Bridge Troll is a new game by Alf Seegert and published by Z-Man Games. Our editor Jared took the time to review the game and now I’ve played it as well. Jared has put together a wonderful review of the game where I’ve added in a few points as commentary.
Bridge Troll is a great game. I can’t put it any plainer than that. Now, I may be slightly biased (I am friends with the game’s maker, Alf Seegert) but regardless it is a fun, easy to play game that has more than enough depth to stand up to long term use.
Ben: I can add as an unbiased player that I (and my play group) very much enjoyed the game. It’s simple enough to pick up in a few minutes yet the mechanics allow for a pretty decent depth of strategy once you get the hang of it.
Board Games are an interesting phenomenon, at least here in the US. It seems that many of us have a similar mentality towards board games as we do animation: Essentially it’s either something for kids alone or something extremely geeky. (I.E. American Otaku and anime fans) It’s a regrettable trend, especially since it affects the types of games we see sold. On the one hand you have the games for kids, certainly well made and fun… if you are a child. The other side is games like Risk, Descent, or one of the many based on video games.
Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy Risk (not that anyone will play with me anymore) and Descent, (for those not familiar with it, it is kind of like a board game version of the Dungeons and Dragons style setting, though greatly simplified) but both share two essential limitations. Both are very complicated to play with a large accumulation of rules, and both take a long time to set up/take down.
Bridge Troll handles both of these issues in a wonderful way, taking maybe two minutes to get out and set up, since the game consists of just the troll card for each player, a couple decks of cards representing the travelers, upgrades, etc., and the small cubes standing in for the boulders. In addition the game is nuanced with lots of room for deep strategy and serious tactical thought, yet isn’t bloated with unnecessary complications and excess rules. Basically it’s only as deep as your opponents make it. In other words, if you play with children the game works fine on a simpler level, but play it again with long time board game fans and you’ll have to put a lot more thought into each move you make.
Most of this depth comes from the ingenious bidding system, wherein your troll bids how many boulders they will use to ‘encourage’ the travelers to use his/her bridge that turn. The troll who bids the most (of a single color, except in one special case) picks a traveler first and so on, the number of travelers dependent on the type of weather, decided by a die roll. That’s straightforward enough. What allows for more possibilities is the fact that with some kinds of weather there will be more cards than players, and if there is a negative card (like the dragon) someone will have to take it, in some cases the very person who won the bidding. (I.E. if there was one more card than players, the first player to go gets two travelers that turn) If that was not enough, at the end of the turn the players go in reverse order, picking up the bid of whatever player they chose, so if a player uses all of their boulders to win a bid, the player who bid the least will end up with them all to use the following turn.
Ben: Elegant is a great word to describe the bidding system. It’s simple in design and execution and is also a great balancing system. The weather die allows for a bit of randomness to enter into the equation but the bidding is the heart of the game and allows for fairly quick play and a decent dose of strategy.
I do have one minor complaint about the game. There are a couple rules that were a tad unclear in the small rulebook. For example, a player can forgo bidding one round, enabling them to gather more boulders, as well as a few other actions. I failed to realize that there were certain actions, like turning in travelers stored for food and ransom + boulders to upgrade the worth, that are only available when not bidding.
It’s an especially minor issue because playing it without that rule didn’t unbalance the game play at all (since it made things easier for everyone equally) and it didn’t make it any less fun. Of course it always takes a couple times playing any game to get everything down just right anyway.
Ben: We had a chance to play three separate games (4 players). The first game was our learning experience and took about an hour. In part it took longer as we were digesting the rules. We were also digesting our supper. The next two games went a bit quicker (about 45 minutes each) and it was the consensus of the group that it was a fun game to kill an hour or two with. Easy enough for casual players and challenging enough for hardcore gamers.
We very much enjoyed the mechanics of the game, let’s talk a little about the look and feel of the game. Everything (dice, cards, counters) is solidly constructed and on opening the box that pleasant, new game smell was there. (Slightly tainted by Jared, who got to play it before me.) All of the components are built to last, as with other Z-man games I’ve played.
The artwork done by Ryan Laukat is done in a fresh, whimsical style reminiscent to me of some recently read graphic novels. I love the way the different trolls are drawn. The design of the game incorporates Ryan’s art in a way that enhances rather than distracts, which is always nice.
Alf informs me that the game has just arrived in the states and is getting prepped for shipping from Z-man games. Shipping should begin this week with Bridge Troll arriving in stores at some point next week. Big kudos to Alf for creating such a fun game! You can pre-order or purchase it right from Z-man’s site (link). Also check your local gaming shops starting next week.
Check out Alf’s profile on Board Game Geeks and also his own corner of the web.
Technorati Tags: board and card games, bridge troll
Related posts:
- Bridge Troll – A new card game we can get excited about
- We have our winners – The Bridge Troll contest
- Interview with board game creator Alf Seegert and artist Ryan Laukat, the folks responsible for Bridge Troll
- Win yourself one of two copies of Bridge Troll from Z-Man Games!
- Today is your last chance to win a copy of Bridge Troll!
