Greg J. Schloesser:  What it is all About - Redux

We game for a lot of reasons, and these reasons can vary from person to person.  Many folks game for the mental stimulation provided, while others enjoy giving their brain a rest from mentally taxing jobs or endeavors.  Some game to test their skills against astute opponents, while others enjoy socializing and cutting-up with their fellow gamers.  There are likely numerous other reasons, and most of us probably game for a combination of these reasons. 

One of the potential benefits of gaming is the development of great friendships.  I have been truly blessed by having met hundreds and perhaps thousands of folks through my involvement in the gaming hobby.  I’ve come to know some of them quite well, and have developed close friendships with dozens and dozens of folks.  Some of the best times I have are spent with these close friends.

Included in these great times with good friends are our weekly East Tennessee Gamers sessions.  I’ve come to know many of the members quite well, and enjoy the company of everyone who attends.  Each week, I look forward to Thursday evenings as a much-needed respite from our incredibly busy work environment, but more importantly for the good times shared with good friends.

Over the New Year’s holidays, my good friends Tim & Vickie Watson, James Miller and Michael Weston spent several days at our home in Tennessee, playing games, socializing and having a wonderful time.  This past weekend Gail and I hosted Ted Cheatham, John Palagyi and Dale Yu.  The agenda was the same:  gaming, socializing and fun.  Both weekends were tremendous fun, as we enjoyed each other’s company and reveled in our friendships.  It is times like these that truly remind me of why I game, for this is exactly what it is all about.

This past weekend, we played quite a few games that were new to me.  Here is a brief summary of those “newâ€? games:

SPIEL DER TURME.  This older Schmidt Spiele title, originally released in the latter part of the 1980’s, is being re-released this year by Queen Games.  This game completely escaped my attention, and I’ve never even seen it being played or read any reports on it.  The game is extremely abstract, with players attempting to maneuver their pieces to capture opponents’ pieces by capping them, thereby erecting towers.  These towers must continue to be moved, eventually sliding into a scoring position before the game ends.  Proper timing is important, and the game does require players to keep a careful eye on how moves can be countered by one’s opponents.

Much to my surprise, I enjoyed the game quite a bit.  While decidedly abstract with a theme that truly stretches feasibility, it was still challenging, and filled with important decisions.  I’ll be searching for a copy.

BYZANTIUM.  Martin Wallace has become one of my favorite designers.  I am particularly enamored by the games he has released under the Warfrog label over the past several years, as I find them to be deep strategy games that presents players with tough challenges.  Struggle of Empires, Liberte, Age of Steam and Princes of the Renaissance are among my favorite games, and I had high expectations for Byzantium.  I acquired a copy in Essen, but found the mechanics confusing.  I never felt comfortable enough to attempt teaching the game to others, so jumped at the chance to have it explained to me by someone who had previously played.  John Palagyi and Dale Yu were the instructors, and did a fine job.

Byzantium seems to have quite a few original concepts, and they are not necessarily intuitive.  As such, it took awhile to get a grasp on just what I should be doing on my turns.  Like Age of Steam, the system appears to be somewhat unforgiving.  If one begins slow and lags in terms of income, he will have a very difficult time to dig himself out of that hole.  This is exactly what occurred to me, and it took a late game series of conquests to pull me back to a respectable finish. 

In spite of my blunders and difficulty understanding the system, I did enjoy the game.  It is vintage Wallace, who seems to be a designer cut from the old-school mold.  I’m intrigued by Byzantium, and can’t wait to play it again.

DER WEG NACH DRAKONIA.  I completely missed this one during Essen, as it was being displayed by a company that was lost in the labyrinth of booths in the fantasy section of the Messe.  Dale found the game intriguing on his first play, but he warned that with six players, it took too long to play to completion.  So, we opted for the “quickâ€? game, removing two of the board’s spaces from play.

Players must maneuver their tokens, representing four types of characters, into position so they can use their cards to advance their characters towards their destination.  Cards can be used to move any player’s characters, with some causing wounds along the way.  When one character reaches the final spot on the board, players tally points based on the positions their characters occupy. 

I enjoyed the game quite a bit, and with four players and those two board spaces removed, it played to completion in about 30 minutes.  Any longer would have likely begun to sap the fun from the game, so the time limit was just right.  I’ll be looking for this one at this year’s Essen.

NAUTILUS.  I’ve heard mostly mediocre comments about this big box Kosmos / Mayfair release, so I never made a strong effort to play it.  Ted is a fan of the game, and has been encouraging me to play it for quite some time.  That time finally arrived.

I must admit that I enjoyed the station-building aspect of the game, but disliked the exploration phase.  It was simply WAY too luck-based, and both John and I were the victims of incredibly poor luck.  I was the first to launch a sub, and quickly had two subs exploring the depths for riches.  Sadly, I found few useful items, and not once did I uncover a treasure.  John was suffering the same fate.  Meanwhile, Dale and Ted were finding treasure galore, and their stash of cash was burgeoning.  I quickly became cash-poor, and it greatly affected my ability to do anything useful.  Indeed, I had to pass for the final 20 – 30 minutes of the game.  Uggh.  Ted tried to console me by claiming this was a fluke and he had never seen anything like this happen in his prior games.  That wasn’t much consolation, however, as the fact that it can happen is a big deterrent for me.  This isn’t one I need to pursue.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT.  This one isn’t exactly new to me, as I did play one aborted game with the East Tennessee Gamers group.  No one enjoyed that experience, but I wanted to give the game another try.  Sadly, this group had a very similar experience.  We all found the game too calculating, as information on which to base decisions is readily available.  This means that some players will take the time to carefully calculate and analyze the best possible actions before moving.  Thus, there are long periods of down-time as players perform their calculations.  Dale and John were both appalled by the game, with Dale on the brink of violence.  He insisted we abort the game after just three regions were completed. 

While I don’t the game would ever be a favorite of mine – and I probably won’t even keep it around – I found a bit more to like here than Dale and John.  I found the decisions to be more interesting than in my first playing, and don’t think it necessarily should take too long for players to make their move.  Yes, some folks are prone to this, but I do think that with some gentle encouragement and advance warnings, most players will move in a reasonable amount of time. 

I was disappointed that we aborted the game so quickly, and will strive to play a complete game soon.

Other games played included Fast Food Franchise, Roma, Die Drachen Insel, Elasund, Crystal Faire, Sitting Ducks, Thurn and Taxis, Victory & Honor, San Juan and two prototypes.  I won’t even mention all of the food we consumed, as it would be way too embarrassing! 

© 2006 Greg Schloesser

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