Okay, and we’re back.

This week, I wanted to write about the obesity epidemic that is sweeping North America.

No, not THAT epidemic.

I mean the one that is seeing more and more games released in boxes that far and away are oversized for what they contain.  Queen started the tradition with their oddball box form factor that essentially meant a box about 1.5 times as high as it needed to, but lately the mantle has been picked up by several North American manufacturers.  Chief among them?  Fantasy Flight Games.

Now, I’m not saying that these aren’t good games.  In fact, I am quite pleased with my Fury of Dracula (ooh, waiting for the first cries of “Hypocrite!â€? to surface…), even though it only needs about half the box it comes in.

Less impressive is Twilight Imperium III, which could have easily fit into a much slimmer box had the plastic minis only been pre-trimmed from the sprues.  In fact, I’ve seen a copy of the game that easily fit into the standard Days of Wonder / Kosmos / etc. square box.  I’m firmly convinced that the FFG enormo-box is essentially the gaming equivalent of driving a Ferrari – d’you suppose they’re compensating for something?  I kid, I kid…

And now, we have word that Days of Wonder, even, is breaking away from their standard box to release something extra big.  Hopefully, they will use the extra space to cram in extra goodies and not just air!

Apart from the irritation that comes from having to devote extra shelf space to a game (instead of using it on, what else, more games), there’s also the cost factor.  I’m all for cool plastic minis, but within reason.  Are the minis in War of the Ring worth it?  Every penny.  Did Fury of Dracula need sculpted minis instead of pawns?  No, I don’t think so.  But it does add to the theme ever so slightly.  Thankfully, Ystari passed on including lovingly-crafted scale miniatures of the constipated king on the cover of Caylus…

Now, I’m enough of a magpie gamer to enjoy the chrome now and again, but only if it’s well-done chrome.  Something oversized just for the sake of being oversized tends to put me off rather than draw me in.  Case in point: Those enormous cauldrons in Poison, which take a simple card game that could easily fit in an Adlung-size box and turn it into something three-plus times that.  Sure the game is cheap, and the bits probably didn’t add to the cost that much, but it still feels like overkill to me.

On the flipside are games that were originally intended to fit in a smaller box than the one they ended up being shipped in.  Kronberger’s excellent exploration game Lost Valley was originally supposed to ship in a small box (same size as the Winning Moves line) but at the 11th hour was changed to the larger box – in this case because the cost dictated by the sheer volume of bits would have been far too high for a small box.  In other words, people won’t pay quite THAT much for a small, less-impressive box.

I suppose it’s asking too much to try and get the gaming publishers to settle on three or four boardgame boxes only?  You know, so that my sessions of gaming shelf Tetris don’t last quite as long?  Free plug here: IKEA Billy-brand bookcases have one spacing between shelves that I swear is designed expressly for games – the standard Euro square box fits with something like five millimeters of clearance.

Games Played

Been a while, and I’m still on a severe diet as far as gaming goes – I wish the real world would stop hassling me.  I did manage to run through Fury of Dracula for the first time ever, and I will say that this is one cool cooperative game.  Lots of theme, lots of chrome, and the rules will take you at least 45 minutes to go through the first time, but it’s worth it.  A fun, luck-filled romp through Europe, with only the occasional undead minion and such to spoil your fun.  Part of the enjoyment in our game was not having any clue how powerful some of the event and object cards are – which led to some huge surprises.  It’s good clean fun – just don’t expect your straight-laced relatives to have an easy time adjusting to the somewhat blood-soaked gothic look.  Probably better to keep a copy of Scotland Yard handy for times like those!

Otherwise, the only games I’ve played were Geschenkt twice and Bamboleo once.  Nice to play Bamboleo with a group that cared – I’ve had far too many games go horribly awry because someone just grabbed any old piece right at the start.  And when it takes longer to set a game up than play it, you’ve got a problem.

And that’s about it for this week.  See you next week, when I start running through some of the Essen games I’m looking forward to!

pk

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