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New releases this week include:-
Kingsburg : to Forge a realm an expansion for the strategic dice fest Kingsburg, to Forge a realm adds extra buildings, events, characters and new ways to handle the winter battles.
The Path of Y'ha-nthlei Asylum Pack for the Call of Cthulhu licing card game. This is the 6 th and last of the Summons from the Deep expansion series.
A re-print of Matt Leacock's Roll through the Ages will arrive this week as well. It went like hot cakes when released earlier this year and is a super quick dice rolling civ. game.
There are two new war game releases
The Kaisers Pirates from GMT has First World War German commerce raiding as it's subject. For 1 to 4 players, each player acts as both the German and British side
The second is Dead of Winter, the latest in the GMT series of "Great Civil War Battles"
I have added Worthington Games excellent wargames to the range
Imports
I have a few copies of the Pro-Ludo edition of Die Fürsten von Florenz ('The Princes of Florence'). It's almost language independent.
I have some English language edition Space Alerts from Czech Board Games. It's in English and a lot cheaper than the Rio Grande edition (and almost identical)
New additions include some nifty card games: - Byzanz, Palastgeflüster and Zauberschwert & Drachenei.
and the Jubilee edition of ' Elfenland' - it's in a metal box and would make an ideal birthday present.
I have added two games form Japon Brand 'Defenders of Clayart' and ' Goita'
'Ubongo' has been out of print in an English edition for some time so I have added the complete range. These are all German Kosmos editions and they are language independent.
On the horizon:-
Railways of England and Wales is out in the states, I hope that means we should see it this side of the Pond very soon.
Thanks to one of my customers I discovered that 'Masters of Venice' from R&R games does not have an English distributor. I am in the process of importing some, this complex Economic game should be here sometime next week and I am very much looking forward to playing it. Email me if you would like to reserve a copy.
'Burger Joint' by Jo Huber is due for release some time in August, I am hoping to have some next week. I have played this game a few times this week and it is a fast playing development game with lots of rather difficult choices. I like it - though it has not got much to do with hamburgers. I have written a review here.
'Ra the Dice game' should be with us the week after next.
My gaming this week has been a mixed bag. I tried TulipMania, was under whelmed but am assured it needs a few plays to appreciate the subtleties of the game. Other than that I have been dipping in to the back catalogue, Alhambra, Winner's Circle (again), Stone Age (many times) and Through the Ages. Through the Ages is one of my top three games, it's long and you can be hosed by the card draw but I find it totally immersive - Five hours of playing this feels like thirty minutes to me. I have played it over twenty times and can't see myself getting bored of it. I hope Fred Distribution get this re-printed as soon as possible so that more gamers can enjoy this fantastic game.
I'll have a Cube Burger to go and a side of Special Actions
My purchasing ruminations start with theme and move on to asking: - is it a good game? And what better theme is there than the production of Burgers? (I am not forgetting that one player is on the Pizza side of the table I just won’t ever be that player). Oscar Wilde said 'I can resist everything except temptation', for me you can cross out ‘temptation’ and strike in the round patty of meat. I’m the only person I know who drooled through ‘Supersize Me’ and then had to the leave the cinema to grab a burger it all just looked so good.
So to say I was looking forward to this game is an understatement and this eager anticipation caused my initial disappointment. What do you produce in Burger Joint? Cubes ;White, Black, Yellow, Green, Brown and Red Cubes. Not Cheese burgers, not even a flaming Hawaiian Pizza - just cubes. What special actions can you take with your upmarket bistros? You can draw a cube, you can swap cubes, .Why not, at least, call the special actions something thematic like 'Chef’s Special' or 'Twofers'?. No we just get a diagram for each action with a picture of cubes being turned into other cubes.
That’s’ the bad news. Now I am going to have to reverse my earlier stated mantra and acknowledge that a game can be ok despite the theme and games about food have been the prime cause. My purchasing criteria and love of food led me to purchase ‘Wasabi’ which has theme imbedded in every square inch of card board. I have stopped playing ‘Wasabi’ though because I don’t think it’s a very good game (and every time I play by the time I have seen my initial menu I am on the phone to order some delivery Sushi..).
