.jpg)
My ability to see through crystal balls is not up to the most boss eyed of fairground forecasters. My predictions for awards (SDJ and IGA) are always wrong; I thought kickstarter would have died by now...I could go on. It would actually be better to discard this blog post to the trashcan – however I can’t help but make a couple of observbations/predictions.
The first is that the market for vanilla ‘build a deck’ games has peaked and is in decline. The evidence for this is both personal and business, on a personal level it’s that I decided not to open a copy of the last Dominion and Thunderstone expansions – on a business level it’s because I had a lot less orders for both Hinterlands and Heart of Doom than previous expansions. The evidence is pretty clear on Boardgamegeek as well – ‘Hinterlands’ has 800 or so listed owners , about half as many as second least owned Dominion expansion (Cornucopia) and its not caused by the quality – by most account it adds a lot to the game.
So why didn’t I open a copy? Simple really – the expansions have come out so quickly I have not had time to catch up with the old ones, I like Dominion but I think you really have to love it and play it most weeks if you are going to get your money’s worth out of the expansions. With Thunderstone it’s been even worse with expansions seeming to come out every other week, again I am a fan but am at least two expansions behind so have passed on the last two and won’t be opening Thunderstone Advance when it arrives on Tuesday. Ascension and Nightfall seem to be following a similar pattern sales wise as the Big Two and woe betide any new deck builders that come to market –Rune Age , for example ,seems to have stopped selling entirely.
It is s a difficult choice for Publishers – do you cash in and flood the market with as many expansions as possible whilst the game is hot? Or do you spread it out so that fans don’t reach saturation point? They have, sensibly gone for the cash in.
Two ‘deck builders’ that have bucked the trend and sold by the truck load in 2011 are of the new breed – hybrid deck builder/boardgames. Trust Wallace and Chavtil (the two most innovative board gamers designers operating today IMHO) to be the deck building mechanic innovators. And if these two almost simultaneously came up with the next stage of deck building evolution then it’s quite likely there are other hybrids games in the pipeline. If not the trend of 2012 it could be 2013.
The second trend is a Malthusian prediction – gaming is growing as a hobby by, I’m guessing, single digit year on year percent, games being released is increasing by a bigger number – accoriding to Counter magazine there were 550 new boardgames released in 2011. Now the Malthusian comparison is a little ropey already, he saw incremental changes in food production and exponential population growth, but missed the exponential advances in farming production as I may have underestimated gamer’s wealth and willingness to purchase games. So, and you saw this coming, my prediction that we are in for a bit of a crash in games output might be flawed. But bare with me – a lot of the increase in games sales and the ability of the market to stand the amount of releases was because of middle aged affluent gamers (mea culpa)who spent the last twenty years increasing their collections into the hundreds, if not thousands of games. A lot of new gamers are younger and if not income challenged certainly don’t have the space to house 200+ game collections. My perception is that a lot of younger gamers are running smaller collections and are being quite choosy about what they buy – and rightly so. In London a 400 games collection might cost £10,000 to purchase, but needs a room to house it which won’t have a lot else in it – the true cost of maintaining a large gaming establishment is many times the cost of the games.
And of cause there is the starving elephant in the room – the economy. A lot of gamers have less to spend on games, in previous decades the hobby rode out recessions but the hobbyist of old did not have a fifty game a year habit – in 1981 kicking back from the 10 essential game purchases was a impossible for a gamer, in 2011 it’s not too much sweat kicking down to the 10 essential purchase from the 50 in 2010. I think this might be the killer of games on the margin. What puts a game on the wrong side of the margin? It’s not going to be a bad game – its just going to be no more than good, even very good. I own a lot of games that I have played 3 times, that if they were in a collection of 10 would have been happy to play 50 times, prime examples that spring to mind are Assyria and Lords of Vegas – they might be better than good, but get pushed to the side of the shelf in the search for the new or the need to play an old great. This is very much a personal perspective (though a few friends share this view) – looking at 2011 games I have opened a lot less than in 2010 and 2009 and 2011 is the best year of the three. Moreover, I am quite relaxed about the prospect of not playing a lot of the games on the margin; Salty Ocean, Quebec, Strasbourg for example than I would have been in previous years.
Please take this all with a liberal dosing of salt, I am in danger of extrapolating my changing game ownership pattern to the market and, from a business perspective drawing conclusions on insufficient evidence – however I feel a change coming on and its be fascinating to see how the hobby develops over the next couple of years
New Releases 28h Februrary
Hi,
Fantasy Flight’s third expansion for Cosmic Encounter , ‘Cosmic Alliance,’ is here on Tuesday and includes twenty races, and the ability to play in teams. The ever green base game will be back in stock at the same time.
Martin Wallace revisits the American civil war with ‘Test of Fire : Bull Run 1861’, in an a entry level complexity war game.
‘Rocket Jockey’ and ‘White Water’, both from Mayfair, are games I know nothing about other than the description on the publisher’s website. These have both slipped under the radar.
‘Kaispecher ‘is an expansion for Stefan Feld’s Speichersradt.
'Friedrich Anniversary edition' was released at Essen 2011 to celebrate the 300th year of the Prussian kings birthday. The new edition includes has only minor changes from the 2004 (now out of print) edition with new art work and changes to the map and cards.
‘ Village’, from Eggertspiele and in stock now, is in an interesting and novel worker placement game in that as well as placing your villagers as efficiently as possible you have to manage there departure from life as efficientlu as well – because they need to die when i an an honourable occupation to score at t end game, with a paupers grave scoring no points.
‘Santa Cruz’ is Hans Im Glucks 2012 Nuremburg medium weight euro and its continues the illustrious line of Stone Age, Finca, Titania and Pantheon. Early reports are positive so I have had the rules translated and the German edition will be arriving on Thursday, and it is available for pre-order now.
‘Thunderstone Advance’ is the new core set for the successful Thunderstone series. It will be in store on Tuesday 6th March.
I have emailed all the names drawn out of the hat for the limited number of Cave Evil, so i am sorry if you have not heard from me then you have not got a copy.
Fantasy Flight’s third expansion for Cosmic Encounter , ‘Cosmic Alliance,’ is here on Tuesday and includes twenty races, and the ability to play in teams. The ever green base game will be back in stock at the same time.
