It's What You Say (Utter Nonsense)

You do these little flavor intros for so long, that after awhile you can come up with some funny bits here.  But then there's games like this.  Games that are so focused on the spoken word that the written word is just...lacking.  Incomplete.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, the reviews must continue, and so I, without a chance to warm you up, introduce Utter Nonsense.  (Voice in the key of Batman)



BACKGROUND:  Utter Nonsense is a card game for 4-20 players, published and created by Tim Swindle and Dave Mazurek.  It is a game of silly voices, silly sentences, and laughter.

GAMEPLAY:  Each turn,  a judge is selected, and players a dealt a hand of seven sentence cards.  Then, an accent card is revealed, and each player chooses a sentence from their hand to read using that accent.



WINNING:  The player who reads their sentence best or most humourous wins the point, indicated by the accent card.  The judge is then passed to the next player, and the first player which collects a determined number of points wins.

CONCLUSION:  Like Snake Oil, Apples to Apples, or Joking Hazard, this is a party game meant as a palette cleanser game.  It's designed to be funny, but not taken seriously.  There is even a game similar to this I reviewed called Moods.  The major difference is that in Moods while everyone is saying the same thing in the same mood, this game lets you attempt to be funny rather than accurate by choosing what to say.  I think something like that helps to make a game be more original and have more of an identity than just a "Silly Voices" game.  That being said, it's still a "Silly Voices" party game, so go in expecting that.

High on Mt. Olympus (Zeus on the Loose)

Theseus, Achilles, Hercules.
The great heroes climb higher and higher.  It is said Icarus flew too close to the sun, and lost his wings, but heroes always are remembered, and none come close to the ones who captured Zeus.  After all, if Zeus is on the Loose, is it not our responsibility to return him to his home?



BACKGROUND:  Zeus on the Loose is a card game for 2-5 players pubished by Gamewright.  Players climb Mt Olympus with numbers to take Zeus, while meeting other Greek gods along the way.

GAMEPLAY:  Players put down a card on the number stack on their turn, adding that number or effect to the stack, and drawing back to 4 cards.  At any point, a player may take the figurine of Zeus if a card is played that either says Steal Zeus or puts the total number into a multiple of 10.  If a player puts down a number, any other player may put down the same number, adding it to the total, and play continues from the last player to play a card.



WINNING:  When a player makes the total hit 100 or more, or the deck runs out of cards, the player with Zeus scores a point.  Zeus can be stolen if the total hits 100 exactly, or a player plays a matching number to make the total match or exceed 100.  The player with 4 points wins.

CONCLUSION:  This is a shorter, simple game that all ages can still enjoy.  It's a great tool to teach kids to add, and there's a kids version to simplify the game.  That being said, with the whole rules, this game can become interesting with older people.  This is one of those games that can be used as a 'cleanser' game in between more intense games, or even as a game to introduce to other people who maybe aren't into more crazy board games.  Overall, I would say that I'm glad that Zeus is on the loose.

My Summer Vacation in Japan (Tokaido)

After stepping off the plane, the traveler shoulders his deep blue duffel bag.  He flips the brown cap with a white star sewn onto it, and it lands onto his head.  His sunglasses reflect and distort the world around him, keeping the world guessing about his intentions.  But he only has one intention this time.  He will travel the Eastern Road, and sample what Japan has to offer.  He'll find only the best art and souvenirs, and he will see exactly what she saw.  This is the path of the traveler, as he heads along Tokaido.



BACKGROUND:  Tokaido is a game for 2-5 players and published by Passport Game Studios.  Travel along the East Sea Road to meet interesting people and places, find some wonderfully crafted items, and taste what Japan has to offe

GAMEPLAY:  Each player starts at the far left in 1 of the 5 squares in a vertical line.  The starting player is indicated by whomever at the bottom, as they are "farthest behind".  Each player chooses a character from 2 randomly available choices, and collect the coins indicated at the top right. 

MOVEMENT:  The player farthest behind will be the turn player.  Each player may move forward anywhere along the track on the small circular spaces, up to and including the next Inn space, which is indicated by the red line of squares.  Players may never share a space, but if is a branching point that is split while playing with 4 or more players, players may move their token to that space, and they are behind the player on the main road.