Now Burger Joint is actually a good game. It would have been much better themed as something to do with building mediaeval castles or the like, because the mechanics would fit that theme like a glove, the cubes could be stone or wood and the up market bistros could have been different types of workshops or markets. It’s a shame because the world (well me at least..) needs a thematically rich game about burgers.
The game
Burger joint is a two player game in which each player races to develop their chain of restaurants until they reach a total of twelve victory points earned from owning restaurants and position on development tracks. The game comes in an attractive small box . The rule book is well written, clear and unambiguous. The art work is fifties diners style.
Components
Each player has there own small board which has four columns. The first column is the ‘Publicity’ track. Progress on this track gives victory points; it also allows you to steal a cube from your opponent. The next three columns contain restaurants, your basic burger hut in the first then diners in the second and upmarket Bistros in the third. Each player starts with a basic burger joint and two diners. The diners produce cubes , each of the six diners produce the six different colours of cubes. Except they don’t they just give you first choice on cubes of that colour drawn out of a bag - More on this latter. Each built diner is worth one victory point. The third column contains the upmarket bistros, these temples of haut cuisine give victory points and special actions the lower the victory point value the better the special action. Above each column is the cost (in cubes) for building a new restaurant of that column’s type or advancing your publicity track.
There is another small board that is placed between the players. This board records victory points and is used by each player to warehouse their cubes and also to allocate the cubes that get produced in the game.
There are also 60 cubes in the six coulours, and development markers to show what you have built
How does it play?
The first thing that happens in a players turn is production. The player blind draws cubes from a bag. The number drawn is equal to the total number of diners and bistros built by both players up to a maximum of four per player. These cubes are then placed on the warehouse board. This board has a central area where cubes that be produced by both players diners and neither player are placed. The remaining cubes are placed on the side of the player who can exclusively produce the cube.
Players then take it in turn to select a cube. On the first turn players can only select a cube from their side of the board or those in the central supply. After each player has chosen one cube they can select from any of the remaining cubes. So if I am the only person who has a white producing diner and there is only one white cube I am guaranteed to get it if I want it. Players take cubes up to their diner production capacity. This part of the game is quite tense; you are always torn between taking a cube need and taking a cube to deny it to your opponent.
The second part of a players turn is taken up with trading and special actions. Trading can be carried out multiple times and involves swapping any three cubes for a cube of your choice and the special actions are the reward for building a particular Bistro. The special actions can be taken once only per turn and they are:-
1) Put a cube in the bag and draw a random cube
2) Put two cubes in the bag and takeout one of your choice
3) Draw a random cube
4) Place a cube in the bag draw a cube of your choice
5) Draw a cube of your choice
The more powerful the special action, the less VPs awarded for the owned bistro.
The third part of the turn involves building or buying publicity. The cost in number of cubes is the same for both players; however the colours required are different, except for Bistros. The diners are progressively more expensive to build. A simple burger joint cots two cubes, a diner four cubes and a bistro six. To build a diner you have to upgrade a burger joint, this has to be the lowest one on the burger joint column. To build a Bistro you have to upgrade a diner, though this can be any one you choose.
Publicity works slightly differently. The column has 10 spaces ranging from 0 victory points to four 4 VPs at the bottom. When you pay the cubes to advance down the publicity track you may also steal a cube from your opponent’s warehouse. If you choose publicity multiple times in a turn, after the first move and steal you have to choose between move and steal.
In the final phases of a players turn you adjust your victory points and discard cubes down to seven. If you have got the target 12 VPs you win.
There a lot of different ways of getting to the magic target. Each of the diners is worth one VP and as these are the engine of your game you are likely to have between four and six of these restaurants. The basic burger joints also give VPs but there are only 3 that do and these are spaced down on the column as you have to add Burger joints to the next available space and use them to upgrade to diners they are easy to lose. The publicity track is a source of VPs but requires some serious investment to get to the highest possible number of 4. The big VPs come from the Bistros. But the most useful ones have the least VPs. A bistro that allows you to select a free cube of your choice each turn gives you zero VPs. The Bistro with the most VPs gives no special actions at all.
