Hi, this is Ambie from Board Game Blitz, and
this is Strategically Thematic, a segment
where I talk about theme in different strategic
games.
This time, I’m talking about Brew Crafters.
Brew Crafters is a game about brewing and
selling different types of beer.
In the game, you own a brewery and you have
to acquire different ingredients like malt
and hops in order to brew your beer.
There are a bunch of different types of beers,
both basic and advanced recipes, that are
randomized at the beginning of each game.
One of the interesting mechanics of Brew Crafters
is that you have two types of workers - your
market action meeples and your Brewery shift
tokens.
The market action meeples are the ones you
use for the usual worker placement - you’ll
be competing with the other players to get
the supplies you need in a limited market.
But in your own brewery, it doesn’t matter
what other people do, so actions like building
new equipment or brewing beer cannot be blocked.
When you brew beer in your brewery, it goes
through three stages before you can sell it.
First you brew it - you'll need the ingredients
listed on the recipe, and you'll use your
processing systems to brew the beer.
Also, in order to brew an advanced recipe,
you need to have brewed the basic recipe of
that type first, so you have experience in
making that type of beer.
The second stage is bottling it, and the final
stage is distributing and selling it.
Just like in real life, you don't actually
get the money for the beer until you sell
it, so you'll need to manage your finances
well.
Also, if you’re the first player to sell
an advanced recipe of beer, you’ll get a
gold label, which gives you more points.
The game also comes with a bunch of skilled
workers which are randomly chosen each game.
As one of your actions, you can hire these
workers and have them help you for the rest
of the game.
The workers are usually specialists in their
field - for example this one is a malt importer
and lets you get extra malt whenever you get
malt from the market.
In addition to the workers, you can upgrade
your brewery with new equipment and you can
research new skills, which will help you specialize.
For example, if you get the Brewpub, you can
sell directly to people visiting your factory,
so you don't have to wait a turn to ship your
beer after it's been bottled.
Thematically, it doesn’t make sense to have
skilled workers or fancy equipment for free,
so I think the way Brew Crafters implements
payment makes sense.
The game takes place over three years, and
at the end of each year you have to pay for
each dollar sign shown on your board.
This is kind of like a salary or maintenance
fee - workers get an annual salary, and equipment
needs maintenance and rent to stay functional.
What’s great about Brew Crafters is that
you can decide what type of brewery that you
want to be.
I’ve played games where I’ve been a specialty
craft beer brewery, going for high quality
beers but low quantity.
And in other games I’ve basically been making
a bunch of Bud Lights - high quantity but
low quality beers.
It’s really fun to go for completely different
strategies, and the variety in set up makes
you want to try new things each time!
Even though I’m not a fan of drinking beer,
I think the theme of brewing beer is unique
and really interesting in a board game, and
Brew Crafters implements the theme really
well.
Thanks for watching Strategically Thematic!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments
below.
