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Not every game comes out into the world fully formed. This may seem startling to admit, considering games go through so much playtesting and revisions and such before a publisher hits print, but it’s definitely true. So many games these days are getting second or even third editions after getting community feedback, or the designer realising they could have done something different or better. Betrayal at the House on the Hill is a classic example. A couple of years ago, the third edition came out, not that long after the second. But even between the editions, there were some significant quality of life changes. Some components got better, the stories improved and there were even some surprises like the inclusion of cards outlining the haunts should the players not want to play a certain way. There was less chance and most people agree the changes are for the better. And there has been significant advances in artwork, printing and gamers in the last two decades of gaming. So here, we will dive into the deep pool and give you the run down on the best five second edition games. (The mathematician in me hates that sentence.)
Great Western Trail – Luke Pickles
Great Western Trail is a game which has sat in the top 100 on Board Game Geek for a very long time at this stage, but there’s something that puts a lot of players off trying it… the look. My goodness, the board and box art look awful. The game play is incredibly solid – a rondel driven deck builder where you transport cows of different values to Kansas and send them out by train across the old timey USA. The game itself is great but the old edition is just… beige and a bit dull to look at. Enter 2020, when publisher eggertspiel announced not just the second edition, but a trilogy of games in the universe. First, a much brighter and colourful second edition, which introduced the new mechanism of cows which grow in value the more often you use them. Next would be a trip due south to Argentina, where the game takes on a whole new direction, getting additional workers you can hire, and introducing shipping over the train system. Lastly was last year’s edition, where we head to New Zealand. Now there aren’t many cows in New Zealand so… sheep?
All three games have been greatly received by fans of the franchise and the original game, and there is wide debate over which one is the better game. From what I hear, Argentina is the heaviest experience, and New Zealand gives a good step up from the original. Frankly, it’s a sign of a great game that it gets remade three times in the space of three years.
Viticulture – Hannah Blacknell
Jamey Stonemaier’s Viticulture is a stone cold modern classic. It is a sweet puzzle of worker placement and resource management that has been in my top games since the first or second time that I played it. During this game by Stonemaier Games, you will be placing out workers into the summer and winter spaces in order to plant fields, play visitor cards, harvest your vines and ultimately make wine to sell for cash and points. The game plays up to 6 players, and at 2 players those worker placement spots are hotly contested! This game feels tight throughout, you will often have to pivot what you are doing as your opponent decides to plant their field at the exact time you really need to. You do have some mitigation ability though, in the form of your grande worker who you can muscle into a space that is already occupied. But you only have one big guy per round, so he must be used wisely!
Originally produced in 2013, in 2015 the Essential Edition came out which combined the original base game with some of the most popular modules from the original Tuscany expansion. This version included some minor rules tweaks, but also the inclusion of the mama and papa cards which offer you a variable start position and resources. These have actually been altered in later editions to offer same sex couplings which is a lovely addition, and now in our house we just call them the blue and red starting cards. There is also the inclusion of Fields which can be sold to generate some much needed cash early in the game, as well as the inclusion of Automa cards for solo play and some revisions to the visitor cards to aid with balance.
If you like worker placement, and you’ve yet to try this one, then go ahead and pick this one up and I promise you will not be disappointed. The Essential Edition comes with great components, fab gameplay and stunning looks to boot!
Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest – Andy Broomhead
Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest sees Paolo Mori returning to refresh the original pirate-themed hand-management, action selection game 10 years on from its original release with some welcome changes and additions.
Something you’d expect from a Stonemaier game is a solo mode which is now included, expanding the player count to now include 1-6 people. The cardboard treasure tokens are gone, being replaced with some chunky, tactile Bakelite pieces that you’d happily hear rattling around in an Azul bag.
The theme has had a refresh of sorts – out with a gritty, darker coloured pirate theme and in with a brighter, fresher palette, with our pirates now tussling in airships rather than sailing the seven seas.
