Great set of extra tiles to spice up the endgame. Removes some of the early game's tight building decisions, but keeps things more interesting towards the end.

Felt a bit stale at first compared to the more stock-market oriented xx's, but I'm liking the tough track building competition especially on a map this tight. In the current trend of 18xx games being mostly about the buildup to the biggest endgame runs, 1825 feels fresh to get on the table. There's a fair share of shuffling shares back and forth even though the market isn't volatile, and little intricacies that add lots of interesting decisions beyond the route optimization exercise.

Tight, interesting. The opening moves are just as scripted as in 2-player Unit 2, but the rest of the game is refreshingly different. The fight for the priority deal becomes even more important with the scarcity of companies. The one U2+3 combination game I've had so far was fun also, but the North and Midland didn't connect too much. All-in combo games (played only on 18xx.games so far) are fun despite the length.

The "basic" game of the 1830 branch of xx is still very relevant to this day and hides numerous little intricacies to learn and master. Many more complex xx's have more of one trick pony qualities to them, which says a lot of the great original. Still the best stock market rules in any 18xx; the yellow/orange/brown area system should be put to use in more new games. The last couple OR sets can drag a bit in online play, live you can start spreadsheeting when it's clear that no more trains will be bought.

So far the same rating I've given to 1844. Great to have both in the same deal.

1844: Awesome 1830 derivative with the focus on operations. The privates' game is familiar to a '30 player, but each piece of chrome (there are quite a few) brings really nice twists to the formula. I especially liked the extra train rush brutality with the surviving trains downgrading as well. Although the market isn't as volatile as in 1830, there was a fair share of stock trashing in our first game (6 players, 7+ hours). This has a chance of hitting a 10 rating if it gets quicker.

A quick 18xx with a lot of meat on its bones. Brilliant. No dividends paid to company treasuries whatsoever. They can take loans from the Bank of England, but the cost is steep. It's a careful balancing act, you can win by borrowing conservatively and riding the cheaper premanent trains to high stock values, but the companies that sacrifice stock value and take loans to ride for huge D profits can leave you in the dust if the stars are right. The bank shares open up another cool bag of tricks for deliberately bankrupting railways for big gains, but it comes with a cost to your certificate limit. Basically it follows the 1830 ruleset, only with less intense stock trading, but there is a lot of neat, original trickery here to replace it.

Contrary to what I feared, this doesn't really make the game any more random. Very nice variant.

The insolvency rule makes this one clever and tricky. Companies that don't seem to do so good can be winning bets at the end, so there's a lot of play around that. Never too many xx:s that work with less players.
Even though at first it might feel like being too much about building the final big runner, that's not the whole truth either. I'm annoyed by not being skilled enough at it, which just makes me want to play more.

Update: what a great little big 18xx. Somewhat simple on the surface but many ways to victory, some of them being very much less than obvious. Three players is the sweet spot, but it's a great head to head xx too and definitely not bad with four either.

The route calculation system is fresh, and the game revolves around finding good company combos to merge, although M&A isn't always the only sure path to victory thanks to the variable setup. I'm not crazy about these "build a company for the huge endgame runs" type xx's (as such 1860 and the 1822 series are more interesting) and much prefer a more volatile stock market and cutthroat competition, but the token war on this one can get fierce, which is a big plus. Even though it's too Euro style company optimization for my tastes to be a go to xx, the variables still make it interesting.

Despite the new rules innovations it felt a bit like a different map and scenario could utilize them better. The dragons didn't affect the game too much, in the early game companies mostly stay in the green making sure full capitalization practically occurs for every company. I need to try a two player game, perhaps that's where they shine. A more volatile market could also make their effects more variable.

It's a bit too much about building "the big company" for my tastes, and it seems like it's always your company #1 that builds the early mine routes. With the importance of the mines in the early game and the historical destinations for converting to major, it's difficult to see viable alternatives for the companies' early routes. In the late game the map totally opens up, so the token wars aren't that tight after all, although the small constrained map hints otherwise at first.

The traffic cube system eases route calculation, but the train capacities maybe could be tighter in the early game and the cost curve for trains could be tighter also, to have more incentive for rushing the trains.

See also tool's comment here about the mergers which I fully agree with.

Usually a bit long compared to 1830 but this undoubtedly has its place also. It's very much about teaming up the right corporations to help each other build track to hit the company destinations with right timing. But the market is nice and lively as well. The McGuffins in the financial side (price protection, market support levels, corporation share buybacks and reissues) while interesting, often remain as more of a sideshow and it would be interesting to see these in new market oriented xx designs with more incentives for harsher stock trading. A shorter, tighter map version of this would be absolute perfection.

1882 is a great small scale twist on 1830. The tighter portfolio limit leaves somewhat less space for financial trickery, but on the other hand driving a company value to the yellow zone is a stronger strategy. The quite open map paired with the neutral tokens leaving routes open for everyone and the east-west route bonus tend to make 6's and D's more desirable than in 30. The privates are different enough, though very familiar, with a slightly better balance (improved B&O, weakened C&A and a slightly more versatile D&H), so it's a bit less initial auction heavy.
Really fast when everyone has previous experience. Even though it's a small footprint game, there's a lot to come back to.

Maybe as a travel game, but if you're looking to teach someone xx, just go for xx. Probably gets better with the stock market expansion.

Loads of decisions and options crammed in a quick 18xx. Some price action on the market, not quite volatile enough for my tastes but fits the design. I especially like the clever privates that can be put to different uses in the hands of a corporation.

It's a long game (but shorter than expected for newbies on our first play), especially the run calculation is fiddly and can take forever, mainly because before the endgame you want to explore new runs with some ships instead of going for current maximum profit every OR. The playtime probably won't lure my group in the way I'd like to, the financial side was innovative and I did like it a lot. AL might prove to be too much of a super company, even if the independent holders do their best to weaken it. On our first play I bought as many TSI privates as possible and got no indies, which in hindsight probably means I should just have ran TSI for as aggressive profits as possible before AL forms and not play "the long game". The inexistent train rush before the very end seems to support this, and it could be that without the expansion kit this is what happens too often, undermining the cool market features. One more 18xx title that would benefit from a nastier uptempo train rush and a more brutal, volatile market.

