by bad hair day
I just played 2 players by myself. I wanted to get the normal rules in my head first, rather than the solo game. I scored 188 and 158. I didn't have any major rule violations that I am aware of (unlike Caverna, which took two plays by myself before I got the basics ironed out). Although I had better luck with videos and reading the BGG forums to help me understand things going in.To my mind, the biggest throttle on the game is that the buildings that do conversions of goods (clay to brick for example) have limits of around 6 units per conversion. Games I've played in previous decades usually didn't have limits like that, and so it was easier to find some way to runaway with one type of production. I'm guessing this makes Le Havre better balanced, and thats why it has sold tens of thousands of copies and lasted a decade.
Quick question: I tried to runaway with steel, but it took so much effort that by the time I sold a couple units for $8 each, I wasn't exactly running away with the game. In fact, right after I did that I shifted and just bought ships. And that seemed worth it. So, is steel just a means to build ships, and if i am going to concentrate on one resource chain then iron/steel is as good as any other for just trying to make a profit via shipping?
I like this better than Cry Havoc, which has proven harder to learn.
