Modern Art

Kendahl and I, with the help of two buddies from Brooks City-Base, had a rocking good time playing Modern Art yesterday. Although Kendahl and I benefited a bit from the learning curve of the two new players, by the end of the game you could practically hear the adding machines clanking away between each person's ears. I really think I need to go buy a lottery ticket tonight, because this makes the third game in a row I managed to win this week. This was also the first time I consciously avoided antagonizing the Brooks group with aggressive tactics, and thus I didn't experience the typical dog-pile beat down retaliation I've experience in the past at their hands. Ah, metagaming...

After playing Modern Art, I reflected upon how it seems the Knizia games I have played each seem to get better, deeper, and more enjoyable with each play, and I never seem to get sick of them. Colossal Arena, Lost Cities, Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Rings Confrontation, Blue Moon, Ra, and Modern Art are the few of his designs I've played, and each time I play these games I feel like I'm discovering a new level of strategy. Yes, Tigris and Euphrates is conspicuously absent from the list simply because I haven't yet played it.

I originally picked up my copy of Modern Art primarily because it looked like something I might convince my wife to play (i.e., art, auctions, only indirect confrontation, etc.). I now count this game as one of the favorites in my game library, though I still pretty much stink at playing auction games!