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"Manhattan"
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Manufacturer: Mayfair
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Number of Players: 2 to 4
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Complexity: Low
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Average Time: 30 - 45M
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Synopsis: A game of building skyscrapers in New York City.
This game's mechanics are extremely clever. The game is played in four rounds
and players must choose six pieces they want to use at the start of each round.
Then, at the end of each round, points are awarded based on how many buildings
a player "owns" (a player owns a building by having the topmost piece), how
many neighborhoods a player controls and a bonus for the player with the
tallest building. Difficult decisions are standard fare in this game.
This is also a great game to get your non-game playing friends to try.
This was Germany's 1994 "Game of the Year".
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"Medici"
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Manufacturer: Rio Grande Games (Amigo)
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Number of Players: 2 to 6
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Complexity: Medium
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Average Time: 1 - 1½H
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Synopsis: A game of bidding based on filling a ships holds with
goods. The game is played in 3 "days" (turns). On each day cards are
displayed and bid on by the players. The cards represent specific goods (i.e. Dye, Cloth,
Fur, Spice, and Grain). The bidding only goes around the table once so if you
want a particular set of cards you need to bid high enough to prevent others from
out-bidding you, yet you don't want to overbid. Cards are valued anywhere from 0
to 5 points. After each day (one time through the deck) the player with the most
points advances on the score track the most, followed by the person with the
next amount of point, etc. However, the person with the most of a given commodity
gets bonus points to advance his score. So, it may be worth taking a 0 value card
to get the most of a given commodity and forego highest points on a given day. This
game was an instant hit in our group.
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"Merchant of Venus"
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Manufacturer: Avalon Hill
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Number of Players: 2 to 6
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Complexity: High
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Average Time: 2 - 3H
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Synopsis: Economic game in a science fiction setting. Players
pickup and deliver goods, making money based on supply and demand. This game is
based on some of the "crayon" train games that are so popular. Not a lot
of player interaction, but still a very enjoyable game.
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"Mississippi Queen"
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Manufacturer: Rio Grande Games (Goldsieber)
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Number of Players: 2 to 5
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Complexity: Medium
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Average Time: 30M - 45M
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Synopsis: This is a game of Paddlewheel racing down the
Mississippi river. Players each take a paddle wheeler and take off on a board
whose path is decided at random as the race goes on. The boats have two side
"paddle wheels", one for current speed and the other for coal reserves.
Coal can be used to increase or decrease the speed of a boat by more than one
notch at the beginning of a player's turn. This is often necessary, because the
other part of the game involves picking up passengers waiting at docks along the
river. Since the players don't know the path of the river until the game
progresses, it is often necessary to bring the boat to an abrupt stop in
order to pick up a passenger. Once a player has two passengers it becomes
an all out race to the finish line. The strategy here is very light making
this an ideal "filler" type game.
This was Germany's 1997 "Game of the Year".
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"Mississippi Queen: The Black Rose"
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Manufacturer: Rio Grande Games (Goldsieber)
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Number of Players: 2 to 6
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Complexity: Medium
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Average Time: 30M - 45M
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Synopsis: This expansion to Mississippi Queen adds room for an additional player along
with a pirate ship, the "Black Rose". This ship is controlled by whomever is in last place. Its quite
useful for getting in the way and even ramming the leaders. Several more river tiles included in the game
add sandbars that can cause a paddlewheeler to run aground and coal stations for refilling your coal ship.
If you enjoy Mississippi Queen, you shouldn't pass this up. This makes a good game even better.
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"Modern Art"
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Manufacturer: Mayfair
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Number of Players: 2 to 5
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Complexity: Medium
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Average Time: 30M - 1H
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Synopsis: Economic game of auctioning and collecting art. Players
take turns auctioning off pieces of art from the cards in their hand. The more pieces
of art sold by a particular artist, the more valuable the painting. At the end of a
round, all purchased paintings are sold for their current value. The trick here is that
when you buy a painting you pay the auctioneer, which is another player. The strategy
involves knowing how much to pay for a painting so that you will make money from it without
making anyone else rich. This was nominated for Germany's 1993 "Game of the Year".
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"Money"
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Manufacturer: Rio Grande Games (Goldsieber)
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Number of Players: 3 to 5
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Complexity: Low
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Average Time: 10 - 20M
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Synopsis: A card game of suit collecting, only these suits are designed to look like
money from around the world. A unique bidding system has you using cards from your hand to bid on cards
on the table. Players turn go from high bid to low bid and on your turn you can exchange your bid cards
for the cards displayed in the center of the table or for any other players bid cards that are lower
than yours. While the denominations may be lower, they may also be in the suits that you are collecting.
A clever little card game that makes a decent "filler".
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"Mystery Rummy Case #1: Jack the Ripper"
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Manufacturer: U.S. Games
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Number of Players: 2 to 4
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Complexity: Medium
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Average Time: 10 - 20M
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Synopsis: A rummy style game with a very clever twist. You are a detective on the trail
of Jack the Ripper. You meld evidence against different suspects. While you're doing this watch as more victims
and crime scenes keep appearing. Evidence, suspects, victims, scenes...these are all cards in this colorful
deck of cards that really does an admirable job of setting the scene of the Ripper murders. The theme is very
well done and you may actually learn something from reading the cards. Oddly, though, the game plays best
with 2 or 3 players.
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"Mystery Rummy Case #2: Murders in the Rue Morgue"
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Manufacturer: U.S. Games
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Number of Players: 2 to 4
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Complexity: Medium
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Average Time: 10 - 20M
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Synopsis: Second in a series of rummy style card games from the fertile imagination
of Mike Fitzgerald. This one plays quite a bit differently than "Mystery Rummy Case #1: Jack the Ripper"
though. This game uses the setting of Edgar Allan Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue". It also seems to
work better as a partnership game with 4 players, and although a good game, does not quite live up to
its predecessor. Still, if you enjoy rummy, its certainly worth checking out.
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