Europe, medieval times: Players take on the roles of craftsmen to produce a wide range of goods. Make use of your production chains to gain the most Victory Points and claim your place as the Master Craftsman!

Oh My Goods! (OMG) is one of Mayfair Games’ and Lookout Games’ hottest new titles. Although the game uses only 110 cards and comes in a small package, there’s a lot of game in the box. So, let’s take a look at OMG and its expansion Longsdale in Revolt!

Oh My Goods! is an engine-building game. What we mean by this is that players will build interlocking machines, one feeding the next. For example, a player might make a weaving mill that produces bolts of cloth and then a Tailor’s shop that turns that cloth into even more valuable clothing.

Starting with nothing more than a simple charburner and a single worker, players will erect more buildings and grow their work force, making their “engine” (their array of shops) larger, all with the goal of scoring the most Victory Points.

Each turn consists of a single day and begins with players drawing new cards into their hand. They will then open the market, drawing goods for a sunrise phase. These market goods are shared and can be used by all players. A second row of cards is drawn for the sunset phase and once both rows are filled, the market has closed. Once the market is filled, players will decide which of their buildings they will activate and produce as many goods as they can.

Along the way, players will make decisions about what they want to build, what assistants to hire, and whether they will focus on quickly churning out cheap goods or make better, more expensive wares. Either choice can work to your advantage, so choose carefully!

An expansion to OMG, Longsdale in Revolt is story-driven, drawing players into a web of intrigue as they choose sides in a conflict between the lord and his subjects. The back of the game box describes the situation like this: Unrest goes round in the capital of Longsdale. Some say war is imminent. The King needs your help. Find out alone or with up to four players how this story unfolds, as told in the five chapters of this expansion. And who knows? Maybe your decisions will change fate…  Longsdale in Revolt introduces events, chapters, and characters to Oh My Goods!, adding a strong story component to the terrific engine-building gameplay of the original.

Longsdale in Revolt adds a number of new buildings to the game so let’s discuss each in turn. First are Armories. Here, weapons can be used to equip troops or sold for ready cash to further the player’s business enterprises. Second are Corn Farms, which are vital for feeding the troops on both sides of the revolt so players can make a tidy profit by growing corn. Third is the Oven Builder, which makes ovens players can sell for five gold coins each. Next are the Watchtowers, which increase a player’s military strength (more on that in a bit). Finally, there are Vineyards, which produce grapes. These new buildings, and the goods they produce, are used over the course of the game’s story.

The story of Longsdale in Revolt is broken up into five chapters and each chapter adds an additional scoring condition at the end of the game. In Chapter I, players must gather food for the upcoming revolt. If they do not have 15 gold worth of corn, bread, meat, and wine at the end of the game, they will lose seven Victory Points. Each Chapter of the game brings with it different resources and finished goods players will need to gather to avoid losing Victory Points at the end of the game, forcing players to adapt their strategy to the worsening conditions in Longsdale.

Another major addition to Oh My Goods! in the expansion comes through the introduction of Event cards. As events sweep the tiny hamlet along, conditions in the game will change as well. Events can introduce new buildings over the course of the game, such as the previously mentioned Corn Farms, as well as characters from the unfolding story, who will grant special abilities to the players when they enter the game.

Each game of Longsdale in Revolt lasts a specific number of rounds and ends when the final Event card is drawn from the deck. Players follow the instructions, then determine if they successfully completed the chapter. If they did, they will proceed to the next chapter - if not, they must repeat that chapter. Players will be able to choose in some chapters whether to assist the rebels or the king, and their choices will lead to branching paths in the story. Choose carefully and decide who deserves your support in the coming revolt!

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About Oh My Goods! and Longsdale in Revolt: Each of these titles, by designer Alexander Pfister, are for 1-4 players ages 10 and up. Oh My Goods! takes about 30-minutes to play, and when the expansion is added, gameplay increases to around 45-minutes.