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- R-Eco
This creator of this card play and drafting affair also invented
Traders of Carthage.
But here we have moved far forward from antiquity, in fact all the
way to the recycling efforts of the modern era, as the strange title
tries to convey. A turn consists of laying off cards in only one
of four suits to the appropriate pile. Should the total
thus accumulated there exceed three, the corresponding topmost
victory point chip (or card, depending on edition) is taken.
Chips increase in value as the game proceeds except for a "-2"
thrown in to keep life interesting. But a chip doesn't count
at all unless a player has taken at least two in the color.
Whenever a chip is taken, a player also takes all the garbage
that has piled up since the last time one was taken and herein
lies the rub, for any time the handsize exceeds five, the
player must dump off the excess as unprocessed waste, each
such card a penalty point. This is both fast-moving and full
of difficult decisions. It is playable in at least two
different ways: either to minimize penalties or to maximize
scoring chips. Both appear equally viable and it's a fun
challenge to try to never receive a penalty, though rather
rare. The luck of the draw can sometimes be unfair, but
duration is short enough that it shouldn't really be
bothersome. The unusual, modern theme, though not deep, is a
welcome contrast to all of the medieval and colonial ones that
have predominated of late. The artwork, depicting glass
bottles and other recyclables, is nothing to get too excited
about, but is quite functional while the cards are of good
quality.
Strategy: Medium; Theme: Medium; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: Low; Personal Rating: 7
Susumu Kawasaki; Kawasaki Factory/Japon Brand/Z-Man Games; 2003; 2-5
[Buy it at Amazon]
- RA
Players should imagine being a wealthy ancient
Egyptian family dynasty seeking wealth from riverfront
property which requires knowledge of the extent of the
all-important Nile flood (the Ancient Egyptians learned
how to do this by every Spring measuring the river levels
in far south Nubia), monuments to self and praise
for endeavors in the arts and sciences. The suns may
well represent favors of Pharaoh or the god Ra which must
be cashed in and are then doled out again.
A bit too random for my taste. Has been
criticized for having some tendency toward kingmaking which
may have some validity. I would have preferred cards to
tiles in this game – the illustrations could have been even
nicer and a card deck easier to handle. Apparently is a distillation
of a much more flavorful design that took four hours to play – I
might have preferred that one and regret its loss to us.
Overall however, Knizia appears
to have created a worthy successor to
Medici
which is at once tightly-integrated, thoughtful and very accessible.
Traumfabrik
is a later outing in a similar system, but not as much as is
Razzia,
a small package card game version which shifts the action
to the gangster world of the 1930's. (An earlier
Razzia
ceded its title – apparently – when it changed its theme to chickens.)
Play of the new version is almost identical to the original, the
main change being the disappearance of the penalty titles. This
release proves they were not strictly necessary and a less "gamey"
version is thus created. The new artwork is rather good, despite
being restricted to the small cards which lowered the price and
increase portability. This version can probably be played on plane
or train and should be a welcome development for those caught out
when the 1999 hit sold out so fast. The theme seems more remote
than ever, however.
[Holiday List 2004]
- Race for the Galaxy
While
Cuba
and
Agricola
are descendants of
Puerto Rico,
this one, along with
San Juan,
is one of its spin-offs. As in the latter, play ends upon a
player managing to buy twelve cards using the economic engine
he has built throughout the game. The driver is the choice of
various roles, but this departs from the Caribbean model.
Rather than each player choosing a different role, and thereby
creating a variable phase order, they each secretly and
simultaneously pick a role from identical hands and then those
are conducted in invariant order, by everyone. A greater level
of guesswork/intuition is thereby engendered. As to roles
themselves they are similar in effect to those of
San Juan,
– there is buying, selling, building, drawing
(called exploring), etc. – but under different names because
of course the theme has been teleported to outer space. Thus
players are either taking over or establishing trade with
planets as well as deploying all manner of space equipment.
The other important change is the rather larger number of
different card types. At the same time, there are fewer of
each type. The result is that play has more variability and
probably more replayability, but at the cost, sometimes, of
disappointment if one cannot draw the cards wanted from the
outset. Of course this could befall back in San Juan
as well, only it was less likely. The card drawing
ability is rather liberal to help prevent it from happening.
The large number of types makes this more challenging to
learn as well. Associated with this is the challenge of
understanding the iconic language used on the cards, which
requires more than one playing to become clear, particularly
with the high point cards. The hard science fiction theme
may be a turn-off to some types of players as well. So
game aims for a something of a niche existence,
but for those comfortable there it is very enticing indeed with high
utilization of theme and plenty of replay value in the various
possible approaches. Indeed, so many are the various cards
that one wants to play over and over again simply to find out
what they all are and try them out. This can be a bit
problematic for fairness if some are more experienced with the
card set than others, but on the other hand, playing with our
betters can be the best teacher. The only real knock
is the unevocative title which is not at all memorable and oh,
perhaps a smaller box. At the time of this writing, an expansion
kit under the name Race for the Galaxy: The Gathering Storm is
planned, which is to accommodate an extra player. Perhaps then
the extra box size will come in handy.
