Essen games

Now, here's the entry I've been meaning to write for a while now... Which games I'm looking forward to getting from Essen? First let me note that thanks to a deal I've got with Lautapelit.fi, Finland's foremost board game retailer, I have little need to buy stuff I can get later cheaper. That includes Railroad Tycoon, Memoir '44 expansions, Parthenon, Reef Encounter and pretty much anything Rio Grande puts out.

That makes the list a lot shorter, which is nice. After all, I'm only armed with limited funds and a single suitcase. I'm not going to send packages in mail or anything like that. My focus will be on interesting limited releases, stuff I would need to order from Germany.

Indonesia is one of the toughest decisions on the list. It's a Splotter big box game, thus it's probably really good. Besides, it promises more interaction between players than Splotter games have offered before. Then again, how many long games I need? It's also big and expensive. But it's a Splotter game... If I want it, this is the time to get it. Right now I'd say I'll buy this, but I might change my mind. I sure would like to see the latest issue of Counter, which should have an in-depth piece on this one.

Antike from Eggert-Spiele is hot and likely to sell out soon. Just 1000 copies. I have already reserved a copy (mostly because you get four euro discount if you pay in advance). Sounds good: 90-120 minute civilization game, that's always hot. Eggert-Spiele has good credit for me from Neuland.

I already have a home-made KillDog, but I still want Ca$h'n Gun$. It's a fun game that's very useful to have around for parties and non-gamers. There's also limited (500 copies) Collector's edition available in Essen. The Collector's Edition has a bonus shotgun included! A must-have, I'll be sure to pick up my copy on Thursday! I just hope the guns don't show up in airport X-ray...

Havoc sounds interesting and it's unlikely I'll see it in Finland. So, it's something I'll check out and buy if it's any good.

Rick Thornquist has praised Caylus so much that I'll check it out for sure. I've actually met William Attia, the designer, once, he was in Helsinki for FinDipCon IV or so. Seemed like a genuinely nice guy. On my "might buy" list.

JKLM Games' products tend to be, from my experience, nice, but not quite polished enough. This year they have plenty of games available, and I'm definitely intrigued by Third World Debt. The theme sounds quite different. However, here I'm not ready to put in a preorder, even if they promise a 10% discount. I want to see the game first.

Kaivai from Pfifficus Spiele is not in the geek, yet, but sounds interesting. Economics, development... Sounds good. I also like the price tag: 34 euros usually, 25 euros in Essen. I'm definitely checking it out.

Wordwild from Bewitched (aka Andrea Meyer) is a speed word game, which sounds really interesting. However, I'm not so sure, as word games tend to suck unless they're in Finnish. However, if Wordwild is fun, making up Finnish cards is not a huge problem and I'm quite happy to pay for the rules if it's neat. So I guess I'll have to check it out, then? It's not too expensive, either.

Phantom Rummy is promoted as a mixture of Mahjong and Rummy, which sounds interesting (not least because Mahjong is a Rummy game...). It's Japanese, and probably pretty unlikely to appear in Finland. Sounds like simplified Mahjong, says Gamewire, so... Well, I must check it out. The web site (linked from the title, as I'm just entering the game in Geek) has rules, which sound a lot like Mahjong. The web site also refers to the game as Pantom Lummy. Anyway, the rules seem promising.

Quite a list! We'll see how it turns out...