Ah, Neuland! The land of strange, yet soothing line art and wide open spaces ready to be filled with pointy little buildings, free for all to use! How have I longed to wander through your fields, moving resources around!

So, I met Olli H. for some games, and got him to play Neuland. He had played once before, yet still wasn’t scared. How bizarre! Two-player Neuland was slightly different experience, perhaps a bit more gentle game. Very good, of course. I also played well; it was definitely my best game so far. I won, but that’s not a huge achievement in Neuland against someone clearly less experienced.

Neuland is one of the more difficult games I own. It’s definitely a no-no for non-gamers, unless you want to burn someone off more advanced board games for life. Many serious gamers will also find Neuland offensive; either it’s the art (which I think looks neat, but I agree it’s not very functional all the time) or the heavy calculations. Even if you like the concept, you need to be able to take some serious beatings for first few games unless you’re exceptionally gifted. But hey, what’s that when compared to the very excellent game experience you get!

Since seems to be a guy who appreciates repeat plays of new games, I brought Attika which we played the last time we met. Now it was time for two more rounds. Attika is still great fun, and definitely a keeper in my collection.