La Granja

My first two games of La Granja left me rather unmoved. Coming back to it with people who speak the language of this sort of game, though, I found the pressure and presence I had missed before.

It was not revealed to me by the unsuccessful games I played on Yucata. At a table, its flow asks for players willing to settle into its rhythm and treat the game as something happening between them, rather than another quiet exercise completed in front of a screen.

The interaction is not the sort that shouts for attention; it lies in the way a capable group lifts the whole game. When everyone knows what they want from a game in this corner of the hobby, La Granja produces the strong contests its reputation suggests, and the table takes on that absorbed, satisfying air which makes an earlier doubt feel rather distant.

In the end, I had judged it too quickly. With more gaming experience behind me, and the right company around it, I can see why it is rightly regarded as one of the better games of its kind; for me, it is a rare and very welcome revision upwards.

Updated session

The later plays did not overturn that change of heart; they confirmed it. The unsuccessful online games remained flat, while returning to the table again showed how much its best version depends on the group.