Martin Wallace revisits the American civil war with ‘Test of Fire : Bull Run 1861’, in an a entry level complexity war game.
‘Rocket Jockey’ and ‘White Water’, both from Mayfair, are games I know nothing about other than the description on the publisher’s website. These have both slipped under the radar.
‘Kaispecher ‘is an expansion for Stefan Feld’s Speichersradt.
'Friedrich Anniversary edition' was released at Essen 2011 to celebrate the 300th year of the Prussian kings birthday. The new edition includes has only minor changes from the 2004 (now out of print) edition with new art work and changes to the map and cards.
‘ Village’, from Eggertspiele and in stock now, is in an interesting and novel worker placement game in that as well as placing your villagers as efficiently as possible you have to manage there departure from life as efficientlu as well – because they need to die when i an an honourable occupation to score at t end game, with a paupers grave scoring no points.
‘Santa Cruz’ is Hans Im Glucks 2012 Nuremburg medium weight euro and its continues the illustrious line of Stone Age, Finca, Titania and Pantheon. Early reports are positive so I have had the rules translated and the German edition will be arriving on Thursday, and it is available for pre-order now.
‘Thunderstone Advance’ is the new core set for the successful Thunderstone series. It will be in store on Tuesday 6th March.
I have emailed all the names drawn out of the hat for the limited number of Cave Evil, so i am sorry if you have not heard from me then you have not got a copy.
Hawaii - Tactical Tips and Strategic Surmises
I have played Greg Daigle’s wonderful game 10 times face to face and about 70 times on boardgamearena. Most of the following is mainly applicable to 2 and 3 player, because the resources and tiles don’t scale with the number of players the game provides a different experience with different numbers of players. I am going to assume you are familiar with the rules and may even have played the game once or twice.
Hawaii is a tactical game, with a little strategic direction sometimes imparted by the lie of the tiles and first round cost of tiles and gods. Over the five rounds the game follows the well worn path of shifting from purchasing income producing assets to Point scoring assets – however the random placement of the 10 areas where you purchase tiles or income tiles being expensive in the first couple of rounds can turn the game on its head – you might need to go for the foundation of victory points first and pray your income will carry you through.
Points come in five ways.
a) From the five end round scorings.
b) From Kahunas at the end of the game (45 Points max)
c) From Visiting Islands
d) In game scoring from spear huts, Ku and Lono gods
e) End games bonus tiles and gods
Most beginners focus on scoring at round end and from Kahunas and a typical score in the first couple of games in 70 to 90 points. However, after a few games you should be looking to score in excess of 120 on a tough pitch and up to 160 on a good one – and I have seen a score of 197.
Opening moves
Rule number one ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’ – if a tile costs two and is going to provide you with income throughout the game grab it – and pay double for the double benefit. Each player gets a set, and declining income, each round of the two currencies (Shells and Feet). The income declines so sharply that by the fifth round you only receive three feet and five Shells – enough for one purchase and certainly not enough to get you over the increasing end round scoring threshold. So you need some supplemental income. The income available is from Shell, Feet and Fruit huts (fruit is the third currency – a wild card). One or, preferably, two double tiles from these three will set you up for the rest of the game. If you take fruit then you almost certainly need an exchange hut to be able to convert resources from one type to another
Rule number two – grab a double boat as early as you can. If a boat is going to cost 2 then it’s almost always my auto first move to buy a double. It’s almost impossible to win against a competent player without a boat – and a double boat means you can reach the last island AND you save one feet on all of your island visits. Assuming you go every round (on average I visit four islands in a game) then it has paid for itself by the end of the game and resources are so tight in this game that can make the difference between winning and losing
Why is the boat necessary? Because visiting islands scores points (the furthest scores you 9 which is huge) and you also get a ‘double’ version of a tile to place in a village. Most importantly it’s the most efficient use of the Feet currency – you can spend all your feet running around the island or you can visit an island using just feet. There will often be a round when the price of the tiles you want is prohibitive, turn order and a big boat will usually make up for that. Another beauty of boats is that it gets you back to the beach for nothing if you have walked to the top of the island. Multiple boats purchases are sometimes seen and if your income is foot heavy this can be a killer source of points – though at the expensive of letting your opponent get more cheap tiles on Hawaii. Multiple boats is quite powerful in four or five player games if you (almost) are the only person using them
So having established 2 golden rules I am now going to give you an exception. Watch out for the gods! There are two gods who may merit a first choice; especially if there are plentiful cheap income earners out there. First is Pele, if you can pay double for him at the beginning of the game then he will provide you a huge saving in the cost of feet. Moreover he grants you the ability to jump around grabbing tiles from an opponent who has tried to map an efficient walk up or down the island. I won’t normally take the single version of this god as it often does not payback the cost. The other god to consider taking early is Kanaloa – If the income producing tiles are expensive AND the boat/surfer part of the island is near the beach then a double Kanaloa god can score you mega points at game end – 4 points for each boat and surfer.
One of the best players on Boardgamearena likes to take a double spear hut in the first round, with the aim of scoring lots of in game points, especially if he can pick up two double spear huts and a Ku god. It’s very effective in four and five player games and needs to be countered in two player by denying cheap Speer huts to your opponent
Third rule
The Kanaloa god should probably be here – if Income tiles are expensive or you are at the back of the turn order and they have gone then don’t pay more for the same assets as your opponents. Think about grabbing end game scorers or enablers. Normally I would like to get these tiles later in the game or from visiting an island but if there is slim pickings then the mighty Hula girl and Irrigation are worth an early pick. The Hula girl is one of the two most ignored tiles by beginners (the other is the Surfer). But one or two of these grass skirted ladies is almost always necessary to win. To explain why I need to move on to ...
