|
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
One issue that I've encountered numerous times in my recent boardgaming years is that of game expansions. You know, those additional retail packages that make your tried and true game better. Those little bits of gaming goodness that expand the life of your treasured gaming gems. Well, that's at least how I've always pictured expansions. The problem is that I seem to be the minority on this one.
There's an unsettling trend that I'm witnessing where expansions are almost seen as a requirement by some gamers. And if not a requirement I often see them cited as an excuse. "Oh, you didn't like Dominion? Get an expansion like Intrigue to make it better". Or, "Don't bother playing Descent without the first expansion - Road to Legend fixes the game" or "You should buy Shattered Empire when you go out and buy Twilight Imperium". If you want to see my scrunchy face, just mention expansions in this sort of context. I'm a purist hard and true and the idea of modifying a game is a hard fought battle with me. Try suggesting it before you've even played the game and I'm liable to kick you in the nuts.
It pains me for some reason that I can't explain. When I look at a game purchase I percieve it as a complete item. When I take it home and play it I should be content in knowing that this is how the game is supposed to be. The idea that an expansion would be a mandatory purchase to even be able to enjoy the game completely bewilders me. My reasoning is pretty simple: If I don't like the base game there's no way I'm going to pour more money into it via an expansion. If a developer wants to charm me into additional purchases it should start with a damn fine product to begin with. Yet, I've seen lines of reasoning to the contrary a multitude of times both personally and online. What gives? Somewhat on the same train of thought is gamers who essentially expect an expansion. There's been so many times where I've went to forums of yet to be released games and there would be a subsect of the contributors talking about how they can't wait for the expansion...for a game they've never played. I sometimes feel that I'm the only sane in the building at these points.
When did we as consumers decide that it was okay to purchase sub par or partially finished products only to gleefully expect a followup product to address most of the misdeeds of the first? When did the term completionist move to the forefront to disguise the more truer term of gullible.
When I think of expansions I immediately shy away. My way of thinking has always told me that I should never even consider an expansion until I've played the base game out. I recently purchased the special edition of El Grande which came bundled with a bunch of expansions. I've only played it 4 times and am adamant that I don't want to touch any of the expansions until I've hit close to 20 games. I have friends who wanted to break the expansions out after the first play. Blasphamy I say! When El Grande first came out there were no expansions and people played that game to death. Why should we be any different?
I've seen first hand the excuses that come up as to why expansions are needed. I've a friend who absolutley demanded that he get the Cursed! expansion for Small World upon purchase because "I like to play as goblins". Two games later he figured out that he didn't like Small World - oops. I've had a friend buy the expansion for Pandemic upon purchase. "It'll be more fun with more options" he argued. The way I see it is that you're burning the candle at both ends when you do that. The way I see doing these things is to play the original until it's sparkle starts to wane. Then add an expansion if it's desirable. This way you extend the life of your game instead of burning the whole thing out right away.
True expansions aren't the only issue. Crafty board game publishers realized that pumping out additional maps for certain games is another way to capture their audiences wallets. Two games in particular are quite guilty of this. Age of Steam (or Railways of the World or Steam) has a rediculous amount of additional maps as does Power Grid. I'm sitting here adamant that I could play my next 20 games of those on the original maps but I'm surrounded by people who feel that getting additional maps for these is basically essential. Poppycock I say. I feel the true strengths of playing a game are the mechanics and the interplay between competitors. Playing the same old maps brings familiarity and with that brings speed of thought and knowledge of strategy and tactics. Mixing the boards up every session means that you'll lose some of that long term meta gaming and will have players perpetually in learning sessions - never truley mastering any of the boards that they're presented with.
But, as I mentioned, I'm clearly in the minority on this one. There's a pretty decent market out there for expansions. I also understand that the best ways for companies to capitalize on their existing products is to create add-ons and such to lure their customers back. I understand these rationalizations but the thing that I don't understand is: Why do we accept this and play into this so willingly?
