I've decided to pick up John Company SE before it became a trend 😃. After reading a few game reviews, I was drawn to its visual aspect and the massive set of rules associated with this title, which you need to grasp. As I've mentioned before, I enjoy cracking the codes of board games, and this one practically begged to be figured out. I'll note, by the way, that this is the only case where after a few rounds, I decided to buy real metal coins; during gameplay, there's always too few of them, and having even some now brings even more joy.
THEME
Each player, representing their family, receives some office related to the famous East India Company, which operated in India for nearly 300 years from the beginning of the 17th century. Together and entirely dependent on each other, we will carry out tasks assigned to the positions drawn at the beginning of the game, which in the end will either ensure the company's success or send it to the bottom along with all its shareholders. The situation in India is dynamic; as a company, we will gain and lose influence there, while also shaping the law by voting for or against laws proposed by the prime minister player. The theme is boiling over here; everything makes sense and is grounded in facts. I can't imagine a more thematic gameplay than what John Company SE offers. 5/5
RULES
I enjoy watching videos with the game's creator, Cole Wehrle, who assures that his work is quite simple, and then spends 90 minutes explaining how to handle it properly 😃. Maybe the weight of the game doesn't lie in the number of rules, but in understanding the relationships between the positions. In a nutshell - most of the time, a group of players at the table will want to ruin the company, doing shady business within it, while others will want the opposite, and both sides, responsible for its operation, will negotiate with each other to gain something for themselves. It's like driving a car with several people, where one holds the steering wheel, another changes gears, someone keeps their foot on the clutch, and another jerks the brake. Luckily, the main goal for everyone is to make money to send their family members into retirement and gain victory points in this way (the main source of them in the introductory scenarios of the game), so up to a certain point, more or less everyone will be interested in any company's misdeeds. If it goes bankrupt, the game ends immediately, but if it survives despite catastrophic management, the game will continue as long as the chosen scenario dictates. An interesting solution is leading players through all phases of the round, so first checking who retires (i.e., which office falls), then choosing one of several simple "personal" actions, filling vacancies if there are any, and finally - activating offices in the correct order, which will shape the company's future. Up to this point, I would describe John Company SE as a party game for freaks (each office allows for only 1-2 actions, and they are neatly described on reference cards), but a moment later something happens that leads to cold sweat on the forehead of anyone who has to run the game - EVENTS IN INDIA. Despite printing auxiliary materials from the internet, this stuff is still very unintuitive to me, and every time I roll the die to determine their number, I silently pray that fate won't condemn me to consider more than one event. I've seen this fear in the eyes of other game hosts, so I know I'm not alone. Fortunately, this part is basically scripted and doesn't require the intervention of other players, but someone unfortunately has to manage it... Then there are essentially procedural phases, company expenses, shifts on the tracks of expectations, and costs associated with keeping our old folks in retirement homes. It's also worth mentioning the parliament debates, where players will vote for or against laws proposed by the prime minister (these are basically "breaking rules"). Rejecting the law will mean bidding farewell to the prime minister and replacing him with whoever, as the opposition leader, invested the most in the voting outcome. And so on for 5-8 rounds, depending on the chosen type of gameplay. Phew, there's quite a bit of it, and make no mistake, the weight of this title is about 4.5 out of five, although once you've mastered the relationships through turns, things will flow very smoothly (did I mention that reefs lurk at the events in India?). On a side note - the game manual, like in other Cole Wehrle productions, is an absolute failure. I suggest immediately googling other instructions online, as there are plenty of them.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
I'm extremely fond of the main board; it's exquisite, very British, and we also have very nice player boards and epochal illustrations in the manual. Even the wheel held by the prime minister, indicating the current policy, is incredibly atmospheric, reminding me of Terry Gilliam's quirks from Monty Python, super cool stuff. 5/5
COMPONENTS
I have no complaints; the game provides beautiful family markers, towers symbolizing the strength of troops in the Indian provinces, a bunch of good materials that are consistent and look great on the table. The only exception is probably the metal flags; inserting them is quite annoying, and I completely don't understand the idea of naming each ship, which involves the need to search for pairs of markers for the unit when a player buys it (card + token on the board). You sift through these tiny identical components and look for a needle in a haystack... But these are trifles that don't change the fact that qualitatively, this is top-notch for me.
