Friday, October 26, 2007

Thursday Nights with Paul - October 25

Quite a few games hit the tables this week:

  • Kung Fu Fighting (Slugfest Games) - One of a number of demo games that we received from Slugfest Games. It had the weight and feel of Munchkin to some degree. A very light card game where the object is to be the last one standing. Basically, you have a stance, a weapon and a number of different attack, block and attack enhancement cards along with a few healing cards. It's a fine beer & pretzels type of game or something you might play during down times between turns in a meatier game. All said, it was entertaining enough but nothing that would likely provoke me to bring it to the table by choice. 3 pips.
  • The Red Dragon Inn (Slugfest Games)
  • Tiki Mountain (Slugfest Games) - Another one of the Slugfest games, it shared some of the feel of Kung Fu Fighting, but with a much better visual presentation. The objective of this game is to climb the volcano and throw yourself in (think Joe Vs. the Volcano - Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan). In the meantime, opponents are throwing opposition in your way in the form of mudslides, gas vents, lava flows and rock slides as well as the board tossing an occasional earthquake your way. It felt very much like a kids' game and I would encourage that it be played as such and with no more than 3 players, though it will accommodate up to 6. We played with 5 and there was too much downtime between turns (which may be why they produced Kung Fu Fighting). Not a bad game, but not great either. 3 pips.
  • Pit (Winning Moves)
  • Circus Flochati (Rio Grande Games)
  • En Garde! (Slugfest Games) - I didn't play this one, but I did read the instructions. Think Kung Fu Fighting, but replace the Kung Fu theme with a fencing theme and you've got it. This was not, as I hoped, a re-print of the old En Garde! 2-player fencing game.
  • Zoff in Buffalo (FX Schmid)
  • Illuminati (Steve Jackson Games)
  • Rummikub (Pressman)
  • Black Vienna (Kosmos)
  • Dungeons & Dragons: The Dice Game (Wizards of the Coast) - We had 5 players for this. Very random as your actions are based completely on a roll of the dice, but as it supposed to be a bar room brawl, that feels pretty appropriate. I enjoyed it, but it was definitely very light and not to be treated as anything other than. I would gladly play again and likely suggest. The more the merrier as it was mercifully short. 4 pips.
  • Tichu (AbacusSpiele)
  • Il Principe (Z-Man Games)
  • Midgard (Z-Man Games)
  • Terra Nova (Winning Moves)
  • Shark (Rio Grande Games)

Pirates of the Caribbean Release Tournament 11/10/2007

Pirates of the Caribbean
Release Tournament!
New Format - TIN Tournament!!

Saturday, November 10th (1:00pm)

Format: Sealed. Cost: $20
  • You will receive 1 Collector’s Tin from which you will build your fleet.
  • Each Tin contains 5 booster packs and a Special Edition Kraken.
  • The first 18 players will receive a free Limited Edition Flying Dutchman!
  • Prizes will be booster packs (number determined by number of participants).
  • Other prizes (promos from older sets) will also be provided.

Fleets/Setup/House Rules

  • Fleet must be built ONLY from the contents of the tin you receive.
  • Fleet must be 60 points (maximum).
  • Crew affiliation DOES MATTER!
  • Each player contributes 4 Islands.
  • Each player contributes 12 Coins totaling 23 Gold.
  • Island placement will be between 2L and 4L.
  • One roll is made to see who places the first island during setup. After Island placement, another roll is then made to see who chooses their opponent’s home island first. After that, yet another separate roll is made to see who plays first.





Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a pirate’s life for me…

Friday, October 19, 2007

Thursday Nights with Paul - October 18

(In rereading my earlier posts, I realize that I have been issuing a 3 pip rating (less than average) in many cases where I meant to place 4 pips. So, I have revised several of my previous ratings to reflect this.)

I only had an opportunity to play one game that was new to me this week:
  • Space Shuffle (Playroom Entertainment) - Kind of a fun, somewhat educational game about the solar system. Educational only in the sense of the order in which our planets rotate around the sun. You take turns placing cards into basically 5 copies of our solar system. The cards are color coded and everyone has a color. When you play a card, the person with that color as well as the person playing the card gets points. A fun filler. 4 pips.

