Boardgame session; 29Dec2019

  

The final boardgame session of the decade! Time to get out those Xmas gifts.

First to hit the table was Castles of Burgundy; a classic now 20 years old (but new to my collection). The ‘new’ printing looks good (although the monasteries are still printed too small to recognise easily), and the inclusion of many small expansions is welcome. The game plays at a good pace, and presents interesting (and diminishing) choices as each round progresses. There appear to be many routes to victory, with none dominating at the expense of others. The game mechanisms are easy to understand (which makes teaching simple) but the possibilities available are large, which can lead to some AP if you are not careful. The final scores were tight but Chris was the winner. Elaine and I have played the 2-player version, and the game scales very well from 2-4 players. We played using many of the expansions, but have yet to use either the ‘trade routes’, ‘victory shields’, nor the ‘Inns’.

Next we played ‘Ticket to Ride- Japan’. In this map variant you have fewer individual trains, but you contribute to joint ‘bullet train’ routes which can be shared to complete tickets. There is a huge potential end-game point shift depending on a players contribution to the ‘bullet train’ project. In the 4-player game there is a 30 point shift between the first and last contributors, which has a profound effect on the relative scores. When we tried the map as a 2-player experience; the ‘bullet train’ effect seemed as strong. It is therefore vital to monitor the number of bullet train markers as the game progresses. The map board is large and the geography of Japan takes some getting used to. On the reverse of the board is the Italy map, which we have yet to try.

 

Christmas prezzie games yet to hit the table include ‘Brass – Lancashire’, ‘Jaipur’ and ‘Liar Dice’.