Crossing Oceans

Since we had already played Transatlantic two or three times, I let Crossing Oceans rest in its shrink wrap for a while. It is another Gerdts game, the differences looked small, and the man has never exactly hidden his fondness for the rondel. Still, we like his games a great deal and always enjoy playing them, so eventually its time came.

At its core, Crossing Oceans retains the familiar logic I expect from its relationship to Transatlantic, but presents it in a more streamlined form. The flow of the game felt cleaner and more immediate to me, without losing the part of the system that makes it enjoyable for us.

The change I felt most strongly is the handling of the trading outposts, which I personally preferred here. The scoring is also much smoother: I can follow it during the game and, in the final rounds, there is at least the sense that I might be able to influence it a little.

The result is very good. We played two games back to back, and Crossing Oceans immediately entered the “I’ll play it anytime” category. It is like a McDonald’s burger: you eat it without stress, and you know exactly why you picked it.

If you do not have Transatlantic in your collection, buy Crossing Oceans without hesitation. If you already own it, though, you can live perfectly well with the older game; the changes are not as pivotal as they were, for example, in Skymines.