Spiel des Jahres

Recently, the Spiel des Jahres nominees were announced.  What is the Spiel des Jahres, and why do we care?  I am glad you asked.

According to BoardGameGeek, the Spiel des Jahres (SdJ) is the “most prestigious award for board and card games, is awarded annually by a jury of German game critics.”  To be honest, sales statistics would definitely support this, since winning the SdJ will easily boost sales by a factor of 50!  There are other awards, such as the Mensa Award, but the SdJ is the one I look to see on a game box.   In order to qualify, the game must be published in Germany in the year it is nominated.  That’s specifically interesting here because this year’s nominees include a game that has been in the United States for several years, but only now published in Germany.

This year, the nominees are:

·         Forbidden Island – which I briefly reviewed a couple of months ago.

·         Asara – of which I have no personal knowledge.

·         Qwirkle – which I own and my wife and I both really enjoy.

Qwirkle has been available in the United States for some time, and at Target stores for at least a year.  I plan to review it in the next few posts.  I would be happy with either Forbidden Island or Qwirkle as the winner.

For casual and family gamers, this award is the mark of a game that’s an excellent choice.   I own several of these games, and all of the awardees I have played are truly fun games with meaningful choices.  At the same time, they are games that are accessible to nearly everyone.  I have reviewed one already, Ticket to Ride (2004), and we love it enough to have three versions and three expansions!  Other winners we own include Dominion (2009), Zooloretto (2007), Carcassonne (2001), The Settlers of Catan (1995), and Rummikub (1980).  Of these, I can personally and heartily recommend all but Zooloretto (only because I haven’t played it yet!) and Rummikub (which is good, but which can’t compete against so many other games). 

When the winner is announced, I will let everyone know.  In the meantime, it’s a pretty safe bet that any of the three nominees are great games to enjoy with your friends and family.  So pick one up from your favorite gaming source, and then…

It’s Your Move!

More Economic Game for Your Money: Acquire

If you want to challenge me in a game (other than chess), this is it.  Why?  Because I will always play, and I always lose.  I don’t recall ever winning a game of Acquire.  It isn’t a difficult game, but I haven’t found a winning strategy.  In fact, most games of Acquire in our gaming group are won by the same player – Kay’s brother.

2008 Edition (photo by sbiliby)

Nonetheless, this game is the only game (again, other than chess) that I have rated a “10” on BoardGameGeek.  My definition of a “10” (quoted from my profile on BGG) is:

I have loved these games for a long time. I expect to always love them. If I am ever forced to live in a retirement community with a closet for a room, I will make sure I somehow have a copy of these games with me.

Acquire definitely fits; I am always stoked to play.  Like Monopoly, it is a game about making money in the hotel business.  The rules are about the same in complexity, though very different mechanically.  Where Acquire beats Monopoly is in game length and player participation.

In Acquire, each player has a “hand” of tiles and some money.  Tiles placed on the game board during play abstractly represent the growth of various hotel chains.  On your turn, you will select a tile from your “hand” and place it on the board, generally creating or growing a hotel chain.  After placement of the tile, you may buy up to three stock certificates of any hotel chains on the board.  No one actually “owns” a hotel chain, just stock certificates.  At times, the tile being placed will connect two hotel chains.  At that point, a merger occurs, with the smaller hotel incorporated into the larger.  The player owning the most stock in the smaller chain gets a big bonus and the player with the second most a smaller bonus.  All players have the option of selling the stock they own in the incorporated hotel chain to generate income.  Play continues until one of the end game conditions is met; generally the game is played until one hotel chain reaches a size of 41 tiles.  At that point, all assets are converted to cash, and the player with the most money wins.

1968 Edition in play (photo by Matthew Gray)

Note that there is no die rolling.  The key to the game is having an idea of what hotel chains your opponents are interested in growing, and predicting which hotels will merge and which will grow based on that information.  Should you capitalize on that information, and try to gain one of the top two stock owning spots for that chain, or should you try to build your own chain?  Is there a middle ground?  Don’t ask me!  Remember I lose!

1968 Edition (photo by toh!)

That’s the game in a nutshell.  The rules are not much more complex than Monopoly.  The decisions are far more varied and interesting.

Acquire, however, plays in roughly 90 minutes.  It is not the four hour marathon Monopoly can be.  Turns are relatively short.  Often, players are involved even when it isn’t their turn due to the mergers.  Players are engaged the whole time.

Let me rephrase that: All players are involved the whole time.  There is no player elimination in this game, which is another huge improvement over Monopoly.  In fact, if Acquire were to be premiered today, it would be labeled a European style game.  It has no player elimination and is somewhat abstract.  With money acting as the victory points, the game has mid-game scoring (mergers) and end game scoring (final tallying of assets).  While I am not a huge fan of the thematic abstraction that Euros tend to be designed on, it seems to fit here.  After all, trading in stocks seems to be a little abstract in the real world, too.  However, Acquire was originally published in 1962 by 3M (imagine that!) before Euros were big in the US, and was pretty unique at that time.

One point Acquire loses to Monopoly is in number of players.  For any meaningful interaction to occur, the game requires three players.  There are two-player variants online at BoardGameGeek, and they work pretty well, but it’s not the same.  Additionally, this game might not engage the kids, even though they might grasp the rules.  For casual gaming and families with kids over 10, it will be great.

1999 Edition (photo by andreo)

One note about purchasing:  The current version of Acquire can be purchase at a game store, either brick-and-mortar or online.  However, older 3M versions (particularly the 1968 version) can often be found on eBay or in thrift stores for a bargain.  The components are somewhat different – some say better – but the game play is exactly the same.  So if you tend to haunt those places anyway, it may be worth your while to look for a copy.  If you find the 1999 version for a reasonable price, you found a treasure!  (And please let me know!)