*originally posted on http://www.reviewswithoutpants.com
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
Often it's dawned on me that certain board games feel like they could be played without any sort of theme and make just as much sense. Some games it's really obvious. Through the Desert, Hive, and Hansa Teutonica are great games in their own right but their themes are obviously meaningless to the actual game play. Age of Steam, Agricola, and Pandemic have themes that really work in tandem with the game experiences that they're trying to relay. Realistically, though, no matter how in tune with the mechanics that a theme is it really has no bearing on the fact that you're rolling dice, pushing cubes, adding numbers, denoting actions to be taken, and so on. It's becoming far more clearer with every game that I encounter that theme is just a nicety that really shouldn't have any bearing on the game underneath.
So why then do I demand a theme for my games? I'm pretty hard pressed to even look at a game that's just core components like a grid, discs, dice, and generic markers. I definitely look for games with theme and I've encountered many that are pretty out of the ordinary. Some games that I either enjoy or am looking forward to enjoying have themes like farming, fashion design, circus management, church painting, and province control in Spain. None of these are themes that I'm remotely interested in yet their mere mention in a game somehow elevates these in my mind's eye and makes me want them more than if they were purely abstract games.
Why is this? I like to pretend that I'm a reasonably intelligent person. I like doing "thinky" things in my free time and like to engage in activities that will hopefully slow down the gradual degradation process of my brain. But pop a unique theme or shiny piece in a game and my monkey brain goes "gimme gimme gimme". All the while I know it doesn't matter.
Scratch that. The theme doesn't even have to be unique. I've played umpteen games involving trading in the middle ages. So many that you'd think I'd had my fill of those for a life time. Nope, love 'em, want more. I can't put my finger on it. I don't even like history beyond a two decades ago.
Some have said that a good theme can help you learn and remember rules. Apparently it's easier to remember game components if they have real world connections. It's supposedly easier to deal with gold, wood, and stone as opposed to yellow, brown, and grey cubes. I can't argue with this. Raising sheep and cows in Agricola or fighting monsters in Defenders of the Realm does help get the point across but I hardly think that it's necessary in making the game playable.
This problem gets a little more murkier with games that are core components but with added pizazz. I finally acquired a set of Looney Labs' Icehouse/Treehouse/IceDice. Realistically they're just a bunch of triangles yet somehow I'm drawn to them. They are a set of pyramids of different colours and sizes that can be used in a multitude of games for which instructions can be easily (and legally) obtained over the internet. In all reality these are as abstract as you can get. But my mind has been clouded some how because they're plastic, translucent, and stackable! They serve the same damned function as the multi-sized cubes in my euro games yet somehow they've been elevated to an entirely different level. And, I want more of these stupid things! Why? So I can cobble together some more abstract games...the insanity of it all.
How did I become so gullible? More importantly, do I want to be less gullible? I love my unique themes and pieces. I want to revel in the idea that I'm playing a game as a space adventurer or a trader on the high seas. Those little space dudes in Galaxy Trucker just made a world of difference. But, apart from the odd time that components have trumped theme I'll just end with this: Theme matters, I just don't care what it is.
*originally posted on http://www.reviewswithoutpants.com
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
Games I Want: Pretty simple concept. I rant about an upcoming game that I really want. Today's entry is Mutant Meeples by Ted Alspach, soon to be published by Bezier Games. Meeples have always had a special allure and the ones that come with this game put the old style ones to shame.
Very recently I was introduced to a game called Ricochet Robots. It's a rather unassuming game where four coloured pieces (robots) are placed on a puzzle grid that contains walls, deflectors, and destination tokens. When robots are told to move a specific direction they cannot stop until they hit a wall or another robot. The goal is to send specific robots to various destinations in as few moves as possible.
Now, if that were all to the game then it would be a passable affair. Fun for a bit and then tucked away and forgotten in my library of games. What makes Ricochet Robots so special is that the game is set against a simultaneous reverse auction where people are calling out the fewest moves it will take to fulfill the goal.
*Me having fun playing Ricochet Robots*
The game mainly involves people staring at the board and eventually calling out numbers. Once the time limit has been hit the person who bid the lowest number of moves demonstrates the winning combination and scores a point. The game is unique as the bulk of it is played out in your head as you're computing the possibilities as quickly as possible. It's quick. It's fun. And 10 people can play at the same time.
