CONVENTIONS - GAMESTORM 13 Gaming Report (SATURDAY, Mar 26th)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4


This is Part 3 of 4 of my gaming report of Gamestorm 13. Each part will be posted over the next few days.

SATURDAY

Saturday was the day of the math trade. For some reason I woke up early so I got up, showered and dressed, then headed down for breakfast. I went to check out the trade room but it was closed although a couple of people were already lined up. So, I went and got Wes's stuff and got in line with them. Soon after security came by to open the door and I went in and got all the games out and waited for everyone else to show up. I got 95% of the trades done in a reasonable amount of time. There was one individual whom we were supposed to meet up with the day before (but didn't notice the note until too late on Friday) so I took those back with me as well. Eventually we met up late Saturday evening and exchanged.

Anyhow, Chris was still waking up by the time I was done and he had a nice filler ready to go...

1. Mosaix (x2) - I love puzzly games and this fits the bill superbly. I had read about it and Chris pulled it out when we finally got together after the madness of the math trade. He explained the rules quickly and off we went. There are 4 dice that have 3 symbols on them - X, O and (triangle). On your turn you roll the dice then arrange them together in any configuration you want. Then, both players add the pattern to a small whiteboard with a grid on it using a wipeoff pen. The pattern can go any direction on the board and can even go off the board (you just don't draw those symbols). You are trying to maximize distinct groups of 5 (or more) of each symbol. You keep going until one person fills up their board to the point they can't add anything more. Then, you count up the number of groups of each and multiply by the total number of symbols in those groups. Groups of less than 5 don't count towards either total. Add up your totals for each of the 3 shapes and compare scores to see who wins!
   
   This game is akin to FITS or Take it To the Limit where you are all doing the same thing but in a slightly different way to try to maximize your score. My first game I thought I did good but lost by about 20 points (60-80 or thereabouts). We played again and I won by about 40 points once I learned the trick to a high score (80 to 120 or so). Loved it and will get it when I have an opportunity.
2. Circus Maximus - Chris stumbled upon Circus Maximus while I had gone off to check on the dealer room for some deals. When I returned and saw he was hanging out there I knew what we were playing next. He's been jonesing to play since forever and this was his chance. An exuberant guy named Seth was running it and he had drawn the map on a large canvas sheet that was draped over a long table. He had some cool hand-painted chariots (done by his wife) that looked spectacular. He mentioned he had forgotten his camera so I offered to snap some pics and send them to him (this was the only time I brought out my camera). Here are a couple of them:
   

CONVENTIONS - GAMESTORM 13 Gaming Report (FRIDAY, MAR 25th)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4


This is Part 2 of 4 of my gaming report of Gamestorm 13. Each part will be posted over the next few days.

FRIDAY


Friday started out rather uneventfully - I woke up somewhat early despite having stayed up late. I took my time getting up then headed to the hospitality room for breakfast.

