Page 34 - spielbox 4_24 Englisch E-Paper

32
spielbox
Review. Autobahn
Speed Promise
The German Autobahn is the pinnacle of motorized roads. Surprisingly, two Italians have created a tribute to its more than 13,000 kilometers of asphalt—a game that, much like the original, is both fascinating and lengthy.
By MAREN HOFFMANN
For starters, we see a charming valley. Idyllic half-timbered houses nestle against the hillsides. White clouds
gently caress granite peaks. A river re- flects colors from the lush golden fields, flowing by a graceful curving country road ... no, wait. There’s the first gas station, and it won’t be the only one. A metal avalanche is already rolling along a two-lane road, right toward the idyllic scene depicted on the box. Unfortunately, players will soon be plastering this color- ful landscape with gray asphalt.
A confession: I wanted to review this game precisely because I found the theme so repulsive, and it piqued my curi- osity. Here’s my initial verdict for readers in the fast lane: Autobahn is surprisingly captivating. However, it also has its slow moments and is somewhat prone to er-
rors. The overall progression feels more contemplative than fast-paced. Those with racing in their blood are likely to prefer Heat.
To start, players find themselves star- ing at a suitably ugly map of Germany, covered with blue-and-white autobahn signs. This is the board we’ll spend three eras with, expanding the seven main traffic arteries. The game starts in 1946. Twenty years later, the second era be- gins; the third in 1991, when it becomes possible to pave our way into the newly opened East.
Historically informed readers might wonder why the game doesn’t start in 1921, when the AVUS (Automo- bil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße, automo- bile traffic and practice road), the world’s first autobahn, was opened. However, that stretch was more about racing for fun than for use as an actual road. Even
back then, people paid a lot of money to race in Germany. Today, private travel companies lure guests from abroad with the “lawless experience” you can (almost) only experience on select German roads. If the German Transport Minister has his way, that will remain the case. A speed limit? “People don’t want that,” he said. Surveys show the opposite, but that’s an- other topic.
Well, speed demons don’t play a role in this detailed Eurogame. We have trucks that leisurely chug from city to city, de- livering goods across borders. They car- ry household appliances, automobiles, chemicals, and, starting in the last era, pharmaceuticals—probably painkillers, which are needed due to the increasing variety of options. From Copenhagen to Milan, from Prague to Amsterdam: Ber- lin’s pills are in demand everywhere.
Besides the classic pick-up-and-deliver mechanic, deck-building is an important feature here. As is, of course, worker placement. Autobahn knows what it takes to become a solid Eurogame. Players devel- op technologies on their personal boards to make their actions stronger,
Photos: Alley Cat Games, Hoffmann, Strohmann Games