Arriala: Canal de Garonne

from publisher's site

In the reign of Louis XIV, Pierre-Paul Riquet, Superintendent of the Army and a brilliant engineer, proposed the idea of a canal system using water from the Montagne Noire in the Massif Central. Between 1665 and his death in 1680, Riquet was completely anbsorbed by the planning, financing and construction of his canal system. Sections of it, including the Canal de Garonne, remained unfinished until the 19th century.

You can relive the adventure of building the canal, section by section, between Grisolles and Valence d'Agen in the heart of the Tarn-et-Garonne. Each player is an engineer who must use their best workers to build the greatest length of the Arriala (cannal in the Occitan language of southern France). You can move all workers, but only those on your team will gain you fame points for completing sections. The placement of your workers when construction is completed is critical. Your aim is to have the most workers on a stretch of canal when it is completed. Ties are broken in favour of the player placed third. It is also possible to build locks to alter sections of the canal and create new ones. However, the number of points awarded depends on the length of the section: a lock may win you a majority, but at what price?

Points can also be scored for building structures, though this sacrifices a worker (five maximum per player) for the rest of the game. What's more, your expertise also extends to cultivating the vines that make this region famous and will bring you valuable points when the game ends.