When my wife (then girlfriend) handed me the Christmas present, I was thrilled to see that inside was a copy of El Grande. I was thrilled, because El Grande was a game that IMMEDIATELY appealed to me. Like Settlers of Catan and Power Grid, I was hooked after one play, and decided that I MUST own it. Is it any wonder I married this girl?

The Good News

A Different Kind of Euro-game I'm not sure who will agree with me here, but El Grande has always been the cure for the modern Euro-game to me. Oh, many of the cliches ARE here. It trades in wooden cubes, victory points, and pasted on medieval themes, but the gameplay itself is decidedly different. All of my games have been chaotic and hard to predict, and it is a game that rewards cut-throat play. You only succeed at the expense of others, and that confrontational aspect sets it apart in my mind.

Still Allows for Real Strategy and Tactics Lest I make it sound like the game is a complete crapshoot, there is real strategy to consider at all times. Do you spend that high power card to get the chance to take the action you want? Do you go ahead and empty your court, meaning you will NEED to choose a low power card next turn? Once you have your action card, how do you manipulate it to suit your needs? These choices all require some real planning and the flexibility to adapt to what your opponents will do.

Nice Production My edition is the most recent HiG edition, so I cannot speak to the Rio Grande quality (I suspect it's pretty much the same). For what its worth though, the game looks outstanding, with nice illustrations, a nice big board, and quality cards. The king pawn is nice and heavy, and the Castillo looks cool too.

Great Use of Majority Mechanic I am rarely a fan of majority control games (there are always exceptions of course), but this is one of the first, and it remains the best. My biggest problem with the genre is that its difficult to dig out of a hole once its dug. El Grande is a little more forgiving in this regard. Don't take that to mean that it's impossible to hold a lead, because its not. Rather, it means that the game is rarely as hopeless as it looks.

The Bad News

Analysis Paralysis Teaching to new people is tough, because being unfamiliar with the action cards usually means you will spend loads of time staring at the cards, and then loads of time deciding which one to take, and then a final chunk of time deciding how to execute the action. This is helped a little when everyone knows the game, but even then, it can drag a good deal more then German games of comparable weight.

Weak Theme I'm not generally one to mind this too much, and it's hardly a deal breaker. But El Grande barely even tries. I mean, cubes? Honestly? Maybe some other type of token would have increased the price of an already pricey game, but it feels more abstract than it should, given the depth and the quality of the other components.

Hard to Predict This is something I like about the game, but I know others who do not like it at all. The game is chaotic enough that some will have difficulty planning ahead. Indeed, strategy has to be flexible and vague, because things can change in a hurry.

Player Numbers The box says 2-5, but that's not the case at all. This game is better with 4 or 5. I still haven't played with 3, but the 2-player game is lame enough that I wonder why they even said it could be played that way.

The Bottom Line

I am a big fan of El Grande. This is one of the finest German game designs ever, and the game has held up well, despite being over 10 years old. It's a little on the pricey side, but it's worth tracking down. I recommend it highly!