Not a great game, but it can be fun with the right group of people.

5+ plays

I'm really conflicted about this one. On the one hand I like the mechanics, the fact that there is no luck, and the way the game works. On the other I can't justify spending this much time playing this game, so it's pretty much impossible for me to get it back to the table. So, on the one hand I would rate it a 6 or 7, but on the other I would have to rate it a 3, so I'm compromising at a 5.

2 plays, 3 and 4 players.

A nice fast abstract with some bluffing/misdirection. It seems like moving the black hex is a fairly powerful way to delay the game a turn, but it seems like winning always boils down to someone else setting things up for you to win.

4 plays, 3 players

Oh, the tension, the drama, the agony!

This game makes you feel like you're losing almost the entire time, and I love it. Maybe it's the masochist in me, but I find the money tension in this game to be very enjoyable. It's not for everyone, though.

After many plays I have moved my rating from an 8 to a 9 due to the number of expansions and the variety they bring to Age of Steam.

Mean, but productive, play in this game is often passive aggressive. The tactics are subtle. Overt attacks will often just hurt you more in the end.

Based on 10 plays from 2 to 6 players on various maps.

Ireland - rating 8
Nice and brutal for 3. Much tighter than the base map. Even more brutal with 4.

I must not forget to upgrade my link early, even if it costs me a few shares...

After another play, I'm not sure how much play is in Ireland. Since there is no urbanization, it seems like the map isn't as dynamic as most maps.

2 plays, 3 players
1 play, 4 players

England - rating 7
A nice change from the base map, with a little bit of a curve due to the red city issue. Good map to teach new players with, if playing with 5.

3 plays, 5 players
1 play, 6 players

Western US
I need to play this map more before I decide what to rate it. So far, it seems like the Western U.S. is a little harsh with all the expensive building costs on one side of the board, and the contiguous track restriction for the first part of the game. This may be mitigated by the ability to bid higher in the first turn to go first or get build first and secure the best spots on the board.

1 play, 4 players.

Germany - rating 8
A pretty harsh board, but it has some interesting features and provides some nice alternatives to the original board. Very solid with 4.

1 play, 4 players.
3 plays, 5 players.

Scandinavia - rating 8
This is a fairly nice three player map. It's tighter than the original map, but not an brutal as Ireland. The Move by Sea action adds some nice tactical options. With four things get really tight.

1 play, 3 players
2 plays, 4 players

Korea - rating 8
Korea rocks. The rules changes are significant in terms of game impact, but it is a lot of fun and a nice challenge. It is a bit chaotic, though, and it can be frustrating trying to clear (and keep clear) longer delivery routes.

2 plays, 4 players

Italy - rating 6
Okay, but not as vicious as I had expected. I guess I would say it's like a mellow version of London, without all the money tension.

1 play, 3 player

France - rating 6
France is a very easy going map. As other have stated, it is a good beginner's map. Most of the money tension is gone.

2 plays, 3 players
1 play, 6 players

Overall I would recommend this map set for France, since it makes a good basic board for new players.

N. CA - rating 7
We totally messed this game up. Not so much in rules, but in the strategy.

Wow, this map is just totally brutal. My second play was with 5 players, all with at least 5 games of AoS under their belt. There were only 3 possible turn 1 deliveries, one was a natural 3 tile, one was for a player who took engineer, and the other for a player who took urbanize. Only two of them actually got delivered. One player dropped out in turn two due to frustration and a pinch hitter had to be found. Another player went bankrupt on turn three, and yet another player went bankrupt on the last turn of the game. Bone crunchingly brutal. Not for the faint of heart.

1 play, 3 players
1 play, 5 players

1830's Penn. - rating 6
I'm not sure about this map, the one time I played I ran away with the coal and totally dominated. There may be some balance issues for players that don't grasp some of the important concepts... like coal. We also made one glaring rules error.

1 play, 5 players

America
It played okay with 3, but the tension would have been more interesting with more. The scarcity of the goods made production much more valuable, but the locomotive action may have some rich-get-richer/runaway leader issues, similar to Japan.

1 play, 3 players

Europe
Interesting map, not sure about the express links.

