Cuba Libre at EGO

Previous:
Next:
Tags

First play of Cuba Libre, and my second COIN game. I played as the Syndicate, which seemed natural to me, and similar to playing NVA in Fire in the Lake. The Syndicate can't assault, so it has to influence the other factions a bit more obliquely. Since it starts with very few resources, it has to bide its time during the early part of the game to build up resources.

These COIN are heavy games, without any doubt. Saying Cube Libre is the lightest of the system may not fully indicate how heavy they are relative to most other games. Part of the "lightness" of Cuba Libre may come from simply having a smaller deck. The mechanics are almost as intricate as Fire in the Lake. For someone not familiar with the games, they might be hard-pressed to see much difference.

Overall I liked it, and it does play faster than Fire in the Lake. I'm not sure I want to introduce to CC's group just yet though. I think perhaps we should play something a bit lighter first, while still being fairly heavy.

Previous:
Next:
Tags

What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.