Crawley Games Day
July 12th, 2005Last Saturday I went to visit my friend Michael and his crew for proper day of gaming. I got there at 10am and left, my head throbbing, at 8pm after playing five new games against experienced opposition. Michael kept the scores you see below – probably just to gloat over all his wins afterwards.
Around the World in 80 Days
Pete (69), Paul/Michael (72), Steve (73), Iain (did not finish)
The top three Spiel de Jahres choices seem very bland this year. Both this and Himalaya are nice enough, but they are never going to set the world alight. Michael got it right when he said Around the World in 80 Days is at the same level as Ticket to Ride. The two games feel pretty similar, although TTR wins because it feels more dynamic and the components are better.
The most likely explanation is that I am just becoming jaded about this level of gaming. As usual, Rick Heli hits the nail on the head :
The only downside might be that there may be a bit too much randomness for some, and not enough of a system to crack. I suspect that anyone who still enjoys Settlers of Catan will feel the same about this one whereas those who found that, say, Goa, hit the spot perfectly may feel a bit disappointed.
Rating – 5
Struggle of Empires
Michael (83), Paul (60), Steve (57), Pete (55), Iain (54)
I really like Age of Steam, and I have never tried any other Martin Wallace games, so I chose this when it was my turn. It is definitely a good game. Of the other games I have played, it feels similar to Manifest Destiny, Wallenstein or A Game of Thrones. In other words, it is a long, diplomatic game about territorial conquest.
Good: Lots and lots of choices to revel in. There are so many, intricately illustrated tiles to choose from. The alliances mechanic is a great way of avoiding overt leader-bashing like in A Game of Thrones. Using dice differences for combat is interesting, but, without bothering to analyse it, it seems like a gimmick. Does this method have any advantages that have not occurred to me?
Bad: It’s pretty complicated and longish – 3:15, bearable for me, but beyond my normal gaming group. It’s fiddly in a way that German games are not. It reminds me of Age of Steam in the way it has rough edges that have not been smoothed out by a ruthless Teutonic mind. Come to think of it, I would love to see what Knizia would do as a remix of Age of Steam or Struggle of Empires, in the same way that Carcassonne the City was a remix of Carcassonne.
Another problem could be tile balance. Some of them seem useless at first glance, in the same way that Production is usually a weak choice in Age of Steam.
Ugly: I know it’s a silly quibble, but I hate the fact that there are huge tracts of unused space in the middle of the board, like Britain, France and Spain.
Rating – 8. This is too deep for me to make a snap decision. I like it a lot now, but it could easily fall from grace or become as important as Age of Steam.
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Iain/Pete/Steve/Paul (Adventurers), Michael (Traitor)
This game is simpler than I thought it would be. It’s basically a dungeon crawl through a haunted house, with a cooperative end-game, against a single traitor. (There seem to be a lot of traitors in games at the moment.) In general, I am not keen on horror as a genre, but this is inoffensive stuff. Michael really screwed up being the traitor, otherwise we would never have made it. As it was, it was very close and I was the last player left alive.
I really enjoyed myself, but, in a social game like this, that was more a function of the people in the group rather than the game itself. I cannot see myself buying this, because our short game nights make me desperate to cram meaty games in and this is far too fluffy.
Rating – 5.
Diamant
Iain (20), Paul (16), Steve (15), Michael (9)
This was good fun and fitted our mood and the time gap while Michael prepared lunch. I was very happy to win something outright but I wish it had been something more skilful. I don’t know if anyone has described Diamant as Ra/Razzia super-lite before, but it’s an obvious comparison.
Rating – 5.
Power Grid
Michael (17), Iain (16), Paul (16), Steve (15)
Excruciating decisions. Lots of tension. A classic. I played Funkenschlag and there is no question in my mind that Power Grid is superior, if only because the components are better and it is much shorter.
It’s only flaw might be (and I’m guessing here) a lack of variability. Expansions like different boards might mitigate this slightly, but I am really thinking of the power plants and types of fuel. Maybe an expansion with hydroelectricity, gas or geothermal power might add to the fun of the stock market.
Michael thinks the game ends too quickly. In fact there are two variant income tables at the Geek that could lengthen the game to make it end less abruptly.
Rating – 9.
If it was not for our baby due in August, I’d definitely go to Essen with these guys in November.