Ronin

Queen Games has, on this evidence, moved beyond producing forgettable euros and made something with a bit of purpose. Ronin is a notably thematic area-control game, direct in its ambitions and satisfying in its running time; the sort of thing I want on a Tuesday after work, before tiredness turns every decision into the same decision.

At its centre is the contest for control of the map. The turn flow is kept spare, with neither elaborate machinery nor random elements to hide behind: your choices are your own, and an awkward result cannot be blamed on a bad roll.

Player interaction comes straight from that struggle for space, as everyone leans on everyone else's plans for territorial control. The game develops in a way that faintly recalled Franchise for me—not in theme or mechanism, but in the similarly full feeling it leaves behind once the game is done.

It appears capable of working at any player count, but I would not choose it below four when other games could occupy that slot. With a full table, though, it is an ideal opening game for an evening: simple without being empty, and quietly excellent where it matters.