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THURN & TAXIS
Glanz und Gloria


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Authors:
Karen & Andreas Seyfarth

Publisher:
HANS IM GLÜCK 2007

Awards:

EVALUATION

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G@mebox author Ralf Togler writes about the game :

As might be guessed when a game is as successful as Thurn and Taxis, the gaming community will not have to wait too long for the first expansion to appear. After the game won the Spiel des Jahres 2006, it was just a matter of time before such a move would be made by the publisher. But Glanz und Gloria is not the typical "more cards and more possibilities" expansion as we are used from other games like Alhambra. It actually is an independent game with the exception that some of the playing pieces are taken from the original game. Here already a minor flaw is evident, since I am not quite sure why the people at HANS IM GLÜCK had not equipped the game with a little bit more game material, so that it could be played separately. Pricing might be a reason for this, but from the practical side some additional material would have come in handy. Still, the success of Carcassone has proven that the merchandise concept of adding expansions to a well-received game works well. Anyway, if you want to play Glanz und Gloria, you have to possess Thurn and Taxis as well.

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But now, let us have a look at the "new" rules and the changes to the original game award winner…

The playing mechanism and the rules basically remain the same. Glanz und Gloria comes with a new map (now you play a little bit more in the North) and completely new town cards. Printed on the back sides of these cards you now will find one to three horses. In the phase when a player expands his route, he now has the additional possibility to play a card with the back side up (with the horses) next to the route. Now, if a player wants to finish this route, he must have collected at least as many horses as there are horseshoes on the cards of the route. This new element changes the game, because the danger of loosing a complete route is reduced significantly, since it usually should be possible to place the card on its back side when it does not fit to the route. On the other hand, the competition for the longest carriage has been fully dropped in Glanz und Gloria.

The question must be asked whether these (relatively minor) changes do the game a favour? As I already mentioned in the review of the original game, I think the whole playing concept is not for the hard and experienced gamer, but more for a family or fun player. Thus, the game should be fair and should forgive the players smaller mistakes. Interaction between the players and decisions that reduce the possibilities to win the game should be limited to a minimum. If you like it this way, Glanz und Gloria makes the game even more feasible. However, in my personal opinion the game now is deprived of the one and only chance to feel mischievous, and for me a little bit of that should be an element of every game since it increases the competitive spirit. What I really cannot understand is, why Glanz und Gloria was not designed as a completely independent game. To my mind, this would do the game more justice, since Glanz und Gloria is not an expansion but rather an independent new variant of the game.


Looking for this game? Visit Funagain Games!


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Copyright © 2007 Frank Schulte-Kulkmann, Essen, Germany