2007.05.17
Eurogames aren’t tactical? Say it ain’t so!
Jason recently posted an article on his weblog about tactical games. While I agree that Wizard Kings is a more tactical game than many Eurogames are, I don’t entirely agree that Eurogames don’t focus on tactics.
As examples, consider two of Dr. Reiner Knizia’s games, Blue Moon City and Samurai. With their tile-driven wooden-block-pushing mechanics, I can’t imagine anyone would doubt their Eurogame provenance, yet they’re both almost purely tactical games in my experience.
Many of Knizia’s other designs also feel quite tactical to me – Kingdoms and Through the Desert come to mind, as do Lost Cities and the Blue Moon card game, and the list goes on. Dr. Knizia certainly does not have a monopoly on tactical Eurogames, either. Tikal and Java by Kramer and Kiesling are quite tactical, as are Wrede’s Carcassonne and Rauscher’s Tongiaki.
There are also eurogames with deeper tactics and heavier strategy such as Caylus and Tigris & Euphrates, though they both play longer than the more family-oriented Eurogames as a side effect.
One thing most of these tactical Eurogames have in common, and this is perhaps what Jason was picking up on, is that their tactical palette is sometimes a little limited. When I’m playing Blue Moon City, for example, there are only a limited number of single-turn and two- or three-turn tactics I can use. The choices aren’t usually easy, but there aren’t all that many options, either. On the other hand, Wizard Kings gives players a wide range of tactical options, owing a lot to the variety of terrain and units. The strategic framework present in the game also provides a richer environment in which to explore those tactics (or just make them up as you go like I do).
While I don’t agree that Eurogames lack tactics, I do think that in many cases they limit the tactical options. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as they can create tension and interest in many other ways. I can think of dozens of games of Ingenious where I could easily agonize over a single tile placement for more than a minute (a long time in a 20-30 minute 2-player game), even though Ingenious really doesn’t have that many tactical options.
Wizard Kings produces tension more on the tactical and strategic side of things, and this kind of variety is the reason I play (and own) such a large number of different board games.
Subscriptions