[The Builders] What is a Rural Relay?

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LennyLinux
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Joined: 09 July 2012, 23:38

[The Builders] What is a Rural Relay?

Post by LennyLinux »

I can't find it in any dictionaries and looking at the picture on the card I just can't figure it out.
Could anyone describe what function a Rural Relay serves?

My guess is something like a countryside inn for travelers and their horses to rest.
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ollyfish2002
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Re: [The Builders] What is a Rural Relay?

Post by ollyfish2002 »

something like post house, coaching, relay station, i think.
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RicardoRix
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Re: [The Builders] What is a Rural Relay?

Post by RicardoRix »

it's not a common term. Rural of course means in the countryside, so not in a town.

I found this:
http://wikimapia.org/11818592/Relay-House-former

where the term 'relay' is given to the exchange of horses to continue travel. So this is in America, in england it would have been called a coach house.

I think the game developer is French, so maybe someone french might help in a possible lost in translation.
Liallan
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Joined: 26 May 2014, 07:01

Re: [The Builders] What is a Rural Relay?

Post by Liallan »

This is a tough one, because it's called a Relay Station. While that might be an American term, I don't think a coach house is the same thing, because that appears to be a storage area, usually on an estate, sort of like a garage of the times. The relay station is specifically to exchange the horses. Just as a note, I did see it in the context of The Pony Express a lot, but that certainly would not be the only usage of a relay station, and the Pony Express didn't exist in the Middle Ages. :D

Unfortunately the buildings are not listed in the rules. I had to find a played game to find the context of this. I do wonder if someone has the original French game to see what this building says. I'm not sure it matters since it's an old term. I had a heck of time trying to find information cause "relay" comes up with too many other modern things.

So I looked to the origin of the word instead, to see what can be used to translate it. The word "relay" in and of itself is meaning to trade off in some way, an exchange. So that's how it got to be used for the kind of relay you have in a race, foot race, swimming race, etc. The person is traded off for the next person (or next team). So it does apply in a similar fashion to trading off the horses. It comes from the French word relai, which is from a Latin word that means "to slacken" (laxare). I don't get where "slacken" fits in.

If you can translate the word like a relay race, it might work. Unfortunately relay as a verb also means to give information from one person to another, like "I'll relay that information to my boss." It also has an electronics meaning. I'd hate for anyone to translate into one of those. :o

The word "rural" is a little meaningless because most of the world was pretty rural. So the word seems a little redundant to me.

Since it's just a game, you might have to just use what will work. If you want to be picky like gamers tend to be, you could try to research what those were called in your specific language. Otherwise, you could get away with using "stagecoach station" even though it's not entirely right. (Or the horse exchange, or whatever your imagination can come up with.) In the end, can anyone tell from the picture of the half-built building what it's supposed to be?
Faedur
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Joined: 30 September 2013, 21:10

Re: [The Builders] What is a Rural Relay?

Post by Faedur »

Hi, the game creator is french as I so I may explain...

In French it is "Le relais rural" and in this context "relais" means a building for official messengers to rest and exchange tired horse for a new one.
Liallan wrote:the Pony Express didn't exist in the Middle Ages. :D
Horse messengers and relays existed since antiquity and surely since humanity ride horses and build houses (I don't know which came first...)

The card comes in pair with "Le relais postal" wich is only called The Post in english version. You can see that the post is built with stones so should be in town whereas the rural relay is not.

There is another pair like that : "La maison rurale" (=Rural house) and "La maison urbaine" (=Townhouse). I'm not kind with the choices of the buildings names but other many pairs exists in both langages (house >< bourgeois house ; windmill >< watermill ; cover bridge >< stone bridge ; etc.)

Hope the mystery solved now ;)

Liallan wrote: In the end, can anyone tell from the picture of the half-built building what it's supposed to be?
Did you notice that the card switches when building is achieved ?

Best regards
Liallan
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Joined: 26 May 2014, 07:01

Re: [The Builders] What is a Rural Relay?

Post by Liallan »

Faedur wrote: In French it is "Le relais rural" and in this context "relais" means a building for official messengers to rest and exchange tired horse for a new one.
Which means Rural Relay and we're right where we left off. ;)
Liallan wrote:the Pony Express didn't exist in the Middle Ages. :D
Horse messengers and relays existed since antiquity and surely since humanity ride horses and build houses (I don't know which came first...)
Yes, but the "Pony Express" was the name of a company in the U.S. in the 1800's, though not its official name. Hence, they did not exist in the Middles Ages and I was just making a joke. (I found references to them in my research, but the term relay cannot be attributed to them.)
The card comes in pair with "Le relais postal" wich is only called The Post in english version. You can see that the post is built with stones so should be in town whereas the rural relay is not.
I guess that's more of a "town relay" rather than a "rural relay." Of course, if the game calls it The Post then it calls it that. That makes it sound like just a post office, though that isn't hurting the game. Either way, we know what a "relay" is now - it's just a matter of people being able to translate that into their language.
Liallan wrote: In the end, can anyone tell from the picture of the half-built building what it's supposed to be?
Did you notice that the card switches when building is achieved ?
No, because I hadn't played the game at the time I posted that. ;) I've played it now so I know the completed one is on the other side, but not sure if I've seen that specific building.
Faedur
Posts: 57
Joined: 30 September 2013, 21:10

Re: [The Builders] What is a Rural Relay?

Post by Faedur »

Liallan wrote:
Faedur wrote: In French it is "Le relais rural" and in this context "relais" means a building for official messengers to rest and exchange tired horse for a new one.
Which means Rural Relay and we're right where we left off. ;)
Yes you were on the right way.
Liallan wrote:Yes, but the "Pony Express" was the name of a company in the U.S. in the 1800's, though not its official name. Hence, they did not exist in the Middles Ages and I was just making a joke. (I found references to them in my research, but the term relay cannot be attributed to them.)
Every french people know Pony Express, we have Lucky Luke ! :D
Liallan wrote:
Liallan wrote: In the end, can anyone tell from the picture of the half-built building what it's supposed to be?
Faedur wrote:Did you notice that the card switches when building is achieved ?
No, because I hadn't played the game at the time I posted that. ;) I've played it now so I know the completed one is on the other side, but not sure if I've seen that specific building.
I understand now... welcome then :)
Liallan
Posts: 1221
Joined: 26 May 2014, 07:01

Re: [The Builders] What is a Rural Relay?

Post by Liallan »

Faedur wrote:
Liallan wrote:
Liallan wrote: In the end, can anyone tell from the picture of the half-built building what it's supposed to be?
Faedur wrote:Did you notice that the card switches when building is achieved ?
No, because I hadn't played the game at the time I posted that. ;) I've played it now so I know the completed one is on the other side, but not sure if I've seen that specific building.
I understand now... welcome then :)
I got to play this in person tonight, and afterwards went through all the building cards looking at the completed buildings. :D I love those pictures.
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