Expanding Experience

I have always been disappointed when buying a game only to find I'm required to buy something else in order to play. This usually means more time wasted before play, more expenditure before play and something which never quite gives you what you expected when it finally comes to the crunch. This disappointment is one of the reasons the miniatures hobby is now an image in my rear-view mirror; it's something I can enjoy, but not something I'm willing to work at enjoying.

A natural progression from this is my distaste for expansion sets. I can understand expansions which have been brought out to provide extras to a certain extent (for example, new armies for wargames which, had they been included in the original box, would have necessitated owners to take a few gym sessions prior to purchase); however, even these make me wonder at times.

One aspect of expansions which really puts me off them is those which are designed purely as fixes for the original game. It's a fair point that not all problems can be fixed during a play test, but if consumers are forced to buy an extra box of stuff just to get a single fix out of it, then one has to ask why the game was issued in the first place? The publisher, the developer and quite possibly the designer have not done their homework; either that or they're just not that bothered about pleasing their customers.

Another negative take is the way some game ideas are milked - until the cash-cow is barren, in some cases - with the introduction of expansion after expansion for the sake of expansions. I truly believe that while this business model might work with many sub genres within the gaming hobby, boardgames is not one of them. This is because I believe the type of person who gravitates towards boardgames above all other types of games is usually the type of person who wants something self-contained; limited by its own box, if you will. I mean, how many really successful collectible boardgames have you seen?

The biggest problem I have with most expansions comes from the cost-benefit ratio; which, let's be honest, hardly ever reaches whole numbers. I find it very difficult to justify buying an expansion for more than two-thirds the price of the original game, only to be given a few more counters and/or a small deck of cards; all of which are, of course, fairly useless without the original game. The worst offenders are those which come in a box the same size as the original, with around half the components of the base game rattling around it; and give you the benefit of a couple of new rules which are often less effective than a simple house rule would have been - without all the clag and expense in the extras.

And looking back with a more frugal perspective, I can think of very few exceptions that can be described as completely worth the time and money spent on it. That's a lot of expansions which, in my opinion, don't fully deliver; but to be fair, there are very few that are so dire they will never come into contact with the main game.

You may be asking yourselves what brought all of this on? Well, it's been on the cards for a while, and oddly enough it was cards that were the last straw. I got hold of a copy of a Small World expansion, Tales and Legends of Small World. It's a deck of cards with different events on it that introduce several other tactical possibilities to the game; usually in the form of some universal penalty or benefit applying to particular in-game circumstances. The trouble I have with this, is a lot of the effects are something which I would have thought better suited new races and powers rather than random events. I also have a problem with the random part of course; although there are a few design hints with a view towards using particular card sets for theme or level of chaos. It doesn't seem to be a poor expansion by any means, and is well worth £5-£8.

And there's my problem; it costs £12. Twelve pounds sterling for what amounts to a fancy deck of cards, and an average game expansion. I feel like I've been mugged in broad daylight. I will definitely have to get some play out of this deck, just so  feel I got some worth for my expenditure. One might argue this is a good, reasonable price for something which might make up half of the box-contents of some games; well, two wrongs don't make a right, as the saying goes, and just because I accept it when one publisher adds invisible worth (justifiably in some cases) to something that probably cost less than £1 to manufacture doesn't mean I have to accept it across the board. Besides, expansions always need the base game.

Almost always. There are, of course, those game expansions which also behave as stand-alone games. Oddly enough, Small World Underground is a good example; and I want it!

Back on track, however, I've decided to share my thoughts on some of the expansions I have bought, played or just had sight of - good and bad:

Age of Empires III 6-Player Expansion: Just pieces to add a sixth player to the mix, nothing more. I got exactly what I asked for, so the expansion is fine - as long as you like the base game. I can take it or leave it.

Age of Steam (various map expansions): Such expansions are necessary if you want to add variety to a game such as this; prolonged play over the years by various gamers has shown that certain maps suit a certain number of players, or even a certain type of player. My advice is not to buy too many; though I understand the completist mentality, there just isn't any need for, say, beginner's maps like France (if you want to learn a cut-throat game then it's no good playing on a nice, easy board) or maps designed specific players (I don't have any two-player maps and cannot imagine playing it with that number).

BattleLore - A Call to Arms (and perhaps a few others): I can understand releasing new armies and creatures for this game; but this is clearly something which should have been integral to the original game. Actually, I think some of the others could have been better, or again incorporated, so I probably won't buy any of those.