With that out of the way, this is where Mutant Meeples comes in. Mutant Meeples is currently in a Kickstarter campaign and is halfway to being greenlit. This game takes the core of what Ricochet Robots is but adds a very welcome dose of depth to the proceedings. Where the robots in Ricochet Robots all performed exactly the same, the Meeples in Mutant Meeples all have special abilities. One can jump walls, one can actually stop before hitting walls, one can teleport, etc...
The other thing about Mutant Meeples that intrigues me is that there's a built in balancing mechanic. You see, when a player solves a puzzle using one of the meeples they then can no longer use that same meeple for the rest of the game. The more puzzles you solve the less meeples you have at your disposal. Sucks to be king doesn't it?
There you have it. A meaty multiplayer puzzle game based off a simpler yet popular game. Oh ya, and those specially painted meeples are fantastic! I sure hope this gets funded. You all have until December to help out. February 2012 can't come soon enough!
*originally posted on http://www.reviewswithoutpants.com
Sat Oct 29, 2011 10:13 pm
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
The never-ending debate of the last few years: Should cell phones and other electronic devices be allowed at the gaming table? This is a question that appears countless times on gaming forums across the internet and I'm going to rehash the argument yet again. Too bad, my blog  .
The question can be more pointedly asked as "is it ignorant to divert your attention from both the game at hand as well as the company?" There are many shades of grey and there are clearly lots of extenuating circumstances but the basic answer is yes. Yes it is ignorant.
And, to be clear, I'm not talking about quick checks of our devices here and there. Quickly seeing who buzzed you is fine. Texting your loved one that "no, I haven't been kidnapped. I'm just at my weekly 3am game group" is fine. Those are quick things that obviously have minimal impact.
The things that are unacceptable are the continual texting, surfing, playing with apps, and worst of all, accepting all incoming calls. Like it or not you've entered a social contract by engaging in a board game with other people. Although it's not inherently obvious to everyone on the planet, the basic assumptions of playing a game with someone are that you are paying attention to the game and when not doing that you'll be engaging the other people at the table in some manner.
There's two things happening when your head is in your phone in between your turns:
1) Especially during heavier games, you're telling the table that you're not all that concerned with what's happening. If you're not preparing for future turns you're not being as competitive as you could be. That's fine if everyone at the table feels the same but if you're the odd one out then the game can turn into "what random move is that dummy going to make next to screw up the flow of the game". Many games have a complex dance of actions and responses. If one player disregards this and just acts - and not through inexperience but of just not bothering to pay attention - the game can start to break apart.
2) You're telling the rest of the table "I'm not all that concerned about you". Engaging your phone whenever it's not your turn is almost the equivalent of you raising a newspaper in front of you or drawing a curtain. If the level of engagement you're looking from your fellow gamers is to have people move your opponent's pieces then you're better off playing something somewhere online. I hear BSW has a fantastic community.
Did I convert anyone? Didn't think so. Pretty much preaching to the choir on that one. I may be a little more stern than most but this is becoming bigger and bigger problem as smartphones are becoming all consuming. We see it in living rooms and kitchens across our nations. Please, if our niche hobby can teach the world a lesson let it be that the people who are directly in front of us or beside us deserve more attention than the electronic devices that have invaded our world.
**written on my iPhone during the road trip home - my girlfriend driving**
*originally posted on http://www.reviewswithoutpants.com
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
First was the announcement on the Podcast 'The Dice Tower' that Stronghold Games was intending on publishing a reprint of Merchants of Venus.
=====
Then came Fantasy Flight Game's web announcement of their same intentions:
Fantasy Flight Games is delighted to announce the upcoming release of Merchant of Venus, a board game of space traders and alien riches. Two to four players race through the galaxy on a wild dash for cash, locating and establishing vital trade lines to transport goods from the planets where they’re common, to the planets where they can sell for maximum profit.
