PRESENTACIÓN Y EL "AZAR" DE LOS 9 DADOS

[Almina]

Hola a todos.

Estamos ya a 1 de marzo y comienza el nuevo juego del mes.

Blackbear me eligió para continuar con ello (muchas gracias ). Y después de barajar algún juego de más peso y de soportar una tremenda campaña de presión mediática en casa para inclinarme por este juego ..., me decidí por el Yspahan.

¿Por qué? Pues porque creo que es uno de esos pequeños grandes juegos que a veces no se les da la importancia que merecen.

Espero que os llegue a interesar el jueguito.

Mañana (bueno hoy dentro de unas horas de sueño) más.

[lupi]

Xina... tus comentarios respecto a los diferentes juegos siempre me merecen una especial atencion, vaya ahora no se porque no me funcionan los acentos  mil excusas, sigo, ya que casi siempre estoy  de acuerdo con ellos, asi que le echare un vistazo a ese Yspahan. Maldita sea, porque no puedo acentuar... ala... el simbolo de interrogacion tampoco funciona...

[referee]

lupi, comprate un teclado de verdad, anda

Así que Yspahan, eh? Bien, parece un juego interesante... Veremos que tal se desarrolla este tercer juego del mes.

[Arracataflán]

Me temo que mi escasa participación en el juego del mes se va a reducir por completo en Marzo por que los otros los tenía pero éste ni lo conozco. Todo será que me piquéisa y acabe cayendo.

[Valdemaras]

Seguro que será muy interesante..... desde luego tus comentarios son muy buenos, de hecho me acabo de comprar el Blue Moon City "empujado" por el review de Xina, así que supongo que caeré de nuevo comprando el Yspahan, al cual ya le había echado el ojo y me había parecido interesante....

Animo con el juego de este mes....

[Gurney]

Me parece buena elección.
Este juego es apto para todos los públicos. Sencillo de reglas, y bastante entretenido. Y, para mí, un candidato al SdJ, precisamente por esas características.

Además, es muy agradable a la vista. A mi me encantó, al menos.
Felicidades a Xina por su elección.
A ver si este mes os bajáis un día al Laberinto y echamos una partidilla

[LoneWolf]

Muy buen juego Xina, en casa nos gusta mucho.

Aún tengo una partida pendiente a dos jugadores, con la variante oficial, que comentabas funcionaba bien.

[fiti23]

HOla Xina:

Me parece muy interesante tú elección,ya me lo habias recomendado en otro hilo que pregunté,y me llamó la atención,pero ahora me he puesto a leer un poco más las reglas y todos lo comentarios y me ha parecido un juego digno de tener,espero que se hablé más de este juego para tener más iinformacón.Sí es rejugable,si te sigue gustando la variante a 2,calidad/precio, ¿gusta a novatos tambien?.

Un saludo,espero que sigas aportando nuevas ideas sobre juegos como hasta ahora,y que aportes más sobre este,eres una gran recomendadora de juegos,jeje.El blue moon city lo tengo gracias a tí(tus recomendaciones y comentarios) y tanto  mi novia, todos mis compañeros de juegos y yo mismo, seguimos encantados por este gran juego.

FITI23

[Almina]

Oye, pero esto de Yspahan ¿de qué va?

 Xina, que estás, ¿esperando a que toda la bsk te salude para empezar a hablar del juego?

En fin, donde hay confianza da asco 
A todos los demás gracias por el apoyo.

A ver si este mes os bajáis un día al Laberinto y echamos una partidilla

Ojalá, pero marzo lo tenemos lleno de bodas (3 de 4)   y ninguna de ellas en Madrid...Además hay por aquí alguien que todavía recuerda una merienda de amebas muy "putera"

Esperemos que en Abril bajemos unos días, en todo caso, te debo una partida

En cuanto a lo que realmente nos importa: El vicio, el juego.... aquí os dejo los enlaces de la traducción de las reglas, la reseña y la variante para dos jugadores, que por una rara casualidad hice yo...

- Traducción de reglas: http://www.labsk.net/index.php?topic=3333.0   
- Reseñas:
http://www.labsk.net/index.php?topic=6051.msg55199#new
http://www.labsk.net/index.php?topic=4903.0   
- Variante para dos jugadores: http://www.labsk.net/index.php?topic=4880.0   

[Volker]

Ahí! ahí! Dale edubvidal que esta chica se nos duerme en los laureles! 
Ya la quiero ver traduciendo todas las cartitas esas que aparecen en la esquina superior izquierda de la foto, ein??? Que ya tenía que estar hecha!
Ahh! Que no tienen texto?
Leches!! Pues te lo inventas, que tendrás que currar un poquillo, no? 

Ahora en serio Xina, enhorabuena por la elección, este juego triunfa allá donde va.
Una petición, podrías hacer una especie de guía, algo así como "Tácticas para ganar al Yspahan...esteeeeeeeeeeee, si puede ser puteando a los demás"? El título es algo largo, pero ya te lo apañarás tú que para eso es tu juego del mes...   

