Gaming in Tongues

I have a confession to make: in spite of it being a favourite whipping boy of many gamers whose opinions I respect, I’ve been nosing around Race for the Galaxy recently, although I’ve never played it. What’s caused this is not a sudden delight in efficiency engine games but the forthcoming release of the Rebel vs Imperium expansion and its promised “interaction”. Contrary to popular belief I’m an enormous fan of many Eurogames which feature high levels of direct player interaction such as Imperial and a recent discovery Traders of Genoa, so an expansion to a popular and highly lauded Euro which promised lots more interaction was certainly of interest, although I shall certainly hang fire and see whether this turns out as real, red-blooded interaction or the sort of “interaction” that the Agricola I-deck offered. My money is on it being the latter - but we’ll see.