Showerthought: That random guy at the game store was right about Eurogames

A few years back, I was at a local meetup in Seattle and this older dude kept pushing me to try Agricola. I was all about Ameritrash stuff like Risk and Zombicide, thought Eurogames were boring math exercises. He said 'you just haven't found the right one for your style, give it three plays before you judge.' I shrugged it off but last month I finally caved and borrowed a copy. After my second play I started seeing what he meant, the resource balancing is like a puzzle that changes every time. Two weeks later I bought my own copy and now I'm hooked on other worker placement games too. Has anyone else had a stranger's random advice totally flip your gaming taste around?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_eva17d ago

That older dude sounds like he knew his stuff... I had a similar thing happen with a guy at a board game cafe who insisted I try Pax Pamir after I told him I hated complicated war games. He said 'just trust me' and sat me down for a learning game. I was lost for the first hour but by the end I completely got it, the shifting alliances and betrayal mechanics were nothing like what I expected. Now I'm always the one trying to get people to play heavy historical games.

christopher_flores4617d ago

Read an article not long ago about how Pax Pamir was designed to capture the chaos of 19th century Afghanistan politics, with all the shifting loyalties and backstabbing. The writer argued that it's not really a war game at its core, more of a negotiation game dressed in military clothes. That matches what you're saying about being lost at first but then getting hooked by the betrayal mechanics. It's funny how some of the best games are the ones that don't fit neatly into the box you expect them to be in.