October Games Played at the JSGC

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