I just got hooked on Saint Petersburg from recommendations here at the Geek. So a new expansion is coming out?

Any details? Anyone?

At this time, I can't say very much beyond what's on RGG's web-site. At some later point, I may put a preview up on BoardGameNews.

Briefly, this expansion contains two different expansions:

* The Banquet, a 12-card expansion by Karl-Heinz Schmiel, which previously appeared in Spielbox magazine.

* The New Society, a larger expansion by myself, which among other things allows for a fifth player and contains a few replacement cards that can be used independently, if desired.

Take care,
tom

I have never looked forward to a game more than this one, since St. Pete is my all-time favorite. We play with the 12 additional cards and I'm intrigued by what the New Society cards will be like.

I think it would be interesting to add a second row where you obtain a discount of two per card, although I've never tested out this idea to see if it actually works!

I met Jay from Rio Grande Games last night and he showed me a preview of the new expansion cards. I thought there might be some type of new board or something to accommodate placing 10 cards out, but it is only on the first round. The fifth player looks like they will get an icon allowing them 2 gold coins. There are a few new workers (One of which is a completely new type of worker) and they have changed the values on some of the old cards(Mistress of Ceremonies, Observatory, etc). Doris Matthäus did the artwork on these cards as well. The new cards are marked with a red dot on the face for the banquet and a gold dot for the regular expansion. (I might have that backwards!)

In any case. I am all over this expansion. The new cards look very nice and a must have if you own the game already. Some of the functions of the new cards can really change the game. I am excited. This will be well worth the $10! Jay is getting ready to send these to production so it looks like maybe a couple of months till release still.

Thanks for the info. Dustin-it sounds GREAT! Can you describe the brand new worker? I'm curious how it functions differently from the others. I'm assuming the value of the Mistress is toned down slightly or she costs more now, and the Observatory costs more as well, maybe 8. The two coins for the fifth player is a nice touch too. I'll be first in line to buy the expansion!

The new worker will cost 9 and give you 3 rubles and a victory point every round. There is a new czar as well. The Mistress is toned down and the observatory costs 8. You cannot be first in line because I will be!!!

Just kidding.

Thanks for the info (Sorry on the delay). This is good news, I'm intrigued by these two expansions. This game has grown on us as one of the games we play when we can carve out 45-60 minutes (usually our game sessions are around a half hour).

Will Hans im Glück produce a german Version of the New Society? The Banquet was already released as a spielbox addon but I'm afraid this will not happen with the New Society...:-(

I have the German import of the Banquet that came from the Spielbox magazine and it will be nice to finally get a Rio Grande print where the orange on the back of the expansion cards will match the orange of the Rio Grande game cards themselves. The gamers in my group could always tell if the top card was a 'special' purple expansion card or not! A pain or blessing when someone uses the Observatory...

Tom,

With regard to the Banquet expansion, will the rules of this new expansion clearly define what to do in the event you pick up a purple card with the Observatory? For example, I observe a purple card--must I take into hand first and if hand full, must discard the purple card? Or can I play the purple card even though my hand is full?

Also, I assume one cannot play a purple card in a future round just to make space in the hand? For example, it's currently building round, my hand is full including a Jester card, I play a Jester card on an Aristocrat card. The Speilbox's rule stating 'special cards can only be played when their function can be used' didn't quite clarify this (i.e. in the current round). Our group plays with only current round use to keep the tension going and not allow for a quick card jettison.

I don't believe "in the current round" is what that rule means at all. It's simply to keep you from "playing" a card and not using its function just to free up a space in your hand -- like playing the Pickpocket in the middle of a turn, for example. Or "playing" the Jester when you have no cards to legally play it on (that have both ruble and VP values.)

I also don't see where the Observatory causes confusion. You either put it in your hand, discard it, or play it immediately -- just like any other card.

Re: the Banquet rules:

The issue with the Observatory is that special cards can *not* be played immediately when they are taken; taking them into hand is one action and playing them (at a time in a round appropriate to its use) is an action (with the exception of the Pickpocket). Thus, if you don't have room in your hand, you don't have the option to immediately play a Special card (unlike other cards you take with the Observatory) and must discard it.

Here are the general rules for special cards from the rules, which I believe answers this and the other questions that were raised:

Players do not play the special cards (purple on their fronts) as they do other cards. When taken, the player pays nothing and adds the card to his hand. He may not play the card immediately. Therefore, if a player does not have room to add a special card to his hand, he may not take it. On a later turn, the player may play the card, take the special action, and discard the card. A player may not simply discard a special card once he has added it to his hand, but must be able to and must use its special function when he does play it. The player does not lose points for special cards remaining in his hand at game end.