What with the economy, work, stress and illness… I had a really bad year. Sorry.

My worst game experience of the annus horribilis was, by quite a margin, Innovation. Let me qualify that. This was easily my most anticipated game for at least five years, possibly more, based on early reports, buzz and designer pedigree. The rules confirmed my estimation. Even now I admire the ideas, the flow, the combos, the clever card mechanisms. I want to love it, and I still like it a little tiny bit. I may even buy it. But overall here is a game experience on a par with Fluxx. Actually, worse than Fluxx. There is so little control; it is very easy to get hosed and effectively eliminated, often by nothing more than bad cards, timing or situation. And I write as someone who champions both chaos and innovation (ironically). If the process were a huge amount of fun, I could accept the premise. In reality, it is pointless and dull; an arrogant exercise in design theory, failing to produce enjoyment. Carl Chudyk will design more games, and I suspect all will be better games. I hope, in time, he (or someone else) returns to Innovation and re-uses the good bits. Meanwhile, if you must play it, make it two player and don’t get your hopes up.

Conversely, one of my best game experiences was Key Market, but since I was involved with that one, and you can’t currently buy it cheaply, I’ll shut up. Either way, this is probably the best Key game for me. Not by much over Harvest and Dragons, and not Reef Encounter in stature, but still very, very good. Congratulations to David, and Richard, who both put in a hell of a lot of work.

Because I am getting old and therefore predictable, I am going to give an mention to Sierra Madre’s High Frontier. I think it is common knowledge now that I am a huge Phil Eklund fan. I realise there are many dissenters, and that some of you believe I should be banned from mentioning him or his so called ‘games’ again. Each to their own, but I am the one hovering over the keyboard and the editor isn’t paying attention.

Okay. Brass tacks. On the downside, High Frontier is only half a game, displaying many of the Eklundian traits I know and usually love. Like most of the others, it is nothing if not an experience. A big criticism is the slightly contradictory rulebook/walkthrough and the steep learning curve which are typical Eklund – read seven times, mentally edit, start play, lurch forward, realise you are wrong, re-read, repeat. Those of us without rocket science PhD’s get there eventually. Engineers (and I know a few, a few too many) just giggle at me and get on with it.

For Eklund veterans, the core system is the same old, same old. Auction the cards, do things based on the cards, keep the pace up. But money is so tight there is an all too familiar slog at the start, even with the optional kickstart variant. Crucially, you can’t do high tempo because you are consulting the rules all the time and trying to grasp the game. But it was ever thus. This painful early game is compounded as once you have all launched your rockets (this took us over an hour of play), there is every chance that your flight will be something of an anti-climax. There is a strong possibility of choosing the wrong route or planet, dying, running out of fuel (dying), exploding (dying) or being decommissioned (yep, dying). And that is just the basic game.

The main appeal, and oddly also the problem, is what you actually do once in space. In management speak, it is lacking structured goal attainment paradigms. We just flew around happily until one of the above death conditions applied, organised a couple of rescue missions, and in one delirious case, managed to return safely to Earth orbit having achieved a fly-by of Mars. On the plus side, it is good, solid Eklund experience game design with a great theme and a genuine ability to get one interested in the subject matter. It offers very few ludic qualities, but the price of admission is that you make your own fun. Doubtless we will willingly fly onto the expansion board in due time. Go on, you know you want it!

You may remember my earlier comments on Japanese games. There are lots of them, they look lovely, they are quirky, the rules are comical, they cost a lot of money, and they hardly ever function. In fact, one might argue that there are less than ten that work at all. Here is one more. This is a straightforward card laying game that I suspect most people bought because it has pretty Alice in Wonderland artwork (by Tenniel?). In play it is in the Six Nimmt family – you can hold off taking pain for a long time, but eventually you will probably be forced to accept some. In Parade there is a very nice Hearts/Black Maria shoot-the-moon quality in there as well. We all enjoyed it, and most of us added it to our buy list. Oddly, the game feels as if it might be a traditional game, possibly tweaked to include a German style scoring system. It may derive from Europe where short or tarot decks are common. I say this as a compliment. On balance, it is either an existing game that I now know about, or the designer has come up with a clever and original system right off the bat. Either way, a playable Japanese design which is, as I said, something to be welcomed. Recommended.

But no sooner has the Parade passed by, the old warhorse returns to centre stage. 13 Nimmt is a belated, but very welcome, development of 6 Nimmt, a game which has probably sold several million copies by now. Actually, it is quite a large development in that it uses the familiar ox cards, and the same key idea, but is a much much better game. It is also very clever indeed. If you liked 6 Nimmt, you will definitely like 13 Nimmt. Get it.

Note the D. We were sitting at a games day recently and one of the players kept suggesting Carcassonne. I was forced to refer to my excuses book several times. Turns out she was saying CarDcassonne, which we played and I liked. Forget Carcassonne. Apart from the logo and some graphical and mechanism references, there is very little similarity. This is a card game, something of a Coloretto/6-Nimmt hybrid, with a bit of extra push-your-luck. Quick, fun, light, but not without some interesting card play. One would expect nothing less from the master, Karl-Heinz Schmiel.

On the wargame front, it was a very good year. In truth many of the best games I played involved miniatures rules and/or figures, and I certainly expect that to continue into 2011 with Command & Colors: Napoleonics. On the boards, the truly excellent Maria rode high as a three player marvel, helping to fill that difficult slot. Yes, it has the silly card system but that is tolerable for most, and the rest is wonderful. I finally got to grips with Gettysburg, and thoroughly enjoyed it – far more than I did Waterloo. For those of us who stupidly sold We the People, you should save the pennies and buy GMT’s Washington's War pronto. I much prefer it to the original. As ever, the Columbia block system and its successors continue to provide balanced, tense, exciting games: I am going to tip Julius Caesar over Wars of the Roses, but there is really nothing between them; both are hard fought fights and quality design work. A game that slid in under the radar was Dos de Mayo. This was a pleasant surprise, and is quick, interesting, and fairly light. Finally, God's Playground could easily be in this category as well, given the right type of players.

And some of the better ones….

I really enjoyed Brass, so it is logical that I would like the cleaned up, slimmed down, streamlined second edition that is Age of Industry. It is quicker, more logical, and has lost that slightly uncomfortable feel of some of Brass’s rules. On the downside it may have been sanded a little too much, and we have lost a bit of character. Still, doesn’t stop me getting Brass out again does it? I think that is all I have to say, except that despite the box legend, it doesn’t seem to work with two players. I look forward to the expansion maps.

The widespread success of Command & Colors: Ancients, seemingly throughout both the boardgaming and miniatures hobbies, has inevitably seen related games in other periods. We have had WWII, Medieval/Fantasy and ACW, and now, belatedly, we have Napoleonics. I say belatedly because I have had the C&C Nap rules for over a decade and, as a right minded individual, Napoleonics should clearly have been first choice! But the long awaited GMT game has not reached me yet, which has given its rivals a chance to perform unchallenged. To be honest, C&C is going to have to work a bit when it finally appears.

The first rival game on the table, just beating out Worthington Games’ 100 Days, is The Eagle and the Lion by Nexus, out of Italy. I did have a slight involvement in this one, as I helped get the uniform research underway, but that was such a small role it doesn’t even merit a credit. So my conscience is clear! The game is huge and looks a treat. It comes with four large, thick card hex maps which will fill a decent sized table. The maps are double sided and also have overlays, thus adding to the terrain options. There are full colour unit and tactical cards, rules, scenarios, dice and markers and, tadahhh, rather nice hard plastic figures with stands – French and British, just as it should be (!). Some of you may wish to paint these. I couldn’t possibly comment.

I think I can sum up the game very quickly. It does exactly what C&C does – battles at a high, fairly abstract pitch – but it does it all at one level of complexity and detail higher. This is not far from a basic set of Napoleonic miniatures rules. Not only is the game good in its own right, it is different in feel from C&C (mainly manifested in the orders mechanism), and it also allows gamers to decide on a more involved (dare I say realistic?) game system. I think it will fit right in above C&C and I think it will do very well.

I am doing a good selling job here, but there are some drawbacks. The first is that the ‘gravestone box’ (description based on size and weight) and quality components attract a chunky price tag. Definitely try before you buy. There are a few odd rules (immobile lines for one) which are, of course, tweakable. It is not the quickest system out there – reckon on around two hours per scenario. And finally, a certain something is not quite there. It is that experience of playing a new rule set in your favourite period and thinking, mmm, I wouldn’t do it quite like that… So, nothing more than we usually encounter. Recommended.

I am impressed that two designers would set out to design an interesting game on this subject, but as someone still grappling with Negro League baseball and 1980’s Rallying, I should just… empathise. That they managed to make a very good multi-player game out of it is impressive. Think Credo, think Campaign Manager. You are playing cards to sway opinion and votes to crystallize the Constitution. As with most such games, this is an enjoyable exercise but with weak control (I suspect rightly) and some ‘take that’ card play, it is probably best to go along for the ride rather than hope for a skilled victory. In truth, the game is not as polished as either Twilight Struggle or 1960, and there are some rocky moments – don’t get tied down in the repechage committee room! - and even worrying moments in the case of some of the heavy handed cards. But it works, it engages as do most CDG’s, it is highly flavoursome and I found myself wanting to read up on the history – always a good sign.

Friedrich was very good game indeed, and was in some ways exactly what I had been seeking for many years. Okay, so it has its quirks, the playing cards, and the balance was a bit off, but I think most people enjoyed it. For whatever reason, after taking fifteen-odd years on Friedrich, Herr Sivel ‘rushed’ out Maria, made some tweaks, ignored half the historical war, and gave us a little gem. It gets a ‘Siggins 9’, which is a 14 in most people’s purview.

Yes, it is another rondel game and have we not now seen enough of these? Well, no, because while the circular mechanism stays pretty stable, the games hanging off it are getting better. I think this is the best yet, although I still have a soft spot for Hamburgum and the pleasing financial chaos that is Imperial. In Navegador you are all done in 90 minutes, there is plenty of decision making and just about everything is tight – the race for the East, the money, the ships, and if you are not pipped at least twice in the game I would be surprised. On the downside there is a feeling that if you are successful in one area of victory point harvesting, someone else will certainly be beating you hands down in another. And there are huge swings in the luck of the draw of the face down chits. I didn’t mind this, partly because I was on a run and gun strategy. Overall this is a good, solid game design that I will play again.

I know a lot of you are getting very excited (again). Don’t worry, I am not going to knock it. Even I played this one repeatedly on first encounter, and that is a rare occurrence. I like it a lot, but I currently don’t love it. There is not much wrong with the game, but it is what it is – a very clever, and synergistic, combination of existing mechanisms which works well, quickly and is fun to play. In some senses it is too quick, and certainly most of the sense of theme and narrative are lost in the rush. It is also a filler, even though it has decent depth, and after the initial foray of five games I thought it might fade as quickly as it plays. Still, I know I will return to it many times, and teach others, even if I have suspicions about the science score weighting. I also thought the card symbology was very well handled in exactly the same way that Race for the Galaxy wasn’t. I think when the inevitable expansions arrive it could easily go up a level - I just hope they are fairly priced. Good stuff, and a definite buy for large game groups as it scales very well.

And finally, two year’s worth of Sumos for your enjoyment.

Mike Siggins

Yokozuna

God's Playground
Hansa Teutonica

Ozeki

Android
Automobile
Endeavor
Peloponnes
Roll Through The Ages
Uruk

Sekiwake

Shipyard
Tobago

Honourable Mentions

Arena: Roma II, Campaign Manager, Fauna, Planet Steam, Tulipmania, Vasco da Gama.

Special Retrospective Yokozuna

Tales of the Arabian Nights (West End/Z Man)

Wargames

Pax Baltica, Pocket Battles, Richard III, Waterloo.

Yokozuna

7 Wonders
Age of Industry
Key Market

Ozeki

Founding Fathers
London
Macao

Sekiwake

Bombay
Dos de Mayo
High Frontier
Navegador

Wargames

Gettysburg, Julius Caesar, Lost Battles, Maria, Washington's War, Wars of the Roses

I have said too many times that I can become disenchanted with German games. This almost always follows a period where I play a lot of new titles and they are all average or worse. It happens, but not as much as it used to, and a restorative menu of old trusted favourites and good friends normally cures me in a hurry. Then again there are those sessions of gaming where it seems every new game is a winner, and even somehow fresh and exciting. This time I have three such games to describe, all fall into the ‘about an hour, sometimes much less’ slot, and all have deceptive weight. Sort of Super Fillers, but a little bit more.

First up is Peloponnes, a neat, lean little game from a small German company - Irongames. The drawback here will be sourcing a copy quickly and cheaply, but everything else is positive. This is a straightforward auction game, but one that offers new angles and, it must be said, makes the boring old Amun Re mechanism interesting again. Well, at least for a week. You are trying to build your ancient civilisation (yes, I know…) and achieve this by avoiding disasters and buying civilisation tiles. Each tile offers either buildings or land, and brings something different to the party – for instance population, powers, or income. Some tiles will be hotly contested because they will ‘fit’ better for some players than others, while others have fairly obvious use only to you. Tiles acquired, after just eight turns you assess your civilisation for balance, add up the points, and that’s it. Because there is an asymmetrical element early on, and because you can’t always get what you want, there is a constant decision level throughout with some recognisable strategy, neatly countered by a good sense of actually building a Greek city state. I think that is impressive in such a short game. It needs a graphical overhaul, perhaps a bigger publisher, and I would make the disasters uncertain. But apart from that, stick it on your Christmas list.

I was a little slow to get hold of a copy of Roll Through The Ages, but I have made up for it with several plays since. Like Pandemic, I will play three or four games in a short period, and then put it on the shelf. Unlike most games, it comes down again a few weeks later and impresses me, and any new recruit that I foist it upon. By now you know the score, and I have to say it is a very clever game with surprising amounts of narrative – hard to believe that a simple roll of a few dice can depict an empire with starvation or years of plenty or booming trade. In short, it is Yahtzee, but it is Yahtzee with soul.

Next is Endeavor (I will suffer the spelling mistake in the cause of world peace). Strangely enough, there is a similar feel to Peloponnes here. There is a lot to do, but you are fully aware that the game is short, and that your actions are precious. Given that, here is a game where you feel you achieve a massive amount of expansion in no time at all, and from choosing a single building at the start, you are managing a worldwide empire by the end. Yet, only an hour has passed. Very clever. This is probably, but only just, my favourite of the three.

All three of these games, along with Hansa Teutonica and even the lighter Tobago reviewed last time, offer a credible gaming challenge in a short and, importantly, appropriate period of time. In fact, in some respects, they can run out a little too quickly. We already have a widely played variant for Roll Through, and it would not surprise me to see spin off expansions for Peloponnes as well. As ever, if you start with a quick, solid, streamlined chassis you can always add some more accessories without affecting performance too much.

As you have probably gathered I like this style of game. I don’t want to play them all the time, preferring a balanced diet of card, short, medium, and longer/flavoursome games, but I like their utility, their clever design, I can see that their creators have made sure that they are ‘finished’ before publication, and I am more than happy to spend an hour or so with them. Like no other type of game, they make me think and analyse. I put this down to their transparency and economy of mechanism. Predictably, I would like to see more of the same and, I hope, the designers feel the same way. Hobby affirming games – I like ‘em!

A slight oddity this, a party style game designed by our old mate FF. In truth, Friedemann and I have drifted apart in recent years. The decline started with Fresh Fish, and was compounded by that awful rolling board monster game Fearsome Floors. In short, I haven’t liked any FF games for what seems like a decade. Felix was okay, and I hope to enjoy Factory Manager, but generally, in Friends terms, we are ‘on a break’.

And then along came Fauna. I really like Fauna. It puts a new spin on the trivia game staple, and it sits proudly as one of my most fun experiences of the last year. I will play it when I can and when there is an English version, will buy a copy. It is this simple: a card is drawn which lists an animal. It is our job to identify its habitat(s), guess how much it weighs and how long it, and its tail, is. In turn, and turn order is crucial, you place your bet markers on the board – either on the world map, or on the weight/length tracks. If you are bang on you get points, if you are close you get points too, but not as many, and if you are way off you lose a marker for a round. Play a few rounds, have a laugh, have your head swell as you recall some dim and distant facts, feel that all is right with the world. A simple idea very well executed, and great fun for kids (like me).