Strategy: High; Theme: High; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: High; Personal Rating: 7
Thomas Lehmann; 2007; Abacus/Rio Grande/Ystari; 2-4
[Buy it at Amazon]
- Racko (Rack-o)
Simple card game first published by Milton Bradley in 1956
as Racko seems to be named after the style of the Marx
Brothers and also seems to have inspired the titles of later
simple card games Uno and Skipbo. In this one, each player
receives a plastic rack with ten slots for cards which are dealt
in randomly. Players substitute in cards from the draw or discard
piles trying to achieve strictly ascending order. First to do
so wins. The flavor is something like Gin
Rummy, especially with just two players which may be the
best way to play, although four racks are provided. Players can
raise their level of play by carefully noting what the opponents
discard, and from where in the rack. Figuring out what the
downstream player probably needs should greatly help in deciding
what to discard. Players who like the any of the above-mentioned
card games should like this one as well. Super Racko
appears to be a later expansion of the same idea.
- Radar Search
Two player gadget game consists of a stand-up board
which really must be seen, as at the Gamepile website,
to be fully appreciated.
One player controls two ships attempting to traverse the board while the
other a helicopter trying to catch them. The helicopter gets a radar fix
on them only every other turn. Radar is on the honor system, but apprehending
is not since when caught, the two pieces being stuck into the board will
connect to complete a circuit which gives off a loud buzzing sound. Actually,
it is possible to cheat in this as well as the helicopter player, if quiet
and fast, may secretly try various holes until success is achieved.
Bluff and mind games which should be amusing for several plays.
- Rage
Trick-taking game based on
Oh Hell,
but using a proprietary deck
with additional cards including jokers whose value may be set arbitrarily,
cards to remove the trump, cards to change the trump and cards which add
or subtract five points. While the basic game is already random enough —
consider how difficult it is to predict one's tricks when only holding one
or two cards —
with six different suits and values from 1 to 15, this version takes the game to a
whole new level of chaos. Although this version supposedly accepts up to eight
players, players will probably be happier sticking with the original.
[English Rules]
- Raja: Palastbau in Indien (Maharaja: Palace Building in India)
A Kiesling and Kramer (just to reverse the usual order) game
which, like Knizia's Taj Mahal,
is about palace building in Mughal India. Are there a lot of
documentaries on this topic in Germany? The design team has
moved from Ravensburger to new publisher Phalanx, but the high
(low?) level of depth remains. Players represent princes and their
architects vying to build as many palaces as possible. Obstacles
are geographical – being in the right place at the right
time – monetary and the fact that a player has only two
actions per turn. These are simultaneously selected via a fancy
spinner. There are a wide number of choices including stealing
another's role, which confer special advantages in the tradition
of
Verräter
and
Puerto Rico.
Naturally this
may sabotage his plan completely. In fact the number of choices
a player can make is probably too large given the simultaneous
premise. That planning can be reduced to a near-meaningless
guessing game leads directly to the second problem: it is
very difficult for trailing players to cooperate on how to
stop a leader and there is no other catch-up mechanism. This
can even lead to the situation, unusual for a Kramer game,
that a player can be proven the winner turns before the
game is supposed to be over. Raja is that uncommon
combination of the tactical outing in a heavy format, the
primary example of which may be something as unexpected as Titan.
Fans of this and of guessing games like Aladdin's Dragons may enjoy
this even more intense realization, but it seems most others will
compare it more to Verrat
and feel disappointed, which is unfortunate given its lavish
production including a beautiful map and glass pieces.
- Rail Baron (Boxcars)
Players race around the historical tracks of America trying
to earn the most money. Structurally there are two halves,
each probably aobut twice as long as needed for the level of
decisionmaking. The first part is concerned with fulfilling
randomly-determined contracts and railroad acquisition. Owning
track permits cheap travel while running on other's lines –
which, akin to Monopoly,
is often required – profits an opponent. Contracts continue in
the second half with track fees doubled until finally someone
achieves the victory amount. Of interest is the design of one's
network as questions of connectivity, diversity and cost contend
with one another. But the experience is very much ride your own
waves with little concern for the plans of others apart from
the rather anomalous jump-the-leader feature at the end. In fact
the main task could be done much better by a computer, even if
not in the days of this game's invention (1974). Finding the
cheapest, most efficient route is made even harder by the lack
of any on-board indication of which track is owned by whom –
a communications design nightmare for beginners. To tedium and
difficulty add annoyance as most every turn players must pay
some trivial amount. It would have been much better to just
force players to keep some minimum reserve and get about the
same effect. Halve the costs of the railroads and the victory
condition if it's still desired to try this antique engine that
was no doubt inspired in its time. Most will find more obstacles
than they care to clear.
- Rails Through the Rockies (Rocky Mountain
Rails)
Railroad game on that most popular of railroading topics,
construction of rails in Colorado. Others on this topic
include Silverton and
Tracks to Telluride (Colorado
Rails). The emphasis here is on finding the fastest and most
profitable route to Grand Junction, with the mining being far
more abstract than in Silverton.
