Famous Games Co. Card Games: Stocking Stuffer Series #1

Card Games
Tennis, Baseball, Golf, Yacht Racing, Car Racing, and Football
Designed by Rob Bartel
Published by Famous Games Co.
2 Player Small and Quick Sport Themed Card Games



Stocking Stuffer Series
This is the first in a six part series of smaller games that I think would make great "stocking stuffer" presents. Easily able to transport and play just about anywhere, these games are great for travel. All of these games have pretty simple concepts that make learning each game go by quickly so you can get right into the fun. These games also offer short playing times (no longer than an hour for each with most averaging around 30 minutes or so). As you consider holiday gifts this year, don't over look the "smaller" games, as these games may just be the games that get the most play time. We don't always have a couple of hours to play our favorite strategy game or old classics such as RISK (where the setup time alone could be 30 minutes) so a lot of us grab a fun game that we know will be short (and yet each minute will be entertaining and enjoyable). The other great thing about these "stocking stuffer" sized games - the price point, with no game being more than $25. Check them out and see which one(s) you may want to add to your holiday this year!

Famous Games Co. Card Games
I came across Famous Games Co. through seeing a tweet by Casual Game Insider a while back. I was very intrigued when I came across a picture of Famous Forehand being played. For those unaware, I really enjoy Tennis, and I have been developing a Tennis themed card game slowly over the past few years. When I saw what Famous Games Co. had done with their version, I was impressed. The game I'm working on is a lot more in-depth, but what Rob Bartel has really done is create six different mini card games (each comprised of just 11 cards and a fold-out informational card) that have a great matching sport theme applied to them. Their are two games that are considered beginner level games (Tennis and Baseball), two games that are intermediate (Golf and Yacht Racing), and two that are advanced (Car Racing and Football). All of the games are really simple to learn, but some are more involved than others.

For such small games, these games sure do hold a lot of enjoyment for those willing to get up off the bench and play. The games offer a nice variety of game mechanics across the six different games. The games can be purchased as a set or individually from the Famous Games Co. website and at the end of this blog you will find a limited coupon code that can get you $5 dollars off your order of a complete set (first 10 to apply the code).

Each game is made of good quality cards that sport (pun intended) wonderful artwork. The themes are applied well to each game and each really does give you a nice feel of the sport (a very difficult thing to do with the small amount of cards). These 2 player card games keep it simple so that players don't need to bog themselves down with trying to understand complex rules or deep strategy, but they leave it light enough that you can just enjoy the game mechanics and feel of playing that sport on a table top with a friend. In my case, these are games that I can see me and my wife playing on weeknights where work and life may be crazy (the games provide a lighter game that we can enjoy without adding any additional stress to our pile from earlier that day. Great relaxing games.

Some may struggle with the price ranging currently from $5.49 to $6.25 depending on which game (or $37.25 for the entire set - time to utilize that coupon found below to bring it down by $5). Others may find the games too simple for their liking and will either wish the game was expanded to be a little more complete, or they would rather spend the 30 minutes setting up their next Axis and Allies game. These games may not appeal to everyone all the time, but the games are well done and I think most of you would find yourself enjoying the well applied themes and game mechanics that these little 2 player card games provide.

I will briefly discuss each game separately focusing on the things I like or dislike about each game. The rules and instructions for the games are provided on 2 cards and are easy to understand. If this wasn't easy enough for your, the Famous Games Co. website provides great step by step instructional tutorials (very well done). Some of the games will require a pen and paper to keep track of score and other markers/tokens may be required for game play as well (usually a few pennies or other change, or even tokens from other games). My favorites listed in order would probably have to be Tennis, Football, and Car Racing but I did enjoy each of the games. Overall, 2 fingers up, or 7/10 stars for these light minimalist card games.

Famous Forehand (Tennis)
The tennis game is really the most simple of all and yet I enjoy that simplicity (again, a little bias since this is my favorite sport). The back and forth feel and strategy of ball placement is indeed captured and utilized well. I just wish there were more cards! Each rally just seems to end too soon. This is just me wishing there were more cards for each rally. Four cards just doesn't feel like enough, I just want to keep playing each point. With the few number of cards, some people may get too familiar with all the cards and this may take some of the fun out of it. But the game is so simple and using the cards as the two halves of the tennis court is just an awesome idea. This is one of the games where the "required" penny and pen and paper really isn't needed. It is pretty easy to keep track of where the ball is and the score without a penny marker etc. This gives me hope that my tennis game will be enjoyable too!

