On the 29th of May, 1453, the great city of Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks. European trade with the Orient is significantly disrupted, causing prices for spices and silk to skyrocket across the Mediterranean. Portugal, a land nestled up against the Atlantic, has perfected the design of ocean-going caravels and spent the past thirty years exploring the coast of West Africa. Looking for new access to the markets of India and China, the Portuguese are ready to push further down the African Coast and build on the earlier work of their prince, nicknamed Henry the Navigator. Henry’s training program for navigators, established in the town of Sagres on the southwest tip of Portugal, has enhanced Portuguese techniques in shipbuilding and cartography. Soon archipelagos such as Madeira and the Azores have been discovered in the Atlantic. New routes are established that take advantage of the winds out over the open ocean, thus bypassing the limitations faced by expeditions that have to hug the coast. Surely voyages that test the southern limits of Africa will soon be within reach.
Closer to home, trade is once again the focus. Here the overland caravans — rich in gold, ivory and spices — that cross Africa headed to the port cities of Morocco are of interest. The Portuguese surprise attack on Ceuta in 1415 has provided a base for operations against the Muslim Kingdom of Fez in North Africa. Portugal looks for control of a number of these Atlantic Coast towns to secure a greater share of this African trade route wealth.
And so, with these considerations in mind a player steps in to lead the Portuguese at the start of a game of Tanto Monta. Portugal can receive a steady source of victory points (VPs) for control of Moroccan ports through the play of the Mandatory Event Portugal, Owner of the Atlantic, which works in a similar fashion to Here I Stand’s Master of Italy card. Domination of all seven Moroccan ports can even net a bonus award of 3 additional VP. Even richer VP harvests can come for opening the route to India. The game’s Exploration Map systems allow players to establish settlements all along the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts; these trading outposts award a steady stream of resources that provide free military builds, extra command points, and even VP. Opening up each new zone of this map allows players to gain points for pioneering settlements and advances in Cartography. If played properly the Portuguese map of the world and their possessions can advance as quickly and lucratively as the historical one did (shown below).
On the land border with the neighboring kingdom of Castile, the Portuguese must also be on alert. Historically they wanted to keep Castile weak for that guaranteed Portuguese security. Just as the game opens, when Isabella is disinherited by her brother (the King of Castile), a civil war for the throne of Castile arises between the supporters of Isabella and those of Joanna, the King’s daughter. Joanna, nicknamed La Beltraneja, is offered as a wife to her uncle, King Alfonso V of Portugal, to ensure Portuguese support of the Beltraneja faction. Therefore, from the beginning of the game Portugal and the Beltranejos are in an immediate fight with Castile and Isabella’s Aragonese allies in the Castilian civil war. Over the first several turns of the game (before Castile is able to convince Portugal to drop support for the Beltranejos with the event Peace of Alcaçovas), each territorial gain you can achieve in Castile will award you bonus VP, in addition to the 3 VP gained for the peace itself. Even once this peace is signed, the now independent Beltranejos (still controlled by the Portuguese) can be reinforced through the Beltranejos Home Card and serve as a thorn in the side of Spain (and a source for a few additional VP for Portugal).
What other considerations are important to the Portuguese player?
- Portugal possesses significant advantages over the other powers on the Exploration Map. The Portuguese Nao units are the most numerous in the game and most sport excellent crew and piracy ratios. Specific event cards can reduce the costs of exploration and improve Portuguese rolls as well. Portugal is the only power with a Home Card (Portuguese Explorations) that allows them to directly return resource tokens to their hand bypassing the usual winter return procedure.
- The other Portuguese Home Card, Overseas Kingdom, is usually used to building naval units and executing naval moves. However, its second ability is to reinforce Portuguese holdings in other powers’ home spaces, something that can be especially helpful as you fight the Muslim player for control of the North African coast.
- Although only the Exploration Map zones of the West African coast are available for the first few turns, as soon as the Overseas Voyages mandatory event is played the passage around the Cape of Good Hope becomes available. When Vasco da Gama arrives with his highly rated Nao, make sure to secure his arrival in India (shown in the picture at right) for additional VP, riches, and glory!
A successful run as the Portuguese in Tanto Monta is built off your explorations and the riches they return. But be sure to keep a steady eye on developments in Iberia and North Africa. Only by successful use of your overseas riches to dominate sections of the main map will you be able to keep the other powers at bay and emerge victorious.
NEXT TIME: We conclude our look at the four players in Tanto Monta: The Rise of Ferdinand and Isabella by reviewing the Muslim position.
Previous Articles:
Tanto Monta Design Diary #1: The Spanish Player (Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon)
Tanto Monta Design Diary #2: The French Player
Author: Carlos Diaz Narvaez
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