BOARD GAME REVIEW: CENTURY EASTERN WONDERS

Century: Spice Road was a game that was a big hit. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of it, it still saw allot of play as it was quick, simple, and could easily be introduced to groups. My main complaint is that one mechanism doesn't make a game, and it was really hurt by the lack of any non-obvious victory point pathway (such as end game goals or achievements).

So when I heard Eastern Wonders was meant to be a gamer's version of Spice Road, I was excited. And it does indeed add some additional mechanisms such as a tech-tree of sorts and end game scoring. While Spice Road is a card and hand-management game, Eastern Wonders is much closer to a pick-up-and-deliver game. It also has the benefit of being able to be combined with Spice Road.

Eastern Wonders, however, felt like a two-steps-forwards/three-steps-backwards situation. The game adds a bunch of extra steps to set-up (including putting the board together, which should've really have had an included play-mat) and to each turn. In addition to this, the graphic design to see all the information is lacking, with the structures you build always obscuring important information you are missing.

But, for me, I guess this also suffers from a fatal flaw like Spice Road. In Spice Road, the lack of end-game or alternate scoring pathways left it feeling much less exciting than things like Splendor (with the noble tiles). Here, it is that the map remains pretty static for most the game. If you can spot a route that you can turn over resources quicker by travelling in circles, there is very little outside sources that can stop you. 

This is alleviated by combining Spice Road and Eastern Wonders to form a larger game, now requiring hand management and board management. The problem with this is that it turns into the same price as an expensive big box game, and you still have the graphic design issue. At this price, the game needs to be stellar rather than just good for what you are physically receiving. Unfortunately, it just isn't.

So in the end, Eastern Wonders wasn't for me. I prefer Spice Road because it plays quicker and is easier to set-up and teach to new players. However, for me, the Century series feels like a series of games that isn't for me as they miss essential ingredients of what makes the style of games fun. Maybe if they release a reasonably-priced box for the combined games than it may be more worthwhile.

2 out of 5 wondrous waffles.