Great Western Trail

Setting up the train stations and managing the cows feels incredibly strategic, and the new edition's components are wonderfully sturdy. I’ve played it three times this week already and the depth keeps surprising me.

The double-layer player boards in this second edition are a huge upgrade, cards slot in so much more cleanly than the original. I've already played three games of cattle driving and hand management, and the depth of the strategy keeps pulling me back to the table.

The deck-building and hand management flow really shines once you get the rhythm of moving your cowboy across the trail, though the first game took us nearly three hours to finish. The second edition components feel sturdy and the board art is gorgeous, but I wish the rulebook had a few more visual