I've played only the basic game three times and I agree that the game kind of shoehorns you into getting those 2 extra workers asap (thus you need to build both markets and buildings). Maybe I should've tried playing with advanced rules before I got rid of it :)
This is absolutely joining my collection. My girlfriend and I love Castles of Burgundy and want more dice placement games. Thanks for the great runthrough Richard.
Ha! Burgundy may not truly be dice placement, but I feel it scratches the same itch of rolling the dice then figuring out the best use of you roll - that's really what we're looking for more of. Ganges seems like a great fit. Plus I bought Touria and we enjoy that too so the designers are already in favour with us.
I'm not sure what game CoB is, but I did think of it when watching this game, with the dice...mechanism and the personal tile laying . Peace ! love the original CoB
So shocked you liked Touria better than this! Touria is a feather light, bog standard game with a luck-dependent end. Sure it has an interesting gimmick as a central mechanism, but nothing else is remotely unique or interesting. This game, on the other hand, looks very different from any of my other (550) games. It seems fresh and has a bunch of interesting mechanisms.
Rahdo, race games are typically not my favorite type of games, but this one intrigues me a little and I am a fan of the Brand's. I only have a few race euro games (well or pick up and deliver) such as Oracle of Delphi. How does this game compare to that one in regards to play? I know the other one is more pick up and deliver, but you are also racing to fulfill all the goals. Would you say this is the better game?
Thanks for the nice review Richard. I m thinking of buying Castles of Burgundy and while many ppl here comparing it with Ganges, what do you think i should buy, at least as a first buy. Which one do you think as the better game? Thank you.
I think CoB is such an excellent game you soon forget the graphic design. It was the blandest looking game I owned until I bought Carpe Diem. However, they both turned out to be outstanding games and ones I would always play now. If Rajas does compare to CoB and has the loverly art it has I will be getting that as well.
Great review. I wasn't a fan of Touria but I am a sucker for a well implemented economic euro 'race' game and this one looks like it does some interesting and different things with its mechanics. Okay, time to get out the wallet.
Rahdo I feel like this game could be AP prone? Was that the case playing with Jen or you feel that it's not the case? The board looks a bit overwhelming with so many actions all over and so many decisions to make.
Rahdo I was a little skeptical about you not being completely sold on this game. But I still l felt intrigued so I bought it. Boy, I loveeeee it! the flow of this game is just sensational! Turns go so fast...Initially I thought this could be AP prone due to all the actions available. However, the actions are pretty self explanatory and even though there is a lot of tactics involved, you manage to execute worker placement very smoothly. Going back and forth placing workers and getting an immediate resolution happens to be very thrilling and it feels like you can't wait to perform your next move! The races end up being so tense, and in the games I've played so far it has always been close. Only have there been a legitimate escapee in the last round. This hits my top 5 of the year, possibly # 3 (although haven't played Heaven & Ale). Now it makes me kinda want to check Touria again, considering that was a keeper over this for you (being aware that the game mechanics are pretty different).
This seems nothing like Touria. The mechanisms and theme are hugely different from Touria. This looks great, but Touria was a total flop with my family!
Each player can only hold 8 dice. I doubt they undersupplied the game. When YOU run out of dice, you use your workers at the locations that award you dice. Dice aren't your workers. You don't need dice to take your turn. You use workers. If you have dice but no workers, you can't take a turn. It's worker placement, with dice resources. Not dice placement.
Excellent review. Another game I find attractive, but just doesn't seem like there is anything really new to hook me. And I love the name but the theme feels so thin to me... watching 'jon gets games' run thru i just kinda started to get bored.
I've played only the basic game three times and I agree that the game kind of shoehorns you into getting those 2 extra workers asap (thus you need to build both markets and buildings). Maybe I should've tried playing with advanced rules before I got rid of it :)
And the 3rd one arrives for my anticipated Final Thoughts, been looking forward to this one. Thank you, Richard.
This is absolutely joining my collection. My girlfriend and I love Castles of Burgundy and want more dice placement games. Thanks for the great runthrough Richard.
Uhoh, don't mention "dice placement" and Castles of Burgundy in the same sentence to Rahdo... ;) But I agree, both seem to be great games.
