inconsequential ruminations

We had a quietly enjoyable game of Maya last Thursday. Our friend Daryl came over unexpectedly and Ness wanted to play. Maya seemed about the right length and suitable for three. Daryl is an old-school board gamer who has moved over to video games almost exclusively in the last decade. He has some old ones in his collection that I have never played:

• Diplomacy
• Civilisation
• Global Conquest
• Conquistador

They are all long, heavy 80’s style games. He certainly enjoys my lighter German fare, so he might be a regular at our table. Unfortunately, he lives in North London, which might as well be a different city it takes so long to travel here.

Maya
This is a welterweight area-majority game, based very loosely around populating Mayan pyramids. I was smug to see that I have visited all of them, except Copan.
The best thing about Maya is how tight the design is. It has the balance and symmetry of a typical Knizia. There were no rules problems. The components are good with thick cardboard counters and good illustrations. My only quibble is that the box is too big. It could be half the size. The game itself was fun. We fought tooth and nail to get the most blocks onto the pyramids in the best possible positions. There is plenty of skill and competition, especially in the blind-bidding phase. Normally, blind bidding is almost as dirty a word as “dice” to games pundits, but here it works well, as there are generous consolation prizes for losers and it is a minor part of game with no other luck. We enjoyed it and I would play again, but, for my tastes, it lacked a bit of spice. It would be perfect to play with people who object strongly to aggressive games but still might enjoy a thoughtful, skilful game.