Barcelona

Barcelona is an honest point salad in the Merv mould. It does not burn quite as fiercely as some of its peers, but it keeps everyone leaning over the table with that quiet adult concentration which makes an ordinary evening feel rather more worthwhile. Most importantly, it is simply pleasant to play.

At its heart is a search for points through several available routes, with each round asking players to make choices and then carry them through. At first, there seems to be an obvious line: you spot a strategy, follow it with your eyes, and assume it will take you where you need to go.

But, as with Merv, the strategies that look self-evident are not automatically the ones that produce the biggest scores or the win. With the Tram in play, resolving rounds can bring the occasional thinking strike, yet this is the good sort of delay: the moment your brain starts sizzling because a few more routes have suddenly appeared.

We had a very good time, and more importantly, we left wanting another go at different approaches. It is not a game for filling yourself up on, but it is a very fine experience for players who like to put their minds through a little proper cooking.

Updated session

The repeat play confirmed the first impression entirely: the game remains exactly as dense as it needs to be, without becoming heavy. Passeig de Gracia had not reached the table, so it would be premature to credit it with improvements we have not seen.

For fans of this sort of game, Barcelona is one of those quietly excellent titles that deserves a place among the year’s essentials.