Remembering Han Heidema
The late Han Heidema was a treasured member of the Dutch gaming community. He held a strong influence in Ducosim, the Dutch Games Prize, and the International Gamers Awards. An avid collector and gaming connoisseur, Heidema was regarded as a protean gaming expert. Inspired by the Winsome publication of Dutch InterCity under his pseudonym, he went on to create the Riding series games – some of the most sought-after titles by Winsome enthusiasts. To honor his recent passing, his complete works will be available in the gaming library, including original copies of Zoutkaartje and his co-publications with Alan Moon: Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.
Omnibus
The collected works of Han Heidema
Original copies of each will be showcased in the gaming library
Good gracious [West Riding Revisited] is a surly little number. Not since my very first time playing Chicago Express have I felt so strongly the post-mortem thoughts of: 1) What was that?! and 2) May I have some more?
[It is] an outstanding example of a cube rails that really pushes most ‘norms’ of the genre and encourages pursuing longer-term strategies that could see payoffs blooming late, which means the game should remain consistently engaging despite its length.
Minimalist, austere, spartan… Dutch Intercity is a game of iterative predatory auctions of shares with highly unstable values interspersed with quick activities to generate those unstable values… The hinge point is in the intersection of two patterns: turn order for the auction and auction duration. Those two in combination… are responsible for most of the subtlety and tension in the game – controlling and predicting how many rounds the auction will last and thus how many shares will be issued (and which shares) is key. [Rated 8/10] for the unadulterated minimalism and unabashed unforgiveness of errors.
In Länderbahnen the [Grouping Railways] are completely player-determined, which adds an interesting nuance to the game. [There are] some interesting things going on. For starters, the stock devaluing idea which is present in Wabash was present in these earlier [Riding series] games, as they devalue in a the same way. The city control and value switch-overs between the basic and grouped companies is the real highlight here though, and seems to be where the game is won and lost. Money reaches a critical point in the middle of the game where it is about even, and then groups become much, much more lucrative… This is not the type of game that is going to come out regularly, but it fits into that meaty, stock-based game niche in my collection, and I do enjoy it.
Good gracious [West Riding Revisited] is a surly little number. Not since my very first time playing Chicago Express have I felt so strongly the post-mortem thoughts of: 1) What was that?! and 2) May I have some more?
[It is] an outstanding example of a cube rails that really pushes most ‘norms’ of the genre and encourages pursuing longer-term strategies that could see payoffs blooming late, which means the game should remain consistently engaging despite its length.
Minimalist, austere, spartan… Dutch Intercity is a game of iterative predatory auctions of shares with highly unstable values interspersed with quick activities to generate those unstable values… The hinge point is in the intersection of two patterns: turn order for the auction and auction duration. Those two in combination… are responsible for most of the subtlety and tension in the game – controlling and predicting how many rounds the auction will last and thus how many shares will be issued (and which shares) is key. [Rated 8/10] for the unadulterated minimalism and unabashed unforgiveness [sic] of errors.
In Länderbahnen the [Grouping Railways] are completely player-determined, which adds an interesting nuance to the game. [There are] some interesting things going on. For starters, the stock devaluing idea which is present in Wabash was present in these earlier [Riding series] games, as they devalue in a the same way. The city control and value switch-overs between the basic and grouped companies is the real highlight here though, and seems to be where the game is won and lost. Money reaches a critical point in the middle of the game where it is about even, and then groups become much, much more lucrative… This is not the type of game that is going to come out regularly, but it fits into that meaty, stock-based game niche in my collection, and I do enjoy it.