Essen - some very early impressions

A couple of friends have asked what I have made of the Essen 2011 crop. The right answer should be – I don’t know yet, I have not played many of the games and I have certainly not played them enough to have formed an opinion. What I do have though is some early impressions
Overall they are positive _ i have only played one game I disliked (more on that later) and I have played a few I have liked, one or two I think I am going to love and there a couple waiting in the wings which are really exciting

Like last year (with Civilization the board game) the games that registered highest on the ‘OMG it’s here and I must have it!’ scale are not really Essen releases. The first was ‘Urban Sprawl’ – I was able to pick up my P500 copy (yes I know I am a retailer and can get them at cost but some GMT games have to be in my hands as soon as humanly possible). I enjoyed my one play –I was in a minority of one though. Its long, chaotic, requires constant reassessment of the board and you can get dented by the flip of card. Sounds familiar? It should being a Chad Jensen Euro, and it does feel a lot like ‘Dominant Species’ and though this has a theme I’m more interested my cagey and qualified assessment is that I think DS the better game. 'Urban Sprawl' is a game though I want to play again (and again) to get to know the cards, like 'Through The Ages' and 'Twilight Struggle' I expect the experience to get richer with more plays and more familiarity , my fear though is that I am going to struggle to find opponents.

The other OMG game was ‘Fame and Fortune’, the expansion to Civilization – I am yet to play it but the new powers, Leaders, investments etc look like it’s going to add loads more chromatic fun to one of my favourite games

The last OMG game was’ Ora et Labora’ and it was not at Essen in an English version. I did lean over the shoulder of some Germans playing the Lookout edition and I have one very big worry about the game – the cards are tiny, they go into your tableau but all your neighbours need to see them and what they do. This could kill the game stone cold dead for me if it’s going to be interrupted every 2 minutes by players leaning over the table asking ‘what does your buttery do again?’

Of the games I have played ‘Dungeon Petz’, ‘Last Will’ and ‘First Sparks’ have been the most impressive. No one seems to agree with me but ‘Dungeon Petz’ puts me in mind of a simpler and more streamlined ‘Vinhos’ – in this game though Pets are purchased, held in cages, entertained by imps and age. To score points you need to sell them and/or exhibit them. The rule book is a little intimidating but game play is quite smooth, the hook and genius of the game is the need to keep the Petz happy, fed, entertained and contained – and the card draw system that drives this is very clever

I have not been the other Vlaada’s biggest fan with ‘Shipyard’ and 200th Century falling a little flat for me; however i really like ‘Last Will’ – it’s an efficiency engine card drafting and playing game masquerading as ‘Brewster’s Millions’.

'First Sparks' is my favourite game from the green haired one since..oh Power Grid. The game is easy to teach and play and I predict will become a top gateway game – it’s not going to be loved by some Power Grid purists, but as a 45 minute family game it’s a smash

I have invested five evenings in learning the rules to ‘Mage Knight’ – the walkthrough (essentially the rule book) is 20 pages long but printed in a font that makes equivalent to most 40 page rule books. Martin Wallace took the build a deck mechanic of Dominion and turned into to use in a short war game, Chvatil has put the mechanic at the core of a beast of a game. I’m not sure game is the right phrase, as it feels more like a universe - It is huge ; complexity, flavour, variability. At its core though is the deck building mechanic which creates Euro style questions of players in an adventure game. I have only played the walkthrough first scenario and am looking forward to delving deeper into this game – though being so complex I’m not keen to ever have to teach the game again

At the opposite end of the complexity and size scale is Martin Wallace’s filler ‘Old men of the Forest’ ‘ it’s a delightful counter intuitive card game that left me feeling like I’d been to trying to pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time. All profits from this go to charity, so not only can you pick up a good game but you can also do some good by purchasing here.
Ever since ‘Glen More’ erupted from Nuremburg 2010 I have been watching the career of Mathias Cramer with interest. ‘Helvetia’ is his third game and one I need to play again to make my mind up on, the action selection and method of getting more meeples is really engaging – however the rest of the game is goods conversion and a race to get those goods to market which felt a little anticlimactic.

