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Aladdin's Dragons by Richard Breese Rating: 8/10 after 10+ plays

ALADDIN'S DRAGONS by Richard Breese art Doris Matthaus publish Hans im Gluck/Rio Grande Players: 3-5 Duration: 60-90 mins. type: medium board game; blind bidding, acquired powers Pace: Quick. Blind bidding, so thunk down a chip. Infrequent short pauses. Complexity: Medium. Trying to prioritize and guess what your opponents are doing is a balancing act. Only tricky part is understanding how the bidding works in the palace squares. Luck: Low. It is a blind bidding game so there is lots of player chaos. Some luck in the draw of the action cards; but once all players know what action cards are available, game becomes more balanced. Tension: High. Some people hate blind bidding, but most people like the poker aspect of this game. It's nerve racking playing chicken for an important square or trying to make sure you have enough gems to pay your high bid in the palace. Vicious: Medium. It's a 'crowding out' game as players jostle for leads in different rooms, but not especially vicious. Even the action cards are quite balanced. Social: Medium. Many games of 'chicken' will be forced as players jockey for important squares, and players start talking big to strengthen their bluff. Not too much socializing as this game plays best when played at a quick pace. Visuals: Very Good. Huge board depicting caves, a city, and a palace, done in desert colors. Lots of plastic bits (which look like Chiclets gum) used as currency in the game. Functional cardboard bits used for bidding. Theme: Average. The artwork fits the game well enough. Action cards add a bit more flavor too. Gamer Appeal: Maybe. Poker feel to blind bidding. Blind bidding is not universally popular. Non-G Appeal: Probably. A bit tricky to learn, but good interaction, quick game. 2 players: No. Replay: Good. Blind bidding games feel a bit like poker if done well, and this one is done well. Nice visuals add to enjoyment. RATING: 8/10 I've played 10+ times. Good with 3-5 players. Best with 4-5 players.

Quick summary | One of the nicest things about Aladdin's Dragons is that it seems to be a game that both gamers and non-gamers find challenging. It is a blind bidding game, which some people do not like, but many people find it quite tense. AD has a really good visual presentation, and though the rules take some understanding, the resulting game is quite well-paced and unique. This game has a lot of a 'chicken' element to it, especially in the spaces that give no award for second place. The game is sort or working in two different directions, which is what makes it challenging. On your turn, you simply place a toke face down in a room. So you need to go bid in the caves to bid on my different treasure types, yet there are so many other places to put tokens. This game has many possible special actions, all obtainable by bidding in rooms other than caves. Win action cards and you can use them once, and some of them are very powerful, but most of them affect everybody, inlcuding the one who played them. Win in the town spaces, and you get special priviliges. Win an artifact, and not only can you use that special ability, but artifacts are the Victory Points! You can choose to concentrate your tokens on a few spaces, or you can bid all over the place hoping to outdo the other players. Sometimes one space will be so important that each player will end up with 4 chips each in the room -- a 'chicken' element, especially in the spaces that give no award for second place. In artifact spaces, the highest bid wins. But it gets trickier: a winning 6 bid would cost 6 of the SAME treasure, but an 8 bid, made of a 6 and a 2, would cost 6 of one treasure type and 2 of a different treasure type. If you can't afford your bid, who ever bid next highest gets the artifact for the price that they bid. What a balancing act! I find this game to be a challenge, while not being over complicated in the actual gameplay. All you do on your turn is place one chip. But, ah! what a decision.

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