Product Description

Opera isn't a typical theme for board games, but 2009 will see the release of two opera-themed titles: Turandot, Stefano Castelli's card game from daVinci that has you choosing actors for that Puccini opera, and the more generically-named and broadly sweeping Opera from Hans van Tol and The Game Master.

Players in Opera have the work of six composers available to them -- Händel, Monteverdi, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and Verdi -- and their job is to establish opera houses in various cities, then put on performances that will bring in the crowds. The game takes place over nine rounds, with three rounds per episode: Baroque, Classicism, and Romanticism.

At the start of each round, players simultaneously reveal their budget for the round, adding that amount to any funds from previous rounds with the budget maxing out at ten. Players then choose employee and character roles in order to take actions, such as acquiring music or building all or part of an opera house; each of the these figures has a fee associated with them that comes out of a player's budget. The player who chooses an employee takes the action first, then other players may take the action by paying an additional fee. Characters are not shared, but other players can still benefit from their activation. The Maestro, for example, moves to a new city when chosen and doubles the revenue for all operas performed during that round.

Once players pass or all figures have been chosen, players receive income based on the performances; holding multiple operas in the same building brings you greater income, but you're restricted to one piece from each composer in order to give the audience the diversity it craves. At the end of the round, the composers are adjusted on the fame chart based on how many of their works are in circulation.

After every three rounds, players go through a scoring round, earning points equal to the fame value of a composer for the music piece being performed in each building's main hall. (All the other pieces in the building earn you ducats, not points. That said, you lose one point for each empty hall, so you need to give the audiences something to keep them in their seats!) After nine rounds and the final scoring period, the player with the most points wins.

Languages: English & Dutch

Description written by W. Eric Martin and used with permission of BoardgameNews.com

Product Information

• Designer(s): Hans van Tol
• Manufacturer(s): The Game Master
• Artist(s): Volkan Baga
• Year: 2009
• Players: 2 - 4
• Time: 90 - 150 minutes
• Ages: 12 and up
• Weight: 1,787 grams
• Current Sales Rank: #27
• Language Requirements: Manufacturer's rules are printed in multiple languages (including English). This is an imported item.

Other Resources for Opera:

	Board Game Geek is an incredible compilation of information about board and card games with many descriptions, photographs, reviews, session reports, and other commentary.
	The Luding Database is a game database that contains several thousand games, authors and publishers. There are also links to game discussions at more than 60 sites around the web.