tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post113297727127690619..comments2024-03-28T05:12:10.477-07:00Comments on Gone Gaming: The View from the Fifth FloorColdfoothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11636345146138362966noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1133131228739363932005-11-27T14:40:00.000-08:002005-11-27T14:40:00.000-08:00"...but paying with exact change is certainly a ke..."...but paying with exact change is certainly a key element of Alhambra."<BR/><BR/>In a 3p game, I may end up with 15-18 tiles, 2-3 of which I purchased with exact change. Maybe for my second action I purchase another tile. So I am now down the cost of 2 tiles, and sometimes it's because I drew money for so many turns. Being able to buy more than 1 tile on a turn simply makes up for not doing so earlier. I wouldn't qualify exact change as a key aspect. To each his own. :)<BR/><BR/>Sorry to derail the main topic. Maybe I should read the Palazzo rules again. :)ektedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02200891099572736360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1133127817993853842005-11-27T13:43:00.000-08:002005-11-27T13:43:00.000-08:00Alhambra and Palazzo share multiple currencies, an...Alhambra and Palazzo share multiple currencies, and the money is spent purchasing buildings (or parts of buildings). Aside from that, the games feel very different. Alhambra has the majority and second majority scoring that is absent from Palazzo, and Palazzo has players focus on multiple discrete structures rather than one sprawling complex.<BR/><BR/>I enjoy them both, but find little similarity between them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1133074224678969542005-11-26T22:50:00.000-08:002005-11-26T22:50:00.000-08:00"Alhambra is all about paying with exact change so..."Alhambra is all about paying with exact change so you can get the bonus turn."<BR/><BR/>I'm not trying to defend Alhambra, but I think you have a misconception here. I don't find the "exact change" aspect of the game much of a factor at all.ektedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02200891099572736360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1133063723329430272005-11-26T19:55:00.000-08:002005-11-26T19:55:00.000-08:00Dammit Joe did you have to get me interested in Pa...Dammit Joe did you have to get me interested in Palazzo again? Back on the wishlist it goes. There's nothing that gets me interested in a game more than unique timing and rhythm elements.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10374893549602893334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1133047005317099612005-11-26T15:16:00.000-08:002005-11-26T15:16:00.000-08:00Oh yes, almost forgot. I agree with Chris about t...Oh yes, almost forgot. I agree with Chris about the Palazzo/Alhambra connection: there isn't one! The two games both have buildings and multiple currencies, but outside of that (and that really isn't much), they have absolutely nothing in common. If you're still not convinced, consider that Alhambra is derived from an earlier Henn design called Stimmt So, which shares most of Alhambra's mechanics, but has a very different theme (it's a majorities game about buying stock shares). How many people think that Palazzo is Knizia's version of Stimmt So?huzonfirsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12857915477472022870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1133045145641460932005-11-26T14:45:00.000-08:002005-11-26T14:45:00.000-08:00To me, Palazzo is a game I enjoy in spite of its s...To me, Palazzo is a game I enjoy in spite of its surface attributes. There *is* a good deal of luck and the design is far from elegant, but the game also moves quickly, has plenty of decisions, and is fun to play. It has already seen more play than some other longer, but better designed games that I own.<BR/><BR/>Your points are good ones, Joe, and I feel there's another defining characteristic of the game. Much of what you need to do is defensive, to keep other players from gaining easy opportunities. For example, if there are three tiles in the central building supply, you probably need to exercise the Auction option and buy a couple of these tiles, even if they don't suit you terribly well. This is even more important if one or two of these tiles work well for your left hand opponent; allowing him to buy these cheaply can be very damaging. Similarly, if the next quarry has three tiles, you may want to declare an auction there, particularly if one of the tiles is a valuable one. If you don't, another player might take the Auction option, get a one-window tile on his second draw, and move the master builder to that quarry. This enables him to gain the juicy tile for free when these tiles are drafted. None of these subtleties are terribly difficult to see, but they do mean you have to look a little beneath the game's surface in order to play well. The necessity to look ahead when making these kinds of decisions is one of the reasons why Palazzo seems to play better than its rules indicate it might.huzonfirsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12857915477472022870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1133024393376610732005-11-26T08:59:00.000-08:002005-11-26T08:59:00.000-08:00While reading the rules to Palazzo, I could not ge...While reading the rules to Palazzo, I could not get over the feeling that Knizia was trying to "make his own version of Alhambra". It seemed similar in many ways, and dissimilar almost in a forced way. Knizia says he doesn't play other people's games, but has "an idea" how they work. Well, it's clear to me that he knows Alhambra inside-out. I find [the rules to] Palazzo quirkier than Alhambra, even if there is more interaction, and am unable to get myself to buy it.ektedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02200891099572736360noreply@blogger.com