Valerie Putman:  Back from hiatus--new Essen games

I took some time off from writing the column and in the meantime I’ve gone to Gen Con, Dragon*Con, Essen, and Great Lakes Games.  In the last week I’ve played dozens of new games.  I guess it’s about time to start writing up some early impressions of the new Essen crop.

Best Crop Evar So far this year I’ve enjoyed a higher percentage of the new games I’ve tried than any other year.  In part this is because the information available to us before the show was better than ever, but I also think that this Essen churned out a large crop of solid games.  In fact, I really don’t have a single “best of show” this year, but instead, over a dozen games that I am looking forward to playing repeatedly over the next few months.  What are they?

Colonia—my favorite Queen game...ever?  It’s meaty and the game flows intuitively and there’s all kind of angsty decision making.  Basically, you use people to bid on turn order, collect resources, make goods, ship goods, earn money, and buy relics (worth victory points).  Unlike most worker placement games, you’re managing dozens of people, not 5 - 10.  For example, players take turns selecting lots of resources, but to take a lot of 6 resources (and you must take all of the resources in a lot), you must commit 6 of your workers.  Once you decide to use the workers, they are tied up until the next round--so you have to plan carefully in order to have enough workers for each phase in the round.

Hansa Teutonica—my favorite of the games that might not be available in the US anytime soon.  This game looked good and the quick explanation I got at Essen sounded good, but when I bought the game without trying it first, I knew that this could be one of those duds that I would be trying to unload quickly at BGG.con.  But no--it rocks.  Players start the game with a limited abilities--only 2 actions per turn and the strength of those actions is minimal.  Using their meager options, players claim spaces on the board which will eventually allow them to increase the number of actions they can play on a turn and also increase the power of those actions.  But of course, these improvements come at the expense of lost opportunities for quick and easy victory points available early in the game.  Players must balance their game choices carefully while dealing with just the right amount of player interaction (you have the ability to form long term plans but you must deal with other players as they get in your way).

Tobago—the game that I most looked forward to before the show that lived up to my expectations.  The game is one of treasure hunting where you provide the clues which allow you to narrow down the treasure location.  The more you contribute to the search for a treasure, the more you’re going to get out of it when it is finally unearthed.  This is also the game that is the most unlike any games that I already own.

Other games that met or exceeded expectations were:
Ubongo 3D
At the Gates of Loyang
Atlantis
Cardcassonne
Mosaix

Games that I was delighted to discover or play that were not on my radar before the show:
Trader
Gonzaga
Opera
Shipyard

I’ll report more on these, new games that I continue to play this week, and the very few games that weren’t quite up to snuff next week.

I’d rather be gaming,
Valerie Putman

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