So as many of you know I don't own a lot of games and I try to vary my Mechanics, so I'm going to talk about/ask about two (or more if you think) together. I do this because I love games that have Management Mechanics (hand, resource, etc).
The reason I love Hand and Resource Management is because you have to really think about and be smart about how you use everything you have.
Hand Management is really fun because you often have to choose which of the best cards to keep. I also like that it sometimes gives you the option to dump everything you have because it's terrible. #Root shines with hand management with the Riverfolk and Lizard Cult. I love having to decide if I should keep a card, or discard it to affect the Lizard Cult. Like which is more to my benefit.
I also love to manage my resources. To try and look ahead and see what it is I need to really help my game flow and function well. That choice of which do I get now, and which do I hold off on.
For me #Scythe and #Clans of Caledonia sticks out. I love having to think about how to spend my money and get more money in Clans to maximize what I'm doing. And sometimes you have that hard choice at the end of a round on what's going to work out best for me next round, where do I spend my last pounds?
The other thing I like about resource management is it forces me to think a bit ahead.
Ultimately with management in games there is always something to adjust to even if you don't love what you have right now. It really opens it up (for me) to be able to still play, even if it means adjusting my strartegy throughout.
What are you favorite games with management mechanics?
Before I begin, I was sent a prototype of the game, and may receive a production copy of the game in exchange for an honest preview. This is not a paid preview. If you would rather see a video of this preview you have two options below. Pledge for your own copy here.
Chip Theory Games understands what gamers really want. They want a game that can be used for multiple things. In fact I will not even consider playing one of their games any more if I cannot use it as a game, a door stop, a pool toy, and the perfect thing to set up if I every have to defend my home, Home Alone style.
Luckily when the prototype for burncycle arrived I immediately thought…”Well that has some heft to it”, then I opened it and said out loud “that is an intimidating amount of stuff isn’t it.” So having passed my initial test I was very happy to dive into the latest big box game from CTG, and see what it was all about. After all, Too Many Bones is one of my top games in my collection…I just do not put it on top of anything-that is both dangerous and crazy.
burncycle is a game set in the far future…so far that humanity has already wiped itself out, and robots fixed the planet, then brought humans back…who promptly took over again. Now you are playing as the Robo Resistance who are trying to gum up the works in the four Global Mega Corporations.
To do this you will be sneaking into their headquarters and trying to make your way to the top floor to confront Bezo…the evil CEO in charge of the corporation of your choice, be it the social media, the fulfillment, the defense, or the energy. In order to do this you will be utilizing a series of three different commands, which will change every so often.
There are three different categories of command you can issue: physical, utility, or tech; these will allow you to do pretty much everything that you need to do. However, each round you will create your burncycle (program), and the closer you are able to follow it the more powerful your abilities will be.
You will spend your time running about the board and tempting the guards to follow you around, thus allowing your conspirators to accomplish whatever the task assigned you each game is. As you play you will be managing your bots power supply, which functions as your life, your dice pool, and your ability to upgrade your bots, and your burncycle as you play.
In addition to the main board you also have the ability to log on to the net, which is its own little mini game where you are attempting to boost your signal strength and eliminate the “pings” being sent to boot you from the net by Zuckerber…the evil CEO.
After you manage to accomplish your goal for the floor you are able to make your way to the elevator, and move to the next floor.
So what do I think?
Delectable
The component quality of the game is pretty darn good for a prototype, and based on the quality of every othere CTG game, I am confident it will both feel outstanding, and look great as well.
The core of the game is the creation and management of the burncycle, and this is simply a delightful thing. What makes it really work for me is that you are not locked into the program, rather you are just encouraged to use the program as it is set, because everything you do is simply that much more powerful, but if you find yourself in a bind there is always something that you can do. I think this is a very good variant on the traditional programmer games.
I also really enjoy the way that you have a bit of resource management in the game as well. Because your power functions as so many things you are always playing that balance of how do you spend it. Do you spend it now and have fewer, but more potent dice? Do you spend it and improve your burncycle, but again have less life and dice? Or do you just horde it like a greedy chipmunk until you have mediocre dice squirting out of your cheeks? The choices are very hard, and delightful.
I also really enjoy the network mini game. It is SOOOO simple, but the strategy involved in when you go onto it, and how you manage your IP addresses is just delightful. It also has the added bonus of keeping you from feeling like you do not have anything to do, because you can almost always attempt to log on there.
Tasty
The art. It has a distinct style, but I really need to see more before I know how I feel about it.
I also regularly found myself, having to remind myself that this is a stealth game, not a combat game, just because I can fight doesn’t mean I should; assuming I did not want to kill myself. (YEAH that’s right three reflexive pronouns in one sentence! BOOM! Let’s ignore the other errors in it). However, the point is, that it can be very tempting to revert to old CTG habits and just try to smash everything…I ALMOST wish engaging enemies was not an option to save me from myself.
Edible
My largest concern with this game is the unknown. I have not gotten to try the final levels to see how the confrontations work, nor have I gotten to experience the game with a full complement of bots, or a large variety of floors. This leaves me with questions.