1 play, 5 players

Austria - rating 6
Without the shares and the auction, a lot of the Age of Steam nature is removed from the game, for me. It's not a bad diversion, but it doesn't have the gut wrenching tension that a normal Age of Steam map has. Granted, I think that it plays better than Scotland for two, since the auction can kind of cause other issues with two players. It's just not the same, though.

1 play

India - rating 7
This map is somewhat interesting, although it might lend itself to degenerate goods distributions which throw the game off balance.

1 play, 4 players

Only Switzerland as P&P. I have the other two maps from other releases.

St. Lucia
Probably the best two player AoS map I've played. Better than Scotland, Austria, and Jamaica. The goods distribution makes for very interesting gameplay and the lack of initial cities forces some amount of confrontation, although not too much.

1 play

China - rating 8
This is also an interesting map, kind of the inverse of South Africa. Pretty hard to make a go of it in the south, with all the mountains. Russia can be tempting, but is a harsh mistress.

1 play, 3 players
1 play, 4 players
1 play, 5 players

South America - rating 7
Enteresting map. El Presidente! makes a big difference in the early rounds (keeping one player's head above water), but in the last few it didn't seem to matter much at all, once everyone was nicely profitable.

This map doesn't change a lot, but it is a nice change of pace.

1 play, 3 players
1 play, 4 players

Disco Inferno - rating 5
Production is greatly enhanced. This map can be a little harsh and mean with cities going away, but Production can be used to mitigate that effect. The dynamic nature of this map makes it a little harder to see the future in terms of network development.

With another play I have decided that I really hate this map. While I love the chain reactions in concept, when coupled with the way the cities go away and the very limited production I find that it creates too much chaos for long term planning, making the game not nearly as enjoyable for me. Also, the chain reaction mechanism seems to be a bad idea in practice, since it eats up goods that could otherwise be used to either sustain a city or make longer deliveries.

2 plays, 4 players
1 play, 5 players

Soul Train - rating 5
What a weird map. Takes a bit of getting used to.

Docking this a point after seeing a degenerate state due to aggressive urbanization in the first half of the game, leaving one player with no options (really) for the rest of the game. Will play again, but if a similar experience results, I may consider a house rule to allow shipping goods through same colored cities in the bottom half of the board.

2 plays, 3 players

Madagascar
Not bad. The "bad actions" are interesting, although it seems like the "last place" action should have negative victory points in the last round or something to offset it's relative non-badness in that context. I don't think it would support 6 players well, but 5 was nice and tight.

1 play, 5 players

Rating pending more plays.

My only major complaint is that the purple and blue cities are hard to distinguish.

Jamaica
An interesting map, but it's easily possible to get into a totally broken position, even with a better track network because the income opportunities are so limited. It happened to me that I couldn't make enough income every turn to get closer to breaking even, at best I was just getting back to the same exact place on the track then sliding back down. Not really fun at that point, since there was no way to even try to win, but I don't know if that was an issue related more to the board itself or my play.

1 play

Interesting map. The rules are a little confusing, though.

1 play

Mexico - rating 7

Nationalization presents some interesting opportunities to co-opt links you couldn't build. Not bad in theory, although it makes the map a bit forgiving.

1 play, 4 players

Spain - rating 6

Not sure, but insurrection seems a bit overpowered. Need more plays to be sure.

1 play, 6 players

Golden Spike - rating 6
Interesting map. The team play aspect makes it a little more interesting. It is tricky to balance outplaying your team mate with supporting them enough that they continue to clear the main line. Careful Urbanization is critical.

1 play, 4 players


Mississippi Steamboats - rating 5
This map is a bit chaotic for my tastes, and it's really hard to understand how to plan for the future when some of the most important "cities" are going to move around unpredictably throughout the game.

It didn't help that several cities were saturated with goods that could only be delivered to a steamboat or the other side of the board, and the boats often didn't end up where we needed them to be. Interesting concept, but it doesn't quite do for me. Not my least favorite map, but it's pretty far down on the list. Sorry Ted.

1 play, 4 players

Finally got around to playing this one. Interesting map, it seemed to play pretty well, although the requirement that all track be contiguous seems a little but contrived to create competition.

