Without knowing anything about the game, I’m guessing no intersection? If that is just decorative, definitely bad placing of the… robot?
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No intersection for both. The intersection pieces have a square in the middle, like the non-intersecting piece with the square in the middle above…
Now to be fair, there are little visual cues, and there are no standard tiles in the game that intersect (the ones that do are special and proving very tricky to acquire), but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m constantly battling my own eyes, especially in lower light. The visuals should prompt the rule, not the other way around.
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The old circuit diagram standards assumed that wires crossing were in contact; if they weren’t, you put a hoop on one of them to make it clear. The new standards (all right, since ~1985?) assume that a crossing isn’t a contact, unless you put a dot on it. Either of these is fine as long as you know which standard someone was using…
I agree that it could be rather clearer.
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What’s the game?
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Curious Cargo, and I have to say, it’s a hell of a game.
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Is that the reason you’re keeping the anti-stink bags? The sulfurous smell?
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Heheh, honestly I’d prefer sulfur over this weird stink. With apologies for the alienating comparison, it’s a bit like hot plastic and urinal cake…
Anyway your joke has actually reminded me that there are anti-stink pouches (very similar to the silica packs, actually!) that use activated charcoal. I might try a few of those if it doesn’t work itself out over the next few days. I’m airing the whole thing out; it shipped relatively wet.
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*Apologies for the double, this was a quick edit that blew up.
On the subject of Curious Cargo and with a few warm up games under my belt, I’m about prepared to add Ryan Courtney to my list of designers. The main caveat being the fact that he’s only released two games (both sharing a core mechanism), but wow, are they firecrackers. Any concerns I might have had about Curious Cargo being a lesser Pipeline have been thoroughly quashed and on early impressions, it might actually be the more challenging game. As important, the game attached to the spatial puzzle is as dynamic and engaging its progenitor… and easily as nippy!
Beyond the chops he’s demonstrated so far, I can’t think of anyone exploring difficulty in games quite like he is, either. It’s a bit nebulous, but there’s a particular brand of challenge he’s reveling in with his games that I find novel. Splotter manages their niche through a smorgasbord of interplay and no parachute. Countless other games offer a stiffer challenge by going “tight”, forcing ruthless efficiency and/or planning…
Courtney seems to like to ask you to juggle fireballs while skeet shooting on a unicycle, without ever devolving into a competitive jigsaw puzzle. I’ll argue that, as usual, interaction is key. Not just through player interaction (which he heaps on in meaningful ways), either; The gameplay mechanics of Pipeline and Curious Cargo are integrated such that it’s never just about who surmounted the challenge best.
From an optics standpoint, he’s that new pipe-maze guy. But I think his hallmarks are a trifecta of being forced to plan deep while managing a bird’s nest of connections and staying limber enough to keep your competition in line. Delicious.
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It’s been 3 years since this one. I’m not that hot about new 18xx titles. Hit saturation levels as I don’t really play them at all outside of Wyvern’s group.
The only designers/publishers that I keep watch now are:
- Matt Eklund
- John Bohrer - more of his Cube Rails are being printed by Capstone and Rio Grande.
- Cole Wehrle - I have a number of his stuff, so it’s not a insta-buy any more - except for An Infamous Traffic 2.
- Carl Chudyk
- Splotter duo
- Reiner Knizia - although I am much more keen on his small box stuff
- Thomas Lehman - I find myself wanting to play more of Chudyk’s output instead, but if he makes another card tableau game…
- Allplay - keen to see what they put out but not keen on backing everything
It seems that I am in the late phase of old school German games based on this. I am so ready for an Ameritrash renaissance tbh.
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There’s only a couple designers that I have very much enjoyed everything I have played from them (and it has been more than a couple of games): Martin Wallace and Shem Philips.
Honourable mentions: so far the games from Stegmaier I have played I have enjoyed a lot (Viticulture and Euphoria) but it has been only those two. Matt Leacock has been a close one, but none of his games are more than an 8 for me… They are all good, but nothing brilliant.
