by Aurendrosl
Excellent review for my favorite Uwe game!Reply: Le Havre:: Reviews:: Re: A light review of Le Havre.
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Reply: Le Havre:: Reviews:: Re: A light review of Le Havre.
by heylisarenee
akinfantryman wrote:
catmando wrote:
Nice. The pictures and the writing on them are very good.
I second that!!!
Excellent. I prefer reviews that focus on how it feels/why you like it; as opposed to just regurgitating the rules. (Which I could get better from the online rulebook, in most cases.)
Thank you! I do enjoy writing reviews in this way. I don't have the vast knowledge to draw upon to really get into the nitty gritty of the rules and how it compares to other games that are like it, so I go with what I know!
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Reply: Le Havre:: Reviews:: Re: A light review of Le Havre.
by heylisarenee
sycbed wrote:
I love the enthusiasm that comes through here! I'd had my eye on Le Havre for ages before I picked it up but had to twist my wife's arm a little. She really enjoys it now, but an article like this a couple of months ago would've made my job easier :) I think you hit the salient points in a concise way and perfectly showed the overall vibe. Great job!
EXACTLY what I was going for with this review! Thanks! :D
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Reply: Le Havre:: Reviews:: Re: A light review of Le Havre.
by jarviskj3
Is your super sweet player mat available for download in the file section? I've got a different one that is much busier/less pretty, and I'd love to be able to offer an alternative.↧
Reply: Le Havre:: Reviews:: Re: A light review of Le Havre.
by amschensted
jarviskj3 wrote:
Is your super sweet player mat available for download in the file section? I've got a different one that is much busier/less pretty, and I'd love to be able to offer an alternative.
Thanks for calling them super sweet.
They are available here.
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Reply: Le Havre:: Reviews:: Re: A light review of Le Havre.
by jarviskj3
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Reply: Le Havre:: Reviews:: Re: A light review of Le Havre.
by amschensted
jarviskj3 wrote:
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Best le havre selfie ever!
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New Image for Le Havre
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New Image for Le Havre
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New Image for Le Havre
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Thread: Le Havre:: Strategy:: house rules to disincentivize loans/shipping?
I recently got the game on the iPad and was LOVING it until I played my first online game against a real player. Needless to say, he slaughtered me by taking on a bunch of loans in the early game and focusing only on coal/coke shipping. Now, I am still a noob, but there are two things I dislike about this strategy: 1) it seems unthematic, and 2) it is sad when a boring, repetitive strategy offers so many advantages over more varied play. I prefer the struggle of balancing food with achieving your other goals, avoiding loans as much as possible, and playing with various combinations of buildings and effects.
Now, I know there are other strategies available, and will be happy to figure them out for myself. My question is whether there is a simple, balanced house rule that makes this strategy a little less dominant. I have looked through the Strategy and Variant forums and haven't found anything yet that people seemed happy with.
I would like to purchase a physical copy of the game, which I would mostly play solo or with my spouse, who definitely would not mind playing with any house rules in play--she would probably prefer that to spamming certain buildings over and over. I was thinking something along the lines of there being a limit to how many loans you can take while you still have buildings to sell--maybe you can only have a number of loans equal to the current round, then you have to start selling buildings before you can take more. Another idea is that even after paying off loans, they have a small but permanent negative effect on your final score. Finally, some sort of limit to shipping line -- maybe a maximum number of boats you can use to ship in a single action. Have you tried anything along these lines with success?
Now, I know there are other strategies available, and will be happy to figure them out for myself. My question is whether there is a simple, balanced house rule that makes this strategy a little less dominant. I have looked through the Strategy and Variant forums and haven't found anything yet that people seemed happy with.
I would like to purchase a physical copy of the game, which I would mostly play solo or with my spouse, who definitely would not mind playing with any house rules in play--she would probably prefer that to spamming certain buildings over and over. I was thinking something along the lines of there being a limit to how many loans you can take while you still have buildings to sell--maybe you can only have a number of loans equal to the current round, then you have to start selling buildings before you can take more. Another idea is that even after paying off loans, they have a small but permanent negative effect on your final score. Finally, some sort of limit to shipping line -- maybe a maximum number of boats you can use to ship in a single action. Have you tried anything along these lines with success?
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: house rules to disincentivize loans/shipping?
by louper
kittenhoarder wrote:
1) it seems unthematic...
How so? Most businesses have to take out extensive loans and are typically unprofitable for years. The loans provide you, in the game, exactly what real businesses use them for: capital for improvements, efficiencies, and other investments that pay off down the line.