Conclusion
For a small game there are a lot of different ways of winning and in the games I have played so far none of them have evolved in the same way. The ability to produce cubes and thus select them seems key to this game, I lost my first game by jumping to the bistros too early and the special actions not compensating for the lack of cubes. Neglecting the basic restaurants can also cause your production engine to slow down. The publicity track and the choice of which diner to build provides some interaction, though useful they only slow down your opponent they are not going to stop him. I enjoyed the game, and would describe it as a light weight Euro with some interesting choices. It’s a six out of ten for me it might have been a higher if the game actually had any relation to its theme.
So to say I was looking forward to this game is an understatement and this eager anticipation caused my initial disappointment. What do you produce in Burger Joint? Cubes ;White, Black, Yellow, Green, Brown and Red Cubes. Not Cheese burgers, not even a flaming Hawaiian Pizza - just cubes. What special actions can you take with your upmarket bistros? You can draw a cube, you can swap cubes, .Why not, at least, call the special actions something thematic like 'Chef’s Special' or 'Twofers'?. No we just get a diagram for each action with a picture of cubes being turned into other cubes.
That’s’ the bad news. Now I am going to have to reverse my earlier stated mantra and acknowledge that a game can be ok despite the theme and games about food have been the prime cause. My purchasing criteria and love of food led me to purchase ‘Wasabi’ which has theme imbedded in every square inch of card board. I have stopped playing ‘Wasabi’ though because I don’t think it’s a very good game (and every time I play by the time I have seen my initial menu I am on the phone to order some delivery Sushi..).
Now Burger Joint is actually a good game. It would have been much better themed as something to do with building mediaeval castles or the like, because the mechanics would fit that theme like a glove, the cubes could be stone or wood and the up market bistros could have been different types of workshops or markets. It’s a shame because the world (well me at least..) needs a thematically rich game about burgers.
The game
Burger joint is a two player game in which each player races to develop their chain of restaurants until they reach a total of twelve victory points earned from owning restaurants and position on development tracks. The game comes in an attractive small box . The rule book is well written, clear and unambiguous. The art work is fifties diners style.
Components
Each player has there own small board which has four columns. The first column is the ‘Publicity’ track. Progress on this track gives victory points; it also allows you to steal a cube from your opponent. The next three columns contain restaurants, your basic burger hut in the first then diners in the second and upmarket Bistros in the third. Each player starts with a basic burger joint and two diners. The diners produce cubes , each of the six diners produce the six different colours of cubes. Except they don’t they just give you first choice on cubes of that colour drawn out of a bag - More on this latter. Each built diner is worth one victory point. The third column contains the upmarket bistros, these temples of haut cuisine give victory points and special actions the lower the victory point value the better the special action. Above each column is the cost (in cubes) for building a new restaurant of that column’s type or advancing your publicity track.
There is another small board that is placed between the players. This board records victory points and is used by each player to warehouse their cubes and also to allocate the cubes that get produced in the game.
There are also 60 cubes in the six coulours, and development markers to show what you have built
How does it play?
The first thing that happens in a players turn is production. The player blind draws cubes from a bag. The number drawn is equal to the total number of diners and bistros built by both players up to a maximum of four per player. These cubes are then placed on the warehouse board. This board has a central area where cubes that be produced by both players diners and neither player are placed. The remaining cubes are placed on the side of the player who can exclusively produce the cube.
Players then take it in turn to select a cube. On the first turn players can only select a cube from their side of the board or those in the central supply. After each player has chosen one cube they can select from any of the remaining cubes. So if I am the only person who has a white producing diner and there is only one white cube I am guaranteed to get it if I want it. Players take cubes up to their diner production capacity. This part of the game is quite tense; you are always torn between taking a cube need and taking a cube to deny it to your opponent.
The second part of a players turn is taken up with trading and special actions. Trading can be carried out multiple times and involves swapping any three cubes for a cube of your choice and the special actions are the reward for building a particular Bistro. The special actions can be taken once only per turn and they are:-
1) Put a cube in the bag and draw a random cube
2) Put two cubes in the bag and takeout one of your choice
3) Draw a random cube
4) Place a cube in the bag draw a cube of your choice
5) Draw a cube of your choice
The more powerful the special action, the less VPs awarded for the owned bistro.
