Reiner Knizia's Medici HD

I bought this game somewhat on a whim, and ended up being really surprised by it. I've probably played it the most of the games I own. It's a clean, simple, attractive implementation of a finely honed auction game. It takes 5-10 minutes to play, so it's perfect to pull out in a spare moment. And it has an array of quick, interesting decisions to make. But what really makes this game shine are the AI players. The developers must really have worked on the AIs, which are well-crafted and (increasingly) challenging to play against. Highly recommended.

This game is similar to the auction process in monopoly(R). The goal is to minimize cost while maximizing the value of the goods you buy. The goods are selected randomly from crates in one to thee lots; here is the twist to the auction process only allows one bid in round robin order. There are bonuses for monopolizing a particular good and also for having the most valuable cargo hold at the end of each round. The winning condition is to have the most money after the third round is finished. This game lacks an Online component, which greatly reduces the replay value of this game. Maybe that is a good thing because it forces people to come together to play in the Internet age, but often the best competition is found online. This major shortcoming makes it hard to play a game with humans that actually challenge you, especially when you are to busy to meet with people for a few games. Worse still, the hardest AI opponent does not present much of a challenge after you finish 20 or so games. Overall, the game is fun with human players, built around an auction process that keeps you thinking. This fun gameplay mechanic is hampered by the lack of online play and poor AI. It's game is a solid 3 1/2 stars (rounded down to 3).

I really like the game. I bought the iPad to play eurogames exactly like this, and the roster of upcoming games is exciting. I think the AI in this game is pretty good. I do wish there are a couple changes, though: 1) I find it annoying that the bid/pass grayed out area covers up the blue good (dye) when it is the upper-left player's turn (normally, the human player), making it difficult to see where players are at on that goods pyramid. This problem is clearly visible in the screenshot advertising the game, above. 2) For the solo game portion, I wish that there were acheivements or a compaign to work against ("Score all five goods in the first round", working through the different AI players in a tournament setup, etc.). I tend to use my iPad for boardgames when I can't find human gamers, so having some sense of progress or working through the game is always fun. 3) Clearly, online multiplayer with this type of game would be a great addition, and I find it a little worrying that it is not included here. Hopefully a future update. That said, this is a game that I keep coming back to -- not one to delete! Nice music, good graphics, and intuitive/easy gameplay. This can be a longish game with humans; playing against the computer makes it more accessible by turning it into a five minute Knizia race.