On the Radar: Troyes (again)
Posted by James (admin) on September 13th, 2010
I posted about the forthcoming Troyes a week or so ago. I’ve now read the rules and it looks excellent. Players each roll dice (based on how many meeple they have in the council buildings) and these create a dice pool. Players then take turns using the dice to activate different parts of the city to gain resources and money. Players can use their own dice for free but have to pay other players to use their dice. This sounds like a fresh addition to worker placement and I’m very keen to play it. So much so, I’ve pre-ordered it.
Unfortunately for me, Troyes combines together two game design ideas that I’ve been playing with in my own prototypes. But, hey ho, that’s the way it often goes and I’m really looking forwards to playing Troyes.
Link to pre-order page and rules: http://users.skynet.be/fb514094/News_eng.html
James.
September 14th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Troyes sounds intriguing. What would you say your favorite worker placement game is (so far)?
September 14th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Wow! Great question Owen. Hmm. It’s a tricky one to decide. I think I’d say Stone Age is my favourite but it’s a close call. You’re always struggling to work out where you should place next (which I think is a good sign on any worker placement game) plus I really like the different way to earn points.
Close second are Egizia, Colonia and Caylus Magna Carta. Also, I thought Power Struggle was great too but have only played that once. I’m sure as soon as I post this I’ll think of other games I should mention but I’ll go with those as my gut instinct.
How about you? What’re yours?
September 15th, 2010 at 2:25 am
Agricola is my big favorite. I like Pillars of the Earth, but I’ve only ever played it as a two-player game (with my wife), so I’m not sure I’ve experienced it the way it was meant to be played. Of the ones you list, Stone Age is the only one I’ve tried, and then only for a few turns as a demo at a convention. I’m with you; it’s a game of exquisite choices, exactly what makes a game like that both fun and excrutiating. I’ve also played Notre Dame once, which I liked.
Looking at your list, I’m kind of surprised at the number of worker placement games available; until recently it was a new phenomenon to me. I’m going to have to put these on my (ever-growing) list of games to try.
September 15th, 2010 at 2:26 am
…and I mean “excrutiating” in a good way. 😉
September 15th, 2010 at 2:27 am
Check that … I mean “excruciating.” (No wonder it didn’t look right.)
September 16th, 2010 at 10:31 am
I played Pillars of the Earth once with 4 players and enjoyed it a lot. You remind me that I must get round to playing Notre Dame – I don’t own it but I see others playing it at games nights at the local shop I go to.
It’s amazing how many worker placement games there are. There still seems to be lots of new game mechanics that can be added to it. (In fact, one of my prototypes is a worker placement game, with a new element, of course.)