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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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#6 in my countdown - Attika
In April of 2010 I attended a Game Day with the Central PA Game Club in Harrisburg. The first game we played that day was race for the galaxy. My buddy Fred and I had never played, and after two games we looked at each other and basically said we never wanted to go through that again. As they readied themselves for yet another race, Fred and I excused ourselves to try another game.
We settled on Attika. I had never played before, but Fred is a good teacher. We played a two player game and I found myself really intrigued. It was easy to learn, and the mechanics were simple, yet challengingly strategic. Simply put, I was hooked after one play. (mind you, the people playing race said I would need 10 or so plays to really appreciate that one. Sorry, I know if I'll like a game after 1 or 2 plays. I don't need 10).
I immediately added Attika to my wishlist as a must have. I was rather bummed to learn that it was an OOP game (out of print). I resigned myself to hoping to find it on Ebay. Well, as luck would have it - a BGG'er from State College was holding a fire sale. I had looked over his game list and he was selling a copy of Attika for a reasonable price. I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it to the sale, but I had a friend living in State College and asked him if he would be a proxy buyer for me. He agreed and texted me when he got there how the sale was going to be held. I was so nervous about whether or not I'd get the game(s) that I really wanted. There were 4 I gave him. (Attika, For Sale, Biblios, and Daytona 500). As it turns out, there were several people interested in Attika and my buddy Dave ended up losing out on buying it through a die roll. (Dave did get Scripts and Scribes which I was able to trade for Power Grid: Factory Manager, and Daytona 500 which is a really cool racing game).
Well, as luck would have it, in May of 2010 my wife and I took a trip to Cleveland to go to book signing. Mike and Mike in the morning of ESPN Radio fame were signing books.
While we were there, I checked to see if there were any FLGS's in the area. I found a store (I forget the name) that was basically an online shop. As I browsed the inventory I saw that Attika was listed! I called the store and asked if I could do a pickup locally. The owner said it was just his home, but he agreed to let me come pick up the game. I was pumped! I think the price tag on the game was around $25. I taught Jen how to play that night and she picked the game up really quickly. We played two games that weekend, and I was able to build all of my buildings both times.
Attika comes in at 15 on The geeklist I made for my wife Jen's and my combined rankings. I saw Attika was listed on BSW so I tried to teach my dad how to play. He thought it was ok, but he's not really big on games with resource cards. He will play it on the table, but I'm guessing there are other games he enjoys more. I was able to teach one of my gaming groups (which is always kind of a thrill for me, since I am a teacher) and they enjoyed it as well.
Final Thoughts
Attika will always be the game that saved me from another race for the galaxy. I love the fact that each game will have a unique flavor to it.
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