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February 22, 2006
Games: Indonesia
Finally got my own copy of Indonesia ($75 ordered from Germany) and played it again last night. I continue to really like it but I don't think any of the other four players were fans unfortunately which made it somewhat less fun for me, too. The very poor graphic design of the board got somewhat in the way for some people; I also really don't like it but don't find it interferes with either my play or enjoyment of the game. People were even talking about calling an end to the game a turn or two early which would have totally ruined it and felt like a total waste of several hours. Fortunately we did finish the game and was a very close finish too. I may try again at David's with a different set of players or else figure I'll get to play once in a while at Joe's or at a con. It really is a great game for the right set of people.
We also had a couple of rules questions which I sent off to the designer and will hopefully get an answer. The game really does need a FAQ which has been promised but not yet delivered.
Posted by aarondf at February 22, 2006 01:01 PM
Comments
I wasn't serious about the suggestion to call the game, I just figured it was my only chance at coming close to winning since most of your VP was tied up in investments on the board instead of in cash.
Also, I definitely was annoyed by the board, not so much because it was ambiguous and the spaces were too small for the tokens, but because it would not have been hard at all to fix the problems. But what really got in the way for me was the lack of any kind of player-colored control markers on the board. Having to look at the tiles in front of each player and figure out what set of counters on the board each one corresponded to was just too much for me to process effectively, especially 4+ hours into the game. I also found it pretty hard to see which cities had had which goods delivered, since the goods markers had to just be plopped down somewhere nearby. But I'm less sure that's fixable.
Posted by: Doug Orleans ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/hearth/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 22, 2006 06:11 PM
I should also say that the component issues would have been much less of a big deal for me if I had enjoyed the game more (although it goes both ways). I'm willing to live with the crappy components in Bus because I like the mechanisms there (plus it takes about half as long to play). But even though Indonesia actually has some quite similar mechanisms (transporting goods to cities = transporting passengers to destinations) the added layers of complexity were just too much for me.
Posted by: Doug Orleans at February 22, 2006 06:17 PM
The designer replied to my mail and said that if you propose a merger you must make the opening bid (and have the money and slots for it). He also said that he hadn't had the situation with the negative-cost shipping come up but that he also thought the player should have to pay the money from his bank to cover it. I'm glad about both these answers. He also admitted that the rules were done in a rush and definitely needed a FAQ.
Posted by: Aaron at February 27, 2006 10:27 AM
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