tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56786838588715883702024-03-09T18:45:52.323-08:00Matt's Board Game Back RoomJoin me in my cozy little back room filled with games! Ooh and ah at some new releases. Learn about some more recent games. Or, look back at some older and classic games. From Euros to Ameritrash, kids games to grown-up games, easy to intense - nothing much is ignored in Matt's Board Game Back Room!Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-44238335082332932762013-12-17T22:51:00.000-08:002013-12-17T22:51:08.741-08:00ADVENTURES IN THRIFTING - Cardboard Tidal Wave +POLL ABOUT THRIFTING GAMESI am awash in games. Not just 'new' games but also games I have thrifted. The garage is filling up with them. It is a cardboard tidal wave. Sometimes I'm ok with it, other times I feel like I'm drowning.<br /><br />A while ago, when a 'friend' suggested thrifting was fun and a good way to sometimes find some interesting games, but I was skeptical. Well, at some point I decided to go. I felt a bit anxious going in - thrift stores had a sort of stigma in my mind for some reason that it was all just junk. I'm not sure why because my grandfather used to go all the time - he was a machinist and found all sorts of interesting things...I guess I never really realized that back then as a kid, but he got all sorts of expensive tools and machinery for a bargain, plus he could fix broken stuff most times so probably some REALLY good deals as a result.<br /><br />Anyhow, I don't remember specifically the first time going, but I did find my first thrift list post:<br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/61774/item/1493599#item1493599">Item for Geeklist "Your Thrift Store / Bargain 6 - 12 December 2010" </a>- Clue with the painted miniature figures (instead of dumb pawns like in the version I had as a kid) for the unbelievable bargain of $1.99!<br /><br />Also, I posted from the same trip a Netrunner starter pack SEALED for $1.00 (<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/61774/item/1493601#item1493601">Item for Geeklist "Your Thrift Store / Bargain 6 - 12 December 2010" </a>). This was before the reprint so it was a really great find (well, still is, but perhaps not as valuable now)<br /><br />And a 1960's double deck of standard cards but with really nifty Native Amercan/Asian inspired artwork by Heraclio Fournier Vitoria for $0.99 (<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/61774/item/1493606#item1493606">Item for Geeklist "Your Thrift Store / Bargain 6 - 12 December 2010" </a>)<br /><br />Pretty neat stuff!<br /><br />I'm pretty sure those weren't my first finds though. At first I didn't really record/post what I found but I'm pretty sure prior to those posts I'd actually found a variety of other games, nothing hugely exciting, but stuff I was interested in at least and it was all cheap!<br /><br />Anyhow, it was all very intoxicating and I bought a lot of stuff I didn't really need or want, so I learned after a while I couldn't buy EVERYTHING. I also came to realize later that for some reason, the area I live in is a hotbed of thrifting goodness attributed to the Pacific Northwest in terms of games - other areas of the US are not so fruitful unfortunately. But when you have a lot of choices it is easy to go overboard, at least at first...<br /><a name='more'></a>Eventually, I learned to 'pick and choose'. Ok, that's a relative term - I still tend to pick up stuff I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. <br /><br />Fortunately, some games I can re-sell for a tidy profit which helps fund future thrift purchases and nets me a lot of 'free' games when factoring in what $ I get out of some games. So, what games have I sold?<br /><br />My best deal was buying <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2129/crossbows-and-catapults">Crossbows and Catapults</a> for ~$2.99 and selling it a year later (after playing with it first) for ~$180! Nothing else has garnered that much, but other stuff has done really well such as <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/699/heroquest">Heroquest</a> and one of its expansions, Civilization (mostly unpunched), <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172/for-sale">For Sale</a> (in shrink), <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25669/qwirkle">Qwirkle</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1289/smess-the-ninnys-chess">Smess</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/320/scrabble">Scrabble Deluxe</a> turntable, vintage <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2181/bridge">Bridge</a> boards, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2653/survive-escape-from-atlantis">Survive</a> and more!<br /><br />On the other hand, many have become keepers such as <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/77130/sid-meiers-civilization-the-board-game">Sid Meier's Civiliation</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3284/star-wars-epic-duels">Star Wars Epic Duels</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11170/heroscape-master-set-rise-of-the-valkyrie">Heroscape</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1301/netrunner">Netrunner</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7866/10-days-in-the-usa">10 Days in the USA</a> & <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7865/10-days-in-africa">Africa</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16267/trans-europa">Trans Europa</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/140/pit">Pit</a>(various versions), <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1835/scrutineyes">Scrutineyes</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10550/big-boggle">Big Boggle</a>.<br /><br />But many, MANY games have just piled up and piled up. I am drawn to many games for a variety of reasons if not for monetary value. Sometimes it is nostalgia, sometimes it looks like fun to try, sometimes it is the artwork or the look, sometimes uniqueness (it isn't in the BGG database or needs more pictures) and sometimes it is 'just for the cool bits'<br /><br />All those different varieties of Monopoly that most gamers pass on? I often look at the different versions to see if they have interesting pewter movers, different house pieces, interesting artwork, etc. Those movers can really be appealing and interesting. Lets just say I have my fair share of them now. More than I care to admit.<br /><br />But now I have lots of 'cool bits'. And dice. I have LOTS of various bits. I SWEAR they will be useful. Someday. <br /><br />I've filled up a jar with a wide variety of dice (and have many more lying around). Its pretty neat to look at. And the kids always want to play with them...........<br /><br />Luckily I have some space in the garage to keep the thrifted games. And, I have also purchased organizer units to store all the cool bits. One was given to us for free, but one I purchased. Ironically, it was not thrifted (although it wasn't too expensive either)<br /><br />Those piles of games and bits get a bit overwhelming sometimes and I wonder if its worth it. I really enjoy the hunt of thrifting and finding some great treasures, sometimes by sheer luck (instinct?) other times because I've read up on what is valuable and what isn't. I think its that joy that keeps me going back - finding something amazing, or even anticipating finding something regardless of if I actually do or not. Perhaps its the caveman in me - hunting for that big prey... <br /><br />I also enjoy reading the thrift lists and seeing what other people have picked up - they find really interesting games and great deals on some amazing games. For those that don't know, there is a new list posted each week that starts Monday and runs through Sunday - the most recent is here: <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/166527/your-thrift-storebargain-finds-9-15-december-201">Your Thrift Store/Bargain Finds 9 - 15 December 2013</a> (or do a search for 'thrift list' under geeklists to find the most recent). <br /><br />I never have time to read through much of the list - I usually just 'look' over items near the items I've posted when I find stuff.<br /><br />Hmmmmm, this has got me thinking so I'm curious to know how many people go to thrift stores looking for games themselves and, if they do, do they post them to the thrift lists here on BGG?<br /><br />Perhaps a POLL is in order. Please take a moment if you are so inclined (and post a comment for some of the 'other' items if you want - or to give an idea of what/why if you don't want to take the poll). <div>
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NOTE: Go to my <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/25704" target="_blank">BGG post to see the poll and submit to it</a> - if you're a BGG user that is...</div>
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Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-77325869708214362402013-12-11T10:05:00.002-08:002013-12-11T10:05:42.208-08:00THE CREATIVE GAMER - To Trash or Not to Trash Inserts PLUS My New Obsession with Foam Core Inserts<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lately, my family has been re-visting <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/822/carcassonne">Carcassonne</a> quite a bit - my parents picked up a copy last year and have been playing it off and on along with <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7717/carcassonne-the-castle">Carcassonne: The Castle</a> a little. <br /><br />When playing at our house, when we pull it out I'm surprised how much stuff we have crammed in there. In addition to the base game we have the River, the River II, Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders, The Catapult, The Princess & the Dragon, The King & the Scout and, I think, one other mini expansion. ALSO, very early on I also added more sets of meeples from<a href="http://www.meeplepeople.com/">http://www.meeplepeople.com</a> - I think we have 10 different color options including Pink, Macaroni (i.e. cheese colored orange), naked (natural wood), brown, purple, and white. Each has the giant meeple, builder, pig and a few extras of the regular meeples.<br /><br />Its a challenge getting all that in the box, but somehow it fits. However, its a big mass of baggies, mini cardboard boxes (that come with a couple of the small expansions) and various other bits. <br /><br />In the past I've posted a lot about my storage solutions using a variety of plastic boxes, plano boxes, baggies, etc. But I don't think a plano will solve this problem and plastic boxes for everything start taking up too much space. The baggies let me smoosh them in.<br /><br />Take a look at this mess:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1861492"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1861492_md.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1861494"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1861494_md.jpg" /></a><br /><br />This gives me angst. A LOT of angst. (And NO I'm not buying the whole thing again as the Big Box version)<br /><a name='more'></a>After all my previous work on how to more efficiently use the inside space of my game boxes, for some reason I never thought about creating an actual WHOLE NEW INSERT for a game.<br /><br />Recently I've taken to reading the geek lists that show home-grown insert solutions using foam core (aka foam board). I'm somewhat familiar with foam core as we used it extensively when I studied Architecture in college to build models, but it never occurred to me to use it in my game boxes.<br /><br />My initial interest was with <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126163/tzolkin-the-mayan-calendar">Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar</a> as I was obsessed with it and even painted my gears in a lot of detail. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1862600"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1862600_md.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />Someone came up with a neat storage solution supporting the gear/board pieces to minimize warping/damage when stored:</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/931008/homemade-insert-to-keep-the-boards-secure">Homemade insert to keep the boards secure</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1569524"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1569524_md.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />That got me looking around and since then I've been following a couple of lists of certain gamers that have created multiple foam inserts for their games. <br /><br />In my poking around I discovered there sure are a lot of geeklists about game inserts in general...<br /><br />Game inserts that are awesome:<br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/149474/games-that-got-the-inserts-and-storage-trays-right">Games that got the inserts and storage trays right.</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/73420/best-inserts">Best Inserts</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/62444/putting-it-all-together-the-best-box-inserts-ever">Putting it all together: the best box inserts EVER!</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/52142/dont-throw-that-insert-out">Don't throw that insert out!</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/41461/games-with-good-inserts">Games with good inserts</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/27242/naked-exposed-the-great-list-of-box-inserts">Naked & Exposed - The Great List of Box Inserts</a> (well, this one is somewhere in-between)<br /><br />Game inserts that suck:<br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/139517/inserts-huh-yeah-what-are-they-good-for-absolute">Inserts, huh, yeah! What are they good for?! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/65421/games-with-problematic-andor-useless-inserts-pleas">Games with Problematic and/or Useless Inserts [Please Add]</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/47258/worst-box-inserts">Worst box inserts</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/46099/horrible-box-inserts">Horrible Box Inserts</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/42250/a-few-games-that-i-threw-out-the-insert-to-and-why">A few games that I threw out the insert to and why</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/41459/games-with-bad-inserts">Games with bad inserts</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/26860/the-awful-generic-plastic-insert">The Awful Generic Plastic Insert</a><br /><br />Interestingly, some games are on both the Good AND the Bad inserts lists. Go figure.<br /><br />Game inserts custom made using foam core:<br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/166374/my-diy-foam-core-box-insert-projects">My DIY Foam Core Box Insert Projects</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/162671/28greens-collection-of-foam-board-inserts">28green's Collection of Foam Board Inserts </a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/164582/walsfeos-box-inserts-storage-solutions">Walsfeo's Box Inserts & Storage Solutions. </a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/163253/o-foam-core-how-do-i-love-thee">O Foam Core, how do I love thee</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/163933/photojenics-collection-of-amateur-foam-board-inser">Photojenic's Collection of Amateur Foam Board Inserts. </a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/148446/modding-game-storage">Modding Game Storage</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/163017/my-foamcore-inserts">My Foamcore Inserts</a><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/115468/foam-core-insert-modifications">Foam core insert modifications</a><br /><br />When I first got into gaming I kept everything religiously. The inserts. The extra papers/advertising. EVERYTHING. Well, I usually tossed recycled (I'm from Oregon you know) the cardboard sprues after punching the pieces out, but other than that, nothing left the box.<br /><br />After a time, I started to realize that was ridiculous for many games. There are a few games I keep the inserts for because they look nice, are reasonably functional, or are part of an expensive/valuable game. It literally used to made me feel sick/sad for tossing the inserts, but after I got over my initial fears, it became easier and easier.<br /><br />When I first started gaming, baggies were my primary method of storing bits and cards. I bought them by the hundreds (thousands?) from <a href="http://www.boardsandbits.com/">http://www.boardsandbits.com</a>. Then, adding plastic boxes, planos, etc, became the norm.<br /><br />But now, I'm fascinated with foam core. I'm on the verge of being obsessed. In fact, I recently bought a pack of foam core boards off of Amazon for a decent price. I also found a great mat cutter for a reasonable price as well - not for foam core initially, but I came to realize later it will cut the foam core very nicely.<br /><br />NOW, I just need to get working on it. Along with all my other gazillion projects.........<br /><br />What will be first? Probably Tzolkin. Maybe Carcassonne. Looking through the lists I mentioned previously it made me realize how many games I have that are in desperate need of help. DESPERATE. NEED. OF. HELP.<br /><br />Oh, here's another...<br />Keyflower (and, the expansion is on the way - shipped today! - so need to figure out how to cram it all into one box if I can!):<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1862602"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1862602_md.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><b>So here's my initial list of possible projects:</b><br /><ul>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126163/tzolkin-the-mayan-calendar">Tzolkin</a> (required for protecting the gears)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/107529/kingdom-builder">Kingdom Builder</a> (required because finding the right tiles each time is annoying)</li>
<li>Keyflower (I struggle getting this in the box and sorting/setting up each time is a bit of a pain with baggies)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/110327/lords-of-waterdeep">Lords of Waterdeep</a> (original insert is neat...but annoying)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70/big-city">Big City</a> (mine didn't come with the plastic inserts and is a pain to set up every time)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33154/wasabi">Wasabi</a> (There are currently a LOT of baggies I'd like to get rid of)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31056/micro-mutants-evolution">Micro Mutants</a> (It's a pain to get out the right pieces every time)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24508/taluva">Taluva</a> (This is a tough one as I 'like' the insert and the game has value, but I store it vertically and the tiles always scatter when on the shelf)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31497/oregon">Oregon</a> (The tiles need some help, but not a huge issue yet...)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/822/carcassonne">Carcassonne</a> (TOO MANY BITS!!)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97207/dungeon-petz">Dungeon Petz</a> (ALSO TOO MANY BITS!!)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/71/civilization">Civilization</a> (Just because...)</li>
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Ok, so I'm off to go obsess about my first project...</span></div>
Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-36742894961575417352013-12-09T07:00:00.000-08:002013-12-09T09:28:11.438-08:00JUST GAMING AROUND - Snow = Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries?! (x2)?!<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">It snowed where I live last Friday. A LOT (at least for us). From 2am to 5pm we got 6 inches of snow! Yea! Well, that's what my kids said. My cats said YIKES! And my wife was happy for the snow, but not happy for wet and freezing kids after playing in it, but was happy I mostly dealt with them and got them cocoa and such.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">The following Saturday afternoon and evening turned into a gaming bonus for me! My daughter and I played Morels after she completed her homework. Then, my son and I played Pecking Order (x4) before he went to bed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Here are Quick Reviews of each...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><b>MORELS</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Take a walk through the forest collecting Mushrooms. Cook them up in your pans for points, or sell them for digging sticks that might help you find more mushrooms. But watch out for the Destroying Angels as they may make you sick for a few turns! Keep a lookout for those Morels - get a proper amount and cook them up for some big points!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I taught this to my wife's friend last week on Thanksgiving. Then, I taught my Dad and my daughter (13). My Dad seemed to enjoy it and proceeded to beat me his first game! My daughter really took to it although she hasn't picked up fully on strategy yet. We've played it several times since then and she's getting better, learning from her mistakes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">The fun in this game is three-fold: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">1) You cannot go over the hand limit. Initially it is 8 but can be expanded by putting baskets into play. The hand limit creates angst in what to pick up - if you get too much variety you can't cook anything up and are stuck with hand of garbage. Focus too much on low point sets and you'll earn few points for a lot of work. There is great hand-management in this game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">2) The timing of what turns up in the forest and the 'decay' is tricky and you can easily miss out on what you need if you aren't careful. This combined with the hand limit are key to getting the timing correct. Also, timing of Destroying Angels can be problematic because they can 'taint' the Decay (cards that pile up and eventually move out of the game, or allow you to get up to 4 cards at once). But they are also useful if you get stuck with garbage in your hand since they allow you to discard when you normally can't - but at a potential high cost.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">3) There is enough variety in the card distributions in the deck that every game plays quite differently depending on how the cards come out and what choices the players make. I see myself getting a good amount of mileage from the game (and already have)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">The art is fantastic and the gameplay actually feels like you're walking along picking up mushrooms, cooking them up, etc. The gameplay is simple and the fun factor is high as the decisions can be very tough. Once learned it is quick to play and often you desire to play more than one round in a sitting. Love it! Oh, and it just made the Games 100 list as well!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><b>PECKING ORDER</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Place your birds on the various platforms and branches such that you earn more points than your opponent and become the top bird! Use bluffing and carefully timed attacks to scare off your opponents birds and steal those points away.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Pecking Order is a Richard Garfield game which never got a lot of attention. This is understandable to a point as the game is very simple and quick. It is the ultimate 2 player filler. My kids and I can play multiple games in 20-30 minutes so it's a fantastic 'quick game before bed' option that isn't boring.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">To play, you have a stack of bird 'cards' that number from 1 to 12, plus you have a Jaguar. You mix your deck and draw 1 card and play it, taking turns until all cards have been played. There are branches worth from 1 to 10 points that you can place them on, face down. If you place your bird on the same branch as you opponent, you 'attack' them. They turn theirs over and you state whether you 'won' the battle or not (higher value is better, ties go to the defender). The lowest branch allows you to ALWAYS win ties, the #3 branch lets you peek at one of your opponent's face-down bird, and the there are two '8' point branches when, if you capture both, you get a 3 point bonus. The Jaguar scares off the opponent's bird but he also leaves (you don't earn points for it)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">As you can see, the rules are simple but there is some amount of bluffing and deduction going on (you can figure out face-down bird values depending on what battles you lose, what birds you've already seen, etc). It is simple enough that young kids (even 4 or 5) can play and enjoy the theme, but interesting enough to keep you thinking. And it plays so fast its a great 'quick' game before bed, before (or during) a meal, etc. Fun game, definitely enjoy it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Well, I have one more game to discuss - the one in the title for this post: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31627/ticket-to-ride-nordic-countries" target="_blank">Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries</a></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I have not played a game 2p with my wife in a long time. This night I said "I don't suppose you'd like to play a game tonight, would you?" and she, surprisingly, said "Ok, sure!" Funny thing is, I was sure it would be a "No" as usual and didn't have ANY particular game in mind. It was later - 10:30pm - so I knew she didn't want to learn anything new at such a late hour.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I threw out the standbys - <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1545/flowerpower" target="_blank">Flowerpower</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5716/balloon-cup" target="_blank">Balloon Cup</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/822/carcassonne" target="_blank">Carcassonne</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2987/pirates-cove" target="_blank">Pirate's Cove</a> (2p variant - we have yet to try it), etc. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">She suggested, "How about Ticket to Ride?" </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">"Hmmm, which version?"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">"Since its snowing, how about the snow one?"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">"Nordic Countries?"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">"Yes!"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">"Ok, let me get the table cleaned off and set it up"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I quickly got it ready and checked the rules (I always have to verify the specifics for each version - which reminds me I keep meaning to make a good summary card that shows all the minor differences in rules between versions)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">She sat down, we reviewed and were off!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><i>Image by <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/Camdin" target="_blank">Camdin</a> on <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/" target="_blank">Boardgamegeek.com</a></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">The first game she got stuck mid-game drawing and drawing blindly to hopefully get a Locomotive (we call them rainbows) for a link she needed to complete a couple of her long routes. Meanwhile, I kept drawing more tickets and placing trains as I always seemed to get the right routes and have the right cards. My routes ran through the middle and then out to the side while hers were along the tougher west coast. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I think she should have been saving up to complete the 9 card, 37 point link while looking for the rainbows but she hadn't even considered it being focused on her high point routes. This particular game had very little interaction/conflicts between our routes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">She was tired and at first didn't want to play another, then reconsidered after we discussed what happened and offered to play again! Woot!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">The second game went much better for her. And, there was more interaction. She started out more quickly and near 3 of my closely clustered endpoints on the south east side, so I was forced to put down some trains and get them connected to ensure I wasn't cut off from Tallinn (which is like Las Vegas on the US map - only one way in and out). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I then extended out a bit and she immediately jumped on the single ferry in the middle of the board making my easy straight shot to Narvik a problem. I decided to go around on the West coast instead as I had more cards collected for that way than around her, plus they were longer for more points. She then proceeded to draw tickets at least twice more. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">It finally came down to me playing my last trains to end the game or draw randomly for a rainbow to complete a 4 point route. Ultimately, I decided to end it hoping I'd catch her with a missed ticket as well, but she only needed her last play to finish her last route. She ended up with most tickets bonus and the overall win by a wide margin since I neglected drawing more tickets having to deal with the long Western route and few extra trains.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I really like this map - it is very tight but you're also forced to draw more tickets to score enough points to win because so many of the links between cities are very short and not worth a ton of points by themselves. There is also the added risk with the tunnels causing you to plan for and spend more cards to complete the links. I also like that the rainbows/locomotives are very valuable and, at the same time, easy to pick up since you aren't restricted to just picking up one from the display like in most versions. There's enough interesting twists and a sparse, risky map that ratchet up the tension for 2 or 3 players (which is all that it plays)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span>Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-49374738771492441682013-12-08T11:56:00.000-08:002013-12-08T11:59:12.413-08:00GAMING THOUGHTS - Of Civilization and Card Sleeves and Time and Maps<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Today I received some wooden tokens I ordered from Mayday during one of their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. I am going to use them as replacements for the cubes in <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103185/walnut-grove" target="_blank">Walnut Grove</a> (which I love and have wanted to pimp out so couldn't resist the sale)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">But Walnut Grove is not on my mind at the moment. I also received a pack of standard Euro card sleeves. I don't normally sleeve cards so was surprised to see the pack. I didn't order them!? Free!? Hmmmm. What can I use them for?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I checked their website and looked at the spreadsheet that shows you which sleeves go with which games.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">These ones (59mm x 92mm) fit a variety of games. The ones I own that I *might* consider putting sleeves on are:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Agricola: Farmers of the Moor</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Agricola: The Legen*dairy Forest Deck</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Aladdin's Dragons</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Atlantic Star</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Balloon Cup</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Blue Moon City</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Civilization (1981 Avalon Hill)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">El Grande Decentennial</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">For Sale (Uberplay 2005 Ed)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Jambo</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Kingdom Builder</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Le Havre</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Princes of Florence</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">San Juan</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Stone Age</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Taj Mahal</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Times Square</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Torres</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Troyes</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Yspahan</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I was a bit surprised to see they would fit <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/71/civilization" target="_blank">Civilization</a>! It was the first 'real' game I owned. I was 11 when I bought a copy of the 1st edition of it after it was part of the Games 100 in Games magazine in 1982 (or thereabouts - I did a couple of quick searches and it seems that's the year). Not sure what intrigued me about the game - perhaps the map. At some point in my youth I plastered my walls with National Geographic maps as I was fascinated by them (don't worry, I had a half-naked girl on the back of my closet door, too) But, yes, I was a game geek and a map geek way back then...I think that's why I've always been interested in war games - more for the maps than for the actual game play. I'm definitely a Euro die-hard, but I am still drawn to war games for some reason, even though I suck at fighting games and generally never play them. Ah, those maps are beautiful though....</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Well, interestingly, I have a mostly unpunched copy of Civilization I'm in the process of selling so I had it on hand. I pulled it out and tried on a sleeve - nice fit although a bit long. Well, I wasn't putting it on THAT copy since I'm selling it. I have a COMPLETELY unpunched 2nd edition copy that I received from my Secret Santa 2 years ago that I've not had the heart to punch yet (sorry SS!) He got it to replace my long missing 1st Edition that I've pined since getting back into gaming.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">But I keep thinking about that unpunched copy. I've been very close to punching it lately. VERY close. I really want to play again. Now I have sleeves for the Civilization cards which are a pain to deal with by themselves so I'm thinking the sleeves were meant to be....to get me to punch the darn thing and actually get it played!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">No, I'm not planning on buying sleeves for the trade cards. Well, not yet....(nice marketing hook by the way - send card sleeves to get you thinking about buying more!)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Well, Civilization only needs 72 sleeves so I'll probably use the rest on Kingdom Builder terrain cards since there are only 25 of those and my Dad and I love playing it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Anyhow, Civilization - I want to get it to the table again soon, but it takes a lot of time to play. 6+ hours (probably a lot more depending on number of players). Plus I'll need to re-read the rules if I want to run a game of it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">A friend ran a game with Advanced Civ a couple of years ago that I enjoyed immensely. You definitely need someone to drive it. That game took 12 hours to complete (and I think we decided ahead of time on an earlier end point) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">But, I want to play the original game without Advanced Civ. That may be sacrilege for some gamers, but its how I want to experience it - in its purest form like when I was a kid...which, ironically, I don't think I ever actually played a full game way back then as I didn't have that many geeky friends. I just loved looking at it and reading the rules and I think I even played a partial game by myself. I don't recall exactly, I just knew I loved it. Funny, I bought The Civil War around that time as well but probably only played a partial game by myself of that as well. Another map game I suppose....</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Well, I think its time to get that unpunched Civilization box out and punched soon. I'll get those sleeves on the Civ cards and look for some player aids. And maybe, just maybe, I'll find a way to get it to the table and played soon...or at least to look at the map...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span>Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-33856939549186789972012-09-05T10:28:00.001-07:002012-09-05T10:28:34.325-07:00JUST GAMING AROUND - Worst gaming month EVAR! (well, in the past 3-1/2 years) - I blame it on good weather....<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Well, it wasn't a HORRIBLE month exactly, but my FTF gaming count in August was the worst on record (in terms of total games played) in the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">3-1/2 years I have been recording my game plays.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">This is what I played:</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Set - 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Dominion: Prosperity - 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Lords of Vegas - 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Ninjato - 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Perry Rhodan: The Cosmic League - 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Railways of Europe - 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">San Juan - 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Ticket to Ride - 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Walnut Grove - 1</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I'm not at all unhappy with what I actually played - in fact the games of Lords of Vegas, Perry Rhodan, Railways of Europe and Ticket to Ride were all really interesting plays of those games. Ninjato was a new game for me so that was great (looking forward to playing again, too, now that I understand it better). And Walnut Grove is always fun for me. Dominion scratched an itch where I haven't played it in a while and with the new set coming out I wanted to get it to the table again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I will say my online gaming has been steadily going up since I started playing more early in the year but I almost never log my online plays. I HAVE logged a couple of Words with Friends (aka Scrabble) plays when my wife and I played full games in one day, but when they are spread out over days or weeks, I just don't bother.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">It seems many times the only gaming I can get in is during my 'in-between' times and online play is conducive to this. 'In-between' time is: The time between dinner and the kids going to bed. The time between getting up and taking a shower. The time during my lunch breaks (I work from home most of the time, not that that particularly matters).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">However, I am sad that my FTF gaming was so low as I really enjoy that time much more than the online gaming time - I THOUGHT I had more gaming opportunities, and in a way I did, but they were rarely fully capitalized on for one reason or another. When at Scout camp, the scout leader is someone I game with sometimes. We got in one game of </span><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8217/san-juan" style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">San Juan</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> later in the first evening after the kids were all tucked in. But, the following evenings I was either too tired or my son was too scared to be left alone in the tent <sigh></span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">When visiting my parents I thought we might have some time for gaming in the evenings. We ended up being very busy most of the time so gaming was limited to </span><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103185/walnut-grove" style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Walnut Grove</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> with my dad (his first time playing it) when my mom and wife went out shopping, and then </span><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9209/ticket-to-ride" style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Ticket to Ride</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> the last evening before we left. My dad seemed to really enjoy Walnut Grove although it probably helped that he won (I blame it on my tile draws and on focusing helping him see what his options were instead of my own game </span><img alt="" border="0" src="http://geekdo-images.com/images/wink.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> )</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Funny, I always have plans (in my mind) that I'll be able to play a lot of games during the summer when, in fact, it seems summers are the worst for me - I blame it on the good weather! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Although, in July I had one of my BEST months ever with 66 games played! This was helped by the Oregon Cup weekend (which I will be posting about soon in another entry and a detailed geeklist) AND a different camping weekend where we had a lot more downtime (and thus opportunity to play games, albeit mostly lighter games). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I'm looking forward to the school year now as, even though it presents its own challenges, I'm more likely to be indoors and want to set up games nights (and perhaps have more opportunities to do so)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Its funny, for the past 3-1/2 years I've been very consistent about logging my game plays. Sometimes it seems almost pointless, but then I seem to run across opportunities for learning something from my game play logging such as when I last played a particular game or remembering whom I gamed with in the past or, if I recorded details about a game, what happened during the game and what I may have learned about it. Its also interesting to see trends over time of when I have opportunities to play and when I don't.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I'm curious how it is for others on two fronts:</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">1. Do you log game plays? If not, why not? If so, what benefits do you personally get from logging them?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">2. What times of year are more active and less active for you? Is there some consistency to it (such as weather or situations) or just it just naturally go up and down for you?</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I'd love to see your comments on game play logging and when you are more likely to be actively playing.</span>
Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-58332327253608841612012-08-27T08:56:00.001-07:002012-08-27T09:04:09.751-07:00STATE OF THE BACK ROOM - Insanity in the game room (TOO MANY GAMES!)<br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My game room has been a horrible mess for the past 2-3 months. Probably longer. And I seem to have acquired a good number of games (I've been trying to cut back, but it just doesn't ever seem to actually happen!) And, they have been piling up to the point where I was getting stressed about it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Piles of games on side tables, on the game table, on the floor! Even worse, they were piling up in my garage as well! Earlier in the year I cleaned up the garage and got a bunch of stuff out (or re-organized) such that I had some extra storage space for my thrift finds! Boy, those shelves sure filled up fast!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I mentioned before, this was all stressing me out and I finally bit the bullet. GASP! I was considering cutting back on my game collection. GASP! I was considering selling some of my games off!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, first steps in June involved setting up a BGG auction. I put up 50 items and sold nearly that many! YAH! Cash in my pocket! YAH! Games cleared out! YAH! And I didn't even miss them. Not ONE!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have to admit I made some tough decisions in some cases. My criteria became: what is my excitement level when I think about this game? Am I excited about it enough to want to play it? If someone asked me about getting it to the table would I really want to, or would there be something else I'd want to play instead?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And, interestingly, I found some games to get rid of. Quite a few more, in fact, than I thought I would. It became easier as I thought about it more. It was freeing in fact!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, the tide turned again. I was hitting the thrift stores. Then my wife was hitting the thrift stores for me (without my prompting, I might add). And she actually found some really interesting games! Heroscape! The Omega Virus! Squad Leader! Axis & Allies! We even hit a bunch of stores on our way home from Portland, OR, and found some decent games. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, mind you, often times I'm not just looking for games for me to keep but with the intention of re-selling them. The right games can bring in some decent cash if you know what to look for!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, it got to the point that I was (almost!) dreading her calling from the thrift store asking about games and finding more good stuff to bring back! I had too many games!!!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The real problem here is that it takes time to list games. At least, it does for me. I'm a perfectionist and detailed oriented about the whole process. I have to take several pictures, weigh them, measure them (to ensure proper shipping costs and such), then I have to research the potential price, then write up the listing (which involves inspecting each game, sometimes counting dozens or hundreds of components) and decide when to list them and for how much. Phew, it's a lot of little things that add up to TIME because I'm not going to do it half-assed!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, earlier this month I determined it was time for ANOTHER auction. I set up a 6-foot folding table and started piling it with games, and more games, and MORE games! Dozens of thrifted games that I hadn't 'gotten around' to selling. IT WAS TIME!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I then started going through the game room and pulling games I decided I didn't need anymore. Some kind of hurt (Age of Steam plus a bunch of expansion maps), some hurt a lot (American Megafauna/Origins combo which I had pimped out but NEVER even played! ) There were several others as well. Some that I even surprised myself with in choosing them to sell. These games I piled up on a separate card table. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then, I rifled through all the games, made value choices on the thrifted games and got everything listed in another huge BGG auction. I sold a good number of them, too! It also took me a while to get it all shipped out. A few went on ebay and a couple of those sold as well.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While the auction was still running, the neat piles on the tables had become a jumble, plus a couple more had been added from more thrifting (AGH!)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The good thing was, I realized I had more shelf space again in my game room! So, I pulled EVERYTHING from the shelves and started sorting by box size (exact sizes as much as possible). Oddballs were set on a separate side table or on the floor. Eventually, everything was sorted. Then I carefully started stacking them back onto the shelves. I was a little extra OCD at first with the boxes that had several all of one size - I sorted THOSE by color as well. I know.......don't say it.......</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyhow, I eventually got everything back onto the shelves, more neatly organized than before. Well, ALMOST all of it. A few still had to go on the ledge below the shelves. But, it was DONE! It looked great! And I didn't feel embarrassed to have friends over for games again!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's how it looks now:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1397917" style="background-color: #f5f5ff; color: red; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1397917_md.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /></a>
