shadoglare

Although Troyes does have a board that is used extensively during the game, I would have to say this could be described as primarily a dice game.
Each player gets a bunch of dice, and then what that players does with those dice determines how he or she fares in the game.

But it’s just the sheer number of things that you can do with those dice that make this game so interesting.
Players start by placing a few meeples (or pawns) on three different buildings shown on the board. Based on the number of pawns you have in each building at the start of your turn, you are given that number of colored dice that are specific to that building; for example, red dice to indicate military units, white dice to indicate religious units, and yellow dice to represent civil units.

Also at the start of your turn you are given an income, which can go up or down based on various factors in the game.

In general, the goal of the game is to gain the most victory points by the end of the game. There are a huge number of ways to go about this, and figuring out the best way to do this is of course the heart of the overall strategy.
When your turn comes around, all of the dice you were given are rolled, and then those dice can be “spent” on various actions depending on how high they rolled. For example, the red (military) dice can be used to ward off an attacker to the city. The white (religious) dice can be used to build part of a chapel, or the yellow (civil) dice can be used to set up a merchant, just as examples; each of these choices has pros and cons as far as the effects on your income and influence, and it’s up to you to figure out how best to reach your goal.
Don’t have the right dice? Well, buy them off of another player, if you have the cash – whether they like it or not.

“My Goal? You mean getting the most victory points?” you may ask. Well, yes, but that’s not all – for you see, each player is assigned a “character” that also has his own specific goals – such as having more money than anyone else at the end of the game, or the most military victories, etc – and each game you have to figure out the best way to do that – so it’s different every game.

Sound complicated? Well, it is. It took me a couple of games before I even really understood the basics, and now that I’ve played a number of times I still have not figured out any good strategies – every time I play I totally get my butt kicked, usually by a wide margin.
But the thing is, even with this complexity (it’s often referred to as a “gamer’s game,” which I’m usually not a big fan of, the game keeps calling me back. It’s both complex and fun, which in my experience can be hard to do in a game.

Oh, and a quick bit of trivia: the name Troyes is French, so it’s not pronounced “Troy-ez” which is how us Americans really want to say it. It’s pronounced “Trrwah” or something like that.

This commercial knockoff of “Crazy Eights” is a bit hard for me to grade. It’s a *very* simplistic game that requires very little thought or strategy – but there are times when little thought or strategy is just what I’m looking for when I need a few minutes of mindless gaming or something I can easily teach to young kids.

It’s interesting but for me doesn’t really seem to do much other than give a couple of extra ways to score points. Based on the name I was hoping there we be an aspect of actual, you know, *trading* added to the game. Honestly I usually find the base game more fun.

It’s kinda interesting, but at the same time kinda boring. Not one I tend to pull out unless I’m looking for something colorful with simple rules. I do own the old one from 30ish years ago, and I hear the components in the new version are great, not sure if there were any rules changes that would spice it up a bit more.

It’s freakin’ Go Fish with a larger number of players. Although I would admit others at the table seemed to be having a good time, I really just did not enjoy this mindless yell-fest of a game.

Lots of fun. The way battle is done (dice) can be frustratingly random but that’s probably a decent trade-off for having battle rules that are easy to follow without having to consult a spreadsheet every time you make a move. There are still a lot of rules but the game does a good job of slowly easing you in them through introductory scenarios.

One of the best games I’ve played. Can be a bit long (7-12 hours usually) which may be good or bad depending on the players.
Realistically needs at least 4-5 people playing. Although there are venues to play online, I’ve found there are a lot of A&A freaks out there who just go flippin’ nuts if you make a “wrong move” that isn’t listed in their strategy guides.

Seems like it might be fun with a group – but I tried playing it with 2 (which it says it can do) and it was pointless & broken.

Hive is one of those games that is genius in it’s simplicity of design. Get a few hex blocks. Make up a few pieces that, similarly to chess, have easy to remember but unique movement rules. Set a goal of capturing the queen.
Similarly to chess it falls into the “easy to learn, tough to master” category, and serious kudos to the designer for this one.

A great family-friendly game that’s still fun for adults, that has some really nice components, especially for the price. Still not sure how much I like co-op games, but I think the lack of competitiveness is why my fiancee digs this game, and anything that I can actually get her to play instantly scores points.

Nice little game that has enough strategy to keep it interesting without getting overly complicated, though the task of choosing a different role each turn can cause analysis paralysis. The girlfriend actually likes this one and asked to play 3 times in a row recently – bonus!!

A fun, light game that’s game that’s easy to learn and, although the battles are all die-driven, there is still an element of strategy.

Great game – fairly simple rules and enough strategy to keep it interesting.