The latest game from Cwali, who are a bit hit and miss, but for me have delivered for the last few years with Factory Fun and Powerboats. This is an auction game – not my favourite beast these days – but this works well enough to overcome Auction Ague and has some clever ideas to boot. You build your basketball team from five categories of player, with an eye to height, form over several future seasons and income potential. In time your squad and income should improve, but may also decline, while you try to win as many titles as you can over six years. The season is resolved by having the highest team value – no games are played, so it is rapid fire stuff and it is all over within an hour. A degree of variety is added by choosing coaches, referees and agents to help the cause. Fun, light and for those that are worried it is NOT a replay game! Another success, but I would say mainly suitable for the late night finisher slot. On a par with Slapshot/Phantoms of the Ice, World Cup, the much underrated Hockeyswap! and similar fun games – and if you like those, you will certainly like this.

This co-operative game immediately looks like a slimmed down version of Arkham Horror but is in fact based on a successful series of German novels. The novels seem to use the Arkham mythos, and we get the same Old Ones and most of the monsters, so people seem happy enough to regard it as the real thing. At least it saves me having to bang on about IP for a paragraph. Either way, I think all this game will do is offer a quicker, leaner version of Arkham Horror for those that are willing to give up on the plot cards, immersive play and characters. Hexer is essentially the exact same plot (discover rifts, seal them up, don’t get eaten by an Old One in the process) boiled down to the essentials. You can play it in an hour, and frankly I can see many more opportunities to play this one than the Elder Game. Obviously there will be times when I prefer the longer, richer form. A classy piece of downsizing, beautifully presented.

Block games and I go way back. I like almost all of them, and in some respects they can provide the optimum gaming experience. This year I have greatly enjoyed the very limited run Pax Baltica (currently awaiting a reprint by GMT) and, more recently, Richard III. This latter game started life as War of the Roses (now reduced to a mere strapline) and has often been tagged as Kingmaker for the new century. I think that probably presses all the buttons for me.

The first comment, in case you were flinching at the mention of Kingmaker (games of that old warhorse could, and did, last many hours and/or hit painful stalemates), is that the playing time has been hauled down close to two hours. This in itself is a decent piece of design work. Perhaps as a trade off, it is now two player only which seems fitting as we are still dealing with the Wars of the Roses – Yorkists vs Lancastrians, get your pretender established on the throne to win – but as befits a block game we have strayed over towards a wargame rather than a 1970’s gamer’s game. Think Hammer of the Scots, or Martin Wallace, in weight.

In short, there are twenty one turns split into three campaigns of seven phases driven by a simple, rather bland, CDG system. Between each campaign is a political phase where the King may be usurped. In this way, players take turn to be the King and the Pretender. In each phase you can move your forces (including your valuable heirs), or recruit more nobles and armies. The most nobles on the board when the political phase is reached either holds on to the crown, or takes it over. You can quickly see that killing enemy heirs and nobles, preferably by risking only bog standard troops, is a key element. This is fortunate because when two armies end up in the same area of England or Wales, there can be, and usually is a battle. This follows the usual pattern of block games and is fine, if a little drawn out sometimes.

Overall, Richard III feels slightly more game than wargame. You have a limited number of actions, and – Euro style – you always have more things to do than you have action points. This is solid decision making territory. Combine that with the restrictive geography of the map, no sieges, nicely handled treachery, and a decent fog of war element, and you have some interesting situations to encounter. Wider, there is definitely some depth of strategy to explore. I certainly felt I wanted to play again to correct my first game errors (protect your heirs!), and I could see that once into games two or three, four and five should soon follow. At that point we have had the value from the game, and it is all free fun thereafter. Is it fun? Yes, in that Wallacian way where one is negotiating a number of different obstacles and considerations under limited time and action point restraints.

Against this, I am not yet convinced play is balanced, and there is a definite sense that big killer stacks are the way to go, and that there isn’t an awful lot of strong history here. Frankly, for this type of game, and game it is, I don’t think the latter matters too much, but the two former comments do. We do have a feel for campaigning and noble power bases, a sense that there might be two or three decisive battles and several smaller actions in the duration, and a decent stab at the heraldry, names and atmosphere of the period. Some of this fits well, some of it doesn’t – we still have plague cards as a hangover from Kingmaker. But it’s a good game, commendably quick, fairly challenging, and I suspect many will like it as a complement to, or perhaps even replacement for, Hammer of the Scots. Good stuff.

Mike Siggins

It has been a while. Too many reasons to explain, but apologies. What you have below are my thoughts on games recently played at the Eastbourne convention here in the UK. Next time, and I promise it before Christmas, there will be another batch of new games written up, plus (probably) The 2009 Sumos.

I don’t think I have ever seen such a good game come out of such a small box… Pocket Battles is right up my street. A quick, easily learned game that is both reasonably historical and fun. To be honest I wasn’t at all hopeful after reading the rules and play sheets, which have some small holes and fuzziness, but in play it all came together well.

This is how quick it is: choose your army up to a set number of points, take 10% of that number in command chips which are depleted when hits are taken. Set up the armies. Attack. Win by killing 50% of the enemy points. That’s it. As a result, a common complaint is that the game is over too quickly (oh, what a disaster!). We had games that were over after a handful of turns – this is a decisive system. So play best of three, or just choose bigger armies. Problem solved.

Pocket Battles is one of those games that punches above its weight. The best guidance I can offer is a game somewhere between Battleline and Command & Colors: Ancients. This first set is Romans vs Celts. But I suspect we will see more armies, more periods and, inevitably, fantasy battles before too long. Assuming, that is, everyone likes it as much as I did. Some units have traits, such as fury for berserkers and command for Roman generals. These give a good feel for the different troop types even if some (Druids) do stretch the historical envelope.

Overall we are talking deadly, fast and fun here, with army choice, set up and play in about thirty minutes or less. Think below C&C:A’s complexity level, but much quicker. The game can indeed turn on a bad or good die roll, but that rather adds to the narrative appeal with a sense of making your own luck. The historicity will be the test for some hardcore wargamers, but we had some believable stuff going on at the combat level if not the command, and it would be very easy to tweak the setup and add on further rules. On my buy list, and a nice surprise.

While he has produced some oddities, Andreas Steding always comes up with an interesting game. Hansa Teutonica, as befits its name, is a dyed in the wool German Game, riffing on the network building/trader theme. While we have seen many of these network games - some good, some bad – I think I can now say, after four games, that this one is among the best. It solves a lot of the common issues and, with the right people, really rattles along. There are several ways to score VPs, the game end triggers add a pacing dimension, and it has that lovely, ‘Can’t wait for my turn’, quality. My first game was excellent, the second marred by being kicked a lot by rival players, the third and fourth games returned to form. I was impressed and so were all the others that played.

This is a game you will learn by instalments. The early play is quite leisurely and friendly. Even fun. Later in the game you will experience the pain of interaction, and needing to pronounce escritoire all the time. Then you start to work out new tactics and strategies, for this game has many. By the second or third game you will have realised how tactical, cutthroat and just plain nasty Hansa can be. Some players take this sort of thing well, others get very stubborn, and some are genuinely hurt. Because the game will drag with slow gamers, you need to choose your opponents well: thick skins and fast brains should do it.

Hansa Teutonica is hampered by some woolly rules; the drafting is poor throughout and, worryingly, some German words remain untranslated…). The play aids aren’t much better (fancy Latin terms in games never really work), but we were there by game three. The board is nicely rendered, but the white Germanic text on pale grey is a disgrace – town names can’t be read, so much historical and geographical flavour is lost. But overall this one has struck a chord and I am putting it right up there in my favourites of the year so far. I wouldn’t want to be playing for more than 90 minutes with five, and I have a nagging doubt about something indefinable lurking, so I am really hoping this has been tested to destruction. That slight caveat aside, highly recommended.

I like this company and, by extension, these designers. Last year I played their earlier effort - Die Wiege der Renaissance - and while it wasn’t quite there, I saw enough clever ideas and differentiation to make me sit up and take notice. When I finally got a chance to play Uruk recently I was hopeful, even a bit excited. Fortunately I was not disappointed and managed three games in the same weekend. That doesn’t happen very often. Plus, I now have Seidenstrasse to hunt down…

Uruk is another game from the Civilization-lite school. It is a small box game, is reasonably priced, and gets the best out of its limited components. Clever use of cards and cubes, and an hour or less duration, makes this a game that can be played on a train, and we did exactly that.

The game is simplicity itself. You have five slots in which to place inventions, or Civilization cards if you prefer. Think bean fields, but there is no planting in this game. You start in Epoch I with a basic skill and, fairly quickly, you build more low level cards. Soon you will be able to purchase a settlement which validates your slot for more VP’s, and later these upgrade to cities which double the slot value. Time passes, Epoch II and III come along, and you start to overlay your original slots. You will now be looking at more powerful cards, useful combinations and even game winning coups. In the later stages gods appear, as do disasters, and the game accelerates to the endgame. While cards buy cards, which can generate resource cubes, and cubes buy settlements, Uruk somehow manages to avoid that conversion game ennui that many of us are now suffering.

After the third game I started to pick up some concerns from other players. Firstly, there was a suspicion that the game could often be close overall, and a marginal win may come down to a lucky run of card draws, or timing and focus of a god or disaster. For me, given the speed of play and the weight, this is okay. If anything it is a plus. I can’t see myself levelling the same complaint at Roll Through The Ages, for instance, which has similar victory points/turn considerations. Also, Uruk can finish quite quickly. Epoch III in particular can disappear in a blur. Perhaps, as with all these lite games, we are left wanting a little more.

Secondly, interaction is undoubtedly low, and in some cases minimal – the whole thing is a race, you keep an eye on the other players’ actions, count cards if you wish, and sometimes you get a chance to make a build that affects them, or pushes on the game tempo to your advantage. But in the main you are building your own empire, as quickly and efficiently as you can. There are no armies, and so no combat. There is not even trading (there may be, as we haven’t seen all the cards). Again, the game length mitigates this criticism but it may bother others more than it does me.

As you can tell, I was impressed with Uruk. As soon as you start playing it is clear that the designers have grasped the problem and made a decent fist of cracking it. It felt quite fresh and, like all these new fangled fast and solid games, it gives me confidence in seeing some really classy games in a year or two. Another firm buy…

I like Stefan Feld’s games; even if he does sometimes run against my preferences, the designs are always good quality. That said, I don’t have much to say this time as apart from new cards and some minor play tweaks, this is much the same game as Roma, still one of my favourite two player games. In fairness to Queen’s marketing team, Arena is both a stand-alone game and an expansion to Roma, which rather covers all the bases. It isn’t very expensive either. In an ideal world I had hoped it would take Roma to the multi-player level, but that treat hopefully lies in the future. Meanwhile, this delivers exactly what you might expect and all fans of Roma should buy Arena immediately.

Another short review, because there is no need for a longer one. Everyone who played raved about this follow-up to the excellent Frederick. This time, the three players have well balanced armies and options, and there are some minor improvements to the system. The map is gorgeous. So, it would seem difficult to go wrong here. Another buy for me, even though I didn’t get to play it. I don’t expect it to be cheap when I get the chance.

The latest from Queen and Dirk Henn, a designer who once sold you games from his backpack, but who now has probably made it to the elite group of designers. Seemingly Queen will publish anything he delivers, so that can’t be a bad gig. I say that advisedly as Colonia doesn’t quite work. There is much that does, but it is the final reckoning that is flawed, which leaves a strong sense of anti-climax.

In essence, this is a game governed by the days of the week, which is a pleasing idea. We all progress through the week, phase by phase, placing workers, visiting the market, producing goods, passing bye-laws, loading goods onto ships, sailing for foreign lands, earning foreign currency and finally, on Sunday, buying relics (VPs) at the church. It is mainly resource conversion with knobs on, and nothing we haven’t seen before, but it is fair to say that each day has something original going for it – the waiting list for the tradesmens’ goods is especially clever. Shorn of theme, this is buy resource a, convert to b, to c, to d and then e. Added back in, the theme just about raises it above the abstract algebra.

But when we get to the end of the cycle, there is a big problem. You have carefully worked your way through the week, planning and squeezing out your optimum play. Come Friday it is starting to get a bit chaotic, Saturday compounds to that feeling, and by Sunday you are desperate. In short, you lose control of how many d’s and e’s you can reliably identify and obtain, so you take what is on offer and make the best of it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but to go through all that, and to commit two valuable gaming hours, you rather expect more correlation between effort and reward. Don’t get me wrong, this is a decent game but even I, a notoriously uncompetitive gamer, wanted a more refined end game because I felt short changed. So good in parts, and plenty of ingenious ideas, but on balance not properly finished. The result was, quite surprisingly, a game that none of us felt we needed to play again in a hurry.

This is a much bigger game from the designer of Pocket Battles, showing his range and talent. Vasco da Gama is the archetypal Euro design, offering a set of tweaked, clever mechanisms, role selection and a brand new action selection/auction technique, all wrapped up in a thinnish theme. Phew. This time we are buying, crewing and launching ships to sail to India and set up trade ports. I thought the sub-games, the coastal contest and the action selection worked very well, but the latter wasn’t perhaps shown in its best light. The mechanism allows for fine and discrete player order resolution, but I felt we didn’t always need that level of granularity. Still, it does work. Like Colonia there is a sense of just going through the motions and I wasn’t engaged overall in a theme I should theoretically enjoy. Between me and you, I thought it would work much better as a space race game: public opinion, recruiting astronauts, obtaining funding, suffering political setbacks, and launching missions. Yes, on balance, that would have been better. Overall, good but not great, but offering plenty of quality hints for Mr Mori’s next design.

And to finish, a really excellent game that reminds me of why we play German games. Tobago is a lightish, family style Euro, so you wargamer types can put your wallet away, but this is a brilliant design, with lovely graphics and a fun, original system all in one (admittedly rather expensive) box. It has family Game of the Year written all over it, if only I could be bothered with such things.

On the island of Tobago are several buried treasures that are slowly tracked down by the play of clue cards. We all drive around in ATV’s hoping to be first to the site, but anyone who helped to locate the treasure gets a share when it is finally dug up. The share out mechanism is a rather nifty card draft with a couple of kickers, and it makes for a short, intense decision making sequence. There are three neat systems on offer here (movement, treasure locating, and treasure sharing) and the whole thing plays in an hour. Universally liked, even by the jaded bunch of gamers I played with. Highly recommended.

Mike Siggins

Postscript: I couldn’t make Essen this year. A long time friend and gamer passed away suddenly and I felt my loyalties were to her family – my best friend Paul, and my godsons – rather than a trip to Germany.

Jayne Townsend, 1959-2009.

I therefore, as last year, hand over to Chris Payne who did an excellent job of spotting the new releases.

There is an old English saying ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’, which has become a modern American saying of, ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’, and I would use this to describe the response to games this year at Essen. Not only was the party of four that I travel with often split on views on games but that seemed to be echoed with other people that I spoke to as well. This year was one of the hardest years to decide which games are the potential long-term classics and which will fall by the wayside.

For me personally, space to store games (I have 475 already) has become an issue and the poor Pound:Euro exchange rate meant that €30-€40 for a game equalled the same amount in pounds. So savings from Essen purchases compared with buying from my FLGS at home were close to non-existent at times. So, I’m looking for the best in games that expand my frontiers of gameplay, or which cover topics or areas that interest me.

Of course Spiel is still enjoyable, but it is long days and late evenings, with the mental exertion not only of playing lots of games but hearing the explanations, descriptions and tales of many more, with a diet of meat, beer and cream with the occasional fruit or vegetable thrown in. And this year for some reason seemed to be one of the more gruelling Essen’s that I have been to, in a year when my remit was very open.

As always with 500+ new games and 27 hours at the show, what follows must be a personal view. This year’s top runners were always going to be dominated by the fanboys with the release of Gates of Loyang and Fabrik Manager and these dominated the Fairplay lists. Both of these games will be more than adequately covered elsewhere. So, what of the rest? Before I went I had an “A” list and a “B” list of games that I wanted to play, or at least get a run-through of play and a look at. I managed to cover in one way or another virtually all of my A list, and little of the B list. I was originally giving games a marking in my comments but have now deleted them after my comments on Savannah Tails as its marking really does depend on if I want a game to play in a family setting or if I want a game with hardcore gamers.

