Game: Ave Caesar

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Grimwold — 2008-07-04T01:39:43+00:00

I'm in 4th place near the end of the last lap... but I went on to win

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Grimwold — 2008-07-04T01:37:18+00:00

Lunchtime game group playing Ave Caesar

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Grimwold — 2008-07-04T01:36:25+00:00

Playing Ave Caesar at lunchtime

Thread: Re: Fun with enough players

PlayMe1 — 2008-07-03T12:14:18+00:00

I like Ave Caesar but others I've played with haven't found it interesting enough. However, we've never played more than 3 at a time, so we need to increase the size of our group and then see how it goes. Also, I know the trip to pay homage to the Caesar is an attempt to slow the leader down and give others a chance, but we've found with 3 that the back 2 keep tripping each other up and the leader is hard to catch. Maybe with more the also-rans will have a better chance. Thanks for the recommendation and I look forward to trying it some more.

Thread: Re: Fun with enough players

sbarrera — 2008-07-02T01:42:16+00:00

That's a good point about rowdiness, Darryl. That is one of the fun aspects of this game.

Thread: Re: Fun with enough players

booned — 2008-07-02T07:15:45+00:00

I own a previously-published version of this game called Q-Jet 21XX and it's one of my favourite games. I enjoy it a lot with 3 or 4 players, too, using special narrower tracks on the back of the board. The game is more fun with more players but that's just because of group rowdiness -- the game itself works well enough with fewer.

I've played the new version only a couple of times. While the new one is of much better quality, the lack of special tracks for smaller numbers of players probably hurts it.

Thread: Fun with enough players

sbarrera — 2008-07-02T04:11:16+00:00

I am not normally a fan of racing games, but [GAMEID=494] is one I like to play. As long as there are enough players. Five or six is best, but four will do.

The appeal of the game is its simplicity; you play a card from your limited hand, and move that many spaces forward. That's it!

The conflict in the game comes from bottlenecks on the track; you can't go through the other pieces, nor can you make a partial move, so it's possible to have no valid move. That's how you fall behind. But for this mechanic to come into play frequently you must have the higher number of players, and without this effect the game loses its fun and excitement.

There's one more part. During each race, which is three laps, you must pass Caesar's podium and toss him a coin in his honor. You must do this at the end of either the first or second lap, and this obligation creates some extra possibility for tactical screwage of other players.

You are supposed to run four races and score points for placing in each one, then add the points to determine victory. There are two sides to the board, and you run each track in opposite directions, and so have four distinct courses. But you could just play one race as a filler, why not?

The hail to Caesar, and the jockeying for position on the track, evoke the Roman chariot race theme nicely. The components are high quality. If you game with large groups, and racing games work for you, this is a good bet.