Back

Riverboat

A Mississippi farming game where you draft phases, organize your crops and load riverboats bound for New Orleans.

Riverboat (2017) puts you on a 19th century farm on the banks of the Mississippi, with a plan to ship your goods to New Orleans. The game lasts four rounds. At the start of each round you draft phase cards, and each phase then plays out in numerical order, with whoever picked that phase acting first. You place workers on fields (everyone has the same colored tiles, but each in a different random layout), group like crops together, then harvest and load riverboats at the docks. It is a drafting and set collection game with hex tiles and a nice rhythm of planning around what your rivals take. Two to four players, around an hour and a half.

Draft phase cards each roundSame tiles for everyone, different layoutsHarvest crops and load riverboats

Who it's for

You enjoy mid-weight euro games with puzzly personal boards and a drafting layer that keeps rivals relevant.

Not for you if…

You want lots of direct conflict or a light, quick game. Riverboat is a planner's game.

Vibe's take

Orderly and clever. You are puzzling over your own hex fields while keeping an eye on which phase your rivals have grabbed.

#1,213 on BGG

of over 30,000 ranked board games

Published 2017 Β· 9 years ago

older than 54% of games

In 5,015 collections

collected more than 58% of games

2–4 players Β· ages 12+

Best with 4 Β· publisher: 10+

about 90 min

longer than 77% of games Β· typical 30–90 min

Complexity: demanding

Takes some learning Β· 3.0 out of 5 Β· heavier than 82%

Opinions: broad agreement

Most people rate it similarly

Language: no text

Playable without the language

Play style: competitive

Theme & categories