
2015Justin Blaske
From BoardGameGeek
In Area 1851, you are one of the area's top five Tinkerers and you're looking to prove your grit to the citizens of this Wild West town. Each turn, players have to deal with and negotiate random events in the area, then continue the turn under those circumstances, by drawing Tinker cards to fill their hand up to five cards, then rolling dice to determine their resources for that turn. Players then spend those resources to build new Gadgets or augment their existing Gadgets with Modifications. These Gadgets and Modifications can then be Delivered to the townsfolk for Reputation. In addition players can choose to scrap cards from their hand, and pull them out of circulation. To assist them in their endeavor to build the best contraptions in the land, players utilize three Assistants that are granted one at a time as play progresses; activate the Assistants provides bonuses to the player from various locations around town. Players also have the opportunity to show their worthiness by picking up new Feat cards during their turn. Completing these Feats provide a nice boost in Reputation during, or even at the end of the game. Since it's hard to keep all your thoughts in one place as a tinker, players end the turn by passing their hands around the table to a neighbor. The player that has earned the most Reputation from Delivering Gadgets and accomplishing Feats wins!
Area 1851 has 2 videos from 1 creator: 1 review and 1 how-to-play guide. They date from 2025 to October 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Area 1851 How to Play by Purge Reviews" by Purge Reviews, which runs 8 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Area 1851 by Purge Reviews" by Purge Reviews.
If you like it, try Mint Works, Penny Lane and Mint Control, also by Justin Blaske, or Galaxy Trucker (Second Edition), which shares several of its mechanics.
2021Vlaada Chvátil
2 - 4 players20 - 30 minMedium weight
From BoardGameGeek:
In Area 1851, you are one of the area's top five Tinkerers and you're looking to prove your grit to the citizens of this Wild West town. Each turn, players have to deal with and negotiate random events in the area, then continue the turn under those circumstances, by drawing Tinker cards to fill their hand up to five cards, then rolling dice to determine their resources for that turn. Players then spend those resources to build new Gadgets or augment their existing Gadgets with Modifications. These Gadgets and Modifications can then be Delivered to the townsfolk for Reputation. In addition players can choose to scrap cards from their hand, and pull them out of circulation. To assist them in their endeavor to build the best contraptions in the land, players utilize three Assistants that are granted one at a time as play progresses; activate the Assistants provides bonuses to the player from various locations around town. Players also have the opportunity to show their worthiness by picking up new Feat cards during their turn. Completing these Feats provide a nice boost in Reputation during, or even at the end of the game. Since it's hard to keep all your thoughts in one place as a tinker, players end the turn by passing their hands around the table to a neighbor. The player that has earned the most Reputation from Delivering Gadgets and accomplishing Feats wins!
Designer
Justin Blaske
Artists
Sara Machajewski, Dann May, Lucas Soriano
Publisher
Five24 Labs
Categories
Mechanics