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Last night we got out Cleopatra and the Society of Architects, the last of my pre-Christmas games buying splurge. It was in fact a freebie from Days of Wonder when I bought Ticket to Ride: Europe and TtT: the Card Game.
There was a lot of setting up to do. This is a game that's unafraid of bits. We got started and at heart it's a pretty simple game. Take cards or spend cards and build parts of the temple. I liked the vaguely San Marco style spreading out of the cards after you've chosen, leaving tempting stacks of corrupt cards for others to worry about.
We trundled along, not in the one hour play time on the box of course, feeding our pyramids with the corruption tokens. I was screwed for mosaics and only managed one 5-point sanctuary. The other two grabbed 12 and 10 points of sanctuaries, the bastards.
And suddenly we ran out of palace pieces and it was over. Unsurprisingly I was eaten by the sacred crocodile and scored nothing with all my hard earned talents. I hope my architect's family were well cared for.
Final scores were: Myles 77 talents and 10 corruption amulets, Sammywol 70 talents and 3 corruption amulets and Alai 54 talents and 0 corruption amulets (the lily-white chap actually had sanctuary spaces unused). A good win for Sammywol.
This game had the feel of a French design, with lots of chrome and funny bits. I'm not sure it's good enough to warrant the set-up time (and breakdown time is long too), but it was interesting enough in play. I could see the market mechanic for distributing cards used gainfully in another game.
There was a lot of setting up to do. This is a game that's unafraid of bits. We got started and at heart it's a pretty simple game. Take cards or spend cards and build parts of the temple. I liked the vaguely San Marco style spreading out of the cards after you've chosen, leaving tempting stacks of corrupt cards for others to worry about.
We trundled along, not in the one hour play time on the box of course, feeding our pyramids with the corruption tokens. I was screwed for mosaics and only managed one 5-point sanctuary. The other two grabbed 12 and 10 points of sanctuaries, the bastards.
And suddenly we ran out of palace pieces and it was over. Unsurprisingly I was eaten by the sacred crocodile and scored nothing with all my hard earned talents. I hope my architect's family were well cared for.
Final scores were: Myles 77 talents and 10 corruption amulets, Sammywol 70 talents and 3 corruption amulets and Alai 54 talents and 0 corruption amulets (the lily-white chap actually had sanctuary spaces unused). A good win for Sammywol.
This game had the feel of a French design, with lots of chrome and funny bits. I'm not sure it's good enough to warrant the set-up time (and breakdown time is long too), but it was interesting enough in play. I could see the market mechanic for distributing cards used gainfully in another game.
(no subject)
I'm not sure Franco-Italian games have so much "chrome" as "funky stuff we added just for the larurf" (in terms of both "bits" and mechanics). To extend our earlier shameless national stereotyping... But the card-arranging rule seemed quite elegant: rather like incrementalised San Marco, as you say.
(no subject)
You're right on the Franco-Italian stereotyping. It's not so much chrome as a pile of disparate mechanics that seem to characterise some of the Franco-Italian designs. Cleopatra does have stacks of chrome too, but that's more Days of Wonder showing off.