Will the game start to feel repetitive and solvable? Though you will want to differentiate the different bots through their skills, will that be a best practice, or will unlocking their abilities feel like you are just hamstringing yourself?
My other warning I issue, is that even though the resource management of your power if a delightful part of the game, I am concerned that if you manage it poorly at the beginning of the game you are simply setting yourself up for a frustrating failure.
Bringing it all together
burncycle is a stealth game that has reinvented the way I view Chip Theory Games. I had them pegged as being masters of dice chucking, find fun ways to smash the bad guys in the face. Yet here is a game that is a stealth, programmer game, with a solid dose of resource management. Bot only that, but it is absolutely intriguing. There are some outstanding questions remaining: how do the boss levels work? Will the game be solvable? Can you recover from poor early plays? And these questions will only be answered over time as the development of the game continues. Yet for me, this is a game that really looks to be one that can reach the upper echelons of the stealth AND programmer genres.
If we bots knew you would talk so much we would not have brought you back
* Unique feeling stealth/programmer game * Simpler than the other CTG big box games by a significant amount * Has a very cool aspect of resource management baked into the dice/upgrade system * Could be solvable, and might be too punishing if you make poor leveling choices from the get go * One of the more promising titles I have gotten to check out in recent months, I am very excited to see where it goes
I finally played Obsession! Here are my impressions after one solo session and a recent play with my wife over the New Year's break. Before I get into my main points, here's a quick overview:
Quick Overview:
You're a family that's desperate to climb the social ladder. You will host events in your estate, invite guests of prestige and those of questionable background, provide service using different types of servants, enjoy favors (money, connections to other potential guests, prestige) from those guests, and use those favors to renovate your estate and build up your standing
You will also compete with other families to "court" the Fairchilds every season. Are they interested in sporting? Prestige? The development of your property? Whatever it is, you'll want to build up your estate so that you can spark their curiosity and enjoy big time favors by inviting them over to your estate for a season (and maybe even the prospect of marrying up!)
At the end of the game, you will score points based on the development of your estate, the quality of your social connections, and any bonus points for hidden objectives completed and the successful courting of the Fairchilds
Here are my first impressions:
This game has the charms of an "indie" - It feels strange to say "indie" since the majority of board games aren't affiliated with big publishers. But from unboxing experience to learning and playing the game, you can see a lot of soul in the overall package. The box comes with smaller boxes for organization (the best part!). The rulebook is detailed, presents a pie chart of available VP sources, and there's a separate glossary that goes deeper into the terminology and the historical setting. The mechanisms in the game aren't necessarily groundbreaking or new, but the way it's interwoven with the theme feels fresh.
The only drawback is... the rulebook - I don't know exactly why, but it felt longer than it should. It also felt a little tedious to go through and the info didn't stick. There's plenty of detailed info but I think some of them could have been cut out or better presented. The overall organization and flow give the impression of a rulebook that lacked the touch of a professional editor. The entire game package comes across as a passion project of a single person, and I while love that it does have its rough spots. With that said,
This could have been a Top 100 game on BGG - It currently ranks #575 overall and #92 thematic on BGG. Not bad at all! But if it had the brand power of a bigger publisher, or the marketing power, or a slightly more upscaled production, it wouldn't have flown under the radar nearly as much as it did. It's obvious that it has been well received by those who've had a chance to play though--its second Kickstarter for #Upstairs, Downstairs: an Obsession Expansion came in at $189K (2412 backers) while the base game's Kickstarter came in at $37K (645 backers). The 1 Player Guild also has Obsession at #52 in its 2020 Top 200 Solo Games list, having jumped 41 positions since 2019.
Thematic gameplay especially great for couples - Do you primarily play 2p with your significant other? Does the theme resonate with you? Are you and your significant other the type to enjoy silly moments of mimicking British accent or role-playing the different guests? If all three checks off, this is the game for you (my wife and I definitely don't do the third lol).
Even if you don't fall under that exact category, you should check it out if you tend to love thematic eurogames:
All potential guests are represented by cards in your hand. As you build up your estate and reputation, you'll gather more connections (cards) and you'll be able to invite some of them to your estate by hosting an activity. The higher your family's reputation, the more prestigious activities you'll be able to hold and the more prestigious guests you'll be able to invite and serve for favors. It's deck-building where you're refining your connections and managing your hand of cards to enjoy the right benefits at the right moment
There are 6 different types of servants (Butler, Housekeeper, Underbutler, Lady's Maid, Vallet, and Footman). You'll need to manage the use of your servants so that you can continually host great activities, invite guests of prestige, and enjoy their favors. Mis-time their use and you'll end up with dead turns where you really wish you could've hosted a specific event or invite some of your most pretigious guests but can't because the required servants are taking a rest in their quarters due to helping out with a different activity. It's not a complete loss since you can pass for the round so that you can "Refresh Service" (make all servants available in the next round) and get all of the guest cards back into your hand, but time is precious when you only have 16 rounds to work with (standard play length, and 3 of them aren't typical rounds and you're merely checking for successful courting)
Earlier, I mentioned there are some shady people you'll build connections with. For example, Sir Bentley Churchill (see below) is a wealthy lady's man with poor reputation. If I'm desperate for money, I could invite him over for an afternoon tea accompanied by Lady Cavendish. I'll earn 300 pounds while taking two hits on reputation. And I could then dismiss him permanently from my deck of cards using Lady Cavendish's favor (see that trash symbol?)
