Game Review: Emira

By Rick Thornquist
September 3, 2006

Publishers: Phalanx Games / www.phalanxgames.nl and Mayfair Games / www.mayfairgames.com
Designers: Liesbeth van Zier and Paul van Hove
Artist: Franz Vohwinkel
Players: 3-5
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 75+ Minutes
Language Versions: English, Dutch and German
Price: 34.95 € / 45 US$

Game Played: Prototype, Another Player’s Copy and a Review Copy
Number of Plays: 4 (3, 4 and 5 player games)

Editor’s Note: Though I played the game four times, the first three of the games were called due to time constraints (the games were all getting close to the end).  The fourth game was finished and I doubt my opinion of the first three would not have been affected by playing the games to their conclusion.

Emira is the newest big box game from Phalanx Games that is being distributed in North America by Mayfair Games.  In the game, players play sheiks trying to attract princesses to their palaces (to their harems, really).  The first player to attract a certain number of princesses to their palace wins the game.

Now the theme all sounds very un-PC, but the harem aspect is played down and the game tries to stress that it’s the princesses that choose the sheik they are going to go to.  I found the theme was nicely handled with kid gloves, but those who are sensitive may want to take note.

The components, typical for Phalanx, are outstanding.  Vohwinkel really outdid himself with the graphics.

The gameplay, once learned, is quite straightforward.  At the beginning of each round a princess card is turned up.  Each princess is looking for a sheik with particular qualities - the best appearance, the most money, the largest palace, or the most status.  The majority of the round consists of a Princes of Florence-like auction where players bid on and buy items that will enhance their appearance, get them more money, expand their palace, etc.  At the end of the round the princess goes to the player who best has the qualities the princess is looking for (for example, if she’s looking for money, she’ll go to the player who has the most money).  As soon as a player has a certain number of princesses in his harem, uh, palace, he wins the game.

First of all, this is not a simple game.  The above description glosses over some aspects of the game - there is a lot to it and it’s very much a gamer game.

So, what do I think of it?  First and foremost, it’s long.  The box says 75+ minutes - I cannot possibly fathom how someone could play this game in 75 minutes.  My complete game was a bit over the two hour mark and my other games would have easily gone over two hours.  I don’t necessarily mind long games, but with this game being mainly auctions, things started getting repetitive for me after then 90 minute mark.

Another aspect is the luck of which princess will come up each round.  In my games, I have found that each player tends to concentrate on one aspect - appearance, money, or whatever, so when a princess comes up looking for that attribute it’s pretty obvious who is going to get it.  Whichever player is lucky enough to have princesses come up that likes him will do well.  This can cause some players to irreversibly fall behind. 

One more thing: the three player version of the game does feel like a bit of a kludge.  They made it work by skipping certain phases on alternate turns.  While it does work, it doesn’t run as smoothly as the game with four of five players.

In the end, I’m not sure about this one.  When I first played it I was impressed by the interesting gameplay but I’ve since been a bit put off by the length, the luck of the cards, and the lack of a way for trailing players to catch up.  I think there is a very good game in there and if someone can come up with a way to shorten it and lessen the luck of the princesses, I think this may be a winner.  Until then, it goes in the category of ‘good but not great’.

© 2006 Rick Thornquist

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