The third part of the turn involves building or buying publicity. The cost in number of cubes is the same for both players; however the colours required are different, except for Bistros. The diners are progressively more expensive to build. A simple burger joint cots two cubes, a diner four cubes and a bistro six. To build a diner you have to upgrade a burger joint, this has to be the lowest one on the burger joint column. To build a Bistro you have to upgrade a diner, though this can be any one you choose.
Publicity works slightly differently. The column has 10 spaces ranging from 0 victory points to four 4 VPs at the bottom. When you pay the cubes to advance down the publicity track you may also steal a cube from your opponent’s warehouse. If you choose publicity multiple times in a turn, after the first move and steal you have to choose between move and steal.
In the final phases of a players turn you adjust your victory points and discard cubes down to seven. If you have got the target 12 VPs you win.
There a lot of different ways of getting to the magic target. Each of the diners is worth one VP and as these are the engine of your game you are likely to have between four and six of these restaurants. The basic burger joints also give VPs but there are only 3 that do and these are spaced down on the column as you have to add Burger joints to the next available space and use them to upgrade to diners they are easy to lose. The publicity track is a source of VPs but requires some serious investment to get to the highest possible number of 4. The big VPs come from the Bistros. But the most useful ones have the least VPs. A bistro that allows you to select a free cube of your choice each turn gives you zero VPs. The Bistro with the most VPs gives no special actions at all.
Conclusion
For a small game there are a lot of different ways of winning and in the games I have played so far none of them have evolved in the same way. The ability to produce cubes and thus select them seems key to this game, I lost my first game by jumping to the bistros too early and the special actions not compensating for the lack of cubes. Neglecting the basic restaurants can also cause your production engine to slow down. The publicity track and the choice of which diner to build provides some interaction, though useful they only slow down your opponent they are not going to stop him. I enjoyed the game, and would describe it as a light weight Euro with some interesting choices. It’s a six out of ten for me it might have been a higher if the game actually had any relation to its theme.
New releases : 28th July
Three new releases this week.
First of is Z man’s deluxe upgrade of the classic Tales of the Arabian Nights. If you have reserved a copy or pre-ordered it’s here on Tuesday, unfortunately I have sold out of my pre-order allocation. I will be getting some more on the 3rd of August, and am now accepting pre-orders for those.
The second is the long awaited Tulip Mania 1637.This debut design from noted game reviewer Scott Nicholson looks like a clever market manipulation game.
The third is RAF lion versus Eagle, an update of the classic solitaire game. This version allows for 2 player games as well as solitaire.
Added to the import section are 2 games from Japon Brand.
Cheaty Mages, a game where you control mages controlling fighting monsters – and employing some leger-demain to get your monster to the top. Gorgeous art work and English rules.
Robo-Tory, a two player abstract from R-eco, Fairy Tale and Traders of Carthage designer Susumu Kawasaki. Between me ordering and receiving the games Asmodee have announced they are releasing a ‘smart’ version of Robo-Tory. Such are the risks I take when importing games….
Other additions include Tiki Topple from the Schmidt Spiel Easy play line, Keltis Kartenspiele and Hoellenhaus.
Re-stocks include the sublimely silly Fluch der Mumie, Incan Gold (the Sunriver version) , Stone Age ,Acquire and the 5th expansion for the World Cup Game.
On the playing side, apart from an excellent prototype from Nigel Buckle (Incidentally now Tulip Mania has been published Ascendancy is one away from the top of the production queue at JKLM, behind Tinner’s Trail) I have mainly been delving into older Euro games, Stefan Feld’s Notre Dame and In the Year of the Dragon , Goa , Ra and my favourite horse racing game - Winner’s Circle.
Ra has been reprinted in Germany so I guess it’s likely to be getting an English reprint soon. If you are desperate to get hold of a copy I will happily import one. Another classic that has been out of print in English for some times is Princes of Florence. I am planning on importing a few German versions as it’s a game I’m often asked for and no English reprint seems to be on the horizon.
First of is Z man’s deluxe upgrade of the classic Tales of the Arabian Nights. If you have reserved a copy or pre-ordered it’s here on Tuesday, unfortunately I have sold out of my pre-order allocation. I will be getting some more on the 3rd of August, and am now accepting pre-orders for those.
The second is the long awaited Tulip Mania 1637.This debut design from noted game reviewer Scott Nicholson looks like a clever market manipulation game.
