go to Gold Games
by So-and-So Smith
by author
art artist
publish American publ./German publ.
Players: # of players
Duration: approx. time to play
Type: How heavy, whether board or card, basic mechanics, etc.
Pace: Quick/Medium/Slow. How long turns take, and how quickly the game flows.
Complexity: Fluff/Light/Medium/Heavy. How easy the game is to learn, and how much thinking and strategizing the game requires and allows for.
Luck: None/Low/Medium/High. How much luck the game has. The less luck, the more a player can determine their own results with the choices they make.
Tension: Low/Medium/High. How challenging the game feels from turn to turn. Can be very subjective criteria. I give you my opinion.
Vicious: None/Low/Medium/High. How much other people's decisions can harm you. (Especially if they are trying to mess your plans.) How much others can gang up on one person.
Social: Low/Medium/High. How much talking, laughing, and trashtalk the game allows for and instigates. Again, this tends to depend on who you play games with. I have friends who trashtalk when playing 'war'.
Visuals: Poor/Okay/Good/Excellent. How the game looks, and the quality of all the game 'bits' and pieces. How easy colors are to tell apart.
Theme: None/Medium/Good/Excellent. How much the game simulates its setting See 'Jargon' page for more info.
Gamer Appeal: No/Maybe/Probably/Yes. WIll it appeal to gamers?
Non-G Appeal: No/Maybe/Probably/Yes. Will non-gamers like it?
2 players: No/Poor/Good/Excellent. Whether or not it plays with 2 people, and how good the 2 player game is.
Replay: Poor/Okay/Good/Excellent. How often this game can get played without tiring of it. Some games are great if they are only played twice a year, other games can be played every week and enjoyed. This criteria is subjective. I am basing it on my feelings and how often friends/gamers request it.
I've played #+ times. How many times I've played it indicated whether or not the game really gets played often.
Good with #-# players. Sometimes the game box lies. =) How many players the game plays well with.
Best with #-# players. How many players the game really shines with.