#100: Mississippi Queen

Mississippi Queen

• designer: Werner Hodel
• publisher: Rio Grande
• date: 1997
• BoardGameGeek rank/rating: 765/6.44
• position on my top 100 in 2005: 44th
• age: 10+
• # of players: 3-5 (2-6 w/the Black Rose expansion)
• print status: out of print
• cost: expect to pay $40+ for a used copy

Steamboat racing at it's best - this is a pretty simple game (once everyone figures out how to tell what order everyone moves) that is fun to play & nice to look at. Mississippi Queen is improved by the use of The Black Rose expansion - esp. if playing with 5-6 players. (Note: I wrote this paragraph back in '05... over time, I've come to believe that the expansion works best as seasoning - use the coaling station & the "evil islands" tile & the extra steamboats - but that the logs & sandbars simply slow the game down.)

I like this game enough that I've written about possible problems & variants before - you can read my Game Central Station: Mississippi Queen article here on aka pastor guy.

BTW, this won the Spiel des Jahres back in 1997, which has caused a good bit of griping over the years. Tigris & Euphrates, the gamer-y pick of the year, was not even nominated. (You'll notice that I do not include T&E in my top 100 - it's a game I respect but don't like to play.) However, five of the other nominees (Bohnanza, Settlers Card Game, Expedition, Showmanager & Lowenherz) all will appear later on this list. I'm not personally offended by the award - again, I really like the game.