Essential filler/travel game collection.

Compared to the base Civ it can get slightly repetitive and taxing in the end, but still well worth the effort. The added randomness and less intriguing trade system (and the loss of tension with the looser hand limit) don't click with me quite like the original Civ does. See comments for Civilization for some comparisons.

Better than base Civ if there are less experienced players involved, but only if you're at least 5 players. Had one game with 4 that was ok, but the more the merrier. Although Mega Civ succeeds in balancing the game and cutting play time without dumbing down the gameplay, there's a spot for the less overwrought tech tree of ACiv too. I also like the the original scoring system better than Mega Civ's, the tech choices are less obvious here.

PNP version.

The game of every Finnish household. Roll'n'move with a little push your luck. Simple and open for variant innovation, so who knows, maybe this could be played with some house rules between adults too (the recent expansion is supposed to be a bit like that, haven't tried it).

I want to like it a lot more than the actual gameplay experiences allow me to at this point. The epic feeling of Civ/ACiv is somewhat there, but there's too much luck of the draw and too little time for it to even up. You can't win if you don't play with skill, the other players will keep a visible runaway leader in check (sometimes giving the actual leader a free pass while doing so), and there's loads of room for deals and diplomacy, but every play so far has been ultimately decided by someone getting the right cards at the right moment, and it seems some of the events are total game deciders vs. a lot of crap in the deck. You could claw your way back in the game after being destroyed by a couple early events if you get the tools for it, but 4-5 hours waiting for the right couple cards that probably won't turn up isn't my idea of strategy gaming. The tech tree is pretty balanced, only a couple cases of must-follow-if-someone-picks-it-up-first. Misery is too easy to tackle and should be more of a real menace, maybe everyone should start at 50? The turn order / combat effectiveness bid is clever, but the blind bidding adds a lot of accidental screwage, and the situation usually changes (potentially a lot) with the new cards drawn and played between the bid and the actual expansion phase. The various random factors can void any long-term strategies you might have. I'll invest the extra 3-4 hours needed for the original Civ any day before this.
Still keeping the rating at a hopeful 6, I want to try with an experienced group of 5 or 6 to see if it plays quick enough to not get as frustrating, and I'd love an online implementation, but not sure yet whether this copy will get enough play to be a keeper.

Need to play more to have a real opinion, but I like it a lot.

German

Really cool combination of worker placement, Yahtzee, special power combos and some take that -cards. While this doesn't sound like a game I would usually like, I still haven't grown tired of AF. Multiple ways to work around bad rolls (Troyes is still the slightly better game in this sense), repeatedly bad rolls will kill your game though. A whole lotta fun.

Big Box edition.

Rating for having all the expansions handily in one box, gets more play now that I can pick and mix whatever I want for a session, was reasonably priced as well.
Game Salute's Kickstarter campaign was crappy though, I wouldn't even own this but I jumped in on a group pledge after one guy got tired of waiting. Plus the annoying errata.

Wasn't sure at first if it improves the game, but it actually does a bit. The agendas can bring too much luck into a game that already has enough, but they're not that bad either once in a while. Adds a good deal of replayability.

Big Box edition.

Somewhat fiddly but a good addition for variety. Maybe not best with new players, in multiplayer games everyone needs to be aware of the situations in which certain cards will be overpowered. Clearly the lesser big expansion.

Big Box edition.

I'm not a trivia fan and haven't played Wits and Wagers nor America's predecessors, so can't compare, but it's ok fun with non-gamer friends. Offers some neat tactical decisions beyond trivia, as you can score with "not quite but close enough" answers, or guess that no one got it right for extra points. The more players the brtter. Quite a few questions are probably too easy for US players.

The variable starting positions and the Euroish action grid bring a lot into the basic premises of Wabash/CE, at least so far it feels great. Tense, a lot of game packed into 90-120 minutes.

Mechanically a very neat resource conversion and tech tree spreadsheet. First play felt unnecessarily long, but can be played in 90 minutes when everyone 's familiar with it, nice and simple at its core.

OK area majority filler for two. Can be decided by a lucky/unlucky card draw on the right moment, but it's quickly over anyway. Can degrade to fighting over a couple spots if one player goes for one of the more dominant strategies (see the Temple 1 debate), but the luck of the draw ensures it's not fundamentally broken.

Some Ticket to Ride mixed with Stone Age, with the dice placement thrown in. Quite a fresh implementation of the dice-as-workers format, different from games like Alien Frontiers or Troyes. The location cards and variable powers add a good deal of replayability. The random stuff seems to be well balanced. The character you get dictates the strategy somewhat, so once you've played a couple times and know what to avoid trying with who, it becomes a nice, quick and quite light fare. Winner of the wife favorite award too.

A smaller footprint, fast and furious version of Amabel Holland's three cup solitaire engine. Dice luck in battles, levies etc. is magnified, but all in all a perfectly quick solo wargame snack to kill 45 minutes.

I'm familiar with the rules, but only played a few times ever. Somehow it hasn't grabbed my attention that much. Maybe with bets the doubling rule could get more important and make the game more interesting.

I haven't played the original BANG!, so can't compare, but the dice version feels like they took King of Tokyo, added the team play and hidden roles, and made it short enough to be really fun.

