Four games this week, which wasn't bad for the day after the holiday.
We started off with 7 Wonders, no expansions. I don't usually go the military route, but I was dealt Rhodes, so I played to my strength. It was a five-player game, but two of the players had a total of one game of prior experience. The five-player games seems to have a lot of resources compared to the one for four and three players. I came in first.
Next up was Cloud 9, light filler while the other group was finishing up their game. Again with five players, I guessed poorly, and came in fourth.
Third was the only new (to me) game of the evening,
Beowolf: The Legend. You start off with a hand that has some of five types of resources, and use those resources in two different types of bidding. There is blind bidding, where everyone bids once by laying cards face-down, and round-robin bidding, where you have to beat the previous bidder to stay in the round. Every player gets to choose a prize after each type of bidding (sometimes the last couple of choices are actually penalties). There are also opportunities to improve your hand or score in between bidding rounds. The group travels the board with Beowolf together, the only random aspect is the drawing of cards. I had a nice time with it.
I ended the evening with Alien Frontiers. We had to play a shortened game because the venue was closing, with three players. The winner had seven points, the other two had six.
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Showing posts with label Board Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Board Games. Show all posts
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Gaming review, 10/26
Only two games this time.
I started with a 4-player game of Seasons. The person teaching it had only played 2-player games before, and said 4-player was much more chaotic. Some of the cards had the opposite impact of what I expected (making things easier instead of harder for the opponents, for example). We ran out of power cards, and had to decide on-the-spot to reshuffle the deck (a gap in the rules). There is, apparently, a more difficult level with trickier power cards. I came in second. I would try it again, but I don't think I'll be calling for it.
The second game was Dominion, a game that uses a different set of ten types of cards from a huge selection (I think there are well over 100+ card types) to go with standard sets of money and victory point cards. It plays differently every time. This time, I completely misread the card Fool's Gold. In a three-player game, I came in second (and third was right behind me), but with less than half the points of the victor. I think this was my fifth game. I just might be getting the hang of it.
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I started with a 4-player game of Seasons. The person teaching it had only played 2-player games before, and said 4-player was much more chaotic. Some of the cards had the opposite impact of what I expected (making things easier instead of harder for the opponents, for example). We ran out of power cards, and had to decide on-the-spot to reshuffle the deck (a gap in the rules). There is, apparently, a more difficult level with trickier power cards. I came in second. I would try it again, but I don't think I'll be calling for it.
The second game was Dominion, a game that uses a different set of ten types of cards from a huge selection (I think there are well over 100+ card types) to go with standard sets of money and victory point cards. It plays differently every time. This time, I completely misread the card Fool's Gold. In a three-player game, I came in second (and third was right behind me), but with less than half the points of the victor. I think this was my fifth game. I just might be getting the hang of it.
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Saturday, September 29, 2012
Gaming Reveiw, 9/29
I'm part of a monthly gaming group, and I've decided to use this blog to keep track of what I have played there. I'll also be returning to other topics soon. The games we played last night are below the fold.
We strted with an 8-player game of Tsuro of the Seas, which I had not played before. I had only played the original Tsuro once, but I prefer it. The addition of daikaiju (sea monsters) and the larger board seemed to prolong the game while reducing the strategy. I came in fifth.
Next was Cartegena, which uses a pirate theme behind a modular board and a game based on jumping symbols. The strategy was deeper than I thought it would be from the description, even though we were playing with hidden cards. There are some very difficult decisions because if you jump to a lead, your opponents can use your piece to jump even further. I took an early lead against four other players and managed to keep it.
Third was Cloud 9, a nice, light filler. I guessed badly on a couple of turns, and took fifth place out of five.
We finished with Zooleretto, which had an interesting combination of luck in drawing tiles and skill in trying to get the tiles you want and avoid the ones you do not want. I mis-guessed what a couple of my opponents would do, and came in second out of four, but not a close second.
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We strted with an 8-player game of Tsuro of the Seas, which I had not played before. I had only played the original Tsuro once, but I prefer it. The addition of daikaiju (sea monsters) and the larger board seemed to prolong the game while reducing the strategy. I came in fifth.
Next was Cartegena, which uses a pirate theme behind a modular board and a game based on jumping symbols. The strategy was deeper than I thought it would be from the description, even though we were playing with hidden cards. There are some very difficult decisions because if you jump to a lead, your opponents can use your piece to jump even further. I took an early lead against four other players and managed to keep it.
Third was Cloud 9, a nice, light filler. I guessed badly on a couple of turns, and took fifth place out of five.
We finished with Zooleretto, which had an interesting combination of luck in drawing tiles and skill in trying to get the tiles you want and avoid the ones you do not want. I mis-guessed what a couple of my opponents would do, and came in second out of four, but not a close second.
