Messina 1347 is a strategic Euro-style board game that transports players to the year 1347, when the Black Death (bubonic plague) first struck Europe—entering through the port of the Sicilian city of Messina.
Players take on the roles of noble families living on the outskirts of the city. Their goals are to:
- rescue inhabitants from infected districts,
- fight the plague with fire,
- build quarantine buildings and workshops, and
- ultimately repopulate the city as the disease begins to recede.
The game’s historical theme is strongly reflected in its mechanics: infected ships arrive at the harbor, the disease spreads across the city hexes, and players must make strategic decisions about whom to save, where to send their workers, and how to manage limited resources.
Players send their workers to different city hexes, where they can perform actions such as rescuing people, gaining resources (wood, coins, fire), and constructing buildings. Movement through the city network is restricted and costs coins, requiring careful planning. Rescued citizens (nuns, craftsmen, nobles) are settled on a player’s estate and can work in buildings, enabling additional actions and scoring opportunities. Players also advance along several progress tracks that grant bonuses, extra workers, and victory points. Actions can be chained together, creating a strong sense of progression and rewarding clever play.
As each estate develops, a player’s options expand and the game becomes increasingly dynamic. 🕯️
