In the game Rococo by Eagle Games, players take the roles of clothing crafters in France during the 18th century and the reign of King Louis XV. The goal is to make coats and dresses for a prestigious ball by outdoing the competition. Make costumes, decorate the palace and hire the best employees to earn the most victory points and win.
The components, game play and gorgeous game board of Rococo work wonderfully together to create an engaging and immersive theme. Players begin with a set of cards representing the workers under their employ. Each turn a player decides which action an employee will take. Actions include gaining the queen's favor and becoming the starting player, hiring new workers, purchasing materials, buying decorations, sending a worker to the palace to work or making a set of clothes.
Employees have different levels of experience and some employees cannot take certain actions. For example, to hire new workers, a player can only use a master-level employee. Managing your staff correctly is an important strategy and should not be underestimated.
The heart of the game is the prestigious ball, depicted on the game board. To score points, players make costumes and place them in one of five ballrooms. Points are scored for each costume at the end of the game as well as decorations and musicians that were purchased. Points are also scored for having the most costumes in a given ballroom, sets of costumes and a costume present in every ballroom. A fireworks show on the roof of the palace is a final scoring method that can double or triple the amount of points of a costume at the end.
Rococo is a fantastic game that is worthy of any game collection. It is full of theme, has several fun game mechanics and is different every time. The game is recommended for ages 12 and up, and some of the artwork features low-cut dresses typical of the time period.  rmorgenegg@desnews.com