The Cost

For us, The Cost is not merely a game; it is an entire occasion. This time it had anxiety, suspense, no takebacks, and no mercy. Talk of labour leaders and hard Marxism was promptly abandoned for a little laissez-faire capitalism and boats in the middle of the game, while the little coffins filled up enough to prompt the question: “Come on, did we kill them all?” Thankfully, a few were still left in the bag. And the finish? A proper photo finish, with the players separated by just $3-4.

It is an economic game that unfolds over rounds, with choices in the early rounds building tension for later on. The game we played again made it clear that the third round can be the point at which the entire affair is decided. The aim is to come out ahead financially, but the final margin can be absurdly small, so every risk and every decision matters.

Interaction comes through the directions players choose and how aggressively they push the economic landscape. The clean plan proved entirely capable of standing up to the brutal Totmacher, although it is harder to map out. And yes, the aggressive port/rail opening in the first round remains distinctive enough to merit a polite suggestion that Ioannis Prodromos try something else as well.

For our particular group, The Cost remains the very best kind of game: harsh, spectacular on the table, and close enough at the end to leave you looking at everyone else like a person who has just lost—or won—a small fortune. If you had not ordered it by the first paragraph, I genuinely do not know what you are waiting for.

Updated session

The later game did not change my opinion; it confirmed it. In a teach for Michalis, who kindly brought a bag of beers to make up for my neglected fridge, the game was once again dynamic and intense. The only meaningful addition was that the clean strategy appeared more clearly as a viable, though harder-to-plan, response to Totmacher. Then came risk analysis, souvlaki, kebabs, and a little siap fiyahi for dessert—which is a perfectly sensible ending for that level of ferocity.