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9
by Michael Tummelhofer
published 2008 by Rio Grande Games (Hans in Gluck)
players: 2-4
duration: 60-90 mins.
type: middleweight, worker-placement, dice, board game
RULES: EASY.The rules are very well presented, and the visual aids on the board and cards make this game simple to learn. You'll be playing in no time.
COMPLEXITY: MEDIUM. The actual gameplay is so straightforward a 6 year old could play no problem. Where the game gets its oomph is from the way in which a player will be working to get a rich Victory Poinjt payoff at the end of the game. I don't think any 6 year old will be able to grasp that part! There are so many possible strategies to this game, all of which must be somewhat flexible depending on what order the civilization cards come up and what other players are choosing to do.
PACE: QUICK. Place people on circles. Pull people off circles and take action (which, at its longest, will involve rolling 7 dice and collecting resources.)
LUCK: HIGH. You will be rolling a LOT of dice in this game. If the odds even out, then this game has a medium amount of luck. If your oll nothing but 1's and 2's all game, you will walk away muttering about where your opponent can stick the dice. It's a dice game that allows for some mitigation of luck, and interesting strategic choices, but the dice...well, let's classify it as "High".
TENSION: MEDIUM. Trying to plan around turn order is interesting as you must try and anticipate what will be available and plan accordingly. A particular dice-roll can make or break your actions in a turn if you stretch yourself too thin. Your opponent taking the last spot in the forest when you desperately needed one wood this turn will have you shaking your fists.
CONFRONTATION: MEDIUM. An example: you take last open spaces in the brickfields, one turn after your opponent, who has no brick, put a person on a building that requires 2 brick! Threats follow.
INTERACTION: MEDIUM. Most worker placement games have a lower amount of player interaction, but in Stone Age, almost all the spaces are good for you, so keeping an eye on other players needs and strategies and claiming spaces that they need (that are also are useful to you) is very much a part of the game. Games can be won and lost on several moves of this type in a game.
VISUALS: EXCELLENT. Absolutely gorgeous presentation. The illustrations on the boards and cards are first-rate; the resources are actually in the shape of the real-life resource; and the reminder icons are very helpful and intuitive.Based on visuals alone, this is almost worth purchasing.
THEME: MEDIUM. It's a Euro-game, so take it with a grain of salt, but the theme is well-implemented here. Lots of dice-rolling seems to make sense since, in the stone age, one was subject to the vagaries of a wild life. The cost of huts is more "balanced" than makes thematic sense, and the aquisition of civilzation tiles makes little sense, but the scoring is solid, and the actual resource spaces and village spaces make a great deal of thematic sense.
PLAYER SCALING: EXCELLENT. I think this game scales very well. It may be best with 4 players, but I enjoy all numbers since with fewer players the game becomes more defensive, which gives the game a new flavor. In order to acoomodate fewer players, limits are placed on how many spots can be claimed by players.
GAMER APPEAL: PROBABLY. The variety of strategies is a real gamer-pleaser, and having to account for player turn order and the limited spots available is quire stimulating. So it really comes down to this: how much do you hate dice?
CASUAL GAMER APPEAL: YES. The visuals, the theme, the dice, the ease of play, the different strategies (which are rich, but very engaging and not hard to understand), make this one a winner. The next great gateway game.
REPLAY: EXCELLENT. The order of the civilization cards, the different playing styles, the number of players, and the variety of ways to acquire points keep this one fresh for a long time.
RATING: 9.