Village Construction
In your first game Kahuna points seems the most obvious way of scoring at the end game – and beginners will set out on a path of building five villages down the board – with excessive purchase of the long hut early in the game (I almost always won’t touch ‘em – and think I have paid double for one maybe once in 60 games). At the end of the game their tableau might look like five short villages of two to four tiles with a maximum score of 45 for Kahunas. However, whilst we all love to score the max for Khaunas the average number of Kahuna points scored by the winner is 30 (according to the stats on boardgamearena) . And the reason for this is that end game bonus points from the Hula girl, irrigation and god or two more than make up for not scoring one (sometimes two Kahunas)
Most of your villages need to be just long enough to score the Kahuna i.e. they must reach under your leftmost Tiki. I like to have one long Village which will score me lots for a double Hula girl (20 – 24 points is common) and 10 points from the Irrigation tile – they work very well together as the fruits score you both for Irrigation and the Hula girl.
The other point to make about village construction, which I sometimes get tempted by cheap tiles to ignore is that you need to start a send village and preferably a third as soon as possible –because if you don you might miss out on a super cheap god that appears or a second Hula girl.
Because the Hula girl is so useful I would not delay in picking one early to midgame. A lot of my opponents will wait till the end game and then it’s possible to take it from them – it might only net you four points in a short village but it can cost them a lot more.
So my template is one long village and three or four more that just scrape in under the wire. It’s not the only approach though and in a tough game with Fruits and Irrigation at the top of the board then you have to be flexible and look elsewhere.
End of round scoring
You got to be in it to win it. This holds good most of the time in two player, less so with more players. It’s pretty simple in two player if you don’t make the end of round threshold you are gifting your opponent a lot of net points. In 3 player plus if you are not going to place first or second then the resources spent gaining scraps from crossing the threshold might be better spent elsewhere – or saved till the next round.
Surfers are a great investment from round 2 onwards – they will help get you past the threshold – you won’t necessarily win the scoring but you are only giving up a few points round on round and in a tricky round they might mean you are the only person scoring. I don’t think I have ever taken a surfer on the first round unless I am playing against someone who does not know the value of boats (you buy them from the same island location). Another beginner mistake is to value the price tokens in the second and onwards turn order spaces above turn order. This is almost a golden rule – if you know you are going to make the end of round threshold then go for turn order. In a two player game you are giving up three points to go first – and most of the time that will repay itself many times. Where I might be happy to go second is in that rare position where I am going into the last round with nothing essential left to do, or (in a two player game) I know by going second it means my opponents won’t make the threshold – and even then I might want to go first if there is a tile I absolutely have to have (say a double kahuna or tiki)
Fishing – it’s a wonderful pastime but something I only use on rare occasions in Hawaii, especially in a two or three player game. Resources are precious and I don’t want to use them (and a boat) in pinching a few points at the end of the round. If I have spare capacity and for one foot can get in the scoring or win the scoring it’s a good trade off – that does not happen often though. Once in a blue moon you might grab a fish just to get you back to the beach for free. In the four and five player game fishing is much more important because the end of round scoring can be a larger percentage of total points than in the two and three player game.
Which comes on to my last point. Often you are presented with the decision on your last move ‘ I can take this crap tile for five and get in the scoring or save my resources till the next round’ – If you can save the resources and grab first spot in turn order that’s often the right way to go. Don’t feel compelled to spend all of your resources every round – especially in expensive rounds.
When to shoot for end game scoring
The beauty of this game is that there is no correct answer to this – so many ‘build engine then score Vps’ games have a narrow tipping point – as I have suggested earlier Hawaii does not. By leaving it to the last or penultimate round to grab Hula girls and irrigation and gods you are risking the caprice of the cost tiles and the ability of other players to take them before you. When I lose it’s often because I have neglected to take Tikis and been forced to pay through the nose at the end of the game. I think I have only once seen someone win without taking any Tikis – and if you have invested in Kahunas and a village that does not score you will be in peril. Tikis are almost always an instant choice if they appear on an island and I have to think long and hard if they appear cheaply on round two. In three player and upwards I‘d almost say they are the most important tiles to secure because of their scarcity and importance in enabling other end game scoring. In a four player game I’d take them on round one.
Some thoughts on tiles
Ku – Lovely in a Spear heavy strategy. Good if cheap for the foot income
Kane – Good for the income and very useful in multiplayer for the option to purchase a tiki. Happy to pay double for in first round for the income.
Lono – I am usually happy to pick this god up late in the game to fill space and for a few extra points. My wife likes to double him on the first round for up to 20 points over the game. Like Kane probably more powerful in the four or five player games with tighter scoring
Laka – The icing on the cake of a Fruit/Irrigation/Hula/Long village strategy
Exchange huts – I struggle in games where I don’t have one exchange hut, I have never paid double for one, though 2 have sometimes proved useful in the last round
Kahunas – In a two player game I try to delay taking them, there are three spots open so its quite likely they will be available and cheap late in the game. In multiplayer I take them when they are available and cheap.
Long Huts – They have more value in 3+ player games as Tikis are scarcer.
A last note on gods - be warned, don't take a marginal scoring god in the last round - it might just reveal a killer scorer for your opponent(s) to grab
Conclusion
Hawaii is a tactical game, with some strategic considerations. My approach has been fairly successful on boardgamearena – though I have been totally schooled by the designer Greg Daigle who likes a thin income strategy, and other players swear by Spear huts .If I ever go into a game with an inflexible approach then I lose. The most important consideration is efficiency and adapting to the changing game board, what I like so much about Hawaii is how every game provides a slightly different challenge depending on the initial island lay out and the changing cost of tiles. I hope this article gives you some food for thought, and If I have missed anything please do let me know. Maybe we will meet on boardgamearena.
Hawaii is a tactical game, with a little strategic direction sometimes imparted by the lie of the tiles and first round cost of tiles and gods. Over the five rounds the game follows the well worn path of shifting from purchasing income producing assets to Point scoring assets – however the random placement of the 10 areas where you purchase tiles or income tiles being expensive in the first couple of rounds can turn the game on its head – you might need to go for the foundation of victory points first and pray your income will carry you through.
Points come in five ways.
a) From the five end round scorings.
b) From Kahunas at the end of the game (45 Points max)
c) From Visiting Islands
d) In game scoring from spear huts, Ku and Lono gods
e) End games bonus tiles and gods
Most beginners focus on scoring at round end and from Kahunas and a typical score in the first couple of games in 70 to 90 points. However, after a few games you should be looking to score in excess of 120 on a tough pitch and up to 160 on a good one – and I have seen a score of 197.
