One of the biggest new games at Essen Spiel this year was CGE’s history board game, Kutná Hora. And who better to design the game than the people who used to live in this once famous city?
At the CGE booth, we got the opportunity to sit down with the designers of Kutná Hora – Ondřej Bystroň and Petr Čáslava. We got to ask them what it’s like to make a game based on one of the most important medieval European cities. We also learned some fun historical facts and were introduced to the game’s dynamic economy system. Check it out:
Kutná Hora: City of Silver is a 2023 CGE release where up to four players represent guild leaders developing the titular city. Set in the 14th century, the game tasks you with building this bustling metropolis from the ground up. You’ll dig mines, plot the land, and raise new buildings.
We especially liked how the game’s economy works, as more people in the city mean higher prices, but more buildings of the same type lead to an oversupply of certain goods, so you won’t get to them at a premium. The designers also created neat little standees for decks of cards, and some sliders that instantly tell you how much each of the different goods is worth.
This is the first board game to use the new RE-Wood material. It’s a combination of recycled wood and some glue, injection molded into cute miniatures. This way you’ll have more lively components on your table instead of regular, boring wooden cubes (not that we have anything against cubes, they’re just… plain).
Of course, your favorite boars brought home a copy of the game and you can read our Kutná Hora: City of Silver review here. Small spoiler: it’s really good!
Bojan Jovanovic
Bojan is an experienced gaming journalist with more than 15 years in the gaming industry. He’s also the first person we would raid for his board game shelves in the event of a zombie apocalypse. His ideal vacation destination is Essen Spiel and finding new gems for his collection.