Not as intense as other maps, but a fairly enjoyable map for casual play.

1 play

South Africa - rating 8
Wow. South Africa total destroyed me. My lowest AoS score ever. (At the time. Now it's my second lowest.) I felt like I was being crushed. It was great.

Second play, not as brutal, but still tight. I this may be better with 4.

2 play, 5 players.

Northeast US - rating 7
NE US was a nice, solid map. Played it with three which wasn't horribly tight, but one of the players was learning AoS, so this was a nice map. Tighter than Rust Belt, but looser than, say, The Sun or Ireland. A nice middle ground. It has just enough changes (mainly in color/distribution of cities) to make it interesting while still feeling a lot like the core game.

1 play, 3 players.

Sun - rating 7
Wow, do I have a lot to learn.

1 play, 3 players.
1 play, 4 players

London - rating 8
Agonizingly brutal. I love it. Engineer is very valuable. Complex track is important. This map accentuates my bungee jumping AoS style, making the razor's edge even sharper than usual.

1 play, 3 players.
1 play, 4 players.

Very interesting map. The limitations produce interesting situations. Nice and tight.

2 plays, 3 players

This is a weird map. It's a little chaotic for me, and the number of players required makes it hard to get this one to the table.

1 play, 7 players.

2 sets for New England

New Hampshire
Rating: 7
A little easygoing with the anti-competition rules, but adequate for introducing a new player.

1 play, 3 players

Vermont
Rating: 7
Also fairly easygoing. Not bad for introducing a new player when playing with 3.

1 play, 3 players

New York Subway
The strangest take on AoS that I have yet played. It was interesting and a lot more abstract, but I think it needs more than 3 players to really shine.

Playing it with 5 players was much better, although it is very different from normal AoS.

1 play, 3 players
1 play, 5 players

random and irritating.

Based on countless plays growing up.

Can be more vindictive than the rules would suggest. Clever in the tile placement, but sometimes the leader runs away with the win. Not really interesting for 2.

2 plays, 3 players
1 play, 2 players

Interesting. Better than most of the worker placement games I have played. I look forward to playing with the cards (someday in draft format). Rating pending more plays.

Really looking forward to trying the card draft.

Okay, I don't want to play this without a draft again.

My group won't play with the Wet Nurse from the Z deck because they feel it is overpowered. I also don't like the broom/spring cleaning card for the randomness/windfall it can create and the mansion because it is a big double-dipping windfall. I will probably try to have them removed in the future, or at least modified.

I can't believe that every combination of cards was throughly playtested. I think that's probably the biggest weakness of the game.

1 play, 2 players, family game
1 play, 2 players, E deck
3 plays, 3 players, E deck
1 play, 3 players, E+I deck
1 play, 4 players, E deck, draft
2 plays, 4 players, Z deck, draft
1 play, 5 players, I deck, draft
1 play, 5 players, I+K deck, draft

Nice art, but the basic game isn't that impressive and could be played with a normal deck of cards. I'm reserving final judgement until I try it with the advanced rules.

Based on 5 plays with the normal rules and no plays with the advanced rules.

One of the better party games. More of an experience than a game, it is best, in my experience, when played with at least a few people that haven't played before because otherwise it can lose it's novelty fairly quickly.

Based on 10+ plays.

Interesting, but weird, building game.

6 plays

The combat system is overly simplistic and the game doesn't play too well for two players. I think this would only be of interest to Babylon 5 fans because there are other games that cover all the same themes in much better ways.

1 play, 3 players.

3 3? 2258 Core Sets
2 2258 Earth Alliance Starter Kit
2 2258 Minbari Starter Kit
2 2258 Centauri Republic Starter Kit
2 2258 Narn Regime Starter Kit
2 2258 Vorlon Empire Starter Kit
2 1* 2259 Shadows Starter Kit
1 1* 2259 Psi Corps Starter Kit
2 1* 2259 Narn Regime Starter Kits
2 1* 2259 Centauri Republic Starter Kits
1* 2259 Earth Alliance Starter Kit
1* 2259 Minbari Starter Kit

Old standby. Too random for me.

