Adventure of an Essen rookie
"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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This year I did my first trip to Essen with fellow BGG member David Ausloos (who is currently in the final phase of designing his first game that will be released next year if all goes well). It was a true adventure with getting lost in the center of Essen and discovering many new games at the wonderful Essen fair. These are my purchases, as most people at Essen I ended up buying a lot more than anticipated.
David also posted a report on our journey: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/226561
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1.
Board Game: Cuba
[Average Rating:7.30 Overall Rank:162]
"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Cuba was a must-buy for me, I am a sucker for games with such a lovely theme and a board that looks this good. Purchased the German Eggert Spiele version for 29 euros.
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Duel in the Dark was the only game that both David and I obtained (at 29 euros). Finally gamers get the chance to bomb Germany although some may feel that bombing cities like Dresden is a bit morbid and politically incorrect but hey it's only a game.
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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I usually buy Spiel des Jahres winners and with one of my favorite designers (Michael Schacht) winning this season I had to buy it, found it at 18 euros!
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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This was on my wishlist for a very long time and a former Spiel des jahres winner. I played it numerous times on Brettspielwelt, it's a lot of fun. Found it 2nd hand for 9 euros.
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Another classic found for only 8 euros (2nd hand) and another Spiel des Jahres winner (in 1990), an early Klaus Teuber.
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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The latest Ticket to Ride expansion. Since I play this a lot with my parents or as an introduction game to non-gamers this was another one I had to buy. 18 euros at the Days of Wonder booth.
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7.
Board Game: Vikings
[Average Rating:7.32 Overall Rank:159]
"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Michael Kiesling goes solo and delivered a gorgeous looking game here. The Vikings theme and beautiful cover of the box only add to the atmosphere. Purchased at 19 euros.
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8.
Board Game: Taluva
[Average Rating:7.14 Overall Rank:242]
"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Another one of Hans im Glück (one of my favourite publishers). Not too keen on the box cover but the components look marvelous and I heard that it plays great with 2 players as well. (19 euros)
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9.
Board Game: Ostia
[Average Rating:5.83 Overall Rank:3434]
"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Ostia was a bit a risky purchase since it gets mixed reactions. But since I like auction mechanics and trading games I'm willing to give it a try at a price of a mere 10 euros. And the box looks nice!
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Received this as a free gift at the booth where I bought Taluva, Vikings and Ostia. Cathala and Faidutti produce lighter games that can sometimes be surprisingly fun to play. (0 euros)
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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As a Martin Wallace fan (he's my favorite designer) I was delighted to find this for 20 euros.
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Another Wallace, also for 20 euros, I didn't buy Brass yet at the Warfrog booth, which was twice the price as this one (40). Brass will be for 2008 I guess.
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Days of Wonder games are distributed by Hodin in my country (Belgium). They have a policy of working with a high profit margin which results in games priced at 50 euros and thus I mostly don't buy them. Hodin's bigest competitor in the Belgium-Netherlands area is 999 Games, who have a strategy of sharp prices with a smaller profit margin but a higher turnover.
Cleopatra was on my wishlist since last year and I found a German version on Spiel for only 19 euros! That's under half the price that Hodin charges them in Belgium. (19 euros)
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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Final Purchase: Found this for almost nothing at the Fantasy Flight Booth where David obtained a copy of Dust. It's from Schacht & Faidutti, for 2.5 euros U can't do much wrong. (2,5 euros)
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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At the Booth of Angelo Porazzi games we were stopped by Angelo himself, a very nice man and extremely enthusiastic about his designs. He trapped David and I into a game of BOL (Balls of Light).
It was a horrible experience, personally I'd rather play the Game of Goose then this one again. The game looks awful and like it's designed by children, the mechanics combine roll & move with voting. I hope for Angelo that he managed to sell at least one copy, it would surprise me if he did but with his persuasion and overdose of enthusiasm U just never know. At least we can say we played a game with a designer...
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"Kurosawa"
Belgium
Antwerp
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I already mentioned that Italian designer Angelo Porazzi is a very enthusiastic man with charisma. He also managed to push David and me to play another of his creations: Scaraball. I must admit, the experience wasn't as horrible as playing Balls of Light. It's basically a dexterity game that could be fun with the right group but not really my kind of thing.
Porazzi also designed Peacebowl that doesn't get bashed on BGG, that one might be worth checking out, it was also for sale at Essen but we didn't play it. Two games with our Italian friend was enough. I hope it was a good fair for him.
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Posted Sat Oct 20, 2007 2:08 pm
Camas
Washington
Los Ranchos
New Mexico
Antwerp
Exacly Jeff, it was the price. Normally I'm not the kind of person who looks at the price. But when U visit Essen, believe me U will look and compare the prices since there is so much choice and many games are sold in several booths, often at different prices.
I went to Essen intending to certainly buy the 4 following games: Brass, Duel in the Dark, Container and Cuba.
But when I arrived at the fair I saw so many interesting games at low prices that I thought it was better to buy 2 games for 18 or 20 euros instead of one game for 40. Brass & Container were 40 euros thus I didn't purchase them. Maybe I can find Brass at Essen in 2008 or 2009 for 20 euros so I decided to wait.
As a Martin Wallace fan with Liberté as the best game in my collection I will certainly obtain Brass at some point in the future.
Zulte
Antwerp
U sure know how to cheer someone up Davy. I would have certainly picked up Brass at that price but hey U can't buy everything. I'm satisfied with the purchases I did and got a pretty good bargain.
Zulte
I know a German online shop that sells it for 28,5euro. I hope that makes it less painfull.