On Tuesday night TJ & Michelle came over and we played a few Sid Sackson games: Acquire & Can’t Stop. Acquire is quickly becoming one of my favorite games; the gameplay is so simple, but the decisions are difficult. I love that there are three different sets of information to consider when choosing what to do. First, there is the current state of the board, obviously open to all players. Then, there is the share holdings of each player, this is closed information but fully track-able if you can remember what each player buys throughout the game (I can’t, but I usually have a firm grasp of standings in the hotels I’m involved with). And finally, there is the secret information of the six held tiles that each player has. These six tiles are like insider information; you can buy shares based on the potential growth that they represent. So, each player does his own thing based on their unique view of the game, and a surprisingly complex economy springs to life. Adam Smith’s invisible hand like I’ve never seen it in any other game. And did I mention I got it for 50 cents?!? I mean, 50 CENTS! C’mon!
