A case study is the initial
thoughts the Board Game Ripper has on a particular board game after only a few
plays. This is just my initial impressions and are subject to change after I
feel I have played enough sessions of the game to give it a proper review.
It is no secret among my gaming
group that I am a Stefan Feld fan and I have enjoyed every game of his that I
have played with only one single exception. I find that his games tend to be
perfect engines built to a smoothness that you will not find in most other
games. I don't mind the victory point salad model as it makes his games true
skill test as you try to achieve the most victory points possible with every
turn. I also find that his game designs tend to lead toward multiple paths to
victories and I rarely play the same game with the same strategy twice. Now I
have heard from the whispers of gamers that Castles of Burgundy is the best
Stefan Feld game available and nearly every pod cast raves about how good the game
is. With such recommendation from a designer I love, I had to purchase this
game. Unfortunately the game got lost upon my vast over flowing book case of
new games. It sat in that lonely pile for six months until a few days ago I happen to glance upon it. It was time to
break it out and Castles of Burgundy became the new game for the week.
Now I will say that I do not
think this is the best game from Stefan Feld although I do think it is one of
his best games to date. I am ashamed that it took me this long to get Castles
of Burgundy to the table and the first play through with my wife was an amazing
experience. Now my wife loves all of the Stefan Feld games that I have in my
collection as much as me so I knew that she would probably love this game as well.
Our first game lasted three days as we usually play games on my lunch breaks at
night since she has to work in the mornings. We usually keep the game set up on
the dinning table and play for a good forty minutes every night. This game wan
an instant hint and my wife loved in after the very first round. This is a
great game and it will find a very comfortable home in my collection next to
the other Feld games.
