Trickerion: Dahlgaard's Academy

Thanks to the valiant efforts of an influencer trying to explain this little monster to me, I managed to play it again, this time with all the expansions. Thankfully, the second encounter was much better than the first.

Dawn of Technology fixes exactly what had bothered me: the randomness and the large gap between the variable player powers. I found it a very good addition and, more importantly, properly balanced; the choices no longer feel as if they are starting from completely different places.

The Academy feels a little odd, but it works. It helps players who lose their place in the theatre in the final rounds, opens up alternative strategies, and puts money much more firmly at the centre. So the interaction does not remain limited to the fight for the theatre: there is now more room to adapt when someone shuts a door in your face.

It is one of the most satisfying euros I played this year, and I would absolutely play it more often with a group that already knows it. Sitting down to explain it simply to new players, though? Well, no. With these changes, however, it is a 9/10 for me.