2024Christophe Boelinger
- Videos
- 25
- Creators
- 22
2 - 4 players40 - 80 minHeavy weight

2012Christophe Boelinger
Mostly playthroughs and reviews. Archipelago is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 17 reviews, 7 how-to-play guides, 18 recorded sessions, 1 unboxings, and 3 other videos.
From BoardGameGeek
In Archipelago, players are Renaissance European powers competing in the exploration of a Pacific or Caribbean archipelago. They will explore territories, harvest resources, use those resources in markets both internal (for their use and that of the natives) and foreign (to sell it in Europe), build markets, harbors, cities and temples, and negotiate among themselves (and maybe betray each other) – all this to complete their secret objectives. They will also need to guess the secret objective of the other players to be able to benefit from them. But players also need to be careful of the natives; if they make them too unhappy or if too many of them are unoccupied, they could revolt and declare independence. Then everyone will lose! According to the author, what he's tried to create is a "German" economic worker-placement game, but without the two things he dislikes in them: the superficial theme and the lack of interaction. Indeed this game includes a very present theme and a lot of negotiation and potential backstabbing. The game includes three sets of objectives, enabling players to choose between a short, medium and a long game. Solo play is also possible with an expansion.
Archipelago has 46 videos from 29 creators: 17 reviews, 7 how-to-play guides, 18 playthroughs, 1 unboxing and 3 other videos. They date from 2012 to November 2021.
To learn the rules, start with "A game of Archipelago, rules explained by Christophe Boelinger" by Ludically, which runs 38 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Dice Tower Reviews: Archipelago" by The Dice Tower. 12 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "A lonesome Gamer plays Archipelago pt 1" by callasmar, one of 18 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Rise & Fall, Earth Reborn, Living Planet and Dungeon Twister: 20th Anniversary Edition, also by Christophe Boelinger. It appears in convention videos from Spiel Essen 2012.
8 of 29
2024Christophe Boelinger
2 - 4 players40 - 80 minHeavy weight
2019Christophe Boelinger
2 - 4 players30 - 120 minHeavy weight
2025Christophe Boelinger
2 - 4 players0 min
From BoardGameGeek:
In Archipelago, players are Renaissance European powers competing in the exploration of a Pacific or Caribbean archipelago. They will explore territories, harvest resources, use those resources in markets both internal (for their use and that of the natives) and foreign (to sell it in Europe), build markets, harbors, cities and temples, and negotiate among themselves (and maybe betray each other) – all this to complete their secret objectives. They will also need to guess the secret objective of the other players to be able to benefit from them. But players also need to be careful of the natives; if they make them too unhappy or if too many of them are unoccupied, they could revolt and declare independence. Then everyone will lose! According to the author, what he's tried to create is a "German" economic worker-placement game, but without the two things he dislikes in them: the superficial theme and the lack of interaction. Indeed this game includes a very present theme and a lot of negotiation and potential backstabbing. The game includes three sets of objectives, enabling players to choose between a short, medium and a long game. Solo play is also possible with an expansion.
Designer
Christophe Boelinger
Artists
Vincent Boulanger, Ismaël Pommaz, Chris Quilliams
Publisher
Ludically
Categories
Mechanics