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viktor_haagUnlike past posts in this series, this one is more of a tapas di boardgames. The weekend turned out to produce plays of a sizeable variety of games:
• Yspahan
• Taluva
• Incan Gold
• Settlers of Catan and Starfarers of Catan
• Battle Line
• Ys
• Factory Fun
Yspahan
This is the latest game (a big-box) from Ystari. The only one I haven't yet tried from these folks is Mykerinos (a mid-box), and so far these guys haven't hit an off note. I have only played Yspahan twice, but it has a better first impression for me than Caylus (not as much depth, but still depth, and a comfortable length that fits the game). Yspahan is a game of risk and resource management. The mechanism for apportioning out actions on each turn is clever and unique (roll a pool of dice and group all 1's together, all 2's together, and so on; then, each player gets to choose one group). As with Ticket To Ride, Yspahan rides solidly on the tension between acquisition (greed) and investment (expansion), resulting in a drive towards "the perfect turn" where you have the right amount of currency to do exactly what you want to do. I played this game with three and four, and it had that impulse of "let's play again!" which can be a clear sign of quality. If you like Ticket To Ride and other games by Alan Moon, then you should have a look at Yspahan: it's very Moon-like in its play and energy.
Taluva
Another recent release and an entry in the "play it again!" category is this latest release from the designer with the longest name in the industry: Marcel-André Casasola Merkle. I've already talked a bit about this game and my opinion hasn't changed. Taluva is a wonderful gateway game: it's ridiculously simple to explain, the bits are elegant and gorgeous, the theme is abstract but still fits well with the mechanics, the game is short but has depth, and it seems to scale very well across its range of players (2 to 4). The fact that it's simple to explain is a huge plus: you can use this game with friends who aren't regular gamers or children who are just starting out in the hobby. Often this feature is overlooked, but nevertheless valued (look at the overwhelming and perhaps unanticipated success of Ticket To Ride and Hey That's My Fish). Taluva is Merkle's best game so far, hands down, and Hans Im Glück shows once again that they know how to develop games. You should seriously consider adding this game to your collection, especially if you have occasion to play with folks who are not hardcore gamers.
Incan Gold (Diamant)
Greed versus Expansion is the quintessential engine for tension that Alan Moon hangs nearly all his games on. Diamant strips that tension down even further than Ticket To Ride, and packs it into an excellent warm-up/cool-down game of press your luck that starts with Can't Stop's "do I stay or do I go" tension and interleaves player choice for added smoothness, less downtime, and greater tension (from assessment of player behaviour as well as statistical risk). Diamant also came with quite nice bits, and was significantly over-priced and everyone seem to agree that it was over-produced. Time passes. Then Funagain/Sunriver decided to re-release the game in a more thrifty version called Incan Gold. On the plus side, this is still the same wonderful game. On the down side, now the game has become under-produced and once again, feels too expensive for what you get. My advice to you is, if you purchase this version of the game, buy card protector sleeves right away! I have owned this game now for a week, played five or six times already (which alone should be an indication of how good the game is), and the cards are even now starting to show distressing signs of wear. My advice to you: buy Diamant if you can get it, rather than the newer version. Incan Gold does add new cards to add depth to the game, but why mess with excellence? You will spend more (probably in the neighbourhood of 30 to 50% more), but in the end, I think you'll be happy you spent the extra money on the nicer bits. This game is good enough to warrant the added expense.
Settlers of Catan and Starfarers of Catan
One of our family's close friends seems interested in boardgames, but hasn't played many. So of course we start him off with the classics. Ticket To Ride, Puerto Rico, and now Settlers of Catan. Settlers was the game that started me off in my adulthood to reinvigorate my passion for boardgames, but oddly enough, it's not the first game I think of when introducing a new person to boardgames. One of its problems is its demand that you have exactly four players (it's not nearly as good with three). Another of its problems is the new player's lack of understanding on the relative values of trade commodities and the flow of timing required in trade negotiations (when is it a good time to trade, and when is it not). Sharp folks will acquire these skills at the end of their first game, some may take two or three games. So it's not a severe problem and the game's quick turn structure and short duration makes the game fun and addictive nonetheless. But Ticket To Ride doesn't have this learning curve, and so is, I think, a better "first game".
