New Bedford

About this board game

New Bedford is a medium-weight worker-placement and resource-management game for 1–4 players, playable in about 60 minutes. Set in Massachusetts during the golden age of whaling, it challenges you to develop a thriving town while sending ships into increasingly depleted seas.

Across twelve rounds, each player places two workers, one at a time, on the town and whaling boards. Gather food, wood, and brick, sell goods, build buildings, dock ships, and launch expeditions. The first player to use an action in a round may receive a bonus, gain extra goods, or pay less for the action.

• Build the town: Construct buildings that add new, combined, or more powerful actions.
• Manage your ships: Pay the cost to send vessels whaling and choose how far out they travel.
• Race for the best whales: Ships farther from shore choose first, but waiting can make whales harder to find.
• Balance your finances: Pay your crew when ships return and cover each ship’s required “lay” to keep its selected whales.

At the end of each round, ships move closer to shore and whale tokens are drawn randomly. Farthest ships have the first chance to claim valuable sperm whales, while later launches can overtake them for a better selection. As the game progresses, empty seas become more common, making timing increasingly important.

You own every building you construct, while other players must pay to use it; those buildings can also contribute points at the end. After twelve rounds, all ships return, and players score their buildings, whales, and remaining money. In New Bedford, careful planning and well-timed expeditions determine who earns the highest score.