The overall artwork has been totally switched too, changing the art for anthropomorphic animals and creatures over human characters, and rightly ditching some characters altogether – I’m not sure “Freed slave” was ever a good call for a card if I’m honest. With the changes in art and theme come more cards – giving each player a deck of 40 instead of the original 30, allowing for more options, different powers, and a greater degree of replayability.
The score track has also gone, being replaced with individual player dials in the form of treasure chests, which I think is a definite nice touch and neat way of tying the old in with the new.
Finally, a big introduction is a reputation track which breaks ties when multiple players select the same card, it can be manipulated during the game and also sets the number of doubloons a player gets at the start of a voyage.
Die-hard pirate fans might mourn the less of the more ‘traditional’ theme, but the additions and improvements to gameplay as well as new pieces and an overall more inclusive set of characters mean this version scores highly for me.
Zombicide – David (the Wellbeing Gamer)
All too often I have wondered “why do they even bother with a newer edition?” Some games are absolutely brilliant as they are and there is no need to mess with them. Zombicide was different though, Zombicide needed the 2nd edition, the update and the results are excellent.
Zombicide was CMON’s entry game into the marketplace. I was absolutely blown away by the first edition. The concept and game objective is simple, survive! Survive against the hordes of oncoming Zombies. Gather new equipment in the mission, complete your objectives and get out! I’d never played anything like it back in 2013, when I was introduced to it. My first introduction also to a cooperative board game, which at the time was all too refreshing. It was a master stroke.
With it being the creator's first board game, it did have its flaws but these were very easy to overlook because the game was so good. House rules were created, people shared ideas online on methods of improvement that could be adopted. I’m convinced the designers were taking note.
Roll forward to 2021 and the release of the 2nd edition and CMON have completed an excellent upgrade job. They polished off so many rough edges and adopted so many rule improvements. For those familiar with Zombicide the board took some time to set up. They made a lot of efficiencies there and rapidly improved the setup time. They improved the equipment cards, no longer having to find fuel and the glass bottle to create a molotov to take down an abomination, you just find molotov’s. Also the same for the rifle and scope, it is just a sniper rifle now. They have improved the skills of the survivors as appropriate as well as the introduction of kid survivors, they add a fun dynamic. It isn’t all in favour of the survivors though, the Zombies also have new edges with Spawn and activate cards as well as larger quantities when spawning. Then there are the abominations with their own skills… It is a fresh new nightmare!
I was aware the improvements were coming when I backed the 2nd edition and they were absolutely delivered. If you own Zombicide and are on the fence about picking the new edition, do it, you will be pleased!
Ra - Second Edition By Dan Street-Phillips
If you ask most hobby gamers for the best auction games around then most will probably mention 1999’s Ra. Designed by one of the most prolific board game designers in the world, Reiner Knizia, Ra sees players expand their power and fame by influencing pharaohs, building monuments, farming on the Nile, and advancing the technology and culture of the people. This is all done through set collection. On your turn you will draw a tile and add it to the current list of tiles up for grabs. If an auction is called, players will bid using one of their numbered tiles in front of them, winning all of the current tiles if they have the highest number. However, that bid tile gets added to the next boon and the current winner takes the previous winning tile. This juicy mechanism keeps the larger numbers moving throughout the game. There are also tiles that offer negative effects, and others that force an auction to take place so knowing when to bid and when not becomes the heart of the masterpiece. The original production suffers from being of its time, with clunky graphic design and a colour scheme that all blends into one, nobody’s fault, just a ‘different time’. However, in 2023 25th Century Games had the genius idea of asking legendary game illustrator and graphic designer Ian O’Toole to revamp this classic! This new edition takes an amazing game and makes it much more accessible and much more satisfying to play. Chunky tiles add so much more weight (literally and figuratively) to the experience and new illustrations are immediately recognisable making the whole game flow with ease. Sometimes, second editions are just there to remind you that a great game exists but sometimes, by the power of Ra, they make a great game even better!
