Endeavor is a modular civilisation Eurogame sailing under the colours of a historical nautical exploration sim. Its box comes packed with so many optional bits and pieces for rules variants there’s even room to squeeze in a spare cardboard ‘U’ to Britishise the spelling on the cover. All this probably sounds like enough to sink any hope of a tidy, reasonable-length playing experience but, like seeing tonnes of heavy wooden planks somehow float on water, Age of Sail is remarkably shipshape.
Keeping everything buoyant is the game’s hull, a tight construction that firmly nails together worker placement and area control. Players expand their onshore player board each turn with building tiles, granting the ability to deploy ships, occupy far-off cities, attack rival nations and generally spread their influence beyond Europe to the rest of the globe by placing their workforce of discs on both the tiles and the central board. This gathers the staple resources needed to grow their empire – wealth, culture, industry and influence – and ultimately propels them towards amassing the glory needed to rule supreme after seven pleasingly fast-flowing rounds.