For our weekly game group, I'm always looking for interesting games for 7 or even more players. Between Two Cities only goes up to 7, but offers a very nice game from the beginner class. Not as complex as 7 Wonders or similar, but definitely interesting for a large round. The special point of this game: you play together with your two neighbors. Together with each neighbor, you build a city, but you are evaluated afterwards according to your weakest city. The player whose weakest city has the most points wins. A very interesting idea and brings fresh wind into the round, because the players have to plan together to have a chance, but still compete. And the evaluation of the cities is much easier than, for example, in Suburbia - overall it seems more like a variant of Quadropolis, only with drafting and support for many players.
Archive January 2017
Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! (second edition) is a tactical conflict simulation of Germany's attack on Russia in World War II. Generally not my favorite topic, but Conflict of Heroes is simply a standout in the genre for mechanical reasons: it has one of the most refined systems for solo play in the area of tactical games. The opponents (depending on the scenario, you can control the Russians or the Germans and let the other side be controlled by an "AI") are controlled via a card system that is situationally built. The cards check various conditions and prescribe actions that the opponent performs - and all of this is placed in the context of the current game situation and the game scenario. This results in surprisingly "intelligent" reactions from the opponents, which make the game absolutely challenging, even when you're playing solo. Additionally, there's the option to use the Firefight Generator to create your own scenarios in a kind of pre-game. The interesting part here: the scenario is set up neutrally, you assemble both sides, but which side you play is only decided at the end. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to set up the scenario one-sidedly, as you would then have to play the weaker side. As a result, the game offers a very high replay value simply because the situations constantly change. And in this regard, it is clearly superior to Night of Man - another tactical skirmish game with a card-driven "AI" for the opponents - where there are only pre-made solo scenarios.
Pentaquark can best be described as "Patience for science enthusiasts." A card laying game with a reference to quantum physics and some interesting included variants. Nothing big or special, just a nice game to kill time in between. Interesting mainly because it is extremely compact and can therefore always be with you.
The Duke is a game that I had lying in the cupboard for quite some time because there was simply no opportunity for it - and I had practically given up on it. Then I planned it for our Mauritius vacation and played it several times with Juliana. It is definitely not Juliana's favorite game, but I had a damn good time with it. Basically, it's a much more variable chess with a certain element of chance. You start with the same - few - pieces on the board and can either move a piece with each move or bring a new piece into the game. To do this, pieces (square tiles with printed movement patterns) are turned over when activated, thus constantly changing their movement pattern. The result is a surprisingly interesting concept with very interesting strategic situations. I don't know if I'll ever get Juliana to play it again outside of beach vacations (for which it is ideal because of its very robust components), but it will definitely stay in my collection.