Two other trends featured heavily in the halls: Dominion and its expansions were being heavily promoted and Train games, train maps and train game expansions also seemed present in numbers and again will be heavily covered elsewhere.

First game that I got to play was Endeavor (Magister Navis in German) and by agreement with Z Man we were able to play a full game from start to finish, whereas future gamers were likely to be time curtailed as had happened to us last year with El Capitan. It’s good that we were able to play through fully; otherwise I could have had very different views on this as the ability to place tokens and do things expanded rapidly on turn 4/5 after a slow start.

The game is about scoring victory points for building settlements and trade routes, and this is done by activating buildings that offer tokens (essentially workers) for placement, money to pay workers, raw materials for expansion or the ability to generate new workers. Advancement along these tracks will also earn victory points at the game end. As an economic resource management game it is very easy to end up in a state of mismanagement: too many workers to place or not enough resources to pay them, or more money than is needed to pay the workers you have. Using buildings to “do” things seemed reminiscent of Puerto Rico or Agricola, and advancing along dual ability/victory point tracks reminds me of another game that I cannot currently place. That said Endeavor stands in its own right as a game and not just a blend of older games recycled: there is something new in mix although it is quite hard to place exactly what that is. As always, some possible strategies emerged during the first game, and there was lots of ‘next game I would do this’ comments. Random placement of the bonus markers will ensure every game is different (we were told after placement that we would have an especially slow game to develop after no extra turn markers appeared in Europe) which is something I generally like from my games. The Slavery issue has been debated in the hobby: my personal stance on it is that is historically accurate to reflect it, and the game mechanisms do remind people of the exploitation.

Likes: random marker placement ensuring game variety, variety of building options (although I would have liked a few more) causing different tactics from different players.
Dislikes: stylised swirly board pattern that meant at times some trade routes weren’t as clear as they might be.
Buying: Personally wavering, one yes, two no.

Each Essen brings some changes in games companies and their apparent standing as judged by the hall they are in, and the size of stand and glitz that has gone into the stand. International enclaves and alliances also seemed to be the order of the day this year with the French and Italian speaking stands clustered near to each other. From the voices I heard in the hall though I would guess that the number of foreign visitors (including Americans) was down, I suspect because of the financial costs of attending. Boardgamegeek.com though were there in force, both with the game, promoting the website itself and encouraging visitors to log what games they had played during the fair. I got to shake Derk’s hand as well.

My next game was from one of those companies moving apparently up in the league tables: Eggert Spiele with now not only their stand in hall 9 but also their tented stand in hall 12. Superficially Havana looks like Cuba – the cards, the cubes and the action cards all look very familiar. The game is not language independent the card test is important and the game is of the length and style where you need to be able to read the cards reasonably quickly to get the most out of it. The game is pitched at a different level to Cuba (shorter although not necessarily easier) and with more direct interaction between the players as resources change owners. There is luck in the game from what resource cubes get drawn from the bag and the effect of other players on the turn order. There is skill in the game in the card management.

Dislikes: some randomness in play caused by the mechanics and the superficial resemblance to Cuba.
Buying: Personally wavering, one yes, two no.

I stand to be corrected but the Scots I suspect are in a global village of one stand at Essen represented by Fragor. I don’t think Fragor have ever done a bad game, it’s just that their target audience can substantially vary with each game. This year was Savannah Tails, featuring ostrich racing. Race game, modular board and fairly fast game play, with sensible price tag at the show (€23) should have made this an essential purchase for me, yet it wasn’t. I already have Snow Tails and whilst the movement mechanic is different in Savannah Tails the game itself seemed much more luck based than Snow Tails. Cards come in different colours and numbers, and broadly speaking its play a card and move that number of spaces and end up on a space of that colour. Only one movement across the track is allowed each turn and some track spaces have different effects. There is some element of card management and forward planning but I would put Savannah Tails at the family game end of the race game market with Snow Tails nudging into the gamer’s game market.

Dislikes: Luck element on the card draw, lack of relationship between cards in the deck and length of course. For shorter courses I think there needs to be some element of removing the higher value cards to equal out the card draw element.
Likes: Quick, reasonably simple and ostrich shaped meeples.
Buying: One yes, three (including me) no.

Credit must go to the Fragor team though. Normally Scotsmen are famous for their parsimony. The Leap of Death expansion tile (for Snow Tails) was originally going to be only available on presentation of the big paws tile from Snow Tails, but the policy at the Spiel seemed to be more relaxed and I heard the quote from Gordon “If we have them, we give them out, and we get given them at various times”.

Political/Diplomacy games have always had an interest for me, but I also dislike where a political game is defined as “extended and protracted negotiation”. I gave up playing Diplomacy when I ceased being a student and these days I want some structure to my games, if only to keep the negotiation to a reasonable limit. Caligula was therefore of interest. We only played a shortened game (fewer action cards) and with a relatively poor initial rules explanation and a designer who clearly likes his use of Latin words and phrases we were off. The game is about bumping off emperors and choosing if to join conspiracies to bump them off or keep your man on the throne, or waiting until you are in a stronger position to do something. Caligula is always the first emperor to be bumped off and some of our team felt that the title was somewhat inappropriate as a result. This seemed to be a game where one understood the mechanics fairly quickly or struggled with how to achieve anything. A later rules explanation in the game helped as did access to the rules. This is a boardgame where cards on the table form the board.

Dislikes: not very intuitive.
Likes: Political game, seemed to work.
Buying: Two yes (including me), two no.

Every Essen seems to have a ‘sleeper’ waiting to be found and Vasco da Gama may have been that game, although it was soon winkled out. Relatively unknown company and unknown designer, but the looks of something promising and a hot tip or two. We played this on Friday morning. Score victory points by sending boats on expeditions. Boats come in different sizes with different crew requirements and occasional bonuses. Crew are dealt in five random groups: buy all of one colour from a group for 1 gold, buy all of two colours for 3, and buy 3 colours for 6 and so on. Captains cost the number of crew actually taken and each ship needs a captain. What was novel in this was the move sequence: broadly speaking (and there are always a few tweaks) it was take one of your action chits (four per round) and take an activation number chit with a range of 1-20. Want to go later, then take a high number, want to go earlier then take a low number.

The catch (there’s always one) is that activation number may have to be paid for: there is a marker which as a starting place within the turn order chits, and before they are activated it may be moved randomly upwards or downwards up to four coins, so you have some guidance but do not know exactly where it will end up. Activation chits above the number will always be free, but those lower will have to pay the difference if one wants to activate the chit. If one chooses to do nil action with the marker then there is some monetary compensation. Vasco da Gama had a very Caylus feel to it – everything always seemed tight: money, crew, ships, captains just about went around but carefully planning was needed, and planning was definitely needed on the activation numbers. In this respect it had elements of Goa where at times I have had to write down the order in which I have to do things to achieve what I want to do, to avoid the embarrassing things such as taking the money with the action after I needed it to spend on the acquiring seamen action.

Dislikes: some of the graphics (on ships and on board) could be a tiny bit more user friendly and the captain pieces were tiny for big fingers. I suspect there is huge scope for analysis paralysis prone people to agonise over both what to do and what activation chit number to take.
Likes: Tight gameplay (each decision counts), novel turn activation system.
Buying: One collectively for a particular purpose, otherwise four no’s but sold out as the later decision to buy was made by some.

Tobago was next up. Concept sounded very clever –search for buried treasure by playing clue cards to determine where the treasure is. The mechanics are very clever and cards will define where a treasure is (e.g. within two spaces of the coast), or where is treasure is not (e.g. not within a jungle). Once a treasure is specific to one location then all those involved in finding it (defined as playing a clue card to determine its location or the person to physically drive to it and dig it up) will participate in the spoils. Spoils are treasure cards with various values, and are chosen in a reverse order of clue placement on a limited knowledge basis. A couple of curse cards in the treasure card mix spice up the decision on taking treasures.

Dislikes: the scope (and time) for analysis paralysis prone people to determine what card to play, probably a bit light for a gamers game.
Likes: very clever system, semi random board and set up ensuring variety of play.
Buying: Four no’s: game should be readily available in the UK and this probably a bit light on gameplay without being a filler game in terms of time for most of the group.

The last final big game that we could guarantee to play because of early access to the hall was Cyclades. Lovely production (although plastic figures and monsters are to follow once they arrive (from China probably) with wooden gaming pieces in the interim. Place men and fleets for territory control, although winning the game is achieved by building two metropolises which require one each of four buildings in your control. These buildings need to be ones that you have either built, or other peoples’ that you have managed to acquire by combat. Actions in turn depend upon the favours of the Gods, and having enough gold to pay for them. One God (with specific powers) per player is available each turn, but with fewer than five players the choice will be random although Apollo is always available. Any God not appearing will be available on the following turn. Bidding for the God’s favours runs on an Evo type system: if a higher bid appears on your God you are forced to bid on a different God. Monsters are also available for hire on payment of gold on a random choice of what is available (three different ones).

Two of us felt that given this was a building domination game then there could be swings backwards and forwards and a “pick on the leader” type problem until someone was able to hang onto a winning position. In the event a “sudden win” occurred where by the use of one of the Gods and one of the special Monsters (Pegasus – the equivalent of an airborne drop) someone was able to do more than the rest us expected, or were watching for, on the one turn.

Likes: Graphics and components, nice combination of economic and military game. No elimination as a player’s last island may never be attacked.
Dislikes: Lack of control to move towards victory. If the God you need doesn’t come up when you need it, or you get outbid, then it may be several turns before you can achieve what you want. Two of us had concerns about game length before the “island too far” became the “island too soon”.
Buying: two yes, two didn’t (including me).

Saturday seemed to be combat day as we followed with Ants! Be the last ant colony standing. Build PeasANTS and SergeANTS to advance and defend your colony and gather food with which to build more ants. Attack the other colonies until you can eliminate the Queen. Cute graphics and reasonable gameplay from (I assume) a new British designer. Our four player game ended up as a slugfest between two players, whilst one player was eliminated very early on. Our initial feelings are that this would turn into a game swinging backwards and forwards until somebody won, whilst the elimination aspect meant that somebody could be looking for something else to do for a substantial length of time. Perhaps I’ve become too used to playing Eurogames that don’t have player elimination as a feature normally, or if they do, then there is often some aspect that is then introduced that speeds up the endgame so that a short while later (say 20 minutes) the game is over. Twenty minutes can soon be lost in a comfort break, or teabreak without people feeling unduly upset.

Likes: Graphics, concept.
Dislikes: Player elimination, potential length, randomness of the food drops causing major changes in the game.
Buying: none (although if the player elimination issue and potential game length can be addressed this could be a good “Euro wargame”).

From Ants we moved to another title beginning with A: Atlantis. The Austrian Spiel Museum had a number of tables given over to this, and some very kind German speaking people who were vacating the table stayed behind to explain the game in excellent English. Pre show there were some thoughts that this was “That’s Life/Verflixxt” with attitude and I can see why, although this is different. Move along tiles by card, pick tiles up from the square behind where you land (which then become victory points), and create water areas which then have to be paid for in cards or victory points. A mixture of skill (card management) and luck (card drawing) in a nicely presented game.

Likes: graphics, gameplay.
Dislikes: Felt very much like an abstract game with the theme pasted on. There might be scope for the analysis paralysis freaks to ruin this game, although a process of elimination should soon narrow options down.
Buying: One (who can cope with a German version), three no’s (including me). I’m waiting to see how much an English version retails for, and I suspect the free expansion the spiel museum was giving away (boats) will expand the gameplay greatly. At least one other of my crew now regrets not buying this.

Other Personal Purchases.

The three player expansion for Krakow 1325. As per my last Essen report I like the flavour, graphics and feel for this game, even if for some people it is too simple or random.

Expansion for Marquis (LudoArt).

Inquisitio and Modern Society. The former sounded interesting as a political/intrigue game from the description beforehand and from what gameplay I saw, even if the topic is a little “dark”. The second game I saw being played and sounded interesting and was a purchase to take advantage of a multiple discount deal.

Copies of reasonably priced TransAmerica and Hey that's my fish (in foreign language editions) to give away as Christmas presents to spread the hobby.

I received a copy of the BoardGameGeek Game due to my involvement with its design. Graphically astonishing, I consider the gameplay puts it at the lighter end of the gamer’s game market.

Tricky Trek to get the expansion for Factory Fun.

Mosaix for my partner who will play games occasionally preferring puzzle games like Take it Easy or Factory Fun, or the hardcore two player gaming action of Lost Cities.

So, how am I left now that Spiel 09 is over?

Most regretted non purchases: Vasco Da Gama (sold out at some point), Court of the Medici (sold out very quickly), Atlantis (but I do need English rules).
Most regretted non look at: Dungeonlords, Albion, Assyria
Most missed no show: Lords of the High Frontier
Most awaited to appear in English: Macao
On the Wavering list: Endeavor / Havana / Shipyard
Most disappointed: lack of a deal on buying Ghost Stories together with the expansion at a discount price.
Meat or Poison?: Carson City, Colonia, El Paso, Grenada, Stronghold, Peloponnes, Rise of Empires.
Still searching for: that Civ Lite game that gives me the flavour of Avalon’s Hill’s Advanced Civilisation in half the time.

Chris Payne

I hope. It has been a traumatic few months: a bad bike crash; having my wallet, keys, phone and design notes stolen in the British Museum; and finally a water leak which, uncannily, homed in on some of my favourite books - mainly the big, expensive ones with pictures. This latter event gave rise to all sorts of emotions, none good, and of course a frantic effort to save what I could. Despite this, I now have several crinkly paper doorstops lying around.

All of which is the main reason for my tardiness. The other reason was a writer's block of enormous proportions, lasting over two months. It started to ease last week, and 11,000 words later here I am. I'll try not to let it happen again. As if I knew why they happen in the first place.

Do I blog? No, if the paltry number of my inbound blog links is anything to go by. My natural rhythm is quarterly, not hourly, daily or weekly, and I admire those that can bash out those columns that require one to start work again as soon as one is finished. Frankly, I can't come up with interesting topics that regularly. It has to be said that neither can many other people.

One of my favourite, well paced, always interesting blogs can be found at The Game Ranch. As in many cases, the appeal is that the writers, Susan and Ed Rozmiarek, share many of my interests but always have a good angle, or analysis, that makes me think. I was chatting to Susan recently and she said that she hadn't been blogging as much because was a little burned out with Euros ("another worker placement game...") and that she had been playing Descent and World of Warcraft. But she is all better now.

Fortunately I am not currently singed, hopefully having had all my burn out in one big five year slice. That position is rooted in a conscious and constant effort to pace myself on Euros. I am also very aware of my expectations in that just one play is highly likely, as is a degree of disappointment. At the moment I would say that most games are at least okay, which has been true for a couple of years now, and almost all have something interesting and 'new' to offer. One is always reminded of the film industry where the sequel is often the safe option. So even if Stone Age is recognisable in many ways, and draws on previous titles, it is good enough to stand on its own and generate the magical five plays. A Castle for All Seasons and Wasabi, on the other hand, were definitely not.

Then occasionally a game comes long that makes you sit back and say, yes, that's really good. Numerically, it pushes into the eights and even the nines. These are the ones that make it all worthwhile and there are two or three mentioned this time. Does one have to go through the sampling to get to these games? I would say yes, and that the sampling (done with the right people) is still fun, or at the very least a positive experience.

Once again, the social element is an important factor and one that keeps me firmly engaged. The problem I have, like the movies, is that often reviewers or friends will not like a game, but usually I find I need to play it to decide for myself. The best verification, after playing, is a quick Geekbuddy analysis where there are usually enough trusted people at least in the same ballpark, but one still returns to the blogs and friends that got you to play Stone Age in the first place.

Martin Wallace had quite a year in 2008. Toledo, Tinner's Trail, Steel Driver and After the Flood. Not a bad haul, I am sure you will agree. While Toledo is by no means a heavy game, it is very good and I detect some belated interest even amongst hard core gamers. A bit of a sleeper perhaps? I will say no more because I did a bit of work on this one. We have also been playing Struggle of Empires, Brass and Byzantium regularly and with Waterloo and Automobile imminent, this could well turn into a regular Wallace love fest.

