scottishmark

This is a great fun game, really enjoyed playing it, but found it better playing with a group of 6 people rather than smaller groups.

Having tried reading the rules before playing (and getting confused) it was a superb game that is much easier to learn to play by “doing” rather than reading about it….

Just grab a bunch of friends, make sure one of them knows how to play and give it a go! If you don’t have a big enough bunch of friends then head along to your local games club – someone there is certain to have a copy and want to have a game.

I was recommended this game and decided to give it a try with the family to see if I could move them on from the long drawn out arguments resulting from a game of Monopoly….

I am not going to give a detailed overview of how the game is played since there are many of these on here already. Instead I will give a summary of the main things I like about the game.

The Results:
It was a really easy game to play with all the family (wife and daughters aged 10 & 12). Everyone got to understand the rules quickly and could see how we could support each other in deciding where to place the tiles. The children enjoyed seeing some victory points being earned early on in the game from the robbers. The game is quite short (less than an hour) so it avoids dragging on like some other games can. The games vary every time since there is a randomness in the order that tiles are drawn, therefore making the game board change each time.

Having played it with family, I found it great to play with friends as well, which provides for a more strategic game as people are trying to plan further ahead to ensure victory at the end of the game.

The Expansions:
Having played the game and enjoyed it, the expansions have started finding their way into the house. Initially the “King & Scout” and “River II” because these were cheap little add-ons for the children to get. All the expansions add more variety to the game and my local game store (Avon Toys in Leamington Spa) has them all in stock most of the time. More expansions will certainly be bought in the future.

The Future
Definitely will buy more expansions, and will play it with more friends, who really like the idea of the game. Going to meet up in a couple of weeks at our local games club to have a proper go with better gamers, but certain that this will be as much fun.

Summary
A “must have” game for any collection – great to play with gamers, friends or family and pick some of your favourite expansions to add more variety (they are priced £4.99-14.99 in the UK and probably a lot less in the US!!) and are certainly worth the money. If you are really into it, watch out for the box set which comes with the game and loads of the expansions as well!