In the Hall of the Mountain King

In the Hall of the Mountain King is a fantastic game that combines tight resource management with tile placement. You weave your tiles toward the center of the map, using different resources to dig tunnels. The different resources give varying amounts of points when you dig a tunnel, so there's a great balancing act between using cheap resources to dig far but score low points, and using expensive resources to cash in. There are many ways to score points, and no one strategy seems to be the guaranteed path to victory.

I really appreciate the well-fleshed-out cooperative mode, which is not just a tacked-on afterthought. It's a completely new game mode with a few new rules that fit in very well.

The cascading production system is innovative and engaging. As you hire more trolls, you gain bigger and bigger windfalls of resources as the end of the game nears. The timing of your hiring turns versus your building turns is important as you try to maximize your cascades while making sure you get the trolls you want from the shared market and also stay competitive on the map.

The game components are high quality and add to the overall enjoyment of the game. The artwork is beautiful, the pieces are sturdy, and the game board is well designed. However, I do have some reservations about the way the resources are tied to the troll cards. I found it a bit limiting that the trolls don't find resources in the tunnels themselves. I can see why some people would prefer a system where resources are earned through exploration rather than being assigned to specific trolls.

Overall, In the Hall of the Mountain King is a great game that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys engine building and strategic tile placement. However, if you're a player who prefers a more traditional resource acquisition system, you might want to consider other options.