The Tao of Gaming I took the road less travelled

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[Brian, Friday July 4, 2008 at 8:59am]

I took the road less travelled

For someone who writes a game blog, I don't play many new games. Just to bring that point home, Bruno's nominees for game of the year. Of the 12 games listed, I've played -- Three. And I only have a strong desire to play Tribune.

So this is a Zen game blog. We think about playing games. Om.

Clearly I do not love Age of Steam enough, since my 7 odd expansions feel like too many, when another 16 are coming out at Essen.

Om.

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Mikko (www):

You and me, brother. Three here as well (Glory to Rome, Kingsburg, Eketorp), and I only liked one. Of the rest, I might play Metropolys next week, I might want to try Pandemic, but the rest of it - I just don't care that much.

Jaded, I think that's what it's called.

Then again, I did buy the new Bezier maps right away, without much thought, even though I already have, what, 18 expansions (which means over 30 maps, I suppose). Makes sense, especially since I playe about five games of AoS a year. But I admit, I'm an addict, and my willingness to collect railroad-themed games is getting unhealthy.

7.4.2008 10:09am

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Chris Farrell (mail) (www):

Well, I think I play a fair number of games, and I've only played half of them and Tribune only in the last couple of days. Also, two of the ones I played (AoEIII and Kingsburg) I felt were a waste of my time, so I think I could have done without playing them.

7.4.2008 1:32pm

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Larry Levy (mail):

There's only 3 of the 12 I haven't played in any form: Senji (which just came out), Glory to Rome, and Wizard's Gambit. I haven't played Queen's version of Eketorp, but I played the original db spiele game; and while I haven't tried El Capitain yet, the game it came from, Tycoon, is a big favorite.

It's actually a pretty good group of games. Tribune, Kingsburg, and Shanghaien would have a good chance of making my top 12 from the time period (which looks like the same one covered by the SdJ awards). AoE is a good solid game. Pandemic is very popular (I've only had the chance to play it once) and Metropolys is well rated (just not by me). Senji also looks interesting; I just hope it doesn't last too long. And El Capitan is a terrific game; I just don't consider it new.

My top favorites from the period (Brass and Agricola) aren't there, but I've seen worse selections from Bruno's award, so I can't be too critical this year.

7.4.2008 5:09pm

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Matthew (www):

Wow, I've only played 2 of them (Glory, ok, and Pandemic, good) with only the strong desire to play two others (Kingsburg &Eketorp). Other than a general downturn in game playing and perhaps a less exciting crop, I blame/credit Race. I've already played it more this year than I've ever played a single game in a year. That sort of cuts into the "new game" playing time.

7.4.2008 6:12pm

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Brian (www):

Well, I don't feel deprived by not playing all of them (and my Race playing is only averaging 3 games/week recently). Metropolys is just sitting on the game store shelf, unbought.

7.4.2008 8:45pm

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Fluff Daddy (mail) (www):

There are a number I want to try... om... but not as much as I want the newest wave of Heroscape figs, my pre-ordered copy of Agricola, or my own personal copies of Cheesy Gonzola &Jamaica.

It's not like Bruno &I see eye-to-eye re:games anyway - his Dragon's Gold wins the "most hated rule" category in my book with the sanctioned cheating.

7.4.2008 9:25pm

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Mark Johnson (mail) (www):

Interesting list, and interesting comments here. I've played half of them, but most just once (and El Capitan was actually a play of Tycoon long ago). Of those six, I only purchased one myself (Scripts &Scribes). I say I'd be content to keep playing existing favorites, but my game buddies keep buying new stuff. Naturally, they want to try them, and who am I to stand in their way? :-) Although, I thought AoE III was a stinker, and Kingsburg is only passable.

I was late to try Pandemic, but I see what the fuss is about. I was very impressed in my one play. Likewise for Metropolys, which was almost flying under my radar. Several Ystari games have underwhelmed me, so I almost missed this one. I'm glad I got to try it two nights ago.

Of the remainder, I'm most interested in Tribun.

7.5.2008 10:28am

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T. Derscheid (mail) (www):

Uh, I own two and have played none. (Glory and Pandemic)

7.5.2008 2:08pm

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Michael Webb:

In all honesty, the "16 expansions" thing is just marketing. The actual releases neatly break down into 3 expansions: the NH/Vermont hardboard (which can be combined into a third map), the Secret Blueprints series, and the special Essen map that comes with extra blueprints cards. I think Ted's marketing in this particular case is backfiring because claiming there are 16 expansions makes people even more weary of the deluge than they would be otherwise.

7.6.2008 10:20am

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Brian (www):

Yeah, the '16 expansions' thing is really 3 expansions, and I do like the "mini-solo-boards" idea, but I've already got more AoS than I'll ever need.

7.6.2008 8:24pm

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Michael Webb:

Oh, completely understandable, you and 99% of the user base out there (though about 50% of the same user base is in denial and will buy everything with the AoS attached to it anyway :-)

7.6.2008 9:58pm

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Joe Huber (mail):

Bruno's list is interesting - but shows yet again that Bruno and I aren't on the same wavelength. I've played 8 of the games - counting Eketorp (which isn't significantly changed from the version I played) but not El Capitan (which I understand is signficantly different from Tycoon). And Pandemic is the only one I actively want to play again; I'd consider playing Glory to Rome or Kingsburg if asked. On the other hand Metropolys is the least enjoyable release from a notable publisher I've played in some time (I think I'd have to go back to when I first played Assassin from Avalon Hill for a reasonable comparison), and I couldn't find anything enjoyable in Shanghaien...

w.r.t. Expansions - I like the mantra I saw a few months ago - Expansions are Evil. There are a few that are harmless (including the first Race expansion) and there's Isfahan, which actually improves Samarkand notably, but they're just the exceptions that prove the rule.

Of course, I'm not a fan of Age of Steam anyway...

7.7.2008 11:24am

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