After a day off writing for this blog. Which we all know was a welcome break for both parties, you the reader and me. I’m back looking at one thing about Imperil Settlers and 51st State that annoys me.

But first for the record I really do enjoy both games. It’s allowed to not love everything about a game. This post is about the one thing I don’t love about these two games.

What bought this all on? The imminent arrival of last years expansion for Imperial Settlers, Amazons. I finally got round to getting it. After all it was the only expansion that I didn’t own. There are a couple of promos I think I’m missing but they are less important (I bet that has surprised one or two out there).

It’s the expansions for Imperial Settlers that are the source of this annoyance.

Amazons is the third ‘big’ box expansion for Imperial Settlers. Like the other two it adds a new faction and mechanic to the game. There are also three ‘small’ box expansions that focus on adding a new mechanic.

When it comes to playing the game you have to decide what expansions to play with.

In the rules for the expansion they give you two options.

The first is what they call Open Play.

This allows you to “mix any Common and Faction cards from any expansions with the corresponding cards from the Imperial Settlers base game. Have fun, but remember that a deck constructed this way may not ensure balanced play.”

That last sentence is the important bit. You may not see a single card from an expansion, or get the card you need. Which is why I’m least likely to use this option unless it’s for a single expansion.

The other way is what Portal call Standard Play.

“This is the only format allowed in tournaments.

Common cards come only from the base game. To build your Faction deck, you may mix the Faction cards from the Imperial Settlers base game with the Faction cards from exactly 1 expansion.”

51st State has a similar thing with it’s expansions in that you can only chose one expansion and you shuffle those cards into the common deck. It has no equivalent to Open Play.

What I find frustrating is that you have to decide which expansion and mechanic you are going to play.

So if you want to play one of the ‘small’ box expansions you are limited to the base game factions. If a player wants to play one of the ‘big’ box factions then you are limited to the cards from that expansion.

The problem as I see it is that with a new faction there is a new mechanic, and cards for the other factions to make use of the new mechanic. Then if you want to also play with one of the mechanics from a ‘small’ box expansion you are obviously breaking the Standard Play rule of using just one expansion.

If the other players have to choose between the two is there an imbalance that favours the new faction?

I also think that deck building for new players is an additional thing for them to learn. Something that might put them off and find hard.

Unless you do the deck building before hand (additional time and making decisions in advance on what to play) time for players to deck build needs to be factored into the overall play time. The game also stops becoming something you can just grab off the shelf and play. Which the base game allows you to do.

The limitation to one expansion and mechanic is something that frustrates in both 51st State and Imperial Settlers. On one hand I like the focus and making sure you get to play that new mechanic. On the other having to chose one over the other, and having to play multiple times to try them all, is frustrating. Back to back games in a single session is a rarity (unless it’s one of the filler micro games). As is between sessions. It could be months and years between plays (the draw back of big collections and too many games to play).

So that’s the side of the game that frustrates me.