Editor's Note: Academic Gaming Review is reprinting Joe Huber's
German Game Authors series in its entirety. This is being reproduced from the Google Groups's version of his posts on rec.games.board. See AGR's Links section for ways to access Usenet, the Internet's most underused resource.
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Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: Joe Huber
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 10:57:48 -0400
Subject: German Game Authors Revisited #4 - Klaus Teuber
Foreword:
=========
This is the latest version of the fourth in a series of twelve articles I
have written about "German Game" authors. I wrote them for the fun of it;
I claim no particular expertise on board games, nor am I a collector of
board games. I just happen to play them and occasionally write about the
experience. I would welcome any constructive feedback.
Disclaimer:
===========
This article represents my own opinions only. Some opinions are based on
only a single play; some of the information presented is based on nothing
more than hearsay. I will always try to note such instances, but I would
always recommend playing a game before buying it (or deciding not to buy it,
for that matter).
Copyright 2004, Joseph M. Huber
Updated June 4th, 2004.
Author:
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Klaus Teuber
Games Covered:
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Abenteuer Menschheit (Kosmos) (a.k.a. Settlers of the Stone Age - Mayfair)
Adel verpflichtet (FX Schmid / Alea) (a.k.a. By Hook or By Crook - Avalon
Hill) (a.k.a. Hoity Toity - Uberplay)
Anno 1503 (Kosmos)
Drunter & Drüber (Hans im Glück)
Entdecker (Goldsieber)
Fette Bäuche (Klee)
Der fliegende Holländer (Bandai-Huki / Parker)
Galopp Royal (Goldsieber)
Gnadenlos (Kosmos)
Hallo Dachs! (Goldsieber)
Löwenherz (Goldsieber)
Löwenherz (Kosmos) (a.k.a. Domaine - Mayfair)
Die Ritter von der Haselnuss (Goldsieber)
Die Siedler von Catan (franckh/Kosmos) (a.k.a. Settlers of Catan - Mayfair)
Die Siedler v. C. Das Kartenspiel (Kosmos) (a.k.a. Settlers Cardgame -
Mayfair)
Die Sternenfahrer von Catan (Kosmos) (a.k.a. Starfarers of Catan - Mayfair)
Stenenschiff Catan (Kosmos) (a.k.a. Starship Catan - Mayfair)
Timberland (HABA)
Vernissage (TM Spiele)
Klaus Teuber first had a game nominated for Spiel des Jahres in 1988, taking the win with Barbarossa und die Rätselmeister. Since then, he's managed three more wins (Adel verpflichtet in 1990, Drunter & Drüber in 1991, and Die Siedler von Catan in 1995), and multiple additional nominations (including Galopp Royal, Löwenherz, and the Settlers Cardgame), in addition to watching the various Die Siedler games sell incredibly well. I've given up on counting the various commercial and specialty Die Siedler products released; I think the most telling statement about Die Siedler is that I run into people all the time who love (or occasionally hate) the game who are otherwise completely unaware of the "German gaming" scene. That a German game has come anywhere close to mainstream in the United States is an accomplishment I'd never have expected when I first discovered the genre.
The result of this success, however, has been that it has become difficult to mentally disengage Klaus Teuber from the game. But it is a worthwhile exercise; while for me there's nothing to match Die Siedler, there are a number of other worthwhile games in his catalog.
Die Siedler von Catan became my favorite game in 1995; I haven't chosen a new one since, though I don't play Die Siedler nearly so often anymore. If you haven't tried it, do. In many ways, it's the game Monopoly should be - it's of a reasonably fixed and short length, and nearly the whole game is constructive - no one is eliminated from the game, and even in the most lopsided games everyone will make some progress. The Die Siedler card game offers some of the same feel of the original, but for two players and with the necessary adjustments to the luck necessary to keep the game close. The Settlers of the Stone Age is the first full-blown Settlers game to really excite me since the original; the changes are significant enough for the game to stand well on its own while still providing a familiar base for those familiar with the original. Starship Catan, while taking advantage of the Catan name, feels significantly different from the Die Siedler family and also stands well on its own.
Many of Teuber's games have the feel of being jumbles of mechanisms, which may or may not work together. One piece of the Die Siedler jumble was built into a separate game, Entdecker. While the game as published was initially panned, with Manu Soeding's simple variant (available at BoardGameGeek) the game has grown a sizeable and vocal following. While this variant still leaves Entdecker a fairly light game, it adds a sufficient skill factor to make it work better for many gamers, myself included; over time this has grown to be my second favorite Teuber game. I've never played the new version of Entdecker, as the changes have scared me off and playing the original version with some of the changes did nothing to encourage further exploration.
Vernissage, in contrast, had no mechanisms separated off - much to its detriment, in my opinion. The game, which is themed around the art market, does contain many individually interesting mechanics, from the method for purchasing art to the methods for affecting artist's reputations. But after three attempts to play, the best of which was barely palatable, the game hit my trade pile never to return. There is a fair contingent of otherwise reasonable people who claim to enjoy the game, though, so I can't help but have a nagging feeling we missed something.
