Congress of Gamers 2013 Part 3: "New Bedford"

Anna Rutledge and Nathaniel Levan
demonstrate "New Bedford"

I had been looking forward to playing "New Bedford" since I first heard of it on the UnPub.net website.  My family has deep attachments to that old Massachusetts whaling town.  Nathaniel Levan is the designer of this worker placement prototype, and I got to meet him in the UnPub ProtoZone at Congress of Gamers a couple of weeks ago.

Beyond the theme, I like "New Bedford" for several game-play reasons.  I am reminded of Puerto Rico from the standpoint that players can score through the staple process of whaling as well as from buying buildings to augment the town of New Bedford.  Likewise, "New Bedford" includes the worker-placement-building quality of Le Havre with buildings that facilitate collecting materials, constructing buildings, or sending out whaling ships.  I actually find "New Bedford" cleaner and more elegant than Le Havre.

The beautiful "New Bedford" prototype

I played a three-player round with (if I remember correctly) Austin Smokowicz and Mike Mullins.  I opted to go whaling early and often, and I collected a hefty number of the relatively low-scoring right whales but also one highly-sought sperm whale.  I built only four buildings, however, while my opponents focused on many buildings and only a few whaling ventures.  As it happened, I won with 26 points, and the other two tied at 21. 

I am very fond of "New Bedford," and I really hope that Nathaniel is able to bring it to production.  I will be among the first in line to get a copy.