My Essen 2012 roundup

So, how do I look back at Spiel this year? In that maelstrom of eurogames, is there enough for an Ameritrash convert to satisfy your soul?

I must say that after day 1 is was pretty disappointed, even wondering whether it was worth all the hassle. The mistake was probably that we’d been too indiscriminate in what we played.

My goodness what a waste of time Castles was! And City of Horror is so far removed from the essence of zombie games you wonder why they made it about zombies at all. World Conquerors, Eaten by Zombies and Aztlan are decent games, no beef there, but they don’t get me excited. Even Moongha Invaders left me short of reawakening.

Compare that to our games on day 2: King of Tokyo, Elder Sign, the surprise hits Dominare and BloodBound made the day, even if Infinite City and Legends of Andor weren’t too inspired. Camp Roskilde and Gauntlet of Fools are unpretentious fun and seem to work.

And ending the trip with Metro 2033 and King of Tokyo was great too.

I spent more time this year walking around and talking about new games. Pax Porfiriana looks very promising, Clash of Cultures has a good buzz, while the stunning beauty of Kemet is hard to resist. I´m Vlad, Prince of Wallachia might actually be a great game, or it could be too complex. 1984: Animal Farm might be a buy if the price goes down. Divided Republic might be a great game, but I couldn’t try. Democracy: Majority Rules looks very interesting

So the show proved its worth again and I’m glad it did. Metro and Dominare are probably the most pleasant surprises for me.

There’s a few games I’d like to have seen but weren’t at the show or that I didn’t try hard enough to find. Maybe I shouldn’t have let my decision on Smash Up be influenced so much by others and try for myself. But I can’t imagine I missed much, despite it being the Suckerpunch of cardgames.

My bunch of loot is limited and contains only a few untried games. They are multiplayer, mostly fairly short and simple. King of Tokyo, Gauntlet of Fools and Camp Roskilde have already proved themselves and will hit the table easily in the coming time. Slavika is in the same category, but a bit more serious in appearance.

The expansion for Lupin III was a no-brainer, but I will have to make a concerted effort to get it on the table. Kolejka will also require some effort, but I think I can find a wide audience for this one. I’ve already enjoyed the article on the queue as the ‘Socialist approach to the shop’ in the elaborate rulebook and the photo collage artwork is very effective.

Signum Mortis was my leap in the dark game for this year. I only own a half finished game now, a box with dice and a board. Counters and rules will follow early next year. It is a pretty heavy wargame, but I guess the historical feel is what attracted me most. It might prove unplayable. What the heck, I want to bang in some senator´s heads and take their property!

There´s a few things remaining on my wishlist, like Kemet and Dixit 3. But these will come to local stores in time, so no loss. Nevertheless, after the failure to play all of my Essen 2011 buys before Essen 2012, a bit of restraint was called for. And I have high hopes for the Essen 2012 project. Also because if I don’t make it, I can only play Pokemon TCG at Essen 2013 and I will have to promote it.

If you can’t get enough detail here, have a look at my three post of game by game detail on games on my list or not on my list that I played and the games I only had a look at. Or have a look at the day1, day 2 and Metro 2033 first impressions.