Friday, June 19, 2009
Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?
Mi kaj miaj filinoj lernas Esperanton.
Ĉu vi loĝas proksima Fairbanks kaj parolas Esperanton? Alaska?
Ĉu vi loĝas proksima Fairbanks kaj parolas Esperanton? Alaska?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Through the Ages
I've had the opportunity to play several games of Through the Ages and I must say I am disappointed. TtA looked like a promising game and I was eager to get a copy. It is not a bad game, but it is not nearly good enough to meet my expectations. I find it to be an average game that I will probably never play again. Not only is it disappointing, it is a long game. Too long to justify the effort of playing.
TtA is a civilization building game in which there is no map. Players have a mat in front of them on which they build their respective civilizations. Players develop technology and build their civilizations keeping in mind that their citizens must be happy, fed, prepared for aggression from other players, and prone to corruption. Sounds like it should be right up my alley. I love empire building games where you start with little and build into a large empire. Win or lose I always feel a sense of accomplishment at the end. Not so with Through the Ages.
Without giving a review of the game I find it to be overly luck dependant, especially in a four player game. In a four player game it is possible that the good farming and technology cards never get around to you or get around to you much too late. This makes it quite difficult to keep your civilization advancing at the same rate as your opponents.
I find the final scoring to be overly luck dependant and entirely out of proportion to the scoring that occurs during the game. Each player has opportunities to secretly add cards to the deck that will determine what bonuses each player will earn on final scoring, but the possibilities are numerous. Because the final scoring is very much an issue of luck, I would say that final scoring should add no more than 10% to one's final score. It may add 70% or more to your score.
The rulebook is a mess, a horrible mess. The rules were written for a simple game, rules were added for an advanced game, and more rules were added for the full game. Sounds simple enough, but finding a particular rule in the book is not easy. On top of that the rules are wrong in several spots, do not clarify certain basic questions, and are confusing.
I give it a six. Through the Ages is the first of its kind. There is the kernel of a great game here. Someday, someone will take that kernel and make a great game with that system.
TtA is a civilization building game in which there is no map. Players have a mat in front of them on which they build their respective civilizations. Players develop technology and build their civilizations keeping in mind that their citizens must be happy, fed, prepared for aggression from other players, and prone to corruption. Sounds like it should be right up my alley. I love empire building games where you start with little and build into a large empire. Win or lose I always feel a sense of accomplishment at the end. Not so with Through the Ages.
Without giving a review of the game I find it to be overly luck dependant, especially in a four player game. In a four player game it is possible that the good farming and technology cards never get around to you or get around to you much too late. This makes it quite difficult to keep your civilization advancing at the same rate as your opponents.
I find the final scoring to be overly luck dependant and entirely out of proportion to the scoring that occurs during the game. Each player has opportunities to secretly add cards to the deck that will determine what bonuses each player will earn on final scoring, but the possibilities are numerous. Because the final scoring is very much an issue of luck, I would say that final scoring should add no more than 10% to one's final score. It may add 70% or more to your score.
The rulebook is a mess, a horrible mess. The rules were written for a simple game, rules were added for an advanced game, and more rules were added for the full game. Sounds simple enough, but finding a particular rule in the book is not easy. On top of that the rules are wrong in several spots, do not clarify certain basic questions, and are confusing.
I give it a six. Through the Ages is the first of its kind. There is the kernel of a great game here. Someday, someone will take that kernel and make a great game with that system.