That Mr. Wallace and his railway games, eh? You can't get him away from them. This one is a bit different though, and I think it is fair to say it is lighter and easier to play than his usual brain busters.

So, the good bit. For one joyous moment in the first turn, I thought Martin had designed my dream railway game. There is an unfettered choice as to where you build your empire, and an ever changing, interesting map results. Some areas close down, others remain open for exploitation. Rail routes grow in believable ways most of the time.

The weird bit is that there is a bit of herky-jerky throughout the turns, where you are obliged to change company and lay track you don't really want to, and a very strange end game where bonuses are handed out for all sorts of things. Let's just say that in the second game, one might be clearer what to do. Because of the former aspect, control and strategy also felt compromised but, again, one would do things differently second time around.

Overall I found the game good, with some great bits and some odd bits. I would definitely play again. Two of the other three players did not agree with me and were quite critical. I know why this was, and I suspect it relates to the management of disappointment I was talking about earlier. For me Steel Driver was a solid game that had some very promising aspects, but which was ultimately a bit disappointing because of a dose of short termism. As I was playing for the first time, I was not too worried about winning or even balance. I do however want to be a contender in the game, playing it my way, and trying to enjoy the ride. One to return to.

Last year, Brass was just pipped for top honours by an outstanding game: 1960. No playing second fiddle this year. After the Flood has been on the table four times and I experienced a very different, and enjoyable, game in each. That may not be a good sign in some cases, but in a Wallace game it is usually a sign of replayability and robustness. The game has a lot of clever ideas, not least in the way the game handles the traditional two on one problem in three player games. As of now, my view is: all good, nothing bad. An excellent game from a designer now well established amongst the world's best.

I have grouped these two games together because they are both fun, clever, light race games. They are very quick to complete, feel strangely alike, and make Formule De seem an even longer marathon than it already is. Most impressively, they actually convey a sense of speed. As such, they constitute the ideal filler.

Snow Tails deals with husky sled racing, tackled years ago by Mush, and typified by the Iditarod race. The steering and speed mechanism is rather clever, and unless you have trouble with right and left, you will pick it up in an instant. While I cannot say that the sleds have the correct physics when cornering or hurtling through trees, it is these two skills that you will need to master to win the short, frantic races. I didn't, and my sled is still wrapped around a Scots Pine. I can confidently state that, for me, Snow Tails is the best yet from the Brothers Grimm Lamont.

Some of you probably think I am holed up in my internetless, phoneless, TVless little house in the Fens, oblivious to what is going on in the wider world. You would be quite right. But out there, because I have been around a long, long time, I have a number of operatives. Agents, if you will. And they tell me things.

They tell me of hobbits, and a ring. They tell me my teams, the Phillies and the Steelers, will be world champions at the same time. Pah! They tell me that some gamers are taking each other to court. They tell me that my bank is now owned by the government and that I personally owe the directors some bonus money. They tell me I can't afford to go to Essen or Paris ever again. They tell me that Martin Wallace is churning out good to great games once every four weeks. But mainly they have been telling me that Dominion is the hot new game and that it is the next Agricola.

Sometimes, I have to replace my agents.

Mr Yu, Ms Putman; please collect your final payslips.

I have played Dominion three times now. The zealots told me I must play it at least one hundred times to get the net. Preferably two hundred. I think not! All I remember is a lot of shuffling and a neat little bit where I had to stop getting money and start buying land. This reminded me of Carpe Astra's excellent resource arc. Apart from that I could not really see the appeal. The theme is embarrassingly weak. The artwork is plain nasty. It ain't exactly cheap to buy, and, predictably, I won't be doing so.

My level of excitement here is much lower than that for Fairy Tale which was interesting, different, and a game I will play every now and then. They are both clearly very good ideas in search of a decent game. That game will undoubtedly come along eventually.

And Dominion will of course be a huge success.

It is a long time since Ravensburger had a game in my annual top ten, let alone the top five. But I don't mind where games come from if they are as good as this one. Ironically, the Ravensburger 'luxury' production is a bit cheesey but there is nothing that will stop you playing. There is a lot that is clever here - the main appeal being the role selection/auction system (borderline genius) and the distinct 'loosened corset' feel – you can always get something done, without much pain. Which is more than can be said for some of Rudiger's other games.

It also has genuinely different routes to victory the validity of which are currently being hotly debated. Which is good. It all plays quickly, considering. This is excellent stuff, overall. Not only can I say I liked this game, I can also say that everyone I have played with has liked it as well. Everyone. Apart from Jambo, I don't really care for Dorn games but this one is a must buy. We await the English edition, not that this is in any way necessary to play the game.

Frank Branham said, a little while ago now, that the Eurogame is dead. I generally agree, but we seem to have moved firmly into the Zombie Era regardless. Because these games surely keep coming, with their little tweaks and occasionally good ideas, and they are a pain to kill off. Once in a while I set aside a couple of days to blitz the latest twenty apparitions. At a recent weekend session the outstanding game was Comuni. Not because it is stellar, or because it is going to set the world afire, but because it works, it is fun to play, it has some of those clever little ideas and only one or two little concerns. It has an original auction that even I enjoyed. It even has a decent theme. Okay, so the theme is Renaissance Italy, but as I've said many times before if the game is good, I'll take a repeat theme every time.

So, what do we have? Comuni pretty much checks all the boxes in the cliché column: auctions, cubes, worker placement, erecting buildings, collecting guildmasters, majorities, a dose of co-op, catch-up mechanism, longest road, fight off invaders, collect VP's. I hope you are not dissuaded by this identikit approach. Every single aspect of this game feels fresh. It hangs together well, even if the rules are a pain and it badly needs crib sheets. It provides plenty of opportunity for clever and wicked play. It is all over in an hour and a half. Comuni missed winning a Sumo by a hairsbreadth, which I hope says a lot for this game.

No, I have not yet watched the new series. Yes, I easily understood the game. I have almost no clue why I enjoyed it so much.

You want more? Okay, the selling point here is superb atmosphere. I did actually feel like a Viper pilot, launched to fight the Cylons. Raiders turn up with alarming frequency, building pressure. I managed to take out six fighters before I crashed and burned. It was tense, gripping, exciting. Bottle that feeling. Better still, there is a traitor or two in the game, one of whom was my wingman who left me to fight alone. Remember Shadows over Camelot's little agitator? This is way, way better. We saw real paranoia at the table. Accusations, suspicion, betrayal, classic poker faced lying. Wonderful, flavoursome stuff.

The trade-off? It is slooooooooow. It takes three to four hours with considerable downtime. In this respect, one reaches the half-way point with a sigh of relief, and a sense of terminal achievement, only to have to do it all over again. Also, the traitor is superbly set up, then weakened because the Cylon has to know the rules and timing strategy, and exactly what to do to cause disruption and when to reveal. The card play, while clever in itself, feels samey because no-one took the trouble to write some interesting text, they just cut and pasted duplicate cards. Over time, one will become familiar with the situations and I suspect it will become stale.

The solution for me would be to put it away on the shelf, and take it down again sometime next year. This will remain the fate of Fantasy Flight games (the playable ones, anyway) until someone comes in and does some decent development work. I think the game could happily play in 90 minutes. I fully understand that FF and their audience may not want it to. In short, BSG is a very, very good game that is criminally overlong. That will not stop me playing it when the stars are right, once a year.

It is said that there are as many chess variants as there are players of chess*. Sometimes they remain a brief glimmer of inspiration, a fleeting daydream; others are nurtured, tested and sometimes brought to market. Shuuro adds to the genre, and is notable both because it is designed by Alessio Cavatore of Warhammer and LOTR fame, and because I think it is worth your time.

* I said this, just now.

Shuuro comes in a very classy box, which contains a sturdy folding board, a load of plastic chess pieces in blue and red, dice (dice in a chess box? Sacrilege!) and a plush rule book that seems to have been translated into every major language and a couple more for luck. As an added bonus, you can use the components to play standard chess as well.

The purest variants retain the core movement rules of chess, meaning that the game is easily learned – doesn't everyone know how to play chess? Clearly, this is a major advantage for accessibility and learning. Hundreds of board games experience the purchased-stored-sold unplayed cycle because of lengthy or opaque rules. In Shuuro one has just two pages of rules to absorb and we were underway in no time at all.

So how does Shuuro differ from standard chess? Well, in three major ways. Firstly the board is extended to 12 x 12 squares. Secondly, a number of blocking obstacles are randomly placed to create battlefield terrain. Thirdly, you get to choose your own pieces secretly, generating two different sides. In true wargamer style, each chess piece has a points value and you select a mix that suits your style of play and intended tactics. The King is free, Queens cost 110, Bishops 40, down to pawns at 10. Anyone thinking 'Chess with an Army List' or Seastrike may claim their £5 reward when you next see me.

I have to say that this army building is good fun. There is a great temptation to buy lots of bishops, because they seem good 'bang for buck' value, but they bring their own drawbacks which you will soon encounter. Neither should one ignore the humble pawns as without them you will have no screening capacity. I leave the discovery of the rest to you.

In play Shuuro is essentially chess but with enough differences to make it a completely novel experience. I know this because I am a pretty bad chess player. Okay, really awful. But this did not seem to matter so much in Shuuro. The asymmetric sides create one level of interest, and the obstacles, which always seem to be in the wrong place, add another. Indeed, they seem to be specifically designed to frustrate bishops, he said with feeling. While some of our games went a little longer, we found that the indicated time of 30 minutes per game was not far off the mark.

Shuuro brings chess a little closer to the battle game it claims to be. For collectors of chess variants, I expect this will be a must buy. It will make for an excellent closer, or a change of pace from the 36 page rulebook games. Good fun, and recommended.

And finally, the most delayed Sumos ever. These are my personal awards for the top ten games of the previous calendar year, minus those that I didn't get round to playing, plus those played late from last year (!). They mean nothing to anyone but me, although three other people apparently enjoy looking, and one is waiting to berate me for choosing the top two.

Yokuzuna

After the Flood
Leader 1

Ozeki

Diamonds Club
Battlestar Galactica
Pandemic

Sekiwake

Tinner's Trail
Jet Set
Monuments
Race for the Galaxy
Robokrieg

Honourable Mentions

Age of Discovery, Carpe Astra, Comuni, Dominion (for the idea), Hamburgum, Le Havre, Powerboats, Roll Through the Ages, Shadow Hunters, Snow Tails, Steel Driver, Stone Age, Sylla.

Unplayed and Still On the Urgent List

Android, Corunea, Metropolys, MonPoc, Mwhahaha!, Nefertiti, Okko, Planet Steam, Senji, Scripts & Scribes, Uruk and Wormhole.

Decent Wargames

Espana 1936, Spanish Eagles, Unhappy King Charles, Warriors of God.

Mike Siggins

Many apologies for the delay. January is always busy to the point of running out of time. This year was worse. Then I got ill. Anyway, plenty to write about.

Regular readers will remember that I got to play this game last year at Essen. Then it was a game about collecting, tentatively entitled Sammelsurium. Now re-themed, and published in a professional package, we have Tribune. And it remains a very good game indeed.

To head off the inevitable 'pasted-on theme' comments, I would say that the new theme is actually a much better fit, not that there was much wrong with the original. Now we are dealing with political wrangling in ancient Rome. Each player is trying to build support from the various factions, eventually gaining enough to become tribune and win.

The game structure is a straightforward action drafting system, which we seem to see more and more these days. At the moment I like them, but familiarity can breed contempt. Your markers are placed into various sections of the board, which offer money, faction cards, and various other items needed to progress. The clever part is that rather than just claiming on a first come first served basis, as one does in Pillars of the Earth, some of the sections trigger a short sub-game. This is all good.

Interaction is excellent. You always seem to have a rival for the cards you want to recruit, and there is even more friction when claiming majorities. The whole basis of the game is to knock the leaders over, and I will leave that for you to discover. The game offers some interesting decisions, not least on timing of your tactical moves, and generally works perfectly as one might expect from this designer. No complaints here.

I'll finish with what was, for almost all those who played, a definite issue. Tribune is over too quickly. Games were taking an hour or less. Now many will regard this as a plus, and remind me that this is a prime trait of German Games. But this is a game that plays engagingly, has plenty going on, and seems to suggest a 'long game' strategy. Wrong. In one game, it was all over in four turns – you really must be in there and fighting from the start. This is okay if a title feels like an hour game, but this one seems to have a pacing issue. It also means that a gamer who has played before will have an advantage over rookies in knowing when and where to focus.

Fortunately, if you consider pacing and length a problem, it is easily fixed. Victory conditions require us to achieve three from eight or so targets. To set the winning terms at four or perhaps five conditions satisfied would seem to be eminently workable. Either way, as with all variants, it is your choice. Play as it is intended first, feel free to tweak, but do play – it is not broken, just quick!

On language, the German version (Tribun) is playable but there is just enough German in the game to make waiting for the English version well worthwhile. So, definitely a strong recommendation but I can see some variants coming into common usage for this one. Good to see Herr Schmiel, the Old Master, back in business.

I remember one nasty incident in my school life. I was watching a bunch of older kids in the playground who were picking on some unfortunate lad. He ended up 'running the gauntlet'. At school, this meant that he had to run along a narrow channel between a wall and a line of the bullies, and be kicked and punched all the way. The military equivalent is much less pleasant. In some small way, this game reminded me of that memory.

Don't get me wrong. Alea are still a source of good games. Stefan Feld is one of my favourite designers. I like all his games, and all have a welcome, fresh approach. So I had high hopes for this one, and was very keen to try it. The systems are clever, the components are lovely. You can score points in many ways, and there are several options to explore.

Simply, there are twelve turns in the game, loosely representing the months in the Year of the Dragon. Each month has a randomised chit – famine, tributes to the emperor, disease – you get the picture. Two of these months are harmless, and we let off fireworks to celebrate, the rest are just plain nasty. Life in China was evidently one long nightmare.

As a player, you are a landlord (or similar) building houses to accommodate the dozen or so types of character. Each of the characters has a special skill, either providing protection against the nasty events while others provide immediate or deferred victory points. Your task, apparently straightforward, is to make sure you have the right balance at the right time, and have the rooms to accommodate them all.

The trouble is one can rarely really get this right, I managed an optimum in just two of the turns, and it seems you face losing something most of the time. Even in a well played game there will be substantial tenant turnover. You even lose buildings if they are unoccupied, which tends to happen a lot when your lodgers are dying or leaving in droves. In short, you are taking actions and planning ahead just to avoid pain and stand still. Add to this the pressing need to get money, rice, fireworks and victory points at the same time, and the game quickly takes on Kafkaesque overtones.

So let me sum up in a way I have never done before. I really liked the idea, theme, game systems and mechanisms, regarding the whole idea and process as original and clever, but didn't at all like the negative experience it provided, of being kicked at every step of the way. Also, it is fair to say, I am not representative of everyone who played. At the convention, I would say the split was 60:40 pro and con. I will have to play again, but I don't see this one changing its tune, and it is a tune I definitely didn't like.

Year of the Dragon is the antithesis of those positive, building/snowball games. It is also overlong by 20 to 30 minutes. It is a little like watching a three hour war documentary: technically it is spot on, but it is not entertainment. Eventually, the seat becomes uncomfortable.

I have still not managed to define this design from Phil Eklund. It is no secret that I am a fan of Phil's games, but this is a new departure. Not only does it have professional quality presentation, it is also the closest to being a game in the normal sense. Nevertheless, there is still a huge dose of experience gaming, and 'going along for the ride'. I like this, I realise that others don't. There are also some very clever mechanisms, not least the cards. The theme itself is highly ambitious, but it does work. It beats all of last years games for innovation. I have some reservations about the 'levelling up' and some of the powerful cards and options. That means I am questioning balance, which also means here is an Eklund design that is also a game. I recommend it highly, and would simply say that if you have played an Eklund before, give this one a chance. It is different.

After my lengthy and negative reaction to Descent, which seemed to run against most of my friends' views, I will keep this rant short. I believe the explanation is that there is still a surprisingly large market for eight hour plus games with huge amounts of bits, seventeen different types of unit, r&d trees, resources (money) and with play values that deserve to have stayed in the 1970's.

