Fun fact, I don’t actually like roll/flip and write games. And since I really (really) wanted to love them, I kept trying one after another. Eventually, I had to concede that my stubbornness was bordering on madness and I gave up on the genre entirely. After all (I told myself), that which is bad for my gaming enthusiasm has the potential to be good for my wallet. I am, however, not known to be particularly disciplined about my gaming resolution. So when a good friend told me that I should really try Demeter, I gave in without a fight. Not much to lose right? And so we played (she revealed cards from her copy to her webcam and I marked up my digital score sheet downloaded from the publishers website). I was immediately hooked - This wasn’t just a very good flip and write, it was actually a very god game. See the entire system is designed to give off a strong engine building vibe, as cards provide both a main action plus a card bonus. Factor in the fact that either the main action or bonus action also have the potential to trigger additional bonuses and the whole thing turns into a really satisfying chain reaction kind of experience. By now you might be thinking that what I am describing could apply to a number of other roll and writes but where Demeter truly stands out is in the fact that to do well you cannot do everything. This is a stark difference to many roll and writes where, in order to score well, the player has to max out all the scoring options/tracks (I’m looking at you Ganz Schön Clever). By requiring the players to do well at everything, other games end up not only feeling very similar in term of strategic direction, but the outcome ends up being much more luck dependent. In Demeter, in order to score well you have to be more focused. This makes a huge difference as every game feels like it needs to be approached in its own way based a number of factor. On the strategic side, the player must balance both static and variable (4 out of a possible 12 are used each game) end game scoring conditions. On the tactical side, it’s also important to leverage a good card flip even if it means adjusting the starting strategy. Throw into this a rather entertaining and unusual dinosaur-studying theme and you got yourself a real winner. I also have to applaud the support that the game has been getting from the publisher. Sorry We Are French has posted additional expansion score sheets in their website (https://demeter.sorryweare.fr/en/ )that add to the already considerable replayability of the game. They also posted a Mission Record that helps solo players such as myself know how well they are doing overall. Finally, they have an achievement sheet that suggest a number of different challenges that can also mix up the experience. So overall Demeter turned out to be all that I kept hoping a roll/flip and write could be. A satisfying combo-tastic engine builder with dinosaurs. Ok that last part was a little unexpected, but really why not dinosaurs? It’s is an absolute gem, and worth tracking down even if it hasn’t fully hit the North American market yet (hint: boardgamebliss.com has it as part of its import collection - you’re welcome).
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