Opening moves
Rule number one ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’ – if a tile costs two and is going to provide you with income throughout the game grab it – and pay double for the double benefit. Each player gets a set, and declining income, each round of the two currencies (Shells and Feet). The income declines so sharply that by the fifth round you only receive three feet and five Shells – enough for one purchase and certainly not enough to get you over the increasing end round scoring threshold. So you need some supplemental income. The income available is from Shell, Feet and Fruit huts (fruit is the third currency – a wild card). One or, preferably, two double tiles from these three will set you up for the rest of the game. If you take fruit then you almost certainly need an exchange hut to be able to convert resources from one type to another
Rule number two – grab a double boat as early as you can. If a boat is going to cost 2 then it’s almost always my auto first move to buy a double. It’s almost impossible to win against a competent player without a boat – and a double boat means you can reach the last island AND you save one feet on all of your island visits. Assuming you go every round (on average I visit four islands in a game) then it has paid for itself by the end of the game and resources are so tight in this game that can make the difference between winning and losing
Why is the boat necessary? Because visiting islands scores points (the furthest scores you 9 which is huge) and you also get a ‘double’ version of a tile to place in a village. Most importantly it’s the most efficient use of the Feet currency – you can spend all your feet running around the island or you can visit an island using just feet. There will often be a round when the price of the tiles you want is prohibitive, turn order and a big boat will usually make up for that. Another beauty of boats is that it gets you back to the beach for nothing if you have walked to the top of the island. Multiple boats purchases are sometimes seen and if your income is foot heavy this can be a killer source of points – though at the expensive of letting your opponent get more cheap tiles on Hawaii. Multiple boats is quite powerful in four or five player games if you (almost) are the only person using them
So having established 2 golden rules I am now going to give you an exception. Watch out for the gods! There are two gods who may merit a first choice; especially if there are plentiful cheap income earners out there. First is Pele, if you can pay double for him at the beginning of the game then he will provide you a huge saving in the cost of feet. Moreover he grants you the ability to jump around grabbing tiles from an opponent who has tried to map an efficient walk up or down the island. I won’t normally take the single version of this god as it often does not payback the cost. The other god to consider taking early is Kanaloa – If the income producing tiles are expensive AND the boat/surfer part of the island is near the beach then a double Kanaloa god can score you mega points at game end – 4 points for each boat and surfer.
One of the best players on Boardgamearena likes to take a double spear hut in the first round, with the aim of scoring lots of in game points, especially if he can pick up two double spear huts and a Ku god. It’s very effective in four and five player games and needs to be countered in two player by denying cheap Speer huts to your opponent
Third rule
The Kanaloa god should probably be here – if Income tiles are expensive or you are at the back of the turn order and they have gone then don’t pay more for the same assets as your opponents. Think about grabbing end game scorers or enablers. Normally I would like to get these tiles later in the game or from visiting an island but if there is slim pickings then the mighty Hula girl and Irrigation are worth an early pick. The Hula girl is one of the two most ignored tiles by beginners (the other is the Surfer). But one or two of these grass skirted ladies is almost always necessary to win. To explain why I need to move on to ...
Village Construction
In your first game Kahuna points seems the most obvious way of scoring at the end game – and beginners will set out on a path of building five villages down the board – with excessive purchase of the long hut early in the game (I almost always won’t touch ‘em – and think I have paid double for one maybe once in 60 games). At the end of the game their tableau might look like five short villages of two to four tiles with a maximum score of 45 for Kahunas. However, whilst we all love to score the max for Khaunas the average number of Kahuna points scored by the winner is 30 (according to the stats on boardgamearena) . And the reason for this is that end game bonus points from the Hula girl, irrigation and god or two more than make up for not scoring one (sometimes two Kahunas)
Most of your villages need to be just long enough to score the Kahuna i.e. they must reach under your leftmost Tiki. I like to have one long Village which will score me lots for a double Hula girl (20 – 24 points is common) and 10 points from the Irrigation tile – they work very well together as the fruits score you both for Irrigation and the Hula girl.
The other point to make about village construction, which I sometimes get tempted by cheap tiles to ignore is that you need to start a send village and preferably a third as soon as possible –because if you don you might miss out on a super cheap god that appears or a second Hula girl.
Because the Hula girl is so useful I would not delay in picking one early to midgame. A lot of my opponents will wait till the end game and then it’s possible to take it from them – it might only net you four points in a short village but it can cost them a lot more.
So my template is one long village and three or four more that just scrape in under the wire. It’s not the only approach though and in a tough game with Fruits and Irrigation at the top of the board then you have to be flexible and look elsewhere.
End of round scoring
You got to be in it to win it. This holds good most of the time in two player, less so with more players. It’s pretty simple in two player if you don’t make the end of round threshold you are gifting your opponent a lot of net points. In 3 player plus if you are not going to place first or second then the resources spent gaining scraps from crossing the threshold might be better spent elsewhere – or saved till the next round.
Surfers are a great investment from round 2 onwards – they will help get you past the threshold – you won’t necessarily win the scoring but you are only giving up a few points round on round and in a tricky round they might mean you are the only person scoring. I don’t think I have ever taken a surfer on the first round unless I am playing against someone who does not know the value of boats (you buy them from the same island location). Another beginner mistake is to value the price tokens in the second and onwards turn order spaces above turn order. This is almost a golden rule – if you know you are going to make the end of round threshold then go for turn order. In a two player game you are giving up three points to go first – and most of the time that will repay itself many times. Where I might be happy to go second is in that rare position where I am going into the last round with nothing essential left to do, or (in a two player game) I know by going second it means my opponents won’t make the threshold – and even then I might want to go first if there is a tile I absolutely have to have (say a double kahuna or tiki)
Fishing – it’s a wonderful pastime but something I only use on rare occasions in Hawaii, especially in a two or three player game. Resources are precious and I don’t want to use them (and a boat) in pinching a few points at the end of the round. If I have spare capacity and for one foot can get in the scoring or win the scoring it’s a good trade off – that does not happen often though. Once in a blue moon you might grab a fish just to get you back to the beach for free. In the four and five player game fishing is much more important because the end of round scoring can be a larger percentage of total points than in the two and three player game.
