011

I will preface this review with a quick explanation of my typical gaming group. My friends get together every Tuesday. We do different activities based upon the season. For instance, during the summer time, this Tuesday group usually plays volleyball and swims. In the winter and often the evenings, we play games. My point is this, my group has several people that are not traditional gamers. They want something fun, relatively light, and relatively quick to learn.

011 was a hit with my group of non-traditional gamer friends. It has a strong Clue type feel to it, while also causing many players remembering evenings playing Scotland Yard. Therefore, it has a classic feel to it almost immediately. After the first few rounds, all players are comfortable enough with the rules as the basic mechanics are repeated every round.

The game really is a work of art, and it does exactly what it ventures to do. It will transport the players to an alternate Steam Punk time filled with mystery. For my group, it is a difficult investment, but one that pays off in the end. Allow me to tell you the worst three things and the best three things about it.

Here were the three biggest complaints about 011:

1.)Learn-ability. My social gamers like to sit down and get right into a game. If rule explanation takes more than 15 minutes, I’ve lost most of them. Initially, the rules seem daunting. There is a whole lot going on, and the board reflects that as do the several components to the game.

2.)Playtime. With my group, guests may arrive and leave throughout the night. Depending on the players with whom you play, a single game can easily take over an hour. For my group, that simply is too much time. However, I would be amazed if there was a better way to locate the “Inscrutable Organ of Eternity”, figure out who is the “Chosen One”, and play the sacred “Song of Making” with less time.

3.)Relearn-ability. Fortunately, the game really provides an amazing experience for the group. Unfortunately, you’re likely to have to relearn the entire game if you go several months without playing. This happened to my group as they remembered how “worth” the time-investment was in learning the game and wanted to pull 011 off the shelf again. We all thought we would remember how to play the game instantly. No. You’ll have to relearn the game without regular plays.

Here are the three biggest compliments about 011:

1.) Learn-ability. But wait! Didn’t you just say that this was a complaint of the game? Yes, it does take a bit to learn… at first. My advice is to simply have players play a round or two. Because the mechanics repeat every round, any player should know the rules confidently by round 3. My advice is to explain very little at first, and then simply take players through each step of a round. It is much easier to digest, and the flavor lasts.

2.) Visual Appeal. The quality of this game is off the charts. The cards feel thick and durable, and the board is a masterpiece. The gears work well and look awesome. Even the plastic minis add to the experience of playing a “quality” game. When players simply see this game, they want to play it.

3.) Gameplay. This is the most important aspect to any game. 011 has this in spades. The gear mechanic works so well, and really adds to the decisions a player can make. Using time as a currency is brilliant. If you like any deduction games, 011 is your game. If you like hidden betrayer games, you’ll enjoy 011. I thoroughly feel that after playing 011, I can’t go back to Scotland Yard, Clue, Kill Doctor Lucky, Nuns on the Run, or any game that even shares a little of 011‘s appeal. This is saying a lot, because 011 shares the appeal of so many classic games.

Overall, this is game is absolutely beautiful for what it is. It has a bunch of interesting mechanics that meld together wonderfully. I recommend putting the time investment into learning it and the time investment into playing it. Once you do, 011 will be requested by players anytime they have the deductive itch.