by pfctsqr
Since I have only played two games. I cannot write a review. But these are some thoughts.1) I played 2 player and this game was much quicker than I thought. We finished a game, including set up, in just under an hour. That may be why my score was so low. Perhaps I need to invest a little more thinking time. But I was still surprised by how quick the game felt. It certainly never felt like it was dragging at all. I consider that good design.
2) The rules were pretty easy to figure out. There were a couple of spots where I needed to dig for a thread to shed light on a question. But once I figured out the rules, the game is extremely easy to teach. Ive heard some say they have an easier time teaching this than Puerto Rico. I absolutely agree. Goa is much easier to teach than Puerto Rico.
3) Other than shuffling and laying out the tiles, the set up and game play is very "un" fiddly. I guess this is related to #1) above, but the gameplay is very smooth.
4) I really like how the auctions work. The fact that the players determine what tiles are being auctioned is a nice touch and is really the mechanic that distinguishes this game from others I own/play.
5) I understand what others say about the theme being at odds with the actual mechanics. I can see that, too. What does drawing expedition cards have to do with managing a spice trade? But, I wish the rules called "progress" in one of the 5 areas on the tech tree differently. If the rules said that one of the actions available is shipping spices with the reward not being money, but instead being able to increase your prestige in one of the 5 areas provided you shipped the correct combination of spices, I think this interpretation makes more thematic sense. It IS what you are actually doing and that is how I taught it.
I really look forward to more plays. It won't take long to get to 10 plays and I hope I figure out how to break 40 points. I see that there is an "official" solo variant posted in the associated files. I am going to try that and see if I can uncover some of the strategies.
I can tell this game will become one of my top 10.