Streamlined with difficult choices, this how I would describe my favorite games. Here is why:
Twilight Struggle, Board Game Geek #1 game, 2 players’ game
The game simulates the entire cold war on a world
map. The 2 players take control of the US and the USSR in what is a
beautifully balanced asymmetrical game. The tempo of the game is
determined by cards which always give you a choice between
action points and an event. The cards are unique, for example the NATO
card does not have similar effect to the Warsaw Pact card. The early war
is to the advantage of the Russian who will try to invade Korea, put
pressure on Berlin and Europe. The Americans
will wait for a better late game while trying to use their initial
positioning to contain the communist out of America and South East Asia.
One key element is that when you have one of your opponent cards in
hand, you will be forced to activate his event in
order to get the action points for yourself. Some beginners will hate
this, but really you want to have your opponent’s event to choose the
timing of the crisis. For example, the US will be happy to prepare
strong bases in Mexico and Panama before playing
the Fidel Castro card that establishes a threat in their backyard. 
Games can be very tight until the end, but it is
also a game that you can lose badly, being completely crushed before mid
game. This comes from a very high level balance. Russian will win 50%
of the time (okay, I admit, 51% in competitive
games), but it is not an Eurogame where you wait for the final scoring
to lose by 1 point. The game can be harsh, so I would not recommend it
for players who like to build their little farm on their own with no
interaction. No points for second place in the
cold war!
Pro
- Steep learning curve
- Replayability
- Balance
- Theme is really present
- Long term strategy is necessary
Con
- Large gap between a beginner and an experienced player. (Need to give an extra advantage)
Chaos in the Old World, subtleness in Warhammer, 4-5 players’ game
With powerful magic and hordes of demons, the 4
Gods of Chaos want to ravage the world. However, the real contest is to
be the best at it. The game has a lot of character from artwork to
design. Clearly, you do not play the same game with
Khorne, the God of war and blood, as with Tzeench, god of change and
deceit. You progress on 2 tracks, victory point, plain and simple but
only usefull if the game reaches the last turn and a wheel. The
progression on the wheel depends on who you are. Slanesh
progresses by corrupting Nobles, while Khorn only needs to kill. By
progressing you unlock new abilities, gather more power and ultimately
win the game. Some gods are better at scoring points, while other have
an easier time advancing on the wheel. So the
tricky part is that you need the full attention of all players to
control the progression of the game. Give Khorn free kills in the early
turns, and it will not be possible anymore to avoid his victory. You
need to bargain with the others to keep everybody
under control, ally sometimes to ravage a region and split the rewards,
but most of all you need to be selfish.
Pro
- Replayability
- Mechanics are simple
- A healthy lot of difficult choices
Con
- Need careful play (and some experience) from the players to maintain balance
- Artwork and theme do not fare well with everybody. A pity, because the game itself is not morbid / dark at all.
- 3 players’ game is very weak in term of balance
Game of Thrones, Diplomacy with hype, 4-6 players’ game
Let’s start by saying, that no, you do not need to
know the books to enjoy the game. It clearly stands out on his own.
Basically it is Diplomacy: There is no winner in a 1vs1 fight. You will
never have enough troops to defend your borders
and attack on one front. So to push the odds in your favor you need
allies until the very end, when you backstab to grab the last remaining
victory location. The beauty of the game is that orders are given with
face down tokens, so that until the last second
you can never be sure if your plan for the turn will unfold as planned.
How many times you see a defense token instead of the support token on
top of your ally army. He was not in a position to betray you, but he
was clearly not sure that you could be trusted.
You then lose the battle where he should have supported you, and a new
round of diplomacy opens, with your allies now having the upper hand. On
top of this diplomacy/hidden order aspect, Game of Throne has many
interesting addition: Event cards that set the
pace of wildling invasion and political events, recruitment center and
supply, battle cards to add a tactical layer to the game. In my view, it
is a really nice game. One of the few 6 players’ game that have depth
and reasonable gaming time due to the simultaneous
order phase.
Pro
- Reasonable gaming time for 6 players
- Simplicity of the mechanics. Diplomacy prevails over tactics.
- Open race till the end, not really a king making game.
Con
- Victory can come quickly if some players are not careful.
Link
And you, what are you favorite strategy games?
EuroExark
