Montana (2012)

About this game

Thanks to the discovery of abundant gold in its mountains, Montana became a territory of the United States in 1864. You represent a settler eager to stake a claim to as much of the rich land as you can. Doing so will require nerves, careful planning, a keen sense of timing, and more than a little bluffing because you are not the only one keen to become rich and powerful in Montana! Montana is a Euro-style area control game, based around an iterative auction in which bids are made in the form of poker hands. It is primarily an economic game about managing your hand of resources and expanding territory strategically, but it has bluffing and set-collection elements of poker.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 5.
• Rules load. At 2.4/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 11 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.