Another German offering, this one a bit more strategic and competitive than Carcassonne. Samurai involves placing tiles on the board in an attempt to capture figures which the placed tiles eventually surround. Having five tiles to work with along with their carefully balanced capabilities makes possible a variety of interesting strategies and the game plays quickly enough that one isn’t reluctant to be experimental. The non-intuitive scoring takes a while to grasp and seems to create situations where the battle between two winning players is decided (advertently or inadvertently) by a third player’s single move. Funky scoring notwithstanding, Samurai is more fun than any other board game I’ve played in recent memory.