I have found the business office to be very powerful, especially if other players aren't thinking about it. In a game with the business office, I always grab a grain in the first or second round, just to let it propagate; I never turn any grain into bread. By the time the biz office comes out you should easily have 10 grain to convert into steel and charcoal.
Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: Business Office versus Steel Mill for building ships
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: Business Office versus Steel Mill for building ships
Jasonbartfast wrote:
I have found the business office to be very powerful, especially if other players aren't thinking about it. In a game with the business office, I always grab a grain in the first or second round, just to let it propagate; I never turn any grain into bread. By the time the biz office comes out you should easily have 10 grain to convert into steel and charcoal.
This is a good strategy even if you happen not to use the Business Office. On your first trip to the Marketplace, take grain, coal, and iron if you can get a third good. When that one grain becomes seven, you have the option of using the coal to bake six loaves of bread for 12 food and 3 francs; this doesn't help directly with the Business Office, but the 12 food and 3 francs give you enough food that you don't have to gather food for several turns, and entry fees to do other things on those turns.
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: Business Office versus Steel Mill for building ships
by lostphd
I find the Business Office most useful for getting the one steel to grab the Bank. It normally catches everyone else off-guard, and the Bank has been my lever to victory more than once.For steel ships, I prefer the Steel Mill (or the Steelworks, should that special building show up). I find that getting only one steel ship is never enough.
But your strategy is sound if you only want the one steel ship and are not in a position to benefit from the Bank.
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February 2016, my three favorite discoveries
by Mike Fogus
I've been trying to keep a list of my three favorite games discovered every month. I try to limit it to three, but I'll also discuss some of the other games that I played that were also new(ish) to me. Without further ado, here are my favorite three discoveries for the month of February 2016.see the previous entry...
Xiangqi
Even after a lifetime of playing Chess, Xiangqi is surprisingly tough for me. That's not to say that I'm a great Chess player, instead I thought that the game's tactics would be obvious. Instead, the piece synergies and movement limitations are unique enough to throw me for a loop. For example, the whole palace limitation of the General and Advisors is intriguing but definitely something that I still have trouble integrating into my search. Further, when I first thought about the elephants I was struck how worthless they seemed. However, after a half dozen games I see now that they are very important to palace defense, but I'm hopeless so far in making them do so effectively. One other point (amongst many others) that has tied my brain into knots are the cannons and their reliance on other pieces for capture. This is very different, and it twists my mind in a good way. I look forward to playing more games in hopes of discovering how they can be used more effectively.
Gipsy King
I've had Gipsy King for a while, but only had a chance to play it this month and I'm sorry that I waited so long. In any case, on first blush the game doesn't really seem like a game at all -- totally obvious. However, once you realize that the depth of the game comes from the turn-queue management then it really opens up. The game is almost entirely tactical, but that being the case it plays breezy and is a great super-filler. I typically do poorly on games that are centered around manipulating turn-order, so it's no surprise that I've yet to win a game so far. I've only played this with 3 so far (which has been great), so I'd like to get a few 2p games in to see how different it is.
Patchwork
However, my favorite game discovered this month is Uwe Rosenberg's Patchwork. This is a stupendous game with the perfect marriage of a few of my favorite things: time track, simplicity, elegant economy, quick play and polyominoes. With such a simple set of rules (the rulebook is one of the best I've ever seen) it's amazing how deep the game can get. The game is all about the delicate balance of 2-3 concerns (turns, spaces, income) and it blows my mind. This is a top-50 game for me without a doubt. I'm tempted to devote a month to Uwe in the future.
Speaking of which, with the addition of Patchwork to my collection it hits me that while I like the Rosenberg heavy games that I've played (Agricola> Le Havre> Caverna), it's his smaller, lighter games that really have staying power for me. Patchwork easily finds a place amongst the my personal Uwe pantheon: Klunker, Bohnanza, and now Patchwork.
Good show Uwe... good show!
February was a strong month for abstracts, but I did get in one other that I liked called Virus Wars. VW is a neat little pen and paper game that I enjoyed very much and really look forward to playing on some upcoming plane trips.
In the Euro-realm I got in a few "classics" that I've always been curious about. For about 12 hours I was sure that Le Havre had overtaken Agricola for my favorite worker-placement joint. First of all, the game is slick and plays intuitively and has some nice decisions along the way. As a nice feature, I LOVE the fact that you only have one worker. Too many times than I can count I've been blasted in Agricola by failing to make worker-babies or making too many worker-babies and so I was initially enamored by the fact that I didn't have to think about that aspect. However, after sleeping on it I came to realize that although I hate worker-pool growth, without it Agricola wouldn't have that tasty scarcity that I love about it. Le Havre is a tight game, but it just didn't give me that throat-tightening feeling... though I'm willing to believe that I may just need more plays to get there.