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When we are doing updates on this (good idea @lalunaverde )…
- Cole Wehrle fascination is still on-going but not insta-buys as I have realized the solo-modes are not my thing and I can‘t easily get the games played. I have ambitions for the winter but I doubt my gaming friends are a match for those.
- I have by now played On Mars but as stated elsewhere my desire to for more Lacerda stuff has faded a lot.
- Vlaada is still enjoying his Codenames retirement. But CGE has at least made Arnak in the meantime. Which is good. Sadly for them Dune: Imperium is my favorite of the two (though b/c Arnak is on BGA I have played it more)
- Feuerland has landed another hit with Ark Nova. 12 years after Terra Mystica (about). So I will still watch their releases. (Also they translate Stegmaier games so that gets included in my watchfulness automatically)
- I always have a look at new Knizia output. Because you never know…
- Allplay has done pretty good stuff recently and I always check their Kickstarters but it‘s not a „back everything“ thing
- I backed Daybreak on the strength of Matt Leacock‘s name. Should be imminent—they did offer backers the option to cancel their pledge when the German version came out before fulfillment but warned that it was pretty expensive (it is) and so I didn‘t cancel. The German name is e-Mission which is almost as neat as Mischwald as a title.
- I am still waiting for the Chudyk game that is palatable for my partner (meaning one that I lose on first play). Aegean Sea is on the way to me… which brings me to
- Spacebiff‘s reviews. Not a designer or publisher but I blame quite a few purchases on him anyway.
- Rosenberg. I will always be curious about his next big game even though Hallertau has almost made it to the sell pile. I think he‘s my most owned/played designer next to Knizia.
- There are a couple of German publishers that do translations that I have to check out always at SPIEL: Schwerkraft, Strohmann, Skellig and Giant Roc But that‘s more to see what games were deemed worthy of translation.
- Artists whose art makes me look closer at a game: Beth Sobel, Ian O‘ Toole, Kwanchai Moriya and Vincent Dutrait. I probably have a couple of games I bought because of the art more than anything.
- John D Clair is one that makes me step closer to the booth at Spiel (my partner really hated Empire‘s End though)
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Three years on and nothing much changed since my last post, except that I ignored my own intent and bought Horseless Carriage on preorder.
Still ignoring Arcs, will try Molly House before buying, and same goes for Aegean Sea.
Even so, Chvatil, Chudyk, Wehrle, and the Splotter guys remain as my list to keep an eye on.
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I wasn’t part of the last one so there’s nothing to update. What comes to mind:
- Lehmann. If “Lay Tiles for the Galaxy” comes out I’m probably going to buy it.
- Rosenberg. At this point I have all the Uwe I need but I do want to play pretty much anything he publishes.
- Luciani (usually with Tascini) gets my attention. Tzolkin, Barrage, First Rat, Grand Austria… these all have something of interest.
- Oh yeah, Xavier Georges. Just recently found out how consistently delighted by his games I am.
- Lacerda. This one is new. It might not stick. I certainly don’t need a shelf full of Lacerda but I do want to play about 75% of his catalog.
- Mori tends to get my attention. Ethnos, Libertalia, Blitzkrieg, Caesar, Dogs of War…
- Kind of a dark horse, Trey Chambers. Empyreal, Harvest, Argent… his games are never the best but they are usually pleasing in an unexpected way. I’m now wondering what is the “Harvest” y’all have been talking about? I thought it was an unrelated game but now I see the new Harvest is a remake of his old Harvest, unless there is a completely unrelated Harvest out there that doesn’t float to the top of BGG search?
Many of my favorite games are Knizias but his content and quality are both all over the place so I tend to follow the game rather than the designer, and only later find out it’s “another Knizia, who knew.”
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Flick For The Galaxy
Take Tricks For The Galaxy
Betray Your Friends For The Galaxy
Build Increasingly Unstable Towers For The Galaxy
Solve A Murder For The Galaxy
Play Cards In Sequence Without Talking For The Galaxy
Between Two Galaxies Of Mad Intergalactic Overlord Ludwig… For The Galaxy!
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The Emperor is dead! As his second heir, your job is to prove that the first heir dunnit.
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