We all hate hiatus', and blog posts about them. Unfortunately, this is one of them.
Hello, everyone. To put it simply, I'm one semester away from graduation, and as such, this blog will have to be put on hiatus until the end of the semester.
Honestly, I'm kinda sad about it. I complain to my friends that I don't have enough games to review every few weeks or so, but I always managed to find something and enjoyed it when I was done. This doesn't make any money, and has such little consistent traffic that I'm afraid that I can't review and post every week.
Thanks for being understanding, and I'll try to start back up as soon as I can.
Analyze and review unusual tabletop games. Updated (Mostly) weekly. (Art by animefox52)
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Autumn Falls to Winter (Indian Summer)
With autumn close to ending, the forest comes together to bask in the last days before winter. The squirrels gather their nuts, the birds begin their flight, and the children run through the leaves, stumbling upon secrets and treasures. This day is exceptionally warm, the day before the chill. It is Indian Summer, the warmest day in fall, and full of life and wonder.
BACKGROUND: Indian Summer is a board game for 1-4 players. It was created in 2017 by Uwe Rosenberg, with art by Andrea Boekhoff, and published by Edition Spielwiese. It is the sequel to Cottage Garden. Each player attempts to be the first to cover their board with leaves and squirrels, while finding treasures.
GAMEPLAY: During their turn, a player may either take a leaf tile from their supply, or a 1 space squirrel from the supply and place it appropriately on the board (no overlapping other leaf or animal tiles, and completely in the board). Some leaf tiles have holes which can be used to collect treasure tokens by placing the holes over the appropriate spaces, with any other tile not giving the player a treasure. Whenever a player runs out of leaf tiles, they refill from the Common Path surrounding the game board.
TREASURE: Treasures are collected when the area (3x4 grid) is fully covered, giving the player every treasure token they have placed holes on. They may also be collected by placing an animal tile over a unbroken matching pattern of holes. Treasures can be spent in addition to the players action, to do effects such as refilling the players leaf supply, to taking leaves from other players, to playing a squirrel or another leaf tile. Treasures may be exchanged according to their value.
WINNING: The game is finished once a player has filled their entire board with leaves and squirrels. Each player exchanges all treasures for nuts according to the rules, and attempts to finish up their board in their last turn. If more than 1 player finished filling up their board, the player with the most nuts wins.
CONCLUSION: Ah, Uwe Rosenberg. Only you can take the idea of autumn and gamify it in such a way as to not be focused on gathering things, but rather the falling of the leaves. This is such a simple concept on a simple game that boils down to something akin to a turn based version of Ubongo. The idea of the leaves falling lends itself to a tetris-like pattern centric game that feels fun and cohesive rather quickly. It's a puzzle game that is two fold, to gather items to break ties and be the first to fill up the board. There's very little to dislike about this game, but no game is perfect for every player. Obviously, this is a slower game, even though its faster than most slow games. The treasusures can also feel one-sided if a player lucks out and spams through them quickly enough. The most frustrating thing to find is the tiles. Man, does it hurt to have the wrong pieces, and having to use up squirrels just to finish an area and lose out on a good strategy. Still, these are minor nitpicks and the game is quite delightful if you can take the time to slow down and enjoy puzzles like this. This is one delightful walk in the woods.
BACKGROUND: Indian Summer is a board game for 1-4 players. It was created in 2017 by Uwe Rosenberg, with art by Andrea Boekhoff, and published by Edition Spielwiese. It is the sequel to Cottage Garden. Each player attempts to be the first to cover their board with leaves and squirrels, while finding treasures.
GAMEPLAY: During their turn, a player may either take a leaf tile from their supply, or a 1 space squirrel from the supply and place it appropriately on the board (no overlapping other leaf or animal tiles, and completely in the board). Some leaf tiles have holes which can be used to collect treasure tokens by placing the holes over the appropriate spaces, with any other tile not giving the player a treasure. Whenever a player runs out of leaf tiles, they refill from the Common Path surrounding the game board.
TREASURE: Treasures are collected when the area (3x4 grid) is fully covered, giving the player every treasure token they have placed holes on. They may also be collected by placing an animal tile over a unbroken matching pattern of holes. Treasures can be spent in addition to the players action, to do effects such as refilling the players leaf supply, to taking leaves from other players, to playing a squirrel or another leaf tile. Treasures may be exchanged according to their value.
WINNING: The game is finished once a player has filled their entire board with leaves and squirrels. Each player exchanges all treasures for nuts according to the rules, and attempts to finish up their board in their last turn. If more than 1 player finished filling up their board, the player with the most nuts wins.
CONCLUSION: Ah, Uwe Rosenberg. Only you can take the idea of autumn and gamify it in such a way as to not be focused on gathering things, but rather the falling of the leaves. This is such a simple concept on a simple game that boils down to something akin to a turn based version of Ubongo. The idea of the leaves falling lends itself to a tetris-like pattern centric game that feels fun and cohesive rather quickly. It's a puzzle game that is two fold, to gather items to break ties and be the first to fill up the board. There's very little to dislike about this game, but no game is perfect for every player. Obviously, this is a slower game, even though its faster than most slow games. The treasusures can also feel one-sided if a player lucks out and spams through them quickly enough. The most frustrating thing to find is the tiles. Man, does it hurt to have the wrong pieces, and having to use up squirrels just to finish an area and lose out on a good strategy. Still, these are minor nitpicks and the game is quite delightful if you can take the time to slow down and enjoy puzzles like this. This is one delightful walk in the woods.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
A Bone Chilling Experience (Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game)
The blizzard blinds you, freezing you to your bones. Your feet crunch the snow, each step slower and slower as you put your arm up to block the incoming flurry so you can see. The faint groan makes you stop. You have a choice, do you continue and hope to find food so your colony can survive this nightmare, or do you retreat to avoid whatever that was? You pray that it wasn't a zombie as you press on, the need for survival strong. The groans get louder, and you move faster. You hope you can outrun them, but you fear the worst. This is the zombie apocalypse everyone was warned about, horror made real in the Dead of Winter.
BACKGROUND: Dead of Winter is a co-operative board game created Jonathan Gilmour, Isaac Vega in 2014, and published by Plaid Hat Games. Take the role of the last survivors of a zombie outbreak, with starvation, traitors, and frostbite as a few of the many threats throughout the game.
GAMEPLAY: Starting with the first player, each player takes their turns in order. The player to the right of the starting player draws and reads a Crossroad card, reading the italicized to themselves to check if it applies. If at any point the italicized is true during the players' turn, they read the card out loud. If its a numbered option, the player chooses, but if it's thumbs up/down, all players vote to determine the outcome. If the italicized text is never true during that players turn, it goes back to the bottom of the deck.
ACTIONS: During their turn, players may play any amount of cards from their hand, or put them in the crisis deck, move once per turn to an available location by rolling an exposure die to determine if they get a wound, request a specific item type to use immediately and not into the Crisis deck, give equipped items to a survivor in the same location, spend food to raise the value of a die, or use any of the players survivors that do not have a number. A player may also choose to vote a player to exile, preventing that player from returning to the Colony.
ACTION DIE: These actions require moving a die from the pool to the unused pool. A player can remove the top 3 waste cards, barricade a location to prevent zombies from coming, move 2 zombies from a location to that survivors location. By spending specific numbers, players can use certain survivors abilities. By spending a die equal to or higher that the Search rating or Attack rating on the survivors card, the player may respectively search a location they are at by taking the top card or placing a noise token to keep searching, or attack a zombie or survivor at their location.
COLONY: At the end of all players turn, the colony turns happens. First, the colony, if possible, spends the food in the supply equal to the number of Survivors and Helpless Survivors in the colony divided by 2 (rounded up). If not possible, the colony instead adds a Starvation token into the food supply and morale decreases by the amount of Starvation tokens. Every 10 cards in the waste pile decreases morale. Shuffle and reveal all the cards in the crisis deck. Every card meeting the crisis requirement adds 1 to the success, every card not meeting it subtracts 1. If the number is matching, the crisis is averted, but if not, the effect on the crisis triggers, and in both cases all cards contributing are discarded.
ZOMBIES: Zombies are added to the colony for every 2 Survivors and Helpless Survivors there, and are added to each location for every Zombie and Noise Token there. If there are more Zombies than locations, it's discarded, and the survivor with the lowest number in the top left rolls the d6 for each additional Zombie being added. If the roll is 3 or less, that survivor is killed. Then the round tracker goes down by 1.
DEATH: Death is real here, and punishing. Survivors die after 3 wounds or 1 bite, with equipment shuffled into the deck of the location they're at, or just dropped in the colony. That player loses a die, until they are down to 2. If a player loses all their survivors, they discard their hand, draw a new survivor and place the character on the board in the colony. If a survivor is bitten, they lose that survivor, the Morale tracker goes down by 1, and the player with the lowest influence on the board rolls to either survive or die and keep the spread going in that location, or die to end it.
EXILE: If a player is exiled, they draw the top card of the Exile deck and reveal their secret objective if they weren't the Traitor, and are given a new secret objective. If they were, they don't reveal, and their secret objective is slightly altered. All of the exiles survivors are moved immediately to any available location, rolling the exposure die. They cannot add cards to the crisis or Helpless Survivors to the colony, move to the colony, or use food tokens to adjust their die, only using food cards in their hand in the same manner. Any cards added to waste by the exile are removed instead, exiles cannot vote, and the morale doesn't go down if their survivors die. Morale drops to 0 if 2 non-traitors are exiled.
WINNING: After the zombies are added, the game ends if the Main Objective is cleared, or the Morale or Round tracker hits 0. In addition, each player is dealt a secret objective to complete before the game ends to win, some of which are traitors to act against the party. If the player completes their secret objective, they win. If not, they lose.
CONCLUSION: Ho boy, that's a lot of explanation. I usually try to summarize the rules for background, but this time was harder to do without losing the idea of how things worked. I feel like this game kept saying "but what about this situation". This is an interesting game about team-work, unity, and sacrificing for the betterment of the group. However, while I find the game fun for its strategy and cooperation, it's also nerve-wracking and mentally exhausting. Not only are the rules deep and complex, in game they are just as difficult to master. I like this game as I like This War of Mine, it's interesting, and there's some choices that make it 'fun', but this is easily a game that can split opinions, and a game that leads you to a crossroads makes it difficult to recommend to all players. This is for a specific group that can make it fun and be focused on it, but due to length and difficulty, it's really only for that group.
BACKGROUND: Dead of Winter is a co-operative board game created Jonathan Gilmour, Isaac Vega in 2014, and published by Plaid Hat Games. Take the role of the last survivors of a zombie outbreak, with starvation, traitors, and frostbite as a few of the many threats throughout the game.
GAMEPLAY: Starting with the first player, each player takes their turns in order. The player to the right of the starting player draws and reads a Crossroad card, reading the italicized to themselves to check if it applies. If at any point the italicized is true during the players' turn, they read the card out loud. If its a numbered option, the player chooses, but if it's thumbs up/down, all players vote to determine the outcome. If the italicized text is never true during that players turn, it goes back to the bottom of the deck.
ACTIONS: During their turn, players may play any amount of cards from their hand, or put them in the crisis deck, move once per turn to an available location by rolling an exposure die to determine if they get a wound, request a specific item type to use immediately and not into the Crisis deck, give equipped items to a survivor in the same location, spend food to raise the value of a die, or use any of the players survivors that do not have a number. A player may also choose to vote a player to exile, preventing that player from returning to the Colony.
