Carnegie

Really incredible euro with a hilariously rosy view of the role billionaires play in society. The theme is a bit offputting because of that, but the gameplay is so good that if you can play with a critical eye, you’ll really enjoy yourself.

Really incredible euro with a hilariously rosy view of the role billionaires play in society. The theme is a bit offputting because of that, but the gameplay is so good that if you can play with a critical eye, you’ll really enjoy yourself.

This game depends on your expectations. You're NOT going to understand by watching videos or reading about it. You need to PLAY IT. You need to play it as your read the manual. Because even for experienced gamers, it's going to take a while for things to sink in. But damn is this good. I would gladly play this. Setup doesn't feel too long. Components are OK. The tan/beige colors are hard for color-blind players like me. I do wish it had a bit more variety in terms of 'Department tiles' and maybe another set of 'Project Tabs'. More variety means longer shelf life. I would NOT get this game if you haven't played other strategy competing games. It will take you about 1 play hour to understand the mechanics the designer put in. But again: Damn this is good, and I now know why BBG puts it in the 100's rank. I've played it a 2-players and seems balanced. Expensive? Yes. Get it if you can find a good sale or discount on it.

Interactive with an easy to read game state. Good production.

When I researched Carnegie, I didn't understand the theme of the game. The man was an industrialist, capitalizing on the telegraph, railroads, and later steel. That diversity may be contributing to the cloudiness of this theme because the game doesn't focus on any one specific industry. He also was an amazing philanthropist, a detail that was lost on me until I played the game. In the game, you are a captain of industry with a headquarters building. You assign workers to various departments in the building. Some offices allow your workers to go out into the field, to add more nodes to your network. There is an R&D office that enables you to advance your transportation abilities in each region of the U.S. (West, Midwest, East, and South), or to increase your technology tracks. The interplay between R&D, which brings more discs of your color into play, and construction, which is how you place these discs onto the main board is an important balancing act. But don't forget the philanthropy: endgame scoring is determined by how many donations you've made. Each donation allows you to claim a bonus. You can research technology and build a fantastic network, but if you don't claim bonuses through your charitable donations then you will not win. It's an intelligently-constructed game. I find its challenges and logistical sequencing to be very enjoyable. However, it can also generate analysis paralysis: should I take this action now, when I won't get the full value from it but will have the first pick of the options? Or should I set myself up to be better prepared when another player selects that action, at the risk of not getting what I want? Magnificent. If you stick with a game long enough for your gaming group to become proficient at it, then I believe the playing time can be manageable. If you only play a game two or three times before rendering judgment and moving on, then Carnegie may be long in the tooth.

It's heavy, It's gorgeous, It's painful how much I lose at these games that I love. Honestly, I'm unsure I'll ever make the correct decisions to come out on top inn this game, but I have quite an enjoyable time even as I prove that I am not Business Savvy. Only downsides come from slight AP and length of a game, you need to schedule an appointment to get this Bad Boy to the Table. But when you do, you won't regret it.

I can only give four stars for now. I received my game and I was excited to play it the following weekend. My playgroup canceled on me and I was forced to play it on boardgamearena and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that I am now printing the 3rd insert for it. I need a few more plays to go up or down a star and go into more of the game mechanics about likes and dislikes but, first impressions I enjoyed it and want to play it again.

Very solid game, reminds me a lot of brass, played with 2 players and was a little lack luster so I would recommend playing with the full 4 players but the game felt very balanced and I really enjoyed the event system.

Lovely new worker-placement euro for 2022. It is played over 20 rounds which are grouped into 4 rows of 5 each where the first player chooses which row to activate. The actions are dependent on your employees within each of your departments. This was the aspect that I thought gave it the most variability. Overall, this is a very solid game even though it does not stand out as something exciting and new. The solo mode was also very solid. The components and design are beautifully done and I like how the project tiles slide into your player board.

After a few plays of this game, Carnegie is a nice mid-weight euro game with some neat mechanics. BE sure to read the manual a few times before playing to avoid potential rules issues.