Based on 10 plays.

Just your average dexterity game. It's a little on the tricky side.

Based on 2 plays.

Nice light dexterity game.

After I got out the kitchen scale and marked each block with its weight in grams, the game is much more strategic and interesting when played with the weight variant. Lots of fun and much more challenging.

Based on 10+ plays.

This game is highly dependent on the players getting into the theme. The biggest drawback is the elimination element.

I think it works better with an odd number of players, and best with seven.

10+ plays with 4-7 players.

On par with High Noon in terms of shortening the game and making things a little more interesting.

10+ plays

Adds some interesting mechanics and new character cards. Nicely expands the game by giving players the ability to directly help each other. Some of the new characters may be a little overpowered. Further plays will be needed before deciding if tweaks are necessary for our group.

It seems like the green cards encourage turtling, esp. for the sheriff.

10+ plays

Does a good job of speeding up the game and making it more interesting.

10+ plays

Nice short two player game. Sort of like an advanced version of Lost Cities. I like Schotten Totten better, and I usually play this game without the tactics cards, for that reason.

5 plays.

An adequate dexterity game. The different variations in Bausack are quite nice.

5 plays

Roll the die, hope you win. Bleh. I just read the rules and I know I won't ever want to play it.

Based on 0 plays. Yes. You read that correctly. Zero plays. The rules, as written, don't allow players to make any real decisions. I don't have to play it to know I don't like it.

Nice, but not necessary, addition to the icehouse collection.

Good, clean, abstract, tetris-like fun. And it's pretty, too.

Based on 10+ plays, mostly with 2 players.

Nice game. I prefer it with two players, but more is acceptable. I have the version with plastic bits, but they are quite nice. The turntable is a very nice touch.

Based on 10+ plays.

Not a bad trading game, but with some players, it can really bog down. Seven players is too slow.

Based on 10+ plays.

Interesting, and radical, variation on Bohnanza. It is interesting, if a bit confrontational for a trading game.

Based on 2 plays.

Interesting, luck free, war game, but not really to my taste.

1 play

Not as visually appealing to me as Set, and the rules seem a little more fiddly. Not bad, though.

10+ plays.

Wow, this game got really tight in the rail phase. My finances were a razor thin margin that I kept cutting my wrists with.

After several more plays, this game still hasn't worn out it's welcome, although I'm beginning to wonder if my RailSplosion(patent pending) technique is overpowered. I think the best (only) counter is to do the same thing... still not sure.

10+ plays

An average game. Of special interest for Buffy fans.

Much better than most licensed games (produced by a big American company, even).

6 plays

Not digging two player.

I don't think I like the sudden-death end game.

1 play, 2 players.
1 play, 3 players.

This is a very good game, IMHO. As many people have said, a brain burning Carcassonne. I like brain burners and I like Carcassonne. Lots of fun. YMMV.

5+ plays; 2, 3, and 4 players

Fun, light game that my wife is willing to play. It's also good for lunch hour since a full game takes less than an hour for my group. Also, a horrible, horrible game for more than three players.

Based on 10 plays.

Adds a little bit of depth and some extra tiles. The tiles are slightly useful in that they create a more complete set of combinations and there are a few that help break up the megafarms, but the actual inn and cathedral scoring rules don't do much for me.

4 plays

5 tile version

Makes a nicer starting base than the standard starting tile, but it doesn't really add anything interesting to the game (besides a little color). It was nice that my copy (english version) came with it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it if I didn't gave it already.

Based on 10+ plays.

1 play, 3 players

Nice variant on Carcassonne. My wife likes the animals better than farms. It's also easier to teach the rules to new players and the scoring seems a little better balanced.

Based on 10+ plays.

Interesting and fairly quick game. A little bit on the random side with the dice/cubes, but that can be compensated for with variants.

Based on 4 plays, all with 3 players.

As far as party games go, this is one of the very best.

10 plays

Did not enjoy this. Too little control. Too often I either had one card I could play (no decision) or I could play a one of two cards which only had an impact on which *other* player *might* win the trick. Not fun or interesting for me.

1 play, 5 players

blah. Not interesting or fun.