Other games that I saw hit the tables:

  • Downtown (Abacus)
  • 1960: The Making of a President (Z-man Games)
  • Rum & Pirates (Rio Grande Games) - I played this one. Enjoyed it, as always, even though I took a ridiculous 7 scorpion chests and lost. 5 pips.
  • Manhattan (Mayfair Games) - An oldie but goodie.
  • Acquire (Avalon Hill) - A classic. I really love this printing of the game. 6 pips.
  • Rosenkonig (Kosmos) - An enjoyable two-player Kosmos game. 4 pips.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Thursday Nights with Paul - October 11

Yet another fun Thursday night. I actually made note of the games I saw played last night to represent the breadth a little better. Here is said list of games that hit the tables:

  • 1960: The Making of a President (Z-Man Games) - One of our customers purchased this new to our shelf game last night. I sat through learning the rules and then observed a bit of play. It's 2-player specific and basically a game of running an election campaign for the Nixon/Kennedy battle o' 1960. Decent looking components and overall game play seemed interesting. I'm interested in giving it a try. No rating since I didn't have an opportunity to actually play it.
  • Ubongo (University Games) - Played and enjoyed as always. Light and fairly quick. The jewel collection mechanic is secondary in this game. In my plays, it is typical to not really care who won at the end. It's who can complete the puzzles quickest each round that seems to be the most interesting challenge. Would play if asked and will suggest as filler. 3 pips
  • Hoity Toity (Uberplay) - I played Hoity Toity for the first time in a few years (making this my 2nd play) in a 4-player setting (it can accommodate up to 6). It was lighter than I remember and the 4-player game didn't go as smoothly as it seems the game could. It had the feel that more players would have improved the action that took place every turn. I cannot recall the number that I played with last, but I seem to remember enjoying the game a bit more than I did this time around, so I think it was the full contingent of 6. All told, the game wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. I'd probably play again if asked, but would be unlikely to suggest without a full 6-player crew. 4 pips
  • Shogun (Queen Games)
  • Duel in the Dark (Z-Man Games) - I want to give this game a few more plays. I didn't play last night, but have in the past. 2-player specific WWII bombing raid simulation. England bombing Germany.
  • Doom (Fantasy Flight Games)
  • 18AL (John Galt)
  • Hick Hack in Gackelwack (Rio Grande Games) - Used Hick Hack as a 5-player filler game - an appropriate role for it. Had a good time as always. 4 pips
  • Taluva (Rio Grande Games) - I tried this game for the first time. I'm not a big fan of Java, so I was a bit hesitant based solely on box pictures as they seemed to have an eerie resemblance. However, it turned out to be a relatively quick and enjoyable game. We played with 3 players, but it can accommodate up to 4. The basic concept is that you are laying connecting land tiles and building settlements. The goal is to deplete 2 of the 3 building types that you have (huts, temples & towers if I remember correctly). I liked the game and would both play again if asked as well as suggest it. 4 pips
  • Andromeda (Rio Grande Games)
  • Ricochet Robots (Rio Grande Games)

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Thursday Nights with Paul

Welcome to the first of what will hopefully be a weekly entry on games played and observed on our Thursday night game nights. I say hopefully because I am traditionally bad about blogging in a timely manner (as it is now Wednesday of the following week(s) about which this entry will be). In any case, it is my intent to present a combination of simply listing games that made it to the tables as well as tossing in my 2 cents on new, or in many cases simply "new to me", games that I have an opportunity to participate in. I know that there are tons of reviews of most games already available online, so I will make my points short and won't bother going into deep explanations of the games.

As so much time has passed since last Thursday, other than the games that I played, I can only recall a few others that made it to the tables though there were many more: Descent, Mexica, Clippers.

