| Tigris and Euphrates Wins Survivor Island | |
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The About Board Games Survivor Island competition has finished, and the winner is Tigris and Euphrates (compare prices), a game in which four kingdoms attempt to develop commerce, religion, political might and food.
The final round was extremely close, as Settlers of Catan (compare prices) wound up losing by just two votes out of the nearly 100 cast.
Tigris and Euphrates was designed by Reiner Knizia. In a review of the game, Doug Adams said it "is a joy to behold, offers 90 minutes of engrossing play for two to four players, and gives a close result every time. It's been playtested to perfection."
So many gamers enjoy Tigris and Euphrates that it sits atop The Internet Top 100 Games List maintained by Aaron Fuegi, just ahead of... Settlers of Catan.
The Survivor Island competition began with five American games being tossed into the ocean -- Scruples (compare prices), which makes some sense because I suppose few people would want to deal with moral questions when you're stuck on an island for who knows how long, Life (compare prices), which was a sentimental favorite of some voters, but not enough, Zobmondo (compare prices), Monopoly (compare prices), and Pictionary (compare prices).
Clue (compare prices) was next, followed by Button Men from Cheapass Games, Backgammon (compare prices), Don Green's abstract masterpiece Octi (compare prices), and the race game Formula De (compare prices).
Risk (compare prices) was the final classic American game to make the cut, but it was also removed from the island, leaving a set of five Designer Games (aka German-Style Games) to battle it out: Lost Cities (compare prices), Torres (compare prices), Tikal (compare prices), Settlers of Catan, and Tigris and Euphrates.
In the end, Tigris and Euphrates won by receiving 48 votes -- two less than Settlers of Catan's 50 votes.
But the truth of the matter is that the residents of the island would be well-served with either game.