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June 28th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
thank you man
June 30th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
If you have no Pirates of the Burning Sea Money you will find no interesting in Pirates of the Burning Sea Online.
June 30th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
The game should be hitting shelves quite soon now here in the US, I have heard about a guy in China who loves the game already. This Saturday (July 4th) I will be attending the launch party at Game Night Games with Alf, should be a lot of fun, and I’ll be sure to write about how it went.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:27 am
Sounds like an interesting game. But you definitely try to know how the game is really. Thanks for the information. I’ll surely check it out and see. Cheers
July 6th, 2009 at 4:07 am
good
July 8th, 2009 at 7:25 am
tank u very good topic very nice..
July 8th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Cool, cant wait for this. Looking forward to Jareds comments on games night launch party.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
thanks good post
July 15th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Seems like a great game. My friend told me to take a look at this. I think it’s a very interesting game. I would really love to give it a try. Thanks for sharing the information. Cheers !
July 16th, 2009 at 7:09 am
I want it ^^
Its looks a”Frak”ntastic game! Waiting for more board games posts =)
July 17th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Great review. I immediately entered the competition to win a copy :-)
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:11 am
What a great game. Please post more posts like this
August 7th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Before I started playing this game, I wasn’t too keen on it and was thinking that there isn’t anything special about it. Well I just gave it a try anyway, the graphics may not be all that great but the game play is amazing! you have to try it out!
August 10th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Bookmarked this site and emailed it to a few friends, your post was that great, keep it up.
August 10th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
If you have no Pirates of the Burning Sea Money you will find no interesting in Pirates of the Burning Sea Online.
August 10th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I would really love to give it a try. Thanks for sharing the information. Cheers !
August 10th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
This beautiful and informative article, thank you very much. Use this page to your friend told you.
August 10th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
The game should be hitting shelves quite soon now here in the US, I have heard about a guy in China who loves the game already.
August 11th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Came across this post on my free time after work hours. I’d love to play that game. seems like a good enjoyable game. Will try it out soon if I can. Thanks for sharing the information.
August 19th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Can’t wait to play. I come from a big gaming family…they will love it I am sure. Thanks for the great blog!
August 21st, 2009 at 7:25 am
Your site is very successful continuous tracking.
August 21st, 2009 at 7:40 am
I followed with great interest your site. success
August 21st, 2009 at 1:24 pm
This game is amazing, it is quite a lot like the mount blade warband game, as in the gameplay in both games are rather similar and brilliant! Unlike in MBW I enjoyed this storyline and the length of the game..
August 23rd, 2009 at 8:26 am
Just the option to get to eat some people makes the game worth giving a shot in the first place!!!
August 24th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
nice post thanhk you very much
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August 31st, 2009 at 3:29 am
i play it. Thakns for post
September 1st, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Forgot to mention how much I like the illustrations on this game as well. Simple figures, but fun.
September 3rd, 2009 at 1:36 pm
thankyyou
September 7th, 2009 at 5:59 am
Its looks a”Frak”ntastic game! Waiting for more board games posts
September 8th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Thank you very much for this great post :)
September 13th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Thank You Man . Good ;)
September 28th, 2009 at 2:16 am
Thanhk you. Great review.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Love this game, infact I’ve actually got my friends hooked on this game! they love it! great creation, Would love to play more games like this! thank you!!
October 5th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I think that this game is very interesting and fascinating. Many thanks to the game developers! :))
October 9th, 2009 at 3:27 am
? followed with great interest your site. success..
October 9th, 2009 at 3:29 am
thanks for post. Please post more posts like this
October 21st, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Thank You Man! Nice work! ;)
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Thanks a lot :]
October 25th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Thank You Man! happy
October 27th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
The excellent review, the big work is made!
October 29th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Jared, great review! Thanks for the share.
October 30th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Really great game, the best gameplay for sure! And couldn’t agree more with you Jarred, great article. Been playing this game for awhile now too, havent got enough of it yet :)
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:49 am
It’s very good game!! Thanks for you!
November 4th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
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November 21st, 2009 at 3:47 pm
This beautiful and informative article, thank you very much. Use this page to your friend told you.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Super awesome. I would like to try it out and see. Thanks for the review. Cheers
December 14th, 2009 at 4:40 am
Great game. I would really like to try this one out and see. May be this would be an awesome gift for Christmas too. thanks. Cheers
January 18th, 2010 at 9:13 am
tank u very good topic very nice..
January 27th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Great article thanks for sharing I will be returing to read more from this blog
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:14 am
The best gameplay for sure! And couldn’t agree more with you Jarred, great article. Been playing this game for awhile now too.
March 11th, 2010 at 6:49 am
[...] game published by Z-Man Games and created by Alf Seegert with artwork by Ryan Laukat. We’ve reviewed it, we’ve interviewed the creators and we’ve generally enjoyed the hell out of [...]
March 13th, 2010 at 8:57 am
The game play in this is fantastic, just like guitar hero in a very strategic way! I like the older games, there just have a much better twist and im not really graphic effects fan either.So its all good!