So it was with some trepidation that I approached the Thirty Years War rulebook, one that measures 20+ pages. Now, this is a card-driven game (CDG) and my brain seems to understand CDGs pretty well. So much can be explained on the cards, which is good, in my opinion. So that alone made the rulebook seem a bit smaller. On the other hand, my past experience with the game wasn't that great, so I knew I'd need to balance out biases. But one thing about wargames drives me nuts -- exceptions. Most games have them (and they're needed to some extent, as not every square peg can be fit into a round hole), but this game seems to have a ton of them -- 3 pages of rules on what each nation can/cannot do. Headache time, I expect a lot of flipping back and forth with the rulebook. I hope Bill's memory is better than mine.
But I made it through, and I think I have a decent understanding of the mechanics. Like any new game (and this is "new" in the sense I haven't touched it for 6 or so years), we'll make mistakes, but I think we'll get through it OK. But those rules, man, it was a tough slog.
And it's been that way for me for a while. Most new games I've learned and played over the past 5 years or so have been on the "simple" side (not all, certainly, but I tend to gravitate that way). I also have pretty much concentrated on CDGs, as having "rules" on cards I don't have to memorize is a big help. I'm also playing more euros (non-wargame boardgames like Settlers of Catan, for instance) now, as the rules are easier.
So, I'm wondering today where this leaves me. Will my wargaming future be in only the easiest fare, or can I still tackle to "big boys" when I want to? I just don't know, frankly, but I do know I don't have much tolerance for rules anymore. The less the better. The more, my head begins to hurt.
When I have time (soon, I hope), I'll post my thoughts on different types/mechanics in games and my likes/dislikes. This also drives how many pages of rules I can "take."
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