Messina 1347

I came back to Messina 1347 with four players, and having already been through it once, I found it much easier to teach. That matters. This is a game that needs a little time in front of you before it starts speaking plainly. In the first game, you study the map; in the second, you start studying each other.

The heart of the experience is the set of choices on that map. On each turn, it is not enough to find a move that helps you now; you also need to notice what remains available, what narrows, and what route you leave open for the next player. Those moves become far easier to read once you have seen a full game unfold.

That is where the interaction lives. The ways of cutting across the map do not announce themselves at first, but repeated plays make them visible, and you begin to see when your choice is boxing someone else in. The game does not spoon-feed you the nastiness. It makes you find it yourself. Then you make a habit of it.

Downtime dropped noticeably because the decisions, and the possible ways of shutting each other out, were clearer around the table. My view remains very positive: Messina 1347 is the sort of game that does not merely survive repeat plays, but rewards you for coming back and finding where you can cut off the player beside you.