Game: Arkadia

Thread: Quick review after 10+ plays

BrenoK — 2008-08-24T20:55:39+00:00

So, what do I think about Arkadia? I got this game almost by accident. I just sent a list of recent eurogames to a friend of mine that was coming to Brasília from Europe and I've put them in order from the ones I wanted the most to the ones I wanted the least. I had played Arkadia once and thought it was only OK, I added it to the list just so that the chances he'd bring back a game would be bigger. If in the second chance the game proved to be as mediocre as it appeared in the first play, I'd be able to sell it since it was a recent release. As it turned out, all the other games weren't available in the Local Game Store he visited, so he got me this one.

More than 10 plays later, I can say that I'm glad he did. Arkadia is quite the unique game. Not that there's anything here that you haven't seen before in other games (no greatly innovative mechanism), but the way everything interacts make it quite unique.

So, what is Arkadia? It's about spatial placement of buildings (the way to put VPs on the game) and workers (a way to make the VPs yours). You get seals and sell them for VPs, and the price varies in a stock-market-ish kind of way: a seal can be worth anything from 0 to 6 victory points.

Yeah, there's supposedly a story about building the perfect city, but it really doesn't make much sense. This is an eurogame through and through. The production values of the game, however, sure are pretty, so at least you have something nice to look at while you play. Everything's bright and colorful, and there are absolutely no issues with the components whatsoever (one might mention that the yellow worker's color is too close to the generic worker, but I don't find that to be a big deal).

In your turn you either place buildings or place workers adjacent to one building. It's the usual "I wanted to do both!" fare, here, but the thing about it in this game is that you're usually able to help the guy sitting next to you more strongly than you are at helping yourself. If you're not careful, you're going to set up an incredibly high scoring opportunity for the guy going after you. A lot of the playing in this game has to do with not giving him a great opportunity for scoring. Playing against the opponents plays a huge part in this game.

Some people might get frustrated by the inefficiency that you're usually forced into when playing this, but I think it can be quite interesting. You have to keep paying attention throughout the whole game, not only on how the prices are fluctuating (and how you should influence the market when you close a building), but you have to keep a high margin of flexibility. This is a highly tactical game, and a lot of it can't be understood in the first match you play.

Another thing comes with what I've just said. Because of the nature of the game, you can't really play this game if one of the players isn't "taking it seriously". Quite frequently the uninterested player will throw the game quite off balance, which is natural in a game in which every action counts.

One big plus in this game is the time it takes. About an hour seems about right for most of the plays, maybe less depending on how experienced the gamers are. And this is no light game. The rules are simple, but at every turn you're making some pretty heavy decisions and deductions (there's a lot of hidden information in this one) every time it's your turn.

A cool bonus on this is that every so often an amazingly strong play pops up. Some guy places a building or a handful or workers to collect 6 or 7 seals at once, or maybe close two or three buildings with just some clever thinking. I always like it when games are able to pull this off, to sometimes have some moments that make everyone curse and laugh.

One bad aspect I see in this game is the fact that it doesn't scale very well. I think that 3 players is BY FAR the best number for this. With 2 there isn't enough people pushing each other around (this being a stock market game, the price fluctuation won't be as interesting) and with 4 the game becomes a little too chaotic, you don't get enough actions during the whole of the match.

I rate arkadia an 8. If it scaled better, I would probably raise the grade 8.5, but since 3 is such a common number of players in my game group, I have no qualms about rating it so well, and with the great replay value this has (you rarely see two matches developing similarly), I'm not selling this one anytime soon.

Thread: Re: Play Games? You Need Arkadia

eprice20 — 2008-08-19T18:23:48+00:00

I also picked up this game thinking - wow, a game like Torres? I MUST have it! It is very different, but a great addition to my gaming collection. We have played it dozens of times already, and are pleased both aesthetically and mechanics wise.

The only gripe I've had with this game is the seals and screens. I opened the game and thought: wow, these look awesome, and they are going to get mangled quick. We immediately laminated those pieces before even trying to play the game, and it was a really good decision. The pieces still fold appropriately so the screens will still stand on their own and the banners with still attach. I would highly recommend lamination before 1st play for those that buy this game.