Besillos guapa, y al tajo, eh?

Ps. Esa mesa de la foto me resulta muy "familiar"...

[Anaskela]

Excelente juego, para mi el mejor del 2006.
Es bastante simple de explicar, las partidas no duran más allá de 45 minutos y suelen resultar igualadas. Si no estuviese el "pilares de la tierra" ( más atractivo a nivel visual ) sería mi candidato favorito al SDJ.

A ver si pruebo la variante de dos jugadores... ( afortunadamente es un juego al que siempre hay gente dispuesta a jugar en el Laberinto ).

[Almina]

Excelente juego, para mi el mejor del 2006.
Es bastante simple de explicar, las partidas no duran más allá de 45 minutos y suelen resultar igualadas.

Esta es la síntesis perfecta del juego y estoy completamente de acuerdo. Además es la razón por la que lo he eligido: la calidad de un juego no está reñida con la sencillez ó la corta duración, como a veces parece, que los mejores juegos son los que duran más de 3 horas o tienen las reglas más complejas.

Una petición, podrías hacer una especie de guía, algo así como "Tácticas para ganar al Yspahan...esteeeeeeeeeeee, si puede ser puteando a los demás"? El título es algo largo, pero ya te lo apañarás tú que para eso es tu juego del mes...   

Hooola, muchas gracias por la sugerencia, lo haré seguro y si puede ser puteando mejor no? jajajaja

[Gurney]

Además hay por aquí alguien que todavía recuerda una merienda de amebas muy "putera"

Jo, yo no quería hacerle daño.
Pero tenía hambre.
Yo solo era un pobre parásito buscándose las habichuelas.
 

[marioaguila]

Mis Geekbuddies le dan un 7.31.  Nada de mal.

Es decir, si tuviera que seguirlos, sería una compra muy recomendable. Sin embargo, he leído en otras partes del BGG que el factor suerte, con los dados, es bastante elevado..Hmmm, eso me hace pensar.

Morgan Dontanville (9): Wheee! There is something about this game that is just all out fun. I think it is because you are rolling a ton of dice, but you are never short on great options. The game chops along nicely, in fact so quickly that half the time you feel you are up against the wall trying to get everything done that you'd like. There is a really wonderful balance to the game. The Caravan strategy (yes, I've won going heavy in the cavavan), and the building strategy both are viable. I like how the cards aren't too powerful, but are worth just enough to increase your desire to get them. There is a lot of game packed into such a short length.

Larry Chong (9): A really fun and neat twist on "dice games" and I think I underestimated the option of purchasing additional dice (which are only available for the active player). Don't forget that little known rule about paying any card to add a dice to your action.

Jonathan Degann (8.0): Superficially looks like an area control game, but plays very differently. I like the variety of mechanisms (building Civ-type powers, gathering resources, cube placement) that take place in a game that remains light and quick. It should appeal to fans of Web of Power. Light yet varied with sufficient strategy.

Dan Rosewater (7.7): Another gem by Ystari. It plays very relaxed but there is more depth than first meets the eye. Not as complex as Caylus therefore suitable for a broader audience. I like the supervisor which reminds me slightly of the provost from Caylus. (Rating after at least five plays)

Greg Schloesser (7.5): Interesting choices to be made with the dice rolls. Various strategies to pursue.

Shannon Appelcline (7): An exciting and original resource management sort of game that's quite original.

Michael Webb (7): Ystari is a real hit or miss company with me, and this is a decent hit. Yspahan is another lighter game in the vein of Mykerinos and Ys, but unlike those two titles, I enjoyed what this one has to offer. A short game (about an hour) but interesting decisions throughout. There are 4 districts on the small board, and two major currencies: camels and coins. Players roll 9-12 dice at the start of their turn. Dice are then placed on the action track and essentially dictate how many camels/coins/cubes you get. Having a lot of dice in one area is very good, because you get to place more stuff or receive more currency. There are also two sub-aspects to the game. One is the building board, a track that allows you to improve your actions in 6 different ways, but which requires camel and gold tithes. Buildings also give you victory points. The other aspect is the caravan, which allows you to score points by sacrificing cubes off the board or camels to ship goods with larger quantities of cubes total in that area creating larger scores.The sum of this game is a tight, fascinating little affair that seems perfect for starting a day or finishing off a night. The dice can hand out some nice stuff to people at times, but I don't think the randomness is that much of an issue in a lighter, faster game like this. Solid, I like it.

