Findorff

I have stayed with FF long enough to recognise the flashes — yes, we love the crocodile trains — but the recent designs often feel as though they stopped one necessary revision early. Findorff has a solid foundation and plenty of pace, yet its final shape is strangely bloodless. It could almost pass for a 504 scenario, which is not quite praise.

At its centre are tableau building and action selection, and that part works: you develop what you can do, then choose when to use it. The economy is only just logical, in the sense that it does not reward close inspection, but it keeps the game moving. You do not need to believe in it; you only need to spend it.

Racing elements sit on top, keeping players from falling behind, and there are strategies worth pursuing. But the interest drains away where it ought to tighten: the houses you build, one of the game’s central activities, mean essentially nothing at the end. Area majority, or even set collection, would have given them weight; as it is, they are scenery on a builder’s budget.

It is neither bad nor dull, and it moves at a clip. Unlike Free Ride, though, it had the foundations to become a serious piece of work and chose not to use them. Findorff is not a disastrous purchase, but it is better played from a friend’s copy.