Show Manager - How to Play 🎲 and Why It's a Gem 💎

[@eric.paquet]

Hi Darryl - I found your channel some days ago and it has become one of my favorite among the whole boardgame community. It's so refreshing to see reviews and tutorials for old games that I've played or seen on the market some 20-25 years ago when I started in the hobby. There's a nostalgia factor that makes your channel really standout. I like your tone, your pace, your attention to details, how you compare different versions of a game, etc. I have this version of Show Manager (I previously owned Atlantic Star) sitting on my shelves for almost 10 years. Time to dust it off and get it to the table. I agree with the 4-6 players recommendation. Thank you for your videos and cheers from Quebec! :)

[@BoardGems]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@GeneWarren]

Good luck on your new venture

[@davidstephens931]

Great review thanks!. I bought the old Queen version of ShowManager off ebay and owned it for about 15 years before finally getting it to the table recently. For some reason I thought it was going to be much more complex than it is and so it never left the shelf. Almost sold it a couple of time but glad I didn't. What a great game. And for as light as it is on the complexity scale it can be very vexing and frustrating when the cards don't come your way or the player before you clears the board and wipes the actor you needed and could easily afford.

[@BoardGems]

Agreed! I feel like there isn't a lot of room given in the hobby for "light, but unforgiving" games. I get it. A light ruleset means you can play it with non- or casual-gamers, but then they can get frustrated. But for me and my gamer friends and family, it's great! A light ruleset just means we can jump right in and don't have to re-learn everything time we play.

[@Naledgeizpwr]

Another good thing about Dirk Henn is that a number of his games play up to 6. I enjoy Show Manager quite a bit, but if I had 6 people and wanted a family weight game that had a little more meat than something like Ave Caesar. I would probably pick Speculation. Show Manager just plays a little slow for me at 6, and inevitably 1 or 2 people forget about the hand limit. Still a very good design though.

[@BoardGems]

Yes, the hand limit is so easy to forget, I find I'm constantly reminding people about it throughout the game. I have Speculation, and it's been suggested for the channel! I want to play it with and without dice, to compare.

[@MDEFLO]

Dirk Henn is one of the few designer that design games for more than 4 players (usually 6). I really appreciate that.

[@amayajiblot-tanneau2843]

Thank's a lot, it could be a great pick. I was just looking hard for thinky 6 players games (around 60-90 mn max, family + as they say today ^^) and it's hard to get away from 7 Wonders and Citadels in my case. I'll look closer for Lifeboat (but more party style) and this one but have you any other suggestions (except Medici) ?

[@BoardGems]

I know well the search for good thinky 6p games. Show Manager and Medici are indeed two of the better ones. One I hope to cover soon-ish is Mission Red Planet, the second edition of which can play 6p. Shades of Citadels in that. Paris Connection is a good one too, and a lot of racing games like Downforce may qualify. If you're looking at Lifeboats, consider Chinatown -- officially only 5p but can play 6 easily with a variant found on BGG. Good luck with the hunt!

[@amayajiblot-tanneau2843]

@@BoardGems Thank's, I'll look closer for these ones, some I never heard about! ^^ Otherwise I ordered Atlantic Star for 12 bucks just because of the nicest illustrations...