David Howard
United States
Davis
California
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We played our first game of Ten Days in Asia yesterday after a longish break. We were early adopters of the series and have eagerly awaited each release. We enjoy the mechanics, the educational aspects, and the level playing field as a family.
After setting up and reviewing the railroad and ocean rules, I started drawing and placing cards. I make a point in the early draws to try to place transport pieces (planes, tranes, etc.) on days 2 and 9 in order to easily accomodate countries with light connection. This nuance was overshadowed by the draw of both India cards. By the time I had finished drawing, I was in one of those enviable situations where I only needed about three cards to complete my journey, and there was some flexibility as well.
When I looked up, my wife and daughter were only 4 cards into their draws, and were complaining about difficulties. Poor me. I had a hand that would easily win with a draw of a couple of Chinas (yeah, right), and had other options, too.
The game actually lasted longer than expected, as I didn't get any quick and easy draws. In fact, I found it necessary to employ a couple of odds-increasing tactics to give myself some better options. Anyone who has played rummy style games will recognize this; it's the tactical equivelant of holding a three card segement such as two fours anda matching five..a group that could go one direction as a book or set of fours, or as a run. While my starting and ending points stayed the same, as well as the India-Sri Lanka-India center, I ended up needing a railway and Indian Ocean to finish out.
The tradition in our family is that the winnng player announces, "Let me take you on a trip through Asia," followed by florid language and little tidbits of trivia or sights to be scene, or role-played reasons for having left one destination for another. When I was done, my daughter mentioned that she had needed only an Indian Ocean to win, and proceded to give her version as well.
We find the game takes anywhere from 10-45 minutes, generally about 20-30. A lot can depend on how focused folks are. It's a great game with a unique mechanic in my experience, in which hand management has a linear element. Excellent for education values for the 8-12 year old crowd as well, and you can readily expect most adults to be get at least a refresher as well.
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