inconsequential ruminations

Bruno Faidutti has just posted his Games of the Year. He is one of my favourite designers and his website is probably my favourite gaming destination after the Geek. I hope Bruno’s new site is finished soon, as I am looking forward to updates to his Ideal Games Library, which has been quiet for too long.

I bought Tikal, San Marco and Don pretty much only because he awarded them his GOTY and I enjoyed them all. I also loved Pirate’s Cove and Age of Steam. Although I have not bought them yet, I probably will eventually.

History bodes well for Ticket to Ride and his other selections. Raja in particular looks good. I already have Perudo, so Coyote is probably a miss, but Nuggets looks interesting – it is only €12.50 at Spielenet, so maybe.

I just finished a game of Medina at Ludagora. I came last as I was just trying to work out what was going on. Unfortunately, the only workable rules available online are at BSW and even they are not too clear.

It is skilful, but I do not want to buy it. The trick is to restrict your opponents’ space, while being the last person to snap up valuable buildings and bonuses. This does not appeal to me, although I appreciate the skill. It reminds me of the slightly dishonourable tactics of bicycle racing, where the idea is to is to slipstream behind the leader, using his effort to break wind resistance, waiting until the last second to overtake for victory. This is similar to Medina, where you have to wait for your opponents to build up buildings and then to pounce on the bonuses at the end, before board spaces and pieces run out. In addition, the theme does not fit the gameplay enough for it to inspire my imagination. I am sure it would play very smoothly face-to-face and the components look good, but it does not look like a must-buy.

The PBW interface of Ludagora was easy to understand, even in French, and looks good. Encouraged by this, I have started a game of Hare and Tortoise.