My rating applies only to the 3rd edition as I have no experience with the former ones. Not that accurate a simulation, as others have noted, the Rebs just can't do what they actually did without houseruling and will have to resort more to turtling. But given the level of abstraction the big picture of the theater somewhat comes through. As a game it's awesome, both sides will face painstakingly difficult choices every play. The tactical battle resolution familiar from Napoleon, trimmed to near perfection here, is a great addition to the "EastFront Lite" command control system. The battle system adds another layer of agonizing decisions and most importantly is FUN. Even the longest scenario usually doesn't play longer than 6 months of EastFront, so in that regard Bobby Lee is a definite go to game for me. The minor gripes I had about balance in the beginning aren't an issue after a few more plays, and were just due to my lack of experience. Close matches every time save a couple quick defeats because of drastic mistakes made.

The gateway to modern Euros for me. At one point I pretty much played it to death, so I rarely take it out these days, but occasionally still and it's still good when it hits the table, usually with Inns & Cathedrals and Traders & Builders at least when multiplayer.

Another good set of extra tactics, these days I usually play with Inns & Cathedrals, this and some third expansion.

Essential addition, I seldom play without this.

The dragon is luck-heavy chaos, other modules work quite well, but overall this is for luck tolerant play only. Magic plays best combined with The Tower expansion.

The most fun Carc variant for me among the "non-essential expansions". Carc with table talk, deals, and backstabbing? With the right crowd, yes. Best when played with "draw 2, play 1, leftover tile is open information" or some other luck-offsetting house rule to avoid too much chaos.

Great fun for both the heroes and the big bad guy. Lots of tactics to be applied so it's not just about dexterity. High quality components, no troubles whatsoever with the game play. Best with three as you get the teamwork element out of it, but everyone still has enough playing to do.

Picked the basic Catan Dice Game off a sale just for this, the base game is just Catan-themed Yahtzee, but XXL involves a bit of spatial play and a couple decisions to be made.

Basically it's Catan without trading that plays quick enough to make it an ok filler. Can be played with regular D6's as well using this version.

Traded the Catan Dice but this is occasionally printable for a travel game.

Love the old school death metal artwork. Hoping to get this on the table asap.

I can understand how it seems repetitive and dry to some, because of no luck, no secrets and no surprises (unless you count opponents' sudden changes of strategy or bluffs with the provost that really got you). Even though it's about exploiting the same linear process every time, each game is quite different, and individual strategies can make it a game of scarcity or a resource-rich race for the big points. Keeps you on your toes and thinking way ahead for the chaining of actions and resources needed for them, which is why in Caylus I don't mind a little downtime.

Caylus works very good even with 2 players. The only gripe I'm having is that it really doesn't speed up much with experience. No way will this be played in the 30min/player that the box implies.

DIY, see comments for Caylus.

Another classic abstract that will end in a draw if both players know the right moves. Haven't played in a long long time, and probably won't spend any more time on it. There was one interesting variant I played with a chess aficionado friend of mine, but I can't remember what it was called. Surpassed by modern abstracts, irrelevant for adults unlike Chess.

Ran a bit longer than I expected, but despite the simplicity didn't feel wearing out it's welcome. Tense until the end. There are loads of situations where a non-gamer friendly Euro/party game mix like this is in demand, so it's good to have a copy.

Compared to Advanced Civilization, which I got to try first: The need to plan for future buys more carefully, next to no luck in card draws, and the superior trading system (allowing you to target someone exactly with a calamity instead of just hoping it doesn't come back to you before trading ends) appeal to me more than ACiv's extended tech and variation. Yes, ACiv is the more "thematic" game (though one can argue that in base Civ the way every nation can't get every card brings forth their differences in a more realistic way), but I like the "gamey" nature of Civ more at least at the moment, and to be honest, ACiv ain't exactly a simulation either. Here the different aspects are balanced better, the emphasis is less on just getting the best deals and turning in full trade sets. The original also plays a couple hours less which is a major pro. However, to avoid runaway loser -situations and to keep a lengthy game interesting for everyone until the end, for 6 players or more ACiv is the way to go.

Both ways of playing Civ are just sublime and captivating games with a relatively simple ruleset. You need to have a whole day for the full game, but it's worth it.

DIY, made using the civproject.net files and some old MTG cards. Great addition if you need to make Civ a bit more accessible to new players (in games with 5+ players), or like to emphasize the trading part a bit more, giving it a more ACiv feel.
Tends to create more randomness, as calamities occur more seldom and thus get less evenly distributed. Between experienced players I'd recommend it only for 6 and 7 player games.

Great addition, makes 4-6 player games of both base and ACiv more balanced and it's a must for an 8 player ACiv. Opens up loads of possibilities for both the starting setup and strategies.

Amazing solitaire sort of an empire building game, that gives a good look into the history and some key aspects of Comanche culture. The way you need to keep multiple enemies in check while striving to control more areas and developing your culture gives it a slight States of Siege feel, though there's a lot more game in here.

As someone who loves deep games with simple rules and usually doesn't enjoy squad level games as much as strategic, the abstraction in Combat Infantry works near perfectly for me. Especially the abstraction of morale, hits taken and overall group cohesion into the steps a block has left. Fast and furious once you get the rules right. The scale and a few other details are wonky, so definitely not for serious grognards (and I would prefer more realism and historicity myself) but it's super fun to play.

Great game perfecting the Ancients' ruleset. Just the right amount of extra chrome that brings the luck factor down slightly, but keeps it simple and quick playing. Compared to Ancients, the battlefield tactics are very different and the game seems to do a great job simulating the armored cavalry innovations of the age, while still being abstracted enough to be a super easy game to learn and teach.

Becoming a go-to game now that I've played all the scenarios out of the box, looking for trying out the community created content. Just a brilliant mix of minimum rules overhead and a lot of meat on its bones.

A deck builder that breathes something new to the genre and doesn't feel like another mediocre Dominion clone. Instead of the quite usual deck building trope of "buy a useful card or a score card", you need to weigh when to throw very useful cards out of your deck to the scoring piles. A bit extra random with the die if you play with the Ocelot cards but quick and fun.

