I got Panamax yesterday. Has anyone tried it yet? Any impressions? My group likes mid-weight games with some interaction, so I am hoping this will at least get a couple of plays.
After you play through it once (completely), things will start making sense, but man, I hope you didn't think it was a mid-weight game, because it's very complex. I guess it's not too complex in terms of rules, it's just complex because of the checks-and-balances in place to keep the game balanced, requiring players to pay attention to a lot of things at the same time, all the time.
The game rules really can be summarized as follows:
- During the game, on your turn, you'll be choosing between taking on contracts to deliver goods, moving ships along the canal, and investing in stocks. That's the simple gist
-- But, while doing so, you also have to balance the cost/benefit of deploying goods, purchasing ships, developing perks by specializing in certain contracts, and being constantly broke.
It's wacky, there's so much to keep track of and be cognizant of. I'm one of your typical non-AP guys (averages five seconds per turn because I can think through my actions during other players' turns), but I found myself brainlocked a lot with this one.
If you decide to play this, it's a very interesting economic game, but one that will definitely require a lot of playthroughs to shine.
DO NOT play this once, put it back on the shelf, and bring it out again a few months down the road. Hype the crap out of it, schedule at least two play sessions, and get it out there. I'm sure this is an enjoyable game if you play it this way. I played it the other way, but know that there's something there that I'm missing.
