Village Port Board Game

The second expansion for the base game alters the travel section of the board and also adds a mini expansion with the new "life goals". First of all, let me say how much more enjoyable the 'Port' is to use. Not only can you drop off members of the family to become a missionary on a remote island, but there are cocoa beans and tea bales to import from islands and sell at the market for a very handsome return rate. This adds a whole new strategy to the core game, as players who tended to ignore the travel section of the board will now be enticed with the new options that make exploring more worth your time. The mini game board is placed over the old board and the artwork is attractive and instructions for each island are clear and easy to follow. There are new ship pieces in each color, including the 5th player should you own the first expansion.The mini expansion of the life goals adds a new twist as well, with two random professions dealt to the players at the start of the game. You secretly look at each one, a silver level (easier) and a gold level (harder) to achieve for extra game points. Will one of your family members write a great novel? Will another become a Saint? It adds more depth into the standard game and it also makes you wonder when one of the players becomes very interested in acquiring lots of carts or putting quite a few members in the church.I cannot imagine playing the base game without this expansion. It also blends seamlessly with the first expansion, 'Village Inn'. My gaming group loves this game and after each session we all talk about the different strategy we're going to use the next time we play. Although there is a bit of delay between certain turns, you hardly notice because you are always planning your next move anyways. The strategy level of the game is greatly enhanced with this new expansion. Do not pass this one by!

Great expansion to the village board game, this adds a lot of depth and some fun new components to an already amazing game.5 Stars

Nice addition to The Village, but not essential to the enjoyment of the basic game. Good if you want a little something different. I enjoy it, but can enjoy playing without it as well.

This is an excellent expansion to Village. This time we add the sea voyages to the game. With this expansion comes some new elements: pick-up and deliver and life goals. Plus if you die at sea, you can be buried at sea as well. I love Village and this is a great expansion for it. So glad that Tasty Minstrel Games brought this to the US Market

This makes a great game even better. It fixes the travel track and makes it a viable strategy. I wouldn't play the base game without this expansion now. It fits right over the base game board and feels like it should have been part of the game to begin with. TMG did a great job on production again as the bits and board are all well done. This is a must have for fans of Village.

Arrived within time expected. Great add-on to a game I love.

My actual rating is 3.5 stars, but given only the choice between 3 and 4, I felt the lower rating was more representative.I've read the other reviews and they're not wrong, but I'm not as enthusiastic as the other reviewers seem to be. I was one of the first to review both the original Village and the Village Inn, both which I believe to be exceptional. The Village Port is good, but I have a few issues with it. Most importantly, when I shell out over $25 for an expansion, I expect that there are going to be some significant changes to the game I was playing previously. I don't feel that is the case here. First of all, this game was clearly designed to be played with both the base game AND the Inn expansion. Although not absolutely necessary, it comes with 4 Inn cards and a 5th player color, none of which is of any use without the first expansion.Consider the Village Inn. It added a Brewery, an Inn, a new commodity (beer) and 30 Villager cards which could influence your strategy and score. It also added the possibility of a 5th player, which for me, was a huge deal. It added a new dimension to the game, and certainly changed the strategy dynamics required for success.The Port does NOT add a 5th player by itself. It adds ships, ship captains, and a series of islands which offer an array of opportunities to increase your score. That's all well and good, but to do so, it took away the old travel section of the board which, despite what I've read from others, is a major feature and often an integral part of a winning strategy. It was as if the creators decided that "this part wasn't working, so we've tweaked it into something better." I can't disagree more.I'm NOT saying that the Port's sailing features aren't compelling. Neither am I advocating that the old travel section was better than the new one. I'm simply making the observation that something good was taken away to add something perhaps marginally better. The Port also offers players two "Life Goal" cards which I liked very much, despite often being very hard to attain.Summing it up, when I pay nearly as much for an expansion as I did for the base game, I have some high expectations. The Village is an excellent game, with one of my highest recommendations. If you are going to buy one expansion, in my opinion, the Inn is the obvious choice. It is an outstanding addition. If you are hooked on the Inn expansion, you may want to consider adding the Port. It's quite good, but doesn't add a tremendous amount of new features for its fairly hefty price tag. I believe this game should be priced in the $12 - $15 range.

Excellent expansion to the base. Makes travelling so much more versatile.