1. Biblios - Again. Chris was teaching to Jon when I got back from breakfast and jumped in to play as well.
2. Die Sieben Siegel - Another card game. This was actually "Wizards Extreme" - a 'nasty' trick-taking game with an interesting twist - you must guess exactly how many tricks AND what colors you will win by selecting chips of those colors in the numbers specified then putting them back when you win an appropriate trick. Left over chips are negative points. Only one card suit is wild. Not sure who won the first game, but the 2nd game I won by trying out the evil wizard dude (where you try to screw everyone else by giving them negative chips). 
3. Haggis - I taught Rog and Chris. My review says it all about gameplay. I will say this was my first time playing 3 player and it's tougher in some respects because either player can have really good cards and it's harder to tell how strong your hand is. Rog did extremely well for his first time and my cards sucked (or I just bet and played them wrong). Chris has already purchased his own copy.
4. Habitat - Rog taught me this game. It's fairly light but has some interesting decisions and is fun as well. The cards are nice with various animals depicted. Basically, you are trying to build up an eco-system by getting cards on the table with number values 1 thru 8 - getting multiples/duplicates doesn't help. You have to start with base prey cards then build up from there. There are also special events that affect the game in different ways and you can also steal columns of cards when playing predators in a certain manner. It's tougher than it sounds, but the rules are not all that complicated. Note that a copy of this was at the flea market but Chris bought it before I had a chance. I think my kids will like this game and will probably get a copy.
5. Showmanager - Chris and I had about 1 hr before our next game that we had signed up for. We had 6 so were looking for something that could take that many but was also relatively short. I suggest Showmanager. Some were skeptical due to the 1 to 1-1/2 hr timing but I said I could teach it quickly and if there was no AP we could do it. And, somehow, we managed to get it taught AND played by 6 players in under an hour! This was only my 2nd time playing (and was my first time teaching - the rules are pretty easy though). The main idea is to collect cards (actors) and, when the right set is accumulated, put on a show! Your total value is your score. You must put on a total of 4 shows. Any show you complete is available to borrow money against to be able to hire good actors for the remaining shows. Points are determined by how much money each show garnered compared to all the other shows. There is LOTS of moaning and groaning in this game because with 6, by the time it comes around to you the cards you wanted are often flushed out and you are left with crap. I found this game to be just as fun compared to the first time I played. It is OOP and hard to get and the reprint artwork is not very good so I'm glad I got a copy last year before it came out.
6. Industrial Waste - This is a great economic game with an interesting card drafting method where sets of cards are dealt out with no duplicates in each. You pick them up in turn order and then play cards one at a time around the table. It also has a chart along the lines of Goa where you must try to improve your company in efficiency in several ways which also increases your functionality and gives you more points in a triangle scoring way (1, 3, 6, 10, 15). The struggle for points is a biting/clawing affair trying to eek out that next level to get ahead. The other interesting feature of this game is to earn money you have to fulfill contracts, but to fulfill contracts you have to have resources AND you produce dangerous waste at the same time. The resources come from auctions you can put up (which also earn you money or let you get the resources you need). In fulfilling contracts, you have to balance the risk of too much waste (and having an accident which costs you money and loss of income) vs. how much time you spend making yourself more efficient and/or cleaning up the waste. I made one small mistake near the end which took me out of the running of a very tight 3-way race for 1st. Lynette was kind enough to teach and we had a great time as usual (I played 2 years ago as well with her). Thanks Lynette!
7. High Frontier - Space. The final Frontier. These are the voyages of rocket stacks flying through the solar system to eek out a small living in a hostile environment fraught with danger and claim jumping Chinese. Phil Ecklund does it again with another true-to-life simulation/game. This was my second time playing and I finally had some idea of how to get a rocket into space pretty much all on my own. Doug made terrific use of his solar wing to get himself onto Mercury and also had a successful landing on Mars. Rog got stuck trying to figure out how to land on Jupiter and Chris had to inefficiently fly 2 missions to the same location before he could land on some rock in the outer belt. Outstanding game and fun just for the experience and effort as much as anything.
8. Garden Competition - Attack of the weeds! This is a somewhat heavy game for something about flowers with players vying for their neighbor's attention to receive flowers as gifts, bribing the competition judges to reveal what they are looking for to score higher, and attacking the other players with weeds via the next door neighbor's yards. It's garden warfare at it's finest!
9. Jet Set - Loved this take on route building with the huge layout of routes available and interesting mechanics of balancing the earning of money with trying to make more points than the other players. I focused too much on the routes out on the table and not enough on my vacation route (which scores 20 points if you complete it first and forces the end game). This one needs another play so I have a shot at the win next time!
10. Coloretto - A nice filler - one of the first gamer type games I learned 3 years ago and still enjoy playing it with it's tense set collection mechanic. Great fun for end of night gaming.
11. No Thanks - Another fun filler that I haven't gotten to play much before - I thought I had the win, but didn't amass enough coins by the end to compensate for other's hording.

After a long day of gaming it was about 2AM and time for a bit of sleep. Just a bit is all I needed...really!

Come back tomorrow for Part 3 of 4 in this series...

CONVENTIONS - GAMESTORM 13 Gaming Report (THURSDAY, Mar 24th)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4


This is Part 1 of 4 of my gaming report of Gamestorm 13. Each part will be posted over the next few days.

