We have said a lot that we definitely prefer Bootleggers to El Grande, well the whole group had never had a chance to play it. Dragonflight, besides what has already been written, offered me a chance to get El Grande, plus expansions, for my collection. It was time for us to give it a whirl and see if this would stand the test of time.
The game looks as Euro as possible, nothing but silly little hunks of firewood, a board and some cards. Everything seems to be high quality, and the board is well proportioned to hold all the pieces for the duration of the game. The rules werent the most clear, another Euro trademark, but Rumi was pretty clear on her memory of how the game is played. After a short explanation we got underway.
We had 5 players, Rumi, Maya, Jason, Corey and me. Rumi took a commanding lead early in the game, choosing cards which allowed her to score in both rounds 1 and 2. After the third scoring round, she had a good lead with Maya close behind.
Corey and Rumi spent a good deal of resources fighting over a few spots, and Maya played strong in a few places and spread her resources effectively to score consistent points. I turtled around my home territory and one other area, while Jason pretty much floundered.
During the middle turns Corey and Rumi both realized almost simultaneously that they were spending significant resources for a difference of only one point, which opened up both of their games as Corey abandoned the space and started assaulting Jason. I started using the king to control the areas I wished and gaining smaller but more consistent points, as well as getting strong in the Castille (as did Jason).
During the late turns Jason began to surge forward, but Maya looked to have an almost insurmountable lead. Rumi was close as well, both getting a double digit lead on the field. With two turns remaining I took a card which allowed me to grab a power card back, and knowing that I had my 12 and everyone else had played their 13, I chose my 1 instead (more caballeros).
I was dismayed, however, during the next turn when another such card came back, and Rumi grabbed her 13. She played it and I played my 12, and she used her turn to make a very strong play for a few valuable territories. But not only did it not doom my plan, it nearly facilitated it. I moved the king to my home territory, where I was now guaranteed to win, and placed all my new caballeros in the second most valuable place on the board, where Rumi was the only player who could possibly challenge me. Now that her turn was over, I was secure in those points as well.
We scored the areas in order, and Rumi and Maya again jumped way ahead, but as we neared the more valuable ones, I began to creep up as did Jason. Eventually I found myself passing Maya and Rumi, and ending with 89 points (31 of which came from my home area 3 times and one low point area I had 1 caballero in the whole game for 3 2nd place scores). Jason had won his home territory, which was last to score, and ended up with 88.
In the end it was a lucky night for me since I won Aladdins Dragons as well.
The Good: Quick Play. Once the game gets rolling, it moves right along.
Competition. Unlike most Euros, this game is very directly a competition between players, rather than a player competiting against the mechanics and winning based on who was most successful at that. You win this game by outmaneuvering the others.
The Bad: Monotony. I dont see a lot of replay value here. There are quite a few cards, and maybe they will make the game quite different, but it looks like the games would be pretty similar.
The Verdict: This is an overrated game. I cant believe its in the BGG top 10. Its a decent game, and Im pleased to own it, but the $15 I paid is about right. Ill play it again, but I cant see myself getting all jazzed for a game of El Grande.
The Bootleggers comparison is somewhat valid. This game is like taking the 'Send In The Boys' phase and playing an entire game based on that. I still prefer Bootleggers wholeheartedly. The interaction is more dynamic, the cards more interesting and the theme richer and easier to have fun with.
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I agree that monotony is a threat with El Grande, but I also think it's one of the stronger points, maybe even the hook for the game. As luck makes a minimal impact and there aren't that many cards involved, it devolves into a skill game between players. This is a game that you can take out every so often with friends and use it as a standard to determine who is "the best".
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