Customer Reviews

Acquire

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The other reviews are correct, there are other versions of this great game that will hold up better and are better looking. However, I would want to make sure that anyone who doesn't already own this great game is aware that the game itself is a lot of fun and there are many variations/rules variants that can also keep it fresh for long time players. If you haven't tried partnership Acquire, give it a try, it's a whole different game.

For those not familiar with the game, there are tiles that are placed on the game board. When two or more are joined, they form a hotel chain. Only 6 hotel chains can exist on the board at a time, so certain tiles can become unplayable for a period of time. When a tile is played that connects two hotels, they are merged with the longer chain taking over the smaller. If they are the same size, the person playing the merging tile determines which chain takes over.

The subtleties of the game make it one of the true gems of boardgames. Sid Sackson developed the original version about 50 years ago and hundreds, if not thousands, of games have been developed since that in same ways have employed some of the mechanics and strategic elements of this game. Each player has unique information about the future growth of the hotels and the upcoming mergers. They can each take advantage of this but of course, other players can observe what they do and infer what information they have...

If you haven't played this game, you should definitely try it out. You may later find yourself searching on ebay for one of the earlier versions, but this will certainly be a great addition to your games closet if you don't already have it!

I ordered this product after some consideration. I had played the original Avalon-Hill version with a friend who had a copy from his childhood. The game itself is fun and different from other finance games. On the older version that I played, the game tiles were plastic and fit into a grid to prevent slippage. On the new version, the game tiles are made of a cardstock and there is no grid. This is an annoying difference only when you are trying to play a game near animals or small children. Otherwise it's fine. This version of the game is available at a lesser cost than any of the originals on Ebay, so if you want it, snap it up while it's available!

well, we played this game last night at my house.We have all the versions.Our aquire group(4 couples) was countiong the days until we could play the new version. This cardbord copy of the 1999 edition is as entertaining as the original, however it lacks the 3d feel of earlier versions. I personally do not like it as much.This game introduced 2 new things: a tile holder (good Ignovation) and the hotels are 2 pices long instead of 1. However having the 1999 version(our favorite by far) we will never play this new version again.

I'm a long time Acquire fan. My friends and I played it for many long hours for years. So I was delighted to see that it had been reissued.

The new version is a huge disappointment. The tiles, trays to hold each player's tiles, and the tiles that indicate a hotel are all cardboard. Worse, they are cardboard that you will have to pop out of a card.

The earlier versions had a board to hold the tiles that had a slot for each tile, which was much more effective.

With the current version, the tiles slide around the board dont' stay in place.

There is no place to hold the cash, so in the box it just slides around. There is no scoring card.

The shares for each hotel chain are very fancily printed, but the printing is so fancy that it is hard to tell which hotel chain the share is for without reading carefully. A simple use of color would have fixed this.

I'm glad I have a copy of the game so I can play with my kids, but its a very cheap design.

Acquire is a great game of luck, strategy, and (like monopoly) can teach people about capitalism. This new updated version from Hasbro does just that. It is a sadly cheap and flimsy copy of the original. The stock certificates are nice done. But the game board is weak, and the tiles are quite simply pitiful. Hasbro will no doubt make money, as no matter the cost to teh consumer, the cost of production must be essentiall nothing. Games are improved by the tactile: the feel of teh pieces in your hand, the way they work on the board, their physicality. This new edition was clearly designed by someone who just doesnt play board games. Sadly, its just cheap.

This updated version of the board game classic has both some strengths and some weaknesses. The board is flat and the tiles are a very light cardboard, so bumping the board is a problem. This is a step down from previous editions with indented plastic boards and hard plastic tiles that plugged into them. However, the player trays for holding the tiles is a nice touch and the new stock certificates have both a nice look and feel. The graphics are nice and the box is small and light, which is good for portability. Given the relatively low price, I think it is a decent value for your money, particularly if you don't already own a copy of this excellent game. But if you do own a previous edition, there is no need to pick this one up.