ACTION DIE: These actions require moving a die from the pool to the unused pool. A player can remove the top 3 waste cards, barricade a location to prevent zombies from coming, move 2 zombies from a location to that survivors location. By spending specific numbers, players can use certain survivors abilities. By spending a die equal to or higher that the Search rating or Attack rating on the survivors card, the player may respectively search a location they are at by taking the top card or placing a noise token to keep searching, or attack a zombie or survivor at their location.
COLONY: At the end of all players turn, the colony turns happens. First, the colony, if possible, spends the food in the supply equal to the number of Survivors and Helpless Survivors in the colony divided by 2 (rounded up). If not possible, the colony instead adds a Starvation token into the food supply and morale decreases by the amount of Starvation tokens. Every 10 cards in the waste pile decreases morale. Shuffle and reveal all the cards in the crisis deck. Every card meeting the crisis requirement adds 1 to the success, every card not meeting it subtracts 1. If the number is matching, the crisis is averted, but if not, the effect on the crisis triggers, and in both cases all cards contributing are discarded.
ZOMBIES: Zombies are added to the colony for every 2 Survivors and Helpless Survivors there, and are added to each location for every Zombie and Noise Token there. If there are more Zombies than locations, it's discarded, and the survivor with the lowest number in the top left rolls the d6 for each additional Zombie being added. If the roll is 3 or less, that survivor is killed. Then the round tracker goes down by 1.
DEATH: Death is real here, and punishing. Survivors die after 3 wounds or 1 bite, with equipment shuffled into the deck of the location they're at, or just dropped in the colony. That player loses a die, until they are down to 2. If a player loses all their survivors, they discard their hand, draw a new survivor and place the character on the board in the colony. If a survivor is bitten, they lose that survivor, the Morale tracker goes down by 1, and the player with the lowest influence on the board rolls to either survive or die and keep the spread going in that location, or die to end it.
EXILE: If a player is exiled, they draw the top card of the Exile deck and reveal their secret objective if they weren't the Traitor, and are given a new secret objective. If they were, they don't reveal, and their secret objective is slightly altered. All of the exiles survivors are moved immediately to any available location, rolling the exposure die. They cannot add cards to the crisis or Helpless Survivors to the colony, move to the colony, or use food tokens to adjust their die, only using food cards in their hand in the same manner. Any cards added to waste by the exile are removed instead, exiles cannot vote, and the morale doesn't go down if their survivors die. Morale drops to 0 if 2 non-traitors are exiled.
WINNING: After the zombies are added, the game ends if the Main Objective is cleared, or the Morale or Round tracker hits 0. In addition, each player is dealt a secret objective to complete before the game ends to win, some of which are traitors to act against the party. If the player completes their secret objective, they win. If not, they lose.
CONCLUSION: Ho boy, that's a lot of explanation. I usually try to summarize the rules for background, but this time was harder to do without losing the idea of how things worked. I feel like this game kept saying "but what about this situation". This is an interesting game about team-work, unity, and sacrificing for the betterment of the group. However, while I find the game fun for its strategy and cooperation, it's also nerve-wracking and mentally exhausting. Not only are the rules deep and complex, in game they are just as difficult to master. I like this game as I like This War of Mine, it's interesting, and there's some choices that make it 'fun', but this is easily a game that can split opinions, and a game that leads you to a crossroads makes it difficult to recommend to all players. This is for a specific group that can make it fun and be focused on it, but due to length and difficulty, it's really only for that group.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Maybe He Was Just a Dragon (TROGDOR!! The Board Game)
Deep in the heart of the peasant kingdom of Peasantry, there exists an order. And though they may be few in numbers, the Keepers of Trogdor (The Board Game) are mighty in power. They keep the mighty dragon alive and well, full of Majesty and Consummate V's, so that when Trogdor (The Board Game) awakens, the knights and archers of this land will not be able to slay him. So, join the order, and help Trogdor (The Board Game) burninate the land and destroy the land of Peasantry.
BACKGROUND: Trogdor! The Board Game is a co-operative tile game for 1-6 players. It was created in 2019 by Boardelectrix (Mike and Matt Chapman), James Earnest, and written with Loneshark Games. All players work together to burninate the countryside and cottages, eat or burn the peasants, and avoid letting Trogdor perish.
GAMEPLAY: Each players turn consists of 2 phases, their actions and the boards actions. On their turn, the player draws and uses 1 of the 2 Trogdor Action cards, which determine how many AP (Action Points) and ability the player has that turn, or they may discard it for 5 AP. AP is spent to have Trogdor either move orthnologically, Chomp and eat a Peasant, Burrow through a tunnel to the other tunnel tile, Hide in a mountain tile to become impervious to damage, or Burninate the tile. Players don't have to use all their AP, but it's lost at the end of the turn. Players may also use their Keepers of Trogdor abilities or Item cards once on their turn, unless otherwise stated, and items must be recharged to use it again, as indicated by the card.
PEASANTS: Once a player has taken their turn. the board takes its moves. The turn player draws a Movement Card. Place Peasants in un-Burninated cottages according to the Peasant meter in the top right corner to equal the amount on the board. Then, the Peasants move according to the peasant arrow.
KNIGHTS: Finally, the knights and archers move according to the movement path on the right. If a knight moves into Trodgors space, he takes damage. The archer shoots both directions of the last direction he moved (if he moves west, he shoots east and west), except in his own space. If Trogdor takes damage, a 3rd knight spawns, the Troghammer. He acts like a Knight, but can also move if one of his cards is drawn. Peasants, Knights, and Archers have "wrap-around", so if they move off the board in one direction, they appear in the appropriate tile on the opposite direction.
BURNINATE: The goal of the game is to Burninante all the tiles. When a tile is Burninated, it's flipped over. Cottages can only be Burninated if it and all surrounding tiles are Burninated. If a Peasant is on a tile that is Burninated, they are drawn and given a movement path, and go into the void afterwards, Burninating any tiles along the way. Knights can repair any cottage along their path, and Peasants sometimes can repair tiles according to their movement.
WINNING: The players win if all tiles and cottages are Burninated, and no more Peasants are on the board. However, everytime Trogdor takes damage, he loses a Peasant from the Trog-meter. If he were to take damage while no Peasants were in the Trog-meter, he has FIERY RAGE! The player draws 5 Movement cards, and follows their paths, Burninating every tile and cottage along the way. For this action, Trogdor has Wrap-around, and immediately sends all Knights and Peasants into the Void. If all tiles and cottages are Burninated, and there are no Peasants left, the players still win. If not, the players lose.
CONCLUSION: Oh man, this one is crazy. First off, note that there are 2 major points of criticism, the decks and the cooperation. There's an amount of luck that goes into co-op games that can frustrate a lot of players, and some players just don't work together well. So, now that that's out of the way, I can talk about the positives, and there are a lot. First, it's FREAKING TROGDOR! Obviously, if you don't know the theme, you won't be as excited as I am, but that's okay. This game plays incredibly well for those who aren't aware of the theming. In addition, even if you don't, it's easy to see that a lot of care was put into the theme of this game. Now, the gameplay. If you have ever played the original Trodgor, there's some inspiration from that, such as Troggie not getting the Wraparound, but the other characters do. The game feels great, being able to control 1 character amongst the party, but due to his level of strength and abilities, it nevers feels too broken or ridiculous. Actually, like most co-op games, it's really hard to win, but you never feel like it's because you can't do something, it's more like you are either just unlucky, or (more likely) you didn't plan ahead. So go and visit this pleasant kingdom of Peasantry, I know I will again sometime soon.
AFTHERTHOUGHTS: For a bonus, I'll link the original source and some additional flavor for the game:
DRAGON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90X5NJleYJQ
RULES SONGS: http://trogdorboardgame.homestarrunner.com/rulebookEP.html
SOUNDBOARD: http://trogdorboardgame.homestarrunner.com/soundboard/
BACKGROUND: Trogdor! The Board Game is a co-operative tile game for 1-6 players. It was created in 2019 by Boardelectrix (Mike and Matt Chapman), James Earnest, and written with Loneshark Games. All players work together to burninate the countryside and cottages, eat or burn the peasants, and avoid letting Trogdor perish.
GAMEPLAY: Each players turn consists of 2 phases, their actions and the boards actions. On their turn, the player draws and uses 1 of the 2 Trogdor Action cards, which determine how many AP (Action Points) and ability the player has that turn, or they may discard it for 5 AP. AP is spent to have Trogdor either move orthnologically, Chomp and eat a Peasant, Burrow through a tunnel to the other tunnel tile, Hide in a mountain tile to become impervious to damage, or Burninate the tile. Players don't have to use all their AP, but it's lost at the end of the turn. Players may also use their Keepers of Trogdor abilities or Item cards once on their turn, unless otherwise stated, and items must be recharged to use it again, as indicated by the card.
KNIGHTS: Finally, the knights and archers move according to the movement path on the right. If a knight moves into Trodgors space, he takes damage. The archer shoots both directions of the last direction he moved (if he moves west, he shoots east and west), except in his own space. If Trogdor takes damage, a 3rd knight spawns, the Troghammer. He acts like a Knight, but can also move if one of his cards is drawn. Peasants, Knights, and Archers have "wrap-around", so if they move off the board in one direction, they appear in the appropriate tile on the opposite direction.
BURNINATE: The goal of the game is to Burninante all the tiles. When a tile is Burninated, it's flipped over. Cottages can only be Burninated if it and all surrounding tiles are Burninated. If a Peasant is on a tile that is Burninated, they are drawn and given a movement path, and go into the void afterwards, Burninating any tiles along the way. Knights can repair any cottage along their path, and Peasants sometimes can repair tiles according to their movement.
WINNING: The players win if all tiles and cottages are Burninated, and no more Peasants are on the board. However, everytime Trogdor takes damage, he loses a Peasant from the Trog-meter. If he were to take damage while no Peasants were in the Trog-meter, he has FIERY RAGE! The player draws 5 Movement cards, and follows their paths, Burninating every tile and cottage along the way. For this action, Trogdor has Wrap-around, and immediately sends all Knights and Peasants into the Void. If all tiles and cottages are Burninated, and there are no Peasants left, the players still win. If not, the players lose.
CONCLUSION: Oh man, this one is crazy. First off, note that there are 2 major points of criticism, the decks and the cooperation. There's an amount of luck that goes into co-op games that can frustrate a lot of players, and some players just don't work together well. So, now that that's out of the way, I can talk about the positives, and there are a lot. First, it's FREAKING TROGDOR! Obviously, if you don't know the theme, you won't be as excited as I am, but that's okay. This game plays incredibly well for those who aren't aware of the theming. In addition, even if you don't, it's easy to see that a lot of care was put into the theme of this game. Now, the gameplay. If you have ever played the original Trodgor, there's some inspiration from that, such as Troggie not getting the Wraparound, but the other characters do. The game feels great, being able to control 1 character amongst the party, but due to his level of strength and abilities, it nevers feels too broken or ridiculous. Actually, like most co-op games, it's really hard to win, but you never feel like it's because you can't do something, it's more like you are either just unlucky, or (more likely) you didn't plan ahead. So go and visit this pleasant kingdom of Peasantry, I know I will again sometime soon.
AFTHERTHOUGHTS: For a bonus, I'll link the original source and some additional flavor for the game:
DRAGON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90X5NJleYJQ
RULES SONGS: http://trogdorboardgame.homestarrunner.com/rulebookEP.html
SOUNDBOARD: http://trogdorboardgame.homestarrunner.com/soundboard/
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
And It Burns, Burns, Burns (Flash Point: Fire Rescue)
*WOOOOSH*
The blaze of the fire intensifies, surrounding you. A faint cry is barely heard over the flames. You rush through the fire and the flames to find the victim, putting out the fire as you go. The walls grow weaker, leaving the house even worse for wear. There, in the smoke, you get closer. As you step through, you see...nothing. It was all a trick of the smoke, there was nobody here. You walk past, putting out more fires. That's the role of the firefighter, putting out fires and rescuing people. That's Flash Point: Fire Rescue.