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Sunday, July 1, 2012
Review of DieCon 12
Last weekend was DieCon. It's a game convention in Collinsville, IL. I haven't been to a convention in 25 years, so I was nervous, but really excited as well. I had a great time, and saw many of the regulars I see from the St. Louis Board Games group at Meetup.com (I'm in the meet-up on the last Friday of the month, Metro East). I had a great time, and plan to go back next year. The facilities were spacious and comfortable, and everyone was pleasant. Below the fold I will discuss all the game I played and my reaction to them.
My first session was Friday, 7pm, for Morris Cubed. This was a three-dimensional version of Nine Men's Morris. It was the work a a nice gentleman named Alan, who has apparently sold one set to far. The third dimension made the game interesting, but I think it created a sort of leader effect, although perhaps no more than in the regular game. In each game, the winner was able to create a very stable structure in two of the three dimensions, one that was difficult to attack. We split two games.
Friday at 9 was Dominion, the only game at the convention that I had played before last weekend. This was my third time playing, and I started to understand some of the ideas behind reducing your deck. I played two five-player games, coming in second and fifth.
Saturday at 9am was Quicksilver, a game about racing airships across a terrain. It was a basically-finished, unprinted game (the link is to the Kickstarter). There were some important choices, but not really difficult choices, and there was a small amount of player interaction, but it was basically a racing game. The person running the game arrived late, and I left shortly before the game ended to get to the next game on time, but was on track to finis 3rd or 4th, I think.
The following game, Puerto Rico, is one of the classic in the modern game era. I started with a corn farm under the standard rules (and so a slight advantage, it seems), and I was pleased with my game, except I made a big mistake on the final turn, and wound up not scoring points that turn. I was 5th in a 5-player game, I think, but could have been third.
After a break, at 2 pm I was scheduled to play Ninja, but the person who was scheduled to run the game never showed up. For a short while, I played Abalone with someone who had just showed his niece how to play. It was a lot of fun, and winning certainly enhanced the experience. Then, someone else came by who happened to know Ninja, so we started that game. It's a game with one side having hidden movement while the other side is trying to catch them, and I did not really enjoy it much.
Next up at 4pm was a play test of the very raw Minimum Wage Gorilla, by Split Second Games, who also are doing Quicksilver. Minimum Wage Gorilla is a blind bidding game with a cute theme. I think the game was slightly too long, long enough that I made it a point to increase my bidding force by "hiring" more gorillas in three of the first six rounds (since only one person can hire at a time, this was a commitment of resources). It gave me a large advantage for later rounds, and I won fairly easily.
I ended the evening with the only four-hour game I selected, Le Havre. I was in a five-player game. There were an increasing number of choices as the game went on. I think I made some short-term decisions that were inferior to some 4-5 turn plans. Since with 5 players it is a 28-turn game per player, planning ahead 4-5 turns can pay off well. I came in third, though, and I had a good time doing it.
Sunday morning, 9am, I went off to Hawaii, at least in the imagination. There were only three of us. I think I was lucky on the initial turn, in that there was an option available that mean I would have as many movement points as I needed for the rest of the game. I fell behind early, but made up for it in the final scoring and eked out a one-point win.
Next on the itinerary was London, and again there were only three of us. I think I got lucky in the early going, and was able to choose a couple of high-cash options the first time I collected for my layout. Even so, I found myself doing some intense calculations trying to get my cards to come out with the proper count. I managed to pull out a win here, as well.
My final game was another gem by Alan, called Brigade. We each started with 18 brigades, which we cold group into divisions and corps (but not armies). Grouping carried power advantages, but disadvantages in mobility. I played with a pleasant young man, Alan watching on, and again split two games. I really enjoyed this game.
Read more!
My first session was Friday, 7pm, for Morris Cubed. This was a three-dimensional version of Nine Men's Morris. It was the work a a nice gentleman named Alan, who has apparently sold one set to far. The third dimension made the game interesting, but I think it created a sort of leader effect, although perhaps no more than in the regular game. In each game, the winner was able to create a very stable structure in two of the three dimensions, one that was difficult to attack. We split two games.
Friday at 9 was Dominion, the only game at the convention that I had played before last weekend. This was my third time playing, and I started to understand some of the ideas behind reducing your deck. I played two five-player games, coming in second and fifth.
Saturday at 9am was Quicksilver, a game about racing airships across a terrain. It was a basically-finished, unprinted game (the link is to the Kickstarter). There were some important choices, but not really difficult choices, and there was a small amount of player interaction, but it was basically a racing game. The person running the game arrived late, and I left shortly before the game ended to get to the next game on time, but was on track to finis 3rd or 4th, I think.
