Couple of more Cuba Libres. Two 4-player games, both won by Government. First one was a bit shock for everybody (during first Propaganda spent most of the OPs for securing the support/points from the cities and couple of provinces, then just hold the positions until next Propaganda - which arrived fast!) but second was quite narrow - both Government and Syndicate achieved the victory condition but Government had slightly better margin - by 1 point! Love this game. When playing solo, Syndicate has loads of money but when played by player (like I did this time) the situation is suddenly totally different. Perhaps I should play them by following strictly the non-player AI chart :)
Gears of War: The Board Game is a forgotten gem we have. Started the scenarios from the beginning and after fifth try succeeded in completing the first mission. Especially good if you have played the GoW on console - you can imagine then how Boomers make those "Boom!" sounds and why Tickers should be kept at distance.
I believe I have mentioned earlier that I'm probably one of the few people who don't like Agricola. It's too long for what it is and too boring as well. 2-player Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small, on the other hand, is a game I've played already 11 times and I strongly believe there will be lots of plays in the future as well. Base game alone can become a bit repetitive after some games but expansions add a lot of replayability. A lot. Really like them.
Last time I played Indonesia was something like 3 years ago - and yesterday had another chance to try. Excellent game. I was left last (in 3p game) despite my oil monopoly and shipping network that covered most of the board. Seems I spent too much when acquiring the monopoly :) Nevertheless it was interesting game with practically no downtime and multitude of decisions - really good one. Recommend for everybody who likes something meatier with mergers and acquisitions but not 18xx-heavy.
And also...
...please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2014, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Aaaaaaaaand, we're back.
COIN has been the magical word here lately, with Andean Abyss and Cuba Libre sharing similar gameplay but being totally different beasts. I'm not even sure if they are 'proper' wargames as there are basically no battles but - hey! - they're fun to play! Actually I haven't played the full game (i.e. with 4 players) of Cuba Libre yet, just a couple of solos and one 2p game - but even based on those I already like it. This is also a game that restored my faith to playing solo - so far I thought that soloing is (mainly) analytical math/probability exercise but CL proved that it could be fun as well. I have played two 4-player games of Andean Abyss and I believe this gives me enough experience to declare this game completely utterly broken: ARC has 100% win ratio. And yes, it's sore loser speaking :)
Managed to try out Nations, as well. It is often referred as "TTA light" but in my opinion it isn't. As a friend described - "Nations and TTA are like Brass and Age of Industry - they are similar in theme but still with different gameplay". I totally agree and I like this game. I also understand why it is described as 'the game that hates you from the beginning' - but I wouldn't call it 'hating' but 'decisions' instead :)
Trains and Stations, on the other hand, is a game I don't get. I have played it only once but the feeling was... meh. Usually I like innovative mechanics but this one... quarriors meets track building... well... there shouldn't be dice in a proper train game! Yes. I said it out :)
I bought second game from Discworld series - The Witches - from Essen already and now have several times played it as well. First it seemed like a bit disappointment as "the lightest game evar" but after using advanced rules it's quite proper push-your-luck game. So far it keeps going better and better more I play it. Haven't tried the coop version yet.
And lets finish this post also with wargaming - Musket and Pike Series. I was happy to try out one of the scenarios from Under the Lily Banners - and was completely hooked, as a result. It has quite logical (after you manage to get through the rules) gameplay with interesting command chain and wing activation - and lots of decision. At least in my opinion it simulates well the battles of this era (although I haven't researched how they might've been fought) and gives players a multitude of decisions. Normally (i.e. with other games) when you have some über-strong unit opposed by several lightish units, you just keep crushing them one-by-one. But no, not in this game - because you'll never know when your cavalry feels like it's enough fighting for a day and better to have some looting instead :) Excellent series, high on my recommendations list.
COIN has been the magical word here lately, with Andean Abyss and Cuba Libre sharing similar gameplay but being totally different beasts. I'm not even sure if they are 'proper' wargames as there are basically no battles but - hey! - they're fun to play! Actually I haven't played the full game (i.e. with 4 players) of Cuba Libre yet, just a couple of solos and one 2p game - but even based on those I already like it. This is also a game that restored my faith to playing solo - so far I thought that soloing is (mainly) analytical math/probability exercise but CL proved that it could be fun as well. I have played two 4-player games of Andean Abyss and I believe this gives me enough experience to declare this game completely utterly broken: ARC has 100% win ratio. And yes, it's sore loser speaking :)
Managed to try out Nations, as well. It is often referred as "TTA light" but in my opinion it isn't. As a friend described - "Nations and TTA are like Brass and Age of Industry - they are similar in theme but still with different gameplay". I totally agree and I like this game. I also understand why it is described as 'the game that hates you from the beginning' - but I wouldn't call it 'hating' but 'decisions' instead :)
Trains and Stations, on the other hand, is a game I don't get. I have played it only once but the feeling was... meh. Usually I like innovative mechanics but this one... quarriors meets track building... well... there shouldn't be dice in a proper train game! Yes. I said it out :)
I bought second game from Discworld series - The Witches - from Essen already and now have several times played it as well. First it seemed like a bit disappointment as "the lightest game evar" but after using advanced rules it's quite proper push-your-luck game. So far it keeps going better and better more I play it. Haven't tried the coop version yet.
And lets finish this post also with wargaming - Musket and Pike Series. I was happy to try out one of the scenarios from Under the Lily Banners - and was completely hooked, as a result. It has quite logical (after you manage to get through the rules) gameplay with interesting command chain and wing activation - and lots of decision. At least in my opinion it simulates well the battles of this era (although I haven't researched how they might've been fought) and gives players a multitude of decisions. Normally (i.e. with other games) when you have some über-strong unit opposed by several lightish units, you just keep crushing them one-by-one. But no, not in this game - because you'll never know when your cavalry feels like it's enough fighting for a day and better to have some looting instead :) Excellent series, high on my recommendations list.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Wargamers beware - at the beginning of November air warfare history will be rewritten. Will you be able to defend your objectives against most feared ace of the aces? Do you have the guts to stand and fight back? Can you defeat the flying menace?
Loopin' Louie championship, this November. Stay tuned!
Loopin' Louie championship, this November. Stay tuned!
Saturday, October 12, 2013
12 days 'til Essen. Fifth year in a row, second time as publisher. Woohoo! (Pics/comments/remarks etc will be on FB)
One more play of Combat Commander: Europe and then I have played every included scenario (12 pcs) at least twice. Makes me really wonder if I should continue the Pacific or Mediterranean path. I've played the latter and it has felt way too unbalanced... perhaps some change in playstyle is needed.
Tsuro is one of my latest finds and I really like it as filler. It's quite OK with 2-3 players but it shines with 6-8. It has chaos, short play time and very simple rules - perfect as filler or when playing with casual gamers.
The saga of Forbidden Desert continues. As we had played it so far always with 4 players decided to try with only 2p. Won Normal level on second attempt - oh, it felt good! Later on we had also some 3p games - when introducing this game to our analytical friend. We were pretty close to winning all three times but - nevertheless - his skills were not so useful :)
Oddville is nice little gem that should get more attention. For some strange reason it doesn't get picked so often.
From the downside: after playing Stone Age third time I finally came to a conclusion that I don't like this type of game. If all the game is just a setup for final scoring then why bother playing at all? :)
Oh, and registration to BGG Secret Santa is started! I'm in for both - regular and wargamer - feel free to join!
One more play of Combat Commander: Europe and then I have played every included scenario (12 pcs) at least twice. Makes me really wonder if I should continue the Pacific or Mediterranean path. I've played the latter and it has felt way too unbalanced... perhaps some change in playstyle is needed.
Tsuro is one of my latest finds and I really like it as filler. It's quite OK with 2-3 players but it shines with 6-8. It has chaos, short play time and very simple rules - perfect as filler or when playing with casual gamers.
The saga of Forbidden Desert continues. As we had played it so far always with 4 players decided to try with only 2p. Won Normal level on second attempt - oh, it felt good! Later on we had also some 3p games - when introducing this game to our analytical friend. We were pretty close to winning all three times but - nevertheless - his skills were not so useful :)
Oddville is nice little gem that should get more attention. For some strange reason it doesn't get picked so often.
From the downside: after playing Stone Age third time I finally came to a conclusion that I don't like this type of game. If all the game is just a setup for final scoring then why bother playing at all? :)
Oh, and registration to BGG Secret Santa is started! I'm in for both - regular and wargamer - feel free to join!
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
As I mentioned in previous post, last Saturday was dedicated to Virgin Queen. And what an event it was.
