For many, this is where it all started. In the 1990s, a new style of game became known to the wider world. These "German" or "Eurogames" sported a distinct aesthetic: simple rules, deep play. Shying away from the excess of randomness seen in many family games, the endless rules seen in wargames and the colourful but meaningless bits and pieces found in "American" games, European designers headed towards stripped-back and clever games. Some require a lot of thinking, planning and analysis. Some are just good diverting games. Come along and watch a demo or take part as we dedicate a session to these Euro classics.
Some examples:
Carcassonne
In a way, there's only one rule in Carcassonne: draw a tile, place a tile.
Along the way you're building the countryside of southern France. Your tile might feature a city, a road, a cloister or field. It has to be placed to fit in with the tiles that have already been placed. Having placed a tile, you can then decide to place one of his "meeples" (pawns) on the tile, claiming the territory. But only one meeple can occupy each territory and you have a limited supply. Do you claim a growing city, in the hope that the city will spread into a huge metropolis? Do you claim a road, hoping it will soon connect two junctions. Do you claim a field and hope it comes to feed a number of cities?
A simple but surprisingly combative game, Carcassonne has won the 2001 Spiel des Jahres Winner, the 2001 Spiel der Spiele Hit Games with Friends, the 2000 Meeples' Choice Award and many other prizes. More information can be found at: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/822/carcassonne
Tigris & Euphrates
When gamers talk of "brain-burning" games, this is what they talk of.
Regarded by many as the masterpeice of the legendary game designer Reiner Knizia, the game is set in the ancient fertile crescent of the Middle East. Again, the rules are simple: you build and expand cities by placing tiles in four categories: farming, trading, religion, and government. But when civilizations contact and clash, only one can survive. Sound like nothing? Play this and find out how mistaken you are.
T&E won the 1998 Deutscher Spiele Preis and the 1997 Meeples' Choice Award. More information on it can be found at: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42/tigris-euphrates