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rober — 2008-08-12T11:24:07+00:00

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valar12 — 2008-08-11T20:33:12+00:00

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valar12 — 2008-08-11T19:25:07+00:00

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valar12 — 2008-08-11T19:22:04+00:00

Pile of Monies

Thread: Re: Basement Boardgamer Ep3: Video Introduction & Review of Arkadia

jholder29 — 2008-08-09T16:34:00+00:00

Thanks for the review! I picked it up, and am about to give it our first play!

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weevol — 2008-08-03T01:50:10+00:00

a very competitive game of Arkadia with my father-in-law

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weevol — 2008-07-21T02:40:43+00:00

ok, the game was a little heavy for him...but maybe he can be an Arkadia spokesmodel

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weevol — 2008-07-21T02:34:11+00:00

I REALLY hope my son turns out to be a gamer...gotta start 'em early

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weevol — 2008-07-21T02:29:48+00:00

when I ask my wife to smile and look like she's enjoying the game, this is what I get : she loves me, honest....

Thread: Re: How many gold coins to win a game

JohnRayJr — 2008-07-13T04:54:35+00:00

With more reckless players scores can go unusually high (150+) but in a more balanced game where everyone is keeping an eye on each other, 120-130 is usually the range for the winner.

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

JohnRayJr — 2008-07-13T04:51:36+00:00

Depends on who the "non-gamers" are. I introduce games to a lot of people who get into them immediately. For me, Tikal and Princes of Florence can be Gateway games. I only stop short of springing something like Puerto Rico on newcomers.

I've had a great time playing Arkadia with non-gamers. I think its very easy to teach and has simple rules that are difficult to "master" (without being Chess of course). I disagree with some comments here about the components: this is a very attractive game.

There are perhaps two strikes against Arkadia as an introductory game. First, it feels much, much different feel from many other games. If you grab someone with Power Grid, there are tons of other economic games. With TTR, tons of other route-connecting games. With Notre Dame, tons of other resource management games, and with El Grande, tons of other Area Majority games. There's not a lot out there that reminds me of Arkadia, though, so it might be a bit of a "misleading" introduction. Second, it's a conspicuously spatial game, which is a more "love-it-or-hate-it" mechanic than many.

I guess there are people out there who really need more of a "sell" to game. I've never used TTR or Settlers, and in my experience Carc is quite hit or miss, so I'm not sure what to recommend.

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Brian Schubert — 2008-07-03T06:36:49+00:00

Arkadia - Center hub

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marcosriego — 2008-07-01T15:49:23+00:00

My paper test v2. (Color)

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

airship51 — 2008-06-26T18:12:56+00:00

A gentler introduction might be Cathedral, then graduate to Arkadia. But then they might dis the cardboard buildings.

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

caesarmom — 2008-06-15T14:28:54+00:00

First off, I love Arkadia and think that it offers a relatively deep game experience for the hour you'll spend playing it.

Even though it's an easy game for gamers to dive into, I don't think I'd pull it out as a gateway game. I put this in the category of transitional game -- perfect for people who have a few gateway games under their belts and are looking for something a little meatier. I'd give it a as a pure gateway game.

[EDIT: Okay, pretty much exactly what booned said!]

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

Ambrose — 2008-06-09T23:34:36+00:00

Cool!

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

booned — 2008-06-09T21:39:08+00:00

Ambrose wrote:
Are there any that you would personally "hire" for the task? No need to mention Settlers.
Deal. I don't much care for Settlers, anyway.

You know the usual suspects, of course, Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne, those types. I would add Hoity Toity and Downfall of Pompeii to that list; I've personally had more success with those than the ones most often mentioned. Arkadia is a fine next-step game, but something like Thebes, in my opinion, would be more fun for casual gamers as something to move them to once they're beyond that introductory stage. It's more exciting and more attractive.

