I’m back at BrettSpielWelt, it seems. The new user interface changes have made it more pleasant to use, so I might start visiting the place more often. Today I popped in three times. First time all I played was two rounds of Lost Cities. It was bit quiet and also the server restarted right after our second game, so I didn’t stay longer. The two games were special, as I have now played exactly 100 games of Lost Cities. It’s still fun, but these days I’m probably more interested in playing the four-player version.
At my second and third visit I got what I wanted: San Juan. I even played one three-player game. Other games were two-player games. I even won one game! I like the game a lot. It’s very much like Puerto Rico, but with new challenges. You can’t choose a strategy, because you can’t select your buildings. With all the luck involved (I got my only victory because of a last-turn Hero, which was worth something like nine points to me) it’s lighter than Puerto Rico, but make no mistake: it’s a complex game nonetheless. The way you have to use your building cards to pay your buildings is just nasty and makes managing your card economy quite a tricky business.
It’s fun, partly because it’s so much like Puerto Rico and partly because it’s so different. If you like Puerto Rico, I recommend you try San Juan. Those who play often with five players, worry not — according to Mik Svellov’s San Juan variants, adding a fifth player takes only one more Prospector (more cards can be added, if another set is available, but that’s not mandatory).
2 responses to “More San Juan”
Are the big changes enough to make BSW worth using? I *HATED* the old BSW interface — it actually made me angry, so is it worth me risking my time on the new one?
If you hated the old interface, well, you won’t like the new one. You might hate it less, or even just dislike it, but it ain’t going to win your heart.
That said, I find finding games and players much easier with the new system.