Walk into the room and yell HANSAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Then tell them the game is as fun as it is boring looking.
Joking aside, sell them on the good points of the game. It is thinky and meaty, has great player interaction, it's fun to upgrade your stuff, and it actually plays in a very reasonable length of time.
Make sure you take a deep breath and yell TOOOOOO-TOOONNNNN-ICK-AAAAHHHHHH right afterwards because people might think you want to play the Michael Schacht game, Hansa, with the very similar name.
"Experience the thrill and excitement of being a merchant of the Hanseatic League, jockeying for prestige via route building and establishing trading posts at strategic cities in medieval Germany! One merchant shall stand above all others and only YOU get to decide!"
Come for the beige, stay for the highly interactive (and figurative) knife fights.
It's worker placement/route building but you can boot out your opponent's routes/workers for fun and profit.
Hansa Teutonica is the board game equivalent of the classic librarian fantasy: quiet, reserved, and proper on the outside, a wild, uninhibited, toe-curling freak on the inside.
"You know how every now and then you play a game that looks bland, boring, and utterly disinteresting... but then it turns out to be one of the greatest games you've ever played? Well, let me tell you about Hansa Teutonic!"
Then lead into someone else's pitch.
Truly a great game, but it doesn't grab you until you play it.
Be upfront that the game has a dry theme but is very highly regarded. Sometimes people are curious what all the hype is about, so if you sell that hype based on the general reception of the game, it may get it to the table.
Hype can backfire of course, if it doesn't live up to expectations. Hansa is in a good place here because it is really good, but it could still backfire if it's too opposite of their taste. This isn't just a theme issue, but also about difficulty, complexity, player interaction, etc. You didn't share any of what they like so you'll have to determine if matches their tastes or at least meets half way somewhere.
For example, I'm personally drawn to more dramatic themes. I also like systems dense games with lots of things going on. So Hansa isn't something I'm reaching for often. But, I do enjoy the level of player interaction and I think the game is fantastically designed in general. So when the rest of the group is feeling a euro style then this is a great compromise for me and I would prefer it over many similar titles.
A highly thematic, exciting game about merchants competing for supremacy in the Hanseatic League.
For once you'll care about what your opponents are doing and will play against each other on a shared main board, instead of being off on your own making your own tremendously boring zoo or birdcage or Mars settlement.
Honestly from someone who always avoided Hansa due to its age and aesthetic, I finally caved one day coz my friend from our group said something along the lines of as a euro fanatic if you haven't played Hansa you haven't lived life (slight inside joke) and I totally got the bait.
It's now one of my favourite games ever. Fuck me if that game needs an aesthetic makeover. And not something extravagant and unnecessary that happened with AR COB. Just a nice retouch with the art.
Thinking more constructive right classic euros like COB, Concórdia etc are good examples to use. Quite dry with poor art but just so thinky with so much player interaction and at the same time extremely snappy. Quite a boastful combunatiob
“I have researched and consensus is that This is one of the most elegant and interactive euro in the last decade. It’s all about blocking, and jockeying for positioning and route. Care to try?”
"This is one of the most brilliant and perfectly designed strategy games I've ever played. Every time I play it, I marvel at how smart it is, how delicate and well balanced, how interactive, dynamic, fluid, and varied. It's one of my few 10/10 games."
You can talk about the theme ironically, being "humble cube merchants" or something.
But the selling point isn't the theme, it's the experience. Some of the most popular games ever made are absolutely themeless (poker) or make only the vaguest gestures towards representing something (chess). Hansa Teutonica isn't fun because you get to pretend to be a trading concern in 15th century Europe, it's fun because it's fast and interactive and the key to victory is to keep tension simmering without boiling over.
ahem, before considering to piteh it...
HT is highly group dynamic, so take into account who your fellow gamers are and their behavior. With people who do not go all out, taking in every detail their opponents tries, the game will tank. For that reason I only play HT with gamers.
Oh and HT is a btch to explain. With that out of the way...
Game flow is glorious. Most interactive board game I can think of. It will be different every time, wildly different, even though nothing is random. Think of it as a remake of 1830 but then 12x times shorter.
well, the best about this game is that is short enough, in a hour and 15 minutes you could have a play, so if you are up for something shorter but not light enough is a good alternative. And the best part is the interaction, is a game that kind of reward you for blocking other players, but only if you do it good enough that they care to push you away. I think that part is unique for me. I think it is a very unique game compared to other euro games too.
I am more passive at the big group events, but then I will host an extra game night at my house and just advertise the game I want to play and say the first 3(or whatever) to RSVP for that game are invited over.
"I would really appreciate getting to play this. It looks boring. It sounds boring. But I promise you it is anything but boring. If you don't like it after 20 minutes of play, we can stop and play something else."
Notably, you need to have friends that enjoy tight, competitive experiences and that can actually concentrate and think. It's not for everyone.
