The Princes of Florence Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review The Princes of Florence, a tile laying and auction game published by WizKids Games. In The Princes of Florence, players are competing to earn the most victory points over the game's seven rounds.

What good is a trip to Italy without taking in the sights? Rome (oh so many people), Venice (get there before it’s underwater), and even a stop in Milan for some fashion tips that you know you need (yes you, in the turtleneck). But if I ever make my way to Italy, my first stop will be Florence, which may not be the most efficient travel schedule, but it works well for this intro.

Imagine with me The Florence of old. Renaissance, aristocrats, artists, and scholars. A hub of invention and design, creators of great works, many still available for the modern age to learn or gaze upon. The Princes of Florence, published by WizKids, is an updated reprint of the original 2000 release that attempts to place you and up to five friends into the mindset of a great dynasty supporting these creative endeavors. Designed by Wolfgang Kramer, Richard Ulrich, and Jens Christopher Ulrich, does a design from over two decades ago hold up as well as the greatest works of the Renaissance?

Over seven rounds in The Princes of Florence, players take part in two distinct phases:  first the auction phase, which features bidding on estate improvements, and then the action phase, which allows players to take two actions on their turn.

Everything is in service of prestige points, which are gained by creating great works as indicated on the three starting cards each player selects. Great works require a certain value threshold to be completed, and this threshold increases each round. As an example, in the first round, this value is seven. By the