Greg Schloesser
United States
Talbott
Tennessee
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Editor’s Note: My full review of Go West will be published shortly. What follows is a brief summary.
Leo Colovini has been accused of designing games which are, in a word, “dry”. I certainly agree that some of his creations do fit this label, but usually they are still quite challenging and intriguing. I am always happy to give his creations a try, as the concepts employed are generally quite clever. Sometimes, however, the clever mechanics get lost in a bland game. Such is the case with Go West.
Released by Phalanx Games, there is little contention with the components. As with most Phalanx games, the quality is excellent, with a forest of wood tokens, including 20 wagon trains. A sturdy board and linen-finished cards complete the set.
The map depicts the United States, divided into six regions. Players will vie to control the central four regions, triggering scoring when advantageous as the wagon trains pass through. Cards will be played allowing players to place tokens on the charts of the various regions, where players will seek to obtain majority positions. The cards will also allow the players to move the wagon trains, which begin in New England and steadily progress towards California. When players sense they have an advantage, they can trigger a scoring. Points are earned in each region, the amount being based upon the number of wagon trains present in those regions.
The challenge is to trigger scoring when you are in a favorable position in multiple regions. This will earn a player more points than their opponents. The BIG problem is that a player cannot place tokens, move wagons, and score on the same turn. So, after placing tokens and moving wagons, a player must usually wait one full turn before triggering a scoring. By that time, the board situation has likely changed dramatically, quite likely making scoring less attractive.
In theory, the game sounds intriguing. In reality, however, the board changes so rapidly between turns that it is very difficult to arrange matters in your favor and maintain this situation until the following turn, when you could trigger a scoring. The “double move” token allows you to do this a few times per game, but since this seems to be the main tactic, it isn’t very clever and, as a result, isn’t very satisfying. There just doesn’t seem to be much opportunity for clever play or strategy. The end result is a game that is bland, and seems to be shallow. This is one wagon train that doesn’t seem to go very far.
Robert, Byron, Terry and I donned our cowboy hats, chewed tobacco, and got our wagon trains rolling west. It was a learning game, so we did help each other with some key moves. After an early lead by Terry, Byron was able to capitalize on two consecutive scorings to surge to the front. I made a late run, but fell just short.
Finals: Byron 24, Greg 23, Terry 19, Robert 14
Ratings: Terry 6.5, Byron 6, Greg 5.5, Robert 3
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