I was, despite all the above, and having suffered Warcraft: The Board Game in the interim, still keen to play (!). But apart from the sheer excitement of opening the box and sorting the ridiculous number of bits, this one was a bust from start to finish. Oh, and the rules take an evening of study and a dry run. In summary, I feel saddened that there are still people who can term it a game, and give it a 10 on our favourite ratings site. The game is preposterous and represents the worst outcome of a 'throw everything in and keep true to the license' mentality. I would like to say it is unplayable, but I know there are people who will sit there and persevere for a considerable chunk of their lives.

If you really must play, ideally you should all know the rules, be set up, ready to spend two hours learning, and play with no more than three. My biggest tip is that all those minuscule little icons on the tiny counters all mean something, and the yellow and the orange counters are virtually indistinguishable. Otherwise you should be fine, given enough time. Enjoy.

Me? I am moving to Greenland to avoid it.

It is probably no secret that I didn't care for Outpost. But since then age, changing tastes and experimentation have secured Sceptre of Zavandor a one-outing-per-year visa. Then word arrived of this game. The latest, final (?) incarnation of the system, it was rumoured to play very quickly indeed. Thanks to a review copy from JKLM, I have played this one twice in recent weeks. It is definitely quick, and it is very good. It is also clearly the son of the father.

I have two slight reservations, otherwise it is all positive.

Firstly, I will need to play more to get a feel for what exactly to do, typical prices for the cards, and to master the key task of balancing one's assets. In my first game, excusably I hope, I worked my way into a dead end by which I couldn't access sufficient storage late on in proceedings. Game over. The second game was better, but because my opponent knew what he was doing, he romped away. While I am no natural at these games, I am not an idiot either. So, as with most of Mr Lehmann's games, there is some serious learning to be undertaken. No bad thing, but not to everyone's taste.

Secondly, the game predictably retains a similar feel to the earlier designs. If anything, it is even more mechanical and teutonic. This is, I feel, compounded because the system has been boiled down to the minimum – perhaps to far? Like an overcooked Brussels Sprout, boiled until the flavour has all but gone. Also, in Outpost and Zavandor one felt some affinity to the items and artifacts being bought, building into the story (such as it was), here I am not sure the implementation of theme helps any – we have probably seen far too many instances of ancient civilisation to make a storehouse seem interesting.

I am working a balance here. While the game feels an even more sterile exercise in calculation, it is at least the right length for such an experience. And it is an experience I enjoy occasionally. Why? Because there is definitely some meat here, with interesting angles, and if I want to apply my brain this is one of the environments I will work within. However, as I have said before, I do feel as if I am playing around with a spreadsheet. Sure, there is an unknown in the form of the auctions and the run of cards, but still, these are math heavy, and cash driven, games.

As it happens I quite like spreadsheets, and financial models, so there's the answer. It gives me the good parts of Outpost without the length. What I can't tell is if you have been looking for a copy of Outpost, whether Phoenicia will end your search. Apart from the pokey little card icons, and some ragged edges in the rules, I liked it a lot.

I feel quite pleased that I was there at the start of Martin's efforts to design the ultimate train game. To an extent, this can be seen as the latest attempt, and what an attempt it is. It will take you two hours, and more when learning, but that time is well spent. This is a very clever, modern, deep game that really works on just about every level. It is also full of flavour. I have played five times in the last month, and it is still getting better. In any normal year, it would easily be my favourite game.

I'll tell you how much I enjoyed this one. The box that arrived in the mail got The Treatment by the Post Office and is best described as 'distressed'. I feel I should go and buy another copy so that I have a good one for the future and one to play. As a reformed collector, that is not something I easily say or do. Excellent stuff.

Tough year. In a generous mood, I have fifteen games that might easily have won a Sumo in 2007. But there can only be ten. Cue lots of juggling with list, comparing Qwirkle to Age of Empires, Phoenicia to Uptown, Giganten der Luefte to Tribune. Not easy. Anyway, I eventually got there.

Yokozuna
1960: The Making of the President (Z-Man)

Ozeki
Agricola (Lookout Games)
Brass (Warfrog)
Key Harvest (R&D)
Origins (Sierra Madre)

Sekiwake
Age of Empires III (Tropical Games)
Before the Wind (Phalanx)
Qwirkle (Mindware)
Tribune (Heidelberger)
Uptown (Funagain)

Honourable Mentions
Amyitis, Caylus Magna Carta, Giganten der Luefte, League of Six, Race for the Galaxy, Notre Dame, Phoenicia, Power & Weakness.

On the radar: more games of Race for the Galaxy to see if I remain in the 'like it' camp or move to the 'adore its'. Dust, because I just love the backstory and graphics. Hamburgum, because several trusted friends say I will enjoy it. A re-play of Cuba, because the first time it sent me to sleep. Cold War, because I just plain like the look of it. And Perry Rhodan, for which I have very high hopes.

Mike Siggins

To sunny Eastbourne on Britain’s South coast for the regular post-Essen get together organised by Mike Clifford and myself. Twenty five or so gamers leave their other halves looking at the calendar, with a sense of deja vu, and whizz off to a small hotel to enjoy four days of fish & chips and solid gaming – hopefully ticking off most of those titles unplayed and bought in the previous month. Uncannily, it runs at the same time as bgg.con, and we like to note that we are the senior event, if somewhat smaller in scope (!). And it was sunny. I don’t know how, but it was. A few hardy souls were sea swimming in late November.  

I like Age of Mythology, but realise I am in a minority. Otherwise, there have been a long series of computer game spin-offs that I can happily live without. I would therefore not have given this game a second glance if it weren’t for some very positive word of mouth coming out of the States. In the end, it became my game of the summer and it got a lot of play at the club and at home sessions.

This is a clever twist on the action drafting mechanism that is very much in vogue. Each player places their markers on areas in the Old World, ready to be shipped across to the New. Once there, they might annex a region (killing the indigenous natives), exploit an areas’ resources, fight or explore. Once established, you start in on buying ships, buildings and strategy cards. Another nice element is that you have several types of marker, some of which have different powers.

So, not anything we haven’t seen before, but re-jigged into a very appealing format. There are, cliché time, several routes to victory which genuinely seem to be distinct. As a result there is a real sense of building an empire somewhat different to your neighbour’s, and when the seats on the settler ships become scarce, one really feels the pressure. You can, say, completely ignore your merchant fleet and go for colonial holdings. You can explore rather than bothering about resources. As usual, a mixed balance can also work. Because these options work so well, you can actually play the game five times or more just trying out strategies. Good stuff.

AoE has that slight problem that only seems to bother hardcore gamers. You can play the whole game cleverly, brilliantly even, but you are still at the mercy of the fates. If you get the right cards at the right time, or you have a run of good luck on discoveries, you will find the zero-luck addicts crying into their coffee. As you may have gathered, I don’t mind it. What guarantee was there ever for a group of explorers landing on a foreign shore? Who is to know the ultimate outcome of a merchant naval policy?

Apart from the gaudy and overblown plastic production, and the map where the space could have been better used, I really like this game. I find the situation appealing, I very much like the feel of the Old and New countries, the constraints of shipping, and the actions available. It all adds up to one of my favourite games of the year. When Tropical Games catch on about wooden bits, they’ll be dangerous.

You may have heard of this one.

Despite the massive PR machines behind Ravensburger, Amigo and Hans im Glueck, it is the tiny Lookout Games who have, this Autumn, created that most valuable resource – buzz. I say again, buzz, not hype.

Agricola is a game about farming in the 17th century. How long we have waited for a good one. Each player has their own farm, is given a set of cards that indicates their probable route forward, and you get fourteen turns to score as many victory points as you can. Alternatively, for reasons that will become apparent, it is also a sandbox where you can just have fun doing your own thing. It seems everyone I know really wants to play this game, me included, and many were prepared to jump through hoops to make that happen.

Hoops? Well, the game is in German. Although we have an excellent rules and card translation, more on that later, however many assurances you might get that ‘it is only fourteen cards’, it isn’t. If you want to paste up all the cards, it is over three hundred, which by anyone’s calculation is a lot of hours. You can get by on less, just the ‘E’ pack is enough to get started, but there is old school work to be done before the game can be played. Ideally someone you know will have done this paste-up work for you.

It must be said here that any Anglophone who buys the German version will not be left adrift. Lookout Games have promised to sort out something, and I believe them, but at the moment they are snowed under with the success of the game. We need to be patient.

The interesting twist with Agricola is that it seems to have generated a passionate level of enthusiasm. I believe this is down to a cocktail of the designer’s reputation, the subject matter, the multi-level gaming it offers, the frisson of the components, the potential of the cards, and the long lost frustration of not being able to play a German game that you have just bought…

There is also something else: positive mental attitude. A significant number of gamers have played Agricola, enjoyed it to a point, and said that they expected it to improve (and this might be from 7 or 8, to 9 or 10). They also sit down and play again as quickly as they can. This compares well with almost all other Euros. Typically they might be ruthlessly discarded after one play, or less in some cases! But gamers seem to be willing to give this one every chance of repeat play.

Why would that be? I wish I knew, because goodness knows it is a quality that too many games lack. And what is the appeal of a game about farming? As the person who has facilitated hundreds of games through her excellent and timely translation, I asked Melissa Rogerson why she was so keen on this particular game. She generated a list of reasons:

1. It's complex. Big and meaty, and not too long.
   
   
2. It's a game with relatively little player interaction. See below.
   
   
3. I spent quite literally every spare moment for a month translating the game. It has to be hot!
   
   
4. The theme and the mechanics seem well integrated. I love a good theme.
   
   
5. It was super-cool trying to learn all about 17th century agriculture. Although I was sorry I didn't call the swineherd, ‘Pig boy’.
   
   
6. Variety. Lots and lots of variety.
   
   
7. The Mystique of Essen.
   
   
8. I had such a good time translating it - the people factor. There were lots of late-night conversations, about precisely what particular terms meant and how we could translate them. That was fun.
   
   I also love getting right into the guts of a game like that. And I tend to be lazy with rules of games in English - I skim through them, and am impatient to get to playing the game. So really getting to understand it is good. And tends to make me like the game regardless.
   
   
9. Hamburgum and Cuba, as well as other Messe titles, sound interesting but 'done' already. I'm sure I'll enjoy playing them, but they didn't float my boat.
   
   
10. Insight into the game development process.
    

I can relate to those comments.

The next point Melissa raised was very interesting and is something I have been thinking about for some time. The subject is multiplayer solitaire. Agricola is such a game, because the only interaction is the joint action drafting/choice of resources, and not getting what you need, but I am not going to label this a good or bad attribute.

Melissa says, “Agricola is a game with relatively little player interaction. When I look at my top-rated games (Princes of Florence, Louis XIV, Notre Dame) there is a bit of a trend there. I know that my gaming weakness is that I start out making a plan and don't allow for enough variables or adapt well to change - so I tend to be weaker at games like Caylus where it's easy to screw other players over, although I still enjoy them. But I'm good at the planning kind of game - and don't we all like to win, sometimes?”

My take on this is that almost all the time multiplayer solitaire is cited as a negative. Like Melissa, I find that some of my favourite games are in this vein, and it doesn’t greatly bother me. In fact, it can be a plus. If it means I can avoid auctions then that is another bonus, usually. Sometimes it is good to sit and try to implement a strategy, hindered only by the inability to get resources when you want them. Not exactly my beloved chaos gaming, but sometimes it is what I enjoy. Agricola seems to score (based on the eight gamers I have so far played with) because you can do your own thing. Every single farm I saw was different. Some were harvesting crops, some had sheep, others cattle and wild boar. One of my farms was essentially secondary to a wood turning business.

Mainly then, for me, such games are an experience and I am happy to go along for the ride. How well can I do with what I have been given? What is my plan? Can I get enough food? Do I want to have children? Can I try a weird tactic, or left field strategy, and still stay respectable or even win? Most importantly, am I having fun?

Having played Agricola, I feel there is definitely an element of ‘personal best’ going on here. After my derisory 20 point opener, I was determined to do better the next time. And that next time may as well be right away. I made 23, with very different cards, and was pleased. I also enjoyed it a lot. I’m so easy. So it is a challenge, in a puzzley sort of way and I can see myself playing it for some while, even at the basic level of cards.

On the downside, and you just know this is going to relate to theme, I have a quibble. While this is a game about farming, it is farming from a strange angle. I think it is clear we are micro-managing. A fair amount is made of one farmer having a cooking pot, another having a proper hearth, or a makeshift barbecue. The fact that someone might not have a cooking pot at all, but does own a hut, seems inconceivable. Doesn’t it? But this is where you start. Perhaps you have lost everything and have to re-build from scratch. And where are the chickens and geese?

More worrying is that ‘technologies’ develop, but they do not become available to rival farmers, even though we are all looking over each others hedge all the time. This compared sharply to a game of Origins going on at the next table, where skills can often be learned. This also strengthens the solitaire aspect, already discussed – you are on your own, doing your own things, building little card ‘engines’, working your own land. I suspect what has happened is that some aspects have been tweaked to make a game of it, which is fair enough. Perhaps that is how it was? None of this is going to stop me playing it, or even give me a second thought, but it doesn’t sit too well.

The other area is the cards. From what I have seen so far I think the cards are reasonably well balanced. This is, without doubt, quite an achievement. But my neighbour in game one did have a hand that looked considerably less useful than mine, with quite a few ‘secondary’ cards that were not immediately useable. There is undoubtedly a degree of improvisation required; you make the best of your lot, and that will improve with experience. I am just slightly worried that you might be going into a two hour game (it runs 30 minutes per player, pretty consistently) with little chance of having a good time or scoring well. This might happen because of bad cards, or more subtly and more likely, cards that do not combine well, nor permit synergies later in the game. At the moment, I don’t know if this is an issue. I would like to hear your experiences.

So, to conclude, Agricola is a very interesting game which has all the signs of being well designed, developed and tested. There is definitely more here than the sum of the parts, and I think we must look to the cards and the combinations (how I love combinations) to explain this. And this without yet venturing into the mysterious ‘I’ (interaction) and ‘K’ (complex) decks which will add a raft of cards and variety. Though whether Agricola will remain fun while suffering ‘interaction’ remains to be seen.

Congratulations to Hanno Girke and all at Lookout Games for backing this one. In case you have not been reading the web, there will be an English version from Z-Man Games. I think we can safely predict a big seller. I know it is easier said than done at the moment, but do try to get a game of this excellent release.

After quite a run of games from Friedemann that I didn’t care for, here is a very enjoyable filler. I have been thinking that we should see some positive by-products from the poker boom (now fading?) and sure enough Filou picks up on the betting trend. Nothing complicated, just assess a partly exposed hand based on knowledge, numbers and reading the opponents, and stick a bet on the total value. Filou is not quite there because you have to know not to run out of money during play – this is very important! – but overall this is quick, fun and interesting enough to revisit. Recommended.

About thirty years ago the boardgame company GDW released an innovative product called System 7. With front page splashes in The Dragon, wargame magazines and elsewhere, it caused quite a stir. It certainly caught me up in the excitement created. Although comprising cardboard markers and a separate rule book, it was trying hard to replicate the mechanisms, colour and glory of Napoleonic miniatures gaming. It did this by offering high quality base-sized counters in evocative uniform shades, nominally using 7mm figures. Most of the major nationalities were available in sets, with units named and jacket/facing colours represented.

The basic idea was that you could start miniatures style gaming without the front loaded time and money investment, or indeed easily move into Naps as a new period. The overall effect was not unpleasant, and it achieved a creditable level of success for a while. System 7 foundered, I think, because it fell between two stools, the terrain was lacking, and the accompanying rules were not the best. With hindsight, the ‘figure’ ratio may have been mistaken – there were several fiddly counters to a unit, making the adaptation too literal. But ultimately, if you are a miniatures gamer at heart, well, you probably want miniatures. Still, the game has fans and you can find updated rules and components on the web.

