I'm interested in these games based around trading in and around India in the 1800s. Perhaps it reminds me a bit of the book Tai Pan.
Any experience with these games? I also like games that can work (or semi-work) as a solo game (helps me learn etc)

Quote from: Trond on June 20, 2023, 08:21:53 PM
I'm interested in these games based around trading in and around India in the 1800s. Perhaps it reminds me a bit of the book Tai Pan.
Any experience with these games? I also like games that can work (or semi-work) as a solo game (helps me learn etc)

There actually was a game based on Tai Pan from FASA way back in 1981 and it was pretty good. But that game only works if you have three or four players as player-to-player interaction is a core part of the mechanics.

 

Quote from: hedgehobbit on June 21, 2023, 09:41:37 PM

Quote from: Trond on June 20, 2023, 08:21:53 PM
I'm interested in these games based around trading in and around India in the 1800s. Perhaps it reminds me a bit of the book Tai Pan.
Any experience with these games? I also like games that can work (or semi-work) as a solo game (helps me learn etc)

There actually was a game based on Tai Pan from FASA way back in 1981 and it was pretty good. But that game only works if you have three or four players as player-to-player interaction is a core part of the mechanics.

Holy smokes, I had no idea. I'll check that out. Thanks!

Oh man. Look at some of the writings and comments about John Company on this page
https://spacebiff.com/2021/03/29/john-company-2/

In game design, small changes often beget big differences. This is an aphorism Wehrle knows well. In my essay on the arguments made by Pax Pamir, I noted how something as subtle as one altered noun helped frame Wehrle's thesis in a new light. "Empire" became "coalition." Like that, the game's focus on the local clans of Afghanistan became apparent. The empires in question were faraway things. Their coalitions were offshoots, here to cooperate with the locals to achieve foreign objectives before retracting like burnt fingertips. Your goal was to work with them only as long as they served your ends. By decentering the game's imperial forces, the native populations stepped readily into the spotlight. They were no longer a protagonist adrift in someone else's story.

So, the Europeans in John Company were an Empire, but the poor orientals in Pax Pamir were a "coalition".

But the blogger gets worse in the comments underneath:

Did anybody in my group launch to their feet and cry out in horror at their inherited generational culpability? Of course not. Did someone who's usually a bit of a colonial apologist talk about the game and what it was saying, and speak more clearly about the failings and moral dangers of such endeavors? Yes.

"Generational culpability". You've got to be kidding me.
This is written by an admirer of the author of the game. It doesn't mean that the game is garbage, but suddenly I'm a bit nervous due to the fact that I already ordered it, and the author HAS made some posts talking in a similar way about the past (albeit with less "guilt by association" to his credit).

Oh boy, did I go overboard 😄 I haven't played anything yet but here are some initial thoughts.

Found a good deal for unused Tai-Pan and Noble House games on ebay. So when John Company arrived two more games came at the same time. John Company looks gorgeous and very complicated, but thankfully not very preachy about colonialism (just "this game handles difficult topics and is not for everyone" or some such is all I have noticed so far).  I'm slowly absorbing the rules, watching videos etc.

The Noble House box I got was a bit of a disappointment; seller either lied or did not know that some of the game-cash was missing and there's too little of the lower values  (I think I can get around it by photocopying). Looks like it could potentially be fun, though maybe hard to find players for this topic. Some people online like it.

Tai-Pan looks good; I've spent some time sorting the pieces. Also looks like this one is the easiest to absorb for new players. I'm really liking what I see: players will be racing their ships to trade goods at the best prices: clippers ships handle the fast routes to England, India and China, while Chinese lorchas handle the movement in the South China Sea. Looks like there's plenty of opportunity to sabotage each other in the cards here. This could definitely be fun.