tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29173090339254013172024-02-22T02:50:32.704-08:00d8-bitBlog about my love of all things games. From board to video to roleplaying. I'll write reviews, impressions and hot news stories that I think are cool.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-88261053599463349362012-08-01T22:04:00.003-07:002012-08-01T22:04:45.893-07:00D-Day Dice is Quite Nice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9SckRpxC5nBIlIK6kUZ-HuBFj58fckbjjyXC-sDTsbDA9mG_Gdtx5p3zMO7JTSX9AcGOpnOH4MsDHmKIKaLaTMoyzjLLQ5R2pmDDDW1eXSfvllOQ1hNu_NuIrnJS1PvSOiqiN2DPUeA/s1600/IMAG0225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9SckRpxC5nBIlIK6kUZ-HuBFj58fckbjjyXC-sDTsbDA9mG_Gdtx5p3zMO7JTSX9AcGOpnOH4MsDHmKIKaLaTMoyzjLLQ5R2pmDDDW1eXSfvllOQ1hNu_NuIrnJS1PvSOiqiN2DPUeA/s320/IMAG0225.jpg" width="320" /></a> After months of waiting and delay, the <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a> success story, <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/101785/d-day-dice" target="_blank">D-Day Dice</a>, landed on my doorstep. I eagerly sorted through all of my goodies and eagerly awaited a chance to play. I've since then gotten a handful of games in (both multiplayer and solitaire), I can say that this was well worth the wait.<br />
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<b>Mission Briefing</b><br />
D-Day Dice is a cooperative, war themed, resource management, dice rolling game for 1 - 4 players. It was originally released as a free print & play game back in 2009 and became a huge hit. More recently, it was picked up by Valley Games and launched as a Kickstarter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyQCzqTuN_SwVQJjP-bqZfdLgiZEKbK90Exj8jgDAKUVxBt0xw6DtbzYLYRgasHgem0BpiSpQL6SSw1uSJamwmw6ACWdhcPfbVOOUT6yEE__Yd216lwD8kCd-3cQp4BAvfJch5IrZF8k/s1600/IMAG0223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyQCzqTuN_SwVQJjP-bqZfdLgiZEKbK90Exj8jgDAKUVxBt0xw6DtbzYLYRgasHgem0BpiSpQL6SSw1uSJamwmw6ACWdhcPfbVOOUT6yEE__Yd216lwD8kCd-3cQp4BAvfJch5IrZF8k/s200/IMAG0223.jpg" width="200" /></a>The players take the role of military units that are advancing on a German bunker in the middle of World War II. Every turn, six dice (colored red, white and blue) are rolled that give the players soldiers, tools, courage or stars. Soldiers are the basic health points of the unit, courage is used to advance closer to the bunker, tools are used to find helpful items and stars recruit specialists that have special abilities to aid in the assault. The sixth side of each die is a skull. If a skull is rolled, then one other die result is ignored. In addition, if you roll the same symbol on a die of each color, you earn an additional bonus to increase your fighting power.<br />
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These resources must be carefully managed to ensure victory. If you lose all of your soldiers, you lose. If you can no longer advance due to a lack of courage, you lose. Early in the game, it is easy to acquire a good stock of these resources but as you advance closer, the battleground becomes more deadly and casualties on both sides add up quickly.
