Review
Le Havre
Le Havre returns to the table with the satisfying weight of a game that still asks you to think ahead. It is not flawless, but its tempo remains wonderfully alive.
- Published
- 2008
- Designer
- Uwe Rosenberg
- Publisher
- Lookout Games, 999 Games, asmodee
- Players
- 1–5
- Playing time
- 150 min
Le Havre had been away from my table for too long. I had worn out its iPad version years ago, so I thought I knew it; then three people sat down for a refresher game and the physical version reminded me that a proper table gives these decisions a different kind of weight.
At its heart, Le Havre makes you keep recalculating your route through the game. You cannot simply follow a prepared recipe. You need to see what is coming, what you can afford to handle now, and what must be saved for later.
You cannot simply follow a prepared recipe. You need to see what is coming, what you can afford to handle now, and what must be saved for later.
WhiteColarGamer
That gives its choices a tempo which keeps shifting rather than locking into a prescribed sequence. Everyone shares the pressure created by the game’s time and space, so the other players are not background furniture; they make you adjust the plan as the evening moves on.
It is not perfect, and Ora et Labora is still its more rigidly mapped relative. But Le Havre leaves room to do the sums in the moment, which makes it deeply enjoyable — quietly excellent after a day at work and, for me, plainly better than a good many newer modern titles.
But Le Havre leaves room to do the sums in the moment, which makes it deeply enjoyable — quietly excellent after a day at work and, for me, plainly better than a good many newer modern titles.
WhiteColarGamer
Source: BoardGameGeek
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