In first play (yes, we played those two in a row) I was playing as Spain. Second in turn order, so whatever I did, rest had chance to interfere. Positive side was that Spain had larger-than-average starting hand allowing more possibilities. Well. Game started with England, France and Protestants (Dutch) taking their shots with pirating my colonies, reducing my amount of treasure and some VP's; Ottoman sank my fleet in Mediterranean; HRE was fortunately far enough not interfering with me. (And I also had a nice 'War in Poland' event card in hand so I was able to have a friendly blackmailing with HRE for not playing it.) Just when Sea Captains returned from plundering my colonies, Spanish Treasure Fleet arrived - and as there was noboy to encounter them, I got some leftovers from treasure chart. Luckily one of the +1VP tokens was left there :) Phew.
The situation wasn't actually very good for Spaniards - Morisco event was roaming near Madrid, Malta was lost to Ottoman and rest of the fortresses in that area were under their attack with Spanish fleet sunk. Then I noticed, when looking at available actions, that Spain had one unique winning condition - they have autowin if they're able to initiate successful Catholic Rebellion in England - and England was currently having fun in other areas. Therefore, Spain started plotting the rebellion: sent a Jesuit to Wales and planted Cryptography. During last impulse Spain was ready to initiate rebellion then - they got 10 dice, faced by 5 dice from England. The result was 4 hits from Spain, countered by 1 hit from England. As Spain needed to have 4 more hits than England, play continued to second turn. The good news was that two Spanish regulars appeared to England as a result.
During the negotiation phase of second turn I decided to go all-in and take my chance during first impulse round, so I skipped the marriages and negotiation and was waiting for the actions phase. I was second in turn order, so England was not able to do anything to stop me. And the action phase started. I re-initated the rebellion, this time there were 14/5 dice in my favour. I rolled first as attacker. 4 hits! Bloody hell! England rolled then... no hits! Woohoo! Automatic victory for Spain!
As everybody else was pretty disappointed of the short play (game ended at the beginning of second turn) we decided to play it once again. We selected sides by random and this time I got to play as England (with person playing England last time played as Spain :) ) - so I knew that I had to keep England free of Jesuits. This also meant that the Virgin Queen home card is pretty much out of use, as Walsham(?) was more efficient for that purpose. And this also meant that I was left only with Earl of Leicester for marriages - and he wasn't really a hit. At least during first turns. On the other hand I saw no point in offering Elisabeth for marriages as she guaranteed me 1 hassle-free VP at the end of every turn. So there were less options to think about.
England isn't easy to play with, I discovered. Except Elisabeth granting +1VP it has no more special bonuses - or at least I didn't see them. They just have excellent captains they should use, I presumed, so my plan was to harass the colonies of Spain a bit first and then achieve the 2VP for being first to sail around the world. Well - Spain didn't agree on this and after one successful plunder my captain was sent to turn track (via event). Additionally, through another event, Spain allied with Ireland and so I had Spanish regulars quite close to England. Me-no-likey. Spain tried also to initiate the rebellion, luckily it failed, Mary of Scots was executed and we had war with Spain. Sweet.
When my Captain Drake returned from turn track I noticed that his specialty was that when pirating I can choose what I'll get. Hmmm, I thought, we're in war with Spain, they have no ships/fortresses in Atlantic and I have Drake - let's have some fun. For several turns I had then standard opening - for 4CPs move to Bay of Biscay, plunder. Next impulse: for 3CPs move to Atlantic Ocean, plunder. And only starting from next impulse I had to start thinking about future plans :) Game went back-and-forth then, as I managed to keep the Spain regulars away from England, got some VP's from several events, Earl of Leicester married successfully Louise of Dutch (during their second try) and by the start of last turn I was a bit surprisingly ahead of others with 2VP. After mandatory plunder moves (out of 4 4-dice plunders I managed to get 3 with results that no dice were showing higher value than 2) I noticed that Seville was left empty by Spain so I made surprise attack there and increased the lead after successful siege. And then, when I was waiting for the end of last turn, someone mentioned that Holy Roman Empire was one key short of having automatic victory. What? Nooo! During my next impulse I used all the CPs of my home card for assasination attempt against the HRE leader, planning to ambush Ottoman key city. I had 4 dice, HRE defended with 2. First roll... and result... re-roll! Second attempt... 2 hits... and nothing for defender! HRE leader was dead! It wasn't daysaver yet, as HRE had still one card left he could use for siege... but without leader it was more difficult... and Ottomans survived this siege. Protestants needed to get 4+ VPs from science/artists but this was really long shot and they didn't succeed... so it was a really glorious play for England! Good game!
In first play (yes, we played those two in a row) I was playing as Spain. Second in turn order, so whatever I did, rest had chance to interfere. Positive side was that Spain had larger-than-average starting hand allowing more possibilities. Well. Game started with England, France and Protestants (Dutch) taking their shots with pirating my colonies, reducing my amount of treasure and some VP's; Ottoman sank my fleet in Mediterranean; HRE was fortunately far enough not interfering with me. (And I also had a nice 'War in Poland' event card in hand so I was able to have a friendly blackmailing with HRE for not playing it.) Just when Sea Captains returned from plundering my colonies, Spanish Treasure Fleet arrived - and as there was noboy to encounter them, I got some leftovers from treasure chart. Luckily one of the +1VP tokens was left there :) Phew.
The situation wasn't actually very good for Spaniards - Morisco event was roaming near Madrid, Malta was lost to Ottoman and rest of the fortresses in that area were under their attack with Spanish fleet sunk. Then I noticed, when looking at available actions, that Spain had one unique winning condition - they have autowin if they're able to initiate successful Catholic Rebellion in England - and England was currently having fun in other areas. Therefore, Spain started plotting the rebellion: sent a Jesuit to Wales and planted Cryptography. During last impulse Spain was ready to initiate rebellion then - they got 10 dice, faced by 5 dice from England. The result was 4 hits from Spain, countered by 1 hit from England. As Spain needed to have 4 more hits than England, play continued to second turn. The good news was that two Spanish regulars appeared to England as a result.
During the negotiation phase of second turn I decided to go all-in and take my chance during first impulse round, so I skipped the marriages and negotiation and was waiting for the actions phase. I was second in turn order, so England was not able to do anything to stop me. And the action phase started. I re-initated the rebellion, this time there were 14/5 dice in my favour. I rolled first as attacker. 4 hits! Bloody hell! England rolled then... no hits! Woohoo! Automatic victory for Spain!
As everybody else was pretty disappointed of the short play (game ended at the beginning of second turn) we decided to play it once again. We selected sides by random and this time I got to play as England (with person playing England last time played as Spain :) ) - so I knew that I had to keep England free of Jesuits. This also meant that the Virgin Queen home card is pretty much out of use, as Walsham(?) was more efficient for that purpose. And this also meant that I was left only with Earl of Leicester for marriages - and he wasn't really a hit. At least during first turns. On the other hand I saw no point in offering Elisabeth for marriages as she guaranteed me 1 hassle-free VP at the end of every turn. So there were less options to think about.
England isn't easy to play with, I discovered. Except Elisabeth granting +1VP it has no more special bonuses - or at least I didn't see them. They just have excellent captains they should use, I presumed, so my plan was to harass the colonies of Spain a bit first and then achieve the 2VP for being first to sail around the world. Well - Spain didn't agree on this and after one successful plunder my captain was sent to turn track (via event). Additionally, through another event, Spain allied with Ireland and so I had Spanish regulars quite close to England. Me-no-likey. Spain tried also to initiate the rebellion, luckily it failed, Mary of Scots was executed and we had war with Spain. Sweet.
When my Captain Drake returned from turn track I noticed that his specialty was that when pirating I can choose what I'll get. Hmmm, I thought, we're in war with Spain, they have no ships/fortresses in Atlantic and I have Drake - let's have some fun. For several turns I had then standard opening - for 4CPs move to Bay of Biscay, plunder. Next impulse: for 3CPs move to Atlantic Ocean, plunder. And only starting from next impulse I had to start thinking about future plans :) Game went back-and-forth then, as I managed to keep the Spain regulars away from England, got some VP's from several events, Earl of Leicester married successfully Louise of Dutch (during their second try) and by the start of last turn I was a bit surprisingly ahead of others with 2VP. After mandatory plunder moves (out of 4 4-dice plunders I managed to get 3 with results that no dice were showing higher value than 2) I noticed that Seville was left empty by Spain so I made surprise attack there and increased the lead after successful siege. And then, when I was waiting for the end of last turn, someone mentioned that Holy Roman Empire was one key short of having automatic victory. What? Nooo! During my next impulse I used all the CPs of my home card for assasination attempt against the HRE leader, planning to ambush Ottoman key city. I had 4 dice, HRE defended with 2. First roll... and result... re-roll! Second attempt... 2 hits... and nothing for defender! HRE leader was dead! It wasn't daysaver yet, as HRE had still one card left he could use for siege... but without leader it was more difficult... and Ottomans survived this siege. Protestants needed to get 4+ VPs from science/artists but this was really long shot and they didn't succeed... so it was a really glorious play for England! Good game!
