Some More Thoughts On Essen

When I last wrote about Essen, I mentioned some of the games that I am eagerly anticipating. So, how about some more?

First, there is the plethora of new Martin Wallace games. But Steam Barons is the biggest headliner of the bunch. Steam Barons is an expansion to Steam, much like Railways of England and Whales is an expansion to Railroad Tycoon. It does seem a bit shady, but since I do not own Railroad Tycoon and I do own Steam, this is the expansion for me. Basically, Steam Barons adds a stock market element to Steam. I am slightly nervous about the way that companies get money. Money paid for shares goes straight to the bank and companies make the money for building track via issuing additional shares or by shipping goods. Still, this extra bit of abstraction between the player, shares, and the company may be annoying.

Anyhow, I am stuck between picking this up at Essen or pre-ordering it from an online store. What am I worried about? Well...given the recent legal situation, and given the similarity between this game and Railways of England and Whales, I guess I wonder if something bad will happen that would stop this from entering the US. If I think that I can manage it, I would really rather pick this up at Essen.

I'll talk about one more game before rambling about another topic. There are two games coming out from Japon Brand that I am intrigued about. The first is Alice In Wonderland: Parade, and the second is Chronicle. Both appear to be small card games and both appear to be in Japanese, which makes it incredibly difficult to figure out how to play them. That said, Japon brand has released some very good games in the past and if the price is right, they will travel home with me in February.

And that last bit of news? I got a press badge! Now I can get into the show an hour before it opens to the general public! No fears Splotter, I am coming for you!