New Bedford

Build a 19th-century whaling town and time your ships carefully in a tidy worker-placement game.

Designer: Nathaniel Levan
Published by: Dice Hate Me Games

New Bedford takes you to Massachusetts in the mid-1800s, the golden age of whaling, where you are building a town into a thriving whaling community. Over twelve rounds you place two workers per round, gathering food, wood and brick, selling goods, constructing buildings that unlock new actions, and launching ships to hunt whales. Stay out longest and you get the best pick, but wait too long and whales become harder to catch, and do not forget to pay your crew when the ships come home. It is a medium-weight worker-placement game with tight timing, playable solo or up to four, in about an hour. Think of it as a tidy economic puzzle with a salty coat of paint.

Twelve rounds, two workers eachBuildings unlock new actionsWhaling ships reward timing and risk

Who it's for

You like worker-placement games with tight timing and a nautical theme, and you play solo or with up to three friends.

Not for you if…

You want lots of player interaction or a light game. It is a careful economic puzzle with limited conflict.

Vibe's take

Tidy and tense. Each turn weighs a small gain now against a bigger one later, and the whales do not wait around.