Yunnan

GaGarfieldstar7,0

#Bidding #WorkerPlacement Nice mechanism - you can convert money in arbitrary way to VP. Hard to remember rules how far you can be pushed back by whom. I think this game has a runaway leader problem. The one that makes the most money can bid more and there gets what he needs and get again the most money? At the end I converted 42 money in 42 VPs and ended the game. Me in 1st place, 2nd with aboout 40 VPs behind... [c] Theme: ★☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Where is the tea? --> Gameplay: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Good --> Interaction: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Bidding and pushing other people back --> Artwork: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Nothing special --> Luck: ★☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Not really --> Strategy: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Yes --> Components: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Nice quality --> Play duration: ★★★★★ <!-- size 7]Perfect, even with 5 players --> Easy to teach: ★☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Pushing back is too complicated --> Rules quality: not yet read Setup time: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Ok --> No downtime: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Quite fast --> Replay value: ★☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Really not much I can think of --> [/c]

EvEvanstar4,6

In this game, players place workers either on the map to generate money/points or as bids to improve their skills and reach across the map. The farther along you are on the map's road. the higher payout per meeple. It gets tough as you need a chain of your own things along the road. Particularly as players can boot each other backwards if they aren't as high on the prestige track, which is one of the things you can bid on. The killer app of this game is that the end game triggers when someone crosses 80 points and each turn you are taking your map income in any combination of points or money. The second edition brings with it some nice balance changes from the first edition. That being said, most games have gone one of two ways. Either one player makes it really far along the road and collects an incredible number of points, or one player stacks in the second region and pushes the game clock incredibly quickly. There might be more game states to explore with experienced players, but given the level of bookkeeping involved with the resolution of each round and the semi unpredictability of who gets booted when from which spaces, I haven't been able to get a group that really enjoys the game enough to get properly good at it. For a game with this much direct player confrontation, I'd have liked an easier to read gamestate.