Well. I love Flamme Rouge and have avoided Heat because it seemed pointlessly similar. Now it seems that it might even be worse than pointless!
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There’s definitely two camps, I talk to plenty of people with either preference. It’s a difference of flavor.
For me, I also prefer Flamme Rouge but after being forced by the Heat camp to play several times, I’ve developed a fondness for that one as well. It’s just a different puzzle. More hand management and burst timing, and less about opponent management and long term planning.
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Richard Breese’s Reef Enounter is great.
Alan Moon also gave us Incan Gold, Airlines: Europe and its card game cousin: Gloria Picktoria
I need to play Ostertag’s Kaivai, I hear really good things
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Touko Tahkokallio brought us Eclipse: New/Second Dawn for the Galaxy.
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I don’t think in terms of best designers. However the Splotter duo have done the most that I rate very highly. I think John Bohrer is also up there. I think Richard Garfield is a strong shout even if only for Magic funding hobby stores. Not that I have any interest in magic but it’s a behemoth. Of his games I absolutely love RoboRally.
Another designer worth a mention is Hisashi Hayashi. Trains does something wonderful with Dominion with a board. Yokohama seems like a well liked modern euro, popular here with some I believe. Trick of the Rails is top draw. String Railway is fun and is really smart with the form and games. It’s a strong set.
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I really like both Heat and Flamme Rouge, but they are different-ish.
Heat is kinda… loose and quick and variable, but the “Teach” is surprisingly fast to get the groundwork done, and then the depth of options is impressive.
Flamme Rouge rewards slow, thoughtful play, but that makes it somewhat unforgiving. Which is fine! But I struggle to introduce it to new players and have them do well against me (it can happen, of course, but it’s hard to get a run of “luck” in Flamme Rouge, where that can definitely happen in Heat).
Both dang good.
Oh, but I love racing games (Gravwell, Cubitos, Camel Up, Formula De, Steampunk Rally, Rallyman GT…), so I freely admit a personal bias.
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I would hardly say Camel Up is a race game really…
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I’d argue that it’s as much a race game as Downforce / Top Race / Niki Lauda’s Formel 1 / Formel 1 Nurburgring / Tempo, which is not a much as the other named games but there’s definitely a racing element.
(I have also become the local “racing game guy” more or less by accident.)
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But the game is about betting on a race, not racing itself.
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Yes, but you have some influence over the race. (Less in Camel Up, just the oasis/mirage tile I think, but way less in the Tempo games than I expected too.)
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Suggestion: would be cool to have a negotiation/trading topic at some point
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On it. (maybe next)
The solo topic has reminded me that Mac Gerdts should certainly be in this discussion. Concordia is pretty much flawless; perhaps the most well-oiled machine of a game I can think of. I love it, and it’s a great game design achievement.
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