German Game Authors Revisited #27 - Corné van Moorsel

By Joe Huber
August 24, 2006

Foreword:
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This is the twenty-seventh in a series of articles I have written about “German Game” authors.  I wrote them for the fun of it; I claim no particular expertise on board games, nor am I a collector of board games.  I just happen to play them and occasionally write about the experience.  I would welcome any constructive feedback. 

Disclaimer:
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This article represents my own opinions only.  Some opinions are based on only a single play; some of the information presented is based on nothing more than hearsay.  I will always try to note such instances, but I would always recommend playing a game before buying it (or deciding not to buy it, for that matter).

Copyright 2006, Joseph M. Huber
Updated August 24th, 2006.

Author:
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Corné van Moorsel

Games Covered:
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Dutch Mountains (Cwali)
Floriado (Cwali)
Isi (Cwali)
Logistico (Cwali)
Morisi (Cwali) (a.k.a. Netzwerk - Jumbo)
Ocean (Cwali)
Street Soccer (Cwali)
Typo (Cwali)
ZooSim (Cwali) (a.k.a. O Zoo le Mio - Zoch / Rio Grande)

Corné van Moorsel has developed quite a following in much the same manner as Dirk Henn, creating his own company as a way to bring his designs to market far earlier than possible licensing one game at a time to the major publishers.  This is a tricky path to follow - for every Henn or van Moorsel, there are far more self-publishers whose names haven’t gained familiarity.  But van Moorsel’s designs have demonstrated sufficient originality and scope as to warrant close observation.

The first game to gain van Moorsel notoriety was Isi, a two player game clearly inspired by Settlers, but using similar components to a very different effect.  Isi is a game of connections; it embodies interesting concepts, but for my taste I find it falls short.  My first play of Morisi, the multiplayer adaptation of Isi, also fell short at first, as it was too simple to connect everything, such that the first player to not make a significant mistake won.  I then heard that the author recommended leaving holes in the setup - and this change made the game, as connecting everything became very difficult but not impossible, and the non-sudden-death scoring system came into play frequently.

Many of van Moorsel’s games are rather abstract in nature, which unfortunately makes them poor fits for my taste.  That Dutch Mountains wasn’t a big hit for me isn’t a great loss, I suppose; it’s a simple two player time filler.  I feel that I lost out more on Logistico, which has received some praise but which left me cold.  Oddly, Floriado, an Essen giveaway in 2003, stands out as my single favorite Cwali game.  It’s a simple two player set collection game, not at all dissimilar to Fossil in concept but far superior in execution.

While Ocean was better themed than many of van Moorsel’s other games, this didn’t help it for me; I found the game rather lackluster.  ZooSim offers a stronger theme and in my opinion stronger gameplay, but still was not quite a keeper for me, as the bidding didn’t offer enough differentiation or enough room for my taste.  Having since found and enjoyed Industria, I suspect I might look somewhat more kindly on ZooSim if I were to try it again.  For me, the best themed of von Moorsel’s games, and not incidentally the one of the group I enjoy most, is Street Soccer.  Street Soccer is a simple soccer simulation - nothing new, but it balances simulation and game wonderfully.

Typo doesn’t fit in well with van Moorsel’s other games, and so gets its own paragraph here.  It’s a cross between the classic word game Ghost (described by James Thurber in one of his classic essays) and 6 Nimmt, a rather appealing combination.  But word games tend not to be favorites of mine anyway, and I found as I played it that as I played Typo I was wishing to be playing Ghost instead.

Given the wide variety of games van Moorsel has designed, it’s likely that something from his catalog will appeal.  For me, the best of the lot are Floriado, Morisi, and Street Soccer - and thus these are the ones I most strongly recommend.  And while I’m not as fond of ZooSim, it’s well worth playing at least once.

Van Moorsel games I own, and always expect to: Floriado.

Other van Moorsel games I own: Morisi, Street Soccer.

Other van Moorsel games I might play: Dutch Mountains, ZooSim.

Notes:
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This article may be reproduced in whole either mechanically or electronically provided the copyright notice is included and I am notified of the use before publication.

© 2006 Rick Thornquist

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Comments:

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I got Morisi some time ago and have been on the lookout for another van Moorsel game to try, but nothing has quite grabbed me yet. I’m intrigued by his latest, Aloha, particulary since he’s been quoted as saying that he thinks it’s the best of his designs, but the cost has just been a little too high for me given all the other stuff there is out there that calls to me. Posted by Joe Gola on Aug 25, 2006 at 11:18 AM | #

There seems to be some holes in this list: Aloha, Titicaca, Subulata, and Ahoy are all games I enjoy (especially Aloha).  There’s also SeaSim, a two-player reworking of Ocean/Visjes that sounds like an improvement, but I haven’t played it. Posted by Doug Orleans on Aug 25, 2006 at 11:28 AM | #

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