The following game, Puerto Rico, is one of the classic in the modern game era. I started with a corn farm under the standard rules (and so a slight advantage, it seems), and I was pleased with my game, except I made a big mistake on the final turn, and wound up not scoring points that turn. I was 5th in a 5-player game, I think, but could have been third.
After a break, at 2 pm I was scheduled to play Ninja, but the person who was scheduled to run the game never showed up. For a short while, I played Abalone with someone who had just showed his niece how to play. It was a lot of fun, and winning certainly enhanced the experience. Then, someone else came by who happened to know Ninja, so we started that game. It's a game with one side having hidden movement while the other side is trying to catch them, and I did not really enjoy it much.
Next up at 4pm was a play test of the very raw Minimum Wage Gorilla, by Split Second Games, who also are doing Quicksilver. Minimum Wage Gorilla is a blind bidding game with a cute theme. I think the game was slightly too long, long enough that I made it a point to increase my bidding force by "hiring" more gorillas in three of the first six rounds (since only one person can hire at a time, this was a commitment of resources). It gave me a large advantage for later rounds, and I won fairly easily.
I ended the evening with the only four-hour game I selected, Le Havre. I was in a five-player game. There were an increasing number of choices as the game went on. I think I made some short-term decisions that were inferior to some 4-5 turn plans. Since with 5 players it is a 28-turn game per player, planning ahead 4-5 turns can pay off well. I came in third, though, and I had a good time doing it.
Sunday morning, 9am, I went off to Hawaii, at least in the imagination. There were only three of us. I think I was lucky on the initial turn, in that there was an option available that mean I would have as many movement points as I needed for the rest of the game. I fell behind early, but made up for it in the final scoring and eked out a one-point win.
Next on the itinerary was London, and again there were only three of us. I think I got lucky in the early going, and was able to choose a couple of high-cash options the first time I collected for my layout. Even so, I found myself doing some intense calculations trying to get my cards to come out with the proper count. I managed to pull out a win here, as well.
My final game was another gem by Alan, called Brigade. We each started with 18 brigades, which we cold group into divisions and corps (but not armies). Grouping carried power advantages, but disadvantages in mobility. I played with a pleasant young man, Alan watching on, and again split two games. I really enjoyed this game.
Read more!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Titan, Acquire, and finding the right way to teach them
On Saturday CharityBrow, Son#1, Son#2, and I all sat down to play Titan. Today, I'm going to teach CharityBrow and Son#2 to play Acquire (Son#1 is not interested in buying stocks, but recruiting monsters to kill each other off is more obviously fun). The Titan game presented a sort of dilemma in trying to teach Son#1. Like any other kid, he doesn't want to be told what to do at every step. So, where do you draw the line when he is missing a basic concept?
I was actually kicked out of the game early. I took a small risk in an attack, but then messed up tactically and lost an angel (one of the most powerful initial creatures) and wound up with a weak Titan stack. Son#2 killed me off exactly like a good son should. It was a problem, because I was still helping the other three find good moves and giving them advice.
A couple of hours later, CharityBrow wore down a little, and asked me take over her stacks. shortly after that, I attacked Son#1's titan stack. I had an advantage already, but then he advanced every creature in his stack their full movement. the problem was that half the stack could move four spaces, and the other half two spaces, and in particular his angel was sitting by itself on a flank. Basically, it hung his army out to dry. This was not the first time he had done this, and I had warned him about it in the past. So, how do you best teach him how vulnerable his movement was?
I took him out. I'm still not sure if it was the right thing, but I surrounded his angel with an angel and 3 other creature, and killed it the first turn. His stack did not last long after that. I felt bad about taking him out of the game, but I think he'll remember better next time why you don't leave creatures alone on the board.
One result in particular that pleased me: he was not overly upset. For some 15 years losing a game meant a tantrum, but we never gave up trying to get him to play. He's finally learned to lose gracefully. I'm very proud.
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I was actually kicked out of the game early. I took a small risk in an attack, but then messed up tactically and lost an angel (one of the most powerful initial creatures) and wound up with a weak Titan stack. Son#2 killed me off exactly like a good son should. It was a problem, because I was still helping the other three find good moves and giving them advice.
A couple of hours later, CharityBrow wore down a little, and asked me take over her stacks. shortly after that, I attacked Son#1's titan stack. I had an advantage already, but then he advanced every creature in his stack their full movement. the problem was that half the stack could move four spaces, and the other half two spaces, and in particular his angel was sitting by itself on a flank. Basically, it hung his army out to dry. This was not the first time he had done this, and I had warned him about it in the past. So, how do you best teach him how vulnerable his movement was?
I took him out. I'm still not sure if it was the right thing, but I surrounded his angel with an angel and 3 other creature, and killed it the first turn. His stack did not last long after that. I felt bad about taking him out of the game, but I think he'll remember better next time why you don't leave creatures alone on the board.