Famous Fastballs (Baseball)
I was really surprised when I opened this one. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but this game is actually a hand gesture game (along the lines of rock-paper-scissor). The cards provide a nice layout that is used to keep track of outs, runners, who is up to bat, the score, and so forth. The game is each player choosing at random different hand signals. Depending on the combination of the two results the batter may get struck out, walk, or get a hit. If they hit the ball, then players move on to a different set of gestures (choosing a number between 0 and 3) to determine the result of the hit (will it be a home run, or did the pitching team get a double play - allowing them to remove 2 runners from the bases). The hand signals and cards really fit the theme well I think, especially thinking about the different signals that catchers give to pitchers etc. I found myself getting a little tired of repeating the hand gestures though, but you could do a similar thing utilizing the cards but using dice instead to determine the outcomes. Again, well done and thought out game.

Famous Fairways (Golf)
From the mini-golf dates to pretending that I know what I'm doing on the golf course, my real life experience with golf isn't that great. Golf however seems to be just one of those sports that you should know how to play (especially if you are going to be doing any sort of business with anyone, or so I have seen and been told). Choosing the right club is something that I understand the concept, but in practice, I really have no clue what I'm doing. In Famous Fairways, players pick clubs to place their ball (within that given club range) down the fairway closer and closer to the hole. Originally I didn't think there was much strategy to the game, but I quickly realized that there was more strategy to this little game than golf balls found at the bottom of the Par 5 lake. Sometimes the longest range club isn't the best or you may want to enter a hazard. Cards are shuffled and dealt out in a line equal to the Par for that hole (Par 3, 3 cards - Par 5, 5 cards). Each card has 4 possible ball locations and each is riddled with either water, bunker, or rough hazards each effecting you in different ways. A great little pocket sized golf game that will require some 9 markers or so to keep track of ball location and club choice.

Famous Flagships (Yacht Racing)

This game is a fun game, but I didn't catch the theme as much as I did in the other games. Players take turns playing 1 of 3 cards in their hand that moves their yacht either clockwise or counterclockwise around the center wheel 1 to 3 spaces. The player obtains points (written down on paper or kept track mentally) equal to the number of markers on that space plus the number of dots. The player then puts all markers from that spot into the center and places markers from the center to the left and to the right of their boat. First to 50 wins. A very interesting concept (and I guess trying to steer into the wind to get the most speed each turn does provide some applicability to the theme) that again I wasn't seeing much too it at first, but as the game progressed, I started realizing that I should try and figure out what my opponent was going to play so that I could be ready for my own strategies as each time you play a card that round, you will switch that card with what your opponent played.

Famous 500 (Car Racing)
This game really offers great variability and you get to customize your very own race car each game. Will you start with speed points (or victory points) or will you stock up on tires and fuel hoping that you will not need to take a turn to make a pit stop later in the game? Also, you can play on different race tracks as well that can be downloaded or you can create your own! I love the customization portion of this and the different available tracks. You really do need a pen and paper for this game though to keep track of damage to your car and points. Players will be choosing from 3 different cards in their hand and hoping for each segment that they are the fastest car (scoring one more speed point than your rival). The speed points can be used later in the pit stop to restore your car (for beware, if you drop below zero in any category, you are out of the game!) but they are also the means of victory (the player with the most at the end of 3 laps - again, you can vary this - is the winner). Great replayability on this one - a light custom car racing game.

Famous First Downs (Football)
Last, but definitely not least is the great football game! This game uses the most game markers, but it may just be the funnest one of the bunch (I know, I said the Tennis was my favorite...). The offense has 3 double sided cards that will have certain plays of the 9 showing that can be run. Offense lays down one of the 6 options, then defense will pick one of their 6 defensive cards and put it face down. Offense then picks one of the highlighted routes he wants to run and defense then reveals their card to see if they subtract any yardage or block any gain etc. I really like this game mechanic. Each side can gain momentum tokens for completing first downs or blocking gains and these can then be used to influence the game further (even create a fumble or interception). Do you try for the long pass, get the field goal using some extra momentum, or just put the ball to avoid giving your opponent a leg up on their offensive run. The game plays very well and I think provides the most enjoyment (other than perhaps the very simple tennis back and forth that I live for) out of this set of games.