Friday, September 6, 2013
It's not that there has been nothing to speak about - there have been lots of plays, one wargame bootcamp and a nice Virgin Queen tomorrow, for example - but I've ran out of blogging time recently, instead. Time to play - yes; time to blog about it - no. But better this way than the opposite.
Just finished the first scenario from LOTR "The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill" saga expansion. It was a tad difficult in solo but really enjoyable when playing two-handed (with hobbit period decks). And as I don't read the stage descriptions before encountering them - it was a real surprise after advancing to third stage there. And really thematic.
On the other hand, I also had a chance to play the Cryptozoic's version of LOTR... man, this was boring. It didn't have even the usual deckbuilding choice of going for kills or buys - it just has only one resource - power! One! So you draw your hand, add the power together and buy the highest card you can afford. Rinse and repeat for 30 minutes.
And when talking about deckbuilders - bought to myself a Legendary. After first play, I must admit, I was left with really WTH-impression. It kinda was a deckbuilding... and then it wasn't. But after some more plays I realised that it shouldn't be compared with ordinary deckbuilders, as the missions add a lot here. Only drawback is that it's so easy in standard mode when playing solo or with 2p... but it has potential to be more difficult when playing with 3+ players. Looking forward to it. Tried also once with advanced solo rules - resulted in easiest win ever :) Sentinels of Multiverse is still better for "I'm the superhero!" feeling, but Legendary is more like watching a movie or reading a comics where the story evolves from "Mwahahaa, I'm gonna punish you all, you puny heroes" to "Not so mastermind anymore, aye?".
Just finished the first scenario from LOTR "The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill" saga expansion. It was a tad difficult in solo but really enjoyable when playing two-handed (with hobbit period decks). And as I don't read the stage descriptions before encountering them - it was a real surprise after advancing to third stage there. And really thematic.
On the other hand, I also had a chance to play the Cryptozoic's version of LOTR... man, this was boring. It didn't have even the usual deckbuilding choice of going for kills or buys - it just has only one resource - power! One! So you draw your hand, add the power together and buy the highest card you can afford. Rinse and repeat for 30 minutes.
And when talking about deckbuilders - bought to myself a Legendary. After first play, I must admit, I was left with really WTH-impression. It kinda was a deckbuilding... and then it wasn't. But after some more plays I realised that it shouldn't be compared with ordinary deckbuilders, as the missions add a lot here. Only drawback is that it's so easy in standard mode when playing solo or with 2p... but it has potential to be more difficult when playing with 3+ players. Looking forward to it. Tried also once with advanced solo rules - resulted in easiest win ever :) Sentinels of Multiverse is still better for "I'm the superhero!" feeling, but Legendary is more like watching a movie or reading a comics where the story evolves from "Mwahahaa, I'm gonna punish you all, you puny heroes" to "Not so mastermind anymore, aye?".
Friday, August 9, 2013
There hasn't been much LOTR playing happened after finishing the "Journey down the Anduin"... perhaps small break is needed. Played it only twice during last week: once for recording the score in JdtA (85, playing with two decks) and another for testing the "Escape from Dol Guldur". As Gimli was the one who was captured, this quest was fast. Didn't win. :)
Tried to survive in the desert couple of times, as well. Forbidden Desert. Failed, as usual. But, as I've said before and will say again: I love this game.
Last time I played Stone Age it was 2009.. so decided to give it another try. Played 3-player game where one experienced player was facing two noobs. Well... when using wargaming terms then it was a massacre. 64 points with final scoring, he managed to collect all the stone axes from the card deck. As the collections were not visible to others (but you were allowed to check them yourselves, by suggested houserules) - what can you do.
A bit of wargaming as well. Andean Abyss has been quite a long time on my wish list - I even succeeded in ordering that once but it went OOS while waiting for payment confirmation - so I was happy to have it tried before purchasing. And it's a good one. I had quite basic knowledge about the situation in Colombia but event cards and designer notes gave quite a good overview - edutainment! And the game itself is good - most of the time you are faced with difficult decisions. This may also lead to AP... but luckily there are no lots of decisions. Just if I should play this turn nor should I wait until another... and if I play this turn then what action should I take. Simple mechanics, solid gameplay - that's the kind I like.
Tried to survive in the desert couple of times, as well. Forbidden Desert. Failed, as usual. But, as I've said before and will say again: I love this game.
Last time I played Stone Age it was 2009.. so decided to give it another try. Played 3-player game where one experienced player was facing two noobs. Well... when using wargaming terms then it was a massacre. 64 points with final scoring, he managed to collect all the stone axes from the card deck. As the collections were not visible to others (but you were allowed to check them yourselves, by suggested houserules) - what can you do.
A bit of wargaming as well. Andean Abyss has been quite a long time on my wish list - I even succeeded in ordering that once but it went OOS while waiting for payment confirmation - so I was happy to have it tried before purchasing. And it's a good one. I had quite basic knowledge about the situation in Colombia but event cards and designer notes gave quite a good overview - edutainment! And the game itself is good - most of the time you are faced with difficult decisions. This may also lead to AP... but luckily there are no lots of decisions. Just if I should play this turn nor should I wait until another... and if I play this turn then what action should I take. Simple mechanics, solid gameplay - that's the kind I like.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Finally managed to complete the "Journey down the Anduin" quest in LOTR LCG, with two decks - Leadership monosphere (definition learned from BGG) and Tactics+Lore. First try with this combo was failure, as usual, mainly due to two Hill Trolls hanging around together... but second try was more successful. I'd even say that great success it was. I'm not going to spoil how it was achieved... but it was memorable. Now I'd like to try the third quest as well from core set... this one has difficulty level 7 (not some lousy 4). Woohoo. And then to the Hobbit quests. Perhaps I should read the book first for better thematic experience. Anyway, 18 plays of LOTR already... I'd say it was good investment. Not many games from my collection reach this amount unfortunately. (Just checked - 11 out of 106)
And Combat Commander: Europe, what else. After 20 plays I raised my rating from 9 to 10. I just love this game. Yesterday we played "Paralyzed from the West Down" with me as Axis (defender). Americans tried to break through their left wing but luckily (or should I call it luck, Germans made their setup first and Americans definitely should've seen it coming) there were several squads with light MG-s, leader and a weapon team with heavy MG. When combining that firepower with some defender specific wire-placing actions - it was pretty devastating for Allies.
Tried yesterday also something new - Autokrator from Diachron Games. This one left me with some mixed feelings - it had some quite interesting mechanics incorporated (selecting combat venue/terrain, for example) but at the same time it had considerable downtime (playing with 4 players) and even at the end it was unclear about what could be the possible benefits of some actions. Also the distribution of battle cards (troops) was interesting - but it could also lead to massive AP when you start to think about all the possible outcomes - so it was all the same as selecting those cards at random :)
And no selfish ads this time about my ongoing/upcoming games and projects. There will be time for that :)
And Combat Commander: Europe, what else. After 20 plays I raised my rating from 9 to 10. I just love this game. Yesterday we played "Paralyzed from the West Down" with me as Axis (defender). Americans tried to break through their left wing but luckily (or should I call it luck, Germans made their setup first and Americans definitely should've seen it coming) there were several squads with light MG-s, leader and a weapon team with heavy MG. When combining that firepower with some defender specific wire-placing actions - it was pretty devastating for Allies.
Tried yesterday also something new - Autokrator from Diachron Games. This one left me with some mixed feelings - it had some quite interesting mechanics incorporated (selecting combat venue/terrain, for example) but at the same time it had considerable downtime (playing with 4 players) and even at the end it was unclear about what could be the possible benefits of some actions. Also the distribution of battle cards (troops) was interesting - but it could also lead to massive AP when you start to think about all the possible outcomes - so it was all the same as selecting those cards at random :)
And no selfish ads this time about my ongoing/upcoming games and projects. There will be time for that :)
Friday, July 26, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Two recent addictions. First of them is... believe-it-or-not... Carcassonne. Played with my Android tablet. And, actually, I really suck in this game :) 18 wins from what... 100+ plays (all 4-players, vs AI). But it's still fun - even when playing casually like I do, not seeking for strategy optimization and such. Cheap to buy, quick to play, nice UI - what else would you like to get. Perfect, when you have 5 minutes to spare.