A day in the life of a space trader
Aliens sell you their goods, and you’ve got a deadline to hit high market on a distant world. Streamlining your trade route is vital, as is boosting your ride, tweaking it out with all the latest and coolest upgrades. However, money invested in your ship cuts into your bottom line, making it a tough choice each trader will face as they compete to become the richest and greatest space trader.
Pilots, lasers, and shields can help you bypass the hazards of space travel. Increased cargo holds let you transport more goods with each voyage, and better pilots and drives can speed your ship across the galaxy in record time.
Meanwhile, you can pick up passengers able to pay for their rides and eke a profit out of the emptiest stretches of space. Transport enough, and your fame may translate to wealth later on, especially when alien cultures learn about your most distinguished guests.
A new lift-off for a classic game
More than a year ago, Fantasy Flight Games signed an exclusive licensing contract with Wizards of the Coast, LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., to return this classic 1980’s board game of interstellar trade and exploration to print.
Since that time we’ve been working hard to produce what will be a fantastic edition of Merchant of Venus, one that remains true to its magnificently campy core, while expanding the game in surprising ways that will cause even the most hardcore fan to celebrate.
We’re excited to announce that Fantasy Flight Games will release Merchant of Venus in the first quarter of 2012 and we are now accepting pre-orders. For more information, please contact the FFG Sales Department at sales@fantasyflightgames.com.
*Source: http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=2761
=====
Then came Stronghold's response to the controversy:
Statement from Stronghold Games Regarding “Richard Hamblen’s Merchant of Venus”
It has come to our attention that Fantasy Flight Games has laid claim to the license for the reprint of Merchant of Venus.
First and foremost, Stronghold Games bears no ill will towards Fantasy Flight Games over what can only be deemed as an unfortunate situation. In fact, we remain fans of Fantasy Flight’s work within the game industry.
However, over 18 months ago, we began negotiations with Mr Hamblen for the license to Merchant of Venus, finally signing an agreement recently. After much research, Stronghold Games feels very strongly that the license is solely Mr. Hamblen’s to offer, and he has selected Stronghold Games for the reprint.
In our opinion, the party that has sold the license to Fantasy Flight Games does not own the rights to this license. Mr Hamblen has also expressed to us his firm belief that the license is his alone to offer.
At this time, we are intent upon defending our and Mr Hamblen’s claim to this license, noting once again that we view Fantasy Flight in the highest regard and regret that they have been put into this position.
Kevin Nesbitt and Stephen Buonocore
Managing Directors
Stronghold Games LLC
Source: http://strongholdgames.com/2011/10/22/statement-from-strongh...
=====
And finally came Fantasy Flight's further response:
Dear "Merchant of Venus" fans,
Like yourselves, I am saddened by the confusion and issue that has arisen in the publishing-rights for "Merchant of Venus" (MoV) between Stronghold Games and ourselves, an issue that surely was uninvited by either side.
More than a year ago, FFG signed a deal with Hasbro for the right to re-publish MoV. Since then, we have been worked towards republishing the title with great excitement and dilligence. The artwork, graphic design, game and production development of our version of MoV is among the best FFG has done to-date, and we had been looking forward to making our official MoV announcement early next month. It was our intention to publish the new MoV in March 2012 (which remains our plan, discovery of this unfortunate issue notwithstanding).
As a significant part of our royalties to Hasbro for MoV sales were specifically stipulated as going to the designer (i.e. Mr. Richard Hamblen), we have no reason to believe that he was not fully aware of our MoV republishing project. We have nothing but the greatest respect for Mr. Hamblen and his creations ("Magic Realm" was my first personal Avalon Hill board game purchase) and I'm hopeful, despite these issues, that his work again will see the light of day and that he'll be rewarded for his innovation once more.
I also have the greatest respect for Stronghold Games, and I've seen no reason to believe they've been acting in bad faith in their endeavors. It is unfortunate such an issue should disrupt their publishing plans, as it is unfortunate it has disrupted ours.