Closing Remarks
Rob had a great vision of creating simple card games that 2 players can sit down and easily enjoy game after game without the fuss of a lot of components or complex rules. These minimalist sport themed games are well themed and have great solid game play. Simple hand gestures, 'club' placement, and card choices are transformed into nice feeling sport games that I think players will enjoy. Some have more replayability than others and for some, I just wish there was a little more to it. If you are looking for some quick light 2 player card games with some twists, go check out these card games at http://www.famousgames.co/ and that is How Lou Sees It!

Enter this Coupon Code for $5 off if you purchase the entire set. Only available until January 1st and to the first 10 people to enter the code. Enjoy! (Code = LOUC-XFA2)

A big SHOUT OUT to Famous Games Co for providing these free review copies. Check out the video review below for more on what each game looks like!

All Aboard the Deck-building Train!

Trains
Designed by Hisashi Hayashi
2-5 Players
Published by AEG
Deck-building Game (with a board!)

Background / Introduction
It seems like trains are "all the rage" these days when it comes to board games. There seemed to be an explosion of train themed games after the tremendous success of Ticket to Ride around the world. I like to actually call this effect "The Twilight Effect" (referring to the endless amounts of vampire themed books, movies, and TV shows after the success of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight book). Now, of course there were train themed games prior to Ticket to Ride (TTR), but when the money train took off that is TTR, everyone heard the conductor shouting "All aboard!" and many game designers and publishers jumped on board.

I really enjoy trains. Trains contributed to the rich history of the west and they play a very vital and interesting role in our society today. For those familiar with the TV show "The Big Bang Theory," I feel that one can get just as excited about AEG's game Trains as Sheldon can about the real deal (or a model). One family vacation years ago, my family decided to fly somewhere only 530 miles away and then take a train ride back. Part of the fun for the trip was that I hadn't been on a plane or train before this point. It was definitely a great experience and one that has stuck with me. Riding through mountains and beautiful countryside on a passenger train is an experience that not many know (those in Europe may be more likely to have this experience as they are still used frequently for passenger travel between towns and countries).

I will tell you right now that Trains has easily become one of my new all-time favorite games. I really enjoyed Dominion when it first came out a few years ago, and when I heard about Trains for the first time, it sounded pretty similar with the type of cards and mechanics used. I was intrigued. A deck-building game that utilized a train theme and added a board to the mix (now that was different!). Building and balancing a deck full of cards while trying to create the most beneficial railway system on the map. The cards are very well themed for use in the game, and the concept of "waste" cards being added to your deck as you progress in the game is really fun. The game provides many different strategies that could be used for victory.

Components / Rule Book
Trains retails at $59.99 and it includes a good amount of content. In the box, you will find 530 cards (yes,
you read that correctly), 124 wooden rail and station tokens, a double sided board, card dividers, a card tray in-lay to keep your cards organized, and the rule book. Besides the double sided board that is provided in the game, you can download and print other maps from online to play with (fans have created a bunch already including a "Middle Earth" from Lord of the Rings). The different maps add a great deal of replayability and can be a nice change for each game. The quality of the components are all really nice. The cards have a glossy type finish on them which seems pretty good. I did seem like I wasn't able to shuffle the cards as well with this type of card (they clumped up a little more so that I didn't feel like I was getting the best shuffle every time - this could just be me and how I shuffle the cards).

I guess there could be some resemblance... 

Really, the only things that I'm not too crazy about regarding the game Trains fits into this category
(components / rule book) - so, let's get them over with now so that we can focus on how the game is so amazing the rest of the time. While the cards fit the train theme really well and I like the artwork, the game pieces that you actually play on the board are just simple wooden cubes (for the railways) and white wooden cylindrical pieces represent the stations. These pieces are great quality, but I do kind of feel that they are little abstract and they could have improved upon the game by making tokens match the theme (little wooden rails or trains, with little wooden or even plastic stations).

The other thing that I found a little lacking was the rule book. It really isn't a bad rule book, but there just a few things that could have used some more explanation or detailed examples. It would have been really nice to have a FAQ section, or a separate book that discussed each card with perhaps some more detail. Not a huge issue, but it would be convenient to have answers to these very common questions in the rule book (perhaps future printings could include such a sheet for clarifications).

 Setup
The setup time for Trains isn't too long, but it can take a little while to actually sort through and pull out all 16 decks that you will be using for the game. You can speed this process up by everyone helping out. In each game, there are 8 kind of cards that are used each game and there are 8 other cards that are randomly chosen from another 30 different types of cards (huge replayability here folks as each time you can be playing with a different conglomerate of cards).

