Sometimes you play a game for the first time* and you just "know", you know? There have been a handful of titles that have given me that feeling right away; Glory to Rome, Pandemic and, especially, Agricola. The feeling that I am playing a game of the highest calibre, with quality oozing from it, and the promise of it being something that can be savoured for years to come.
Le Havre is another addition to that highest of tiers for me. I only set it up on the table and played a solo game to make sure that I understood the physical mechanisms and where everything goes and flows ahead of a promised weekend game with Mrs B.
(*I have played it a dozen or so times on iOS but never "for real.")
And I found it to be simultaneously simple and epic.
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Comparing it to the other games above what I feel it has in common is the feeling of the game growing as you play, blooming from small sapling into the huge and sprawling branches of a giant oak (OK, so not Pandemic, that's "just" a super tight design with some genius sprinkled upon it) offering so many possibilities to think about. And on top of that I love the design and the flow of the game, and the art - naturally! This could well be another 10/10 for me, we'll see after a few games with others.
In this solo play I managed 273 points which I was quite pleased with. I was using the "no more than 4 goods from the market" solo fix - although I did spam that and the Town Square special building to get the goods without then needing to go through several steps. The Kiln special building also seemed very helpful, allowing me to get bricks earlier and cheaper than normal. I didn't take a loan, built 5 ships, 12 buildings and had a couple of very nice indeed shipping actions for lots of cash.
I have no idea if that is "good", nor what opportunities I missed , but I'm looking forward to finding out.
I have heard criticism that heavy shipping of high value goods is really the only way to go, but I do have Le Havre: Le Grand Hameau and a full set of Le Havre Expansion: Essen Promo Cards so this should offer other strategies and interesting opportunities to explore.
I hope.
Because this has the mark of genius upon it.
Le Havre is another addition to that highest of tiers for me. I only set it up on the table and played a solo game to make sure that I understood the physical mechanisms and where everything goes and flows ahead of a promised weekend game with Mrs B.
(*I have played it a dozen or so times on iOS but never "for real.")
And I found it to be simultaneously simple and epic.
Comparing it to the other games above what I feel it has in common is the feeling of the game growing as you play, blooming from small sapling into the huge and sprawling branches of a giant oak (OK, so not Pandemic, that's "just" a super tight design with some genius sprinkled upon it) offering so many possibilities to think about. And on top of that I love the design and the flow of the game, and the art - naturally! This could well be another 10/10 for me, we'll see after a few games with others.
In this solo play I managed 273 points which I was quite pleased with. I was using the "no more than 4 goods from the market" solo fix - although I did spam that and the Town Square special building to get the goods without then needing to go through several steps. The Kiln special building also seemed very helpful, allowing me to get bricks earlier and cheaper than normal. I didn't take a loan, built 5 ships, 12 buildings and had a couple of very nice indeed shipping actions for lots of cash.
I have no idea if that is "good", nor what opportunities I missed , but I'm looking forward to finding out.
I have heard criticism that heavy shipping of high value goods is really the only way to go, but I do have Le Havre: Le Grand Hameau and a full set of Le Havre Expansion: Essen Promo Cards so this should offer other strategies and interesting opportunities to explore.
I hope.
Because this has the mark of genius upon it.