- \n
- <\/a>Age Of Steam<\/a><\/b>
![\"Age](\"https:\/\/www.westpark-gamers.de\/Ressourcen\/ageofsteam_t.jpg\")
\n
\nAfter considering and dismissing the option to play a new title, there was widespread
\nacclaim in this evening’s round of six (Aaron, G\u00fcnther, Hans, Moritz, Peter, Walter)
\nto have another go at “Age of Steam”. Five of us had participated in WPGs first
\nplaying of this title on November 5. Aaron was the only one new to the game and, sadly,
\nfinished last. His income did not cover the costs until well into the game session, and
\nvictory never was in his grasp. Of the other five, all did well with differing
\nstrategies, and the outcome was not decided until the last two turns. Newbies beware!<\/p>\nThis time, we all had the impression that there was a fierce competition from the first
\ngame turn to the last, and we put a lot of thought in choosing actions, bidding for turn
\norder, running trains, …<\/p>\nWith six players, the game covered the evening’s session, and we all very much needed
\nthe short, relaxed round of “Bluff” afterwards. Truly, “Age of Steam”
\nis a rewarding experience, but you need to take it seriously – it is serious fun!<\/p>\nAt the beginning, all players except Hans (me) decided not to raise fresh money by
\ndistributing shares, not wanting to be burdened with dividends. This first decision of
\nthe game is already critical: A share is worth five money, and costs one money in
\ndividends, per turn. Obviously, they are a net loss in the long run. On the other hand,
\nif you want to build three tiles and also bid some amount for turn order, it is pretty
\nmuch inevitable to do some deficit spending at some point.<\/p>\nPeter followed a very “cheap” strategy from the beginning to the end, with
\nonly five shares distributed (two is the starting amount), and did surprisingly (to me)
\nwell. At the final count, he had only four track sections to his color, but finished
\nrunner-up. Hans did the opposite, building many tracks, transporting many goods, but
\nfacing a lot of costs and, decisively, the final VP reduction for distributed shares. The
\nexpansive (expensive) strategy was, however, only defeated in the last two rounds, when
\nthe goods became scarce and Hans’ tracks sections were no longer in demand.<\/p>\nBidding for turn order was cautious, Peter did well by using the
\n“urbanization” option as a means to build free track (a minor city tile costs
\nmoney, a major city tile placed during urbanization is for free). Hans grabbed important
\nground in the south center portion of the map with “first build”. Most track
\nwas built there, in the first turns.<\/p>\n![\"Age](\"https:\/\/www.westpark-gamers.de\/Ressourcen\/ageofsteam_b3.jpg\")
We played with six players, so there were only six game
\nturns, and I have the impression that the game was developing in three distinct phases:
\nopening, mid- and endgame.<\/p>\nDuring the opening game, in the first two turns, money is very much a problem. It seems
\nnecessary to increase your income by 2 per turn at least. To this end, you should try to
\ncooperate with others on a 1-1 basis (as soon as there are “2” trains). Build
\nopportunistic tracks and stay near the center. Watch closely where goods are about to
\nappear that can be easily transported. Upgrade your train soon. Use the
\n“Locomotive” option in order not to lose a transportation round while
\nupgrading. This option becomes increasingly important with an expansive strategy. Use the
\n“Turn Order” option if you want to run a “cheap” enterprise. Moritz,
\nHans and G\u00fcnther made good progress in this phase. Aaron fell behind and did not recover
\nuntil it was too late.<\/p>\nIn the mid-game, it is important to have a good train in order to break even with your
\nenterprise and cash in on longer transport routes. “Urbanization” and
\n“First Move” (of goods) become very important options. During this phase, the
\ngoods are depleted at a very high rate, and the game becomes somewhat unpredictable. With
\nfewer than six players, it may be different, but we haven’t played with a smaller
\nround, yet. It is necessary to rely more and more on transporting goods yourself, over
\nyour own tracks, to gain profit, as more and more competing routes are becoming
\navailable. It is now a good decision to issue shares and build always the full amount of
\ntracks regardless of the terrain. Everyone did so, and even the most reluctant players
\ngave out shares and competed for turn order with higher bids. At this point, Hans’
\nexpensive strategy netted the largest profit for the first time, with an impressive
\nincome which outweighed the high costs for his “4” train and eight shares.
\nMoritz was handicapped by a slow “2” train, but still had the second best
\nprofit, due to small costs and due to the income base he had built up in the starting
\nrounds. G\u00fcnther was doing okay, participating with a track section in several often-run
\nroutes and in a 1-1 cooperation with Aaron who had very limited feasible transportation
\nroutes. Walter was exploring the western map and did not have the best returns on his
\ninvestment so far, however had not lost money in turn order bids, thus keeping a sound
\nfinancial basis. Peter kept a very low profile, giving out only one share above the
\nstarting two and concentrated on train upgrade and on building a few crucial tracks, thus
\ncreating a highly profitable transport route from the as yet unexplored east coast
\n“city 3” to the board center. This was the decisive move for his outstanding
\nendgame performance. Moritz was building for the endgame as well (in the west), but his
\nslow train remained a problem.<\/p>\n![\"Age](\"https:\/\/www.westpark-gamers.de\/Ressourcen\/ageofsteam_b2.jpg\")
The endgame saw impressive upheavals of player
\nperformances. Goods remained in good supply only in the east coast cities and in the far
\nwest. This handicapped Hans very much who had not prepared for this foreseeable event and
\nwas building tracks here, there, and everywhere (giving out shares to cover building
\ncosts) which did not return the investment. In addition, Hans’ large income incurred
\nthe highest reduction penalties, a balancing mechanism of the game system. Peter was now
\ncashing in in big chunks, running goods exclusively on his own few track sections.
\nG\u00fcnther wanted to do the same by linking the east cost to his track sections in the
\nnorthern center, but he had to upgrade his train during a transportation round of the
\nlast game turn, which cost him second place, and he finished fourth, together with Hans.
\nWalter finally linked the northwest to the center, and also had a track section which was
\noften used by Peter, but it was too late in order to make more than third place. Moritz
\ncould maintain a continuous, if moderate, flow of goods, and got another win with a very
\neven-paced, unspectacular strategy. As it seems, it was a good decision to connect his
\ntracks with cities of many different colors, keeping open options for transportation
\nthroughout the game.<\/p>\nIt was an exciting, close game, and we put no little effort in playing it well. There
\nremains, however, an amount of uncertainty as to whether the random availability of
\nadditional goods (which come in each game turn by rolling dice) doesn’t give luck a
\ntoo big influence on the outcome (considering the amount of planning one has to do). I
\nhad this impression in the first game, three weeks ago, but this time I didn’t think
\nso. Next time we’ll see! I look forward to it.
\n\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Game Session Report 27.11.2002 Author: Hans at the table: Peter, Moritz, G\u00fcnther, Walter, Aaron, Hans on the table: Age of Steam Age Of Steam After considering and dismissing the option to play a new title, there was widespread acclaim in this evening’s round of six (Aaron, G\u00fcnther, Hans, Moritz, Peter, Walter) to have another go … Game Session Report 27.11.2002<\/span> weiterlesen