Tandem Gamers
San Juan keeps on cruising, Giganten does
not
I played a couple games of San Juan at Tandem
tonight. I had heard a tip on how the Crane, a building I've dismissed in the
past, could be used to good effect, so when I got one in my initial draw I
figured I give it a try; and it worked out very well, cruising me to an easy
victory. I love it when stuff like that happens, a previously unexplored
approach to a game is a smashing success (this last happened in Goa, when I won
by running up the money track). San Juan has been running behind in the poll,
which surprises me a little bit - I like San Juan a lot, and while Goa and Fifth
Avenue might be a bit ahead for me just on my basic preference for more
substantial games, I think the 2nd place it got in the DSP isn't too far off.
Saint Petersburg is a game in the same weight class that made a larger first
impression (not being quite as derivative a game), but it has recently really
hit a wall when it became increasingly clear just how unbalancing a first-turn
Judge or Mistress of Ceremonies is. San Juan, on the other hand, has had a lot
of endurance. It's short, it's fun, it's got turn angst, but it's chaotic so it
both rewards flexibility (I like that kind of game) and isn't the undertaking
that Goa and Puerto Rico can be, which is good
sometimes.
The second game I was again
dealt a great starting hand if I wanted to play my game centered around the
Crane again. But I wanted to try something different this time, so I did, and
didn't win (I was in second, but only by a point, on a Guild Hall/Production
Buildings approach). Maybe I should listen when I say it's important to stay
flexible.
Last was a quick game of
Carcassone: Hunters and Gatherers with 3. The game is a little slow, but it's a
workmanlike and solid game with some interesting stuff. A little too long, but
fun for a light game.
I think we got
all this in, plus a game of Can't Stop, while the other guys were playing
Giganten. My impression from the whining going on was that it was not very well
received. One player commented that he could leave his copy in the shrinkwrap
now. My impression of the game when I played it was not that poor; I enjoyed it
for a few games, but it crashed really, really hard after that After playing for
the 5th time, I never wanted to see the bloody thing again. Not sure what makes
a game that is interesting the first time or two crash quite so hard without
being broken or horribly unbalanced (neither of which was the case with
Giganten); maybe it was just inexperience with eurogames in
general.
Posted: Friday - September 17, 2004 at 06:28 PM