Purple Parlay—MEAT!

2 Comments

1. Chris Tyler on 04.06.2010 at 14:54

   Twilight Struggle is definitely my favorite meaty game. It’s tense, dramatic, and gripping for the entire 2-4 hours that a game takes. I love the multiple victory paths, and the tension of timing the bad cards in my hand. It is, IMO, a perfect game.

   I’ve recently been exposed to a bunch of Winsome Rail Games: Chicago Express (Wabash Cannonball), Veld Railroads, Pampas Railroads, and Preussische Ostbahn, to name a few. These are very meaty games, and I really love playing them. They are short, and every decision matters. They also tend to be very inforgiving. A bad decision in turn 2 can easily put you so far behind that you’ll never catch up. The games actions and decisions are very well balanced, and I don’t think there is one dominant strategy. I’d like to play these more.

2. Ben Clark on 04.06.2010 at 17:58

   I think defining meaty is the tricky part. For instance, Stone Age is considered to be a heavy Euro, but compared to, say, Conflict of Heroes or Twilight Imperium, I’d say its a walk in the park. Many of the railroad games aren’t rule heavy, but over the course of a 2-3 hour game they feel heavy due to the constant decision making pressure.

   For me, the meaty simulation games are always fascinating. I love playing an elegant, but abstract game system – but my true love is something where the system is a little complicated, but adds some realism. (Look kids! A living dinosaur! Point to the old historical gamer!). I prefer Tide of Iron over Memoir 44, Conflict of Heroes over Tide of Iron and Advanced Squad Leader…well, that one might be going too far.

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