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"The Wall o' Games"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1397916_md.jpg" />
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Collection o' Dice"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Coincidentally, right after I finished cleaning up my game room, I got a message from my friend Andy (Count Von Luckner) stating he was cleaning out HIS garage and he had a set of plastic drawers he didn't need anymore and asked if I wanted them. It was EXACTLY what I needed:</span></span><br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1397913_md.jpg" />
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The old drawers I had were relegated to 'box' storage:</span></span><br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1397915_md.jpg" />
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's a few of the games ready to ship out!</span></span><br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1397914_md.jpg" />
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was sad to see them go but happy to have the space and the $$ in my pocket!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I still have some insanity to tackle in my garage (that 6' table is still there and stacked with games), but my game room is no longer driving me crazy.....for now.</span></span><br />
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Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-41592708044163089682012-06-04T22:26:00.000-07:002012-06-04T22:26:43.036-07:00HOT BOX - 'Walnut Grove' (What's in the box?)You may have heard of the game 'Welcome to Walnut Grove' or more specifically how it's most commonly known and listed: '<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103185/walnut-grove" target="_blank">Walnut Grove</a>'<br />
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Or maybe you haven't....?<br />
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Well, just before Essen 2011 I did a blog post listing games of interest to me coming out around Essen: <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/5441/timely-topics-essen-release-games-that-look-inte" target="_blank">TIMELY TOPICS - ESSEN release games that look interesting to me & why</a><br />
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Near end of the long list I had a 'theme' section of games that I was interested in due to...ah...theme. Interestingly, the game at that time was the former longer name I listed above. Somewhere during or after Essen it seems to have been shortened to just 'Walnut Grove'<br />
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Anyhow, Walnut Grove was on my 'theme' list for a couple of reasons. One was that it represented 'small town' life, much like in <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104006/village" target="_blank">Village</a> and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103092/helvetia" target="_blank">Helvetia</a> which represented 'village' life, so WG seemed to be in that same range. Another reason was it was the location of the American TV Series 'Little House on the Prairie' about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her life living in early pioneer America. I watched the show and also read the series of books as a child, so it had special meaning to me.<br />
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Well, I have a friend that goes to Essen and I got to play several Essen releases in the months following Essen, mainly due to her, although I never quite got to play Walnut Grove (looking at her game list, I'm not sure if she even had it actually)<br />
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Regardless, I didn't get to play it right after it came out, but it seemed to keep bubbling up in my mind. Then another friend of mine played it and really liked it. So, without me actually having played it, I ordered it (along with Hawaii) from funagain.com and had my friend Chris bring it with him to EGG (Eugene Games Gala) so I didn't have to pay shipping :)<br />
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During EGG, we ended up playing someone else's copy of WG as 4P and I loved it (even though I did pretty terrible - we all did fairly poorly as I recall since we had all just learned it)<br />
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Anyhow, I was glad I'd picked it up as it is relatively fast but also has lots of interesting/hard decisions to make. This isn't a review but an opening of the box to see what it is that you actually get. Hopefully I'll have time to write a review soon to go into more detail.<br />
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So, here goes, in my usual fashion of taking you through the wonderful goodness of cracking a game and smelling the wonderful smell of fresh cardboard. Enjoy!<br />
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Here we have the box, ready to be opened:<br />
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<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328850_md.jpg" /> <br />
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You can see the lovely artwork showing a covered wagon hauling a couple of workers/farmers (Is that 'Pa' driving the wagon? Doesn't quite look like him...), with Ma on the left holding baby Carrie, and it looks to be Laura there carrying a couple of buckets of water or perhaps grain.<br />
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Very nice artwork on this box. And somehow it looks familiar...why is that...?<br />
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Here's the side (notice the picture wraps around):<br />
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<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328853_md.jpg" /> <br />
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Oh, there's Pa! Now HE certainly looks familiar...can't quite put my finger on it..... :p<br />
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And here's the back of the box:<br />
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<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328852_md.jpg" /> <br />
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Hmmm, down at the bottom it says it was designed by <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/37840/paul-laane" target="_blank">Paul Laane</a> (who also designed and did the art on <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/72269/toscana" target="_blank">Toscana</a> and also runs <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/12630/aqua-games" target="_blank">Aqua Games</a>). In addition, it says it was designed by <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/13000/touko-tahkokallio" target="_blank">Touko Tahkokallio</a> (who also designed <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/72125/eclipse" target="_blank">Eclipse</a>, a game I have sadly not played yet)<br />
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And, the Illustrator appears to be <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/11507/klemens-franz" target="_blank">Klemens Franz</a>. Clicking through to his page I see he also did art for.....ah, wow, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31260/agricola" target="_blank">Agricola</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35677/le-havre" target="_blank">Le Havre</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11/bohnanza" target="_blank">Bohnanza</a> - hmm, I sense a common EWE thread here - plus <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39351/automobile" target="_blank">Automobile</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33160/endeavor" target="_blank">Endeavor</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19857/glory-to-rome" target="_blank">Glory to Rome</a>!? - ah, the German version, and a bunch of other well known games. Well, no wonder it looks familiar! And, no wonder Walnut Grove is getting some comparisons to Agricola (although that's not really the reason I think)!<br />
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Well, let's get cutting and tearing....<br />
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<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328854_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328855_t.jpg" /><br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328856_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328857_t.jpg" /><br />
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Ah, the lovely smell of a freshly opened game....<br />
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<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328858_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
Lets see we have the rules sheets:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328859_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
The resource cubes - wood, dairy (although I think they look more like sheep than a blog of milk), grain, fish and stone.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1329400_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
The farmer and hired hand pawns (nice wooden pawns, but it's hard to tell which one is 'Pa'):<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328860_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
Two cloth bags (one for the coins, one for the tiles):<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328861_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
The coins:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328862_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
The town board:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328863_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
Here's the back of the town board with the same art from the box cover:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1250774_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
Some of the various tiles (mostly landscape tiles here):<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328864_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
More tiles (in particular season discs, bonus tiles, houses and sheds, and neighborly help tiles):<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328866_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
And finally the player boards:<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1328865_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
I will say I really like the look of this game - the colors, the pieces, etc, although it might be neat to replace the resource cubes with appropriately shaped tokens. Perhaps even with some of the special Agricola tokens.<br />
<br />
Finally, here's an overall shot of all of the components:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1250775_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
I want to do a full review eventually, but my initial impression so for is that the game is very intriguing because it is extremely tight - most times you feel like you're barely sustaining yourself and your workers, let alone trying to go for a lot of points. The scores tend to be fairly low, especially in the first couple of times you play. These facts, for me, make me want to play it again and try to do better. And, because it's so short, you're likely to be willing to play another game right after.<br />
<br />
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed looking into this box as much as I did!Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-49760904274515391092012-05-21T08:01:00.078-07:002012-05-21T12:05:43.660-07:00THE CREATIVE GAMER - Game Bit Storage Obsession - Dominion re-organized, PLUS PNP game storage ideaSo, you may have seen my other posts in the past about game bit storage and my obsession with finding the right storage for the right game.<br />
<br />
Here's a recap if you're interested:<br />
* <a href="http://www.boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/02/creative-gamer-game-bit-storage.html" target="_blank">THE CREATIVE GAMER - Game Bit Storage Obsession (aka Are You OCD Like Me?) - Part 1/3</a><br />
* <a href="http://www.boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/02/creative-gamer-game-bit-storage_25.html" target="_blank">THE CREATIVE GAMER - Game Bit Storage Obsession (aka Are You OCD Like Me?) - Part 2/3</a><br />
* <a href="http://www.boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/02/creative-gamer-game-bit-storage_28.html" target="_blank">THE CREATIVE GAMER - Game Bit Storage Obsession (aka Are you OCD Like Me?) - Part 3/3</a><br />
<br />
The Part 3 post has some details about how I had my <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion" target="_blank">Dominion </a>cards stored. Note that I am NOT heavily obsessed with Dominion, BUT, because my family really enjoys playing it (and I certainly enjoy it, just not all the time), I want to be able to tote ALL the cards around when I want them without having to carry all SEVEN of the expansion boxes and have to open each one up to find what I want.<br />
<br />
<b>If you didn't/don't want to follow the post, here's a recap:</b><br />
* I purchased old Trivial Pursuit games from thrift stores and used the card box bottoms to store the cards in.<br />
* I wasn't completely happy with the existing dividers on BGG so I created my own (although I admit I borrowed a bit from some of the other I saw):<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/64449/tasajaras-dominion-base-dividers-vertical" target="_blank">Tasajara's Dominion Base dividers (vertical)</a><br />
* I placed the cards in the boxes and put the boxes into a photo box I purchased on sale at <a href="http://www.michaels.com/" target="_blank">Michael's</a> craft store.<br />
<br />
<b>This was the result:</b><br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1043172_md.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1043171_t.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
This was before <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/104557/dominion-hinterlands" target="_blank">Hinterlands</a> came out. So, prior to that, EVERYTHING fit in there including all player boards and Intrigue set of money and VP cards, plus promos up to then.<br />
<br />
When that last expansion came out I ran out of room so had to pull the extra cards, the Prosperity player boards and a few other things (even the randomizers I think)<br />
<br />
<b>I was thinking about it recently and it was kind of bugging me</b> that I had to split things up - OCD was setting in. And, I know there are 2 more expansions planned (supposedly the last - plus a couple of Promos I'm guessing). That cardboard photo box was running out of space fast, plus I'm always worried carrying the thing around that it's going to rip open or something due to the weight of all the cards.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
So, I was at Michael's with a coupon that gave me $5 off a $25 purchase. And, most of their 'storage' merchandise was on sale for 40% off. That alone was beckoning me to check out what was available. I spent a lot of time wandering the store looking at the various storage options and my various needs:<br />
* Small bead storage boxes that I like to use for bit storage.<br />
* Scrap-booking boxes that I've been considering for storing <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11170/heroscape-master-set-rise-of-the-valkyrie" target="_blank">Heroscape</a> stuff.<br />
* Photo box storage - looking for a larger version of a photo box like what I already had, but not finding what I wanted for Dominion (they have bigger, but not tall enough)<br />
<br />
Then when wandering through another area of the photo storage section, I noticed the plastic storage cases. I'd seen them before but nothing ever really stood out to me as being useful for games (or they were too pricey to be worth it)<br />
<br />
But then it struck me - the larger photo storage cases were about the same height and width (well, 1/2 the box) as the cardboard storage box I was using for Dominion already. Hmmmmm, could I make a plastic one work? Would it hold everything? Would it be too big? Would it be too bulky to lug around?<br />
<br />
So, let me describe what I was looking at in a bit more detail: It's a larger case that holds 16 smaller plastic cases in slots inside it. The 16 cases were each about 1" thick and slightly larger than a 4x6 photograph (of course!). I got one of the cardboard boxes and compared volume - seemed to be about the same size - slightly larger due to the slots and the need to accommodate the size of the small storage boxes.<br />
<br />
Even better, here's a pic of the case:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318164_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318167_t.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
I hemmed and hawed about getting it. Partly because the darned thing was $40.00 normal price and even with the 40% off sale it made it $24.00. Then I realized that you can buy the small cases inside for $1.99 each which made those alone worth $32.00. I figured worse case I could return the whole thing if it didn't work out. So I got it, along with another small set of plastic bead boxes and got $5 off the entire total with the coupon.<br />
<br />
Here's the label in case you're interested in finding it yourself:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318165_t.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
(NOTE: I found the same case later on Amazon <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Large-Photo-Keeper-Cases-12-035/dp/B004T6I6RA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337492425&sr=8-3" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
<br />
When I got it home I started transferring the cards into the case. If you remember I put the cards into Trivial Pursuit card boxes inside the other photo box. When I put these boxes with the cards in, they fit perfectly! In fact, the fins that are in the case to separate the smaller cases from each other were just the right size to grip the card boxes and hold them in place. Nice!<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318159_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318160_t.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
After getting the 4 boxes in I started searching for all the cards that previously hadn't been able to fit including the Intrigue set of money and VP cards and the randomizer cards. I realized I needed at least 2 more boxes (which there was more than enough room for) - time for another trip to the local Goodwill!<br />
<br />
I decided to use 4 of the small cases to hold some of the other bits and the various player boards from Prosperity and Seaside, plus the randomizer cards:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318158_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
The next day I found a Trivial Pursuit Baby Boomer expansion (which contains 2 card boxes) for $0.99 from Goodwill. I decided to put both sets of VP and Money cards into one box by themselves to keep them separate from the rest of the Kingdom cards. They fit really tight, not leaving as much room as I would normally want to be able to pull cards out, but its not really a problem since I can grab them from the sides and searching for what I need isn't going to be an issue here.<br />
<br />
Here's a shot with everything in there, including the small cases with the player boards and bits, etc. As you can see, there is one empty box that should be enough room for 2 more expansions - hopefully it's enough room:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318161_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
I even like how the side of the box is shorter than the older box as it makes it easier to read the dividers and get to the cards:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318162_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
I'm happy to have it all in one place now with enough room to grow. Worst, uh, case, is I can take 2 of the small cases out, put in one more card box and still probably fit it all in.<br />
<br />
AND, the Dominion cover labels I created for the first photo box should fit nicely onto this box as well so that will probably be my next task.<br />
<br />
Note that the manuals still don't really fit in, although I could probably fold them in half and put them across the 4 cards boxes, but because I have all the card details and rules clarifications on the card dividers, it's one thing I'm willing to leave out.<br />
<br />
Here's how the case looks with everything in it ready for travel:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318157_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
I'm a tad concerned that the box latch looks like half of the handle and, if someone didn't know what they were doing when picking it up, there might be a BIG messy problem as a result. I'll just make sure no one else EVER touches it :)<br />
<br />
Here's a size comparison with the original photo box, the new box, and 4 of the 7 expansion boxes (I seem to have destroyed/mis-placed the other 3, but you get the idea):<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318166_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
Yes, the case is somewhat large, and it's heavy when you are trying to move it around, but I think ultimately it's going to work out well.<br />
<br />
Finally, for those that have concerns about the cards spilling everywhere when carrying the case, notice that as long as the card boxes are full, the cards shouldn't ever fall out and wander around the box:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318163_md.jpg" /> <br />
(upside down!)<br />
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Ok, that might be enough for one post, but I still have 12 of the small picture cases left over. What to do with them?<br />
<br />
Well, I found a couple of interesting uses.<br />
<br />
A set of 14 Crokinole disks fit in nicely:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318169_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
I have several sets and they were previously stored in a mish-mash of various containers. Ah, much better now:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318168_md.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
I started thinking about what else could go in the boxes. I remembered I had a Print-and-Play version of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/100089/inspector-moss-2-house-arrest" target="_blank">Inspector Moss 2: House Arrest</a> stored in a box for another game that I hadn't had a chance to re-label yet. Perhaps one of these small cases would work well.<br />
<br />
Ta-da! Perfect fit:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318170_md.jpg" /> <br />
<b>Before</b><br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1318171_md.jpg" /> <br />
<b>After</b><br />
<br />
I still need a label though....<br />
<br />
I don't do a lot of PnP stuff, but I imagine getting one of these cases and putting one game each into one of the small cases would make a really nice storage system for a bunch of games. I love the idea that the boxes all being clear would make it easy to find the game you're looking for.<br />
<br />
Note that 2 decks of cards fit very nicely into the small cases and still have room for some dice and/or bits and even a rules sheet, so there's lots of possibilities here.<br />
<br />
For instance, I can put my <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37301/decktet" target="_blank">Decktet</a> card deck ordered from <a href="http://www.artscow.com/" target="_blank">Artscow</a> along with some dice, cubes and some sets of rules all in a nice portable case (sorry, no pic but you get the idea)<br />
<br />
Well, not sure if you like this idea or not, but I was pretty excited about it! Note that cost may be prohibitive depending on your needs, but seeing as how the small cases are usually $2 buying the larger set for less per isn't too bad of a deal. Also, buying them as one-off might be useful as well, especially if you can get some coupons.<br />
<br />
Phew! That was a long post. Longer than usual (and I usually write long stuff, even when I try for something shorter).<br />
<br />
I haven't written anything in a while...I've been thinking a lot about writing something, different things, but it hasn't been clicking for me lately. I guess this storage box gave me something I really wanted to write about :)<br />
<br />
Thanks for stopping by - let me know what you think about this box and if it's something you might use for storing Dominion or <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/53953/thunderstone" target="_blank">Thunderstone</a> or PnP stuff, or any other ideas you have.Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-22000010795286716682011-12-04T23:49:00.000-08:002011-12-05T00:02:03.712-08:00JUST GAMING AROUND - EGG Game Day - ESSEN GAMES GALORE - My first plays and impressions<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"></span></span><br />
The EGG Game Day was the weekend of November 12 graciously hosted by our Chief EGG Head, Lorna (and, yes, I'm very slow to getting this posted - due to Thanksgiving and spending my 'writing' time working on Dominion dividers for Hinterlands)<br />
<br />
Lorna goes to Essen every year and picks up a number of Essen releases then invites locals over to give them a go. I received at least a couple of invitations but unfortunately I was too busy to be able to attend.<br />
<br />
So, I was really looking forward to the EGG Game Day as I had most of the day open to be able to play games (well, after an early-day Scouting activity). And, I was really looking forward to getting in some of those Essen games I'd been drooling over.<br />
<br />
The night before I read through the rules of Dungeon Petz as it was one of several games near the top of my 'to play' list. I've been hoping that it might be something I could play with my kids. Reading the rules closely really started getting me excited about playing it. I did have some concerns though whether my kids (8 & 11) would be able to play it as it I read through the many moving parts.<br />
<br />
I could go into a long description of the details of attending the game day (like I usually do) but I'm not - I'd rather go into a long description of the games themselves. Well, ok, I'm going to try to be short...or medium length at least.<br />
<br />
<b>Here's a quick rundown of the NON-Essen games I played first:</b><br />
* <b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/150/pitchcar">PitchCar</a> </b>- My friend Chris (Togra) left me a message the day before to bring PitchCar as his wife wanted to give it a go. So, I brought it and set it up with her soon after I arrived. Upon setting it up we played a 3-player, 2-lap game with a third, Doug. It had a nice looping hairpin and a longish jump (which we shortened later). She seemed to enjoy it quite a bit despite realizing it was more difficult to play than on the iPad...I didn't even KNOW they had it on the iPad!<br />
<br />
* <b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/68448/7-wonders">7 Wonders</a> </b>- My friends Aric and Heather attended for their first time at my suggestion and I wanted to get a game in with them. They have attended a couple of game nights at my house and have been more and more interested in trying different games. I figured they would like this one and we also happened to have 7 people looking to play a game so this seemed like an obvious choice. I've really enjoyed my few plays of it and I'm enjoying trying different ways to try to score points. Everyone seemed to have a great time and the newbies (A&H, plus Greg who only played once before) picked up the game quickly (not surprisingly). Interestingly, all the players with resources were at one end of the table and all the players with military were at the other end of the table - and the military side ended up with mostly the lowest scores, mainly due to lack of......resources! As usual, a quick, fun, solid game.<br />
<br />
Well, I have to laugh at myself a bit here - I thought I had played more Non-Essen games, but, nope, it was just these two! Overall, I was there for about 10 hours and I ended up playing a total of 8 games, 6 of which were Essen releases (well, 5 games, I played Mondriaan 2020 twice).<br />
<br />
<b>So, here are the Essen games in the order that I played them (barring the Non-Essen releases)</b><br />
<a name='more'></a><div>* <b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97207/dungeon-petz">Dungeon Petz</a> </b>- I had read the rules before arriving and was looking forward to getting this played. It took a little while to get everything set up and fully taught - there's a lot going on here. I love the artwork and I enjoyed the gameplay quite a bit as well. Putting together all the groups of imps with money was an interesting mechanic as it was very difficult to play out your entire turn without knowing what everyone else was doing...you seem to have to just focus on your 1 or 2 key important things then take what you can for the rest. I really like how as your pets grow you get more and more cards for them. Having magic books is nice to give you an extra card or two for the rest of the game. There's a lot to think about, but at the same time <br />
<br />
It seems we were mostly pretty lucky with the card draws (or were we just skilled at managing our hands?) - none of us ONCE had a suffering monster OR a mutation. I think if the cards came out differently it could have been more of a problem...we didn't see too many negative effects of 'luck' in this game, although I suspect horrible card draws could likely really screw you over. The tough part is you need to place your creatures in cages BEFORE drawing cards, so you obviously aren't 100% sure you can get what you want. But, it seemed there was enough to do to keep your pets mostly happy and contained. I think getting the 'books' which let you hold an extra card helped as well as having multiple creatures from which to draw and select cards.<br />
<br />
The last round was toughest as the differences between the Exhibition and the Customers was fairly wide, plus we all had non planned properly to be able to sell a monster each to both customers (only having 1 appropriate sized creature each)<br />
<br />
The point difference between 1st (Lorna) and 2nd (me) was only 1-1/2 points, so it definitely came down to the wire and if either of us had drawn 1 or 2 different needs cards, it could have flip-flopped easily, so I guess luck of the draw can make a difference. But honestly, there's so much going on it's hard to say exactly which moves did and didn't ultimately make a difference by the end.<br />
<br />
This game is now on my Christmas wishlist. I think it might be a tad heavy for my kids to play, but I think I can at least tweak it a bit if necessary just to have fun playing it with them.<br />
<br />
* <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/109612/mondriaan-2020"><b>Mondriaan 2020</b></a> - This is an interesting game from Cwali for 2 players. The game consists of 11 large-ish square tiles for each player plus 1 additional to draw as a starting tile. Each tile has 1-3 colors on it. You take all 11 tiles as a 'hand' and select any one tile to play on your turn. Colors must match on played tiles. You then receive 1 point per 'section' of that color in the extended area (i.e. count all attached tile sections except the tile you played). Keep a running tally on a piece of paper. Whomever has the largest total when no more legal plays are available is the winner!<br />
<br />
This game feels familiar and yet different. It actually feels a little like ConHex but without the goal of connecting the ends of the board. The key to the game seems to be getting large scoring areas without letting your opponent get in on them - if you can do that consistently and they can't you'll come out ahead.<br />
<br />
Apparently the game was inspired by Mondriaan's artwork, but in reality the lines could have been drawn in a number of different ways (curvy, sketchy, etc) with different colors and the game would play exactly the same. Still, it has a sort of the feel of his artwork, but not enough for me really - no solid black lines, not quite the patterning I'd expect. It works for the game and looks neat, but it isn't Mondriaan for me unfortunately...<br />
<br />
The game was fun and fast enough that we played twice in less than 30 minutes including teaching. I'm not itching to get it but if there was an opportunity to pick it up I might.<br />
<br />
* <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97655/space-maze"><b>Space Maze</b></a> - I was quite interested in this game reading about it. I loved the idea of working through a maze with different colored space aliens. The goal is to get the relic (tinfoil looking hat) in the middle and get it back to your spaceship. You also get a token each time you steal it from someone else and can win by getting 3 tokens.<br />
<br />
The most intriguing element for me was the gates between rooms (square tiles) of the maze are colored red, blue and yellow. These colors must 'mix' to match the color of the alien that you want to move through the gates. Then, you can play action cards to rotate or swap the squares to change who can go through each of the gates. I really liked this idea.<br />
<br />
The issue I had with this game was I was expecting the game to be a bit faster paced. The way the cards came out and how you perform your actions, you only get 1 set of moves per turn. Then, if your action cards only let you rotate you're kind of stuck. This all is especially frustrating when you have to use your movement points to get more/better cards instead of moving the direction you need/want.<br />
<br />
I would say my expectations were different than what the game ended up being. It was very difficult with 4 players to get yourself anywhere at times, made even more difficult by people then moving you back again wrecking your progress.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, I still need to wait to try it again before I determine if this is a game I might want to get. I think the key is understanding how to leverage the action cards to get more 'movement' out of your turn. <br />
<br />
* <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/105037/tournay"><b>Tournay</b></a> - I, like many other geeks, LOVED Troyes. For me, it got to the point of making my own mini copy of it before it became available. Granted, it didn't get played as much as I'd hoped before I got the 'real' copy, but I enjoyed the project. And, I still really love the game.<br />
<br />
So, when I heard about Tournay it seemed like an instant buy for me, even after reading about it being a card game with no dice, but many similarities including the artwork (which I really like) and work placement aspects.<br />
<br />
Lorna agreed to teach and Bryon joined us mid-teaching - he had not played before as well. I liked the idea of having limited space to build your buildings and the idea of building in such a way as to try to set up combos.</div><div>In playing, I never quite felt obligated to go after the event cards and so, I didn't. And, according to Lorna, the town criers came out very quickly making this normally shorter game even shorter than usual.<br />
<br />
Still, my biggest complaint was the fact that EVERY card has different iconography and it's difficult to say what each building does. Even with the information provided it wasn't always perfectly clear. There is a reference card for all the symbols (a full sheet in fact) but even that doesn't seem to cover everything (or show the possible variety in the symbols).<br />
<br />
Now, I'm not against having initial difficulty trying to figure out what cards do, but I will say it definitely made the first play a bit of a slog trying to even read through each of the cards, compare abilities, and make choices when selecting 1 card out of 2. In Troyes, when the action cards came out, everyone read through them once, deciphered them together, then we could move on to playing the game. Our very first time playing from the rulebook was extremely slow, but once we got past the initial interpretation we were good. Here, you had to deal with this sort of situation nearly EVERY TURN! In fact, with the cards in hand and the cards in the tableau it was a bit overwhelming for being a 'simple' card game.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, it seemed I made several not-so-good choices and couldn't get any of my tableau to combo properly.<br />
<br />
Bryon on the other hand seemed to catch on quickly and was really working his combos. I will say he is very good at grokking new games and performing well right out of the gate, but I was honestly amazed he did so well.<br />
<br />
Well, having said all that, I 'got' the general idea, I just couldn't execute - whether this was due to not understanding the cards, or just not getting the right ones to synergize, it's hard to tell.<br />
<br />
I will say this is a game that requires knowledge of the cards to a great degree to be able to play well I think. I'm just not sure that if I bought it I would be playing it enough to get to that level.</div><div>Anyhow, Tournay didn't click for me like Troyes did - I think Troyes was so innovative in it's use of dice and that part was quite understandable and created a degree of interaction that made it really interesting.<br />
<br />
I am intrigued by Tournay, but I have other games ahead of it that I'd rather play instead. Needless to say I won't be making my own mini version of this game although I won't be against picking it up next year when the price comes down from US distribution and/or people re-selling it.<br />
<br />
* <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/102680/trajan"><b>Trajan</b></a> - Reading about the Mancala mechanic on Board Game News initially made me scratch my head a bit - how exactly was that going to work? Then, as the idea sank in I began to imagine the possibilities and it had me intrigued.</div><div>So, when Chris S. suggested playing it I jumped at the chance. I really had no idea about the specifics of how the game worked, but it was a Stephan Feld game and it sounded interesting so I was ready to give it a go. Also, since Chris had played it earlier in the day and was suggesting it, that seemed to be a good sign that it wasn't a BAD game at the very least.<br />
<br />
What do you do in this game? Well, you move some bits around in your own little circular 'Mancala'. The bits are multi-colored and get picked up and re-distributed just like in Mancala. The key here is that you want colors to end up in the right pockets such that they begin to match patterns on the special action tiles played adjacent to them. Then, whatever pocket you place the last bit in triggers that associated action AND, if there is also a special action tile there and you match it's pattern, you get to do that as well. There's a bit more to it then that, but you get the idea.<br />
<br />
So, what do you then do with all these actions? Well, each corresponds to a different area of the board where you pick up tiles that give you points, resources or special abilities, and some also let you draw and/or play cards.<br />
<br />
Without going into too much detail, it basically amounts to a mult-level set collection game where you are trying to be as efficient as possible in gathering the sets and also try to activate combos that let you do more on your turn to get you even more stuff.<br />
<br />
The theme on this game is paper thin - if you like theme you may have a problem here as this game really is very abstract and sort of reminds me of a Knizia in this respect - do a bunch of stuff to collect sets of stuff that gets you more points with more or larger sets. There is also the need to collect a set of stuff that everyone else is collecting and have it completed by the end of each of the 4 rounds or else you LOSE points.<br />
<br />
Ok, I suppose that sounds boring BUT this sort of game is right up my alley and I quite enjoyed it. I'm intrigued by the Mancala and I love the multiple ways you can score points in this game. It seems you have to really focus on a couple of key areas and then just try to keep up in the rest of the areas and hope you can outpace everyone else with your bonuses by the end.<br />
<br />
I'm not yet sure if I'd buy this game right now - probably eventually it will be on my self, but I'm not highly motivated like I am to pick up something like Dungeon Petz.<br />
<br />
Still, I really had a great time even though I found I made a critical mistake mid-game which stalled me for about 1-1/2 turns and I never quite was able to recover.<br />
<br />
---------------------------------------</div><div>Overall, I'm happy to have played all of these, although some of my top interests are still unplayed (Drum Roll, Helvetia, Powergrid - First Sparks, Pala, Village, Walnut Grove, Kingdom Builder) - and I don't think Lorna even has a couple of those. </div><div>Anyhow, I'm very grateful to Lorna running the game day and also for purchasing and making the Essen games available for playing. I'm sure I'll be picking up at least Dungeon Petz and perhaps Trajan as well. Tournay and Mondriaan 2020 are on my possible buy list but I think I have other priorities first. I like the concepts behind Space Race but it hasn't won me over enough yet to make a purchase - but it definitely warrants another play or two before I decide for sure...if I ever get around to trying it again.</div><div><br />
</div>Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-75428237439524158892011-10-22T22:13:00.000-07:002011-10-22T22:14:49.340-07:00TIMELY TOPICS - ESSEN release games that look interesting to me & whyIt must be that time of year to write up an Essen list of interesting games seeing as <a href="http://www.internationalespieltage.de/e000.php4">it's Essen week</a> this week. Of course, I haven't done such a thing before. And, there really isn't a point to it other than sheer interest. Why? Because I'm not going to Essen and likely won't be picking up most of these - at least not for a while if I do.<br />
<br />
My friend Lorna will be attending and she always brings back a good pile of interesting games and I usually get to give some of them a go, so I'll just be getting my fix that way.<br />
<br />
Anyhow, my interest for games release Essen has generally been pretty low this year up until last week when I finally got the bug to peruse the <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/70021/essen-2011-canonical-list">Essen 2011 Canonical List</a> on BGG. After I spent a few hours doing that my interest was starting to increase quite a bit - I was expecting to not find too many games to be excited about but as I read through I kept finding interesting items.<br />
<br />
Then, as I started to prepare writing a blog entry about my findings, I ran across the Board Game News list: <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/71143/spiel-2011-preview">Spiel 2011 Preview</a> on BGG which purportedly had even more games listed and seems to be a more 'official' list, if there is such a thing. Ok, time to spend a few more hours perusing. The interesting thing about this list is it uses a new headings feature that is being added to Geek lists in the impending site redesign; these headings are then designated as publishing companies and their games are then grouped together under them. So, if you like particular publishers you can easily find their newest games.<br />
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I then tore through this list and found a majority of them were the same items from the canonical list (there were some I hadn't recalled seeing before), plus some other more obscure titles and/or non-English titles. Ultimately, this seems to be the go-to list this year.<br />
<br />
So, as I went through the lists I decided to tag each with an <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/tag/essen2011/user/tasajara">Essen2011</a> tag so that I could then have a compiled list to work from later. Here's a <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/tag/essen2011/user/tasajara">link to the list</a> in case you're interested. I find tags OK as a feature, but you can't do too much with them as the entries aren't sortable in any way. But, there it is at least.<br />
<br />
So, here's my rundown. I have organized them in categories of my interest or into logical groupings by type. The primary grouping is what drew me to them and then secondary either just a property of the game or the element that seemed to grab me. It's hard to explain but you'll see what I mean.<br />
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This section is THE BUZZ - games that were buzzworthy that I also found some interest in. There are OTHER buzzworthy games but the didn't interest me as much (despite looking like good games overall)<br />
<br />
<b>The Buzz - Deck Building:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/98351">CORE WORLDS</a></b> Deck building in space where you work your way from the outer reaches to the inner core of civilized space - terrific graphics, improved gameplay from other deck building games, ability to keep cards in play until needed…<br />
<br />
<b>The Buzz - Different:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/100901">FLASH POINT: FIRE RESCUE</a></b> Co-op saving people in a burning building. Great graphics and interesting gameplay with good amount of variability. I'm not much into co-op play, but I really love the theme and the potential for excitement in trying to save people.<br />
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<b>The Buzz - Different:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/87890">PRÊT-À-PORTER</a></b> Some say this is actually similar to Drum Roll - but putting on a fashion show instead. This one is more economically grounded (in fact was designed specifically that way) but both this and Drum Roll sound interesting for different reasons. I would say this one seems more 'serious' where Drum Roll is more 'fun'<br />
<br />
<b>The Buzz - Family Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/86246">DRUM ROLL</a></b> You are the owner of a Circus and working to put on the best shows - the higher quality shows require better performers. You try to acquire equipment to let your performers perform at their highest. Once you have a successful show you have to decide whether to gain the prestige points or re-invest in making future shows even better.<br />
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<b>The Buzz - Village Building:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/107529">KINGDOM BUILDER</a></b> New game by Donald X Viccarino - NOT Dominion although perhaps feels similar. The theme seems even thinner than in Dominion as this looks to be thinly veneered abstract with cardplay for the actions and more cards for the victory conditions. Lots of variability should still change it up a bunch but it's one I'll want to play before buying I think. Some elements look similar to Strasbourg.<br />
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There are different reasons for MUST HAVE games for me - mostly these are expansions/additions to ones I already have.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Must Have - Deck Building:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104557">DOMINION: HINTERLANDS</a></b> No details yet on any of the cards - it is a must have only because I have pretty much everything else. The only problem is that soon people that use my Dominion storage system are going to want new inserts for the cards in this game and that always takes a lot of time to put together.....gotta go, I can hear them beating down my door already!<br />
