Post originally by Chris F at 2003-10-31 16:39:07
Converted from Phorums BB System


While your fundamental complaint (lack of interaction) is not wholely without merit, to hold up Princes of Florence or Carcassone as examples of games which *succeed* in this area leads me to believe (and sorry for being blunt here) that you may not have a firm grip on what you're talking about.

Princes of Florence and Carcassone are both games that are condemned far more roundly (and legitimately) for their lack of interaction than Domaine - in Florence, the auction element is the *only* way players interact *at all*, and it is quite marginal. in Carcassone, there is nothing you can do *to* the other players and your ability to cooperate is strictly limited by the vagaries of the card draw.

Compare to Domaine, where everyone is always at each other's throats. In fact, the main complaint about Domaine is that it is awfully competitive for a Euro-style game! Unlike Princes of Florcence or Carcassone, in Domaine every single action you take threatens some subset of the other players in some way. And, it does it in a much cleaner and more efficient way than in the original Lowenherz, in which the bidding was time-consuming and not entirely enlightening, especially to uninvolved players.

Now, the game is not an inherently interactive as Chinatown, Traders of Genoa, Modern Art, or other such games. But it's a tactical game, not a negotiation or bidding game, and as such I think it does rather well. Certainly streets better than Carcassone or Princes of Florence.

Chris