Wow, it's been 8 9 days since my last post! Probably 9 10 by the time I post this! I've been trying to be consistently posting at least every 2-4 days since I started on Jan 1st. Alas, I have failed this one time - BUT, I have an excuse: GAMESTORM in Vancouver, WA, last week from Thursday to Sunday and I had a terrific time!

Well, here's the general scoop: I was lazy and didn't bother taking any pictures (except on Saturday when we played Circus Maximus). And, I didn't do much else other than play games even though I stated previously that I would try to branch out more. I DID make an effort to go into the dealer's area and I spent some time asking a few questions, looked for Thunderstone promos for my friend Bob, and tried to spot any good deals. Also, I had a few dollars burning in my pocket and thought I'd spend it, but ultimately I ended up not buying anything there.

I DID attend the flea market (which took place after the Gamestorm Math Trade exchange where I handed out and collected games for my friend Wes). At the flea market there were some interesting games and some decent prices on some. I inquired about several and finally settled on a mostly complete copy of Dungeon for $10 and a practically new copy of Day & Night for half price as well.

I used to have Dungeon when I was growing up but apparently it found it's way into a garage sale or thrift store while I was in college and my parents changed houses, so I was excited to find myself another copy that I can play with my kids. There are a few missing cards and it's likely playable as-is, but the complete-ist in me says I have to seek out the rest of the missing pieces. I'll be hitting the BGG Parts Resource list as soon as I do a proper inventory.

First, my overall impression of Gamestorm: It was fun!

Next, my slightly more detailed impression of Gamestorm: Registration was a breeze (I got there Thursday afternoon before the onslaught of gamers hit). Room check-in was easy and game unloading wasn't a problem as I parked in the garage and took the elevator up. My room was right near the elevator so carting games back and forth wasn't a big problem. The rooms are fairly standard, clean, comfortable and in good condition.

Gaming overall was busy and boisterous. Lisa Steenson of Gut Bustin' Games was there as guest of honor and there were several tables of her games being played: Trailer Park Wars and Oh Gnome You Don't mostly. To promote Gnome there were several people with large Gnome hats running around. I also saw a couple of large stuffed Gnomes and there was a lot of chanting of Gnome! or Brawl! (or something similar - I couldn't tell exactly) on at least a couple of occasions. (I never did get in a play of any of those games :( ). There were also several LARPers running around adding color to the environment with various costumes on (cloaked vampires, eye patched pirates,  swords and fighting gear, people with various ears and tails protruding, etc).

10+4 BG Questions with Sean Ross about "Haggis"

I am starting a new section/type of post today. It's essentially an 'interview' with a game designer. Without going into too much behind-the-scenes thinking (as that isn't the focus here), I thought it would be fun to ask game designers some questions electronically and then post their responses and maybe throw in some other related information if it's relevant.

I initially thought 20 or 25 questions, but when coming up with a list of questions it seemed a bit too long and unwieldy. I also had the idea of doing maybe 20 questions + 5 follow-up questions, but again, too many. So, I then thought 10+5 questions might be good (not too many, but then enough to do good follow-up). However, I couldn't think of a good name for what I would call this 'type' of interview. Magazines often have a "10 questions with the author" sort of thing so how do I do this and be a little different at the same time?

So, I came up with "10+4 BG (Board Game)" questions which is bit of a play on "10-4 Good Buddy" for CB radio speak. Not that I'm into CB radio or anything and not that it even makes sense in terms of CB radio slang, but there you have it. I have no intention of extending the relation further than that. What is does ultimately do, though, is force me to ask (hopefully) interesting and diverse questions and then 4 focused follow-up questions looking for more specific detail or expanding on something mentioned in the previous 10 answers.

Well, we'll see how successful this is, but I like the concept at least. Something else I didn't expect was how many MORE questions I ended up wanting to ask after the initial 10. And, as you will see, I cheated a little bit here asking 2 questions in one in a couple of cases, and asking extra follow-up questions to other individuals. So much for structure, but rules are meant to be broken, right? Let's just say it's a 'variant' :)

Why Haggis and Sean Ross for your first 10+4 BG feature?
Well, a couple of reasons, the most obvious being that I just got Haggis, I have enjoyed the game so far and am excited about it but didn't know much about the background. Secondarily, I hadn't seen any formal interviews with Sean specifically about Haggis although Travis did an Essen video overview of the rules. Also, I did a review of Haggis recently and thought it might be nice to follow up with an 'interview' of sorts and, if it goes well, I can maybe continue the trend for other games as well.

