Kremlin

I played my first game of Kremlin last night, and I loved it. It's a hilarious game, even if someone isn't in to the whole metagaming thing. It's a little complicated, but all of those complications just add to the overall game, rather than distract. It definitely made me feel like a sneaky member of the Soviet communist party. The rules basically put you in a place to think "in character." Don't let that young upstart get into the Chairman position, or they'll be there for a while. If guys get too old, don't expect them to last much longer. It's a brilliant game, and this is now on the top of my "Stronghold reprint" wishlist.

Two years ago I was in the room hosting the Kremlin tournament at World Boardgaming Championships and the guys playing (generally older than the overall crowd) were having a great time, making noise and laughing. Three games were running in the same room simultaneously. I made a note to grab a copy if I see one.

S.

Dude, I've been trying to sell a copy here with the rare expansion for years!

Pricey, but worth it...great game, great theme.

Isn't the game that Avery and Tom Vasel are working on supposed to be heavily inspired by Kremlin? Granted, it's probably changed a lot since the original idea. Any info you can give, Steve?

I know a lot of people that play it a lot and enjoy it. I played it for the first time a couple years ago and see the appeal. The theme may be a bit dated, but the game play is there. And it isn't that complicated.

Barnes, what are you looking for $$ on the game plus expansion ?

Michael Barnes wrote: Dude, I've been trying to sell a copy here with the rare expansion for years!

Pricey, but worth it...great game, great theme.

I live in Avalon Hill's back yard. I stumble across this stuff at estate sales.

S.

I got a reasonably priced copy of this (unpunched) a couple years ago. We played it once in my group and it was pretty much a flop. Part of that I'd attribute to the fact that I didn't have the rules nailed down with enough certainty, and part of it was that no one really had any strategy. In hindsight, all the players did the opposite of the suggestions in the rules--i.e., they rushed to reveal all their influence on a politician at once early on instead of slow-playing it.

There just must be a good game in there, but I don't have high hopes for seeing it played (at least in my usual group) again.

Sample, let me look around and see what the market value is right now...I'll cut you a deal (F:ATtie discount) but I don't want to lose too much value on it since it's in great shape and has the expansion. Sit tight.

I have an unplayed copy of this. It looks like great fun but even though the rules are fairly simple it's screamingly obvious that the game is highly procedural and requires absolute and rigid adherence to the structure in order to work. That's going to be zero issue once you've actually played the game a couple of times, but it puts me off trying to teach it to anyone.

it's screamingly obvious that the game is highly procedural and requires absolute and rigid adherence to the structure in order to work.

That's overstating things a bit. You need a person to "run" the game and keep it moving and it works fine. It's an evil game, my favorite kind. Expansion is for collectors more than for players.

robartin wrote: That's overstating things a bit. You need a person to "run" the game and keep it moving and it works fine. It's an evil game, my favorite kind. Expansion is for collectors more than for players.

Yes, this, totally. The trouble is that I don't feel up to the task of being that person, getting it wrong and potentially screwing up the game for everyone (and thereby ensuring it never gets played again). I'd like someone else to teach it to me first.

They have the Internet in Siberia?

MattDP wrote: The trouble is that I don't feel up to the task of being that person, getting it wrong and potentially screwing up the game for everyone

When in doubt, PURGE.

This game is still in print in German and costs less than €20.

I've been looking out for a second-hand copy of it here in NZ for a while, but it is RARE here. I'd be over the moon if someone like Stronghold decided to reprint it.

Our game group is nicknamed the KGB so this would be kind of a flagship game for us.