Continuing to Count Down the Top 10 Games
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a top 10 game. I’m getting close to finishing my list. This is one that might be a bit obscure to non-gamers, but I think it’s a brilliant design and have always enjoyed playing it.
#2 Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery
This game is loosely based on a real-time strategy video game and has the same theme of New World colonization. It even borrows the branding and art from the video game (at least in the edition I own), but otherwise doesn’t play like it at all.
Rather, it is a worker placement game which includes area control on a central board and tableau building in front of each player. If you’re wondering what all those terms mean, well, they describe game mechanics common to board games in the modern style that has taken off this century.
In other words, it counts as a Eurogame, even though it was designed by an American. It has indirect player interaction, no player elimination (though there is a limited warfare option), and multiple paths for scoring victory points. It’s on my list because it’s one of my favorite board games of all time. It has a very competitve worker placement mechanic which creates lots of tension, brinkmanship, and tough strategic choices.
I own a copy of the original edition (there was a reimplementation with a new name that dispensed with the video game branding) and also both expansions. My copy is well worn from many, many plays. It’s also slightly pimped out, with extra cardboard bits and alternate turn order markers based on the country flags. Maybe some day I’ll paint the minifigures.
I played this game a lot in the late 2000s/early 2010s time frame, when I was in some very active gaming groups. Recently I’ve only played it once or twice at conventions. I was intrigued to learn about a sci-fi themed reimplementation, which I would also happily try out.
Here’s a fun session report that gives a feel for the game play: Militant rice merchants of the new world.