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<b>Must Have - Dicey Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/84876">DIE BURGEN VON BURGUND</a></b> Yes it came out last year, but only after Essen 2010 so this is on the radar officially for me. Hopefully more copies will become available…<br />
<br />
<b>Must Have - Different:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/106662">POWER GRID: FIRST SPARKS</a></b> Power Grid in the stone age!!!!! It is supposed to play faster than traditional Power Grid but still has the same overall flow, only set in the stone age where you want to expand your tribe to 13 meeples and be able to feed them at the same time. Very nice artwork and awesome meeples make this a 'must have'<br />
<br />
<b>Must Have - Different:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/105037">TOURNAY</a></b> Loved Troyes and, yes, I know this isn't the same sort of mechanic (no dice), but it looks great and suggests similar but different play - I wouldn't want a carbon copy of Troyes anyhow. Looking forward to giving this a go.<br />
<br />
<b>Must Have - Expansion:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/109140">FRESCO: THE BISHOP'S FAVOR</a></b> This expansion provides an extra benefit for completing a tile the Bishop is on. I recently got to play Fresco with all 7 expansions and now I MUST have this to be able to play with 8 expansions!<br />
<br />
<b>Must Have - Expansion:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/107576">STONE AGE: STYLE IS THE GOAL</a></b> One of my favorite games gets an actual full-fledged expansion! I think the title is ridiculous ([thread=704893">and others think so too[/thread">) but love what it does - adds another player color(!), allows for trading in resources to get other resources, and has another way to spend your resources by creating ornaments and jewelry. It also adds new cards and new huts to the mix. I am officially<br />
<br />
<b>Must Have - Family Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97207">DUNGEON PETZ</a></b> Love the art, love the idea of raising these interesting creatures. I think the kids will love it (and me too!)<br />
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HIGH INTEREST games are ones that I found particularly appealing for some particular reason and likely want to get them in addition to playing them and would be likely to purchase without playing them.<br />
<br />
<b>High Interest - Art:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37441">PALA</a></b> Color mixing as method of changing color (suit) of your cards in a trick taking/betting card game. Awesome idea! Plus, anything related to Art appeals to me...<br />
<br />
<b>High Interest - Different:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104340">MELTDOWN 2020</a></b> Save people from being poisoned by nuclear fallout. This is one of 4 of the latest offerings from Cwali. This one I'm interested in giving a go and the theme is unique (although perhaps a bit morbid)<br />
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<b>High Interest - Pick up and deliver:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/63167">UNDERMINING</a></b> Mining in space! It appears to be very configurable giving a lot of game variability, terrific graphics and theme, interactive mechanisms and double-sided board for more options. Work towards achieving short term goals which let you upgrade and eventually complete long term goals.<br />
<br />
<b>High Interest - Village Life:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103092">HELVETIA</a></b> A Kosmos game from the designer of Glen More and Lancaster. Build up your village in the Swiss alps by using tokens to indicate which actions you will be taking. Actions include meeples getting married, having babies (which then can go to school then become integrated into the village), wake up tired sleeping meeples, and producing goods (among other things) and go to sleep. When producing goods there are simple goods and there are also production chains for complex goods.<br />
<br />
<b>High Interest - Village Life:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104006">VILLAGE</a></b> Another village life game (duh) but here you are going for prestige in the village. There is an interesting time element and as time moves along your meeples die and go into the register indicating their prestige. In this game, the resources are: Skill, Persuasiveness, Faith, Knowledge, Time, Grain. Also, Plague exists which reduces life of your meeples. Again, you can marry, have kids, move up in society, etc. Something about this game and Helvetia really appeals to me.<br />
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These games all have some sort of COOL COMPONENTS in them. I may or may not want to actually GET them, but they're great to look at.<br />
<br />
<b>Cool Components - Abstract:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/95364">CUBULUS</a></b> Puzzly looking 3D game with simple gameplay and looks interesting with a cage-like structure and balls that you push into it causing them to shift and form new patterns. Plays up 2 OR 3 players equally well.<br />
<br />
<b>Cool Components - Abstract:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/102881">TRENCH</a></b> The designer calls it 'the next big thing' - that we will have to wait to see. It is a Chess-like game abstracting war in the trenches with the board divided into two clear areas and movement is different along the dividing line (the Trench). If anything, it's an eye-catching work of art. I would likely buy this game without playing it if it was a reasonable price, but I'm not shelling out a ton for it without playing it.<br />
<br />
<b>Cool Components - Architectural:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103877">CASA GRANDE</a></b> Build 3D buildings and get points or bonus points for others building on your builds. Interesting looking 3D construction game like Torres or Arkadia.<br />
<br />
<b>Cool Components - Family Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/92644">SCHNAPPT HUBI!</a></b> This has a haunted mansion that you discover and put together as you go. It contains an electronic device that tells you if there is a wall or not when you try to move a particular direction, then you insert the necessary piece. Move your rabbit through the house to find the magic doors, then chase the ghost, Hubi, out of the house. Looks interesting and fun for the kids.<br />
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<b>Cool Components - Family Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97655">SPACE MAZE</a></b> Looks a bit chaotic, but that seems to be the fun in this game - escape the maze using interesting mechanic of combining colors along tiles edges to 'mix' them to get the color you need for your alien meeples to move. Very cool alien meeples. Mazes, color mixing and aliens. Sounds like a perfect game to me! This might be one I'd buy without playing.<br />
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This category has games that are being reprinted, expanded or are based on something that's already been around a while. I don't have super high interest in getting them but would like to try them at least.<br />
<br />
<b>Something new from Something Old - Abstract:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/89406">TALAT</a></b> An abstract designed ONLY for 3 players, originally published as Drei (3). It has 3 boards, one betweeon each 2 players. If you move a piece on one board you don'y get to move a pioece on the other. When no captures are possible on a board it is frozen. Once two boards are frozen the game ends and you get points for captures and piece advancements. This game seems to offer something a bit different in terms of abstracts and I'm interested to try it out.<br />
<br />
<b>Something new from Something Old - Different:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/105134">RISK LEGACY</a></b> Risk but with forced meta gaming - you record past results directly onto the game so that future contests will be affected by past results. I'm not sure if this is something I'll go for, but I like the concept.<br />
<br />
<b>Something new from Something Old - Related:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/107043">NEW SCOTLAND YARD: CRIME SCENE</a></b> Race around the city collecting equipment then evaluating the crime scenes and finally perform forensic tests to determine the evidence and solve the murder. I have recently been able to play the original Scotland Yard and, even though this looks like a different sort of game, I am interested to see what it brings to the table...<br />
<br />
<b>Something new from Something Old - Remake:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73421">UCHRONIA</a></b> Glory to Rome with Dinosaur theme added…apparently theres's some litigation around this so it may or may not be available soon. Note there is also going to be an official 'Black Box' version of GtR with new cleaner/more muted graphics that looks pretty awesome as well.<br />
<br />
<b>Something new from Something Old - Remake:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97915">BIOS MEGAFAUNA</a></b> American Megafauna but drastically changed. I have been peripherally following the design changes for this game as I am on the AM discussion list, but I have not played it myself. It sounds to be shorter and faster with significantly different gameplay (and yet still maintains it's true-to-science core). This is the first in what will be a 'BIOS' series of games coming from Phil Ecklund.<br />
<br />
<b>Something new from Something Old - Reprint:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13122">ANTIQUITY</a></b> And there was much rejoicing for this reprint! Until they choked on the $125 USD price tag. It was available for Pre-order from Out of the Box but no longer is now that Essen has arrived. It sounds like some will be available @ Essen and perhaps from the Splotter website after Essen if there is any stock left. I just bought R&B and I don't know that my wallet can afford this as well now :( I am definitely tempted though....<br />
<br />
<b>Something new from Something Old - Rework/Reprint:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/107704">FIEF</a></b> This game originally came out in 1981, then was re-implemented/re-printed in 1989 as Fief 2. This game is listed separately so there must be something significant enough to make it different. This looks to be a heavy middle ages themed game with alliances and economic engine building. This might not quite be my thing but looks interesting and has terrific artwork as well.<br />
<br />
<b>Something new from Something Old - The Buzz:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/58886">ALBA LONGA</a></b> City/Civilization building game with interesting dice and multiple paths to victory. Uses dice selection, worker placement, combat between player's civilizations and comes with 3 in-box variants for even more playing possibilities. Apparently this won a game design award in 2009 and now is being officially published.<br />
<br />
<b>Something new from Something Old - Expansion:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/108667">POWER GRID: THE ROBOTS</a></b> Play Power Grid with 2 or 3 players using the Robots as an additional 'player'.<br />
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These are games of particular interest to me because of the theme, but I haven't been especially excited by seeing them. I'd love to play them all, of course. You will note a particular lack of fantasy and horror type of games from my list - I guess they just aren't my thing. That doesn't mean they aren't worthy, just not for me. If you have interest in those areas keep this in mind as you will want to peruse the Essen lists yourself for those types....<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Architectural:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104633">CASTELLI</a></b> Gather resources and build castles - typical Euro but the resource tiles can be rotated to change distribution which makes for some interesting interactions between players.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Architectural:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/80934">CITÉ</a></b> Gather resources and build buildings with special abilities. Partnerships can be formed and trading of resources is crucial to building successfully. Simultaneously play occurs which helps make the games move along quickly.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Architectural (Are you seeing a pattern here?):<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/93537">GIZA: THE GREAT PYRAMID</a></b> Manage resources and labor to most efficiently build parts of the pyramid. This has elements I like including worker placement and area majority. It also has bidding and cooperation.<br />
<br />
Yes, I'm very much into architecture and even went to architecture school for 2-1/2 years. This type of game ALWAYS appeals to me. Always.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Architectural:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/91984">QUÉBEC</a></b> Worker placement with unique method of 'cascading' workers when you come out ahead.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Architectural:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/62220">URBAN SPRAWL</a></b> Another Chad Jensen 'simulation' game which abstracts out the buildings themselves but have different roles you can earn through 'elections' (evaluation of area majority). There are restrictions as to where the buildings can be placed and special action cards that allow you to break some rule of the game. Anything with city building related activities always appeal to me.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Area control:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/106631">SPACE BASTARDS</a></b> Funny name but ultimately actually looks like an interesting area control game - managing the 'relationships' between alien races changes how the interactions of the actions occurs. I think the name suggests some nasty are control going on despite the humorous alien graphics. I might be likely to buy this without having played it.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Bluffing, Party:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104559">BANKSTERS</a></b> The box of diamonds is passed around and you must decide if you will be a thief or not (i.e. take some diamonds out of the box or not). Then the investigator asks questions to determine who the thieves are. Innocent players get points based on the number of diamonds recovered, thieves get points if they get away with stealing. Arrested thieves lose points. Reminds me of Master of Thieves (although the box isn't as cool as the one for that game)<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Deck Building:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43570">FREITAG</a></b> Part of Friedemann Friese's Friday (Freitag) project. It is a unique deck building game where you are Robinson Crusoe and his servant Friday trying to gather resources and prepare to battle the two pirates at game end. If you run out of health at any time you lose and you must defeat the pirates to win.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Different:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104347">SANTIAGO DE CUBA</a></b> I really liked Cuba and this game is similar except you are driving around Santiago making deals to collect goods to ship out on 7 different ships throughout the game. With random board setup and ship demand it seems there is a lot of potential variability in the game. As to whether that variability is enough over time is something else to be seen.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Different:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/96613">ALCATRAZ: THE SCAPEGOAT</a></b> This is a co-op game where you are trying to Escape from Alcatraz. You must work together to get out of the prison, but then try to leave someone behind who ends up being the scapegoat - bluffing, negotiation, backstabbing, and variable play all make this sound interesting. As I'm not heavy into co-op I'm interesting in trying it but not sure about buying...<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Different:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/108783">DR. SHARK</a></b> Antonio Bauza (7 Wonders) and Bruno Cathala (Mr. Jack, Cyclades) have worked together to make a different type of 'Dexterity' game - you are a spy and you must literally reach into a 'pool' and 'feel' around for clues. Each clue has a different texture (1 of 4 types) and you need to try to pull out the right kind of clue and avoid the sharks. And you only have 30 seconds to search for clues. I'm intrigued.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Dragons!:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/102237">DRAKO</a></b> Asymetrical gameplay with one person playing the dragon and one person a team of 3 dwarve dragon hunters. I'm not too much into fantasy themes but I do like dragons and this looks interesting.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Economic Engine:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97273">UPON A SALTY OCEAN</a></b> Sail and go fishing, then process the fish and get them back to port to sell in the market. Each action, once selected, costs more for the next players to use them during the round so you much choose your actions wisely before things get too expensive. The theme I find interesting and the art is tremendous.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Family Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103755">EXPOSAURUS</a></b> Tile laying game where you are trying to get different sets of dinosaur artifacts grouped together. Theme is light and gameplay reminds me a bit of Mosaix but with a bit more going on with bonuses and such. Love dinosaurs<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Family Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/95893">THE IMPOSSIBLE MACHINE</a></b> Build a machine to accomlish a task Rube Goldberg style. I LOVE this type of game although I suspect it's fairly light - should be fun with the kids/family.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Graphics:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/106217">HAWAII</a></b> This game has a Vikings like player board but there is also shared island where you collect resources to support your villages. The island is tiered so as you work your way across it the benefits increase, take too long and you might miss out on those benefits, but but if you progress too quickly you might miss out on other important actions leading up to that spot.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Life and Death:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/108637">WILDERNESS</a></b> An interesting experience type of game where you are trying to escape being eaten/killed while surviving in the wilderness and get out alive. Options for a shorter or longer game along with a configurable board and setup make for potential variety of play.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Racing:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103687">LAMBORGHINI: THE OFFICIAL RACE GAME</a></b> Another racing game. Yea!<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Steampunk:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97875">WIRAQOCHA</a></b> Far out there theme. Dice, Steampunk theming with terrific graphics, resource management and worker placement all in one game. It sounds like the game has a lot of subtle gameplay that requires multiple plays to get good at and may be brutal if you have a bad start.<br />
<br />
<b>Theme - Village Life:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/105187">MIL (1049)</a></b> Deeper Euro with similarities to Helvetia and Village but also includes war, soldiers and lineages. Too bad the meeples aren't soldier shaped instead of the traditional Carcassonne looking meeples included in the game.<br />
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<b>Theme - Village Life:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103185">WELCOME TO WALNUT GROVE</a></b> Carcassonne crossed with Agricola? Interesting. Progress through the years and maintain your ranch, feed your people, etc. Plus there is competition for land and the desire to build similar improvements together for better production.<br />
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----------------------------------------------<br />
Some games look interesting but there's just not much information about the gameplay so I'm WAITING TO SEE what comes out of Essen (or later) before making any decisions on them.<br />
<br />
<b>Waiting to See - Abstracts:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/105004">SARENA</a></b> Requires strategy and bluffing(!?) to win.<br />
<br />
<b>Waiting to See - Architectural:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39406">ANIMOCITY</a></b> Not a lot has been published about this, but the box looks interesting it looks like you are fighting for control and can steal points from other players. The only thing is it seems like a simpler version of Urban Sprawl so until more information comes out it could go either way for me.<br />
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<b>Waiting to See - Architectural:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/99037">BIRUDA</a></b> City building but with some craziness/random powers so not quite sure. Artwork looks really nice.<br />
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<b>Waiting to See - Bluffing/Deduction:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/102181">HATTARI</a></b> Discover the murderer from between 8 suspects. Plays fast with simple components. I'm always interested in deduction games and this one seems quite interesting and despite what appears to be relatively simple gameplay.<br />
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<b>Waiting to See - Card drafting/Set collection:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/101020">PAX</a></b> Larry Levy is very interested so it must be good.<br />
<br />
<b>Waiting to See - Deck Building:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/101718">TERRA EVOLUTION</a></b> I love games related to genetics and evolution and this seems to go that direction. I'm actually getting to like deck building games and am excited to see where designers are taking them.<br />
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<b>Waiting to See - Deck Building:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103191">PERGAMEMNON</a></b> Deck building with much player conflict...sounds promising.<br />
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<b>Waiting to See - Euro:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/102680">TRAJAN</a></b> Stefan Feld (I've been liking his recent games) uses a unique 'mancala' type of mechanic to determine what actions you can do and if you get bonus actions if done in a particular way. Other than the mancala mechanic, this could go either way as being a standard Euro or something greater.<br />
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<b>Waiting to See - Family Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/98229">PICTOMANIA</a></b> Pictionary with everyone drawing and guessing at the same time! My kids recently discovered Pictionary so may very well like this, too.<br />
<br />
<b>Waiting to See - Graphics:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/80979">FORTUNA</a></b> Great graphics - start as farmer and work your way up Roman hierarchy. Standard Euro fare or something more?<br />
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<b>Waiting to See - Never will happen:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/27042">VERITAS</a></b> This has been on the Essen list since 2007 and seems to now be put on there as traditional only. - it will likely never see the light of day at this rate, but it's fun to mention it!<br />
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<b>Waiting to See - Pick up and deliver:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/87120">VINTAGE</a></b> Yes, another wine themed game. I haven't played Vinhos or Grand Cru yet, both of which looked interesting to me, and this one looks interesting as well. The only drawback is that it may seem like too many other Euros already out there.<br />
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<b>Waiting to See - Puzzly Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/88950">PALENQUE</a></b> Very little is known but I like the artwork (I like that style)<br />
<br />
Well, that's 'it'. I found 60+ games out of 700+ listed as Essen releases (or soon after Essen). That's actually quite a few. Of course, a much smaller subset are Must Buy or of High Interest. Plus, there are so many on the list it's hard to evaluate them all. The buzzworthy and the ones that just stand out due to graphics or components are what I tended to focus on. It will be seen what the Essen darlings and duds really are.<br />
<br />
If you have comments on any of these or suggestions for something I missed, I'd love to hear about them - please post as a comment!Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-208513993713628222011-09-29T13:18:00.000-07:002011-09-29T13:20:12.595-07:00JUST GAMING AROUND - More Yucata PLUS Trying out Vassal with 'Inspector Moss 2' - PnP solitaire game design winner (aka Am I Gaming Online Again? 1-Player even?)<b>YUCATA REPRISED</b><br />
I'd stated before that online gaming isn't so much my thing. And then <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/1378/just-gaming-around-vikings-on-yucata-did-i-rea">I tried out Yucata back in March</a> and found that I enjoyed it. I played a few games then got busy at the end of the school year and during the summer and didn't revisit online gaming.<br />
<br />
Well, a couple of weeks ago I had some friends over and we ALMOST played <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19100/hacienda">Hacienda </a>(which I got to play at the Gaming Olympics early last month and wanted to play again), but it was a split decision and we played some other games instead.<br />
<br />
My friend garygarison really wanted to try it though so we agreed to give it a go online. I invited him to a game of it, along with 4 or 5 other games (Stone Age and St. Petersburg) with some other online buddies. I haven't had a lot of FTF gaming the last couple of months so it has been a nice way to get in some gaming.<br />
<br />
Since that first game we played a couple more times, then moved on to Oregon where he is KING OF OREGON (as he says - he's top ranked on it). We have played several games and finally got to where I only lost by 1 point on a couple of games! And yesterday I finally defeated the King of Oregon!<br />
<br />
Anyhow, what's been great about Oregon in particular is that it plays very fast and has a lot of interesting little things going on and every game is different. One game we literally filled up one entire corner of the board and almost nothing else on the board. Other times we've been all over the place. I'm learning to love it's subtleties and fickleness with the card draws (and points draws on the Coal and Gold - which have been KILLING me in the end game, hence losing by 1 point at least twice as a result). I literally cannot stop playing it now. It's been a great way to unwind in the evenings and even get a quick game in during lunch.<br />
<br />
I've also been learning to love the tightness and subtleties of St. Petersburg as well. I had never played it before playing online and it's been great online as I can take my time planning out my moves, reviewing what each card's benefits are, etc. The ability to take notes as reminders for myself between turns has been invaluable as well.<br />
<br />
I'm really starting to enjoy online play. Who knew!?<br />
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<b>VASSAL AND INSPECTOR MOSS</b><br />
I must digress a bit though - what REALLY spurred me to actually plugging in again was a geek mail I got from one of the designers of the game <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/100089/inspector-moss-2-house-arrest">Inspector Moss 2: House Arrest</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/JoffW">Jonathan Warren</a> he apparently reads my blog and thought I should check it out. It recently won a recent Print and Play contest: <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/644090/solitaire-print-and-play-contest">Solitaire Print and Play Contest</a> which is pretty cool.<br />
<br />
The other designer is <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/sq498">Rebekah B</a>.<br />
<br />
Well, I looked at it and, honestly, I thought the artwork was a little strange with heads stuck on pawns as bodies.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1040784" style="color: red; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1040784_t.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Detective you play - Inspector Moss</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f5f5ff; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f5f5ff; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1040780" style="color: red; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1040780_t.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The dead guy - John Dough</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><br />
</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f5f5ff; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f5f5ff; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1040787" style="color: blue; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1040787_t.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">One of the suspects - Sue Phlaye</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">And, it's a solitaire game. I don't typically play solitaire games (almost never) - if I have time for myself I'm usually writing about games, pimping games, building my own copies of games, or opening, punching or learning new games. If I'm going to play a game I usually prefer to play with someone else.</div><br />
Hence, my willingness to play games on Yucata recently - at least it's with SOMEONE. I like the competition against with other players, particularly 2-player games with head-to-head action.<br />
<br />
I admitted to Jonathan that I wasn't likely to print it out and make a copy just to play it, but I noticed that it was available on Vassal and might be willing to try it there.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>To Vassal or Not To Vassal</b><br />
Well, I've never actually used <a href="http://www.vassalengine.org/">Vassal</a>. I sort of knew about it and that it was a computer application that you could make game components and a framework for playing games, but you manage all the rules and such yourself as you normally would playing a table-top board game - you have to know how to play the game. Without going into details I began to see how LARGE a selection of games were available for the Vassal system. Check it out yourself (well, later after reading the rest of this post of course :) )<br />
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Still being skeptical I installed Vassal and loaded Inspector Moss - a solitaire game where you are a detective trying to solve a murder? It didn't seem possible that this could be very workable or with much replay value.<br />
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<b>Ready to Roll with Moss</b><br />
Once I got the game loaded, it was obvious I was going to have to read the rules to understand how to play. At first I started reading the rules slowly. Then, I started getting more into it the further I got into the rules. It sounded kind of interesting. Well, *very* interesting actually. I could see it was a puzzly sort of game but with movements and actions restricted by dice rolls. Actually, I thought the whole mechanic sounded very clever.<br />
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<b>What's Vassal Got to Do With It?</b><br />
As I was reading through the rules I was starting to play the game as well. Not having used Vassal before it took me a bit to get used to the interface. With Yucata the system handles just about everything for you and has tips for elements when you hover over them.<br />
<br />
There's very little of that with Vassal - you get all the components and a couple of buttons (such as to start a new turn, roll dice, etc) but you get to move all the bits around yourself, rotating them as necessary, keeping score as necessary, etc. This lends itself to making mistakes, but also leaves it open to be able to play games the way you want, back up/redo if necessary, etc.<br />
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I love this...I love having control and being able to play the way I want to play. Yes, it's nice when the computer keeps track of everything for you, but sometimes you want to be able have more control and play the way you want to play.<br />
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<b>Anyhow, the game! 'Inspector Moss 2: House Arrest' goes like this:</b> you are Inspector Oliver Moss investigating the death of John Dough, wealthy bachelor and owner of a large baking company. During a party he was killed in his house where 11 guests were attending - you and what are now 10 murder suspects. A judge orders an injuntion to lock the house down and you must explore the house, examine the evidence, find the murderer, arrest them and haul them out to the waiting police car. And, you only have 45 minutes to do it!<br />
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<b>I'm not going to go into full details, but here are the basics to give you a flavor of the gameplay:</b><br />
<br />
<b>* First you roll 7 white dice and 1 red die.</b> You decide which dice to 'lock' and which to re-roll. You can re-roll twice more. You can even re-roll 'locked' dice on the 3rd roll if you wish. And, yes, you might want to do this.<br />
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<b>* Then, you can use 6 of the 8 dice in different combinations including:</b><br />
<br />
- <b>Move (1 die, 2 pair, 3-of-a-kind) -- Go through open doors using the matching dice number of a neighboring room that is connected.</b> You may need a pair or 3-of-a-kind of that specific room number to get through locked doors to go that way - very 'expensive' use of your dice. There are also 'secret' passages that may let you move quickly across the board.<br />
<br />
Also, as you move into new rooms you begin to 'see' more of the house and neighboring connected rooms (and items in them) are revealed.<br />
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- <b>Reveal evidence (small straight, i.e. 2,3,4,5) - The 'evidence' is arrows that point in different directions</b> that prove suspects as innocent (if they are pointed to). The arrows can be rotated to point any direction. This action also lets you re-rotate previously placed arrows if you use it again in the same room (i.e. re-examine the evidence)<br />
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- <b>Collect assistance tokens (3-of-a-kind) - If you are in a room with an assistance token you can pick it up.</b> These tokens help you out by giving you 1 of 10 different special abilities including a key to go through any doors for only 1 die, a flashlight that lets you use secret passageways for NO dice, and a phone which lets you switch any 2 evidence tokens.<br />
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- <b>Make an arrest (5-of-a-kind) - If you have eliminated 9 of the 10 suspects, you know who did it!</b> Go to that suspect's location and roll a 5-of-a-kind to arrest them. Once you are successful you must then haul them off to the waiting police car (outside the house)<br />
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<b>Time Keeps on Rolling, Rolling, Rolling....</b><br />
After rolling the dice and taking all of your actions, you then must account for the amount of time spent on that turn. There is a timer (score track) that goes from 60 (minutes) down to 0. The standard game you start on 45 and must make the arrest before time is up. You can make the game easier or harder by allowing more or less time. This is a terrific way to ramp up the challenge once you get good at it!<br />
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The way time works is this: No matter what the Red die value was when you stopped rolling, that is the amount of time taken. Thus, 1 to 6 'minutes'. This occurs whether you used the red die for your actions or not. I really like this mechanic - very well done!<br />
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In addition, if (and only if) you used any 6's in your turn, each counts as 1 more minute. Why for just the 6's? Well, because a 6 is 'wild' meaning you can use it as any number you want. But it will cost you if you use it in terms of a time penalty (even if you use the 6 as an actual 6 you are penalized)<br />
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Also, if you used a secret passage, you must also account for this 'extra' time spent by adding the numbers of the passage end values then moving your time marker down the same amount.<br />
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<b>Every Little Thing You Do Is...Important</b><br />
One more interesting little twist is the mechanic for placing the police car - you can actually control it a bit sometimes. The first tile you place that has a door to the 'outside' of the house (on the outside edge), the police car is then placed there. You can see that it might be to your advantage to delay that 'choice' as long as possible to try to get the murderer and the police as near each other as possible.<br />
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In my first play, this was definitely my downfall. Once I worked the evidence to narrow it down to just one suspect who was the murderer, that person ended up being on the complete opposite side of the house from the police car. AND, I only had a few minutes left on the clock....needless to say I got pretty close to winning the game (probably just 3 or 4 turns at most) but alas, he got away :(<br />
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It's all these little things of how you place the tiles, how you place the evidence, how you leverage your dice that brings everything together and presents you with an interesting challenge.<br />
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<b>Turn, Turn, Turn</b><br />
I may have left out a small rule here or there, but that's basically the game play. What I discovered from my reading of the rules was what seemed to be a clever and potentially interesting game, for 1 player, in the vein of a 'puzzle' game where you must manipulate the board to get the result you want/need, while also managing risk with the dice and fighting a quickly (sometimes VERY quickly) running clock.<br />
<br />
Obviously, you can see that a time limit of 45 means anywhere from 7 to 45 turns (if you never used wild dice that is)...that's a HUGE range. Of course, luck of the dice dictates. If you figure an average of 3 to 4 minutes per turn (rolls + wilds), that's roughly 11-15 turns.<br />
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So, you have to be efficient, but you also need to be a little bit bold as well and push your luck in the dice rolling to get the most actions out of a turn that you can. Remember that even though you may have a certain number of turns, you can perform multiple actions on a turn based on your rolls and how the game is set up.<br />
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<b>Whoooooo are you?</b><br />
So, before I give my opinion, there is one last thing that is fun to read. The characters in the game ultimately are just pawns in the game. HA! Literally! But, they are all given colorful and pun-ny backstories in this geeklist: <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/69713/dicing-with-death-introducing-the-characters-of">Dicing... with Death: Introducing the Characters of Inspector Moss 2</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f5f5ff; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"></span><br />
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Take a read and get to know the characters a bit...none of this makes any difference in the game, but it gives you a sense for 'who' they are.<br />
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<b>The evidence before the court is incontrivertable...</b><br />
So, I have to say that I enjoyed playing this game. I enjoyed it quite a lot, more than I expected. I found myself engaged in it and pushing myself to make good decisions with the re-rolls as well as the actions. I would formulate a plan and then try to get the rolls to execute on it while also trying to keep wilds down and the 'minutes' per turn down.<br />
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It was fun trying to get the evidence to eliminate enough suspects and get them oriented the right way. The 'assistance' special actions were very helpful and I had to figure out how I could best put them to use.<br />
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So, here's a shot near the end of the first game I played on Vassal:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f5f5ff; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1102649" style="color: red; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1102649_lg.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" width="600" /></a></span><br />
You can see by the 'timer' in the top-left that it is near 0 so I don't have many turns left at this point. I have narrowed the suspects down to 1 (Sue Phlaye, you bad little...pawn you!) but she is across the house from me and, worse, her location is clear across the house AGAIN from the waiting police car. Thus, I must make good use of my dice rolls and hope I get low time usage per turn.<br />
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I have two 'assistance' items in my favor: the 'clock' (far left) which allows me to eliminate any time used for 1 turn (basically a free turn), and I also have the flashlight which lets me take the secret passageways without incurring any additional time penalty. Both very helpful in the endgame.<br />
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Well, as you can see from my roll, I didn't get quite what I needed. I was able to use a 5 to move to the neighboring room, then another 5 to move to the diagonal room from there using the secret passageway (which doesn't cost me any time with the flashlight), then 2 of the twos to move to the neighboring room through 1 unlocked door. I had another 2, but actually needed 3 of them to move into the room with Sue. So, accusations would be waiting for one more round. Also notice I had two dice that I didn't even get to use (i.e. two dice of the 6 that I was 'using') - and using the 6 didn't even really help me. AND, the red die was a 6! Ugh. So, I had to spend my clock to allow myself more time on future turns.<br />
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I won't play out the whole rest of the game here, but you can see that the odds were stacked against me. Once I got to the room with Sue Phlaye in it, I couldn't arrest her! Man, she's one tough EGG! By the time I did the time for the injunction ran out before I could get her out the to police car and had to let her go free. But I was pretty darn close for my first play! I need to play this again!<br />
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Well, overall I feel there is a nice mix of luck and decision making with enough elements to keep it interesting and yet not overwhelming. Other than the special actions which each have their own ability, the rules are pretty simple once you get the hang of them. And, even with the abilities added in, only a couple of them come out during a game so you just have to look those ones up as they appear.<br />
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Overall I like the artwork and look of the game. I'm still not overly crazy about the faces on the pawns, but it certainly does give it some...ah...character ;)<br />
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<b>A couple of things I might suggest tweaking in the game:</b><br />
First, I ALMOST want to say change the pawn artwork, only because it might actually turn some people off before they even give it a further look. BUT, it also makes it distinctive and gives it a bit of personality, so it's difficult to actually suggest doing that.<br />
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One thing I would suggest changing in the game is the 'Bomb' assistance action. It really doesn't make sense that a detective would place a bomb and create an opening between two rooms. Why not just make it a resolving book case or something? Much more 'mystery in an old house' feeling. The bomb just doesn't fit the theme.<br />
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Another change I might suggest - the arrows for the evidence are kind of boring - I think they should either be fingers pointing (which only sort of makes sense but at least goes with the theme) or something else that suggests 'innocence' that I can't think of at the moment. I like the fingers pointing idea at least.<br />
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Also, the Informant assistance doesn't seem to be as strong as the other ones. Why not let you look one time at ANY facedown evidence (or maybe ANY?) token (i.e. you don't have to be in the same room) - it seems an informant may be MORE likely to tell you about evidence you do NOT have direct access to. It also lets you be able to plan ahead when working with other evidence. (Also, why doesn't the informant picture have a head of some shady guy whispering or something?)<br />
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These are minor quibbles though in a very strong game and it's no wonder it took first place in the Solitaire PnP contest!<br />
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<b>The Final Countdown</b><br />
So, when I played my first game I wondered how it would all come together. And, I was pleasantly surprised. One of my initial concerns was around if it would always be 'solvable' given the mix of randomization going on. Not solvable in the sense of easy to find the solution, just that the concept even worked. Well, I didn't see it manifest into a problem, so that seems to check out.<br />
<br />
I will say the game theme suggests 'deduction' but this game isn't really about that - it's about manipulating the board to get the result you want - a single guilty suspect (also note that eliminating ALL pawns causes you to lose immediately). This might disappoint people that expect something else, but if you like puzzly games you should LOVE this one as I certainly did. Plus, the addition of the clock is brilliant as, obviously, you'd be able to put it all together and be successful at some point, but trying to do it within a set time limit is really the key to making this game 'exciting'.<br />
<br />
Well, that's the story on this interesting PnP game from a couple of fellow BGGers. I suggest you go out and give this game a go (or maybe even one of the other 165 PnP Solitaire contest games entered) - you might just find a hidden gem (or murderer)<br />
<br />
Oh, one final note: There aren't too many components to make a physical copy of this game...in fact, I have plans already to make my own copy, partly because I like the game and partly because I serendipitously have enough round and square tokens as left-over parts from other games as well as some nifty dice and even some boards and a box that are almost exactly the right size for everything. I even have some 'pawns' I might use for the characters (but not sure if I'll be putting little heads on them or not)Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-86937822984980424012011-08-29T17:10:00.000-07:002011-08-29T17:11:00.876-07:00HOT BOX - WHAT'S IN THE BOX? - Z-Man 'Factory Fun' vs. Cwali 'Factory Fun'<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24417">Factory Fun</a> is one of my favorite games of all time. In this game you are trying to maximize profits by fitting machines into your factory and connecting them in such a way as to generate more profits than what it costs to place each machine. This may sound a little dull but if you like puzzle sorts of games the fun factor cannot be beat!<br />
<br />
