#96: Entdecker (Mark's Top 100 2022)

Entdecker

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 3,025
• rating: 6.4
• published: 1996 

Print Status

• out of print

Why It's On The List

• First, I need to note that I'm talking about the original Goldsieber edition of Entdecker, not the mess that Klaus Teuber created when he attempted to create a more gamer-friendly version for Kosmos/Mayfair. My beloved original game is a family-friendly exploration game with beautiful components and a board that develops in different ways each time you play.

Tips & Tricks:

• In most games, cash is pretty tight - it can be useful to "lay off" for a turn (place one tile, place one scout) in order to save some money to make a big play in a future turn..
• The event tiles are roughly 50% good / 50% bad... you don't need to count tiles, but it's good to know if a bunch of the good stuff comes out early so you can avoid taking them (and vice versa).

Extras

• My specific problems with aforementioned (or, more accurately, aforemocked) Entdecker: Exploring New Horizons: the hut system, the preset mountains on the board, and the increased building costs from the various edges.
• There are a number of home-grown variants out there for Entdecker: the Manu variant was my favorite for a long time... though that's been eclipsed by Mark Johnson's mash-up of the best of the two games. Both are available in a very nice pdf file compiled by Shawn Low.
• Klaus Teuber also created a small box spin-off game (Oceania) which I enjoyed but not enough to keep from trading it away. As well, there are 2 other "Entdecker" games (and a promised but never published 3rd game) that I really like - but you'll hear more about those farther down in my list.
• Here's what I wrote about Entdecker for The One Hundred.
• This is the second of seven (7!) Klaus Teuber game designs that will appear on this countdown.