SunnyD

An innovative game design that challenges the player to both focus on their own strategy and be aware of what other players are doing, in order to take advantage of any loopholes in their strategy.

The learning curve is a bit steep, and it might be a challenge for a brand new board gamer, but perseverance with this game is key, and the more its played the more the players will appreciate it, and see the nuances and subtleties.

The out of the box components are prefectly functional, however enhancing these pieces – either through the official (The Goodies) expansion or ‘home made’ approach – aids the immersion factor massively.

Repeated replay value is achieved by the inclusion of (and continued production of more) multiple card sets for minor improvements and ocupations. These cards reap benefits to the player, but being able to play them at the right time to make the maximum benefit is a challenge that adds an extra factor to the strategy of the game. If played without drafting cards, it takes a lot of plays to work through a set and understand the subtleties of the cards – and probably even longer to see powerful combinations form. Even with drafting there is plenty of scope for different cards to arrive, and players will be able to get plenty of different plays out of the game.

Its a very coherently designed game, and is ultimately popular with the majority of the boardgame community, and so every gamer should attempt to play it, multiple times to appreciate the depth to it.

A highly interactive game, that scales well with many players. It implements a simple, easy to learn, system of hand management and probability (that matching cards will come up), very effectively to create a good game to start or end an evening with. As players are always trying to cut the best deal for themselves, there is usually plenty of banter and laughs flying round the table.

This way my gateway game, and it certainly seems to have started many along the road to serious boardgaming. The modular system allows each play to be a different experience, and many different strategies are available to win, or block other players from winning

A simple and well designed game, that is easy to teach, but has longevity and many varied routes to winning