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Please, don't bring me the hype
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Lately, I've started to feel different. I used to like trying new features in a personal quest of the Holy Grail of Games, but now I think that playing new games mostly take precious time that we could invest playing other ones that we know for sure they're great. What a pity! This game was nice, but what a great time we could had if we have played... Don't you find yourself saying this a lot after finishing your game sessions? This list pretends to fill those ... Yes, those games that you wish you had played instead of the new features that normally hit the table. So please add. Don't worry about me, I've just talked with my doctor and he told me I'm going to be OK if I take my medication, although there is going to be some permanent damage. Nevertheless, I can't find my pills. I think I'll take two Prozacs and one Viagra instead, that'll do it.
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Posted Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:24 am
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Ah, back to the beginnings, to our childhood, hours and hours of fun and deep though. One game that everybody knows (the rules that is, not how to play it) or should know and can be played in any place.
If there is an universal language it would be mathematics, and if there is a universal mathematic game that would be dominoes. It's like God's voice.
Dominoes is not a game of luck and matching tiles, it is a game of bluff, partnership and skill.
Players know their hands and with that information, and the bones that other players play, specially their partners', they have to deduce who has what and when to play what they have.
The keys of the game are the three r's: respect, remember and repeat. Respect: Do so if your partner is the leader. Don't play for yourself, play for him/her. You know which bones are the ones that you like, but that ins't the point. The point is to figure which bones your partner would like. If you want to steal the hand from him/her do so, but in such a case you'll have to win. Do so also if you are the leader of your team. Respect the bones that you have played, your game, and don't change your mind every time you put a bone in the table.
Remember: Not only what you've played, but who and when played what. Only that way you'll be able to figure out who has what and play in consequence.
Repeat: Your leading bone talks a lot about your game. Repeat those numbers even if you have no more of them.
No matter what they say, just keep the idea of this game as it is, the best and simpliest game that have ever seen the sun.
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My favorite gateway game. Great components and easy rules in order to make an epic game. Endless replayability, cause the starting cubes and cards change in every game.
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3.
Board Game: Antike
[Average Rating:7.31 Overall Rank:138]
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As a child I liked to play Risk a lot. Nevertheless, I didn't like that you had to walk over the dead bodies of your friends to win. That without talking about how boring it could be to find yourself out early in the game.
Here's a game that gives you the war tension, but in which it isn't necesary to crush your rivals to win. War is part of the game, but fighting is not everything.
Don't forget also that this is a Civ-Lite that can be played in two hours.
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Once again, a game with conflicts but no war, although they are subtle, even when they can be very direct.
In La Citta you are an Italian Prince who rules cities in the Renaissance. Nevertheless, your ingrate citizens would migrate to those urban centers that offer them the best services. So players have to compete to feed their people, look for their basical necesities and offer them the best atractions in order to win.
This game reminds of Catan, because its board and the set up phase, and Citadels, because the theme. Anyhow, it take another step to make it a better game than the other two, a great game speaking clearly.
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Players are European Powers trying to control colonies and influence minor countries in the Old Continent with a majority system. The movement mechanic turns very hard to asure control of the areas, cause is easy to move troops from everywhere.
If you like a game with much fighting but no players elimination this is your choice.
Nevertheless, it must be said that the game is hard to learn, cause there are many tiles involved that modify the abilities of the players. It has also a peculiar and a bit complex battle mechanic.
Another great Wallace's game!
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6.
Board Game: Brass
[Average Rating:8.11 Overall Rank:12]
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Players are English businessmen at the time of the Industrial Revolution, that are out there looking for opportunities and "brass". They make profit out of making canal or rail links between cities, and building industries and putting them into work, specially cotton mills, but also iron works, coal mines, shipyards and ports.
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Outstanding and very long game that recreats the Seven Years War. In this game, three or two players fight against one, but there isn't a collective win.
The European Powers try to conquest some ground objectives, meanwhile Prussia mainly tries to survive untill the end.
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The firt pure Eurogame of the list and the best Knizia that I've played. This is a game that worths not only because it's a excellent one, but because it has a great design and graphics as well. A clever mix between a majority and a race game with the whole Universe of Blue Moon behind it.
They should give him the Spiel das Jahres award for this game and not for Keltis, which is a dry and unoriginal one.
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Emotions are around this game and I don't know why for sure. People love it and hate it for no reason.
I know, I know, I've said not to bring the hype, and this game carried out one of the most spread ones.
Nevertheless, I will say in my defense that I tried the game later, when nobody was talking about it, and liked it a lot.
It feels like a wargame and maybe it is a wargame (grognards, please forgive me), but it also is a very simple and addictive game with many though decisions.
I understand that players may feel frustrated about the card system: Somebody could have managed to get a war machine ready to crush over his/her rival, and the card he/she needs doesn't show up.
Is that realistic? Well, I believe yes. Or is it more realistic in a battle field that only two or three units fight meanwhile everybody else watches to each other. The card mechanic allows to put in play all of the sectors in the map.
This is a great game with an intuitive flow of play that, despite the 80 pages of manual, goes on its way very smooth. Besides, the great replayability, thanks to lots of scenarios, and the excelent editorial work (odor of the inside of the box apart) makes this game one of the best around.
I can't wait to try the others in the series, such as "Battle Cry", "Memoir '44" and "Command and Colors: Ancients".
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The best deduction game that I've tried. Players guide caravans through the desert trying to avoid thieves at the oasis. They have to deduce where the steals are going to be made by their card hands and by the movements of the other players. To consider the different probabilities about the information that is not known by them is a crucial part of the game.
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Yet another Wallace in the list.
The game normally divides itself in three rounds in which there are two large steps. In the first one, players compete to get the most influence in the different Greek cities to earn the right to control their army and navy. After all, this phase can be considered a majority game, El Grande style.
In the second part of the round, players struggle at war to win battles. There are victory points to be won in both phases. Actually, there are three ways to score.
Martin Wallace have done it again, melting together the best of Eurogames with the best of Wargames, leading to a deep, simple, balanced, tense and elegant design.
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A brilliant mixture between Caylus, Pillars of the Earth, El Grande (majority games) and Puerto Rico that takes known mechanics to develop a very exciting, easy to learn and epic game. Nevertheless, it also has some new features, like the Specialists funtions.
Our group have detected three main strategies: the colonists', the conquerors' and the merchants', and of course a mix between them. Anyhow, every game develops different, so none of them can be taken as the best. That gives the game a great replayability.
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Another heavy Wero of the rondel series. Imperial feels like a 18XX game but set in the war industry instead of the rail business.
Players invest in European Imperial Powers just before World War I. Industrial or military development of nations isn't the goal of the game, nevertheless it is primordial for the players to achieve the most profit out of their investments.
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Posted Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:02 am
