Sheriff Game

Exploring the Sheriff of Nottingham 2nd Edition Board Game: Fun Loading…

The Sheriff of Nottingham 2nd edition improves upon the success of the first by taking your negotiation and bluffing skills to the next level. With a marketplace full of merchants setting their goods, will you be able to smuggle contraband past the Sheriff? The game tests if you can keep a straight face when you’re put under scrutiny or if you’ll get caught slipping contrabands in this board game. 

This review of the new edition of the Sheriff of Nottingham will focus on any new rules or changes made from the original game. So, without any further ado, let’s start.

What’s New in the Board Game?

As it’s a new version, what should you expect among the bustle of familiar merchants? If you check the game information, there aren’t any new features. However, you will notice changes to some of the existing elements. 

Improved Components

The new Sheriff of Nottingham has better artwork for Prince John and all related characters. The cards and tokens have also improved in quality. The small visual changes make the game more engaging and transport you to the medieval market. 

Streamlined Rules

After opening the new Sheriff of Nottingham, you will notice that the rules are much clearer this time. If you’re introducing newcomers to the game, they will have a much easier time learning how it works. 

Included Expansions

When you buy a copy of The Sheriff of Nottingham, you’re receiving the base game as well as expansions. These include the Sheriff’s deputies, the Black Market, and the 6th Merchant. These come with additional rules which add more depth and complexity to the game. 

New Characters and Roles

The expansions also bring new characters into the play. This will fill your gameplay sessions with more excitement and fun than you could have ever thought of. You’re guaranteed to form alliances and betray other merchants while rolling on the floor laughing as you try to emerge as the winner. 

Quick Game Review: How to Play

If this is your first time hearing about the Sheriff of Nottingham, it’s a bluffing and negotiating game. Each player has a turn playing the Sheriff and inspects the goods of every merchant trying to stock their stall. They can also accept bribes for contraband goods or let the merchants pass. 

The Objective of the Game

The game’s core concept is to have the most gold before the game ends. You can do this by loading goods in your shop and selling it to others. You also earn gold by delivering legal goods. You can also strike deals with the Sheriff for illicit goods, but you must be careful and strike the right bargain. 

There’s no age restriction when playing this board game from CMON. As for the number of participants, there can be 4 to 6, and the sessions can last around 60 minutes or so. 

Game Structure

To keep the game interesting, there are four main phases when it’s someone’s turn. The first phase involves selecting the goods from the cards in your hand and putting them in your bag. During this phase, you need to declare your goods to the Sheriff. You can be an honest merchant and truthful about what you have, or you can lie. 

Next up, you need to deal with the Sheriff. He can either trust that you’re telling the truth, or he can check your merchant bag to be sure. This is where the game starts to become fun. Secretly bribing the Sheriff, threats, and persuasion all play during this phase.

When the Sheriff begins checking your goods and discovers contraband, you’ll need to pay a penalty. However, if you didn’t lie, you’ll be paid instead. All goods delivered by you are scored, which adds to your total. As the game focuses heavily on social elements, you’ll see that each round is different. 

The Art of Bluffing: Key Strategies

As the game focuses on bluffing and negotiating your way to victory, we figured that you might want some strategies and tricks. With each turn, you’re taking a calculated risk by choosing whether you want to be honest and squeeze some coin out of the Sherrif or lie and smuggle illegal goods for some extra coin. 

Playing the Game as the Sheriff

When acting as the Sheriff, look at all the merchants around you. How are they behaving? Are they nervous that they’ll be caught, or are they confident they’re telling the truth to profit off you? Some will try to outsmart you by putting on their poker faces. Try to understand where they stand before they disclose what’s in their bag. 

Those who are smuggling contraband would like to offer you bribes. But sometimes, you might want to be smart and call them out. If you read them correctly, you can enjoy their penalty. You should also watch for how much coin each merchant gets at the end of each round. Given how the game is structured, if someone says they have another set of chickens from new cards, it might be worth checking it out. 

Playing the Game as the Merchant

As a merchant, the gameplay experience is completely different. You need to find the right balance between selling legal and illegal goods because you’re trying to sell and smuggle goods to increase your score. It’s entirely your choice what you wish to do. You can choose to go the risky route to earn a little extra. But remember that you’ll need to pay the penalty when caught.

Another strategy you can try is to play the long game. Sure, you can lie and try to sneak some illegal products past the Sheriff’s shrewd, but you do risk losing. You can also be the player who builds trust and lies to the Sheriff randomly to maximize your sales. 

