Le Fantome de l'Opera and Small World

With lots of time left even after two games of Chain of Command on Sunday, fg and I decided to play Le Fantome de l'Opera, one of the boardgames my brother passed to me. I didn't care for the theme, but I liked the rules enough to want to try them.

The game components are lavish, which added the play experience. The game itself was a bit like Cluedo, where the perpetrator of a crime is identified by a process of elimination.

I found the game to be a little unforgiving, as a poor hand in the first turn can easily eliminate half of the suspects, making things very difficult for the Phantom player. It was a fun game nonetheless, and worth a try if not actually owning the set.

The next game we played was Small World, which is based on the game Vinci, which I loved.

Small Worlds is a fantasy and more thematic iteration of Vinci, and the fluff lends the whole game a less serious but no less challenging feel.

Again, the game components are superb, right down to the counter tray. One major difference between Vinci and Small World is that the latter uses a hidden victory point track instead of an open one. This on the one hand eliminates the problem of boredom for the trailing players when they know they have no hope of winning the game, and on the other hand prevents the ganging up of players against the obvious leader.

We played two games, and enjoyed both enough to want to play the game again. We are now talking about getting some expansion sets and playing the computer version of the game. If you like a strategic game with a fantasy theme, I recommend you check this game out.