One result in particular that pleased me: he was not overly upset. For some 15 years losing a game meant a tantrum, but we never gave up trying to get him to play. He's finally learned to lose gracefully. I'm very proud.
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Saturday, January 8, 2011
Son#1 plays Titan and goes to Disney World
I haven't about Son#1 for a while. Mostly, that's because even compared to a couple of years ago, he has changed so much. For those who weren't here or don't recall, he has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, specifically Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified, or PDD-NOS. He was an unusual baby right from birth, although CharityBrow and I only realized it later. Some of his recent adventures, described below the fold, have brought him further on the path to having a "normal" life, whatever that is supposed to mean.
As I mentioned in a prior post, Son#1 has started working at a local TJ Maxx. The Disney World trip I mentioned occurred over Thanksgiving break. While Son#1 is not in the marching band, proper, he was chosen to help carry the banner before the band in the parade. He even got his picture in a local paper. He had a great time on the trip. Sure, there were some kids in the band who didn't like/understand him,and were afraid, but there were others who he could talk to and room with. He had previously gone on a trip to Kings Island a couple of years ago, and there were no problems then. However, it was nice to see him learn about saving his money for special things, that the hard work of learning the trumpet had benefits, and similar things.
Much more surprising was last weekend, when Son#2 pulled out Titan to play with CharityBrow and me, and Son#1 asked to join the game. Titan is a moderately complex game, certainly more so than the type you'll see at Wal-Mart. Son#1 hasn't played in a year. Yet he was able to figure out the recruiting charts, got the hang of movement on the master board, and even did OK on the battle boards. He handled setbacks well, and didn't crow about victories. CharityBrow and I are hoping to get him to play other games with us.
Read more!
As I mentioned in a prior post, Son#1 has started working at a local TJ Maxx. The Disney World trip I mentioned occurred over Thanksgiving break. While Son#1 is not in the marching band, proper, he was chosen to help carry the banner before the band in the parade. He even got his picture in a local paper. He had a great time on the trip. Sure, there were some kids in the band who didn't like/understand him,and were afraid, but there were others who he could talk to and room with. He had previously gone on a trip to Kings Island a couple of years ago, and there were no problems then. However, it was nice to see him learn about saving his money for special things, that the hard work of learning the trumpet had benefits, and similar things.
Much more surprising was last weekend, when Son#2 pulled out Titan to play with CharityBrow and me, and Son#1 asked to join the game. Titan is a moderately complex game, certainly more so than the type you'll see at Wal-Mart. Son#1 hasn't played in a year. Yet he was able to figure out the recruiting charts, got the hang of movement on the master board, and even did OK on the battle boards. He handled setbacks well, and didn't crow about victories. CharityBrow and I are hoping to get him to play other games with us.
Read more!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Titan Day approaches
Sure, in previous years it was known as Christmas, as it will be known in future years. This year, it's Titan Day.
For the old-time boardgames, who remember Avalon Hill, Titan was one of the classic games to play. It plays differently, but very well, with 2-6 players as long as you don't mind the knock-out feature. I had my rear handed to me several times by some very good gamers. Old copies were selling on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
Well, Titan is being re-printed by Valley games, and I will be getting a brand new copy in 2 days. Except for 1856 and 1870, I have not bought a serious board game above the level of India Rails/Munchkin in about 20 years. Yes, I have been maried almost 20 years, how did you know?
Son#2 has been getting bored with Munchkin and Yu-Gi-Oh lately, so I am hoping this will be something for us to play together, perhaps with CharityBrow joining in every now and then. I expect Son#1 will be disinterested, as usual, and the younger three will not be up to the game for a while. Hopefully this will give him a taste for more interesting games.
Edited to add: we did in fact start of game of Titan, and he caught on better than I expected. Here's to many more in the future.
Read more!
For the old-time boardgames, who remember Avalon Hill, Titan was one of the classic games to play. It plays differently, but very well, with 2-6 players as long as you don't mind the knock-out feature. I had my rear handed to me several times by some very good gamers. Old copies were selling on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
Well, Titan is being re-printed by Valley games, and I will be getting a brand new copy in 2 days. Except for 1856 and 1870, I have not bought a serious board game above the level of India Rails/Munchkin in about 20 years. Yes, I have been maried almost 20 years, how did you know?
Son#2 has been getting bored with Munchkin and Yu-Gi-Oh lately, so I am hoping this will be something for us to play together, perhaps with CharityBrow joining in every now and then. I expect Son#1 will be disinterested, as usual, and the younger three will not be up to the game for a while. Hopefully this will give him a taste for more interesting games.
Edited to add: we did in fact start of game of Titan, and he caught on better than I expected. Here's to many more in the future.
Read more!
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