My reviews intend to highlight the most important elements that determine whether a game is for me. Hopefully this will help you decide if the game is right for you and your gaming group.
Game Summary
El Grande is an area control / majority game in which players jockey to place their caballeros (represented by colored wooden cubes) onto various regions of the game board and score points for their influence over these regions. Points are scored at three predetermined scoring phases, as well as additional optional scoring phases throughout the game, and are awarded to players with the most, 2nd most, and often 3rd most caballeros in a particular region. Players place caballeros onto the board through the selection of Action Cards, which determine how many caballeros can be played onto the board as well as what special power the person may execute when selecting the Action Card. The order in which Action Cards are selected is determined by a once-around auction facilitated by Power Cards (numbered 1-13) that are dealt out at the beginning of the game. The player who has earned the most victory points at the end of the game wins.
1. Distinguishing / Memorable Mechanic
The most memorable feature of El Grande is the Castillo. The Castillo is a wooden tower that resides in one corner of the game board and is one of the available options for players to place their caballeros into. The caballeros placed into the Castillo are kept secret and revealed when the Castillo is scored. Players must then secretly select a region for all of the caballeros they placed into the Castillo to move to. This provides a unique bluffing / doublethink element into the game, where you must attempt to predict which region a player will send their caballeros from the Castillo into in order to maximize the victory points earned by your existing caballeros on the board.
2. Long Term Strategy vs. Tactics
El Grande is a very tactical game. While you may have an overall plan for which regions you would like to occupy, you must react to both the Action Cards that become available as well as the choices made by the other players to maximize your score. If you are unwavering in your adherence to one particular strategy throughout the game, you will most likely lose.
3. Downtime
Minimal. Player turns are quick, and most of the non-action time is when everyone is reading the new set of available Action Cards (5 of them). Since everyone gets to view these at the same time, it does not add significant down time for any single person. 336
Most people will have a good idea of which Action Card they would like to select when it comes to their turn, and if this card is selected before their turn, it doesn’t take a significant amount of time to select their "next best" choice. In my group there is one player who is very prone to Analysis Paralysis, but El Grande does not drag at all when we play with this person.
4. Player Interaction / Confrontation
High. This game is all about interacting with the existing game state, as created by your fellow players. If someone is accumulating a presence in a region that you want to maintain a majority in, you will find many opportunities to select Action Cards that remove their caballeros from the board entirely, or move them to a different region. This point also leads to the possibility of attacking the current leader and potentially Kingmaking. Since your actions may only affect one of your opponents, the non-targeted opponents may benefit. There is certainly the potential for hard feelings.
5. Randomness / Luck Factor
Low. Although there are random elements in the game, the game will not be won or lost on these things alone. The order in which the Action Cards become available is random each game, however there are three mitigants to this: 1) There are multiple actions that are likely to be useful to you. 2) You bid on the order in which you select the Action Cards, so you have influence over how badly you want the pick of a particular Action Card. 3) If you select an Action Card that has an action you don’t particularly want to execute, it is your choice to forego the action entirely and instead only place new caballeros on the board.
6. Replayability
High. Although there is little luck/randomness in the game, the replayability is very high. The emphasis on tactics over strategy means that games will not play out in the same manner time and time again. You are forced to react to the moves of your opponents and the available Action Cards. Many times in the game you are forced to make a decision between a move that nets you an optimal number of points in the short term versus a move that positions you more favorably for future scoring rounds. 629