And another one is Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Started with core set and first mission was close to great success. Second one... (yeah, with the hill troll)... instead of "hit and run" tactic there is "get hit and die" tactic instead. /Solo or not, here they come, you can't hide... gonna find us and take it quickly./ If we manage to kill the troll, location gives us a finger (with threat 5 or something) or some nasty event. If we leave the troll alone... he won't be alone. He'll be with Beastmaster. Or with another troll... stomp-stomp-stomp. So, for beating this level I need correct cards in exact order both in encounter and hero draw decks.Or start with deckbuilding :) (Have played core sets so far.)
In my neverending quest to try out Wallace's different designs we had this time Tempus on table. And I must say it is truly fast to play light-civ. With 3 players 90 minutes. This is one of those games where setup is important... and also first couple of turns. But not essential - despite of my setup tile layout (Woohoo, let there be a lake. Just because I can!) and token placement (These look like friendly mountains. Let's settle there, we'll find out later if we have anything to eat) I managed to win the game by 1 point, thanks to the attack against city with my last action during last turn of game. The mechanics are very simple but I wouldn't say this is a bad game... it's just a civ-game so short that it needs some evaluation re-adjustment.
And a bit as well from the fancy life of unknown game designer. You know already, who I am talking about, right? Smart Investor was finally released to blind test this weekend. Yay. Let's see what the results will be. I even created a VASSAL module (with butt-ugly graphics, but hey! that's what the prototypes are) so all the lonely players (who like stock trading games) can PBEM this prototype all day long. If you are interested then ask nicely and I'll provide the link. Or just check the BGG forums. No reason to be nice.
And another one is Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Started with core set and first mission was close to great success. Second one... (yeah, with the hill troll)... instead of "hit and run" tactic there is "get hit and die" tactic instead. /Solo or not, here they come, you can't hide... gonna find us and take it quickly./ If we manage to kill the troll, location gives us a finger (with threat 5 or something) or some nasty event. If we leave the troll alone... he won't be alone. He'll be with Beastmaster. Or with another troll... stomp-stomp-stomp. So, for beating this level I need correct cards in exact order both in encounter and hero draw decks.Or start with deckbuilding :) (Have played core sets so far.)
In my neverending quest to try out Wallace's different designs we had this time Tempus on table. And I must say it is truly fast to play light-civ. With 3 players 90 minutes. This is one of those games where setup is important... and also first couple of turns. But not essential - despite of my setup tile layout (Woohoo, let there be a lake. Just because I can!) and token placement (These look like friendly mountains. Let's settle there, we'll find out later if we have anything to eat) I managed to win the game by 1 point, thanks to the attack against city with my last action during last turn of game. The mechanics are very simple but I wouldn't say this is a bad game... it's just a civ-game so short that it needs some evaluation re-adjustment.
And a bit as well from the fancy life of unknown game designer. You know already, who I am talking about, right? Smart Investor was finally released to blind test this weekend. Yay. Let's see what the results will be. I even created a VASSAL module (with butt-ugly graphics, but hey! that's what the prototypes are) so all the lonely players (who like stock trading games) can PBEM this prototype all day long. If you are interested then ask nicely and I'll provide the link. Or just check the BGG forums. No reason to be nice.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Something nice, really-really nice - one of my few "10" ratings in BGG: Maria. I got to play as Prussia/Pragmatic - and I have a feeling that this might be the most fun side to play. At the same time you're both ally and enemy of both Austria and France, so lots of opportunities all the time.
This time Prussia was very lucky in his conquest of Silesia - at the end of his actions during Turn 3 he was able to offer temporary truce to Austria already (and Austria accepted it). And as Austrian generals moved then to western front, to fight with France, northern Austria was left quite lightly protected. At the same time Pragmatic and Austria were making some offensive moves near France borderlands, while main Austrian and French forces were having maneuvers in western-Austria. Skirmishes during those maneuvers left Austria quite exhausted (in terms of battle cards), so after truce ended Prussia was able to give devastating blow, leaving Prussia with 20 men and 3 generals, opposed by 5 Austrian men with one general. Unfortunately we had to end the game at this point, due to time constraints, but it was excellent experience nevertheless.
About other games a bit as well. Last time I played Infiltration I suddenly discovered how... action-less should be the term I suppose... this game is. You move, you extract, move, extract. Use some card (to move more or extract more), then move or extract. It's not it's bad but... a bit repetitive. Boring.
Kingsburg, on the other hand, left me wanting some more after first play. And that's always a good sign, especially from VP-collecting worker placement eurogame, using dice as workers.
This time Prussia was very lucky in his conquest of Silesia - at the end of his actions during Turn 3 he was able to offer temporary truce to Austria already (and Austria accepted it). And as Austrian generals moved then to western front, to fight with France, northern Austria was left quite lightly protected. At the same time Pragmatic and Austria were making some offensive moves near France borderlands, while main Austrian and French forces were having maneuvers in western-Austria. Skirmishes during those maneuvers left Austria quite exhausted (in terms of battle cards), so after truce ended Prussia was able to give devastating blow, leaving Prussia with 20 men and 3 generals, opposed by 5 Austrian men with one general. Unfortunately we had to end the game at this point, due to time constraints, but it was excellent experience nevertheless.
About other games a bit as well. Last time I played Infiltration I suddenly discovered how... action-less should be the term I suppose... this game is. You move, you extract, move, extract. Use some card (to move more or extract more), then move or extract. It's not it's bad but... a bit repetitive. Boring.
Kingsburg, on the other hand, left me wanting some more after first play. And that's always a good sign, especially from VP-collecting worker placement eurogame, using dice as workers.
Monday, July 1, 2013
18OE: On the Rails of the Orient Express is doing well in Kickstarter... and it's really-really tempting. On one hand it is The Most Awesomest and Epic-est 18xx Game Evar (and it has Estonia on it, in 4 hexes or so - woohoo)!!1!!one!!!eleven!!. On another hand it's friggin' 200$ - a bit too expensive for just collecting purposes. Especially as one copy will be bought by friend anyway. When I look at my currently "heaviest" 18-title, it's 1817... and I've managed to play it only 4 times in what... 1,5 years? Yeah, it's partly also my fault as I haven't been very keen play organizer - especially as the last experience here was quite devastating. Also, half of the 1817 plays (2 - to be more specific) have been in Finland... pelataanko 18OE:tä myös?
I haven't played publisher's other monster-18xx - 18C2C - but as much as I know, this has scared plenty of enthusiasts with massive playtime and major downtime. But this 18OE is tempting, despite of that :)
I haven't played publisher's other monster-18xx - 18C2C - but as much as I know, this has scared plenty of enthusiasts with massive playtime and major downtime. But this 18OE is tempting, despite of that :)
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
A Few Acres of Snow is a good game I've played way too little. I like the asymmetry of the sides with totally different strategies and so far I've found out that, as beginner, it's easier to win as France. Just aim for the victory points... with British you have to be more creative. And no, I don't want to know anything about HH.
Tank on Tank is also nice little wargame with one major drawback - it's price tag. With MRSP as 25-30€ (or something like that) you get the sub-par quality/components. But if you manage to get this for 10-15€ there's plenty to enjoy. Different terrains, covers, AT guns, Tigers, artillery, flanking... wargame within an hour. Bueno.
Also had one Steel Driver yesterday. I noticed from BGG that it was nominated as 2009 Golden Geek Best Gamers' Board Game... Idunno... I usually dig trackbuilding and economy and stocks and so on but this one tasted a bit too... weird. It's like taking Automobile and Transport Tycoon together and adding some kniziesque set collection to the end (where most of the money is received). Did I say money? No, actually I wanted to say victory points... as this is one of the few games where you can buy nothing with the money. Brrr.
Dixit Odyssey with 8 players. Actually it was for me a bit surprising to see how many times everybody guessed correctly the storyteller's card. Table talk was the best. And "bashing" the Steel Driver's winner :)
And finally - good news, everybody! One of my designs is now available for download, as free PNP. Geocaching-themed "FTF", available here. If there are any misunderstandings in English rules, I'm sorry -translation was made by your humble servant himself. Just ask then. Or play as you seem better. Have fun, at least!
So long, and thanks for all the games.
Tank on Tank is also nice little wargame with one major drawback - it's price tag. With MRSP as 25-30€ (or something like that) you get the sub-par quality/components. But if you manage to get this for 10-15€ there's plenty to enjoy. Different terrains, covers, AT guns, Tigers, artillery, flanking... wargame within an hour. Bueno.