Based on 10+ plays.

The classic heavy strategy game. Too bad it takes so much study and is far less elegant than Go.

Based on 10+ plays.

Somewhat quirky trick taking game. Not sure about the long term playability. It seems like most of the game is in the bid, with the play being somewhat academic. There also seems to be a weird disincentive to bid with a strong, but uncertain, hand, but this does reward weaker hands, so it's probably not all bad.

1 play, 3 players.

This is a game? Someday I will make a list of games that are just short enough for me to be able to stand them as filler and this game will be on it.

10+ plays with 3-5 players.

Not a horrible game, but it tends to bog down for me in the role selection with eight players. I feel like it takes too long (both the role selection and the game in general) for what I get out of it. With fewer players it's an interesting psychological contest.

Based on 10+ plays.

As far as expansions go, this doesn't really offer all that much, but since it comes with new copies of the English version, it's not that bad.

The exp. coins are better than the original Eng. (cardboard) coins, but not as nice as the original German (butterscotch) coins. The crown counter is nicer, and the replacement of character cards is nice, but not necessary if you've taken measures (like I have) to protect them to begin with. The new summary cards don't summarize the most important thing: the roles.

I like some of the new buildings, but some of them strike me as either too random, powerful, or fiddly to interest me. For example, in a normal game both cards and money move around freely due to the various character abilities. That means that the buldings that give VP for districts in hand or gold in hand are little too hard to plan for, IMHO. The result is likely to be fairly chaotic.

The Hospital strikes me as a little bit too powerful for one player to have the ability to ignore part of the effects of being killed.

And any card that requires the players to say something specific ("Mother, may I?") every turn, or even worse, every turn when X condition is met, is just silly and fiddly to me.

That said, some of the others seem interesting to me because they can help move the game along by adding cards and money to the mix. These are the ones that I will most likely use on a regular basis.

5 plays

Classic beer and pretzels game. Silly fun, but random and too long. Fond memories from high school, but little desire to play now.

5+ plays

Nicely fills the quick deduction game slot in my game library.

Based on 6 plays.

Really great deduction game for four.

5+ plays

Weird trick taking game. Very tactical. Steep learning curve, helps to have dedicated players.

5+ plays

Eh. Dicefest filler. *shrug*

Based on 3 plays.

An okay dexterity game that's easy to cary with my icehouse stuff. If it wasn't so cheap and easy, I wouldn't have it.

Based on 3 plays.

Fun for parties, but I don't often get 6+ people together and willing to play. The questions can be a little unbalanced, though. I think it would be much better with a different movement method.

Based on 8 plays.

Really cute bits, but it's a little hard to get people to play with me.

1 play, 5 players

Nice, classy dex. game. Fast fun for the whole family.

Based on 10+ plays.

The theme makes this game for me. It's not a great game, but if everyone is just playing to have fun, then it's entertaining.

It's on the same basic level as lunch money.

Based on 3 plays.

Solid thinky deduction game. A little tricky to wrap one's mind around. More players tends to drag the game out a bit, and it is also very fragile. One error, lie, or misstatement from a player can pretty much ruin the game.

2 plays, 4 players
1 play, 5 players
1 play, 6 players

Interesting game. Some of the people I play with don't like the stealing mechanic because it makes planning ahead more difficult. I love the theme, though.

Based on 5 plays.

Not really something I love to play, but it does allow for different games.

Based on 10+ plays.

A neat little bidding game with highly restrictive rules. Not a bad filler. I would not recommend this for 6 players. With 3 it's a tight bidding game, with 6 it is too easy for one or more players to get locked out.

To reiterate. 3>4>5>6

5+ plays; 3, 4, and 6 players.

Not a bad quick two player filler type game.

Based on 5 plays.

Very nice, quick abstract strat. game.

Based on 10+ plays.

A rather silly game.

2 plays

A fun timekiller in college, but there are much better things to do...

Classic trick taking... it just doesn't grab me. Dull and boring.

Based on 10 plays.

Crap.

This is a neat card game. The drafting and set collection elements are nice and the fairly quick play is a bonus. Slightly addictive.

A little predictable with 2 players.