‘Welcome to Walnut Grove’ is my least favourite of the Essen release I have played; billed as Agricola meets Carcassonne it actually has only a superficial similarity to the two classics. I am not the biggest fans of solitaire optimisation games and in each of the eight rounds three phases of them are spent taking actions simultaneously without reference to the other players at the table. The other thing that left me lukewarm is that the eight year tiles in the game are always seen so once you know what to expect (they come out semi randomly) you are planning around them.

Though I am yet to play it I am tremendously excited by ‘Eclipse’ (from the same designer as WAlnut Grove), it’s another shot at the Ti3 lite game and this looks like it might be the ‘one’ – the Euro economics combined with Ameritrash combat look like a potent combination. The other touch I like is the semi-random way the techs come out each round.

I have two weekends of gaming coming up in November and games that are queued up for table time are Vanuatu, Eclipse, Civilisation plus expansion, Urban Sprawl, Pret a Porter, Air Show, Panic Station, Singapore, Mil 1049, Nefarious, Space Bastards, Trajan, and Core Worlds – that is about the order of preference as well. Six days of gaming should be enough to give them all an outing.

Essen wednesday

Great journey - almost empty roads.

The story of the show on Wednesday is how many games are stuck in customs or 'hopefully' arriving on Thursday - I won't name them as I don't want to start a panic

Despite that I have already managed to collect all my White Goblin, CGE, Portal, Gen x, Rallyman and Sierras Madre games.

Looks like limited numbers at show means no Trajan, Tournay or Mil 1049 for shops which is a shame.

Great to see so many old friends at the Handelshof and around the halls - Wednesday is my favourite day at Essen


On a personal note v excited to see the Sid Meier Civ expansion here and will be picking one up today

Only played one game so far -a cute game which I can't remember the name of :)

Wrong again...

The IGA multi player strategy award went to 7 Wonders - and well deserved too! Not my pick (if i ever get one right it will be chance) but a good choice.

As I predicted 'A few acres of snow' won the 2 player award - I suspect it was almost unanimous.

The next Counter magazine will have detials of the voting and it will be interesting to see how clear cut was the 7 Wonders victory and whether any other game on the 2 player list got a look in

