- Publisher : Lucky Duck Games
- Designer(s) : Mitch Wallace
- Artist(s) : Veronica Grassi, Max Kosek, Angelica Regni, Sofia Ross
- Players : 2–4
- Playing time : 30-60 Min
- Weight BGG : 1.81
What's this?
You are an art collector looking to create the most prestigious gallery. You must acquire paintings at auction and hang them in your gallery, avoiding “faux taste” and maximizing the prestige of your collection.
How do you play?
How a round works:
➡️ Prepare the lots: The Auctioneer selects a number of paintings equal to the number of players + 1. These paintings are put up for auction.
➡️ Bid and acquire paintings: All players choose an Auction card simultaneously. Players then acquire the paintings in descending order of bids.
➡️ Hang the paintings: Players place the paintings in their gallery according to the hanging rules. The paintings must be adjacent to another tile.
➡️ Increase prestige: The abandoned painting is placed in the museum, which increases the prestige of its pictorial genre.
➡️ End of round: The role of Auctioneer passes to the next player.
Hanging rules:
The tiles must be adjacent to another tile in the gallery.
Avoid placing paintings of the same type side by side, this constitutes a “bad taste”.
If a frame matches another, you get Decor tiles that are worth points at the end of the game.
➡️ End of game:
The game ends when a player: Has completely filled his gallery or has two superfluous paintings or has used up all his Auction cards.
Is it good?
Art Society skillfully combines two mechanics: auctions and tile placement. Players are invited to set up their art gallery in the most strategic way.
This game is an excellent introduction to auction mechanisms, which are particularly easy to understand without being really interesting.
The material is of high quality, with magnificent illustrations featuring famous paintings. The world of art is thus brilliantly transcribed.
However, the choices to be made when acquiring paintings may seem quite obvious, somewhat limiting the strategic depth of the game. The random factor linked to the drawings of paintings (genre, frame) and hidden auctions can also frustrate some players, because it reduces the feeling of control over the game. It is also difficult to anticipate the evolution of the different genres and to optimize one’s score accordingly.
Despite these few reservations, Art Society will appeal to players looking for a visually pleasing tile-laying game, with an accessible bidding mechanic for quick games. It is ideal for an introduction to more complex board games.
A big thank you to the online store Espritjeu who allowed me to test this game by sending me a copy. To discover their catalog, I invite you to visit their website:
Review Art Society
Positives
- Visually appealing
- The mix of auction and tile-laying mechanics
- Original theme
Negatives
- Lack of strategic depth and control
- Randomness
