Merchants of Amsterdam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is a darn fun game. And semi-educational too. I say semi-educational because in fairness, most educational games are just that,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/11\/merchants-of-amsterdam.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Merchants of Amsterdam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is a darn fun game. And semi-educational too. 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<\/div>\n

Is a darn fun game. \u00a0And semi-educational too. \u00a0I say semi-educational because in fairness, most educational games are just that, semi-educational. <\/p>\n

The game has no dice. \u00a0It has a time tracker that moves through various years of the 17th century that mark certain events in the fortunes of Amsterdam, when that city was a center of trade and commerce. \u00a0In the rules, it gives a bullet point about what happened in that particular year to make it worthy of note.<\/p>\n

The rest of the game is a strange combination of strategy and pure luck. \u00a0You open markets around the world, build warehouses in Amsterdam (noted for such building in its day), and speculate on the commodities market. \u00a0Through a bizarre combination of factoring and figuring, you can rake in the money or lose everything. \u00a0The one with the most money at the end wins.<\/p>\n

As \u201chistorical\u201d games go, it\u2019s somewhat light even when you think semi-educational. \u00a0But compared to most video games (computer games being another issue), it soars. \u00a0It got my kids to realize there was this place that occupies a footnote or a few sentences in most history books that really was, for quite a while, a major player in world events.<\/p>\n

As for the game play, it\u2019s not easy. \u00a0Sometimes it goes fast, other times it drags. \u00a0Long term strategies work better than fly by the seat of your pants. \u00a0Figuring what to focus on \u2013 worldwide markets, warehouse building or commodities exchange \u2013 is one of the keys. \u00a0And the high point each round is the Auction, which includes a rather bizarre timer. \u00a0Who hits the timer first gets the purchase for the price the timer indicates. \u00a0That\u2019s where it\u2019s every man for himself. For the record, I came in 3rd last night. \u00a0My wife won, being the non-man in the room.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is a darn fun game. \u00a0And semi-educational too. \u00a0I say semi-educational because in fairness, most educational games are just that, semi-educational. The game has no dice. \u00a0It has a time tracker that moves through various years of the 17th century that mark certain events in the fortunes of Amsterdam, when that city was a center […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMerchants of Amsterdam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is a darn fun game. And semi-educational too. 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