Agricola’s just in hiatus, waiting for the EN release ;)

And you forgot Korean and Czech, for the second edition anyway.

Now I have that song stuck in my head.  Thanks a lot Dale, thanks a lot!

And you forgot Dutch, too.
I really had expected that you’d be the herald for some more Easter Eggs in this column.
Oh well. Then I need to abuse this space for a link:
http://lookout-games.de/wp-content/uploads/fordale.jpg

Hanno - use this space for Easter eggs?
Nah - I did that last week…
But I did put two new easter eggs up on the Geek yesterday… That’s where I’d recommend people search for “Easter eggs"…

Dale

I think it is important to also point out the foundation work that Melissa Rogerson did to translate all the cards so David could do his amazing paste-ups. Two people living half-a-world apart really did a great job bringing Agricola to the English speaking gamers pending Z-man’s release.

Of the three, I’ve played the computer solo version of Agricola and it looks interesting, I’m thinking I will enjoy multiplayer quite a bit but it will be far different than the flash game I’ve played solo.

Race for the Galaxy is a very nice game but its card basis is slightly deceiving… it really is a gamer’s game and not a very non-gamer friendly game.  I’ve played it with some new-ish gamers and it tends to overwhelm them.  More experienced gamers do enjoy it, though.

I missed out on the first English printing of Through the Ages (I pretty much don’t play anything that’s only released overseas, so the Essen release doesn’t count in my book) but plan to finally check it out when it gets reprinted later this year (hopefully).  I’m still hoping I enjoy it as it does look like it has many elements I like.

There is a Brass lovefest occuring at CABS.  One group played the game three times in a row.  But no matter what the game, I would agree that people are starting to appreciate more replay value in their games instead of jumping immediately to the next new thing.

In between Puerto Rico and Caylus were Attika and St. Petersburg, although I think the latter got off to a somewhat slow start after a not-quite-gushing reception at the Gathering.  And before Puerto Rico were Princes of Florence and Euphrat & Tigris.  And, before that, Settlers of Catan initiated the general hype for German games in the mid-90s.

Yeah, I was totally devoted to Agricola, but my heart was stolen by Race for the Galaxy!  I fit all categories:  100+ plays, carry it with me in my compact case, bought a second copy because my first is worn out… I sleeved my second copy.  I can’t wait for the expansion! 

I also love Through the Ages.  I’ve only managed to play it 4 times since the reprint came out.  Hoping to play that one more… But it’ll never be Agricola or RftG for me.

A lot of this stuff is a bit of a tempest in a teapot. We’re a niche hobby, but even a lot of this hype doesn’t have much impact beyond the hardest core of the hard-core. Through the Ages has only 600-ish ratings on BGG in the year and a half it’s been in circulation, Agricola only 1000 in about 6 months. Neither of those numbers are very large. I know only a very small number people who play those games at all, although those who do love them (I should say, I am looking forward to getting my copy of Agricola, but I can wait).

Race for the Galaxy seems a more credible hit with 2000 ratings, although it’s had broad release, a much lower price point, and hasn’t really had the same level of hype.

Another game worth mentioning on this count is Pandemic. It’s been stuck at #1 on of the BGG Hotlist ever since its release, ahead of Agricola and Through the Ages, despite Through the Ages’ recent re-release. In only a few weeks it’s amassed more ratings than Through the Ages and is closing in on Agricola. The first print run is sold through already. All without the benefit of a glowing review from any established (whatever that means) reviewer or any convention buzz.

Chris- I agree with you that Pandemic may also achieve this cult-following status.  Of note, in my other gaming related job as BGG admin, I did just recently approve a variant map which has only the USA used.  It looks interesting, though I haven’t had a chance to try it yet.

The other thing to always think about when counting ratings/reviews is that not every gamer uses Boardgamegeek (I’m assuming that’s where you have gotten your stats from), and that you always need to consider that when trying to make any generalizations about those numbers.

Dale

Dale -

I agree that not every gamer uses BGG, but just looking at the rating numbers vs. the known numbers that were actually printed, you can guesstimate that a pretty high percentage of everyone who has played Through the Ages or Agricola has rated it - maybe 20-25% (compare to Settlers, which we know has sold millions of copies but has only ~10000 ratings). I would guess those games have a significantly higher percentage of players to raters than Race for the Galaxy or Pandemic, but Race still has far more ratings, and therefore quite a lot more people actually playing it.

