Waar de meeste AOE III-sessies met meer spelers ontzettend goed worden ontvangen (veel spanning en belangen op het spelbord) lezen we de laatste tijd steeds vaker berichten dat het spel met z'n 2-en ook ERG LEUK is. Hieronder een voorbeeld van een review voor Age of Empires III met z'n 2-en:
AOE III scales wonderfully, and is now a favorite 2 player game for my girlfriend and I. It fills a niche for us of a game that is heavier than backgammon or a simple card game, but lighter and shorter than say, the War of the Ring.
The lack of space on the colonist dock (only 3 slots available) makes competition very tight in that box. The capital buildings "Indentured Servitude" and "Colonization Laws" have inflated value in the 2 player game because of this, guaranteeing that you always have at least one spot on the crowded ship.
In 2 player games, there is a lot more direct interference with your opponents plans. For example, you are often presented with the choice of say, taking a trade good that benefits you, or taking one that benefits your opponent (just to deprive them)-- in a game with 3 or more players, you are almost always better off just pursuing your own goals, rather than "taking one for the team" to block another player. This is not the case in head to head games, where preventing your opponent from scoring points is equally important as scoring points yourself.
The importance of buying an Age I building with a recurring specialist bonus is even more important head to head than in a larger game. Because there are almost always more than 5 very good choices for your colonists in a 2 player game, it is important to increase your number of actions per turn at a very early stage.
Conquest of the Incan Empire is even more awesome in a 2 player game, especially if it comes up on turn one along with 2 other "recurring specialist" buildings (which is perhaps a reason to use the "auction variant" for starting order), but my girlfriend and I haven't found even a lucky "Conquest" draw to be invincible.
Age II buildings are for the most part not worth it, in our experience. The Privateers are significantly worse (you only get to tax one player)... if Taxation turns up on turn 4, it is worth it, and I also like the University. For the most part though, I would rather save my money for Age III buildings than buy the other Age II buildings in a head to head game.
Age III buildings-- the Navy is even better than it usually is, as one player will score AT LEAST 16 points with it, if they have gathered half the ships. Prosperity, Glory, and Mercantilism are also great, and make up the rest of the "top tier" age III buildings. Wealth is good in some circumstances, but frequently you will make more VPs in a 2 player game by buying up more buildings than by saving it (which is necessary to optimize the value of Wealth). Population is good, but usually won't score quite as many points as Glory. Migration can be sneaky, but is definitely lower tier. Power and Militia I only buy in very specific situations.
On the whole, discovery is less important in 2 player games-- you just frequently have better options, and you are often just opening up more places for your opponent to populate, because it is hard to both allocate a ton of resources to discovery AND to control the colonies. When you are about to make a discovery, make sure you have a missionary coming the next turn to make sure you can a). Score VP for the colony, and b). Secure the trade good.
On the whole, I think Age of Empires is just as good, if not better, as a 2 player game. It forces both players to play a more balanced game, and utilize a combination of strategies, rather than narrowly pigeonholing themselves. It is also playable in 90 minutes or less, making it a great compromise between a round of cards and a more "epic" game. |
