I Made a Math!

Luch's fancy this week were Puerto Rico and Princes of Florence, two excellent games (in my opinion). Sonja was playing with us again, and trying Puerto Rico out for the first time. Sadly, Kozure couldn't make it!

First things first: We decided to come clean about some of the mistitled roles in Puerto Rico. The Mayor? Since when is it a mayor's role to take "workers" off a boat and give them work. The "workers"... well that's pretty sketchy too. The theme of this game is pretty tasteless, but luckily it's a good game anyway! I had taught Sonja briefly before playing... so she wasn't going in completely blind. Luch and I were racing with the same strategy, harbor and wharf, but I managed to win. I tend to gravitate towards that style of play every game (Buy a market and coffee or tobacco early for income). Speaking of strategy tendencies... we talked a little about the fact that in every game we've played, Shemp has built a warehouse, and I've NEVER built one... kind of odd. I think Sonja liked it well enough, but I don't think she'll run out and buy it.

Next up was Princes of Florence. Shemp likes this game but historically does very poorly with it (last in every case, in fact). I encouraged him to play against his instincts, to see if that would help.... I'm not sure if that's what he actually did, but SOMETHING worked, because he would have won (!) the game if not for a bidding war with Luch on the last round (which he lost due to lack of funds, messing up his plan). His loss was my gain, as I narrowly snatched the victory. We had a good laugh as Sonja exclaimed she "Made a Math" as she completed a work.

This was my first time really going after the jesters (I don't think I've ever bought more than 1 per game before). The verdict? Of course, the experts are correct... they are really quite powerful. Suddenly, all the turn minimum became very easy to meet (I had 3). Still, Shemp's end run made it clear to me that the game has many avenues of strategy which can work, and the key to winning is open to any of them.

Does this change Shemp's opinion of the game? Sonja's? Both commented on the down time between turns, which can definitely be an issue when players aren't snappy. But it's a worthwhile experience in my mind, hope others agree (so I can keep playing it!)

Lastly, we played a couple of rounds of Sonja's favorite game: For Sale! This is a very simple and quick game which involves bidding on properties over several rounds in phase 1, and then selling them to prospective buyers in round 2. In my opinion, this game is excellent filler. It's fast and fun, and everyone is involved at all times until the end. There is a good balance of luck and strategy, which keeps everyone in the running but gives an edge to the player who puts his (her) mind to it. Although this feels similar in weight to High Society, I give this one the edge in the fun factor. Hmmm, I might have to get it eventually.