Gameplay in Brief:
In this excellent family strategy game, players are artisans who work to restore the fresco in a Renaissance church. With the help of five workers, players plan each day by choosing from such tasks as buying paints in the market, mixing paints to create additional colors, restoring part of the fresco, and painting portraits.
The first decision you make each day is when to start work -- an earlier time has benefits but also causes workers to be less productive due to lack of sleep. Fresco is a beautiful, engaging board game.
Basics:
For 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up. About 45 to 60 minutes per game.
Designers:
Fresco was designed by Wolfgang Panning, Marco Ruskowski and Marcel Süsselbeck.
Publisher:
Fresco was published in 2010 by Queen Games.
Genre:
Fresco is a simultaneous action game with an art theme. It also uses a worker placement mechanic.
Awards:
Fresco won the 2010 Deutscher Spiele Preis. It was a nominee for the 2010 International Gamers Awards and the 2010 Spiel des Jahres. It was also my pick as the best board game of 2010.
Expansions:
Two expansions for Fresco are available. Fresco: The Glaziers, scheduled to be published in late 2010, adds three new elements to the game, including the ability to use gold leaf and the opportunity to add stained-glass windows to the cathedral. Fresco: The Scrolls is a limited-edition expansion which was available at the Essen Game Fair in October 2010. Players can use the scrolls to restore the cathedral to the bishop's liking to earn more points.
