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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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Into the top 5 now -- #5 is Vegas Showdown
Vegas Showdown was the first game I researched and bought for myself. I'm not sure when I got it, I'm gonna guess 2007 judging from some pictures I found.
When I first got it, I was impressed by the rules. They were brief, easy to read, illustrated, and with examples. I was able to get through them and teach Jen and her parents. The tiles were also really nice when I punched them out. Vegas Showdown expanded the wooden component to me. Tikal was the first game I played that used wooden components, but having different uses for different pieces was a first for me.
Of course when you talk about the components of VS, you have to talk about the awful player mats. They're bad. OK, enough bad talk.
When the game came in, very shortly after my wife and I took a trip with her parents. I honestly forget why, but we were in West Virginia for a night and then traveled on to Pittsburgh for the rest of the weekend. I took Vegas Showdown along and taught my in-laws. My mother in law will play a lot of games with my wife and I. My father in law is less of a gamer, but on occasion has played card games with us. He did sit on and learn VS with us and I think he enjoyed it. Later on, I brought it over to the house a few times and he played again. This time, using a rattling strategy of connecting his doors with rooms where an adult beverage may be consumed.
I've had some great experiences with VS at the WBC. When it debuted at WBC in 2008, I was able to win a heat and make semi-final table. I had to decline the Semi that year though, so I could play in the Union Pacific final table. In the 2009 event, I won my way into the Semis again. This time, I played a good game. The only thing that stopped me from winning was the card I pulled ended the game. If the game went one more round I would've had enough money to put a second restaurant in my blue section. The biggest bummer was the the winner of my table was not able to play in the final. Alas, it was a good game. In 2010 I was only able to play 1 heat, which was a very close loss for me. I'm hopeful that Vegas Showdown continues to be a tournament event at WBC. Eric Freeman has taken over GM duties and does a really nice job with it. He posts incredibly detailed final table session reports here thanks to some help from his dad.
Vegas Showdown is available online, but on a webpage that requires payments so I don't play it online at all. It is a fairly popular game with some of my groups though, so I do get to play it on occasion.
The end game scoring was always a slow process for me, so I decided to design a scoring summary sheet. Vegas Showdown Scorecard I was surprised to see the sheet I designed being used at the WBC tournament during the first year. I talked to the GM after the first heat and told him I designed it and was thrilled someone else thought it was worth using.
I love the balancing act you need to do in this game to make money. Power Grid: Factory Manager uses the same principle. You have two major items to balance - revenues and populations. You get paid based on the lower number. You can't just focus on getting people in, they need to spend money. You can't focus solely on money, because if people aren't coming in you aren't maximizing that potential. It's a great mechanic.
Final Thoughts
Vegas Showdown comes in at #16 on Jen and my combined ratings geeklist. I give it a 9.3, but she gave it a 7. I have a funny feeling that if she played it again and was asked to re-rate it, it would be higher. As it stands now though, it ranks behind some really good games, but it's still a worthy game in my top 5.
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