Each player starts the game with a deck of 10 cards (7 normal trains, 2 lay rails cards, and 1 station expansion card). These cards will be shuffled creating the players starting deck and they will draw 5 cards that will make up there hand. The starting player is chosen by determining who traveled most recently by train. To start the game, each player will choose a starting location on the map (yeah, you would also need to decide what map you will be playing) and place a rail token. The token may not be on a water space, a remote location, or on a location already claimed by another player. Then the game gets chugging.

Goal / Gameplay
The goal of Trains is to have the most victory points at the end of the game. The game ends when either of the following are met: a player runs out of rail tokens, all the stations have been built, or 4 decks from the supply are emptied (waste not included). You obtain victory points through various means. You can gain victory points from the board by building railways in cities with stations (city with no stations = 0 points, 1 station = 2 points, 2 stations = 4 points, and 3 stations = 8 points) and building railways to remote locations (point value shown on board). You can also obtain victory points through victory point cards.

Gameplay is very simple. You start each turn with 5 cards drawn from your deck. You then use these 5 cards for their special actions or abilities and their income. You can buy cards from the supply to help strengthen your deck, and/or you can build your train empire on the board with lay rail type cards or by building stations. The cards are color coded and their are some basic categories of different cards available to you (blue = trains (income), green = laying rails (also reduce cost of building), purple = stations, red = actions, and yellow = victory points etc.).

As you progress toward your inevitable victory or demise, you will be gaining waste cards. Lots and lots of waste cards. This is a really cool concept in my opinion. Whenever you do something that may be really beneficial, you usually will gain a waste card that will go in your deck. You lay a rail (waste), you buy a victory point card (waste), you enter a city already occupied by another player (waste), will the waste ever end? Well, there may be some handy cards available in the supply that allows you to avoid gaining these wastes, or maybe it allows you to dispose of them (properly of course, we wouldn't want the EPA after us). Balancing your deck is very important. You may be able to live with a few waste, but you will want to get rid of waste as often as possible. You can take a complete turn to dispose of any waste in you hand, but that could be a very vital turn you just missed out on. This is a very important part of the game (and really, if you think about it, we create lots and lots of waste each day - how do we take care of it and where does it go) and will be vital to victory.

I won't go into any more nitty gritty detail of the rules, but will rather talk a little about what I like about the gameplay. I really enjoy the deck-building and balancing aspect of the game, but what makes this game really different than those other deck-building games is that Trains has a very well put together board element to it as well. The deck-building element is really similar to other deck-building games, however, the waste cards and the concept of gaining waste (or useless cards) into your deck as you perform actions that gain you points (or place you in a better position to do so) provides a nice new game mechanic that works extremely well.

The rail laying portion on the maps definitely adds to the fun factor and the strategic elements of the game. choosing where to build and how quickly can make a big difference in the outcome of the game. With the double sided board and the maps available online (or if you are feeling creative, you could make your own) there is a nice replayability there to keep placement of rails and board strategy different each time.

Final Thoughts
AEG has now perhaps my top 2 deck-building games (Trains and Thunderstone). I am giving Trains my highest rating, a big Thumbs Up (or 10/10 stars). Even though the playing pieces are a little abstract, they are still great quality and they work well enough. The rule book isn't amazing, but it does well enough. I enjoy this game a lot. It really doesn't take long to play, the general gameplay is simple, and the game provides many different variations to keep each game fresh and different than the last. There are always multiple ways to find victory and each player must adapt to other player styles as well if they want to be successful. Is it Dominion meets Ticket to Ride? Maybe a little bit. Either way, the game is definitely one that I would recommend to everyone out there! Christmas is coming...and that is How Lou Sees It!

A big SHOUT OUT to AEG for providing this review copy and making this possible. The review itself was in no way influenced by the receipt of this complimentary review copy.

Upcoming!
Christmas is almost upon us! My next set of reviews will be on some "stocking stuffer" type games. Games that are small (easily travel), and easy on your pocket book too! These games would make for great stocking gifts, neighbor gifts, or would be great for anyone looking for some simple, quick, less expensive type games. I also will have an exclusive coupon code for some of the card games - so keep your eye out for the next review!