BACKGROUND: Flash Point is a co-operative board game for 2-6 players, created by Kevin Lanzing in 2011, and published by Indie Boards & Cards. By working together, players attempt to put out fires, save victims, and keep the building from collapsing.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn consists of a player taking 4 AP (Action Points). Action Points can be used to move through spaces, open and close doors, put out fires, and chop through walls. Depending on the action, each takes 1 or 2 AP. If a player doesn't use all their AP on their turn, they can save it, up to 4 at most. Scattered throughout the house are face-down POI markers, with "?" on them. Whenever a player lands on these tokens, they are flipped face-up. If there is nothing on them, they are discarded. If there's a person or animal on them, they are now Victims, and must be taken out of the house.
FIRES: At the end of each players turn, the player rolls the red and black dice, and puts a smoke token based on the roll. If there's one there, it flips and becomes a fire token, instead. If that's already a fire, an explosion occurs, spreading fire in each direction. Explosions can cause players to get knocked down, kill Victims, and destroy doors and walls. Finally, if there are less than 3 POI and Victim tokens in the house, roll to replenish the house to up to 3 POI tokens.
ADVANCED: Now that the base rules are set up, there are more things to introduce. Each player is given a character card, which can change how many AP they get each turn, and how much certain actions cost. There are also vehicles, an Engine and an Ambulance, which can be used, and driven to certain points on the board for AP. Players now have to get the Victims to the Ambulance. The engine can be used to put out fires easier, but only within a single quadrant.
DANGERS: There are also more bad things that happen in the advanced rules. Hazmat tokens immediately cause explosions, and can be carried out of the house. Hot spots are used to not only simulate where fires would be hottest, but when a fire lands on a hot spot, the player keeps rolling for more fire. They cannot be removed from the game, but do not change the tokens if a hot spot is added to a space with a smoke/fire token.
WINNING: To win, the players must get 7 Victim tokens out of the house before all 24 damage markers are placed on the house's walls, or 4 or more Victims are killed or lost.
CONCLUSION: Ho, boy, this game is a doozy, in a good way. This is exactly how a co-operative game should be, difficult enough that the victories, even the small ones, mean something. Everything is high stakes, working together means coming up with a plan you all follow and can execute without one player suffering for not communicating with the team, and that smidge of luck that can make or break a plan that you can't quite account for. Now, this is based on the advanced version, and that can put a lot of pressure on people. The basic version is a bit more friendly and open, and makes the game a little easier to win, but not less stressful. Kids, never run into a burning building unless you're a professional, but do run to your local game store and buy this hot game.
The blaze of the fire intensifies, surrounding you. A faint cry is barely heard over the flames. You rush through the fire and the flames to find the victim, putting out the fire as you go. The walls grow weaker, leaving the house even worse for wear. There, in the smoke, you get closer. As you step through, you see...nothing. It was all a trick of the smoke, there was nobody here. You walk past, putting out more fires. That's the role of the firefighter, putting out fires and rescuing people. That's Flash Point: Fire Rescue.
BACKGROUND: Flash Point is a co-operative board game for 2-6 players, created by Kevin Lanzing in 2011, and published by Indie Boards & Cards. By working together, players attempt to put out fires, save victims, and keep the building from collapsing.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn consists of a player taking 4 AP (Action Points). Action Points can be used to move through spaces, open and close doors, put out fires, and chop through walls. Depending on the action, each takes 1 or 2 AP. If a player doesn't use all their AP on their turn, they can save it, up to 4 at most. Scattered throughout the house are face-down POI markers, with "?" on them. Whenever a player lands on these tokens, they are flipped face-up. If there is nothing on them, they are discarded. If there's a person or animal on them, they are now Victims, and must be taken out of the house.
FIRES: At the end of each players turn, the player rolls the red and black dice, and puts a smoke token based on the roll. If there's one there, it flips and becomes a fire token, instead. If that's already a fire, an explosion occurs, spreading fire in each direction. Explosions can cause players to get knocked down, kill Victims, and destroy doors and walls. Finally, if there are less than 3 POI and Victim tokens in the house, roll to replenish the house to up to 3 POI tokens.
ADVANCED: Now that the base rules are set up, there are more things to introduce. Each player is given a character card, which can change how many AP they get each turn, and how much certain actions cost. There are also vehicles, an Engine and an Ambulance, which can be used, and driven to certain points on the board for AP. Players now have to get the Victims to the Ambulance. The engine can be used to put out fires easier, but only within a single quadrant.
DANGERS: There are also more bad things that happen in the advanced rules. Hazmat tokens immediately cause explosions, and can be carried out of the house. Hot spots are used to not only simulate where fires would be hottest, but when a fire lands on a hot spot, the player keeps rolling for more fire. They cannot be removed from the game, but do not change the tokens if a hot spot is added to a space with a smoke/fire token.
WINNING: To win, the players must get 7 Victim tokens out of the house before all 24 damage markers are placed on the house's walls, or 4 or more Victims are killed or lost.
CONCLUSION: Ho, boy, this game is a doozy, in a good way. This is exactly how a co-operative game should be, difficult enough that the victories, even the small ones, mean something. Everything is high stakes, working together means coming up with a plan you all follow and can execute without one player suffering for not communicating with the team, and that smidge of luck that can make or break a plan that you can't quite account for. Now, this is based on the advanced version, and that can put a lot of pressure on people. The basic version is a bit more friendly and open, and makes the game a little easier to win, but not less stressful. Kids, never run into a burning building unless you're a professional, but do run to your local game store and buy this hot game.
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Floating down the Nile (Imhotep: Builder of Egypt)
The sharp crack of the whip echoed throughout the dry Egyptian desert. The stone, massive in size, was being pushed, pulled, and carried by hundreds of slave-workers. You look down at the carving you made, and back towards the pyramids. Soon, the pharaoh would choose who would create and design their masterpieces. You put everything you had into these designs, so that you would be remembered like Imhotep, the Builder of Egypt!
BACKGROUND: Imhotep is a puzzle board game for 2-4 players. It was created in 2016 by Phil Walker-Harding, and published by KOSMOS. Each player ships stones by boats to build various monuments.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn,, a player can take 1 of 4 actions. They can take 3 Stone cubes from their 'Quarry' off to the side, and place them on their Sled board. Each sled can only hold 5 stones, so if there are more stones then there is room, players return the excess back into their Quarry. Another action players can take is to take a stone from their Sled, and place it on one of the boats set out at the beginning of the game. Players may also sail a boat as their action if the number of stones is equal to or greater than the number indicated on the front of the boat to one of the 5 site boards. Finally, a player may play a blue Market card as their action that turn.
WINNING: Once a boat has sailed to a site, other ships cannot sail there. Each site has a different requirement, such as players getting points for their position, or being the tallest at the end of the game. At the end of the round, players score points, kept track of on the scoreboard, and draw a new boat card to show what boats are available this round. Once the game is over, players total up any remaning points to determine the winner.
VARIANTS; Each board has 2 sides. While this review only mentions the A side, the B side has its own rules and twists on the game. In addition, there is also the rule that players are docked points if they fail to deliver at least one stone to each place.
CONCLUSION: I really enjoy Imhotep. It's a purely strategic game, plain and simple. There's so much thought and fore planning that goes into it that makes the game fun and thought-provoking. True, the market cards are dealt randomly, so there is that element of chance, but even that is a matter of strategy and risk-reward decision making. This game can get overwhelming, so it's easy to see why it would be difficult for some players to enjoy this game. Because of its lack of luck elements, it does lead to players who aren't as strategically minded to be defeated more often due to lack of skill or "lucky" balancing maneuvers. If that's the case, try to play this with people at your skill level. It's hard, true, but if you can, it's one trip to the Pyramids you should take.
BACKGROUND: Imhotep is a puzzle board game for 2-4 players. It was created in 2016 by Phil Walker-Harding, and published by KOSMOS. Each player ships stones by boats to build various monuments.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn,, a player can take 1 of 4 actions. They can take 3 Stone cubes from their 'Quarry' off to the side, and place them on their Sled board. Each sled can only hold 5 stones, so if there are more stones then there is room, players return the excess back into their Quarry. Another action players can take is to take a stone from their Sled, and place it on one of the boats set out at the beginning of the game. Players may also sail a boat as their action if the number of stones is equal to or greater than the number indicated on the front of the boat to one of the 5 site boards. Finally, a player may play a blue Market card as their action that turn.
WINNING: Once a boat has sailed to a site, other ships cannot sail there. Each site has a different requirement, such as players getting points for their position, or being the tallest at the end of the game. At the end of the round, players score points, kept track of on the scoreboard, and draw a new boat card to show what boats are available this round. Once the game is over, players total up any remaning points to determine the winner.
VARIANTS; Each board has 2 sides. While this review only mentions the A side, the B side has its own rules and twists on the game. In addition, there is also the rule that players are docked points if they fail to deliver at least one stone to each place.
CONCLUSION: I really enjoy Imhotep. It's a purely strategic game, plain and simple. There's so much thought and fore planning that goes into it that makes the game fun and thought-provoking. True, the market cards are dealt randomly, so there is that element of chance, but even that is a matter of strategy and risk-reward decision making. This game can get overwhelming, so it's easy to see why it would be difficult for some players to enjoy this game. Because of its lack of luck elements, it does lead to players who aren't as strategically minded to be defeated more often due to lack of skill or "lucky" balancing maneuvers. If that's the case, try to play this with people at your skill level. It's hard, true, but if you can, it's one trip to the Pyramids you should take.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
2,000,000 Years in the Making (CroMagnon)
Ugga, Ugga tooga nah. Ugga tooga chaka sha. CROMAGNON!
BACKGROUND: Cro-Magnon is a party game for 3-12 players. It was created by Fanny Cherpe and Olivier Mercier in 2007, and published by KOSMOS. Players adopt the persona and tribes of the Cro-Magnon to give information to their fellow people.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, the player(s) will act out their "YooDoo" on their tribal, and then draw a Word List card from the pile and try to get the other players to guess the word on the card according to their Age/space. However, communication is limited based on the Age the player(s) is at. Anytime a player makes a guess, the acting player(s) can say "Naga" for off/no, "Yaga" for close/yes, and "Binga" for correct. That player(s) can then draw a new card for the rest of the players to guess. Every correct guess before the timer runs out grants that player(s) 1 space, for a maximum of 5.
AGES: The space the player(s) start in on their turn determine how they convey the information on the cards. The red space is only miming and grunting. The yellow space uses modelling clay, and while creations are allowed to be moved, miming or noises not allowed. The
Orange spaces uses the "Primitive Language" sheet, requiring the player to try and describe the card using only these words. Finally, the Green spaces has the player(s) drawing with a charcoal stick, and no miming, talking, or writing.
WINNING: The winner is the player who makes it to the end of the board.
CONCLUSION: This is a party game like Cranium, or Whirled Peas, but with a twist. It restricts the player in a way to come up with something kinda clever, but at the end of the day, it still has the same audience and restrictions that the others have. The only thing really going for it is the theme. If that's enough for you, great. However, this is one caveman who is going to evolve into more interesting games.
