Counter Magazine
Greg Schloesser
February 2004
UK

In early 2003, Schmidt Spiele released Europa Tour, a game designed by Alan Moon and Aaron Weissblum. In my review, I described it as “Rack-O with a geography lesson”. Although the game was short on strategy – as is Rack-O – I still found it to be quite enjoyable, particularly in a family setting or as a light filler between meatier games. 

Shortly after the game’s release,Out of the Box announced that it would be releasing two new versions of the game, both set in different geographical locations: Africa and the United States. Since I am a born-and-raised U.S. citizen, I am familiar with the layout of the 50 states, so I figured the U.S.A. version would be easier to play. Like most Americans, my knowledge of the myriad of strangely-named countries in Africa was woefully inadequate, and the thought of being able to actually identify their location on a map was even more daunting. Still, I figured the Africa version would serve as a much-needed geography lesson.

Since both games utilize essentially identical mechanics, I thought it would be wise to discuss both in the same review. I’ll mention the differences between the two versions where appropriate. You may also notice that much of the description of the game’s mechanics is similar to that used in my review of Europa Tour. No sense re-inventing the wheel! Well, unless you own Goodyear.

The comparisons to Rack-O are inescapable. However, instead of attempting to get numbers in the correct sequence, players must plan a cohesive and logical vacation through the countries of Africa/U.S.A. This vacation will be planned by each player on their private rack, into which they will place the country and transportation cards in attempts to form a logical path for their whirlwind tour of either Africa or the U.S.A. 

The racks in the Out of the Box versions are constructed of sturdy wood. This gives the game quite a bit of weight. They are linear as opposed to the curved plastic racks in Europa Tour, so take up a bit more table space. Still, the feel of those hefty racks is quite nice! 

The tiles, too, are very thick and nicely illustrated. Each tile contains a snippet of information about the country or state, including its capital, population and geographical size. 

Unlike the board in Europa tour, which was so small that it made it difficult to distinguish the various countries, the maps inAfricaandU.S.A.are large and colorful. The various countries are easily distinguishable, with the colors being used being bright and very distinct. Not all of the countries in Africa are depicted on the map, with several of the geographically smaller nations being deliberately omitted in order to better facilitate game play. None of the 50 states in the U.S.A. game were omitted, although future expansions may delete California and Louisiana, as they are both likely to slide into the sea sometime in the near future! 

On both maps, the countries and states are divided into various groups by easy to distinguish colors. Missing is the delightful cartoon artwork that was endemic to each of the countries in the Europa Tour version. Granted, that likely would have cluttered the boards a bit, but it was amusing trying to figure out the meaning of each of those drawings.

Countries (or states) can be connected in one of three ways:

• Land: If countries / states are geographically adjacent and share a common land border, then they are considered adjacent.

• Air: If two countries / states have the same color, then they can be connected by an air route provided a player places an airplane card of the same color between the two countries on their rack.

• Car: Any two countries / states can be connected by car, provided there is one intervening country or state that shares a common border with both of those countries or states. For instance, a player can travel from Texas to Kansas by car, since Oklahoma shares a border with both of those states. Of course, a player must place a car tile in their rack between the Texas and Kansas tiles.

The game begins with each player randomly drawing tiles one-at-a-time from the face down stacks until their racks are filled to their ten tile capacity. As in Rack-O, a player may not move tiles around within his rack. Once they are placed, they will remain in that position unless discarded on a future turn. The challenge, then … and the frustration … is to get them into the proper sequence.

From the remaining tiles, three are revealed and form the ‘draw’ pile. On a turn, a player may take one of the three face-up tiles, or take the top card from the draw pile. He must then discard a tile from his rack and replace it with the newly drawn tile. Or, if he so chooses, he may simply discard the tile he just drew.

The idea is to form a connected network of countries / states. Countries (or states) that share a land boundary need no intervening form of transportation between them. However, if a player wishes to travel by air between two countries, these countries must be of the same color AND a player must play a plane card of the same color in his rack between those two tiles. There are only two planes of each color in the mix, so this can be tricky. If a player wishes to travel by car between two countries or states, the player must place a car tile between those two countries or states. Remember, there must be an intervening country or state between these two which shares a common border. Car tiles are not color-sensitive. Since many countries and states share common borders, it is possible to reach numerous other countries or states via the use of an automobile. Thus, these tiles are very valuable and should be scooped at every opportunity. They won’t go to waste.

The first player to complete his vacation by logically connecting all ten tiles on his rack is victorious and enjoys the fruits of a well-planned vacation. 

My summary of these two games is the same as that of Europa Tour. These two new versions are certainly not rocket-science. There are no deep levels of strategy or numerous tactics to be employed. That doesn’t mean, however, that they are completely bereft of strategy. One should place tiles so as to keep as many options available as possible. For instance, in the Africa game, Chad or the Democratic Republic of Congo near the center of your rack is usually a wise move since these are connected by land to numerous other countries. Madagascar, on the other hand, is much more restrictive, with only two land connections. So, spot the countries that give you the most options and try to utilize these in your rack.

Further, when discarding a tile from your rack, you are usually free to discard it atop any of the three revealed stacks of tiles. Try to cover tiles that you don’t wish to use but which may be beneficial to your opponents. This will thwart their plans and often force them to completely rearrange their itinerary.

As in Europa Tour, there is certainly a degree of frustration involved. It can be quite maddening to never have the tile or tiles you need surface, or to have them scooped by an opponent before you have the opportunity to grab them. Often, you find yourself being forced to re-plan your itinerary, which is time consuming and fraught with its own perils. And, there is always this nagging feeling that your opponents are one step ahead of you in the rush to complete their vacation plans. These elements are what make the game“click”, however, and helps make the game enjoyable and moderately tense.

The game can be played with 2 – 4 players and is enjoyable with any number. With two players, however, it is a bit more strategic, as you can plan your discards and control your tile choices with a bit more certainty. Maneuvers can be made wherein you discard a tile, only to pick it up on your next turn in order to position it in your rack more advantageously. With 4 players, this tactic is much more difficult as the likelihood that the discarded tile will be taken or covered by an opponent before your next turn arrives is far greater. 

However, there is no escaping the fact that, like Europa Tour, these two new versions are primarily light, family games. Don’t enter it expecting it to rise to the same level as meatier games such as Age of Steam or Puerto Rico. Rather, these games are much more appropriate in family gaming situations or as light fillers. Further, there’s a healthy dose of luck involved, so some folks might find this aspect not to their tastes. I’ve always enjoyed Rack-O, however, so I can enjoy 10 Days in Africa and 10 Days in theU.S.A.for what they are: Rack-O with a geography lesson.

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