However, for beginners or for testing rules, I still know gamers who will cut out card or even paper counters. I know I did when funds didn’t permit much more. There are a couple of groups on the web that actively promote paper wargaming. It is at least lighter than anything else. Some of you will remember the Micro series from Tabletop Games, and I played a lot of the Napoleonic and Naval games back in the day. I also bought into the CCG craze in a major way. Games such as The Last Crusade, Eagles and Dixie were all collected and played with some enjoyment, and they still come out occasionally even now.

So, there is scope for this ersatz solution. But what is the appeal here? Probably, the chance to get a taste of the miniatures experience in a ready made, ‘open and play’, immediate gratification package. Miniatures fast food, I suppose. You can do the whole thing with BattleLore and Command & Colors: Ancients, but they are £50 games. Compromises are inevitable, but with colour graphics, printing and game design moving ever forwards, we are getting closer to having everything but the little lead guys. And that is exactly where Battleground and Your Move Games are coming from.

Battleground is purchased in packs of playing cards. These each represent a fantasy faction, and comprise a range of units, tactical ploys and events. Each faction – men, dwarves, elves, orcs, undead, killer turnips etc – also has a reinforcement pack available, allowing for huge battles and that undeniable urge to grow instant armies. More factions are promised on a regular basis to keep the games’ match-ups fresh. You can also buy cut-out terrain sheets, which are very nicely done indeed, scenario booklets, and even custom pens and dice. If you can summon up a table and green cloth from somewhere, the overall effect of terrain and units is impressive.

Graphically, everything is functional but it doesn’t excite. Units are top down, which aesthetically cuts both ways, and ‘figure ratioed’ rather than 1:1 but there is a good sense of unit size and pose diversity. You may not care for the style – it is computer generated in intense colours, particularly the grass green – but realistically there is no other economical way to do it in these volumes. Certainly, the figure graphics do not survive the close-up shots. Of course there are options here to make your own cards and factions, for those with graphics skills. The rules book is well written and we had few queries. We did however feel that putting some advanced rules in the reinforcement packs was a bit cheeky.

The game is played by choosing a force from the unit cards, usually to an agreed points value. As ever with miniatures, once you have had your fill of equal sided encounter battles you can switch to attack/defend, the excellent scenario book, or even play one of Mr Grant’s teasers. Each unit card has a row of casualty boxes, progressing through green, yellow and red and these are marked off with a pen as casualties are taken. This works fine, but being an anal type I encased mine in Card Protectors which you can get at hobby and big bookshops. For reasons expanded upon below, I suggest that you do not play to the ‘kill all opponents’ game end condition.

We played two games. The first was a 750 point learning exercise. The second a 2,000 point battle, which still fitted on a card table. At the start of the game, you choose your army mix, set terrain, deploy, and assess the situation. Up to this point, the game is actually pretty exciting, because you get there so quickly and your fingers are paint free. For a while after, things are still looking very good. And then, well, you start to question results and pacing, and in truth it goes on a bit. We came in at almost four hours for the big battle. That’s a long game when we started with six to eight units each.

There are three main timing issues here, all interlinked. Firstly there is a lot of dicing. This is time consuming and not always productive. Secondly, some units have quite a number of hit points, and even the weaker ones aren’t necessarily going to disappear very quickly (because of luck of the dice) – one small unit of wolf riders had a charmed life and stuck around for ages. As mentioned, some scenarios require you to eliminate 100% of the enemy, which will get to you long before you get to them… I suggest 50% or 66% would make your C.O. more than happy. It is the death of a thousand cuts problem, and boredom sets in. Thirdly, linked to the hit points, the game system is curiously indecisive. By this I mean that it is quite forgiving of errors and that to exploit any tactical advantage is difficult indeed.

Let me give you an example. At one point, my opponent’s dwarves did a reckless manoeuvre and ended up exposing their flank, at right angles to my battleline. Right on cue, my Treant (really just an ent with a good copyright lawyer) saw his opportunity, lumbered across the field, and smashed the dwarves in the flank. This was early in the game and in my head, even allowing for fantasy fudge, I expected to either do a ton of damage, have them rout, or simply flatten the lot of them. Or all three at once. Glorious victory was in my grasp, the enemy centre would be pierced. In fact, I did a little damage (the bonus for flank attacks is negligible) and I was still there, branches flailing, roots a-stomping, seven turns later. By that time the dwarves had hurried their little legs and brought up leaf-free reserves. My Treant eventually ran off having failed a morale check in the eighth turn, which was not entirely as I’d imagined the encounter.

In a nutshell, the cards and concept may be born again, but the rules are essentially old fashioned. They give a longish game where a quick one might well be preferable – 90 minutes rather than 240. Broadly, we are looking at something akin to Warhammer, when something like the weight of Warmaster, Armati or perhaps DBA might have been a better fit. I can understand if this was done to allow quick conversion for existing miniature gamers, but I think a major thrust of this game is to let newcomers try their hand. I can see some recruits playing this and thinking twice about playing again. It would be very interesting to hear your experience on this one.

I am very much stating a personal preference here, liking a quick, decisive, decision heavy/dice light game, and it may well be that the rules are acceptable to most, and even perhaps what is ‘expected’. Whatever, one of my opponents came out with the damning, ‘It is like every other figure game I have ever played’. I know what he means. On the other hand, there is some clever stuff in there. Initiative and command is well handled, as is movement – there is a handy-dandy scale, driven off of card widths. Units are similar to the extent that they all have half a dozen ratings, and often a special rule to distinguish them. The ratings cover movement, close and ranged combat, and the interesting ‘to hit’ ratings.

These latter numbers are surprisingly powerful as narrative builders. Some units may be very hard to hit while on the move, but much more vulnerable in melee – so we get the feel for fast, evasive, light troops. Conversely, the Treant is easily hit, but very hard to hurt, and it has a lot of damage points. This in addition to the usual flavour stuff – deadly Elven bows, slow but sturdy Dwarves, swarming Undead. You know how it goes. I liked this unit differentiation – it is simply and elegantly handled. The fact that the spread of these ratings works well, and cleverly conveys the feel of very different units, shows that the game has been well designed and developed in this area. As I said, there are a lot of positive qualities, they just struggle to keep their head above water.

Of course, you know what I am thinking. I would doubtless have enjoyed the whole thing more if it were historical. I have heard rumours that this development is coming soon. In fairness you can get generically close by using the Men factions, but in the end I played Elven Rangers and Trees – a traditional fallback if required to do the fantasy thing.

Despite its problems, Battleground does a lot right. For all my moans, it is playable and it does work, given time. Nothing is ‘broken’ here, to use that dismissive and rarely appropriate term. The battles have their moments, there are some fresh ideas in a field that has pretty much seen it all, and I can see that the sets will appeal to certain gamers, or make ideal presents for the younger generation. From those gamers that can’t or won’t paint, or simply don’t accept the expense and storage of miniatures, to those wanting to instantly recreate Tolkein’s battles, or those of the Warhamster World, then, well, you can see the huge potential. Whatever I may say about price, two starter packs are a bargain compared to any investment in figures.

As for me, not necessarily the target market, I have to say I am wary. A key test is whether one would play again, after the initial exploratory sessions. Personally I would, under some duress, but I would definitely want to make changes long term. These would be targeted at play length and combat decisiveness. The obvious solution is to self modify the rules, or wait for the second edition on the web, or draft in another set entirely. The cards themselves, and the base idea, are fine. If the rumoured historical units appear, then that would be another major draw, but one can see how easily the releases might run out of steam with one wrong turn – ‘Nobody bought the Swiss and Burgundian packs’. But you can be sure that I would.

I wish Chad, Robert and Your Move the best of luck. They have bravely launched a timely and interesting system, and I know it has already found a niche with a good many gamers. This could grow within the fantasy genre, then into science fiction, and hopefully for we sad old buffers - not strictly requiring pointy ears, gauss rifles or resurrections - into historical periods. If I were them, I would personally be looking to tweak my product to speed the game up, possibly through an official variant quick play rule set, and perhaps improve the graphics a little. That done, I could happily say that Battleground could be an outstanding product and worthy of your time.

While my list of top games of 2007 already has a number of definites, there is still some gaming and ranking to be done in the last four weeks. So I’ll list the lucky ten games next time. What is certain is that the runners-up will be of a high standard, and it will be close for the final few spaces - at the moment I have a dozen possibles contending for three or four slots. I have yet to play Cuba, Hamburgum, Cold War, Brass, Dust, Power & Weakness, and Race for the Galaxy. I want to give Phoenicia another workout, but I like it so far. Will League of Six prove to have staying power? Will 1960, Key Harvest, Origins or Agricola get the ultimate Yokozuna accolade? All will be revealed.

Mike Siggins

Another year, another Essen. That may well be a cliché, but so quickly do the shows come round that it seems as if just weeks are passing in between. Getting old, I guess. But not too old to enjoy myself for a few days at the biggest game fair in the world. At one point Eric Martin introduced me to his wife as an "Old One", which made me smile, and sound like some sort of mythos creature. In reality, it probably applies to anyone who was playing German Games, B.S. (Before Settlers). As I approach my twentieth Essen anniversary, I rather like the idea of being a boss card in Arkham Horror.

If you want me to give you some general impressions, and I'm sure you do, then they would be that prices were up, smoke and crowds were down and that there were quite a few no-shows amongst the games scheduled to appear. The latter is down to the usual suspects: printing errors, delayed development, artists breaking their hands, etc. The lack of crowds was noticeable. Uniquely, game demonstrators on the big company stands were hanging around with nothing to do. They were even offering to demo games as you passed the empty tables, though why I would be interested in one of the girly pony games is a mystery. The reason? There was a fairly major train strike in Germany throughout the fair, although the U Bahn was running. As for prices, who knows? But the sub 20 Euro game was rare, and we saw a lot of 35 to 50 Euro games, both of which are unusual. Were I still at the show today (Sunday) I'd bet my house on at least a few reductions.

Sometimes it is possible to determine some trends, but this year all that was apparent was that there is ongoing sequelitis for some companies (Eggertspiel are working that rondel mechanism hard) and we are playing games that we have pretty much seen before. Normally such recycling is Bruno Faidutti's domain, but there were others at it this year. See below for the culprits!

Lastly, two small gripes. There are now marked signs of the British Abroad syndrome. One notices this in places like Spain and Florida, and it gets worse as the resort becomes more popular. I haven't been troubled before, but this year I ran into some annoying types. Secondly, if game rules, or a website, have been translated into English (note the clue in the word), could we please have a Union Jack rather than a Stars & Stripes icon? Or, at the very least, both. Thank you. That was my Pub Landlord impression, but boy does it grate. Even the French do it!

The annual disclaimer applies: what follows is what I was able to get to over the space of three days, mixed with chatting, browsing, eating, checking out miniatures games, and, it must be said, a fair few beers. There are gaps. I defy anyone to cover everything. On my list are about ten games I didn't even have demoed, let alone get to play. There were probably at least another hundred games that didn't even register.

It was another good year, but there are just so many games now that the reporter in me surrenders, lays down, and whimpers. When one is walking past entire companies, with perhaps five games on show, any one of which could be game of the year, it is hard to even say the words 'comprehensive coverage'.

And so, to the games. Where I have offered a view one way or the other it is only where I have played it and am confident that I have got a reliable feel for what is going on. Obviously in time I will return to the games, good and not so good, and check my findings.

2F-Spiele occupied their normal corner in tandem with Andrea Meyer, making for two designers of the weird and sometimes wonderful. Interestingly, the stars were right for each of them this year as both produced a credible hit. Friedemann had Filou (or Felix: The Cat in the Sack). This little card game, very reasonably priced at 9 Euros, was riding high in recommendations and on the Fairplay chart. I bought one following a short demonstration but when we went to play that night, I had not been given English rules. Safe to say, if you like Friedemann's style, this is a must buy. Quick and fun. Andrea had another of the top hits, Linq, but I can save you some money. It is a German word/social game with a 'detect your partner' element, but it will need an English version to be playable. Since that version doesn't yet exist, we Anglophones must wait. Finally, there was another set of power plant cards for Power Grid, which this time apparently change the game considerably.

Abacus had a very nice Zooloretto expansion, in English, if you knew who to ask, and a promo Polar Bear tile. They also had Darjeeling, which is at least half a good game. Designed by my old mate Gunther Burkhardt, this is a game about picking and shipping tea. Very nice components, some excellent ideas, and a really nice tempo in terms of deciding when to commit to shipping, and whether to go for small or large shipments. It is let down badly by the tea collection mechanism, which can be too random and also unbalanced, but otherwise I liked it. Were this fixed somehow, I think it could be a winner.

ADG were back, with Harry Rowland in fine form. They had what seemed a huge amount of World in Flames product, 7 Ages of course, and the item of most interest to me; a late beta of the Empires in Arms PC game. I am looking forward to getting that one onto the computer.

Alea presented Im Jahr des Drachen, designed by Stefan Feld. Herr Feld can do no wrong as far as I am concerned (Roma, Notre Dame and Roma II coming in 2008), so this will be a must purchase when the English edition appears. German friends of mine were full of praise, in one case saying that this is the best game Alea have done. Can't wait.

Amigo: We spent quite a while at the Amigo stand on the Thursday, when tables were freely available and help was at hand. We learned Michael Schacht's Patrician (English version from Mayfair) and all enjoyed it. Patrician is yet another take on the area control, card play and making buildings genre. It was quick, and it worked as a super filler, but one couldn't help feeling that we'd seen it before. The other issue was that while the situation was interesting, there wasn't much in the way of decision making.

Next up was Bohnroeschen. This joins the ever growing range of Bohnanza spin-offs - there are two Bohnbooks out this year as well - and sees the basic game amended by a series of tasks, in a nod to Was Sticht. So, one might need to have fields with a total value of six, hold five money, have each field valued at one, or have nothing but Soya planted. When you achieve the condition at the end of your turn, you advance to the next one. You can skip a task by paying a bounty. Essentially then, Bohnanza with hurdles. I am no fan of the popular Bohn series, through over exposure really, but will gladly play it every now and then. Personally, this variant just adds to the torment, but I suspect keen players might find the conditions make a nice change from the norm. Amigo also provide some cool beanshaped dobbers. As I can't easily pronounce this one, I have decided to call it Bohn Breaker.

CBG (Czech Board Games) collected their IGA award at the show for Through The Ages, and kindly put the last 40 copies up for grabs by way of a lottery. I say kindly, but there was a 20 Euro premium on last year's price! This game looks set for continued success with the reprint on the way from FRED. The big question, however, was whether last year's initial success was a flash in the pan. It wasn't. Combined with CGE (below) the Czechs are still looking fresh and bringing some interesting ideas to gaming.

CBG had two games, one of which most of us ignored because it contained plasticine/clay, but on balance there shouldn't be too much wrong with Laborigines. The basic idea is that modified lab creatures have to try and survive. This will doubtless get played in due time. The other release, Jantaris, was rather clever. An octagon of areas surround a central market. Players work to build control of individual markets, then monopolies, and also get involved in negotiation through a matrix system - this is not the usual verbal haggling, but action chit driven. It all came together very nicely, and although one can never be sure of games played in Essen, I will have high hopes when replaying this one.

CGE (Czech Games Edition) are sort of a separate company to CBG but in most gamers' minds we just grouped them together. There is apparently no schism, as they all still seem to get on, but I can't explain because understanding Czech corporate restructuring is beyond me.

Anyhoo. Galaxy Trucker is the new game from the designer of Through the Ages, and it would be hard to imagine a greater gulf between the two. Trucker is a Factory Fun style game, where you build a spaceship from components, and assess market conditions, against the clock. In phase two, the ship suffers the slings and arrows of spacial fortune. That's it really. I didn't buy it because I know there will be copies around, and that I will like as not only want to play once. I may be wrong, but I rarely see much replay value in this type of game. Or, I get bored easily. Take your pick. If I like it, I can buy it later.

The second game was altogether more meaty. League of Six is, for me, a very interesting design. Having played it, I was impressed but with hindsight that was mainly by the mechanisms taken individually and not, perhaps, as a whole. Based on the Hussite Wars, but so loosely as to be almost irrelevant, this is an intricate game of many interacting parts. There are a number of innovative mechanisms, a clever twist on the Amun Re bidding system, and more turn order devices than I have ever seen in one place! It appears to be a game with plenty going for it. I am not saying it is perfect, as there are definitely problems in the final storage phase and elsewhere, and a marked degree of looping, but overall I am thinking three and a half/four stars.

