Snowdonia, released last year, takes as its setting and theme the endeavours of the Snowdon Mountain Tramroad and Hotels Company Limited (mouthful and a half) in the final years of the nineteenth century to build a railroad from Llanberis to the top of Mount Snowdon. Snowdonia is a worker placement game of, to my mind “middle-weight”play and despite having played a fair few train games this one stands out as something different.
This week in my gaming group there were two copies of Z-Man Terra Mystica and the 8 of us wanted to play it. Well, I wasn’t mad about playing it, but I’m happy to play anything, so I thought “what the heck… let’s play an Euro”.
If you had the privilege of living near Snowdonia, you’d know it is a place that’s beautiful, beguiling, and deeply inspiring. You’d also know it’s a tough environment with mist, cold winters, rain more often than not and its own train line. All the way to the top.
I don’t hate to be wrong, but I really hate to be wrong like this. I broke my own rules, which was stupid in and of itself, and I deserve the outrage that I will be receiving from people who I told were wrong. So, here goes: Reiner Knizia can make an Ameritrashy adventure game. There. I said it. I’m even prepared to say that as highly improbable as it is, the game he made is not only not atrophy your testicles from boredom, it in fact is brilliant fun. I still can’t believe it myself, but it’s true. Star Trek: Expeditions (ST:E) is a really, truly fun, thematic co-op adventure game that not only adheres to its theme, but does so well.
So here we have, Era of Inventions from Quined Games, a game where you can “explore the lives of Alexander Graham Bell, Karl Benz, the Wright Brothers and other pioneers of invention and experience the thrill of the industrial revolution (as stated in the rules)”.
