Alright, time for more Boardgame-evening news on what my players thought about the games I brought.
1. A touch of evil: Very nice components, everything has this laminated feel to it. The game itself is a real alternative to Arkham Horror, even though it has more of a Sleepy Hollow feel to it...but it doesnīt take 5 hourse to play. The versus-variant that we played was a bit rough, weīll try the cooperative version next time. All in all: Very nice game. Not available in german though but thatīs not your concern of course
2. Runewars: Played a two-player game a few weeks ago. We were both really stunned how well the mechanics work. Great game with great components and a LOT of stuff going on without overwhelming since you only have one order per turn anyway. Very good. Again, not in german but who cares.
3. Dust: Slight dissapointment about the short length of our game, it was over in 4 turns. Definetely a good game but not with two players. I guess four will make this what I think it is: The way Risk shouldīve been. No text on the components so itīs multilingual.
4: Crunch: Now this was a suprise. We fucking loved it. I canīt remember the last time there was so much laughter at the table. The theme is spot-on, the game mechanics are very cool and if you play the full game, you get to hide all sorts of cards on your body (which is neccessary to win btw). A very clever Card game that every gamer should own, even if he doesnīt care about the financial crisis it is based on. The downside is the quality of the cards. We played about six or seven sessions and the cards feel like theyīre 10 years old...which is kinda cool for some reason.
One word on Crunch if you donīt know what it is: In the game, each player is the boss of a multinational bank spiraling towards total bankruptcy so you know the whole thing wonīt end well right from turn one. Your job is to get as much money on the side as possible, either but granting yourself and all other bosses a nice fat bonus or but outright stealing the money (by hiding it on your person). On your turn, you manage your workforce, give out loans while hoping that they will pay off later on. After that you just draw an event and your turn ends. Whatīs cool about it is that you can really press your luck with the loans. Will you use the money from your hand to keep in business if the feds check up on you or do you use it for loans (as the banks did prior to the crisis) in the high risk market and get massive payoffs...or not. Your choice.
Itīs kinda hard to explain for me in english. I AM a banker, but I donīt know the vocabulary for all the financial stuff.
Bottomline: Get Crunch or if your hesitant, watch this:
And concerning Junta: I really wanna play the game but it seems to be out of print here...the only thing I can get is the sequel which is not that much fun at all if I can trust the reviews.