The God of Fortune Smiles On Us: A Richman 11 Review

By Manuel

Players: 1-4 (Local & Online)
Platforms: XBox One, XBox Series XS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Steam)

I don't think we've ever reviewed a video game adaptation of a board game, and that's interesting considering all the great ones that are out there. As the name implies, Richman 11 is the eleventh game in the long-running Richman series. It originally released back in 2022 on PC by way of its developer Softstar Entertainment, and in 2024 on consoles by way of publisher EastAsiaSoft. It's available now on all major platforms except the Nintendo Switch, and we're going to be looking at it today on the PlayStation 4. This is going to be another long one, so let's just get to the review already!

Seeing as Richman 11 is a board game, it makes sense that it has no overarching plot. Having said that, each character does arrive with their own backstory, and you can of course create any as you see fit while playing. More important that the story though, is its history. The Richman series of games first launched in 1989 for PC, and continued regularly until Richman 8 in 2006. From there several spin-offs, remakes, and online titles were released, but there was no numbered entry until 2016's Richman 9. From there we got Richman 10 in 2019, and this game in 2022. It really is quite the unique game, and I only bring up its history because it's developed by the company that also has brought us the Xuan-Yuan Sword, Sword and Fairy, and The Bridge Curse series. Softstar Entertainment really have a great track record, and I've yet to play a game of theirs that I didn't like. With that out of the way, let's move on to discussing gameplay.

Part of me wants to go the easy route and say that Richman 11 plays a lot like Monopoly, but it has a lot more going for it than that. You do have money to manage, and winning requires players to go bankrupt, but there's far more to the game than first impressions imply. Explaining the gameplay is such a herculean task, that I guess I'll start with the basics. Movement in Richman 11 is done via dice, and you roll a number of dice that corresponds with your current mode of transportation. If you're walking you roll a single die, if you're on a scooter you roll two, and if you're in a car you roll three. The actual vehicles you use change depending on which character you're currently playing as, and you can also choose to lower the amount of dice you roll on your turn too. Each set of spaces has a standard path that you must follow if your dice roll takes you across an intersection, but you can alter the direction you're going in if you land exactly on a space that splits into multiple paths. Next up are spaces, and this is probably where things get a bit more complicated. Empty spaces that can be developed are purchasable once you land on them, and this is the one mechanic that truly feels lifted from Monopoly. As you'd imagine, landing on another player's space means paying some sort of rent or fee. Other spaces let you pick up cards, pick numbers in a lottery, play a minigame, purchase cards with money, or even pick up a God that can either help or hinder your progress. Obstacles bar your way too, and these come in the form of jelly that bounces you back a few spaces, stop signs that end your movement early, dogs that send you to the hospital, and bombs which send you to the hospital even longer than the dog will. There are plenty other obstacles and types of spaces I can mention, but I think you get the point. Details aside, that pretty much lays out what you'll be doing in the game.

I know I just that Richman 11 isn't a Monopoly clone, but several of its key mechanics rely on buying and upgrading properties. One difference from Monopoly is that there are far more spaces one can purchase, and upgrading them doesn't require owning a complete set. Besides the standard building spaces, there are also larger lots where players can build bigger buildings like hotels or business centers that can earn more money than a standard house. As stated earlier, landing on a space that isn't yours means paying up, though it might come as no surprise that certain factors can alter even this. Special scenarios aside, rent paid on properties is based on two factors: The current level of the building built on it, and the current price index. The building level is typically upgraded by landing on it multiple times and spending the money needed for the upgrade. Cards and Gods can also raise or lower a building's level as well. Since rents can be small, the price index is what keeps the game from running on for far too long. One in-game day passes when all players have taken their turns, and rents multiply at certain intervals. This means that rents can triple or quadruple after about an hour of playing. There's also a banking system in-game, with money placed within it accruing interest as the game goes on. If there wasn't enough going on already, you'll also want to keep an eye on the calendar to make sure you're on top of everything.

Since money paid via rent or fees is how most players will become bankrupt, it makes sense that having the most property is the way to go. While this is true, there are certain other factors that are just as important. Similar to a game of Mario Kart, players can use cards to inflict bad statuses, and place items in the way of other players. You can easily trap a player into a row of properties that aren't theirs if you play your cards right, and you can also use cards to make sure that you stay in a relative "safe zone". The amount of cards you can have at any one time is limited, and there is a random element to picking them up in the first place, but they can drastically change the flow of the game if played correctly. I should also point out that the vehicles I mentioned earlier can only be acquired via cards. That means that you'll want to get your hands on the best one quickly if you want to get the most out of movement, and having a vehicle also renders all dogs on the board harmless. That's a rather weird statement to make I'll admit, but this is a rather weird game in general.

Gods are another way for players to get ahead or behind of each other, as they can help or hinder gameplay in all sorts of unforeseen ways. Gods will spawn randomly on the board over time, though some player skills and cards can summon them too. The powers granted vary from God to God, but some will level down properties, others will randomly take away your money or grant you a bonus, and others still will allow you to skip out on paying rent for a couple turns. Some Gods also seem to exist for the sake of chaos, as they can also perform actions that can randomly help or hurt the player they're attached to. For example, there's a certain God that will level up any property you land on, whether you own it or not. Since Gods are picked up simply by walking over them, you'll sometimes want to use cards to make sure you get the one you want, or to avoid the bad ones that are in your path. You can find the info regarding which is which via the in-game tutorial, but you can also just use the view feature to check what their affects are before taking your turn.