Every season of courtship has a theme. For example, it could be "sporting". Maybe it's time to buy that Tennis Court tile from the market and add it to your estate! Or maybe invest a little more and renovate for a horse stable? Unless you're planning on sitting out for this round and not even going to try competing for the Fairchild's attention, you'll want to keep up with the other families by appearing the most sporty family of all
Little or high player interaction? - There's little interaction in this game, at least at face value. It happens through competing for the room improvement tiles in the market and through a "gossip" mechanism. When you acquire a tile called "servant's hall," you're able to spread gossip and target an opponent to make their reputation drop. Since there are around 80 tiles in the drawstring bag you seed the market from, it seems like a rare encounter in a 2p game.
If I were to quantify player interaction, I'd say it's similar to the level of #Wingspan. They're both limited, but you're still interested in what the other player is up to and can recognize and appreciate when they make a great play. And for those who enjoy role-playing, this game will instantly draw that silliness out of you.
The title of the game doesn't quite live up to its theme - "Obsession". I get why it's called that since it's about families doing everything in their power to build up their prestige. It's almost there, but falls short by a tiny bit. My wife commented that she wished courting would have been more than simply developing your estate to suit the Fairchild's interests (every "room" you add to your estate has an associated number of VP's, which get added up and compared with other players during the courtship round). Maybe it could be coming up with lavish gifts? I don't know, but I can see what she means.
Solo experience with little AI management - There are two things you need to do. Roll a d20 every round to remove a room improvement tile from the market. Second, in every courtship round (there are three of them in standard play with 16 rounds and four in extended play with 20 rounds), you check to see if you scored more than the AI for the theme of the current season. There are 12 different AI opponent cards, 4 each of 3 varying difficulties. Unless you're playing with a variant, all you need to do at the end of the game is compare your score vs. the AI's base score + any additional bonuses it got based on successful courting.
You'll like the solo experience if you don't mind the luck factor - It's in your best interest to successfully court the Fairchilds. Doing so gives you a VP card that gives you bonus points at the end of the game. You could also forfeit that card and get a nice boost in a resource indicated by that card (money or reputation). Lastly, you get to invite one of the Fairchilds into your hand of cards for the next season, and they give great favors when you serve them through an activity.
But to keep things competitive, the solo mode goes by the "closed" courtship variant, where the theme of courting is revealed at the end of the courtship season. This is different from the standard "open" courtship, which reveals the theme card at the beginning of the courtship season so that you can develop your estate with the theme in mind. In my solo session, I managed to draw just the right theme cards so that I didn't win any of the courtships lol. It was still very fun to play but I knew that I would have won if that hadn't happened. That's okay though, I always enjoy luck, even when it's bad.
Final Comments
Anna (my wife) said she might like this more than #Viticulture: Essential Edition. And if you're familiar with our history with board games, you'll know that says a lot. She seems to like that there's a more layered gameplay going on where you need to consider courtship, development of your estate and deciding which rooms to add/buy, while also managing your hand of cards and the different servants. This is different from Viticulture where you have one clear goal of fulfilling wine orders and you're getting there by focusing on your engine. Similarly, she just likes that this is a very different game from her other favorites that are focused on resource management and converting goods (#Clans of Caledonia and #Concordia). I think this also means she'll love how different #Star Wars: Rebellion is @Skurvy5 :)
As for me? I really do like this game, but it wouldn't be my go-to option for more than 4 players (and probably not even at 4p count, although I can imagine it being nice to have the market refresh more often). Unless it's a game like #The Quacks of Quedlinburg, I prefer having more interaction between players. For solo, this game hits a nice balance of the puzzly side and theme, but still leans on the puzzly side for me. That puts it above #Viticulture: Essential Edition and #Clans of Caledonia, but I'd still have more fun soloing games like #Root, #Pax Pamir (Second Edition), or #Nemo's War (Second Edition).
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Phew, that took a while to type up. Thanks for the read and let me know what you think about the game! And if you want to get your own copy, you can now find it here on the publisher's store: https://kayenta-games.myshopify.com/
(This review was originally published on our blog . Two Moms Game. Follow the link to read it in it's original, recommended format).
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
A card drafting and resource management, tableau building civilization game for 2-4 players
120+ minutes
Vlaada Chvatil
Published by Czech Games Edition
We couldn’t start reviewing games without hitting one of our favorite brain-busting games – Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization. This is a Euro-style civilization building game where players must balance creating both a resource/technology/military engine while managing a card deck through drafting and card play.
Play begins with your civilization in the Greco-Roman Age of Antiquity and progresses through the history of the largely Western/Euro-centric world and into the Modern Era. In this review we’ll talk about the new (2015) release of the base game and the New Leaders and Wonders expansion.
