Engine-building is an amazing feeling in board games. To see all your careful planning pay off as you are able to take better or more efficient moves or obtain more goods towards the end of the game is very rewarding. Engine-building is generally never the lone mechanism in a game, I'm not even sure if it qualifies as an actual mechanism, but most of my favorite games have this feature where you start of taking small moves, building an "engine" that over the game allows you to do more with the same move or sets off a chain reaction that allows you to do multiple things efficiently, one after the other. The more I think of it, maybe this is not a mechanic after all since it isn't even listed on BoardGameGeek as one, but it is more of a feeling I get when I play games, and here are some of the games that evoke that feeling the best.
The first game I played that really captured the feeling for me was Le Havre. A big component of this game was shipping goods in exchange for money, since whoever had the most money at the end of the game would win. To do this, players must place their workers in buildings to produce goods or convert basic goods into upgraded goods, which are worth more when shipped. As the game progresses, players are able to buy or construct more advanced buildings that allow for better conversions. This is where the game shines as you are able to find the right combination of goods and buildings to make more and more money. It is extremely satisfying to flip large piles of goods to their upgraded sides and then count all that money you've earned!
There are many other games that take this simple concept of buying or constructing buildings to drive a victory point or money engine. Ora et Labora seems to be an evolution of Le Havre and shares the same systems of upgrading goods and constructing better buildings. Looking at just the building aspect, Machi Koro is a simple dice game where players are able to do more and more with the same dice rolls as they expand their city. Another game that mixes dice and buildings is Fantastic Factories, which I played at SHUX 2018 and might be my deeper, Machi Koro replacement once it is finally released. Staying on the lighter end of the scale, Splendor is an excellent gateway engine builder. A distilled engine building experience, as players gain development cards with bonuses, each move feels more powerful than the last as you are able to slowly purchase better and better developments.
There are many card games that are fantastic engine builders as well. Race for the Galaxy is easily one of the best as players chain planets and developments to produce a victory point engine. In some instances you are searching through the deck for very specific card combinations, which in some games could spell ruin if you are unable to find those cards but when pulled off feels spectacular. Along the same space vibe, Star Realms has a great engine-building element to it once players start specializing in one of the four kinds of cards in the game. A similar feeling can be found in Oh My Goods! In this game, players are constructing buildings and using workers to activate these buildings. If buildings are activated and you have the correct resources in your hands or on other buildings, you can activate your production chains on those activated buildings to carry out even more production.
Stepping up in the depth is Terraforming Mars. In this game, players are competing to become the best terraformer on Mars and in doing so are building a massive engine based on cards that are purchased throughout the game. These cards can be chained together to create production engines that specialize in one of the resources in the game and help push up your Terraform Rating, which is how you win the game. Another heavy engine builder is a personal favorite of mine is Terra Mystica. In this game, the engine building is through the resources you gain at the start of each round via the structures you have built throughout the game, including favors granted through temples. Structures give you income at the start of each round, so as the game progresses and you are able to build more and more structures, the greater your income and the more actions you can take. However, when structures get upgraded from one to the next, you lose the income from the structure replaced, so there is a delicate balance that must be maintained when figuring out how you want to progress your faction.
Scythe might make the best ambassador for the genre. Gorgeous production values plus simple but deep gameplay create a compelling package. In this game, you will be taking one of four possible action combinations on your turn. As you deploy workers and structure from your personal board onto the map, similar to Terra Mystica your actions become more and more powerful. One final heavier engine building game I would like to highlight and have recently played is At the Gates to Loyang. Another Uwe Rosenberg game, and probably one of his more overlooked ones, this vegetable market game has a nice crescendo towards the end as you are able to maximize the use of the fields, helpers, traders, and customers that you have collected throughout the game.
