Gameblog

Tag: Wolfgang Kramer

  • Celtica

    Review of Celtica in Finnish Celtica, a game by well-known designer duo Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling was published recently in Finland. I was curious to try the game; for background, I had read the less-than-favourable comments from the Geek, combined with Bruno Faidutti’s recommendation. The game certainly looks delicious, from the beautiful box cover…

  • Celtica

    I got a review copy of Celtica, the much-dismissed game from Kramer and Kiesling. I don’t get the really bad ratings; the game has an average of 5.2 now, I’d expect something above 6 (like the 6.4 for That’s Life! — I think the games are on pretty equal level). We played with Johanna, and…

  • Hacienda

    Another review up: Hacienda. Hacienda is a solo work from Wolfgang Kramer, published by Hans im Glück. That’s quite a combo: one of the esteemed professional designers and one of the most appreciated publishers known for quality games. This definitely sets up the expectations. While Hacienda isn’t a particularly great game, it’s good. What Kramer…

  • Australia

    Finnish review of Australia. Australia is a potential victim for too high expectations. After all, Kramer and Kiesling are responsible for the mask trilogy (Tikal, Java, Mexica) and Australia seems to fit with that group. However, that’s not the case. Australia is clearly a lighter game (even lighter than Mexica), aimed at the family market.…

  • That’s Life!, Verflixxt! or Sellaista sattuu

    Here’s a review of Sellaista sattuu, the Finnish edition of Verflixxt! / That’s Life!. That’s Life! is a roll and move game from Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling, better known from their more serious line of action point games (Tikal, Java and Mexica). However, That’s Life! is a pure family game; no more, no less.…

  • Gulo Gulo

    I tried Gulo Gulo with Johanna recently. It’s a children’s game from Wolfgang Kramer and collaborators. The idea is simple: players advance on a path, trying to reach the end. What makes Gulo Gulo stand out is the method of movement. Players move by picking small wooden eggs from a bowl! If you want to…

  • My favourite designers

    Larry Levy had a column in Boardgame News called Rating the designers. He wrote about two different approaches to rating the designers, Knizia approach (counting a sum-based score from ratings given to designer’s games) and Seyfarth approach (counting an average). First approach favours someone like Knizia, who has a wide repertoire of games with varying…

  • Board game club session: Attribute, Australia

    We had a rather pleasant board game club session yesterday. Since Johanna was away on a cruise with her friends, I played until midnight with the last enthusiasts. It was fun, though a bit too late perhaps to be done on regular basis. This session report will be in pieces, because there were so many…

  • Verflixxt, Amazing Labyrinth

    I came across two new games I haven’t heard about yet. Verflixxt is a new game from Kramer and Kiesling, but far from their earlier work together. The board of this roll and move game is made of cards with number values from -10 to +10. The last piece to leave each card (each player…

  • Maharaja and St. Petersburg

    I got Maharaja and St. Petersburg yesterday. As anybody who’s followed Spielfrieks recently can tell, Maharaja rules have caused lots of discussion (Goa has been another hot topic, but since I don’t care about it, I just skip those). It’s a pity if a good game has bad rules. I’ve only leafed through the rules…