10+ plays

Rules complexity similar to chess. It can have a confusing learning curve, but it provides interesting game play. There can be some issues with the randomness of the plague. I'd like to try it without the plague at some point. The turn order thing is nice, but it can lend itself to kingmaking.

All in all, a very tactical game at times, with a fairly strong bluffing/second guessing element.

Based on 3 plays.

Very similar to DVONN, but not quite as interesting to me.

Based on 1 play.

Not bad filler, but a little confusing with the rules. Fairly fast play, but it's difficult for a player that's losing to catch up.

Based on 10+ plays.

This game is really cool. Requires a little bit of practice to get the hang of the rules, but it's a lot of fun and doesn't take too long to play. Mind melty.

5 plays

Boring game play.

Based on many plays as a child.

A fine collection of games.

Bizzare cross between chess and... umm... John Conway's Game of Life. Similar in some ways to Octi Extreme, but a little bit closer to chess.

Based on 2 plays.

Weird. I'm still trying to figure this one out.

Based on 2 plays.

An okay game for icehouse pyramids, but I'd much rather play Zendo instead.

Based on 2 plays.

The ultimate abstract strategy game. Simple rules; deep gameplay. Not much else to say.

Based on 10+ plays.

Somewhat clever game. The memory element gets me, though.

2 plays

Not a bad tile game. A decent fast and light game.

Based on 2 plays.

Lots of options, but maybe not so many decisions. It seems like the good options are very constrained by the rules, making position and opportunity more important than strategy. Need to play again (and bid higher on some things).

1 play, 5 players.

Cute and quick dexterity game. A little pricey, though.

5 plays

Very random and chaotic expansion makes the game much less strategic. I would not recommend it.

1 play; 5 players

Not a bad longish filler type game. It can get a little repetitive after a while.Based on 10+ plays with 3, 5, and 6 players.

An okay game but it seems a little simplistic. I'm concerned that a solution may not be intractable. Neat theme and package, though.

10+ plays.

Interesting game. I'm reserving final judgement until I play it again.

5+ plays with 3-5 players.

Interesting game. More strategic than Take 6, but it can really bog down with analysis. Better than average filler.

4 plays

Fun, but it can degenerate into a money counting game if taken too seriously.

Based on 10+ plays.

Adds more cards... that can't be bad. Or maybe it can. *shurg*

Based on 10+ plays.

Not as backstabby as I thought it would be with 3. Not sure if that's due to the players or just the number of players.

Lots of fun with the right players.

1 play, 3 players
1 play, 4 players
3 plays, 5 players

This game is interesting filler but a little too loud for game night.

1 play, 5 players

Why didn't I try this game before? Very little luck, interesting options... very good stuff.

It's not a good with 2 players as most of the tension about the results of the festivals is gone.

Based on 1 play with 3 players and 1 play with 2 players.

The classic party/dexterity game. Not really much to it, though.

Based on 10+ plays.

A nice little set collecting game. Not very complicated, but an enjoyable filler.

Based on 1 play.

Complex and chaotic, but still fairly deep. A lot of options to take in.

Based on 3 plays.

Tricky thinking game that plays very quickly.

Based on 10+ plays.

Basic fluffy filler game. Not bad, but not many hard decisions. I will pretty much only play this with the variant to evenly(ish) split up the merchant ships to prevent serious distribution issues.

I would not recommend this for 2 players.

5+ plays; 2, 3, and 4 players.

A clever cooperative puzzle that can degenerate if one player dominates the discussion.

Based on 2 plays.

Not a very compelling game.

Based on 1 play.

Pretty good for a trivia game. Some of the questions are a bit hard, but I like the fact that the game adds resource management to make it slightly more than just a trivia game.

Based on 5+ plays.

Pretty good variant on stratego. The theme fits pretty well and the cards add some interesting decisions.

Based on 6 plays.

Fun, even if it is a bit mean. Too much luck for my taste.

I like the theme and artwork, though.

Based on 10+ plays.

Good nicht die bohne like filler.

Based on 4 plays.

Wow. This is a pretty heavy game. I've only played it once, but I enjoyed it and I didn't get bored or distracted even though it took a long time to play.