States of Siege with heaps of chrome on top. Chrome that really makes the game, that is. Along with Empires in America this one is so far my favorite entry in the series. The only gripe I have is that the easier levels are a bit too easy, and adding difficulty also means more cards to the deck, which makes the game considerably longer. So it would have been even better with an addition of some kind of difficult short scenario. I'll need to tinker a bit with this, maybe adding only the worst events as a short game size deck?

2 decks of 60

At first it was a bit of slog for Dominion, but it's getting quicker with repeated plays. Starting to like it more and more.

A very cool addition to almost any setup of Dominion. If it feels too random, just use less cards and/or multiples of the same cards under it.

Very nice, compatible with loads of different sets.

Entertaining, customizable, simple, easy to teach, still packs a lot to think about into half an hour. What more can you ask of a light game?

Speeds up the game, which is a plus, but it's one of those cards everyone has to invest in if they want to stay in the game.

See comments for Intrigue (I had it before this one). Not that different from Intrigue, except Intrigue has the more interesting variants of the vanilla cards. Easy to teach, loads of replay value.

A bit samey with some others. A nice early game speed-up.

Not sold on the gameplay, but the artwork and stories that emerge... holy shit I haven't had this many laughs with a game since forever.
Best soundtrack for playing: anything recorded at Cogumelo.

Great take on the East-/WestFront system with many of the details abstracted into the card deck, others (like supply and ZOC) just left out. The solution works, the game doesn't feel overly abstracted (if taken as a game, not simulation) while being playable in two hours with experienced players. So far has felt balanced.

See comments for version I. Current 2-player want to play #1

Can't wait to try with EuroFront

Difficult to rate, kinda clever with the careful timing issues with stock trashing. Feels a bit too random unless you're a card counter, but on the other hand it's not really too random for a 30 minute bidding filler.

Straight Neue Heimat reprint with new artwork. Naturally just as good. Pure bidding games don't get much better (nastier) than this.

A fresh and original Euro, simple rules but deep. The mancala mechanism ties the different ways to score neatly together, so it doesn't feel like a VP salad at all. Not as much AP-inducing as I thought, it takes a couple games to spot the patterns quicker, but then it really comes together and speeds up. The VP bids for turn order fit the game very, very nicely. Like I've seen in the comments here, if it really is so good 2 player, my rating might go even higher.

I had high hopes since it had the qualities of a quick tableau builder filler a la RFTG, but with more player interaction. While mechanically innovative, Glory to Rome hasn't aged too gracefully though, card luck plays a more significant role compared to RFTG which plays in 15-20 minutes, and some buildings are pretty much a must do (Temple for example) while quite a few are next to useless. Draw a nice head start and you won't lose if you know what you're doing. For my tastes the occasional engine builder is a fun play if it's fast and furious (another nod to RFTG yet again). An hour is too much, especially in the more tactical/opportunistic end of the spectrum.

Somewhat random but still very much fun, as the randomness is evenly enough distributed, and despite the randomness luck isn't really a big factor between experienced players. I love the tight map where every maneuver and extra regroup move you can manage to make matters.
Perfect introductory block wargame, non-wargamers with a soft spot for area control Euros will also feel right at home. Play time came quickly down to circa 2-3 hours.
Update after some extensive online play: at the moment I'm enjoying 2nd edition Crusader Rex just a wee bit more, HotS is more vulnerable to the cards dealt. Practically as good though.

Quick and clever co-op, eliminates all kinds of alpha-player tendencies and the difficulty is easy to adjust. Different player counts have slightly different problems to tackle.

The early CDG classic is still a great light wargame. The card driven battle system provides an extra tactical layer and doesn't prolong the game too much.
Battle casualties can be brutal also on the winner and in some extreme cases feel too random but usually it's a minor problem. I'd really like to see the battle system implemented in other games than just this and We the People.

The chrome Hellenes adds to the lighter Columbia block game engine works wonders. The battles are quick and deadly and the routing rule further emphasizes the differences of troops. Loads of tension, chances to reduce luck by careful planning, though there still is considerable randomness in what cards get dealt at least in the 431 scenario where the couple first years of a game can be crucial. The others have less luck involved and are much better once you've grasped the game. If you like the Columbia A/B/C games, this is a step up from that tried and true formula. Like most titles using the same engine, it's not that much of a simulation, but a great fun game.

Despite the randomness it's one of my favorites. Diplomacy plays a big role here, so mitigating the randomness is often down to the deals you manage to make. Downtime can be an issue especially with AP prone players, so you can't stress enough that players should think about their next move while waiting for it. You also need to keep an eye on how things play out between the other powers in conflicts you're not currently involved in, so I don't think the downtime factor is that bad all in all. Just don't invite your social gamer friends for this, everyone needs to stay focused or you might not finish it in tolerable time.

My 9 rating only applies to the 6-player game where skillful diplomacy becomes a key factor. With 3 players controlling 2 major powers each the diplomacy is limited, apparently very much so, compared to the full game. But there are practically no downtime issues, and the shorter scenarios feel more balanced in the sense that you can use your other faction to help another that might be suffering of a bad hand or crappy die rolls.

Purchased the upgrade kit too, let's see what that does.

The 2-player variant is mainly a bucket of dice, and the diplomacy cards add another layer of luck, but it's still very enjoyable and plays quick once you get the hang of it. Massive swings of luck can make it a bit tedious sometimes but I like it nonetheless. Compared to the regular scenarios this is almost exclusively about the religious area control, and Twilight Struggle plays similarly enough, but is quicker and better.

2010 edition of HIS +the upgrade kit. Need to get the updated version played asap

"RoboRally by Knizia", or rather a Frankenstein monster of numerous Euro mechanics, Himalaya is easy, can get chaotic and sometimes luck helps a lot, but it's fun. Very much so. Despite the chaos there's tactical depth, and for such a mechanics-driven Euro it can invoke lots of bluff-filled table talk.