BACKGROUND: Cro-Magnon is a party game for 3-12 players. It was created by Fanny Cherpe and Olivier Mercier in 2007, and published by KOSMOS. Players adopt the persona and tribes of the Cro-Magnon to give information to their fellow people.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, the player(s) will act out their "YooDoo" on their tribal, and then draw a Word List card from the pile and try to get the other players to guess the word on the card according to their Age/space. However, communication is limited based on the Age the player(s) is at. Anytime a player makes a guess, the acting player(s) can say "Naga" for off/no, "Yaga" for close/yes, and "Binga" for correct. That player(s) can then draw a new card for the rest of the players to guess. Every correct guess before the timer runs out grants that player(s) 1 space, for a maximum of 5.
AGES: The space the player(s) start in on their turn determine how they convey the information on the cards. The red space is only miming and grunting. The yellow space uses modelling clay, and while creations are allowed to be moved, miming or noises not allowed. The
Orange spaces uses the "Primitive Language" sheet, requiring the player to try and describe the card using only these words. Finally, the Green spaces has the player(s) drawing with a charcoal stick, and no miming, talking, or writing.
WINNING: The winner is the player who makes it to the end of the board.
CONCLUSION: This is a party game like Cranium, or Whirled Peas, but with a twist. It restricts the player in a way to come up with something kinda clever, but at the end of the day, it still has the same audience and restrictions that the others have. The only thing really going for it is the theme. If that's enough for you, great. However, this is one caveman who is going to evolve into more interesting games.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Celebrations Overwhelming (Lanterns: The Harvest Festival)
The harvest has come in, the season is cooling, and it's time. Looking over the crisp blue lake, a single light starts floating over it. Then another, and another. Soon, the Royal blue of the lake is interspersed with specks of colors, from ivory to emerald, amethyst to crimson. The crowd gathers as the wind lifts high the symbol of the The Harvest Festival, the Lanterns.
BACKGROUND: Lanterns: The Harvest Festival is a tile game for 2-4 players. It was created in 2015 by Christopher Chung, and is published by Foxtrot Games. Taking on the role of the artisans, each players is making a dedication at the palace lake to gain the most honor and become the most respected in the land.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, players will take the following 3 actions; they can exchange a Lantern card, make a Dedication, or place a Lake tile. They must be taken in this order. First, players may choose to spend two red Favor Tokens to trade a colored Lantern card for another available one. Then, players may choose to return to the supply an appropriate number of Lantern cards to gain Dedication token. Finally, the player must play a Lake tile from their hand so that one of its sides lines up with those on the board.
LAKE: If the player places a Lake tile next to another so that the color of their tile matches an adjacent side of another Lake Tile, that player receives a matching Lantern card. If there is a Platform, indicated by a symbol in the middle, that player gains a Favor token. Finally, each player, starting with the player who is currently taking their turn, gains a Lantern card (if available) according to the side of the tile 'facing' that player. If a player wants to gain a white Lantern, for example, they need to orient the card so that the white side would be aligned with their 'area' of the table.
WINNING: The game ends when all Lake tiles are placed, and each player gets one last turn for Exchanging Lanterns and Dedications. Each Dedication token has a number of 'Honor' on it. Each player adds up all their Honor, and the player with the most Honor wins.
CONCLUSION: Lanterns is a neat strategy game that can initially trip you up, but is actually easy once you get the hang of it. It's biggest issue is that there are quite a few games where catching up with an opponent who plays perfectly optimal and draws even kind of well can be discouraging, but that's the risk you run when you can mitigate the luck as much as you can. The favor tokens don't really feel great in gaining them, either, as I've seen too many games where players just can't get them, which can slow the game down a bit. That being said, the game is fun, and the strategy is there. It can be tempting to match two sides to get 2 Lanterns, but if they don't help your strategy, it might be better not to do that, and just get the Lantern color you do need. If you like games of strategy and tile placement, this is one festival you shouldn't miss out on.
BACKGROUND: Lanterns: The Harvest Festival is a tile game for 2-4 players. It was created in 2015 by Christopher Chung, and is published by Foxtrot Games. Taking on the role of the artisans, each players is making a dedication at the palace lake to gain the most honor and become the most respected in the land.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, players will take the following 3 actions; they can exchange a Lantern card, make a Dedication, or place a Lake tile. They must be taken in this order. First, players may choose to spend two red Favor Tokens to trade a colored Lantern card for another available one. Then, players may choose to return to the supply an appropriate number of Lantern cards to gain Dedication token. Finally, the player must play a Lake tile from their hand so that one of its sides lines up with those on the board.
LAKE: If the player places a Lake tile next to another so that the color of their tile matches an adjacent side of another Lake Tile, that player receives a matching Lantern card. If there is a Platform, indicated by a symbol in the middle, that player gains a Favor token. Finally, each player, starting with the player who is currently taking their turn, gains a Lantern card (if available) according to the side of the tile 'facing' that player. If a player wants to gain a white Lantern, for example, they need to orient the card so that the white side would be aligned with their 'area' of the table.
WINNING: The game ends when all Lake tiles are placed, and each player gets one last turn for Exchanging Lanterns and Dedications. Each Dedication token has a number of 'Honor' on it. Each player adds up all their Honor, and the player with the most Honor wins.
CONCLUSION: Lanterns is a neat strategy game that can initially trip you up, but is actually easy once you get the hang of it. It's biggest issue is that there are quite a few games where catching up with an opponent who plays perfectly optimal and draws even kind of well can be discouraging, but that's the risk you run when you can mitigate the luck as much as you can. The favor tokens don't really feel great in gaining them, either, as I've seen too many games where players just can't get them, which can slow the game down a bit. That being said, the game is fun, and the strategy is there. It can be tempting to match two sides to get 2 Lanterns, but if they don't help your strategy, it might be better not to do that, and just get the Lantern color you do need. If you like games of strategy and tile placement, this is one festival you shouldn't miss out on.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Crafting an Obsidian Table (The Table is Lava)
The classic childhood game the Floor is Lava was played by millions of kids around the world. Yours truly even played it, though really it wasn't fun when all the furniture you had available to climb was a bed, and like 2 chairs. But still, there was something thrilling about trying to figure out how to go places when all you have are 3 spots to move around in. Well, time to get out your sneakers, because now The Table is Lava, somehow.
BACKGROUND: The Table is Lava is a dexterity game for 2-4 people, and was created in 2018 by James Schoch, with art by Jennifer Vargas, and published by R&R Games. Players throw cards at meeples to knock them off the island, while keeping their own alive.
GAMEPLAY: On their turn, each player tosses or flicks one of their cards at the opponents meeples to attempt to knock them off the cards to remove them from the game. If a card is a thumbs width apart from another card or less, all players place a number of their meeples on the card thrown, indicated by the card, and the player continues throwing cards. Once a card is more than a thumbs width apart from another card, their turn ends, and players don't get to place meeples on the card.
WINNING: Once all players have used up their cards, the players tally up their points. For each 'standing', or upright meeple, the player gets 2 points, with meeples laying flat down on their 'back' scoring one point. The player with the most points wins.
CONCLUSION: Reviewing dexterity based games are always a bit tricky to review, because it's hard to say if a game is unbalanced, or if you just suck at it. Throwing cards is always a bit of a tricky mechanic to pull off, as cards are usually not designed to be balanced. That being said, there's something charming about this game that I can't help but like, and for all that I can see, it seems balanced. It's not terribly hard to put enough force to knock a meeple off, it's the aiming that lends itself to the most difficulty, and that's where a lot of people might get hung up. Because of the level of skill involved, this game is difficult. It does lend itself to allowing players to catch up from behind with a good or lucky/unlucky toss. Ultimately, I would say this is one hot spot that's worth trying out.
BACKGROUND: The Table is Lava is a dexterity game for 2-4 people, and was created in 2018 by James Schoch, with art by Jennifer Vargas, and published by R&R Games. Players throw cards at meeples to knock them off the island, while keeping their own alive.
GAMEPLAY: On their turn, each player tosses or flicks one of their cards at the opponents meeples to attempt to knock them off the cards to remove them from the game. If a card is a thumbs width apart from another card or less, all players place a number of their meeples on the card thrown, indicated by the card, and the player continues throwing cards. Once a card is more than a thumbs width apart from another card, their turn ends, and players don't get to place meeples on the card.
WINNING: Once all players have used up their cards, the players tally up their points. For each 'standing', or upright meeple, the player gets 2 points, with meeples laying flat down on their 'back' scoring one point. The player with the most points wins.
CONCLUSION: Reviewing dexterity based games are always a bit tricky to review, because it's hard to say if a game is unbalanced, or if you just suck at it. Throwing cards is always a bit of a tricky mechanic to pull off, as cards are usually not designed to be balanced. That being said, there's something charming about this game that I can't help but like, and for all that I can see, it seems balanced. It's not terribly hard to put enough force to knock a meeple off, it's the aiming that lends itself to the most difficulty, and that's where a lot of people might get hung up. Because of the level of skill involved, this game is difficult. It does lend itself to allowing players to catch up from behind with a good or lucky/unlucky toss. Ultimately, I would say this is one hot spot that's worth trying out.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Ruler of the Islands (Kahuna)
HELLO! I was the previous ruler of this island, and yes, it does look like a hand, deal. But I have grown tired of the crown, what with the remaining on the island, the treasure, the neighboring war, and the tribute. So, I have decide to leave, to adventure and explore beyond the horizon, and will name you the next ruler of the island. And don't worry too much about that war I mentioned, they only want control over all the islands. Have fun being the next Kahuna!
BACKGROUND: Kahuna is a strategy board game for 2 players, and was created in 1998 by Günter Cornett, and published by KOSMOS. 2 players attempt to take control of the most islands in a game of strategy and timing.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, the turn player may play up to 5 cards from their hand, or secretly discards 1 or more cards under the discard pile. A player may choose not to play or discard any cards. When a card is played, the player puts a Magic Bridge token from the island printed on the card onto a dotted line connected to any neighboring island. The player may then draw 1 card or pass, discarding 1 or more cards if they have 5 cards in their hand. If a player chooses to pass, the opponent must draw on their turn.
ISLANDS: Once a player has more than half of their Bridges on an Island, they take control of that island, marked with a players Kahuna Stones, and remove all of the opponents Bridges connected to that island. A player may also remove an opponents Bridge by playing two cards that only name 1 of the 2 islands the Bridge is connecting.
ROUNDS: The game is played in 3 rounds. When all the cards have been taken, the player with control of the most islands scores 1 point in the first round, or 2 points in the second round, with no points scored on ties. All cards in a players hand, as well as all Bridge and Kahuna tokens, remain.
WINNING: On the third round, the players count how many islands they control, and the player with the most scores the difference between both players' scores. Scores from all 3 rounds are added up, with the player with the most points winning. Ties are broken by \whoever scored the third round, with a tie there broken by who had the most bridges at the end.
CONCLUSION: Every time I play Kahuna, I start out liking it. There's a huge strategy element here about when to take cards, when to make your opponent do so, where to play and what to discard. The game is incredibly promising, then the 2nd round starts. The scoring isn't too bad, but it's the games utter lack of care about who's in the lead that's the problem. Once a player is far enough ahead, they enter what I like to call Psuedo-Star Mode. Like the Power Star in Mario, once a player is far enough ahead, it really doesn't matter what you do, and that's the problem. Rather than start fresh, or give the player falling behind any advantage, the board state remains the same. This means that a player who is winning will likely continue to win, because they already have a lead on the opponent. Even if the other player somehow manages to take the lead the next round, they now have that huge lead on the opponent. I like this game, but I only want to be the Kahuna in one shot, not three.