Also had one Steel Driver yesterday. I noticed from BGG that it was nominated as 2009 Golden Geek Best Gamers' Board Game... Idunno... I usually dig trackbuilding and economy and stocks and so on but this one tasted a bit too... weird. It's like taking Automobile and Transport Tycoon together and adding some kniziesque set collection to the end (where most of the money is received). Did I say money? No, actually I wanted to say victory points... as this is one of the few games where you can buy nothing with the money. Brrr.
Dixit Odyssey with 8 players. Actually it was for me a bit surprising to see how many times everybody guessed correctly the storyteller's card. Table talk was the best. And "bashing" the Steel Driver's winner :)
And finally - good news, everybody! One of my designs is now available for download, as free PNP. Geocaching-themed "FTF", available here. If there are any misunderstandings in English rules, I'm sorry -translation was made by your humble servant himself. Just ask then. Or play as you seem better. Have fun, at least!
So long, and thanks for all the games.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Good news, everyone! (This is my favourite sentence to start the conversation with - especially in Professor Farnsworth's voice - but unfortunately not many people around here know the origins of it).
Forbidden Desert. 10 plays, 1 win. It's getting personal now. Damn, it's a brilliant game.
Pillars of the Earth. We had a runaway leader starting from Turn 1 - and she managed to win. Quite good game actually - not the one I'd like to play 3 times in a row (I'm looking at you, Forbidden Desert!) but for occasional gaming - why not.
Jamaica. Well... if you fill your ship only with gold starting from first turn already, you're not going very fast very far in this game. You're not going to win either. But you can have lots of fun - and get a decent 3rd place in 5p-game as a bonus.
Have I mentioned Forbidden Desert yet? Oh, yes, I have. Have to get it out of my head. La-la-la... Brass, Combat Commander, 1817... la-la-la.
Roundhouse Kick. I added rules explanation video to games page. But it's in Estonian... so unless you know this language fluently already, what about taking up a new challenge? :)
Sweet zombie Jesus! (Yeah, it's from that show again. Sorry.)
Forbidden Desert. 10 plays, 1 win. It's getting personal now. Damn, it's a brilliant game.
Pillars of the Earth. We had a runaway leader starting from Turn 1 - and she managed to win. Quite good game actually - not the one I'd like to play 3 times in a row (I'm looking at you, Forbidden Desert!) but for occasional gaming - why not.
Jamaica. Well... if you fill your ship only with gold starting from first turn already, you're not going very fast very far in this game. You're not going to win either. But you can have lots of fun - and get a decent 3rd place in 5p-game as a bonus.
Have I mentioned Forbidden Desert yet? Oh, yes, I have. Have to get it out of my head. La-la-la... Brass, Combat Commander, 1817... la-la-la.
Roundhouse Kick. I added rules explanation video to games page. But it's in Estonian... so unless you know this language fluently already, what about taking up a new challenge? :)
Sweet zombie Jesus! (Yeah, it's from that show again. Sorry.)
Thursday, June 6, 2013
And now for something completely different. Back from UK Games Expo. Roundhouse Kick had very nice welcome, thank you!
Actually, let this post be dedicated to UKGE 2013 award winners, as we recently played couple of those. String Railway first. The overall idea is quite bizarre - building tracks with ropes - but it's lots of fun. Several stations have capacity limits so you may suddenly discover that there is only one station (built by yourself) within the reach of your track. String Railway is also fast to play, 30-45 minutes, so it's a train-themed game within reasonable timeframe.
And another award winner we tried is Forbidden Desert. Based on success of Forbidden Island, this sequel is almost non-comparable in terms of replayability and difficulty modes. And I haven't laughed so much for a long time, as I did while playing this game. Played three times, lost every game. Of course at the start of first game I suggested that let's not start with legendary difficulty level but a bit less - elite. That was quick. Next play: ok, perhaps we should decrease difficulty to normal? Another quick game (a bit longer, though). Third attempt: novice level. This time we ALMOST succeeded... bloody sandstorms, I say... :-)
Actually, let this post be dedicated to UKGE 2013 award winners, as we recently played couple of those. String Railway first. The overall idea is quite bizarre - building tracks with ropes - but it's lots of fun. Several stations have capacity limits so you may suddenly discover that there is only one station (built by yourself) within the reach of your track. String Railway is also fast to play, 30-45 minutes, so it's a train-themed game within reasonable timeframe.
And another award winner we tried is Forbidden Desert. Based on success of Forbidden Island, this sequel is almost non-comparable in terms of replayability and difficulty modes. And I haven't laughed so much for a long time, as I did while playing this game. Played three times, lost every game. Of course at the start of first game I suggested that let's not start with legendary difficulty level but a bit less - elite. That was quick. Next play: ok, perhaps we should decrease difficulty to normal? Another quick game (a bit longer, though). Third attempt: novice level. This time we ALMOST succeeded... bloody sandstorms, I say... :-)
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
5-player Eclipse. During mid-game I suddenly realized it's actually an space-themed eurogame. A decent one, I have to say, but still... optimizing, reasearching, VP collection and this fixed amount of turns. I had played it once before - and as I remembered - game was won then by player who mainly explored "backwards" and kept distance from other players. I was, from other hand, flying around and battling and having other sorts of fun and was left on one of the last positions during final scoring. This time I tried also this cautious VP-collection optimised approach - and it was a success. Go figure.
World of Warcraft is a real monster we manage to play once-twice a year. With all the expansions it's full-day-game but we've achieved finishing it also in 5 hours (or so) with 2 players with some experience. The hardest part is to handle information from all the rulebooks from base game and expansions - should check if there is some compilation available in BGG. Next time we should customize also how much of the expansions we'll use - so far the additional map from Burning Crusade, for example, is used mainly for holding cards, as nobody has bothered to travel there. We'll see. Excellent adventure, anyway.
Mice and Mystics is a nice co-op with really good theme - and not only in storyboard but also details. Helmet is made from timble, chest armor from nutshell etc etc. Mechanics are also really cool, so would like to try this one again, especially as we won the first scenario. But this reminds me also of other good co-ops I haven't had time to play for quite a long time... Gears of War... D&D Castle Ravenloft...
I also had a chance to play Tokaido yesterday. I was quite curious as this game has had a decent hype about how elegant and zen and [insert your favourite here] this game is. I must say now that it is indeed a game with very simple rules and considerable amount of variety with short playtime. Something you could easily play 2-3 times during evening and even then have time for some other games as well. The hardest part for me was remembering what is my pawn's colour - as they are given out by random. I'm sure this can be houseruled out in some way.
And finally I'm glad that Roundhouse Kick will be out during next week. Rules are available here but I'm afraid the game won't be available in stores near you, as this first print run will be micro-size, so they'll be presented mainly in conventions/fairs. Or ordered.
World of Warcraft is a real monster we manage to play once-twice a year. With all the expansions it's full-day-game but we've achieved finishing it also in 5 hours (or so) with 2 players with some experience. The hardest part is to handle information from all the rulebooks from base game and expansions - should check if there is some compilation available in BGG. Next time we should customize also how much of the expansions we'll use - so far the additional map from Burning Crusade, for example, is used mainly for holding cards, as nobody has bothered to travel there. We'll see. Excellent adventure, anyway.
Mice and Mystics is a nice co-op with really good theme - and not only in storyboard but also details. Helmet is made from timble, chest armor from nutshell etc etc. Mechanics are also really cool, so would like to try this one again, especially as we won the first scenario. But this reminds me also of other good co-ops I haven't had time to play for quite a long time... Gears of War... D&D Castle Ravenloft...
I also had a chance to play Tokaido yesterday. I was quite curious as this game has had a decent hype about how elegant and zen and [insert your favourite here] this game is. I must say now that it is indeed a game with very simple rules and considerable amount of variety with short playtime. Something you could easily play 2-3 times during evening and even then have time for some other games as well. The hardest part for me was remembering what is my pawn's colour - as they are given out by random. I'm sure this can be houseruled out in some way.
And finally I'm glad that Roundhouse Kick will be out during next week. Rules are available here but I'm afraid the game won't be available in stores near you, as this first print run will be micro-size, so they'll be presented mainly in conventions/fairs. Or ordered.
Monday, April 1, 2013
I was quite happy to see that our store was fully crowded during Tabletop Day with people playing all kinds of games, from Saboteur to Clash of Cultures and 1856. Everybody was having good time and that's what this event is all about.
