Sarcophagus session report

["Iain Cheyne" <news@...>]

http://cheyne.net/blog/index.cgi/board_games/Sarcophagus.html

Here is what I wrote:

Sarcophagus is an area majority type game, rather like a simple El 
Grande or Web of Power, the only one I know of for the piecepack. It 
fits the restrictions of the piecepack neatly, with every component 
used. The rules are similarly tidy and organised, with good examples. 
It also plays quickly, from initial instructions to the end of the 
game only took about 45 minutes. My only complaint that it is a bit 
mechanical and lacks the fun or serious skill that would made it a 
great game. It lacks fun because it does not have much direct player 
interaction or aggression. I can forgive a game for being serious if 
there is a lot of skill involved, but there was not a huge amount of 
that either.

I am not sure what I could suggest that would improve Sarcophagus, 
because it is a well tested, tight design and I cannot easily see 
what could change without wrecking it. It might work better with a 
more serious group of analytical players, but it did not light a 
spark for us. However, I did not think this is a bad game at all and 
must congratulate Phillip Lerche for doing such a thorough job. I 
will definitely check out his other games, like King Arthur's Court 
and Pharoh's Heir.

-- 
Iain