2007.12.29
Holiday Games
I visited my family for a few days this holiday season, and we played a few different board games. It was interesting to hear their remarks on the games, most of which none of them had played before.
Everyone seemed to enjoy this game. At the end, everyone remarked that it was a lot of fun once you figured it out. Further, they all liked the fact that the game moved fast, with little downtime between turns. My brother-in-law was also a bit surprised at how much the tickets mattered in the end.
I found that Killer Bunnies dragged a bit for me, but it was an enjoyable game all in all. Once mom caught on, she enjoyed the game, and my sister had played before so got into it pretty quickly. Mom remarked that once she realized that the rules were only a framework and you just needed to read the cards, it was easier for her (and more enjoyable).
Thebes took a little while to get rolling, and there was a bit of confusion about a technicality of what happens with expeditions that cross a year boundary, but everyone seemed to enjoy it in the end, though less than Ticket to Ride: Europe. There were two comments of note:
- Several people commented that the downtime was too long between turns. I personally don’t mind the downtime in Thebes, as I find it interesting to watch the other players take their turns, and I also feel the game moves fast enough.
- Mom found it interesting that there were many different ways to get points, and that no one strategy seemed to be better than any other. For instance, I did miserably at excavations, drawing very few points, but I got a large number of congress cards, and wound up winning the game as a result (by fewer than 5 points).
Based on this, I think Zooloretto would be a definite hit with my family, and Power Grid has definite possibilities, so long as things are kept moving.
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