The third is RAF lion versus Eagle, an update of the classic solitaire game. This version allows for 2 player games as well as solitaire.
Added to the import section are 2 games from Japon Brand.
Cheaty Mages, a game where you control mages controlling fighting monsters – and employing some leger-demain to get your monster to the top. Gorgeous art work and English rules.
Robo-Tory, a two player abstract from R-eco, Fairy Tale and Traders of Carthage designer Susumu Kawasaki. Between me ordering and receiving the games Asmodee have announced they are releasing a ‘smart’ version of Robo-Tory. Such are the risks I take when importing games….
Other additions include Tiki Topple from the Schmidt Spiel Easy play line, Keltis Kartenspiele and Hoellenhaus.
Re-stocks include the sublimely silly Fluch der Mumie, Incan Gold (the Sunriver version) , Stone Age ,Acquire and the 5th expansion for the World Cup Game.
On the playing side, apart from an excellent prototype from Nigel Buckle (Incidentally now Tulip Mania has been published Ascendancy is one away from the top of the production queue at JKLM, behind Tinner’s Trail) I have mainly been delving into older Euro games, Stefan Feld’s Notre Dame and In the Year of the Dragon , Goa , Ra and my favourite horse racing game - Winner’s Circle.
Ra has been reprinted in Germany so I guess it’s likely to be getting an English reprint soon. If you are desperate to get hold of a copy I will happily import one. Another classic that has been out of print in English for some times is Princes of Florence. I am planning on importing a few German versions as it’s a game I’m often asked for and no English reprint seems to be on the horizon.
New Releases : 21 July 2009
New releases are thin on the ground and include:-
Midevil Deluxe – it includes the base set and two expansions for the game that starts where Zombies left off.
The second new release is The Hell of Stalingrad – a card game that recreates the …you got it.
Tales of the Arabian Nights is now due next week – I will put it on the shop as a preorder when i am 100% certain of the date. It will be £35.99.
Re-stocks include
All of the Pitch car expansions.
And a re-stock of the fantastic Warriors of God – I don’t expect this to last beyond the end of the week and there are no more at the distributors.
From Germany I have had a re-stock of Fauna (according to the ‘Geek an English language version is about 9 months away), Perry Rhodan and Burgen-land.
Later in the week I am hoping to see a re-stock of Fluch der Mumie, 6 Nimmt! and Im Reich der Wüstensöhne and some new additions to the range including games from Japon Brand. They should be on the website later this week.
I have not had too much time for playing games this week as I have been fitting shelves to expand the stock room. I now have the space for a much wider range and welcome any suggestions for games you would like to see boardgameguru stock.
I have been playing a lot of Uruk: Wiege der Zivilsation at lunch time. Fun and frustrating – my colleague Alec beat me every time we played. Alec has reviewed Mecanisburgo for Tom Vassel’s Dice Tower Podcast, I’m hoping his next one will be of the excellent Hexer Von Salem (hint hint Alec)
Best wishes and happy gaming all
Paul
Midevil Deluxe – it includes the base set and two expansions for the game that starts where Zombies left off.
The second new release is The Hell of Stalingrad – a card game that recreates the …you got it.
Tales of the Arabian Nights is now due next week – I will put it on the shop as a preorder when i am 100% certain of the date. It will be £35.99.
Re-stocks include
All of the Pitch car expansions.
And a re-stock of the fantastic Warriors of God – I don’t expect this to last beyond the end of the week and there are no more at the distributors.
From Germany I have had a re-stock of Fauna (according to the ‘Geek an English language version is about 9 months away), Perry Rhodan and Burgen-land.
Later in the week I am hoping to see a re-stock of Fluch der Mumie, 6 Nimmt! and Im Reich der Wüstensöhne and some new additions to the range including games from Japon Brand. They should be on the website later this week.
I have not had too much time for playing games this week as I have been fitting shelves to expand the stock room. I now have the space for a much wider range and welcome any suggestions for games you would like to see boardgameguru stock.
