Going, going, gone!
It might be quite a specialist little game, but Vermeer is actually quite an enjoyable little excursion into a world not often seen in gaming. It's an art trading simulator and should appeal to a similar sort of crowd to the likes of The Patrician and Hanse, so if you count yourself among this number, then you should get some enjoyment out of this. The game takes the idea that a well known art collection has been stolen and as one of the original owner's four nephews, it's your job to go out in the world and get all the paintings back. The game itself is a sort of board game, which is split into turns and which ends when your uncle dies. The idea is that the art is being sold off at auctions around the world, so you need to travel to them in order to buy them back. Travelling and buying them costs money though, so you need to open plantations growing cocoa, coffee and tea and then trade in these goods in order to amass enough cash, while you can also get more by gambling on horse races. You can also get extra art skills by taking courses, so you can tell the difference between real ones and fakes, and there's even the chance to hire thieves to steal a painting from your rivals. Vermeer isn't going to be for everyone but if you like strategy or board games and consider yourself an art fan, then this is going to be of interest. It's simple enough to pick up but due to the requirement for planning and careful thinking, it provides enough depth to keep you going for some time, making it a good choice for a wet Sunday.
