Greg Schloesser: Last Will Review

Posted on March 7, 2012 by gschloesser

Design by:  Vladimir Suchy
Published by:  Czech Games Edition / Rio Grande Games
2 – 5 Players, 1 – 1 ½ hours
Review by:  Greg J. Schloesser

I really appreciate a game with a unique theme.  Frankly, I’ve built too many cathedrals, castles and medieval cities, and consorted a bit too much with elves, warriors and dragons.  I want to experience something different.

The novel theme is just one aspect of Last Will from Czech designer Vladimir Suchy that I appreciate.  I cannot recall a game wherein the goal was to spend your inheritance as quickly as possible, leaving yourself completely destitute so you can inherit an even vaster sum … and win the game.  The theme is novel for a board game and seemingly lifted from the movie Brewster’s Millions, versions of which were filmed in both 1945 and 1985.  Interestingly, both films were based on the 1902 novel by George Barr McCutcheon.  Perhaps more game designers should look to novels and movies for their themes.

Each player receives two errand boy tokens (diminutive top hats), a planning marker, a board depicting spaces for five cards, and an inheritance of seventy pounds.  Each turn, players will plan their turn and send their errand boys to the larger central board, claiming cards, manipulating the real estate market and performing other available actions.  The idea is to spend money to lose money … not an admirable goal in real life and on that would drive financial guru Dave Ramsay stark-raving mad!

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Now for Something Really Old: Troyes

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Lucas Hedgren

(Note: Obviously this game isn’t that old, but it was a review I wrote awhile ago, and it slipped through the cracks for posting. So, pretend this game came out a million years ago, even though it came out at Essen 2010. You know, with the speed games are coming out now, it almost feels that way…..)

Troyes Review

I love this game. Let’s get that out of the way. I know a lot of people are claiming JASE (Just Another Soul-less Euro) with this one, and it certainly does not have that wonderful thematic feeling that some are looking for in their games. But, for me, it provides scads of really interesting decisions and strategies, while including dice (which I love when done well) and a variability that really amps up the replayability. I adore the art, on the cards as well as the board, and it scales well for player number. Lets talk about the mechanisms:

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Old, Older, Oldest – Part 3

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Talia Rosen

OLDEST (pre-1990)

Opinionated Gamers Collective Top 5:

(1) Acquire

(2) Crokinole tied with Die Macher

(4) Bridge

(5) Diplomacy tied with Survive!

With this group, we’ve finally arrived at some truly old games, unlike the “old” games discussed on Monday and the “older” games on Wednesday.  Here we find some of the real ancestors of the modern hobby, and with them some of the forefathers of today’s designers, with the likes of Sid Sackson, Karl-Heinz Schmiel, and the great Allan B. Calhamer.  It’s hard to imagine a designer working today that wasn’t influenced in some way by at least one of these greats.

It’s no huge surprise to see the classic Acquire topping the podium, but interesting to see the next rung down being shared by a beloved dexterity game and a monster game on the machinations of German political parties.  While there were many different games recognized by the OG from this earliest period, these six games were selected by a good number of people and serve as fine examples of why even the oldest games can still be relevant and enjoyed today.

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Top-Ranked (Old) Games We Still Play

Posted on March 1, 2012 by jgeske

As part of the Oldies week, in addition to listing their top-rated games released before 2009, OG contributors are also taking a look at the old games that they still play. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to find out how much the top 50 ranked games on BGG (presumably the most popular among board game enthusiasts) are still being brought to the table on a regular basis. For the purpose of this exercise, we are considering only games released on or before 2009. We also divide the frequency of plays into the following categories:

  • Regular – at least 5 times in each of the last 3 years
  • Frequent – at least 3 times in each of the last 3 years
  • Sometimes – at least once in each of the last 3 years
  • Occasional – at least once in the last 3 years
  • Not in a While – have not played in the last 3 years
  • Never – have never played the game

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Old, Older, Oldest – Part 2

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Talia Rosen

OLDER (1990 – 1999)

Opinionated Gamers Collective Top 5:

(1) Euphrat & Tigris

(2) El Grande tied with Tichu

(4) Settlers of Catan

(5) Showmanager

With this group, we finally get to some games that are actually a bit old, at least more so than those discussed on Monday from the more recent decade.  We’ve begun to dig a bit deeper into the strata of gaming history and are beginning to see the roots of modern board games, but we still have a little ways to go to see the true ancestors on Friday.

There are no real surprises here, with Knizia, Kramer, and Klaus Teuber dominating the list.  The old guard were certainly kings of the 90s, even if they were dethroned by the likes of Seyfarth, Lehmann, Chvatil, Friese, and Moon after the turn of the century.  In addition to the obvious results of Euphrat & Tigris, El Grande, and Settlers, we find everybody’s seemingly favorite card game – Tichu (although there are those of us who find that it pales in comparison to Schmiel’s Was Sticht and Dorra’s Njet).  And then there’s the little engine that could, Dirk Henn’s Showmanager (or Show Manager depending on who you ask) just squeaking into fifth place to join the giants of the decade.  No matter how you look at it, these are definitely five games that would be a great place to start building a game collection.  And they’re great proof that older games still deserve to and actually do hit the table despite the flood of new releases each year.  These classics continue to shine and continue to influence the development of the hobby many years later.

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Review Retrospective: Classics in their Making

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Talia Rosen

To celebrate “Oldies Week” here at The Opinionated Gamers, we’ve decided to look back at some of our favorite reviews and other articles from the days of yore.  While we’re spending Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week sharing our current thoughts on older games, it can be particularly enlightening to see what was being said about these games back when they were being released.  Today we bring you a selection of reviews and other articles that were written 10-15 years ago, back when the games being discussed were just coming out.  These articles are an interesting window into the mindset of the hobby back in the late 1990s and help to think about these classics in the context in which they were published and originally received.

*               *               *

The first stop on our tour is a review of Euphrat & Tigris from the inimitable Mike Siggins, back from the days before E&T did an about face and became T&E.  Mike’s review really helps situate the game within the context of the board game landscape of 1997, back when the state of the art was in a very different place than it is now.

Euphrat & Tigris (Mike Siggins)

Seldom has there been a longer or more speculative wait for a new release. For this was it, the much vaunted Knizia Gamer’s Game. The first allowed to exceed the magical hour, the first to put Reiner through a long and exacting development and testing process, the first to be specifically designed for gamers rather than the mass market and reputed – by anyone that played it, saw it, fed his cat or found a discarded counter in the bin – to be his tour de force. It was, in all respects, the game almost all of us were waiting for – as if Francis Tresham had said he was going to design a one hour 1829 or if Sid Meier turned his hand to sports gaming. We had Modern Art, High Society, Heller and Medici as the benchmarks; this was going to be better. And then, of all things, it didn’t show up.

Since then, we have run the gamut of emotions and rumours. Will it be any good? He’s changed the game again! He’s scrapped it and gone onto something else! He’s too busy! Hans im Glück don’t like it! And then, calm, sanity and talk of a delivery date. Will it be at Nuremburg ’96? Or Essen ’96? Or Nuremburg ’97? Finally, over a year ‘late’, it appeared at Essen and the sighs were audible. And if it is any help in relieving your pent up anxiety, Tigris is a superb game, right out of the top drawer of game design. If the dream ticket, voiced in Sumo about three years ago, was for Reiner to design the ultimate gamer’s game, he has come as close as anyone so far. My numerical indicator is reading 9 out of 10, on a par with the very best, and I suspect you’ll want to know exactly why.

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