I have been playing a lot of Uruk: Wiege der Zivilsation at lunch time. Fun and frustrating – my colleague Alec beat me every time we played. Alec has reviewed Mecanisburgo for Tom Vassel’s Dice Tower Podcast, I’m hoping his next one will be of the excellent Hexer Von Salem (hint hint Alec)
Best wishes and happy gaming all
Paul
New Releases : 14 July 2009
Most of the new the new releases this week are party games – it’s all about cracking open a party seven and putting aside the heavy stuff aside.( Note to self – must let Automobile sit on shelf for more than three days ….)
The first is ‘Gambit 7’, the rather uninspiring named ‘Commonwealth’ version of ‘Wits & Wagers’. I hope this is as good as the original, with a Lamont brother credited as a designer it promises to be good. ‘Wits and Wagers’ is the only game I have managed to get all my family (ages spanning nine decades) to play together. If you can guess which decade the person who thought ‘The Muppets’ was first aired on TV in 1856 it pays odds of 2 to 1……
The second is Tumblin’Dice (in a full and a medium sized portable version). This game sees 2 -4 players flicking or rolling dice on to scoring points on an attractive board.
Third is the fourth expansion for PitchCar – the ‘stunt car’ expansion adds a third dimension to the basic set.
Last of the party releases is ‘Are you the Traitor?’ from Looney Labs, a magical game of bluffing and deception.
There are also a couple of more serious games released this week.
The English language edition of ‘Sherwood Forest’ from Rio Grande will be with us next week.
And ‘Livingstone’ is released in an English edition by Playroom entertainment. I also have a few of the German (totally language independent) version from Schmidt Spiele left at a bargain price of. £19.99.
I have played Livingstone a few times – it shines as a game played with youngsters – they love the ‘Thebes’ like treasure bag.
‘Tales of the Arabian Nights’ is scheduled for release on Tuesday 21st July. It will be available for pre-order from the middle of next week.
The first is ‘Gambit 7’, the rather uninspiring named ‘Commonwealth’ version of ‘Wits & Wagers’. I hope this is as good as the original, with a Lamont brother credited as a designer it promises to be good. ‘Wits and Wagers’ is the only game I have managed to get all my family (ages spanning nine decades) to play together. If you can guess which decade the person who thought ‘The Muppets’ was first aired on TV in 1856 it pays odds of 2 to 1……
The second is Tumblin’Dice (in a full and a medium sized portable version). This game sees 2 -4 players flicking or rolling dice on to scoring points on an attractive board.
Third is the fourth expansion for PitchCar – the ‘stunt car’ expansion adds a third dimension to the basic set.
Last of the party releases is ‘Are you the Traitor?’ from Looney Labs, a magical game of bluffing and deception.
There are also a couple of more serious games released this week.
The English language edition of ‘Sherwood Forest’ from Rio Grande will be with us next week.
And ‘Livingstone’ is released in an English edition by Playroom entertainment. I also have a few of the German (totally language independent) version from Schmidt Spiele left at a bargain price of. £19.99.
I have played Livingstone a few times – it shines as a game played with youngsters – they love the ‘Thebes’ like treasure bag.
‘Tales of the Arabian Nights’ is scheduled for release on Tuesday 21st July. It will be available for pre-order from the middle of next week.
Musings on Steam and it's cousins
Boardgamers and trains seem to go together like ...train spotters and platforms. We do love a train game - all the way from Ticket to Ride to 18xx. I thought i had the train part of my collection sorted - Age of Steam, Railroad Tycoon, Ticket to Ride ,Steel Driver, Chicago Express, Canal Mania and Jet Set (the last two are train games masquerading as other forms of transport and 18xx a bit beyond me).
So when Steam was released i wished it well but assumed it was too similar to my other train games to be an essential purchase. Now i've read the rules i have changed my mind. It seems to fill a (small)gap that sits between Age of Steam and Railroad Tycoon (and it's expansion Rails of Europe). Actually the gap is small but quite important. Railroad Tycoon is lovely to behold, and in it's capital structure is forgiving enough for most boardgamers. However, the operation cards make it a bit of a lottery - especially in the base set. In a close game it can be very frustrating if the luck of the draw favours one player - whether a completed route bonus in the base set or a charter, hotel or build bonus in Rails of Europe that is more valuable to one player than another. In Age of Steam the game can be just too brutal to beginners. Goods growth, decided by dice, seems to to throw an element of luck into a game that demands crystal clear planning.
