability to score high but you might lock yourself out! Certainly I've done that several times in a failing strategy of striving for the highest wall bonus.R A great family game, or strategy game to play with friends. At such a low price for the strong game play this one offers we highly recommend.
