Saddle up and head on out along the Great Western Trail in this second edition of the acclaimed cowboy-themed Euro game from Alexander Pfister. That cattle ‘ain’t gonna deliver themselves!

1-4 Players 75-150 Minutes Age: 12+

Designer :Alexander Pfister

Artist: Chris Quilliams

Publisher: Eggertspiele

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

Great Western Trail Second Edition is the reincarnation of the original cattle wrangling Euro game from famed designer Alexander Pfister. When I was approached to review this newest iteration* I did so with a healthy amount of anxiety (anxiety can be healthy…. right?). This was due in no small part to the fact that despite constantly topping gamers best-games-of-all-time lists the world over, I’d never managed to play the original Great Western Trail. I’m sure there are already fans of this game gnashing their teeth and sharpening their spurs at the thought of me reviewing their favourite game from the perspective of a newbie, but let me get this out of the way right now. I loved it! So why did this particular gamer who generally prefers your typical Ameri-trash, minis-heavy, thematic dungeon crawler-style adventure romps take to this classic? Read on to find out, friends!

Keep movin', movin', movin'

Great Western Trail puts players in the boots of ranchers wrangling cattle and mustering their herds along the Great Western Trail from Texas to Kansas City where they seek to sell their beasts for a healthy profit. Over the course of the game, players will travel the Trail several times, each time resulting in better breeds of cattle turning in higher profits which, in turn, are used to buy even better cows and on it goes. Along the way, players will build structures, hire workers and encounter obstacles in the form of floods, droughts, rockfalls and outlaws and progress their train to increasingly valuable cities, unlocking further benefits as they go. Those who have played the original may as if this second addition of great Western Trail stacks up and do the changes make it worth investing if they already own the original, I’ll do my best to answer that as I was curious about the differences between the two beyond the dramatic improvement of the cover art.

Though they're disapprovin'

The second edition brings the following changes; entirely new artwork by artist, Chris Quilliams. The addition of a full solo mode. Dual-layered player boards, which I always find are a welcome change in any game. The addition of a new breed of cow called the Simmental breed. Two new reversible buildings, twelve exchange tokens from the first edition’s Rails to the North expansion and four new Master Tiles all bring additional content to the game and expand upon the original’s replayability. Beyond these more obvious changes, those who are familiar with the first edition will find a great many more alterations simmering beneath the surface. Favoured strategies of old have been combed over with a fine tooth… comb… resulting in a few tightened screws here and there and opening up new strategies that were previously untenable. Overall, Pfister

Keep them dogies movin'

I really want to reclassify the Hereford as Medium Horn

Great Western Trail provides an extremely clean, expertly designed and properly executed Euro game experience. While there are dozens of moving pieces, every one of them has purpose and adds to the experience. There’s a rule in story writing that states anything that does not further the plot should be cut. This avoids self indulgent waffling (mmm breakfast) and wasting the reader’s time. It feels like Pfister has taken a similar approach to game design, as the fat has well and truely been trimmed, leaving only the lean cuts in Great Western Trail! A pure gameplay experience that provides a sufficient enough challenge to please both veterans of the genre, and those of us whose tastes venture into more thematic fare, to the point that I found myself making up a narrative in my head of the experiences my rancher had on his journey.

Rawhide!

There’s plenty of action(s) on the Trail!

The game scales well at most player counts, though I felt like 2-3 provides the best balance between game enjoyment and length. at four, you’re likely to feel the game drag its feet a little. As for solo, I’ll let Takahe fill you in on his experiences later in this review. The component quality was also a bit inconsistent, which I cover in the following section, but overall Great Western Trail is a solid production with components that should stand the set of time. Speaking of components…

Move 'em on, head 'em up

The game features satisfyingly chunky tiles bedecked in a subdued, distinctive graphic design with symbology that makes actions clear and easy to recognise, once you’ve learned what they all are. Chris Quilliams, delivers a soothing art style and the board is visually appealing with muddy tones bleeding into subtle oranges and greens as desert gradually moves to verdant pastures and on to lush forests. The Second Edition features a decent insert, thought it cannot store the tokens in their bags as they need to be un-bagged and re-bagged for storage which can be frustrating and impairs set up time, which a well designed insert is meant to avoid. It’s a minor quibble to be certain, but one that could have been solved with a little more tinkering.