Another interesting gameplay mechanic worth mentioning is the hospital. The hospital sort of acts like the Jail in Monopoly, though Richman 11 has one of those too. Any injury can land you in the hospital, though dogs and bombs will be the most likely culprit. Hospital visits last several days (read: turns), and you won't be able to collect any rent or fees while you're recovering. This can be very annoying depending on when it happens, but skilled players can use a hospital visit to move them to a different spot on the board, or to simply skip a few turns. There really are a lot of strategies one can use to win a game, and I've barely even scratched the surface so far. In case I'm not making it obvious yet, there are far more things to remember in a standard game of Richman 11 than in just about any other board game I can think of. It can feel rather overwhelming to first-time players, but those who stick with it are sure to find their footing eventually.

Not only is the core gameplay of Richman 11 rather deep, but it has a lot of content too. Most obvious of all are the game boards and characters available. There are sixteen playable characters that all have their own special skills, and there are also ten classic maps that feature their own gameplay quirks and minigames. It's way beyond the scope of this review to list the differences between them all, but suffice it to say that any combination of the two can create totally unique experiences. There's also a lot that can be done with the players themselves. Players can be split into teams, or all play individually. There's also multiplayer, and it comes in both local and online forms. I unfortunately was not able to play an online game for this review, but I did join an online group dedicated to arranging online matches, and hope to schedule a game soon. Local multiplayer games also have the benefit of using just one controller, or multiple. Besides the standard modes, but there are five special battle maps that are smaller and meant for more intense gameplay, and a Challenge Mode that sees the four main characters unite to take down one of six special landlord characters who start the game with lots of money and property. There's honestly more content than I can begin to list here, and I'm all for the replayability it adds.

I've been mostly raving about the game so far, but there are some negative points that I feel are worth bringing up before wrapping this one up. Quite possibly the biggest issue with the game is its lack of a decent tutorial. I'm willing to bet that potential players who read this review will be better prepared for the game than those who try to go through what the game calls a tutorial. Not only is said tutorial not very good, it doesn't cover most of the game's mechanics. My advice for learning how to play the game is to skim through the in-game manual, and play a couple games until you figure it out. Richman 11 sort of throws you off the deep end with very little preparation and expects you to just grin and bear it. I was able to overcome this through sheer force of will, but I can totally see how others might not want to do so. If it weren't for the fact that I found the game to be charming as all hell, I don't think I would've stuck this one out.

If that weren't enough, part of the reason for the bad in-game instructions is due to the generally inconsistent localization. There isn't a single bit of text in the game that doesn't have a typo or a grammatical error in it, and that does bring down the presentation quite a bit. There's also the fact that all the characters have spoken dialogue, but not all of them speak English. You'd think this was a matter of the Chinese characters speaking Chinese, the Japanese characters speaking Japanese, and so on, but it really seems random. Most of the characters speak English, but others will randomly speak Chinese or Japanese. Their dialogue isn't exactly necessary from a gameplay perspective, but it does seem like a random oversight. I hate to say it, but it gives the game something akin to a budget feel.

Another big point of contention is that Richman 11 gives off the vibes of a mobile game. I don't know enough about its history to say that it had mobile devices in mind during its development, but I do know that other games in the Richman series have seen life on mobile devices. It's hard to explain what I mean, but the visual style, the music, and even the gameplay loop seem made for a type of casual play that one only finds in mobile games. There's even an autoplay function that lets you just skip out on the thinking and strategizing entirely. Admittedly I've seen this type of feature in other games, but its implementation here feels like it's a bit more front and center. It's always available, and it only takes a button press to turn it on and off. Why bother taking control of the game when it apparently can play itself just fine? It's not the worst thing to have in a game like this, but it does cheapen the experience just a little more.

Having listed the negatives, I still have to say that I'm of the mind that the positives far outweigh them. I had a blast playing the game, and I intend to keep playing it for years to come. It shouldn't come as any surprise that there is a lot to love here, as this is the eleventh numbered entry in the series after all. This is the perfect game to add to a game night rotation, and it comes in at a very reasonable $18.99. I'm not sure why the series had such a long hiatus in the 2000s, but I hope that the series is here to stay now.

Even though Richman 11 is far from perfect, I think it's a must-buy for board game fanatics, and those looking for a new party game to play with their friends. Not only does it have a lot of content to keep you occupied for countless sessions, but all the different gameplay mechanics make every game feel unique. Seeing how this game is on just about every platform but the Nintendo Switch, picking it up is a no-brainer. I might even go grab the also available Richman 10 on PC to see what that is like, and I'm hoping that we get a Richman 12 sooner than later. Grab this one now, and let's set up a game! Until then, I'll see you in the next one!

Check Out Richman 11 on PlayStation:
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10008592/

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Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: B+
Value: B+

Overall: B+

Pros:
+ A unique board game experience that takes the Monopoly formula and tosses in all sorts of extra gameplay mechanics.
+ Is fun in both standard games against the computer, as well as local multiplayer. This is a great addition to everyone's game night.
+ While most players will be able to get by purely on luck, veteran players will quickly develop all sorts of advanced tactics that keep the game competitive.
+ Features 16 playable characters, 10 standard maps, 5 battle maps, and two core gameplay modes. There's a lot to see and do here.
+ Since there's a lot of variables at play, every game feels unique in its own way.
+ Cute, colorful, and full of charm!
+ It's a steal at just $18.99!

Cons:
- Though not hard to learn through simply playing the game, the lack of a strong tutorial does make starting out feel a bit rough.
- The localization is really rough. There are typos and grammatical errors throughout, though none of them truly hinder gameplay.
- Does have the look and feel of a mobile game, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
- Even though the game has checks and balances in place to keep the game feeling fast-paced, some games can still go on and on until someone wins.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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If only healthcare was this simple.