More so than Le havre, I was very excited to play El Grande. I've never heard a bad thing about this classic and so I had high expectations going in. Thankfully, the game was fun and lived up to the hype. It's not a perfect game for me, but I did like the Risk-like feel and it had some very nice opportunity for interaction and some negotiation. I'd play this again in a heartbeat and if someone would release it with a Game of Thrones theme I could get my wife to play every day.
Finally, I managed to get into a game of Formula De with Wayne and Knut and it was way more fun than I ever would have imagined. For various reasons I have a deep seeded dislike for all things car-racing, but I did like this game -- probably because it came with a bunch of awesome dice.
Fillers are always fun and thanks to Wayne I discovered a couple of neat little dice-rollers: Hostage Negotiator and Bottom of the 9th. There's not much to say about H.N. except that we played it as a co-op and had a good time yelling at the good and bad dice rolls. However, 9th was a nice nostalgic experience that took me back to my childhood filled with and terrible sticks of gum, Topps cards, and Strat-o-matic dice rolling. It was fun. I especially liked the speed-rolling to "simulate" beat out a ground-ball -- or not.
Finally, in the statute of limitations category I got in a game of Triominoes with my younger son while waiting at a local community center. I think I must have played this many many years ago... I could stand to wait many many more to play again. That's all that I'll say about that.
Onward to March (and perfect information)...
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New Image for Le Havre
by ibzdave
<div>petit suise para guardar los recursos...</div>
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Thread: Le Havre:: General:: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by MagusDuNord
~17000 geeks claim to own Le Havre but only ~1000 of them own the Essen promos.Do experienced players recommend getting the Essen promos? We are drifting away from Agricola and Le Havre is picking up steam for our group.
I can calculate that some of the promos are really nice but are often important depending on the situation.
What I cannot discern is any consensus on this group of promos.
I'm inclined to think that the promos are an extremely nice thing but by no means important or a necessity.
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by grant5
MagusDuNord wrote:
I'm inclined to think that the promos are an extremely nice thing but by no means important or a necessity.
I think this sums it up. I don't have them, have never played with them, and I don't think the game experience suffers for it in any way. But I would like to have them. Some of them are pretty neat.
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by Desiderata
IMO, not necessary at all. Get the Grand Hameau if you want more variety and skip the promos.↧
Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by davypi
I don't own the Essen Promos, but they are playable if you download the java version of Le Havre available here on BGG. So you can download the app and try the cards yourself if you want. Similarly, since the images are available, there is nothing stopping you from printing a copy for your own use.I don't find them to be particularly attractive buildings to use. That isn't to say they are bad buildings but, like most special buildings, you need to have the right situation come up for them to be useful. I certainly don't miss not having them in my physical copy of the game.
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
I own them but still did not play with this set :)
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by Raujour
The completionist will call from the dark... "seek the treasure"The accountant will give you a glare and say "unnecessary"
...to which will you listen?
I fall into the "if I think I will regret not having something and it doesn't break my budget, I buy it". Getting the cards was neither easy or hard just long. Now, when I see them, I smile.
Worth it for me.
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by tumorous
Lookout may still have copies of the promo pack available as part of their Farmers Help Farmers project. Donate money to help support the Arbore people, get cards: win-win.↧
Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by MagusDuNord
tumorous wrote:
Lookout may still have copies of the promo pack available as part of their Farmers Help Farmers project. Donate money to help support the Arbore people, get cards: win-win.
Did this. I received a reply today from Lookout:
I’m very sorry, but we don’t have any Essen Le Havre promo cards. Unfortunately they are sold out.
I'm happy to donate to the cause -- the sort of thing to which we donate anyway. But it seems that either that line is done or there needs to be a reprint. I asked if this is done-done or done-wait-for-a-reprint-of-promo-cards done.
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by Pugnax555
Remember that only 6 special buildings are used per game, and of those only five will be built. So the 66 cards from the base game plus Le Grand Hameau have you covered for a good while.That said, having the Dunny pop up and literally take a crap all over your plans can be a lot of fun. :D So no, not essential. But definitely grab them if you get a chance for a decent price.
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by sirgalin
grant5 wrote:
MagusDuNord wrote:
I'm inclined to think that the promos are an extremely nice thing but by no means important or a necessity.
I think this sums it up. I don't have them, have never played with them, and I don't think the game experience suffers for it in any way. But I would like to have them. Some of them are pretty neat.
Challenge. My set totally includes them. You've definitely played with my set.
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by grant5
sirgalin wrote:
grant5 wrote:
MagusDuNord wrote:
I'm inclined to think that the promos are an extremely nice thing but by no means important or a necessity.
