Ludonaute Colt Express

Pros: family fun for all ages, invites strategic thinking, firmly set game time (five rounds)Cons: lengthy initial set-up, gameboard is difficult for all players to reach in a 6-player game, younger players may dislike or not fully understand the planning phaseI purchased this game with no prior knowledge of it because it was listed at a great sale price...Now, having played this game with several different groups of people (ranging in age from 7-55), I can attest to it being a great family game! Everyone loved it!! It takes a bit of time for the initial set up, but once you have the train cars punched out and pieced together, future games are set up much faster. It's a unique game in that you plan all of your moves before they actually happen, and it offers a 3D game board (although the cactus and tumbleweed pieces are completely unnecessary, they are fun).Each round consists of a planning (schemin') phase, where each player plays action cards for what they want to do in that round, followed by an action (stealin') phase, where those action cards come to life. If you're not paying close attention to the planning portion, some of your moves won't be able to come to fruition in the action portion. Your goal is to have the most money at the end of five rounds, by stealing from the train cars (or from your opponents) or by getting the $1,000 Gunslinger reward, for shooting the most people. (I know - stealing and shooting sound terrible... And as a kindergarten teacher, I wouldn't typically condone games that involve such things, but it is made as harmless as possible in this wild west game!)I strongly suggest it if you're looking for a new family game night game!

We recently picked up the 2015 Spiel des Jahres winner, Colt Express.. and it was an immediate hit in our house.We are a family of board game fans - Mom, Dad, 13 year old son, 9 year old daughter. We try to play at least one game every day, usually after dinner as our family time. Colt Express (like all of the Spiel des Jahres winners) is a great fit.We like the sometimes-blind card programming mechanic: you take turns playing the card for the action you want to do into a pile in the middle of the table, and only after the whole round is programmed do you get to take turns doing those cards. Very often, this results in you having to do something unplanned or unwanted because someone else's action changes where you are, where the loot is, or where the marshal is waiting. Lots of laughter as we all face the chaos together - Mom and Dad's otherwise superior strategy skills are no match for this!Of course the kids love the 3D cardboard train where the action takes place - and I love that things stay together in the box with simple cardboard dividers. The scenery is great and the meeples with their cowboy hats are darling.We love the different characters (and their special abilities) and the overall theme of the game. It's not too long and not too short for a family to play - usually we play in 30-40 minutes, laughing and shouting "Stick 'em up!" the whole way. (Pictured also is the deLorean expansion car.)

I was unsure about this game when just reading the description, but decided to purchase it after reading through the reviews. The game is very easy to pick up and my game group enjoyed it a lot (there were 5 of us playing it the first time). My boyfriend and I have also played the 2 person rules and it's definitely a challenge but still a lot of fun. I think this game will become a staple of our group. I'm looking forward to introducing it to the rest of my family as well. I think everyone will enjoy it.We really liked the way you try to plan your moves ahead but different reactions can completely change what you'd expected to happen. This adds a nice element of surprise and the game never plays the same twice. There are also events and expert rules that you can add to make it even more interesting as you become more familiar with the game play.

I really enjoy this game. The mechanics are fun, the theme is great, and it's an awesome gateway game for my non-gaming friends. They get sucked in by the art style and the 3-D train cars (like kids with new toys!) and after a round or two, they're completely engaged in the game. I usually play some spaghetti western music in the background, which adds to the thematic nature of the game. You very much feel like your trying to direct a movie with the cards you play, but then things don't always work out as you planned, when everyone starts moving around as the stealin' phase plays out. It's commonly requested at most game nights. I couldn't love this game more. (PS: Get the playmat or print out our own, if possible. I really heightens the game visually. I would deduct a half star, simply cause the game should have COME with it, and not have been a magazine promo).

Great family game

Excellent board game, we play it as a family (with kids as young as 8) and we really enjoy. It is very unique and almost feels movie-like, where we are the gangsters!

Para comenzar a jugar es necesario armar el tren donde irán los meeples durante el juego, las instrucciones son muy sencillas pero es necesario poner atención en los detalles de los vagones para que muestren el lado interior o exterior según corresponda. Ya armados la caja es lo suficientemente grande para guardar todo el tren sin desensamblar (solamente sería necesario deshacer las piezas de escenario).Ahora bien, en relación propiamente al juego, éste requiere de memoria, ahorita explico el porqué, y su mecánica consiste en programación de acciones; donde cada jugador jugará una carta a una pila común acorde a lo señalado en el escenario en turno. Al jugar todas las cartas para el escenario, éstas se jugarán una por una hasta la última carta, pudiéndose así mover por adentro o por arriba del trén, saquear a los pasajeros, atacar a los otros jugadores o mover al sheriff.Entonces, en que parte entra la memoria, ésta entra durante la fase donde se juegan las cartas. Al estar colocando las cartas en la pila común cada jugador va revelando (o no si pasan por un túnel) que acción llevará a cabo. Por lo que en un vagón con una bolsa de dinero, si 2 jugadores quieren saquear, solamente el primero lo hará con éxito. Por otra parte, los puñetazos arrojan al golpeado a un vagón adyacente y el sheriff hace que los bandidos escapen al techo del vagón, pudiendo frustrar los planes de cualquiera.Es muy divertido ver como un plan maestro puede ser destruido de un sólo golpe y muy satisfactorio cuando todo ocurre acorde al plan. Adicionalmente, cuenta con reglas especiales para 2 jugadores y equipos.

Un juegazo!

This game is just unreasonably fun. Well balanced, replayable, but really simple to pick up. My board game-savvy friends were all competent not long into the first playthough. As "the board" is just a train, it's easy to play on a coffee table. There's a little bit of first time setup - some absolutely adorable slot together models for the train and some fun wild west aesthetics. I never thought I'd appreciate a carboard cactus so much. Those details really make you feel like the designers enjoyed making this game.The character sheets look great and hit the wild west archetype. The "programming" game mechanic might sound clunky, but it really sets the feeling of a fast-paced battle where you need to think four moves ahead - and leads to some hilarious or awesome results.Absolutely great for the price, too - if I was paying £40 I'd expect some plastic and character models, but getting this much game and such characterful pieces for about £25 is awesome.Building the trains is fun, but you won't have to do it every time - once you open the box, you convert it to accommodate the locomotive and six carriages in individual bays. The box fits all of the parts, and safely! That's something I like seeing in a game design.I'm definitely going to buy the expansions.