BACKGROUND: Kahuna is a strategy board game for 2 players, and was created in 1998 by Günter Cornett, and published by KOSMOS. 2 players attempt to take control of the most islands in a game of strategy and timing.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, the turn player may play up to 5 cards from their hand, or secretly discards 1 or more cards under the discard pile. A player may choose not to play or discard any cards. When a card is played, the player puts a Magic Bridge token from the island printed on the card onto a dotted line connected to any neighboring island. The player may then draw 1 card or pass, discarding 1 or more cards if they have 5 cards in their hand. If a player chooses to pass, the opponent must draw on their turn.
ISLANDS: Once a player has more than half of their Bridges on an Island, they take control of that island, marked with a players Kahuna Stones, and remove all of the opponents Bridges connected to that island. A player may also remove an opponents Bridge by playing two cards that only name 1 of the 2 islands the Bridge is connecting.
ROUNDS: The game is played in 3 rounds. When all the cards have been taken, the player with control of the most islands scores 1 point in the first round, or 2 points in the second round, with no points scored on ties. All cards in a players hand, as well as all Bridge and Kahuna tokens, remain.
WINNING: On the third round, the players count how many islands they control, and the player with the most scores the difference between both players' scores. Scores from all 3 rounds are added up, with the player with the most points winning. Ties are broken by \whoever scored the third round, with a tie there broken by who had the most bridges at the end.
CONCLUSION: Every time I play Kahuna, I start out liking it. There's a huge strategy element here about when to take cards, when to make your opponent do so, where to play and what to discard. The game is incredibly promising, then the 2nd round starts. The scoring isn't too bad, but it's the games utter lack of care about who's in the lead that's the problem. Once a player is far enough ahead, they enter what I like to call Psuedo-Star Mode. Like the Power Star in Mario, once a player is far enough ahead, it really doesn't matter what you do, and that's the problem. Rather than start fresh, or give the player falling behind any advantage, the board state remains the same. This means that a player who is winning will likely continue to win, because they already have a lead on the opponent. Even if the other player somehow manages to take the lead the next round, they now have that huge lead on the opponent. I like this game, but I only want to be the Kahuna in one shot, not three.
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
WarGames Never Changes (Fallout)
War. War never changes. We know that all too well, but this time feels so much more real. Maybe because I wasn't there for the bombs in Hiroshima, for the Great War and it's consequences. Maybe it's because I have to deal with this, here and now. Or maybe it's because there's a spider crawling up my leg as I write this. That's life in the wasteland, in the world of Nuclear Fallout.
BACKGROUND: Fallout is a Strategy board game for 1-4 players. It is based on the 2015 game, Fallout 4. It was designed by Andrew Fischer and Nathan I. Hajek, and published by Fantasy Flight Games. Players align with various groups to battle against their rivals and the wasteland itself, to become the best faction and rule the wasteland.
GAMEPLAY: Each player has 2 actions they can take on their turn:
WINNING: The game ends if any Faction reaches the end of their track, or if any player reaches the goal on their private Agenda card.
CONCLUSION: Fallout is an incredibly detailed game, faithful to its source material. However, just like Dark Souls, that dedication to theme leads to a mechanically clunky and slow game. Even when playing with people who try to make the most out of their turn and plan on other players turns, it takes a while due to combat, and tests. That is not to say it is a bad game, but that it merely appeals specifically to fans of Fallout, such as the Dark Souls game appeals to its player base. If you are such a fan, try it out, see what you think. Anyone else, this is one Fallout you're best avoiding.
BACKGROUND: Fallout is a Strategy board game for 1-4 players. It is based on the 2015 game, Fallout 4. It was designed by Andrew Fischer and Nathan I. Hajek, and published by Fantasy Flight Games. Players align with various groups to battle against their rivals and the wasteland itself, to become the best faction and rule the wasteland.
GAMEPLAY: Each player has 2 actions they can take on their turn:
- EXPLORE: Flip over a tile face-down Map tile when on an adjacent space.
- MOVE: Gain 2 movement points. A Movement point is used to move the player to an adjacent spot, seperated by white lines. Difficult terrain, marked by a red line, requires spending 2 movement points. (These can be used during or after any action during the players turn.)
- ENCOUNTER: If the players location has either a Wasteland or Encounter icon, they can choose to have the next player draw from the matching deck and read the text in italic and next to each number. Once the player chooses which number they want/can fulfill, the reading player reads their result under the chosen text.
- QUEST: Some Objectives require the player to take this action to complete. Whenever an Objective is fulfilled, the player takes the rewards from underneath, and reveals a new one at the end of the turn.
- FIGHT: If a player is in a space with a face-up enemy, or in an adjacent while they have a ranged weapon, they may choose to fight it.
- CAMP: The player heals 3 HP, Unexhausts all items, and gains a Well-Rested trait, to spend to reroll for a test or battle.
COMBAT: When a player Fights, they roll the 3 VATS dice, attempting to roll the matching body parts indicated on the enemy token. However, any stars, or Hits, deal that much damage to the player. If the weapon the player is using has a SPECIAL letter, and the player has that letter, they may reroll. If the number of dice hit the enemy is equal to its level, indicated in the green gear, the enemy is defeated, the player gains XP on their board equal to its level, and a new enemy is placed face-down on the original starting space of that enemy.
LEVEL: Once the XP peg reaches the end of the board, it goes back to the beginning (adding remaining XP), and the player draws two new random SPECIAL letters, keeping only one. If it's one the player already has, they draw a one shot Perk card indicated by the letter they kept.
ENEMIES: Once all players have taken their 2 actions, a player draws an Agenda card. The symbols on the bottom of the card activates all matching face-up enemies, and flip over all face-down enemies face-up. Any activated enemy moves a space closer to the nearest adventurer. Any activated enemy in a space with a player fights them.
TESTS: Some Encounters requires a player to do a test, indicated by SPECIAL letters and a number. The player rolls the VATS dice, attempting to get a number of Hits, equal to or higher thant he printed number. Any SPECIAL letters the player has on their board matching the letters printed lets the player re-roll any dice per matching letter.
DEATH: If at any point the green Rads and red Health marker at the bottom of a players board meet, then the player's figure is placed on the Crossroads Camp space. Their Health goes back up to full, while their Rads stays the same, and they discard all non-equipped inventory cards. If a players Rads are at the highest point, they lose the game and are eliminated.
WINNING: The game ends if any Faction reaches the end of their track, or if any player reaches the goal on their private Agenda card.
CONCLUSION: Fallout is an incredibly detailed game, faithful to its source material. However, just like Dark Souls, that dedication to theme leads to a mechanically clunky and slow game. Even when playing with people who try to make the most out of their turn and plan on other players turns, it takes a while due to combat, and tests. That is not to say it is a bad game, but that it merely appeals specifically to fans of Fallout, such as the Dark Souls game appeals to its player base. If you are such a fan, try it out, see what you think. Anyone else, this is one Fallout you're best avoiding.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
A Tactical Retreat (War Chest)
Congratulations, you are the brand new captain of this rag-tag team. Sure, they might seem crazy, but each one has proven their loyalty and worth on the field of battle. Besides, it's not like the the war is going to advance on us, so let's...hmm, a message? For me? I'll read it in here. Oh, it's time. The war is advancing on us, grab your War Chest and meet me outside.
BACKGROUND: War Chest is a tile based strategy game designed by Trevor Benjamin & David Thompson for 2 or 4 players, and published by Alderac Entertainment Group. Playing either 1v1 or in teams, players draw and use tiles to conquer their opponents and claim all the special Locations.
GAMEPLAY: Each player has two phases on their turn: First, they draw 3 Coins from their bag into their hand. During the 2nd phase, the player can either either play a Unit Coin, or discard a coin face-up or face-down, each having different effects. If a player ever runs out of Coins to draw, they put their Coins in their discard area back into the bag to draw. If there are none and still not enough coins, they merely lose those actions.
COINS: To play a Unit Coin, place it face-up onto a green Location space, or onto an matching Unit. Players can only control one of each type of Units on the board. Once per round, players may discard any coin face-down to take the Initiative Marker to start the next round, to add a Unit Coin from their Supply to their bag, or pass. By discarding a Unit Coin face-up, the matching Unit on the board can now take actions.
UNITS: Units can Move, Control, Attack, or use Tactics when a matching coin is discarded. Moving allows the Unit to move 1 space. Attacking allows the Unit to remove an opponents Unit adjacent to them, or remove the top Coin if it was bolstered. Tactics are located on the card, and give special abilities to the Unit. Some Units, like the Archer, can only Attack by using its Tactic.
WINNING: When a Unit is on a Location tile, the player may also discard a coin face-up to place a Control marker there, removing an opponents if one exists. When any player or team has only their Control markers placed on all the Locations, they win.
CONCLUSION: War Chest is a tactic strategy game, with luck elements sprinkled in to add some flavor and challenge, and that's where the game gets me. I love strategy and tactics, but the drawing from the bag element feels something that should be kept to games like Clank, a game that by nature is luck-focused. This makes it feel bad when you just draw nothing and your piece dies because you needed them to move, but they couldn't due to an unfortunate random pull. But even with that, there's still a bevy of strategy and planning that goes into the game, and you can adapt to the luck, it's just harder. If you want a good strategy game, then open up this War Chest.
BACKGROUND: War Chest is a tile based strategy game designed by Trevor Benjamin & David Thompson for 2 or 4 players, and published by Alderac Entertainment Group. Playing either 1v1 or in teams, players draw and use tiles to conquer their opponents and claim all the special Locations.
GAMEPLAY: Each player has two phases on their turn: First, they draw 3 Coins from their bag into their hand. During the 2nd phase, the player can either either play a Unit Coin, or discard a coin face-up or face-down, each having different effects. If a player ever runs out of Coins to draw, they put their Coins in their discard area back into the bag to draw. If there are none and still not enough coins, they merely lose those actions.
COINS: To play a Unit Coin, place it face-up onto a green Location space, or onto an matching Unit. Players can only control one of each type of Units on the board. Once per round, players may discard any coin face-down to take the Initiative Marker to start the next round, to add a Unit Coin from their Supply to their bag, or pass. By discarding a Unit Coin face-up, the matching Unit on the board can now take actions.
UNITS: Units can Move, Control, Attack, or use Tactics when a matching coin is discarded. Moving allows the Unit to move 1 space. Attacking allows the Unit to remove an opponents Unit adjacent to them, or remove the top Coin if it was bolstered. Tactics are located on the card, and give special abilities to the Unit. Some Units, like the Archer, can only Attack by using its Tactic.
WINNING: When a Unit is on a Location tile, the player may also discard a coin face-up to place a Control marker there, removing an opponents if one exists. When any player or team has only their Control markers placed on all the Locations, they win.
CONCLUSION: War Chest is a tactic strategy game, with luck elements sprinkled in to add some flavor and challenge, and that's where the game gets me. I love strategy and tactics, but the drawing from the bag element feels something that should be kept to games like Clank, a game that by nature is luck-focused. This makes it feel bad when you just draw nothing and your piece dies because you needed them to move, but they couldn't due to an unfortunate random pull. But even with that, there's still a bevy of strategy and planning that goes into the game, and you can adapt to the luck, it's just harder. If you want a good strategy game, then open up this War Chest.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Driving Under Vertigo (Tokyo Highway)
The biggest problem in a crowded city is affordable housing. But the second is traffic. It can be daunting trying to get to work down the street when that street is blocked by a car every other step. So, the Road Building Committee (totally a real name) has decided to hire some lucky people to design and build a roadway to help avoid the traffic, no expenses spared. And where better than the busiest city in Japan? It comes down to you to design this "Tokyo Highway" and make life easier for all. Except the banks, construction workers, actual drivers, etc.
