Pax Pamir

EvEvanstar4,6

This is a very solid game that comes in a very small box. The general idea is that it takes place during a time that England and Russia were beefing over Afghanistan. You play an Afghani who's goal is to have the most influence with the winning side when the government collapses. Through which cards people buy, you can shift your allegiance, you can shift what the winning conditions are, and you can take actions on your cards, some of which will not count against your action limits for that turn depending on what the current victory conditions are. This is absolutely a complicated game where there are wheels within wheels, and on your first play you are not going to have a clear idea of what looks like a good action, let alone how to keep your opponents in check. By the end of the first game I felt like I was starting to get a sense of things, and I could see how this is a deep, well designed and rewarding game. That being said, this game just isn't for me at all. Maybe it's just too wild, but I didn't find the experience of play enjoyable in any way. I'm still working out why that is. ★ Art, Iconography and components functional ★ Clever or interesting mechanisms ★ Reasonably low downtime between turns with mildly AP players ★ Multiple plays stay interesting ★ Low or mitigatable luck elements ★☆☆☆☆ Raw enjoyment