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by Reinhard Staupe
by Reinhard Staupe
art John Kovalic
publish Out of the Box
players: 3-4
duration: 20-30 mins.
type: set collection / simult. action select.
PACE: Quick. Simultaneous action selection makes for a quick game. Occassional slowdown for negotiations, but they tend to be entertaining for all!
LUCK: Medium. The die roll adds some luck to the game, but makes action selection more interesting; the selection of actions involves second guessing.
TENSION: High. Not only selecting actions (which is plenty tense as you try and get what you want by guessing what you think everyone else will pick) but negotiating for the actions is a nail biter!.
VICIOUS: Medium. A good negotiator can often make an offer that the opponent can not afford to refuse but costs him virtually nothing and benefits the other player verrrrrry little.
SOCIAL: High. Lots of negotiation.
VISUALS: Good. But not great. The artwork is cleanand colorful though the gem illustrations are small -- green being difficult to tell apart from blue. Also, the player colors are too much alike. Grey can be mistaken for wood, and black and brown are quite difficult to tell apart. Also, the components are Chinese, not German, so quality is lower.
THEME: Low. Who cares when you're having this much fun!
GAMER APPEAL: Probably. Yes, some luck in the die roll, but it keeps the "lap" race lively, and it suits such a short game.
NON-GAMER APPEAL: Yes. Simple rules and neat second guessing tension, and the negotiating is not too complex yet very tense and entertaining.
2 PLAYERS: No.
REPLAY: Excellent.
I've played 20+ times.
Good with 3-4 players.
Best with 3-4 players.