That said, FFG has every reason to believe the MoV rights licensed to us by Hasbro are true and correctly given. I hope that you, the MoV fan, can understand and appreciate our desire to publish a game on which we have been working in good faith for a substantial period of time with great expense, and for which we have the rights.
We are in open communication with both Hasbro and Stronghold on this, and will be digging into more details next week to clarify the issue. I'm hopeful that all parties are reasonable and that a mutual desire to see MoV in print again will not cause the game to get stuck in long dispute.
Thank you for your patience in this delicate matter.
Best Wishes,
Christian T. Petersen
CEO
Fantasy Flight Games
Source: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/714534/statement-from-ff...
=====
It's at least a little heart warming that both sides seem to genuinely want to peacefully work this out. Clearly each side has already made investments into this endeavor so a polite handshake isn't going to rectify this situation.
Bottom Line: We've got a problem....
*originally posted on http://www.reviewswithoutpants.com
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
Memoir '44 has a long and well revered standing in the board game community. So much so that there's a plethora of products and expansions that could keep the most hard core fans busy for decades. The only potential problem one could see is finding an actual opponent to play against. Well, Memoir '44 Online comes to the rescue <u>and</u> it's free to play. Although Memoir '44 had actually been accessible from Days of Wonder's site for a while now it didn't actually catch my attention until it was recently advertised on Steam on the PC. The beauty of this new set up is that you have the option of creating a Days of Wonder online account or to simply use your existing steam account without any headaches.
For those who don't know, Memoir '44 is war game designed specifically to appeal to a broader and more casual audience. There aren't any mind splitting combat charts or probabilities to calculate here. You just play a card, move your troops or perform an ability, roll for your attacks, then draw new cards. There are a few checks that you need to perform to determine how things move or what you roll but these are minimal and fairly easy to understand. One of the strong suits of play is that your actions are determined by the cards in your hand. If you only have 4 cards in your hand then your choices for the turn are fairly limited. What this means is that turns can go relatively quickly since you won't be burdened by over analysis.
With that out of the way, let's talk about the online implementation. It's gorgeous. Days of Wonder clearly spent a lot of time crafting this incredible product. The introduction and tutorial has amazing art and the representation of the board and pieces are really good. Everything is laid out logically and intuitively. If you know how to use a computer you'll be able to perform any task that you're thinking of doing without needing any reference. Also of note, virtually every game component can be right-clicked which will bring up reference cards to explain what they do.
The core of the experience is much of what Memoir '44 veterans would expect. You're given the ability to play many of the scenarios available in the physical board game and expansions. Beyond the first play you'll have access to the full compliment of scenarios. Thankfully, an AI player may be chosen as your opposition and you can choose what side to play but the real treat is that online play is fully integrated which allows you to easily link up with other gamers and play the scenarios of your choosing.
I'm sure you're wondering what the catch is by now. Free to play is never truly free to play is it? The way this system works is that some of the maps that you play on are truly free - two to be exact. You can play them as many times as you want both solo or online and not be penalized. For the rest, I count about 43 at the moment, there's a cost to play using the in game currency. Gold Ingots is their name and about half the maps cost 2 GI and the other half 3 GI. Gold Ingots are available to purchase from the in game store in the following configurations: $5 for 125 GI, $15 for 400 GI, $30 for 1000 GI. Doing some quick math, if you bought a $5 pack and only played 3 GI scenarios then you'd get 41 plays. On 2 GI maps that's 62 plays. That, ladies and gentlemen, is very economical. Splurge for the 1000 GI's and you're looking at a minimum of 333 plays.
Unfortunately there were a couple minor issues that reared their ugly little heads. Firstly, although I'd played Memoir '44 a couple of years ago I was a little fuzzy on a few of the rules. The tutorial did a decent job of describing most of the game play but glossed over some of the minor details. I kind of wish there was an interactive tutorial that held your hand through a few turns. I eventually figured everything out but that concerns me a little for people who may be completely new to the franchise. On this same note, I wish there was a link to the full rules in game. There were a couple of times where an effect took place that I didn't know about and I had to ask Dr. Google about what just happened.
