An incredible game review article

[Crothian]

I'm not sure how things always work but since hits on a website and having people sign up to leave comments is usually a good thing this article might become a positive item for them.

 

[Korgoth]

That review had certain flaws.

 

[rogueattorney]

I think this is important. Ticket to Ride, D&D, and other geek games have a certain dimension to them that the rulebook can't get across.

For instance, Ticket to Ride could easily look like a dull game. It doesn't click until you really understand how everything works together. You have to see how the economy of cards, scoring, competition for limited routes, planning routes for optimal scoring, and the timing of the end game all combine. The rules don't really do that.

I don't know... Ticket to Ride is one of the very few games I can get my whole family to play. I introduced it to my parents, and they introduced it to their bridge playing friends. And everyone loved it. It really only take 10 minutes to learn at tops and only lasts 45 minutes to an hour. The nuances of the game really come out within only 3 or 4 games.

It's really just a combination of Gin and Monopoly (collect matched sets of cards to acquire spaces on the board) whose concepts should be familiar to pretty much anyone who has done a minimal amount of board or card gaming in their lifetime. And by being "timed" with the number of cars available, it does a fine job of avoiding the Monopoly "death spiral."

As a game geek guy married to a geeky game hostile woman, I'm pretty sensitive to the gap between the casual and hobby poles of the table top gaming world. Ticket to Ride bridges that gap better than any other game I've ever seen. That review runs so far contrary to my experience with the game, that I have to wonder whether they spent any time at all playing the game.

 

[Asmor]

For instance, Ticket to Ride could easily look like a dull game.

Well, to be fair, Ticket to Ride is a dull game.

I'm just kidding.

A little.

Ok, not kidding at all... Really don't like TtR, too simple, too little interaction, and too little strategy. Carcasonne's my gateway game of choice.

 

[rogueattorney]

Ok, not kidding at all... Really don't like TtR, too simple, too little interaction, and too little strategy. Carcasonne's my gateway game of choice.

And if this is what they wrote in their review, I could have completely understood where they were coming from. The reviewers, on the other hand, said the game was too complicated.

I think Clue, Monopoly, and Sorry are great games, by the way. I'm not one who normally thinks indie games = good, and mainstream games = bad.

 

[Asmor]

And if this is what they wrote in their review, I could have completely understood where they were coming from. The reviewers, on the other hand, said the game was too complicated.

I absolutely agree.

I think Clue, Monopoly, and Sorry are great games, by the way.

But now I just want you to know that your opinions are wrong and you're a bad person for having them.

Just kidding. For real this time. Couldn't resist...

 

[Psion]

Funny, I don't consider Ticket to Ride a "geek game." It's the sort of game I play with "mundanes". (shrug)

 

[Wayside]

The internet is an amazing place. I bet those "reviewers" (I use the term advisedly) in Fort Worth never expected the geek community to come down on them after writing a simple boardgame review, but that's what's happening.

Sometimes, you really shouldn't allow yourself to publish on the 'net. You'll be safer. Really.

So you think it's the reviewers who come off looking bad? Interesting.

 

[MerricB]

So you think it's the reviewers who come off looking bad? Interesting.

Honestly: both sides.

Cheers!

 

[BryonD]

So you think it's the reviewers who come off looking bad? Interesting.

I think the reviewers look fine and the outrage looks absurd.
The reviewers just expressed their opinions from a non-gamer perspective.

If they had tried to push that position here, or boardgamegeek or something, then they would get the response the location prompted. But, in the location they actually posted, they are speaking to the average reader MUCH more than they are to "us geeks". And those average readers see a bunch of nerd-raging losers crawling up from their parents basements to stomp their feet and rend their hair. And the average readers immediately conclude that gamers are losers and most "gamer" games are built by losers for losers. Thus the gamer reputation is once again affirmed and non-gamers just become that much more convinced there is no reason to even consider exploring our hobby.

I love kicking up a fuss here. It is fun. But time and place people.