I was part of the 18xx-gang with playing the 1856 and it was also a nice (a bit long-ish, though) experience. It was also one of the rare times this game ended with bankruptcy (had happened only once so far), so it was kind of "sudden death" experience for everybody. I was left third in 5-player game but I was happy with the result nevertheless - my game start and mid-play were executed almost perfectly, at the moment of bankruptcy I had two companies with 2 x 5-trains and 1x 6-train. Now I just have to start paying more attention to possible bankruptcy evasion mechanisms for other players, as well :) Actually in my first game of 1830 in 5-Nation Tournament I already had similar situation when I was facing option to trigger phase change and thus also bankruptcy of one player - but being an PBE-game I had more time for analysing and noticed that I would've been left in fourth place this way... so I had to postpone the triggering until next OR when the victim had already enough money to survive. So, third place from that event first round, as well.
Later we tried Kids of Carcassonne with 4 grown-ups - and this game ROCKS as a strategy game! :) Well, ok... let's say as strategical party game - or something like that. Anyway, I haven't laughed so much for a long time as I did when playing this game, 4 times in a row. It's fast, it's highly tile-dependant and every move you make is good either for you or somebody else. Most of the times - for somebody else.
Dominion is a game, too dry for me for playing it with friends. Strange thing is, though, that as Android app - it's quite entertaining. I have played it 60+ times on tablet - but I have no desire whatsoever to even try playing it face-to-face. Go figure.
I was part of the 18xx-gang with playing the 1856 and it was also a nice (a bit long-ish, though) experience. It was also one of the rare times this game ended with bankruptcy (had happened only once so far), so it was kind of "sudden death" experience for everybody. I was left third in 5-player game but I was happy with the result nevertheless - my game start and mid-play were executed almost perfectly, at the moment of bankruptcy I had two companies with 2 x 5-trains and 1x 6-train. Now I just have to start paying more attention to possible bankruptcy evasion mechanisms for other players, as well :) Actually in my first game of 1830 in 5-Nation Tournament I already had similar situation when I was facing option to trigger phase change and thus also bankruptcy of one player - but being an PBE-game I had more time for analysing and noticed that I would've been left in fourth place this way... so I had to postpone the triggering until next OR when the victim had already enough money to survive. So, third place from that event first round, as well.
Later we tried Kids of Carcassonne with 4 grown-ups - and this game ROCKS as a strategy game! :) Well, ok... let's say as strategical party game - or something like that. Anyway, I haven't laughed so much for a long time as I did when playing this game, 4 times in a row. It's fast, it's highly tile-dependant and every move you make is good either for you or somebody else. Most of the times - for somebody else.
Dominion is a game, too dry for me for playing it with friends. Strange thing is, though, that as Android app - it's quite entertaining. I have played it 60+ times on tablet - but I have no desire whatsoever to even try playing it face-to-face. Go figure.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Silence may be golden... but not anymore. Hopefully, from now on, I have enough time again for gaming. And writing about it. Busy times, bygone.
Tried Merchant of Venus recently and I was pretty surprised about how this game can be quite enjoyable, while using the "good old" roll-and-move mechanics. Made me wonder if Snakes & Ladders could be improved by adding some pick-up-and-deliver parts to it :)
Also had an opportunity to try out two games from local, Estonian designers - Construction Zone and Alles Käse. The latter is pretty surprising nice filler, where you can get maximum value from minimal components. Although the rules are written a bit in illogical order (at least for me, so couple of first plays were played by wrong rules) but despite that it's pretty good. The former is a bit more set collection and has less meaningful choices I'd really enjoy - so, not my cup of tea. And the cards felt a bit flimsy (is that a word, actually? Well, Google says it is, good for me!) as well. At least it's fast to play.
2-player Brass is still a hit. I remember that my first time ever with this game I managed to play surprisingly good high-income game (was left second by narrow margin in 3-player game) - but no matter how hard I have tried now, haven't been able to repeat it. Taking loans is soooo tempting. And easy :)
A bit of wargaming as well. Combat Commander first, with me in charge of Polish forces against Ze Germanz. Enjoyable play, as usually, with both sides having chance to win during last turn. Polish forces had to eliminate one more German unit... while the Axis needed just to survive the turn. Axis won :)
Another wargame played was Napoleons Triumph - where Russian forces managed to make quite devastating offensive moves during forst couple of turns and the rest was... waiting for inevitable to happen. It felt like playing Twilight Struggle first time with somebody who knows all the cards and the possible outcomes.
Th-th-th-that's all folks!
Tried Merchant of Venus recently and I was pretty surprised about how this game can be quite enjoyable, while using the "good old" roll-and-move mechanics. Made me wonder if Snakes & Ladders could be improved by adding some pick-up-and-deliver parts to it :)
Also had an opportunity to try out two games from local, Estonian designers - Construction Zone and Alles Käse. The latter is pretty surprising nice filler, where you can get maximum value from minimal components. Although the rules are written a bit in illogical order (at least for me, so couple of first plays were played by wrong rules) but despite that it's pretty good. The former is a bit more set collection and has less meaningful choices I'd really enjoy - so, not my cup of tea. And the cards felt a bit flimsy (is that a word, actually? Well, Google says it is, good for me!) as well. At least it's fast to play.
2-player Brass is still a hit. I remember that my first time ever with this game I managed to play surprisingly good high-income game (was left second by narrow margin in 3-player game) - but no matter how hard I have tried now, haven't been able to repeat it. Taking loans is soooo tempting. And easy :)
A bit of wargaming as well. Combat Commander first, with me in charge of Polish forces against Ze Germanz. Enjoyable play, as usually, with both sides having chance to win during last turn. Polish forces had to eliminate one more German unit... while the Axis needed just to survive the turn. Axis won :)
Another wargame played was Napoleons Triumph - where Russian forces managed to make quite devastating offensive moves during forst couple of turns and the rest was... waiting for inevitable to happen. It felt like playing Twilight Struggle first time with somebody who knows all the cards and the possible outcomes.
Th-th-th-that's all folks!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Last week has been quite quiet in boardgaming terms. One Battleship Express. One Innovation. One Power Grid with Benelux expansion. I had good memories about Power Grid but, while playing it, suddenly remembered why this game is not high in my personal TOP. I like games where there is tension until the last move - but with Power Grid it's usually clear earlier already, about who is going to win. If somebody manages to get the power plants in total of 17 or higher, he's also the winner and last round(s) change little - so basically the game is for me just picking the correct power plants from the auction. I don't blame the game like it's broken or something - it's just not for me.
The good news is, that I received the demo-proto-beta copies of my next game, Roundhouse Kick, with close-to-final artwork, for final playtesting. At least yesterday, with friends, everybody was quite happy. Yes, I know that with friends testing you have to alter the feedback Good=OK, OK=Bad, Excellent-can-we-make-babies-together=Good but the feedback was great even with those standards :) Let's see how it goes now, more tests ahead. If anybody is interested, final artwork/rules/etc will be available in 2d6.ee web when finalized, more unofficial updates and latest information can be found from publisher's Facebook page.
The good news is, that I received the demo-proto-beta copies of my next game, Roundhouse Kick, with close-to-final artwork, for final playtesting. At least yesterday, with friends, everybody was quite happy. Yes, I know that with friends testing you have to alter the feedback Good=OK, OK=Bad, Excellent-can-we-make-babies-together=Good but the feedback was great even with those standards :) Let's see how it goes now, more tests ahead. If anybody is interested, final artwork/rules/etc will be available in 2d6.ee web when finalized, more unofficial updates and latest information can be found from publisher's Facebook page.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Resistance is "game of the month" in store, so it was a good opportunity to try it out, naturally. I was a bit afraid at the beginning about the similarity with Werewolf - as when people start to call players for this game it's clear signal for me to leave and go home - but Resistance was surprisingly good. With 5 players it was still a meh, but with 8 pretty good experience. Only downside for me is that the gameplay seems to be a bit in resistance's favour - if you manage to select no spys to your first mission it helps a lot - but this guess is based on only 5 plays. So it's just a gut feeling.
Played also 1817 during weekend. Ca 12 hours, real slugfest, lots of mistakes - as out of 6 players I was the only one familiar with rules but had no time/concentration to track all the activities.
Campaign Manager 2008 is quite nice fast-paced game with theme similar to 1960: The Making of the President. Compared to 1960 it's played faster, some randomness is included and the rules are really-really simple. You take one card (up to the limit of 5 cards) or you play one card. As a result, I like it more than 1960, and a lot more than Twilight Struggle.
