Comments on Halesowen Boardgamers: Session Report 26 January 2011

I'm with Mike. I think 20th Century is a nice ...

2011-02-02T14:31:00.485Z

I'm with Mike. I think 20th Century is a nice little game and the thematic ties are kind of irrelevant. I do prefer games to be thematic, but I'm not averse to bending a bit when the game is this good.

I had my first play of London this week. I expected to enjoy it, but it way surpassed my expectations. A fun and interesting game that I'm looking forward to playing again. A good head, shoulders and most of the torso above the majority of last year's games.

Frankly I couldn't give a toss about the theme...

2011-01-29T20:10:52.144Z

Frankly I couldn't give a toss about the theme as long as the game delivers, and this one definitely does. The true beauty of the game design is that just about everything you do in the game to better yourself has a downside which you have to mitigate to get the full advantage. More land tiles is good, but accumulates more garbage, the institution tiles are can be a huge advantage, but they separate your land tiles and so make it more difficult to recycle. A lot to think about, but a lot of fun too.

I agree the mechanics in 20th Century are a nonsen...

2011-01-28T13:38:56.890Z

I agree the mechanics in 20th Century are a nonsense related to the theme and I do like games to have a rational link between mechanics and theme for one thing it aids the explaining and remembering of the rules. In the case of this game this failing is overshadowed for me by the perfect “weight” of the playing experience. The game holds my focus for 2 hours with almost the same intensity I would get from a game of chess. Yet the more experienced players only seem marginally to have an advantage over inexperienced players. There seems little luck so there is something deep going on. It fascinates me in a similar way to Chicago Express.

Have to agree with you about 20th Century's th...

2011-01-27T23:41:35.757Z

Have to agree with you about 20th Century's theme. Thematically it's complete and utter nonsense!