The other side of the coin is that three of the people I played with felt that there were larger, structural issues. In a nutshell, the game was accused of playing itself, with the gamer's role akin to watching TV. They also thought the game was calculable, and so ultimately prone to lengthy analysis and slow play. And related dullness. I disagreed, but only really because I play most games by the seat of my pants, on hunches, and with an approximate feel for value. The conversation developed and I would put it down to different gamers having different skills, preferences and, importantly, toleration levels. I would happily play this again now, and expect to play at least three times, but I will keep an open mind on the issues discussed.

C4/Creative Cell: Walking around on the Wednesday afternoon, looking for a game to buy and play that night, it was recommended that I have a look at The Circle by first time attendees, C4. I duly went to the stand, and seeing a well produced game about Victorian spies, plonked down my 30 Euros. The theme and ideas are excellent, and they have really done a professional job on graphics and artwork. About the only omission would be passing the game to a developer, I guess, which has had dire consequences.

Generally, the concept is good. Players represent a country deploying secret agents against The Circle, a sort of 19th century Illuminati. The currency of the game is secrets, and this part is neatly done. Broadly, you either strengthen your intelligence and future power, or you recruit and use agents using the same action points. The aim is to infiltrate The Circle with several spies and be the first player to score the necessary VPs. There are country specific and neutral spies, and each has a different skill. As one might expect, there are counter spies, double agents, assassins and several more besides.

There are two major issues that effectively killed this game for us. Firstly, the pace of play. After we had slogged through twelve pages of rules, and read out the sixteen (!) different types of agent powers, we got underway. Everything you do seems to revolve (literally) around the clock device, on which the agents must mature for a number of turns before they are ready for the field. If they perform an action (mission), for sometimes just a minor effect, they are back on the clock and again we wait. The pacing and feel is all wrong for the subject matter. The result is that we quickly gave up even considering missions, and instead infiltrated The Circle, bringing immediate victory points. After almost two hours play, we had had enough.

Crime two is using an olive green and a turquoise, and purple and orange, as colours on the cards. Not easy to define in anything but good light. And it is important.

My feeling is that The Circle almost works, but those workings are so slow as to be effectively unplayable. It felt like it needed to be a computer game to get the pace up. Others were less complimentary. I may be off base here, but it is almost as if they knew where they were going, but came up with the wrong mechanisms. It's a shame because the theme is great, and in keeping with good looking games that need some TLC, I will hang onto this one.

Days of Wonder were selling various versions of Ticket to Ride, with the Swiss expansion being the latest addition. It is clear that the game have a huge following, and one can see why. Probably related to that fact, there were no discount copies around the show, and Days of Wonder held to the 30 Euro price point. On the Thursday, Mik Svellov arrived at the Press Office with the Scandinavian edition under his arm, which I never saw on sale. The map is, to say the least, unfortunate!

DDD: There is always one stand I miss. This year it was DDD, who had displayed their Die Wiege der Renaissance card game in the press area. It looked great, I noted it down, and never got round to finding them. Which is a bit annoying as the game has been talked about since in positive terms. I will see if I can track down a copy.

Doris & Frank were present, but had nothing new this year. Doris has blisters from endless Carcassonne artwork, and Frank has been busy.

dV made a splash with Bang! and then Leonardo last year. According to everyone I spoke to they had nothing new this year, apart from Bang! packaged in an artillery shell (!), and so I didn't check out the stand in detail. Mistake. On the ferry home, Martin Leathwood produced Borneo from his pocket, which he had already played twice. This turns out to be a clever card game that, I believe, was chosen from the design competition held at the Lucca game convention each year. From what I saw and heard (I was playing Mr. Jack on the next table) this is one to check out.

Eggert-Spiele had two new games, as promised. Hamburgum received the better reception of the two. While it looks like yet another rondel-area control-build a church game, everyone that played it said it was good to excellent. Much the same depth as Antike and Imperial, but quicker and cleaner. I have to say it doesn't look all that, but it seems reasonable to expect good gameplay from this up and coming company.

Cuba sounds like Puerto Rico, looks like Puerto Rico and according to some, plays like Puerto Rico. As we also know, Cuba (the island) is quite close to Puerto Rico. Conclusive evidence? One gamer of my acquaintance suggested that Alea should call in their copyright lawyers! Other gamers are leaping to its defence, saying that it is indeed different, oh yes it is. Personally, I'm fine with whatever is in the box. It is designed by one of my favourite teams (responsible for Pillars of the Earth) and I am not super keen on Puerto Rico anyway... There was a lot of good crack about this game, as with Hamburgum, and I feel it is unlikely to be the same game. As I don't own Puerto Rico, I felt I could reasonably purchase Cuba. Okay, okay. I fell for the gorgeous graphics.

Face to Face Games had Cheeky Monkey, a card game by Reiner Knizia, and Moai which is a game about cannibalism. I passed on both, mainly for time reasons.

Fantasy Flight: In truth, I am not entirely sure what was new at this massive stand. I certainly hadn't seen Starcraft before, in one of the gravestone boxes, and Dust looked very good indeed. I had expected this one to be a skirmish game of sorts, but the map is at strategic level and the little bases and mechs are placed in cities. I had written this off, but am now very much interested again. There was also a new Beowulf game, again by Reiner, to coincide with the forthcoming film; a new version of Condottiere in a small box; and another Descent expansion.

Ferti had a new version of Reiner's ancient but still highly playable En Garde. There is a 3d cardboard piste, with a backdrop, and two plastic fencing figures. Very, very cool. Tempted to buy for my friend who fences, tempted to buy one all for myself. In the end I did neither but I will doubtless crack next year. Or, I suppose I could make one myself.

Fragor split people right down the middle with Antler Island. Some people didn't care for it at all. That didn't stop it selling steadily. I was lucky enough to get a game at the stand, and I really enjoyed it. For me, it is their best effort so far. The game is quick, tense and fun. Much snappier and more streamlined than Hameln, and on a par humour wise. It uses the trademark Fragor animal bits, this time elks converted to stags - Gordon Lamont suggested aquatics for next year. It has a very neat pre-programmed action system that allows some flexibility, and a brutal 'king of the hill' victory condition that means you have to clash antlers at least once, and often more. Good play requires timing, a balance of resources, and solid tactical choices. It is all done and dusted in well under an hour, with learning. There is no doubt that it is at the light/family end of gaming, but then haven't Fragor always been there? One of the show highlights for me.

FRED Distribution had the excellent Uptown, a mock up of the forthcoming Through the Ages reprint, and Rails of Europe, which is an expansion for Railroad Tycoon. They also had an English translation of Reiner's well regarded book of poker variants, published in German a decade ago, which I happily carried off for review next time.

Games for The World are the publishers of the hugely enjoyable The World Cup Game, which was published last year. Shaun Derrick the designer has, as promised, followed up with scenarios for 1958, 1962 and 1966, and another set covering 1934, 1938 and 2006. My personal favourite is 1970, and I hope Shaun gets round to that one.

Goldsieber offered an interesting title, Liebe & Intrige, I think largely aimed at the female market judging by the box colour. This is a story building game that claims it recreates the world and books of Jane Austen, although it looked more bodice ripper territory to me. Whatever, the thought of a game that makes stories is always of interest, but of course the German text is going to squash it. If anyone could tell me how this one works, I would be very grateful. Also on offer was Akkon, in theory a game about Templar warfare. I couldn't find anyone to demonstrate it, sadly, and there is a lot of German text, but this must be checked out.

Goliath had a re-issue of TaYu, a good game that I very much regret selling. This new version will let you play the game, but the beautiful components of the Kosmos original are absent, replaced by red acrylic.

Hans im Gluck: Time was that Hans im Gluck released one game per year. Nowadays, there might be as many as half a dozen or more. As the St Petersburg expansion didn't appear, we were left with a couple of Carcassonne expansions (these seem to breed if left in a room together), Travel Carcassonne, Underwater Carcassonne and a Carcassonne Deluxe system which has all the tiles, all the rules, and a large plastic sack to keep them all in. Seriously, I liked the look of the Carcassonne Big Box, which for 35 Euros got you pretty much all the earlier games. My favourites remain The Discovery, which seems so much more elegant than the others, and The Castle.

There were also two bigger box games: Oregon and Ming Dynasty. I was told that both would appear in an English edition, so I eliminated them from my enquiries. It turns out though that both may well be playable as is.

Histogames will always be on radar because they published Friedrich, still one of my favourite games. This year, after quite a break, they had King of Siam. This area control game drew above average comments, and in some cases a lot of praise for its clever card play, tough decisions and Liberte like power vacuum. Another one to try! You could buy this and Friedrich for 40 Euros, which was a steal.

Hurrican collected their IGA award at the show for Mr Jack, a game that still impresses me. Sadly the planned expansion was not available, although it now sounds as if the cards arrived on the Saturday. The expansion includes five new characters for the game, and it will be interesting to see how they fit into the game as the structure is somewhat fixed. Hurrican also had Animalia on the stand, which now has wider distribution. As I said in my earlier review, this is a decent card game if you can handle the cutesy graphics.

Japon Brand brought over a dozen titles with them in their suitcases, and once again they suffered from constantly selling out of the popular games. I went along early this year, and while I liked the look of the samurai chess variant, I plumped for Origin of Falling Water, recommended by two passers-by and the stand manager. We played that night and I was disappointed. It is a strange matrix form of trick taking game in which one could see the idea, but playing it was a nightmare of planning, and there was too much luck and too little control. In fairness, the hilarious rules were worth the price of entry. If anyone can shed light on the other ten new games, I would be interested. I don't really want to say that decent games from Japan are a rarity, but on the evidence of the last few years, they are definitely more miss than hit.

JKLM had a couple of major new releases, Caveman, Murdero (listed, but I didn't see it - this is a murder mystery CCG!) and Power & Weakness - the latter is an interesting looking game by Andreas Steding set in post Roman Britain. There were lots of copies of Phoenicia being played, which is a very good game in the Outpost/Zavandor mould, which I will be reviewing next time. There was also an expansion set for Kogge, and a card game called Stop Lights.

Kosmos were majoring with two new games of The Golden Compass, based on the excellent novels by Philip Pullman. This meant the stand had a huge armoured polar bear, which was a must for photographers. One game is based on the book licence, and the other (more for we gamers) draws on the imagery from the forthcoming film. The latter game is German only at present, but will be in English very soon. The game is designed by the Italian design team behind War of the Ring and Marvel Heroes, so hopefully it will be a cut above. It looks lovely, and I expect to play an English prototype in the near future. There was also an expansion to Pillars of the Earth that was selling very well, but, again, is in German only at the moment. Mayfair are expected to do the English version, but we don't know exactly when that will be. Another game on display was a two player series title based on Perry Rhodan, a curiously popular SF book saga. Reports were positive, and I look forward to trying it. I believe Kosmos also had some Settlers stuff out back, and Anno 1701.

Lookout Games caused some furrowed brows with Agricola. They had a tempting new gamer's game about farming (at last!), by an established designer, but featuring some German on the cards and no-one knew if it would ever get an English version. It also weighed a lot, putting off anyone who was flying home - these days, baggage limits are enforced with punitive fines. So, to buy or not to buy? The designer is Uwe Rosenberg, of Bohn fame, and to make matters worse, pretty much all the buzz was positive. If I take myself back a few years, the chance to buy a lovely looking game that might need a bit of work with the rules was something I did all the time. In this case, the talented Melissa Rogerson has already done the hard work on translation. So, unfazed, and always keen to support the smaller companies making such games, I handed over the cash, lugged it home, and I will play as soon as I can.

Lookout also had an unusual version of Bohnanza, featuring artwork submitted by fans. Sadly, it is all a bit amateurish. UK readers will think Vision On. Not that I am exactly the target market anyway.

Matagot were back, and their customer service hasn't improved a great deal. Say what you want about the French, and I hear many dissenting voices, but dealing with Matagot is reminiscent of buying a ticket on the French railway system. They don't care, they are rude, and if they can obstruct you, they will. Otherwise, I like the French, and France. In the case of Matagot, one wonders if they want to sell the game. So when I tried to get a game of Utopia (mainly because of mixed feelings about Khronos, the box is huge, and it is not inexpensive) I was greeted with a shrug, Gallic attitude, and a suggestion that I wait until a slot became available. At that point one was expected to learn the game oneself! So, for the very first time in Essen history, I thought, 'sod it', and walked off. But because I am a professional (!), the game runs about two hours, was deemed very good by almost all those that played, and it looks lovely. I'll get to play it within the month, and will report back.

Mind the Move have been a regular point of call for most gamers over the last few years, even if their games have left me cold. I believe I am right in saying that they weren't at the show this year.

Moskito were demonstrating Tribun, which is the theme-morphed game that I played as Sammelsurium last year and greatly enjoyed. This is a no brainer purchase, really, given the designer, but most understandably decided to wait for the English edition. For many, including the Fairplay voters, this was game of the show. Told you so!

Nexus had a nice looking prototype of motorcycle racing, a subject that we rarely see. Sectional track, and hopefully little bike models, should make for a must buy. They will need to be careful with the title though - I once worked in MotoGP licensing. Sadly, Battles of Napoleon, one of the games I am most looking forward to, will now not appear until later in the year.

Pegasus had a whole load of games, mainly US rebadges, but including a re-issue of Junta and new game called Robotics.

Phalanx had two new games, Lascaux and Chicago Poker, but most talk was of Before the Wind, a game I have played a lot recently and which I regard highly. It was pleasing to see BtW making a good showing, high on the Fairplay chart.

Portal Publishing had a new version of Neuroshima Hex. I like this game a lot, and asked if I could get hold of the attractive new map. The designer politely explained that I could get the new map if I bought the new version. No messing, these Poles. I could probably have worked that out for myself...

Queen are fast becoming one of the big players, and had several new games for the show. One of these I had hoped for, one was a complete surprise, and another seemed to be transparent because I heard not a single word about it all show.

The transparent game is Eketorp, by Dirk Henn, of all people. If anyone can tell me anything about this one, I'm all ears.

The surprise was Fish Market (Fangfrisch), which avoided most of the show previews. This is a great little filler. Turn over cards featuring various kinds of fish, representing the day's catch. Buyers watch until they decide to buy, and then they hit the Halli-Galli bell provided. They pay a flat 10 gold, the seller gets increasing money the more he sells. Store the fish in either crates or the freezer, and sell them later. Dead simple. Nice little game.

And finally, a game I saw last year in prototype and instantly liked. When I saw the box, I was almost sure it would be good. And I was right. Giganten der Lufte (Airships) is a short, punchy dice game by Andreas Seyfarth. A long way from Puerto Rico, and even Thurn & Taxis. This one bears some similarity to Um Krone & Kragen, and offers a comparable experience. The plot is that you are a company building airships, and through research, technology and improved resources (all cards gained through dice), you can build more and more advanced models, finally peaking with the Hindenburg. There are some interesting deicisions, a strong theme, and a real sense of building. Yes, there is luck, but in the context of the game it was no problem for me. One of the hits.

R&D Games broke the trend of recent years by having more than enough Key Harvest games on sale, at a very good price point. Adding belt to the braces, you could buy a different version altogether from QWG who, I am ashamed to say, I never found. Key Harvest returns Richard Breese to familiar territory after last year's diversion into Fowl Play, while retaining the superb art and production standards he is known for. Having played this one several times already, I can say that you will not be disappointed. I particularly like the cube pricing mechanism, and the simple device of 'gaming bingo' in trying to collect the right tiles is surprisingly gripping. I really like this game.

Rackham were present in the miniatures hall, a place where I spend a lot of time, and the future strategy was clear: pretty much anything apart from pre-painted plastics and AT-43 was on sale. The metal figures are going, as is the Cadwallon RPG. Hybrid and its expansion were under half price, making them almost affordable! This is, of course, a major shame as it seemed that Rackham were doing everything right, making a decent shot at Games Workshop rival, and doing it in exciting style. But cash flow problems, international marketing and new product launches can get you every time, and so I hope they manage to pull through. They are too good to lose.