Now, the interest on loans might be unthematic - I'd love to be able to take out any quantity of loans and pay the same amount of interest regardless of how much I borrow. But it sounds like you want to alter the ability to take out loans, not the interest charged on them.
To be honest, it sounds like you want to play a different game than Le Havre. But then I'm someone who abhors house rules, so I might not be the right person to ask. :what:
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: house rules to disincentivize loans/shipping?
by taragalinas
If someone tries to spam certain buildings to create a super winning strategy, you follow suit and try to find your own edge to beat it. Believe me, this game is open for a lot of tricks.↧
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: house rules to disincentivize loans/shipping?
louper wrote:
How so? Most businesses have to take out extensive loans and are typically unprofitable for years. The loans provide you, in the game, exactly what real businesses use them for: capital for improvements, efficiencies, and other investments that pay off down the line.
Yep, I had actually thought of that, and was hesitant about my first point. On the one hand, taking out a lot of early loans is VERY thematic. On the other hand, what sort of bank would continue to give out loans to someone with such an awful credit history?
To be honest, it sounds like you want to play a different game than Le Havre. But then I'm someone who abhors house rules, so I might not be the right person to ask. :what:
I've heard that before in regard to other games. I'm not a very competitive person, but I have a great appreciation for the mechanics of games like this. I think I can safely say I would not enjoy playing Le Havre repeatedly against very competitive players who were hellbent on exploiting that one strategy, but that does not mean I would not enjoy it in a more casual setting.
Let's just assume I'm dead set on getting the game; is there anything I can do to make this a less dominant strategy? I just saw in another thread the idea of decreasing the value of shipped coke to 4F, which seems like an easy fix.
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: house rules to disincentivize loans/shipping?
taragalinas wrote:
If someone tries to spam certain buildings to create a super winning strategy, you follow suit and try to find your own edge to beat it. Believe me, this game is open for a lot of tricks.
Thanks for the input. Do many of those winning strategies also involve spamming the colliery/cokery? I guess what I'm asking is, do I have to be aggressive in that arena to win? Thanks. :)
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: house rules to disincentivize loans/shipping?
by taragalinas
kittenhoarder wrote:
Thanks for the input. Do many of those winning strategies also involve spamming the colliery/cokery? I guess what I'm asking is, do I have to be aggressive in that arena to win? Thanks. :)
Well they are very high valued goods. If you don't take them, someone else will. But if you both take turns claiming them, someone will have to do something on the side to get ahead. Occasionally you have to visit other buildings too.
The coal/coilery is like the queen in chess. If you take out each others queens you have start getting inventive. See where I am going with the line of thought?
Oh, and don't hesitate to take loans.
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: house rules to disincentivize loans/shipping?
by louper
kittenhoarder wrote:
Yep, I had actually thought of that, and was hesitant about my first point. On the one hand, taking out a lot of early loans is VERY thematic. On the other hand, what sort of bank would continue to give out loans to someone with such an awful credit history?
I'm going to assume this is in jest or that you didn't pay close attention during the recent mortgage and ongoing financial crisis. What sort of bank indeed. :whistle: :D
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: house rules to disincentivize loans/shipping?
So if I get you properly, you will always spend a great deal of time getting coal and building ships to prepare for that big payoff at the end, but there will always be turns in which you can't do either because the buildings are blocked...what you do during those turns, assuming both players know the value of shipping coke, is what will decide the game. It's hard to win the game by giving the other player free rein of those buildings. Is that about right?
If so, I think I can actually live with that. ;)
If so, I think I can actually live with that. ;)
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Reply: Le Havre:: Reviews:: Re: A light review of Le Havre.
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Reply: Le Havre:: Strategy:: Re: house rules to disincentivize loans/shipping?
by Anarchosyn
kittenhoarder wrote:
Let's just assume I'm dead set on getting the game; is there anything I can do to make this a less dominant strategy? I just saw in another thread the idea of decreasing the value of shipped coke to 4F, which seems like an easy fix.
I can't help you with strategy, but you might want to take a look at another one of Rosenburg's designs: Ora et Labora.
Ora shares Le Havre's penchant for combinatorial craziness, but takes it to the nth degree (and, in doing so, lacks a linear "coke/steel" strategy which is a bone of contention many have).
I actually enjoy Le Havre more, especially with two, but Ora et Labora is the largest VP sandbox you're likely to ever find.
Here's a decent review that put me onto the title originally (despite it being so damn negative ;) ).
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