Gameplay Overview Through the Ages is, at its heart, a card game. Sure, there are a series of individual boards that keep track of points and various game mechanics, but the soul of the game lies in drafting, managing, and playing cards to create an engine that progresses your civilization through history. Players take a number of actions during the course of a turn to try to advance their civilization by way of culture, science, and military tracts from the Age of Antiquity to the Modern Era. On their first turn of the game, players only take cards from the card row based on turn order. The remainder of the turns go as follows:
1. Reset the Card Row In the base game, there is one board for cards that is renewed at the start of every turn. With the expansion, there is a game variant where specialty cards called “Leaders” and “Wonders” are displayed to give players a heads-up for what’s coming later in the game (green and purple card rows in the image).
2. Political Phase Put an event or territory into the future events deck. Flip over an event from the current events deck and execute. Play an aggression Declare war Propose/cancel pact (3+ player games only)
3. Actions Players choose based on the number of actions they have available. They may be taken in any order – do not need to do all civil actions before taking military actions
Civil Actions – Take a number of actions based on government type and card bonuses. All actions have inherent cost of 1 unless otherwise noted. Draft cards from card row Cost 1-3 actions Leaders (green) – give special abilities or scoring opportunities Action cards (yellow) – one time bonus Tech (blue, gray, red, brown, orange) – ongoing bonuses and scoring Wonders (purple) – ongoing bonuses and scoring Play card from hand Promote workers Build buildings Upgrade buildings Destroy buildings Complete a stage of wonder Change government peacefully Change government via revolution
Military Actions – Take a number of actions based on government type and card bonuses. All actions have inherent cost of 1 unless otherwise noted. Build military unit Upgrade military Unit Disband military unit Play tactics card Copy tactics card of another player
4. End of Turn Wrap-Up This is where you move a million things around – pay special attention to the end-of-turn instructions on the player mat.
Wrap-up description: Discard excess military cards Production Score culture and science points Check for corruption Produce food Consume food Check for starvation Produce resources Draw military cards, if applicable Reset Actions
What do we think? First, the bad. Through the Ages is a nuanced game with many details players must manage and pay attention to throughout the game. It can come off as disjointed, overly complicated, and fiddly. It is not kind to new players and there will be an obvious experience gap between new players and those who have played before. But that’s also part of what makes it fun for us.
Now the good! As you play the game, the actions and game sequence come together in a cohesive flow that sucks you in. The game demands your total attention and becomes an engrossing experience. If sometimes you like playing a game in 80% silence as you both are wrapped up in your heads and only emerge for brief conflict, this is for you! The first time we played, Emily didn’t speak for nearly the entire game and stared at the table with a very serious expression. Turns out, she was having the time of her life.
Through the Ages has a number of unique elements that both complicate the game and make it fascinating from a strategy perspective. There are many different strategies to try, and the game is balanced enough that we haven’t found one overpowering “best” strategy. One interesting element are the culture, science, and military tracks which act as a scale to determine each player’s resources (science and military) or points (culture). Players’ individual positions on each track can be modified by gaining/playing specific cards or through management of a player’s engine. At the end of each round, players gain culture points based on their position on this track and their culture point total at the end of the game determines the winner. Therefore, balancing the acquisition of resources (science), military, and points (culture) is a delicate and difficult procedure and the success of different strategies can vary widely by what the other players are doing.
Corruption and uprisings are other interesting concepts, as they limit what players can do with their own resource engines. Build up more resources than you can handle and you get corruption penalties. Forget to keep your population happy and they become unruly and refuse to work.
In the two-player version, the military element is less important (but we are both conflict avoidant players). Typically, one of us tries to overpower the other, we both balance out to be nearly equal in strength, and then we abandon the effort to focus on other things. In games with more than 2 players, military becomes much more important.
One last bad thing: We do have a thematic complaint that we know has been raised previously about this game being incredibly male and Euro-centric. It does a better job than similar games at avoiding blatant whitewashing of history (lookin’ at you, Maricaibo), but when the bar is on the ground it’s not that hard to raise it. If a game is supposed to walk players “through the ages” and include historical leaders and events from all over the world, it can’t be so…white and male. Even with the addition of a couple (white) women – you could maybe argue about Cleopatra being Egyptian though she was ethnically Greek, but that’s missing the point – and a few (male) POC leaders in the new Leaders and Wonders expansion, this game is still severely lacking in diversity. We aren’t really history buffs in general (does watching Drunk History count?), but we’re nearly certain there wasn’t a 2:1 ratio of white men to literally everyone else (and I’m pretty sure POC women existed throughout history as well). There are a TON of great leaders, innovators, etc. throughout history who could have been chosen, so it’s definitely not too much to ask that game designers make more of an effort.
Compared to similarly themed games, Through the Ages does take tiny baby steps in the right direction, but we’d ask that the industry please take bigger steps.
Sarah's Take This is a hard one to rate for me. I really enjoy the card row and the engine building aspects, but man am I bad at this game. I have only ever won once, on our first full playthrough…a full 4 years ago. We’ve played 10+ times and no wins for me.
