Vinci. Vinki. Winky. Bananas. (Vinci, Santiago)

Sonja joined us again, and brought 2 new (to us) games in tow... Vinci and Santiago. These are two of her favorite games, so I was quite curious to try them (For Sale!, though a very different game, was a favorite of hers which has gone over extremely well).

We started with Vinci (pronounced "Vinky" or "Winky", depending on who you ask). It means "to be conquered", and the name is fitting! The gameboard shows Europe as unamed territories defined by their major resource (mountains, fields, etc). In addition, a few other descriptors, "ports" and "mines", are identified. A series of "characteristics" are randomly drawn and layed out in pairs along the top of the board. In turn, players must choose a pair of characteristics which will define their emerging civilization and then begin to spread their influence across the board (a focus on military and farming, for ex.). Points are earned acording to the size of the civ, and for how well the civ matches up with some of the characteristics the player chose for it (a nation of farmers gets bonus points for controlling fields, for example). As the game progresses, players must decide when their civilization has reached it's zenith, and then decide to put it into "decline". This allows the player to pick a new pair of characteristics and start a new nation. The old nation continues to provide points until it is wiped of the board. This keeps going until the game ends. The whole thing is pretty abstracted, as the capacity for a nation to expand is the only thing which is described, and that is represented solely by a supply of little wooden discs. Seeing a game of Vinci is very similar to watching a number of coloured ameoba rather rapidly growing and contracting across the board.

The game was definitely interesting. Sonja, having played several times before, was much better at choosing her nation's characteristics, and cycling them for maximum VPs. She took over the center of the board and held it for quite a while. Kozure was last in turn order, and had a difficult start since the board was already pretty congested by his turn. I played my timing pretty badly, and at one point I was completely eliminated from the board! (I took solace in the fact that I was still in 3rd place, but with no source of points that was pretty short lived). Lucky for me, this is not a player elimination game... On my turn, I just selected another pair of characteristics and started a new civilization (I beleive my last one was defined by "Barbarians" and "Espionage"... an advantage in numbers and the ability to take out a large army with few soldiers). Luch got a good run out of some "Port" territories and came very close to catching up to Sonja, but ultimately Kozure had a very lucrative last turn and came in second. I was dead last.

I thought that Vinci was a very good game. The twin characteristics encourage players to look at the board differently for each combination they play. The expansion mechanics are simple enough that things move quickly for a game of such "scope". "Kill the Leader" tactics dominate the second half of the game, but the fact that players start new civs whenever they want and score their points immediately ensures that the game can't help but move forward. A minor issue I have is that things are SO abstracted and simplified that I never really felt I had time to identify with any of my nations. For a game with such a compelling topic, that's a bit of a shame. Still, the game was fun, so I can't fault it too badly!

I'm pretty sure it was well liked by the group. Kozure said he preferred it to El Grande! I don't see the connection, myself (and I definitely prefer El Grande)...

Santiago was next.

This is a game where players auction for goods to plant in a field (banana plants, potato seeds, etc), and ultimately win for producing the most valuable crops. A valuable crop is defined by it's size (a continuous set of 7 banana plants is worth more than 7 plants spread out across the board). The twist is that every turn, the player who bid the LEAST is in charge of determining which plants will get watered (termed "the overseer"). Predictably, plants without water eventually dry up and die. The game, therefore, revolves around evaluating the opportunities for various crops on the board, bidding accordingly to pick the right crops at the right time, and then bribing the "overseer" enough to make sure your efforts don't go to waste.

It's a simple enough system, and the bribing aspect makes the play interesting (it provides cash to the cash poor, and keeps runaway leaders in check... unless they are very persuasive!). Nothing groundbreaking, but player interaction was good and things moved along well (and any game with a built in screwage factor is always fun). For whatever reason, I lump this game with "China"... a modest game , but one that does what it's trying to do simply, cleanly and effectively (I'm not saying they are similar games, just that I associate them in this way). Not the kind of thing that would ever be in my top 10, but I could see them getting lots of play.

Unfortunately, my game was cut short (had to leave early). I wasn't able to finish the game, but what I played seemed promising enough. The next day, I was told I managed to virtually tie Shemp despite my absence for the second half of the game! Not sure what went so horribly wrong for him, and he's not offering to tell me....

Vinci: 8
Santiago: 7.5 (though not based on a full game)