BACKGROUND: Tokyo Highway is a dexterity game originally designed in 2016 by Naotaka Shimamoto, Yoshiaki Tomioka, and Yoshiaki Tomioka, and published by itten for 2 players. Build rising roadways and attempt to place cars without knocking over the roads.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, a player builds a pillar by stacking each pillar piece that is one higher or lower from a road they built, and put a road piece between so that both ends are centered on the pillars. Then, a player may place a car on the road if it is crossing over an opponents road that has no roads over it, or crossing under an opponents road that doesn't have any roads under it. Roads cannot touch or cross over any other pillars, or touch any roads outside of the ends on the pillars they rest on. If their pillar is one high, a player can create an exit, which connects to the table, but they cannot progress on that road any longer.
YELLOW: Yellow pillars are placed on the top of pillars, and are used to create Junctions. Junctions do two things; they allow players to create an additional road from that pillar, meaning one road in, two roads out, and they can be used to connect a road to a pillar of any height.
WINNING: This is a game of dexterity, so if you knock over any of your opponents pieces, you must hand over your pillars as a penalty, one per piece. If a player cannot place pillars, they must pass their turn and wait if and when they're able. The first player to put all their cars down wins.
CONCLUSION: Tokyo Highway is a wonderful mess. This game can be difficult, but not necessarily in the way you'd initially think. It starts out as a 3d puzzle, to find optimal pathways and routes to get the most cars on the board, but that's only half of it. Doing it can be the best, and most frustrating, aspect of this game. With something like Jenga or Kilter, if you knock it over, it's easy to continue. This game, you have to know exactly where something is. And if you make a big screw-up, players can get discouraged and just end up conceding. However, there's a certain joy in making something, and this game pushes you to build something crazy and wonderful. If you have the patience, drive by and check out this monstrosity.
ADDENDUM: The version I played included the 4 player expansion.
BACKGROUND: Tokyo Highway is a dexterity game originally designed in 2016 by Naotaka Shimamoto, Yoshiaki Tomioka, and Yoshiaki Tomioka, and published by itten for 2 players. Build rising roadways and attempt to place cars without knocking over the roads.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, a player builds a pillar by stacking each pillar piece that is one higher or lower from a road they built, and put a road piece between so that both ends are centered on the pillars. Then, a player may place a car on the road if it is crossing over an opponents road that has no roads over it, or crossing under an opponents road that doesn't have any roads under it. Roads cannot touch or cross over any other pillars, or touch any roads outside of the ends on the pillars they rest on. If their pillar is one high, a player can create an exit, which connects to the table, but they cannot progress on that road any longer.
WINNING: This is a game of dexterity, so if you knock over any of your opponents pieces, you must hand over your pillars as a penalty, one per piece. If a player cannot place pillars, they must pass their turn and wait if and when they're able. The first player to put all their cars down wins.
CONCLUSION: Tokyo Highway is a wonderful mess. This game can be difficult, but not necessarily in the way you'd initially think. It starts out as a 3d puzzle, to find optimal pathways and routes to get the most cars on the board, but that's only half of it. Doing it can be the best, and most frustrating, aspect of this game. With something like Jenga or Kilter, if you knock it over, it's easy to continue. This game, you have to know exactly where something is. And if you make a big screw-up, players can get discouraged and just end up conceding. However, there's a certain joy in making something, and this game pushes you to build something crazy and wonderful. If you have the patience, drive by and check out this monstrosity.
ADDENDUM: The version I played included the 4 player expansion.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Pandemic 2: Electric Bugaloo (Pandemic: The Cure)
Note dated Jan 18, 201X (discovered on USB in Antarctic station)
So, the first Pandemic wasn't enough for you? You had to go and cause another outbreak? Fine, I've washed my hands of this mess. If that's too much for you, you can go find the specialists who can stop this thing. Oh, it's not as bad this time? That's what you said last time, and we literally decimated the world. It's your fault, you clean it up, you go find The Cure.
--XXX
BACKGROUND: Pandemic: The Cure is a card and dice game for 2-5 players. It was created in 2014 by Matt Leacock, Bernard Bittler, Philippe Guérin, Chris Quilliams and published by Z-Man Games, Inc. A rework of the popular Pandemic, players transport to different places to cure diseases.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, that players roll their dice and can either reroll them if it's not a Biohazard, or use the action on die. Biohazards are used immediatly and raise the Infection track by one. The syringe allows the colored dice to be moved from the locations to the Treatment Center in the middle of the table, or back to the Infection Bag. The bottle is used to hold samples by taking the colored die and the sample die and putting them on the players card, which prevents them from using that die. Once all their actions are done, the player can give samples to other players.
WINNING: Once all that is done, players can roll the colored die in their sample bottles. If they get a 13 or higher, one of those dice is placed on the "Cured" card, and the rest go back into the bag. Rolling a 12 or less means that the dice used for samples are still unavailable to roll. Then, once all 4 dice are on the Cured card, the players win.
INFECTION: After a player chooses whether to roll for a cure or not, they then roll to Infect the regions by pulling dice equal to the Infection Rate on the board and rolling them. Any crosses rolled are put in the CDC to be spent on face-up Event cards. If at any point there would be more than 3 dice on an location, the Outbreak Meter rises, and that die is put to the next space.
LOSING: Like most co-operative games, there are more ways to lose than to win; if there are 8 Outbreaks, if there aren't enough dice to draw from the Infection bag, or if the marker reaches the top of the Infection Track.
CONCLUSION: It's a Pandemic game, first and foremost. While it would seem that there would be a lot different with the dice mechanic and the events, there really isn't much different. I will say that this is a little easier to win consistently, since it's easier to get to locations. It also takes up way less room and time, if that becomes a factor in your game-playing decisions. It takes exactly what worked in Pandemic and refines it, makes it smaller. Any problems players might have with this game can be traced to Pandemic, so check my review there to see if this disease is fun for you to fight.
So, the first Pandemic wasn't enough for you? You had to go and cause another outbreak? Fine, I've washed my hands of this mess. If that's too much for you, you can go find the specialists who can stop this thing. Oh, it's not as bad this time? That's what you said last time, and we literally decimated the world. It's your fault, you clean it up, you go find The Cure.
--XXX
BACKGROUND: Pandemic: The Cure is a card and dice game for 2-5 players. It was created in 2014 by Matt Leacock, Bernard Bittler, Philippe Guérin, Chris Quilliams and published by Z-Man Games, Inc. A rework of the popular Pandemic, players transport to different places to cure diseases.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, that players roll their dice and can either reroll them if it's not a Biohazard, or use the action on die. Biohazards are used immediatly and raise the Infection track by one. The syringe allows the colored dice to be moved from the locations to the Treatment Center in the middle of the table, or back to the Infection Bag. The bottle is used to hold samples by taking the colored die and the sample die and putting them on the players card, which prevents them from using that die. Once all their actions are done, the player can give samples to other players.
WINNING: Once all that is done, players can roll the colored die in their sample bottles. If they get a 13 or higher, one of those dice is placed on the "Cured" card, and the rest go back into the bag. Rolling a 12 or less means that the dice used for samples are still unavailable to roll. Then, once all 4 dice are on the Cured card, the players win.
INFECTION: After a player chooses whether to roll for a cure or not, they then roll to Infect the regions by pulling dice equal to the Infection Rate on the board and rolling them. Any crosses rolled are put in the CDC to be spent on face-up Event cards. If at any point there would be more than 3 dice on an location, the Outbreak Meter rises, and that die is put to the next space.
LOSING: Like most co-operative games, there are more ways to lose than to win; if there are 8 Outbreaks, if there aren't enough dice to draw from the Infection bag, or if the marker reaches the top of the Infection Track.
CONCLUSION: It's a Pandemic game, first and foremost. While it would seem that there would be a lot different with the dice mechanic and the events, there really isn't much different. I will say that this is a little easier to win consistently, since it's easier to get to locations. It also takes up way less room and time, if that becomes a factor in your game-playing decisions. It takes exactly what worked in Pandemic and refines it, makes it smaller. Any problems players might have with this game can be traced to Pandemic, so check my review there to see if this disease is fun for you to fight.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Gotta Get Back (Time Breaker)
Good morning, agent.
You have been selected by the Time Repair Agency to travel through time and engage in a most dangerous mission. Your goal, to capture a meddler in time, one who is altering history at a whim. We have contacted other agents to apprehend them, but know that due to the high profile of this case, only one person can claim the reward for capturing them and returning them to the TRA. Good luck, agent, and stop this Time Breaker!
BACKGROUND: Time Breaker is a card game for 2-5 players, and was designed by Andrew Looney and Derek Ring, with publisher Looney Labs. Players travel to different points in history and attempt to capture the Time Breaker first.
GAMEPLAY: Each player takes a turn by drawing a card, and either playing a card, drawing and playing that card, or moving by following the green arrows on the tiles to different Gates. Over the course of the game, some Gates can be Crashed (removed from the table), in which case when a player lands there when it's Crashed, they return to the center. However, some cards allow players to move different directions, which allows them to instead skip those empty tiles, and wrap around the board.
WINNING: Once the Time Breaker is in the same space as a player, they announce that they are moving with the Breaker. They then move as normal with the Breaker, using cards or travelling to a Crashed Gate to bring the Breaker to the center to win, but can only carry the Breaker on their turn. If the player is moved on an opponents turn, the Breaker does not move with them. If the Breaker is sent to the center by themselves, the Breaker turns themselves in, and the game is lost.
CONCLUSION: Time Breakers is a simple card game that is easily accessible to a lot of ages. The game is a bit confusing once you start introducing breaking Gates, but nothing too hard or complicated that most people can't figure it out. That being said, the simplicity might seem like a big turn off to more dedicated players, but the level of strategy is a lot higher than expected. If anything, that should and might be the biggest reason to avoid this game. The amount of planning and moving to counter the opponents can get tricky, and it's easy to lose the Breaker in one turn. The game is fun, and doesn't have to be overly strategic with the right group, but can be. So go ahead and break out this game, and give it the time you think it deserves.
You have been selected by the Time Repair Agency to travel through time and engage in a most dangerous mission. Your goal, to capture a meddler in time, one who is altering history at a whim. We have contacted other agents to apprehend them, but know that due to the high profile of this case, only one person can claim the reward for capturing them and returning them to the TRA. Good luck, agent, and stop this Time Breaker!
BACKGROUND: Time Breaker is a card game for 2-5 players, and was designed by Andrew Looney and Derek Ring, with publisher Looney Labs. Players travel to different points in history and attempt to capture the Time Breaker first.
GAMEPLAY: Each player takes a turn by drawing a card, and either playing a card, drawing and playing that card, or moving by following the green arrows on the tiles to different Gates. Over the course of the game, some Gates can be Crashed (removed from the table), in which case when a player lands there when it's Crashed, they return to the center. However, some cards allow players to move different directions, which allows them to instead skip those empty tiles, and wrap around the board.
WINNING: Once the Time Breaker is in the same space as a player, they announce that they are moving with the Breaker. They then move as normal with the Breaker, using cards or travelling to a Crashed Gate to bring the Breaker to the center to win, but can only carry the Breaker on their turn. If the player is moved on an opponents turn, the Breaker does not move with them. If the Breaker is sent to the center by themselves, the Breaker turns themselves in, and the game is lost.
CONCLUSION: Time Breakers is a simple card game that is easily accessible to a lot of ages. The game is a bit confusing once you start introducing breaking Gates, but nothing too hard or complicated that most people can't figure it out. That being said, the simplicity might seem like a big turn off to more dedicated players, but the level of strategy is a lot higher than expected. If anything, that should and might be the biggest reason to avoid this game. The amount of planning and moving to counter the opponents can get tricky, and it's easy to lose the Breaker in one turn. The game is fun, and doesn't have to be overly strategic with the right group, but can be. So go ahead and break out this game, and give it the time you think it deserves.
