30 Games in 30 Days – Day 28

“Which current flavor of the week is most likely to still be hitting the table this time next year?”

Sorry this one is so late and relatively short.  I have been helping my friend Dave get a new hardwood floor down, and went straight to our rum-based dinner party from there.  (I know, you’re so sympathetic.) 

By the very nature of “flavor of the week,” don’t we think we’ve found the next great thing?  So predicting which of the current round of popular games will show the most staying power is difficult. 

The game with staying power

Current contenders would be Vinhos, Olympos, Troyes, Navegador, and today’s winner.  World Without End is the second game to be created from Ken Follet’s books about the fictional town of Kingsbridge.  Pillars of the Earth has gotten a ton of plays in our group, and when this one came out, I decided to see if lightning had struck twice.

One of the best elements of this game, and I think will keep it coming out time and again is the event mechanic.  Each turn, the current first player reads a game-wide event, and then decides in what orientation to play the event card on the board.  The orientation gives everyone a “payment.” In addition, the player can work for a bonus based on moving a bonus piece (which is also dependent on the orientation of the event card).  Since the “engine” of the game involves gathering end-of-year taxes, and resources are tight, these payments and bonuses are a critical element to strategy.  There are only 12 actions over the course of the whole game, so finding multipliers and bonuses are absolutely necessary. This game is another in the realm of relatively short (1-1.5 hours with experienced players), but very difficult in the range of choices on a player’s turn.  A great combination for keeping this one in the rotation.