There’s something less fun about it too. I think the small change to the bag building makes it a bit less exciting. IIRC you wait till you draw everything before you redraw whereas I think in Orleans you put stuff back in as you use it? Is that right?
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I can attest that is correct for Orleans. I have not played Altiplano.
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Also correct for Altiplano 
I think Altiplano is the better theme/setting, but Orleans is the better game. Altiplano doesn’t really have “big” ups and downs. It’s all fairly “meh”. But it is charming.
I have The Traveler expansion but haven’t played it yet… it may create more drama? I’m not sure. It does, however, have an option to shorten the game.
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Hmm, Stephenson’s Rocket is currently on sale on miniaturemarket.com for $12. I know I’ve heard @lalunaverde speak highly of it. Does anyone else have words of praise or warning? It sounds like a steal at that price, but I don’t know much about it other than what I’ve read on BGG.
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I can’t imagine it not being worthwhile for $12 for a highly rated Knizia title.
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Depends on what’s your taste, I suppose. If this is the Grail Game edition, $12 is worth the try if you like your Knizias. I only recommend playing it at 3 and above. 2 players doesn’t really show the share-incentives gameplay. This also applies on other games like this, because 2 players are always zero-sum
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I’ve struggled with both Altiplano and Orleans. I’ve only played them 2 handed solo, though. I own Orleans and hope to play it some day, but in my 2-handed plays the games always stall halfway through. Good first half, and then something just stops and it becomes either stuck gears or just cranking an existing engine. Maybe it is different with real opponents, or maybe I need to lose to someone who knows the game better to see how it really works.
As for the initial question, Concordia is the safer bet. With all the maps and modes, variable market and setup, the game feels fresh each time. Village I have only played 2 handed but I have the impression it’s a more “periodic” game. It’s good, but you can play it out, then need to let it sit for a while until you can get it out again.
Other recommendations… a lot of these are a bit higher interaction. Low interaction Euros with a similar vibe (in my head):
- Nusfjord
- Low Lands
- Castles of Burgundy
- Clans of Caledonia
- Architects of the West Kingdom
- Rajas of the Ganges
- Pulsar 2849
- Glass Road (more interactive than Nusfjord, otherwise Nusfjord is better)
- London 2e
- Gugong
- Whistle Mountain
- New Frontiers
- Formosa Tea (hopelessly out of stock…)
But you aren’t here for MORE options. My favorites from that list would be Concordia, Nusfjord, Low Lands, and Burgundy. Gah. I want to add three more to that but I won’t 
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Well, it is only 6.9 on BGG, so is it really highly rated?
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Dang. I hate it when I overpay for a game.
As I understand it:
- It takes several games to really get it. That’s the low rating, as many people don’t play it several times. But if you and the people you play with can’t play repeatedly, it will not hit.
- Among those who have played it several times, they tend to rank it on par with the T&E/Samurai/Sausage trilogy. So if all of those are worth $12, then Rocket is too.
It has the shared incentive / ambiguous cooperation of a cube rails game without the stock market. It’s a bit like playing Babylonia or Through the Sausage where other people can place your camels, too, so you’re trying to drive this train while also messing with other peoples’ trains and when the music periodically stops you have the most something (depending on what is being scored) so you score points.
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Burgundy doesn’t fit the 5 player requirement but it’s rules are baked in with my wife. As in she learned it B.K. (Before Kids) so it’s one that easier to play two player with her.
Plus the ‘big box’ before the ‘ridiculous edition’ is pretty small.
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Woof. I actually forgot that 5 is a bit of a weird player count because I haven’t had that player count around my table is so long.
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…but only because I’m an idiot who completely overlooked the 2-5 players stipulation…
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I forgot about the 5 player stipulation as well. 5 players seems to be a common cap these days, must just be an oddly 4-player genre.
Troyes should be 5 players, as it has five city districts. Darn that mandatory neutral player.
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Since you’ve suggested it, I am considering buying Burgundy for the third time. Instead of Concordia.
Burgundy ~£37 (edition with expansions)
Concordia: Venus ~£50 (damaged box)
Village Big Box ~£52
The fifth player, quite frankly, is my disaster planning for a theoretical games night where we have exactly five. The nights have built up again to three tables worth of players…
Nusfjord looks to be about £44 when the big box lands, I’ve played it once and enjoyed it.
New Frontiers, that box. That is all.
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New Frontiers was egregious for it’s time. It’s now part of a club that includes Oceans, Planet Unknown, Catacombs & Castles, Kemet B&S, 51st state…
Since the community went Kallax some people just want to use the whole Kallax hole.
I love NF on the table as everything feels so good and it is so easy to read the market and your opponents’ boards. Lehmann antagonistically defends the decision on BGG threads but I think they should have done 2-piece player boards with jigsaw connections and therefore made the smaller box work.
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I fully get why it’s the size it is, and I’m unlikely to own the others for the same reason.
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The plan is to get both base and exp when Starry Rift shows up and put them all in Starry Rift box. Cmon, it’s Rio Grande. They will all fit inside the expansion box
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As someone who loves Altiplano: playing with a full 5 is a recipe for a loooong game. It’s a pity that it’s so close to being playable simultaneously, but there’s a couple of points where turn order matters, so you can’t change it.
To throw out another suggestion that’s not quite a classic euro feel: Brian Boru is good and does 5 nicely.
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Oof, that’s going to be a tall order. The player boards are massive, there’s a sack o’ giant world discs, and the goods are … I think the Alien goods are the size of 8 sugar cubes? Novelty may be one large sugar cube.
I currently have both NF and Puerto Rico in the NF box but that’s a tight fit.
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