by sancmat
Hi, All of my reviews are written from the way I think.1. How the game plays for me.
2. How playable and enjoyable it is for my 9 year old.
3. How playable and enjoyable it is for my 7 year old.
If my wife has played the game we may throw in a section.
First of all I'm not going to waste any time here. Keep reading if you want to know how this game worked for me and the family or skip to the summary to find out how fantastic this game is. The only thing I am disappointed in is it took until 2014 for me to try this game.
I am new to worker placement games and this is the third one I've played (all within the last 2 months). However I've been playing designer games since the mid 90's. This appears to be a mechanic that I enjoy as I plan to keep all three. The other two are Kingsburg (With the expansion) and Caverna. By far and away this is the best of the three for me.
Game Summary/Learning curve: What makes this game different from other worker placements (at least those that I've seen/played) is that you only ever have 1 worker. As a result you only have 1 decision to make on most turns. However you need to plan ahead as most goals require multiple steps to accomplish. Early on in the game gathering resources to build some basic buildings and gather the appropriate food. Later on in the game you get to make some decisions as to what your long term goals are. I love how early in the game the decisions are easy and as you go forward you get to pick your priorities.
Replay Value: The sequence in which the buildings and the resources come available changes from game to game. In addition that there are a collection of special buildings that come out on certain rounds. Each game there are 6 of them "in play" out of a large number (didn't count). As a result every game is going to be a little different even if the players and player order were to be the same. While my plays are currently limited I can see how every game is different.
Theme: Ok if you look at my top 10 you will see that theme has some value to me given that Robo Rally and Formula D are my top two. I think the theme here is good. This is one of the reasons why the rules are so easy to learn. It just makes sense. I'm not saying that this is the most thematic game ever but it gets a pass from me.
Element of chance: This is a strategy game. Once the game is set up I see almost no element of chance in the game. At the same time the variability in the game during setup (sequence of resources/buildings and special buildings) keeps the game fresh. Dice rolls and other forms of luck along with hidden information have their place in games but this is not one of them. This is a game about weighing your options and setting long term goals.
Game Length: With three people (all new). This game took a couple of hours. However this counts as one of those situations where the time just flew. This counts as a long game for me but by no means is it too long. My kids were highly involved the entire time. While we did take an hour break when a friend came over to visit them they begged me to restart as soon as he was gone.
Children: If you look at the age recommendation my kids have no business playing this game. Last night they watched a play through video and decided that they wanted to play. I figured why not give it a chance. When both kids were able to recite the rules back to me I was shocked. Could this game be that simple? Now granted my kids can consistently play games about 1 year above their age level with no issues (they usually lose but they play well). But this game is rated quite a bit over their age.
This was a great experience. Both kids were able to keep up and play by the rules. My 9 year old (Xander) had no issues. He played the whole game without any direction. He managed to keep up with paying the necessary food and make a plan to achieve his goals. His end score was about 40 behind mine but he said the game was GREAT. I would happily play the game again with him.
My 7 year old was a slightly different story. He had the rules down pat. But he needed guidance to accomplish his goals. He made many decisions on his own and in the end he set all of his own goals but often I gave him advice on what his best couple of options were. I would play again with him but only as a family. I think he is a ways off from understanding the strategy enough to not frustrate adults with less patience.
Summary: I keep trying to find new ways to describe how much I liked the game. If you are intimidated by the complexities in some games do not worry here. The rule book is short and there are some very good walk through videos on Youtube. This game will be one I keep and play often.
I have found the high praise I was looking for in a short story. This game was so much fun for me and the kids that they turned off their Skylanders video game (if you have children you probably know what I'm talking about) and begged me to finish our game when we had to take a break.
Learning Curve: Low
Replay Value: Very High
Theme: Medium
Element of Chance: Very Low
Game Length: Long (Not too long)
Children: Difficult but fun
Value: High (even at $50)