The IGA nominees and a return to form for Euros

After 2010's parade of ‘just above average’ the 2011 shortlist for the IGA is evidence of a return to form for Euro games. There are some genuinely strong contenders for the multiplayer award and a shoe in for the 2 player. I wrote a long piece on the 2011 nominees [link] bemoaning the quality or originality of the candidates - 2011 though is an impressive field. There are not many of the nominees that can be dismissed as also run but there are a couple of make weights; ‘Asara’ and ‘K2’ are the two that fail to make the cut. Both games are pleasant to play, and the closest to the family gamer end of the spectrum of the shortlist. In fact ‘K2’is a game I now only play with family, with gamers it falls flat as the congestion at the top of the mountain creates too many artificial situations. ‘Asara’ though is a most enjoyable 45 minutes, made entirely by the action selection mechanic. Despite the merits of both games they fall short of IGA winning pedigree. Last year I dismissed the eventual winner, ‘Age of Industry’, because it is an iteration of ‘Brass’. Despite that I am going to say that ‘Incan Empire’ is the next to miss the cut - it's almost the same game as Tahuantinsuyu, and Despites it's merits I doubt that that many of the jury have played this edition. I am delighted to see ‘Airlines Europe’ make the short cut - however I think it falls foul of both being part of a venerable chain of Alan Moon transport games. So that leaves seven. And I would not be suprised to see any of them as the eventual winner. ‘London‘is the weakest of the candidates, it's Wallace treading water - however its very widely played and could benefit from vote transfers ala St Petersburg. I wonder if the underwhelming critical reception for ‘London’ was because its card play seems slow and cumbersome in comparison with 2011 Kennerspiel winner 7 Wonders? Here is a game that is instantly appealing, not going to suffer from not being played multiple times by the jury panel. Moreover the drafting mechanic is a very fresh take on the Civilisation building game. A strong contender, though it would have the shortest play time of any IGA winner and I have a feeling that might count against the game in some people’s eyes – it would break the mould of previous winners. ‘Die Burgen von Burgen’ has last mover advantage; it was released in 2011 and is probably quite fresh in the mind of the jurists. It's a typical Feld game in that it has clever mechanics, is intricate and the first few games are a spent going up a steep learning curve. However, a little like ‘Macao’ the charm of the game wears off after repeated plays. The intricacies of the tile interactions are aimed inward, it's very much a solitaire experience. Moreover the combos start to feel like stutter steps without an overarching strategic arc to the game. Add in the wafer thin theme and the production values I would not be voting for this game - however like ‘London’ I can see this benefiting from the transferrable vote. I would love to see ‘Dominant Species’ win the IGA; it's the antithesis of ‘Die Burgen’, theme rich, interactive and with a real arc to the game. It might be too rich faire for some and I can’t quite see this as eventual winner. And then there were three. My own view of ‘Vinhos’ is skewed by having to teach the game in each of the four times I have played – there were so many rules questions throughout that I felt more like a moderator than a participant. It’s a game I admire more than like, and I feel there is too much of a wrestling match with the mechanics for this to be a truly great economic game – but its close and was obviously crafted with love for and fidelity with the subject matter. This could be the winner, but it does polarise opinion and that might just cause it to fall short. That leaves two – and it is a choice between the innovative ‘Troyes’ and the perfectly honed old school mechanics of ‘Navegador’. I like ‘Troyes’ but I love ‘Navegador’ – it’s the most elegant design of the rondel series. ‘Troyes’ feels a little rough around the edges in comparison. However, my personal opinion does not matter it the jury that counts – and I can see both of these picking up a lot of first or second place votes. My feeling? ‘Navegador’ by a nose for the multiplayer strategy 2011 IGA award Evidence of the strength of this year’s field is the omission of ‘Sid Meier’s ‘Civilization: The Board game’, ‘Pantheon’ and the superb ‘Key Market’ The two player award can be handed over now – ‘A Few Acres of Snow’ is a magnificent game, and regardless of the merits of the other games on the short list (none of which I have played – not I can I imagine many of the jurists will have played either). The two player nominees seem a bit lacking – no ‘Basilica’, ‘Yomi’, ‘Railroad Barons. If there were a market on boardgame awards I Would advise you to act on any of the above – I have a Zero percent record in predecition eventual winners

New Releases 19th July

‘Olympos’ confirmed for next Tuesday, from Ystari and Philippe Keyaerts (Vinci, Small World and Evo), is a fast playing game of technology development, prayer and conflict set in Ancient Greece.

‘Grimoire’ has been printed in a new edition by Zman games, originally a Japon Brand design this was my fastest selling game from Essen 2010. Best described as a cross between ‘Citadels’ and ‘Fairy Tale’ this game has been a sort after cult classic, now everyone can own a copy.

‘Age of Industry Expansion one’ is a double sided board with maps of Minnesota and Japan.
Both are excellent with Japan players need to plan for the scarcity of home grown natural resources and on the Minnesota map Chicago dominates the board, with special rules for iron production and sales.

‘NightFighter’ from GMT and Lee Brimmicombe-Wood (‘Downtown’, ‘The Burning Blue’) , simulates the cat and mouse fights in the night sky above Germany and Japan. Game play is quick at under an hour for each scenario; and players take it in turns to control the night fighters or moderate for the other player

‘Case Yellow’, GMT and Ted Reicer, is a light simulation of the 1940 invasion of France.
Already in store is ‘Miskatonic Horror’ which contains additional game material for Arkahm Horror and its expansions.

The 2011 reprint editions of ‘Curse of the Dark Pharoah’ and ‘The King in Yellow’ are in stock.

Restocks

‘Olympus’ (with a ‘U’) was one of my top three picks from 2010 – its been reprinted and is back in stock as is ‘Cosmic Encounter’.

