Inventions: Evolution of Ideas

Holy Week was a complete loss for gaming: zero plays, despite the bag of lighter games I had packed, because neither adults nor kids were in the mood. Damn Roblox. Once we got back, though, we came out swinging with the new Lacerda—and finally with a game that looked genuinely promising from the first play.

I would not present it as a light game: it is a medium-heavy euro and it asks for attention. Even so, its flow felt far smoother to me than the cries of “brain-burn” would have you believe. The core experience is that of a demanding but approachable euro, not a graceless puzzle that fights you at every step.

Across my first two plays, the game worked without drowning me in needless complexity. I have no reason to overload the description with details it does not need: what matters is that the decisions and table interaction emerge from a streamlined whole, rather than getting lost in incomprehensible exceptions or cumbersome procedures.

Where things go wrong is the rulebook. It is the only flaw I have spotted so far, and it is annoying enough because such a smooth game deserves a much clearer explanation. Otherwise, this is one of the very good ones—perhaps even the best game from this particular designer—easily on par with Lisboa and The Gallerist. I recommend it without hesitation to medium-heavy euro fans: do not let the noise about “brain-burn” put you off.