BACK AT MILWOOD: Heavy/economic games @ Milwood

We're back at Milwood!

They were closed for emergency HVAC repairs, so we rescheduled to University Hills, but Milwood has already gotten their A/C fixed and so we're returning to the originally scheduled location. I'm so sorry for all the switcheroos, and I hope you can join us at noon Saturday at 12500 Amherst (off MoPac between Duval and Parmer).

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Here’s the lineup so far:

• Annabel - City of the Big Shoulders or Carnegie
• BJ - Civolution or Lisboa
• Clay - Arcs
• Gary - Nemesis: Lockdown or Spirit Island
• Harold - Power Grid
• Kevin - Pipeline
• Rekha - Terraforming Mars

We'll start at 12:00 noon and play till the library closes (well, actually till 4:45), so four and a half hours plus breakdown.

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We’ve been asked: What makes a “heavy” game?

• The rules might be more complex or “meaty”
• The teach will probably take 30 minutes
• The game will likely take up a lot of table space
• There might be different powers/incentives for different player roles (asymmetric)
• You might be competing with others and yet sharing resources with them
• It’s a safe bet that the game will run an hour or more longer than your average mid-weight game

In return, you’ll find:

• a richer game experience
• a more brain-burny puzzle to figure out
• a deeper set of interlocking levers to pull and see what happens
• bigger and better combos to plan and execute
• (speaking for myself) we heavy gamers love to bling out our games, so expect high-quality bits and striking graphic design
• some memorable gaming!

A lot of heavy games are very rich in theme—current, historical, or fictional—in a way that can help new players make sense of the rules. It’s very typical to be confused as hell after the teach, but go “ohh, I see how it works” after just a turn or two.

Economic games are usually also easy to relate to real-world concepts. The player with the most money at the end of the game wins—that’s as easy to understand as a victory condition can be, right? Supply and demand, comparing costs vs. benefits, investing/borrowing now for future returns—if you understand stuff like that, you can play an economic.

If this all sounds terrible and not fun… it’s not right for everyone, and that’s okay! Our next “regular” meetup is Aug. 19 and we’ll be happy to see you there. But if you love heavy games or if you’re new to heavy games and a little intrigued, come join us on Aug. 2.

P.S. Please, no food in the meeting room—so be sure to grab lunch before you arrive. We don't want you to be hangry! Beverages in spill-proof containers are fine.