Thurn and Taxis, Citadels
Board game night at the store, and I got to play a couple of simple but entertaining games. First was the Spiel des Jahres winner Thurn and Taxis. What’s that? What’s Spiel des Jahres? It’s the German award for game of the year, usually goes to the most euro game that came out that year. The most recent winner is Dominion, the game that has taken the world by storm. Thurn and Taxis won some four years ago, and after a while trying to track the game down, including getting very close to playing it at a convention six months ago (circumstances), I got down on the table, and turns out I like it a lot.
It’s a game of simple set collection, but it does a lot of interesting things, with choices each turn to figure out the best way to utilize your resources. You collect cards from six visible options and create a set based on pathways on the map, and when you choose to complete the set, you can put little houses on the map to try and complete another set of objectives to score points. It a low-scoring game, and although I got off a great play that netted me over 10 points in one go, it wasn’t enough win the game.
Then I played Citadels again for the first time in 10 years, and man, I remember it being a much more complex game. Each turn, you choose a role that gives a minor benefit, and then you collect some gold and pay for a card in your hand to collect a small tableau. Only about 20% of the cards actually do anything, and I didn’t draw a one. I actually did awfully, after having all my gold stolen and being shut out of a turn for what seemed like no reason at all. But it’s an easy game, with an enjoyable social dynamic.
Board game night at the store, and I got to play a couple of simple but entertaining games. First was the Spiel des Jahres winner Thurn and Taxis. What’s that? What’s Spiel des Jahres? It’s the German award for game of the year, usually goes to the most euro game that came out that year. The most recent winner is Dominion, the game that has taken the world by storm. Thurn and Taxis won some four years ago, and after a while trying to track the game down, including getting very close to playing it at a convention six months ago (circumstances), I got down on the table, and turns out I like it a lot.It’s a game of simple set collection, but it does a lot of interesting things, with choices each turn to figure out the best way to utilize your resources. You collect cards from six visible options and create a set based on pathways on the map, and when you choose to complete the set, you can put little houses on the map to try and complete another set of objectives to score points. It a low-scoring game, and although I got off a great play that netted me over 10 points in one go, it wasn’t enough win the game.
Then I played Citadels again for the first time in 10 years, and man, I remember it being a much more complex game. Each turn, you choose a role that gives a minor benefit, and then you collect some gold and pay for a card in your hand to collect a small tableau. Only about 20% of the cards actually do anything, and I didn’t draw a one. I actually did awfully, after having all my gold stolen and being shut out of a turn for what seemed like no reason at all. But it’s an easy game, with an enjoyable social dynamic.
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