Aigar Alaveer
Estonia
Tallinn
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The Club is as it's description says "a slightly satirical /.../ board game about love and about people's need to meet one another". Mostly I like more complex and time-consuming games but this one was bought mainly due to it's short playing time (30-60 min) and number of players (2-4) - add there humorous context and you'll get something short and funny.
Game mechanics is very easy to learn - you, as barman, just push the lines of dancers towards the centre of the dancefloor. When dancers, with similar qualities meet there, they leave the club (i.e. are removed from play) for partying on elsewhere - and new people are being pushed to the dancefloor. Of course there are also bullies, security guards, rock stars for creating different situations ... like in most of the real clubs.
The greatest challenge for players is to "create" perfect matches on board - i.e. for meeting two dancers with all similar qualities. You don't have enough moves to push two people to the centre during your turn - so you depend on other players' moves; but they can affect your plans (and vice versa) with bullies, guards and rock stars - so there is also tactical side involved.
Did I say, that greatest challenge is matching two people with similar qualities? Well... actually there's something more than that. Every dancer has also an "hidden quality" - something that can make a perfect match two times stronger... or turn it into a nightmare. So, you have to keep in mind not only to set up a meeting for dancers with similar visible qualities but also with suitable hidden qualities. But hidden ones can be seen only when dancers are next to the bar, so during their way to the centre you must have a very keen eye and sharp memory for remembering which dancer had what quality beneath it. And there can be much of surprise when after forming a couple you discover that things didn't go all the way you planned...
The Club is also most mood-dependable and age-oriented game I've ever seen. For some reason I can't get out of the feeling that I'm too old (30+) for this game - unfortunately during the play something is missing. Of course it's quite fun to discover that when two dancers met, they "score" a lot of points, because one them has big personality :) and other has hot roomie... but discovering that one dancer is committed and other has disease (represented by AIDS ribbon) - it's not funny anymore. It's too realistic.
But the game mechanics is easy to learn, game setup is fast and can be played already with two players - when being in the certain mood/age, it can be quite fun to play it.
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Matthew Wozenilek
United States
Nashville
Tennessee
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Too old? I am in my early 30's and still enjoy going.....
[q="katsulas"]The Club is also most mood-dependable and age-oriented game I've ever seen. For some reason I can't get out of the feeling that I'm too old (30+) for this game q]
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