The other issue is that there's no way to turn off unnecessary effects. I wish there was a way to disable the "battle" effects after dice rolls. It's a couple of seconds after every roll that I could do without. I view this game as a vastly quicker way to play Memoir and I don't get why there aren't options to make is as ridiculously efficient as possible.
Regardless of that, I'm almost of the verge of saying that this is a better experience than playing the actual board game. One of the main problems with the physical copy of Memoir '44 is the scenario setup each time you go to play. Setup time per new scenario could take upwards of 10 minutes. Here I can just click and play. Want to play a completely different scenario next? Click, done.
Free to play or not, this is an incredible product and should represent a beacon for how all digital board game conversions should be done. Memoir '44 Online is intuitive, polished, and makes both solo and online play equally as painless. If you've ever had any interest in Memoir '44 then there's no reason not to try this out. It's free until you don't want it to be.
*originally posted on http://www.reviewswithoutpants.com
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
Merchants of Venus is a long out of print game that continues to interest and tantalize gamers. Released in 1988, designed by Richard Hamblen, and published by Avalon Hill, MoV is a 1 - 6 player game where players take on the role of space traders. Using the galaxy as their personal trading grounds players make deliveries and upgrade their ships until someone hits the predefined value to win the day. Projected to play in 180 minutes (depending on variable end condition) MoV offers a lengthy and engaging endeavor.
If you want to go out and buy a copy of this all you have to pay is a measly $180 (at a minimum). Or do you? Some dedicated gamers have bypassed this high barrier of entry on the open market by building their own versions of this game. The time, effort, and expense of doing this is just as off putting as the current high asking prices of the many auction sites offering this gem.
Well, the MoV drought is nearly over...maybe. You see, it was recently announced that fan favorite Stronghold Games was intending on releasing a reprint of this coveted title. Stronghold Games is known for reprinting a few games of yester-decades and the announcement wasn't really of much surprise.
What did come as a surprise is the even more recent announcement by Fantasy Flight Games that they also are intending to release a reprint of the very same game. Fantasy Flight Games of course being known for their stellar components and production values that are beyond reproach (Stronghold Games's productions are great too - FFG just has more resources).
First question: How did this happen? Rumor has it that FFG acquired the rights from Hasbro (title owners of Avalon Hill) and that Stronghold Games got permission for their project from the game's designer Richard Hamblen.
Second question: What does this mean? Who knows. Is it possible that two companies can each release their own interpretations of the same product to the same market? Will one company get the legal green light while the other gets the legal smackdown? Or will this untenable situation leave Merchants of Venus in a legal limbo where it may never see the light of day? Only time will tell.
*originally posted on http://www.reviewswithoutpants.com
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
A question that keeps coming up for me is if the enjoyment of a game is more about the game itself or more about the individuals that I'm playing with.
Its happened on a number of occasions that games that I've loved have been spoiled because of the obnoxious behavior of some of the people at my table. Even worse, there's been games that I've been newly introduced to where I've walked away with bad impressions solely based on the company. I know this because I've later been coerced to play some of these titles with others and walked away with a completely different viewpoint.
On the flip side, I've been introduced to games that I've immediately written off (before playing them) as too childish, too simplistic, or just plain boring and have had my presumptions completely shattered. With certain groups it seems that the seemingly mundane can become fun and vice-versa.
I'd almost say that I've started to identify what sort of games will work with some groups and which will be more likely to generate the obnoxious behavior that many have experienced during their gaming careers. Its almost come to the point that I can ensure the maximum enjoyment of a game by carefully reviewing who's going to be present before selecting what game will be played. Whether it's a gift or my personal delusion, who can really say.
So, back to the question: do we like or dislike games based on the company? It's a weird interplay of man vs cardboard but in the end I do believe it's the game that triumphs. Yes, I've been shown the error of my ways of avoiding dice based games like the plague by some more light hearted individuals. I've even been shown the virtues of Ameri-style games by others. But, even though I've now been schooled to "try before i cry", there's been just as many times where I've gamed with the crème de la crème of gaming society and have flat out abhorred a game.
