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Lowell Kempf
United States
Chicago
Illinois
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As will come to no surprise to anyone who reads my blog, I am a big fan of Sid Sackson. Not only do I believe that he was an immensely influential designer, I also feel that many of his designs hold up well, even decades later. Sackson had an amazing talent for creating simple, stream-lined systems that still offered a wide variety of choices.
And so I am really happy that Fred/Griffin is going to be reprinting a lot of his games. While I already own most of the games in question, thanks to years of hunting on the secondary market, having more of Sackson’s games available is something that I think will do nothing but good for the hobby. I think his games are fun to play and stimulating for both the imagination and the intellect.
Yup, I am a Sackson fanboy.
Griffin is in the process of rereleasing Bazaar, a game that has been out of print for too long. I already have a copy of the original edition (which, after years of looking for an affordable copy, I ironically found for $5 at a garage sale. The secondary market is a finicky and strange beast) but I am glad that other people don’t have to go to the trouble to go hunting for it.
Bazaar is a game that is all about trading. Players trade colored coins or beads with the market in order to cash them in for cards that require a specific combination of colors. I know, as themes go, it’s not that exciting and, apart from the box art, the game doesn’t really go out of its way to push the theme.
However, it is the mechanics of Bazaar that make it shine.
The key to Bazaar is the trading exchange. At the start of each game, two trading boards are set out, setting the exchange rate. They show what colors and quantities can be exchanged for another set. (For instance, two red coins = one green, one blue, one white. That sort of thing.)
Part of what makes the exchange so magical is that it goes both ways. In the example above, you could either trade two red coins for the other three OR the green-blue-white for two red. Playing the game well is learning how to use the exchange to your best advantage. One of my more analytical friends says that every game is a new puzzle that you need to figure out.
What really pushes making careful trades is the scoring. When you trade in coins for a card, the points you score are determined by how many coins you have left in your hand. The more coins, the fewer points you get. In short, hording is detrimental and efficiency is very important.
While I really enjoy Bazaar and have fun every time it makes it onto the table, I do have to admit that Bazaar isn’t perfect and not for everyone. And I say that disregarding the fact that the theme is wafer-thin and the game play is very abstract.
Player interaction is limited to just buying a card before someone else does. While that can be a big deal (after all, you tend to build your collection of colored coins for specific cards), it really tends to be a matter of timing rather than intentionally trying to hurt the other guy. You do need to pay attention to what other folks are doing but you can’t directly affect the trades they make.
The other issue with Bazaar is that you can only make one trade on a turn. That means that you are not making dynamic, sweeping moves. You are taking incremental steps towards your goal. And, if someone bought a card you were planning on getting, you have to reassess your goals. If you or any other players suffer from analysis paralysis, that can make the game drag.
While Bazaar is not a flawless game and there are some folks out there who would be bored to tears by it, I am glad that is getting a new lease on life and greater exposure. I think there are a lot of folks who are going to have a lot of fun with it now that they can get a hold it it.
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