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

Ambrose — 2008-06-09T20:46:08+00:00

booned wrote:
Again, it's a good game, and casual gamers or non-gamers can be taught the game and may have fun with it. But as an introduction to the wider world of gaming, there are so many other games that are better at this task.

Are there any that you would personally "hire" for the task? No need to mention Settlers.

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

booned — 2008-06-09T20:43:23+00:00

as a gateway game. It's a fine game, one I am happy to play, but there's a few shortcomings when looking at it as a gateway game.

* A gateway game should provide excitement. Arkadia provides a subtle, thoughtful kind of fun. A gateway game needs more highs and lows to keep interest high. Some people I know would probably doze through Arkadia.
* A gateway game should be fun and interesting (and perhaps keep you somewhat competitive) in the very first game you play. Arkadia has a couple of things (I'm primarily thinking of the crucial role of timing) that people probably won't grok until the end of the game. But will they play again?
* A gateway game should be attractive to the eye, to add to the enjoyment of the game. The components are nice quality but the yellow board with brown tiles is just plain ugly.

Again, it's a good game, and casual gamers or non-gamers can be taught the game and may have fun with it. But as an introduction to the wider world of gaming, there are so many other games that are better at this task.

Thread: More Strategy Than Luck

airship51 — 2008-06-09T20:31:34+00:00

Another Sunday, another new board game to play.

Players: Joel, Zack, Rob, and me.

Joel brought this one into the game store, so Rob, Zack, and I quit our game of Deadwood after just two rounds so we could switch over and play.

I've got to admit, as Joel was explaining the rules my thought was 'Yep, just another Euro-game.' But as I got into it I began to see just how much strategy Arkadia really requires. In fact, the ability to see the future would come in real handy while playing this game.

In Arkadia, you draw cards that let you place buildings, which you plop down on a gridded board. In the center of said board is the castle you build as you play. If you decide not to place a building, you can instead place one or more worker meeple. If you manage to surround a building with other buildings and/or workers, you score the building shield token and get to place one of the castle pieces. These have one of the shield colors on top, and the number of colors showing at any time determines how many gold pieces you can get for the shields you got when you completed a building. You have five opportunities to sell shields for gold, including the end of the game.

BTW, the buildings look like the 'Tetris' buildings in Princes of Florence and the castle pieces are almost identical to the ones in Torres.

So the strategy consists of many parts:
Building cards are plentiful, but workers are scarce; how should I use my resources? In other words, should I build a building or place some workers?
If I build, where should I build, and which one of my buildings?
If I play a worker, where should it go to maximize my profits?
Whatever I play, does it make it more likely that I'll score, or that somebody else will?
When should I sell my shields? The price is changing constantly! Which castle pieces should I play to maximize my gold and minimize my opponents'?

I made the newbie mistake of placing way too many of my meeple workers in my first few turns. This ran me out of workers and meant I had to score buildings by building other buildings around them. It really restricted me to my side of the board if I was going to make any money at all.

Then I cashed in some of my shields too early, and missed the opportunity to make way more money.

Joel, of course, won. It was his game, and he's the only one who had played before. However, he still chastised himself for not timing some of his moves better. Zack came in second; even though he seemed to be making some wild moves, it paid off for him. Rob and I brought up the rear, but I think we both caught onto the game pretty well by about halfway through. Rob certainly got the 'conserve your workers' strategy early on, while I missed that until it was too late.

Joel's 'winning move' was the next to last play in the game. There was a long, straight building sitting down in the corner of the board with only one of Rob's workers (and I think a generic one) bordering it. Joel didn't have enough workers to claim it, so he packed the edges as best he could. Zack had the last turn, and the only move left was for him to place the last two workers and claim that building. In the process, each scored three tokens. (Rob got one, too.) Joel knew Zack had plenty of workers, and that it was the only move left to him. Very nice strategy.

After just one play, Arkadia has definitely made it onto my 'must buy' list.

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

etherrider — 2008-06-09T20:11:59+00:00

I give it a hardy as it is easy enough to explain away at first and then the stronger stratgy can be seen in time to not get trounced too bad by a more experienced player. So yep, pretty good!

