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Rick Baptist
United States
Redlands
California
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Luna on the left. The Speicherstadt on the right. The Castles of Burgundy on two different tables at the same time. All while I played Macao and Strasbourg back to back.
The SoCal gaming scene is forever changed thanks to Stefan Feld. I mean, he is just a ROCKSTAR right now. At the last SoCal Gamesday I attended, there was a Feld game on the table at all times -- never once could you survey the surroundings and not see one of his creations being played. And this isn't just a recent phenomenon -- this has been building steadily through the years. Along with Antoine Bauza, Feld has become one of my personal favorites as well. How is a designer with just two games in the Top 100 so popular? Let's explore.
Innovative mechanics
The first Feld game I played was Notre Dame, and I can remember vividly thinking how much I enjoyed it not just for the presentation but also for the card drafting, something completely new for me at the time. The modular board was really cool and I liked the different ways to score. My second Feld was Macao, and you really can't go wrong here if you're looking for interesting play. The dice wheel was and still is fascinating, I love the combos you can build with the cards and the gameplay is excellent -- one of the only medium-to-heavyweight euros I've played over 10 times. If there was an actual theme on this it might even push me higher, but this is one of those games that I don't need a theme to enjoy. Rare, but true.
Creative use of dice
This is a hallmark of the "new" euros and I usually instantly fall in love with any euro that can use dice in a creative way. Feld is known for doing this with Macao, Die Burgund von Burgund (I have yet to play, but I'd like to), Roma (double same), and It Happens ... (triple same). Using dice in a euro opens up that euro to an audience that I think perhaps it usually doesn't see. I am NOT a gamer that enjoys a game that is strictly no luck -- I enjoy having some chance in my games, as my favorite games most likely use dice. So these appeal to me, but they also appeal to the hardcore euro player because most of the time, there is luck in these games that the hardcore player will be okay with because there are so many other aspects that they find interesting. This sucks in a lot of folks to play together that quite possibly wouldn't, and it even attracts us dice-throwers as well, making the odds of playing these types of games even more likely.
Replayability
One of the other hallmarks of Feld designs is that every game can be played tons of times without having the same game twice. The use of dice of course helps this, but he also puts so many tracks to victory and so many strategies in each game. His highest ranked game, In the Year of the Dragon, gives you so many painful decisions each round it hurts. Whether through cards or dice, there is always something that is going to be drastically different game to game. Obviously, this does a lot to keep games hitting the table.
Feld, in my opinion, has been a great source of fresh air in an area of gaming that has gotten a bit stale for me through the years. It seems like there is just a small handful of euros coming out recently that I want to try (let alone buy) -- most seem to be rehashes of mechanics, dull of theme, or just way too heavy for me to enjoy. With every release, Feld gets me excited. Somehow, he finds a way to put complex mechanics and an ease of entry together to make something great. I mentioned Luna above -- when I first sat down for Luna (at 2 am at a convention, haha) I was more than intimidated (if you've seen the player aid for it, you know what I mean). One round through, everything flowed. That is MAGIC, ladies and gentlemen. Stefan Feld stands out as one of the very few designers that when he makes a new game, I HAVE to try it. And I have yet to be disappointed by any of his offerings.
     
FOR DISCUSSION: As I mentioned above, Feld has only two games in the Top 100. He also has two in the Top 200, and the rest fall down quickly. Obviously my opinion is in the minority, but I'm having a tough time putting a lot of games ahead of these titles. Why does it seem like Feld has a bunch of 'good' games for folks, but has yet to launch that uber-powerful "recognition" title like 7 Wonders for Bauza, Ticket for Moon, etc? If I had my way, a lot of these titles would be a LOT higher rated on BGG. Here's my ratings for the Feld games I've played:
Luna - 9
Macao - 8
Strasbourg - 8
The Speicherstadt - 8
Notre Dame - 8
In the Year of the Dragon - 7
Any idea which one I should try next?
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