Which comes on to my last point. Often you are presented with the decision on your last move ‘ I can take this crap tile for five and get in the scoring or save my resources till the next round’ – If you can save the resources and grab first spot in turn order that’s often the right way to go. Don’t feel compelled to spend all of your resources every round – especially in expensive rounds.
When to shoot for end game scoring
The beauty of this game is that there is no correct answer to this – so many ‘build engine then score Vps’ games have a narrow tipping point – as I have suggested earlier Hawaii does not. By leaving it to the last or penultimate round to grab Hula girls and irrigation and gods you are risking the caprice of the cost tiles and the ability of other players to take them before you. When I lose it’s often because I have neglected to take Tikis and been forced to pay through the nose at the end of the game. I think I have only once seen someone win without taking any Tikis – and if you have invested in Kahunas and a village that does not score you will be in peril. Tikis are almost always an instant choice if they appear on an island and I have to think long and hard if they appear cheaply on round two. In three player and upwards I‘d almost say they are the most important tiles to secure because of their scarcity and importance in enabling other end game scoring. In a four player game I’d take them on round one.
Some thoughts on tiles
Ku – Lovely in a Spear heavy strategy. Good if cheap for the foot income
Kane – Good for the income and very useful in multiplayer for the option to purchase a tiki. Happy to pay double for in first round for the income.
Lono – I am usually happy to pick this god up late in the game to fill space and for a few extra points. My wife likes to double him on the first round for up to 20 points over the game. Like Kane probably more powerful in the four or five player games with tighter scoring
Laka – The icing on the cake of a Fruit/Irrigation/Hula/Long village strategy
Exchange huts – I struggle in games where I don’t have one exchange hut, I have never paid double for one, though 2 have sometimes proved useful in the last round
Kahunas – In a two player game I try to delay taking them, there are three spots open so its quite likely they will be available and cheap late in the game. In multiplayer I take them when they are available and cheap.
Long Huts – They have more value in 3+ player games as Tikis are scarcer.
A last note on gods - be warned, don't take a marginal scoring god in the last round - it might just reveal a killer scorer for your opponent(s) to grab
Conclusion
Hawaii is a tactical game, with some strategic considerations. My approach has been fairly successful on boardgamearena – though I have been totally schooled by the designer Greg Daigle who likes a thin income strategy, and other players swear by Spear huts .If I ever go into a game with an inflexible approach then I lose. The most important consideration is efficiency and adapting to the changing game board, what I like so much about Hawaii is how every game provides a slightly different challenge depending on the initial island lay out and the changing cost of tiles. I hope this article gives you some food for thought, and If I have missed anything please do let me know. Maybe we will meet on boardgamearena.
Stefan Feld - Euro Master
My first play of Trajan inspired a sense of De javu - at first a tremendous sense of excitement at the cleverness of the Mancala/Rondel core mechanic, a sense of frustration at trying to string together a set of actions, and lastly a little disconnect with the game - all the same feelings I have had about Macao and Die Burgen von Burgen, though with both of these it took multiple plays to get there. Feld is the master of the clever core action selection mechanic - the dice in Macao/Die Burgen and now the Mancala/Rondel. These three games also share the need to be efficient in use of actions, and each turn is best spent trying to put together two or three engine building/spoint scoring opportunities. They also share a wealth of ways to score points. They are all great designs - and all ones that I don't see myself playing very often. Why? I like my Euros to have a little bit more connection between theme and mechanics. The other problem I have is that with the myriad scoring paths and the resulting high scores it's not easy to have a sense of why I came first or last in close games. In my last game of Burgen three of us scored about 250 points with four points separating us - the post game analysis could not identify if an why one player had won and another last. The journey to that point was pleasant enough and required a lot brain power but the after taste was a bit bland.
Stuart Dagger, the editor of Counter Magazine, recently made an impassioned defence of Feld's lack of theme, saying that the game play made his games every bit as good as Martin Wallace's. However, its a connection that I can't quite make and therefore Feld's recent games are ones I am always keen to try but not ones I am going to seek repeat plays of. My favourite of his games is 'In the year of the dragon' - and I like it because the game is much tighter than recent offerings, is interactive and also there is, for me at least, a strong connection between the theme and the way the game is played. I am always intrigued by new Feld designs; and I hope that a future release might be theme lead and integrate Feld's wonderful gaming ideas into a strong story.
Stuart Dagger, the editor of Counter Magazine, recently made an impassioned defence of Feld's lack of theme, saying that the game play made his games every bit as good as Martin Wallace's. However, its a connection that I can't quite make and therefore Feld's recent games are ones I am always keen to try but not ones I am going to seek repeat plays of. My favourite of his games is 'In the year of the dragon' - and I like it because the game is much tighter than recent offerings, is interactive and also there is, for me at least, a strong connection between the theme and the way the game is played. I am always intrigued by new Feld designs; and I hope that a future release might be theme lead and integrate Feld's wonderful gaming ideas into a strong story.
New Releases 14th Februrary
Next week’s new releases include
'Tanto Cuore : Expanding the house' a standalone expansion for Tano cuore
‘Lamborghini’ – a economic team management game
‘1812 – The invasion of Canada’ – a two to five player hybrid War /Euro from Academy games
‘Dragon Rampage’, from Richard Launius (‘Defenders of the Realm’, ‘Arkham Horror’) should arrive later next week, and it’s a competitive dungeon Ccawl for 3 to 6 players
I have added Peter Schutze’s range of wargames to the shop which until now were only available to be ordered from the USA
Restocks include 'Siberia' and 'Trajan'
'Tanto Cuore : Expanding the house' a standalone expansion for Tano cuore
‘Lamborghini’ – a economic team management game
‘1812 – The invasion of Canada’ – a two to five player hybrid War /Euro from Academy games
‘Dragon Rampage’, from Richard Launius (‘Defenders of the Realm’, ‘Arkham Horror’) should arrive later next week, and it’s a competitive dungeon Ccawl for 3 to 6 players
I have added Peter Schutze’s range of wargames to the shop which until now were only available to be ordered from the USA
Restocks include 'Siberia' and 'Trajan'
New releases 7th February 2012
It’s a great story when a game gets overlooked when released to become a cult classic after it’s gone out of print. ‘Nexus Ops’ is a great example of this, with second hand copies going for hundreds of dollars on ebay. Fantasy Flight have reprinted ‘Nexus Ops’ and given it some added bling – moreover its does not require a remortgage to purchase now. For those of you not familiar with the game it’s a ferocious sci-fi battle game that is over quickly and will have asking for a second game as soon as you finished your first.
