tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6932441.post116829316531283282..comments2023-06-13T06:15:10.688-04:00Comments on WAGS Chronicles II : The WAGSENING: WAGS Game of the YearShemp Duchamphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12143427949411525615noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6932441.post-1169480738347449082007-01-22T10:45:00.000-05:002007-01-22T10:45:00.000-05:00luch=chinacompactfast with virtually no downtimefu...luch=china<BR/><BR/>compact<BR/>fast with virtually no downtime<BR/>fun <BR/>simple mechanics yielding deeper strategyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6932441.post-1168550505218826902007-01-11T16:21:00.000-05:002007-01-11T16:21:00.000-05:00I hear what you're saying about Railroad Tycoon. I...I hear what you're saying about Railroad Tycoon. It's flawed in many respects, both in production and in certain mechanics which you mention. It's certainly not the most polished of designs.<BR/><BR/>But it's fun, finishes inside of two hours, and has tension and competition. There's very little analysis paralysis or downtime, and a definite sense of achievement in the end.<BR/><BR/>For me, it fulfills many of the "perfect game" criteria (except for criteria 10 and 11 - leader and loser related problems).<BR/><BR/>Taj Mahal, hmmm? I definitely enjoyed it, but something was missing about it for me. I can see that it's a very well-designed game, but something about it doesn't click with me the same way that Power Grid, Puerto Rico, Tikal, Railroad Tycoon and Wildlife work for me.<BR/><BR/>As for next year... Yeah, now that I've reached the 100 game limit, I'll be choosing new games with a great deal of care (well, not that I chose carelessly before, but now even more quality and inventiveness will be required to displace another game from my collection).<BR/><BR/>Fortunately, I have about a half dozen games wallowing around in the 3-5.5 rating range which I wouldn't be loathe to get rid of.Kozurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01441385217527761214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6932441.post-1168455314629407252007-01-10T13:55:00.000-05:002007-01-10T13:55:00.000-05:00I also wanted to add that this was the year I play...I also wanted to add that this was the year I played my first 'real' wargames after cutting my teeth on Midway last year. Wilderness War (Card Driven wargame), Rommel in the Desert and Napoleon (both Columbia Block games) were all played a number of times, primarily by me and Kozure. I`ll never be able to play this type of game regularly, but they've been an excellent change of pace. I'd probably say that Wilderness War and Rommel in the Desert are tied as my favorite of the four I've tried.Agent Easyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459988517741244059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6932441.post-1168453666747720022007-01-10T13:27:00.000-05:002007-01-10T13:27:00.000-05:00My picks:New (to me) game of the year: Taj MahalWi...My picks:<BR/><BR/>New (to me) game of the year: Taj Mahal<BR/><BR/>Without a doubt this is the game that blew me away this year. Other very good games in this vein that we played this year (let`s call them 'pure, strategic german games') included Maharaja, Wildlife, Quo Vadis? and Louis XIV. Although I enjoyed all of them to varying degrees, Taj Mahal is head and shoulders above all them them for me. I need to play it more, but I`m guessing this has a shot to reorder my top 3 or 5 games.<BR/><BR/>Favorite Game released this Year: Railroad Tycoon<BR/>Runner up: Antike<BR/><BR/>It actually hurts me a little to pick that game as game of the year, because it has SO MANY FLAWS. <BR/>1) Production errors (colour issues, mostly. The warping hasn`t really bothered me)<BR/>2) A general feeling that many things didn`t get all the testing it should have received. The south west of the board, for example, will never get played on, even with 6 players. The tycoon cards are uneven. <BR/>3)The turn order auction and the way the cards get turned up doesn`t quite work for me as published.<BR/><BR/>That said, it's the game I had the most fun with. Even with all it`s flaws the game remains engaging, thematic, tense, etc. With the help of the variant we last played with, I am much more comfortable with the game on that level, anyway.<BR/><BR/>Antike is also a game I quite enjoyed, and from a design perspective there is more to admire. However, RRT remains more fun to play, and that`s what matters in the end.<BR/><BR/>Special prize: Fury of Dracula<BR/>This game is excellent for what it is. However, it`s so long it won`t get played that often.<BR/><BR/>Best Expansion: PowerGrid:Italy <BR/>I really enjoyed our session of this, and I`m not normally the biggest PG fan.<BR/><BR/>Best big, sloppy, american game: Conquest of the Empire<BR/>Another flawed game which is enjoyable because it's a thematically rich game which gets just enough right to overcome most of it`s weaknesses. Also in need of some sort of house rules, I look forward to fiddling around and coming up with a variant to make it a real winner.<BR/><BR/>Best 'Fusion' games: Mission: Red Planet, Vegas Showdown<BR/>Two games which can only be described as combinations of previous games but which both worked for me. I haven`t played either enough to know for sure, but they seem to have done a good job of creating fun games out of an engaging theme and well worn mechanics.<BR/><BR/>Most successful oddball games of the year: Mall of Horror, Funny Friends<BR/>Mall of Horror and Funny Friends stand out as games which were fun to play and were memorable because of the shear originality of the theme and experience. <BR/><BR/>So, basically, my favorite game of the year was released in 2000. My favorites this year are mostly flawed products in one way or the other. Does that mean it was a weak year in games? Not really. I, personally, have had a blast continuing our Wednesday night gatherings and I`ve had as much fun as ever. I think that part of the reason for the harsh sounding words is that in the first few years we played a lot of the classics (traders of Genoa, El Grande, Puerto Rico, Tikal, etc)and this year we branched out to more thematic games, and I enjoyed them at that level. We played a lot less truly silly games (the cheapass stuff, less lightweight card games in general), which matches my preferences so I`m not going to complain. <BR/><BR/>Who knows what next year will bring? I can predict that we'll be buying even less games this year, since our collective collection is quite large now, and filled with very good we haven`t played nearly enough.Agent Easyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459988517741244059noreply@blogger.com