inconsequential ruminations

I went to Swiggers last night, as Ness was away in Derbyshire visiting a friend before she gets too pregnant and the new baby arrives.

I showed up early, so missed playing with John/Tycho, which was a pity – especially as he specially brought games I was interested in playing! I had better get used to a club environment. It seems that partnerships are fixed early in the evening and it can be hard to link up with other people later, if game finishing times do not synchronise. On the bright side, I did get to play with some nice people, including Brian Walker of Games International.

Himalaya

This was nominated for the 2005 SdJ, so Brian brought this out. I quite liked it.

The components are nice, but the map could have been clearer. The artist tried to put perspective into the mountains, but made area boundaries a little unclear. Some player shields are provided, which barely stand up. It would have been simpler and more effective to make them like the Tigris and Euphrates player shields.

Mechanically, it is basically a pick up and delivery game with programmed movement and area majorities. The winning conditions are interesting, as it uses a system of tiebreakers. In a game with four, last place goes to the player who has built the least stupas. Out of the three players remaining, third goes to the player with the least area majorities. Out of the last two, second place goes to the person with the least yaks, and the winner with the most yaks.

It is a perfectly decent, tight design, but I do not think it stands out enough to win the SdJ. On the way there, I read the rules to Web of Power, and I was struck by the similarity in feel to Himalaya. The big difference is that Himalaya takes about 90 minutes, while Web of Power crams the same decisions with less luck into 45.

Plunder

This brand-new pirate game looks excellent. (Is it just me or are Americans crazy about Pirates?) The components are good, with thick die cut markers and coins, attractive cards and a box shaped like a treasure chest. The player mats and rules are only printed on thin, glossy paper, but at least it all fits compactly into the small treasure chest.

Rather like Meuterer, it is a card game masquerading as a board game. Cards are laid down during the game to form the board, simulating discovery and scouting. The whole game feels well researched, using ports like Campeche and ship names like sloop and brigantine. It is a nice contrast with Pirates Cove, which feels cartoonish in comparison. On the face of it, this should be a fun, medium-weight but thematic game.

Unfortunately, it was a disaster. Brian had not read the rules and it was impossible to play from a standing start. We abandoned ship after a traumatic 45 minutes.

The rules are a poorly laid out and densely printed on both sides of a large piece of paper. There are no examples or diagrams, and lots of ambiguities. There might be a good game in there but I will not find out unless someone persuades me that they have read the rules and have ironed out all the ambiguities. I understand there is an FAQ, but rules in this state are unforgivable. Why play this when there are so many other games with clear rules? The designers should play a Knizia or Days of Wonder game to see how rules should be drafted. It is a pity as the game is very thematic and the box is the best I have ever seen – although not the most stackable.

Oltremare – Merchants of Venice

Feeling ragged after Plunder, we wanted to try something relatively simple, so settled on Oltremare. I can see why the words Bohnanza come up so often.

Oltremare takes the best of Bohnanza, the card trading and card distribution then adds the tiniest board I have ever seen. The new elements do add up to a much better game than the original. It is about the same length and there is much more to think about, as you have to look ahead to what you need to do next turn, but you still get to trade and plan your sets carefully. It is just a pity the theme is not as fun as Bohnanza’s.

I liked Oltremare, probably about the same as Himalaya. Not on my buy list, but I’d play it again.

Just like last time, I was not blown away by the games I played, but playing in a club environment with strangers was very interesting.

I also remembered the importance of learning rules before teaching them to people. I will have to improve on that. Michael Longdin is the best rules teacher I know. He always understands the concepts beforehand, explains them systematically, without just reading the rules out, and gives good examples using the pieces.

Both times I have been to Swiggers, 18xx games have been played. American gamers on the net do not discuss them much. Maybe this is a British thing? 1825 was played at the next table and looks fascinating. Unfortunately, it looks like it takes a long time to play. Three to four hours is too long for my guys, even for a learning game. It might also be a bit too computational. I really want to try it though.