Bargain ‘Troyes’ is back and I have managed to pick up some very inexpensive German automobiles (its language independent and I will provide English rules

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A quick-and-dirty wargame taxonomy

Most seasoned board game spotters don’t need binoculars to tell the difference between Fantasy Flight-produced Ameritrash and its European cousins, the Caylus family of luck-free games. On the other hand, the dizzying array of wargames can present problems for even veteran gamers.

In this entry, we’ll identify the main phyla of these games – their identifying marks, their habits, their mating rituals – and briefly discuss what makes them tick. Wargames aren’t as daunting as they may seem at first, and there’s at least one out there for nearly everyone.

Card-driven wargames

These games – often called CDGs – come in all shapes and sizes, some easy and accessible and others quite daunting. Typically, players will have a hand of cards that they can use to move armies around or give them actions; this can mean commanding individual troops (as in GMT’s Combat Commander), whole legions (as in Sword of Rome) or squads (Memoir ’44). The grandfather of this genre, Hannibal: Rome versus Carthage, has not only escaped extinction, it’s won legions of fans (and a few reprints) since it was released in 1996. The American company GMT Games is one of the biggest producers of this subtype - they make many (though certainly not all) of the best card-driven games, backed up with a superb attitude toward their customers.

Lighter card-driven wargames include the aforementioned Memoir ’44, its fantasy clone Battlelore, and the complex-seeming but easy-playing Maria, which uses an innovative system based on playing cards.

More complex card-driven games include the squad-level classic Combat Commander; the magnificent, deep World War I game Paths of Glory; and Successors, a truly brilliant and not-overly-long multiplayer game about the ills that befell the Macedonian empire after the death of Alexander the Great.

Block games

Block games can be recognised by the heft of the boxes they come in. Block wargames usually mean moving armies around a map, with each wooden block labelled on only one side and representing a unit of varying strength. Since your opponent can see how many blocks are in an advancing army but may not know exactly what kind of troops you’re moving, block games usually mean making careful decisions with only partial information. These games go out of their way to model the 'fog of war', the notorious difficulty military commanders face as they try to make the best decisions. Columbia Games is widely noted for its range of block wargames (which are usually heavy in more ways than one).

Notable block games include Hammer of the Scots, Bobby Lee and Richard III. Also, keep your eyes peeled in case Europe Engulfed if it comes back into print - it may be the best example of the genre.

Hex-and-counter wargames

If you’ve ever seen a few grizzled board gamers huddled pushing cardboard chits around on a board that’s divided up in to hexagons, this is what they were doing. (For mathematical reasons, hexagons are easily tiled, and offer finer control of movement and facing than would be possible on a mere grid.) While these games can frighten off anyone but the most dedicated grognard, the hex-and-counter crowd harbour a dark secret: these games are easier than they look.

Conflict of Heroes is a common gateway into the world of hex-and-counter gaming, as are most of Victory Point’s budget productions of extraordinarily fun games. For heavier fare, try SPQR or A Victory Denied.

Hybrid wargames

Some designers can’t just stick to one mechanic, and given the breadth of wargames out there, it shouldn't surprise anyone that plenty of mongrels populate the genre – and some hybrids are among the most acclaimed wargames available.
Commands & Colors: Ancients and its sequel, Commands & Colors: Napoleonics both use a combination of blocks and cards, while also behaving a lot like a simplified hex-and-counter game. While putting the stickers on the blocks can be a chore, the games themselves are history-buff heaven. They're an engaging way to while away the hours, picking up strategies from Caesar, Scipio and Boneparte himself without feeling like you're studying for a history A-level.

Many a nerd has engaged in internet fisticuffs over whether GMT’s card-driven Cold War game Twilight Struggle is a wargame at all. Players use cards as events but also to influence different countries’ disposition toward their chosen superpower. While learning TS can feel like a steep climb, it’s easy enough once you grasp your options, it's highly replayable, and as of this writing, users at Boardgamegeek have rated it the best game currently in production.