Those that I had a chance to play over the past couple of weeks were:

  • Masons (Rio Grande Games) - Really enjoyed this one. Medium strategy, but light enough to serve as an introductory game to the genre. Basically, you're walling in cities and you get points for matching the colors of buildings, walls & towers to a rotating set of cards that you hold in your hand. I give it 4 pips out of 6. I would play when asked and suggest from time to time.
  • To Court the King (Rio Grande Games) - Another variation on Yahtzee, but an entertaining one nonetheless. I tend to enjoy dice games, but don’t thrive on them. A light filler that I will play on occasion. 3 pips for this one.
  • Mr. Jack (Hurrican) - A 2-player specific game reminiscent of Scotland Yard where one player knows which character is Mr. Jack while the other player attempts to deduce this information through watching the Mr. Jack player's moves and attempting to arrange the pieces on the board to assist in his discovery. I enjoyed the game, but not as much as many others that I saw play it. It is much tougher for Mr. Jack in this game than for Mr. X in Scotland Yard, I think though. Medium-light in nature. I would both play when asked and occasionally suggest. 4 pips.
  • Qwirkle (Mindware) - Think of it as Scrabble for non-word people or a mix between Set & Scrabble. The pieces in this game are big and heavy and have a nice feel. Even as a word person and one who enjoys scrabble, I found Qwirkle entertaining. Basically, you make "words" out of colored symbols. The maximum length of a "word" is 6 tiles, which earns you a Qwirkle (worth 12 points). I managed to squeak out a win in the game I played, so that helps a bit. A game I would both play when asked and suggest. 5 pips for this one.
  • Tannhauser (Fantasy Flight Games) - I wanted to love this game. I really, really did. A big, cool looking box, cyber-Nazis, an array of physical and magic (mental) weaponry. How can it go wrong? I don't really know, but it somehow did. Granted, I would have to play it in story mode to give it a fair shake, but I really didn't enjoy the deathmatch style game that I played. It just felt like a why-not-play-a-standard-miniatures-game-? situation. For those that don't play miniatures games (such as Warhammer, Battletech, etc.), it might not be so painful, but for those of us who have, the movement restrictions in the game were painful. It's a game that I would be hesitant to play if asked and likely not to suggest. On an unfair single play of the game, I have to rate it 2 pips as I really didn't enjoy the experience.
  • Caylus Magna Carta (Rio Grande Games) - Another great translation of board game to card game (or so I am told by reliable sources since I have yet to try Caylus itself). I really enjoyed this game and it has several neat mechanics. It has a nice Puerto Rico multiple strategies might work feel. Even taking a significant beating in the game, I still really want to give it another go. Definitely would play when asked and suggest. 5 pips - might works its way up to 6 with additional plays.
  • Mykerinos (Rio Grande Games) - This game has been around awhile and I had been curious to give it a try. The opportunity presented itself and I jumped in. Glad I did. The basic gist is that you are performing an archaeological dig and presenting your finds in a museum. Yeah, sounds boring, but the game play was pretty neat. You have several card characters that you vie for, each with special attributes that help you throughout the game. It is another game in which multiple strategies appear to be available but, at least in the game I played, it appears to have a bit of a kingmaker problem at endgame. Even so, I enjoyed the game and would definitely be interested in playing again. On my single play of it, I give it 4 pips.
  • Before the Wind (Mayfair Games) - I always want to call this game Breaking the Wind. I can't resist. I've had the opportunity to play this game twice now. My first play was on very little sleep and I'd say I had an idea of what was going on at about the 1/2 way point in the game. The 2nd play was definitely much better on more rest and having had an opportunity to play through it once. The theme is relatively uninteresting - collecting goods and then shipping them away. The mechanics, however, make the game involving for all players through pretty much the entirety. I have heard complaints about the red cards (ones that you can hold in your hand for later play), but I don't necessarily share the opinion. If you find particular cards more valuable, it simply forces you to adjust your finances accordingly. Still, it doesn't mean that someone can't get lucky at the right time and get a powerful card for cheap, so I can lend some credence to the argument. In any case, I enjoy the game and would both play when asked and suggest. 4 pips.

Well, here's hoping I can be sure to post with some level of regularity and that these posts are of any value to the readers. Let me know one way or another by dropping a message to AFnG@AllFunNGames.com .

Paul