It is more involved however than
Tracks Through Telluride
as players must worry about the details of track types, passes and tunnels.
In addition there is an events deck which has a large effect on play.
As there are really only about three good ways through the mountains, this
is the optimal number of players. There are possibilities for strategy, but
is mostly about opportunism.
[chart]
- Railway Rivals (Dampfross)
Railroad game invented in 1973 by a schoolteacher for purposes
of teaching principles of geography. It does that and makes for
a rather satisfying game
besides. A hex map shows a region on which players draw track
in order to link cities and thus generate income. Then when all
cities have been linked come the races. Two cards are drawn and
whichever player or team of players can deliver a cargo from one
to the other fastest earns money. To figure out who is fastest,
a race is run with movement via dice, but having the most efficient
track helps considerably. Supported by a large number of map
variants including those set in:
American Southwest
Bavaria,
China (largest),
Fidschi Islands,
France,
Germany,
India,
Ireland,
Isle of Man (smallest),
Kentucky/Tennessee,
Russia,
Spain,
Tolkien's Middle-Earth.
Called Dampfross ("Steam Horse") in its German edition.
A possible inspiration for the
Empire Builder
series.
- Rainbows
Alan Moon-designed game of building rainbows, actually placing counters
on a grid to form connected chains. Tacked on is another sub-game about
building the best Rummy-like hand. There is a not a great deal
going on here, luck of the draw plays a large role and apart from nice
illustrations on the counters there is not much to recommend visually,
but it affords some tactics in a light and quick setting. Four players
is probably optimal.
- Raj
Card game which is a descendant of an Indian folk game and another
title, Hol's der Geier.
Characteristic of games of this type are that each player begins
with an identical hand and each simultaneously chooses a card
with which to compete, the winner taking the spoils. Strategically,
one usually wins this type of game by not trying to be too greedy.
If you calculate the amount it takes to win a majority of the points
and simply make sure you take small point values which sum to that
total and over which most players will not fight very hard, you will
do well. This system has been used and adapted for many other games,
Montgolfière and Sky Runner being examples.
- Rasende Roboter (Ricochet Robot)
Actually a puzzle about programming a set of robots to achieve a goal
in the most efficient way. As a game it is almost in the party genre
as players can easily jump in or drop out. There isn't much in the way
of strategy.
- Rattenscharf (Rat Hot)
-
Two player tile-layer by Michael Schacht. Players draw tripartite
tiles at random, playing them to connect identical images of
their own color and inhibit same by the opponent. Tiles may be
stacked atop one another. If you're very good you can even
engineer 4-point plays in which both illustrations on a tile
score. Such planning is occasionally disrupted by the appearance
of one's rat tiles for if ever 3 of these are visible, the owner
loses immediately. So the player is entertained constantly by
multiple conflicting goals: short-term points, long-term points,
inhibiting opponent points, covering rats, making opponent
rats hard to cover. (No tile may overlap another directly,
but must partly cover at least two.) All is so nicely balanced
that most of these goals can be accomplished, but just barely.
Turns should move along speedily, but beware opponents who
eschew intelligence in their placement and fall back on brute
force tryings of every, last, possibility. Then you're in
for a long and boring time. No theme is presented whatsoever,
but the illustrations seem to show a different foodstuffs in
plastic packages. In the metaphorical sense the suggestion
that problems can just be boarded over and ignored certainly
has resonance in modern life and public policy. But this is a
good example of a themeless game good enough not to need one.
The color blind may not be happy here since even though the green
food and the red food come in different packages and so are
distinguishable, these are poor color choices when it comes to
the rats. Otherwise,
recommended for all audiences. (Published earlier with slightly
different rules and a theme as Dschunke: Das Legenspiel.)
Strategy: Medium; Theme: Low; Tactics: High; Evaluation: Low
- Raubritter (Robber Knights)
-
Rüdiger Dorn tile laying game for up to four. The next time he
is interviewed the inventor simply must be asked why he is so
taken with the idea of placement by adjacent squares, which
appears here as it also did in
Traders of Genoa,
Goa,
and others.
In this one each player works through his own set
of tiles, which have been programmed into several sub-decks. The
player has a limited hand size à la
Samurai
and as in that game often wants to delay doing much until a good
opportunity is available, e.g. a scoring opportunity which cannot
be undone. Tiles come in three basic types: places to score
points (municipalities), obstacles (lakes, mountains, forests) and
places generating pieces (castles). Pieces are moved exactly once
and attempt to cover point tiles in a straight line from their
source, preferably over-topping other player tokens. The problem,
however, is how to keep one's own tokens from being subsequently
covered, which is where blocking terrain and stacking limits come
in. As the board fills up, there are more opportunities to hide by
using the board edge as a barrier; this is a game decidedly to
the advantage of the patient participant. But it makes a mistake
with first timers, however, whose first instinct is to
immediately use their blocking terrain – it appears useless
after all. In reality, these are some of the more valuable tiles
and really deserve to be saved for a judicious opportunity. The
game's instructions rather than this review really ought to be
the ones helping players realize this. Now seems a good time to
mention Friedemann Friese. Not because he has anything to do
with this became, but because he and his 2F-Spiele show great
courage in choosing themes, often modern ones, which avoid the
trite old topics like pirates, ancient Egypt and here, for the
one millionth time, medieval Europe. Not only has it outworn its
welcome, but it in no way fits, the reasons why being safely left
with the reader. Meanwhile and ironically, this is not far from
a diceless version of
Indus.