This list has been a bit all over the place, probably because engine-building isn't really a recognized mechanic in games as mentioned earlier. But it is an element of games that I really enjoy and thought it would be a good idea to mention games that I think show it off best. There are still a lot of games out there that I would like to try, ranging from heavy to light, including Gaia Project, Arkwright, Gizmos, Quacks of Quedlinberg, Space Base, and Wingspan. The feeling of progression is captivating and probably one of the most enjoyable elements of these games.
The first game I played that really captured the feeling for me was Le Havre. A big component of this game was shipping goods in exchange for money, since whoever had the most money at the end of the game would win. To do this, players must place their workers in buildings to produce goods or convert basic goods into upgraded goods, which are worth more when shipped. As the game progresses, players are able to buy or construct more advanced buildings that allow for better conversions. This is where the game shines as you are able to find the right combination of goods and buildings to make more and more money. It is extremely satisfying to flip large piles of goods to their upgraded sides and then count all that money you've earned!
There are many other games that take this simple concept of buying or constructing buildings to drive a victory point or money engine. Ora et Labora seems to be an evolution of Le Havre and shares the same systems of upgrading goods and constructing better buildings. Looking at just the building aspect, Machi Koro is a simple dice game where players are able to do more and more with the same dice rolls as they expand their city. Another game that mixes dice and buildings is Fantastic Factories, which I played at SHUX 2018 and might be my deeper, Machi Koro replacement once it is finally released. Staying on the lighter end of the scale, Splendor is an excellent gateway engine builder. A distilled engine building experience, as players gain development cards with bonuses, each move feels more powerful than the last as you are able to slowly purchase better and better developments.
There are many card games that are fantastic engine builders as well. Race for the Galaxy is easily one of the best as players chain planets and developments to produce a victory point engine. In some instances you are searching through the deck for very specific card combinations, which in some games could spell ruin if you are unable to find those cards but when pulled off feels spectacular. Along the same space vibe, Star Realms has a great engine-building element to it once players start specializing in one of the four kinds of cards in the game. A similar feeling can be found in Oh My Goods! In this game, players are constructing buildings and using workers to activate these buildings. If buildings are activated and you have the correct resources in your hands or on other buildings, you can activate your production chains on those activated buildings to carry out even more production.
Stepping up in the depth is Terraforming Mars. In this game, players are competing to become the best terraformer on Mars and in doing so are building a massive engine based on cards that are purchased throughout the game. These cards can be chained together to create production engines that specialize in one of the resources in the game and help push up your Terraform Rating, which is how you win the game. Another heavy engine builder is a personal favorite of mine is Terra Mystica. In this game, the engine building is through the resources you gain at the start of each round via the structures you have built throughout the game, including favors granted through temples. Structures give you income at the start of each round, so as the game progresses and you are able to build more and more structures, the greater your income and the more actions you can take. However, when structures get upgraded from one to the next, you lose the income from the structure replaced, so there is a delicate balance that must be maintained when figuring out how you want to progress your faction.
Scythe might make the best ambassador for the genre. Gorgeous production values plus simple but deep gameplay create a compelling package. In this game, you will be taking one of four possible action combinations on your turn. As you deploy workers and structure from your personal board onto the map, similar to Terra Mystica your actions become more and more powerful. One final heavier engine building game I would like to highlight and have recently played is At the Gates to Loyang. Another Uwe Rosenberg game, and probably one of his more overlooked ones, this vegetable market game has a nice crescendo towards the end as you are able to maximize the use of the fields, helpers, traders, and customers that you have collected throughout the game.
This list has been a bit all over the place, probably because engine-building isn't really a recognized mechanic in games as mentioned earlier. But it is an element of games that I really enjoy and thought it would be a good idea to mention games that I think show it off best. There are still a lot of games out there that I would like to try, ranging from heavy to light, including Gaia Project, Arkwright, Gizmos, Quacks of Quedlinberg, Space Base, and Wingspan. The feeling of progression is captivating and probably one of the most enjoyable elements of these games.
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