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deutschsprachige Rezensionen

www.gamesweplay.de
"Die thematische beziehungsweise satirische Qualität von Kreml ist einmalig gut. Und - was dieses Spiel so einmalig macht - der Spielablauf leidet darunter überhaupt nicht. Selbst heute, nach vielen Jahren, kann Kreml immer noch mit aktuellen Neuerscheinungen konkurrieren und steht dabei für ein höchst originelles Spielprinzip. Bestenfalls die äußerst einfache Ausstattung des Spiels darf kritisiert werden - aber darüber sehen alle Kreml-LiebhaberInnen gerne hinweg."

www.poeppel-online.de
"Kreml ist ausgezeichnet, sehr empfehlenswert für Liebhaber etwas komplexerer Spiele."

www.spiele-archiv.de
"stimmungsvoll"

www.spiel-des-jahres.org
"Ansprechend ist die Packung nicht - ein häßlicher Karton, ganz auf billig gemacht, aber der Inhalt ist explosiv."

www.audimax.de
"Kreml ist ein Spiel für Intriganten und solche, die es werden wollen."

www.jusos-rhn.de
"ein Spiel für Jusos"

ping.de/sites/pogosite/
"Obwohl Interaktion einen zentralen Punkt des Spieles bildet, werden sowohl eigenbrötlerisch, in sich gekehrte Spielernaturen, als auch extrovertierte Machertypen vom Spiel erfasst.  
Es macht  zwar viel Spaß Aktionismus zu entfalten, alle anderen gegeneinander und gegen sich selbst aufzuwiegeln, es kann aber nie den Sieg garantieren, selbst wenn man das Ende des Spiels in voller Absicht zu seinen Gunsten herbeiführt."

english reviews

www.boardgamegeek.com
(various comments)

"This may very well be the most fiendish political game I've ever played. Skill, luck, and a poker face are needed to win. Great with only three players, but the more the merrier."

"One of the best multi-player games ever made. Make sure all the players remember the cold war AND they must be able to speak with bad Russian accents!" 

"Game I like, but it is hard to get people play because this game seem to divide people to like-hate categories."

"This is a wonderful political game. Just one flaw...it's possible to lose the game right at the beginning, if you pick all politicians that someone else has put more points in. After that it's a long, slow realization that you have practically no chance. But this doesn't happen often, and most of the time it's a splendid romp to make your geezers be as effective as possible before they croak."

"Very unique game of Soviet politics. Very fun with the right group. Fiddly rules, though."

"Very fun game with ample opportunities to screw your opponents."

"Great fun and very amusing if you know how the comunist political system was 10-20 years ago. Now, it is a bit outdated."

"Ok so it has some blind allocation at the setup, but the dealmaking, backstabbing, etc are so much fun! I love the 'aging' mechanic."  

"Nice balance of chrome and playability, and the theme fits tightly." 

"Very funny concept, decent execution. Bogs down in clumsy mechanisms at times."

"What a fun game! Only for people who lived through and remember the 80's, or watching Bresnev staggering at the podium. German-style gamers complain it's 'fiddly', but I like 'fiddly'."

"I just love the power struggles. Any game that has such cutthroat tactics such as this is just plain good times."

"One of the few Avalon Hill titles that never fails to hold my attention, and that never fails to elicit a few laughs." 

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewpreview.php3?previewid=98
"A 2 to 4 hour game where your fate is decided by a secret blind points allocation before the game even commences?!?! Come on - this can't be for real.
Add to that is the incredible luck that dominates the game. Everything is decided by a dice roll. And everyone gets 3 Intrigue event cards that can be actioned at any time to produce more chaos. Spice that up with lots of fiddly rules and chrome and you get a beer and pretzel game that can keep going on and on and on.
[...]
If I want to spend hours gaming, give me something where I can influence the result or change strategies and direction. If I want a mindless atmosphere game where the results don't matter, please, something short and more fun, less fiddly.
A rating of 3 for 'very poor game, would need serious persuasion to play again' - and that mainly to see if my initial impression was wrong. We agreed afterward the game needs to play at a more frantic pace. That would help. But it seemed largely a waste of good gaming time to me."

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewreview.php3?reviewid=95
"Game play is a hoot. There's lots of theme in this game and you find yourself shouting at each other in bad Russian accents in a matter of no time. It's strictly tongue in cheek stuff, but with enough strategy to hold your attention. On top of that there is quite a bit of negotiation going on and plenty of chaos introduced by using the cards. It can sometimes devolve into a waiting game as everyone tries to lie low, unwilling to reveal IP's on politicians for fear of reprisals. It can also go the other way where someone starts a bloodbath of purges vying for the second win method.
Production quality is behind the times. The cards are somewhat flimsy and have those perforated jaggy edges, and I'm not a huge fan of the artwork.
[...]
If you enjoy negotiation, back-stabbing, and lousy Russian accents it's a great game!"

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewsession.php3?sessionid=4311
"This now stands as the worst rated game in TCG's history.
[...]
Finally we got going, not really understanding the rules, and REALLY not understanding the strategy. The KGB was in full effect, sending everyone and their dog to Siberia. And we managed to age a lot of Poliburo members too, leading to mass funerals."

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewsession.php3?sessionid=1948
"Kremlin is one of those games that is fun to play occasionally - especially with fur hats, funeral dirges and lots of vodka to make toast with - but not one I would want to play regularly."

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewsession.php3?sessionid=271
"Vicious is the correct word for this evening's session. There were more purges in the eight turns that the game lasted that I've seen in several past games combined.
[...]
Our group always has a blast playing Kremlin. We use bad Russian accents and force the player controlling the Party Chief to actually stand and wave when appropriate. Of course, we all hum Russian marching songs and toss insults freely. Yet another fun game."

www.gamers.com
(two reviews)

"A truly hilarious game. There is nothing like sending your opponents to the salt mines in Siberia just as they were about to ascend to party chief!
Well worth a play or two. The learning curve can be a *bit* steep, so if you can find someone who has played it before, it'll really help. But for sheer laughs, a group full of newbies guessing who moves where in the party can't be beat."

"A very cool little game that is the basis for the larger and vastly more elaborate Republic of Rome. The mechanics are fun though there's a bit of randomness here, especially early on. However, just running through the turn, revealing influence and running the various sub-games (the trials, accusations and parades) is a lot of fun."

grognard.com
"How is the game? Is it any good? - It is different.
[...]
The game is definitely tongue in cheek and it is pretty fun--if you do not get shut out of any actions as sometimes happens. It is not my favorite but it can be entertaining."

critique francais

www.trictrac.net
(deux avis)

"En tout cas, machiavélisme et surtout coup dans le dos sont de mise. Rien de tel pour crisper l'ambiance!
[...]
En fait, ce jeu était très moderne avant l'heure. Pas trop long, on peut en faire plusieurs (pas trop quand même, il faut presque 2 heures) dans une soirée et réessayer. L'aspect simulation n'est pas déterminant et le contexte est plutôt (ziemlich).
Vraiment un bon jeu."

"Incroyable mais vrai.
[...]
Mais bon, l'ambiance y etait et c'etait l'essentiel. Ouvrez les portes, j'vais purger stalinien grave!"