I was introduced to it early in my gaming resurgence in 2008 by my friend Chris (it's one of his all-time favorites as well) and immediately fell in love with it. I loved the puzzle aspect to it. I loved the components. I loved the artwork. I loved that it played quickly but still was a lot of fun.<br />
<br />
I soon was looking for my own copy and ended up purchasing it directly from the designer, Corné van Moorsel, straight from the Netherlands along with a few of his other games. This was a little before the incredible price increases started occurring.<br />
<br />
Then, when I heard there was going to be a reprint by Z-Man I was somewhat interested but figured I wouldn't bother since I had it already. I also saw some of the artwork and I wasn't sure - I loved the hand-drawn artwork of my original version and didn't know if the slicker artwork was an improvement or not.<br />
<br />
Then I started reading more information that came out about it and they mentioned that it had pieces for 5 players instead of 4 (cool!), the pipes were done as tiles instead of shaped pieces (hmm, not sure about that), and the player boards were double-sided for standard and expert play (awesome!)<br />
<br />
Well, I finally caved and decided to get it. And it arrived. And...it sat on my shelf. I can't even remember how long now. Since earlier this year I think. Yes, definitely earlier this year. *sigh*<br />
<br />
Perhaps I just wasn't ready to give up on my older copy of the game...<br />
<br />
Then Chris got his own copy of the game recently. And opened it right away! Gah! It was time to open mine. He posted a pic of the neat containers he used to put the game pieces in.<br />
<br />
He said the containers were for 'spices'. Apparently they had 'spice' labels on them and and he was complaining about it. I suggested he make his own labels and he promptly did! Very cool!<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1063609_md.jpg" /><br />
<br />
Ok, I'm motivated! I've actually been planning on opening it for the last month or so with the intention of doing a comparison of the old and new versions but hadn't 'gotten around to it'. Well, it is finally time...to see WHAT IS IN THE BOX! Then, further down, I do a comparison of the components of the two versions.<br />
<br />
So, here's the box, ready to be opened!<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074963_md.jpg" /><br />
<br />
I have to admit I like the box art quite a bit. I'm ok with the people on it, but I REALLY like the factory - the look of the machines and most especially the lights on the ceiling. I don't know why I like them so much, but I do...<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Two cuts and we can start peeling....<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074964_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074965_t.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074966_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074967_t.jpg" /><br />
<br />
...then open the box....<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074968_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074969_t.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074970_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074971_t.jpg" /><br />
<br />
...inside, besides the manual, we find...<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074972_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074973_md.jpg" /><br />
a nice stack of cardboard! Yes! Lots of neat stuff to punch!<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074974_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074975_md.jpg" /><br />
And more cardboard! All the beautiful factory boards! I love the light that looks like it's coming in the windows and the 3D effect that creates with the shadows! It looks even nicer in person than in the photos I'd seen.<br />
<br />
I was really getting excited now!<br />
<br />
Here are the wooden player bits and some baggies for putting everything into and the box with the empty insert:<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074976_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074977_t.jpg" /><br />
<br />
But why do included baggies always have to be so BIG when provided in games? Flexibility...I know....but still. Guess I'll be pulling out some smaller ones.<br />
<br />
Ah, it's time to punch everything now!<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074978_md.jpg" /><br />
<br />
Here's everything punched out...<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074926_md.jpg" /><br />
<br />
...and put away neatly in the insert.<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074927_md.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074997_t.jpg" /><br />
<br />
Now, I'm not fully convinced about the insert yet. YES, it has appropriate sized spaces for all of the components. And YES, it looks really nice in the box. But NO, I'm not convinced I will keep with this solution permanently. In fact, I'm pretty sure I won't - mainly because I sometimes store my boxes sideways and these components will be EVERYWHERE because there's too much space between the insert and the top of the box - everything will definitely start moving.<br />
<br />
For now....I'm using it this way, but it will probably change soon. I'm just not sure what I'm going to use yet. Maybe a plano - I might need to go shopping for something special.<br />
<br />
<b>OK. Now that I have it opened and punched, how does it compare to the original version?</b><br />
<br />
As mentioned before, I'm not crazy about the people on the cover of the new version. Looking at the two next to each other, I'm still loving the original cover with the hand-drawn images and I think the people look more realistic - something like you'd see in a real factory. Although, I *do* like both covers for different reasons and I'm not disappointed by the new one at all.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074929_md.jpg" /><br />
<i>A comparison of the boxes.</i><br />
<br />
You can see the new box is substantially bigger. In fact, the new box is SO big it can contain the original version inside of it...<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074936_md.jpg" /><br />
...and, I think there would still be enough room in there for all the new components as well if the insert was left out (I didn't try this but maybe that will be part of a permanent solution....)<br />
<br />
Next up is one of the factory floor boards:<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074931_md.jpg" /><br />
<i>Comparison of factory floor board</i><br />
<br />
This is the same floor for both games. There are several differences here. Interestingly, you can see that the size of the factory floor is actually slightly smaller on the new board, but the overall board is bigger.<br />
<br />
The nice features of the new board are: the artwork (love the shadows), '+' marks for the corners of the spaces rather than fully drawn lines, and the key at the bottom for costs is a great touch.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074930_md.jpg" /><br />
<i>Comparison of the score tracks</i><br />
<br />
The new score track is much bigger, has cleaner graphics, and appears easier to score on with the alternate colored spots. It's definitely an improvement over the older score track.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074935_md.jpg" /><br />
<i>The pipes</i><br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074932_md.jpg" /><br />
<i>the reservoirs & supply tanks</i><br />
<br />
The components have changed quite a bit, and yet they are very similar at the same time. The pipes on the new tiles have nice shaded graphics and all of the tiles are the same shape. They are also double-sided with curves and straights on one type, the 'T' and '+' on another, and the cross-over and double-curves on the third type.<br />
<br />
Now, I like that they are double-sided and consistently shaped. HOWEVER, I almost prefer the actual 'pipe' shapes because they 'look' and 'feel' like real pipes, like you're actually piping things together. Ultimately though, the new tiles are easier to keep lined up on the board. Again, I like both for different reasons in this case.<br />
<br />
The reservoirs are all very similar, especially the supply tanks which even have the same octagonal shape. Of course the graphics changed a bit for the new ones, but the biggest change is the colors. In particular, brown was changed to orange and yellow was changed to green, plus blue and red changed tints slightly. Personally, I prefer the original colors although I presume the color changes (and the patterns in the tanks) are to make the game color-blind friendly which I fully support. But I still prefer the original colors for me...<br />
<br />
In particular I miss the brown. One of the most famous/recognizable machines is the 'Megabrowner' which is a machine that takes a 1 input of blue and makes it a 3 output of brown (i.e. it's very valuable in the game). The machine is still named 'Megabrowner' but now it has orange as the output instead of brown. That just doesn't seem right to me...<br />
<br />
Speaking of machines, let's look at those next:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074937_md.jpg" /><br />
<i>All of the machines, sorted alphabetically with old and new machines side-by-side.</i><br />
<br />
The original version had 48 machines. The new version has 7 more machines for a total of 55 - this allows it to support 5 players (playing a game consists of using 10 machines per person)<br />
<br />
Here are close-ups of each set.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074943_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074942_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074941_t.jpg" /><br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074940_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074939_t.jpg" /> <img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074938_t.jpg" /><br />
<br />
You'll notice the names are all the same and the colors and input/outputs are mostly the same (if you consider the converted colors mentioned above) - although at least 1 or 2 machines have changed input/output colors I think. Of the 7 new machines, there's one anomaly - I don't know if this is a mis-print or intentional for some reason, but there are 2 machines named "Sonic Pack 3" in the Z-Man version, one that is identical to the original and one that is very different. Somehow I split them across columns/images, but one is at the top of the right-most image and one is at the bottom of the image to the left of that.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, one of the new machines is named "Z-Manixer".....it has two '3' value inputs and outputs - garbage. Well, perhaps black output is supposed to represent something different, but we've always considered it 'garbage' output since it just ends up being a dead-end in your factory line.<br />
<br />
Regarding the machine graphics, the machines themselves look good overall, but I still prefer the hand-drawn Cwali version as I feel they have a bit more 'personality' to them. Also, the new version doesn't show workers working at some of them like they do in the original version :(<br />
<br />
Also, the pipes are a bit more clear on directionality (input vs. output) and the sizing of the pipes to indicate the value is an interesting idea (1 is smallest machine pipe, 3 is largest) which I actually like quite a lot in theory, but it seems strange to connect up large pipes to small ones scale-wise. I'm fine with playing it, but I'm not completely sold on it.<br />
<br />
The think what I like most on the new tiles is the 'value' (i.e. income that is immediately generated) is printed very clearly in the center of each tile making it easier to compare (versus the original versions) when trying to decide which machine you might want to grab during that portion of the round.<br />
<br />
And finally we have the player pieces as well as the 'multiplier' markers used to determine the value of a pipe flow for end-game scoring:<br />
<br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074933_md.jpg" /><br />
<i>Special Essen 'expansion' crossover pieces and the player markers</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<img src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1074934_md.jpg" /><br />
<i>the bonus multiplier markers</i><br />
<br />
The player colors have changed somewhat. I'm fine with the changes because I like more color, but the 'boring' original colors were kind of 'fun' because they were 'boring' and fit with the theme.<br />
<br />
The former 'bonus' tile only available from Essen is now included standard in the Z-Man version - it simply allows you cross over 2 sets of pipes which can sometimes be very handy when things are on the wrong sides of the board.<br />
<br />
The multiplier markers have changed significantly and, I must say, for the better (for the most part). Why? Because they make obvious the scoring you will get at the end of the game. The original version has simple clear round discs that you would put over the pipe numbers when you connected 2 machines together - those numbers are multiplied by '5' at the end of the game for final scoring.<br />
<br />
This version simply does the multiplication 'early' and you place a maker with the final VP value instead. This makes it much easier to see your end-game score (and everyone else's as well) as those clear discs were nice but would easily get lost on the board (and sometimes on the floor as well).<br />
<br />
Well, that's my breaking out of the newer Z-Man version of the game and comparison of it with the older Cwali version.<br />
<br />
I certainly like the components in both versions, but the older version is more compact and the line drawn art really appeals to me. But, the new version has some really nice slicker graphics and also has some changes that were made that ultimately makes it easier to play and understand. AND, the components are actually interchangeable between games as the new ones are only slightly smaller than the older ones.<br />
<br />
I think I'll be keeping both copies because I really like the new changes, but I love the old version. Call me sentimental I guess.<br />
<br />
Thanks for stopping by and putting up with my long-windedness!<br />
<br />
Now go out and build a factory or something!Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-83635742160597240942011-08-12T15:15:00.000-07:002011-08-12T15:21:01.136-07:00STATE OF THE BACK ROOM - An update on why no new posts here....Last night I attended a local gaming group that some of my friends frequent and host. My blog came up for some reason and my friend Chris said he hadn't seen anything in over a month. I mentioned that I'd only been posting my blog entries to BGG recently ( <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blog/22">http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blog/22</a> ). Apparently he wasn't subscribed to me there, just here. My friend Robert said the same thing - apparently both are using the RSS feeds here. Now, BGG has RSS feeds as well, BUT, I much prefer some of the OTHER features here on blogger, in particular the statistics that tell me how many people are visiting.<br />
<br />
Well, I admit it, I have been neglecting my blog HERE for the past few weeks. I haven't even been checking the stats or anything.<br />
<br />
Here's what you've missed from July:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/3423/state-of-the-back-room-the-tour-mess-on-the-tab">STATE OF THE BACK ROOM - The Tour + Mess on the Table!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/3516/the-creative-gamer-making-ticket-to-ride-norther">THE CREATIVE GAMER - Making Ticket to Ride: Northern Egypt (Part 1)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/3662/state-of-the-back-room-whats-on-the-table-domini">STATE OF THE BACK ROOM - What's on the Table? (Dominion storage solution, Risk Express and some creative pics)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/3660/the-creative-gamer-making-ticket-to-ride-norther">THE CREATIVE GAMER - Making Ticket to Ride: Northern Egypt (Part 2 / 2) </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/4038/state-of-the-back-room-the-oregon-cup-thrifting">STATE OF THE BACK ROOM - The Oregon Cup, Thrifting Nirvana, and TtR: Northern Egypt results!</a></li>
</ul><br />
<br />
After the discussion last night I was feeling kind of guilty when driving home. And torn. I definitely wasn't getting much traffic here until I started plugging my posts into BGG using the new blogging feature that was added there in February. The thing is, I was only posting the first couple of paragraphs of each entry and then linking here. Some people did NOT like that. And, I admit, it seemed a bit....unsavory to me.<br />
<br />
SO, I then tried posting the full posts to BOTH locations. The problem with that is that it took a lot of extra time to reformat everything to look good in both locations. And, I already take too much time writing things up as it is as I am a perfectionist and want to 'get it right' so I tend to write and re-write until I'm happy, then add the re-formatting on top and it was almost too much.<br />
<br />
I eventually caved and went JUST with posting on BGG. I actually held a contest there for everyone that thumbed my posts. The reason I did that was because it was very difficult to tell how many people were actually reading my posts - there just aren't stats for that other than the thumbs really. I found that when I did the short posts that pointed to my blog here my hits here would be fairly sizeable but I wouldn't get any thumbs on BGG. So, posts that were actually popular didn't show as popular on BGG. Also, full posts that I only posted to BGG didn't get that many thumbs. But I KNEW people had to be reading them...at least I was pretty sure....well, I just wasn't sure at all.<br />
<br />
With the thumbing contest my thumbs went way up. So, at least I knew I was getting people reading it (the contest was always posted innocuously at the bottom of the post). But, I was then neglecting the site here.<br />
<br />
Why is this all important to me? Well, here's why: I want to know what I write about that interests people so that I can do more posts in the same vein. If I keep writing stuff that no one cares about then it does a disservice to those that WANT to read.<br />
<br />
Of course, I'll still write stuff no one cares about, but it's nice to know what people find interesting and what people don't find interesting.<br />
<br />
MOST interesting to me is the month that I didn't post one single item here, I got over 1200 hits! (EDIT: Just realized that's not true, I posted an article about Navegador, but it only accounts for part of the hits) That's just to stuff I already posted. Granted, a good number of hits were still coming from BGG, but many are coming from google searches. I've been getting some good hits from Iran for instance! I would never have known this if I didn't have the stats that I can get from blogger and from statcounter (which doesn't work well with BGG)<br />
<br />
I suppose it's perhaps a little selfish to want these stats - knowing that people are reading what I'm writing and apparently liking it enough to keep coming back keeps me motivated to try to write more (I had 114 return visitors in July, even without new postings). Not that I NEED the motivation because I really do enjoy the writing by itself, but it certainly helps keep me WANTING to.<br />
<br />
Well, I discussed some of this with another of my friends today and he thinks I should still post to both locations. And, that it what I WANT to do and have all along. But the extra work is sometimes unbearable because the formatting is not straight copy and paste - it requires a bunch of work to get it to come across. He suggested finding/writing some sort of tool that will convert one post into the other. Well, duh, I'm a programmer! Except, now I have to spend some time doing that. I think what I'll need to do is come up with a semi-manual method first then try to re-create that method with code to hopefully cut the time down and minimize manual conversion.<br />
<br />
So, that's where I'm at now. I'm not going to abandon this site - it has a lot of posts that I've been very happy with and seem to get some interest from others out there as well. But I also like being tied to the BGG community since I spend so much time there as it is.<br />
<br />
Hopefully I can come up with a solution in the near future.<br />
<br />
Well, thanks for listening - I needed to clear my head of what I've been thinking. I'm interested to hear what you have to say about all of this if you so desire. You don't have to sign up to post or anything so don't be afraid to tell me what you think!<br />
<br />
I hope to see you back here soon!<br />
<br />
Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-83129150188008747832011-07-01T03:02:00.000-07:002011-07-01T03:03:23.639-07:00HOT BOX - 'Navegador' (What's in the Box?)Hello! Glad you could stop by again today! I want to show you one of my new games that I'm really excited about!<br />
<br />
I had the opportunity to try <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66589/navegador">Navegador</a> on my last day @ Gamestorm 2011 earlier this year. I really enjoyed it. There seemed to be many different paths to victory and the score came out very close in the end (I squeaked out a victory although I think the experience players let me backtrack on one turn where I bought a spice factory a little too early on and they suggested I shouldn't).<br />
<br />
I love the rondel! I love the achievement multipliers! I love the exploration aspect! I love how the market works!<br />
<br />
I loved it enough to pick up my own copy of the game. Last weekend I finally got around to getting it punched and then played (well, we didn't quite finish the game but we 'saved' it with pictures so we can finish the next gaming session).<br />
<br />
Anyhow, I took some pics while opening it. Here's the process of opening and punching it:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029140_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029140_lg.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Box cover - Henry the Navigator, um, navigating...</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029144_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029144_lg.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Back of the box (there he is again!)</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Why Henry the Navigator? Well, according to the booklet inside the box: "The explorations along the African coast guided by Henry heralded the Age of Discovery."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029148_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029148_lg.jpg" width="165" /></a><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029149_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029149_lg.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="148" /></a><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029150_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029150_lg.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="168" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>You know the drill - 2 cuts at the corner, then peel the plastic!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029151_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029151_lg.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029152_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029152_lg.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The moment of truth.... (alas, no box fart :( )</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>There's something weird that I pay attention to that not everyone does. No, not box farts! Everyone loves those! It's how well the box top and bottom fit together. Some fit really tightly. Some come off easily. Some are JUST tight enough to cause a box fart. But, it seems to require a certain box HEIGHT to actually cause a box fart. The right combination of tightness and height brings you the joy. And, sometimes you don't get a fart when pulling it OPEN but when you go to CLOSE it....fttttt....ahhhhh. :laugh:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029153_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029153_lg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>First look inside</i></span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">I love the smell of fresh, clean cardboard and ink when first opening a box. I've always loved the smell of fresh paint and this is akin to that. I remember having a scratch-and-sniff book that actually had paint smell on one page and it was one of my favorites. I also enjoyed the gasoline and oil scratch-and-sniff stickers I found one time and had those all over my school folder one year.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>But I digress...that smell of a fresh, new game is something pleasurable for me. That is why I take joy in getting a new game, not only for the excitement of something new to play, but also opening it and seeing what's inside, smelling the new smells, punching the pieces and sorting it all out.<br />
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So, let's see what we've got here:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029154_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029154_lg.jpg" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029155_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029155_lg.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The quick reference sheet, and the unpunched chits</i></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029156_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029156_lg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Really fantastic looking board - love the old style map look</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The board is well laid out with the market on one side, the buildings on the other side, the workers and privileges at the top, and the rondel in the middle near the bottom. Plus, the spaces you travel through to explore the Mediterranean Sea are cleverly laid out such that as you progress different goods come into the game plus it also works as the game 'timer' at the same time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029157_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029157_lg.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029158_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029158_lg.jpg" width="200" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The bag of bits, plus the rule book and an historical booklet</i></div><br />
The booklet titled "Navegador: Historical Figures of Portugal" is interesting as it's just informational and not specifically relevant to the gameplay. It's nice to see effort like this put into a game - it definitely adds to the 'feel' of it.<br />
<br />
Here are the figures discussed in the booklet (which is in English and German):<br />
* Henry the Navigator<br />
* King Manuel I<br />
* Bartolomeu Dias<br />
* Vasco da Gama<br />
* Pedro Alvares Cabral<br />
* Afonso de Albuquerque<br />
* Francisco Xavier<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029159_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029159_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Everything punched and ready to play!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>And finally, here's the near end-game position of the game I played with my friend Bob last Sunday:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029172_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1029172_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Near end-game position in a 2-player game</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>If you haven't played Navegador yet, I would suggest you give it a go if you have the opportunity. It is thematic, rewards long-term planning, has several different ways to play (and that changes, it seems, with different numbers of players) and yet, the choices on any given turn aren't overwhelming due to the rondel!<br />
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I've really enjoyed playing this game and look forward to more plays in the near future (hopefully).<br />
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And, if you can't play this game, I hope you get to <b>explore</b> some other new or interesting game soon instead.<br />
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BTW, if you <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/3301/hot-box-navegador-whats-in-the-box">thumb this post on BGG</a> - and come back to thumb ANY post of mine this month on BGG I will be giving away something special/game related at the end of July (I'm trying something new to see if I can encourage readers to let me know if they read my posts here on BGG or not since 'hits' are not actually available on BGG) - it will either be a copy of the <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9209/ticket-to-ride">Ticket to Ride</a> map (in Northern Africa) + cards that my wife and I created and submitted to the TtR design contest OR it will be a really nice hand-made copy of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/869/bongo">Bongo!</a> (made by me!)Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-21304112795086891102011-06-29T02:40:00.000-07:002011-06-29T02:43:33.877-07:00TIMELY TOPICS - Time to Game, Time to NOT gameI was looking at my most recent posts and realized I've only posted twice this month! I've come to the realization that I probably will only be able to post once per week writing to the depth I've been writing in the past. This month has been particularly bad as I've been particularly busy.<br />
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And, I have a hard time just writing shorter posts in a quick manner as normal blogs tend to be written. However, I've seen other blogs with fairly short posts and they can still be interesting.<br />
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So, I'm going to try to fill in shorter posts about topics of interest without going into to much detail.<br />
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I can already see this is going to be tough for me.<br />
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So, my topic today is TIME. More specifically NO TIME to play games because life has just been too busy. I know this happens to many people and that's why I wanted to talk about it.<br />
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May and June are traditionally busy for our family due to birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc. This year it was PARTICULARLY busy as the kids were also doing softball/baseball plus dance classes. So, I decided to look back at the calendar and give the breakdown since June 13th (my last post):<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Ceremony where my daughter 'graduated' from Elementary school to Middle school</li>
<li>8 kids' baseball or softball practices</li>
<li>10 kids' baseball or softball games</li>
<li>4 kids' dance performance dress rehearsals</li>
<li>2 kids' dance performances</li>
<li>2 birthday parties for my son (one for 10 kids, one for family)</li>
<li>1 additional birthday party for my daughter to attend</li>
<li>clean the house</li>
<li>grocery shopping</li>
<li>mow the lawns - twice (and it desperately needs it again now but will have to wait a bit longer)</li>
<li>kids' field day on last day of school</li>
<li>parents visiting in town</li>
<li>cook full barbecue for 10 family members</li>
<li>Father's Day</li>
<li>12th Wedding Anniversary</li>
<li>Trip to the Oregon coast (had to cut this short to only 1-1/2 days</li>
<li>Dinner out for my son on his actual birthday</li>
<li>Birthday pictures @ JCPenny</li>
<li>Son's baseball pictures</li>
<li>Scouts awards/crossover ceremony and potluck</li>
</ul>I think there was some other stuff too. And yes, that really was all crammed into 16 days! A couple of the days were absolutely non-stop.<br />
<br />
Yes, I did manage to get a couple of games in this past weekend, mostly with my son and a couple of great games with my friend Bob on Sunday.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately I missed the EGG Game Day on Saturday due to 2 baseball/softball games that exactly broke up the day enough that I couldn't fit in the EGG day.<br />
<br />
I definitely work to try to find time to get some gaming in (I want to get all my games played as much as I can, right?), but I also work to balance that with regular life. My wife feels that I have been spending too much time on gaming related activities. It may definitely be the case that I spend a lot of time thinking about games, playing games, making game player aids and custom pieces, playing games, reading about games, buying games, taking pictures about games, writing about games, and playing games.<br />
<br />
But I also feel like I'm not shirking my other duties to my family. I could just as easily spend all my time around TV or movies or rebuilding cars or whatever. It's the hobby I enjoy most so I can't help spending a lot of time on it.<br />
<br />
I think the key is finding the right balance - when to game, and when to NOT game.<br />
<br />
My wife has pointed out that conventions can be a problem. Gone all day for 2-5 days, maybe a couple of times per year. I admit that taking time off from work to go to the Gamestorm convention each spring is somewhat of a problem. No, a rather big problem really. I definitely feel guilty being gone for that amount of time, and it really irks me that it happens during Spring Break when the kids are off from school. I love going but it costs money and takes away from family time. Next year will likely be a break away from Gamestorm for me as a result.<br />
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Beyond conventions is the weekly gaming. If I could I'd be playing games every day, but that's just not happening. I've been very lucky to find lots of different gamers available in my area. I can usually coordinate gaming with someone on my own schedule. The important thing is to find an appropriate time.<br />
<br />
In the past, I would have someone over when my wife would go out and do something with one of her friends or her mom. However, this became a problem because sometimes the kids needed managing (showers, homework, dinner, etc) and this conflicted with focusing on gaming and being a good host to my guests. Ok, mostly the gaming for me as most of my friends are understanding that I have kids to deal with. Anyhow, I would get frustrated and sometimes didn't give the kids the attention they deserved. But, I've been learning how to better balance that and take the time needed to get them going without being frustrated...as I said my friends are understanding. I still don't like leaving them sitting alone for extended periods though.<br />
<br />
But, we are making a shift now so that either my wife or I will be available to make sure the kids get the attention they need. I also need to cut back a bit on how often gaming occurs. Or, at least try to keep gaming with friends to once a week or every 2 weeks, with maybe an extra day here or there, and then squeeze in gaming as appropriate with the kids. My son in particular seems to really enjoy gaming and has been getting into it more and more, although my daughter loves certain games like Dominion, Thunderstone and Stone Age.<br />
<br />
I used to be able to get my wife to play games, but she seems to have backed off more and more lately. I even put together a Ticket to Ride based on her design idea that we entered into the TtR design contest, but I think she only played it twice total. Of course, I only played it a handful of times as well.<br />
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It's just not her thing so I don't try to push it on her anymore and encourage her to partake in activities she prefers instead.<br />
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Well, that's all I've got. I'm sure if I came back tomorrow I could write a ton more, but I'm trying to keep it shorter, right? Well, that failed I guess...<br />
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I'm curious as to how others manage their game time versus personal time. I suspect single people and people without kids will likely have more time to fit gaming into their lives, but whether that's true or not I have no idea.<br />
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BTW, check back for my next post. I'm going to start offering a monthly prize drawing to everyone that <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/3256/timely-topics-time-to-game-time-to-not-game">thumbs my blog posts in a month on BGG</a> and thumbs to this post (click the link to go to BGG to add a thumb) will count as entries for the prize I offer in July. And, yes, it will be game related! You'll have to wait for my next post to find out what it is!<br />
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Now, go find some time and play a game. I know you've got a few milliseconds in your schedule for at least a filler!Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-29771464152745910712011-06-13T04:09:00.000-07:002011-06-13T08:24:12.164-07:0010+4 BG Questions with Antoine Bauza about '7 Wonders'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcKrlyQm0rsTWwuhRRNS4y7wBmGZ36IODEs7p5h8yOgOa3PCUIxHWNxp_l4EpbpRUOjZou_Nln8xMzrNtpeS1pmkL4m8QxM3l9XyOcyMK4AVqMRxo6FYYboGdDsQvFDzW_fa0ZIA22XQ/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcKrlyQm0rsTWwuhRRNS4y7wBmGZ36IODEs7p5h8yOgOa3PCUIxHWNxp_l4EpbpRUOjZou_Nln8xMzrNtpeS1pmkL4m8QxM3l9XyOcyMK4AVqMRxo6FYYboGdDsQvFDzW_fa0ZIA22XQ/s320/041.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This is only my second 10+4 interview with a game designer about a specific game they have designed - I've been hoping to do more but haven't been on the ball about pursuing more. My first one was with <a href="http://boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/03/104-bg-questions-with-sean-ross-about.html">Sean Ross about his game 'Haggis'</a> and I got some really great responses from him</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The concept of the 10+4 interview is to ask 10 questions, then after receiving the responses, ask 4 follow-up questions.</span><br />
<br />
For this 'interview' I asked <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/9714/antoine-bauza">Antoine Bauza</a> if he would answer some questions about his game '<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/68448/7-wonders">7 Wonders</a>' and he graciously agreed to do it - well, he said he'd try to when he had a bit of time. My initial timing of asking him was just a couple of days before the Spiel de Jahres announcements. And, once I saw that 7 Wonders had been nominated I knew the chances were low that he would have the time to get back to me - surely he would be swamped with more important inquiries.<br />
<br />
Much to my surprise I got responses back - first asking me to send my questions to his email address (rather than via BGG) then he let me know what timeframe he would respond in.<br />
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Now, my 'method' for the 10+4 interview is to send 10 questions then 4 follow-up questions after receiving the responses. However, it seemed to me that based on his schedule, getting a response for the 4 follow-up questions might be inconvenient to expect those back anytime in the near future - completely understandable considering the circumstances. So, a week after I sent the 10 questions I sent the +4 in hopes he might be able to respond to them all at once.<br />
<br />
And, yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to get his response! With all 10+4 questions answered! Well, I didn't get DIRECT answers on the first 4 questions (see below for details) but I was still very happy to have gotten his response at all. I was truly impressed that he made the effort for little ol' me and my blog.<br />
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Anyhow, here's are the questions and answers with some of my commentary interjected for explanation and more detail.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGGsXhaDr2M0lhAQKvAnyhBmHlffmwc03hkd_0FyPVuTxcUYYsKf_kqLyegN4pqVo9y7f_mRv1Iwg5IraQ6FynMJ7ZguLuL5S5WAXplaAAV9T7reXe2UbDrLce69fXfsyH6W1ijC6XCs/s1600/070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGGsXhaDr2M0lhAQKvAnyhBmHlffmwc03hkd_0FyPVuTxcUYYsKf_kqLyegN4pqVo9y7f_mRv1Iwg5IraQ6FynMJ7ZguLuL5S5WAXplaAAV9T7reXe2UbDrLce69fXfsyH6W1ijC6XCs/s400/070.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1. What was your initial inspiration for 7 Wonders? Was it the specific idea of the 7 Wonders themselves or was it more the mechanics, with the theme growing from that?</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2. Can you describe what your initial game design/prototype was like compared to what the final game is like now? In other words, how much evolution occurred from beginning to published version?</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3. In the development and testing of 7 Wonders, what would say was the most significant change/idea that really made the game come together?</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">4. Was there anything specific in the game development that you had to change or remove that you regret having to do? Or, is there something you wish you could change or make different in the version that has been published?</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: blue;">For detailed answers to those questions, you can read the making-of I wrote at the end of the development on 7 wonders : </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">it's a seven parts (of course !) article you can find on my website (<a href="http://www.antoinebauza.fr/">http://www.antoinebauza.fr</a>) </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">It's written in French but the first parts were translated by Eric Martin from Boardgame News and can be found on the web…</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Everything you wanna know about the game without asking it!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>[ Note that I looked around his website and found installments 4-7 but couldn't find installments 1-3 anywhere. And, not being able to read French didn't make it any easier. Yes, I was using Google translate to convert the pages on-the-fly, but it didn't always translate automatically and I just couldn't find those first 3 installments. Also, Boardgame News has moved to being a blog on BGG and the first 3 installments hadn't been transferred over. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">However, I did manage to find them on the Asmodee website</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. My plan was to read through and provide a summary here, but I found I don't have the time to parse it out completely due to a very busy week for me personally, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">so I have published the links here for your </span>perusal. Note that Part IV is listed twice - the first is in English and the 2nd is in French on Antoine's personal site - it is essentially the same article.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>To read the French versions, if you use <a href="http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/make/download.html?brand=CHKZ">Google Chrome</a> you can translate it automatically in-line using the toolbar that comes up. Otherwise, try using <a href="http://babelfish.yahoo.com/">babelfish</a>.</i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Part I: <a href="http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/game-designer-diary-the-genesis-of-7-wonders-part-1.php">http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/game-designer-diary-the-genesis-of-7-wonders-part-1.php</a></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Part II: <a href="http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/game-designer-diary-the-genesis-of-7-wonders-part-2.php">http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/game-designer-diary-the-genesis-of-7-wonders-part-2.php</a></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Part III: <a href="http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/game-designer-diary-the-genesis-of-7-wonders-part-3.php">http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/game-designer-diary-the-genesis-of-7-wonders-part-3.php</a></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Part IV: <a href="http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/game-designer-diary-the-genesis-of-7-wonders-part-4.php">http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/game-designer-diary-the-genesis-of-7-wonders-part-4.php</a></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Part IV: <a href="http://www.antoinebauza.fr/?p=258">http://www.antoinebauza.fr/?p=258</a></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Part V: <a href="http://www.antoinebauza.fr/?p=282">http://www.antoinebauza.fr/?p=282</a></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Part VI: <a href="http://www.antoinebauza.fr/?p=304">http://www.antoinebauza.fr/?p=304</a></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Part VI: <a href="http://www.antoinebauza.fr/?p=304">http://www.antoinebauza.fr/?p=304</a></i></span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">5. What is your favorite aspect of 7 Wonders?</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hum, many aspects : easy learning, replayability, fun, number of players, duration =) </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">All those aspects built the success of the game, I think…</span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">[Drat, I need to consider the wording of my questions a bit more carefully...I should have perhaps used the word 'feature' instead of 'aspect' here perhaps. Although, maybe I still would have gotten the same answer. However, one cannot argue with his answer - that is certainly all true and definitely contributed to it's success - it's an ideal game in those ways, plus it looks terrific and has a great theme to boot.]</span></i><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">6. When developing a game, what methods do you use to evaluate the game and how do you track any changes that you make?</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">I keep notes of all the games I play (and watch) in a file (which I call "Roadmap") : version, date, number of players, scores, remarks, etc. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">I used to keep all the old versions of my prototypes but it took a lot of space, so now I make pictures and trash them…</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Besides those formal tools, game design is much about feeling the playing experience. I watch and listen carefully the players : what they said, where they look (the cards, the others players, a board, elsewhere), what they feel at the end of a game. Do they want to replay it ? Right Now ?<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>[ Antoine - maybe you should auction off your prototypes for charity/raising money instead of DESTROYING THEM ! Just kidding, I'm sure a lot of prototypes get destroyed - taking pics is a great way to document things. ]</i></span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">7. You discuss the need for play testers quite a bit in regards to game design. I have observed that Phil Ecklund makes extensive use of an email group and sends prototypes/provides files to testers. Do you always playtest face-to-face and get immediate reactions, do you send prototypes to specific people/groups for testing, or do you use some other method?</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, It depends how the development is advanced. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">In the early stages, I play all the playtest games. Later, I stop playing and watch the players handle the game : what rules do they make me explain twice, how they handle the components, how they interpret the iconography. At the very end, I send a prototype to a few trusty friends to have an indirect feedback. I rarely ask groups to make their own prototypes : print, cut and paste is the boring part :)</span><br />