Starfarers is the over-produced sprawling awkward, space-opera sibling to Settlers. Starfarers presents an interesting universe, a totally different flavour to Settlers (it's more random, more chaotic, more redolent with theme, longer, deeper, and probably perfect with three players), but for several reasons is not quite the great game that Settlers is. And, as such, has been sadly under-developed as a franchise (one 5/6 player and feature expansion, and a two-player card game version, which many folks like better than the multiplayer). Starfarers seems a lot more like a product of an American design studio: more randomness, more sprawl, less clean elegance of mechanical design. But I like it. It has flavour, and it has fun! I would suggest this again with three players who like the flavour and fun and don't mind the length. Starfarers should be played by a group that are willing to "actively enjoy themselves": joke! laugh! If you bring energy to this game, you'll enjoy it a lot more, I suspect.
Battle Line
From redolent theme and awkward but charming sprawl, to brutal, stripped down mechanical precision combined with patently pasted on theme. This two-player card entry from Knizia is likely one of his best: it's Lost Cities for crunchy gamers. Unfortunately, it's part of the GMT catalogue, so finding it is not exactly easy. And the game it's a re-theme of, Schotten Totten, is also hard to find (but probably easier at the moment to locate). Lost Cities, meanwhile, from he Kosmos/Rio Grande powerhouse is ridiculously easy to find. If you like Lost Cities, but you'd like more crunch, and you can find a copy of this game, then you should buy it. Knizia is a master of mechanical design despite what folks may say about his supposed "lack of care over theme" (I don't buy this, myself; I think he just expresses theme in his game in different ways than other designers). After one game of Battle Line, it's easily apparent that this is a deep, enjoyable, and sturdy two-player game that's nonetheless quick and easy to play.
Ys
I'm a huge Jack Vance fan. Ergo, when Ystari produced this first game, I leapt on it as a near reflex-action. After one play, I said it was "a pleasant semi-blind auction game that seems a bit like a lighter version of Amun Re. The interplay in the turn order mechanics, special power cards, and differences in ways to score, make for an interesting mix". This weekend, I played it again with three players, and liked it again. To be fair, the game has nothing to do with Vance or the mysterious city of Ys, and the theme is thinly attached to the game, but the game is nonetheless gripping and fun. I personally get a lot of fun out of this game, but it's not as good as Caylus or Yspahan on an objective basis, I don't think. However, it's still enjoyable and lies cunningly between Yspahan and Caylus in playing time and depth: ergo, it's the perfect game for when you want something with a bit more depth than Yspahan, but not quite the length and depth of Caylus. Any of Ystari's big box games could (with perhaps a bit more development) been entries in Alea's big box line: overall the games are of equivalent quality, and address the same audience.
Factory Fun
Factories can be fun? Well, yes, oddly enough they can. Factory Fun is, like Ys, a game that I like perhaps more than it warrants. It tickles my fancy. In this game from smaller euro publisher Cwali, you try to construct a Rube Goldberg like factory layout linking up "machines" that consume resources and produce resources with each other and with storage tanks, using "pipes" to connect them together. If you are a process engineer, you will probably be really good at this game, but then again, you might find it a bit too close to your job for comfort. The only interaction in this game is the slight tension of competition amongst players for the machines available each round. Each round, all players simultaneously turn over one machine tile in the middle of the table. Then, you just grab a tile. The first player to touch a tile must take it. If you take a tile and don't want it, you must pay money. If you're the last person to take a tile, and you still don't want it, you can ditch it for free. This mechanism rewards (a) knowing what kinds of machines you want typically based on what output resources you're currently dealing with from other machines you've taken, and (b) quickly assessing what resources the new machines will consume and what profit they offer. Those who like puzzle games with minimal interaction will be attracted to this game (for example, if you like Princes of Florence, then try this game); those who thrive on player negotiation or interaction may be left slightly cold. However, this game does not outstay its welcome, so even if you prefer lots of interaction, there's still much to like here and it's duration can be an attractive feature.
• Yspahan
• Taluva
• Incan Gold
• Settlers of Catan and Starfarers of Catan
• Battle Line
• Ys
• Factory Fun
Yspahan
This is the latest game (a big-box) from Ystari. The only one I haven't yet tried from these folks is Mykerinos (a mid-box), and so far these guys haven't hit an off note. I have only played Yspahan twice, but it has a better first impression for me than Caylus (not as much depth, but still depth, and a comfortable length that fits the game). Yspahan is a game of risk and resource management. The mechanism for apportioning out actions on each turn is clever and unique (roll a pool of dice and group all 1's together, all 2's together, and so on; then, each player gets to choose one group). As with Ticket To Ride, Yspahan rides solidly on the tension between acquisition (greed) and investment (expansion), resulting in a drive towards "the perfect turn" where you have the right amount of currency to do exactly what you want to do. I played this game with three and four, and it had that impulse of "let's play again!" which can be a clear sign of quality. If you like Ticket To Ride and other games by Alan Moon, then you should have a look at Yspahan: it's very Moon-like in its play and energy.
