We live in a world of gaming where everything seems to be
getting more and more complex. Rules get
bloated, extra mechanisms get added in, and it takes a clean design and makes
it unnecessarily complicated. This bloat
in gaming has made it tough to find games that are great for introducing new
gamers to the hobby. It’s also made it
tough for families to find something that can work for players of varying ages
and abilities. Load up your big rig
because Loaded Up & Truckin’ has your answer.
Loaded Up & Truckin’ gives players a very simple
guideline of their turn. Move your
trucks. That’s it. You’ve got different
ways to spend the movement points each truck gets so you need to decide how to
move and when to pickup new loads. You
also have the opportunity to build new depots which helps you get a majority in
each region. Lastly, you can purchase
additional trucks which will be the biggest key to your success. Having more trucks lets your haul more
freight which lets you earn more money.
Loaded up & Truckin’ has a really solid
presentation. One of the best things
about it is the giant map. I love how
nice the board looks when you start moving freight. The load tokens are very cleanly designed
making it easy to see where everything should be placed and where it’s trying
to get to. While the board has a lot of
spaces and can get busy, it’s designed well enough that it’s not overwhelming
or cluttered.
Where LU&T really shines is as a gateway game for new
gamers or as a family game. It’s ability
to play up to 6 players gives it a lot of flexibility for different sized
groups. I think it’s most amazing asset
is that it teaches several different game types at one time and does so without
people even realizing what’s happening.
The most obvious game here is the pick-up-and-deliver mechanism. Players have to evaluate the board and plan
long-term goals and balance them with short term goals. Underneath that layer are several
others. The game’s scoring works around
a sort of area majority in which players win regions by delivering the most
goods there. There’s also bit of
resource management in that you need to spend money carefully to get more
trucks and depots while also trying to accumulate it for victory points at the
end.
I also like how there’s player interaction. It’s not direct or violent, yet it forces
players to try to evaluate what the other players are doing on the board. Teaching new gamers how to have that kind of
awareness is key to getting them into other games down the road. While I love games with a ton of
confrontation, it can be intimidating to new gamers. LU&T approaches interaction in a way that’s
comfortable for new gamers and makes it accessible to them.
In my gaming experience, I’ve played a lot of gateway games
with varying degrees of success. One of
the hallmarks of all the successes was how easy it was to get people doing a
lot more than they thought they could.
Loaded Up & Truckin’ does exactly that. It wraps a lot of different ideas in very
simple gameplay, yet gives players meaningful decisions that affect both the
short and long game.
Loaded Up & Truckin’ is a shining example of what a
great gateway game can be. This is the
kind of game that will reel in new players and have them coming back for
more. Before they know it, they’ll be
full-fledged gamers and Loaded Up & Truckin’ will be the reason why. Move over Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, and
Settlers….there’s a new standard in gateway games.