I think this sums it up. I don't have them, have never played with them, and I don't think the game experience suffers for it in any way. But I would like to have them. Some of them are pretty neat.
Challenge. My set totally includes them. You've definitely played with my set.
But do you know for a fact that any of them were chosen during setup?
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by sirgalin
Yes. I will testify under oath.↧
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Reply: Le Havre:: General:: Re: Experienced Players Recommend Getting the Essen Promos?
by tumorous
This thread is getting tense.↧
Top 50 Favorite Games - 2016 (#26 - #50)
by Adam Daulton
Oh yeah! It is here. Each year for the past several years, I've created a running list of my favorite games of all time. There is always a bit of shake up, there is always a bit of new-to-me effect, there is always some fun. I've now played almost 800 unique games, so the top 50 represents what I consider the top 6.25% of all the games I've ever played. In past years the past couple years, I've not included any LCG/CCG games, but this year I'm adding them back in, because since they are here in BGG, I feel like I should include them. The arrows and dice show you how much the game has moved on my list since last year. Remember, all these games are really good! Instead of 5 parts like last year, I'm breaking it down into two parts. Also, as a note, I didn't look at last year's list before making this one. Here we go!
26. Endeavor:arrowS::d10-7:
I'm pretty sure this is in Krista's top 10 games of all time. It is an amazing Euro game that plays more smooth than any other game. Everything just flows right. It has enough direct conflict for me to like it, but also allows you to build a well flowing system to get a feeling of accomplishment. Also, still the best box cover ever.
27. Fairy Tale:arrowS::d10-6:
With 4 or 5 people, this is an excellent drafting game. If I'm playing with 4, I don't play with the expansion, because I want to know that every card will be in the game. The biggest con to the game is that the icons can be confusing to folks, but once they know it you can pound out a game in 15 minutes, making it a great filler.
28. Dungeon Lords:d10-0:
Holding steady at 28, Dungeon Lords is a great 4 player only game. Which means it can be slightly more difficult to bring into play. It can also be a bit clunky, I know, but man I do love it. You always feel that your back is against the wall, there is never enough actions to take, and that makes for a fun and tense game.
29. El Grande:arrowN::d10-1::d10-2:
A classic moving back up. El Grande with 5 players is just great. I think I've now decided that vanilla El Grande is the only way to play and with 5 players. That is the best experience someone can have with this game. It is the best too with all very experienced players, jockeying for the right scoring moment.
30. Ra :arrowS::d10-7:
This is still a very consistent game in our group. I like it best with 3 players. It isn't the best pure auction game (you'll have to wait for my next post for that one...any guesses?), but it is very good. The push your luck element at the end of each age can make for a hilarious and yelling moment.
31. The Castles of Burgundy:arrowS::d10-5:
Dice manipulation is fun. Castles allows you to do that quite a bit. I think the best way to play this one is with 2 players, but with the tiles sat out ahead of time, so you know exactly what is coming. Get past the ugliness of this game and get into the greatness of it.
32. Gheos:arrowS::d10-5:
Acquire meets Carcassonne. This is a game that takes a few plays to really understand, so new players beware. There can be some serious blow out victories. What I like best about the game though is that players control when scoring occurs. This is a game that needs a reprint.
33. Battle Cry :arrowS::d10-1::d10-1:
This one drops, as I haven't played it in the past year, because I've been playing Memoir '44 with my nephew. However, I still like this one better. Now that we've played through all the scenarios in the base Memoir, I'm going to bring him back to this one and the Jackson Campaign. The Civil War theme is what really pulls me in on this one.
34. Glory to Rome :arrowS::d10-1::d10-0:
I'm so close to paying $70 to purchase this game, which means more opportunity to play, which means it probably would rise up again. I just can't justify it when it should be a $20-30 dollar game. I do really enjoy the game, but don't get to play it often, as it is the highest ranking game on my list that I do not own. I think I could get opponents (which is a bit different than other games higher on my list), it is just lack of owning a copy.
35. Imperial :arrowS::d10-4:
From one game I don't own, to another I don't own, but did at one time! My biggest regret (though still a good trade) was trading this for Le Havre. I've gotten plenty of play out of Le Havre, because it works for 2 players, but Imperial is the best rondel game out there. This is one I could see getting played on when I have a random Friday night with lots of guys. Being a war profiteer just fits naturally into my gaming persona.
36. Carcassonne :arrowN::d10-9:
Carc is an evergreen game. I remember when I bought it Easter of 2006, 10 years ago. I've played it a few times in the past year, now my daughter is starting to play it, and I'm again seeing its genius. With the first two expansions and 2 or 3 players, this game is so very good.