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</span></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">8. Do you ever get tired of playing your own game during development? How do you keep from losing interest in the game during the development process?</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Almost everytime, yes. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">The last steps of the development, when it's all about tuning, it's not the part I prefer for sure ! When it's not about creativity but about mathematics, it can become boring :p</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">It's part of the job, though, so I try to give all the time it deserved. To prevent that, I work on several projects at the same time, so I do not have to play the same game over and over.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">Once the game is published, I rarely play it again though (unless I have to work on a expansion).</span><br />
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</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>[ I've thought about developing my own game design - and actually started on it - but one of the things I've always been 'afraid' of was spending ALL my time on a particular game design, playing it over and over again and doing nothing else. This confirms my fear to some extent, but I suspect the experience is different for every game designer and also depends on the game itself. The idea of working on multiple things at the same time seems like the best route and makes me think if I want to keep working on my game that maybe I should expand to getting more going. ]</i></span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">9. You have mentioned several times elsewhere that you are a teacher. What grade level do you teach and do you incorporate games in your classroom? If so, what games and why?</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I used to be a school teacher. I keep one hour/week to help kids discover boardgames and play several games. There is so much to learn...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">Once, I made my 5 and 6 years old children design a game (Croque-mouton) in a class project. It was a really nice experiment.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">I am not teaching in elementary school anymore but in video-game school, about game design. We talk about boardgames and how they can be helpful in the videogame industry.</span><br />
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</span></div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">[Ok, I'm intrigued now - I want to know more about Croque-mouton! And, does that translate to Crunchy Sheep? Really? See, this is why I want my +4 questions - there's always something more interesting you have to ask about! But I hate to bug Monsieur Bauza again...</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I think it's great Antoine ensures he spends time working with kids. I think this also reflects his ability to stay in touch with all levels of gamers and make sure his designs remain accessible to as many levels of players as possible. </span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This shows in some of his game designs which are geared towards kids such as <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40629/bakong">Bakong </a>(looking for jewels in the Cambodian forest), <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33088/chabyrinthe">Chabyrinthe</a> (moving cats around a maze), <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/510490/hurrycup">Hurry'Cup</a> (a reflex/dexterity racing game), and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/90930/witty-pong">Witty Pong</a> (newly released for 2011 in collaboration with <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/1727/bruno-cathala">Bruno Cathala</a> - encapsulates the essence of playing ping-pong by using cards, board game elements and timing)]</span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>10. For all those budding game designers out there, what is the best advice can you give to help them be successful? What are the top 3 books/references that you would recommended and why do you recommend them?</b></span><br />
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<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">Like other creative activities, you have to open your mind to the world around you. Be curious : travel, read, watch, listen, play.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">Don't spend ten years to one single prototype, make gameS, with a big "S"</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 16px;">Read all the books available about game design : there are just a few. They will not make the game for you but they definitively help to be a better game designer...</span></li>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">My favorites are :</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
<ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Game-Design-Workshop-Second-Playcentric/dp/0240809742?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Game Design Workshop</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0240809742" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> (T.Fullerton)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Art-Game-Design-book-lenses/dp/0123694965?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Art of Game Design : a book of Lenses</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0123694965" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Theory-Fun-Game-Design/dp/1932111972?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">A Theory of Fun</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1932111972" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+1. Do you get to play games very much other than ones you are working on? If so, what games are some of your favorites and how often do you get to play them?</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I try to play as many games I can, yes. It's not so easy because there is too many released last years and most of my time is dedicated to prototypes. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Usually I play a game only one time, even if I like it (sad, isn't it ?) </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">My personal collection is only 80 games and only a bunch are regularly played. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 18px;">I just played my first game of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/92319/olympos">Olympos</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 18px;"> (Ystari Games) and I liked it very much :) </span><br />
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<i>[ Olympos was designed by Philippe Keyaerts, designer of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1159/evo">Evo</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40692/small-world">Small World</a>, and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/60/vinci">Vinci</a>. Also, Olympos is not to be confused with <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73070/olympus">Olympus</a> which is another great game but by a different designer and publisher. ]</i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+2. I love the art for 7 Wonders and it seems to be well received in that regard alone. For the artwork, did you have much say in it? Were there any specific issues with the artwork that had to be overcome? Was there anything in particular that you really wanted to ensure was included in the art?</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I spotted the work of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameartist/12016/miguel-coimbra">Miguel Coimbra</a> on his previous work (<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38862/giants">Giants</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40692/small-world">Smallworld</a>). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">When </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/4384/repos-production">Repos Production</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> came to me with a contract offer for 7W, I tell them "It's OK for me if it's OK with Miguel !"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">It may seem a bold move but Repos guys and I know each other very well...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Miguel did a fantastic work on the game, I didn't have to tell him anything. He's so talented !</span><br />
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[Wow, that's a great way to get the artist you want! ]<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+3. It must have been very exciting for you to find out you were nominated for the Kennerspiel de Jahres! Congrats! So, how did you find out and what kind of reception have you been getting since then? What do your students think?</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Thanks ! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Frankly it has not be so exciting for me, because my mind it's trapped in my new projects. 7 Wonders is certainly my best success but it's behind me, now, and my eyes are alway turned in the future. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; line-height: 18px;">A SdJ nomination is still a great achievement for a game designer and I glad for my publisher which was one of the first to trust and publish me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">[ Hmmm, I suspect it was exciting just the same....even if Antoine stopped working on the game so long ago ;) ]</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+4. Is there anything about the background of 7 Wonders that people might find of particular interest that they might not know about otherwise?</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Well, in the rulebook, I didn't write any history about the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. But in the expansion, there is some information about the Leaders. 2 historians help me, so be sure to read this, you may learn something while playing !</span><br />
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<i>[ Looks like I'll have to get the <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/92539/7-wonders-leaders">7 Wonders: Leaders</a> expansion soon! ]</i><br />
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Well, as you can imagine it was fun and exciting to get my questions answered by Antoine. I have been enjoying this game quite a bit and look forward to introducing it more to family and friends. It's great to have a game like this that scales so well with a wide range of players. I have yet to play it 2-player but anticipate even that will work terrific.<br />
<br />
Thanks to Antoine for humoring in my request for this interview! I love getting more background on games and it helps me to appreciate it that much more when I play!<br />
<br />
Now, go give 7 Wonders a go! <a href="http://boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/05/hot-box-7-wonders-by-antoine-bauza-yes.html">BTW, here's a link to my review if you're interested</a>.<br />
<br />
Or, try out some of his other popular and less popular games such as those mentioned previously (many of which I need to try myself), <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37046/ghost-stories">Ghost Stories</a> (co-op ghost fighting game), <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70918/hanabi-ikebana">Hanabi & Ikebana</a> (co-op fireworks making game), <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/65907/mystery-express">Mystery Express</a> (deduction/mystery game), or even <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70919/takenoko">Takenoko</a> (worker placement game where you grow bamboo for pandas) which is soon to be released...Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-80426513538745956922011-06-06T00:59:00.000-07:002011-06-06T00:59:20.426-07:00FRESH BAKED - 'Qwirkle' by Susan McKinley Ross (Review) - Lucky Charms the game, or Brain Food for the Avid Gamer?Ok, here goes. I don't want to hear any complaining that I'm looking to get a bunch of attention due to my writing reviews of first '<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/68448/7-wonders">7 Wonders</a>' and now '<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25669/qwirkle">Qwirkle</a>', recent <a href="http://www.spiel-des-jahres.com/cms/front_content.php?idcat=123&changelang=4">Spiel de Jahres</a> nominees (well, Kennerspiel de Jahres for 7 Wonders).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5WWqgTaIZp2y42vNrzTf3gb5KejWHcfJ068NaYKSAApw5YjVf-wUrJgjmjsvr1gm_D3tyOpwfeVSd7VGxeBo3KVUs1vmE6574A7VvdAacTrVBVEie6_6j-ie0dzYn-cPlc_84Yt18JGY/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5WWqgTaIZp2y42vNrzTf3gb5KejWHcfJ068NaYKSAApw5YjVf-wUrJgjmjsvr1gm_D3tyOpwfeVSd7VGxeBo3KVUs1vmE6574A7VvdAacTrVBVEie6_6j-ie0dzYn-cPlc_84Yt18JGY/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Qwirkle box cover</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Honestly, it's purely coincidence. I will freely admit that I did the <a href="http://boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/05/hot-box-7-wonders-by-antoine-bauza-yes.html">7 Wonders review</a> and timed it with the nominee announcements only because I'd just opened and played the game and it worked out well that way. HOWEVER, I did not also intend to open, play and review Qwirkle just because it was nominated as well.</div><br />
As fate would have it, several days prior to the announcements, I literally opened and took pictures of BOTH games on the EXACT same day. Seriously! When I saw Qwirkle was on the SdJ list I was astounded, not only because of the openings foreshadowing the announcements, but I was also thinking "Hasn't Qwirkle been out for a while?!" Who would have guessed (well, here in the US at least) that it would be nominated or even considered? I mean, it was first released in 2006! Well, apparently it was just released in Germany in 2010, thus qualifying it for the SdJ.<br />
<br />
Anyhow, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! And, in case you don't believe me, I can show you the timestamps on the pictures. Actually, here they are:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5gjKB7FA01jrc38Q-1x4z7IwckyVEAGMU-OKBW6SMbQ-QMmn2rz4aKF6ID3zeUSpV2F2zNjnw-sx6IEerjdRdkH5cIV_DbeO6qWpoI_RBB33V_Kjuxul_5y1X2fgU-ZYpD1IcFKjgf0/s1600/picture_properties.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5gjKB7FA01jrc38Q-1x4z7IwckyVEAGMU-OKBW6SMbQ-QMmn2rz4aKF6ID3zeUSpV2F2zNjnw-sx6IEerjdRdkH5cIV_DbeO6qWpoI_RBB33V_Kjuxul_5y1X2fgU-ZYpD1IcFKjgf0/s320/picture_properties.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">File properties as proof...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the announcements, I considered sending Susan McKinley Ross (Qwirkle's designer) an interview request but then I heard <a href="http://www.garrettsgames.com/">Garrett's Games podcast</a> from <a href="http://www.kublacon.com/">Kublacon</a> over the Memorial Day Weekend (which included her, Richard Borg, and Aldie) and knew that it was pointless then as I wasn't going to top that...there might be a few interesting questions to ask, but I don't think I'll pursue it at this point.</div><br />
But, I can still do a review, right? Ok, now that I've gotten that out of the way, here's my review.<br />
<br />
<b>THE REVIEW</b><br />
Qwirkle is a very simple game in terms of rules and it sounds a bit like <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/320/scrabble">Scrabble</a> (the similarities here are undeniable, although there are definite differences as well):<br />
<ul><li><b>On your turn, play tiles of various colored symbols from your hand to form 'words' (the rules call them 'lines' but 'words' makes more sense when describing it, especially for Scrabblers)</b></li>
<ul><li>All the tiles you play must legally create or extend ONE existing word.</li>
<li>It's possible to also create/extend branching words, just like in Scrabble.</li>
</ul><li><b>Score points based on the word(s) you create. </b></li>
<ul><li>You get 1 point for every tile in the word you create or extend, even if you only added 1 tile.</li>
<li>If you create/extend additional words branching off of that word you also get 1 point per tile for those words (thus, some tiles might be scored twice, once per word they are in)</li>
<li>You can also earn an additional 6 bonus points for completing a 'Qwirkle' which is a 6 symbol word (the maximum length)</li>
<li>There are no other bonuses.</li>
</ul></ul><div>That's it!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Ok, sorry, there's a bit more info that's important to know:</div><div><ul><li><b>The tiles have 6 possible symbols consisting of 6 possible colors on them. </b></li>
<ul><li>There are 3 sets of these tiles. </li>
<li>Thus: 6 symbols x 6 colors x 3 sets = 108 tiles, so 3 of each color of each symbol. </li>
<ul><li>This is important to remember, especially as the game draws close to the end as you know what tiles haven't been played yet and, conversely, you can determine if ALL tiles of a particular symbol and color are out.</li>
</ul></ul></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauin70SD7-A3HOwvLMYUCQEXhd9pXPJhlaOINhSf6d2EXGiV9f_IV3AxdbHUWhrw9QAeylg6BZRa1J4HGaF1u5tUNrmZReliG3o1cTHiSVQ2jQZcDVK_Ofx8z4tJGmLmocO8vZWgZ73w/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauin70SD7-A3HOwvLMYUCQEXhd9pXPJhlaOINhSf6d2EXGiV9f_IV3AxdbHUWhrw9QAeylg6BZRa1J4HGaF1u5tUNrmZReliG3o1cTHiSVQ2jQZcDVK_Ofx8z4tJGmLmocO8vZWgZ73w/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sealed block of tiles you get (3 layers of the same set of tiles)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><ul><li><b>A WORD consists of one of two things:</b></li>
<ul><li>x different symbols, all of the same color (where x = 2 to 6)</li>
<li>x of the same symbol, all of different colors (where x = 2 to 6)</li>
<li>NOTE: x different symbols of x different colors is NOT a legal word - each word has one and ONLY one similar attribute - symbols OR colors.</li>
</ul></ul><div>Thus, the smallest word you will create is of length 2 and the longest word you will create is of length 6, making a range of 2-6 points per word PLUS 6 more points in the case of a 6 tile word. Of course, creating branching words will give you additional points although getting huge scores in 1 play doesn't happen very often - I think the biggest score I saw was 15 --> 12 for completing a Qwirkle (6 tile word w/ bonus) + 3 for also extending a 2 symbol word by 1 tile.</div></div><br />
The only other thing to know is that there is no board and there are no doubling or tripling bonuses outside of the Qwirkle bonus (which is effectively a doubling bonus).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4VWNPiFG4hhk6z3kRQ-FdytoPWUxrAI4-wcjgF9Hnsy9O37WDHEQzsG-X1YpJsU8dm38unXZVmPU_ZO7nIEFp_C10ZpMVdZ7mmHbuq_ulzO8p0_QpUv3oMIevFp0mvNcEdrWA68U9rY/s1600/pic1009310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4VWNPiFG4hhk6z3kRQ-FdytoPWUxrAI4-wcjgF9Hnsy9O37WDHEQzsG-X1YpJsU8dm38unXZVmPU_ZO7nIEFp_C10ZpMVdZ7mmHbuq_ulzO8p0_QpUv3oMIevFp0mvNcEdrWA68U9rY/s320/pic1009310.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example end of a 2-player game</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Wait, you can't play that!</b><br />
The first thing we noticed when playing Qwirkle was the difficulty in understanding what is and isn't a legal 'word'. In Scrabble, the dictionary TELLS you what is and what isn't legal (i.e. you 'know' what words you can play). In this game, it's just gibberish - thus likely the reason for calling them 'lines' in the rules as you can't read them like words. Sure, you could list them all out, but a simple description is generally all that's necessary. Regardless, it's still easy to get a little confused until you get the hang of it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFZc4XXyik9Az8VvBZ0P5Rkb0vX2jBGv4NChygo0U2-axW2y2jkX8uSm4HeogTnleV0RC8Q_iW6CYKSz10EI0m1gMD1TaO4hqZx8rtfSZQn7s3snb2ngecXiMSd6QmAiNgPiN1CLw198/s1600/pic1009308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFZc4XXyik9Az8VvBZ0P5Rkb0vX2jBGv4NChygo0U2-axW2y2jkX8uSm4HeogTnleV0RC8Q_iW6CYKSz10EI0m1gMD1TaO4hqZx8rtfSZQn7s3snb2ngecXiMSd6QmAiNgPiN1CLw198/s320/pic1009308.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Dad contemplating his move mid-game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">There were several times we made illegal moves (we THOUGHT they were legal), counted up the scores and added them into the totals, only to discover later they were illegal. Fortunately, we usually discovered it only 1/2 a turn to a turn later, so it was easy to backtrack. The mistakes were discovered when the other player was looking over the board and then realized certain plays would be strangely illegal and it made us realize something was wrong. </div><br />
<div><br />
</div><div><b>You know, this game looks kind of childish - bright colors, simple shapes and fairly simple rules. In fact, it kind of looks like Lucky Charms (that yummy kids cereal)!</b></div><div>Yah, I kinda had that same feeling seeing this game. I'd heard rave reviews about it, but there are rave reviews about other games that truly are children's games - they end up being fun, but not something I'd normally pull out with a bunch of adults (ok, some kids games are fun with just adults, but not too many).</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5z_AQow7sKvmQY87voR6dWasZtRyIIWe6j1896hyphenhyphenRYbPJwQ6iqHUAjoNy1hHi9GOEoP9kE8UW7L7uX_S4k5JXzi1NnzK2zTk56M60qDZJB3XCWAfy0q_oixC012XaPaDGCejKD1_Y0YU/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5z_AQow7sKvmQY87voR6dWasZtRyIIWe6j1896hyphenhyphenRYbPJwQ6iqHUAjoNy1hHi9GOEoP9kE8UW7L7uX_S4k5JXzi1NnzK2zTk56M60qDZJB3XCWAfy0q_oixC012XaPaDGCejKD1_Y0YU/s320/013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oooooh! Pretty tiles!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But Qwirkle is deceivingly challenging and it's definitely not a children's game despite it's colorful and playful appearance. You have to THINK to play it. You have to consider how what you are playing might help the other players (such as setting someone up for an easy Qwirkle). You have to consider whether you want to use this tile now or whether you want to hold on to it to maybe use it to complete a bigger score later. You have to consider what your play might block (which could be either good or bad for you and for your opponent)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">There are also some timing considerations. There are appropriate times to take a risk and other times you should not. You have to watch how many tiles are left and decide what you want to hold out for (or not hold out far) - getting your timing right at the end is very important.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That doesn't mean kids can't play it - they definitely can. But the great thing is that it can also be played by adults who appreciate it and can be challenged by it on another level. Ok, it's not as heavy as even some of the lighter Euros, but Qwirkle is definitely hearty brain food, not marshmallowy and sugary.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Don't let the simple rules fool you - there is more to this game than what you might expect from reading the box or the rules. I was pleasantly surprised myself and ready to play it some more. My dad and I had discussions afterwards about our 2-player game as to what might have changed the outcome. We were fairly certain that a couple of different plays of the tiles could have turned the game to my Dad's advantage. In fact, he fell behind by quite a bit mid-game after I got a couple of Qwirkles and other good scores, but he steadily made a comeback and finally got a couple of his own Qwirkles to catch up.</div><br />
<b>What do you like about Qwirkle?</b><br />
Honestly, I like the bright colors and the shapes. No, I don't just like them, I love them! Especially on the shiny black tiles they are printed on - the colors really 'pop' being on the black. Also, the tiles are nice and chunky wooden bits.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqK7VNrrHkuRUDb-bQArxqZowFZscLe61HQq1mtm2-ar7A8N7d6SnXMabKrRdBGdEFpQS9J6rEc1inqcTsg3SyxSPAgs79JqwjLzCLUbKHxoTzEhbzJfiEKGkvU6vf27fhI8pBjD0gX98/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqK7VNrrHkuRUDb-bQArxqZowFZscLe61HQq1mtm2-ar7A8N7d6SnXMabKrRdBGdEFpQS9J6rEc1inqcTsg3SyxSPAgs79JqwjLzCLUbKHxoTzEhbzJfiEKGkvU6vf27fhI8pBjD0gX98/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice chunky tiles!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>They're really nice to handle and easy to manage on the table without requiring a tile tray. You can play with them mixed up face-down on the table or mixed up in the large cloth bag that is included.<br />
They are very attractive and tactile, and they look terrific on the table and will attract a lot of attention when you're playing it.<br />
<br />
I did find the box insert to just get in the way and <strike>threw it out</strike> recycled it. Now I can just load up the cloth bag and put it in the box, then easily place it onto the game shelf next to <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9209/ticket-to-ride">Ticket to Ride</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42487/lost-cities-the-board-game">Lost Cities: The Board Game</a> and other similarly sized square boxes.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZsXw2kvNaT1LE1V8zEaDg6LyK19bVn2Mvba-ChjjosmQcEBPwla2pc7j6KSy69Yp5z2EkFXRBDTLWooP2F51FpK-FSosdBjGOON6hBm33AvWb2GlvK_6_pcXdnBAyrQMMu03xtN0a00/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZsXw2kvNaT1LE1V8zEaDg6LyK19bVn2Mvba-ChjjosmQcEBPwla2pc7j6KSy69Yp5z2EkFXRBDTLWooP2F51FpK-FSosdBjGOON6hBm33AvWb2GlvK_6_pcXdnBAyrQMMu03xtN0a00/s320/018.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">The tiles in the nice canvas bag that comes with the game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">What I most enjoyed, though, was the challenge of the game. It has puzzly aspects which I love. It also has great (indirect) interactive play - you have to pay attention to what you are leaving open for the other player as much as trying to get the best score for yourself, so you can't just play blindly if you want to win.</div><br />
<br />
Also, there is opportunity for taking risks to score a few more points. Of course, if I say anything else, that would be going into strategy and this is a game that I think you have to discover for yourself, so I will skip that discussion for now.<br />
<br />
Finally, it is similar to Scrabble (but not enough for me to feel like I'm playing Scrabble) and relatively easy to understand and play which makes it accessible to a wide range of players. I think this is where the appeal is and why you can find it so readily here in the US. It's great to see that it's now in Germany and that it is up for the SdJ.<br />
<br />
<b>Are there any issues/drawbacks to this game?</b><br />
Well, for one, it's sort of hard to wrap your head around what is and isn't legal to play for the first few turns when learning directly from the rules cold-turkey. However, once someone has it down it goes a lot smoother as they can determine what is and isn't legal when asked. There is an example game in the rules which helps, but I would have liked to have seen a couple of simple diagrams that show "this is legal" and "this is NOT legal" and explain why - that would be enough to get the point across.<br />
<br />
Describing the game in terms of 'words' I think is a clearer way to do it - a 'line', in my mind, could possibly extend across a gap and actually include 2 words. Once you start trying to do that you realize there's a problem, but that's exactly what I did the first time through.<br />
<br />
Also, I think scoring by writing on paper is a bit in-elegant - yes, many games do this as well. HOWEVER, a score track would be ideal as it's important to know where you stand and a visual representation of this (to go along with a very visual game) would be perfect. Note that there are a couple score tracks that people have created which you can find here: <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/files/thing/25669?sort=hot">Qwirkle files</a> Print one out, then just find a couple of nice pawns and you're ready to go!<br />
<br />
Finally, I think there needs to be a way to more easily distinguish between the colors, especially for color-blind players. The blue and green look very similar in lower light - for instance, with my tiles standing up in front of me they can be somewhat shaded, so I have to pick them up and look at them directly in the light to be able to tell the color differences. The addition of a dot in the corner of the tile or middle of the shape would have worked to fix this while still keeping the elegant look. Having said that, my partially color-blind father played pretty much without issues. I think there was only one time when he mis-played a color. Still, I think it could have been made a little more accessible.<br />
<br />
Overall, I really enjoy playing Qwirkle and look forward to many more plays in the future.<br />
<br />
What's really great about this game it is has the same puzzly aspect of Scrabble and other such games, but without requiring the ability to actually spell words - not everyone is good at word games and you don't have to be with this game - it certainly levels the playing field and makes it accessible to game players of all ages.<br />
<br />
Also, it seems the scores are always pretty close or, if someone has a run earlier in the game, the others will often have runs and catch up (if they keep an eye out for the good tiles).<br />
<br />
All-in-all, I think this is an excellent SdJ game choice because it's family friendly, it's beautiful, it's tactile and the game play is fun and interesting.<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, go get and/or play this game and be ready to weigh in on the <a href="http://www.spiel-des-jahres.com/cms/front_content.php?idcat=123&changelang=4">SdJ winners when they are announced on June 27th</a>.Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-69609338488508786232011-05-31T00:36:00.000-07:002011-05-31T00:36:59.895-07:00TIMELY TOPICS - Confessions from an AP Prone GamerI'm an AP gamer. I admit it. If I'm not careful I'll slow games down due to my over-analyzing of a game. The good thing is that I'm aware I have this problem, this affliction. The bad thing is that sometimes I fall into the realm of AP during a game and don't even notice it - and this can be an issue. If you game with me, you can expect it to take longer than what is suggested for the game. HOWEVER, I have been actively working to keep my AP problem under control, so when I say it may take longer, it now usually only takes a little longer. Most of the time....<br />
<br />
<b>WHAT IS AP?</b><br />
In case you aren't aware what AP means, I suppose I should try to define it. AP stands for Analysis Paralysis. What it means is that a player can get stuck analyzing a situation on their turn for so long that they seem to be paralyzed with indecision and, in fact, they likely are - they can't get to the point of making a decision and completing their turn.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'm sure you may have seen an AP gamer here or there. Nearly every gaming group has one. In reality, just about anyone can suffer from AP from time-to-time. However, a true AP player is someone who CONSISTENTLY takes a long time to take their turn, even if the choices may seem obvious to other players. A true AP player not only takes a long time, they often cannot decide which decision to make about a move and this may be truly baffling to other players.</div><div><br />
</div>Now, sometimes spending a long time on a turn is expected. Chess is a good example. People EXPECT you to take a long time on your turn. Chess is a notorious game for this sort of behavior. It is part of the culture really. Perhaps this is why some people are intimidated by Chess or refuse to play it...they can't deal with the length and depth of thinking that is required to fully analyze the current board position.<br />
<br />
But, there's an important distinction here for what is expected/necessary for a game. Chess typically has players competing 'in their minds'. They are thinking of hundreds of possible move combinations in their heads. They are planning out multiple moves in advance for themselves while also trying to anticipate what the other player is trying to do and prevent anything catastrophic. This is especially important when you consider that money or prestige may be on the line. This isn't to say you can't plan out several moves in advance in other games, just that it's more critical in chess with the idea that several lines of planning should really occur to be successful.<br />
<br />
However, I don't know that I would define that sort of behavior as AP. The reason is because they are still DOING something in their mind - it just takes a long time. But, it's still possible for AP to creep in, to get to the point where the analysis is leading nowhere and a decision cannot be made. This is why they have chess clocks, to force players to manage their time and keep them from falling into an AP mode.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, AP gamers take a longer than expected amount of time on their turn. This idea is what I think is the crux of the problem - <b>the EXPECTATION of HOW LONG a turn should actually be during a game.</b> If one person is taking longer on their turn than everyone else expects them to be taking it, then they might be considered an AP player by that group, even if they aren't 'spinning their wheels' so to speak.<br />
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The interesting thing with this idea is that AP may mean different things to different groups. I, as an AP player, love taking my time on a turn and not feeling rushed about it. With some people I play with, me taking more time on my turn is fine and they aren't bothered by it at all. Other times, I might be playing the same game with someone else and, if I don't take my turn relatively quickly it becomes a problem for them.<br />
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How do I know it's a problem? Well, I'll get to that in a bit.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>WHY AM I LIKE THIS?</b></div><br />
So, what's the deal? Why am I an AP gamer?<br />
<br />
My initial, knee-jerk response to such a question is: I don't know.<br />
<br />
My next response is: Well, if I think about it longer maybe I can come up with some reasons why....ha!<br />
<br />
Well, here are some reasons I have thought of that may suggest why I'm like this:<br />
<ol><li><b>I'm hyper-competitive and I want to win every game.</b></li>
<ul><li>Because of this, I want to make sure I cover all my bases for every move, even if the move I want to do seems obvious. This sort of leads into the next item on the list, but in general, I'm just making sure I haven't overlooked everything - I want to make the best move possible.</li>
</ul><li><b>I don't want to look like a fool for making a stupid move.</b></li>
<ul><li>I hate making a move and then realizing it was really dumb. Some groups/people will let me backtrack if this happens, especially if I'm a newbie, but I still don't like taking a move too quickly and just making a horrible move, especially if it will put me out of the game.</li>
</ul><li><b>I sometimes get bogged down in the rules and don't ask for help.</b></li>
<ul><li>When I'm overwhelmed by the rules and possibilities, I can get stuck spinning my wheels because I just can't get a grasp on what's happening. This is why I LOVE player aids that spell out your possibilities - it at least gives me some options to work from.</li>
<li>Also, I don't always want to ask for help. I might not want to reveal my move/position. I also might not want to admit I need some advice on a possible move because I have no clue what I'm doing. I'm an independent thinker and I know I can get to an answer. And, I likely can, it just may take a really long time.</li>
</ul></ol>There may be other reasons as well, but these are the most obvious to me. Of course, it would be ironic to make a huge, exhaustive list here, but I refuse to do it. See, I'm getting better already!<br />
<br />
<b>A TALE OF TWO AP PLAYERS</b><br />
So, as I'm writing this I'm coming to a realization here. The symptom of me as an AP player is the amount of time I take to complete a turn and that length in relation to the expectation of how long a turn should take.<br />
<br />
The CAUSE of this symptom is actually one of two possible things as suggested by my 'reasons' above - optimization and wheel spinning.<br />
<br />
<b>The Eternal Opimizer</b><br />
I think I fall more into this category most of the time. I'm always looking for the best move or combination of moves. I spend a lot of time evaluating all of my options. To justify this, I feel that if I'm at least looking for good options and actually DOING something in my mind and considering the possibilities, that this is less of a 'problem'.<br />
<br />
This problem can be addressed easily if I recognize I'm taking too long and just make a decision. It may not be the 'best' or 'optimal' decision, but at least I'm not holding up the games for others. This is especially important for me to do when there are multiple people and/or when I'm taking WAY longer than everyone else. It's also important when I'm new to the game - I likely won't understand all the nuances anyhow and so making what looks like a decent move should be sufficient.<br />
<br />
Cutting off my thinking at a particular point can be a difficult thing for me to do, but ultimately I know it's beneficial to everyone (even myself even though I want so much to win). I don't want people to NOT want to play games with me again due to my AP, so I try to maintain a certain sense of balance.<br />
<br />
It's funny, I sort of relate this to a chess program I used to have on our old Atari 2600 - Video Chess. It had 'difficulty' levels you could choose for the computer AI. If you chose something on the easy end (levels 1-3) it would 'think' with the screen flashing random colors from 10 to 45 seconds and then make a move. But at higher levels it would 'think' for much longer, flashing colors for up to 12 minutes or even 10 hours if you wanted it to, covering thousands or even millions of possible moves. This was very cool, but also very frustrating having to wait. I knew what it was doing - it was evaluating more and more possible future moves, traversing the ever expanding tree of possibilities into the great depths of the game. Sometimes, it might make the same move whether going to 2 levels or 7 levels of analysis. And this is one problem of the AP'er - exploring the depths of the game much farther than necessary.<br />
<br />
When I recognize I'm taking too long, I think about that chess program and try to use my 'easy' settings so that people don't get tired of my colors flashing - and, besides, my level 2 depth of thought may be just as optimal as a level 7 depth!<br />
<br />
<b>The Spinning Mind</b><br />
I sometimes fall into the category of the 'spinning mind' - getting stuck on your turn where you're not sure what you are going to do. Usually this involves a couple of possible things:<br />
<ol><li><b>Having too many options and, even though I understand what my choices are, I'm not sure where to start or I get stuck in circular decisions or not seeing any good basic moves.</b></li>
<ul><li>This most often happens during new games where it may be explained well and might even have a good summary reference, but it's so open or has so many options that it's hard to know where to start. Sometimes this type of game it can be crucial to make good decisions early on and, when you're not sure to do I can kind of panic a bit and get stuck.</li>
</ul><li><b>Not understanding the rules enough to make any kind of decision at all.</b></li>
<ul><li>Sometimes I might miss rules during the explanation (distractions, focusing on other rules too long, etc), sometimes I might not understand them enough to be able to parse them completely in my head, and sometimes there are rules that I just don't get. All of this can lead to having problems making a decision about my move. This may also include not even remembering what all of my options are.</li>
</ul></ol>The 'spinning' mentality was something that was more likely to happen when I was first getting back into gaming - all the 'common' mechanics were new to me, the depth was more than I was used to, and the decisions to make were often overwhelming, even in games that I now consider pretty easy. I sometimes even now can have this happen to me, but I think it happens less often now due to other actions on my part that I try to take.<br />
<br />
Taking this into consideration along with my desire for not wanting to ask for help, it used to be a real problem and pushed me often into the horrible AP mode that can ruin games for other people.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>THE PROBLEMS IT CAN CAUSE</b><br />
When I first started getting back into gaming I would many times spend a lot more time on turns than I should have. Honestly, I didn't know. I used to play chess in Jr. High and High School so I was used to taking some time on turns and it didn't bother me.<br />
<br />
One evening, I was playing these new and wonderful games with my friend, Chris, who was indoctrinating me. Unfortunately, he had to put up with my horrible AP. It obviously became really bad when we were playing <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5678683858871588370&postID=6960933848850878623">Colossal Arena</a> which is supposed to be a game of fairly quick decisions and play in under an hour. I don't know how long it took us but much longer than the suggested hour. MUCH longer. I was taking FOREVER on my turns. Honestly, I was even somewhat aware of taking a long time but I just wasn't sure what to do on my turns.<br />
<br />
Chris asked me politely if I'd heard of the term "AP" and proceeded to explain what it was. I was a bit embarrassed and, honestly, I don't think it helped me much knowing what AP was. I was still stuck. I think we eventually finished the game, but I'll never forget that night, how I felt about realizing I was an "AP" gamer, even in my fledgling career as a Board Game Geek.<br />
<br />
I know now that the real problem for me that night was not really understanding the rules, not really understanding what I was supposed to do on my turn, but still wanting desperately to win. I didn't ask for more help as I felt like I should be able to play based on the explanation, but it just wasn't clicking for me at all. I had a great time overall playing games that evening, but that memory leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth and it's something I try very hard to avoid now.<br />
<br />
Here's something important I should say now: I'm REALLY happy that Chris was able to let me know about AP. I got the hint. I don't know that it particularly had an immediate impact for me that evening, but it at least make me aware of how I am and eventually led me to want to avoid being the AP player that slowed down the game and ruined everyone's fun. Thanks Chris!<br />
<br />
<b>WHAT DO I DO ABOUT IT?</b><br />
So, over time I began to realize the impact to other gamers my AP had on them. Now, some friends I game with don't seem to mind too much, especially those that don't mind taking time themselves on turns. This is probably when I have the most fun because I don't have to feel too pressured about taking my move quickly.<br />
<br />
But, I still know that taking less time/playing quickly (or at least within a more 'appropriate' time frame for a given game or group of gamers) is important for the general fun and happiness of all players involved.<br />
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So, what do I do to help myself not be so AP?<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Well, here are a couple of the things I've been trying to actively do:</b><br />
<ul><li><b>First and foremost, I try to be aware of how long I'm taking on turns and, if it's too long, I cut myself off and make a decision.</b></li>
<ul><li>You'll now hear me say something like "Well, I'm taking a bit long so I'll just go with my gut on this" or "this seems like a good choice so I'll just do that".</li>
<li><b>A corollary to this, though, is sometimes, at what I deem to be key decision points in a game, I will allow myself to take longer and really think through a move.</b> I try to keep turns to a reasonable length, but sometimes a move seems crucial enough to take a little extra time and I still allow myself that when appropriate. I will try to say "I want to make a good decision here so I'm going to think about it a bit longer". This takes the pressure off of what I perceive as impatience from other people - they know I'm going to take some time and can take a break, get a drink, use the bathroom, etc. And then I can make my decision without feeling rushed. They also know I'm just not stuck in my thinking but actually considering my options.</li>
</ul><li><b>I make sure I ask detailed questions about the rules during rules explanation so that I understand everything as much as possible. </b></li>
<ul><li>Anything I can do to make sure I understand the rules will help keep me from spinning my mind for no reason.</li>
<li>Also, seeing the rules in action also helps me tremendously and I will insist on a quick demonstration if I'm still not getting it.</li>
</ul><li><b>I make/print out player aids or make sure I get a player aid.</b></li>
<ul><li>Good player aids summarize all your possible actions which makes it easier to get some grounding when getting started on a new game. Then, I can at least force myself to stick to an appropriate action and take it, even when I'm stuck.</li>
</ul><li><b>I will say 'I'm not sure what to do here' or just ask for advice outright.</b> </li>
<ul><li>I'm not so proud now that I won't do this. At least saying it this way is a way to ask for help indirectly which may or may not get a response, but at least it's a start.</li>
</ul><li><b>Along the same lines, I might state what I'm thinking first and seeing what others think.</b></li>
<ul><li>For instance, I might say that I want to do 'such and such' or accomplish some particular goal and then say I'm thinking about doing A or B, then ask what others think. This will at least help me come to some decision if there is positive or negative response.</li>
</ul><li><b>Something similar that I see other players doing that I might try to do is talking through a move.</b></li>
<ul><li>I don't do this very often, but might on occasion to get me through to a decision. </li>
<li>What this does is let me air out what I'm thinking and, perhaps get a response from other players. At the same time, it also helps to 'hear' it rather than 'think' it. Something that sounds correct in your mind can sound ridiculous once you say it.</li>
</ul></ul><div>There are other little things I probably do, but these are the key things at least.</div><div><br />
</div><b>SIGNS THAT YOU MIGHT BE AN AP GAMER</b><br />
So, how do you know? Are you an AP gamer? It might be hard to tell. And, you might not have someone tell you (in)directly like I did.<br />
<br />
I think the worst thing about being an AP gamer is the fact that it's difficult to see yourself as one.<br />
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<b>Here are some possible signs. Some of these may seem silly or ridiculous, but watch for them as they may really be indicators:</b><br />
<ul><li><b>Other players tapping on the table, humming (maybe even the Jeopardy theme song - seriously, some people do this), or heavy sighing as you think through your turn.</b></li>
<ul><li>I've noticed some of these things when I'm taking my turn. People try to be subtle and polite, but sometimes gamers caught in AP won't even notice these things or realize they are directed at themselves. </li>
</ul><li><b>Other players leaving the table to use the bathroom (or get snacks, etc) whenever you take your turn.</b></li>
<ul><li>This may not always be a sign, but it could be. Just be aware if this happens a lot.</li>
</ul><li><b>Other players ask "Who's turn is it?" and it is consistently YOUR turn when they ask this...</b></li>
<ul><li>...and you already knew it was your turn. Sometimes you don't realize it's your turn and that happens to everyone. But, if you KNOW it's your turn and people are asking this....you may have a problem.</li>
</ul><li><b>Other players stating things like "this is usually a pretty fast game", particularly when you are taking your turn.</b></li>