That’s actually part of my point about how these much-hyped games that get a lot of ink here and on BGG are kind of a tempest in a teapot. They make a big stir amongst the hard-core, but from where I stand their reach is rather limited. Part of this is limited availability, of course, but part of it is just the nature of the games.

Dale, I think this phenomenon is even more common than you indicate.  Other recent games that have shot up the charts thanks to early buzz include Twilight Struggle, Age of Empires, and 1960.  I would definitely include Caylus in that group.  To a lesser extent, you could also cite C&C: Ancients, War of the Ring, and Battlelore.

I’m not sure if this is just a coincidental series of incidents or the start of a true trend.  I do think the greater focus on new games (thanks in large part to the groundbreaking work of Rick Thornquist and the continued efforts of the BGN folks) provides the conditions that can let this happen.  In almost all of the cases, there were some early glowing previews of these games, often well before they were released, which helped feed the fire.  The ease and speed with which gamers can obtain things from Europe also helps this phenomenon, as does the Geek and its rating system.  None of these mean there *has* to be shooting stars like we’ve seen, so it will be interesting to see if this trend continues or if it’s just the result of a group of extraordinary games.

By the way, the “hype” can be a burden as well as a blessing.  As you mention, it didn’t help Khronos and it undoubtedly hurt Tempus, which got ecstatic, but misleading previews.  Recovering from overly high expectations can be a difficult thing.

Chris, it’s true that one needs to be careful about interpreting the ratings of some of these overnight wonders.  But each gamer also needs to consider the universe of gamers he or she lives in.  In my case, that universe consists of mostly people who enjoy heavy games and are routinely exposed to the newest releases.  Yes, Through the Ages may only have 700 ratings on the Geek, but I would say of the gamers I interact with (which, when you include electronic conversation, is a fairly large group), the majority have played the game and most of them love it.  The same is true for the other games Dale talks about.  Sure, many more people have played Settlers or Ticket to Ride, but I’m not as likely to sit down and play a game with that group.  The gaming circles I frequent, both at home and at cons, are filled with people who are raving about Agricola, Race, and TtA.  So this is very pertinent to me and I have to believe that I’m not that different from most readers of BGN.  It may be a niche within a niche, but it’s OUR niche within a niche and these sky-high ratings are not just a statistical anomaly.

I think Dale and Chris are both right.  When the audience is narrowed to a niche gaming market, Dale’s analysis is quite correct. 

But Chris’s points hold more true, in my opinion, when we start going outside that parameter and start looking at the market for boardgames in a larger sense.  The “hype” Dale speaks of in that case is then naturally put into perspective.

I also think that Chris is on very solid ground for making generalizations about the numbers using Boardgamegeek.com data.  In terms of traffic generated, BGG is the hands down winner in that regard, completely eclipsing many other boardgame websites.  I think Chris is in a very strong position counting that data to make his case.

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Of the three games mentioned, Pandemic has the best “theme pedigree” to potentially bridge the gap into the casual boardgame market.

And Larry’s points about the phenomenon being even more common than indicated in the article are spot on too. He cites excellent examples.  But again...to date only “Ticket to Ride” shines as the one example of meaningful “hype” where people outside of the gaming community have commonly heard of that as a boardgame.

Hype within the microcosm of that which is within the hobby is a different story however.  In those terms, Dale is right to focus on these two games (Agricola & Race for the Galaxy) as being gaming touchpoints for 2008.

Origins 2006. I’m standing at the GMT booth talking to Andy Lewis as the dealer room opens on Thursday AM. Within seconds there’s a line fo 10 people at the Clash of Arms/ Tilsit booth. I ask Andy “What’s that for?” Andy tells me there’s some new Martin Wallace game that they got one box of. It’s supposed to be Civ lite.

Now the pessimist in me rolls his eyes when I hear “Civ lite”. But hey, there’s a line, the line is thinning out, it’s Martin Wallace and it’s early in the convention and I have $$$$ to burn. So I get a copy and bring it back to the Board Room.

And that’s when I find out I have one of the 24 copies of THE GREATEST GAME EVER MADE!!!!

People would come up to the game library and breathlessly ask, “You don’t have Tempus, do you?” Um, actually I have a personal copy you can borrow if you promise not mess it up. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.” Like I was giving them a pot of gold.

I think is OK. It’s kind of a shame it got hyped into being something it’s not.

BTW the last CABS meeting I was at, I got to play Agricola and Through the Ages with Valerie (who gave us a personal teaching session for the latter). So how cool and hip am I now? :-)