37. Goa:arrowN::d10-2:
Though I think that the action track is a must in this game, I still love it though. I love the beginning auction and the way that works of selecting what will be auctioned, while at the same time not knowing exactly what will be auctioned. You can really enjoy this one. This is one well worth playing for any Euro gamers out there.
38. Baseball Highlights: 2045 N/A
This wasn't on the list last year, but it is this year because of the app. This is one of the more innovative games out there. For sure the best sports game available. I don't own a physical copy yet, not sure I will because it isn't the type of game Krista will play with me, but I"m very happy with the app that allows me to get this played quite a bit.
39. In the Year of the Dragon :arrowS::d10-1::d10-9:
This one has fluctuated a lot for me. I don't play it nearly as often as I should. Some folks really do not like this game, because of the pounding it gives you, but that is exactly why I like it. The Double Dragon on turn one, can be a huge advantage, but with good players that isn't an automatic win for anyone.
40. Eclipse N/A
This is a new one to the list, though not a new one to me. I've been thinking about it more and more and though I do not own this one, I really do enjoy it. It gives me a big huge feel of space exploration and war, but is really a efficiency game at heart. The only thing downside I see is the randomness of the exploring.
41. Kemet :arrowN::d10-8:
This game has slowly risen for me over the past 3 years. Each time I play it, the more that I like it and want to play it more. I love how it forces people to be aggressive. Turtling just isn't viable. Either is whining about your luck, because it barely is in the game. If I can get this to the table more in the next year, to further understand it, I can see it rising.
42. Smash Up :arrowS::d10-8:
Another game that people love to hate and love to love. I'm in the latter camp of course, which is why it is on the list. Though it can occasionally go a bit long, I have a fun time with this one. It has some exciting combos, some very direct player interaction, and some great presentation. I'm really close to getting the big box expansion, so I can purchase some more expansions for this game.
43. Crokinole N/A
This great dexterity game has been on the list before, fallen off, and now it is back again. I'm finally getting a board! So maybe that is why it has me excited at this particular time. Either way, Crokinole is a game that can be played by many generations, makes for a fun couples evening, and yet can be great just one on one. I can't wait to see my board in my LotR room knowing it'll be passed down to my kids as an heirloom!
44. Patrician :arrowS::d10-9:
Perhaps one of the most uninviting boxes in the history of games, Patrician is what I'd call one of those meaty fillers. Especially when played with 3 players. The game is all about tactics, what you can do immediately, but at the same time trying to plan for the long term city you think you can win. I like that the last player to have played wins ties, because it becomes a game of who can avoid making a move.
45. Dune :arrowS::d10-8:
I own Rex: Final Days of an Empire, but it just isn't the same. Dune can be sloppy, it can be clunky, but it IS so glorious and thematic. I play it once a year at Geekway to the West. It is always a treat and the game inspired me to read the book, which I now also love. Dune! Play it. Read it! Let the spice flow!
46. A Study in Emerald :arrowS::d10-4:
I own the 2nd edition, simply because 1st edition is too expensive. This game is a unique theme, unique game play, and unique victory conditions. I love that it hurts you to have a teammate finish in last, so the tension of helping your team, but still trying to win is palpable. I'll see if I come to love 2nd edition as much as first.
47. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 N/A
This is the only co-op you'll find on my list. I just am not a big fan of them, but I had a wonderful time playing through this with my wife. We're done now and unless someone buys a copy themselves and asks us to play with them, I don't think I'll play Season 1 ever again, but that doesn't mean that the experience I had with it doesn't put it in this list. I'll remember forever the day Quinn, my character, entered into the fire and died.
48. Terra Mystica :arrowS::d10-2::d10-2:
The biggest drop for any game on my list. Partially because I think if you get behind in this one just a little, you are screwed. However, that doesn't keep me from really enjoying the game. I like the different races, I like the temple tracks, I like so much in this game. It is one, that I don't own, but only because my best gaming buddies do and I can play it whenever I'd like.
49. Mottainai N/A
I had no idea what the game's name meant when I bought it. Still not sure I could tell you exactly, but I love the game with 2 or 3 players. I own the deluxe, but really just buy the standard edition, because this is a 2 or 3 players only game. All the cards are unique, they all do different things because of that, and this is a game that you must play several times before it clicks and the fun begins to flow.
50. Tichu N/A
Another one that has been on the list previously, but wasn't last year. I was thinking about it though and similar to Dune above, Tichu has been the catalyst for some of my favorite gaming convention experiences. I play this every year with my pal Logan, who I don't see often, and have such a fun time. The game itself, as someone who grew up playing Euchre, just clicks with me and though much longer can be the next card game for traditional card game players to try.
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New Image for Le Havre
by AlPacino11
<div>Lookout Games Australian edition including Le Grand Hameau expansion</div>
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More Pages to Explore .....