<ul><li>This is a clue about expectations. Consider the game. Consider who you're playing with. And, adjust your game play as appropriate to the situation.</li>
</ul><li><b>Realization that you've already covered one of the options you are considering 2 or 3 times before.</b></li>
<ul><li>It's time to cut it short. Make a decision and move on.</li>
</ul><li><b>People avoid you at game days, game conventions, etc.</b></li>
<ul><li>AP gamers may not realize/see this, but if you notice such behavior around you, this might be one reason why. Of course, there are OTHER reasons people may be avoiding you as well...but that's a whole other topic. Just know this is a possible sign of something and it's probably something you should address, whether's it's AP or not.</li>
</ul></ul>There will be other signs. Be aware whether you suspect you are an AP player or not. And, when any of these things happen, make a decision and make your move. Try to think about your move as much as possible during other player's turns and have some decisions made ahead of time. Try to consistently make your moves quicker in general. If other players after you are saying things like "it's my turn already?" or similar, you're on the right track!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">AND REMEMBER - IT'S JUST A GAME! YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO WIN!</div><br />
<b>DON'T PANIC</b><br />
If you've come to the realization that you are an AP gamer, there's no need to panic. You can get through it. Really you can. And, if you have a good group of gamers/friends that you play with, I'm sure they will be willing to help. Be honest with them and ask them to help remind you. Believe me, you can still have a great time if you don't win every time or make the optimal move every time.<br />
<br />
For some ideas, look back in the <b>What Do I Do About It?</b> section for some ideas and work on it, little by little. However, YOU are not ME, so there may be things that work better for you that I haven't mentioned at all.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, </div><div style="text-align: center;">POST THEM HERE SO THAT OTHER AP'ers MAY BENEFIT!</div><br />
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<b>MY FRIEND IS AN AP GAMER. HOW DO I HELP HIM / HER?</b><br />
We all know an AP gamer or two, whether we are one ourselves or not. They often are the people that others are wary of - "Oh, that person is an AP player and I will only play certain games with them". I know of at least two people I run into from time to time that I have heard similar comments about.<br />
<br />
If they are someone you would like to game with more but shy away from playing with them because of their being AP players, here are some suggestions from an AP player. Keep in mind that depending on the person involved you may need to be more or less sensitive to their needs/feelings.<br />
<br />
<b>Consider:</b><br />
<ul><li><b>If they are taking a long time, ask them if they'd like some help figuring out possible actions or ask if they'd like some suggestions. </b></li>
<ul><li>Don't just jump in and offer advice. THAT WOULD BE BAD! Ask first and then don't tell them what to do but offer up what they possibly COULD do (legal, good moves and such)</li>
<li>This would be especially good to do if they haven't ever played the game before - they may be stuck with the rules or just have no idea even what to think, but they don't want to admit it. </li>
<li>If they seem open to it, point out the obvious good and/or bad moves to help narrow down the possibilities. </li>
<li>Help them to eliminate choices to where they might have one or two good moves. They don't have to even be the 'best' moves, just 'not bad' moves at least.</li>
</ul><li><b>Be direct and ask them (like Chris did) if they know what AP means and see if there is a reaction there. </b></li>
<ul><li>This might need to be repeated on future sessions. Just don't nag.</li>
</ul><li><b>Leave subtle hints.</b></li>
<ul><li>This is similar to the signs I mentioned above -- doing subtle things to give the AP gamer a clue to move it along.</li>
</ul><li><b>Suggest playing with a clock.</b></li>
<ul><li>This might be a last resort sort of thing, but if you end up playing with an AP player consistently, this might have to be the solution. If they don't like it then maybe it will open up the discussion.</li>
</ul></ul>Please take these ideas with a grain of salt - I haven't really done them myself, but I've seen them in action for ME and they do help as they are reasonable things to do. Just be sensitive to your friends. It's not worth insulting them if it will cost you a friendship.<br />
<br />
<b>TRUE CONFESSIONS - AND A REQUEST FOR FORGIVENESS</b><br />
Well, I suppose it's time for some final confessions:<br />
<ul><li><b>To Chris:</b> My apologies for being a horrible AP player early on and still a moderate AP player from time-to-time now. Hopefully I'm getting better....and thanks for putting up with me!</li>
<li><b>To my regular gaming friends: </b>I know I take extra time sometimes on my moves. I'm trying to get better but sometimes you have to ask "who's turn is it" and, when you do, it's usually still my turn. Sorry....</li>
<li><b>To my family: </b>My apologies for taking too long on my Rummikub turns to the point where I would optimize my moves to death, ultimately killing the fun in playing the game with you ever again.</li>
<li><b>To all future people I might ever game with:</b> Yes, I'm an AP gamer. Please bear with me....I'm trying, I really am! Please accept my apologies now...</li>
</ul><br />
Whew. I wrote a lot there!<br />
<br />
But hopefully it helps some people who have AP recognize they may have a problem and perhaps offers some solutions to dealing with it. I'm certainly not an 'expert' or someone trained in psychology, just an average Geek hoping to get the best experiences out of gaming that he can and wanting others to have a good time gaming as well.<br />
<br />
And, I try to be actively aware of how I'm playing so that I can avoid being the AP player at the table. I think I've been mostly successful. I know I have my moments/days, but I also feel I'm doing well since I actually have others inviting me to their houses to play games....thus must mean something, right?<br />
<br />
Now, go play a game with an AP gamer and perhaps help them to see the light. Just be polite and sensitive to their needs if you do.....<br />
<br />
And, if you're an AP gamer yourself, go play a game and make quick(er) moves! Be honest with yourself and perhaps start to consider how what you're doing may be negatively affecting others around you....Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-73301820318135131702011-05-25T02:07:00.000-07:002011-05-25T15:04:44.786-07:00HOT BOX - 'Dominant Species' (What's in the Box?) - Where I talk about being a bit too anal about my new games....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, here it is in my <strike>grubby</strike> washed and dried little hands - DOMINANT SPECIES! I've been lusting after it since before it became available. But even with all that lusting I was waiting to get it as it's a bit pricey and I hadn't had a chance to play it yet. I also felt that maybe the wooden cubes didn't do the game justice - I thought: "It's a game about animals killing each other, right? Not little cubes eating other little cubes!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then I got to play it recently and I couldn't resist getting my own copy! And, I found it for a 'decent' price (note: it was still a bit pricey, but I at least got it with another good game and free shipping). Now that it has arrived, I just have to get it played some more! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not knowing when I'd have a larger group available (because some people I know are afraid of playing it), I did some research and read that it was actually pretty decent as a 2-player. So, I tried playing it 2-player with Bob but I think it was a little too much for him all at once (and a little late at the time we started). I think he'll get it but we might need to start it earlier in our gaming session to give us enough time to spend on a solid full game. I think maybe with another player or two might be good as well, just for some balance...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oh well, I know I loved it my first play and can't wait to get it to the table again!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And, if you have any reservations about the price in regards to getting it yourself, I will say that it's DEFINITELY worth it - it has terrific components and TONS of wood bits. Some people may be disappointed that it's just cubes and cones, but the designer admits in the rules that it's abstracted, so I'm totally fine with it. The box is beautiful as well with a shiny smooth finish and it feels very solid. OH, of course it's a good game, too!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you like area control in the vein of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/93/el-grande">El Grande</a> and/or action selection in the vein of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22545/glenn-drovers-empires-the-age-of-discovery">Age of Empires III</a>, this game will be right up your alley. Or if you're into animals eating other animals (well, I have to admit that animal eating only happens a little bit in this game). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Note that this game is NOT a simulation (try <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/639/american-megafauna">American Megafauna</a> if that's what you want) and it's NOT a wargame (even though it's published by <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/52/gmt-games">GMT</a>) but it IS a fairly heavy and long game. The great thing is you're fully engaged pretty much the entire time and you won't notice the time going by at all. (Well, unless you're playing with cro-magnon man, aka. APe man - HA! Sorry, it's late...)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Ok, so, here's my box opening to give you a nice view inside:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6V36sXsRssGE5quMhH1p73y7gaHirbY3fALve0IxLwNKyG0u-0zojeIaZMjGdZL1tjCcla4qpk-Tq4BS-eF5538NwnICTmWtECcwZxnBRI2-18nPIYGNFWNL0SB2SJBkxpZvhihj_e4o/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6V36sXsRssGE5quMhH1p73y7gaHirbY3fALve0IxLwNKyG0u-0zojeIaZMjGdZL1tjCcla4qpk-Tq4BS-eF5538NwnICTmWtECcwZxnBRI2-18nPIYGNFWNL0SB2SJBkxpZvhihj_e4o/s400/001.JPG" width="378" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The front of the box...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsugd8nskHBlvu8Aiq_dvMhRCMcNAuY1MZKbzfn_1Brg0kcfLL3AFN-LrLXkAelEkV1hNiFT9eI7UAmj01CpJj6gNPAFxJhxEvK-d1ySj9K2lEFpi7j6SYKhNQH7Vb5ti9VfOu5XpzbIc/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsugd8nskHBlvu8Aiq_dvMhRCMcNAuY1MZKbzfn_1Brg0kcfLL3AFN-LrLXkAelEkV1hNiFT9eI7UAmj01CpJj6gNPAFxJhxEvK-d1ySj9K2lEFpi7j6SYKhNQH7Vb5ti9VfOu5XpzbIc/s400/002.JPG" width="366" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and the back before removing the shrink.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Cutting in (carefully).....notice my technique of cutting at the corner then peeling back the shrink </div><div style="text-align: center;">carefully from there.... and then ripping it off like a teen in heat!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGq53Rq46QFPzOyOI-syc8g7KmfUUX9jBN2o0IsoMqLyOYo1t2lG0HJDjT_sRbuFQrnQzHIOT56vc-DJG4HoU59OxB0E5zyUAUOp9zeMypS-T5NcEpNs1tJ6oT1z7-yTG__2RCrxJq-w/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGq53Rq46QFPzOyOI-syc8g7KmfUUX9jBN2o0IsoMqLyOYo1t2lG0HJDjT_sRbuFQrnQzHIOT56vc-DJG4HoU59OxB0E5zyUAUOp9zeMypS-T5NcEpNs1tJ6oT1z7-yTG__2RCrxJq-w/s200/003.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsDR_awF4YWcdiVJIhk-nf_IEOgohErDQ4SYgwlO8IDL2VtKf52wQ4henRS9Qad4LGAJQmwpVfeSO_qMWlUkr4j0krNDMLONETG8EmCEpdCWv-p2huWePw_1HV-7c5_SUyZp9aXa0SdQ/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsDR_awF4YWcdiVJIhk-nf_IEOgohErDQ4SYgwlO8IDL2VtKf52wQ4henRS9Qad4LGAJQmwpVfeSO_qMWlUkr4j0krNDMLONETG8EmCEpdCWv-p2huWePw_1HV-7c5_SUyZp9aXa0SdQ/s200/004.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLqcJmgBR-pnAq72ch9r5Q33CZB6CTpbO8yo-PN74CObxeG-nGhjvLO5oFjzMc0ds3dTXhjZrAKfUtGl4mzTv1X4IGcSp79QntVSj1zYnD4ohC4hH3_j6C_5pXtkqZDffu582P8KAjaA/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLqcJmgBR-pnAq72ch9r5Q33CZB6CTpbO8yo-PN74CObxeG-nGhjvLO5oFjzMc0ds3dTXhjZrAKfUtGl4mzTv1X4IGcSp79QntVSj1zYnD4ohC4hH3_j6C_5pXtkqZDffu582P8KAjaA/s200/005.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoF9ySVbh_WpLcGLcUU1YzB88BdSg2YMhRwCoQAnorxKWFQeEiyNQ9iQCrJZS_jR30p1MW106vJZPzUaET-vChPu893F7FA_yDTA-t-0W4b8-v6LszbtjnQT1Ku-XOxlzLSmN-lh8OIAE/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoF9ySVbh_WpLcGLcUU1YzB88BdSg2YMhRwCoQAnorxKWFQeEiyNQ9iQCrJZS_jR30p1MW106vJZPzUaET-vChPu893F7FA_yDTA-t-0W4b8-v6LszbtjnQT1Ku-XOxlzLSmN-lh8OIAE/s200/006.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tr9MhTNQC2vnkRKj8_OUptaoc6RvTCPgpN4pfF8YXtTiO7RKjMr19ScQdYal781OlC9L0iGT56vtNa4ZCZo0sXooRNR4kNEftQ9SQ7_ZpVptSapvqX8AQA4oqQgFusndegvL_sdmEwQ/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tr9MhTNQC2vnkRKj8_OUptaoc6RvTCPgpN4pfF8YXtTiO7RKjMr19ScQdYal781OlC9L0iGT56vtNa4ZCZo0sXooRNR4kNEftQ9SQ7_ZpVptSapvqX8AQA4oqQgFusndegvL_sdmEwQ/s200/007.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8-XlM6d6BsrEQiZ_o2qF0944kp6vXUbWnNVNhPpVuFrtPfvyRlrhwl5HQXLpklAIOQCDDfhDEGiOC1LhEK0TqeqQLy0ixapjKdJOJnlEROHgIx8Wn5AHnVDnhiI-3Ju_cyAg5C1otBQ/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8-XlM6d6BsrEQiZ_o2qF0944kp6vXUbWnNVNhPpVuFrtPfvyRlrhwl5HQXLpklAIOQCDDfhDEGiOC1LhEK0TqeqQLy0ixapjKdJOJnlEROHgIx8Wn5AHnVDnhiI-3Ju_cyAg5C1otBQ/s200/008.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">A smooooth opening...and the resultant whiff of fresh cardboard!</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq5CBmhhPut3cDOvdta-ka14tAqiV_bHDhIbdvgwcz06MVtqOCNI2iI60cQ25tqie0b_bTtoVlSzCl5BMSKx9E0vlksag_7_HricCUvzMSzu7VdmVRfY0775u6wVcT715PbD7sJP5Hr4/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq5CBmhhPut3cDOvdta-ka14tAqiV_bHDhIbdvgwcz06MVtqOCNI2iI60cQ25tqie0b_bTtoVlSzCl5BMSKx9E0vlksag_7_HricCUvzMSzu7VdmVRfY0775u6wVcT715PbD7sJP5Hr4/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rules, crisp and clean.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I love pulling out the rules and having them look perfect and unwrinkled. I sometimes dread even reading them for fear of getting those little creases you get when holding it opened. I especially dread when I keep my rules perfect while carefully reading, then someone else comes along and grabs the rules, pulls them opened, perhaps bends them back and then flips them around and I can see all these little wrinkles forming. They drop it on the floor accidentally or set them down near their drink. GAH! (that's just in my head).<br />
<br />
Ok, I'm exaggerating. A little. See, this is one reason I like to make my own player's aids. And laminate them. The other reason is because my son likes to put his hands down his pants and then grab game components. After grabbing his own components. Eech! He isn't going anywhere NEAR this game...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeMcvLxcGPOeV12NmeZDJTTtEqz4VzjMHi7TKea2nyasq2rwhYc8_Qggp2tpYWhwSdjzRcNhnpH__KpRoOz92rfYfUtb1w8t70xZ2FccIKmEzPJDlFmFFMHndZspqxim7ChJ65AYhOUI/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeMcvLxcGPOeV12NmeZDJTTtEqz4VzjMHi7TKea2nyasq2rwhYc8_Qggp2tpYWhwSdjzRcNhnpH__KpRoOz92rfYfUtb1w8t70xZ2FccIKmEzPJDlFmFFMHndZspqxim7ChJ65AYhOUI/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The player boards / aids</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Nice! Almost all the rules are summarized on these! Now players just have their grubby hands on these rather than the full rules. (Perhaps I should laminate these, too!? Nah, that might be a little TOO anal, even for me)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmFAftwbdCuS7PWkb-LhA2bugRoj9y4bmGk2X62n63KjGAk3hI80fuFk_a5BqPSNNViPRph71KD6w3YHrpaPlHAsRvm8m7BUn7RisWl1REcKCuW1laAL0AkbrvAX3rrOaYx1EEj7-pNw/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmFAftwbdCuS7PWkb-LhA2bugRoj9y4bmGk2X62n63KjGAk3hI80fuFk_a5BqPSNNViPRph71KD6w3YHrpaPlHAsRvm8m7BUn7RisWl1REcKCuW1laAL0AkbrvAX3rrOaYx1EEj7-pNw/s320/011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of nice cardboard chits and tiles ready for punching!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRxS8RJHnqbc_6GB8zIvwLEhArl_otY9OFrRLLm8TYevn9jlsilmQOTK9F7edniXIMtocnIIPiAAEq98JcyqAHok0hGtvq-fjrcalmJeWZcRROl3haZkzLKbacUr8SRBLVFRYnknAEao/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRxS8RJHnqbc_6GB8zIvwLEhArl_otY9OFrRLLm8TYevn9jlsilmQOTK9F7edniXIMtocnIIPiAAEq98JcyqAHok0hGtvq-fjrcalmJeWZcRROl3haZkzLKbacUr8SRBLVFRYnknAEao/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The board is hermetically sealed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Now that's what I'm talking about! A sealed board! Which reminds me I need to get some plexiglass....<br />
<br />
But alas, I broken the seal and checked out the very large game board:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CAE8UcFNhKG1F3GbCX7X52CVJMOQAHEdZ8nJpc16pkfNlU79Lwu3iUoy3PW106YN8q6yGikCYNHg3B6qUj9FnMFbsbSSC_28xxClONzlTmjHTYPzYiTEfTpNsf68QZm79OnFYgj-EI4/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CAE8UcFNhKG1F3GbCX7X52CVJMOQAHEdZ8nJpc16pkfNlU79Lwu3iUoy3PW106YN8q6yGikCYNHg3B6qUj9FnMFbsbSSC_28xxClONzlTmjHTYPzYiTEfTpNsf68QZm79OnFYgj-EI4/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The somewhat subdued but completely functional board.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The colors are definitely muted down but it's extremely functional. Once you get into the game you wouldn't want it too busy as there's already a lot happening on top of it with all the cubes, tiles and action markers. The only thing missing that I wish it had is a place to put the animals (cubes) when they 'die' and are removed from the board.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNn82X_2igavTnT26JNmoPZb7AP68v0tllo2m5e7GNIW_NzCO6r03Xr2RshaxDfD6l7hMuU7uzlAAnJWcznFZIvstvBgLLOAD29qiWXe9YLO9RAha-JbAHMalkXU84rVBYoAOnzSS8H_w/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNn82X_2igavTnT26JNmoPZb7AP68v0tllo2m5e7GNIW_NzCO6r03Xr2RshaxDfD6l7hMuU7uzlAAnJWcznFZIvstvBgLLOAD29qiWXe9YLO9RAha-JbAHMalkXU84rVBYoAOnzSS8H_w/s320/013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proper prophylactics are provided for my bits and <br />
a nice cloth bag for keeping the element chits warm and cozy...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCLZz2F5cItcH6wXflAi2reewNlA4KiYWNgSFhCdBoyhPGH50D6o6Ko5yxo1tj61VpYwUhdCv-BKfTeJv6V25Ka8q84rtVYkkg8QVpYpwcOAp3Joz5BseOAXCEiCmP9XPcG2a_48MsWs/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCLZz2F5cItcH6wXflAi2reewNlA4KiYWNgSFhCdBoyhPGH50D6o6Ko5yxo1tj61VpYwUhdCv-BKfTeJv6V25Ka8q84rtVYkkg8QVpYpwcOAp3Joz5BseOAXCEiCmP9XPcG2a_48MsWs/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speaking of bits! Ooo-la-la!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Lots of cool bits to <strike>fiddle with</strike> <a href="http://boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/04/timely-topics-i-like-to-fiddle-with-my.html">manipulate</a>!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPBUK91GHoDqSoo4o55SzPFQOccYz3oiTaP7NO34AQjFfhRY0SIP-opNsbN4h4SWSryqKg9k6u2WKnlSy1to8mXZ6HQRV5VuJzR30SZ6t00vKTHO5E3sY3UuDcfIS3F_L_YnlASLLcG8/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPBUK91GHoDqSoo4o55SzPFQOccYz3oiTaP7NO34AQjFfhRY0SIP-opNsbN4h4SWSryqKg9k6u2WKnlSy1to8mXZ6HQRV5VuJzR30SZ6t00vKTHO5E3sY3UuDcfIS3F_L_YnlASLLcG8/s320/015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And finally, the deck of cards</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_KQCLisBXbVPii8lLAdwJ1M63NintJgB9BnlYLWU-J4rhA6vBNe4_cRq0wYGUYGuUJ9kGCPASjzP9tYemxX5g_bgcqa1gEeDXh9qyvKYj3kTwvokf2LF8Yj9ipmOwL6NEl03tAheuuk4/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_KQCLisBXbVPii8lLAdwJ1M63NintJgB9BnlYLWU-J4rhA6vBNe4_cRq0wYGUYGuUJ9kGCPASjzP9tYemxX5g_bgcqa1gEeDXh9qyvKYj3kTwvokf2LF8Yj9ipmOwL6NEl03tAheuuk4/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My storage solution for the bits. Well worth it here...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSe8Oa5SYPeISpGfO74bjuTBb9HUpr7_zexkcUoWDbfC4COKykxjvtPopdMCfh9OtDr_ejzVgC3OoXGpuAOx1gSwsaTpXTDxig6f9ffLDJjqmaeSVqNsHhIDLDKLYJmlfD-StBvCse3Q/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSe8Oa5SYPeISpGfO74bjuTBb9HUpr7_zexkcUoWDbfC4COKykxjvtPopdMCfh9OtDr_ejzVgC3OoXGpuAOx1gSwsaTpXTDxig6f9ffLDJjqmaeSVqNsHhIDLDKLYJmlfD-StBvCse3Q/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of the components after punching.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7Rg6wd_vnmabQwBmYkjDCFnLoaqI_issG4PfyewUYBvHJQ4ZtWWumi47fCfhoUUZZL5Tn6_gk2UdGXwfhBAReSZsRPk1QfDq1IQB7J0yeoge4WBkJKTKp_e50vh29q80A6cwH0tqEE4/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7Rg6wd_vnmabQwBmYkjDCFnLoaqI_issG4PfyewUYBvHJQ4ZtWWumi47fCfhoUUZZL5Tn6_gk2UdGXwfhBAReSZsRPk1QfDq1IQB7J0yeoge4WBkJKTKp_e50vh29q80A6cwH0tqEE4/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything tucked away safely, boxed, bagged and<br />
arranged just so...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Well, that's IT! I hope you enjoyed the tour!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
In the immortal words of the infamous Billy Joel: "You may be right, I may be crazy! But it just may be a(n) (anal bits crazy) lunatic you're looking for!"<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On that NOTE, I'd better 'leaf' you to figure out if it's worth getting this game just for the nice bits as well as the game play.</div><br />
<br />
The answer is YES. Now go buy it!Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-32925089255770342372011-05-23T10:51:00.000-07:002011-05-25T07:54:06.190-07:00HOT BOX - '7 Wonders' by Antoine Bauza (Review) - Yes ANOTHER review of this 'Kennerspiel de Jahres' nomineeSeriously, you really want to write a review of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/68448/7-wonders">7 Wonders</a>? Really? There are already 54 reviews on BGG. 54!? Wow.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietgeU_fCBxq2Ox5di1AJkhPiEghawW1ovcOpGfH7WkaEslgMkg8naZck8b2nlCZi20DhZRN19fIl9vOnldeH9xpJc-xISN3p-ouiOfPRmJp1zbJs1PufxNYXy9t_OsTJFXpyxUavfhyphenhypheno/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietgeU_fCBxq2Ox5di1AJkhPiEghawW1ovcOpGfH7WkaEslgMkg8naZck8b2nlCZi20DhZRN19fIl9vOnldeH9xpJc-xISN3p-ouiOfPRmJp1zbJs1PufxNYXy9t_OsTJFXpyxUavfhyphenhypheno/s320/041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The box for 7 Wonders - some of the nicest box<br />
cover art I've seen</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Well, this review has been rolling around in my head since playing it this weekend with 6-players at Lorna's house and then 3-player with my kids.<br />
<br />
So, sorry to subject you to another. And, with the <a href="http://www.spiel-des-jahres.com/cms/front_content.php?client=1&lang=1&idcat=12&idart=1001&m=&s=">nomination announcements</a> for the Kinnerspiel de Jahres today (although Spiel de Jahres seemed to me the more appropriate category for it), I'm sure there will be another 50+ reviews in the coming weeks. Ah well, I guess I'm 'on the bandwagon' with this one.<br />
<br />
Ok, I've played this game a handful of times so far. And, I have to admit that I really do enjoy playing it. It is not an extremely deep game but it has some interesting decisions to make. It is light enough that I can play it with my kids (although I suspect they are nearing the point where they can wade into deeper waters) but it has enough meat on it to keep me interested. I love that you can play it as easily with 3 as you can with 7 (I've heard 2 might be ok, but it might not be - hopefully I'll get to try it that way soon). And, best of all, it's just a fun game!<br />
<br />
Well, I guess you know my opinion so you might as well stop reading now......<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
No? Still there? Alrighty then.<br />
<br />
I taught this game to my kids on Sunday evening. My son is 8 and my daughter is 11. They love <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion">Dominion</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/53953/thunderstone">Thunderstone</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34635/stone-age">Stone Age</a> and other light-ish to middle weight sorts of games, although I was a bit concerned about their ability to parse the symbols and the variety of functions. Still, this is billed by many as a family-friendly game and they often surprise me in their ability to pick games up. I was probably most worried about my son due to the age of 13+ listed on the box (although BGG says 10+ which I think is probably more accurate) but he picks up stuff pretty well so figured this was be a good test.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiURYFhEr3iKMzD24qZoOPOdvpEtDn7bXkd06BiLTJwG-zk4QIgYSOZesHheQgxBIBCC8s0jNsFKLmprOjZO_q4vDie5IiYkqoWZD9Bc5Nl-BfzihIEFRbNU3OrzacgJZK3jJAwdC7Ziw/s1600/042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiURYFhEr3iKMzD24qZoOPOdvpEtDn7bXkd06BiLTJwG-zk4QIgYSOZesHheQgxBIBCC8s0jNsFKLmprOjZO_q4vDie5IiYkqoWZD9Bc5Nl-BfzihIEFRbNU3OrzacgJZK3jJAwdC7Ziw/s320/042.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back of the box</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbkxaNO2lJousMds9QZLfljAB1vkiYLAzo3aRDlXTC1Wc-aq6Sdvcv-Q_DzEM0kQWX3ICvH5SSDCmzTFKR56xjoicE3Toaiqcy6zv9TnGNHvpUae6T36DIcAgE6Y_pVb9BGLLIVYZfM0/s1600/070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbkxaNO2lJousMds9QZLfljAB1vkiYLAzo3aRDlXTC1Wc-aq6Sdvcv-Q_DzEM0kQWX3ICvH5SSDCmzTFKR56xjoicE3Toaiqcy6zv9TnGNHvpUae6T36DIcAgE6Y_pVb9BGLLIVYZfM0/s320/070.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of nice art even on the side of the box (inside)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><br />
<b>Setup</b><br />
I set up the game while they took their baths. I knew we had a small window of time to play so just wanted to get it set up ahead of time so that I could teach them quickly and get it moving.<br />
<br />
I sorted the decks out (removing the cards listed with 4+ and higher, plus reducing to only 5 purple - aka Guild - cards for Age III) thus ending up with decks of 21 cards each. I pre-dealt 7 cards for each person for each Age then set aside the hands for Ages II and III. I picked 3 boards that had similar Wonders, set out the military award chips and bank money and set out 3 coins per player.<br />
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9ZNFBA3p5_RD5Fi2qpjS3dieoltoOxmf0zZWOe8UQcCZ5VwPqzBSA3ye4HMq8nuGaq_ry0De0j7gWgLL5KTTfue1-04dwDrofNoYNzvP9H5kNw1AHc_lh0QioSxDI7sJnDxB9bGa1kw/s1600/061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9ZNFBA3p5_RD5Fi2qpjS3dieoltoOxmf0zZWOe8UQcCZ5VwPqzBSA3ye4HMq8nuGaq_ry0De0j7gWgLL5KTTfue1-04dwDrofNoYNzvP9H5kNw1AHc_lh0QioSxDI7sJnDxB9bGa1kw/s320/061.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stacks of Age I, II and III cards, plus the special<br />
2-player cards (left) and civ. randomization cards (right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUTWEol2vnvgSuapPXY_6vaJh8nVC5HncdnYyC0L_dIqXo70niCc5mvEqkaID5bjX1ZrbKVZ_wsBfpeTfJEfi5FvUbjhLAYYx0_4R2b6Xy6UaXrRJIRyYA-jvzQz2hyphenhyphen7Bcco-PZL53z8/s1600/056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUTWEol2vnvgSuapPXY_6vaJh8nVC5HncdnYyC0L_dIqXo70niCc5mvEqkaID5bjX1ZrbKVZ_wsBfpeTfJEfi5FvUbjhLAYYx0_4R2b6Xy6UaXrRJIRyYA-jvzQz2hyphenhyphen7Bcco-PZL53z8/s320/056.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The player boards</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnf-r4Apix3OhrwG1GScHUx2Z7HZXkc4V3MgHbpHNaw2r1YTvP57PrzT6Hn-LmGEYCGbmgyb4cSJCYbsFJ89CRCJj1y4w6eaj92s7r1jLqBa4ffTRTC5H7lZI1EXQ_NXKMbFdgzJdLD4/s320/064.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Money and Military point chips</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;"></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Teaching</b></div><br />
Once they were done bathing we sat down and I started in with how the cards are laid out with the cost in the upper left, the benefits and symbols at the top, the name on the left side and the buildings listed on the lower right that you can build for free if the card is in your tableau.<br />
<br />
I talked about how the Wonders work where you must build the 3 parts of the Wonder in order from left to right by placing a card there instead of using the card for the actual building. I also mentioned how you can buy resources from your neighbors when building (and buy for less if you have special market cards that allow it) and you can discard a card instead of building something so that you can get 3 coins.<br />
<br />
Finally, I talked about the key point generation features such as collecting sets of science symbols, gaining (or losing) points by having more (or less) military than your neighbors, building blue (Civilian) buildings for VPs, building purple (Guild) buildings that give VPs based on a variety of conditions, and getting VPs for certain levels of your Wonder.<br />
<br />
<b>The Symbols</b><br />
Some concerns mentioned by others about this game relate to the number and variety of symbols on the cards and whether it's overwhelming to learn for newbies. Frankly, most of the symbols are pretty straight forward: wood/logs, red (clay) bricks, gray stones, blue glass, pink cloth, tan paper, crossed swords for military (always on red cards), 3 different science symbols (always on green cards) -- most are part of the 'cost to build' symbols and you just have to match them. You don't have to even know what they are called. Once you understand the concept of where you 'get' the resources from, the rest falls into place.<br />
<br />
There are just a couple of special symbols like the arrows pointing to various areas of the board (yourself and your neighbors), the pyramid symbols that represent the levels of the Wonders, and....hmmm, I thought there was another one - maybe the colored card symbols and how the coin/vp symbols interact for generating money and VP. The card symbols aren't too confusing but the usage might not be obvious for everyone. I think I got a couple of questions from the kids about what the card symbols and the pyramid symbols meant later in the game. Otherwise, they didn't seem to have any questions after the initial teaching.<br />
<br />
But, here's the thing - 90% of the symbols make sense just looking at them. The remaining symbols are all easily explainable, plus there's a really nice reference sheet that shows all of them.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQVUtqV9KLs6aEQmGng7r1qauuE2v7NmpUUtFyn4-5cLsmMnFEOXEODFZ48AA42Nd-yrbX-3pNQF3VztLDfygmS3w3TsNigbd8AXXq09GsD4UZ0zcoGXwkpdsLsjmRxtL3FBCv93PfbU/s1600/068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQVUtqV9KLs6aEQmGng7r1qauuE2v7NmpUUtFyn4-5cLsmMnFEOXEODFZ48AA42Nd-yrbX-3pNQF3VztLDfygmS3w3TsNigbd8AXXq09GsD4UZ0zcoGXwkpdsLsjmRxtL3FBCv93PfbU/s320/068.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reference sheet included (back of the rule book<br />
also has the same information)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Actually, there are TWO reference sheets, one on the back of the rulebook and one that is a separate sheet. AND, the symbols that are difficult mostly come late in the game (Age III) when everything else has become familiar. Thus, they are easy to explain at that point.</div><br />
<br />
<b>Getting on with the game</b><br />
Well, I explained the whole game in maybe 8 or 9 minutes and they seemed to get most of the concepts and only had one or two quick questions. As is typical with the kids, it's easiest just to start playing and explain the rest of the details as we go.<br />
<br />
As expected, they jumped right in with their first building choices. I think they chose their buildings before I did! Jacob and I both paid each other 2 coins to use the default resource of each of our civilizations. We were on our way.<br />
<br />
The first Age actually went pretty quickly. I had Babylon with the extra science symbol on my Wonder's middle section so I decided focusing on science was a good tack. Thus, my initial focus was on building my resources to support the Wonder builds. My kids each both built immediate VP buildings during the first couple of rounds, then military soon followed for both.<br />
<br />
As we progressed through Ages I and II, I found I had focused mostly on resources and science while the kids had actually diversified quite a bit.<br />
<br />
By the middle of Age III each of us had only built 1 section of our Wonders. Jacob and I eventually finished our Wonders with Jacob completing his on his last build. I was hoping for one final science symbol that would give me a bunch of points but I noticed Jacob had built it on his 2nd to last build of Age III. As a result my very last action was to discard for 3 coins as I had only 1 coin and none of the appropriate resources to build the last 2 cards in hand.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-HN7I4q2fBpqWHzADDnC2_nmMtgsr5am7XrwOtLqjoG1se7O8-N_62tvX0Y79R3BZAEGHUZPdnHjfuk0Zsu4MRJqk-3sJIl2KyCb8pzUaoaLobBLqvuThg7eMQes41G_3W0GCmjDDbE/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-HN7I4q2fBpqWHzADDnC2_nmMtgsr5am7XrwOtLqjoG1se7O8-N_62tvX0Y79R3BZAEGHUZPdnHjfuk0Zsu4MRJqk-3sJIl2KyCb8pzUaoaLobBLqvuThg7eMQes41G_3W0GCmjDDbE/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">End game tableaus</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>The end</b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjOjGSEM42BFPLTPs6G-kshbsq7EAb9G8qbOWtGte6oUPafENZr6s0icu-swLEZSf3gaRjrbj9K1ne57LlYDDc-ejrMU1s-YlbuLFUF2fd2pkfBFWL3pjWvlhWL3LeVfCOiCLhWzmhH4/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjOjGSEM42BFPLTPs6G-kshbsq7EAb9G8qbOWtGte6oUPafENZr6s0icu-swLEZSf3gaRjrbj9K1ne57LlYDDc-ejrMU1s-YlbuLFUF2fd2pkfBFWL3pjWvlhWL3LeVfCOiCLhWzmhH4/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final scores</td></tr>
</tbody></table>When we added up our final scores, Emily had 39, Jacob 42 and I ended up with 38 (although I realized later if I'd used my optional Science symbol in a slightly different way I would have earned 3 more points giving me 41 - still one shy of Jacob).<br />
<br />
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</div><br />
<b>General Observations</b><br />
So, here are my observations of this game (note that this includes not just the play with my kids, but all my plays together):<br />
<ul><li>The game is relatively easy to pick up and be successful at.</li>
<li>Plays can be primarily tactical, but there are also obvious long-term strategies to work towards as well.</li>
<li>It's very difficult to be highly successful at ALL scoring aspects of the game so you must pick and choose.</li>
<li>The game play is quick regardless of the number of players.</li>
<li>The symbols used don't seem to be an inhibitor in learning to play the game. (This, of course, will vary based on particular players)</li>
</ul><br />
<b>Pros</b><br />
<ul><li>Beautiful artwork.</li>
<li>Smooth, streamlined game play.</li>
<li>Good game play for wide range of players (3-7)</li>
<li>Short play time (I don't think I'd want this game to be too much longer than it is) </li>
<li>Interesting decisions (which expands as you get more experience)</li>
</ul><br />
<b>Cons</b><br />
<ul><li>Since randomization of the card deck occurs, the perception is that you may not have enough control over the game to make much of a difference.</li>
<li>Somewhat large box for what is essentially a card game with player boards, some chits for money and military VP. Yes, it fits in well with the nice insert, but it perhaps could have been smaller...</li>
</ul><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmqF4H2Lf5y9OHzyROMXjcf4XOHCDeMPllTj3i_ZucKyvtUaKYt9ACDUE6xtmNAR9XOcaeuoWPxC1Mjtdh0NGgqe0D8UvZoJDjwDWyeKNnK0wx2uCA8ccx_fdJzU3yxTUWfxhUoydQUQ/s1600/053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmqF4H2Lf5y9OHzyROMXjcf4XOHCDeMPllTj3i_ZucKyvtUaKYt9ACDUE6xtmNAR9XOcaeuoWPxC1Mjtdh0NGgqe0D8UvZoJDjwDWyeKNnK0wx2uCA8ccx_fdJzU3yxTUWfxhUoydQUQ/s320/053.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the box</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><ul><li>Some decisions are no brainers. This isn't necessarily bad, though, as many games have this from time to time.</li>
<li>A good amount of table space is required as you lay out more and more cards over the course of the game.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div><b>Final assessment</b></div><div>I have already stated previously that I quite enjoy this game. It's great to look at. Everyone gets to play at the same time so there is almost no downtime. The turns go quickly most of the time, even if you need to evaluate what the possibilities are for the cards in hand because you can usually eliminate some choices that you can't build due to resource issues. From the remaining choices you might have some free builds (due to previous buildings you've built) or some obvious builds based on your current strategy with focus on science, military, VP buildings, etc. This isn't to say that every choice is easy - sometimes it is and sometimes it's not, with more difficulty later in the game as you see what others are building and might want just as much to negatively impact them as to positively impact yourself.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Another part of the difficulties in making choices is deciding when to sacrifice building something in your tableau to build a portion of the Wonder (which is almost always beneficial to do). There are many nuances to consider as different cards will be beneficial to some players and less beneficial to others. I think as you gain more experience you will start to learn what cards are available and begin to expect to look for certain cards. You will also start to watch more what other people are doing at the table, even if they aren't directly next to you.</div><div><br />
</div><div>A typical response is that 7 Wonders plays really well with a wide range of players and this is always a plus - this game is likely to get played a lot just for this reason alone. Of course, people wouldn't even want to pull it out if it wasn't a good game, so the fact that gamers WANT to pull this game out when they have a larger group is terrific. No more suffering through mediocre party games (well, there are good party games too, but sometimes we don't want just a party game) and being able to play quickly as well.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Teaching the game, from what I've seen, is fairly straight forward and learning the symbols isn't too difficult. There may be a lot of them but most are not difficult to figure out. Also, some of them don't come out until later in the game, so it's not usually too overwhelming for newbies.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Finally, and the most important thing about a game like this, is that it's FUN! The theme itself doesn't necessarily speak to this but it really is. I think most people are intrigued by the 7 Wonders of the World so that certainly makes it accessible. And, interactions between players is there, but it's not mean or very direct, even when looking at the military aspect which more benefits the person building up military than it hurts the person NOT building up military. It's more of a trade-off aspect but it doesn't feel like you are being 'attacked' with things being destroyed, etc.</div><div><br />
</div><div>There are ways to bury cards to keep them out of the hands of players that would benefit from them, but it's not like you're directly affecting their civilization, just denying them something. This sort of interaction is appealing as it's not likely to cause undue strife with spouses/significant others, but still gives you a way to try to control other people a bit.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The terrific thing about this game is it seems to hit all the right notes together at the same time. Accessible, fast, scalable, indirect interaction, clean design, beautiful artwork, fun to play.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Sounds like a (SdJ? oops KdJ!) winner to me!</div><div><br />
</div>Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-76134754141377859392011-05-20T07:33:00.000-07:002011-05-23T13:12:40.020-07:00CLASSICS CLOSET - Doubletrack (Review) - Reliving a Game from my Youth<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">When I was a kid we actually had quite a few games around our house that I remembered playing. A good number of them really. However, I'd kind of forgotten the extent and variety until I first discovered and started looking around on BGG back in 2008. As I ran across them/remembered them I started marking them as Previously Owned and, in this case, 'Want in Trade'. Some others I remembered included: <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2962/inner-circle">Inner Circle</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2248/leverage">Leverage</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2253/touring">Touring</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/333/waterworks">Waterworks</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2653/survive-escape-from-atlantis">Survive!</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2770/stay-alive">Stay Alive</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3737/operation">Operation</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5895/hungry-hungry-hippos">Hungry Hungry Hippos</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4040/tri-ominos">Tri-Ominos</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4788/quad-ominos">Quadominos</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2281/pictionary">Pictionary </a><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2243/yahtzee">Yahtzee</a>, and many more. And, I'm not ashamed to admit it that we owned <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1406/monopoly">Monopoly</a> and it was one of my favorite games!<br />
<br />
So anyway, last year I picked up the version of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4491/cave-troll">Cave Troll</a> with the figures and I marked my version with the chits for trade. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get any bites on it, but recently I did as I received a trade request in exchange for <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5361/doubletrack">Doubletrack</a>. I'm sure not everyone has heard of this game but it was one I certainly remembered.</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0LpGMJqXu1avDSTB_v1A7KhXgOYSgXpsnEsCwcpUSYFbDgHHeJSoOCTqWclO5VJlU_Lyvyp6TyJNFgUaw-QvjH7K3EsDD2nEEmbOdKhzP7znviF2Ar9Wp1AjcY7pa9x1d8pxDNH30jw/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0LpGMJqXu1avDSTB_v1A7KhXgOYSgXpsnEsCwcpUSYFbDgHHeJSoOCTqWclO5VJlU_Lyvyp6TyJNFgUaw-QvjH7K3EsDD2nEEmbOdKhzP7znviF2Ar9Wp1AjcY7pa9x1d8pxDNH30jw/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doubletrack box (this is a fairly large box at 12"x20"x1-1/2")</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In this game, I recalled there being plastic gates attached to the board that controlled access to certain paths on the board and you used a physical (cardboard) 'pass' that had to be inserted into the gates to open them up. I always found this functionality intriguing both the gate itself as well as the concept - each player controls a gate pass (or several in some cases) which gives them more control over who can go through them and when. I don't recall seeing this sort of feature in more modern games (if you've seen it I'd be interested to hear about it in the comments)<br />
<br />
I also remembered the mechanic of using a Big pawn on an outer track that moves and then affects what the Small pawn on the inner track is doing.<br />
<br />
So, I accepted the trade and thought this could be fun to play again.<br />
<br />
Soon it arrived. It was a bit more beat up than the copy we used to own, but it had all the familiar components to it. There's something about getting your hands on a game you remember from your childhood that brings back warm memories of simpler days. You get this sense of zipping back in time, remembering where you would play it (on my bedroom floor with it's bright red carpet - no really, that's what I chose, much to my mother's chagrin), who you played it with (my sister mostly, sometimes my friend Jeff), and some vague memories of really enjoying it.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Well, my son and I got this game out the other evening. As we got out the pieces my son was intrigued by the gates. I had him install them, get the money chips out and set up initial money while I started reading the rules. There were more to the rules than I remembered. I wanted to be sure to go through everything and, as I explained it to my son he eventually said - "Dad, let's just play!" He's a little impatient. He had tired of fiddling with the gates and was ready to play. But reading the rules takes time! I guess it was my own fault for <a href="http://boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/04/just-gaming-around-getting-it-wrong.html">not following my own advice</a> about reading the rules ahead of time. Especially when it comes to someone like my son.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QApiD-7_wj-mxnSuf9qaSQ-tfabh7R8GPZbvSGw1qbjZnnlGK3qB7P4tVNLjTEvKFk1dmtwsC_5PnCKrLT3w-MumCybOBBBQtnthIZmy__QIHD9hu_DhFwMty8_sv8oaDWLef45m77g/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QApiD-7_wj-mxnSuf9qaSQ-tfabh7R8GPZbvSGw1qbjZnnlGK3qB7P4tVNLjTEvKFk1dmtwsC_5PnCKrLT3w-MumCybOBBBQtnthIZmy__QIHD9hu_DhFwMty8_sv8oaDWLef45m77g/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example game set up for 4 players</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Anyhow, I glossed over the rest of the rules, except I'm glad I covered one rule in particular. There are certain actions which let you (rather force you) to sell a gate pass, sell a card from your hand, or even sell the lead (if you are leading). Something that surprised me about this game was that it used a blind auction for the selling part! I hadn't remembered that at ALL. I'm not sure if we ignored it (just as we ignored the auction in Monopoly) or if we did something else entirely.<br />
<br />
And then I realized it was a game designed for 3-5 players. Which makes sense when you have a blind auction. We ended up playing that if you are selling you just haggle over the price. In the case of it being a card, the card offered would be kept secret (as per the rules) until sold - thus, you could sell a worthless card. Yes, there is a card that actually says "This is a worthless card". This is awesome as well - more games with auctions should have items that are intentionally worthless and try to get you buy/sell them.<br />
<br />
With Selling the Lead it is supposed to be a blind bid for the remaining players. For 2-player this wasn't going to work so we just haggled over it as well. This action didn't not really come into play much.<br />
<br />
The 'Sell a Pass' blind bid also still works for 2-player as it forces the person selling their pass to made a good bid if they want to keep it. Whomever loses gets the money so you may have to pay the other person money to keep the pass.<br />
<br />
<b>So, the outline of rules of this game are as follows:</b><br />
<ul><li><b>Roll the dice (2d6) to move your big pawn. </b></li>
<ul><li>BUT, before you roll, check to see what gates you might want to go through. The gates let you take a slightly shorter path that has spots for moving your little pawn 1-5, 10 or 15 spaces - really nice if you can hit them.</li>
<li>If you might want to go through them, if you own the pass you can decide whether to put the pass in or not to open the gate. You cannot change it after you roll, so you have to decide now.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2pc3OdrHfBHGh0qMzfbj-Lb7N4VhuI4yrL4UxWXIOMfruHJ7D2Bac2rxYfzffD3Q7ysBa7MNODDaeMnv4eXyrhpfsjkDL9RpmH03_ZlXqu_W181p0pQLT_5JbhNmrY4AkviDZsUleg4/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2pc3OdrHfBHGh0qMzfbj-Lb7N4VhuI4yrL4UxWXIOMfruHJ7D2Bac2rxYfzffD3Q7ysBa7MNODDaeMnv4eXyrhpfsjkDL9RpmH03_ZlXqu_W181p0pQLT_5JbhNmrY4AkviDZsUleg4/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Gate is open and blue's Big pawn is ready to go through it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table></li>
</ul><ul><li>If you don't own the pass you have to ask permission (or pay money or otherwise make some sort of deal to go through).</li>
</ul><li><b>On the outer track, move the Big pawn exactly the number of spaces you rolled. </b></li>