Update: Less luck-driven than it seemed at first sight. Need to try the diceless variant in the expansion.

Improves on the original in a few details.

THANK YOU THRIFTY SECRET SANTA!

Interesting and original. Clearly this is a more coherent design than many of Feld's later spreadsheet games. Best with at least 4.

A quick and dirty gamble for the randomized dividend payments. We've been a bit lost on our first few plays, but I'm seeing a huge potential in this.

Where 13 Minutes failed with its microgame rendition of 13 Days, Iron Curtain succeeds in turning Twilight Struggle into a 15 minute filler. To counter some of the luck you can play it best out of three and it still isn't too long. The biggest luck factor comes from getting to play your opponent's event cards before they actually affect anything on the board, and this can decide the game. But for a 15-minute filler that's still not too bad, as there usually are a couple difficult decisions to make as well.

Mechanics-wise there's a lot going on, from bidding for buildings to add to your village, the spatial element of placing your buildings and resource logistics, worker placement and set collection for the endgame scoring. Despite all this the game doesn't feel needlessly complex or bloated, and the elements fuse together nicely creating a relatively quick game, considering the amount of things available to do.

The bidding is done using the different colors of workers as currencies. That and using others' buildings with your workers (but losing them to the buildings' owners after that) adds some needed interaction, without which the game could end up being a quite dry optimization exercise. As it is, it's my current favorite Euro along with Troyes.

Two more endgame bonus tiles utilizing gold and green workers. Balances the original selection nicely for some parts, but not absolutely necessary.

Another nice option.

So far a long stretch from the elegance of Twilight Struggle. Needs more play to know whether there's a good game here somewhere.

Maybe just a bit too luck based given it's length, still a decent filler with a few tense moments and a couple tactical bits here and there. Great stuff to break out with non-gamers, beats Yahtzee any day.
PNP using the poker chip template as I had a handful of dice already.

Bingo! These days there are better games for kids or for gambling at home.

Rated as a solitaire game, haven't tried competitive or co-op scenarios yet. It's mostly an optimization puzzle disguised as an adventure game, but somehow I've had fun with it.

Back in the 90's (4th edition / Ice Age era) it was fun for a moment, but then I realized what a money drain it is if you want to keep up with the constantly changing tournament sanctions. The mechanics aren't bad, but the actually good cards and good combos vs. useless crap -ratio contributes only to the marketing scheme. Playing with just the basic summons etc. is pretty boring, so the highly collectible cards that twist the rules more are quite essential for bringing out the game. Hence M:TG doesn't interest me at all any longer.

A re-implementation of this as an affordable LCG could be worth a look with for example:
- reworkings of cards from Alpha to circa Ice Age with better balance, especially alternatives to the power nine or something like that
- all the completely useless cards removed

I have circa 140 cards possibly worth trading left (mostly from the 4th ed. to Mirage), GM me for details.

I'm new to the game, tried only classic HK so far. I somehow liked it more than most rummy games with standard cards that I've tried. I suspect there is significant depth here.

A near-perfect gateway game in it's own way. Worker placement, bidding and risk/reward management in a casual and lucky enough package, so it works with new gamers and you can't always win with experience, but good among gamers too. Despite the luck factor it doesn't outstay its welcome, finishable in 45 minutes.

In a nutshell, Metropolys is Manhattan spiced with bidding, that can get vicious. Love the bluffing aspect. The secret goals could be balanced a bit better, some are quite sure picks while others are very risky all-or-nothing types.

Extra set for trade.

Only played with the generally suggested variants. Basically Minos is a quite simple and easy dudes-on-a-map, the dice action selection can of course be quite lucky, but it clearly has its moments and seems to have been way ahead of its time. The similar combat system is fun and gives incentive to use the arrow action, so all in all it's less random than the usual dice fest conquest would be.

4-player game with all noobs took only a bit over 90 minutes, but if we had known better what we're doing, bashing the leader might have prolonged it a little. The initial setup (at least using the variant) seems to be quite decisive and you need to put thought into it, so with more experience I could see myself raising the rating.

I wouldn't mind trying Monopoly with some of the "more serious variants", if it wasn't so unearthly long. Draaaaaaaaag.
At least it's easy to houserule in various ways.

A bit like Machi Koro as a resource conversion Euro. Some fun control over the game timer, ultimately it's a turn this to that to VP's that's been done better many many times. I liked it a bit more than Village somehow.

The cool and ahead of its time predecessor to the battle resolution system later refined in Bobby Lee.
90 minutes filled with game which keeps you on the edge of your seat until the last roll. With two the balance is fine, though it didn't feel too lopsided to the French on our one 1 vs 2 try.

Very quick and casual dice chucker / engine builder balance issues regarding player order, as more vocal critics have noted. Good casual solitaire distraction every now and then, but limited in options just like it is multiplayer. The Unrest expansion fixes things a great deal and should have been part of the base game.

The base game completed. Small improvements that make the game a lot more interesting and replayable. Not gonna play again without this.

"Carcassonne as a skirmish game" for two, the multiplayer variants are too chaotic. Even with two the small amount of tiles per faction magnify the luck of the draw somewhat. Random enough to be very quick and once both players know the factions a bit, you get a grip on when to gamble and when to play safe. Good for a filler.

The same rating I gave the base game. Adds nothing that new, but in a way it's a semi-fresh Moloch variant. Strong defense and the rocket launcher can be a badass. Mines can backfire when played against Moloch or some other faction with more push back actions than NY themselves.

Home brewed implementation with Lotto tokens and a bag.

Absolutely genius filler, easy to house rule to a more strategic (though more calculation-heavy as well) version. Not for every occasion, but usually it's easy to enjoy for non-gamers too.

Gaping rules holes for a second edition game already released way back. I expect my rating to rise after a couple more games, the system is neat, not too simplified but extremely easy to play after getting the hang of it. Both sides seem to have lots of options to approach the situation.