Card quality is a bit of an issue too as several cards in my copy had slightly bubbled edges, and they lack the linen finish that so many gamers enjoy. Neither of these points impacted gameplay however and overall they were perfectly serviceable, sleeving the cards would probably be the way too go, but that would prevent them from fitting into the insert, which again, seems like something that could have been dealt with during the production phase.

Head 'em up, move 'em on

Takahe, our resident Euro and solo game expert, was keen to share his thoughts on the Great Western Trail’s solo experience, he kindly contributed the following segment to this review, thanks Takahe, take it away!

A Lone Ranger… Hey, I just got that reference!

Great Western Trail in its second edition introduced a solo bot called Sam – driven by a set of cards, as is standard these days, this bot is a prime example of a competitive Automa done right. With three difficulty levels and three possible specialisations, I can honestly say that beating this guy is going to test your Euro-skills to the max. (I know! Sam left me in the dust my first time around! - Brian) You might be thinking that Sam’s cheating is the reason – but that’s not the case with this bot.

Although Sam does not need to pay for stuff, he still needs to obey the same building/cattle buying/engine moving limitations as the players, dictated by how many corresponding workers he has on his player board. So no, cheating is not the reason for him being so competitive. His efficiency is. Plain and simple efficiency – he makes the best possible moves and decisions without fooling around. What does that mean?

When it’s your turn, you obviously evaluate all your options in order to identify the best one available to you at that point in time, but many times, you opt for the less efficient one because you are going for a specific strategy and you need XYZ for it, even if it means you might be performing it sub-optimally. Sam on the other hand, does everything with the highest level of efficiency. He takes the shortest, least expensive paths, trying to get to Kansas City as soon as possible while also maximising his building/cow buying and engine moving capabilities.

Your job will therefore be to slow him down and at the same time, prevent him from achieving as his specialisation tasks him. You simply won’t be able to ignore Sam and do your own thing, finding a fine balance between following your strategy and hindering his progress will therefore be vital if you’re thinking of beating him. Having played close to 20 games against Sam, I can honestly tell you that letting him go large with his buildings or his cattle purchases usually means you’ll have to do extraordinarily well to catch up, and that’s not an easy task because this game is relatively complex, has many moving parts and many variables to think about before you do anything.

Still, despite the solo bot being quite challenging, the game feels fair and does not invoke any sort of rage moments. Plus, even when I lose (and I think I lost more than I won), I still feel extremely satisfied as the game is just a very rewarding and highly entertaining experience. Alexander Pfister simply knows how to make robust, yet easy to manage solo bots, so if you’re thinking of getting Great Western Trail Second Edition primarily for solo, you have my full endorsement.

Thanks Takahe, great insights and I agree that Sam was a challenge. To add my own thoughts to this segment, I also liked that the solo game tended to leave the player’s experience relatively unchanged from the multiplayer version. Since I prefer my solo games to imitate the full experience as closely as possible, this is something I appreciated. The system was clearly designed with the player in mind, as much as the bot.

Move 'em on, head 'em up, Rawhide!

As I stated at the very beginning, I was new to this game and it’s likely that I may never have tried it had I not been given the opportunity to review it. I’m pleased I did as I’m always open to expanding my gaming horizons, and while this is certainly not my first Euro by any means, it did highlight to me just how approachable they can be to those players who may otherwise find them daunting, dry, or just too plain beige. Great Western Trail welcomed me into the saddle and handed me the reins, allowing me to guide myself on the journey, and it was one I will happily take again. If you’re a seasoned player of either edition of this game, then you already know how great it is, but if, like me, you’ve been sitting on the fence, waiting for the cows to come home, then I say, don’t wait a moment longer, you’re missing out on something special.

If you’d like to get your hands on your own copy of Great Western Trail Second Edition, you’d be helping us out by purchasing it through that link and support us in bringing you more great reviews and content from Above Board! Thank you.

*Review copy kindly provided by Mighty Ape.

Great Western Trail Second Edition Review