So Steam looks like the synthesis of design ideas and practical observations. For a start the prohibition on taking Locomotive as an action when maxed and the requirement to ship goods over at least half of your own track takes out two of the 'gamey' elements of Age of Steam. The change from Goods growth to City Growth also seems like an improvement of Age of Steam.
In basic Steam the brutality of the auction process and lottery of the operation cards has been replaced with an separate auction for roles - and this looks like a great middle ground for those of us who struggle with AoS but find RRT too simplistic and lacking some tension.
The other area i'm not unhappy to see changed is income reduction, again it seems too gamey. Having worked for eight years capitalisng the 'real' railways i have seen enough game playing at the expense of economic reality to want to see it in a board game. Instead we have a division in steam between victory points and income. This causes me a thematic problem - surely an economic game needs to reward money earned and invested? However, if i see the Victory points as the Net Present Value (in the same way that the final movement of goods cubes in Steel Driver is the Net Present Value of the companies networks) of my railway a the end of the game then it works.
I wonder how well my musings will stand up to actual play of Steam, but now having made them i am compelled to find out. There has been a lot of debate about the number of track tiles - that i most certainly can't comment on till i have played.
The Real Railway
The whims of government are the key to the real railways today. We can't do without a rail network but they can't survive in a free market. Hence vast public subsidy, a regulatory environment and decisions made on political expediency rather than the best movement of real cubes over a net work you have built. In fact there has been virtually no new track routes laid since the 19th century (CTRL excepted) - capital investment has been in signaling, renewals and systems to improve performance. Ownership of infrastructure and train operations have been separated into separate ownership and control. I wonder if there is a game to be made there?
So when Steam was released i wished it well but assumed it was too similar to my other train games to be an essential purchase. Now i've read the rules i have changed my mind. It seems to fill a (small)gap that sits between Age of Steam and Railroad Tycoon (and it's expansion Rails of Europe). Actually the gap is small but quite important. Railroad Tycoon is lovely to behold, and in it's capital structure is forgiving enough for most boardgamers. However, the operation cards make it a bit of a lottery - especially in the base set. In a close game it can be very frustrating if the luck of the draw favours one player - whether a completed route bonus in the base set or a charter, hotel or build bonus in Rails of Europe that is more valuable to one player than another. In Age of Steam the game can be just too brutal to beginners. Goods growth, decided by dice, seems to to throw an element of luck into a game that demands crystal clear planning.
So Steam looks like the synthesis of design ideas and practical observations. For a start the prohibition on taking Locomotive as an action when maxed and the requirement to ship goods over at least half of your own track takes out two of the 'gamey' elements of Age of Steam. The change from Goods growth to City Growth also seems like an improvement of Age of Steam.
In basic Steam the brutality of the auction process and lottery of the operation cards has been replaced with an separate auction for roles - and this looks like a great middle ground for those of us who struggle with AoS but find RRT too simplistic and lacking some tension.
The other area i'm not unhappy to see changed is income reduction, again it seems too gamey. Having worked for eight years capitalisng the 'real' railways i have seen enough game playing at the expense of economic reality to want to see it in a board game. Instead we have a division in steam between victory points and income. This causes me a thematic problem - surely an economic game needs to reward money earned and invested? However, if i see the Victory points as the Net Present Value (in the same way that the final movement of goods cubes in Steel Driver is the Net Present Value of the companies networks) of my railway a the end of the game then it works.
I wonder how well my musings will stand up to actual play of Steam, but now having made them i am compelled to find out. There has been a lot of debate about the number of track tiles - that i most certainly can't comment on till i have played.
The Real Railway
The whims of government are the key to the real railways today. We can't do without a rail network but they can't survive in a free market. Hence vast public subsidy, a regulatory environment and decisions made on political expediency rather than the best movement of real cubes over a net work you have built. In fact there has been virtually no new track routes laid since the 19th century (CTRL excepted) - capital investment has been in signaling, renewals and systems to improve performance. Ownership of infrastructure and train operations have been separated into separate ownership and control. I wonder if there is a game to be made there?
New Releases : 7th July
There are quite a few new releases from Zman this week, unfortunately one of them is not Tales of the Arabian Knights I am hoping this is no more than 2 or three weeks away . Given the box weighs in at a whopping 4 kilos fingers crossed the ship is not slowed down.