Obviously (as you will see) I should have looked around on BoardGameGeek.com a bit more as there was a lot of intrinsic information from Sean posting the original rules and effectively redesigning parts of it interactively with other BGG members via forum posts. But even that sort of information doesn't necessarily get to the essence that some questions might elicit.

So, without further delay, here are the 10+4 questions (+ extras from Travis Worthington, publisher, and Gary Simpson, game artist):

QUESTION 1: Where did you get the idea for Haggis and why did you pursue it?
SEAN: For many years I'd been wanting to find a two player traditional card game, other than Cribbage, that I would really enjoy playing. I'd researched all of the games at www.pagat.com many times over, but I didn't really find what I was looking for.

My search then led me to BGG where I discovered a whole world of games I hadn't known existed. I began learning everything I could and continued searching for that two player game I'd been wanting. Along the way, I discovered Tichu. Even before I played it, I knew it would be amazing. And I very much wanted to play it.

But, at the time, I had almost no opportunities to play games of any kind that would take more than two players. So, I started looking into the two player variants that had been made for Tichu, while also revisiting the two player versions of any and all of the other climbing card games I'd encountered during my research. Nothing satisfied me.

The beginning of the development of Haggis began at that point, back in September of 2005. I played a modified version of Jeremy Friesen's two player variant of Tichu back then - I was already trying to change it before I'd even played it. I asked in the BGG forums if anyone knew of a climbing game that was good to play with two players. There was very little response and what little there was did not indicate that such a thing existed. Larry Levy, however, went out of his way and designed a game (Teech for Two) that he posted at boardgamenews.com. While I enjoyed Larry's game, I found that I kept wanting to add things to it to make it a bit more "interesting".

At around the same time I finally got to play real Tichu (4 player) and that confirmed for me that this was the kind of game I wanted to be able to enjoy when there were only two players, not just 4. Three years later, I posted the first working version of the game that would be further refined into Haggis. That took another year.


[Haggis originally was called "逐步升级 (ZHUBU SHENGJI)", aka 'step-by-step raise the level', aka "Escalation". The name Haggis refers to a Scottish dish made of various sheep organs. Left over cards == left over sheep entrails. Nice.]


[NOTE: Sean sometimes wrote back in giant running paragraphs - stream of thought and all that I suppose. I decided to break out his large blocks into digestible paragraphs - however I did NOT change the content. Just in case Sean was wondering if he reads this...]

QUESTION 2: How much work was involved in developing Haggis?

JUST GAMING AROUND - Vikings on Yucata - Did I REALLY just play a board game online?

I have never really played games online including board games, video games, Facebook games, etc. My only real foray was playing Chess on itsyourturn.com several years ago and only with a friend from work and with my wife's father. Other than that, I have had a general aversion to online gaming and specifically online BOARD gaming pretty much since I started really getting into board gaming in 2008.

When I first started out, one game I played with my friend Chris was called Hive. Man did I LOVE that game. It felt like a fast chess game with interesting mechanics. I immediately went out and bought the wooden version from someone off of BGG (just loved the chunky pieces).

I also tried out the online version against the AI. After playing a few games I realized exactly the strategy it was using to win against me and started doing the same thing but better. Pretty soon I was winning pretty much every game. Then, when I played other people I used the same strategy and pretty much stomped on everyone I played. I quickly lost interest as it had lost it's magic. I was frustrated and disappointed that this terrific game had been ruined for me. I have only played sporadically since then. I'm hoping that eventually the magic will return - we will see. I still have hope.

Since then I have been determined to NOT play games online, particularly against an AI, but even against other players. It just didn't appeal to me, particularly with the bad taste still in my mouth from my Hive experience. I had numerous friends that were playing games online and invitations to play with them, but I generally ignored or politely declined.

Recently I had a great time playing some games FTF with my friend Cary. A day or two later he sent me an email saying he had started playing Vikings on Yucata and that if I wanted to play during lunch or late in the evening he'd love to play. Now, I have heard of Yucata and other such online gaming sites but, honestly, I hadn't even really looked at them - I was aware but purposely ignored them.

