Great Western Trail: Argentina

This is Alexander the Great in remix mode: taking one of his biggest hits and reworking it without losing its spirit. Great Western Trail: Argentina remains recognisably GWT, but it is not merely a repeat; it is a fairly different and noticeably heavier game, with additions that demand more thought.

The most important change is grain, produced by the characters I need to collect. It replaces the progress of the player's engine as a counterweight to big hauls before the little train has advanced far enough. This is not a cosmetic change: it shifts the weight of decisions to a new place and makes the management of my options more demanding.

In some respects the game is tighter, while elsewhere it becomes more race-y. The ports work like a more abstract version of Rails to the North, and although the rules remain more or less close to the original, the viable strategies are clearly more numerous. The result is a more open game, where I see more paths worth pursuing and more things competing for my attention.

As a remix, I can only applaud the designer's greatness. As a final result, though, I have mixed feelings: I think I prefer the original, precisely because it is less verbose. In any case, this is a game I wholeheartedly recommend.