Xmas present from a friend who made a thrift shop find, seems interesting though maybe not a match for Quarto in its category

From Artscow. Can't wait to try.

A brilliant strategy game with temporary alliances and a challenging situation changing each turn. I won't say it's overly tactical, but you need to be flexible and constantly think of a couple backup plans if there's a change in the political situation you couldn't expect or the market doesn't refresh your way.

Compared to Pax Porfiriana, which leans a bit more towards the economics, Pamir's focus is more on the spatial aspect, units on the map and how the spies make their way through player tableaus. Not sure which one is the better game, but because of things being a bit more out in the open Pamir feels slightly easier to grasp.

The only annoying thing for me is the slight memory element, you need to try and keep track of the regime-changing cards others buy off the market to avoid rival surprise victories.

Khyber Knives perfects Pamir. The Wazirs tone down the market randomness quite a bit, making it easier to control regime changes and bring new units into the game. They also emphasize political area control through tribes. The dual use of the Capability cards brings more options on the table and some very welcome differentiation between players. The Porfiriana style Headlines (events) bring more of the underlying history in while not being overly random.
I already loved the base game as it is, but still think Khyber Knives is an essential addition.

It's gonna take a lot more than the few plays I've had so far to get a decent grip of the strategies here, that's a good sign for sure. More about building your personal infrastructure than Pamir, both have a permanent place in my collection.

Only played a couple times, it was a lot of fun. The ancients/civ theme comes through nicely, especially in the scoring system, considering it really is just a quite pure bidding game.

Roll, move, roll. Roll again. As a little kid I used to play this almost as much as Afrikan Tähti. I recall it missing the push your luck -element of Afrikan Tähti though, so it's just about rolling the die.

Fun and fresh take on rummy. Quick and simple, but has some tactics that make it worth playing instead of more traditional rummy games every once in a while.

Was cheap so I got a second copy for "tournament rules" play.

Initial rating, horrible rulebook and the war side of things is a total luckfest. But an asymmetrical resource management Euro is what it really is and I think it might appeal to me more with further plays, combat is not encouraged if you want to win unless you really have to. Historicity is so-so, but it's a Euro so there's definitely more connection with the theme than usually.

Pretty good quick abstract, basically tic-tac-toe on steroids. Can lose its appeal if both players figure it out too good, and games start repeatedly ending in stalemates. We'll see how long it lasts.

Plus you get a cool decorative element.

Simple and fun block game with hidden movement/simultaneous orders, deserves it classic status. Maybe a little on the lucky side, probably pretty much every game ends in the great Abraham dice fest. Really quick. Maybe a little lopsided to the French in a way that the English player needs to avoid small tactical errors more carefully, or fall under 20 unit steps quickly with a bit of bad luck. But it's super fast so this really isn't that huge of a deal.

The Canadian Wargamers Journal's "advanced variant", which is a modular set of little optional rules to adjust the balance to either side, is a must try.

Quick engine builder with DEPTH. It isn't that difficult at all once you get the hang of it. Currently couldn't imagine playing without at least Gathering Storm and RvsI though. Add RvsI (and BoW) and it's a 10 for me.

Update: My gaming tastes seem to be shifting away from economic snowballs, but I still enjoy RFTG (with expansions) very much, because it delivers the best bits of the genre in 20 minutes, with a touch of double-guessing and bluff.

I haven't played with the orb yet, but the new cards are a fresh return to a sort of minimalism after the grandiose VP swings of The Brink of War.
Of course you miss the epic feel and strategic variability, but it's a fun diversion.

The takeover rules give RFTG that much needed bit of "player interaction", or at least there's some added depth on keeping an eye on the others beyond the action leeching aspect. Many awesome new cards. Meat/playtime ratio = awesome. RFTG combined with at least this (and The Brink of War) is still my all-time favorite filler. 15-20 minute Eurogames don't get much better than this.

Prestige points really force the game to be played in a different way compared to the earlier sets. Early prestige gains can create runaway leaders, and there are a couple tasteless starting combos that guarantee a victory 9 times out of 10, but it's really not much of an issue in a 20 minute game, and the chances of picking those up aren't that big. Besides that I think the prestige system and the search cards are cool additions.

UPDATE: Back to 10. I find myself playing this just as much as R vs. I. Keep an eye on that prestige!

Essential, even more so because these cards are needed alongside R vs I and The Brink of War as well. The solitaire robot is a quite useless box filler now that we have Keldon's AI.

Should have been part of the base game really.

"Travel game for two 18xx players." Does a good job of condensing the 18xxperience to just the train rush and the market, although the scenario here feels a bit stale, the lack of track building could have been better offset with a more volatile and brutal stock market to make things interesting. Also you usually have to go through quite a few endgame OR's with nothing happening except handing out revenue. The system of "mid-tier trains" (buy a 2T as a 2T or a more expensive "3T with 2T revenue but rusts later") adds a nice layer, since the game is only about the train rush and quite docile portfolio management. The "20% off train price" investor seems a bit overpowered. Probably turns out quite samey after some plays, but there's some fun to be had with this one.

A really fun filler, can be played in 45 minutes even with 4. A sort of area control with fresh ideas and some push-your-luck thrown in. A bit like a quick light El Grande.

Brings great variety and replayability to the base game with a vast array of setups. Highly recommended for all Rattus players.

With Rattus more is more. Not absolutely necessary if you already have a big expansion, but nice to have.

Initial thoughts: Super easy to learn, plays quickly, a great introduction to area-impulse wargaming. Can't say much about the strategy yet, but spending your advantage to reset the waning momentum or to make a reroll is an action to use wisely, since it refreshes the spent units for both sides.

