The Strategic Frontier of ‘Eurogames’
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:17 am
Like chess long ago, Eurogames like Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan abound in complexities to crack
I started playing Settlers about a year ago. I haven't tried Ticket to Ride yet and loved my first game of Puerto Rico.A new form of board game blossomed in the 1990s, combining simple rules and strategic complexity. These “Eurogames” (which are most popular in Germany) put a premium on interacting with other players, long-range planning and managing limited pools of resources. Unlike traditional games like Monopoly, they de-emphasize direct conflict between players; capturing enemy pieces or eliminating opponents are rare occurrences. And they’re ripe for the same kind of deep study that people have given to chess, backgammon and poker.