Overall the system is reasonable and seems like it ought to be
more fun than it turns out to be, perhaps a consequence of its
intermittent nature. Unless perhaps in two-player mode, every
turn is an opportunistic one and it's hard to plan for much more
than one turn in advance. There may be a slight advantage to
being the last player as well. Tacticians should be the main
audience, but even they may be left unexcited by the somewhat
static nature of this.
Strategy: Low; Theme: Low; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: Low; Personal Rating: 6
- Razzia (Hick Hack in Gackelwack)
-
Card game set in Prohibition-era American city. Players
have a nebulous identity as they control both police and
gamblers who each turn visit favorite nightspots such as the
Cotton Club, Havana Club and Jazzhouse. Reminiscent of Adel Verpflichtet, in that cards
are simultaneously revealed and some (police) may catch others.
If there are multiple contenders, they may attempt to settle
matters via negotiation, but if this should fail, dice are
resorted to. Title translates to "Raid". Republished in
2001 as Hick Hack in Gackelwack and transferred to a
barnyard setting (chickens getting grain and avoiding foxes)
with typically-attractive illustrations by Doris Matthäus.
Main changes include cash tiles being replaced by different
colored cubes and "-2" chicken cards which allow the player
to steal a single low value grain, but deduct points from any
nosy foxes. Both versions make for an interesting bluff and
mind games experience that does not overstay its welcome, even
if occasionally unfair if one draws mostly low cards or not the
cards one wants. One of those games for children that adults
can enjoy without strain, it would seem to make an ideal product
for English-language release. [Holiday List 2002]
Strategy: Medium; Theme: Low; Tactics: High; Evaluation: Medium; Personal Rating: 6
Stefan Dorra; Ravensburger/Zoch; 1992/2001; 3-8/2-6
[Buy it at Amazon]
- Ready to Take Off
Light card game consists of using jet aircraft cards (why?) to bid
for airline routes, which are just numbers on other cards.
The routes have intrinsic values, but the main
points are achieved by collection of matching sets, each route naming
three cities. There is nothing very compelling here;
For Sale
is a more engaging light auctioner, and less dependent on luck.
Often simply referred to as "Take Off".
- Really Nasty Horseracing Game, The
Both wagering and horse ownership concern players over six
races. Nastiness enters mostly in the form of "take that!" cards
which can fell a horse in a single blow. Lesser ploys involve
stopping in front of an opponent although the only effect is to
force an unfavorable lane around the turn. Movement is by die roll
– only a "6" permits a move to the inside. There are bonus
spaces permitting a double move if the horse is of sufficient
quality, each player fielding an identical stable. Each race pays
the owners for win, place and show, but the secret wagers only
pay off on a win. An obvious tactic is to bet on someone else's
longshot and be prepared to hobble one's own horse should it
turn out the accidental leader. Despite its old-style mechanics,
this product of 1989 still works surprisingly well. Part of this
must be the no-nonsense treatment of catastrophes. Rather than
be slowly crippled by a thousand cuts, horses either race at full
speed or not at all. This ensures fast races, full of anxiety and
excitement with no time for boredom. While the events can cruelly
dash hopes, at least they are balanced and not numerous. A good
example of a chaotic game that works, this is considerably more
fun than the overwrought Win, Place,
and Show. Another reason for this is no doubt the large,
fully-modeled horse-and-jockeys. The instructions contain
ambiguities which will have to be decided by play. What ensues
if a horse is blocked on the outside lane is not explained nor is
it clear whether moving to the outside costs movement pips or not.
- Rebound
Dexterity game for two where each controls four marbles locked in
round plastic jackets. As in Horseshoes, they take turns
pushing the marbles down a plastic alley where they bounce off
an A-frame of two rubberbands and double back along a parallel
alley. The goal is to land in a location with a high score –
the alley is demarcated 10-20-50-100 – or knock the opponent into the Pit.
A newer version features green and purple jackets rather than the more traditional
red and blue, higher point zones and tilt area. Amusing for children, but
ultimately tiring.