Taluva
Another recent release and an entry in the "play it again!" category is this latest release from the designer with the longest name in the industry: Marcel-André Casasola Merkle. I've already talked a bit about this game and my opinion hasn't changed. Taluva is a wonderful gateway game: it's ridiculously simple to explain, the bits are elegant and gorgeous, the theme is abstract but still fits well with the mechanics, the game is short but has depth, and it seems to scale very well across its range of players (2 to 4). The fact that it's simple to explain is a huge plus: you can use this game with friends who aren't regular gamers or children who are just starting out in the hobby. Often this feature is overlooked, but nevertheless valued (look at the overwhelming and perhaps unanticipated success of Ticket To Ride and Hey That's My Fish). Taluva is Merkle's best game so far, hands down, and Hans Im Glück shows once again that they know how to develop games. You should seriously consider adding this game to your collection, especially if you have occasion to play with folks who are not hardcore gamers.
Incan Gold (Diamant)
Greed versus Expansion is the quintessential engine for tension that Alan Moon hangs nearly all his games on. Diamant strips that tension down even further than Ticket To Ride, and packs it into an excellent warm-up/cool-down game of press your luck that starts with Can't Stop's "do I stay or do I go" tension and interleaves player choice for added smoothness, less downtime, and greater tension (from assessment of player behaviour as well as statistical risk). Diamant also came with quite nice bits, and was significantly over-priced and everyone seem to agree that it was over-produced. Time passes. Then Funagain/Sunriver decided to re-release the game in a more thrifty version called Incan Gold. On the plus side, this is still the same wonderful game. On the down side, now the game has become under-produced and once again, feels too expensive for what you get. My advice to you is, if you purchase this version of the game, buy card protector sleeves right away! I have owned this game now for a week, played five or six times already (which alone should be an indication of how good the game is), and the cards are even now starting to show distressing signs of wear. My advice to you: buy Diamant if you can get it, rather than the newer version. Incan Gold does add new cards to add depth to the game, but why mess with excellence? You will spend more (probably in the neighbourhood of 30 to 50% more), but in the end, I think you'll be happy you spent the extra money on the nicer bits. This game is good enough to warrant the added expense.
Settlers of Catan and Starfarers of Catan
One of our family's close friends seems interested in boardgames, but hasn't played many. So of course we start him off with the classics. Ticket To Ride, Puerto Rico, and now Settlers of Catan. Settlers was the game that started me off in my adulthood to reinvigorate my passion for boardgames, but oddly enough, it's not the first game I think of when introducing a new person to boardgames. One of its problems is its demand that you have exactly four players (it's not nearly as good with three). Another of its problems is the new player's lack of understanding on the relative values of trade commodities and the flow of timing required in trade negotiations (when is it a good time to trade, and when is it not). Sharp folks will acquire these skills at the end of their first game, some may take two or three games. So it's not a severe problem and the game's quick turn structure and short duration makes the game fun and addictive nonetheless. But Ticket To Ride doesn't have this learning curve, and so is, I think, a better "first game".
Starfarers is the over-produced sprawling awkward, space-opera sibling to Settlers. Starfarers presents an interesting universe, a totally different flavour to Settlers (it's more random, more chaotic, more redolent with theme, longer, deeper, and probably perfect with three players), but for several reasons is not quite the great game that Settlers is. And, as such, has been sadly under-developed as a franchise (one 5/6 player and feature expansion, and a two-player card game version, which many folks like better than the multiplayer). Starfarers seems a lot more like a product of an American design studio: more randomness, more sprawl, less clean elegance of mechanical design. But I like it. It has flavour, and it has fun! I would suggest this again with three players who like the flavour and fun and don't mind the length. Starfarers should be played by a group that are willing to "actively enjoy themselves": joke! laugh! If you bring energy to this game, you'll enjoy it a lot more, I suspect.