Der fliegende Holländer doesn't have the reputation of Vernissage, but has worked much better for us. The game is really a stock market game, where players must balance between controlling the market (by means of the sending the title character - the Flying Dutchman - to devalue stock in the ships they aren't currently invested in), exchanging shares, and drawing horseshoes to gain control of the Dutchman in the future. One of the strengths of the game is that it is best with six players.
Also in the glut of mechanisms camp is Löwenherz. Much as with Der fliegende Holländer, players have to choose from among three options (although in Löwenherz there are actually four choices in the game, no more than three of which are available in any given turn). Here, however, the options affect a game board, allowing players to draw borders, fortify, and expand. There is inherent conflict in Löwenherz, at least with four players; it is clearly not a game for everyone. I find it to be a very enjoyable game, played occasionally. With experienced players, I'd strongly recommend the variable start-up rules. The revised edition of Löwenherz (Domaine in English) does away with all the negotiation, and should therefore appeal more to me, but in fact I found it a bit flat.
Adel verpflichtet is one of Teuber's most famous games (probably the most famous until Die Siedler), and was the first available in English. It is an abstract collection and movement game built upon a Hol's der Geier system. The great unsolved mystery of why a game so clearly designed for six players (look at the value of the checks and the thieves) has never been published for six has finally been made moot by Uberplay. While I have nothing against the game, and can readily understand the appeal, it's never been a favorite of mine - probably just a bit too much guessing for what it is, I suspect.
I've never played Teuber's first Spiel des Jahres winner, Barbarossa und die Rätselmeister, as it's more of a party game than usually appeals to me. I have played Drunter & Drüber a number of times, though, and the combination of tile-laying game and deduction game appeals to me. It still is not pulled out frequently, but has worked better with non-gamers than I would have expected. Among his older games, Timberland feels more like Teuber's later games in the number of interacting mechanisms, but doesn't stand out otherwise.
On a lighter scale, Galopp Royale is the best sedan chair racing game I've ever played. It's also the worst sedan chair racing game I've ever played, however, and overall just didn't thrill us although it wasn't bad. Bakschisch can best be described as Candyland with bidding, if such a description can avoid giving the impression of a children's game. Using very limited resources, players trying to advance up the board to reach the sultan by way of bribes. I rather enjoyed the game at first, but it didn't hold sufficient interest to keep a place on my game shelves. Hallo Dachs! is a children's memory game, with some of the problems for adults that that statement implies. Still, it isn't a bad game at all for playing with younger children. Die Ritter von der Haselnuss is an even better children's game, nicely balancing a memory element with simple strategic options, and Fette Bäuche is even better, with a nice mechanical aspect as players stuff pig's bellies with chips; when one pops, everyone except the player who caused this scores based upon what they've put in.
Gnadenlos wass Teuber's first non-Siedler boardgame to hit my gaming table after the long silence following the original Löwenherz, and after a rough play or two as we sorted out the mechanisms it's been rather enjoyable. It is a classic Teuber game, with lots of different mechanisms; like his better previous efforts the mechanisms work together nicely to form an interesting, and for Teuber very quick, game. The most recent of Teuber's games I've had the chance to play is Anno 1503, based upon the computer game (which I've never played). While Anno 1503 was widely chided for its multi-player solitaire gameplay, for those who don't object to that it's a fine offering, combining exploration and development aspects cleanly while providing sufficient interaction with the race elements to keep players involved.
Of Teuber's games without "Siedler" in their name, I can most readily recommend Entdecker, one of the few games I've enjoyed playing both with two players and multi-player. Löwenherz isn't a bad choice unless any negotiation in a game spoils it for you, and Gnadenlos has been sufficiently popular in early plays to warrant consideration. Der fliegende Holländer, which also involves a negotiation element, is worth trying with six players. I also enjoy Drunter & Drüber, although it hasn't been a big hit with my gaming groups, and have really been enjoying Anno 1503. Finally, while I'm not fond of Adel verpflichtet, it has a wide enough following to suggest trying it to see if it appeals.
Teuber games I own, and always expect to: Anno 1503, Entdecker, Löwenherz, Die Siedler von Catan, Starship Catan.
Other Teuber games I own: Drunter & Drüber, Fette Bäuche, Der fliegende Holländer, Gnadenlos, Hallo Dachs!, Die Ritter von der Haselnuss, Settlers Cardgame, Settlers of the Stone Age.
Other Teuber games I might play: Adel verpflichtet, Galopp Royal, Timberland.
Notes:
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This article may be reproduced in whole either mechanically or
electronically provided the copyright notice is included and I am notified
of the use before publication.
For additional information, I would recommend the following WWW sites:
Luding.
The best place to go for links to reviews of board games.
BoardgameGeek
The best place to find English rules translations, and much more.
The Game Cabinet.
The key site for older English rules translations.
Brett & Board.
The best place to go for the latest news on German board games.
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