- Reef Encounter
Multi-player game of coral and shrimp existence on a reef by
Richard Breese. There are echoes of his
Keydom
in that players compete in a certain way (here to consume the
most), but someone can always move the goalposts (which ones
are worth the most). Even the rules of which corals dominate
which can be reversed. There's also a lot of use of side effects,
which can make learning the rules harder as completely separate
sub-games get artificially linked together. For example,
use of a shrimp permits guaranteeing a particular dominance
rule. Guaranteeing a dominance rule reverses other, unrelated
dominance rules. As you may have gathered, amidst all of this
domination, there's an almost war game feel with players able
to predate one another's holdings, although this is ameliorated
by the fact that eventually the player will consume his entire
position himself. Meanwhile it gives rise to the interesting
sub-game of how to position one's coral on a square grid with
obstacles. One's shrimp can only protect orthogonally adjacent
corals so the question is "how can everything be positioned
to maximize protection?". Or, should the goal be to maximize
consumption of others' corals and defensive position be hanged?
A good memory for what players have drafted won't hurt. The
presentation (by Ludofact) is quite high, much better than
the typical independent production. Topic and play are
innovative. Its complexity is a bit much for the casual player,
but most of those who can handle more should enjoy this, the
largest lingering doubts being in the area of luck of the draw and
in the longish, solitairish turns. 'Tis a quiet, thoughtful game
for those who can appreciate such. One irony: with all the epics
he made, who would have thought that the game with a title taking
off on a Richard Burton movie would choose Brief Encounter?
Second edition: The new edition is much the same, but with
slicker graphics. Sometimes they are a bit too slick; features
like the holes in the reef are so mildly depicted that players may
forget they exist. The passage of a year revealed that the game
in general has not aged well. What one can do seems entirely
tactical and subject to chance as one must draft among items which
are often almost all useless, and even if they are not, may well
be rendered so by the large changes which will occur before one's
next turn. Like
Mall World
it truly tends to defy analysis. Meanwhile it still suffers from
poorly outlined options and the thousand cuts of many rules
exceptions.
Strategy: Low; Theme: Medium; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: Low
- Reibach & Co. (Get the Goods)
Alan Moon card game in which players try to collect sets and
score points at random intervals provided by scoring cards. This
otherwise enjoyable game of groupthink is unfortunately marred
by original rules which don't quite work. Thus, players must
agree beforehand on which of several rules variant sets to employ.
Title is a bit of a pun as einen Reibach machen means
"to make a killing".
Strategy: Medium; Theme: Low; Tactics: High; Evaluation: High; Personal Rating: 8
Alan Moon & Mick Ado; 1996; F.X. Schmid; 2-5
- Res Publica
Reiner Knizia card game centers around trading and set collection.
The innovative mechanism is that the player wishes to arrange a trade,
but may only state either what he wants or what he wishes to give away,
but not both. This makes for some interesting considerations, but does
not seem to work very well at the top end of the number of players where
things become very static and slow.
- Rescue Heroes Pet Rescue
Fisher-Price (Mattel) game intended for ages 3+ is a re-working of
Snakes and Ladders
transported to the scene of a burning building. Players work their way
up from the ground floor by rolling to move. Upon landing on a tile, they flip
it over to reveal which animal they have rescued. Ladders move the landing player up
very fast while ropes drop them down. The game ends when the first player reaches
the waiting helicopter on the roof. Whoever has the most animals at this time wins
and automatically rescues all the rest of the animals.
It is difficult even for adult players to tell what the direction of travel is
since the only indications are the ascending numbers printed very small in the
spaces. Arrows would have helped a lot unless the idea is to teach counting.
The standup plastic figures fall down quite easily and are thus
wholly unsuitable to their role as player markers. Noting that
there is a whole line of collectible Rescue Heroes figures, this game appears to be
nothing more than a cheap attempt to give them something to do and thereby enhance
sales of further such figures.
[Fisher-Price]
- Restaurant
Fairly light and a bit like Fossil. In the first
half the tables get "seated" player by player orthogonally
and in the second half they get "served" in the same way, but
in the backwards direction. Very important to gauge what
the player to your left will do, indeed to gauge what
everyone will do before it is your turn next. Game can end
much earlier than expected if players are not careful or
even one desires it. Probably there is too much individual control
to satisfy most players — perhaps further development could have made
this a very interesting game.
[more]
- Rette Sich Wer Kann (Seenot im Rettungsboot; Lifeboats)
Very psychological game has won itself a unique reputation by
forcing players to deliberately ruin the hopes of others based on
nothing at all. Called "Save Yourself If You Can", "Every Man for
Himself" or just "The Leaky Lifeboat Game", the theme is
a number of boats trying to reach shore while each turn a number
of occupants get left behind. Must be played with
the right group otherwise these continuous opportunities
for spite and malice can have unfortunate results.
Seenot im Rettungsboot (Lifeboats).
The 2006 edition is a good reproduction of the original – the
boats and pawns seem nearly identical. Cards have replaced the more
fancy voting dials, but they were somewhat fragile anyway.
The instructions for the
English edition are well-translated and illustrated in full color.
The only quibble might be that the sequence of phases is a bit
unnatural and so it would have helped to print it on the board,
in iconic form at least, if letters are so abhorrent, as they
everywhere seem to be these days (why is that?).