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

Ambrose — 2008-06-09T19:47:32+00:00

seandavidross wrote:

Based on one attempt to introduce this to non-gamers - I'd barely begun the rules explanation before it was deemed too complicated (?!?) and we had to move on to Ticket to Ride.... I give it a higher rating because I still believe it could work as a gateway game, with the right people.

Maybe you didn't teach it well? No offense, but it is a weakness with us enthusiastic gamers.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/299189

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

Pepsi4Me2 — 2008-06-09T18:12:56+00:00

With the right teacher and the right kind of group (enthusiasm above all), it's easily a 4.

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

jedimusic — 2008-06-09T17:50:39+00:00

This is the favorite of my casual-gamer wife, and everyone I've taught it to (mostly casual gamers) has enjoyed it.

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

seandavidross — 2008-06-09T13:40:33+00:00

Based on one attempt to introduce this to non-gamers - I'd barely begun the rules explanation before it was deemed too complicated (?!?) and we had to move on to Ticket to Ride.... I give it a higher rating because I still believe it could work as a gateway game, with the right people.

Thread: Re: What is the Gateway Value?

TGov — 2008-06-09T04:56:55+00:00

my wife loved this game and it is very easy to pick up for newbies I have found.

I found it really enjoyable as well.

Thread: What is the Gateway Value?

Ambrose — 2008-06-09T02:41:08+00:00

I am seriously considering purchasing Arkadia, and just wanted to know what experiences or thoughts you had regarding it's "Gateway Value". Do newbies to board games receive it well? Will it open up the door to board gaming?

Just say on a scale of to what Arkadia's "Gateway Value" is, and then your thoughts and experiences, or whatever.

Thread: Re: How many gold coins to win a game

dbarree — 2008-06-09T01:01:55+00:00

Just finished a 2-player game and the winner had 137 points to 122 for the loser.

Thread: Re: Basement Boardgamer Ep3: Video Introduction & Review of Arkadia

widjayaman — 2008-06-01T04:02:22+00:00

Winnie Tan wrote:
Farid,

Thanks for reviewing this game. It's a job well done! Keep up the good work! Hope to see more from you in future. Would you be so kind as to consider reviewing Tikal next?

OK, who told you that TIkal is next? Cause it is. This is creepy.

Thread: Re: Basement Boardgamer Ep3: Video Introduction & Review of Arkadia

Winnie Tan — 2008-06-01T00:49:04+00:00

Farid,

Thanks for reviewing this game. It's a job well done! Keep up the good work! Hope to see more from you in future. Would you be so kind as to consider reviewing Tikal next?

Thread: Re: Basement Boardgamer Ep3: Video Introduction & Review of Arkadia

Ambrose — 2008-05-30T02:42:59+00:00

Man, I wish people would get off the theme aspect of games! Nothing personal mind you, but really... what makes up a game? Mechanics. If a game is great thematically, but has almost no game, what's the use? All games are abstract [to a certain degree].

Great review! This is a must have for me right now, and I was waiting for a video review of it so I could see it in action.

Suggestion: I would love to see more "sample turns". That's another aspect where www.boardgameswithscott.com has everyone beat.

Thread: Re: Basement Boardgamer Ep3: Video Introduction & Review of Arkadia

flakybiscuit — 2008-05-30T01:33:37+00:00

Another really nice effort. You are getting more skilled at this with each review! Nice introduction to the game, the components, and, as always, the segues are great.

One thing I would consider changing if I was you is the music that you had playing in the background as you were talking. I found it distracting. I think it would be okay to have that music playing for 10-15 seconds before and after a segue.

Keep them coming!

Thread: Re: Basement Boardgamer Ep3: Video Introduction & Review of Arkadia

caltexn — 2008-05-30T00:51:54+00:00

Nice job. Thorough treatment, with good illustrations. Also clearly stated the main thrust of the game - the timing of playing the banners.