<ul><li>If you land on a number then you move your Small pawn on the inner track exactly that many spaces.</li>
<li>If you land on one of the special spaces you can play a card, take someone's colored pass, take $25 from any one player, or sell a pass, card or the lead!</li>
<ul><li>There are rules around each of these, but it really is pretty straight forward and you can pretty much guess what you do on each one.</li>
</ul></ul><li><b>Then, if you have less than 3 cards, draw back up to 3.</b></li>
<li><b>Finally, if your Small pawn reaches the HOME space then you win!</b></li>
</ul>Very simple really.<br />
<br />
So, my son and I got to playing and we actually had a pretty great time. The most fun (for my son at least) was selling me the Worthless Card. And the card that makes you move your pawn Back 10 spaces (only slightly better than a worthless card, unless you really WANT to go backwards on the board -- generally only worth it in one or two instances). Oh, and stealing my passes. We actually had a lot of laughs doing all of this nastiness to each other.<br />
<br />
<b>A realization hit me...</b><br />
Ok, in writing this review I noticed something - well a number of things about this game.<br />
<br />
First, the inner 'track' is just a score track with no numbers on it and you are racing to get to the target score. BUT, what's interesting about this score track is that it has shortcuts on it that let you immediately advance/skip further along the path. These are effectively bonuses you get for hitting certain specific scoring spots along the track.<br />
<br />
Ok, maybe that wasn't much of a revelation to some of you, but I never really envisioned it that way as a kid - I just saw it as a path you were racing along. Somehow, it makes me more intrigued about it and the possibilities this type of scoring could have in other games (although I'm sure it exists just in different forms already).<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Here are some detailed pictures from the game:</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSMf9DP7ABYfdaLAWWVJpJ5MZJKksMZOdpAtRC2tPoBXg3qphpyTTXTRmlGrvymj22obChtQKJ7MaRJxVx4KQXuk9VOChFNidsl9KcC-ZPWFrMMpG92GdhOZiUKSQmeooYXIjoq20P38/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSMf9DP7ABYfdaLAWWVJpJ5MZJKksMZOdpAtRC2tPoBXg3qphpyTTXTRmlGrvymj22obChtQKJ7MaRJxVx4KQXuk9VOChFNidsl9KcC-ZPWFrMMpG92GdhOZiUKSQmeooYXIjoq20P38/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Small pawns on the start space</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-IkPdvhrnEY8fB0AXr_2dNuFWRglewhUGQfVKHZ2qvhzrX9j1WNjLGnWZ3OpbIZU1M7CpUq3DIs35I7Nka9y3IYqgjYMc3ZWcuuAnP1l24Fee97QTT2CAeyhzC28CmTFjcoCOAi3mjQ/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-IkPdvhrnEY8fB0AXr_2dNuFWRglewhUGQfVKHZ2qvhzrX9j1WNjLGnWZ3OpbIZU1M7CpUq3DIs35I7Nka9y3IYqgjYMc3ZWcuuAnP1l24Fee97QTT2CAeyhzC28CmTFjcoCOAi3mjQ/s320/006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue has successfully hit a shortcut spot and <br />
can quickly jump into the lead on his next movement</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGW71o6h70rsav_DtuZsbd_ifYrRTQcJIMWY1C3u6-4fe2OV92bC1N9jI8wveHXsotbgZ2eV9I25Qh_uEvrZJtYxgXQdCq6AHb3JLXvwgh9sQQFt4CzvveEgtLtgDWDgyzTd8E3DhK7U/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGW71o6h70rsav_DtuZsbd_ifYrRTQcJIMWY1C3u6-4fe2OV92bC1N9jI8wveHXsotbgZ2eV9I25Qh_uEvrZJtYxgXQdCq6AHb3JLXvwgh9sQQFt4CzvveEgtLtgDWDgyzTd8E3DhK7U/s320/008.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow's starting setup</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxBB12SusC_8g0HaHPlMdx_isapXHbTojz8QE_KqvBUKJkWbM8gcUTJjUmG4RcSMA9bKn8nnRC2lpqLSWcQHJ2rWoU1qxoQmCx2tKKTJqwEGZrkItKxHoh8TdHWjamIOnX7-uaspoWtM/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxBB12SusC_8g0HaHPlMdx_isapXHbTojz8QE_KqvBUKJkWbM8gcUTJjUmG4RcSMA9bKn8nnRC2lpqLSWcQHJ2rWoU1qxoQmCx2tKKTJqwEGZrkItKxHoh8TdHWjamIOnX7-uaspoWtM/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Sell a Card" and "Sell the Lead!" spaces</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynzUiAWlL6lYo-IyeUbbZ2MSJY_KTCsoRtaqhxBIhGf0Rnfh__k_3_5r-F_WzHYMuUKCh6xwqosZ_QoJuKdQVX8WnQmdtDcLTz99u2xYcVZEv4klIPQnyDmf2G2ZDG_T_oB4mBIG3GLk/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynzUiAWlL6lYo-IyeUbbZ2MSJY_KTCsoRtaqhxBIhGf0Rnfh__k_3_5r-F_WzHYMuUKCh6xwqosZ_QoJuKdQVX8WnQmdtDcLTz99u2xYcVZEv4klIPQnyDmf2G2ZDG_T_oB4mBIG3GLk/s320/011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Take $25 space and "Sell a Pass" space <br />
and two more "Sell a Card" spaces</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Now, I admit this wasn't the most exciting, brain burning game I've ever played, but for a game to play with my son it was really pretty fun and we actually had a lot of laughs playing. Which is the most important part about playing games, especially with your kids - having a fun time.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><b>A couple of things that disappointed me about the game:</b> the lack of control and the relative worthlessness of money. In regards to the money, you rarely care how much you spend on going through a gate or buying a pass because they are extremely valuable. And, you are likely to get the money back again in the near future for the same reasons you spent it yourself. In addition, there are spaces (and cards) that let you steal passes for no cost. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Buying cards from other people is not all that valuable since you can get them easily for free after playing them. And, buying the lead is generally not worth it unless you are very far behind and then it's worth as much money as you have. </div><div><br />
</div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Some optional rules I think might actually make this game more interesting:</b></div><ul><li>Roll the dice to move as usual, but then pay a certain amount of money to modify the dice rolls somehow - either adding/subtracting or maybe flipping the dice (borrowing from Troyes and Alien Frontiers here).</li>
<li>Another option might be to roll both dice then choose one or the other, or use them both together. In this way you at least have a bit of a choice of where you can move on the board (2 or 3 options)</li>
<li>Have ways to play cards on other player's pawns in the middle or affect them in some way - not too much, but a little. You could also then use this to bribe other people into paying you to NOT do something to their pawns.</li>
<li>Have a display of, say, 3 cards. You must buy cards from the display instead of just getting them for free after you play another one (or buy one blindly from the top). The cards may even need a mechanic to be able to scroll them out. The worthless card is free to pick up.</li>
</ul><div>Other things need tweaking as well such as ways to make the money more important so that you have to spend it more wisely. But, honestly, I think there's some potential here with some rules tweaks. In fact, my son and I tried out a couple of changes on a 2nd game the next day</div></div><div><br />
</div><div>First, we used the rule of being able to use whatever combination of dice that you want. This led to more decision making as to what would be your best option (steal a pass or go 15 spaces?, etc). I thought this change worked really well and I felt like I had things to 'do' in making a decision.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Second, we allowed for moving the OTHER player forward OR backward using only the spaces on the shortcuts controlled by the gates. Thus, landing on one of those spots (and by extension, owning the passes) became much more valuable. Unfortunately this just made the game really long as I got very close to winning and my son kept pushing me back 15 or more spaces rather than trying to advance himself. I think an alternate solution might be that you have to PAY to move them back and maybe only be able to move them so 1-5 spaces (not 10 or 15) - thus you can still make progress, although perhaps more slowly.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Anyhow, we may go on tweaking this game a bit more to see what we can come up with.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Well, I hope you enjoyed this stroll down memory lane (well, my memory lane at least).</div><div><br />
</div><div>Now, go pull out a classic game and teach it to a kid or a friend and see what fun you might have.</div><div><br />
</div>Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-8609581751274167922011-05-18T09:11:00.000-07:002011-05-18T11:27:17.379-07:00TIMELY TOPICS - Tension in games - Ratchet it up, please!I love tension in games. I'm sure you know what I mean, those games where the tension builds and you can feel your adrenaline start to rise. You get that little bit of shakiness as you are about to pull off what you hope is a big move, but afraid of how the other person might counter.<br />
<br />
The other night I got to play some good, tense games with my friend Cary. It's amazing how something as simple as a game with just cards, bits and a handful of rules can have such an affect on you. Your blood starts flowing and you get an almost euphoric feeling. Like I'm feeling right now after playing several tough games.<br />
<br />
Tension is probably the biggest draw for me in a game - the tensest games are the ones I seen to remember and enjoy the most. Every move you make seems crucial. You can't let your guard down one bit or it will be the end of the game for you. You are engaged and focused on the game throughout.<br />
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<b>What kind of elements seem to make a game tense for me? I'd say its a handful of things:</b><br />
<ul><li>The ability to plan ahead and make a clever move that surprises your opponent.</li>
<li>The ability to quickly turn the tables then have it turned right back on you again.</li>
<li>Racing to meet certain conditions in a set period of time (not just 'time' itself, but in the depletion of cards or resources)</li>
<li>Multiple possible paths to victory.</li>
<li>Auctions where every auction has value in it, either for what's in the auction or for the need to prevent someone ELSE from getting what's in it (or at least making them pay the price).</li>
<li>Brinkmanship - taking a chance and putting yourself out on a limb in the hopes of achieving a goal before others can stop you (hopefully)</li>
<li>Tight two-player games (this isn't crucial for me, but I love head-to-head competition and find it the most interesting in games. Don't get me wrong, multi-player games can also be tense and terrific at those higher numbers, but 2-player to me is where it's really at.</li>
</ul><div>So, what specifically got me so amped up in these games we played? Well, let me tell you...</div><div><br />
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</div><div><b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22245/times-square">TIMES SQUARE</a></b></div><div>Well, first Cary taught me Times Square. This is a game that I had seen and read good things about, but also heard it was a bit of a difficult game to wrap your head around. Basically, it involves you trying to get people to come into your bar before they go into the other person's bar. Ok, it's a weird theme and that alone tends to make it a bit inaccessible. Why do you have to go to all this work to get certain people into your bar? Perhaps the theme is lost on me since I don't really frequent bars.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The idea is you must play sets of cards to control 2 boozers both of whom have restrictions to their movements (one is famous and has 2 body guards that slow her down, the other one is just drunk I think), and try to get them into your bar. Then you can control the handsome dude that has the special ability to make one of the body guards, or the famous boozer herself to come to him immediately In fact, he can get her to go immediately into the bar (for the win) so you have to watch out for wiley dude if he's in the other person's bar. There is also a dancing lady you can control. OR, she can control someone else on the board, apparently her swaying hips are hypnotic that way. Normally, only certain cards can control certain players, except for when the dancing lady is between the famous lady and your own bar. I guess that combination just makes other people go nuts or something.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The tension lies in the fact that you can move all these people around in different and sometimes difficult to predictable ways based on the combination of cards you have in hand and the board position. There is the added tension of 3 possible ways to win - by getting either one of the two boozers into your bar OR having the deck run out and having the famous lady closer to your bar at that time.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It's a brain burning game and the card draws do have some impact on what you can do, but there are so many options there's almost always something you can do. You just have to be careful not to overlook anything and leave the door open for the other player or you may find yourself on the losing end.</div><div><br />
</div><div>There's something about this type of game that just grabs me. It is asymetrical in the player functions and movement and I find it very interesting the interactions and how the different pieces can be moved around the board including how one of the pieces that can only move together with 2 other pieces, but you can move them in an uneven way (in fact, you really are forced to to except in certain circumstances)</div><div><br />
</div><div>I must say this game is often overlooked (including by me) -- I mean, it was on my radar but it just wasn't a priority to get. I think I'll definitely make an effort to pick it up soon.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Tension Factors: </b>Clever play with long term as well as tactical plays, race to get someone into your bar and/or to flush the deck and end the game, multiple paths to victory, tug-of-war type game play on multiple levels.</div><div><br />
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</div><div><b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/904/dream-factory">TRAUMFABRIK</a> (aka HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER, aka DREAM FACTORY)</b></div><div>First, normally I'm not overly particular about the artwork/pieces in a game as long as the gameplay is good. One exception for me here is this game - I LOVE the original German version of this game and refused to get any other version. I got lucky and picked up a copy earlier this year for a decent price. Woo-hoo! The reason is that the German version has actual movies, actors, directors, etc on them, with actual photographic images and such. The newer versions of this game have cartoony/funky art that just doesn't appeal to me as much.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In this game you are producing films and trying to get the best actors, directors, music special affects, guest stars, composers and such for them (although there is also a special prize for WORST movie)</div><div><br />
</div><div>What's great about this game is how tense the auctions can get, even with a 2-player game - maybe even more so. Here's why: it is a closed economy meaning that whoever wins the auction pays the loser(s) of the auction. This means that if you really go for it and spend all your money on an auction you are going to be out of the next auction or two - this may or may not be good depending on what you really need versus what others need. And what makes the auctions terrific is that there are multiple ways to value the auctions.</div><div><br />
</div><div>There is the desire to complete movies quickly early on to get some of the early bonuses, but also to complete some movies with the best ratings to earn other mid-game and end-game bonuses - but you'll have to be patient and wait for the right auctions to do this. Then, you are also trying to maybe create at least one really BAD movie to get that special bonus. So, you have these and several other factors to weigh when evaluating an auction. How are you going to use those movie components vs. how badly does someone ELSE want them. Do you risk upping the bid to try to get someone to pay more for it only to find you get stuck paying for something you don't really need?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Tension Factors:</b> Race to complete movies, multiple ways to score and build up points, valuable auctions, brinkmanship in bidding wars, tight gameplay (2 player or otherwise)</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37208/court-of-the-medici">COURT OF THE MEDICI</a></b></div><div>Finally, we finished up with Court of the Medici which I had picked up recently but hadn't played it. It's actually pretty much just a regular deck of cards with nice art, flavor text and special text in the case of some of the cards.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Each player has a separate deck of cards of 25 cards - 2 sets of cards numbered 1-10 plus 5 cards with special abilities. Each player has 4 of their cards in the center of the table - the 'court'. You play cards on top of other cards to form alliances (2 or more cards, this can be done with your own cards or the other player's cards in any mixture). You can also start new stacks in front of you and build on those to make alliances as well. The alliances can kill other alliances if the total values are the same when you play a card on them. Thus, you are trying to kill off all of your opponents color of cards from the center of the table (only) to force the end game. At that point, all remaining cards on the table are added up per person and the highest total wins, which means you can win even if all of your cards in the center were all killed.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Interestingly, you often have to kill off your own cards to also kill the other player's cards. You must weigh which cards you try to protect versus which you sacrifice to accomplish the goal of getting ahead in points and forcing the end of the game at the same time. What makes the game really interesting (and ratchets up the tension a lot) is the cards with special powers that can break up alliances, kill alliances directly regardless of value, or can provide a powerful variable amount making it easy to pick off other alliances when in play. You don't know if your opponent has any of these cards so you have to play as if they do OR take a risk with a play and hope they don't have them.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Tension Factors:</b> Race to kill off your opponent's cards, limited hand of cards, brinkmanship in making certain moves, special powers that can quickly turn the game.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Thinking about tension in games makes me think about some of my other favorite tension filled games that ratchet it up as you go further along in the game:</div><div><br />
</div><div><ul><li><b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2651/power-grid">Power Grid</a></b> - As you get closer and closer to the end game you have to decide when you can pull the trigger to end it and hope you can power more cities than anyone else. Also, the auctions throughout keep you on your toes the whole game looking for the right combination of power plants.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/93/el-grande">El Grande</a></b> - High tension occurs every round in fighting over the action cards and getting what you want. Every time another scoring round occurs it ratchets up the tension, especially when cubes are pulled from the Castille and placed on the board.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31627/ticket-to-ride-nordic-countries">Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries</a></b> - With 2 players this map can be ruthless - and the more tickets you draw the more difficult it gets. You have your tickets you're trying to get, you have a limited number of trains, and you have routes that have a certain amount of risk required to complete them (ferries)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22345/yspahan"><b>Yspahan</b></a>- This game is very tight and that alone gets the tension going. You are also fighting for points/control in a number of ways. You must balance control of the souks with control of the camel train and, at the same time, try to get buildings built with resources. The resources are valuable for a variety of uses so you must manage them carefully and try to get the best use out of them.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54/tikal">Tikal</a></b> - This game naturally ramps up the tension as the game progresses - the board begins to fill and you can see the end drawing closer and closer. Jockeying for position around the temples, trying to be in a good position before scoring rounds, and optimizing the use of your action points to eek out points all keep the game tight and in constant contention.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37628/haggis">Haggis</a></b> - With the constant threat of being bombed by the other opponent and not knowing whether they have a secret bomb it was brings the tension in this game up. Plus, you are racing to shed all of your cards before the other player(s). The scores can swing wildly from hand to hand but the win often comes down to the final hand or two.</li>
</ul></div><div><br />
</div><div>What are your favorite tension-filled games? How much tension do you like and is it possible to have too much tension in a game?<br />
<br />
Now go play a game filled with tension and get that blood flowing...</div><div><br />
</div>Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-25677949950018620012011-05-10T07:31:00.000-07:002011-05-10T09:24:54.812-07:00HOT BOX - "Pastiche" by Sean D. MacDonald (Review) +Can you be color blind and play this game?<i>(I started writing this review a couple of weeks ago when I was quick on the uptake, or so I thought. I neglected to get it completed and since then, a glut of reviews have come out. So why read yet ANOTHER Pastiche review? <b>Because I'm awesome. </b>Oh, and because <b>my father played - he is color-blind and you might want to know how this plays</b> if you play with someone that is also color-blind).</i><br />
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As I mentioned in the <a href="http://boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/04/hot-box-pastiche-by-sean-d-macdonald.html">box opening</a> for Pastiche previously I knew I would have to have this game as soon as I saw it. I love art. I love mixing colors. Yada-yada.<br />
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I've played it a handful of times now and am ready to tell you if I actually LIKE this game or not. Well, not until a bit later.....first let me tell you about the components.<br />
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<b>THE COMPONENTS</b><br />
<b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8yVlqg73ukcOnsrwM3Jg6L6muEJ2JjapjKwNEJkgKxBXn10Rv04LGReogxCAlss3IxsZ0WhAxFEuL5utZ_nu1zQD9bU2ZS7rP5shRjUSIyrUtK3dKb6d3GIMSf-PVhfQ9OtSWgLRYJ8w/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8yVlqg73ukcOnsrwM3Jg6L6muEJ2JjapjKwNEJkgKxBXn10Rv04LGReogxCAlss3IxsZ0WhAxFEuL5utZ_nu1zQD9bU2ZS7rP5shRjUSIyrUtK3dKb6d3GIMSf-PVhfQ9OtSWgLRYJ8w/s400/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pastiche! The box!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">When I initially opened the box and looked at the components I had a couple of immediate thoughts about them. First, it was obvious the quality of the components was excellent - tasteful artwork, clean, consistent graphics, and nice quality and thickness of the various tiles. The box itself has nice thick walls and feels luxurious.</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>The Board</b></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">This is a board game, right? I thought the board looked really nice with the painter's palette. Here's the board with the cards on them (note: these are fairly small cards)</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy26EdFUP3vLeTOnWZZLTcWAK7QsWefjNwZojU78Gcqia2O04Qj7GniYnQ4LicaijwbktKgFx7eESloZXYyXfezF7jJyn4JH9nj4MYir4PAn6DdmAicug0T7I2ajoe0tO89w9A25mWjJo/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy26EdFUP3vLeTOnWZZLTcWAK7QsWefjNwZojU78Gcqia2O04Qj7GniYnQ4LicaijwbktKgFx7eESloZXYyXfezF7jJyn4JH9nj4MYir4PAn6DdmAicug0T7I2ajoe0tO89w9A25mWjJo/s400/032.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The palette board with cards on it and<br />
example of the size of a card (back showing)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div></div><div><br />
</div>However, I was concerned about HOW BIG the board was in relation to it's function which was solely a placeholder for the color cards - it isn't exactly 'central' to the game - well sort of. I guess it seemed a bit overkill when first looking at it. Others have noted this in reviews and comments with everyone coming to pretty much the same conclusion: the board size ends up being just fine because there is so much card churn they kind of get messy on the palette and there's enough room that they don't mix together. Interestingly, this fits nicely thematically as well as functionally. Personally, I still think it could have been tightened up a bit, but when you're playing, you won't really find any issues here.<br />
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I DID wonder why it wasn't organized differently with perhaps the primary colors grouped together with white and black, then the others listed in some other manner perhaps by value or something. I think this arrangement (or perhaps a myriad of other possible arrangements) could have been laid out. In practice, it just doesn't matter much - you get used to where the colors are and generally can spot them quickly. And, if it really bothers you, just lay them out in any order you want because it won't affect the game one bit!<br />
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<b>The Player Aids</b><br />
In looking at the player aids, I wondered why they didn't show pictures of the color trading rather than writing it out in words -- it seemed symbolically it might be more clear. In thinking about it more, it's probably because they either would have had to invent a 'multi-colored' icon of some kind and/or shown all the possible combinations - neither of which would have improved the player aid at all. Overall, I really like this player aid and it does ultimately make it easier to look for color combinations in most cases:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUCLui09duQmh5YzR1CrARuDNbzxnUHZhKQGBt54xbx1KPkLo4sic0eq-ABAa2Rhr7kM5gD4VSttAg0B4eokRufLFizeswAbnVBvLs7Fkt0SqWIDr-g5jr7E-ubPzen0-b5-yk7xfbuA/s1600/028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUCLui09duQmh5YzR1CrARuDNbzxnUHZhKQGBt54xbx1KPkLo4sic0eq-ABAa2Rhr7kM5gD4VSttAg0B4eokRufLFizeswAbnVBvLs7Fkt0SqWIDr-g5jr7E-ubPzen0-b5-yk7xfbuA/s400/028.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summary card - turn order summary on one side,<br />
color mixing on the other side.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One small issue is it's a little confusing being able to tell the difference between what color mixing happens on the table with the hex tiles versus what you must 'trade in' to get other colors. Ultimately, though, this is only a problem for new players during the first couple of rounds.</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
<b>The Commission Cards</b></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The commission (aka painting) cards (tiles) themselves are beautiful and clearly show which colors are needed to complete them. The point value in the lower-right corner is that total point value for the colors you need to complete the painting.<br />
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<b>Here are a couple of example cards:</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOR2Te3YdhJfi31-velpgysL2KOHFEO6vbaH01_S3wCG6sFfhyphenhyphenroB9IXVZYJg0iUI_bfNRRd0lX9Q4TUpVHtpax-qdOg6YAcZcytV8SLc7hbsSkG5arT4hVTe7zc-agysAPWalHAM_LPw/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOR2Te3YdhJfi31-velpgysL2KOHFEO6vbaH01_S3wCG6sFfhyphenhyphenroB9IXVZYJg0iUI_bfNRRd0lX9Q4TUpVHtpax-qdOg6YAcZcytV8SLc7hbsSkG5arT4hVTe7zc-agysAPWalHAM_LPw/s400/029.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Commission cards - some with splotches on the right, some on the bottom.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I again have a couple of small issues:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>I think the color splotches could have consistently been in one location - either all on one side or all along the bottom (or maybe even the top). I believe the variation in location was due to the shape of the paintings versus the shape of the tiles. As is consistent with my 'issues' with this game, this is only a small quibble and doesn't really hurt the game play much, if at all. I suppose it could be argued that it gives the commission tiles variety and interest as well.....</li>
<li>The name of the artist is in a cursive type of font and in a rather small print - this makes it somewhat difficult to match up paintings from the same artist as you have to look very closely to spot the matching names and may be somewhat troublesome for those with old/failing eyes. Something to help indicate artist matches might have been helpful - or at least make them a bit more readable from across the table. Perhaps this is an intended purpose - to encourage/prevent matching. Or perhaps it's just forcing you to get cozy with the people you are playing with....</li>
</ol><div><b>The Palette Hexes</b></div><div>What the heck is a palette hex? It's a hexagonal tile with color splotches on the corners and one larger one in the center. The hexes only have primary colors (i.e. red, yellow and blue). When placed next to each other the colors 'mix' and you get the matching palette color card(s) into your hand. Honestly, I have nothing to complain about these tiles at all. Nothing. Well maybe.....no, nothing. They're greeeat!</div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITydgh3BRIyw2YF0nJxT3UKuROR7Bq3PWY0sP2H3fJN1G19DthQIPuts41Ej6yP67I4Maz_Xz-CtzJubQmVPwltwzJZ4jAj6TQzqxYotRfAVqvtVUF0g1uO77eqwLHFycM0Z_VmBxVzA/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITydgh3BRIyw2YF0nJxT3UKuROR7Bq3PWY0sP2H3fJN1G19DthQIPuts41Ej6yP67I4Maz_Xz-CtzJubQmVPwltwzJZ4jAj6TQzqxYotRfAVqvtVUF0g1uO77eqwLHFycM0Z_VmBxVzA/s320/035.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The palette tiles sorted by center color splotch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>The Palette Cards</b></div><div>These are the cards you get after mixing colors using the palette hexes. They are small so people with large hands might not like them, but they are necessarily small because otherwise you'd have way too much table space taken up by piles of cards. If you don't like the original small sized Ticket to Ride cards then you may have an issue with these as well. Personally, the small size doesn't bother me. Maybe this is because I use a multi-slot card tray to hold them, so I'm not really fumbling around with them anyhow.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The information on the cards is simply the color name at the top and the point value in the middle.</div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkKf7Fdozp-ZaO9ZRxa2TFvT9JA0PcrwQx2CEQzq84zdRFZybiVaoKdnNITX_5DwT8D723hSur24NCQmMCqeqBqFNXOHYHoFMsm8qFfGw9c3szAnI0Az_MNwRIIZQfoI9Y6plBzBCnH0/s1600/051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkKf7Fdozp-ZaO9ZRxa2TFvT9JA0PcrwQx2CEQzq84zdRFZybiVaoKdnNITX_5DwT8D723hSur24NCQmMCqeqBqFNXOHYHoFMsm8qFfGw9c3szAnI0Az_MNwRIIZQfoI9Y6plBzBCnH0/s320/051.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palette cards</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div>My one gripe with the cards is this: I think information about HOW to get the colors printed right on the cards themselves might have been useful. Then, if you look at the palette and decide you needed Teal, you'd see right on the card you'd need to mix 2 blue and a yellow to get it - or that you can also trade 3 of any one other color to get it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Ok, without this information on the card everything looks a lot cleaner. AND, I admit it's not really THAT hard to figure out what you need to get a color by looking at the player aid first. But, it seems that maybe it would make it easier both on the newbies to the game AND to those that have a hard time spotting what they need on the player aid and keep asking "what do I need to get a Teal card?"</div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b>The Rules</b></div><div>So, after describing all of the components in excruciating detail I will just give a quick summary of the rules. Really! It's not possible for me to do that you say?! Just watch me....</div><div><br />
</div><div>You start with a hand of 2 commission cards, 4 color cards (brown, green, orange and violet), and 2 hex tiles, all held secretly. 4 additional commission cards are available on the table for everyone to see.</div><div><br />
</div><div>You must ALWAYS start your turn by placing a palette hex after which you collect your palette cards from color combinations created (mixed) - usually you will get 1-4 cards. At the end of your turn you MUST discard down to 8 palette cards.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In-between you can do the following:</div><div><ul><li>Trade in color cards for other color cards with the 'bank' (board) OR trade with other players.</li>
<li>Complete commission cards (i.e. turn in matching color cards according to the color splotches)</li>
<li>Swap out one of the public commission cards for one in your hand.</li>
</ul></div><div>The game ends when one person has collected a designated number of points for completed commission cards and everyone has had an equal number of turns.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Final scoring allows you to get partial points for the colors you have in your hand that match up with colors on commissions in your hand.</div><div><br />
</div><div>That's it! Well, ok, there's a couple of more rules around mixing and trading, but that's pretty much it.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Actual Game Play</b></div><div>For some people, perhaps this sounds all a bit too simple. In reality, the complexity is in finding the right colors on the board to get you what you want, timing your commission plays correctly to maximize your points, and forcing the end-game only when you are sure you are ahead in points. You must be efficient or you will lose precious actions and time which can easily put you behind.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Something I should note here:</b> the first and last actions of your turn are always done first and last respectively. The rest of the actions are, according to the rules, performed in order as listed above and are all optional. HOWEVER, when I play, I don't worry too much what order people do the in-between actions as, ultimately, it always works out to be the same result.</div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>For instance, if you have the cards in your hand to complete a commission card, you might want to just turn them in and put the commission card in front of you. Then, you might realize you can do some further trading and do that. Then, you might see that a public commission card is one that you want and grab it (rather than drawing a random card) in order to keep others from getting it done before you. Finally, a commission card would then be drawn to replace the open public spot.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Doing these actions in an order different than that stated in the rules would have no averse consequences. You could have just as easily reversed all your actions, done them again in the correct order, and ended up with the same result. The amount of trading you can do is effectively unlimited so it doesn't matter when you do it. Completing commissions is naturally limited to the colors you have in hand - you can probably only do 1 to 2 (and maybe 3) so you are restricted only by what you WANT to complete. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Finally, as long as you only do 1 commission swap/grab per turn then you're fine whether you complete one out of your hand first before grabbing a public one or not. If you swap out a hand commission card for a public one, then complete the one you just put in public, you have the same result as doing it the other way around.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>You made me read this far down and you still haven't said whether you like this game! So, do you like it or not?</b></div><div>Yes, I love it! And not just because I happen to love art and painting and mixing colors. That's certainly a factor, but if the game didn't deliver otherwise, I wouldn't be afraid to pan the game. </div><div><br />
</div><div>What I like:</div><div><ul><li>I like the puzzliness to the game trying to find the best combination of colors to efficiently produce more/better paintings. </li>
<li>I love the race mechanic of trying to get done first AND with the most points at the same time. The tension is great and continues to escalate throughout. The ability to come from behind and win is not unreasonable (and is actually likely to occur) so you never feel like you are out of the game. </li>
<li>I love games that have simple rules but squeeze a lot out of those rules. This suggests a well-designed game and it shows. Also, because the rules are simple it makes it accessible to a wide range of players. The recommended age is 10+ but I think kids as young as 8 could play this game successfully and even younger would have a great time playing the tiles and getting the color cards, although they might have a tougher time planning very far in advance.</li>
<li>And, finally, I find the game just flat out fun!</li>
</ul></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b>Will color-blind people be able to play this game?</b></div><div>I know at least a couple of people that I game with that have varying degrees of color-blindness. When I game with them I have to ask them if they have any issues with the colors in the game - if there are too many issues then we will move on to something else.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, when I brought Pastiche to my parent's house and enlisted my dad to play, I knew there could potentially be issues and was curious if he could work with the colors or not. I don't know specifically what color blindness he is, but I know that he has trouble distinguishing between colors such as blue, green, brown, and black. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I think color-blind people learn to recognize certain colors based on experience, but sometimes it can be difficult and, if a game is difficult, it can really ruin it as a result for them.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, in teaching my dad this game, he didn't seem to have any particular issues with colors. If there were any that were difficult to distinguish he never really stated anything specific other than one small issue noted below. I think the main reason this is true for Pastiche is that the colors are labelled 90% of the time (on the palette cards, the player's aid, and the commission cards) and, where they aren't labelled they were mostly obvious such as on the palette hexes (either because the primary colors are easy to distinguish normally and/or because each color splotch is slightly different looking).</div><div><br />
</div><div>The only real difficulty my dad had was on the player's aid for Gray and for Bisque. Now, trading in white and black for gray is pretty obvious (at least if you know how to mix colors). The brown needed for Bisque is another matter as he couldn't tell if it was brown, blue or black. Yes, the splotches are all slightly different shapes, but they are amorphous enough that it's not 'obvious'. Looking closer it is decipherable though.</div><div><br />
</div><div>All-in-all, my dad didn't seem to have any issues with the colors as he never asked beyond the player's aid issue. So, I would conclude that it's very likely nearly anyone that is color-blind would be able to play this game. This is somewhat surprising considering the number of colors in the game and all their uses. I'm not sure if it was specifically designed as such, but labeling the colors was key to making this playable for people with color-blindness (at least the variety that my dad has).</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Do you see any general problems/issues with Pastiche?</b></div><div>I don't want to discourage anyone from trying this game as I love it and I think many other people will as well. It's accessible and fun and easy to teach to gaming newbies.</div><div><br />
</div><div>However, I would be remiss if I didn't cover what some people may consider to be issues with this game, so here goes.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Potential issues:</b></div><div><ul><li><b>Luck of the draw</b> - There are two occurrences of draw luck here - commission cards that come out and hex tiles that you draw.</li>
<ul><li><b>The Commission cards</b> - if the matching cards don't come out for the artists you complete, you will miss out on the bonuses. Yes, the bonuses are small, but as we all know, games are won or lost by small margins when considering equal players. My most recent loss of this game was due to me not getting a bonus and the other player getting one. And, sometimes there's nothing you can do to prevent it due to a lucky commission card drawn directly into their hand.</li>
<li><b>The Hex tiles - sometimes the tiles you get just don't help you get the color you want.</b> Now, this is not a huge issue as usually you can get other cards that let you trade up to what you actually need. But, I've sometimes been stuck with 2 identical tiles, neither of which has the color splotch on them that I need (such as lacking a blue when that's what I need). Usually there's a spot you can leverage on the table that helps you accomplish your goal, but occasionally you can get stuck with nothing immediately helpful.</li>
</ul><li><b>Imperfect theme fit</b> - For a majority of the game, the theme fits very well. However, I have two issues with the reality of the theme in relation to the game:</li>
<ul><li><b>The fact that primary colors are more difficult to obtain (and worth more) than mixed colors is counter-intuitive if you already know how to mix colors.</b> You would think you would start with primaries (easier to get) and mix them to get other colors (harder to get). This is not the case in Pastiche as primary colors are much more difficult to get than most of the other colors available which is really weird to me. I'm comfortable with it in terms of the game rules, but not in relation to the reality of mixing colors.</li>
<li><b>Some color mixing combinations aren't exactly true-to-life.</b> What could be a factual exercise in actual color mixing begins to break down to the point of having to be cautious of using it as a learning tool. For instance, red and blue actually make purple, not violet (you must mix 2 blues and a red here to make purple). Some of the other Tertiary colors are questionable as well. Yes, I realize that perhaps the proportions of each color might give you the colors indicated when mixed, but the implication is more like equal parts, thus my complaint. Also, trading in 3 of one color to get a white or black just doesn't make sense thematically. <b>Lesson to learn:</b> be cautious if you use this game as a learning tool for properly mixing colors. </li>
</ul><li><b>Confusion around palette TILE colors, palette CARD colors and color mixing.</b> There's a whole lot of colors going on in this game. Note that the primary colors on the palette hexes are NOT primary colors you can use in your works. ONLY the palette CARDS can be used to complete paintings. But, if you already HAVE the primary colors on the tiles and are mixing them together, why can't you just use them directly? This concept is not a problem for me and I haven't seen it directly, but I have heard instances where this is a problem for other people and I can definitely see potential for confusion there. <br />
<br />
Speaking of confusion, it's important to note that the player aids show, as an example, Olive = Yellow+Yellow+Blue. Can you trade in an Olive to get two Yellows and a Blue? NO. For those that understand color mixing this isn't a problem, but it <b>could</b> be for non-artist types.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div>In all honesty, I think there's enough flexibility to the game that luck of the draw can be mitigated in many ways and shouldn't be a problem for all but the most luck-averse players with a very low tolerance for such things. It's what keeps the game interesting and is conducive to clever play.</div><div><br />
</div><div>To me, the color mixing issues are more troublesome, only in that not everyone knows how to properly mix colors and could learn incorrectly here. No, this is not really a big deal and doesn't affect actual game play, but mixing red and blue to get violet does bug me a bit.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Let's varnish this review already!</b></div><div>So, is this a game you or someone you know will enjoy? I'm sure you've already come to your own conclusion by now, but someone that likes puzzly games with some player interaction (depending on number of players) or that likes art and color mixing will find a lot to like here. It is definitely on the lighter end, but not too light as it has interesting decisions to make. And I think it's fun to play. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The theme works for me, even with it's deficiencies and makes it that much more enjoyable for me. The theme definitely helps ground the game and makes it easier to digest the rules, but under the fancy artwork is an abstract game at heart. You are playing tiles to get cards to then trade up to get other cards and eventually complete a set of matching colors. I'm sure I'd like it even without the theme, but I like icing on my cake and this definitely does everything right for someone like me.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Now, go find a copy and play it with your family! Or a least go visit a museum or something....</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div></div>Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-35198825928459736032011-04-29T11:17:00.000-07:002011-05-02T02:12:42.407-07:00TIMELY TOPICS - I like to Fiddle with my bits (Fiddliness in gaming - what's the big deal?)I love my game bits! This is of course why I'm so <a href="http://boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/02/creative-gamer-game-bit-storage.html">obsessive about storing them properly</a>. I love opening a game and seeing lots of bits or having lots of chits to punch out and sort.<br />
<br />
So what's the deal with everyone bothered by fiddliness in games? No really!? Most games have stuff you have to mess around with - pieces all over the board, drawing tiles or bits, etc. And, honestly, I'm sort of tired of hearing about games being 'too fiddly'. I love fiddly!<br />
<br />
Well, I thought I did. But then I wondered: what exactly is 'fiddly'? Once I started looking into it, everyone seemed to think 'fiddly' means something different. And, often, 'fiddly' seems to be associated with something 'bad' in relation to evaluating and describing games although I didn't really see that at all.<br />
<br />
If I'm going to be writing more game reviews, I really want to make sure what I'm saying comes across clearly without ambiguity. And, although I like the word fiddly quite a bit (because to me it means a game has lots of bits that you might have to move around a lot) it seems there is too much confusion in it's usage.<br />
<br />
So, my first stop was the dictionary (well, several online dictionaries rather). Here are some 'official' definitions I found:<br />
<br />
<b>FIDDLY</b><br />
<ol><li>Small and awkward to do or handle (<a href="http://www.dictionary.com/">www.dictionary.com</a>)</li>
<li>Requiring dexterity to operate (<a href="http://www.wiktionary.com/">www.wiktionary.com</a>)</li>
<li>Requiring close attention to detail : fussy; especially : requiring an annoying amount of close attention (<a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/">www.merriam-webster.com</a>)</li>