I have the original version of this game which is almost 40 years old. I wanted to get a new game because mine is worn. I was so disappointed when I opened this game. It is the cheapest version of a game that I have ever seen. Everything is cardboard! The game I have has a nice plastic board with slots in it for each peg to fit in, much like the top version of scrabble. The pegs in my old game are much like the scrabble pegs also.

The new game is all cardboard. Everything cardboard! The board, the pegs, the trays...cardboard. I am so disheartened. I thought I was getting a newer and better version of my favorite game of all times. I ordered three of them and another one for my brother's birthday. I returned them.

If you can find the old version of this game, by all means grab it. It is the best game ever!

If you have never played, don't let the reviews turn you off. This is a wonderful, mind working game.

Many people liked the version with the 3-d peices because they don't get bumped... but if you play on a table and aren't trying to hold a baby at the same time or have a cat that likes to jump on games (which are valid concerns), then this version will do fine. I'm not really certain why some people keep buying each version, unless they collect or their old one is worn out from many a good time.

I personally have been waiting for a "flat"version. I found that the 3-d version was unnecessarily bulky (they could have made a better "locking system" if they wanted a bump free version), the pieces were too big to throw into a drawstring bag and draw from (I'd rather not have to turn them all upside down and then make room for all the bulky upside down pieces to take up half my table), and the peices were too bulky to easily conceal from the other players.. we had to all get shoe boxes, or keep them upside down and remember exactly which pieces we had.

So all and all, I actually prefer this one. You will have a distinct advantage if you have the type of mind that can keep track of how many of what each player buys.

Not the best to play with young players because decisions they make can effect everyone else... which is good if they fully understand why they are doing it and what effect it will have, but if they don't, then it really is a bummer when they mess things up for you (and it doesn't even help them).

The game tiles, board, and tile stands are all made of paper. After using few times it will not sustain. Paper board tiles will move on the board making the game messy and inconvenient to manage. Its a shame what they have done to such a brilliant game.

Acquire may not be as old as Monopoly, but it is older than me and I can see why it's a classic. Finally, an economic game that is far better than monopoly could ever hope to be! I know a lot of people who have owned older versions are upset at the quality of the components compared to earlier versions and rightly so, but really, the game just rocks! Buy this cheaper version to play, and then go buy an older expensive version to store in your closet, so you can be an Acquire snob saying you have version 19xx something:-)

Acquire is a game about investing in hotel chains and getting the most money in the end, similar to Monopoly, but that is about where the similarity ends. The game does a wonderful job of creating the experience of investing in stock, simulating growth in value as the hotel chain grows, merging, and fighting to be primary stockholder for huge payouts on mergers. The gameplay is brilliantly simple, but the strategy and decision making can go way deep! It is done in such a way that the word elegance comes to mind. Even though there is luck involved in the way you draw tiles for this game, I at least get to choose where I want to move by placing a tile. Whereas in Monopoly, you have to move where the die tells you (roll 'n move) which aggravates me.

In this game you perform 3 simple actions: place a tile, buy up to three stocks, and then draw another tile. When I place a tile, I can decide if I want help grow a hotel chain(don't have to own it), create a hotel chain, or merge a hotel chain. After that, I have to decide on which hotel chain on the board I want to buy stock. This is where things get interesting, because you know that if you own the most stock in a hotel chain that gets gobbled up in a merger, you'll get some major moolah. Of course the bigger the chain is when it gets gobbled, the bigger the payout is. So, you may finding yourself trying to weigh out when you should merge the hotel chain if someone doesn't do it first and whether or not you grow it. Again, there's a risk involved, because if a hotel chain gets beyond 11 tiles, it is safe from acquisition. If that happens and you're a major stockholder, then you'll keep growing that "safe" hotel chain for the big payout at the end of the game. When mergers happen, you also have to decide if you should trade your stock in for the new hotel, sell your old stock, or keep it for when you decide to start the old chain back up again. The game has a lot of subtle strategy as you try to weigh out how you grow a hotel chain or merge it, based on how much stock you own in it or how much someone else has invested in it.

Acquire is just a beautifully designed game and is a lot of fun to play. This is a great way to teach your kids about investing in stock too!