Strategy Games, aka Euro Games, are a little more involved than Family Games. Game play involves more strategic and tactical decision making, interesting choices and engaging mechanics. There are usually multiple paths to victory. It may take you several turns to fully implement a plan.
Strategy Games are less luck-based than Thematic Games. There’s usually a way for players to mitigate luck-based mechanics like dice rolling and a catch up mechanism that keeps all players vying for victory until the end of the game. Play times typically run from 1 to 2 hours, but can be as long as 3 hours plus for more involved games.
Lewis & Clark: The Expedition is a unique racing game utilizing resource management and an interactive mechanic for acquiring those resources. As explorers, players race up the Missouri river, through the Rocky Mountains, and on westward to Fort Clatsop on the Pacific Coast. The first player to set up camp at or beyond Fort Clatsop, wins the game. Of course, […]
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“Working in the Coal Mine, Goin’ Down Down…” Coal Baron is a medium-light worker placement game in which your goal is to become the richest Coal Baron. To accomplish this you’ll need to acquire and fulfill orders for specific combinations of four types of coal: yellow, brown, grey and black. I’d never thought about there being different types of coal until I […]
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Robinson Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island is a cooperative, worker-placement game that I’d had my eye on for over a year. When it finally released in the U.S. in August 2013, we were one of the few stores to get the full quantity we preordered. Probably because I preordered it so early. In Robinson Crusoe, there are so many […]
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Edo is the ancient name of Tokyo. It’s also the name of this interesting, action-selection, worker-placement board game. While Edo may have the same setting as King of Tokyo (recently reviewed here on The Glass Meeple), Edo is absolutely nothing like King of Tokyo as you’ll soon see. I originally wrote this review in June 2013. In Edo, you assume […]
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In the land of the Arabian Nights, oracles foretold of strangers who would maneuver the Five Tribes of Viziers, Elders, Builders, Merchants and Assassins to gain influence over the legendary city-state Naqala in their bid to become Sultan. Some will even call on the powerful Djinn for help. In Five Tribes, your goal is to become the new Sultan by acquiring […]
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Tuscany: Expand the World of Viticulture does just that with a collection of 12 expansions for Viticulture designed to be uncorked one at a time, Risk Legacy-style, and added to the game. There are three tiers of expansions, plus materials and rules for a solo-play experience. The designers recommend starting with the Tier 1 expansions, adding them one at a […]
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Viticulture, designed by Jamey Stegmaier and Alan Stone of Stonemaier Games, is all about the planting, harvesting and crushing of grapes to make wine. Four types of wine, in fact: red, white, blush and sparkling wine. To accomplish this, players utilize their limited work force (yes, it’s a worker placement game) over the course of a year broken down into […]
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