....and the results

If you read my previous post, you probably thought that it would be a night full of games. It was. But that doesn't mean that we played everything. Instead, I got a game of Tyros and Lokomotive Werks in. Lokomotive Werks was played with 4 players and took 2.5 hours. Again with the 2.5 hour playing time for a game that is reported to fit into the 60 minute time slot. I disbelieve!

We started off the night with Tyros. Mike played for the first time and this was Misa's second play and my third. Man, its a good game. Quick and with the right amount of area control and that quintessential mix of action selection that ruins some Martin Wallace games and elevates others to classic status. The mix is perfect in this one. I ended up winning by riding the smaller of the 4 empires to victory. Due to their smaller size, I was able to cement control of the cities for most of the game and was also able to exploit the rule that a player has to have absolute ship control of a spot to build a city. Placing ships in numerous locations and using turn order to spoil plans, I stopped both Mike and Misa from building at some key points in the game. I look forward to playing this again soon.

I could write much more about Lokomotive Werks, but right now, I just wish I understood the game. I also wish I could see how it fits into 45 minutes. I want to like it, and I think that I do, but I also know that if I play it a few more times and still cannot grasp the intricacies, I may decide that 2 hours is simply too much time to continue to devote to the game.

But before you think too critically about that previous statement, I want to play Loko Werks again, and I want to understand how to beat it. I fully plan, at this point, to bring it out again next week.