First Appearances

Two new games atthe UK Games Expo were Monastery from Ragnar Brothers and ice Flow from Ludorum. Both are very promising games with interesting and unique mechanics.
I’ve noticed, however that alot of people have commented that Ice Flow is like “Hey That’s my Fish”, and Monastery is like Carcasonne, but other than a passing resemblance in appearance there is nothing in common between these games. It’s interesting how people need to pigeonhole games, and will often overlook a game because in their mind it is associated with a game that they don’t care for.
I’ve caught myself doing this, and I’m often swayed by the appearance of the game. Tinners Trail by Warfrog was another new game at the show, and I was very lukewarm about it when I saw it. There’s nothing wrong with its appearance, the board and pieces just looked a bit ordinary to me, a map with areas on it, wooden cubes etc. I got a chance to play it in the evening and it’s a great game, a strong tactical/economic venture with difficult decisions, auctions and rewards forward planning.
I’m going to endeavor in future to not judge a game by its pieces!