It’s a good game, but it is long and I’m not sure I have the patience or the planning skills required to really excel at this game. No matter how well I think I set myself up with an early engine, I still end up getting absolutely ROCKED by Emily about 2/3rds of the way through. Like, man, I just want to win once then I will live in peace. One big con for Through the Ages is the player mats. They are thin and not dual layered so the cubes slide everywhere. Literally, every time I lean forward to take card, or you know play the game, I bump the pieces. I call it the “boob bump”. Yep. You read that right. The height of our current table means that anytime I lean over all my tokens get pushed up and around by my chest. Gee thanks, I really needed the reminder they are there.
When this happens, the proper Minnesotan response is "Ope" I have played the app version many times and for me, the app wins out every time. The ability to have the app manage all the fiddly, time consuming bits while I just sit back and play is wonderful. Admittedly, I play the app on easy mode (I just want win every now and then, okay?) and I am not always the best at paying attention to what the AI does on it’s turn. BUT it is still better than the the physical game.
Emily's Take Can you more than love a game? I adore this one and I can’t put my finger exactly on why I feel so strongly. It might be the great 2-player balance of the new release, the complex strategy, or the fact that I absolutely crush Sarah. Every. Single. Time.
See…the trick is the military. Don’t tell Sarah, but when she ignores military, I can go nuts building an engine and I have that figured out for this game so that I can do it very quickly. Above we said that military isn’t as big of a thing in 2-player, and it isn’t. But ignoring it completely means you’re basically playing a game by yourself, and whoever plays it better wins. When Sarah goes harder on military, I’m forced to as well or risk losing a ton of resources, workers, points, etc. and I can’t build up my engine as quickly.
First Play Fun fact, the first time we played the original Through the Ages it took us about 4 hours to learn and play the intro game. For first time players, especially if no one has played before, this is a definite weekend activity unless you’re a normal person and can stay up later than 10pm (don’t judge us, the kiddos wake up at 5:30am).
Rulebook CGE and Vlaada Chvátil games tend to have some of the best written and easy to understand rulebooks, and this one is no exception. The biggest complaint is the size, it’s like reading a novel, but that’s typical of a game this heavy.
Most experienced gamers should have no problem learning the game from the rulebook. If reading rules isn’t your thing, there are numerous “how to play” videos available online, including directly from CGE.
Subsequent Plays Through the Ages is a game that rewards repeated plays. With more plays comes an understanding of which cards are available when and how to use them. One of the biggest barriers, and in-game surprises, is not understanding when your cards or leader become antiquated. Players can lose significant ground by not planning for antiquated cards correctly. As we played more, we quickly became much better at understanding this concept.
Play Time, Best Number of Players We play this almost exclusively at 2 players and can generally play through the full game in about 2 hours. Newer players and those of us that need a rules refresher before games should plan on 2.5-3 hours. Plan on an additional 60 minutes or so for each additional player. Setup/takedown for this game is also pretty long if you didn’t contain your cards right and they’re all mixed up in the box because you accidentally turned it upside down, *Emily*.
Parent Perspective Through the Ages is a commitment with at least a 2 hour play time, not including set up and tear down. It’s also complicated enough that multiple interruptions throughout the game can make it very difficult to play, so not a good one for when the kids might interrupt to show you a dinosaur 400 times. The time commitment puts this in the weekend night game or kiddos are at a sleepover with Nana category.
Rating 4: Likely to play again (Emily would give it a 5, Sarah a 3) *See our rating scale on our site
Is Through the Ages worth the barrier to entry? Definitely. Yes, repeated plays and familiarity are rewarded, but familiarity comes quickly as the many moving parts of the game meld together into cohesion that makes sense. This familiarity drives a desire to keep playing and to keep improving once you start understanding how each card works. We really like the emphasis on long-term strategy planning. It’s often favorable to make sacrifices in the early game in order to gain points or abilities that pay off much later, and so each turn you have to keep the bigger picture in mind.
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This is great @Skurvy5 and the "ideal player count and conditions" is what triggered me to do the same with my list with those two ideals in mind. Your process and format are fantastic! As I read through the games we've both played I note that we have similar thoughts which drive me to look at the games I haven't played on your list and seriously reconsider some games I've been so-so on. Doing 20 games was tough but I hammered through and here's what I came up with:
20. #Marvel Champions: The Card Game - I thought this would be a little higher and to some degree it feels a little like #Firefly: The Game which I feel is a great game, tons of fun to play, but has a sort of "niche" spot on my shelf and tends to not rank among my top tier games. Champions is still a great game, lots of fun, and very engaging. In trying to consider why it gets bumped down I might argue that the length of play with the ideal play number (3-4?) is fairly long. Even a two-player game takes a decent amount of time.
19. #Root - I finally got to play a three-player game the other night and the magic of this game came through for me. I can see this moving up my list over time with more plays. The "gotcha" aspect of this game is would keep it from being much higher as I tend to gravitate away from such games. That Root makes this list at all is a testament to how much fun it is.