Battle Line
From redolent theme and awkward but charming sprawl, to brutal, stripped down mechanical precision combined with patently pasted on theme. This two-player card entry from Knizia is likely one of his best: it's Lost Cities for crunchy gamers. Unfortunately, it's part of the GMT catalogue, so finding it is not exactly easy. And the game it's a re-theme of, Schotten Totten, is also hard to find (but probably easier at the moment to locate). Lost Cities, meanwhile, from he Kosmos/Rio Grande powerhouse is ridiculously easy to find. If you like Lost Cities, but you'd like more crunch, and you can find a copy of this game, then you should buy it. Knizia is a master of mechanical design despite what folks may say about his supposed "lack of care over theme" (I don't buy this, myself; I think he just expresses theme in his game in different ways than other designers). After one game of Battle Line, it's easily apparent that this is a deep, enjoyable, and sturdy two-player game that's nonetheless quick and easy to play.
Ys
I'm a huge Jack Vance fan. Ergo, when Ystari produced this first game, I leapt on it as a near reflex-action. After one play, I said it was "a pleasant semi-blind auction game that seems a bit like a lighter version of Amun Re. The interplay in the turn order mechanics, special power cards, and differences in ways to score, make for an interesting mix". This weekend, I played it again with three players, and liked it again. To be fair, the game has nothing to do with Vance or the mysterious city of Ys, and the theme is thinly attached to the game, but the game is nonetheless gripping and fun. I personally get a lot of fun out of this game, but it's not as good as Caylus or Yspahan on an objective basis, I don't think. However, it's still enjoyable and lies cunningly between Yspahan and Caylus in playing time and depth: ergo, it's the perfect game for when you want something with a bit more depth than Yspahan, but not quite the length and depth of Caylus. Any of Ystari's big box games could (with perhaps a bit more development) been entries in Alea's big box line: overall the games are of equivalent quality, and address the same audience.
Factory Fun
Factories can be fun? Well, yes, oddly enough they can. Factory Fun is, like Ys, a game that I like perhaps more than it warrants. It tickles my fancy. In this game from smaller euro publisher Cwali, you try to construct a Rube Goldberg like factory layout linking up "machines" that consume resources and produce resources with each other and with storage tanks, using "pipes" to connect them together. If you are a process engineer, you will probably be really good at this game, but then again, you might find it a bit too close to your job for comfort. The only interaction in this game is the slight tension of competition amongst players for the machines available each round. Each round, all players simultaneously turn over one machine tile in the middle of the table. Then, you just grab a tile. The first player to touch a tile must take it. If you take a tile and don't want it, you must pay money. If you're the last person to take a tile, and you still don't want it, you can ditch it for free. This mechanism rewards (a) knowing what kinds of machines you want typically based on what output resources you're currently dealing with from other machines you've taken, and (b) quickly assessing what resources the new machines will consume and what profit they offer. Those who like puzzle games with minimal interaction will be attracted to this game (for example, if you like Princes of Florence, then try this game); those who thrive on player negotiation or interaction may be left slightly cold. However, this game does not outstay its welcome, so even if you prefer lots of interaction, there's still much to like here and it's duration can be an attractive feature.
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Date: 2007-03-21 22:20 (UTC)I rather like Starfarers of Catan myself -- it gets old after being played too often, but that's not unusual for games of its ilk, and for a while we -were- playing it weekly and enjoying same. Mind, we went from reading the adventures straight, to reading them in funny voices, to "You encounter.." "give them three food." or "Pirates", "Attack!". A new set of encounter cards would have been a welcome change -- but t'was not to be. My only big complaint with the game is the flimsiness of the ships -- every set I saw played with any frequence ended up with bits coming off, usually the slots for the fuel flanges.
Diamant's fun too, though neither version sounds ideal, alas.
And, oddly, Factory Fun sounds like fun. Kinda attribut meets a building game.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-22 02:55 (UTC)Yes on the encounter cards -- that was the first comment we had was that they would get old fast. I did like that they were cleverly written so that the outcomes wouldn't be totally predictable, but I can still the group (after only a few plays) thinking "now is this the Travellers one that gives me the Space Jump, or not?"
I suspect that Teuber might have had future expansions in mind that would provide more cards, but the slow sales of the game put the kaibosh on future sets?
Factory Fun is fun, but in a strange sort of way. There's nothing in the way of interaction: it's the least interactive game that I can think of that I own. Typically I find these no-interaction games a bit boring: I play games mostly for the social and meta-game interaction; but with FF, I was kind of enchanted with the puzzle nature of it. I don't know how often I'll play (it's not a "ooh lets play FF" game), but I surely didn't dislike it, and am glad to have bought it at the price I paid for it.