inconsequential ruminations

Over the last two weeks, I have separately met and played games with two ex-pat Kiwis from the BoardGameGeek. I wonder what the chances are of that?

San Juan
I played this once before at BSW, but this was my first face-to-face game. Christo was a good teacher. At first glance, I suspect this is a better two-player game than with more. Like others have said, why play this when you can play Puerto Rico instead?
I love the cleverness of spending cards to activate others. Are there any other games that use this mechanic?
My only concern is that this might be the sort of game that you can play on autopilot once you learn the optimum strategies. Is this true? If so, I will have to stay away from strategy articles, or it will be ruined for me.

I am playing War of the Ring with Christo on Thursday. I can’t wait.

Canal Grande
I am unsure about this. We played with Bruno Faidutti’s variant, using two extra cards in each colour, which I prefer. Southernman was a much tougher opponent than Vanessa, which made it much more fun. It is not top drawer, as the decisions feel easy and the graphics are fugly. I still prefer San Marco by a wide margin. Having said that it is good enough to play occasionally and it will stay out of my attic for a while.

Lost Cities
There is not much to add to what countless others have said before. It is a classic and the best light two-player card game I have tried. I took a gruesome thrashing.

I hope I can meet up with Southernman again before too long. He was a really nice guy. It is great to have a game playing friend near my family’s cottage