Daitoshi

Having already enjoyed Barcelona and Windmill Valley, I was keen to see Garcia’s next step. Daitoshi is not trying to be just another elegant mid-weight euro: it dives straight into the point-salad pool, at the scale of Seti and Nucleum, with the confidence of a game that knows exactly how much it wants to fit onto the table.

At its core, it has a lot of moving parts, but they do not feel like arbitrary layers of complexity. The systems are put together very nicely and, in particular, the steam-production element feels fresh and organically tied to the rest of the game. This is one of those designs where I watch the machinery mesh and understand why every piece is there.

The rules flow remains relatively approachable for a package of this size, while the gameplay leaves room both for a balanced approach that does a little of everything and for specialization. Interaction mainly comes through how efficiently each player builds their own engine and through the final scoring: the track × achievement multipliers, in a What’s Your Game? style, are demanding and do not come easily. That gives the ending a satisfyingly tough tension.

If all of the above sounds like an appealing prospect rather than a warning, I think Daitoshi deserves a place in your collection and will deliver plenty of enjoyable sessions. If not, I would look at a more approachable title first—say, Nucleum. And because there is a lot of rulebook to unpack here, I will probably bring it on the trip too, for anyone who wants a teach and a game.