Thread: Re: Basement Boardgamer Ep3: Video Introduction & Review of Arkadia

jadzianess — 2008-05-29T20:00:35+00:00

Enjoyed this video review, nice production qualities with the fading and editing and such. I bought this game months ago, read the rules but it didn't really click with me, so I was curious to see how you explained it. It's probably a game I will have to play to really grasp, but I have an idea now. Now to convince others to try it with me.....

Plus I loved how I just had to click on your movie and it played, no downloading stuff or going to another site. Love that!

Thread: Basement Boardgamer Ep3: Video Introduction & Review of Arkadia

widjayaman — 2008-05-29T13:57:57+00:00

Here's my video introduction & Review of Arkadia.

Vimeo Video

You can also watch the video directly on the site: Basement Boardgamer

Enjoy!

Thread: Re: Arkadia: A Lighthearted Review of an Underrated Game

ddkk — 2008-05-12T10:01:55+00:00

just played our first game last weekend, 4 players ... all like it ... i'm rating it a solid 8 and could go up with more plays ...

Thread: Re: Missing worker

weevol — 2008-04-15T19:47:44+00:00

Jay asked me to paypal him $2.50 for the worker. While I was contemplating my next move, Ravensburger sent me a full packet of workers at no charge, the shipping was $1.31. I just received it yesterday!

Thread: Re: Play Games? You Need Arkadia

Thorwolf — 2008-03-23T15:30:43+00:00

Nice brief on this game.

I played this for the first time yesterday and also found it very engaging. I have no idea why it sold at bargain prices a month or so ago at Barne's and Noble (I missed out on that). Maybe it just shows how many very nice games were released last year.

Thread: Play Games? You Need Arkadia

MENAREUS2000 — 2008-03-23T07:18:19+00:00

When I first saw all the castles pieces that come with this game, I immediately thought of the game "Torres", which I absolutely love. Well it's turns out it plays completely differently from "Torres", but there's one thing they both have in common and that is that they are both games that really stand out from the crowd.

I'll admit when I first looked at the picture of the game at the back of the box and saw all the different components on the board, it's looked pretty intimidating, yet nothing could have been further from the truth.

Without going into details of the theme of this game, your basically placing buildings on the board, with different shaped flat pieces that you may remember from "Tetris" and adding castle pieces to the "Castle Grid", placed at it's center, as these buildings become surrounded with your workers and other buildings.

Using the sample set-up, each player starts out with 3 workers in their color and a certain number of neutral workers depending on the number of players (2-4). Each person is dealt 4 building cards, each depicting one of the "Tetris" like shaped buildings, and 3 building cards are placed face up at the side of the board for use by any of the players, who choose to use one of these rather than a card from their hand.

For the most part, you'll only being doing one of two things each turn. Either placing a building on to the board, or placing one or more of your workers. You get to place buildings by playing a card which depicts one of the buildings in the game. The only rules for placement, is that a building must be placed adjacent (vertically horizontally) to another building or worker. Workers must be place adjacent to a building as well, but only one building per turn. As each building is placed, little round seals that match (one of the four colors) that was on a card played. This indicates that the building is still under construction and thus isn't completely surrounded yet by workers, buildings, or some combination of both. When a building is completely surrounded on your turn, you get the seal that was placed on the building, and each player, including yourself, gets a seal for each worker in their color (neutral pieces don't count) that's adjacent to the completed building. You also get to place a castle piece at the center of the board, for each such building surrounded. I should note that neutral workers can be acquired during the game after a building placement, for placing parts of the building on anyone of the possible 24 tent squares found through out the board. You get 1 neutral worker for every tent square covered on your turn.

In addition, after a turn, a player has the option of trading in one of their four banners that each player gets at the beginning of the game. Doing so, will allow you to take 2 additional workers in your color from the supply. It's also at this point, that one can choose to cash in any of the seals they've collected and turn them in for gold. This is where the way the center castle construction comes in to play, as you score one gold for the number of a particular seal that can be seen from a bird's eye view of the castle itself. Thus for example, if a total of 4 red seals are showing from the top of the castle, you score 4 gold for every red seal you cash in.

When the 2nd level of the castle is completed, this triggers the ending round of the game when each players get a final turn and the opportunity to cash in all the seals they may still have in their possession. The one with the most gold wins.