‘Cyclades: Hades’ adds four modules to ‘Cyclades’ – this another example of a game that was met with an initial muted response but seems to becoming more popular with time.
‘Giza the Great Pyramid’ is a worker placement game with players trying to impress the pharaoh by making the greatest contribution to the building of his tomb.
‘Spielbox 7’ – the last issue of the 2011 series includes the last of the Martin Wallace games specially designed for Spielbox (you need issue two to play the games as it contains the counters).
‘Strategy and Tactics 273 ‘includes Reichswehr & Freikorps a two-player (So¬viet versus German) strategic game based on the Russo-Polish war of 1920
.
If you like your games to include negotiation and blood feuds and look like a million dollars then look no further than ‘Fief’ from Asyncron games – it’s a new and somewhat streamlined version of the 2000 original.
It’s been a long time out of print but the stupendously silly ‘Hamsterolle’ is back in an all new edition – the only boardgame I know that will get envious glances from the family pet rodents.
Restocks arriving on Tuesday
‘Kingsburg’, ‘Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space’, ‘Haggis’ and ‘the Resistance’
‘Cyclades: Hades’ adds four modules to ‘Cyclades’ – this another example of a game that was met with an initial muted response but seems to becoming more popular with time.
‘Giza the Great Pyramid’ is a worker placement game with players trying to impress the pharaoh by making the greatest contribution to the building of his tomb.
‘Spielbox 7’ – the last issue of the 2011 series includes the last of the Martin Wallace games specially designed for Spielbox (you need issue two to play the games as it contains the counters).
‘Strategy and Tactics 273 ‘includes Reichswehr & Freikorps a two-player (So¬viet versus German) strategic game based on the Russo-Polish war of 1920
.
If you like your games to include negotiation and blood feuds and look like a million dollars then look no further than ‘Fief’ from Asyncron games – it’s a new and somewhat streamlined version of the 2000 original.
It’s been a long time out of print but the stupendously silly ‘Hamsterolle’ is back in an all new edition – the only boardgame I know that will get envious glances from the family pet rodents.
Restocks arriving on Tuesday
‘Kingsburg’, ‘Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space’, ‘Haggis’ and ‘the Resistance’
Neil Walter's Essen Review
Essen Games Impressions 2011
This was my 13th trip to the show and from a games on show viewpoint, rather an unremarkable and disappointing one, not helped admittedly by the non arrival of games like Ora at Labora, TheVillage and Bullfrog Goldfield that were at the very top of my potential buy list. Apart from that I can report that production quality is up, prices are up, the icons are overwhelming and that the action selection mechanic is still going strong and shows little sign of waning. There were some good games there, but not any really stand out ones. Some of the higher rated games from the show such as ‘Trajan’ and ‘Eclipse’ I haven’t tried yet as Herr Feld’s offerings and multi player conflict/civ types are no longer first choices for me, but here are some thoughts on the ones I have tried:
Vanuatu
A game set in a South Sea Island paradise is not a setting you would associate with the meanest (brutal even) action selection mechanic you’re ever likely to come across. The potential for screwage when selecting your actions creates a lot of tension that I like. You can easily end up with no actions in a turn if you’re not careful. Believe me I know because I’ve been there! Has this put me off? Well no actually as it was all my own fault and could easily have been avoided and you just make a mental note for next time. The game is tactical and opportunistic and is essentially a race to claim (fish, treasure, goods) or place (huts, tourists, sand drawings) before anyone else. Position is important both in the turn order and where your boat is on the board. Vanuatu also features an unusual cash to vp conversion mechanic that can easily catch out the unwary. Nice artwork and thematically very strong for a euro, this is definitely one of the more challenging and original games from the show.
Walnut Grove
I thought this game evoked the Wild West rather well for a Euro. You set up a ranch, extend your lands and farm them, use the produce to feed your workers, or sell for cash and services (upgrades to your ranch and more workers to hire) in the local town. Not forgetting of course to keep sufficient back to keep the home fires burning. All good stuff. I also like the tension in the decision you sometimes need to make whether to keep produce or coins when you run out of space in your barns. Activities take place around the four seasons of the year, three of which can be conducted simultaneously, while the remaining one in Autumn of moving around the town is conducted in strict order. WG is for the most part a multi player solitaire but the simultaneous actions do keep the game moving along. I am comfortable with this in the hour time frame it takes to play, and there are sufficient things going on to maintain interest. I have enjoyed all my four games so far.
Pret a Porter
Don’t let the fashion theme put you off as despite all appearances this is a very good business game. Although there are plenty of options to choose from, perhaps too many, this isn’t a difficult game to play. Having to learn yet another set of icons is a pain and will make your first game comfortably drift past the two hour mark. But it’s worth the effort if you like economic type games. Tension comes from the continual pressure to get your buildings, employees, contracts, designs and materials all together in time for the fashion shows. All these are acquired using our old friend action selection. Cash is tight at the start and credit or emergency loans may be necessary. Third game in and it’s getting even better now with more familiarity. It’s also possible to make a comeback from a poor start so that is a further plus.
German Railways
This Queen remake of one of Winsome’s Essen 2010 bundle, Preussische Ostbahn is from the same stable as Chicago Express and they both share similarities in the way they handle the share buying and track builds. Notable differences are that the railways in GR each have different attributes which is good and also the way player actions are determined which most definitely isn’t good. Random draws from a bag to see if I get an action or not doesn’t do it for me I’m afraid, so very unlikely I’ll be playing this again. I’ll stick with Chicago Express.
