Iberian Gauge

anandyctedstar5.0

Square peg in a round hole. You can't fit a 18xx in a German. Tries to give a feeling of 18xx but falls completely flat…cuts down all the interesting stuff, removes the sandbox element and interesting decision space. 3/4 of the game is on rails. Ends too abruptly and quickly. It was sold to me as a compact 18xx, but feels exactly the opposite of a 18xx

OnOnbasestar2.5

+ box art is some of the best + graphic design throughout is excellent + stock and train mechanics are very streamlined and smooth - I'm just not good at games where you have to convince other players. Semi-cooperative didn't feel great. - I always felt I had to decide between a less good action or an action that helped other people more. There's little way to recover from a mistake early on. The rich get richer… - making change took up a larger part of the playtime than I would have liked I see the promise this game has. The way everything fits together seems like something I would enjoy. But the experience in my mind just didn't pan out with my group. Unfortunately, the balancing act that is required for every part and player of this game to be working in concert seems too fragile to get a consistently fun experience. Need to replay with different group.

KuKushstar3.5

I liked the simplicity of the rule-set but the gameplay just did not gel with my brain. It almost felt like a "team game" with a different combo of teams for each train company, reducing a player's individual agency and causing a certain amount of disengagement (at least for me). Lastly, the CONSTANT mathy/fiddly with the money upkeep is super annoying and a turn-off.