The First Tsar: Ivan the Terrible

The First Tsar: Ivan the Terrible gives me the impression that it is Kordonski’s attempt to take the somewhat clumsy Rurik and put it into a smoother, more thematic form. And, for me, it succeeds: it is a light euro that sits nicely on the table and pleasantly fills an hour to an hour and a half.

At its core, the experience is that of a satisfying but not exhausting eurogame. There is enough gameplay to make you feel that you are engaging with something substantial, without burying you under excessive weight or turning the session into a marathon.

The rounds flow with just enough brain-burn and the necessary little bits and pieces to keep things interesting. Interaction did not come across as something that steals the show, but the overall flow kept all of us engaged and left the feeling of a complete, enjoyable contest.

Do not expect some big fresh idea, though, or anything we have not seen before. It is a good Greek village salad: it may not make you rethink salad as a concept, but it is still a good salad, over and out. Everyone at our table said they would play it again; afterwards, however, nobody spontaneously brought it up when the conversation turned to, “What should we play as the last game?”