<li>Difficult and annoying because you have to make small complicated movements with your fingers (<a href="http://www.macmillandictionary.com/">www.macmillandictionary.com</a>)</li>
<li>Difficult to do, especially because you have to deal with very small objects (www.ldoceonline.com)</li>
<li>صعب (<a href="http://www.almaany.com/">www.almaany.com</a> - arabic)</li>
<li>Requiring dexterity to operate (<a href="http://www.allwords.com/">www.allwords.com</a>)</li>
<li>U.K.: tricky to do; difficult to do, handle, or use, usually because intricate work with the hands or small objects are involved (<a href="http://encarta.msn.com/">encarta.msn.com</a>)</li>
<li>Nitpicky, detailed, fine, small, repetitive, possibly boring. Usually used in reference to a task. (<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/">www.urbandictionary.com</a>)</li>
<li>Complicated or detailed and awkward to do or use (<a href="http://oxforddictionaries.com/">oxforddictionaries.com</a>)</li>
</ol>Ok, formal definitions are all fine and dandy, but do these REALLY describe what people are talking about when referring to board games being fiddly? Somewhat I think - they are definitely related. And, I'm a little disheartened as fiddly seems to be more of a bad word than a good word, even by those definitions above depending on which dictionary you're looking at. But, I suspect there's something more to it than just that when relating to games.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
So, I poked around a bit more and I found these discussions on BGG and elsewhere talking about different definitions/examples of 'fiddly':<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=4675">"Fiddly" == ??</a></li>
<li><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/531297/what-makes-a-game-fiddly">What makes a game fiddly?</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://plumpsack.boardgamegeek.com/thread/579704/what-the-hell-does-fiddly-mean/page/1">What the hell does 'fiddly' mean?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/466351/sdj-not-quite">SdJ? Not quite...</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/65066/fiddly-games-that-are-still-great">Fiddly Games That Are Still Great</a></li>
</ul>Interestingly, two of those discussions are both negatively focused on the game Tobago! Which, I personally don't think is problematic myself.<br />
<br />
Even more interesting is that if you go through all the discussion there are 30-40 well known (in most cases) games that are popular and well loved that are suggested as being 'fiddly', despite this being used pejoratively in most cases (in some cases, fiddly was described as being a feature or reason to LIKE the game).<br />
<br />
So, what were the most common definitions of being fiddy?<br />
<br />
<b>Here's a few I identified:</b><br />
<ul><li>Lots of specific rules that are difficult to keep track of (this is often the case with simulation type of games - games that try to emulate something real in life)</li>
<li>Excessive amount of record keeping (perhaps 25% or more of the game is strictly tracking things in the game)</li>
<li>Lots of bits that have to be manipulated and managed/moved around a lot in the game (greater potential for 'messing things up', complicated setup/take down, etc)</li>
<li>Poor design of the board/components such that it is difficult to see what is going on in the game.</li>
<li>Complicated calculations (multiple levels of calculations either mid-game, during scoring/payouts, etc)</li>
<li>A defining element that causes you to come out of the game to handle elements of the game (i.e. it goes against the theme of the game and causes you to detach yourself from it rather than being integrated)</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div>Interestingly, the general consensus seemed to be that the term 'fiddly' varies in definition depending on the situation.<br />
<br />
</div><div>Fiddly is generally 'bad' but perhaps only in the context of 'bad' games - if you enjoy a game, fiddly might actually be welcome or an integral part of the game. Thus, fiddly may or may not control the fate of a game in terms of whether you'd play it again or not, but it is certainly a factor.<br />
<br />
But this still doesn't speak to a solid definition of 'fiddly' - this sort of statement is still dependent on that definition - what IS fiddly?<br />
<br />
I think the problem here is that multiple definitions can be applied and it means something different to each person and might even be different from game to game. Even the dictionary definitions vary. <br />
<br />
I have a sense that perhaps fiddly is a word that came into being (interestingly from the UK it appears) to describe something having small parts and requiring dexterity or intricate work to manipulate. This is effectively the definition I have in mind when I think of fiddly. And, it seems that fiddly can be either good or bad depending on what it's relating to.<br />
<br />
I realize definitions of words can change over time, and in the case of board games, perhaps it is changing, BUT changing in this case is complicating the word and perhaps causing it to be incorrectly applied it in some, perhaps many cases.<br />
<br />
Usage of fiddly in relation to games seems to have expanded to encompass not just the physical manipulation but also the intricate/detailed nature of rules in games and, in some cases, the actual appearance of the board. This last usage I think is incorrect. In fact, I feel it's usage toward rules isn't really true to the spirit of the word as well.<br />
<br />
For detailed rules, it seems perhaps a different terminology is required, perhaps more like intricate, tweaky or 'difficult to learn and understand' rules. I would like to have something I can use that will be clear and definitive here.<br />
<br />
I did a bit of looking around and found a word that I didn't know of previously but seems to work here: <b><br />
</b><br />
<b>abstruse</b> - hard to understand; recondite; esoteric. Synonyms are: incomprehensible, unfathomable, arcane.<br />
<br />
Hmmm, I'm liking abstruse to describe the rules in this ways - when there are a lot of detailed rules, it does make the game difficult to comprehend. Even though it's not a common word it seems clear once you know it.<br />
<br />
Now, as to detailed record keeping, I think there might be a better direction to go as well. This relates to how things are counted up and tracked - accounting essentially. However, 'accounting' has many other meanings and connotations which defeats the purpose of finding a better word. So, looking at the synonyms I see that enumerate might work here:<br />
<br />
<b>enumerate </b>- to ascertain the number of; count; specify in a list.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Excessive enumeration</b> might then be the phrase for too much record keeping. Now, there still might be some aspects this doesn't capture and perhaps 'accounting' would be sufficient, but enumeration is fairly straight forward and clear and can encompass a number of areas including score tracks, various calculations, looking up information, etc. Of course, some qualifiers will need to be applied as to which aspects I am referring to.<br />
<br />
As to a board that is 'fiddly' (i.e. too detailed, confusing, etc), I don't think fiddly really works here. Just saying it's too detailed or confusing or has too much information is fine. Done!<br />
<br />
So, what of fiddly? What can I do about this word? I like it. I know what it means to me. But it confuses other people when I use it. Looking up fiddly doesn't suggest any good synonyms specific to this situation (i.e. relating to having lots of bits that you have to manipulate). Manipulate! I looked that up and, well, I didn't get any help there - nothing in it's synonyms that suggests what I'm looking for. Well, wait a minute! How about.....manipulate!<br />
<br />
<b>manipulate:</b> to handle or use, esp with some skill, in a process or action<br />
<br />
Better yet: <b>bit manipulation</b> (where bit refers to a variety of game pieces, figures, chits, etc). I like it! It's catchy (I love alliteration) and it is fairly clear in it's description. Then, I can apply adjectives to it to give it different degrees: lots of bit manipulation, some bit manipulation, too much bit manipulation.<br />
<br />
Well, here's my list that I think I'm going to start using in describing games now instead of using fiddly:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><b>abstruse rules</b> - hard to understand (due to lots of detailed rules and nuances)</li>
<li><b>excessive enumeration</b> - lots of book keeping, accounting, etc, that happens outside of the normal game playing</li>
<li><b>bit manipulation</b> - lots of game pieces that have to be moved around</li>
<li><b>confusing board</b> - duh</li>
<li><b>other meanings of fiddly</b> - just use them directly instead of using a confused word such a fiddly</li>
</ul><br />
Now after going through all this I have to say in all honesty, I still prefer the word fiddly when talking about lots of bits. And I know what it means for me. And I like it. I will use it all by myself, for myself....you just won't see me using it in public anymore.<br />
<br />
Now excuse me while I go fiddle with my bits.....<br />
<br />
</div><div><i>(NOTE: I had a very difficult time writing this post. I don't know why exactly - partly due to being tired at the times I was writing it, I think. But also because it was really difficult to pin this subject down. At first I thought this was just going to be a 'fun' little rant, but quickly realized that my rant might be invalid and that I needed to look into it further. I think ultimately it ended up being more work than I expected it would until I hit upon the idea of finding replacement words/phrases for different terminology and it then started clicking for me. Apologies if this post seems pretentious, but it is my own blog after all - you can keep using 'fiddly' in any way you like. I suppose you like walking through minefields in real life as well :) )</i><br />
<i><br />
</i></div>Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678683858871588370.post-17512422157359251012011-04-20T22:36:00.000-07:002011-04-25T10:08:38.626-07:00THE CREATIVE GAMER - Making mini-"Troyes" (OR, my impatience overshadows the potential for the reprint)<i>(Warning - this is a really long post with a lot of pictures! If you don't feel like reading everything just jump down to the sections that look interesting and look at the pics, especially near the end although the ones in the middle are cool, too. I thought about breaking it up but thought I'd just make you, poor reader, suffer instead. You're welcome.)</i><br />
<br />
Last year just after Essen, Lorna brought back a bunch of games she'd purchased (as she always does) and invited a few people over to play (as she always does). I got to try out some the previous year (after Essen 2009) and enjoyed the experience and didn't want to miss out this year as well. I had a couple of games I really wanted to try including <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/41569/the-great-fire-of-london-1666">The Great Fire of London 1666</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/75091/norenberc">Norenberc</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/78733/key-market">Key Market</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73650/porto-carthago">Porto Carthago</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/84772/sun-sea-sand">Sun, Sea & Sand</a>, and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73439/troyes">Troyes</a> (among others).<br />
<br />
Of those, I still haven't played Norenberc or Porto Carthago. Lorna traded away Norenberc after a couple of plays and I didn't even get a chance to try it :( I'm hoping to get to play it eventually (even if she didn't like it), as well as Porto Carthago. The Great Fire was good but not quite what I was expecting. After a 2nd play earlier this year I enjoyed it a bit more than the first and would still eventually like to get a copy as I love the theme.<br />
<br />
<b>PLAYING TROYES FOR THE FIRST TIME</b><br />
Troyes had some of the best buzz coming out of Essen so I was really looking forward to it. And, I think it ended up being the first game I got to try out of the bunch. The first round took well over an hour as the mechanics were so different, the iconography was puzzling, and the rules were a bit of trouble to get through.<br />
<br />
Eventually we struggled through it enough to complete a game. I REALLY enjoyed it. I loved the interesting usage of dice and all the things you could do with them. The idea of competing for which color dice you get, the different benefits of each type, plus being able to improve upon/change bad rolls was all very interesting and exciting.<br />
<br />
<b>FAILED ACQUISITION OF TROYES</b><br />
I decided I wanted a copy for myself. So, I went looking for one but it was almost no where to be found (or at least not for a very reasonable price). They had pretty much sold off all their stock at Essen and only a few remained for retail purchase. I found a couple of copies on the BGG Marketplace but they were all in Europe with high price tags and just as high shipping. And, there were murmurs of Z-Man publishing it in the future. I decided to wait although I knew it likely would be a longish wait. Could I wait? Hmmmm, well yes.<br />
<br />
<b>THE SEEDS OF DESIRE ARE SOWN</b><br />
At first I DID entertain the thought of making my own copy. I know some people frown on this but generally I only would consider it if it was out-of-print and hard-to-get or just not available at all. Really, all of this was true and murmurs of re-prints can often take months or years, if ever. Although, I was pretty sure this game would get a new printing and probably not too horribly far off either to meet the demand that Essen had generated.<br />
<br />
So, I waited. For a while. Well, ok, it ended up being only a couple of weeks. I originally played it for the first time on October 25th. I had a mostly usable copy made by November 11th and it was pretty much completed by November 17th.<br />
<br />
Now, in my defense, I REALLY WASN'T planning on making a copy. Anyone who knows me knows that I'll do things the hard/long way because if I'm going to make the effort to re-create a game I'm not going to do it half-way. And, because of this, I knew it would be a lot of work. So, I decided against it and figured I would just wait.<br />
<br />
But THEN one evening I remembered I had some miniature dice (100 to be exact) that I'd purchased for $1 from some online deal earlier in the year. Hmmm, I wondered if it had the correct distribution of dice....? I checked. It did! Well, except there weren't enough WHITE dice if you can believe that. And not enough BLACK dice. BUT, it had enough yellow and red dice. I found I DID have enough green dice to maybe use in place of the white dice. And, there were enough purple dice to replace the black. Those seemed like reasonable trade-offs. Although, I was concerned the yellow and green might get confused. And I knew I'd have to deal with the fact that the white building and spaces would now have green dice associated with them. But ah well, I was excited to possibly have found a use for some of these dice that had been sitting around for months!<br />
<br />
But did I really want to make this game? Did I have the rest of the components to put it all together? Did I really want to spend the time doing this project?<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>THE IDEA OF MAKING TROYES GROWS</b><br />
Yes, I was interested in doing it. Finding the dice had got me thinking about it. So, of course, I had to look around at what I had available. I remembered having an old <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/320/scrabble">Scrabble</a> game that I'd pilfered for the wooden tiles to use in <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/732194/tasajara">Dicke Daemonen</a> and in <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/732198/tasajara">Frischfleisch</a>. I thought maybe I could use the board from it. I pulled it out and started imagining the Scrabble board grid for the town area.<br />
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Next, I found a <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/2993/carcassonne-inns-cathedrals">Carcassonne: Inns and Cathedrals</a> expansion box that wasn't being used as I had merged the tiles into the base game box. It was obviously too small to house the full Scrabble board, but I figured if I cut it down into pieces it might work.<br />
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Digging around a bit more I went through a box of components I had. I found I had a set of decent cardboard tiles from <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2817/delta-v">Delta V</a> that might work in place of the various cards used for the building activity cards and the event cards. I wanted something smaller to both fit with the small dice and also fit onto the smaller Scrabble board. The square shape JUST about fit a 4x4 grid area of Scrabble spaces. Well, it was closer to 4-1/2 x 4-1/2 so a bit of overlap.<br />
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Also, many of the tiles had big colored asteroids on them (not so appropriate although I had a weird theme idea that might 'make sense') and they had colored numbers in the corners that matched the green, red and yellow dice colors and also matched up almost perfectly with the numbers of spaces on the different event cards! NICE! I counted the tiles and counted the number of cards needed. I had enough plus a couple of extras to do a couple of additional things with perhaps (such as a starting player marker). Also, there were some smaller tiles that I thought could be used for making tiny player aids and such.<br />
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Hmmm, things really seemed to be coming together nicely!<br />
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<b>RAIDING CHESS FOR TROYES</b><br />
Finally, for playing pieces I pilfered a small magnetic travel chess/checkers board I had. The chess pieces could be black and white player colors and the red and white checker pieces could be another red and....more white player pieces (just different shapes - I could always color them later I guess)s. These pieces would serve as counters for the various tracks as well as meeples to represent workers in the buildings. For the neutral player pieces I used the colored rockets left over from Delta V. Ok, those don't exactly fit the theme, but they would do.<br />
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Speaking of theme, my initial idea was to maybe do a weird melding of Troyes and Delta V with the idea of space aliens invading ancient Troyes. Delta V came with some alien tiles and I was going to use those as the secret scoring characters for the end game, but ultimately, I realized that was just silly and abandoned the idea. The rockets remain though as do the asteroids on the event cards. I likely will update both in the future, but for now I can live with it.<br />
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To round out the player pieces I needed something for the cubes. I had a few lying around, but not the right colors and/or amounts. I DID have a lot of glass beads and was able to match up similar colors to the chess/checker pieces.<br />
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And, to top it all off, I had some extra colored petri dishes I had picked up in early 2010, so I used one for each player's pieces, a 5th for the neutral player, and a 6th to hold the dice and some <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4792/tiddledy-winks">tiddlywinks </a>that I was going to use to place under the player track markers to represent having wrapping around when exceeding the highest values (not likely, but possible for the money and VPs)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhinpjqRL4lVBfnUlovlt58eXnObBW0hzLySWqhTATP7mSmFvTiTOmXzDlMIStgRAIF6TV3dnOWHdqfUAp2cIbT3GQepUWomHkmzHw8hoKDc7cLThlvW2kAJPFu4p2fSrpQm25TLTVZpp0/s1600/053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhinpjqRL4lVBfnUlovlt58eXnObBW0hzLySWqhTATP7mSmFvTiTOmXzDlMIStgRAIF6TV3dnOWHdqfUAp2cIbT3GQepUWomHkmzHw8hoKDc7cLThlvW2kAJPFu4p2fSrpQm25TLTVZpp0/s320/053.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of white's player pieces in a clear petri dish (and black partially shown - <br />
in a blue petri dish as a black one wasn't available)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<b>THE MOCKING OF TROYES</b><br />
To see if this would actually all work on the Scrabble board I started mocking it up:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHlgxA304XtmRtZ3kfhwuO7EHfEfJKm10KSPDJPw6HHjyLTKIfwp4RtDgJZAzee7m9eul1v23MvQ2t2gET1-tzbaRQdDbN4qrzHZCrBLg7P_fyRTvOCblKSqa_xd3udCFu2Xu3EPt90Q/s1600/001+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHlgxA304XtmRtZ3kfhwuO7EHfEfJKm10KSPDJPw6HHjyLTKIfwp4RtDgJZAzee7m9eul1v23MvQ2t2gET1-tzbaRQdDbN4qrzHZCrBLg7P_fyRTvOCblKSqa_xd3udCFu2Xu3EPt90Q/s320/001+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early mock-up of Troyes copy</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
You can see the Scrabble board was cut into three pieces (the top section is two halves) - I cut them to fit into the Carc expansion box when folded. The city is on the main board above and the event cards are on the board below 'across the moat'.<br />
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Something that is not immediately noticeable on the original board is that you have the walled city surrounded by a moat and then the event cards are 'attacking' the city from below. I wanted to simulate this a bit more using the distinction between the city and the land leading up to the main gate where the event cards are by creating a physical separation between the boards. It also leaves a bit of room for moving on the influence track (which would go along the top of the events board) and the city board.<br />
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In my version, I decided to get rid of money tokens and VP tokens making both open information and tracked on the board, just as Influence points were. The money track would go around the outside of the main city board (actually, along the top half) and the VP track would go around the event cards on that board.<br />
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I liked this general layout - it wasn't perfect but I liked trying to keep it on the Scrabble grid such that it echoed the board's origins without detracting from the game.<br />
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<b>TROYES RISES - STICKER BY STICKER</b><br />
On my computer I started creating all the bits and pieces I would need for the different parts of the board, etc. I decided to make Scrabble space sized squares, print them onto sticker paper, cut them out and then sticker them to the board. The benefit to this was I could lay out where I wanted everything to go first physically on the board. The drawback was I had a lot of little stickers to cut out and then apply....one.....by......one......... (see, I told you I like doing things the hard way)<br />
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Here's the beginning of the final layout with many of the stickers on the board and some laid out as I planned for where the different colors would go:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeX4z3nKCOOIy7JHHWueAvzNhlTHzPy014-BI5l7rpVvI1BwuHF4PLFodXsAdXW9ay2CcCK4oUuzH4VV4p0Nv2b2pO_-Jq3ewTfIK23XwUgGwGv3DRzNPF1kgG8d8Yf_4TKL1bsMIRp7Q/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeX4z3nKCOOIy7JHHWueAvzNhlTHzPy014-BI5l7rpVvI1BwuHF4PLFodXsAdXW9ay2CcCK4oUuzH4VV4p0Nv2b2pO_-Jq3ewTfIK23XwUgGwGv3DRzNPF1kgG8d8Yf_4TKL1bsMIRp7Q/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Updated board with many of the stickers applied</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Note that the tiles all take textures from different parts of the original game, but with modified colors. Also note that everything that was originally WHITE I had to change to GREEN. I figured out some tricks to making this relatively painless that I won't go into here. Actually, after printing everything, I found the yellow and the green looked very similar in some cases. For the most part, this really ended up not mattering too much, but I would probably do it a little different if I had to do it again.<br />
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<b>You will notice a few key changes I made to my board versus the original:</b><br />
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<ol><li><b>I got rid of the player districts in the middle of the board</b> (these will be handled by the petri dishes as noted further below)</li>
<li><b>I changed the direction of the 'push' action for the buildings</b> - all player pieces get pushed toward the center of the board instead.</li>
<li><b>I moved the Cathedral to the other side of the board.</b> It seemed to make sense to put it near the Bishopric and it fit my self-imposed restrictions of fitting within the Scrabble squares section.</li>
<li><b>I moved the activity cards to the 'front' of the city all together so they are easier to see as a group when evaluating them</b>.</li>
</ol><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b>ACTIVITY CARDS TAKE SHAPE</b><br />
In addition to laying out the board I began working on the activity and event cards. For the activity cards, I tired of having to look up what each one did, so I incorporated the title as well as the function directly on the cards. I also got rid of the flavor pictures and just stuck with the basics as I didn't have a lot of room to work with:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DVhmxjjAAS88YFVSB9UwrlxAq1WomgzLzI9UvgunTCSCz9JbAlx9kQ9BE4u6cnBOHaIURVq2VI0I6sj9YAu9xVcupAAORE08A-RmswAha2-8Qal6-mSzrVEVuKBcSXTl7oC-Hu3e36k/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DVhmxjjAAS88YFVSB9UwrlxAq1WomgzLzI9UvgunTCSCz9JbAlx9kQ9BE4u6cnBOHaIURVq2VI0I6sj9YAu9xVcupAAORE08A-RmswAha2-8Qal6-mSzrVEVuKBcSXTl7oC-Hu3e36k/s320/024.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The activity cards</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I applied stickers to the back indicating color and level.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7_0k5SStSuIJNCaZcCU_38XEYtqPoqY58B95zT1zIxDjivdai6yi7FACpeHJVwF5927qzBIpKL2MU2pmX4w7a9olKXiDI_l-lN9JFyiq-yNGG28JKfhb5GH0FOUipK72sugj7JFHR7A/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7_0k5SStSuIJNCaZcCU_38XEYtqPoqY58B95zT1zIxDjivdai6yi7FACpeHJVwF5927qzBIpKL2MU2pmX4w7a9olKXiDI_l-lN9JFyiq-yNGG28JKfhb5GH0FOUipK72sugj7JFHR7A/s320/025.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closeup of one of the activity cards ('Monk' shown here)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>PLAYING BEFORE THE WORK IS DONE</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">At this point, I actually had a semi-working copy with the activity and event cards done and enough of the board laid out that I played a game of it with Bob (although the money track wasn't completed yet so I think we used poker chips for money, or maybe drew one up in pen on a piece of paper). I found the activity cards worked well as I didn't have to use a reference sheet to determine the function most of the time. Bob did well the first game and ended up winning. I really liked having the VP information open as you could immediately see who was ahead and how much work you had to try to catch up. And, with the character cards still hidden, there was still tension around what the final score would be.</div><div><br />
</div><div>However, two things were problematic when I played with Bob. 1) He wasn't able to tell easily which character he had and what the scoring was for each one based on the goal icons, even with a reference sheet; and 2) because I had left the alien picture on the tiles rather than adding the actual Troyes character picture, it was a bit confusing because they all looked the same. Thus, I revamped those tiles by adding text explaining exactly the goals and I changed the pictures to match the actual game characters. </div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4bXA9_5R65tgFoOQFj_9uzH3TaSYx0z1doIp6OmaB0IZwifojpnDFclNyIREnmOwbJrUKJ04-DfnimHGCsXInXuhZbPSGOB_ji2L39HgdjxNV-f0dk7taHUl-Sz4hb_dhpb7CfS9V08/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4bXA9_5R65tgFoOQFj_9uzH3TaSYx0z1doIp6OmaB0IZwifojpnDFclNyIREnmOwbJrUKJ04-DfnimHGCsXInXuhZbPSGOB_ji2L39HgdjxNV-f0dk7taHUl-Sz4hb_dhpb7CfS9V08/s320/030.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The character (i.e. secret goal) cards</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div><div>Except, there was still a need to show ALL the characters so that you could play for the other secret goals. This was resolved with a custom player aid....</div></div><div><br />
</div><div><b>MINI-TROYES DREAMS</b></div><div>One of my goals for creating this game was getting it to fit into the Carcassonne expansion box. To do this I needed to keep everything small. So, for the character reference, I took the smaller Delta V tiles and came up with a method for stickering them such that it would all fold up neatly. Here's the result:</div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Rm9u8qMRMJmHVgtSnuqjQHfcjilSaQ8uL-FtqZnmvtt1IW-F9xW26tp8EJhyNjaju9dFhIOgMfoRFxR7tNTJ_ls2ywFFMY_2-U-Qov-_iw1_axYeciWYa-rbbqKPsXAaY0WqXnD057A/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Rm9u8qMRMJmHVgtSnuqjQHfcjilSaQ8uL-FtqZnmvtt1IW-F9xW26tp8EJhyNjaju9dFhIOgMfoRFxR7tNTJ_ls2ywFFMY_2-U-Qov-_iw1_axYeciWYa-rbbqKPsXAaY0WqXnD057A/s320/034.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Character reference folded up</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5N3GPk8Z6HTLhHmutRQP63BUIQDPiMisn20qKj6N3He9HZmIdXSrC0fFxg_3PJVroOruMWQ4XxGzyFu3U7Km6KMhhre_bG1e-kIL2qm858oPsi_Kp2v56am-0RyG08pgC0IbJgfwLEGI/s1600/037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5N3GPk8Z6HTLhHmutRQP63BUIQDPiMisn20qKj6N3He9HZmIdXSrC0fFxg_3PJVroOruMWQ4XxGzyFu3U7Km6KMhhre_bG1e-kIL2qm858oPsi_Kp2v56am-0RyG08pgC0IbJgfwLEGI/s320/037.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unfolding the character reference</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53krCLjsxtPrDwqhh3enFYcVRQkR5-P_veyCNm07zCsd4PuGU2B6hnvpOQ90uHzhh8qzT82MMn4MXL-nydEKk-5I6Pu3dqYF92zmh8WCbUZazVrhMtZSD-KfL5IGflk-M6KJQuq4oq5k/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53krCLjsxtPrDwqhh3enFYcVRQkR5-P_veyCNm07zCsd4PuGU2B6hnvpOQ90uHzhh8qzT82MMn4MXL-nydEKk-5I6Pu3dqYF92zmh8WCbUZazVrhMtZSD-KfL5IGflk-M6KJQuq4oq5k/s320/035.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything at a glance!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I used a similar method to create tiny player aids using the same small tiles:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMo5DbGrHsnnTZBK7ASoqpMe_pkvNxJUS82tfY-RPbOojwt8oWG7VTULoSYc-5v90nuJaUmS_68PreU0R7BNrjUxUUj87-1CF_Pw40kiQ8ydvvAjKbFHq2Y6PFRVqwVE-iprkv3i6xSg/s1600/033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMo5DbGrHsnnTZBK7ASoqpMe_pkvNxJUS82tfY-RPbOojwt8oWG7VTULoSYc-5v90nuJaUmS_68PreU0R7BNrjUxUUj87-1CF_Pw40kiQ8ydvvAjKbFHq2Y6PFRVqwVE-iprkv3i6xSg/s320/033.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miniature player aids</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Yes, I made four but only 3 are in the picture to show both sides and then how it folds up. And no, I don't have giant hands (actually I have kind of small hands) -- the reference cards are very small!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9duyb0eZYmhmgibcZVSPCT1LSa_c5HV6-MYuchxPPgJA0y31NKj89WgWwDjIeWEn_KXwBf48mlGVNZv3SGEcOkf-qAoFoTSW29bDxFrlSJueAtRXqg1T_CaDqsps1lJLtVbbX4kYXcSE/s1600/032+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9duyb0eZYmhmgibcZVSPCT1LSa_c5HV6-MYuchxPPgJA0y31NKj89WgWwDjIeWEn_KXwBf48mlGVNZv3SGEcOkf-qAoFoTSW29bDxFrlSJueAtRXqg1T_CaDqsps1lJLtVbbX4kYXcSE/s320/032+-+Copy.JPG" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn summary</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciGYS_PbrZ5yhXWh9IHH9MNMecRfr6GDhUg1Nv86Ykt-0nNwPl_TfT3zKzpjK2Kk5RJEAsHI2WR73C9KWP2D9qJCg_Hawu1J6Wjx-V5GazYOdQBcIY4U6-zO6DADPO4u2hh_pI3J-PUs/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciGYS_PbrZ5yhXWh9IHH9MNMecRfr6GDhUg1Nv86Ykt-0nNwPl_TfT3zKzpjK2Kk5RJEAsHI2WR73C9KWP2D9qJCg_Hawu1J6Wjx-V5GazYOdQBcIY4U6-zO6DADPO4u2hh_pI3J-PUs/s320/032.JPG" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dice purchase costs and special action summary</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Also notice I re-designed the reference information slightly as well - the flipping action I think it more clear here as is the re-roll action. Hopefully :)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>THE DREAM BECOMES REALITY</b></div></div><br />
Finally, after everything was built (I didn't cover everything here, but you'll see the rest in the pictures below) I created stickers for the box. Here is the final result showing the box and how all the components fit into it, then finally a sample game layout.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUnwUy4dv_x_LYrpcYfJH-87EUjgT1x1O7ClTPf0DyzNzum9D3nzhMvwn9EFjbfFBtAk-SB6aQk9Dy_SbN8pM5yMbB2dAw8zTEH-7Wd7_uag31EZB9IYajDXU046-PGaMKICG0EhUo4M/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUnwUy4dv_x_LYrpcYfJH-87EUjgT1x1O7ClTPf0DyzNzum9D3nzhMvwn9EFjbfFBtAk-SB6aQk9Dy_SbN8pM5yMbB2dAw8zTEH-7Wd7_uag31EZB9IYajDXU046-PGaMKICG0EhUo4M/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carc expansion box covered with stickers</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHV3qaS0kahIdkTEuHJDWr9w8fgaGoVSL5HmR2IHh0QZ7DW0ESLZcKw-7OqMIglGPdWJ1mpEpN7gike9PlTV4JLB3Y4JmmDBXJuADq10wPlUmLFhN-B90MvbGjqxEfKjGqou7ZePMKnI/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHV3qaS0kahIdkTEuHJDWr9w8fgaGoVSL5HmR2IHh0QZ7DW0ESLZcKw-7OqMIglGPdWJ1mpEpN7gike9PlTV4JLB3Y4JmmDBXJuADq10wPlUmLFhN-B90MvbGjqxEfKjGqou7ZePMKnI/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom of the box - in reverse!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUD5ImxxyPU9ukw1lTm_8dGaAtxhAOn9bJXt_o_FrpWh8PKhOzHiCJc91QjUR5FSN0gxjD5vv4NlbNZswlWNM_mnyR9BzMyfPReI9yJRFiENFmAuk4aVdT6D290VSuVqcOrujp35fe1Fc/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUD5ImxxyPU9ukw1lTm_8dGaAtxhAOn9bJXt_o_FrpWh8PKhOzHiCJc91QjUR5FSN0gxjD5vv4NlbNZswlWNM_mnyR9BzMyfPReI9yJRFiENFmAuk4aVdT6D290VSuVqcOrujp35fe1Fc/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's see what's inside....</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglESQuZTi_eA1tFYexMAwlGhUqNzKp-LuSkmQ7BbPMfoe2fpdztRtEc5_6pA3Xlq-7uB9ETNDMeB1-P59jVpgpkD48ZIfqY5MYcvuB-9JBazT-x4B5Q37I-i8EiSNndLaxxxkA2EPC0GE/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglESQuZTi_eA1tFYexMAwlGhUqNzKp-LuSkmQ7BbPMfoe2fpdztRtEc5_6pA3Xlq-7uB9ETNDMeB1-P59jVpgpkD48ZIfqY5MYcvuB-9JBazT-x4B5Q37I-i8EiSNndLaxxxkA2EPC0GE/s320/015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boards are on top and bundled together</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-p4xq3pH1G6phE-IO5HOF4aeWa6hhOIVoUvpEwt6WnYEOOD2QUzmToJlbqNnnnqMFwJgox-Ety8eHHznkk9u2qKCyd6yitjfuDhCQ9VzvNvO_UOoaKq_zTd2U-ITInwV6NPeSdqaNVw/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-p4xq3pH1G6phE-IO5HOF4aeWa6hhOIVoUvpEwt6WnYEOOD2QUzmToJlbqNnnnqMFwJgox-Ety8eHHznkk9u2qKCyd6yitjfuDhCQ9VzvNvO_UOoaKq_zTd2U-ITInwV6NPeSdqaNVw/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking the boards out reveals all the tiles and petri dishes</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJLNuYni-M4pHk_a9eO3qsxJ9HWbU9KUSsXQip4xZQFgx5uFNIXJU2dSvlUYeCHr9IYqvAYxpvoEEL8357frLkNRYeOTAvgdqiyKF0GpAzl2zbFKeKAbuOC4x30H1hhDjZGyFHu1vkCI/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJLNuYni-M4pHk_a9eO3qsxJ9HWbU9KUSsXQip4xZQFgx5uFNIXJU2dSvlUYeCHr9IYqvAYxpvoEEL8357frLkNRYeOTAvgdqiyKF0GpAzl2zbFKeKAbuOC4x30H1hhDjZGyFHu1vkCI/s320/018.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bundles of activity cards</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0If6YP5FuwpJbSs_GHn5TC4sajpbd3Pj0oJR1kl-9kcYx_T1N-E4AVOd6FI0pJz8cO-Bf9xB5_bx2sdZYsmPn92SgmrnT4JBfS5UoQriAbyz2sYBVybUqE45XPqZ-Vsk2zBY9M_ig16Y/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0If6YP5FuwpJbSs_GHn5TC4sajpbd3Pj0oJR1kl-9kcYx_T1N-E4AVOd6FI0pJz8cO-Bf9xB5_bx2sdZYsmPn92SgmrnT4JBfS5UoQriAbyz2sYBVybUqE45XPqZ-Vsk2zBY9M_ig16Y/s320/019.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stacked activity cards + event cards bundled next to them</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRyQ0BDiqqe__IGLl4IYtTSC8DQOEkl-Bb6NBoBrlJF4UZ-Rfn4Yb3qG1cyogAianC2pNTW7CODFjYZiZ7lbZoa9B03aqhJsKHdT7MntXybDguwKRzi0E94nb1qefQcJqCsRg-9wq4NZo/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRyQ0BDiqqe__IGLl4IYtTSC8DQOEkl-Bb6NBoBrlJF4UZ-Rfn4Yb3qG1cyogAianC2pNTW7CODFjYZiZ7lbZoa9B03aqhJsKHdT7MntXybDguwKRzi0E94nb1qefQcJqCsRg-9wq4NZo/s320/020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The player aids</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61sKIXMYcPIk8VuudH8jLTukujpffJUwznRjukTCnk1uQ3FWDBjDy-NyaNHubBzuEUTeCgDr9yEXUbcUzB_jHeCPhQT5avxd_GLpmcVsgPfTk4t-TL-3-IcDBeHXCQdD_aeJl5bOr6aY/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61sKIXMYcPIk8VuudH8jLTukujpffJUwznRjukTCnk1uQ3FWDBjDy-NyaNHubBzuEUTeCgDr9yEXUbcUzB_jHeCPhQT5avxd_GLpmcVsgPfTk4t-TL-3-IcDBeHXCQdD_aeJl5bOr6aY/s320/021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dice and tiddly winks in a clear petri dish, neutral player in blue</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiOney535j4mmgJRmsmv4hSR8CtSRhcB6JEaKHkuBX7vrTrui9W3JU9YvSPAfR98noiCOTPN2gKx1n_ugxFeC4oh2ShZ8bLRvR8nj2iRx2mGbSC7ssKvp36I6HIkCUnw2htTa-N5FF1Y/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiOney535j4mmgJRmsmv4hSR8CtSRhcB6JEaKHkuBX7vrTrui9W3JU9YvSPAfR98noiCOTPN2gKx1n_ugxFeC4oh2ShZ8bLRvR8nj2iRx2mGbSC7ssKvp36I6HIkCUnw2htTa-N5FF1Y/s320/022.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White/clear for one player, red for another</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3eNICvZXSBjG4FvKZ3tobexcxwImKR-Nk9CP2IzXjo0uuDqIY7eZOPcfHCODBKzpR54Guupthvz8MvSAkRVfLvH7Y_aHydQD8lPadJC2pY9hZTa6_updm8uU_7ug8t2IAhb_G-U8jjQA/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3eNICvZXSBjG4FvKZ3tobexcxwImKR-Nk9CP2IzXjo0uuDqIY7eZOPcfHCODBKzpR54Guupthvz8MvSAkRVfLvH7Y_aHydQD8lPadJC2pY9hZTa6_updm8uU_7ug8t2IAhb_G-U8jjQA/s320/023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White/silver in yellow petri, black in a blue petri</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_tn-e-jyx9pTsR12gmsdLTpEDvfv5bIHbhgebqReYcaHod2obAoUwdAttD2aDnuvrNY3Xa_5lOnlB9iptg80oalsxs2KcjxdvEyZatVns6yAXvCia1pyNOETSuyNT8CfoeFvE-fO9bk/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_tn-e-jyx9pTsR12gmsdLTpEDvfv5bIHbhgebqReYcaHod2obAoUwdAttD2aDnuvrNY3Xa_5lOnlB9iptg80oalsxs2KcjxdvEyZatVns6yAXvCia1pyNOETSuyNT8CfoeFvE-fO9bk/s320/027.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The farmer/money action tile and the start player piece</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqTYnuNVc7mACaMvrZ5yvoo3jRpuGRyC7VKBeGXcVd_75kKQO1U5H9kaXdO9axhPa_0RSUTBCaISYCh9lTXM-9FqcmsSkvXLntYA5ekzPS-RMWpDiGGSoNQo5MLn58rMvuvLyIvRUWTY/s1600/028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqTYnuNVc7mACaMvrZ5yvoo3jRpuGRyC7VKBeGXcVd_75kKQO1U5H9kaXdO9axhPa_0RSUTBCaISYCh9lTXM-9FqcmsSkvXLntYA5ekzPS-RMWpDiGGSoNQo5MLn58rMvuvLyIvRUWTY/s320/028.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Event cards sorted by type</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The tile at the bottom is the Marauders that is the 'permanent' event - I just made it as another tile and place it in the first event position on the event board.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAWBqoy3vnfh9rnr4pa9NRK_dCrvXpgiqw-nCDJ19oTcuXWEdbSzVa_dojY2dLJBBEMBjd_hqNvHqZd3VlbU6xHY5ghqOUi9yQrBi-bSfAyVNduKJMp7Op4hLf0auRv8smMDjhEvnzLU/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAWBqoy3vnfh9rnr4pa9NRK_dCrvXpgiqw-nCDJ19oTcuXWEdbSzVa_dojY2dLJBBEMBjd_hqNvHqZd3VlbU6xHY5ghqOUi9yQrBi-bSfAyVNduKJMp7Op4hLf0auRv8smMDjhEvnzLU/s320/029.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the DROUGHT event tile</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The event tiles are what I'm least happy with at this point. I literally made separate stickers for each 'spot' and another sticker for the bottom showing the event, dice combo required, and VPs awarded. I like the pre-printed numbers that mostly matched up with the actual event cards, but ultimately, they don't really help much and the colored meteors are distracting to the theme. I want to re-make these as solid stickers like I did with the activity cards.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPMhsL_J5bNTQeYXAdpgk-AZ2mvzE25MuP_9DOOw9s7pTzCXQZmzI9C2pqJnikOUcweDEFn_lxmcbpnAblFn2s-3-B-wtOxeWwaxgWiU82yW-xND_EnDYDWdxtV9K5a6P8fR-0IXy6OA/s1600/038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPMhsL_J5bNTQeYXAdpgk-AZ2mvzE25MuP_9DOOw9s7pTzCXQZmzI9C2pqJnikOUcweDEFn_lxmcbpnAblFn2s-3-B-wtOxeWwaxgWiU82yW-xND_EnDYDWdxtV9K5a6P8fR-0IXy6OA/s320/038.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boards with no pieces/cards on them<br />
(sorry for the poor exposure)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQhLyJoi3BvIP8NekELe9f-w-WzPK3FO6dFFyGhN-haDbrykm5P2Ufe9rqMOzqjN3mdxU15DXX4zwyGzkM1pHmXmSz12nua3Wuos00jZKoYMFmnDJLAeEslCWU1FU6oKAAK1eddnVXXg/s1600/043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQhLyJoi3BvIP8NekELe9f-w-WzPK3FO6dFFyGhN-haDbrykm5P2Ufe9rqMOzqjN3mdxU15DXX4zwyGzkM1pHmXmSz12nua3Wuos00jZKoYMFmnDJLAeEslCWU1FU6oKAAK1eddnVXXg/s320/043.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fully set up for the initial turn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Notice I'm using the petri dish lids as the 'districts'. Each person assembles their workforce as normal and then rolls their dice in their own dish (marked with one of their markers to show ownership). Then, everyone can push them together in the center of the table for the action phases.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXbJzXA1IwBD4L_UzH8_qJYczrKz64qXYf9Hqg_M1OM1nmeUJKSx2NY8NxHFiWHso0mN-kg3U5j8O7pFKGBcKPUikq7W9u5BRpXUuUwDofGxgZssfmPY00uWlQpFPC8iBHgvbWmzxZk4/s1600/051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXbJzXA1IwBD4L_UzH8_qJYczrKz64qXYf9Hqg_M1OM1nmeUJKSx2NY8NxHFiWHso0mN-kg3U5j8O7pFKGBcKPUikq7W9u5BRpXUuUwDofGxgZssfmPY00uWlQpFPC8iBHgvbWmzxZk4/s320/051.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closer shot of all districts pushed together</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
This actually works really well and makes handling the tiny dice a lot more manageable (as opposed to having tiny dice rolling around all over the table, onto the floor, etc)<br />
<br />
Notice the separate petri dish on the far left holding the purple (aka black) dice for when the invaders attack.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWSbus7GfYnjNLa_IYyyAPlZUsZ2hslFGMyJgDzzLcZRlkrubCDTUPH7WWx_V0f1F9qYSog3xrlwKZAkKvlWqOxoIZWSfGP6z2hPKkETvUt-zYn9pGc8nq9M0ltgQderDQZSgBCs37N8/s1600/050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWSbus7GfYnjNLa_IYyyAPlZUsZ2hslFGMyJgDzzLcZRlkrubCDTUPH7WWx_V0f1F9qYSog3xrlwKZAkKvlWqOxoIZWSfGP6z2hPKkETvUt-zYn9pGc8nq9M0ltgQderDQZSgBCs37N8/s320/050.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Closeup of the black player's district<br />
after assembling the workforce</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXJdzih12bjcUaQR7HNddPMmqkhyphenhyphen8Bnm7Yo_pN3W0BNzzPL4UDI5Jo4Rputl5deIxgUZmur_8X5xXC3i5-EFcxA9QUP50WukM38nwNpXzVrkc9sdpiQk20VHZ0oWyvARrAUnzgoREh6o/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXJdzih12bjcUaQR7HNddPMmqkhyphenhyphen8Bnm7Yo_pN3W0BNzzPL4UDI5Jo4Rputl5deIxgUZmur_8X5xXC3i5-EFcxA9QUP50WukM38nwNpXzVrkc9sdpiQk20VHZ0oWyvARrAUnzgoREh6o/s320/045.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closeup of the event board with the influence track (top)<br />
and VP track (around the events)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Just like in the regular game, once the event card spaces on the board are filled up then they will simply go off to the side as necessary.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyweH40y6y4ZsbNXXGkF9THlEhp7ysNPKVoBx2tVjQicfg0sjqgiIiTX5Rvn7KbOVOFC7CCLsrBsmq6_b9Vjk_HNz5UT2xYqyENnkbxwV_rCrJ8YdEvlutw07FM4EOsnDSzETO1W-IVh4/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyweH40y6y4ZsbNXXGkF9THlEhp7ysNPKVoBx2tVjQicfg0sjqgiIiTX5Rvn7KbOVOFC7CCLsrBsmq6_b9Vjk_HNz5UT2xYqyENnkbxwV_rCrJ8YdEvlutw07FM4EOsnDSzETO1W-IVh4/s320/046.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the city board</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Finally, for the city board, there is a money track that runs along the top half of the board - basically where the split between the two board halves meet is where it stops/starts. It's hard to see but each space is labelled with a coin and a number.<br />
<br />
Along the bottom part of the city is the city wall which allows for glass bead placement for the delayed action activity cards - just place the beads on the wall near the appropriate card (as there isn't space for them on the cards themselves). I noticed none of the Level III activity cards have a delayed action so they were put more towards the middle where they don't need space to store the beads.<br />
<br />
One issue I ran into with the city walls was that the actual board proportions didn't fit the proportions of my board. So, I found sections that I could cut out and repeat several times to make the wall look mostly ok - little gaps between the stickers actually helped with this as it disguises the mis-matches really well. There are a couple of places where they don't quite match up or the perspective is backwards, but unless you're looking closely you won't really notice.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><b>ARE YOU NUTS!?!? THAT LOOKS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLAY!</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Yes, I am nuts. Just ask my gaming friends. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">But, it's not really all that difficult to play. Actually we played a 4-player game in January and it went very well. Occasionally someone would accidentally flip a die when trying to move it around, but with them being in the plastic petri dishes it's pretty easy to just push them around with your finger to group them. I saw accidentally flipping with the regular dice when playing the regular game, too, so I don't think this is anything unexpected. In fact, it was kinda fun playing with the tiny dice. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The rest of the game functions just as you expect it would. Playing with open VPs didn't seem to detract from the game at all and, in fact, gives you a better idea of who to target when <s>stealing</s> buying dice from other players.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Overall, my version has gotten a lot of attention when I bring it with me - there were several people looking it over at the EGG convention in February (although it didn't get played as there were original versions there)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">I'm happy with the final results and I'm glad I spent the time to make it even though I still haven't gotten to play it as much as I'd like. I still plan on buying the Z-Man version once it comes out, but I'll always treasure my own copy as well.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">If you actually read through this entire post I just want to say THANK-YOU! I hope you enjoyed the read. And, even if you just skimmed through it, thank-you as well for stopping by to take a look! <i>(If you didn't read this post, then shame on you! Ha, you probably didn't read that, did you!?)</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Now, go buy Troyes when it finally hits the stores (or at least some other cool dice game like <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22345/yspahan">Yspahan</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/48726/alien-frontiers">Alien Frontiers</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34635/stone-age">Stone Age</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/27162/kingsburg">Kingsburg</a>, etc)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><i>(BTW, I obtained permission from the designers that it was ok to post my pics. I won't be providing any files to anyone though out of respect for their design and due to the reprint coming out soon - sorry)</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div>Matt Stevenson (tasajara on BGG)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12944816955442727971noreply@blogger.com5