Worker Placement Preview

Worker Placement

Designed by Mark MacKinnon

Published by Dyskami

2 to 5 Players (Planned Future Expansion up to 8 Players, Possible 1 Player Variant)

Background  / Introduction
Well, there should be no real question concerning what type of game this is; it is a worker placement game of course! So, if you expected a deductive reasoning game, just reread the title - Worker Placement. Worker placement games are very popular these days but some of them are a little 'heavy' and can take a long time to play. Worker Placement is a 'light' game that offers variable game length and plenty of flexibility in strategy.

Themed well for this time of economic uncertainty, players are running competing temp agencies as they try and improve workers and get them well needed jobs. Doing this, players get better reputation and more importantly, (*in my best Kevin O, Leary voice) "MONEY."

This is a review of the current prototype game which will start its Kickstarter project this week!  So, this review will not review the quality of the components as the pieces used don't reflect the final production quality etc. I will give you a look at how the plays and my thoughts. If you are interested, check it out on Kickstarter.

Rule Book / Learning Time / Components
The all important instruction book. You can't really play a game if you don't understand the rules.  Worker Placement does a great job explaining the theme of the game, the setup, and it provides detailed explanations on how the game plays with nice illustrations. Subtle things (like the rule book being a clipboard of paper and as you go to the next page in the book, you can see that a "page" has been ripped off from the clipboard) make the instructions more theme oriented and easier to understand. These sort of details also reassure me that a lot of thought and fine tuning has already happened to get the game to where it is today. The rule book is just part of the pie, but it shows me that this game is ready for Kickstarter and ready for print.

You can learn or teach this game very quickly. Since I would consider this game to be a "Casual Game," you can have a group of new players easily playing the game in less than 10 minutes. Also, with the simple game play, I did not find myself going back to refer to the rule book (besides re-reading the portion about the Auction phase one more time for clarification during my first play, the rest of the rules stuck and were very clear) although, the back page turn summary is very helpful for the first or second run through to keep track of the order of play.

The game includes an instruction book, game board, 109 game cards, 60 wooden skill cubes, 25 wooden player token sets (including 3 meeples, 1 cash token, and 1 thumbs up token), and 1 hourglass token to keep track of game rounds. 

Setup

Quick setup time. Shuffle a few decks of cards, sort out some skill cubes, and you are pretty much ready to go save the world one job at a time. Again, the game is so simple, and with that comes very little setup time. The card decks are shuffled and each player is dealt 4 business cards (these cards are made up of skill cards, management cards, and workers). Players each start with 2 money and 2 thumbs up, the time marker starts on first round mark.

Players should decide on what length of game they want to play (although I guess you could technically end a game earlier or play longer as long as all players agree - you wouldn't want someone thinking you are manipulating the end game to your advantage). Worker Placement allows you to play a short game of 5 rounds, a normal game of 8 rounds, or a long game of 12 rounds. I really like that they included this feature, because it allows for different depth and you can tailor the game to certain age groups or time interest.

Gameplay

The goal of the game is to have the most money at the end of the game. The game ends at the end of either 5, 8, or 12 rounds of play depending on what was decided by the players. Players gain money by fulfilling job postings with adequately trained workers for that position, playing management cards, and by working at the call center. The majority of your money will most likely come from fulfilling jobs. To do this, players will need 1 worker card in their hand and they will need to be able to meet the skills listed on the job card. Only one worker can be assigned to a position, but players will use skill cards or cubes acquired during the game to meet job requirements. Jobs will give different amounts of money and perhaps even a "Thumbs Up" reputation boost.

Besides the money acquired and used in the game, players have a certain reputation which is kept track using the thumbs up scoring track. Benefits of having more thumbs up than the other players include: higher likelihood of being first player, using these to gain money via the call center, and in the result that there is a tie on the money track, the player with the best reputation wins. So, just how does one go about gaining skill, management cards, and reputation? Let's take a look.

1. Determine Player Order - One does not become first by reputation alone...there is a bit of luck involved too. Player Order cards are shuffled and dealt to each player, then flipped over. The player with the highest number (Player Order card + thumbs up score) places his/her meeple on the 1st player spot, the second  highest on the 2nd player spot, etc. Any tie will go to the more reputable player (via the higher thumbs up score). This is a nice way to deal with having people close together on the reputation track (the random cards). Now, if a player get's a big lead in this area, players may not feel that the thumbs up score is really all that important. In one two player game I played, my wife was  just so far ahead on the track that I actually just started using what thumbs up I had to get some money from the call center. This player order concept seems to work just fine, but there may also be times where the random cards don't really matter at all (more likely this would be of use with more players).
2. Reveal New Jobs - At this point, you deal out 1 job card out to the top of the board (minimum of 4
   
