El Grande

Games from the Cellar

The panel drops in on El Grande, the 1996 Spiel des Jahres Winner. El Grande was designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich and was first published by Rio Grande Games in the US in 1995.

Episode Summary:

In this episode, we discussed the 1995 board game El Grande, which has been popular for almost 30 years. We discussed our experiences with the game, both online on Board Game Arena and in person, the latter we agreed is vastly superior. We then discussed the appeal of El Grande, noting its simple yet effective game mechanisms. Finally, we discussed the game in-depth and shared our personal experiences and ratings. We noted that it is a good game, and should be played face-to-face and with five players whenever possible.

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Chapters:

(0:00:00) - Playing El Grande in Person (0:12:27) - The Appeal of El Grande (0:19:38) - Area Control in El Grande (0:31:05) - A Battle of Wits (0:42:40) - Interpreting El Grande

Chapter Summaries:

(0:00:50) - Playing El Grande in Person (12 Minutes) El Grande is a 1995 board game by Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Elrick. It is an area-majority game that requires players to manage their resources and successfully use power cards to get cubes onto the board and gain points. After 9 rounds, the player with the highest points is the winner. The participants discussed their experiences with the game, both on Board Game Arena and in person. They agreed that playing in person was vastly superior, as it allowed for more interpersonal interaction and tactics.

(0:12:27) - The Appeal of El Grande (7 Minutes) El Grande is an example of an early Euro game and has been popular for almost 30 years. The game is a 'cube pusher' with an interesting bidding mechanism. It lacks an engaging theme or narrative, a common trait of early Euro-style games. The game mechanisms are simple but effective and have been difficult to replicate in later games. The game also has an interesting scoring system and the potential for resource manipulation. The conversation also touches on the preferences of different players, with some preferring flashier fare, and some preferring games with dinosaurs and lots of colors.

(0:19:38) - Area Control in El Grande (11 Minutes) El Grande is discussed in depth and is compared to other board games of its era. The conversation focuses on the mechanisms of the game and its strategic depth, with the ability to choose between depth and width when scoring points. It is noted that there is a good amount of downtime in the game and that there is a two-step process to putting pieces on the board, which can be challenging. It is also discussed that there is an interesting decision space in the game, with players having to choose between cards and trying to read their opponents.

(0:31:05) - A Battle of Wits (13 Minutes) In this section of the conversation, we wrap up our thoughts on El Grande, with the panel sharing their personal experiences and ratings. The participants discuss the components of the game, how the game plays, and how it is best played in person rather than online. They also discuss the different decision points and their importance to the game. The participants agree that it is a good game, but that it needs something to bridge the gap between the hard decision points and the waiting for someone else's turn.

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