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FDQ: What Is Your "Vegetables" Game?

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“Eat your vegetables,” your mother used to say (or might still say if you are still at home). And while she knew what was best for you, dang it, vegetables were (are?) gross! Like eating brussels sprouts or reading Ulysses, some gaming experiences have the feel of drudgery even if you recognize their genius. Which brings us to today’s question: what board game for you is like eating vegetables? Answer in the comments!

@FarmerLenny answers:
Ha! You probably thought from the title of this post that I was going to ask what your favorite game involving vegetables is (if that’s the case, mine is probably At the Gates of Loyang, unless beans count, in which case it’s Bohnanza). But that is not the question!

The game to me that is most like eating vegetables is Glen More. I recognize that the game has some excellent mechanics, especially the warehouse buying/selling system, but each experience with the game feels dry (maybe like the whiskey in it?). It feels in many ways like the kind of game I should enjoy: it’s got a very Euro feel, a novel turn-order system, multiple scoring options, and an interesting spin on tile laying, but the game just hasn’t connected yet for me. Maybe I need to turn on some Monarch of the Glen and drink Irn-Bru to get the full effect of it. (Then again, both of these feel like vegetables-eating experiences, too, so…)

@Futurewolfie answers:
Well I actually liked most vegetables I was fed growing up… so there you have it.  But I’d hate to ruin @FarmerLenny’s metaphor, so the game that I don’t really like that other people seem to rate highly is, you guessed it, RA.  Apparently it’s a cleverly implemented bidding game with a unique scoring system that offers strategy and replayability… but it just doesn’t do it for me.  Doesn’t click.  Does not cause me to have fun.

Incidentally, it seems that I don’t actually own any games with vege-meeples.  Sad day.  Gotta work on that collection.

I'll try anything once, but my favorite games are generally middleweight Euros.

Discussion2 Comments

  1. I’m with you on Ra, Wolfie. Scott is a big fan on it but I was just kinda “meh” about the whole experience.

    Aside from that, my “vegetable game” is probably Carcassonne. I know it’s a great game and has been a gateway for a lot of players, but I just can’t get into it.

  2. I don’t have the massive gaming list of titles under my belt, but of the ones I have played, it’d be Yspahan. Very tight, elegant, and innovatively “thinky” game with uique use of dice – but pretty dry on the eyes and experience.

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