tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6932441.post113773356145599855..comments2023-06-13T06:15:10.688-04:00Comments on WAGS Chronicles II : The WAGSENING: A GigaWak of Games (Carcassonne - The City, China x2, Pueblo, Formula Motor Racing x3, )Shemp Duchamphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12143427949411525615noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6932441.post-1137899011855772762006-01-21T22:03:00.000-05:002006-01-21T22:03:00.000-05:00Excellent comments!Carcassonne. I'm really glad yo...Excellent comments!<BR/><BR/>Carcassonne. I'm really glad you liked the game! I quite enjoy the Carc series, and have been hesitant to choose it because I was aware you didn't really like it. Now we have a game we can all agree on!<BR/><BR/>I concur that the game is more complex than basic Carc (other than the removal of the farmer confusion). Still, my coworker caught on very quickly, so I think that the slow phasing in of rules over the course of the three rounds makes it manageable. Most of all, the appearance of the game has drawn people in... and that's the biggest hurdle.<BR/><BR/>China. Agreed. <BR/><BR/>Pueblo. I enjoyed our 3 player games more than this 4 player one. Downtime is a definite issue contributing to that, and it's definitely a brain burner. I like it quite a bit, but more as a change of pace than as a game I'd love to play all the time.Agent Easyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459988517741244059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6932441.post-1137870891941164882006-01-21T14:14:00.000-05:002006-01-21T14:14:00.000-05:00I'm not a big Carcassonne fan, although I am keepi...I'm not a big <B>Carcassonne</B> fan, although I am keeping the game to play with my child(ren). I did find the City version to be more interesting. The original version has a sense of just petering out in the end, and the finale seems anti-climactic. With the wall-based turn-limit mechanic, the end-game becomes a little more exciting (almost frantic, if you're trying desperately to join some residential sections properly as I was). In all, the game is better balanced and refined, with some of the more interesting features of the other variants incorporated into the basic structure.<BR/><BR/>I enjoy it more than Carcassonne, but the added long-term strategic goals of wall and tower placement and city wall watchmen make the game even more strategic than previous incarnations. It's a good trade-off, but it would be harder to teach the game to first time players, elevating the game from a lightweight game to a medium-light game.<BR/><BR/><B>China</B> continues to be a very good choice - since it's much more abstract than the usual sort of games I enjoy, it's not among my favourites, but it's still very well designed and has tremendous depth for a game that plays in so short a time. I will say that strategy becomes less possible in a five-player game than a four-player, since you are even more likely to have your plans dashed before your turn comes around when there are four other people playing besides yourself.<BR/><BR/>Still, a fun game, and always enjoy it coming out.<BR/><BR/><B>Pueblo</B> is a beautifully designed game and is simple enough to learn for most people - the complexity is in the placement of blocks. I don't like it as much as either of the other two games (or indeed, most other games) for the simple reason that the downtime with people who are very carefully considering their moves is very, very long. It has to be long, really, or you're just throwing away points, and over the course of placing all of the blocks (and all of the other players' blocks) a single poorly placed block will rake up dozens of extra unecessary points.<BR/><BR/>The auctioning for turn order as well as the placement of sacred sites changes the strategy of the game significantly, and makes it even deeper than it was previously. This one is a challenge.<BR/><BR/>I will say that I enjoyed it more this time around, mostly because I had better learned some of the placement strategies.<BR/><BR/><B>Formula Motor Racing</B> is a great little palate-cleanser. I'm embarassed to point out that I had completely missed the "charge" rule, of being able to roll for your own car several times, instead of just once, which significantly changes the character of the game.<BR/><BR/>Armed with that knowledge, future games should be a little more interesting.<BR/><BR/>It just goes to prove that you should read the manual all the way through, even if it seems that the card descriptions describe all of the information you need.<BR/><BR/>This also occurs in "El Grande" the description on the card seems to indicate one thing, but the full description in the rulebook of the card has more information which slightly (or in the case of the FMR charge card) significantly changes its character.<BR/><BR/>As always, a fun session.Kozurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01441385217527761214noreply@blogger.com