Games Played: Space Beans, Bucket King, Bean Trader
Gamers: Mark, Mike, Chip, Lewis
Thanks to Mike for hosting and impressing us with his home theatre system.
SPACE BEANS (0:43)
Mark: 36
Chip: 28
Lewis: 20
Mike: 19
Last time we played this game, we passed cards in the wrong direction, which made for a much less interesting game. There was some initial confusion about the direction of cards and turn order, but we eventually got into the swing of things.
I like this little game. Turns move quickly, so there's little downtime. There isn't very much in terms of player interaction, but that's fine.
BUCKET KING (0:53)
Mike: 8 - 20 - 22
Chip: 12 - 15 - 19
Mark: 9 - 9 - 9
Lewis: 0 - 2 - 9
Continuing with another card game, we broke out the bloody buckets. We played with the "equal value to switch directions" variant. I took an early lead and went through the second round with a big target on my back. I tagged Mike as the leader for the last round. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to hold onto enough buckets to re-take the lead. Mark wins the "I forgot to draw a card AGAIN!" award.
This is a fun game that I enjoy a lot. It's one of the few games that I can get my family to play, so I prefer to play more esoteric games at SOG sessions. Having said that, it's still a lot of fun, and I'd play it again with anyone.
BEAN TRADER (1:04 + 0:30 rules and setup)
Chip: 194
Mike: 193
Mark: 157
Lewis: 108
Returning to the bean theme, we decided to play Bean Trader. I tried this game at GenCon and I've wanted to play it again for a while. I stumbled through a rules explanation (learning a few rules that weren't properly explained to me before), and we began play.
I'm beginning to think that this is primarily a game of luck, influenced slightly by planning and even less by negotiating skill. During my first turn, I was fortunate enough to cash in on two orders, which put me squarely in the lead.
Due to the close scores, the last few actions of the game were very important. Mike had the last turn of the game, during which he cashed in two orders in the same city for about 70 thalers. He then invited me to the city (where I had a order that I could fulfill at the end of the game) in exchange for a low value bean. Mike traded in two of his travel cards (and 10 thaler) for two more order cards, hoping to draw something he could fulfill. If had resisted the temptation for one last order, he would have won.
There are a number of exception rules that leave a bad taste in my mouth. For example, if there are no beans of a particular type available on the board (or in the player's cart), then players can purchase that bean at any city that could produce it (for the highest cost). The pre-determined order of the travel cards doesn't seem to add much to the game. Shuffling the seven cards at the start of the game would work just as well, and you wouldn't have to repeat "Ignore the prominent numbers on those cards, they don't mean anything." Also, order cards act as travel cards in your hand, except that they don't return to your hand after you play them, and, unlike other travel cards, you can play from anywhere in your hand, but only if you're fulfilling an order.
I also don't think that fullfilling orders is always profitable. For example, trading a white (12) and a red bean (14) will give you 44 thaler. If you need to use your toll card to travel to the city, you're spending 46 thaler worth of bean for a loss of 2 thaler! If get the invitation discount, you could make 3 thaler on the deal, but you'll still have to make it worthwhile to the player extending the invitation.
We didn't take advantage of the fact that if you buy beans from a smaller stack that is lower on the beanometer, you can raise the prices of beans. In other words, you don't have to purchase beans from the most-recently placed stack. Most of the time, if there was a bean surplus in the city, the first player there would corner the market.
After my second playing, despite doing much better, I've come away from the game much less impressed. It's a game that must be played at least twice to be understood, and I think it loses its appeal over time. I'd still be willing to play it again.
posted by FlyingSheep @ 10:12 AM
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