Gutenberg

If rated purely based on the mechanisms, it would be a 7.5 (I do very much enjoy the straightforward rules and smooth gameplay, but other than the interlocking gears and secret bidding/planning for initiative phase I didn’t find anything too special, however, everything works very well together and game flows smoothly and quickly), but the theme and production quality made it a 9 for me personally. I was very impressed by the attention to detail production-wise, it was a delightful unboxing experience to say the least. If you don’t find the theme intriguing or appreciate the beautiful production, I don’t think you would be too impressed with this one, but for us, this game reminded us why we still adore analog board games in a world that inclines towards digitalizations. It plays well with 2 too which is a plus for us. Kudos to the team behind this lovely produced game, this one will never leave our collection.

This is a solid Euro-style, light/medium in weight. Recipe building at the core with slight asymmetrical powers (not all balanced?) and a very original and well produced theme. I enjoyed it certainly. There's just enough space to keep the brain engaged and has a clever hidden bidding system on action order rather than a simple turn order (although that breaks ties). That plus an original theme makes for a very solid game!

Games just a touch too short for my tastes. Right when you are all hot and bothered it’s over. Also the component quality leaves a lot to be desired. Otherwise a solid fsme.