Good in a way; bad in a way.
This game really had me for a while (back in the good old days ['94-'95]), but the collectable aspect and the money aspect started wear on me. I got burned out shortly after that. I think it's a great idea, and I love thinking about building decks, but playing just doesn't really do it for me anymore.

Based on 100+ plays.

Nice, brain burning fun. Don't let the ugly colors get you down. The only problem I have with this game right now is that I can't get it to the table more often.

5 plays.

This game was fun in college, but mainly for the novelty value. The fun of the game comes from picking on people that don't know the rules. (another example would be The Petals of the Rose/Diners at the Table). It gets old and tired... or maybe I got old and tired. Either way, I don't plan on playing it any time soon.

Based on 50+ plays.

Random filler. The decisions involved are overshadowed by the randomness of the dice.

2 plays, 2 and 3 players

Interesting game. Kind of like playing chicken.

Based on 5 plays.

A bit odd in the intersection of columns and islands. I look forward to trying it again. It seems a little frustrating when it gets to be late in the game and none of the moves you can make are productive. It's also a bit prone to analysis paralysis.

1 play, 4 players

Randomness of the goods draw and the pirate ship variant don't thrill me.

Playing without the pirate ship is much, much better.

2 plays, 4 players (once with the pirate ship and once without).
1 play, 5 player variant.

Best game EVAR.

Very nice light and fast race game. Takes a lot of space, but that's the biggest flaw I see right now.

4 plays

Adds some nice spice to an otherwise bland game.

1 play, 4 players
1 play, 6 players

One of the better filler games, IMHO.

Based on 10+ plays.

I'm not a fan of trick taking games, but this one is pretty good. Twisty enough to be interesting.

Why am I so bad at this game?

50+ plays.

Not my favorite Mystery Rummy.

Interesting and fairly complex rummy variant. The fact that my wife will play is a big plus.

Based on 30+ plays.

On par with the series. My wife will play. Bonus!

Not as strong as Jack the Ripper or Wyatt Earp.

Based on 10+ plays.

Good book on variations, balance, and rules tweaking. Highly recommended.

The "other" bean game. Quite a mean little card game, but entertaining. Table talk can make or break the game, depending on the group. More players makes the game much more chaotic.

Based on 10+ plays.

I aspire to play this game, but it is unlikely I will ever get to play it in person due to lack of time and interested players.

Chaotic, but interesting.

Based on 5+ plays with five, six, seven, and nine players.

I only have this because it's on the back of my crokinole board.

Like Wabash Cannonball, only more so, and with more interesting decisions.

1 play, 3 players.

Interesting and challenging coop game. I love the theme. I need to see how it plays with 2, though.

Man, this game is tough. With 4 players we got close twice, but we were still a couple of turns behind...

3 plays, 3 players
2 plays, 4 players

A classic game that kids play to feel like adults. Now that I have to work and pay bills, why would I want to play a game that simulates the experience?

Decent 2 player travel game. The interactions are subtle and somewhat psychological.

Fun dex. game. It depends a lot on the players getting into the game, though. Otherwise it's just a drag to try to play.

Based on 8 plays.

Wow. This can really make things complicated. My only issue has to do with the fact that serious bottlenecks can be created.

Based on 5 plays.

This is a recommended book if you are interested in icehouse pyramids. Although all of the game rules are published online, the book format provides additional detail including many good pictures and examples as well as being in an easy to carry format.

The rules are very hard to understand. Once we got past that, I realized that despite the fact that I want to like this game, I just can't manage it. It always seems to drag out too long, and the randomness of the cards really brings me down. I usually alternate between not being able to get enough cards to defend myself to not being able to move enough because I have too many cards that are not useful to me. Some of the cards/events like Storm seem overly devastating. I like the theme and some of the mechanics, but the execution just kills the fun for me.

The way that combat works is nice, because it's not totally random, but the very limited ability to do much to anyone except the person following you in turn order (with the encounters) is frustrating. If one player keeps getting the hostile encounter type cards, the player following them can have a pretty horrible experience with very few options.

After playing with the designer's encounter variant, I like this game a bit more. I also look forward to playing the Commodore's game.