After more plays I have to say it's on par with Hammer of the Scots. At the moment I actually slightly prefer the buildup and positioning game here than HotS's regrouping logistics puzzle. Feels nicely balanced, the Lancasters need to fill up the map with nobles early on and play mouse like the Scots in HotS, and can have a hard time if they fail defending their turtling positions - good luck going on offence against the "York/March with their French cronies" -powerhouse, especially with any defensive bonuses. Naturally a lot of the history gets sacrificed in the abstraction to the "Columbia-style Chess with dice" format, but it's a really fun game nonetheless.

Anyone complaining about Rommel being too much chess because of the low unit count, I hear ya. But somehow I love it exactly because of that; maneuvering is key, supply is KEY, engaging in battle is risky (especially for the Allies), and a sudden death always lurks around the corner if you make a mistake at the wrong moment. Short-term randomness can hose you, so the longer scenarios are definitely the way to go. There are things in EastFront that I like better, but Rommel is quicker and thus easier to get on the table.

Got it in a trade with both expansions. So far only the base game played. I was looking for a Magic replacement and this is quite a bit of that eurofied. The drafting is fun and you need to pay attention as it's the important part, however short. There are some broken game decider combos (slap the 30VP card on your table for free), which is more of a problem here in a 60-90 minute game than in a 15 minute RFTG. Let's see how I feel after trying out the expansions.

My favorite social deduction game. I haven't played plain Resistance, but Secret Hitler works better and plays quicker then Avalon. Cleaner system and I liked the "presidential special skills" that depend on the player count. Scales well.

Reading about Sekigahara I was pretty sceptical at first, but as soon as I got to reading the rules, it felt right. It's a really original and highly abstracted card driven block wargame; no event cards, A/B/C attack order or such, no step reduction or even dice. Just maneuvering, bluff, hand management and some more bluff. Some gamier moments can feel a little dumb (there are moments when you might have to send troops to a suicide mission just to get your hand replenished with better cards before a decisive battle), but in all its abstract simplicity it actually manages to capture the essence of the conflict and political situation of the moment. The sides are nicely balanced, yet asymmetric enough, and it plays in 2-3 hours or sometimes even less. Near perfect for what it is.

THE game I used to play a lot more as a kid, now don't really have the time to invest in improving my skills. In a way it's too much about calculating the possible moves, and too little about creating flexible strategies. But never disappoints that maybe once a year I play it.

Played with Grandma n times as a kid. I'm not completely sure of my copy's whereabouts right now, but haven't missed it too much. Would be interesting to try out again. I recall there was a little bit more tactics involved than in UNO.

Initial rating after one 5-player game. Quite light train/stock themed deduction and bluffing game, nothing spectacular but I'm ready to try it again to get a better grip at it. Setup is a bit fiddly, but the game itself plays quick.

This is 4X concentrated on the warfare and fleet building side, and it's one that's done pretty damn well.
Maybe it suffers a bit from a lack of theme/variability, as all the players have exactly the same units and counter mix only in different colors, but it's such an elegant system that it's very easy to houserule and make your own scenarios.
Complexity scales nicely as the optional and advanced rules are pretty modular. The pen and paper bookkeeping can feel heavy at first, but a couple plays under your belt you won't miss pushing tokens around or such.

Good light/midweight auction and route building game slightly Winsome style. Light enough on the rules, so that newbies can play competitively as long as everyone knows the importance of the endgame payout. Better with less players, as you can try to manage companies for big dividends, and others to mostly just block routes. But more AP as well. Playable in an hour.

A good light gateway to worker placement. Luck with dice is not that big of an issue, unless they really hate you throughout the whole game.
Gets a wife favorite extra point, and on top it's equally good with any player count.

Not that insanely random, might cause a bit of a swing.

There was a wee bit of the sort of chaos I don't like in multiplayer games, but not too much. Need to keep an eye on what everyone else is doing, so even if it's multiplayer solitaire on the surface, deep down it's anything but. The income and scoring system are great and every game is a tight balancing act.

Update: growing on me. One of the rare multiplayer Euros that are just as good with two players.

The borders add spice but a bit of extra chaos, you can't remove them from others' reach like the regular tiles. Not even sure if I've played with all the bits yet, so it's a provisional rating.

The classic filler, scales nicely for different player counts.

Fun quick block wargame filler. Neither scenario surpasses two hours, I still haven't played the campaign mode but that'll probably take no more than three either.
The sides play very differently, Mexico races against time to maneuver their superior forces far enough to control or burn Texan victory cities, while Texas tries to slow them down with their few sorry-ass blocks, and make a more determined stand or two (per whole game) at bottlenecks where the Mexicans can't attack with too superior of a force. So usually there's not that much for the Texans to do, except spotting good defensive terrain and trying to put the scant events to good use.
Despite that I've had fun playing the Texans too, and the balance is alright, at least in the Alamo scenario.

My first experience of climbing games. I'm no huge fan of trick-taking, but this has that little something I think is usually missing from trick-taking.

Elegant, simple abstract tile laying conquest with depth and difficult decisions. Tile randomness can be frustrating sometimes, but usually it doesn't take too much analysis to know when risking a little more could pay off.

Only read the rules so far. Want to try the first game with a full table of 6 players.

Decent light casual romp, good with non-gamers. Adds nice twists to Ave Caesar. It's more chaotic but also more fun. Full three race game can be a bit too long for what it is, but you need to play that long for the luck factor to balance itself.

Simple and clever set collection game with enough randomness but a substantial amount of control. The "farm to market" cards lookahead is a nice touch reducing luck and providing tactical depth.

Good with three, not really interested in playing with larger player counts except maybe 2 vs 2. The 18xx theme comes through in a fun way, and it's exceptionally long term strategic for a trick-taking game once you get the hang of it (can be very opaque for the first few plays). My current trick-taking favorite. Maybe winning a trick out of suit if you can't follow could be a variant worth trying?