Ha! Burgundy may not truly be dice placement, but I feel it scratches the same itch of rolling the dice then figuring out the best use of you roll - that's really what we're looking for more of. Ganges seems like a great fit. Plus I bought Touria and we enjoy that too so the designers are already in favour with us.
I'm not sure what game CoB is, but I did think of it when watching this game, with the dice...mechanism and the personal tile laying . Peace ! love the original CoB
So shocked you liked Touria better than this! Touria is a feather light, bog standard game with a luck-dependent end. Sure it has an interesting gimmick as a central mechanism, but nothing else is remotely unique or interesting.
This game, on the other hand, looks very different from any of my other (550) games. It seems fresh and has a bunch of interesting mechanisms.
Resource conversion and obscured "roll to move"? I guess ancient, overused mechanisms aren't gimmicks.
I never liked Touria either to be honest, didn't like the gimmick of the 4 towers
Rahdo, race games are typically not my favorite type of games, but this one intrigues me a little and I am a fan of the Brand's. I only have a few race euro games (well or pick up and deliver) such as Oracle of Delphi. How does this game compare to that one in regards to play? I know the other one is more pick up and deliver, but you are also racing to fulfill all the goals. Would you say this is the better game?
Thanks for the insight Rahdo! My kind of game!!
Nice review. Personally, I find this a lot better than Touria.
Hey Rahdo, from your runtrough I saw that the worker placement slots are unaffected by player count, is there any scaling for 2 players?
yes actually. the main board is 2 sided, and i was playing on the 2p side :)
Thanks for the nice review Richard. I m thinking of buying Castles of Burgundy and while many ppl here comparing it with Ganges, what do you think i should buy, at least as a first buy. Which one do you think as the better game? Thank you.
Mechanically, CoB is excellent but the art sucks
I think CoB is such an excellent game you soon forget the graphic design. It was the blandest looking game I owned until I bought Carpe Diem. However, they both turned out to be outstanding games and ones I would always play now. If Rajas does compare to CoB and has the loverly art it has I will be getting that as well.
Great review. I wasn't a fan of Touria but I am a sucker for a well implemented economic euro 'race' game and this one looks like it does some interesting and different things with its mechanics. Okay, time to get out the wallet.
For someone that loves CoB and Alien Frontiers, should I get Rajas or Marco Polo?
both comparably good. i'd choose based on which theme you find more attractive...
Rahdo I feel like this game could be AP prone? Was that the case playing with Jen or you feel that it's not the case? The board looks a bit overwhelming with so many actions all over and so many decisions to make.
it's not too bad, as your dice often restrict what you can do to just a few key options...
Rahdo I was a little skeptical about you not being completely sold on this game. But I still l felt intrigued so I bought it. Boy, I loveeeee it! the flow of this game is just sensational! Turns go so fast...Initially I thought this could be AP prone due to all the actions available. However, the actions are pretty self explanatory and even though there is a lot of tactics involved, you manage to execute worker placement very smoothly. Going back and forth placing workers and getting an immediate resolution happens to be very thrilling and it feels like you can't wait to perform your next move! The races end up being so tense, and in the games I've played so far it has always been close. Only have there been a legitimate escapee in the last round. This hits my top 5 of the year, possibly # 3 (although haven't played Heaven & Ale).
Now it makes me kinda want to check Touria again, considering that was a keeper over this for you (being aware that the game mechanics are pretty different).
This seems nothing like Touria. The mechanisms and theme are hugely different from Touria. This looks great, but Touria was a total flop with my family!
If you run out of dice, would a house rule of gaining one dice on your next turn break the game?
i couldn't say, i'm not really an expert on the game. maybe post the question to boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/220877/rajas-ganges/forums/69 :)
Each player can only hold 8 dice. I doubt they undersupplied the game. When YOU run out of dice, you use your workers at the locations that award you dice. Dice aren't your workers. You don't need dice to take your turn. You use workers. If you have dice but no workers, you can't take a turn. It's worker placement, with dice resources. Not dice placement.
Excellent review. Another game I find attractive, but just doesn't seem like there is anything really new to hook me. And I love the name but the theme feels so thin to me... watching 'jon gets games' run thru i just kinda started to get bored.