Rick Thornquist: The Disappointing Nuremberg Games

At the Gathering of Friends I had the opportunity to try many of the new Nuremberg games and I have to say, I was somewhat disappointed with them.  I remember talking to someone there who had played most of them and they characterized the new crop as either slightly above average, average, or slightly below average.  I’d agree with that - looking back at my Gathering report I see that the vast majority of the games I rated as sixes or sevens.  Even the ones that made the eight mark barely made it there.

Of course, I haven’t played every Nuremberg game, but I’ve played most of them that are already out and with a few rare exceptions, Thurn und Taxis being one, none of them I’d classify as a very good or great game.

Why is this?  Well, I think there are a few reasons.  There seems to be a homogenization of games into the medium weight category.  Practically every Nuremberg game I played fit into this category.  The reason for this is obvious - these are the kind of games that are contenders for the Spiel des Jahres and game companies are all vying for the prize.  I don’t mind medium weight games at all, but does every game have to be the same weight?  There was not one heavy game among the group this year and that was a disappointment.

I was also disappointed in the lack of innovation.  None of the new crop showed much in the way of new mechanics, it was basically the same auctions, placements and victory points we’ve all seen before.  I’m not sure why this is, perhaps it’s the volume at which designers are cranking out games these days - instead of taking the time to make each game unique, they are simply throwing in tried and true mechanics.  It’s also possible that publishers are playing it safe - going with games that are not too far out of the mainstream in order to guarantee a certain amount of sales.

At the Gathering, more than one person remarked to me that the best games at the event were the prototypes.  I only played a couple of them but the two that I did play, Valerie Putman’s Weasel’s Plunder and Frank Branham’s Battle Beyond Space, I liked a lot - they were both innovative and fun.  I heard of a few other prototypes that got rave reviews as well.  Here’s hoping that some of these prototypes see the light of day as produced games.

We do have a few other Nuremberg possibilities.  I understand that Phalanx is going to be releasing their crop shortly - Bison and Emira could be good ones.  There are a couple from other publishers that may have potential.  I’m crossing my fingers.

I am disappointed but hopeful that this was just an off-season.  The summer conventions in the United States are coming up and there are always a pile of new releases there - here’s hoping for some standouts.  If not, it looks like we may be waiting until Essen for the next great game.

Games Played
A goodly number of games played this week, including Das Spiel, Thurn und Taxis (x5), Mauer Bauer / Masons, Geschenkt / No Thanks! (x2), Oltre Mare, Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers, Catan - 3D Collector’s Edition, Tikal, Princes of Florence and Visionary.

A few random notes.  Mauer Bauer / Masons is beginning to falter for me - the game may just have too much luck in the cards.  This was my second game of Tikal in two weeks - Tikal was my very first German game and I still think it’s great.  Ditto for Princes of Florence - just a great game.

That’s it for this week!

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