IELLO Steam Park Game

This game really depends on the individual. Some of my friends find it decent, while others find it the best thing out there. But from my personal opinion, this game is amazing due to the unique theme and mechanics. It isn't like a traditional board game with turns and luck, but rather it is built around speed and control. The strategy of this board game requires a high skill-cap, but beginning players will definitely like it as well. I highly recommend adding this board game to your collection!

I'm sure there have been plenty of people explaining how this game works so I'll just give some impressions.- The "steam park" theme is exciting and the artwork is beautiful and very different in its design. Even the box is appealing. Being able to create a park is one of the best aspects, though strategy will often keep the game from being totally customizable.- Plays quickly for the most part and will hold your attention. The game is easy to learn and offers two levels of play, though to be honest, the regular style is not difficult to learn and makes the game much more exciting.--The number of players greatly changes the mood of the game. Strategy (and even luck) play a much larger part when there are more than two players. The rides and attractions go quickly, and you will often have to change your plans as other players buy rides you wanted/needed.--The basic rules of the game give each player 6 turns. However, you could easily come up with your own rules to extend the play. With two players we just don't seem to build the park up as much as we'd like, so we have played games where the game doesn't end until all the rides are built. You could do the same with visitor pawns or whatever else you can think of.--This is not an overly social game. Other than rolling dice together, you have no influence on other players. (other than maybe building things they need before they can) This is one aspect that I think could have been improved. Some different kinds of cards that you could play against people would be fun.-- There are no expansions. An expansion isn't essential, but it would definitely freshen the game up after many games. Chances are a lot of players are going to adopt the same strategy, and new aspects would be helpful in changing that. Sadly, I don't think it will ever happen.-- It takes a few games to learn which aspects and actions are most important, so don't be discouraged if it takes a few games to get the hang of everything.- There are many pieces, and the first time set-up is time consuming. Thankfully they include bags to keep the loose pieces once assembled. This is a great family game that is easy to learn, and fun to play! If you're looking for something different when it comes to board games, you can't go wrong with Steam Park!

So disappointed. After reading all the reviews I thought this would be a wonderful game to add to my sons Christmas presents. The best thing I can say is we enjoyed setting up the game. The pieces etc are lovely.... however the game itself is overly complicated with no substance and the rules were patronising and very annoying. We wanted to scream!! But that was an hour after trying very hard to make sense of it all and play the game!!

This game is great if you like quick thinking games. Simple enough to learn fun to play and to watch the theme park being built before your eyes. The dirt dynamic of the game makes the game interesting (adds strategy) but building a giant park with many rides and no dirt is a challenge. I guess you can't have it all. Also the instructions are the most hilarious booklet for a game I have read.

Steam Park: 2-4 Players, Ages 10+, Average Play Time = 60 MinutesFirstly, let’s get the complaints out of the way. I really only have one, but it’s very significant, I feel. The quality of the components, especially the rides, leave much to be desired. There’s some assembly required, first off. Normally that wouldn’t bug me, but the component that connects the two sides of the ride together need to be bent in two places by the user. Being made of fairly cheap cardboard, it’s extremely easy to snap the piece into two or three parts, which is bad. In fact, that’s what happened to me…twice. It’s hard to put the assembly process into words, but it’s overly complicated and silly. Had I designed this game, I would have made these rides one whole piece as opposed to two sides and a connector. I also wouldn’t have chosen cardboard. The art is great, don’t get me wrong, but how about we put a little more effort into designing ride pieces that are less cumbersome?“Steam Park” is unlike anything I’ve ever played before, though it does borrow elements and gameplay mechanics from a number of different places. A lot of the games I play are either fast, moderate, or slow-paced from beginning to finish…not so with “Steam Park”. Things heat up during the roll phase as everyone scrambles to lock in their dice first, but die down as folks begin trying to make sense of what they can do with the dice they’ve rolled. The developers could have made the roll phase turn-based but chose not too…presumably because they wanted to try something different. I don’t see why casual gamer families couldn’t adopt a turn-based roll phase, in fact I encourage it. Some of us don’t have the dexterity others do and keeping everyone on fair ground (as fair as you get with regard to dice rolling) might keep us older folk from getting too frustrated. Still, I can see where thinking by the seat of your pants has an appeal. I have a feeling that I’ll be switching off between both rule sets based on my mood.As fast-paced as the action gets sometimes, there’s a lot of strategy involved. If you opt to keep the default “simultaneous rolling” rule, you’ll need to keep your wits sharp and figure out which dice would benefit you the most given the present circumstances. Stands, for example, offer players ways to beat the odds (by redrawing visitors from the bag, etc.) but can take up a lot of space. If you haven’t expanded your park yet and want those stands, things will get pretty crowded in a hurry. In a sense, each player is playing their own personal puzzle game…that is, they’re trying to make the most of their resources with the limited space available to them. If you play games like “Zooloretto” on a regular basis, then you’ll excel here. The trick usually lies in doing things in the right order, but keeping things in moderation enough to where you have the points (or money) you need to win the game. Concentrate too much on expanding and stands, for example, and you’ll miss out on earning danari early on by constructing rides and attracting visitors.The game as a whole isn’t a bad one. The rulebook is well presented and the gameplay is engaging. The manual even includes lighter rules to accommodate first-time and/or casual players, eliminating the stands’ effects and replaces them with a straight out monetary boost at the game’s end. As I mentioned before, the game is flexible enough to make the roll phase turn-based on a whim, helping it to appeal to a wider audience. “Steam Park” wasn’t the in-depth roller coaster sim I was hoping for, but it packs a lot of punch regardless. I’d consider it more of a “Zooloretto” game with theme park elements instead of the reverse, though it still keeps me on my toes with new mechanics like dirt and the bonus cards. The components, namely the rides, really brought down the review score. While the cardboard cutouts may have saved the developer some money, they really rubbed me the wrong way. For a game about building your own theme park, I’d expect a bit more emphasis on the rides when it comes to quality control and functionality.