The following is a record of games played at the Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club. It does not include additional games that I may have played personally outside the club.
Amun Re x 2 - A nice game that everyone likes, and some people like a lot.
Bernini Mysterie - An abstract game so simple and limited that you know someone is going to solve it soon, and is therefore unenjoyable to play. It appears to be a forced draw, in any event.
Big City - I didn't play, but heard good things.
Bridge - A classic filler game for four.
Colossal Arena x 2 - The scoring range appears to be too limited, but I've only played it once with two players. I haven't played with five players yet.
Cosmic Encounter - A classic game, always wild.
El Grande - An excellent game, a tad long, but engaging.
For Sale - A filler, not bad, but not extraordinary. Very quick and easy to teach new players, however.
Gipf - Seems nice, but currently appears to be a forced draw. I suspect that I'm wrong about this.
Go x 2 - A classic two-player abstract game for all levels.
Goldland - I have only played once, and thought it was ok.
Hearts x 2 - A classic game that is much better as a team game than a free-for-all.
Intrigue - I didn't play, and don't really want to. Heavy backstabbing and negotiation.
Magic: the Gathering x 4 - An excellent two-player game, or four or more player round-robin card game. Cheap, too, unless you think you have to play with "current cards" for some reason (I never go to tournaments).
Martian Chess - An Icehouse game. I didn't play it.
The Menorah Game x 2 - A nice two-to-four player filler. Best with three, I think.
Nautilus - I didn't play it, but it looked pretty.
Nexus Ops - A nice light war game with Eurogame elements. Highly tactical. Pretty but confusing pieces.
Odds and Evens x 3 - no comment.
Power Grid x 2 - An excellent, but slightly long and math-heavy game. Six players is too many, however.
Princes of Florence - An excellent modern classic, cerebral and calm.
Puerto Rico x 3 - The Game, for two to five.
Quo Vadis - A nice filler game, tense with five, less so with four, not at all with three.
Runebound - A very long RPG-like board game, I didn't play (thankfully).
Santiago - An excellent game, some math.
Settlers of Catan - Still the intro game of choice for new players.
Shadows Over Camelot - A nice game for four to seven players, but doesn't vary enough. Would be better with a few dozen different quests, available randomly each game.
Taj Mahal - An excellent bidding, connection, and collection game.
Tarot - A card game, I didn't play.
Ticket to Ride - Considered by many to be the best game for new players, I find it a tad dull.
Tigris and Euphrates - An excellent game with (mostly) painless conflicts.
Ys - An overproduced but fun blind bidding game.
Zendo x 6 - An excellent induction game for many players. An Icehouse game.
Yehuda
2 comments:
Colossal Arena plays best with 3-4. Also, make sure you use the variant endgame rules as found in the FAQ at FFG's site.
Thanks, anon.
Yehuda
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