Dos de Mayo

Anyone tried it? I'm totally intrigued; the design looks fantastic and it clocks in at around 20 minutes.

Same here, a two player waro game that plays in 20 minutes? My only concern is that its a bit pricey, at $35 or so. I'm hoping the dominion 20 minute crowd buys it, hates it because it requires you interact, and trade piles it.

Otherwise it looks like a perfect "waiting for the other wargamers to show up" game. Like a less abstract Hill 218 with cooler components.

hancock.tom wrote:

I'm hoping the dominion 20 minute crowd buys it, hates it because it requires you interact, and trade piles it.

I hear that.

I tried to get a friend of mine who just went to Spain to pick it up for me but he couldn't find it. Instead he brought me back a pile of authentic Blue Division recruitment posters and pro-Franco flyers.

Now you guys got me wanting to check it out. I had a copy of this in my hands during Atlanta Gamefest at Bob Solow's table but didn't give it too much thought...sounded too abstract.

And maybe it is, but I didn't know it was tied into its theme so strongly.

Ken B. wrote:

Now you guys got me wanting to check it out. I had a copy of this in my hands during Atlanta Gamefest at Bob Solow's table but didn't give it too much thought...sounded too abstract.

And maybe it is, but I didn't know it was tied into its theme so strongly.

Esthetically it reminds me of the Simmons Napoleon Games, but there's a very down and dirty feel about it which seems to be very much what the battle was like. There are 10 turns and each turn represents 30 minutes. It also has an asymmetrical balance (is that oxymoronic) to it as well, which papa likes.

This is on my newly slimmed down wishlist fer sure!

Michael Barnes wrote:

I tried to get a friend of mine who just went to Spain to pick it up for me but he couldn't find it. Instead he brought me back a pile of authentic Blue Division recruitment posters and pro-Franco flyers.

Barnes--By "authentic" do you mean "orignal, not reproduction"? If so, I'm envious. What's the date on those posters and flyers and where'd he find them? I was all over Spain in september looking for *real* items in that vein and all I could find was a single full-size Phalangist "The blood of the volunteers [Condor Legion prominently displayed] will not be forgotten, whitewashed, or obliterated!" Phalangist poster from 1936-37...it was an original and it cost me ~400 euros.

The thought of "authentic" and "pile" used in the same sentence...well...wow

C'mon guys, you are drooling over a game with wooden blocks! For crying out loud!

It is a beautiful game, but very tough to win for the insurrectionists. Played it a few times now.
My feeling is, but I'd love to see that disproved, that the draw of the cards heavily influences the outcome. If the Spanish draw reinforcements late in the game when their start up locations are already run over by the French, or if the French get hold of Murat early and move into the city wholesale early in the game, the Spanish are in a very difficult position, and the former case is quite frustrating as well.

theme is nicely done in the map and the cards

Jur wrote:

C'mon guys, you are drooling over a game with wooden blocks! For crying out loud!

I will convince myself it is a block wargame if I have to- a 20 minute waro with theme is a significantly rare occurence.

don't say it!
I know it's at the tip of your tongue, but don't!

I have it and really enjoy it. The rule book is not great; there are some rules issues with how some cards interact that are not covered. This has been mostly resolved with a FAQ at TOS.
There do seem to be pretty wild swings of fortune in the game the first few times through. With some experience these can be managed quite well. The decks of cards are quite small and your opponent's possible actions are fairly easy to remember but it does depend on experience with the game. Similar to CDGs but on a smaller scale.

C'mon guys, you are drooling over a game with wooden blocks! For crying out loud!

But where's the provost piece? Can I turn in two blue cubes to get one pink cube? Ack, this game sucks! :-P


ddsmith wrote:

There do seem to be pretty wild swings of fortune in the game the first few times through. With some experience these can be managed quite well.

I'm lovin' it more and more!

Did someone call this a CDG like game? in 20 minutes? All this game needs is a nice rack and I'll divorce my wife.

Edit:

Vasel reviews it- doesn't say much one way or the other but it is a good look at the components.