ARTISANS - DT Preview with Mark Streed

About Artisans, from BoardGameGeek:

Through the centuries Artisans have been skilled workers, specialized craftsmen in creating art, functional or decorative objects. Sculptures, drawings, jewelry, clothes, constructions of different shapes and sizes. The work of Artisans has shaped the history of art and some creations have reached such worldwide fame; they influence even the modern world. Artisans is a fast and exciting but challenging family card game for 2 to 4 players which lasts 30 to 45 minutes. Players are trying to develop their skills in the use of seven different materials: clay, metal, wood, stone, gold, glass and textiles in such a way so that their level of expertise in these materials grants them the necessary skills to craft beautiful Art objects. Each player chooses initially one from the nine available Artisan profiles. Each Artisan has a unique ability which helps and defines the strategy of the players. Additionally, each player takes randomly 6 material cards. Finally, 4 Art objects are drawn randomly and become available for crafting. All the material cards are depicting the level of skill (I -> IV) in each of their corners and all the Art objects are depicting the materials and the required level of skill which the players need to have so they can craft them. A game is played in 12 rounds (the months of a year), where players are trying to craft Art objects and win victory points. Each round has 2 phases. During the first phase, players are either sequentially trading or collecting material cards from a central market or craft one of the available Art objects. The first phase ends when one player signifies the closing of the market by claiming the first player token. Then all other players have one last chance to visit the market. In the second phase, players are developing their skills by playing any number of cards of one material type of their choice. Every additional time they play the same material they upgrade their skill to the next level. However, they cannot play more cards than those that they have played on the previous level. Through this smart mechanism the number of cards played in each level matters, because at the end of the game every single material card scores points equal to the said level. In the end of the 12 rounds players are counting the points from the crafted Art objects plus the points for the material cards and any additional points that their Artisan's profile may score. The player with the most points is declared the winner! Use the material market to your benefit, claim the first player token in the right time to close the market and smartly manage your material cards in an effective way! The numerous combinations, the great replay ability, the strategic decisions and the challenging competition will leave anyone satisfied! Embrace the role of an Artisan and let the beautiful artwork take you on a journey through art and history! -description from the publisher