Guns & Steel

I brought the relatively old Guns & Steel by Jesse Li back to the table and remembered why these small civilization games deserve a place in a collection. With three players, alongside morning coffee, it was exactly as short and thinky as I wanted it to be.

Its core is minimalist: in roughly half an hour, you play a civ game without committing an entire afternoon to it. The experience asks you to read the board and understand what is happening across the game as a whole, rather than merely looking at your own side.

That is also where the main interaction lies. Players need to cut each other off and react to what is opening up on the board; if they do not, the metagame becomes harsh in the least interesting way, because the outcome can become apparent fairly early.

That is the only serious negative I hold against it, but its very short running time softens it considerably: you finish one game and set up another straight away. For a holiday with gamers, or for a quick but substantial game before the day begins, it is good company.