Can I Have a Drum Roll, Please?

A friend of mine managed to get over to Essen this year; something I didn't lament missing because of cost, but from what I've seen and heard this year seems to be one of the best. There have been some fantastic games published, but like any good year, particular titles far outshine the rest.

A case in point would be Drum Roll, a circus-themed game which has received a lot of attention - and in my opinion deserves even more. I got to play it last night, and I have to say, I enjoyed it immensely. Despite using the same old tired mechanics of the worker-placement and resource-gathering economic engine, this game is exciting. You see, it's not so much what is done in a game; rather it's how it's done which makes it more interesting.

In Drum Roll, players are circus owners, all vying to make a success of their "Greatest Show on Earth". They compete for performers, who they then employ and try to polish their performances through training, rehearsal, props, costumes, and other elements to increase the quality of an act. These elements form the "resource" part of the game; to me there could be no better way of reflecting that aspect of the theme. The more polished an act, the better it is and the more (yes, you guessed it) "prestige" a circus gains. However, here's the rub; performers bring benefits as irregular acts which they cannot when fully and properly employed (they are flipped to give the circus prestige, and any additional benefit gained from their performance is lost in this exchange).

The circus can also employ other personnel, who bring different benefits every turn. For instance, a show organiser will alter the turn order, an agent will change the available resources and a concert band raises prestige with every show.

Each circus performs three shows during the game, each taking place after a (slightly variable) number of rounds. When the show is performed, benefits are gained for each act; but they must also be paid, of course; unpaid acts bring down your prestige as a circus owner. Players will also score bonus prestige for supplying acts which are of particular appeal to the location in which they hold the circus; which changes with every show,  as you would expect. After three shows, a final scoring is made based upon how many acts a circus has, their type of act and their quality.

The underlying mechanics are well honed, the theme is appealing and the presentation is good (it's not excellent because although the good-quality player mats are attractive, they are a touch flimsy and oversized). In all, this is a great game and I want a copy. This is certainly the best of the Essen crop so far; other worker placement games of recent years (such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Fresco; which both left me cold) pale into insignificance compared to this one. That sort of accolade puts this at the top of my wants list.