Game Review - Sheriff of Nottingham

Mechanics: bluff, agreement and persuasion
Game difficulty: Easy
Game duration: 60 min
Number of players: 2-5
Best number of players: 4-5
Language: It is available in Latvian, but there is no text on the cards

One of the games that has been popular for a long time in Latvia is the classic Sabotieris, which tells the average Latvian player that a little bluffing and cheating are beloved mechanics. Here, I want to describe a game where bluffing, dirty deals, and smuggling are the majority of the game mechanics. Description of Sheriff of Nottingham.

Topic:
The players are medieval merchants trying to bring various goods of trade into the city of Nottingham, but at the entrance gate they are checked by the sheriff, who may ask for the goods they have brought, and if you have buried a crossbow in your apples, you could be in big trouble, but maybe with the sheriff possible to agree. The game is very themed and has a good feel for its mechanics and theme. Even more thematic comes when the players also get into their roles, change their voice and try to personalize the Middle Ages and the bribery of the sheriff.

Components:
The deck comes with a huge deck of over 200 cards that are nearly impossible to shuffle into one deck. Also, there are lots of cardboard coins and individual, beautifully visualized player areas that function as clues to where to collect the various imported goods. However, the best components are the fabric resealable bags, where each player places their declared goods. The components are of reasonably good quality, an appropriate and understandable visualization is chosen, apples are apples and chickens are chickens.

Mechanics:
Each round one of the players is the sheriff while the others are the dealers. Dealers start the round with a card exchange, where they can exchange some cards for others. After that, each player puts a number of cards of their choice into their bags and declares their contents, for example saying that they are bringing in 4 chickens. After all the merchants have handed over their bags to the sheriff, the transaction phase begins, during which the sheriff's task is to try to figure out which of the players are lying and trying to smuggle contraband into the city, and which are telling the truth. During this phase, players have the option of bribing the sheriff by offering him money not to open a player's bag, or even more to open another player's bag. The sheriff's choice is important because if he opens the bag and there is contraband in it, the dealer will compensate him and lose the contraband, but if there is no contraband in the bag, the sheriff will have to pay the dealer. The whole game lies in this aspect, because whoever gets the most money wins the game and just by playing as the sheriff, the player can win or lose a lot of money. The game lasts until everyone has been the sheriff twice, then the total money accumulated and traded for the imported goods is counted, as well as the players who imported the most goods of a certain type can get extra points.

Multiplayer:
I'd rate the multiplayer as average, with very similar trading and bluffing each time. The multiplayer of the game is determined by the group you play with. Sheriff of Nottingham is a social game that can be much better with one group than another. A lot depends on how well the players feel in the created game world, but in most cases the game knows how to draw it into its world and it is not just an empty, mathematical bidding for bribing the sheriff.

Rating:
If you're ready to learn the dark side of your friends and family, see them look you in the eye, tell you there's only 3 premium cheeses in the bag, and then sneak in some nefarious contraband, then this is the game for you. But keep in mind that this game won't be for everyone, there may be friends for whom bluffing and cheating is an ethical issue, especially when children are involved, also, the game depends on the company, so while I've had several very exciting Sheriff games, my rating 7 out of 10 .

You can buy the game in Brain Games stores on the 1st floor of Rīga Plaza or K. Barona Street 55, or in the online store: Sheriff of Nottingham

Board Game Geek rating: 7.2

Author: Kristaps Auzans

Pictures from Board Game Geek