   jobs always) and you also place one card on top of the draw pile so you can see what is coming up next. The first round you will be drawing the starting cards and all subsequent rounds you will be filling up the gaps left as people fulfill jobs. The comical descriptions of the jobs are actually the best and most enjoyable aspect of the game's theme. With Clerical Cleric or Dog Food Tester, these cards really provide a fun element to the game. Each of the jobs require a certain number of skill to be fulfilled and they range in rewards giving a certain amount of money and perhaps a thumbs up score too. I would like to see the placement areas of these cards made part of the board in the final version (just as the auction cards have a place).
3. Draft Business Cards - Each player is then dealt three business cards (again, this includes worker cards, skill cards, and management cards) and decides which card to keep, which to give to his player
   at their left, and what remaining card will go to the Peer Networking Group for auction. This is probably my favorite game mechanic of the game. There may be times where you want to keep all of your cards (they are all really good), but you still have to chose which one you will "gift" away to another player. Then, you can chose to place a card in the Peer Networking hoping that it will come up for auction and you can get it there. You may not like any, and your choice just became easier for that turn.
4. Auction Discarded Business Cards - This was a little confusing at first, but it made sense after actually
   
   playing through it once and it seems to work pretty well. You shuffle the face down discarded cards and select 3 randomly (2 player games, you add a random card to the two). Even if you are playing with 3 players or less, you will want to shuffle the cards to keep the identity of the discarded cards safe (knowing what your opponent discarded may give away some of their strategy to early). Players take turns bidding or passing by placing meeples on the auction track. Once all players have passed, the player with the meeple on the highest number selects a card first and pays the amount bid. This continues until all three cards are gone (players still remaining get no card and don't have to pay either).
5. Place Workers - The true meat of the game is played here. Players take turns as designated by the turn order for that round placing meeples at different locations in order to gain skill, thumbs up, money, playing management cards, changing cards, gaining money, changing skills, and fulfilling jobs.
   
   Players may need to pay money if placing a worker on location that already has meeples on it. Job fulfillment however does not require payment. Here players must choose what is important to them? Will they fulfill a job they can meet right now? Will they save and hope to fulfill the bigger job next round? Do you sacrifice reputation (thumbs up) at the Call Center for some easy cash? Or do you pay an extra money (since someone already played there) to play a management card that allows you to steal money from the other players (or twice as much money from only one player). You will have lots of different options and multiple good options. Time to chose. You can gain skill cubes or maybe you want to have your luck at the casino by changing in your cards for random ones. The game does well again with matching the theme here and many paths to victory are presented.
6. Reset - Players reclaim their meeples and they discard down to 5 business cards. Players then will move the time tracking token (if that wasn't the last round already).

I won't go into all the different actions you can take, but let me just talk a little more about the fulfillment of jobs as that is a big part of the game. Jobs can be fulfilled by 1 worker and a combination of skill and/or skill cubes matching what is on the job card. You will want to acquire skill cubes as these are a "sure thing" while the business cards are more random. The Life Coach space seems pretty powerful to me as you are able to switch 1 skill cube for 2 skill cubes of your choice (too powerful?).

Kickstarter

I believe that this will be a great Kickstarter project. The worker cards for the prototype did not all have names or descriptions yet and I believe this would be a great opportunity to provide backers with the privilege of naming a worker and/or providing a funny description. There will be great opportunity for stretch rewards to make the game components the best quality possible, and maybe even add more job/character cards.

Final Thoughts

Worker Placement does a great job. The theme and game mechanics work well and the jobs and job descriptions will make you smile or laugh out loud. The game is easy to learn and is a good game to introduce to people who may not have played a worker placement game before. Players are not blocked from placing workers, but may need to pay an additional fee. I like that players have many options to choose from and there really isn't a time where a player is just "stuck." There is always something that a player can be doing to get a little closer to victory.

I think that the game has been well thought out and it can be a fun, entertaining game, for a nice range of ages and game interest. Being able to adjust the game length also helps a great deal with pleasing a wide range of players. I give Worker Placement 3 Fingers Up, or 8 out of 10 Stars. The Kickstarter project itself sounds like it will be successful and if you are looking for a light worker placement game with a well used theme, check out Worker Placement today - and that is How Lou Sees It!

(A big SHOUT OUT to Dyskami for providing this review prototype copy and making this review possible.)