– A white smoke rises. A pope has been chosen last night.
– Errr… I am pretty sure the quote was something around a red sun…
– Aren’t all dawns red anyhow???
– Not sure, still do we have a new Pope or not?
– Not sure, let play Habemus Papam and will find out.
Habemus Papam is the latest addition to the Salt and Pepper Games catalogue, a game where you play as cardinals trying to get the most influence in the papal covenant whilst try to install your favorite cardinal as the new Pope. So basically, this is like taking part in the Conclave if that would be adapted into a take that type of board game.
Game setup and flow
This is a relative fast passed game with even a faster setup. Start by giving each player a player screen, a secret objective and a public objective. Each player will take the secret objective and 10 influence and place them behind their player screen. In the middle of the table place the characteristic table and 8 cardinals (selected randomly from the 16 available). Each player will assign his or her meeples to the cardinals they share at least three characteristics with (out of the 5 available). Also, each player receives 4 cards except the player who has received the Camerlengo (Vatican administrator) card, that player will receive 3 cards only. You are now ready to start electing the new Pope.
For a quick and small game, the flow is pretty convoluted I am not going to lie. The game takes place over 5 rounds with each round being broken down into multiple phases. In phase 1 the Camarlengo will exert his influence by placing 5 influence points minus the current round number from the general reserve on the candidates they want. Phase 2 is the action phase. Players in turn can place influence from their personal reserve, play cards from their hand or simple pass. Unlike other games the pass is not final, you can play again when you time comes. After several players have passed consecutively (the number is based on player count) the round ends. Phase 3 is the characteristic indicator phase. For each of the 4 traits you will compare the candidate with most influence to the candidate who has the most influence in the opposite characteristic. One value is subtracted from the other and the characteristic token moves towards that direction. In phase 4 the Camarlengo player will eliminate the candidate with the lowest influence and for administrating the Vatican’s property they will take from the general reserve half of the influence of the candidate with the most influence. Phase 5 is the where things get a bit murkier. If a candidate has 2 thirds of all the influence placed on the candidates, then Habemus Papam, the game ends after a quick scoring phase. Each characteristic will be scored alongside with the religious order of the Pope and secret objectives. If, however, no candidate has 2 thirds of the influence, we will go to a different type of scoring based on characteristics, pass the Camarlengo card to the next player and start the next round.
The Good
I bought this game without reading or researching anything about it solely on the theme of the game (something I seldomly do), so to say that I love the theme of the game will be an understatement. In a world where we get over 9000 space games per year (to quote a famous anime) getting to play as a cardinal in the papal conclave is a breath of fresh air.
The game is pure chaos and dare I say fun. With cards that stop player from playing all together, that allow you to change your objective mid game or even bring somebody back from exile, you will never know what you are going to get. I played several times now and in 2 gaming sessions people managed to close the game during round 1 by not allowing other people to play cards. Annoying sure but also funny as hell so funny in fact people were asking to play it again immediately, a trademark of a successful play session. This leads me to another positive point about the game, which is: it is a fast game and the chaos part although present, it is not overstayed.
Last items I need to flag as a positive is the influence points as both currency and victory points. I said it a couple of times, a good game is one that creates agency for the player and I believe that having to spend victory points in order to achieve your goal is a great way to build tension in players and to give them decision points and therefore agency.
The Bad
I am going to come out and say it, the rule book is badly written. There are 2 objective cards which I couldn’t understand for the first couple of games and I needed a quick BGG checkup. Some card effects are not clearly explained. To this point the board game geek forum is spammed with rules questions which reconfirms my opinion. I think a frequently asked questions at the end of the rule book would have done wonders.
One man’s passion another man’s poison
I added this part of the review to present some features of the game which other gamers might consider bugs, and therefore not enjoy so much. Firstly, Habemus Papam has strong take that vibes. Each card you play is either “I get something” or “I screw someone over” there is no in between. Personally, I enjoy this type of mechanic but others might not. Secondly the game is a bit misleading. One might focus on building and improving on the characteristic tracks or play the long game by strategically trying to achieve your objective. I can promise you here and now that your plans will fail. Each action from the other players is a complete derailment of anything you might have planned to the point that the best plan is no plan at all. The good part in regards to this is that the game is fast and this chaos doesn’t become overstayed. To this end Habemus Papam reminds me of Cosmic Encounter, a game I absolutely adore, but that is itself an acquired taste.
Last item people might not like is the N-word, wait wait do go ballistic I meant negotiating. Yes, Habemus Papam has elements of negotiating which are non-binding, you can lie somebody to their face in order to achieve what you want and not get punished for it. I personally enjoy that but again one man’s passion….
The perfect home
Like every kitten and puppy on the planet, I believe each game deserves a good home. So, if you want to take Habemus Papam home with you, please remember that it needs a lovely play group that enjoys negotiating games and take that games. Also please don’t introduce this game to euro players that enjoy min maxing this s… out of games as this is not the game for them.