Ryan Walberg (7): At first glance Yspahan may seem like another garden variety area majority game, but it's not. There's something of an area control element, in that you can't work on a souk that someone else has started that week. Perhaps the greatest source of interest in Yspahan comes from the investment aspects introduced by the player's individual buildings and the caravan. The trouble is that the benefits produced by these buildings both (a) is easily quantifiable, and (b) will roughly dictate that player's strategy for the remainder of the game. Simply put, if you build the Caravanserai, you're often going to send your cubes to the caravan and draw cards. If you build the Bazaar, you'll work on the smaller souks. If you build the Hoist, you'll work on the larger souks. Then the game comes down to investing in buildings more efficiently than the other players, a la Goa. You'd have a hard time convincing me that a caravan-heavy strategy would work; if you compare the immediate and future point values of constructing buildings vs. playing in the caravan, they're not even close. Yspahan is well done, although the theme-to-mechanic tie-in is laughable. For some reason it works in Goa but not entirely here; I keep wanting to peek under the table to see the midget moving levers and pulling knobs. Nevertheless, Yspahan is a solid, fast-moving game for 3-4 players that should provide a fair challenge until the One True Strategy inevitably emerges. I doubt Yspahan would have been picked up by a larger publisher like Alea or Ravensburger, simply because it's not unique on the surface or even further in, but kudos to Ystari (again) for taking a chance on a fledgling designer. (Rating withheld pending further plays, hopefully soon.) UPDATED: Played again, eating my hat a bit. Second play was much smoother. The caravan isn't a single strategy to pursue, it's part of a bigger system. Building the Caravanserai (?) can bag you a lot of cards during the game. Since a card is essentially a free turn, that's a big win. I pursued my strategy of building as quick as I could and got my ass handed to me. You have to be flexible and keep a sharp eye on everyone else. 7 is a good initial feeling, I'll reserve anything higher until I've played it with 4.

Maarten D. de Jong (7): Players compete in a fictional town somewhere near Yspahan to have their goods transported to Yspahan. They do this by setting up shop in various districts, and then have the overseer pick their goods to be sent off. The game features a novel dice rolling mechanism which works rather well, and overall has a very friendly feeling to it. The game's long term strategies are deceptive, as is illustrated by the fact that many people don't utilise the caravan to score: if used properly, it can be devastating. Nevertheless, the presence of the dice means that some lucky throws can end the game prematurely. I've not seen this happen very often, but the way the selection mechanic works *does* lead to a somewhat constrained feel in the 4P-game. I like the 2P-game better because of the ability to do 2 mostly good actions instead of just 1 average to below-average one. Nevertheless, a fun game, doesn't take too long, and doesn't feel artificially complex either. After Mykerinos my favourite from Ystari.

Paulo Soledade (6.5): This one is a filler. We love to play Yspahan at the end of the evening. Very fun, lots of dice. I'm glad I bought it.

J C Lawrence (4): There is actually a game here, even one of minor merit. This is damning with faint praise which is in part a shame because the game is cute, slightly charming, and inoffensive. But is is damning with faint praise.

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No está en mis Geekbuddies (lo tuve y lo saqué por tendencioso), porque es un tipo que lo único que gusta es de Knizia, pero bueno, algo dice:

Chris Farrell (4): his is not bad actually, and of all the Ystari games perhaps the most appealing to me; but that's just not saying too much. Yspahan is clearly trying to be sort of a "downmarket" Goa, minus the auctions, plus a Bailiff, and I think it's partially successful (it's no longer the purgatory of boring analysis that their previous games were). But there is also some weird stuff in there too - the most dismaying for me was the rule where the player order on the last turn is dictated by score at that time. But, getting an early pick in turn order is a big deal, and at that point there are huge numbers of points untallied, so our game saw the player who was *clearly* ahead get the powerful bonus first turn while *clearly* behind players got screwed. It was particularly irritating for me because I found out about this only as it came up. This is just dumb; there had to be a better way.

Yspahan was OK to play once, but really I wasn't very impressed by it. The buildings and action cards are a fairly transparent Goa ripoff (I'm not fundamentally against borrowing ideas, but I prefer if designers at least tweak things a *little* bit). I like dice games generally, but I'm not clear what they really accomplish in this case other than to occasionally make the game feel arbitrary. And ultimately, I strongly suspect that like Caylus this will be a "one way to win" game, and he whose dice line up most efficiently with that way to win will, well, win. There isn't enough player interaction in the game for it to work out any other way, really.

This is all problematic enough, and the real deal-killer then is that Yspahan has no theme. It's just another abstract building/placement game with something pasted on top of it. I don't demand awesome theme in all my games, but if a game has any complexity at all I do tend to expect some reasonable attempt. Yspahan does not deliver this - if it's possible, Yspahan feels even more thematically disjointed than Ystari's other games - so I doubt I'll play again.

Oh, one last thing, at $50 Yspahan is rather overpriced. Even if we assume I'm wrong and this is a nice little medium-weight, I don't think ti could justify the $50 pricetag.

[marioaguila]

Bueno, acabo de leer las reglas en castellano y me han dado muchas ganas de comprarlo, pese a que los dados puedan decidir una partida. Hay varias alternativas tácticas y estratégicas que le dan un plus.