Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 45-60 min
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: 5 minutes

Guildhall: Job Faire is a stand-alone expansion for Guildhall: Old World Economy. There are six new occupations that play a bit differently than those in the base game.

Guildhall Rules Description:

Job Faire does not add new rules to the Guildhall series. If you have not played the base game read my review of Guildhall: Old World Economy here. This post will assume you know the basics of the game and focus on the Job faire expansion.

The biggest new additions are the six new occupations, Bricklayer, Hunter, Peddler, Robber, Scholar and Tax Collector. Here is a listing of each one and their abilities:

Bricklayer – He lets you draw cards from the deck then you must place some cards back on top of the deck.

Hunter – He lets you look through the discard pile and swap cards with those in your guildhall.

Peddler – She lets you swap cards in your hand with cards in another player’s guildhall. The cards you gain go into your hand. She also grants you an extra action.

Robber – She allows you to take a card from another player’s hand and place it in your guildhall. If the card you draw cannot go in your guildhall it is discarded.

Scholar – He lets you draw cards from the deck and add them directly to your guildhall. Cards you cannot add to your guildhall are discarded.

Tax Collector – You gain VP equal to the number of Tax Collectors in your guildhall. Then you must give another player a card from your guildhall.

As usual these abilities are more powerful when you have more of the played occupation in your guildhall.

You can mix six occupations from the base game and the Job Faire expansion as they are completely compatible. It is not recommended to add all twelve occupations in one huge deck though.

As before, the first player to 20 VPs wins.

Quick Review of Guildhall Job Faire:

Job Faire is a fun, stand-alone expansion. The new occupations add a new feel to the game. Though the rules are the same it plays differently. In the expansion you are able to mess with opponents’ hands more. It seems more cutthroat than the original so don’t play this with sensitive people.

The components are very good. The card and chit quality are excellent just like in the base game. The art is fine. I know some people really like it while others don’t, but I think it works well. The rules are well written and you can play this game minutes after reading them. The box fits both games, which is nice, but it doesn’t have slots for each occupation. It is not a big deal but would have been nice to have.

There are some very powerful combinations with the new occupations. The Hunter, Peddler and Tax Collector and make for a quick scoring machine. The Bricklayer that sets up the Scholar is pretty good too. I like the way the new occupations interact and help you deal with duplicates in your hand.

It might just be me, but I also feel these occupations play quicker than the originals. This might be from the potent combos I mentioned above, but it just feels faster. It might depend on your group though. Some players could really try to analyze what putting each and every card back on the deck or in the discard pile will do. And that would make this game drag.

I also just like that it is more Guildhall. I really enjoy the base game and am happy to see more cards and options for playing it.

Guildhall Job Faire is a fun, light-medium card game. It plays fast and is easy to teach and learn. If you have the original and want some variety in the game play, pick this up. If you don’t own either, then you really can’t go wrong. Both games are very enjoyable with more strategy than you think.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6