The spiritual successor of the critically acclaimed board game “Tigris & Euphrates”, “Yellow & Yangtze” is getting a huge revamp, which includes a name change, visual improvements, and the addition of new high-quality detailed miniatures (exclusive for the deluxe edition of the game).
The revamped version will be released under the title “HUANG”, which has the dual meaning of “yellow” or “emperor” in Chinese, which is quite fitting, given the fact the river Huang He, also known as the Yellow River, is one of the key elements of the game. You also happen to be fighting rival states around the river in order to become the Emperor of China.
“HUANG” will be published by a new studio – PHALANX, perhaps best known for “1944: Race to the Rhine”. Currently, there is no exact release date, but a Kickstarter campaign is expected to launch in early 2023. Three different expansions are also in the works, one of which will include a royal palace, which will essentially add new rules to the game and will be exclusive to Kickstarter. The other two expansions will be revealed during the course of the campaign.
“HUANG” was initially released in 2018, under the name “Yellow & Yangtze”. It was meant to be the successor to what many consider to be board game designer Reiner Knizia’s masterpiece – “Tigris & Euphrates”. Unfortunately, the game only saw one print run, which resulted in its quick decline and eventual shelving by Grail Games, along with several of Knizia titles, citing disappointing sales. This did not sit well with Knizia, however, who stated that the decision was entirely his, and further blamed Grail Games for publishing misleading information and numerous contract breaches. At the end of the day, the dispute was settled and the rights for the games were returned to Knizia.
New Name – Same Exciting Gameplay
“HUANG” will set the players in The period of the Warring States (475-221 BCE), a period of endless wars and political struggles between seven Chinese warring states – Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Han, Wei, and Zhao. Much like its previous incarnation “Yellow & Yangtze”, “HUANG” will support two to four players, which will be given a faction symbol and five different colored leaders: Governor, Soldier, Farmer, Trader, and Artisan, represented in red, blue, green and black.
They must then use those leaders to score points in each category. What’s interesting here is that the scoring is determined by each player’s lowest stat. This means that if a player pays too much attention to just one color and ignores all others, he has lost the game outright. “HUANG” is about carefully balancing between all the scoring points in the game, carefully studying your opponents to find exploitable weaknesses, and quelling peasant revolts and rebellions in your territories. No one ever said becoming the Emperor of China is easy.
Who knows what the future holds for “HUANG” and its future expansions, but we will be sure to keep you up to date with any news as they release.