Origins: First Builders

Origins: First Builders had already taken plenty of flak from acquaintances and friends by the time it reached me. Unfortunately, the pre-order had already happened, so it was too late for love. I put it on the table with a heavy heart, ready to send it to the depths of the vault if the prophecy came true. In the end, with three players, I had a better time than its bad reputation had promised.

At its core, it is a fairly simple dice-placement game: you place your workers to collect resources and build buildings in your city. The buildings start clicking together when you complete sets of four, so there is that satisfying combo feeling without having to untangle some impenetrable rules system. It reminded me quite a lot of Dominations, which I like very much, only this is a lighter version of that idea.

The interaction is not exactly a polite exchange of smiles. There are some fair bits of nastiness in the scoring, while the game also allows some fairly extreme plays, such as a fast advisor rush or castle abuse. That is the point where the table needs to pay attention: it does not feel like the classic euro as we are used to it, nor does it guarantee that everyone will follow a safe, predictable path.

I would not bury it the way one well-known influencer friend did, because my own play was genuinely enjoyable and I would play it again. On the other hand, I would not rush to recommend it without reservations either. For me, it is clearly a try-before-you-buy case: give it a go, see whether its quirks and extreme openings suit you, then decide whether it deserves a place in your collection.