Ragnar Brothers: Sharing a stand with R&D, Gary Dicken of the Ragnar Brothers made his first visit to Essen. He brought along copies of 2nd Edition Canal Mania, a few conversion kits (I grabbed one) and had details of their new game, Monastery. The latter game was not available because their artist broke his hand, which as you might imagine puts a crimp in your style. Expected later this year.

Rio Grande normally get slotted under other companies, but this year they alone had Tom Lehmann's Race for the Galaxy. In English. Yes, it is finally out. One of the most awaited games of recent years is in my hands. It had better be good!

Sierra Madre Games were back, this time with a full blown colour, Anglo-German language production: Origins: How We Became Human is a game about the very start of the human species, and resulting development and civilisation. It is no secret that I am a big fan of Sierra Madre games. I have therefore played a late prototype, and very much enjoyed it, so look forward to getting the published version to the table.

Truant Verlag, who have been around a while, did their first big box game in the shape of Kingsburg. This was that difficult proposition: a new company in the field, with a large game, at a large price. Does one take the gamble? I didn't, but those that did said it was decent. But nothing more than that. I would like to play it, nevertheless.

Valley Games had one of the better marketing ploys of recent years, with Miss Canada demonstrating games on the stand. It would be naughty of me to suggest that the many admiring eyes were for her rather than their new release, Container. Personally, as attractive as Miss C was (she did an excellent job of describing the game, by the way), I preferred her mum. I think that says a lot about me… Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, Container. A number of people I spoke to said this was Best of Show. The game is indeed a clever one, with lovely ship models, but I had such a poor outing (I ran out of cash too quickly) that I am going to defer judgement on this one. Valley also had their reprint of Hannibal, which looks spectacular. Miss Canada was evidently not playing this one, in case there were any wargamers thinking of marriage proposals.

Warfrog launched Brass, bang on time, and very nice it looked too. They also had a reprint of Mordred, with uprated graphics.

What's Your Game released Ghost for Sale, a deduction game aimed at the younger audience.

Winsome Games' release was Wabash Cannonball, which was getting an awful lot of good press before the show. A decent, meaty railway game in an hour or so is something I am always open to. Of course, John Bohrer only produces a limited run each year, and I had not ordered one. Fortunately, as John and I go way back, I was able to secure a copy. Thanks John. Can't wait to play this one.

WOTC/Sony: I apologise for bringing computer games into this report, but for me The Eye of Judgment was the buzz game of the show. One couldn't miss the many large screens showing the amazing battle sequences of a Magic style game, and people kept walking up to me saying how much they wanted the cards and the game, and trying to justify the 100 Euro price tag. Not to mention the PlayStation 3 you need to play it, and the fact it is collectible! Sounds like a money pit to me. In fairness, I was very impressed by the graphics, and when I found out the game was a hybrid, with cards that are 'played' into the computer by way of a camera, I felt I could happily mention it here. Have a look, it is probably another step down the road for gaming technology.

Ystari may have taken second seat behind the Czechs in the 'Company to Talk About' stakes, but they are not exactly idle. Their new game is Amyitis, which no-one seems to be able to pronounce except to make it sound like a disease. I didn't buy it as there will be lots of copies at the club, but I am keen to try as soon as possible. Again, generally good press on this one. There was also a small expansion for Mykerinos.

Z-Man are really starting to push the games out. There have already been a number this year, and Essen saw the release of 1960: The Making of the President, Prophecy, El Capitan and Chang Cheng. 1960 was a must for me, being a big fan of election games, and it is co-designed by Jason Matthews of Twilight Struggle fame. Not exactly a difficult decision, this one. I will look forward to playing Prophecy, as Frank Branham has spoken highly of it. My liking of this one will depend on it being considerably better than Runebound, and much much better than Talisman! Chang Cheng looked good, although being a game about the Great Wall of China lead many gamers to think it would replicate Reiner's earlier effort. I don't think this is the case, and, again, I will play this in time.

Quite a few games that were slated to appear at Essen didn't. Here are a few, which in all honesty I was happy to cross off my list - to save money and decisions, not because I am not interested.

Cold War: CIA vs KGB - just a no show. The chap on the FF stand didn't know why it hadn't appeared. Shame, because this was a must have.

Mr Jack expansion - delayed. The cards arrived with square corners rather than round (and if you know the game, you know why that is a problem!). Possibly, the cards may arrive on Saturday of the show.

St Petersburg expansion - delayed until December. No one knew if this is just the Spielbox expansion in a box, or rather more than that, so I asked at HiG. Apparently it is the Spielbox cards, plus some new cards.

Age of Piracy - didn't make the show, more likely to be at Nuremberg '08.

Battles of Napoleon and Age of Conan are both delayed.

Im Jahr des Drachens, Ming Dynasty, Oregon, Pillars of the Earth expansion, Tribune, Golden Compass (film version) - all awaiting English editions.

As you can see, I pretty much ignored all the little card games (they will show up over time or cause a stir somehow) and abstracts. This is not to belittle the efforts of Kris Burm, Peter Burley and many others, I just don't feel I can cover them. Increasing specialisation takes its toll.

My standout games so far, bearing in mind the pile of unopened boxes, are

Antler Island
Before the Wind
Eye of Judgment
Giganten der Lufte
Jantaris
Key Harvest
League of Six
Origins: How We Became Human
Phoenicia
Tribune

And the unplayed games that tempt me the most:

1960: The Making of the President
Agricola
Amyitis
Borneo
Brass
Container
Cuba
Hamburgum
Im Jahr des Drachen
King of Siam
Power & Weakness
Prophecy
Utopia
Race for the Galaxy
Wabash Cannonball

Mike Siggins

Many thanks to BoardGameGeek.com, Spielbox.de and BoardGameNews.com without which writing this report would have been an awful lot slower. I would also like to thank Richard Breese and Martin Leathwood for moving me country to country, Harry Rowland for a great (and truly huge) dinner, and Klaus Knechtskern and Patrick Korner for very interesting chats. And Charlie, Ken, Kurt and Marion, you know how much I enjoyed the week.

Because I haven’t yet got a copy of this game (where are they?!), I can’t do the full review I would like to. But I have played twice, and I thought I’d give you the heads up. In short, this has all the signs of an interesting game and I am in no doubt that this is the best that Phalanx have so far produced. It is going to annoy some, because we have seen the theme before – buying goods to load onto ships. Personally, I will take ten games on this same theme if they each give me a clever new mechanism or two (check), nice graphics (check) and a solid game (check). Inevitably, comparisons with Medici will be made, but it really is a different beast. Drawbacks? There is an auction element, but this is interesting and different. The game is not too efficient. You seem to make very few actions, but something takes a lot of time down in the churning gears of the engine room, so the game ends up being too long. We also found that the last turn can effectively decide the game between competent players, which makes the lengthy preamble less palatable. So, pacing issues which are probably fixable, but otherwise looking good.

I rather like the idea of this little card game, but try as I might, I can’t get away from the notion that it is largely random and lacking control. There is certainly a strong case for not leading, while losing the lead is arcane knowledge. The key mechanism is very clever, but of course that is the basic requirement for card games that are going to join that overflowing, and unmanageable, pile of small boxes. I have purchased the game, and will play some more. At the moment I am going to file this in with 6 Nimmt as a game that is fun, frustrating but largely an exercise in fate that passes the time. A true filler!

Lots of interest in this one recently, mainly generated by the lucky few locals who have managed to secure a copy from Poland, and Frank Branham’s excellent column at BGN. I was fortunate to get to play a game, but because it was in high demand we made the error of taking the four player route. I think this was unwise, and that the game will shine with two. Still, it wasn’t at all bad as it stood.

Each player has a faction with many types of futuristic combat units. Overall your cadre is similar to your opponent, but with specialist tweaks, subtle differentiation and also unique skills for each side. For instance one side will have mine tiles or long range snipers, while another might have airstrikes or combat nets. Some tiles generate events, while others are support units that confer skills to adjacent and linked units.

The units are placed onto a hex grid. There is a randomising phase where you draw and discard, and (I think) you can also hold back units and events for the ‘right’ time. In some situations units may move, or be pushed around, but generally they stay put with players trying to set up powerful ‘chains’ of tiles, cross supported yet still able to attack. Eventually the grid is filled and this triggers a combat round. The highest initiative units go first, either firing or meleeing. Damage is applied and dead units are removed. The next level of initiative now triggers, and so on. After all combat is finished, and there is usually a high level of carnage resulting in many holes in the hex grid, the game continues until your HQ is destroyed.

The aspect I liked least was that the board feels very cramped. One got the sense that another outer row or two of hexes would have made for a very different game, and allowed some of the unit skills (especially ranged fire) to come into their own. This may have been a function of the vicious four player melee we endured, or perhaps it is exactly what is intended. Perhaps it is just the miniatures gamer in me, looking for room to flank.

Neuroshima Hex is at heart an abstract game, requiring one to deploy fixed ability units, and line up and assess chains of events, combat and sometimes moves. Strangely, that is an enjoyable task and often draws opponents and onlookers into co-operative analysis of likely interactions, outcomes and winners. It can be a little dry, and while the units all have evocative, warlike names, ultimately they are chess-like pieces, and usually inert. The kicker is the ability to form command chains, and to set up traps, pins and many other tactical ploys. Still, I liked it a lot. Definitely one to return to and I understand the company will be at Essen with unlimited supplies!

Leaving aside Caylus, about which I have written more than enough, for me Magna Carta is a clear improvement on the basic game. So much so that I have pushed it up a full point, and thought it good enough to buy. The feel of the game has changed considerably; it is leaner and no less mean. It is also a lot faster. By the simple expedient of streamlining, much of the real decision making of the game is preserved while a lot of fat, and half the time required, is trimmed off. I don’t believe it has been done perfectly – I am concerned about the infrequent use of the card deck – but it really has been boiled down to the best bits of the system. I greatly enjoyed my games, and while it is still not identifiably ‘fun’, it is definitely a title I will return to. And just as an afterthought, Ystari really need to divert some of their success into decent artwork – hard to believe they are still producing ugly covers.

It is always good to see an excited buzz form around an unknown game, from an unlikely and ‘non gamer’ source. This is one of those word of mouth games, where someone buys a copy on spec, plays it, likes it and then spreads the news. In a nutshell, it can be described as a bit like Set, Ingenious, Rummikub or (most commonly) Scrabble with symbols. It is very interesting to play, even quite challenging, and like all the best ideas you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. Recommended.

Atlas Games do take some interesting risks, and I cut them a lot of slack for publishing the excellent Ars Magica. Balancing this, one is always wary because of Lunch Money and the dubious decisions behind publishing such a game. This time, they apparently forgot to blind playtest. Why do we suspect this? Because the rules make little or no sense (especially on turn structure) and we had to come up with on the spot design fixes to even get the thing working.

It also seems strongly geared to four players, yet the box assures us three to five is okay. We played with three, and it really wasn’t okay – something very odd was going on with the scoring, the game pieces and card values. Its final sin is that it uses dumb made-up words in the rules, so one ends up translating back to English throughout. I think we all know a game or two like that.

Anyway. That was the bad stuff. Having played, we all enjoyed this game of constructing magical artifacts at a sort of Wizard’s Olympic Games, loosely attached to the rich background of Ars Magica. The graphics are attractive, the game play is interesting and sometimes challenging, and it certainly appeals. It is precisely the sort of game that would benefit from an expansion card set, and/or variant rules. Even with the problems described, all three of us gave it a 7/10 and we are pretty mean markers. That is saying something, if you think about it. Such generosity may prove to be mistaken, and of course is based partly on our design guesswork, so please tread carefully.

Apart from its latent play quality, I am also mentioning Grand Tribunal because it seemed to get lost in the flurry of new games last year, and it is not immediately apparent that it is a boardgame. So, I think this one deserves a wider audience; the theme is good, the implementation is solid and it does much that Colosseum does in a third of the time. I have kept the game, hoping that Atlas do the honourable thing and provide a new rule set, proper fixes and, in time, new cards for variety. Thus revamped, it could make a great Spells and Potions game for Harry Potter fans. Recommended, in a sort of reserved way.

I will not go on about this one for too long as it is by all accounts a promotional game and is not easily available, if at all. Unless perhaps you are a veterinarian buying a policy. Published by Swiss Re, the insurance company who built the gorgeous Gherkin in London, this is a decent card game about collecting animals. The colourful artwork is well done, if terminally cute, and the game is middling, or slightly better. For a promotional game, considering the norm, it is rather good. Worth a try, especially as family fare, but don’t hunt too hard or pay too much.

I assume this is the other, upstart, Cambridge, rather than the proper one where I work. If not, we need the designer to come round to visit one evening. Why? This post-Settlers building game has quite a learning curve. I have played twice, and watched or listened (you know how that works) twice. Veteran gamers struggle with the curve. It is the very definition of opaque. I don’t think it is the rules, but they might be tighter. I think it is more the multi-use cards and unintuitive terminology. I think. What is certain is that the outcome is the same. An hour or so saying, ‘What do I do again?’ or ‘How do I build this?’ It’s a shame because the game is very good, once you are up to speed, and it has a very clever turn/role driver. A mystery, and to cap it all, I will happily play again.

There is an argument to say that the world has had enough of the Lord of the Rings in all its many forms. But the fans remain fans, and the books and games still sell, so it was with interest that I went along to the first week of the new theatrical production in London.

Soon, I am in my seat in the spectacular theatre, admiring the amazing stage and set. And the first signs of problems. I am in the front row of a section in the posh seats, so can stretch my legs out into the wide fire aisle. Result! Sadly, this aisle is to be used, frequently, for various 'audience mingling' events throughout the evening. Within minutes, a hobbit is trying to push a wheelbarrow along within inches of my feet. Now why is that a problem you ask? At the moment I have to wear open toed sandals because I have an ingrowing toenail. The thing is painful enough, without a solid hobbit barrow going over it. So I sit there with my legs drawn up under the chair.

That's fine for twenty minutes, but this is a three hour production, and every now and then it happens again - someone or something suddenly appears from behind, or from the side. I become a nervous wreck, and very uncomfortable. Which is appropriate because at the two thirds mark, with me possibly dozing slightly, the orcs attack the audience.... There is a scream, I look round, and there is a snarling orc in a scary mask three inches from my face. Truly terrifying. I am not kidding, it was almost a change of underwear moment. For the next ten minutes, as my blood pressure subsides, these orcs run around like idiots, growling away, prodding the attractive women, and there I am virtually doubled up trying to keep my feet safe. I nearly walked out. Would have, but for fear of being ‘Boromired’.

Apart from that, and a strange development by which the Elves now use a form of sign language, it was actually good. The story went out the window, savagely cut down, but the key moments were there and the sets and imagery are great. Every so often there was a song*, and there was an 'unusual' dance routine in the Prancing Pony. By the end it all got a bit Elaine Paige, with some excellent singers belting it out, but I guess that is what filled the seats with foreign tourists.

Somehow they managed to make Bilbo fade and disappear (no idea how, I suppose he may have been a projection) and Gollum was, against all the odds, a brave and popular effort to match the definitive Andy Sirkis. There were two other stunning effects; the Balrog and Shelob. The Balrog is suggested at first, by sulphur scented smoke and bits of 'ash' flying around. And you think that it is. Then the bloody thing appears on stage. Very impressive, and Shelob was just as good.

If I had to describe it one sentence I would say it is LotR meets Cirque du Soleil. Lots of new age music, orcs on those bouncy leg extenders, stiltwork, cartwheels, and lots of lifting and lowering. It was fine. Well done. Entertaining. Different.

I will end by saying there were two very cute female hobbits (is that thought in any way wrong?) and that I still have some Balrog in my eye (and it is not often you say that).

The gaming link? I designed the boardgame for the show.

*In theory, I despise musicals. I really can't stand that bit where they are chatting away and then all of a sudden they burst into song. On the other side of the coin, some of my favourite films are musicals - Wizard of Oz, Calamity Jane, even Oliver! on the right day. Go figure. On the third side of the coin I give you Moulin Rouge, which is easily in my ‘Top Ten Most Disappointing’ and it is the only DVD I have ever sold. On another level entirely, I am scarred for life by Barbara Streisand movies.

Next time, a look at Tropical’s much talked about Age of Empires III, more on Before the Wind, and, hopefully, JKLM’s Phoenicia.

Mike Siggins