On Saturday, I went to Crawley, near Gatwick Airport, for a games day with my friend Michael and his crew. It was a superb day. There is always an easy-going relaxed atmosphere and the gaming was excellent. I played six new games, all of which I have wanted to play for a long time, and several of which are award-winners. As I never go to gaming conventions and as I am the only one in my regular group who buys games, I often feel frustrated about reading about all these great games that I am not playing. I could go out and buy every new game, but my regular gaming friends have become very resistant to new games in the last year and I have little storage space. This makes Michael’s games days especially enjoyable. I am starting to think I even enjoy these sessions more than my regular games nights.
Ave Caesar
Bruno Faidutti’s Ideal Games Library was one of my first gateways into board games. His games recommendations are usually reliable and he always rates Ave Caesar among his top games. I would have bought it a long time ago, but it is out of print and expensive on eBay. Michael recently picked it up for a £30, and suggested we play when one player was late to show up.
This strategic race game took five minutes to explain and the three laps took 15 minutes. Bruno Faidutti explains the mechanics very well. I can imagine any games group or family enjoying it, although £30 is expensive considering the quality of the components. It reminds me of a lighter Hare and Tortoise with more scope for attacking your opponents.
St Petersburg
I asked to play this one, as Mikko’s recommendation, its International Gamers Award and Deutscher Spiele Preis made me very curious. It is too early for me to say if I love St Petersburg, but it is definitely good. It feels different and there is obviously plenty to think about. I have read about possible balance problems, which is worrying, but otherwise it looks great. There is plenty to think about. If a game makes me say “Damn, that was a bad move. I am such a moron.” almost immediately after I make a play, it is a very good sign. I just wish the cards were nicer looking. The colours are too garish and the pictures are too rough for my taste.
Elfenland
Again, I was introduced to Elfenland through Bruno Faidutti. This time, [Rick Heli] describes the mechanics best:
Players take turns playing transportation tiles on roads between twenty destinations. Then all try to travel along these roads if they hold the matching cards. Whoever visits the most destinations and arrives closest at a secret destination wins.
What Rick does not say is how colourful and prettily Doris Matthäus painted the components. This is definitely a girl-friendly game and I am sure my wife would love it. It is also viciously vindictive, which is another reason why she might like it. 
I can see why this fine game won the Spiel de Jahres, as it is so family-friendly and accessible. It is not as good as Tigris and Euphrates, which won the Deutscher Spiele Preis in the same year, but T&E is too complex and intellectual for mass appeal.
Michael thought that the Elfengold expansion would make Elfenland too complicated and fiddly. Interestingly enough, Bruno Faidutti loved it.
Maharaja: Palace Building in India
This one was a runner-up in Bruno Faidutti’s Game of the Year, which might not be in the same league as the Spiel de Jahres, but I find it my best indicator of a quality game – along with the International Gamers Award.
Maharaja felt strangely different. I suppose the best description is like a beefy hybrid between Web of Power and Puerto Rico. You have to choose roles like in Puerto Rico, but you also have to manage area-control and route planning, like in Web of Power. I found it enjoyable but maybe a little abstract and slow. I expect it would become much faster and easy after a few games. The components are spectacular, with glass beads and immaculately drawn counters and map. I wish St Petersburg had this artist. Rick Heli complains of kingmaker problems , which certainly could have badly affected our game. Luckily the two losers were sporting enough not to get involved in the end game, but they could have just as easily changed things. I suppose you just have to agree beforehand that people with no chance of winning must make optimal moves in the last turn, without unnecessarily effecting the positions of the other players. Maybe there should be a rules fix for this, but I cannot think of it.
Amun-Re
Amun-Re won the Deutscher Spiele Preis in 2003 and is obviously a quality game. I learnt this one at speed, after about eight hours of gaming, so my mind was feeling fairly frazzled. It took me a while to understand what was going on, but my opponents were so easy on me that I won. It is definitely an intellectual game, with many factors to consider. My only complaint is the usual one with Reiner Knizia games of it being too abstract and dry. The ancient Egypt theme is now almost as overused as High Fantasy.
Ticket to Ride
Yet another award winner, Ticket to Ride won the Spiel de Jahres in 2004. I was surprised at how good-looking this was. The cards in particular are beautiful. One of the others even commented that I kept on saying that about every game we played.
Even after just one game I could see that the game is immaculately balanced, with different routes to victory. Gameplay is also simple. I picked up the gist after about a two-minute explanation, the opposite of Amun-Re. Probably the best tribute I can make is that I hesitate to buy it because my group would love it so much they would never want to play anything else for weeks afterwards.
All these games were good, but the best ones for me were St Petersburg, Elfenland and Ticket to Ride. I could definitely see myself buying them.
Michael and his mates go to Essen every year. I was invited, but could not go, due to cash problems, which really annoys me. If necessary, I will have to bankrupt myself next year.