Strategy: Low; Theme: High; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: Low; Personal Rating: 4
- Rette Sich Wer Kann [Crocodile Pool Party]
Morbidly weird two-player game of crocodiles turning up in a hotel swimming pool and
devouring not just the guests, but each other. I can't imagine how inventor
Rudi Hoffmann and/or publisher Kosmos came up with this topic, but it does illustrate
Hoffmann's continuing
love of the grid.
Here it contributes to a
special kind of game math
as each croc can move a
different number of spaces in orthogonal steps, usually with just one turn permitted.
A lot of time can be spent understanding the resulting geography and what it takes to
move to a position where one can strike, preferably at multiple targets in a classic
Chess
fork. It is also a bit reminiscent of the inventor's
Tally Ho,
but there are fewer pieces and more analysis. It's also not quite as good thematically
– that crocodiles are eating other, fully-grown crocodiles is bothersome.
Also annoying is the fact that the box quality is less than the previous games in the
Kosmos two-player series, probably an artifact of worsening economies. Other than that,
this works fairly well as a short, analytical jaunt.
- Revenge in Rome
One-time use mystery party game is nicely done with plenty of scope
for role-playing if the players are willing to get into the spirit of
things. Revelations about the characters will cause plenty of fun and
need for improvisation.
- Reversi (Annex, Annexation, Othello)
Traditional game which began as Annexation or
Annex, a Game of Reverses in 1870 in England
arrived in the United States as Reversi in 1888 via McLoughlin Bros.
Becoming popular again in the 1950's, in 1976 it was
marketed by Gabriel as Othello (following Shakespeare's play apparently
because the game featured pieces in black and white).
A two-player abstract with black and white pieces on a grid, it is likely
a descendant of
Go.
Here, however, there is a white side
and a black side to each token, the object being to outflank the
opponent by having one's disks on both ends of a row.
This flips the opponent's disks to the acting player's color.
If flavorless and lacking in variety, there is certainly strategy, albeit
a bit shallow for the taste of the experienced game player.
- Revolte in Rom (Roma)
Another of the two-player card games which, like
Lost Cities,
Schotten-Totten
and
Ballon Cup
are fought out over a line drawn between the players. Locations
are numbered 1-6, against which each player can play a single
card. On a turn a player rolls three dice and can activate
cards at these locations. In addition, two other locations
permit drawing cards or money, and in proportion to the number
of pips showing (hint: place your most useful cards on the lower
numbers). So the system is neat and simple, but gets intriguing
due to the wide variety of cards and the powers they offer. But
the cards show only icons to hint as to their meanings so at
first there is plenty of rules referencing (make a photocopy),
but on the positive side there is a nice thematic connection with
the meaning of each. Gladiators, legions and assassins attack;
fora and other biuldings provide victory points, etc. The many
special powers interact, sometimes in surprising ways, and
many games will pass before they are all explored. Then there
is the puzzle about how to position against the opponent. Amid
all these positive features there is also the problem that the
game can fall off the rails awfully fast. A player may have too
deadly a forum combination or maybe the first player is able
to blitz the other too hard on turn one and keep him from ever
getting into it, or maybe it's just good lucky dice rolling
or card drawing, but don't be surprised at a sudden victory as
they are common. On the other hand, it's easy to just set up a
new game. This offers a lot of variety for fans of quick games
who don't mind a high degree of asymmetry. On the whole it is
probably has more straightforward fun than
Hera and Zeus
if less bluffing and planning
Strategy: Low; Theme: Medium; Tactics: High; Evaluation: Medium; Personal Rating: 7
Stefan Feld; Queen; 2005; 2
[Buy it at Amazon]
- Rheinländer
Reiner Knizia tile-laying game set amidst the curves and castles of the
Rhine River. Handsomely produced by Parker Europe, it seems to be a
game whose charms and subtleties are not revealed until after several
plays. Two basic strategies seem to be either to get as many dukes on
the board as possible or to try to make as large a duchy as possible
and with it swallow the duchies of competitors.
Three-player games tend to favor the former and five-player outings
the latter. There appear to
be some interesting tactics as well in the Archbishop and in
two players managing to alternately buy out one another's duchy.
As in many Knizia games, the player forms strategies based on a risk-management
analysis of a variety of events which may occur and then decides whether to
take an opportunity when it presents itself. Likewise for preventing possible
future opponent opportunities.
Production-wise, instead of cards, I would have preferred tiles kept in a bag
because of the frequency with which reshuffling occurs.
- Riffifi
Stefan Dorra-designed light game very loosely based on the safecracking
activities in the classic
film of the same name.
Players continually "sabotage" their opponents by playing cards of the
same suit, but lower. But if no one does so, the player collects chips
equal to that number. As with the designer's
For Sale
the result is an interesting, short outing. Similarity with the author's
Land Unter
is probably even more pronounced. A good memory for which cards have been
played is a definite asset.
[Winning Moves]
- Rigatoni Intriganti
Oliver Igelhaut and small publisher Glücksritter
game about noodle-making employs as tokens actual pasta shells!
