by Mools
jrescan wrote:
I have a group with some experienced gamers, after reading the rules I'm still not sure if our first game should be the short game or the long one. Also is it better to play with three or four players? Any suggestions are appreciated.
The only difference between the long and short game is, literally, the short game is shorter. The "short" version of the game can still be a little long, especially with new players, however, I've found the full game isn't that much longer due to new players speeding up as you go.
If your group has no opposition to longer games, just play the full version. There are more cards and therefore more choices to make in the game.
I would recommend the first game being with three players though. Due to the way rounds in Le Havre work, the number of players really does change the game. With 3 players, everyone will get 2 turns per round and every third round someone will get an extra turn. With 4 players, the opposite happens. Most people get two turns but someone will always ONLY get 1 turn in a round. The game recommends experts only play 5 players because you will typically only get 1 move per round with a bonus move every few rounds. This requires different planning depending on the number of players. The game design balances this out by requiring less food demand as player number increases.
3 is ideal for new players I think.