Raising the

 RED FLAG!

   [In the first installment of our new feature, we're offering capsule commentary on THREE games that had so much going for it but failed to make the grade for us. You make your own decisions but remember: you've been warned!]

ANNO 1503 (Kosmos, 2-4 players, ages 11 and up, about an hour; about $45)

   This seemed like a dream title. Klaus Teuber who gave us the classic The Settlers of Catan (Fall 1996 GA REPORT) was going to combine that great game with the exploration aspects of his Entdecker. Now, players would not only colonize an island but explore the waters around it. Brilliant, yes? Brilliant no! The game evolved into a four player solitaire. No matter what you do, you have NO effect on your opponents. Whatever your opponents do, they have NO effect on you! From playing the game, you got the feeling that interaction was cut from the design to shorten playing time. That was the unkindest cut of all! Probably the biggest disappointment of the season. Playing with yourself was never less fun. RED FLAG!

LOGISTICO (Cwali, 2-5 players, ages 11 and up about an hour; $39.95)

   The premise of this game is picking up and delivering goods around islands. You deliver via truck, plane and/or ship. But the same player always goes first each turn, giving him an advantage that the rules don't ameliorate. Delivery costs escalate as you attempt to store goods on your transports making your profits less and less. Bonus cards, giving you extra profit for delivery to certain areas, are so poorly printed and in such small type that you almost need a magnifying glass to see your bonus areas. And, since the islands are fictional, any sense of geography you might have is of no help! The death knell: each player starts with a bankroll of 40. By game's end, it's not unusual for the winner to have LESS than what he started out with. All that work and nothing to show for it. Irony: the rules allow you to SELL your truck and ship for 3 each making it possible to end with a score of 46 after your FIRST turn - and win the game! This is a game that promised so much but, despite its premise, failed to deliver. RED FLAG!

TERRA (Days of Wonder, 3-6 players, ages 8 and up, 20-40 minutes; $19.95)

   This Bruno Faidutti design is a card game with an interesting premise. Players attempt to solve a variety of international crises as they happen by playing cards onto it as it first appears (dubbed an "impending" crisis). The first player to do so gets 3 points, the player playing the largest numbered card gets 3 points. So what does the player who ends the crisis get? NOTHING! So why do it? An unsolved crisis moves to the center of the table (and played cards on it are lost) where is becomes a "full-blown" crisis. Once in the center, the game can end - and EVERYONE loses -  if 3 crises from ONE area of the world are there or 4 of the same color or any 7 in any combination. Now here is where you get the big points. Play a card on a "full- blown" crisis and you can "hoard" three cards (in a particular run or matching set) where they are worth face value in victory points. (Sure you get 5 points if you are the final player to place the last card on a full blown crisis. But put away three "5" cards into your hoard and you'll score 15 points at game's end.) Cooperation is the key but why cooperate? Where's the incentive? If your opponent is hoarding cards and you're not, you're not going to win. You'll better off having the world blow up! This game is allegedly done in partnership with the UN's UNESCO branch. Add game design/sponsorship to the list of things the UN doesn't do well. Terra? Terrible! RED FLAG!

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