SCORING:  Each space has its own effect.  Villages allow you to buy Souvenirs and score points.  Farms give you 3 coins.  Hot Springs gives you points.  Panoramas are like paintings, and give you points and cards to build your image.  Temples trade up to 3 coins for points.  Encounters give you a card from the Encounter deck and the effect applies.  Points are kept track of on the number tracker on the top of the board.  Player cards also have an effect they may use when landing on an appropriate space.

INNS:  Inns are a special case.  Once a player hits an Inn, they cannot move until all players meet up at the Inn.  Once a player hits the Inn, they are given a selection of Meals.  They may buy a meal to score 6 points, with the last player only able to buy whatever meal is left.  Once all players have met up, the farthest player, or the one who was last to the inn, starts their turn.



WINNING:  The game ends once the last player hits the last Inn and buys or refuses a Meal, if any are left.  At the end of the game, any end of game points such as Achievements for most of a certain kind of card, and how much money donated, are tallied and scored, with the player who scored the most points winning.

CONCLUSION:  Tokaido is one of those games that is complex to understand when you first hear it,
easy to play once you start understanding it, then goes back to complex once you realize how many ways there are a bevy of ways to approach it to winning.  The biggest complaint I may have to put is that it isn't hard to have a player go through three turns in one go, and that can feel irritating.  Still, even with that thought out there, I still say this is one road you should travel, and don't forget to treat yourself.

Sky Rockets In Flight (Hanabi) -- Guest Post

It's my first day as a fireworks operator, I don't want to mess this up! Everyone is counting on me to make the best display ever! Well, here we go...

BACKGROUND: Hanabi is a cooperative card game published by Asmodée Éditions for 2 to 5 people.

GAMEPLAY:  This game requires players to work together. The deck contains numbers 1-5 in five different colors. There are also information tokens and fuse tokens. To start the game, players are dealt a hand containing five cards (four for 4 or 5 players). Players can not see their own hands, but they can see other players' hands. Each player must play an action on their turn: give information, discard a card, or play a card.

GIVE INFORMATION: The player can information to another player about the cards they are holding, but it has to be complete and correct. An example would be "these 3 cards are your only red cards" or "this card is your only 3 card." It costs one information token in order to do this.

DISCARD A CARD: The player can discard a card of their choosing (without looking at the cards), and draw another card (without looking at the card they drew). The discarded card is out of the game, and it uses one information token.

PLAY A CARD: The player can choose to play a card. This is successful if it is either a 1 of any color that hasn't already been played, or it is the next number sequentially in a color that has been played. If it is a card that has already been played or is not sequential (for example, a card played is a red 2 but the player played a red 4), that card is discarded and a fuse token is used. The player then draws a new card whether or not the play was successful.



LOSING: Since this is a cooperative card game, the game is over and all players lose if the fuse tokens have been used up.

WINNING: The game is over and everyone wins when they successfully make the 5 fireworks before the cards run out.  Every player is then awarded 25 points.
Another way to end the game is if the last player takes the last card from the pile.  Each player plays one more time, including the player who drew the last card.  There are no more cards to pick up.  When everyone has played, the game ends and the players add up their score of the largest value card for each of the 6 fireworks.

CONCLUSION: This is a great game to play during the 4th of July to celebrate fireworks and blowing things up.  A good rule of thumb is make sure you don't play with people who are too competitive, because this game is all about working together, you all want to win.  It's a great family game, and one that you can play over and over again.  If you love cooperative games, I highly recommend Hanabi!!

This post was written by Liz Stephens.  Go check out her blog at apositivechargeblog.wordpress.com

FTT REVIEW:  This is a game I had a hard time reviewing positively solely due to the fact that it is so counter intuitive.  The idea of not being able to see your own hand is interesting, but I found it to be frustrating and to go against the feel of the game.  In addition, with it being a cooperative game, you're bound to lose more often than you win.  If both reviews sound fun, this is a cheap game that is for you, but for me, it's a game that just blew up in my face.