As a large part of the game is about negotiating, you can say please to the Sheriff and offer them an incentive to look away while you’re trying to sneak something past them. If you can earn more money with illegal wares, you might ask the Sheriff to let you pass for the round. 

Why You Should Play Sheriff of Nottingham: 2nd Edition

We’ve reached the part of the review where we discuss why you should play Sheriff of Nottingham.  It’s important to understand what awaits you when you open the box. After all, that’s what in-depth reviews are all about. So, let’s have a look at some of the main reasons. 

Appeal to a Wider Audience

As mentioned, the game is meant for all players, regardless of age. If you like games that you think and communicate with other players, you will love Sheriff of Nottingham 2. If you know any fans of The Resistance, those fans also like the new edition of Sheriff of Nottingham.

The game is also popular among families because even someone who has never heard of the game ever can learn the rules and start playing almost instantly. Sheriff of Nottingham is also famous among casual players who are only looking to have fun. 

Above all else, the strategic thinker is the one player type who will enjoy this board game more than anyone else. As there are many social elements to the game, these players like to put their brains to the test and try to figure out who’s telling the truth and who’s lying. 

Replayability

Although you might think you’d be playing the same game repeatedly, Sheriff of Nottingham can be enjoyed over and over. The gameplay depends on the players and their choices, so no two games will be identical. When you consider the additional rules from the expansion, the variety of entertainment is worth more than the money you use to buy the game. 

Tips for First-Time Players

We understand that if you’ve never played the game before, it might seem quite intimidating with all the rules and mechanics. If you’re including the expansions, you need to take those into account as well to learn the game properly. However, there’s no need to worry, as we have some tips that should make things easier for you. 

Understanding the Rules

Ask someone who already knows the game to explain it to you like you’re a five year old. Once you feel like you have the basics down, proceed to learn about the expansions and what they add to the game. When you’re ready, try playing a few rounds. It will feel weird at first, but after one or two games, you should have the hang of everything.

Limiting Contraband Cards

More contraband cards equal more bluffing. If there are new players joining the game, keep only a few contraband cards and keep the rest on hold. With fewer instances of bluffing, it will be easier for a first-timer to see how it’s done. Once the new player understands how contrabands work, you can put all the cards back in and start the regular game.

Get Practical 

Playing the game and learning from mistakes is much better than having someone explain all the little details. The brain remembers facts and nuances more clearly through playing instead of reading the rulebook. So go ahead and play a few rounds and learn from every action you take 

Check Out Online Guides

If you start to see that the game is fun and you want to get more into it, there are plenty of online guides. You can also find online forums or a community on Reddit where players share their tricks and help new players learn. 

Learn to Keep a Poker Face

Sooner or later, you will need to learn how to keep a straight face when you’re lying to the Sheriff to pass off illicit goods as entirely legal products. Practice keeping your composure and appearing confident when you’re hiding the truth. If you master the art of bluffing, you’ll be able to rack up points on your scorecard really quickly. 

Be Efficient as the Sheriff

When you get the role of Sheriff, instead of checking every bag, be a little more strategic with it. If you proceed to look at every single pouch, you’ll be wasting time. If you see that players are telling the truth, you’ll have to pay them out of your own pocket. So, observe the players and try to identify who might be lying to make the most of your role. 

Learn to Enjoy

Last but not least, remember to enjoy yourself when playing the game. Although looking at strategies is fine, if you get too serious about this simple board game, you’ll take all the enjoyment out of it. Instead, focus on having a good time with your friends and family as you lie, bluff, and negotiate your way to victory. 

Where to Buy a Copy and Find Helpful Game Information

Given its massive popularity, you can find the game at your nearest board game retailer. You can also visit Amazon or BoardGameGeek to order a copy of the game and start playing today.

If you’re interested in more advanced strategies, it shouldn’t be hard to find a link to a YouTube video on a forum to learn valuable insights. The videos will help you see how different players bluff the Sheriff and pick up a few tricks from them. 

Final Thoughts: Is the Upgrade Worth It?

Objectively speaking, the 2nd edition of Sheriff of Nottingham features minor visual and quality upgrades. The fundamental concept remains the same. So, is it worth getting the new version? Absolutely, as you don’t just get better quality cards and tokens, you also get all the expansions right out of the box.

As we explained before, this can add more depth to a seemingly simple game and help you create happy memories. However, you must learn how the game works if you’re new. Otherwise, you’ll just be along for the ride with no idea of what’s going on.