18. #Castles of Mad King Ludwig - has been in my collection for several years now and remains a staple. 4 players is the best to play with but the other player counts are well balanced and there is a solo option as well. The market arrangement at the beginning of each round is one of my favorite aspects to this game. Â
17. #Terraforming Mars - this was a tough one. I enjoy this game and it remains an engaging experience when it hits the table. The solo on this is quite fun as well. It's been a while since I've played but still makes the top 20 with solid mechanics and gameplay.
16. #Everdell - this was a very very challenging game to place! I'm not sure if it's the long setup or a slight untightness in gameplay that keep it from being higher. I don't often have ideal options to play and there are a few "gotcha" cards that drive it down slightly. The components and art are off the charts and this is one of the few heavier games my entire family will play.
15. #Viscounts of the West Kingdom - is a game that could rise as time goes on. I taught Becky and she did well on her first game (beating me of course) and this might end up passing #Paladins of the West Kingdom at some point. This is a deck-building game with lots of crunchy mechanics.
14. #Teotihuacan: City of Gods - was another challenge to rank as I have fewer plays but it has a very engaging rondel and the player interaction on the board is fun and the theme is well balanced with the mechanics. This is a well-designed game. The solo mode is quite nice. If there is a knock on this game it might be the extra setup with dice when you have less than 4 players. Â
13. #Tapestry - is very fun with one of the longest setups of any game I have (competing with Everdell) but the components and gameplay are creative and a five-player game is perhaps the most engaging. I am looking forward to getting #Tapestry: Plans and Ploys and seeing how much that adds to the game.
12. #PARKS - I wasn't 100% sure this would make the top 20 but with the #PARKS: Nightfall Expansion it moves up past other games and is a relaxing and enjoyable game that feels like a walk in the park. The art is beautiful and the player interactions are easy going.
11. #Anachrony - Wow...I thought this would be higher but the setup probably shifts it down slightly. Still, it has a fantastic time travel aspect, great engine building, and asynchronous player boards, make this an awesome game to play. The solo mode is fun as well. Takes up quite a bit of space.
9. #Rococo: Deluxe Edition - I wasn't sure where this would land but it edged out Paladins as I liked the 5 player count and the art and gameplay I felt were the slightest bit better. It too has a great automa.
8. #Maracaibo - I would not have thought this would have made my top 10 last year but I find myself wanting to play this more and I think a 4 player count with the campaign mode makes this a tantalizing game to play. The colonialism theme could be a little edgy for some folks but doesn't standout as a focus and the theme is more set in an era than encouraging poor behaviors through gameplay. Â
7. #Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island - this is another game I didn't think would make the top 10 but it is a great game with a very hard solo experience. With four players this game is engaging and incredible to play and I think was years ahead of it's time when it came out with combined components, theme, and mechanics.
6. #Heaven & Ale I had to juggle to decide if this would beat out Robinson Crusoe and decided Heaven and Ale gets the edge. Excellent euro-game that hits the mark on time, strategy, and intriguing player interaction around the rondel.
5. #Wingspan - is just great at 5 players and remains an amazing game with beautiful art, interactive gameplay, and still gets more plays than any other game in our home. The solo mode is quite good as well.
4. #Clans of Caledonia - is a great economic resource management game with a nice tight game time and mechanics. I could probably play this one over and over again using the different clans.
3. #Gloomhaven - such a great game and dollar for dollar you'll be hard-pressed to find a game that gives you more bang for your buck. Solo or with others this is an amazing game.
2. #Viticulture: Essential Edition - this is a game that shines under the ideal conditions. Worker-placement with some engine-building, this game is so much fun and the race to 25 points is engaging.
1. #Scythe - gets the top spot. It checks all the boxes that a game can check for me and with 6-7 players is off the charts fun. When I first bought this game I thought it would be moderately fun. After multiple game nights now this game is the bar to beat. Â
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Games that might challenge for spots next year: #The Gallerist depending on set up and how brain-smashing the interlocking mechanics feel. The solo might factor in as well. #Brass: Birmingham could sneak in there after a few game nights. #Raiders of Scythia feels like a game that could push for a 10-20 range spot. #Obsession feels like it has the best possibility to get into the top 10. I can see it making a move this year for sure.
We were camping in our RV in at Crystal Springs in AR with my brother and his family. There we played:
#In the Year of the Dragon which I think I may have played once before as it seemed familiar. This is an action and resource management game with events occuring at the end of each round you can plan for. Good and bad consequences impact your player area depending on your ability to plan accordingly. Lots of player interaction required to game plan well with turn order being a significant factor.
#The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine was brought by my brother who haden't had the chance to play it and neither had I. We played through the first 5-6 missions learning the game as we went. I wasn't sure how I would like this game but after playing through a few scenarios I am excited to play this one again and love the complexity involved for a fairly simply designed game. Â
#Viticulture: Essential Edition was our final game. Becky bailed on us so we played three players which I don;t think I have played before at that player count. I lost by two but love this game and look forward to playing again (I hve it set up for solo at my house now). Â
I like your game choices here. I would add #Marvel Champions: The Card Game to the list. I think the hand/resource management is a great aspect to this game.Â
#Innovation - My wife and I are on 2 plays of this game and really love it. Seems to be a lot of replayability with this one.
