August update

I think one of the most important things about writing a blog is to keep it updated on a regular basis. This clashes with the most important thing about being a boardgame retailer - keeping on top of your orders. August has (so far) surpased June and July for orders. I am delighted the shop has been so successful - and especially proud of the boardgame geek survey results

However, the time invested in the business means less time for playing games; I think my 500 plays of 2009 is going to be a lot less in 2010. Not neccesarily a bad thing as less play time means (i hope) more focused game time. Last night Le Havre got it first 2010 outing - and it was way overdue. Having played it to death upon its 2008 release (15 games in a few months) i burnt out. Last nights game was a three player, which is Le Havre's sweet spot. Within 5 minutes of the start I had goosebumps running up my arms - the game is just head and shoulders above anything published in 2009 or 10. It was the closest finish i have seen , I tied with Alan How with Paul Heald not to far behind.

The beauty of Le havre is its simplicity (take stuff or use a building) , its pacing (it has a slow, then exponential growth) and its balance - if you make a false move, usually an overextension in the middle game you end up like a tight rope walker buffeted by winds, swaying back and forth to get back to an upright position.

Merkator, Rosenberg's follow up to Le Havre, will be released at Essen and this is top of my buy list. Hanno Girke, the publisher, has described it as 'Le Havre on Steroids' - that's good enough for me.