The Ruhr: A Story of Coal Trade

Last Friday ended with a proper blast from the past: some vintage coal from the well-known Ruhr miner, Mr. Spitzer. It is an economic Euro exactly the way the BLTG board likes it: tight, twisty, and not inclined to hand you much.

At the table, the game puts you in the Ruhr coal trade and keeps you under constant economic pressure. This is not one of those Euros where you comfortably spread out your plan and somehow manage to do everything by the end; every move matters here because the margins are limited.

And naturally, there is the necessary player friction: fair funerals and cut-offs. Other players’ choices are not decorative, so you need to watch the table and accept that a lovely plan may not stay lovely for long. This is not a laissez-faire “I do everything, whisky, Coca-Cola” kind of affair.

Seeing its BGG rating slide, it seems obvious to me that The Ruhr runs against the spirit of the times. That is fine: we have a large stock of games like this to enjoy in retirement, so I am not worried. It was a very good session, and it did not change my opinion in the slightest: I will happily play it anytime. And now I have discovered that the same person released Beer Pioneers last year, which somehow passed completely below the radar. Now, let us try to find it.