Bullfrog Goldfield
One of my top games to try that was missing from the show. Fortunately I managed to get hold of a paper copy that I have since mounted and played. Good news is that it didn’t disappoint. BG is a heady mix of railway building, mining and share trading set in early 20th century Nevada. The stock market is volatile and the mines run the risk of depletion. Perfect planners look away now. Tension mounts as mines near exhaustion and investors agonise over whether to ditch their shareholding or risk holding on for another year. Great stuff! Looking forward to getting a real copy and hopefully it won’t be too long before they arrive. My best of show even though it wasn’t there!
Urban Sprawl
The core idea of town building with a dash of politics is certainly one that is very appealing to me, so I had high hopes for this game. Sadly it didn’t deliver on a number of levels. Downtime is excessive as it is not possible to plan between turns because the cards and the board position are constantly changing. You have no idea what cards will be available until your turn actually arrives. And when it does arrive any decisions were strictly limited to the cards currently on display. Swingy event cards also add an unwelcome dose of chaos that I don’t find acceptable in a 3 to 4 hour game. For a lot of the time I felt that I was a spectator rather than a player. As you’ve probably gathered I didn’t care for it too much.
Santiago de Cuba
A light and fun little game set in Cuba world. Ideal for family play but also with sufficient interest to keep a hardened gamer like me amused (ideal after 5 hours of 18xx). It very easy to explain with its simple mechanics, quick turns and playing time that comes in at between 45 and 60 minutes. There are icons to get acquainted with but not too many and you will have them down pat after a few turns. Good variability as action discs (Cuban workers and artisans) and buildings are randomly laid out for each game. Randomness comes in the form of dice rolled reflecting the demand for each good to be loaded on the ship in port. I particularly like the tactical manovering of the car around the circuit of actions especially when it nears the port. With a limited demand for goods, it’s generally better to be first there. In the crowded market of light fillers, this is a very good one.
Singapore
Just when you thought it would be impossible to design another game that features buildings, yet another one comes along to prove you wrong. Whereas in games like ‘Cuba’ for example where there are lots of other very interesting things going on in the game, here there is little else happening. You build buildings, collect resources, followed by conversion to other resources, cash and vps at other buildings. Repeat for 90+ minutes. That’s it. It works but sadly its one dimensional and not particularly exciting. Shame really as Peer Sylvester’s earlier King of Siam is a very good and original game that I enjoy, so I was expecting rather more from this. On a positive note, the game certainly looks great, components are excellent and the rules are short and easy to digest.
Last Will
An originally themed game with the object of getting rid of all your money based on the idea of the 80s film Brewster’s Millions. On looks alone this game is the business. The cards are gloriously illustrated that adds to the pleasure of playing. While the game play is interesting as you try and work out the best cards or combo of cards from various different types of decks to draft and play as actions, for me there was also a sense that the game lasted way too long for what it is. Admittedly this wasn’t helped with the constant reference to the rules for explanations of the icons and card effects. I feel the game falls in that uncomfortable slot of being slightly too complicated as a filler or family game and too long to maintain your interest. It’d be fantastic with a playing time of no longer than an hour, but it isn’t with four or more. However I do like and am happy to play Last Will provided it is with no more than three players.
Fortuna
Well Herren Rieneck and Stadler had to come unstuck sooner or later. To be fair to ask the designers of such great games as ‘Pillars of the Earth’, ‘Cuba’and ‘World without En’d to come up with another winner was probably asking a lot. What usually makes these two’s designs a fantastic marriage of theme and game play is conspicuously absent from Fortuna. Apart from the cool card swapping mechanic there is little else to recommend it. I don’t usually mind a bit of dice rolling but felt that the outcomes here just held sway a little too much for comfort. And the object of all this activity to race your citizen along your own track to the centre of Rome doesn’t exactly get the pulse racing either. Pass.
Show Manager
This re-release of Dirk Henn’s 90’s classic introduces the forerunner of the “unwanted cards slide down the track to a cheaper price” mechanic similar to the one revived in the recent release of Urban Sprawl. A set collecting card game with the twist that your hand limit of cards potentially forces you to put on a show with a less than ideal cast of artistes. Simple, quick and fun to play for gamers and family alike. Certainly one to look out for if it’s missing from your collection.
Helvetia
Another action selection game where you can marry off your boys and girls with partners in other villages (for extra benefits plus offspring) as the original feature, combined with the more familiar build buildings that produce resources to get more buildings and yet more resources etc….…you get the drift. It’s workmanlike and dull even right down to the brown hues of the graphics, a total contrast to Matthias Cramer’s more colourful and excellent earlier release, Lancaster. Unless you are looking to complete your collection with a game that features goats, I recommend you give this a miss.
This was my 13th trip to the show and from a games on show viewpoint, rather an unremarkable and disappointing one, not helped admittedly by the non arrival of games like Ora at Labora, TheVillage and Bullfrog Goldfield that were at the very top of my potential buy list. Apart from that I can report that production quality is up, prices are up, the icons are overwhelming and that the action selection mechanic is still going strong and shows little sign of waning. There were some good games there, but not any really stand out ones. Some of the higher rated games from the show such as ‘Trajan’ and ‘Eclipse’ I haven’t tried yet as Herr Feld’s offerings and multi player conflict/civ types are no longer first choices for me, but here are some thoughts on the ones I have tried:
Vanuatu
A game set in a South Sea Island paradise is not a setting you would associate with the meanest (brutal even) action selection mechanic you’re ever likely to come across. The potential for screwage when selecting your actions creates a lot of tension that I like. You can easily end up with no actions in a turn if you’re not careful. Believe me I know because I’ve been there! Has this put me off? Well no actually as it was all my own fault and could easily have been avoided and you just make a mental note for next time. The game is tactical and opportunistic and is essentially a race to claim (fish, treasure, goods) or place (huts, tourists, sand drawings) before anyone else. Position is important both in the turn order and where your boat is on the board. Vanuatu also features an unusual cash to vp conversion mechanic that can easily catch out the unwary. Nice artwork and thematically very strong for a euro, this is definitely one of the more challenging and original games from the show.
