Tin Goose

I know, I know: I had promised myself I would stop buying short games, let alone a Rio Grande title. But Tin Goose was looking at me provocatively from the shelf at Game Rules, and I figured Star Trek: Frontiers needed company in the bag. “It’s a light economic game; how bad can it be?” Thankfully, I was wrong: it turned out to be very enjoyable, and much harsher than I expected.

Each player takes over a troubled airline in 1920 and, over seven rounds, tries to grow its network and fleet in order to finish with the highest net worth. Teaching is genuinely brief — around ten minutes — and the game does not run beyond an hour and a half. Do not mistake that for a relaxed filler, though: before the game even begins, you need to think a little about where you are going, because if you enter without a plan, the other players have every chance to leave you far behind.

You start with money, a few planes, five internal problems for your company, and all the cards you will have available across the game’s three eras. On your turn, you play a card either to open an auction for a new fleet or to throw a disaster onto the table, such as strikes, accidents, or expensive oil. Then you take three actions, mostly to expand your network and meet goals that improve your finances. The auctions provide the necessary friction, while disasters reward whoever prepared for them and can cripple everyone else. And because in each era you hold one more card than you will ultimately play, the hand-management element adds one final, very enjoyable squeeze.

It delivers exactly what it promises: an accessible but tight economic game, with plenty of interaction, satisfying auctions, and enough nastiness that moves helping you can hurt everyone else at the same time. The initial setup takes ten minutes of thought, but random demand prevents completely fixed strategies. We played it with three and it already worked very well; with five, I expect even better moments. Its only substantial thorn is probably its steep price, likely due to the wooden planes. 8/10, and strongly recommended if you can find it at a good price.