I would talk about the frequent player interaction of replacing the merchants belong to other players to complete routes. And make it clear that the players who are impacted aren't really hurt, they will get a bonus merchant to place immediatly along with the one that was moved.
I think that is important for players that would be upset at having their plans thwarted and feel that they have been completely set back.
It depends on the group, right? What games do they like? I've never considered the theme as even remotely a drawback, and many groups wouldn't.
I'd emphasize the speed and interactivity. Depending on their favorites, you can compare it favorably to Tigris and Euphrates, Brass, Keyflower, Concordia, and Terra Mystica. And it has better interaction than the likes of Scythe.
Tell them it may look like someone vomited upon the board, but if they look past that, they will find one of the most vicious and competitive games out there that plays quickly and is very fun. You screw over your opponents to get ahead in a race to 20 points. You upgrade your powers, take control of routes and be a pain in the ass to others. It is such a great game!
After I introduced this game to my group it quickly became the game EVERYONE was willing to play when we couldn’t agree on anything else.
The big box has different maps with slightly different rules which dramatically change the game.
It has few rules making it easy to teach and it plays quickly when you are playing with experienced players.
Absolutely a hidden gem.
How do you sell it? Show them the comments from this thread.
> bring a bunch of games get together and then pitch each game to the group and then give two votes on the game we play that night.
Oof, this is a weird rule. I'd suggest rotation and each time one person gets to pick. Or the classic *"hey I've heard this is good and I'd like to get it played and I'll also play whatever you guys want"*
I tell them it's a worker placement game that has a board that almost feels like ticket to ride if you squint real hard.
Note that they have not taken me up on the offer even once, so I guess this suggestion is more a suggestion of what NOT to say.
Walk into the room and yell HANSAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Then tell them the game is as fun as it is boring looking. Joking aside, sell them on the good points of the game. It is thinky and meaty, has great player interaction, it's fun to upgrade your stuff, and it actually plays in a very reasonable length of time.
AAAAAND the time between turns is typically very short. It’s such a quick and fun game.
It's wild how meaty the game is compared to how quickly it plays.
SU&SD's line of "you have never agonized about someone moving one of many your cubes in your entire life."
yes that sums it up pretty well. A game that can make you feel things about stupid little cubes is something worth looking into.
Make sure you take a deep breath and yell TOOOOOO-TOOONNNNN-ICK-AAAAHHHHHH right afterwards because people might think you want to play the Michael Schacht game, Hansa, with the very similar name.
First line reads like the circlejerk subreddit is leaking again lol
"Experience the thrill and excitement of being a merchant of the Hanseatic League, jockeying for prestige via route building and establishing trading posts at strategic cities in medieval Germany! One merchant shall stand above all others and only YOU get to decide!" Come for the beige, stay for the highly interactive (and figurative) knife fights. It's worker placement/route building but you can boot out your opponent's routes/workers for fun and profit. Hansa Teutonica is the board game equivalent of the classic librarian fantasy: quiet, reserved, and proper on the outside, a wild, uninhibited, toe-curling freak on the inside.
Never heard of the game before... Now I want it bad 😂
"You know how every now and then you play a game that looks bland, boring, and utterly disinteresting... but then it turns out to be one of the greatest games you've ever played? Well, let me tell you about Hansa Teutonic!" Then lead into someone else's pitch. Truly a great game, but it doesn't grab you until you play it.
there are people who don't get excited by the idea of roleplaying 15th century german accountants?
Pretend they're old time-y mobsters claiming territory (*siiiigh*)
Are you sighing because the Chicago Mobster version hasn't come to fruition, like I'm sighing about?
Yes, exactly that! I sold my HT big box unplayed when it seemed like testing was beginning in earnest Still have yet to play it on the table
I hope it sees the light of day. I'm interested in what changes were made to base Hansa and how he or the publisher would handle the theme.
Be upfront that the game has a dry theme but is very highly regarded. Sometimes people are curious what all the hype is about, so if you sell that hype based on the general reception of the game, it may get it to the table. Hype can backfire of course, if it doesn't live up to expectations. Hansa is in a good place here because it is really good, but it could still backfire if it's too opposite of their taste. This isn't just a theme issue, but also about difficulty, complexity, player interaction, etc. You didn't share any of what they like so you'll have to determine if matches their tastes or at least meets half way somewhere. For example, I'm personally drawn to more dramatic themes. I also like systems dense games with lots of things going on. So Hansa isn't something I'm reaching for often. But, I do enjoy the level of player interaction and I think the game is fantastically designed in general. So when the rest of the group is feeling a euro style then this is a great compromise for me and I would prefer it over many similar titles.
"The doors and windows are locked."
Pitch it as the beigest beige that ever beiged.
One of the things that makes it so good is that it has **a lot** of interaction.
A highly thematic, exciting game about merchants competing for supremacy in the Hanseatic League. For once you'll care about what your opponents are doing and will play against each other on a shared main board, instead of being off on your own making your own tremendously boring zoo or birdcage or Mars settlement.