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Four Precious Baby Dragons (The Tea Dragon Society Card Game)
As you sit down for Tea, little Chamomile comes up and flops on your lap, sleeping and loving the warmth. Ginseng starts playing with a leaf they found, and soon all the little ones start swiping and blowing on it, except sleepy little Chamomile. Cham just yawns. And you thought the Teddy Bear Picnic was the cutest thing you'd see. Well, it's time to start this week's session of the Tea Dragon Society.
BACKGROUND: The Tea Dragon Society Card Game is a deck builder for 2-4 players. Originally a graphic novel by Katie O'Neill, it was designed by Steve Ellis, Tyler Tinsley, and Josh T. McDowell, and published by Renegade Game Studios in 2018.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, players may either draw a card from their deck, or buy a card from the Market or Memory Lane. Whenever a player draws a card, they put it in their Hold in front of them, and apply any effect on that and any other cards in the Hold once. To buy a card, players discard cards from their Hold whose numbers in the top left leaf (also known as Growth) equal or greater to the cost of the card in the top right mug. Cards bought from the Market go to the Hold, while Memory cards are sent to the discard. Any time a player has no deck, they shuffle their discard pile.
WINNING: Each time there is only 1 Memory card, the season is over, and new Memory cards are drawn to replace the old one. Once all 4 seasons of Memories have been bought, with one Winter memory left, the game is over. Players tally up their points in the bottom teapot or circle, and the player with the most points wins.
CONCLUSION: The art on this game is adorable. It is well done, and the dragons are all precious. That can only take you so far, though. The gameplay is...lackluster. It doesn't have anything mechanically different or unique from other deck builders. There isn't a ton of replayabilty either, as it's easy to get through most of the cards in the market. If you or a group are just getting into deck builders, or the theme and art really appeal to you, take a look at this game. However, for most everyone else, this is one tea party I suggest passing by.
BACKGROUND: The Tea Dragon Society Card Game is a deck builder for 2-4 players. Originally a graphic novel by Katie O'Neill, it was designed by Steve Ellis, Tyler Tinsley, and Josh T. McDowell, and published by Renegade Game Studios in 2018.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, players may either draw a card from their deck, or buy a card from the Market or Memory Lane. Whenever a player draws a card, they put it in their Hold in front of them, and apply any effect on that and any other cards in the Hold once. To buy a card, players discard cards from their Hold whose numbers in the top left leaf (also known as Growth) equal or greater to the cost of the card in the top right mug. Cards bought from the Market go to the Hold, while Memory cards are sent to the discard. Any time a player has no deck, they shuffle their discard pile.
WINNING: Each time there is only 1 Memory card, the season is over, and new Memory cards are drawn to replace the old one. Once all 4 seasons of Memories have been bought, with one Winter memory left, the game is over. Players tally up their points in the bottom teapot or circle, and the player with the most points wins.
CONCLUSION: The art on this game is adorable. It is well done, and the dragons are all precious. That can only take you so far, though. The gameplay is...lackluster. It doesn't have anything mechanically different or unique from other deck builders. There isn't a ton of replayabilty either, as it's easy to get through most of the cards in the market. If you or a group are just getting into deck builders, or the theme and art really appeal to you, take a look at this game. However, for most everyone else, this is one tea party I suggest passing by.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Stopping Off at Ballpoint Station (Railroad Ink)
Being a Railroad Manager is hard. You have to divvy out coal, make sure the lines run smooth, and keep the tracks from falling apart. Not to mention, everyone will judge you based on Sir Hatt's line quality. Luckily, there's a way to make life a little easier, and test out the trains without worrying about laying down actual track: Railroad Ink! Of course, you have to worry about things like lakes and meteors, but that should be nothing for a Manager like yourself.
BACKGROUND: Railroad Ink is a roll and draw dice/board game for 1-6 players. It was designed by Hjalmar Hach, Lorenzo Silva, and Marta Tranquilli in 2018, and published by Horrible Games. It initally came as two seperate versions of the same game, Deep Blue and Blazing Red, with each having their own expansion in them. Players build roads and railroads using randomly generated tracks.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, one player rolls the 4 white Route dice, and any expansion dice being used. Players then draw all the routes on their board that are shown on the Route dice, and they must connect to either an Exit on the edge of the board, or another Route of the same type. These routes may be flipped or turned to match the board, and only Stations (black squares) can connect Train Tracks with Highways. On any route drawn, mark the round number in the top right. Once all players have drawn, roll the dice again.
SPECIAL: Once per turn, players may also draw 1 of the 6 Special Route indicated on their board. These are all 4 branching paths that can have different connections. These can be rotated, but must match at least one of the special paths. A Special Route can't be used if it was already used by the player, and players may only draw 3 Special Routes on their board the whole game.
WINNING: At the end of the 7th round (or 6th, depending on the version), players tally up their points based on the lengths of their Roads, Railroads, with penalties for roads that don't connect. The player with the highest point total wins. In the case of a tie, the player with the fewest roads/railroads that don't connect win, with that tie being shared.
CONCLUSION: This is a solitaire game that you can play with a group of people. Honestly, the only reason it's limited to 6 players is because of the amount of boards available. The biggest weakness is because of it's single player mentality, it can take a lot longer waiting for players to plan and draw, and because of the format, you have to wait for players. In short, if you are the type of player that gets overwhelmed with choice, or gets impatient waiting for other players, chug on by. But, if that doesn't dissuade you, I'd recommend stopping at this station and trying it out.
BACKGROUND: Railroad Ink is a roll and draw dice/board game for 1-6 players. It was designed by Hjalmar Hach, Lorenzo Silva, and Marta Tranquilli in 2018, and published by Horrible Games. It initally came as two seperate versions of the same game, Deep Blue and Blazing Red, with each having their own expansion in them. Players build roads and railroads using randomly generated tracks.
GAMEPLAY: Each turn, one player rolls the 4 white Route dice, and any expansion dice being used. Players then draw all the routes on their board that are shown on the Route dice, and they must connect to either an Exit on the edge of the board, or another Route of the same type. These routes may be flipped or turned to match the board, and only Stations (black squares) can connect Train Tracks with Highways. On any route drawn, mark the round number in the top right. Once all players have drawn, roll the dice again.
SPECIAL: Once per turn, players may also draw 1 of the 6 Special Route indicated on their board. These are all 4 branching paths that can have different connections. These can be rotated, but must match at least one of the special paths. A Special Route can't be used if it was already used by the player, and players may only draw 3 Special Routes on their board the whole game.
WINNING: At the end of the 7th round (or 6th, depending on the version), players tally up their points based on the lengths of their Roads, Railroads, with penalties for roads that don't connect. The player with the highest point total wins. In the case of a tie, the player with the fewest roads/railroads that don't connect win, with that tie being shared.
CONCLUSION: This is a solitaire game that you can play with a group of people. Honestly, the only reason it's limited to 6 players is because of the amount of boards available. The biggest weakness is because of it's single player mentality, it can take a lot longer waiting for players to plan and draw, and because of the format, you have to wait for players. In short, if you are the type of player that gets overwhelmed with choice, or gets impatient waiting for other players, chug on by. But, if that doesn't dissuade you, I'd recommend stopping at this station and trying it out.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Eat Flesh (Give Me the Brain!)
Working at a dead-end job sucks. No matter who you were, or what you did, nobody likes working in the food industry. The wages are terrible, the customers are rude, and the work is tedious. So you and your zomb-ployees have come up with a way to make it a little less tedious. When your manager comes in, he sees you playing Hot Potato with a brain. He won't stand for fun here, and shouts, "Give me the brain!"
BACKGROUND: Give me the Brain! is a card game for 3-8 players. It was created by James Earnest and has been published by Cheapass Games and Steve Jackson Games. Players take the roles of fast food Zombie employees that attempt to take the Brain and be the first to finish all their jobs for the day.
GAMEPLAY: At the beginning, or whenever the Brain (die) is "dropped", players can only play purple Bid cards to try to get the brain. Once a player has the Brain, each player can play yellow Job cards. All Job cards have 1 or 2 zombie Hands printed, and players can only play up to 2 Hands worth of cards. Some have black borders, which are Objects. Objects stay in front of the player when they are played.
BRAINS: Some Job cards have a Brain with a number printed on them. These cards can only be played if the player has the Brain. Once the card is played and resolved, they then roll the Brain. If they roll equal to or higher than the printed number, they keep the Brain, but if it's lower, the Brain is dropped and bidding begins. If no player can bid, all players draw a card, and bidding starts again.
SLACKING: Sometimes, players don't like their hand, or have anything they can play. If this happens, they are 'Slacking', and can choose to draw a card, or discard their hand and draw the same number of cards in their hand + 1.
WINNING: The first player to run out of cards in their personal hand wins.
CONCLUSION: This is a fun, interesting game that plays like a lot of classic Steve Jackson published games, simple but engaging. The first biggest complaint are the randomness of being dealt a bad hand. The other is the nature of the jobs themselves, as they can feel counter-productive. If you can get past that, there's a lot of fun to have in this little card game about Zombie Fry Cooks.
BACKGROUND: Give me the Brain! is a card game for 3-8 players. It was created by James Earnest and has been published by Cheapass Games and Steve Jackson Games. Players take the roles of fast food Zombie employees that attempt to take the Brain and be the first to finish all their jobs for the day.
GAMEPLAY: At the beginning, or whenever the Brain (die) is "dropped", players can only play purple Bid cards to try to get the brain. Once a player has the Brain, each player can play yellow Job cards. All Job cards have 1 or 2 zombie Hands printed, and players can only play up to 2 Hands worth of cards. Some have black borders, which are Objects. Objects stay in front of the player when they are played.
BRAINS: Some Job cards have a Brain with a number printed on them. These cards can only be played if the player has the Brain. Once the card is played and resolved, they then roll the Brain. If they roll equal to or higher than the printed number, they keep the Brain, but if it's lower, the Brain is dropped and bidding begins. If no player can bid, all players draw a card, and bidding starts again.
SLACKING: Sometimes, players don't like their hand, or have anything they can play. If this happens, they are 'Slacking', and can choose to draw a card, or discard their hand and draw the same number of cards in their hand + 1.
WINNING: The first player to run out of cards in their personal hand wins.
CONCLUSION: This is a fun, interesting game that plays like a lot of classic Steve Jackson published games, simple but engaging. The first biggest complaint are the randomness of being dealt a bad hand. The other is the nature of the jobs themselves, as they can feel counter-productive. If you can get past that, there's a lot of fun to have in this little card game about Zombie Fry Cooks.
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
A Study in Fuchsia, or Maybe Auburn (13 Clues)
The poor detectives of Scotland Yard can't seem to catch a break. Sherlock Holmes (Consulting Detective, mind you) has been busy at work sparring with Moriarty, and Mr. X has drained their resources in his game of cat and mouse. While this has been going on, the detectives have all spotted various clues related to the others crimes. While they could solve all of these crimes in one night with a pooled resource, they are now all over London. Worse, the criminals are intercepting their reports to the station. The thing to do? Get the detectives to guess their own crime, and hope that all 13 Clues get to them in time...
BACKGROUND: 13 Clues is a deduction driven card game, created by Andrés J. Voicu & Giacomo Tappainer, and published by Italian company dV Giochi & CMON in the United States. All players attempt to guess a Who, Where, and Why that all players but themselves can see.