Arkadia is a game with very few possible actions that you can take on a turn, but they are all interesting and will give you much to think about. It's fascinating trying to figure out the best building card to play and where to place a building. Making the most of your limited worker supply is a major challenge as well. The castle placements you make will affect what you and your opponents may score and will sometimes having you scratching your head. In the rules, your suppose to keep your workers and seals behind a hidden screen, but I've found leaving them out in the open makes for more fun and takes away the guessing element, if you've forgotten who's taken what at different stages of the game. For such simple mechanics, there's lots to think about here, so those seeking a "Light" game may want to look elsewhere. For those seeking a fun and interesting challenge, Arkadia should fit the bill nicely.

Thread: Re: Ten Strategic Tips for Arkadia

etherrider — 2008-03-23T03:53:48+00:00

from my little experience #3 can perhaps help you the most as it will be far more economical to place a color worker between 2 or more buildings to reap more scoring potential!

But I like the strat review...good job!

(I like the defensive idea for the tan workers in #2)

Thread: Re: How many gold coins to win a game

Rokkr — 2008-03-23T03:51:53+00:00

Gedeone wrote:
Just curious...
Generally, how many gold coins has a player to collect to win a game?
The most.

Thread: Re: How many gold coins to win a game

etherrider — 2008-03-23T03:49:48+00:00

Like most everyone else has already said....I played 2 times today and the games were close-ish.

1st game win = 126 (95 2nd and 89 3rd)
2md game win = 113 (102 2nd and 91 3rd)

All first timers like many other here...but overall about 110-130 depending on how far into the 3rd story you get I suppose.

Thread: Re: Arkadia: A Lighthearted Review of an Underrated Game

widjayaman — 2008-03-19T18:57:53+00:00

Kopernikus wrote:
Is it also well playable with 2 players?

I only have a few 2-player games under my hand and I have also read others saying that it doesn't play too well with 2, but I disagree. In my limited experience the 2 player game has been very enjoyable, with my choice directly affecting my opponent's move.

Thread: Re: Arkadia: A Lighthearted Review of an Underrated Game

Kopernikus — 2008-03-18T23:13:12+00:00

Is it also well playable with 2 players?

Thread: Re: Missing worker

Gamegrunt — 2008-03-17T23:25:22+00:00

Contact Jay Tummelson at Rio Grande Games for that worker.

http://www.riograndegames.com/games.html

Gg

Thread: Re: Missing worker

weevol — 2008-03-17T19:47:53+00:00

stephenpaget wrote:
Yes it is Ravensburger it says so in large letters on the box so how can they not recognise it???????????? The guys at Leisure Games where I bought it were great, and sent me the piece from another copy which they opened specially. So thumbs up to them, but Ravensberger were very unhelpful.
I went to the Ravensburger website and filled out a form indicating that I was missing a piece. That was last week. I have heard nothing.

Thread: Re: Arkadia: A Lighthearted Review of an Underrated Game

Albireo — 2008-03-09T16:14:00+00:00

Heck!

I`m a dentist and I don`t own this! Well, after you comment about dentists and this exceeelent review, I shall order it RIGHT NOW!

Thanks!

Thread: Re: Arkadia: A Lighthearted Review of an Underrated Game

JohnRayJr — 2008-03-09T09:51:19+00:00

Thanks for the succinct and thoughtful review. In the past few days I'd been considering reviewing this game myself: it really needs more exposure and positive coverage here on BGG. Easily top 100 material, and hands down better than Yspahan (so far the most successful of last year's SDJ nominees in the rankings). When Arkadia was first released I was excited by both the theme and visual design of the game, but when it never gained the kind of momentum that say, Notre Dame gained, I assumed it was a half-baked affair. It was only when I started to appreciate Rudiger Dorn as a designer - in particular as a designer who succeeds with distinctly different games - that I decided to gamble on Arkadia.

