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Fraser McHarg: Some Games Click, Some Don’t
As a general rule I don’t expect to be able to master a game in one play (or less). However, I do usually expect to have a reasonable idea of what is going on and thus to be able to put in a mediocre to credible performance in the first play or so.
In many games I expect to be learning or seeing new things for many plays. As an example, I have over 150 plays of BGG’s implementation of Tigris & Euphrates and I think I am still learning, especially with two players.
The reason I bring this up is that I played a couple of new, to me, games over Easter. One clicked, the other didn’t.
Some games that have not clicked:
Hamburgum: It seemed straight forward enough. I’ve played Antike and Imperial and they clicked, yet in this I came dead last and the second-to-last player had well over double my score. I was presumably doing something very wrong – or certainly not doing much right.
Modern Art: I have played this only once so far. I felt that I was floundering most, if not all, of the game with no real idea of what anything was worth to me or anyone else. In my first game of Ra I didn’t have a real idea of what things were worth either, but I didn’t feel that I was floundering and felt that I could come up with reasonable bids.
Rummikub: Actually I thought that this had clicked with me, but since Daughter the Elder has won every time we have played, it obviously clicked much better with her.
Some that have clicked:
Ars Mysteriorum: This just came together in the first game over Easter, and I was happily playing along. I had plans and some of them were good plans and worked, too.
Roads & Boats: I probably don’t play this well – read, efficiently enough – but within a turn or two I knew how to play, how things worked, and what sort of things to be doing.
Combat Commander: Europe: I got a five- to ten-minute overview of the game and rules and dove straight in. Easy peasy. Now that was ably assisted by the wargames of my youth, but it certainly clicked whereas Hamburgum was an example of a similar game or system to one previously played that didn’t click.
Antike: The antithesis to Hamburgum? My first game was late at night (in fact it didn’t finish until after 3:00 am), but by a quarter of the way through it had clicked.
David & Goliath: The main part of this was OK, but the end game certainly did not click. For the last few tricks I felt like I was on a speeding train about to crash. I had absolutely no idea what was going on and how I could influence anything. After time and quite a few plays this feeling went away and the train pulled leisurely into the station.
Have you got games that didn’t click? Did they ever?
© 2008 Fraser McHargComments:
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Samurai doesn’t click for me, neither apparently does Thurn und Taxis. However TransAmerica/Europa does, as does Rumis. Games that don’t click don’t get played enough for me to find out whether they will :-). Posted by John Farrell on Apr 1, 2008 at 02:45 AM | #
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Heh. I not only didn’t win, but came in dead LAST, the first 15 or so times I played Domaine. Didn’t matter who I played: the result was the same, to the delight of my fellow Mayfair compatriots. Breaking this jinx (and, for that matter, any jinx) was a matter of going back to the drawing board, looking at what I THOUGHT were the keys to the game, and seeing what successful strategies I was leaving out. I tend to be a very good first-time player, but whatever lets me latch onto strategies quickly can also undermine my ability to be flexible with strategies in my first few games ("this oughta work..."). These are the games I tend to get after until I do get a solid feel for how to do well! Posted by Alex Yeager on Apr 1, 2008 at 08:14 AM | #
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For a long time, Traumfabrik (aka Hollywood Blockbuster) held the title of “best game that I just can’t play to save my life”. I was absolutely horrid at that game. It wasn’t until I hit on the strategy of focusing on actors that I began to have some success. I’m not saying that’s the best strategy, just that it’s the best strategy for me! I’ve also struggled a bit with Taj Mahal. I’ve gotten better lately, but I’ve still only won once, and that was with a little help from an opponent (there were two players he could have gone after on the last turn and he chose the other guy). It’s been a while since I’ve played, so I’m sure my next game will see me floundering at least a little. Probably my current “good game that doesn’t click” champion is Merchants of Amsterdam (I have no idea why it’s the Knizia games fall into this category). This hasn’t hit the table in years, but when we were playing it, I had huge problems with the valuations (either too much or too little). I’m pretty sure I’ve finished last or very close to last in all my games of it. There’s probably tons more, but those are the ones that come to mind. Like John, if a game continues not to click for me, I usually stop playing it. I’m not that I’m concerned about winning, but after a while, if a game just isn’t registering, it becomes more frustrating than fun. Additionally, given how rapidly we plow through games, if you don’t pick things up after three plays or so, you may never get the chance, as the group has moved on to the next shiny object. Posted by Larry Levy on Apr 1, 2008 at 09:54 AM | #
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I can’t get the light to click on for any deduction game. My programmer mind thinks it is on the right track and can’t handle a wrong turn. T&E on the Geek is one I can almost play on autopilot (1800 games) but I still find something new every few games. Posted by John Daniels on Apr 1, 2008 at 01:09 PM | #
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Actually, I agree with you on Modern Art (no clue) but disagree on Rummikub (one of my favorite games) Posted by John Daniels on Apr 1, 2008 at 01:10 PM | #
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I played ItYotD for the first time a few weeks ago. I was warned going in that it would be brutal, so I was playing conservatively (I thoguht). With two turns to go, I was out of people. This game didn’t click. At least not yet, but I will be trying it again. Posted by Scott Russell on Apr 1, 2008 at 04:03 PM | #
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Amun-Re. I understand the rules but can never get the handle on generating the money I need. Just don’t grok that game. Posted by Raymond J. Dennis Jr. on Apr 1, 2008 at 10:34 PM | #
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There are almost no games that click with me on the first couple of tries. One of the notable exceptions (since it’s on your list of non-clickers) is Hamburgum. Admittedly I only played it as a 2er, and only the once, but it seemed inordinately obvious at every turn what I should do, and if not for one very stupid mistake regarding which building was on which tile, I’d have run away with it. Of course there’s always a chance that my opponent was a buffoon, but I don’t think he’d ever admit to it. Posted by Josh Adelson on Apr 1, 2008 at 11:11 PM | #
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>but it seemed inordinately obvious at every turn what I should do, I think to play good Hamburgum your plan should be at least 5 five actions deep Posted by Klaus Knechtskern on Apr 2, 2008 at 10:04 AM | #
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Well, I’m sorry if I didn’t indicate that every turn made it obvious what I should do with the next four, as well. It’s a LOT easier to track, I’m sure, with just the one opponent, those things that might arise which would hamper one’s plans. Posted by Josh Adelson on Apr 2, 2008 at 12:12 PM | #
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Sigh… Age of Steam. I think it’s a fantastic game, though I’ve only played it a few times. It depresses me how much I just don’t get it. It’s the geography thing-- i tend to get resource balancing, but I’m not as quick on the visual-- so I get cut off. The other one that comes to mind is Olé-- spent the whole game not getting it, much to the annoyance of the other players. Hambergum and Modern Art on the other hand, I grokked quickly and won my first game of both of them, iirc. Posted by Gregor McNish on Apr 3, 2008 at 07:38 AM | #
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Gregor wrote Hambergum and Modern Art on the other hand, I grokked quickly and won my first game of both of them, iirc. Gregor, you are the anti-me :-) Posted by Fraser McHarg on Apr 3, 2008 at 07:47 AM | #
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Hive has not clicked for me at all yet. I took to Antike instantly and had a completely intuitive understanding of how to maximize the use of the rondel. Great game. Posted by Jeffrey Henning on Apr 4, 2008 at 11:09 PM | #
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