CDNowak

My expectations for TtR were lowered by the explanation of the concept (ie Rummy w/ trains) and the fact that it was a Days of Wonder game (infamous locally for their combination of poorly written, yet simple rules sets).

By the time I finally played this, however, the game was able to shine for what it is: a gateway game for Rummy fans. The simplistic route development was made interesting by the push-your-luck element of the tickets and the search for the proper cards to claim a given route.

While I certainly won’t be recommending this as a train game, I will be recommending it as a light introduction to hobby gaming.

Cities and Knights takes the light game of Settlers into the mid-light range. This expansion introduces a semi-cooperative element that can be manipulated into vicious attacks on your opponents, a light city building element that sub-divides the general race for points, and more player interaction through the new progress cards.

In every way this is an improvement on an already superb game.

While Seafarers takes a little longer to play than basic Settlers, it offers a more varied, slightly better balanced experience.

While I recommend Cities & Knights as a first expansion, Seafarers really deserves table time in its own right (not to mention that they completely cross-compatible!).

Not quite sure why I dislike this game so much. I suppose the simplicity of play followed by a complex scoring system that just leaves me feeling drained from playing.

The base game, with 2 players presents a moderate difficulty game that is not overwhelmed by the size of the deck. However, this breaks down as players and expansions are added (don’t try to teach someone to play with a full version).