What’s New?

Tuscany EE contains three new modules to add to your game, Structures, Special Workers, and an Extended Board. The last of these, the Extended board, is probably the most dramatic shift in how the game operates. Unlike the base game where your lazy vintners only had to work during “summer” and “winter” seasons, all action spaces are now broken into a whopping four different seasons in which all players must select actions or pass until the game progresses to the next season. Just like in the base game, workers used in a previous season are not reclaimed until the end of the year, so players are much more considerate about which actions to take and when.

Along with the new seasons, the extended board presents several new actions, a new method of determining turn order, and a small “overworld map” used to show your influence on the surrounding countryside. Turn order is now decided as you pass out of winter, ending your actions for the year. Along with the rest of your upkeep, you select which slot you’d like to take on turn order for the next turn, of course granting better bonuses the further down you go. The regional map is neat though relatively inconsequential; certain actions allow you to place one of your six stars in a region of your choice for a small reward. These stars can be moved later without the reward, but the player with the most influence in each region gets 1 to 2 points at the end of the game, adding a certain area control element to the game.

Structures and Special Workers (each of which can be played with or without the new board), are new cards that expand on concepts that are core to the base game. Two special workers are drawn at the beginning of the game and assigned randomly to the (frankly adorable) male and female meeples. Now whenever you train a new worker, you can choose to pay extra to bring your male or female special worker into play. These specialists have a variety of effects ranging from mildly helpful to “oh-my-god-the-mafioso-is-incredible!”. Fortunately every player has access to the same two specialists so things remain balanced. Structures are drawn through a variety of actions, that can be built just like any other building in the game. These give players exclusive new actions or ongoing effects that are usually quite powerful.