Interesting idea which permits players to choose from one of four different
victory conditions may be a bit problematic since a player lucky enough to
be different from the rest stands to benefit. Situation is very unstable
and victory achievable without players even noticing. Players must be very
alert or it can all be over in as few as just three turns. Players frequently
need to subsume their own goals in order to play defense, but this is problematic
as on top of the natural reluctance, it is not clear just how much defense is
needed. Also features diplomacy and negotiation rules for takeover attempts which
work much like those in
Cosmic Encounter.
Event card handling is nicely handled
as a player can draw as many as desired, but four cards in the deck are disasters.
A house rule which assigns each victory condition to one of the aces in a standard
deck and then secretly dealing out the aces might make the situation more fair.
It just might be that this game is very successful if played a
number of times by the same group to bring out the nuances that a
casual first outing does not reveal.
- Road to the White House
Multi-player game about the US presidential election feels similar to the earlier
Campaign Trail by another publisher.
The historical fact that only the two major parties can elect a president
is here avoided by making the game mainly about the primaries with the general
election being playable as a variant. As before, the emphasis is on the road
the candidates must travel, success in a state depending on time spent there.
One major change is that the "must move full distance rolled" rule is gone.
Instead, the candidate and his surrogates move only one segment, the length of
the segment getting longer as dice pips increase.
Candidates have very detailed characteristics and issues play a role.
Events pop up whenever a "1" is rolled on the four-sided dice, but often have
no effect at all if they match no player's issues – an annoying interruption
of play in that case. But even more than in the previous version, the emphasis
is not on playing a game, but on simulating the experience of the manager of
a national political campaign. At this, it succeeds very well, perhaps too well
for there are so many numbers, modifiers to numbers and even modifiers to
modifiers to numbers
that it seems rather unfair for the players not to have the spreadsheets that
their real life counterparts enjoy. Instead all each has is a single sheet
of paper that doesn't even show the states in order of most to least electoral
votes. By the way, this is only the basic game. The advanced adds roll-your-own
candidates and a schedule of primaries for those who want to guarantee a nervous
breakdown. What was true of its predecessor is even more true here: it would be
better played via e-mail. There are a few quibbles to point out should the
inventor of the next "road" game be reading. Rules like the one which prevents
use of a priority flight out of size 1 city are exceptions which really don't
add anything, but do annoy and subject Fun to the death of a thousand cuts.
There are rules ambiguities as well, e.g. can a candidate debate a surrogate (i.e.
flunky)? can a surrogate's presence be extended? etc. Actually, the whole idea
of surrogates seems rather dated, their degree of influence in these days of
instant
and pervasive media rather muted . A better approach might be more of a state
machine,
each candidate having a rating in each state which fluctuates based on events and
activities. The support of the governor in a particular state is probably the more
major influence these days. The component quality is generally fine, but the pawns
are too large for the board spaces on which they travel as they manage to
completely obscure exactly what the player most needs to read. Some
translucent chips (Bingo style), perhaps with crosshairs drawn on,
would have worked much better.
- Roads and Boats
Sort of a Sim City meets board game with apparently
almost no interaction, but is absorbing simply trying to
figure out the best way to remove all the bottlenecks from
your production and optimize one's layout. This is the kind of game
that would be good for several hours of solitaire. It also
appears though that this one too would be susceptible to
a player doing something "weird" and sort of "ruining" the
game thereby.
[Splotter]
- Robin Hood
Card game by Amigo about forming "straights" and "triplets", using
them to claim treasure cards. Randomness of a card deck and a limited
ability to draft create some interest, but it seems to go on rather
indecisively about twice as long as it should. Theme falls down as well
whenever the Merry Men steal from one another, i.e. most of the time.
- Rockets
Very simple game in which up to four players attempt to be the first
to reach the moon via play of cards to move rockets along a path.
It is mostly a guessing game in which one tries to play high cards
which however differ from the cards played by the others. Luck plays
a crucial role.
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Very much a roll and move game with almost no decisionmaking.
Published in Taiwan, Republic of China.
[rules]
- Royal Turf
Re-release of Knizia's Turf Horse Racing with a few changes, most
of which sculpt the release into a more sharply-defined game.
Each horse has a different rating and all wagers are laid before the
starting gun.
Players take turns rolling a die, cross-referencing the iconic result with the
horses's speed for that image and moving the unmoved horse of their choice.
Payouts are divided among bettors on the top three with a penalty
for betting on last place.
A special bonus is paid for the first horse to reach the eighteenth space.