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When playing with multiple players, units can aid each other by trading resources and dice between them. This is a great element that keep all players aware of each others' status during the game. If one of their allies were to fall in combat, then the entire mission is deemed a failure.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUvtTSoyL4zWkzjPECl-P21J5m8aT5oEmthzyWxg5yPAxo-aaaM9CKXzZPXyklMG8PhAbbjGpmWaTfMyp4C9H-T-tLnhuVKjz-4GqIOuUmoZN6e3U1GYeHy2uhM757qoFSFxMQ3cKLa4/s1600/IMAG0222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUvtTSoyL4zWkzjPECl-P21J5m8aT5oEmthzyWxg5yPAxo-aaaM9CKXzZPXyklMG8PhAbbjGpmWaTfMyp4C9H-T-tLnhuVKjz-4GqIOuUmoZN6e3U1GYeHy2uhM757qoFSFxMQ3cKLa4/s200/IMAG0222.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Brutal Landscape</b><br />
The game comes with a variety of maps. Eight are included in the base game with additional maps becoming available in expansions. Each map introduces new elements to the game which helps the players grow in skill as you play through the scenarios.<br />
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Each map is divided into a number of sectors, each with its own defense value. At the end of each turn, any unit occupying that sector loses soldiers equal to that number. Some sectors are closely guarded by landmines or machine guns, while others require the presence or sacrifice of specific specialists.<br />
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As you move closer to the final bunker, more courage is required from your troops, the defense value increases and more hazards become present. Navigating all of this requires luck in the dice roll and solid strategy from the player.<br />
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<b>Mission Accomplished</b><br />
I have greatly enjoyed playing this, both alone and with friends. The game provides a fun challenge with many opportunities for hard decisions. Knowing how to allocate your dice and being able to deal with unlucky rolls is key in the players success. The trading mechanism between players really help increase the comradery between players as you all try desperately to keep the others in the fight.<br />
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The production quality is fantastic as well. The maps are printed on a solid cardboard that will hold up nicely and the dice are very nicely crafted. All of the player aids and resource dials help make the game easy to manage and get through while the players learn.<br />
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D-Day Dice is a great, medium weight war themed game that would be great for a game with a group of friends on a quiet evening alone.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-60935468233376202112012-07-24T09:35:00.000-07:002012-07-24T09:36:51.479-07:00Patience and the Bigger PictureI've been waiting to write this post for a while now. Mainly because I knew it would be easier from this side. Yesterday, two games that I backed on <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a> (<a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/101785/d-day-dice" target="_blank">D-Day Dice</a> and <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/93193/alien-frontiers-factions" target="_blank">Alien Frontiers: Factions</a>) arrived in the mail. I have been eagerly awaiting them for quite a whole as both were originally scheduled to be shipped back in March-ish. However, they both got delayed for various reasons (mostly for adding all sorts of goodies) and so I, along with hundreds of others had to wait patiently for the game to come.<br />
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It's easy to get anxious when you're anticipating a new toy arriving. Whether it be a board game, a movie or an event, the excitement has a way of building and building until you're about to burst. But the weird catch is that the longer you wait for something, the greater then enjoyment is when it finally arrives. Running over to my doorstep over the last couple weeks to check for a package successfully led to a yelp of joy when there was finally something there to see.<br />
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<b>It's All Relative</b><br />
When it comes to something like a game, its lifespan is more dependent on number of plays more than anything.Whether it be 5 or 500, there is usually a finite number of time that you'll bring something out to the table. The hard thing to keep in mind is that is doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things whether that first play is in March or July. In the end, you still have the game and you get to play it.<br />
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<b>The Early Bird</b><br />
Now for some people, there may be a second game in play. In addition to the enjoyment of the game itself, there's the satisfaction that you have it first. Or at least before any of your friends. Luckily, this isn't part of my struggles. I know that there are many people out there who missed these Kickstarter campaigns completely and can't wait for them to be released to retail store.<br />
