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After another long sabbatical (I swear I’m working on trying to post here more often, though it may not seem like it) I’m back with another installment of “Boarded Up!” That’s a thing, right?  I mean, I feel like it’s a thing, but if it’s not, then It should be.

Anyways, as you may or may not know I don’t often find that I have time for video games as I did before, and if I’m being completely honest I find that I don’t have as much of a passion for games of the video persuasion as much as I enjoy a much more tactile experience.  So it lends to reason that board/card games have taken a much more prevalent role in my entertainment experiences.  In the past I’ve shared a few games that I’ve discovered and enjoyed, and so I figured I would continue that and share a couple of games with you today – an old classic, and a newer-ish gem.

Acquire

Acquire is the type of game you don’t think you’re going to like, because it just seems so boring and bland: the game is about acquiring and selling shares in hotel chains, the board is a simple grid, and unless you get an older edition I’m afraid the components are rather cheap and bland.  It’s not a thematic game so much as it’s an abstract with a thin veneer of a theme pasted on for good measure.  My first experience with this game was watching some of my friends play it at a game night.  I didn’t really understand how it could be fun, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, so a few nights later I decided to cave in and give it a shot.

I’m just going to say that there’s usually a reason why a game has been around for a long, long time like Acquire has been (it was first published in 1962).  It’s a solid game that’s easy to teach/learn, plays quick, and has enough randomness to give new players a chance of winning, but rewards veterans for sound strategy.  Simply put, it’s at least worth checking out even if you have your doubts.

Taking on the role of a hotel financer/mogul the object of the game is quite simple: have the most money by the end of the game.  You make money by acquiring shares in hotel chains that are on the board, and then by selling them when they are merged into a larger hotel chain (there are bonuses for having the most and second most shares when the merger occurs).

The game starts with the board grid completely bare.  Each player randomly draws a tile and places it on the piece on its marked spot on the board.  These represent single hotels with no identity – think of them as the mom and pop bed and breakfast joints soon to be swallowed by a soulless corporate behemoth with only profits on their mind.  You can only purchase shares in a chain when a chain is present on the board.  Chains are formed by players placing tiles next to existing pieces.  When a single piece becomes a chain of two, the player who placed that piece can now assign an identity to it, collect a free stock in that for establishing the chain, and then choose to perhaps buy up to three more stocks.

The tiles is where the randomness comes in, and I’ll admit a bad draw can hamper your game and limit your options, but no more so than a bad draw in a game of Carcassonne would.  The turn phase is simple – place a tile (from the six you have), buy up to three stock, and draw a new tile at random. 

The cost of stock is determined by the size of the chain, with smaller chains costing less than larger ones.  It may behoove you to not expand an existing chain until you’ve bought enough stock, or perhaps you may want to expand the chain beyond the means of other players being able to afford the stock.  If you place a tile that connects two chains a merger occurs.  The smaller chain is absorbed into the larger one (stock can no longer be purchased for that chain) and first and second place majority stock holder bonuses are awarded.  Players then have the option of selling their stock off at the rate indicated by its size, or they can keep it (which may be advantageous if the player knows they can get the chain back on the board by placing a tile that would create a new chain – the old chain is available for placement still).  A chain becomes “safe” (meaning it cannot be merged) once it reaches a size of 11 tiles or higher.  The game ends when a chain either reaches a size of 41 or no legal moves are possible.

Once the end game has been reached, all remaining bonuses are awarded and all stock is sold.  Count up your money and see who won.

What I like most about this game is that it’s accessible.  You’re limited in your actions so the game goes pretty quickly (less than an hour) regardless of the player count.  The limited options also limits the amount of AP (analysis paralysis) that players can experience.  After my first game (which I lost – badly) I immediately wanted to play again.  The random draw of the tiles can potentially ruin a game for you, but since the games are so quick it doesn’t really matter so much.  Highly recommended.

Cyclades

Describing Cyclades in terms of classification is a bit difficult due to the variety of mechanics.  You take the role of one of Ancient Greece’s famous city states as they vie for control of the Cyclades island chain.  To win the game is simple: gain control of two metropolises on the island chain by any means necessary.  Seems like a straight forward concept and at its core, it really is.  The fun and challenge of the game comes in the different ways you can come into possession of these cities.

In order to do pretty much anything in this game, you must curry favor from one of the gods by lavishing them with offerings of gold.  Should you gain that god’s favor, you are able to take the action or actions associated with that god.  Ares gives you troops and the means to move them, Poseidon gives you ships and the ability to move those, Zeus gives you priests which make future bids cheaper, Athena gives you philosophers don’t do anything by themselves (more on these guys in a minute, and then there is Apollo who doesn’t require any kind of offering, but doesn’t give you much of anything either (think of him as the pass when you can’t afford much else).  Since only one player can incur favor with any given god (aside from Apollo who will take everyone), players bid against each other.  If I want to move my ships I have to win Poseidon, so I bid 8 gold to win his favor.  Nick also wants to win his favor so he ups the ante to 11 gold.  The rub here is that I cannot immediately bid on Poseidon again – I have to bid on another god (this keeps the game going so it doesn’t devolve into a raising bid situation like poker.  However, if someone outbids me again on a different god – say for example, Zeus – I can then bid again on Poseidon.

This bidding mechanic makes the game extraordinarily fun as you try to get what you want while also attempting to block other players from getting what they want.  I may not need to get more troops this round, but I have to keep Nick from getting it so he doesn’t have the means to attack my territories I know he’s been eyeing.

There are three ways to gain control of a metropolis.  In addition to basic functions of the gods, each also allows you to build a building on islands you control for additional gold (forts, ports, universities, and temples).  These buildings give the island they are on certain bonuses.  Build all four and you can trade them in for a metropolis.  Another means is to collect four philosophers, which do nothing by themselves but in groups of four can also grant you a metropolis.  The last way you can get a metropolis is by force – by taking over the island of another player with a metropolis on it.  The thing about these buildings is that they are permanent and can be taken away. 

The last thing worth mentioning is the creature deck.  At any given time players can pay for the use of a mythical creature (availability is random).  These creatures give certain advantages and can be purchased by any of the players regardless of whose god’s favor they have curried.  It adds a wildcard element that gives the game some extra spice.

I can’t recommend this game enough – it’s a blast, the components are top notch (each player has different models for their troops and boats), and it plays in about a half hour for each player, so the runtime isn’t bad.  The game also scales amazingly since the board is modular and is sized to ensure that all players are close in proximity – no turtling in this game.

And this game also has two expansions!  I plan on picking up the Titans expansion as soon as I can and will post about that as well in the future. Why?  Because I love this game and expansions are awesome.

If you made it this far, I’m impressed!  Hope you enjoyed reading my ramblings on a couple of board games here.  I’m always checking out new games so I’ll be sure to post about them here again in the future.  In the meantime let me know if I’ve convinced you to check either of these games out via the comments section below!