Woodcraft

I can entirely see why Woodcraft has been so well received. It is another polished suchy release from Delicious Games, and one that does not make your wallet feel personally insulted. I just did not take to it as much as I expected.

At heart, it is a resource-gathering and order-fulfilment game. You collect what you need, arrange your production, and try to complete the orders that move you forward. The basic premise is straightforward; the real question is when to do each job, and what you can gain from doing it then.

Its wild three-dimensional rondel answers that question, determining both the actions available and their bonuses; it is the game’s big trick, and in sheer impact it can stand beside the wheel in Praga Caput Regni. Tools feel like a compulsory route, while the cards arrive with more randomness than I wanted. At four, you wait: someone else can be taking fifteen actions while you stare at the rondel for twelve, even twenty minutes, waiting to do something that matters. That stings.

I would play it again, because there is clearly more to uncover in its core and one first play is no final sentence. But for my tastes it sits below suchy’s earlier work; I remain much more of a Messina person.