Martin! Why have you done this to me?

Same game, same cube but pictured at the Saltdean games day

This Thursday's only game was Rise of Empires by Martin Wallace, and the title above is a partial quote from my own whinge (what me?). My opinion improved later but initially I felt that for once I was not enjoying a game, which is particularly unusual for a Martin Wallace game. He is very popular with our usual host "Crabro" and  I very much enjoy, for example, Tinner's Trail, Last Train to Wenslydale, Brass and the similar (Brass Lite?) Age of Industry. I clearly wasn't at my best last night because we were mostly new to the game and were all still learning the rules.

What helped the game length but not my stress levels was the introduction of the game cube timer which the group had clubbed together to buy for our host's recent **th birthday. It is a very clever little device particularly suited to reducing the Professor's "analysis paralysis" although, once he found that the stand (with which you can pause the device) was situated near him, he still managed to find time to debate strategies and query rules. Personally it didn't help my early game at all, as the one minute allowed didn't give me time to think about the misconceptions that were taking my first era down the pan. Once I realised that, although not too far behind on score, I was way behind on resources and the means to obtain the cubes needed for a presence on the map, I could not see a way back, hence the: "Martin! Why have you done this to me? I've always really liked your games..."

In the final era though I began to recover somewhat and scored the highest number of victory points in the B turn of that phase. Not enough to move me from last (completely the opposite side of the board from the Professor's position on the score track) but enough to make me feel a little better disposed to the game. Despite the use of the cube, it was rather a long game and didn't finish until long after midnight. No fillers this week.

Subsequently we have received a somewhat tongue in cheek email from Crabro saying that he got a fundamental rule wrong and apologising to the Professor that the game was therefore null and void. I think we need to play it again after all having a look at the rules again and perhaps strategy recommendations and clarifications on "The 'geek" before we can really assess it. I want to like it as I'm genuinely a fan of Mr Wallace's clever games. I'm not sure I want to spend time on it tomorrow at the next "Pasteboard and Plastic" games day to the exclusion of other new games experiences though, especially as I've already committed to a multi-player game of Android at some point.