#Point Salad - Quick little time filler game to play. I always seem to under draft point cards and end up with a low score. Trying to put all your eggs in one basket doesn't work in this game.
#Florenza: The Card Game - Found this gem at the thrift store for a couple of bucks. There's a lot of cards to manage in your hand but plenty of potential in this game. Resource management is one of my favorite mechanics.
Teachers? Classroom management? haha That one might be tough to impliment, but it could be a good educational tool if done well.
Antoher job could be social media manager. In this game, you would have to manage comments, reviews (good and bad), and use your resources to build an audience, appease irate customers, bring in sales, create content, etc. It could be a resource management game where time is a resource (i.e. be as effective as possible without working too much overtime, it takes x amount of hours to create a certain type of content). Could also be worker placement where you must assign a worker on a spot in order to fulfill that job requirement. For example, one spot could be to monitor comments on a live stream, write an article, or talk back and forth with the irate customer over DM about how you can't justify refunding the food they left on their counter for six months and now it's rotten and bad. You know, that kind of thing.
I think there could be a lot of fun games created based on "normal" jobs.
I generally agree that most mechanics are quite easy to fit into a more broadly appealing game in isolation. It is generally when you have multiple integrated mechanics that the learning difficulty skyrockets, when you have to balance resource management, with bidding on cards, with an area control aspect that suddenly there is so much that has to be learnt and understood from playing simpler games that it creates a high barrier for entry.
That said, I can imagine something like the delayed worker placement in #Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar taking a long time before being successfully put into a mass market game. I think the fact that there is very little immediate gratification and it requires a tonne of long term planning that can be absolutely brutal if you mess it up might make it a hard sell. But who knows, I guess it isn't a huge jump from action planning/queue mechanics which I am sure feature in mass market games.
I would argue that #Everdell is a tableau builder that isn't a real engine builder. I would argue this because actions don't necesarily become more efficient. As your tableau grows it gives you more in two seasons but not in a more efficient way. I think an engine builder will make a given standard action in the game more efficient or productive across future instances of that action being taken in the game.
That being said, @sdirrane has a great point. #Teotihuacan: City of Gods doesn't feel like a true engine builder either, alchemy board aside, because you workers simply grow and the gameplay itself has a sort of optional engine in it but it's use and necessity in the game is marginal compared to a true "engine building" game.
Back to #Scythe. This feels like a game that I'd argue has a high degree of engine building because the efficiency with which you upgrade your board (or tableau...although I'd argue this is a play board and different from a tableau) means quite a lot over the coarse of gameplay.
#Wingspan is both a true tableau builder AND engine builder because you can build your tableau without really building your engine too much (yes, your actions get better with more birds but the engine are the bird powers and now the better actions....I think the Teotihuacan arguement applies here as well). Â
#Paladins of the West Kingdom is somewhat unique in having what is essentially two separate engines that can work together. The villagers recruited are one engine and make the actions you take produce more. The development action upgrades your playerboard and makes the actions you take more efficient (using less workers). The key to this game is getting both engines to sync together for maximum effect. This is a worker placement game in generally with a dual engine building mechanic.
All that being said I would argue that engine building is often if not always a mechanism built off smaller mechanisms (a secondary mechanism if you will) like anger is a secondary emotion or green is a secondary color. The Paladins engines are built off of worker placement, action selection, and tableau building actions. The Wingspan engine is built off card choice and tableau building and resource management, Scythe off action selection and reasource managment and resource production.
Honestly, tableau building seems like a secondary mechanic in itself nine times out of ten build off of other "prime" mechanics. Â
I think an intersting question might be, 'What do you see as 'prime mechanics' and what do you see as 'secondary mechanics' in boardgames?
Who else feels a certain sense of humorous irony at breaking down our beloved hobby into a philisophical discussion and what have I become now that I have done this thing?
Oh my goodness... depending on the price it's gonna be hard for me to not support this project (admittedly this is an initial reaction) but so many things look like they would hit the mark for me. 4x, Negative Player Interaction, Hand Management, Area Control, Resource Management, Sandbox. Plus, I love alternate history and Steampunk.
The player count is not problematic for me as I almost never play at 2P.
Is the artwork the same artist that has done the North Sea and West Kingdom games?
I would not consider #Wingspan, #PARKS, or #Root as worker placement games. Wingspan is Tableau building with resource management, PARKS is sort of worker placement but it's like #Sierra West where it's more worker management combined with resource management. Root is are control mostly. Â
That's all for my naysaying...lol.  #Viticulture: Essential Edition I agree with and I think that deserves a spot at or near the top. I haven't played #A Feast For Odin and can't speak to that one.  #Robinson Crusoe is pretty much worker placement and exceptionally challenging at that. I think it earns a top 5 for me due to it's difficulty (but also great gameplay).  #Paladins of the West Kingdom competes for my top worker placement spot and it probably depends on my mood as to whether I'd place they one first or Viticulture. Â
#Architects of the West Kingdom is a great game and I think a lot of folks would consider it high on their lists if they;ve play'd it. It's more interactive than #Paladins of the West Kingdom. The next one gets left off become it may be considered tableau building rather than worker placement but #Everdell has a significant worker placement component to it's gameplay. #Lewis & Clark is similar in that it's more of a deck builder but worker placement is quite significant. Â
The aches and pains are setting in as I recover from my 2nd COVID shot. But that gives me time to type a little and dive into this "perfect game" idea.