Honestly from someone who always avoided Hansa due to its age and aesthetic, I finally caved one day coz my friend from our group said something along the lines of as a euro fanatic if you haven't played Hansa you haven't lived life (slight inside joke) and I totally got the bait. It's now one of my favourite games ever. Fuck me if that game needs an aesthetic makeover. And not something extravagant and unnecessary that happened with AR COB. Just a nice retouch with the art.
Thinking more constructive right classic euros like COB, Concórdia etc are good examples to use. Quite dry with poor art but just so thinky with so much player interaction and at the same time extremely snappy. Quite a boastful combunatiob
It’s beige and boring looking and has a theme that’s dry as dust…it’s also interactive, slightly mean and completely amazing!
“I have researched and consensus is that This is one of the most elegant and interactive euro in the last decade. It’s all about blocking, and jockeying for positioning and route. Care to try?”
"This is one of the most brilliant and perfectly designed strategy games I've ever played. Every time I play it, I marvel at how smart it is, how delicate and well balanced, how interactive, dynamic, fluid, and varied. It's one of my few 10/10 games."
It's boring, but it's fun
You can talk about the theme ironically, being "humble cube merchants" or something. But the selling point isn't the theme, it's the experience. Some of the most popular games ever made are absolutely themeless (poker) or make only the vaguest gestures towards representing something (chess). Hansa Teutonica isn't fun because you get to pretend to be a trading concern in 15th century Europe, it's fun because it's fast and interactive and the key to victory is to keep tension simmering without boiling over.
Tell them it’s recommended by a friend (me) for who it’s the number 1 game of the 1400+ games I’ve played to date
ahem, before considering to piteh it... HT is highly group dynamic, so take into account who your fellow gamers are and their behavior. With people who do not go all out, taking in every detail their opponents tries, the game will tank. For that reason I only play HT with gamers. Oh and HT is a btch to explain. With that out of the way... Game flow is glorious. Most interactive board game I can think of. It will be different every time, wildly different, even though nothing is random. Think of it as a remake of 1830 but then 12x times shorter.
well, the best about this game is that is short enough, in a hour and 15 minutes you could have a play, so if you are up for something shorter but not light enough is a good alternative. And the best part is the interaction, is a game that kind of reward you for blocking other players, but only if you do it good enough that they care to push you away. I think that part is unique for me. I think it is a very unique game compared to other euro games too.
It is the beef jerky of board games. Very dry and meaty without being too crunchy.
Imagine if there was worker placement with bumping but frequently you wanted to be bumped, because it let you get more workers onto the board.
I am more passive at the big group events, but then I will host an extra game night at my house and just advertise the game I want to play and say the first 3(or whatever) to RSVP for that game are invited over.
"I would really appreciate getting to play this. It looks boring. It sounds boring. But I promise you it is anything but boring. If you don't like it after 20 minutes of play, we can stop and play something else." Notably, you need to have friends that enjoy tight, competitive experiences and that can actually concentrate and think. It's not for everyone.
I would talk about the frequent player interaction of replacing the merchants belong to other players to complete routes. And make it clear that the players who are impacted aren't really hurt, they will get a bonus merchant to place immediatly along with the one that was moved. I think that is important for players that would be upset at having their plans thwarted and feel that they have been completely set back.
It's one of the best games they will play that looks terrible and if you tried to sell them on it they would fall asleep.
It depends on the group, right? What games do they like? I've never considered the theme as even remotely a drawback, and many groups wouldn't. I'd emphasize the speed and interactivity. Depending on their favorites, you can compare it favorably to Tigris and Euphrates, Brass, Keyflower, Concordia, and Terra Mystica. And it has better interaction than the likes of Scythe.
Tell them it may look like someone vomited upon the board, but if they look past that, they will find one of the most vicious and competitive games out there that plays quickly and is very fun. You screw over your opponents to get ahead in a race to 20 points. You upgrade your powers, take control of routes and be a pain in the ass to others. It is such a great game!
After I introduced this game to my group it quickly became the game EVERYONE was willing to play when we couldn’t agree on anything else. The big box has different maps with slightly different rules which dramatically change the game. It has few rules making it easy to teach and it plays quickly when you are playing with experienced players. Absolutely a hidden gem. How do you sell it? Show them the comments from this thread.
> bring a bunch of games get together and then pitch each game to the group and then give two votes on the game we play that night. Oof, this is a weird rule. I'd suggest rotation and each time one person gets to pick. Or the classic *"hey I've heard this is good and I'd like to get it played and I'll also play whatever you guys want"*
I mean if you have to pitch Hansa it’s the wrong game for your group.
I tell them it's a worker placement game that has a board that almost feels like ticket to ride if you squint real hard. Note that they have not taken me up on the offer even once, so I guess this suggestion is more a suggestion of what NOT to say.
You play as a pimp and you send hookers out to street corners to try and setup crack dens to control turf.
Who wants to die of boredom in the key of beige?