Silverton

Silverton was one of those decent boxes rotting on the hideout shelves, waiting for the right victims to make cry. It was liberated last year by a commando squad, but it did not make it to the table immediately: it needs a lot of table space, plenty of time, and a group in a good mood. This is not a game to squeeze in between two obligations.

Here, players chase questionable-quality mines and try to build lines connecting them, hoping that all this mining will produce a bit of money. It is claim jumping with a fairly distinctive feel, where there is a plan to make, but carrying it out is constantly filtered through the dice.

And what dice. More than in a game of Warhammer 40k, with outcomes that can either lift you up or make you tear up over your mining dreams. There is strategy, obviously, but luck carries enormous weight, and the whole experience reminded me quite a bit of the monstrous Stellar Frontiers. When bad rolls arrive one after another, eventually you stop getting annoyed and simply laugh, waiting to see where the whole circus ends up.

At our own relaxed post-brunch table, with no time pressure and dips every three rounds, it worked just fine: we laughed endlessly and, generally, there was plenty of wheeling and dealing. Had I played it on a Friday night, I might have been completely put off by its volatility. Even so, I would like to see it again—provided there is space, time, and the right mood for dice that owe nobody an explanation.