Glass Road | Rahdo's Final Thoughts

[@Orzmott]

Loved the component drop! :)

[@kennyb3325]

I have a couple of friends who are really into Uwe's games, so I remember enjoying the evolution of his resource exchange components as we played through Ora et Labora and Glass Road a few years back. Having played Agricola, the wheel in Ora et Labora clicked as adding a new resource to each of the spots each turn (it isn't quite that simple, but that is how I interpreted it). Then when I learned Glass Road I recognized the resource wheel, although Uwe did something very different with it.

[@ahzzz-realm]

Just got this and really enjoy it with all players. When playing solo on the second turn onward, after selecting my specialists, I roll a d4 and a d3 and select one building and remove it from the game. Surprising how often it takes your strategy away.

[@atlanteantapir]

I love the in-joke made about the component drop... too funny! I wanted to ask then, if I were to buy one uwe Rosenberg game, would this be the one? I do like big complex games, I've been thinking about Fields of Arle, but I don't have a single game by Uwe yet.

[@RuNacken]

Came here after a podcast of The Thoughtful Gamer. It looks amazing! The wheel and character-selection seem so smart!

[@Haxxin10]

Wow, cool ingenious little factory/resource manage tool. Great job on this review and Caverna.

[@JJ_TheGreat]

Just received my copy of this game - my 1st Uwe Rosenberg game and the one of his which I am most excited about (I pre-ordered it months ago and it just came in)! I definitely prefer older Rosenberg games - his resource conversion era games - better than his most recent games (probably because I am not a big fan of polyomino games - I would much rather just play Tetris [the video game]). Now I have to hunt down Merkator - as that is the Rosenberg game which I am most interested in AFTER Glass Road. I like the concept of how you can follow someone on their travels. That game has got to be one of the most under-rated games ever (in the history of gaming). It definitely flew under the radar.

[@AlexCoulombeDesign]

great review! bought this on a whim and wanted to find a review to validate my purchase. Thanks :D

[@Crankbait4444]

Glass discs for with stickers on them would be more cool.... right Jen?

[@DBKirkup]

In case you're in the Toronto area, 401 games has this in stock!

[@1981dardar]

Richard, which designer do you prefer ? Uwe Rosenberg or stefan feld ??

[@rahdo]

feld #1!!! :)

[@1981dardar]

***** in my opinion, both are great designer. However Feld's game tend to be more abstract and the rules can be quite confusing and not intuitive enough for new gamers. uwe's game mechanic is more intuitive and easy to pick up. Yet have a strategic depth to it. i will definitely intro uwe instead of feld's games for muggles. (unless they are totally against farming. Coz most uwe games are about farming and harvesting)

[@rahdo]

cindy tang i tend to think they do have grounded themes - when you watch my runthroughs of them, i describe them in thematic terms :) i think the big mistake is that the people who write manuals for Feld games COMPLETELY ignore theme, and describe the game only in mechanical terms, and as a result, the person learning the rules gets the impression there's no theme, and they in turn teach the game without a thematic grounding, and then you run into the problem you're describing. All the fault of the manual writers, IMO! :) but i generally wouldn't use either feld or rosenberg games for muggles, too many good gateway games out there, and neither of those guys have made many :)

[@1981dardar]

yup, you are absolutely , rite. 90% due to the manual writer's fault. You have try to infuse the runthrough with themes , but not everyone teaching the game can do it. Thanks for replying !

[@JJ_TheGreat]

Hey Richard, I am surprised that you don't have a runthrough up of Oranienburger Kanal (another tight Uwe game with the resource wheel mechanism). Is it because they just didn't reach out to you? I would have like to see it, to see whether it is a game for me. Thanks.

[@rahdo]

oh i wish, but as i understand it, they have no physical prototypes, only digital versions, and my audience had made clear in the past they do NOT want to see digital boardgame runthroughs. so i'm having to wait for the final edition!

[@JJ_TheGreat]

@@rahdo Ah, OK. I gotcha. That explains it.

[@MaryVivit]

LOL on component drop! ;) Thanks for a great review!

[@mosjef]

Seems like there’s a degree of “take that” to this game, when it comes to selecting a card for your hand that you think your opponent will likely use, in order to block them from taking both actions on the card and taking one yourself instead. Surprised that went over so well in Casa de Rahdo! I suppose it can always be framed as a tactic primarily taken to “help yourself” more than to “hurt the other”. Is that why it was more palatable for you guys Rahdo?

[@rahdo]

indeed. we're generally tolerate of screwage when it's primary function is to build something for ourselves ourselves, with side 'collateral damage' to opponents. that's why hate drafting in a game like 7 wonders is okay, or out bidding each other in an auction game.

[@mosjef]

rahdo Gotcha. Its interesting though, that while card drafting or auction games usually will offer some alternative for players who are denied something, that this game (or at least the two-player version shown here) allows players to potentially deny their opponents up to two entire card plays with no compensation. It struck me as pretty significant and something that could leave a player chasing the rest of the way. Maybe I’m missing something, or maybe that occurs rarely enough to not be a concern? Either way I look forward to trying it when my copy arrives in the mail. Thx for the reply! :)

[@rbruba]

If you liked this game, you're in luck. From the Rulebook... "'Glass Road' is intended to be the first game in a series of games using Production wheels."

[@barbaramazzocca4605]

Is there a solo?

[@rahdo]

yup, it's "beat your previous high score" thing

[@smolderssteven]

oke its official my wife is gonne kill me.... I ordered this game as well DAMN YOU Richard :D Why do you always have to be so excited about a game :p

[@Braz__]

100% Acknoledgement! The game is great.

[@bookaddict777]

Well, rats. I just ordered Caverna the other day (for myself for Christmas). Maybe I can get this one for my birthday. Hmmm. . .

[@Josh-hz8vz]

“Caverna.. is a crazily expensive game” it’s still on the expensive end, but it’s funny and maybe a little sad that most hobby gamers would consider Caverna’s price pretty normal these days.

[@andyandersen7898]

Very nice

[@Bobaflott]

This game is more expensive than Caverna at my FLGS

[@alejandrovelasquez4637]

lol...look at me tom moment! rotf

[@alicemoore2036]

All that you need is a gavel!

[@markoreilly4433]

Wow, looks a corker!

[@justinrrizzo]

Hated Agricola, too stressful and too short. Got bored with FoA after half a game, and it's too short. Does this game "suffer" from the "fixed number of turns" situation as Agricola and FoA?

[@rahdo]

they game has a fixed number of rounds, yes. though i'm not sure why that's a problem.

[@justinrrizzo]

rahdo It's more of a preference for us. That's why I put suffer in quotes. It's not a problem per se, so much as it is in for us. I like end game triggers in my WP (VP threshold, goal completion, item depletion). I don't like being told, you have exactly 36 turns, now math out the best way to spend those. I like rocking and rolling, building my engine, all the while paying mind to how fast the end game is approaching. It allows for a more interesting game to me. It also allows new players to feel smart, whereas everyone feels stupid the first time they play a super tight Euro like this. The only exceptions I have are La Granja and Lorenzo. They are tight, but also fast, and so much i like. I can't seem to get myself to sell them. But I wish they were longer and/or had an end game trigger instead of fixed rounds.

[@JoeyjojoShabadoo7]

Hated Agricola? Maybe try Caverna...much less stress, more options, more engine building goodness