When comparing Vinhos: Deluxe Edition vs Food Chain Magnate, the Slant community recommends Vinhos: Deluxe Edition for most people. In the question“What are the best board games?” Vinhos: Deluxe Edition is ranked 33rd while Food Chain Magnate is ranked 45th. The most important reason people chose Vinhos: Deluxe Edition is:
Since the game plays out over the course of only 6 years with players receiving only 2 actions per year, actions are very limited over-all. This gives additional weight and meaning to every decision in the game as players try to optimize their estates and balance short-term rewards with long-term goals.
Specs
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Pros
Pro The limited number of turns lead to very tense and engaging gameplay
Since the game plays out over the course of only 6 years with players receiving only 2 actions per year, actions are very limited over-all. This gives additional weight and meaning to every decision in the game as players try to optimize their estates and balance short-term rewards with long-term goals.
Pro Incredible component quality
For the deluxe edition of this game Eagle-Griffon games hired famous boardgame artist Ian O'Toole to do all new art for both the box and the player boards, resulting in one of the most beautiful games of 2016. They also went above and beyond with the physical components, opting for thick, high-quality cardboard for most of the pieces and chunky wooden bits for everything else.
Pro Two games in one
In addition to the original 2010 edition of the game, the deluxe edition features a new, streamlined and updated, set of rules that help make the game much more accessible to players who are new to heavy euro-style games.
Pro Incredibly tense gameplay
Each round in Food Chain Magnate players have the opportunity to compete for various milestones such as first to market a burger, first to hire 3 employees in one turn, or first to cook a pizza. These milestones are only available until the first turn a player completes them, after which point they are removed from the game. However, they provide very powerful bonuses to the players that reach them, leading to very tense rounds as players try to be the only one to unlock their preferred milestones while also completing the milestones that opponents unlock that round.
Pro Food Chain Magnate provides an excellent gaming experience focused around short term tactics and long term startegy
Food Chain Magnate has no randomness from things like dice or random card draws, instead, all of the information in the game is clearly presented on the table at all times for all players to see. This means that players win or lose based on how well they are able to play the game, not based on chance. To succeed, each player will need to find the right mix of tactics and strategy to build their empire.
Cons
Con High cost might be a problem for some
Although justified by the impressive quality of the components and the game itself, it is still a relatively expensive game and may not fit in everyone's budget.
Con Not well suited for new board gamers
Vinhos is a very heavy euro-style boardgame and as such has many complicated and interacting parts that might be too much for a new boardgamer to handle. Since there is almost no randomness in the game, the winner is usually the player who played best or knows the game best, which means that a single mistake can make it very hard to win.
Con In Food Chain Magnate mistakes tend to compound over time
Because of the heavy strategy emphasis in FCM there aren't many opportunities for players to recover from particularly bad mistakes, leaving them far behind the other players as the game progresses.