For some reason, playing Vikings late in the evening this way sounded fun. I don't know why I had a change of mind. I enjoy playing games with Cary and we'd had a great evening of gaming a couple of days back and perhaps that was...ahem....carrying over. Well, for whatever reason I immediately went over and signed up. I took a look around and set up my account a bit - just settling in and such. Later that evening I got online and sent him a note that we should play. So he fired up a session and I joined.

JUST GAMING AROUND - Small World with my son (or, How To Get Thoroughly TROUNCED by a 7 yr old)

My son was sick this weekend but he still wanted to play some games, so who was I to deny him? We played Micro Mutants: Evolution (one of his favorites I think) and I added the Advanced rules for variety and we had a great time (but I won). Then, I taught him San Juan (in preparation for Race for the Galaxy which he really wants to play) and he did very well scoring 25 to my 34 points - he really picked up on the game quickly and he never asked me what any particular card did, he just kept building away and he got excited when he built a 5 point monument! I was very impressed! (but I won).

Finally, I mentioned he'd probably like Small World. My wife had gotten it for me for Christmas and I hadn't even opened it yet. He was very intrigued by the artwork and so we cracked it opened and started punching it. He organized the race tiles into the tray while I punched and then starting reading up on the rules (even though I've played a couple of times before, I hadn't actually run the game)

So, I explained the rules, selected a sample race to show how a turn would go, and he seemed to understand and didn't have any specific questions.

I suggested he go first and he said I should go first (I presume so he could see again how it went). I insisted he go first as the first race was the Underworld Ratmen and would give him ton of units to start with and easier inroads into caverns. So, he selected it and proceeded to occupy a good number of areas.

I then selected Spirit Elves. I figured I would decline them quickly then move on to the next race. Unfortunately, my son proceeded to stomp on my elves with his Ratmen! The dirty little rat ;) ! The fact that he immediately started attacking rather than going for easier territory scares me a bit.....

Anyhow, I felt that declining them now when I had all the units in hand wasn't best yet, so I advanced them further into 'greener' pastures. Of course, he started stomping me YET AGAIN! Arggh! This proceeded for another turn (sheesh, I really should have declined after the first turn) and he continued to get a good number more points than me.

HOT BOX - "Haggis" by Sean Ross (Review)

I'm glad you stopped by the Board Game Back Room today! I wanted to show you this new game I've had an opportunity to play a little bit and tell you a bit more about it and what I think about it. The game is called "Haggis", was designed by Sean Ross and is published by Travis Worthington's publishing company, Indie Boards and Cards (which also has published Triumvirate, The Resistance and Filipino Fruit Market).

It was originally released in 2010 and was just recently re-printed (2nd printing) in a slightly modified box in 2011. My copy is, in fact, one of the first from the newest batch and can be seen in more detail in my other post of the box opening which I received as a result of a winning bid in the Jack Vasel support auction on BoardGameGeek.com.

Ok, that's enough plugging the company and such....get on with it!
Alright, alright. So, you may have heard this game is Tichu for 2 or 3 players. Honestly, hearing this made me interested as I had played Tichu a few times and found it a fun and challenging card game. For some, this might be off-putting as I know some people that don't like Tichu much at all (although many do) or just cannot play it because they don't have 4 players consistently.

Well, I will start off by saying that, in my assessment, Haggis is both similar AND not similar at the same time. There are certainly elements of Tichu and there is a 'feel' of Tichu, but, I have to say, it is NOT Tichu. I think Tichu players will certainly enjoy this game and be able to get a Tichu-like fix when they don't have 4 total players for Tichu. But, I also think this is a terrific game for non-Tichu players that want an interesting, challenging card game. This might even be a less intimidating game to give a Tichu neophyte a stepping stone to Tichu. Okay, I think I'm done saying Tichu  (I said 'it' way too many times in this paragraph!) but I will say this - Haggis is NOT Tichu.

So, what IS Haggis?
Haggis is, well....Haggis! It is a careful blending of mechanics and features of several card games in the 'climbing' card game family, plus a couple of innovations thrown in as well.