I'm finding Triumph & Tragedy difficult to rate. It's abstracted to the point where "sandbox" really isn't the correct term anymore. It really is just as much a fantasy game as Axis & Allies. The diplomacy part is a completely ahistorical free-for-all with no differences in the players' Great Powers whatsoever and the block fog of war doesn't make any sense at this scale (the border limits on attacking even less). Historical results won't be revisited on any given play, so it's understandable why anyone looking for a bit of simulation value probably won't like it.
But, so far it's been a blast to play! Moves on quickly when everyone's familiar with the rules and despite the abstraction offers nice strategic depth.
I'm a bit concerned about the balance. Axis gets easily crushed between the other two if it doesn't start with formidable and risky aggression, and Delhi might be too easy of a snack for the Soviets (or a lucky Axis picking up multiple Persian diplomacy cards). Play time is coming down at a good pace from the first bout so I think the (considerable) charm will last long enough to confirm possible balance issues and try out variants.

"Dice placement" that at times feels like a puzzle of finding the best scoring combos and the optimal timing to execute them, with a bit of interaction and a cool bluffing aspect. It doesn't cease to amaze how much fun Troyes can be, because it basically is just a money/influence/VP conversion spreadsheet, just the type of game I usually tend to avoid. So much better than any Feld game ever. Very high replayability. Works with all player counts, with 2 can be tough if the events pile up to ruin both players plans, so introductory games for new players should probably be played with 3 or 4.

Wow, a real gamers' roll'n'write that on the other hand isn't difficult to teach as an easy casual non-gamer pastime either. Even fun solitaire trying to beat my highscore, when I don't have enough time for solitaire wars.

Not absolutely essential, but a nice little addition to an already great game. I keep these as part of the game options all the time, except Resistance can be too harsh for 2p games.

My initial impression is that the new features add some randomness without adding too much luck. The rampart actions seem like a good way to leech off others' actions, but so far they haven't seen too much use as the dice are often more valuable elsewhere. The best part are the new cards, some might be too powerful if everyone isn't aware of their potential.

Deceivingly simple. It's not really a traditional CDG but more like an area majority Euro for two players with the historical flavor. No wonder the appeal is so widespread. The luck factor seems annoying at first, but the needed risk and hand management skills and foresight comes with experience. Great tension with the constant feeling of having a shitty hand of cards, but knowing your opponents feels the same. It's a lot of fun and plays quickly.

The best slightly heavier Dominion clone I've played so far. Nice balance between the different parts (quick conquest on the board vs. the slower grind of culling the deck for big points). Guile cards seem to be weaker because even though the spies can quickly give you presence all around, the place/remove mechanic is too slow to match just brute forcing the map. Random as one might expect with the Ascension style card market, but it's a one hour game so not a big deal.

A very good CDG. Sort of chromey, but quite simple actually and easily grasped after playing a bit. The historical situation is nicely implemented and while the decision to ditch multi-use cards for OP/event only feels like an unnecessary throwback at first, it limits the options enough to make the gameplay feel quick and not too AP-inducing, though as a whole it's still in the 4-6 hour range. Because of the card system some turns might go by feeling too scripted, but there's still plenty of space to work out a longer-term strategy.
Some events are too strong and the parliamentarist side can have a hard time in the early game, but overall the balance feels ok.

Tense gambling with the "build or invest". Easy to explain to non-gamers, and random enough for a new player to play competitively right away. Strategy vs. short term opportunism in the right proportions for what it is. Currently my favorite light train game.

Another game I played a lot as a kid. It's not THAT bad for a social pastime when everyone's too involved in chatting and beer to play a game that's needs some concentration, especially with the "advanced rule" that allows you to play the exact same card on the top of the discard pile out of turn.

Distills the area control of classic Civ and the coming and going of civilizations from History of the World to a functional two hour bare minimum. So far I like it a bit better than Smallworld. Spotting who is the perceived leader vs. who has a strong long term position can be difficult for me, I wish I was better at this. Well, makes me want to play more which is always a good sign.

HOLY SHIT THRIFTY SECRET SANTA 2021!!! THANK YOU!

Rating applies only for simultaneous movement play without the initiative rolls, as it's random enough already with the combat being a luckfest. With the simo-move option it's a perfectly enjoyable one hour cat and mouse wargame filler, where you never have quite enough manpower and every move is painstakingly risky.

Fun simple solo warfare evoking the subject matter in a cool way. Especially the battles on the tactical board have a desperate feel of trying to gun down the tripods with your artillery before they hulk over, past and through you.
The difficulty level could be more easily scalable. Now it's more like the Martians get lucky with the arrival and flying machine actions and get an easy win, or they don't. I haven't tried the scenarios beyond the basic game yet, looking at the rules it feels like they would improve on this.
Some rules holes and the rulebook and player aid could be laid out better, but thumbs up for the designer and publisher being active on the forum.

Quite opaque as others have noted as well, the map blocking game can get brutal and its repercussions are not that visible at first. I can't really elaborate before trying out all the different player counts, very interesting so far though a bit on the longish side among cube rail games.

Very good CDG wargame, and really a WARgame more than wargamey area control, unlike quite a few CDG's. Worthy of its classic status. The tournament scenario is where the game is at, the longer ones can be frustratingly swingy.

Great simple sandbox system, basically the subsequent A/B/C block games without the cards. Glad I dived into it after being on the verge a long time as I found a decent pile of 1st edition stuff for trade. I love having a multiplayer block wargame that can be a quick romp too if necessary.

Looking for a 1st edition Ferkin army and a (preferably unstickered) extra Chaos army.

Extra 1st edition Barrenlands set (maps 5&6) for trade.

You'll absolutely need more than the base set. Glad I found a heap of 1st edition stuff to trade for, fuck the random booster pack bullshit.

Looking for a 1st edition Ferkin army and a (preferably unstickered) extra Chaos army.

Extra 1st edition Barrenlands set (maps 5&6) for trade.

The extra maps are a necessity for crafting scenarios of your own and for replayability in general.

Extra 1st edition Barrenlands set (maps 5&6) for trade.

Second copy of Rattus, for trade.