The first of the new release is Bridge Troll. You play a Troll balancing the need to charge travelers for use of your bridge, the need to feed (those travelers are quite tasty) and fight off adventurers (including Billy Goat Gruff) who are out to end your custodianship of the bridge (and your life).
The second is Long Shot, a family horse racing game that is beautifully produced. In this game you own and bet on horses to win races and then try to steer your mounts to victory using tactical and strategic cards. According to the box it plays in about an hour.
The third is Court of the Medici, a two player card game that pits you as a courtier trying to curry favour with the Grand Duke of Florence and eliminate your rival faction.
The Fourth is Babel 13, an expansion for Neuroshima Hex. The expansion adds two new armies, terrain tiles and campaign rules.
Mayfair has re-printed the classic crayon rail game EuroRails. The game has received a face lift and the Channel Tunnel.
I have added the collaborative card game Anima: Shadows over Omega to the range and its expansion (also a stand alone game) Anima: Beyond Good and Evil is released on Tuesday
Also released next week, and the first Risk game I have stocked, is Risk : Balance of Power, a two player game that sees players fighting over a map of Europe. I have heard good things about this game.
A batch of import arrived last week including Cavum (this is an international edition and includes English rules). Burgenland came and went. Big points and Finito are still in stock. I have also added the Pegasus Spiel special edition of David and Goliath (it comes in a rather smart metal box) and Ziegen Kriegen (can’t have enough games about goats).
I am expecting a re-stock of Small World on Tuesday. Bruno Faidutti has named it as his game of the year.
I have also had a re-stock of Vineta – which I have played a few times recently. It’s a, ‘anti’ area majority game, in which players are Norse gods throwing waves at Vineta (the Atlantis of the Baltic) to sink it beneath the seas. As a god you want to preserve part of the city and homes from destruction. The trouble is the other gods are trying to do the same thing. By clever card play you aim the waves at parts of the city you have no followers or interest in. The version i have been playing is the Winning Moves Deutschland edition which is far superior to the ugly edition which was released in English. It’s a light hearted and fun game that plays quickly and I think deserves a wider audience.
The first of the new release is Bridge Troll. You play a Troll balancing the need to charge travelers for use of your bridge, the need to feed (those travelers are quite tasty) and fight off adventurers (including Billy Goat Gruff) who are out to end your custodianship of the bridge (and your life).
The second is Long Shot, a family horse racing game that is beautifully produced. In this game you own and bet on horses to win races and then try to steer your mounts to victory using tactical and strategic cards. According to the box it plays in about an hour.
The third is Court of the Medici, a two player card game that pits you as a courtier trying to curry favour with the Grand Duke of Florence and eliminate your rival faction.
The Fourth is Babel 13, an expansion for Neuroshima Hex. The expansion adds two new armies, terrain tiles and campaign rules.
Mayfair has re-printed the classic crayon rail game EuroRails. The game has received a face lift and the Channel Tunnel.
I have added the collaborative card game Anima: Shadows over Omega to the range and its expansion (also a stand alone game) Anima: Beyond Good and Evil is released on Tuesday
Also released next week, and the first Risk game I have stocked, is Risk : Balance of Power, a two player game that sees players fighting over a map of Europe. I have heard good things about this game.
A batch of import arrived last week including Cavum (this is an international edition and includes English rules). Burgenland came and went. Big points and Finito are still in stock. I have also added the Pegasus Spiel special edition of David and Goliath (it comes in a rather smart metal box) and Ziegen Kriegen (can’t have enough games about goats).
I am expecting a re-stock of Small World on Tuesday. Bruno Faidutti has named it as his game of the year.
I have also had a re-stock of Vineta – which I have played a few times recently. It’s a, ‘anti’ area majority game, in which players are Norse gods throwing waves at Vineta (the Atlantis of the Baltic) to sink it beneath the seas. As a god you want to preserve part of the city and homes from destruction. The trouble is the other gods are trying to do the same thing. By clever card play you aim the waves at parts of the city you have no followers or interest in. The version i have been playing is the Winning Moves Deutschland edition which is far superior to the ugly edition which was released in English. It’s a light hearted and fun game that plays quickly and I think deserves a wider audience.
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