Gathering of Friends 2003 - Board Games Review

A children's game with something of a vicious edge. Players each control a boat and a captain. By placing your boat between islands, you allow your captain (and all of the others) to move between those islands. Each player must visit all of the islands, but one of your opponents gets to choose the order. I played twice, and it's not a bad game at all, but there are other 30-minute games I'd rather play. It probably goes up in value if you regularly play games with children. Capt'n Clever rates 2.5 out of 5.

A light card game, played many times by many people at the Gathering. Players collect columns of colors, but only score for three varieties of colors -- so the challenge is to gather enough of what you want without collecting too many different colors. A good game to play with non-gamers. Coloretto rates 3 out of 5.

This is a slimmed-down version of the board game Basari. Players collect jewels, trying to get the majority in one or more colors before each scoring round ends. There's an element of Rock-Paper-Scissors in that everyone chooses an action and simultaneously reveals their choices. Options include gathering jewels, collecting cash, using an action card, and trading some jewels with the bank. Edel, Stein & Reich, designed by Reinhard Staupe, rates 3 out of 5.

Have you ever played Rack-o? I haven't, but that's the game that Europa Tour is most often compared to. Players start with 10 randomly selected cards, representing European countries, boats and airplanes. Your goal is to sort them in your card holder, and replace them as necessary, so that you start in a country, end in a country and have a legal path from one to the other. This is the first in a series of games, all designed by Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum. The next entries are <b>10 Days in Africa</b> and <b>10 Days in the U.S.A.</b>. Europa Tour rates 3.5 out of 5.

There are four businesses in this game: a fish market, an oil refinery, a game factory, and a nuclear power facility. You want to build the shortest road possible from these businesses to your outlets. This is a solid game, but it's also a definite brain burner that requires several plays to get the hang of it. The toughest part is visualizing where roads must go to ensure full access. If you understand that, you'll be in great shape. I definitely want to play this one, designed by Friedemann Friese, more often. Fresh Fish rates 3.5 out of 5.

This card game, designed by Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum, challenges players to eat no more than the king. Eating the same amount is ideal, but risky. A series of cards (each represents a kind of food) are laid out on the table, and each player chooses some for himself. The leftover cards go to form the king's meal -- although dragon cards can be used to wipe out an entire course on a moment's notice. Good, light fun. King's Breakfast rates 3 out of 5.

At least in part because it's a big-box game published by Alea (others in the series include Puerto Rico and The Princes of Florence), Mammoth Hunters met with some lukewarm reviews. It's not a deep strategy game. It is, however, a fun hose-your-buddy "take that" style of game. The most clever part of this game, designed by Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum, is that in order to get money for yourself you must give one of your opponents a useful action card. Mammoth Hunters rates 4 out of 5.

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