Board Game Arena

Would it be possible to have a option to exclude the observatory in the game? It is much too powerful a card in my opinion. Thanks.

Bugs and suggestions should be posted here: https://boardgamearena.com/bugs?game=1227

However, I doubt it is a good idea to exclude one specific card. Some people may find other cards overpowered, you can't add options for all of them. It could also create other imbalances, since the rules were written with the card in mind.

The top-voted bug talks about fixing the Observatory's cost to 7 or 8. I actually think that's enough to make a difference.

It's not really INSANELY good. It can get you into trouble. Non-Observatory players need to put the squeeze on.

SamHellerman wrote: ↑03 November 2020, 09:52 The top-voted bug talks about fixing the Observatory's cost to 7 or 8. I actually think that's enough to make a difference.

It's not really INSANELY good. It can get you into trouble. Non-Observatory players need to put the squeeze on.

As a fairly new player to this game I’m intrigued by this. How might it get you in trouble? How would other players put the squeeze on?

2nd edition is now available, with an observatory cost at 7.

FT3 wrote: ↑18 January 2021, 16:50 As a fairly new player to this game I’m intrigued by this. How might it get you in trouble? How would other players put the squeeze on?

Let me try to answer this question. Manipulating the number of cards that appear in each round is a very important part of Saint Petersburg. When one (or multiple) players obtains the observatory around the first three rounds of the game, the other players should do their best to ensure that they get more orange and (at the beginning) green cards than the player(s) with an obersvatory. This is in many cases doable because those players spend 6 go on the observatory, and usually have put an additional card in hand each round from its usage. If the observatory results in you getting an extra orange card, but then one less in the orange round, then you just waisted 6.