Article by Catherine Soubeyrand.
February 19, 1996
After finding the last catalog from Descartes, the French game publisher, I had the pleasure to discover three new boardgames which have not yet been tried but will be soon.
The first is Versailles. The players become important people at court and follow all the movements of the King through the prestigious castle of Versailles! At each ceremony, you take part to an anedocte [???] and you must beware the other players' traps. Between the various ceremonies you will have to answer questions of intuition and general knowledge dealing with the world of the 17th and 18th centuries. The favour of the King is measured in suns that you win or lose during the course of the game. The winner is the one who has earned the most suns at the end of the game.
A family game with very easy rules, quickly learnt, where tactics and intuition balance the benefits of strong general knowledge.
Published by Omphales Editions.
2 to 6 players
1 - 1.5 hour
The second is A qui le tour?, a cycling game. You're on the road with the Tour de France, trying to lead your team to victory while avoiding the pitfalls of the race, punctures, and other raging hungers [!!!] while taking advantage of the drafting phenomenon and cleverly using your move cards and various trumps. The yellow, green, and dotted jerseys are awarded to the leaders of the pack whereas the back coach will take care of the latecomers.
A race game mixing tactics and strategy, with a solitaire play option.
Published by Algo.
1 to 4 players
1 - 8 hours
The third is Aerogame. Take off in a parachute, a delta-plane or a glider and let the wind carry you as far as possible while cleverly playing with the rising winds, the clouds and the transition zones. Take care! The faster you go the quicker you lose altitude! So you must astutely manage your altitude and your speed without forgetting to follow your opponents.
A race game with a little part of chance which will interest gliding fans.
Published by CRP-Techno Formation.
1 to 4 players
1 - 1.5 hours
All of these games may be ordered from the fine folks at Jeux Descartes.