Played also 1817 during weekend. Ca 12 hours, real slugfest, lots of mistakes - as out of 6 players I was the only one familiar with rules but had no time/concentration to track all the activities.
Campaign Manager 2008 is quite nice fast-paced game with theme similar to 1960: The Making of the President. Compared to 1960 it's played faster, some randomness is included and the rules are really-really simple. You take one card (up to the limit of 5 cards) or you play one card. As a result, I like it more than 1960, and a lot more than Twilight Struggle.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Just by chance I happened to be in my store yesterday when friend of mine stepped in to collect a game he had ordered. And just by chance he thought that we might try it while unwrapping from shrink. While he was reading the rules I was browsing the cards and somehow they were a bit familiar to me. I was quite positive I hadn't seen this game before but nevertheless... that awkward feeling I had played this mechanic some time earlier somewehere. But where? And how did it happen?
Suddenly I remembered. It was what - 3 years ago? - when I volunteered in BGG to test one simple cardgame mechanics. I printed it out, played in our game group, analyzed and sent some feedback. And forgot about it. Until some months ago I found the test copy and even wondered about what had became of this game. I checked now the game rules - and hooray! - I'm even listed as one of the playtesters! :)
So, everybody - buy and play Libertalia - it's actually really good game with simple rules. The kind I like. And thanks to it, I'm now also a credited playtester :)
Suddenly I remembered. It was what - 3 years ago? - when I volunteered in BGG to test one simple cardgame mechanics. I printed it out, played in our game group, analyzed and sent some feedback. And forgot about it. Until some months ago I found the test copy and even wondered about what had became of this game. I checked now the game rules - and hooray! - I'm even listed as one of the playtesters! :)
So, everybody - buy and play Libertalia - it's actually really good game with simple rules. The kind I like. And thanks to it, I'm now also a credited playtester :)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Get Bit! I really don't understand it. Shark, eating swimming robots. I suspect it should be humorous. Meh.
Ebola Monkey Hunt. They key is to get the Monkey #3 - getting all the rest is piece of cake. Pure roll-and-move with cheap-o components... but at least there is some potential hidden in theme. You just have to rewrite the mechanics, option cards, monkey cards, board, graphics etc etc :)
Age of Mythology - with 2 it's ok, with 3 players a bit below the par. During battle there is practically nothing to do for third player. Also, as it was pointed out, there is too much different plastic (units) included - as there is not enough time to get them all for initiating some combos. But perhaps that's the intention - if you want the variety in units, you just concentrate into gather-recruit from the beginning of game. What I like in this game is the VP allocation but there could've been more cards (i.e. more variety) to choose from.
And it seems the 60+ readers was a FeedBurner glitch and we're back in steady 7. I suspect I know you all on personal level... so why do I keep writing in English? :-D
Ebola Monkey Hunt. They key is to get the Monkey #3 - getting all the rest is piece of cake. Pure roll-and-move with cheap-o components... but at least there is some potential hidden in theme. You just have to rewrite the mechanics, option cards, monkey cards, board, graphics etc etc :)
Age of Mythology - with 2 it's ok, with 3 players a bit below the par. During battle there is practically nothing to do for third player. Also, as it was pointed out, there is too much different plastic (units) included - as there is not enough time to get them all for initiating some combos. But perhaps that's the intention - if you want the variety in units, you just concentrate into gather-recruit from the beginning of game. What I like in this game is the VP allocation but there could've been more cards (i.e. more variety) to choose from.
And it seems the 60+ readers was a FeedBurner glitch and we're back in steady 7. I suspect I know you all on personal level... so why do I keep writing in English? :-D
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Economy games are my favourite type of games. I can't even imagine, why. I fully admit that for some people these look like chores... or accounting... or solving math exercises. On the other hand - I find most of the set collection games quite repetitive and boring, so go figure.
Anyhow. I played Poseidon second time yesterday and decided to write down some thoughts about it. Basically it's an 18xx system, stripped down to the basics and then given an euro-style look. You know, fixed length, no stocks per se, merchants, temples etc - but at the heart the 18xx basic mechanics are still recognizable. But for going bankrupt you have to try it very hard.
About the game then. I started the purple company (umm... sorry, country. With some ancient name I can't remember, so let's call it Purple. Company.) with 5 merchants and bought all of these. As from the initial purchase round I got the double-value private (yeah-yeah) I used it already at ER1 next to my base, so I got to run 8-income tile already with 2-ships. During ER2 I ran for 55 income so this was pretty neat (compared to 18-20 incomes) and as neither green or black company were started, purple had good opportunity to own all the gulf left from the peninsula (area excluded from 2-player games).
First half of game was quite slowplay, in shiprusting terms - we had Phase 1 until the MR3. I was quite happy with it, as my two cheap 2-ships were generating nice profit. When MR3 started it was quite clear that during next ER there will be new phase triggered, so everybody tried to secure another country for himself. I had the last opportunity to do so - but there was only Black left and it was kinda blocked out already by Purple - but I decided that having friendly Black nearby is better than hostile, so I started it as cheap as possible for maximizing the overall revenue.
What happened during next ER was that not one new phase was triggered but it happened even twice - so both 2- and 3-ships were rusted/sunk during that round. Yellow had some serious issues with one 4-ship and facing the arrival of E-ships with not enough money. Another interesting moment was that when MR3 ended there were no merchants available in merchant pool... but at the end of next ER there was plenty of there, in all the colours.
Last rounds went quite fast, due to forced purchases both yellow and the union of green-blue were out of competition to the first place. All the rest had quite healthy income (30+ per merchant) with their countries so it looked like there'll be fierce struggle for first place. And it was - when everybody had added together their wealth, it appeared that difference between first and second place was 9 money, between second and third place 32 money. As the total wealth was near to 3000 you can imagine how close results those were. Especially as I had the second place :)
Good game, afterall. In other news: looks like in my 5 Nation 1830 tournament I've secured the third place. 1830 is a cut-throating game :)
Anyhow. I played Poseidon second time yesterday and decided to write down some thoughts about it. Basically it's an 18xx system, stripped down to the basics and then given an euro-style look. You know, fixed length, no stocks per se, merchants, temples etc - but at the heart the 18xx basic mechanics are still recognizable. But for going bankrupt you have to try it very hard.
About the game then. I started the purple company (umm... sorry, country. With some ancient name I can't remember, so let's call it Purple. Company.) with 5 merchants and bought all of these. As from the initial purchase round I got the double-value private (yeah-yeah) I used it already at ER1 next to my base, so I got to run 8-income tile already with 2-ships. During ER2 I ran for 55 income so this was pretty neat (compared to 18-20 incomes) and as neither green or black company were started, purple had good opportunity to own all the gulf left from the peninsula (area excluded from 2-player games).
First half of game was quite slowplay, in shiprusting terms - we had Phase 1 until the MR3. I was quite happy with it, as my two cheap 2-ships were generating nice profit. When MR3 started it was quite clear that during next ER there will be new phase triggered, so everybody tried to secure another country for himself. I had the last opportunity to do so - but there was only Black left and it was kinda blocked out already by Purple - but I decided that having friendly Black nearby is better than hostile, so I started it as cheap as possible for maximizing the overall revenue.
What happened during next ER was that not one new phase was triggered but it happened even twice - so both 2- and 3-ships were rusted/sunk during that round. Yellow had some serious issues with one 4-ship and facing the arrival of E-ships with not enough money. Another interesting moment was that when MR3 ended there were no merchants available in merchant pool... but at the end of next ER there was plenty of there, in all the colours.
Last rounds went quite fast, due to forced purchases both yellow and the union of green-blue were out of competition to the first place. All the rest had quite healthy income (30+ per merchant) with their countries so it looked like there'll be fierce struggle for first place. And it was - when everybody had added together their wealth, it appeared that difference between first and second place was 9 money, between second and third place 32 money. As the total wealth was near to 3000 you can imagine how close results those were. Especially as I had the second place :)
Good game, afterall. In other news: looks like in my 5 Nation 1830 tournament I've secured the third place. 1830 is a cut-throating game :)
Monday, January 28, 2013
Luckily we have here some gamers who are not afraid when box says "4-8 hours" about playtime... so last weekend I had nice game of Revolution: The Dutch Revolt 1568-1648. It simulates the power struggle between five fractions during Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands. It was first time for all players and at least I had some cautious approach towards this game - will it be at least some moderate fun or complete waste of time. Instead it was very tense and enjoyable game, after we managed to get through the rules (2 hrs for that).
