Gilda’s Gaming Adventure continues…

This game has nothing to do with the Havana of Che, Fidel, or the Buena Vista Social Club.  “The revolution in Cuba is over. Now, many magnificent buildings are being built in the capital city Havana to make it gleam in renewed splendor,” explains the game.  And that’s the story.

In the game, players collect building material, workers and pesos in an effort to produce the most valuable collection of buildings.  At the outset of the game, each player receives an identical set of 13 (cool-looking) action cards, which they can only play two at a time to get the resources (material, workers, and pesos) they need to acquire buildings.

Each card, however, has a different value.  More powerful cards have higher values.  Whoever starts out with the least valuable cards gets to go first and thus has the first shot at the buildings.

After each round, more money and material are put out, and a new round begins with each player replacing one of the two cards, discarding the other, and then the turn order is determined again.

I like this game, Havana.  It is really pretty.  The game pieces have a nice look and feel. Even the box has a great look and feel.  The game designer’s name is on the box (Credit where credit is due. I’m for that).

The game has simple rules, but it isn’t boring.  It is engaging and involves strategic thinking.  You need to figure out what the other players are going to do.

These all work for my non-gamer, easily distracted self.

It turns out that all of these things that I like are decided and deliberate characteristics of what is known in the world of board games (and the world in general) as German games.

Read More…