5 plays

A very interesting and strange dexterity game. Not for everyone.

Based on 5+ plays.

The new version makes that game play more smoothly and is quite enjoyable. A four player game (with one new player and three that had played the old version once or twice) took just over two hours. Much better. The power grid version components are very nice.

The only thing that really bugs me about the game is when the power plant queue bogs down and/or the game is thrown out of whack by a plant coming out at just the right time to provide a major advantage for one player.

My opinion has diminished over time because I've played in several games where the flow of the power plants has lead to an anti-climactic step 2 end game.

10+ plays

Not bad, but it doesn't really change that game that much.

1 play, 4 players.

Not bad for a (small) change of pace.

Based on 2 plays with 5 and 6 players.

Interesting. Somewhat unforgiving. I want to try it again with 4 or 5.

1 play, 3 players.

I like this game a little bit more every time I play it. To me, it is a personal challenge to execute my plan as well as possible.

Based on 5+ plays.

A rich, tense, and complex bidding game with lots of interesting options, even after you run out of money. However, my opition of it has gone down a bit with more plays because I always seem to be hosed by the questionable moves that others make that hurt there own position and also hurt my position in the process. It can also be a little AP prone and become a bit tedious. There are also family balance issues.

Based on 5 plays with 4, 5, and 6 players.

After several plays this has grown on me, mainly because I have come to better understand what the game is and, more importantly, what it isn't. It's a decent midrange bidding and building game with interesting tactical decisions to make, but it's not a long strategy game because it ends at about the time that it would get interesting.

4 plays

Interesting tetris like experience.

Based on 2 plays.

Good abstract strategy, but I think I like some of the other GIPF games better.

Based on 4 plays.

Not bad, similar to San Juan, but more interesting due to the variety of different cards.

5+ plays

So far I like the viability of new strategies, but I have not played with takeovers yet.

Woah, rockin' the develop strategy...

Takeovers seem fairly insignificant so far...

After some more plays with takeovers, they seem very insignifigant. In the games that I have played with takeovers (5+), it has been rare that anyone has even had the potential to take over another planet, and no one has actually done it yet.

10+ plays with 2-5 players

Adds some interesting options, but some of the new ways to get points seem a little arbitrary to me.

It seems like some of the point gains overlap with some of the big dev. cards, which provides a bit of a double dip effect, something I'm not fond of.

I do like playing the draft variant to reduce the luck of the draw.

5+ plays

Kind of like Lost Cities without the fun. Too random for my taste.

Interesting game with some interesting ideas. I need some more plays before i have a final verdict.

2 plays, 4 players.

Interesting variation on the Railroad Dice system, although it does bring up new issues with the rules.

2 plays, 3 players

Very interesting game. Not nearly as random as the name suggests, although there may be some issues with placement and/or runaway leaders. Need to play more to find out.

5 plays

Good blind bidding filler. Too bad I'm horrible at it.

Based on 3 plays.

Ahh... the poor man's roborally. It also plays much more quickly and more interesting rules for order of operations.

At first blush, the chaos of the food chain tiles is a little much for me. Otherwise it's a fairly interesting game... with a lot of down time that can't be used in a meaningful way.

After a second play, the downtime is still there, but it is a fairly interesting, if difficult, game.

This game is growing on me. 3 Players seems to be better for me than 4.

5+ plays, 2-4 players.

One of my favorite games. But partly because I'm good at it. A good lunch hour game. This game was the first German game I ever played.

Based on 30+ plays.

A classic trick taking game that I remember from high school. Not great, though.

Based on 10+ plays.

Quick, simple, and fun dexterity game.

Getting the structure built is important, but it is also critical to pay attention to the point values.

5+ plays

A good game, although we never seem to play it.

4 plays, 2-4 players

More of an activity than a game. Requires specific skills.

4 plays

A great pattern recognition game. The learning curve is a bit steep, but fairly short. However, there is no good way to compensate for varied player ability.

100+ plays

Not a bad two player game. Better than the real thing, anyway. But it does take up a lot of space to play.

3 plays

A good expansion. It adds some extra dimensions to the game.

2 plays