Alhambra (board game)
| Designer(s) | Dirk Henn |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) |
Queen Games Überplay |
| Players | 2–6 |
| Age range | 8+ |
| Setup time | 10 minutes |
| Playing time | 60 minutes |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Skill(s) required | Currency trading |
Alhambra (German: Der Palast von Alhambra, literally "The Palace of the Alhambra") is a 2003 tile-based German-style board game designed by Dirk Henn. It was originally published in Germany by Queen Games in a language-interdependent version; an English-specific version was released in North America by the now-defunct Überplay. The game is an Arabian-themed update, set during the construction of the Alhambra palace in 14th century Granada, of the 1998 board game Stimmt So!, which in turn was an update of the 1992 mafia influence board game Al Capone; the original version was subsequently released as Alhambra: The Card Game.
Alhambra won the Spiel des Jahres award, the Schweizer Spielepreis for Family Games, the As d'Or and the Essen Feather for the year of its release and placed second in the Deutscher Spiele Preis. Its success has led to the release of numerous expansion packs and spin-off games, and is becoming Queen Games' flagship franchise.
The game consists of a deck of "currency cards" of various values in four currencies (suits) and a bag of "building tiles" of various prices, as well as a number of boards (a currency market, a building market, a reserve board for each player and a scoring track). Six of the building tiles are "Alhambra tiles"; these are taken out of the bag and one is given to each player. Each player is then dealt currency cards until the total value of cards in their hand is greater than or equal to twenty. The currency cards are shuffled into five piles, and the two special scoring cards are inserted into the second and fourth piles. The five piles are then placed in order to form the currency deck. Four currency cards are drawn and placed on the currency market, and four building tiles are drawn and placed on the four spaces of the building market. The set of tiles connected to a player's Alhambra tile is called their "Alhambra."
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