As usual, here's a preface about me and my 'gaming group':
We are what some people here called the 'meh-gamers.' I'm the one that's crazed in this wonderful hobby, my wife is cringing at the money I spent on it, and my friends aren't exactly gamers. They like to socialize and have fun. Our gaming sessions usually consist of about 10 people where 2 simultaneous games are going on at the same time. We like our games to be pretty, exciting, non-complicated, and most importantly fun. The games we like are in the 2-3 on the weight rating. If this fits you and your group, then read on!
I stumbled upon Yspahan on Scott's video review site. His review was more than enough to interest me in the game. After finding out that it was also nominated as SDJ, I purchased the game.
If there's a common denominator among this year's SDJ nominee, is that almost all of them fills the slot of 'games that can be played under an hour.' This premise more than others drew me to Yspahan (and Thebes too), and let me just say that after playing both games I can say I like this niche of games, and will be looking forward to purchase Notre Dame and Arkadia.
So here's what I think about different aspects of Yspahan.
1. What's in the box
Yspahan comes in a nice colorful box. Inside the box are the game board, building board for each player, dice tower board, caravan board, cards, 12 dices, and a bunch of little wooden cubes and cameeples. Everything is well made and is suitable for the game, although I personally think the board & cubes could have been a little larger. I also think for the size of the components, the box is a bit unnecessarily too large.
I will say though that I love the board. The city of yspahan is nicely illustrated, and I love the way they use the shadow of the souks to denote the spots. The board is also sturdy and on par with your usual euro.
2. How to play
The rules/gameplay have been described in great length in other reviews, so I'm only going to touch on it briefly.
The game is played in the span of 3 weeks (21 days). The goal of the game is to get the most points which can be done by filling the souks with cubes, sending the cubes to the caravan, or building special buildings. The first player rolls the dices and choose his action by selecting a group of dice on the tower board, and after that those actions are no longer available for the other players at this turn. After all players play, the turn ends and the day changes.
Although some people may disagree, I think Yspahan very cleverly integrate Dices into the game in a way I have not yet seen in other games. Basically the dices determine what options are available for you on your turn, and although some people scoff this as a luck-fest mechanic, I think it forces you to play very tactically and adjusting your moves depending on what's available. In addition, you may also choose to nudge lady luck to your side by spending some golds for some additional dice, yet another mechanic I have not seen before.
3. My thoughts on..
a. Explaining the rules to newbies
This is where Yspahan shines. The game have many different layers but I find explaining the game to be very easy. After a mock turn or two everyone immediately understand how to play, and thats important for a game that's designed to fill the 45 minute time slot.
b. The Gameplay
Ever play a game where new players constantly asking you what are all the things they can do in their turn because there's so many? Well, not in Yspahan. Yspahan's gameplay is delightfully simple. On your turn the choices of actions that are available are very clear and non-intimidating for non/new gamers. People can simply choose to get gold, get camel, place cubes, move the supervisor, or pick a card. Simple actions that everyone can immediately see.
c. Tactics & Strategies aspect
However, behind the simple decisions, Yspahan manages to give you a surprisingly wide tactical aspects. Because there's only one thing you can do in your turn (other than building a building), you are forced to make tactical decisions which is hard to envision sometimes. Do you take lots of gold this turn over placing the cubes on that last spot? Do you move the supervisor to screw someone so he wont complete his souks? Do you take that special card that instead? This sense of urgency in choosing the right decision is heightened by the fact that the game ends rather quickly. There's plenty of strategies you can pursue from the beginning of the game, but the winner is usually someone who can adjust his strategy based on the dice rolls that are available to him.
d. Theme
Despite some people's complaints that the theme in Yspahan is pasted on, I do think they did a good job in creating an atmosphere that prevents the game from simply being a 'cube pusher' or 'area majority.' Like I mentioned above the game board is drawn very nicely that depicts the buildings in Yspahan, and I'm also glad they decided to use the cameeples too. (My wife refers to Yspahan as the 'camel game.' Therefore, while the theme is light, it is sufficient for what the game is and does a pretty good job at that.
e. Luck factor
Unless you absolutely hates dice, I dont think you will find luck to be much of an issue. Being able to adjust your tactics and strategy based on what's available for you is an aspect of Yspahan that I adore. This also opens up opportunity to play defensive or offensive. "Do I take what's available right now because it may not be available next turn, or do I take the other group because otherwise the next player is going to benefit greatly from it, or.." you get the idea.
f. Fun factor & conclusion
Yspahan is definitely a fun game. Everytime we're done playing a game I always find myself asking, "what could have happened have I choose to do this or that" - and the best thing is that I usually have the time and desire to immediately play again. This is a sign for a successful game. It does its role nicely - as a short, fun, and light game that presents multiple decisions without being a brain burner. It presents a wide range of decisions in a non-intimidating way. You can still casually chat with others while you play. It's definitely not 'epic' - which is why I think some people regarded the game as simply 'average.' I think we need to judge a game for what it's aimed for, and for its niche Yspahan surely hits a sweet spot. If you want epic, play TI3. If you want mathematical, play power Grid. If you want strategic bliss, then play Caylus. If you want a nice light filler that offers lots of tactical play? I wholeheartedly recommend Yspahan.
Posted Fri Dec 7, 2007 8:41 pm