Payouts for the last race are doubled, which is perhaps too much
as too often one's performance in the last race renders the first
two meaningless. While amusing for a few plays, there is too
much luck, particularly in being the player who first gets to
select from all of the horses as they approach the finish line,
to sustain continued interest. On the other hand, because there
is very little interaction with the components, is a good one
to play while eating. Comes with a variant for face-down and
bluff wagering; either approach seems to offer the same level
of interest. Physically, the plastic horse figures are a bit
light and easily jostled from position. Not enough payout notes
are provided, but resolving the last place penalty first may help
a little. Favoriten, which
came four years after the original of this one features similar
systems. [Holiday
List 2002]
- Rückkehr der Helden, Die (Return of the Heroes)
Multi-player board game with a fantasy quest setting. Not since
Wizards
has there been such an attractive, enticing modular fantasy board
and this one, being fabulous, exceeds the previous standard
by a lot. Actual play is rather fun as well, although as with
any game interested in building a narrative, it may require a
few hours. Each player receives a character differentiated by
varying levels of melee, missile and magical powers. Players
choose among the many board paths, along the way stopping
to improve their abilities. This is handled in a brilliantly
elegant way. With more experience comes the ability to roll more
"to-hit" dice. But the characters never overpower the game because
rather than add up the dice, they simply are getting more choices
about which ones they will use. As in Wizards, players
may accept tasks as they encounter them, later fulfilling them
for a reward. There are also valuable artifacts to be found
(none more fun than the magic broom which sometimes doesn't
work right and can take you rather out of your way). Propulsion
to the narrative is provided by an overarching quest that each
player receives at the outset and when that is completed, a
monster called The Nameless must then be destroyed to provide a sole
winner. (I like to think of the monster as a visible manifestation
of the player's inner demons.) Monsters come in varying strengths
so there are no sure things. There is (wisely) no inter-player
combat either, but they can certainly hinder one another, for
example by placing a difficult monster in what they hope will
be another's way. The handling of combat is interesting yet
uncomplicated, a far cry from the prosaic dice rolling of a Runebound.
There is randomness and sometimes players can feel put in a
sort of "penalty box" for too long, but in general it seems
to play about the right role. Overall this is first for
fans of theme, but I suspect even others will prefer it to Talisman,
and moreover some will enjoy it. There is even a "beat the clock"
solitaire scenario. Now it seems all we need are more boards and
characters.
Strategy: Medium; Theme: High; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: Low;
Personal Rating: 7
Lutz Stepponat; Pegasus; 2003; 1-4
[Buy it at Amazon]
[Buy it at Amazon]
- Rumis
Multi-player abstract in three dimensions.
At first glance its multi-cube pieces remind of
Pueblo,
but the closer inspiration turns out to be Blokus. Two main elements are
shared with the latter: all of a player's pieces belong to him
– none are neutral – and the ability to place depends
on touching a previously played piece. Thus, many tactics revolve
around excluding opponents entirely from large areas. Victory
points are granted only at the end and only for blocks visible
from the top view. Those not generally in favor of abstracts
will appreciate that at least turns proceed quickly. The wooden
pieces supplied by this small publisher are not bad, but are
the third most appealing of the games here mentioned. It does
Blokus one better at least in providing a wide range of
boards and special rules (mostly about limiting height) to go
with each. Overall, this is mainly going to be appreciated by
fans of tactical games as that is what wins; getting good seems
to be mostly a matter of repeated play to get
used to several clichés of placement.
[Murmel]
- Rummikub
Rummy
variant invented in Israel and realized with plastic tiles and screens.
There are no discards. A turn is either a draw or a play.
Melds are not owned but shared in common.
Points are scored solely based on going out first and receiving
the value of what is left in others' hands. The tiles are equivalent
to a double deck of cards with two jokers added. No "around the corner",
i.e. adjacency of "1" and "13" is permitted.
Players still attempt to construct melds of several cards of the same
rank or sequences all in the same suit. Key to the game is seeing how
to make complex re-alignments of the outstanding tiles so as to maximize
one's own tile use without giving too much advantage to others. Makes
for a challenging enterprise.
A
A
- Rummy
Traditional card game which seems to be based on Conquian, played since
the 1880's in Latin America using the forty card Spanish deck.
The main activity is resolving the entire hand into nothing but melds and
layoffs matching other player melds – in this sense it is a very neat game –
and clearing the hand before the opponent can, forcing them to take negative
points for any "messes" they have not yet cleaned up.
It has had many, many derivatives and variants, both commercial and traditional.
One of the most popular of the latter is 500 Rum,
which resolves at 500 points and permits picking up more than one discard at a time.
The most interesting dilemmas are when to pick up discards which simultaneously
improves the hand but reveals information and how quickly to meld cards, which
defends against a big penalty, but permits others to layoff as well as discard
more intelligently. With two such good ideas in one game, it is little surprise
in retrospect that this innocuous looking little game has spawned so many imitators.
- Rummy Royal
Card game for 2-8 published by Whitman/Western Publishing of the USA in 1965.
Includes a deck of ordinary cards, a large play mat
and one hundred poker chips in red, white and blue.
The mat depicts a number of card images onto which players may play the matching
cards, one chip placed on each image.
Within each game there are a number of sub-games. First, players may
place bets on whether they will receive a particular Ace in the deal.
Following this, a hand of five-card Poker is played.
Then, a hand of a climbing type game is played: the first player lays his
lowest black card
and succeeding players must build on it by playing cards of the same suit in
ascending order. As players place their cards, if they meet the combinations
showed on the board they win the chips in those spaces. The first player to get
rid of all his cards wins a bonus. Unclaimed chips are left on the board for
the next round. Very little strategy here.
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