I just got the email about this new Buttonshy release, might get the PnP. I love the theme and the solo-focus,!
Are there any other good solo Buttonshy games?
Ever since the SUSD review of Hamlet: The Village Building Game, I was very interested in this game. I loved the fact that the resources are shared and the village grows quite organically and there seems to be some sense of community.
I got it and played it multiple times (2 players), and I must admit, I am quite disappointed...
The tiles, art and vibe are 10/10. The village looks beautiful and super cozy, especially when it spreads in different directions. The iconography is simple and clear; some people online complain about the icon size but I had no issue with it. I love the wooden tiles as well.
The game also has, in base version (not just in deluxe/kickstarter) a really functional cardboard insert, I was positively surprised by it. Setup is quite quick due to it.
Now, the game itself flows quickly, you usually know what you want to do. Either produce and get some cash, sell on market, buy workers/donkeys/tiles or build tiles, and maybe occasional church delivery.
The part which should be tight is transporting the communal resources across board to sell or to build tiles/church. The rules explain how you need to chain source and target with donkeys to be able to do so. This sounded amazing to me, and I expected a lot of thinking how to best organize the donkeys, but it fell sooo flat! You can move, at the beginning of your turn, all your donkeys (up to 1 space each). This ability makes all the difficulty go away, since with 1 donkey on church (center tile) and 1 or 2 somewhere else you already cover 75% of the average village, and with moving you can basically do anything on your turn. No planning, you move maybe 1 donkey every 3 turns. Huge disappointment.
The church deliveries are a bit meh as well, since in 2p there are only 4. Usually, the players will deliver so it's tied (2/2) so there isn't a huge swing in points. As soon as one player delivers once, the race to trigger game end starts.
The buildings are varied and there are some quite interesting landmarks. The producing tiles are usually built very fast though, since producing white/high-quality resources is essential to get money and points.
In summary, the game has a beautiful table presence and has so many good elements (interesting tile shapes, communal resources, donkey deliveries) but it's just okay and after finishing I don't really have the need to play again? The game is surely better in more players, but 2 player games left me with very mixed feelings. I keep thinking that if it looked less cute and more beige, I would not play it.
What are your feelings on this game? I haven't seen much discussion about it, it seems to have gone a bit under the radar, so wanted to hear some other views?