DBA, Razzia!
Thursday, January 13th, 2005The husband of one of Ness’ best friends is a keen historical miniatures player, so he brought over some Romans and Gauls for a battle of De Bellis Antiquitatis. We had a good time, although I was frustrated to see my Gaulish warbands wilt under the pressure of the legionaries. The main reason I lost was that my understanding of the rules is poor, and this game needs a lot of that to win. Unfortunately, the DBA rules are the worst written I have ever seen – except for possibly Netrunner. The good news is that I persuaded my friend to buy a copy of the Armati II rules. The word is that these are much easier to decipher. Next time I see him we will play it and if we like it I may buy a copy, so I at least stand a chance against him.
I had only played Ra once, so I was keen to try my copy of Razzia last Sunday. It was a perfect opportunity, as my wife’s friend is almost a total non-gamer. I gambled that it would have enough to satisfy the gamers and would be accessible enough for the non-gamers. I think I hit the jackpot. We were all impressed at how clever but smooth it was and Ness was impressed enough to request a two-player game the next day. That is about the best recommendation I can give. This is a definite keeper. I do not remember Ra being any better, and if the games are the same I will usually go for the one in the smaller box.