My own lightning quick appraisal of the game would be:

1. Easy to teach, easy to learn, but not easy to visualize from simply reading the rules, which means that it's:
2. Appreciably distinct in the Euro crowd
3. Nails the highly replayable modular board
4. Nails hidden information (players get to hide resources and points once they receive them)
5. Explodes the standard scoring round structure so that players may time their own optimal scoring.
6. Mediates hard currency through temporary credit (seals of the four noble houses) so that players are all competitively tampering with an exchange market. In other words, there's a kind of preliminary scoring that other players can try to head off before it "counts"- this is awesome and distinct from all the other games in my collection
7. Visually can be like playing multiplayer tetris - a bonus for those who like a spacial element to their games (e.g. Carcassonne) and a definite negative for those who don't.
8. Relatively quick play time, without feeling rushed (e.g. Yspahan).
9. Engaging theme (you think about it as you play, but the game doesn't go out of its way to set or hold a well-defined mood or atmosphere)
10. Go buy this game.

Thread: Re: Missing worker

stephenpaget — 2008-03-09T00:26:04+00:00

Yes it is Ravensburger it says so in large letters on the box so how can they not recognise it???????????? The guys at Leisure Games where I bought it were great, and sent me the piece from another copy which they opened specially. So thumbs up to them, but Ravensberger were very unhelpful.

Thread: Re: Arkadia: A Lighthearted Review of an Underrated Game

drunkenKOALA — 2008-03-08T23:47:18+00:00

Arkadia strikes me as being a game that would have drawn some rave reviews, 5 or 6 years ago, but gets lost in the shuffle of other games, now. I think there's many games like that, these days, which only makes them detract from each other.

Such as? With Cuba and whatnot coming out, we can say the same thing about Puerto Rico (not that I would).

I have to agree with the poster that Arkadia is an excellent game, and a tad underrated.

Thread: Re: Arkadia: A Lighthearted Review of an Underrated Game

generalpf — 2008-03-08T05:30:30+00:00

Darrell's got some good insight here. Arkadia is a well-designed game that works well and plays smoothly, but you can do a lot better in the same amount of time. It's a nice package; I think I gave it an 8, which is really high for me, given that my average rating is slightly below 6. I ended up selling it, though, since it's no good for 2 players, and when I have 3 or 4 I'd always pick something else.

Underrated? Hardly.

Nice review!

Thread: Re: Missing worker

ColtsFan76 — 2008-03-08T02:26:00+00:00

I got mine at B&N as well. I think I had an exrtra Orange but I will have to double check.

Thread: Re: Missing worker

weevol — 2008-03-08T01:03:11+00:00

I bought ARKADIA also and was missing one purple worker. I bought mine at Barnes and Noble and it is a Ravensburger not a Rio Grande.

Thread: Re: Missing worker

ColtsFan76 — 2008-03-08T00:49:35+00:00

Maybe just contact Jay at Rio Grande games?

Thread: Re: Missing worker

stephenpaget — 2008-03-08T00:36:11+00:00

My box says Rudiger Dorn's (tiny print) ARKADIA

Thread: Re: Missing worker

ColtsFan76 — 2008-03-08T00:30:21+00:00

Did you let them know it was "Die Baumeister von Arkadia"? Perhaps they were looking for just "Arkadia"?

Thread: Missing worker

stephenpaget — 2008-03-08T00:07:21+00:00

I recently purchased Arkadia in the Uk, but my copy is missing one green worker. I contacted Ravensberger and this was their response ...

['We are sorry to learn that you are missing a piece from your game. Unfortunately we do not recognize the above game. Although we have not been able to help you in this instance, we do hope you will continue to purchase Ravensburger products in the future.'

What's that about?

Thread: Re: Arkadia: A Lighthearted Review of an Underrated Game

DarrellKH — 2008-03-07T15:03:48+00:00

Arkadia strikes me as being a game that would have drawn some rave reviews, 5 or 6 years ago, but gets lost in the shuffle of other games, now. I think there's many games like that, these days, which only makes them detract from each other.

Having predator in our heritage, we're inclined to be captivated by what stands out as being different (rather than getting stomped on by the herd). Arkadia is not so very different.