Many Eurogames that are designed for 3+ players have a two player variant. These are often rather undesirable because they seem tacked on to the rules as an afterthought, usually as a marketing decision to sell more copies.

The two player problem is often solved (poorly) through the addition of a fake third player. This was done most stereotypically in Alhambra, where the fake third player is called “Dirk”, after the designer of the game, Dirk Henn. After encountering the fake third player in that game, we now exclusively refer to that fake third player in a game as Dirk, no matter what the game.

Due to the usually poor integration of Dirk into game rules, I was reluctant to try the two player variant in 7 Wonders, but Rafael persuaded me to try it. The completed game is below with Dirk on the right hand side.

I was surprised at how well the play went with a Dirk player. In the Dirk variant for 7 Wonders, players exchange their hands with each other every turn and the lead player selects one extra card from Dirk’s pile. The lead player then plays one card to his board and another card to Dirk’s board. Next turn the opposite player becomes the lead and repeats the process.

This leads to many interesting variations such as: forcing Dirk to buy resources from you, arranging cheaper resources for yourself, and causing Dirk to pay less to your opponent than yourself. These underhanded techniques may cause your opponent to glare at you when they work in your favour.

We will probably play with Dirk more often, at least in 7 Wonders.

If you have the game I urge you to give it a try.

Jeremiah, Craig and Jason all studied up by listening to Sturm’s How to Win at Caylus podcast. Steve any myself didn’t have a chance to listen to it before the game. It seemed to give them an edge because they were in the top three places, with Jeremiah winning Caylus for the first time.

Here’s a picture of the board near the end of the game.

This game was quite different from the others we’ve played. The score was much higher and we had many more prestige buildings out than any of the other times we’ve played. Resources were also very scarce, making each turn tense. The game was a challenge up to the last turn. Even though I didn’t come close to winning I had a great time.

I recommend that you give Caylus a try if you’ve never played it. Caylubration is certainly a great week to give it a go. Caylubration runs from May 16-22, 2011.

This slim volume is part of The Edible Series by Reaktion Books. If it’s any indication of the others, the series is fine indeed. Wilson begins with the Fourth Earl of Sandwich and proceeds to take us through a trip around the world discussing the forms of sandwiches and their ethnic origins.

Sandwiches have at different times been eaten by the poorer classes, the nobility, workers, picnickers, hikers and everyone else who is on the go. The ability to eat a sandwich in one hand (as opposed to a sit-down dinner with cutlery) allows us to do things with the other hand like take notes, write reports, read and more recently type on the keyboard. This says just as much about the changes in our lives related to eating and dining habits as it does about the sandwich itself.

She also covers other interesting tidbits like, according to a court ruling, a burrito is not a sandwich. You’ll have to read the book to find out why.

The book has many other interesting tidbits related to this seemingly simple meal.

The final section lists many different sandwiches, their ingredients and where they were invented, if known. I quite enjoyed learning about the incredible variety of treats wedged between a two slices of bread.

I recommend giving this tasty volume a read.

Sandwich: A Global History
Bee Wilson
2010, Reaktion Books Ltd.
ISBN 978-1-86189-771-8

After the tracks are in place, you can deliver the goods that are on the cities to get points or more money to finance your railway.

The board shown here is the America expansion board from Age of Steam. Even though the games have important differences many of the expansion boards work with both games.

I was smack in the middle of the winners, which is a kind way of saying I was in third place. I think that Steam will take several more plays before I can understand the dynamics of the game.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the game very much and look forward to playing it again.

If you are thinking of buying a train game, this would be a great addition to your collection. I wouldn’t recommend it as the first train game, though, as it can be a bit of a brain burner. You might want to start with Ticket to Ride: Europe or Railways of the World: The Card Game, which are both fine games with many interesting strategies.