Trashdome: Speculation edition - Acquire vs Modern Art

Re: versions, my favorite edition of Acquire is the original 3M version. It looks like a prop from Mad Men.

As for Modern Art I will give the slight edge to the CMON version, mostly because I think it communicates the best graphically. I do like the idea of using real artists, but I'm not sure if having your art appear in a niche board game is the boon they hoped it would be.

I've only played Acquire a few times, but I really enjoyed it. You can see the scope of possibility within it and it's a great game for people that are seriously competitive but not pointedly confrontational, as you occasionally have to be for things like wargames (e.g. I'm going to blow your shit up... here.)

But Modern Art for me is somewhere in the range of my all-time favorite Knizia. It's one of the best social games I've ever encountered, alongside other classic stuff like Cosmic Encounter. To the best of my recollection, I have never won a game of it, but I love it and will play anytime. There are certain games that shift and develop based almost solely on the people at the table. Modern Art is one of them. I don't agree with those that think Knizia was trying to "spoof" the art market or that the art has to be awful to make the game be what it is. I had an older copy that I loaned to a friend and never got back, but I have the CMON version and I think it's the best the game has ever looked. It's gotten people to come over to the table because of the visuals.

I've simply never enjoyed a game of Acquire. Never understod the appeal. Probably should revisit it since it;s been twenty plus years and my tastes have changed a lot.

Whereas Modern Art has been very enjoyable every time. Also have never introduced it to anybody who didn't enjoy it. Running a Modern Art auction is always fun.

(Side Note: we do use the player screens in Modern Art. even though in theory all the info behidn them should be trackable. )

Vote: Modern Art,

It looks like this Trashdome was an open auction and Modern Art won 5 votes to 4. I think it's a testament to Sackson's genius that a game designed 60 years ago can stand toe to toe with and feel as fresh as a game designed ...30 years ago.

I love both games and I think that sentiment prevails here!

This thread isnpired me to teach Modern Art to my kids (kinda kids..... 22 yr old son, his 22 yr old SO, and my 12 year old son)

they loved it, and my 12 year old won handily! 450,000ish final score.

Karl Gitter ended up being the most desriable at the end.

Then we played RA!

Both are fantastic games and I love them both. However, I'm giving the nod to Sackson's classic for two reasons. Yes, even if the trashdome is "over".

The first is that Modern Art is much less about auctions than it appears. Since the value of each painting is highly calculable, you can't win by simply biding better. Rather, the real game is in choosing which paintings to buy and sell. You cannot win without a big speculative move and the real skill lies in getting one or two paintings past your opponents. In this way, it's a stock manipulation game.

Acquire isn't. You have far less control over the value of each company or even how they develop. And this is the brillance of it. It's not a stock manipulation game, it's a game about investing. You buy low and sell high and have to manage your capital so it doesn't run out. To me that's a far more uncommon type of game, which separates it from 18XX, Chicago Express and all other games of its ilk.

Both are fantastic designs, though. I just like Acquire a little bit more on balance.