Carcassonne (various): If ever a game extracted the urine with the expansion market, this has to be the one. For a three-figure sum you can have everything you can attach to the base game and confuse your friends in the bargain.

A Game of Thrones (all three expansions): A corrective rule about ports which could have been implemented in the base game by house-ruling; but mostly these expensive expansions added something interesting. Naturally, the upcoming second edition of the base game incorporates the best bits, which makes you wonder why they weren't there in the first instance. Irritating in many respects (replacement decks irritate me however good or bad - replacement cards that don't even come close to the deck they're supposed to be part of are even worse), but good.

Settlers of Catan 5-6 Player Expansion: If this game was ever intended to seat more than four, they should have included the required extra equipment in the box. It wasn't, which is why this expansion turns it into something considerably less settling.

Zooloretto (various): The expansions I have experienced in this game are such a good fit, it feels like the publishers have took a complete game and broken it down just to make more from the consumer. It's a great way to make somebody pay double or more for a complete game which should have gone for a single game price.

Race for the Galaxy (various): If you thought (as I do) that £12 for a deck of cards was a bit steep, try this game for size. You can play the base game, but that hints at there being more to the game - which requires the purchase of the expansions. Alright, at least there's some tie-in from the original game; but you don't realise until after you've played it once or twice that you're not playing with a full deck. At £20 for a slack handful of cards, I am not sure I'm getting my money's worth.

Power Grid (various): One of the most excellent games of the 20th Century, with some excellent expansions out there. Expansions are usually just different maps, some good some bad; however, the introduction of the alternate plant cards changes the face of the game enough to make even the original map fresh.

Cosmic Encounter (various, for various editions): I don't know why I bother; in just about every version of this game I have played, I have found no reason not to just stick with what's available in the base game. And again, £20 for a deck of cards just doesn't cut it. I still bought them, but hey, nobody's perfect.

Puerto Rico Expansion: I've owned this for about half the time I've owned PR, and while it adds a touch of variety in the available buildings, it doesn't really do anything much for the game to make things play differently. I would have expected "official" rules for an extra player at least. Unless you're a PR die-hard, the expansion offers very little; for die-hards, why would you bother with such an expansion anyway?

Ticket to Ride: Things were going well with expansions for this game; but they had to go down the route of producing standalone games which were just too similar for me to justify ownership. Besides which, I didn't really get on with this game, though I could tolerate it. The Alvin & Dexter expansion just annoyed me; I was glad at that point to be a former owner of the base game.

7 Wonders Leaders: If any game lends itself to expansion, 7 Wonders does; but why did it have to be Leaders? I think we're talking a severe luck-of-the-draw advantage here; some leaders are just too powerful, and if you're lucky enough to get a particular leader then you're off to a good head-start. My biggest gripe is this being yet another example of high cost for low output; I am also a little put off by reported mismatching (though I've not really noticed myself).

Ys+: An example of an expansion that turned a relatively bland game into something a bit more playable and enjoyable; so where was it when the original came out? Too many fixes are afterthoughts, but to be fair, in this case at least, they're not fixes - just afterthoughts.

Warrior Knights - Crown and Glory: What a great idea it was to get Bruno Faidutti to turn the old-school GW classic into something a little more open to the modern gaming market. What a bad idea it was to try and shorten it a bit more during development. Bruno had the ideal solution; add length to the game by putting more influence in the pool. FFG just brought out an expansion, em[ploying a combination of unnecessary additions and elements that should have been present in the base set. The enhancements which are most usable in Crown and Glory add hours to the game; fine for us epic gamers, but bad news if you would rather play something in one evening.

Cuba - El Presidente: Never played the game with it, and I doubt I ever will. One of those expansions which to me seems unnecessarily priced for too little enhancement. I can tell all of this just by looking at the box.

Agricola - Farmers of the Moor: Not my favorite worker placement game, mainly because your result is frequently dictated by whether or not you were dealt a good hand at the start of the game. But still it's a good game, which doesn't need confusing expansions that cost as much as a new game. Simply keep the money and get a new game.

Elfenland - Elfengold: The introduction of an auction mechanic and economy adds some depth, more strategy and greater choice to Elfenland; it also adds a couple of hours to the play time. Once was enough; some like it that way, but each to his own.

Dixit 2: Apparently this can be played as a stand-alone game and not just with Dixit, which garners it some points. However, I'm back to talking about costs again, and essentially we're talking another deck of cards for £20-£30. It's a brilliant game, though; no question of that.

Naturally, not all expansions bring out the curmudgeon in me; those that generally pass give added value in some way. Curiously enough, I can't think of many...