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sean johnson
United States
avon
Indiana
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For the past several years my wife and I have had a tradition of buying a random game during the summer. We make the intention of getting a game that we know nothing about. In 2011 we added this one to an order from Thoughthammer, because they had it on sale. So did we get lucky for this random purchase or was it a bust?
Game Overview
Airships is a dice game where players get points from building airships. Players begin with white dice, which roll between 1 and 3. On a player's turn they add a new "expansion" card to the board, and then they roll dice to try to gain one of these cards or to gain airships. Each card shows what type of dice are required to get the card and what number needs to be rolled. For example a card might require two white dice, and a five to be rolled. If a player has access to additional dice, they can roll them up to three. There are eight different types of cards players can have, and as the game goes on they will continue to upgrade various cards and replace the older ones. These cards offer access to red and black dice, as well as other special abilities and even points. When a player gets the right dice rolls and successfully builds a dirigible they get a zeppelin piece (a Zepple?) that gives a +1 to a roll. There are also pieces that players can use to add +1 to a roll. The game ends when either the Hindenburg is completed (there are four sections), or the zeppelin card piles only have one card or less left in each pile.
The Game We Played
Throughout the game, I had extremely good dice rolls. I think that for the entire game, I only failed two dice rolls. I was able to get the first card that came out that allowed players to use red dice. This mean for a couple of turns I was able to go for some zeppelin cards that my wife could not go for. My wife tried multiple times to get a card that would give her +1 to all of her future rolls, but she kept failing the roll. I also was able to get the access to the black dice when they came up, and my wife never was able to do that. I ended the game by reducing the airship card piles to one or less each. We counted up the points and I won 23 to 5.
Our Thoughts
My Rating: 3.5 (It's OK)
My Thoughts: The game is just fine. This really is a straight up dice rolling game, but still manages to be a light euro-style game. I think this game is fairly accessible and unique.
Her Rating: 3.5 (It's OK)
Her Thoughts: There is nothing wrong with the game, but I think it is more fun with more than two people. It can also be frustrating to repeatedly fail at dice rolls.
Verdict
Combined Rating: 7
We very clearly have other games that we enjoy more than Airships. However, we both like Airships well enough and we do not have anything else like it. Airships is a good light game, that I think can make a good gateway game. For a game we knew nothing about, I think we did pretty good at picking this one out.
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