Recap: Medici and Flash Point First Impressions
Despite that whole having a baby thing cramping my game playing a little bit, I was still able to get a few games to the table in the last two weeks. And, chief among them were first plays of both Medici and Flash Point Fire Rescue.
Medici. I had time for one more game at board game night with my Monday game group. And the suggestion was Medici. Now, I’ve played the iPad app version, but found that I didn’t care for it. I couldn’t understand why the computer opponents were making the decisions they did or how to effectively combat that. As a result, play seemed random.
With the physical game, however, play was much better. It was easier to track what each player was targeting and what they might be willing to pay. So I was better able to run up the price if necessary and the game felt much more strategic. I think in a pure bidding game such as this, being able to read the body language of my opponents was key. Plus, the table talk was a lot more fun.
Still, I’m not a big fan of auction games in general. Especially where the goal is to accumulate money. It seems like an early lead can be easily exploited since you now have more money to spend on goods to score more points. That said, I’d be happy to play another game of Medici. At least, in person.
Image via BGG
Flash Point: Fire Rescue. I got in plays with both my Friday night group, and the Wife. Flash Point has seen a lot of comparisons to Pandemic, and I think it is superficially very similar. You have various roles with special powers, action points with various actions to undertake, and a spreading threat. I think anyone who has helped the CDC eradicate disease could easily slip in to Flash Point.
But it is by no means a clone. In fact, at least on my initial plays, it feels very different. Pandemic feels a little bit like a puzzle. You have some idea of the cities that are likely to be infected because you’ve seen them before. You also know that three cube cities are far more dangerous than cities with fewer cubes so you can focus on them.
By contrast, Flash Point feels very much like a race against time. There is no “curing” the fire. The fire will spread and get worse every round. And, though you can make some progress in combating it, ultimately the dice will overwhelm you. And that’s a big distinction. Flash Point uses dice, rather than cards, to spread the flames. So you have no idea where the next turn’s threat will be. This provides a tense and very thematic experience.
I’m looking forward to more plays of Flash Point and I love the way the game, like any good firefighter movie, can easily swing between “I think we have this under control” to “Oh the fire! It burns!”
Also played: Troyes, Innovation.