@4tsawicki has touched on two things that I think are significant. One being the upgrading of two things for one action, or, I think in broader terms, this would be getting a lot for a little, or each action feeling it has some weight to it. The second thing is the game not having any major weak points. This could fall into that subjective category but I think, to some degree, an avid gamer can appreciate even a game they don't really enjoy playing based on it being well designed. I think of this in terms of judging a beer style I don't prefer but still being able to look at it objectively without taking points away just because of my style preferences.
So let's dive a bit deeper into this rabbit hole, shall we...
I touched on #Gloomhaven and #Scythe has been touched on starting things off with a few "perfect game" features...
1. Game progression that allows each game to feel a little different or have a twist of some sort and matches experience (Gloomhaven)
2. The feeling of accomplishment from turn to turn and no weak areas (Scythe). Or a higher payout in points or resources than investment (Wingspan).
3. Natural gameplay interactions between players that match well with the theme and don't feel forced. Even in competition, players must interact successfully with opponents.
4. A pleasant tension (or difficulty) that creates enough challenge to breed stories and memories over the course of multiple games.
5. Art that is captivating, blends smoothly into theme and gameplay and draws the players in further.
#Wingspan has shot up the charts since it came out and has maintained a high ranking despite a theme that might have caught a few folks off guard when it came out. I think the theme is actually quite approachable and may contribute to its success to some degree. However, the gameplay seems to be what keeps people coming back to the table. I think the engine building aspect of this game is its magic with there being several different types of engines that one can build.  I'm not sure it's the engine-building in and of itself that hits the right notes but maybe the same bit from #Scythe in which players can see how their actions pay off and may get a good payout from one action. I simply added to 2 on this one.
I think with #Brass: Birmingham it comes down to the tight interweaving of interactions that influence point games and resource management. This likely falls into the lack of a real weak area as in Scythe but also feels like something more social. I'd add a social factor to the "perfect game" that allows space for self-deterministic gameplay (as in Brass, I can interact with others or try to create my own space on the board to some degree)
#Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 is rated very highly and while I have not played it I know there is a glorious tension with this game that draws players back to the table over and over again. I think I would enjoy playing this but have a feeling that Gloomhaven gives me the same experience with a pit more autonomy of character. One aspect of Pandemic and other games like #Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island and #Spirit Island is the challenge and difficulty. These are all co-op games as well and I am not sure that the "perfect game" would be co-op, but I do think it will be quite challenging and force players to make difficult decisions over the course of gameplay (Do I move and hit the monster with a huge swing or sit here and heal my ally who is down to two health?)
#Terraforming Mars brings my thinking back to Scythe or Brass and the idea that some form of player collaboration is important in the perfect game. You should have to pay attention to what other players are doing to one degree or another. #Castles of Mad King Ludwig uses this well with the auction mechanic to make income and determine room prices each round. Â
#Everdell#Scythe#Brass: Birmingham all have great art. The "perfect game" would have the absolute best art. It should be aesthetically pleasing in every way possible. I would argue that the "perfect" game would use art in a meaningful way in the game. Something like #Canvas but even better. #The Gallerist has a unique feature the allows the tiles players' place of the art they purchased to blend in with their player board. Something along these lines should be incorporated. Â
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I could likely go on for a while down the game list. I will stop here with these five takeaways and a few questions:
1. Game progression that allows each game to feel a little different or have a twist of some sort and matches experience (Gloomhaven)
2. The feeling of accomplishment from turn to turn and no weak areas (Scythe). Or a higher payout in points or resources than investment (Wingspan).
3. Natural gameplay interactions between players that match well with the theme and don't feel forced. Even in competition, players must interact successfully with opponents.
4. A pleasant tension (or difficulty) that creates enough challenge to breed stories and memories over the course of multiple games.
5. Art that is captivating, blends smoothly into theme and gameplay and draws the players in further.
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What game aspect do you think I have missed that would be in the "perfect" game?
Do you think the perfect game already exists, and if so, what is it?
What game falls outside your normal game choices but you have found it is very good despite being outside your preferences?
WadeB1977 Premium User13 months ago |
Worker Placement: Dictorial satisfaction at seeing my commands completed in a timely manner
Deck Building: Hoarding satisfaction as I collect various types of cards that tend to gather in useless piles in my deck
Resource Management: A sense of capitalism as I exhaust and deplete options for other opponents
Asymmetry:Â Pity on the fools taking actions that mean nothing to me!
Point Salad: No one wants salad! Get out of here salad!!