INTERACTION
I can't imagine a more interactive game; it's like sailing on a common boat, where someone wants to reach the goal, and someone else is pulling it in all directions just to sink it. It's a game for negotiation lovers; here, you won't achieve anything alone, and if you get under your rivals' skin early on, you'll have a hard time in later rounds. Maximum rating, five stars.
PROS This is one of the most original games I've ever played. The idea behind it is absolutely masterful and speaks volumes about Cole's genius; such games simply don't come out of the blue. Add to that excellent quality, interaction, very good components, and a story that unfolds during each play. I've played about six games of John Company SE, and to this day, I remember the twists and turns in them; it was always a different story, and in the end, who actually won was really the least important. The title shines with 4-5 players; I haven't played with three, six is already a bit too much, and for one or two, it's practically a different board game (I haven't tried it with a smaller group, but we have a separate manual for it in the box, so there's even more rule studying). This game provides a lot of emotions, not just mumbling some numbers under your breath, staring at your player board, and sadly tallying hundreds of endgame points.
CONS
And after such praise, you might think that besides the unintuitive events in India, I'll leave this paragraph empty. But there are a few things to mention here before you decide to buy. Firstly, the game requires an investment in learning the rules; they become clear somewhere in the middle of the scenario, but there will still be something that disrupts the order you've already grasped. Secondly - the game lasts long; we're talking about around 3 hours for the first scenario and up to six for the most advanced with private companies. The more people, the more negotiations, which also lengthens each round. I know Cole suggests an epic variant only when you can finish the base game in just over 60 minutes, but for me, that's an abstraction. Thirdly - John Company SE requires a good group, someone who won't be afraid of negotiations and won't passively do something against themselves; plus, it requires agreement, preferably before the game, on which agreements made will be binding and which we allow ourselves to break. There's nothing worse than agreeing on something, and when it comes to enforcing that agreement, being left out to dry. Someone might see it as a fun trick, but for me, it's a "dick move" that I can't stand in board games. Speaking of the group - watch out for alpha males who will shout over everyone else and, as the chairman, show everyone the proverbial finger and ruin the atmosphere. I had one such experience, and I don't intend to repeat it 😃.
Fourthly, the basic game scenarios are quite repetitive; the first round is basically the same motif - we trade, earn something here, attack there, players will reap profits or not, and only then will they decide whether to invest in the company's success or failure. When we add the complexity of the gameplay to this, we can conclude that this is not a game we'll want to play often. Companies slightly change this state of affairs, but if someone creates them, it will take some time, plus it means extending the meeting by half (in one case, the group was so tired of the game that they collectively wanted to sink the corporation just to finish earlier and go home; luckily, I wasn't the host 😃).
And finally - John Company SE is an absolutely random game. You can start the game without any office (when playing with more than 4 people), and basically sit idly at the table. You can have a lot of money, but no opportunity to give up a position, so you'll miss out on victory points. Everything here is determined by a roll of the dice, and players either increase their chances or rely on luck. If what you've read repels you in games like bitter salts, steer clear of this title.
FINAL SCORE
A lot of red flags, but even being aware of their glow, I give the game the highest rating. There are no perfect board games (except for dice, which I'll mention sometime in the future!), but here we have a brilliant idea and its execution. John Company SE looks dignified and creates a story like no other game I've tried (the only exception might be Stationfall). This isn't a title I'd play addictively, but I always come back to it willingly and have a lot of fun regardless of the outcome (and I think I've only won twice). Its construction allows for pulling off various tricks in the game and tracking how it affects the fate of the corporation; there's a lot to discover here, and it probably accurately describes the greed and lust for profit of the directors of the East India Company back then. I recommend the title even more for experiencing this history than for the mechanics contained in the game.
BGG LINK
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