GAMEPLAY: Each player will have seen 5 cards; 1 Person, Place, and Weapon card which will be placed in the front of a players screen so all but that player can see them, and 2 placed behind the screen of the player who drew them. Each turn, that player draws a Clue (maginfiying glass) token if they have none, and spend their Clue tokens to do one the following actions: Give a player a Clue token to ask them how many of a specific Color or Sub-Category (I.E., Inside or Outside, Close or Ranged Weapon) they see, or either put one of their Clue tokens in the central Pool or give one to a player with none to look at a face-down card. The turn ends when that player runs out of Clue Tokens.
WINNING: If a player believes that they have all the information, they give a Clue token to any player with none, or into the central Pool, to guess the Person, Location, and Weapon on their screen. If they guess correct, they win! If they don't, the players indicate as such, and play continues.
CONCLUSION: This feels like a streamlined Clue, but with more information lacking. There can be, and usually are, cards that are never seen. Because of that, you have to change your approach, and that can be a bit daunting to those new to this game. Long story short, it's the next step of difficulty up from Clue, so if you like Clue, but want or are just interested in a slightly higher difficulty, pull out your magnifying glasses and scope out 13 Clues.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
The Case of the Mysterious Mr. X (Scotland Yard)
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY:
Eyewitnesses have recently informed us that the criminal, only known as Mr. X, has been spotted in Central London. As you know, this vagabond is wanted for such crimes as Grand Larceny, creating selling Forgeries, and disrupting the police force (seriously, none of us could stop laughing when Constable Harpers put his helmet on and out fell a dozen glazed doughnuts).
It is up to you to find and catch this hoodlum and place him behind bars. We have seen to pre pay for your local transport tickets, as Mr. X's latest crime was sabotaging all our vehicles.
Scotland Yard's honor and reputation rest entirely in your hands, detectives.
BACKGROUND: Scotland Yard is an asymmetric board game for 3-6 players. It was first released in 1983, by Manfred Burggraf, and has since been published by Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH, Milton Bradley, and others. One player takes the role of Mr. X, and sneaks around avoiding the rest of the players.
GAMEPLAY: Each player has a set of tickets, with Mr. X having a different set than the other players. On their turn, starting with Mr. X, the player uses one of their tickets to move along a path that they are connected to (e,g,, using a taxi ticket moves them on the road, but a bus ticket moves them along the bus line). The detectives are seen, and move accordingly, but Mr. X is different.
X: Mr. X does not use a pawn right away. Instead, the player controlling him writes the path he follows on the Travel Log, and covers it with their ticket instead of returning it to the box like the players. Mr. X can also double move (taking his turn twice) or throw off the players with black tickets, which count as any type of ticket. On the 3rd, 8th, 13th, and 18th position, the player puts the clear pawn on the space Mr. X ended up on to indicate where he is at that moment. The piece is removed the next turn. Mr X also cannot run out of tickets, and if that player ever needs tickets, they are allowed to use tickets in the box.
WINNING: Mr X wins if he has successfully evaded the detectives long enough that they cannot move anymore, or reaches the last space in the Travel Log. The Detectives win whenever they land on a space that Mr. X is already on.
CONCLUSION: This game is a lot of fun, but it can be tricky and frustrating. I think the biggest problem is when you are playing as Mr. X. Because most players can't see where Mr. X would be, it can become tempting to cheat. Mr X needs to be an honest player, who can lose gracefully, and more importantly, will remember where they are. That's the biggest struggle; not players who cheat, but players who get lost as Mr. X. There were a few times I just lost where I was. Sure, you can look at the last place you were on the map, but at least in the version we were using, it was a pain to get it out, and it slows the game down when doing so. That being said, it can be frustrating and mind-racking trying to find where Mr. X is, but it's also an enjoyable puzzle and rewarding if you do.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Ain't No Cave Deep Enough (Above and Below)
Dear Diary,
As you may have known by now, we were driven from our home by barbarians. Luckily, we were able to find a new place to call home. But if they expect me to explore these filthy caves, they've just got to find someone else. How could you dare ask such a business man as myself to stoop to...manual labor? I could get dirty! Just because we are desperate doesn't mean we're savages. I have my place, the workers have theirs, Above and Below, respectively. Well, it is time for me to open shop, I need to get downstairs and see how the tots are working along.
Formally yours,
Franklin Delaware Worthington, the IV
BACKGROUND: Above and Below is a 2-4 worker management board game. It was created in 2015 by Ryan Laukat and published by Red Raven Games. Players build strong, working villages while exploring a cave system in a limited amount of time.
GAMEPLAY: The game is played in 7 rounds. Every round, each player may take an action on their turn. If a player doesn't want to, they can pass to stop taking actions. The round ends once all players pass.
ACTIONS: To take an action, players move the appropriate villagers to the Exhausted area, and take the action.
ROUNDS: At the end of a round, once everyone passes, all buildings, Cider token, and Villagers get added to the current layout. Each player gains income according to their Advancement track, and may heal/unexhaust villagers according to their number of beds, or by using potions (injured to exhausted) or ciders (exhausted to ready). Any goods that refresh are added to the players cards, and the 1st player card is passed to the left, starting the next round.
WINNING: At the end of the 7th round, each player totals up their Village Points. Village Points are indicated in heptagons. Each building is worth 1 VP. Each slot on the Advancement track is worth an amount of VP. VP for reputation is determined by who is highest, with points awarded appropriately. Some cards give bonus VP, or VP for having
CONCLUSION: This is a nice worker placement game that starts out a little tricky to learn. The encounter book really helps sell this world, and adds a bit of flavor and theme that could easily be generic. The biggest problem is that this game is surprisingly fast, which prevents players from a long term, deep strategy. This game is a lot of fun, it just would be better if it was a few turns longer.
As you may have known by now, we were driven from our home by barbarians. Luckily, we were able to find a new place to call home. But if they expect me to explore these filthy caves, they've just got to find someone else. How could you dare ask such a business man as myself to stoop to...manual labor? I could get dirty! Just because we are desperate doesn't mean we're savages. I have my place, the workers have theirs, Above and Below, respectively. Well, it is time for me to open shop, I need to get downstairs and see how the tots are working along.
Formally yours,
Franklin Delaware Worthington, the IV
BACKGROUND: Above and Below is a 2-4 worker management board game. It was created in 2015 by Ryan Laukat and published by Red Raven Games. Players build strong, working villages while exploring a cave system in a limited amount of time.
GAMEPLAY: The game is played in 7 rounds. Every round, each player may take an action on their turn. If a player doesn't want to, they can pass to stop taking actions. The round ends once all players pass.
ACTIONS: To take an action, players move the appropriate villagers to the Exhausted area, and take the action.
- Explore: Roll the die and draw a cave card. The player to the left reads the encounter, the possible choices and requirements, but not the rewards. The player makes a choice and rolls the dice to try to get the lanterns. If a player does not get them, some encounters will have a fail condition that is read, some do not. Players may also move villagers to the Injured area to get another lantern.
- Build: Players may pay coins to build houses, which have various effects. Outposts may only be bought if the player has an empty cave card to place it in.
- Harvest: Players take a Good that their house or outpost produces, 1 per villager used.
- Labor: Players gain 1 coin per villager. The first player to do this gains the Cider token that round. Goods can be placed on the Advancement track at the bottom of the board (1 per slot), or kept off to the side.
- Train: Buy an available villager according to the cost on the board, and place it in the exhausted area.
There are also 3 free actions players may take whenever they want before they take their normal action: Take 1 Good, Potion, or Cider and put it for sale (upper left corner of the player board), buy from another player (3 coins), or once a turn, discard and replace all building cards in a row.
WINNING: At the end of the 7th round, each player totals up their Village Points. Village Points are indicated in heptagons. Each building is worth 1 VP. Each slot on the Advancement track is worth an amount of VP. VP for reputation is determined by who is highest, with points awarded appropriately. Some cards give bonus VP, or VP for having
CONCLUSION: This is a nice worker placement game that starts out a little tricky to learn. The encounter book really helps sell this world, and adds a bit of flavor and theme that could easily be generic. The biggest problem is that this game is surprisingly fast, which prevents players from a long term, deep strategy. This game is a lot of fun, it just would be better if it was a few turns longer.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Disease {Name} is Spreading! (Pandemic)
We attempt to treat spreading viruses all the time, but a new plague has entered the scene, leaving the public baffled at what to expect. At first, it seemed harmless enough, merely taking away a couple hours out of a few groups lives, but it was infectious. It grew quickly, spreading and affecting thousands of people. Medical professionals are uncertain of how it will grow next, but as it has spread over land, sea, air, and Steam, there is one name everybody recognizes it by: Pandemic.
BACKGROUND: Pandemic is a co-operative board game for 2-4 players. It was created in 2008 by Matt Leacock and published by Z-Man Games, Inc., among others. Known as one the most successful board co-operative games, players take the roles of various research heads to fight against brand new diseases while they spread quickly across the world.
GAMEPLAY: Each player has 4 actions during their turn. Players take their turns by moving across the world via train, or discarding a card to move by plane. They can trade if either player has the city they're in by trading said city, treat the disease by removing cubes located on their city, or discover a cure by discarding 5 city cards of matching color. Some Role cards, which are dealt at the beginning, also have or change certain actions. Player end their turn by drawing 2 new cards, and discarding down to 7.
/pic300648.jpg "♪ I bless the plagues down in Africa ♪")
INFECT: Each players turn ends with drawing cards from the Infect deck according to the Infection Level. When an Epidemic card is drawn, raise the Infection Level, draw from the bottom of the Infect deck, and shuffle the Infect discard and place it on the top of the deck. Whenever 3 or more disease cubes are placed on any city, an Outbreak occurs, spreading that disease to each connecting city.
LOSING: If the players manage to cure all diseases, they win. However, as is far more likely, the players lose if:
CONCLUSION: As with a lot of co-operative games, Pandemic is hard, plain and simple. Games will generally cause you to lose, but that's part of the fun. It's a little tricky to watch every timer this game has, and can be annoying if you know you couldn't do anything because of the luck of the draw. That being said, there's a reason that almost everybody, casual or hard-core board gamer knows this game; because it's just that good. Don't be afraid to catch this disease.
BACKGROUND: Pandemic is a co-operative board game for 2-4 players. It was created in 2008 by Matt Leacock and published by Z-Man Games, Inc., among others. Known as one the most successful board co-operative games, players take the roles of various research heads to fight against brand new diseases while they spread quickly across the world.
GAMEPLAY: Each player has 4 actions during their turn. Players take their turns by moving across the world via train, or discarding a card to move by plane. They can trade if either player has the city they're in by trading said city, treat the disease by removing cubes located on their city, or discover a cure by discarding 5 city cards of matching color. Some Role cards, which are dealt at the beginning, also have or change certain actions. Player end their turn by drawing 2 new cards, and discarding down to 7.
INFECT: Each players turn ends with drawing cards from the Infect deck according to the Infection Level. When an Epidemic card is drawn, raise the Infection Level, draw from the bottom of the Infect deck, and shuffle the Infect discard and place it on the top of the deck. Whenever 3 or more disease cubes are placed on any city, an Outbreak occurs, spreading that disease to each connecting city.
LOSING: If the players manage to cure all diseases, they win. However, as is far more likely, the players lose if:
- DEATH: More Disease cubes need to be added, but are all out.
- OVERWHELM: The 8th Outbreak occurs.
- SHORTAGE: The player deck runs out when a player needs to draw.
CONCLUSION: As with a lot of co-operative games, Pandemic is hard, plain and simple. Games will generally cause you to lose, but that's part of the fun. It's a little tricky to watch every timer this game has, and can be annoying if you know you couldn't do anything because of the luck of the draw. That being said, there's a reason that almost everybody, casual or hard-core board gamer knows this game; because it's just that good. Don't be afraid to catch this disease.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)