Who else is watching this antique quality vid because SUSD recommended the new Hansa

This game is a blast with more players. I gave it a 9 on BGG.

I guess the theme of the game may be far more evocative for Germans, or in general for those who live in spots where the Hanseatic League traded and did politics. You can find yourself on the map with ye olde city names. As a German, I would probably find this game equally tedious-sounding if it was re-skinned to be about supply chain management in the US civil war.

Ahhh good old times "close the door" and the game Shipyard in the background. Change is good but sometime nostaliga feels better:) Go Tom and Team:D

I'm thankful there are game designers who spend most of their energy on making  games that are deeply satisfying at a strategic level while worrying less about theme.  It's a lot like relationships.  When you're dating, you get caught up in the superficial, worrying about looks, but after you've been with someone a while how they look becomes less important and it's the substance of the person that really matters.  Dating is also expensive, and so is constantly buying new games that lose value once you get past the initial honeymoon period enjoying the theme/story and unique content.  This game is so good that I honestly do not give a damn about the visual design or thematic elements, once you've played it you won't care either.  If you prefer buying fewer games that are highly replayable with depth of strategy, this is a great game worth spending your hard earned money on.

One key aspect of this game that Tom misses in his review is the level of interaction.  This game is VERY interactive.   A huge part of the game is blocking other players so they can't complete routes and to gain bonus traders while costing them traders and rearranging traders and merchants on the board.  Those round merchants, cost twice as much to displace and gain you twice as many traders when that happens.  The expansion boards for this game are also excellent.

You should rerocord this video for the big box edition. Hansa deserved this.

Wow, the DT tower intro looked awesome in 4:3. Haven't found a bad review of this game yet (other than what it looks like).

I truly love this game, especially with the Britainia expansion.

Played this game for the first time last night and it was fantastic. Very thematically dry, and feels more like an abstract game. However, it has so much to explore mechanically. I am pretty much on board with Tom except for the fact that I would not be dissuaded from owning, nor suggesting it to be played with people I knew already liked games.

Great Game.  Tom Vasel rates theme very highly in a game.  I like a good theme to a game, but for me it is just a bonus not a reason to play it (or avoid it).  Hansa has a very elegant design to the mechanics and requires that all its players pay attention to what is going on so they can formulate and adapt their strategies.

It is not an introductory game, and if you have indecisive players it can get abit slow.  However the multitude of good strategic choices available on most turns is not matched by many other games.

The biggest problem with this game is coming up with a real world situation that it models.  The only way I can wrap my head around it is, imagine Girl Scouts selling cookies, and they win prizes if they can sell to an entire street.  Some prizes enhance your ability to sell cookies.  Of course, people need to restock their cookies pretty often, so immediately after you've sold to an entire street, another Girl Scout can sell to the same street.  The Hanseatic League was never so delicious.

I think the theme fits fine for this game.

Very complex game and theme, probably a bit too much to it to be honest. The Hansa Teutonica was not merely a trade network, but a system of political affiliation within the Holy Roman Empire and the networks represent the negotiation of treaties and political influence more than actual commerce.

I still love the game, but I can see how its not for everyone.

Great review, Tom.
From what I gather, if Endeavor was the Matrix, Hansa Teutonica would be Johnny Mnemonic.

easy game to learn, hard game to master

hahahahaha..i enjoyed this review and the game is very good!!!  I do agree with you, Tom!!! The theme sucks!!!

Beautiful map and very nice & useful boards! :o)
But the city of "Goettingen" is toooo important in game play! :o(
Therefor "Vasco da Gama" is the far better game!  ;o)

What if trading theme fits this mechanics best? Well, at least if you have cities and routes. I don't think trading in space would change it a lot. But those technology mechanics truly can be used with any theme. Factory theme? Well, power grid and factory manager somehow look boring to me :) Maybe because i havent played any trading theme game yet :))

1:40 wax on
1:42 wax off

Sounds like it's not a game for people with Analysis Paralysis.