Lords of Waterdeep

4 out of 5 rating for Lords of Waterdeep

Okay, the theme is paper-thin on this one, but the game itself is very solid. But if it wasn't for the superficial theme, I'd probably never given it a try, so it serves its purpose... The only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars, is that it gets a bit stale after ... quite a lot of plays, actually. The expansion is very much recommended if this gets played a lot.

5 out of 5 rating for Lords of Waterdeep

I would have personally preferred Baldur's Gate, over waterdeep for the setting of this game, but being in the realms was good enough.

Quick and easy gameplay combine with just enough tactical complexity to hold the attention of this fantastic game that bridges the casual "normie" and more intense "nerdy" crowds pretty well. A daunting rules-set is quickly and easily explained by veteran players, and this game can be shared with children, older parents, and even strangers. Chasing cubes and watching people complain when you take what they want add a visceral feel to this game, and watching your token race around the board makes that sense of accomplishment visible to all the players.

Anecdotally, I have demoed this game for a lot of people to an overwhelmingly positive response. Shallow gamers praise it for being deeper than monopoly, and deeper players love that black cubes are rogues, and build imaginary adventuring parties waiting for their turn. The expansions slot in pretty good, and corruption feels like it should have been a core component from the beginning.

I put it on my shelf at home, I keep it on my shelf at the shop, I spend my time to play it with people that have not, and with my friends on my personal time. If there is a better endorsement of a game, I haven't heard it.