Kevin Buchanan
United Kingdom
Reading
Berkshire
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Now, this game is a reworking, as you're probably aware by now, of a game by the name of XXXenophile, but a lot less naughty. However, let's pretend for a moment that you haven't come across the above-mentioned game, as indeed I hadn't when I got hold of Girl Genius: The works.
I'd love to give you some background on the comic, but having never read it I really can't do so - You can probably guess as much as I can from the title.
The concept of the game though is quite ingenious, and seems to fit. Shakespeare said that all the world was a stage, and the people merely players (Paraphrased of course), well this game says that all the world is a machine, an the people in it merely cogs.
The game is played from a large deck of cards, each containing an illustration of a character, some 'effect text' and a row of symbols along each end of the card.
The idea of the game is to collect cards, this is done by 'popping' cards - done by matching up the symbols along the edges of the cards and removing (and keeping) the card with the longer row of symbols.
At the start of the game, each player is dealt a hand of five cards, then more cards are dealt onto the table in a pattern matching the following:-
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The horizotally oriented cards at the top and bottom are dealth face up, whilst the rest are dealt face down.
Each turn, the players do the following.
Spin a card. Each turn, player must spin a face-up card. If a card can be spun to match symbols along the edge, they must spin that one. Cards are only ever spun 180 degrees, so the layout of the cards always remains the same.
If the symbols along the edges of the card match, the player who spins it removes the card with the most symbols. They then follow the effects on the card and add it to their 'score pile'.
This leaves a gap, which the player must fill using one of the cards from their hand and once this is done, the player draws their hand back up to five (It is possible to pop more than one card from a single spin - You can with some effort cause chain reactions removing five or six cards from the layout at any one time).
It is possible for the board to get 'frozen', meaning no cards can be spun which will result in a pop. If this happens, the player whose turn it is gathers all the cards, shuffles and deals them face down again, turning over a single card of their choice.
The aim of the game is to collect cards with points values totalling one hundred. None of the cards I can recall have points over 9, most averaging out at three and four. there are other, tricky ways to win the game (Based around cards such as Racing Dirigibles, racing Submarines and the tiny Mimmoths), but in general it is this points limit that settles most games.
The cards are wonderfully illustrated. Roleplayers and Collectable Card gamers will recognise Phil Foglios artistic styles from the cards he's done for Magic: The Gathering and his regular strip in Dragon magazine. There's a charming pseudo-victorian feel to most of the illustartions, and many of the characters are amusing just for being who they are.
The game can take a small leap of logic to get into for non-boardgamegeeks, it's quite an abstract idea (and I have a LOT of abstarct games), but once you get into it, it's a joy.
Yes, there is an element of chance, but there's an awful lot of strategy involved. Can you place a card that no-one will be able to Pop until your go? Can you play a card that will freeze the board, effectively foregoing your opponent's next go? Or can you make a player Pop a card that will disadvantage them?
The game is a clever combination of such strategies and a lot of observational skill. The cards are of regular size, and fit in a box about double the width of a regular deck of cards - so it's eminently portable and takes up no more room than a game of solitaire.
It's a perfect game to travel with, and is involving enough to keep people ineterested. Games last perhaps half an hour to three-quarters on average, so not too long but engaging enough to mean if people have the time, they will usually be happy enough to play again.
This game is a bit more expensive than the Cheapass Games line, and more expensive also than things like Uno and the Monopoly Card game (which contain a similar number of cards). But that little extra is worth it. There's enough depth for the regular gamers and even those daunted by some board games can soon find themselves joyfully embroiled. This is an amusing and clever game, that I have come back to again and again and indeed it has travelled with me on many trips.
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Michael Van Biesbrouck
United States
Mountain View
California
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The comic is now available online (early and current issues are being published concurrently, 3 of each every week). Thus everyone can enjoy this entertaining comic:
http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/index.php
Note that the Foglios make their money when people buy their books or games such as this one. In Kaja Foglio's blog you can sometimes read about games that she and Phil Foglio are working on (art and design).
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Michael Van Biesbrouck
United States
Mountain View
California
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oneshallstand wrote:
The aim of the game is to collect cards with points values totalling one hundred. None of the cards I can recall have points over 9, most averaging out at three and four. there are other, tricky ways to win the game (Based around cards such as Racing Dirigibles, racing Submarines and the tiny Mimmoths), but in general it is this points limit that settles most games.
The Dirigibles and Submarines have an excellent chance of winning, or at least provide a huge amount of leverage on the board. Whenever I teach the game to new players I make sure that they know how many Dirigibles (8), Submarines (4) and Mimmoths (8) there are, along with the card text. I sometimes also point out that the Vampire Hunter is the only `Vampire' in the deck and how James Ernest used its special ability (pop one Vampire) to win a game, to give people an idea how to play sneakily.
There is going to be a new edition of the predecessor game. At Comic-Con Phil Foglio mentioned that he would be doing all of the art for it.
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Neil Figuracion
California
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I was a huge fan of Xxxenophile as a comic book. I bought plenty of the cards too. I wish I could find them now.
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