Vital Statistics:

Acquire

                Ages:                     12 and up

                Time:                     90 minutes

                Players:                 3-6

It’s Your Move!

Getting on Board with Ticket to Ride

Last month I said I would review Ticket to Ride, which is one of my go-to games for casual gaming. No one has ever told me they dislike it, and we often have people ask to play “the train game”. With it being recommended for ages 8 and up, which is accurate, it is accessible to many children. At the same time, it is definitely a game that will appeal to adults. The publisher, Days of Wonder, produces quality games that are solidly made with artistic components, making them a joy to play.

Welcome aboard! Ticket to Ride is the cross country adventure game set in Victorian America. You are travelling the United States, attempting to become the most travelled person in the country. You will be taking trains from city to city to claim the honor, trying to get to all of your given destinations before time runs out!

Photo by Manuel Pombeiro

The artwork in Ticket to Ride is reminiscent of the novel Around the World in 80 Days. In fact, the game play has some of that feel to it. Players play sets of cards attempting to “claim routes”, placing little passenger train cars on the routes between nearby cities. These claims score points, which will determine the winner. Additionally, each player has a few cards, called “destination tickets”, which give secret goals of connecting two cities that are not near each other; Los Angeles to Miami might be one destination ticket a player might have. The end of the game occurs when one player has essentially run out of little passenger cars to place. At the end of the game, those secret goals which have been completed add to the score; those goals which failed subtract. The person with the most points at the end of the final scoring is the winner!

Since only one person can claim each route between nearby cities, there are strategic opportunities to block, giving this game a little spice. That said, we have nearly always played Ticket to Ride as a “friendly” game, with confrontation happening incidentally as a result of trying to complete destination tickets, rather than overt attempts to block someone. It’s just as fun as a friendly game. The game is not complicated (though it’s not tic-tac-toe, either) and the strategy is not so complex that you are exhausted after play. I will say again that I have never met anyone that doesn’t like the game: kids and adults alike.

Ticket to Ride belongs to the genre of “Eurogames”, a style of gaming that originated in Germany. Unlike American designed games, Eurogames do not eliminate players. Everyone is in the game until the end. Typically, there is scoring during the course of the game, with a big set of points being awarded at the end of the game to finally determine the winner. The person leading up to the end isn’t safe; someone can certainly come from behind in the endgame scoring.

Be aware there are several versions of Ticket to Ride, including Ticket to Ride: Europe, Ticket to Ride: Märklin, and Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries. I will recommend the original Ticket to Ride, with the United States map, since it is slightly simpler. However, any of them would be a great purchase. They are all loved by both casual gamers and the hobby gaming community.

Ticket to Ride: ages 8 and up, 45 minutes, 2-5 players.

3rd Sunday Gaming Group – February: Modern Art

Yesterday was our monthly gaming session. As you can guess from the name of our group, we normally meet the third Sunday of every month. In all, we played three games of three different titles for a total of nine games: No Thanks!, Pandemic and Modern Art. I only remember who won Pandemic; the game won two of three. Pandemic is the big brother to Forbidden Island; both are designed by Matt Leacock. They are both cooperative games and share some mechanics, though they have different storylines and feel differently. (At some point I will review Pandemic, though there are lots of reviews available on the web if you are really curious now.) No Thanks! I have previously discussed. 

Since there were only four of us, we were able to try something new to us: Modern Art. Players are art dealers who buy paintings from each other through different types of auctions. Each round, or “auction season”, will see four paintings from five artists auctioned. When the fifth painting hits goes to auction, the season is over. Those paintings are then sold back to the bank for money. After four auction seasons, the game is over, and the person with the most money wins.
 
Of course, we played it wrong the first two times, missing a small rule with a big impact. In fact, there aren’t really any complicated rules in this game. (I was reading too fast.) Each player has a hand of cards with paintings and the associated type of auction on them. The first player selects a painting to sell, and everyone, including the seller, generally has a chance to buy. The next player offers a painting, and the game continues. When the fifth painting hits the table, it is discarded and the season ends. 

Photo by Chris Norwood

The key to the game is this fifth painting and the way paintings are sold back to the bank. The fifth painting counts as a sold painting, even though no player auction takes place. (Think of it as being auctioned to a foreign collector, with proceeds going to charity.) Furthermore, since there can be double auctions with two paintings, the fifth painting may hit the table with the fourth, or with the sixth. In this case, these paintings are also discarded and counted as sold even though no money has changed hands. Remember, the paintings are each from one of five artists. The top three selling artists have a corresponding value assigned to their paintings, and all the paintings are sold back at those values. Four seasons are played, and the values add up over the course of the game, making some artists very valuable.

I know, this sounds pretty boring. I might not be able to express how much fun this is. First of all, some of the auction types allow the seller to manipulate the price of the painting. Furthermore, because with the fifth painting (and perhaps the fourth and sixth paintings) no money changes hands, they become a way to swing the value of paintings before they are sold. This forces a player to make tough decisions on what he or she thinks paintings will be worth at the end of the round, based on how much they can influence which artists are sold the most, and how many of those they own. Yet, there are no guarantees that someone might frustrate your plans by the end of the round. Having only played this once, we have only scratched the surface on the strategy, and I can’t wait to play more.

How is it for casual or family gaming? While the rules are fairly simple, there is quite a bit of “think” in this game. It won’t be hard to learn or teach, but the strategy is probably too much for kids, and it isn’t a theme that will appeal to kids either. It also may not appeal to those who like a light game or like chucking buckets of dice. On the other hand, a group or family that likes a thoughtful game without having to learn page upon page of rules will find this to be an excellent game.
My cautiously given rating is:

Roll on!