Any way you shake it, an amazing game can fend off the garbage around it and a horrible game is simply bad no matter how much sunshine surrounds it. Its the games that hover in the middle of those extremes that can get a little murky.
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
Browsing through the kickstarter.com campaigns for board games I can't help but be fascinated by the amount of games that I really want. Whether they be from known publishers or from completely unknowns the level of polish that these titles appear to offer is encouraging. Here's my most wanted list of games that are either funded, nearly funded, or are already hitting store shelves:
1. The Manhattan Project by Minion Games. This is worker placement style game where players are competing to build and operate their atomic bomb programs. Art direction is a pleasant 60's style. I'm quite excited for this.
2. Eaten by Zombies by Mayday Games. Although I'm only semi enthused by deck building games I'm always up for a zombie themed game. Fighting off the zombie hordes in a fight to be the last person to die makes the wait for this baby excruciating.
3. Empires of the Void from Ryan Laukat. Not attached to a publisher, this game features planet colonization, research, diplomacy, and destruction. Oh, and the art is beautiful. Apparently the box will be loaded with components too!
4. Eminent Domain by Tasty Minstrel Games. I'm a big fan of Tasty Minstrel products and Eminent Domain looks like another winner. It appears to have a Race for the Galaxy blended with deck building vibe. It's already on the open market but I haven't had the chance to see this yet.
5. Flashpoint: Fire Rescue by Indie Boards & Cards. A cooperative game where 2-4 players are entering a fire-ridden collapsing building to save the day. The art is gorgeous and the theme is exciting. You win or lose as a team which means no shady business ala Red November.
6. Carnival by Dice Hate Me Games. Build the best attractions on your midway before your competition does. This competitive game of one-upsmanship is on my game queue for sure.
7. Glory to Rome: Black Box by Cambridge Games Factory. Glory to Rome is one of my favorite card driven game. This is simply a re-release with updated art. I was never opposed to the original art but am psyched for this rendition. Oh! And it comes in a box now!
8. If I'm Going Down... by Van Ryder Games. A 1-2 player tactical zombie survival game. Well, sort of. You see, you're going to die. It's just a question of how many of "them" are you going to take down with you.
*originally posted on http://www.reviewswithoutpants.com
-
Stephen Keller
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
-
Sometimes it's striking to me how different the games we play can be from each other. A little while ago at a weekly game group I was sitting down for an intense learning session of the worker placement game Vinhos. Wow, what a session. It took about an hour to get through the preliminary rules and then at least 2 hours to slowly stumble through our first game. To be clear, I quite enjoyed the end result and look forward to future plays but the experience was pretty taxing.
It was some point half way through this experience that a minor bit of hilarity hit me. Here we were embarking on this mind breaking quest to conquer this fairly complex game and at the table next to us was a completely different atmosphere.
"We're going to have a breakfast fight. The side with the most yummyness wins." The oddity of hearing that nearly made me burst out laughing. You see, while my table was engaged in a fairly rules-heavy and intimidating game the other table was enjoying Food Fight by Cryptozoic. My table was dealing with the ruthless competition of producing and competing of fine wines while the other table was having a battle of a different nature with the likes of Mean Burrito, Big Bad Bacon, and First Sergeant Fish Stick.
Speaking of theme alone, who's to say which game is "better". Although I've spent the majority of my gaming time on increasingly complex euro-style games with increasingly dry themes I can't deny the appeal of the lighter fare. My table was mostly quiet. You could almost hear the thinking. Looking across the room, the other table actually looked like they were having more fun. Smiles abound, laughing could be heard occasionally. These two games couldn't be more different.
There's really no deeper meaning to this post other than me voicing that games are designed for entertainment. Entertainment can be derived from a multitude of criteria. Don't judge a book by it's cover and maybe you'll find enjoyment in things that you'd otherwise turn your nose up at. I've been approaching numerous games with a different outlook recently and the rewards have been great. I would have never tried the surprisingly engaging Martian Dice, as well as many others, otherwise.
** originally posted on http://reviewswithoutpants.blogspot.com **
|
|
|
