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The original was posted on /r/boardgames by /u/Gorlox111 on 2023-09-30 05:27:28.
Just finished another game of heat and I am just constantly amazed by the cleverness of its design. One particular thing I appreciate is the way they approached the production. Heat is not the fanciest, most luxurious board game I own, but I'd argue it is one of the best value games I own. Some components like the player mats, cars, or gear shifters are not the highest quality, but it's obvious they tried to put their money in the most high impact components/areas of the game. I.e.:
- You get enough components to have a full 6 players (really nice they don't make you buy an expansion to go beyond 4 as I see a lot of other games do)
- The art is fantastic, remaining thematic while still having a unique style
- The actual track board is massive, making it easier to understand. Plus you get 2 double sided boards adding to variability/replayability
- Not only do you have 4 tracks but you also have an ai module, a custom upgrade module, a track conditions/weather module, and a semi-legacy module
All of these things add to the replayability and actual gameplay experience of the game. There is a surprising amount of game here for around ~$60.
They certainly could've gone with thicker player birds, maybe nicer cardstock, or cars models that are more detailed. But I think the key guiding principle that I see in this game is
functionality. Every piece that needed to have a bit spent on it got some more money. The background remains the background. In a time where everything seemingly needs to be over the top and deluxified, it's nice to see a lean game like this still deliver a big game experience.