Walnut Grove
I thought this game evoked the Wild West rather well for a Euro. You set up a ranch, extend your lands and farm them, use the produce to feed your workers, or sell for cash and services (upgrades to your ranch and more workers to hire) in the local town. Not forgetting of course to keep sufficient back to keep the home fires burning. All good stuff. I also like the tension in the decision you sometimes need to make whether to keep produce or coins when you run out of space in your barns. Activities take place around the four seasons of the year, three of which can be conducted simultaneously, while the remaining one in Autumn of moving around the town is conducted in strict order. WG is for the most part a multi player solitaire but the simultaneous actions do keep the game moving along. I am comfortable with this in the hour time frame it takes to play, and there are sufficient things going on to maintain interest. I have enjoyed all my four games so far.
Pret a Porter
Don’t let the fashion theme put you off as despite all appearances this is a very good business game. Although there are plenty of options to choose from, perhaps too many, this isn’t a difficult game to play. Having to learn yet another set of icons is a pain and will make your first game comfortably drift past the two hour mark. But it’s worth the effort if you like economic type games. Tension comes from the continual pressure to get your buildings, employees, contracts, designs and materials all together in time for the fashion shows. All these are acquired using our old friend action selection. Cash is tight at the start and credit or emergency loans may be necessary. Third game in and it’s getting even better now with more familiarity. It’s also possible to make a comeback from a poor start so that is a further plus.
German Railways
This Queen remake of one of Winsome’s Essen 2010 bundle, Preussische Ostbahn is from the same stable as Chicago Express and they both share similarities in the way they handle the share buying and track builds. Notable differences are that the railways in GR each have different attributes which is good and also the way player actions are determined which most definitely isn’t good. Random draws from a bag to see if I get an action or not doesn’t do it for me I’m afraid, so very unlikely I’ll be playing this again. I’ll stick with Chicago Express.
Bullfrog Goldfield
One of my top games to try that was missing from the show. Fortunately I managed to get hold of a paper copy that I have since mounted and played. Good news is that it didn’t disappoint. BG is a heady mix of railway building, mining and share trading set in early 20th century Nevada. The stock market is volatile and the mines run the risk of depletion. Perfect planners look away now. Tension mounts as mines near exhaustion and investors agonise over whether to ditch their shareholding or risk holding on for another year. Great stuff! Looking forward to getting a real copy and hopefully it won’t be too long before they arrive. My best of show even though it wasn’t there!
Urban Sprawl
The core idea of town building with a dash of politics is certainly one that is very appealing to me, so I had high hopes for this game. Sadly it didn’t deliver on a number of levels. Downtime is excessive as it is not possible to plan between turns because the cards and the board position are constantly changing. You have no idea what cards will be available until your turn actually arrives. And when it does arrive any decisions were strictly limited to the cards currently on display. Swingy event cards also add an unwelcome dose of chaos that I don’t find acceptable in a 3 to 4 hour game. For a lot of the time I felt that I was a spectator rather than a player. As you’ve probably gathered I didn’t care for it too much.
Santiago de Cuba
A light and fun little game set in Cuba world. Ideal for family play but also with sufficient interest to keep a hardened gamer like me amused (ideal after 5 hours of 18xx). It very easy to explain with its simple mechanics, quick turns and playing time that comes in at between 45 and 60 minutes. There are icons to get acquainted with but not too many and you will have them down pat after a few turns. Good variability as action discs (Cuban workers and artisans) and buildings are randomly laid out for each game. Randomness comes in the form of dice rolled reflecting the demand for each good to be loaded on the ship in port. I particularly like the tactical manovering of the car around the circuit of actions especially when it nears the port. With a limited demand for goods, it’s generally better to be first there. In the crowded market of light fillers, this is a very good one.
Singapore
Just when you thought it would be impossible to design another game that features buildings, yet another one comes along to prove you wrong. Whereas in games like ‘Cuba’ for example where there are lots of other very interesting things going on in the game, here there is little else happening. You build buildings, collect resources, followed by conversion to other resources, cash and vps at other buildings. Repeat for 90+ minutes. That’s it. It works but sadly its one dimensional and not particularly exciting. Shame really as Peer Sylvester’s earlier King of Siam is a very good and original game that I enjoy, so I was expecting rather more from this. On a positive note, the game certainly looks great, components are excellent and the rules are short and easy to digest.
Last Will
An originally themed game with the object of getting rid of all your money based on the idea of the 80s film Brewster’s Millions. On looks alone this game is the business. The cards are gloriously illustrated that adds to the pleasure of playing. While the game play is interesting as you try and work out the best cards or combo of cards from various different types of decks to draft and play as actions, for me there was also a sense that the game lasted way too long for what it is. Admittedly this wasn’t helped with the constant reference to the rules for explanations of the icons and card effects. I feel the game falls in that uncomfortable slot of being slightly too complicated as a filler or family game and too long to maintain your interest. It’d be fantastic with a playing time of no longer than an hour, but it isn’t with four or more. However I do like and am happy to play Last Will provided it is with no more than three players.
Fortuna
Well Herren Rieneck and Stadler had to come unstuck sooner or later. To be fair to ask the designers of such great games as ‘Pillars of the Earth’, ‘Cuba’and ‘World without En’d to come up with another winner was probably asking a lot. What usually makes these two’s designs a fantastic marriage of theme and game play is conspicuously absent from Fortuna. Apart from the cool card swapping mechanic there is little else to recommend it. I don’t usually mind a bit of dice rolling but felt that the outcomes here just held sway a little too much for comfort. And the object of all this activity to race your citizen along your own track to the centre of Rome doesn’t exactly get the pulse racing either. Pass.
Show Manager
This re-release of Dirk Henn’s 90’s classic introduces the forerunner of the “unwanted cards slide down the track to a cheaper price” mechanic similar to the one revived in the recent release of Urban Sprawl. A set collecting card game with the twist that your hand limit of cards potentially forces you to put on a show with a less than ideal cast of artistes. Simple, quick and fun to play for gamers and family alike. Certainly one to look out for if it’s missing from your collection.
Helvetia
Another action selection game where you can marry off your boys and girls with partners in other villages (for extra benefits plus offspring) as the original feature, combined with the more familiar build buildings that produce resources to get more buildings and yet more resources etc….…you get the drift. It’s workmanlike and dull even right down to the brown hues of the graphics, a total contrast to Matthias Cramer’s more colourful and excellent earlier release, Lancaster. Unless you are looking to complete your collection with a game that features goats, I recommend you give this a miss.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
