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by Reiner Knizia
Rating: 9/10 after 3 plays
by Reiner Knizia
art n/a
published 2004 by Amigo
players: 2-5
duration: 30-45 mins.
type: strategy card game
PACE: QUICK. Either flip a card to add to the set, or steal a card with a Thief, or call an auction. This game moves at a good clip.
COMPLEXITY: MEDIUM. The rules are straight-forward, and the scoring is a bit tricky (but handy reference cards are provided). What makes this game so fun is that trying to acquire sets of cards, where every different card type is scored differently, makes for a very tricky game of assessment and evaluation.
LUCK: MEDIUM. Card are being revealed randomly, but players can all an auction on their turn preventing the value from increasing. The biggest dose of luck comes in the end of each round, where it is possible for only one player to have a bidding check left, and he gets to play "chicken" with the deck of cards, and often this can be a killer or a big boost depending on the cards revealed.
TENSION: HIGH. Since each card type is scored differently, and since the Police cards can come out in clumps, one is never exactly certain when the round will end, or what certain players will be willing to pay for any given set. I fidn this to be a very tense and wonderful auction game.
CONFRONTATION: LOW. Auctions games can't have a lot of head to head, and Razzia! doesn't differ. Players can keep forcing auctions early to the frustration of their opponents, but the opponents could do the same.
INTERACTION: MEDIUM. Mostly you track what other players have in their collection, trying to take cards you need, and if possible, prevent a key card for them. Auctions are a "once-around" leading to a careful consideration of what checks each player has left.
VISUALS: EXCELLENT. Cartoon depictions of the mob, cops, robbers, 30's era Chicago. Very nice graphics, very clear distinction between different card types, including reminders on the cards to know when to discard them. Also, handy reference cards. But it doesn't have an auction token, which is a small annoyance.
THEME: HIGH. Chauffeurs are needed for you to score your fleet of limos, no Bodyguards will hurt your bottom line, a variety of Loot will score you big, and getting pieces of different businesses in Chicago will do nicely. A much more fitting theme than the original game, Ra, and, big brother aside, and excellent theme indeed.
GAMER APPEAL: PROBABLY. This is, after all, basically Ra, (despite some people protests that it is a perverted form it!) and though gamers may miss the old theme, the excellent gameplay remains, and the inexpensive price point and renewed availability of this title, make it a great pick up.
CASUAL GAMER APPEAL: YES. If anything, the removal of the negative tiles (present in the original Ra, but not present in this game) make a good auction game for casual gamers and excellent auction game for casual gamers.
PLAYERS SCALING: GOOD. 2 player game is a little weaker because the scoring becomes very high-low. (Example: most bodyguards gets +5, least gets -2, so in a 2 player game, one player goes up on the other player 7 points!) Definitely best with 3-5, and works very well with any of those numbers.
REPLAY: EXCELLENT. I always find msyelf playing this game, and with the new graphics and theme, I actually own Razzia! now and will be playing it for a long time to come. One of the best auction games ever designed.
RATING: 9/10 after 3 PLAYS
The Police are sniffing around the streets of Chicago trying to bust the mob. Can you expand your turf quicker than the other families in the city? A re-make (and re-themed tweak) of the classic auction game Ra, Razzia! has packed that big board game into a small box. Players will be bidding to acquire sets, only each different card type scores a different way, making evaluation of any given set very tricky. For example, you might have a large fleet of limos, but you don't score them unless you snag at least one chauffeur -- and after round-end scoring, you keep your limos, but you chauffeurs quite, and you need to get another to score your limos again. Now throw in different scoring for Bodyguards, Loot, Business, Gold, and even Catburglers! A set might be zero cards, it could be 7 cards, or anywhere in between! Razzia! has, to my mind, taken Ra and added several improvements including better graphics, a more fitting theme, and a cheap price! Fairly good for 2 players, this is an excellent 3-5 player game, and one of the best auction games ever designed.