We had four players, so Nobility fraction was not participating, but Catholics, Habsburgs, Burghers and Reformers were all there. I got the Burghers, so my special victory points were coming from securing the "high-commerce" towns. After first round Catholics had big lead but during next turn they were (naturally) quite heavily pulled back. With great help of Habsburgs, I should mention - closest fraction to ally with for Catholics - so the Pope had to hire some expensive armies and this was the start of their downfall. Well, not only this... but I suppose this was the ignition. As a result of those conquests Habsburgs had quite a nice lead during next turn - so all eyes turned to them. Meanwhile I had managed to get quite a nice setup, with establishing strong base to the Geldland and Holland but Reformers were quite weak. I was afraid that Habsburgs continue their invasion into my lightly-guarded territories in Zeeland, so wealthy Burghers spent some money to change the influence of two cities in Flanders into strongly Reformist. This was the biggest mistake I made - and this time it was also determining the winner - but we knew nothing as half the game was still ahead. What happened was that suddenly Reformers became from nothing into everything and with that momentum it was quite impossible to stop them. But still, game was on and Burghers were leading on score track, so my intent was to maintain the status quo. Burghers hired an massive army and tried to "liberate" the Artois - but without success. During last turn Burghers lost one of their cities to Reformers by citizen allegiance, another by siege - and this was enough for Reformers to win with end scores as 12-11-10-10.
An excellent game! Total playtime (excluding the rules explanation): 5 hours.
We had four players, so Nobility fraction was not participating, but Catholics, Habsburgs, Burghers and Reformers were all there. I got the Burghers, so my special victory points were coming from securing the "high-commerce" towns. After first round Catholics had big lead but during next turn they were (naturally) quite heavily pulled back. With great help of Habsburgs, I should mention - closest fraction to ally with for Catholics - so the Pope had to hire some expensive armies and this was the start of their downfall. Well, not only this... but I suppose this was the ignition. As a result of those conquests Habsburgs had quite a nice lead during next turn - so all eyes turned to them. Meanwhile I had managed to get quite a nice setup, with establishing strong base to the Geldland and Holland but Reformers were quite weak. I was afraid that Habsburgs continue their invasion into my lightly-guarded territories in Zeeland, so wealthy Burghers spent some money to change the influence of two cities in Flanders into strongly Reformist. This was the biggest mistake I made - and this time it was also determining the winner - but we knew nothing as half the game was still ahead. What happened was that suddenly Reformers became from nothing into everything and with that momentum it was quite impossible to stop them. But still, game was on and Burghers were leading on score track, so my intent was to maintain the status quo. Burghers hired an massive army and tried to "liberate" the Artois - but without success. During last turn Burghers lost one of their cities to Reformers by citizen allegiance, another by siege - and this was enough for Reformers to win with end scores as 12-11-10-10.
An excellent game! Total playtime (excluding the rules explanation): 5 hours.
Friday, January 25, 2013
And now for something completely different. Well, not completely different... but still. I have played the Arkham-themed Elder Sign only 2 times as boardgame... but more than 30 times on my Android. I had played the "computerized" versions of boardgames earlier as well, but when I tried this first time, it was astonishing. I bought it one evening around 11-ish PM and decided to give it a go once. You know, one of those "I will just check if this will work" moments. Next time I was looking at clock it was 2 AM. This game is addictive. Best 3€ ever spent for a game.
Graphics are excellent, game is running smoothly and, as you are in charge of all 4 investigators, there is no downtime at all. With my favourite "team combo" I have managed now to defeat all three Ancients included in base game (yes, you can buy expansions as well, for couple of dollars each) but I wouldn't say that the base game is now becoming "exhausted" or "boring". Not at all - plenty of other investigators yet to try, so Elder Sign: Omens is still a perfect solution for situations when you have 15-30 minutes free time with nothing to do.
And despite of having played it a lot on Android, I'm still ready to play also the FTF game with good company.
Graphics are excellent, game is running smoothly and, as you are in charge of all 4 investigators, there is no downtime at all. With my favourite "team combo" I have managed now to defeat all three Ancients included in base game (yes, you can buy expansions as well, for couple of dollars each) but I wouldn't say that the base game is now becoming "exhausted" or "boring". Not at all - plenty of other investigators yet to try, so Elder Sign: Omens is still a perfect solution for situations when you have 15-30 minutes free time with nothing to do.
And despite of having played it a lot on Android, I'm still ready to play also the FTF game with good company.
Monday, January 21, 2013
During last couple of months there were constantly 7 readers of this blog, according to Feedreader. And then, after some messing with Blogger's conf module this number jumped to 66. I'm not even sure which number would be more correct :)
Anyhow. About the games then. Last Friday I received my designer copies of my second designed game - small and simple card game Puppy School. Yay. Promotional game, so won't be available from stores near you.
Whn I look at my January playlog, the biggest hit is... dum-dum-dum.... Start Player! We played it 7 times in a row in our New Year party during first 15 minutes of this year. I won only once but the owner got the majority of wins, so I heavily suspect that his card deck was modified. Should be banned!
Second on the list is Astra Titanus - an zip-lock solitaire game from VPG. Until I got it (thanks, Tim!) I had no interest in zip-lock games, solitaire games nor VPG. I'm glad to say that this one game changed everything. It has relatively short playtime, space battles theme, clear rules, decent amount of counters (i.e. chits) - what would you want besides of that? I have played it 4 times, won first three scenarios, lost terribly fourth one ("Terrible Twins"). Those two titans drove all the way until they were in the middle of our fleet and then, at the same time, fired their Omega weapons. Kaboom-kaboom-kaboom - my heavy cruisers were damaged and then kaboom-kaboom-kaboom... what heavy cruisers? An excellent game!
Third place goes to... Uchronia. My wife bought the second-hand copy and we've had lots of fun with it. Shorter and simpler than Innovation, but still quite a good game.
And then in no particular order. Android: Netrunner. A game I have teached to more people than I have managed to play myself. Really promising game. ("Promising game", heh - A:N is currently in BGG TOP10). Braggart - a game I have to thank my Secret Santa for. Really nice filler/icebreaker, you just have to be fluent in English. But that hasn't been a problem so far. Most of the times. König von Siam - after I read the rules, my first thought was: Liberte, Light Edition. But it's not like Liberte, although you have to collect some followers during power struggles between three factions. Pretty interesting mechanics. Oddville - from makers of Vinhos and Vasco da Gama. Simple, fast and enjoyable. That's the way I like it.
Ok, that's all folks. Have to keep something for next time. Perhaps a bit more in-depth overview about something then. Another playtest is waiting tonight, for Roundhouse Kick (working title). At least the name is catchy, eh? :)
Anyhow. About the games then. Last Friday I received my designer copies of my second designed game - small and simple card game Puppy School. Yay. Promotional game, so won't be available from stores near you.
Whn I look at my January playlog, the biggest hit is... dum-dum-dum.... Start Player! We played it 7 times in a row in our New Year party during first 15 minutes of this year. I won only once but the owner got the majority of wins, so I heavily suspect that his card deck was modified. Should be banned!
Second on the list is Astra Titanus - an zip-lock solitaire game from VPG. Until I got it (thanks, Tim!) I had no interest in zip-lock games, solitaire games nor VPG. I'm glad to say that this one game changed everything. It has relatively short playtime, space battles theme, clear rules, decent amount of counters (i.e. chits) - what would you want besides of that? I have played it 4 times, won first three scenarios, lost terribly fourth one ("Terrible Twins"). Those two titans drove all the way until they were in the middle of our fleet and then, at the same time, fired their Omega weapons. Kaboom-kaboom-kaboom - my heavy cruisers were damaged and then kaboom-kaboom-kaboom... what heavy cruisers? An excellent game!
Third place goes to... Uchronia. My wife bought the second-hand copy and we've had lots of fun with it. Shorter and simpler than Innovation, but still quite a good game.
And then in no particular order. Android: Netrunner. A game I have teached to more people than I have managed to play myself. Really promising game. ("Promising game", heh - A:N is currently in BGG TOP10). Braggart - a game I have to thank my Secret Santa for. Really nice filler/icebreaker, you just have to be fluent in English. But that hasn't been a problem so far. Most of the times. König von Siam - after I read the rules, my first thought was: Liberte, Light Edition. But it's not like Liberte, although you have to collect some followers during power struggles between three factions. Pretty interesting mechanics. Oddville - from makers of Vinhos and Vasco da Gama. Simple, fast and enjoyable. That's the way I like it.
Ok, that's all folks. Have to keep something for next time. Perhaps a bit more in-depth overview about something then. Another playtest is waiting tonight, for Roundhouse Kick (working title). At least the name is catchy, eh? :)
Friday, January 18, 2013
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