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But while I get no particular pleasure of being first, I can get annoyed being last. <span style="background-color: white;">I am currently waiting for one more game, </span><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/122316/small-world-realms" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Small World Realms</a><span style="background-color: white;">, which is being held up on a friend's online order by something else he ordered. I will admit I feel a little bit of agony when I see other people's reviews of the game. The knowledge that they have something I want can sting. </span><span style="background-color: white;">I try to remind myself that when the game does come, it won't matter that they got to play first. Just that I now too get to play.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>The Bigger Picture</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">When it all comes down to it, I try to remind myself that in the grand scheme of things the individual game doesn't matter. It's the people. It's the hobby. Over the last couple months I haven't just been sitting by the door waiting for the mailman to lug a giant box to my door, I've been playing the games I already have and have had a great time doing so. Sure it would have been nice to add in Factions to my last couple games of Alien Frontiers, but the game was still great.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-80052412911426219442012-07-19T16:52:00.000-07:002012-07-19T19:49:06.766-07:00The Five Phases of Game Collections<div>For most gamers, I'd imagine that their collection goes through phases. A cycle of mentalities and buying habits that grows and evolves as the gamer dives deeper into the hobby. For some there might be more extreme changes and fast growth between them while others may be more subtle and gradual. Some may never get past certain phases. I figure my own progression would be categorized as a moderate one. Out of my friends, I have one of the larger collections, by in the grand scheme of things, there are larger and more involved people out there.<br />
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<b>The Honeymoon</b><br />
At first they may just buy a game or two. They are still new to the hobby and don't want to make the wrong decision. Maybe they just try some basic gateway games of some various mechanics. For me this was purchasing Ticket To Ride and Smallworld. I quickly fell in love with Days of Wonder's games and then even added Memoir '44 to my collection.<br />
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<b>The Boom</b><br />
But then, maybe overnight, the gamer enters the collection phase. At this point, the gamer knows what they're looking for and swarm upon it. Expansions start being purchased without thought, regardless of how much the base game has been played. The one shelf of games quickly take over the entire bookcase and soon the wall. If left unchecked, then the gamer may soon find himself on Hoarders.<br />
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<b>The </b><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Reassessment</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">If the gamer is lucky, then before their collection reaches critical mass, they will be able to take a step back and re-evaluate. This may come from lack of funds, lack of space or an intervention of loved ones.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">This is the phase that I currently find myself in. I recently purchase Fresco and quickly decided to sell it. It wasn't clicking with me as a game and I already had some worker placement type games that I much preferred, Lords of Waterdeep and Alien Frontiers. I felt it didn't have any place in my collection as it would just collect dust and so it went away.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">I also recently decided to wait on purchasing the new D&D skirmish game, Dungeon Command. I had participated in the playtest and thought it was a great game, but its not the time for it. I already have a two-player skirmish game, Summoner Wars, that I don't play nearly enough. I couldn't stand the thought of purchasing another game that I knew I would like but wouldn't hit the table enough. Unfortunately, this will also probably slow me down in buying the oncoming Second Summoners. Maybe one day I'll pick it up (it will be hard to pass on the Undead set coming out later.) However, I felt it was better to put my money towards things that would get more playtime.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>The Cull</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I'm teetering on the line of this step. As I mentioned, I don't like having games that just sit around and give me dough eyes. I have some great games that sit on my shelf and I just can't get them to the table enough. Some of them have been replaced in my mind by other games in my friends' collections. The original Thunderstone has been overshadowed by Thunderstone Advance and DOOM by Descent 2.0. I'm holding onto them for now, but the day may come.</span><br />
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<b>Balance</b><br />
I often wonder if true balance can be achieved. There are always new games coming out and old games that will sit longer and longer. Perhaps the best that we can hope for is a 'one in, one out' scenario, but even that could be hard to maintain.<br />
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I'm happy with my collection. I have a good amount of great games that I enjoy playing with my friends and family. Sure, there's a couple 'white whales' out there that I would love to add. But at the same time, I know that when the time finally comes, I have some games that I could get rid of to free up some shelf space.<br />
<b><br /></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-54219429101168489202012-07-15T19:45:00.000-07:002012-07-16T12:29:23.509-07:00Catacombs: The Game That Got Away (Then Returned)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2wzmWyn26RIuMx0Ec2AdrY7RDsWOOamvQ26JJsXqw73HKKx6_PZa-OvEzhnKBwI0hiUizQdS53ANGtCuOQI3owcJo8f9LiEbZ7cBUjcFh5iEaWpYJ3byfA-ZgCCjf5R-47OXXW8ofTQ/s1600/d8_bit_Catacombs_Box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2wzmWyn26RIuMx0Ec2AdrY7RDsWOOamvQ26JJsXqw73HKKx6_PZa-OvEzhnKBwI0hiUizQdS53ANGtCuOQI3owcJo8f9LiEbZ7cBUjcFh5iEaWpYJ3byfA-ZgCCjf5R-47OXXW8ofTQ/s320/d8_bit_Catacombs_Box.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Years ago I played Catacombs at my game group and thought it was amazing. When I got home, I immediately ordered a copy. I got some good plays in, but it soon found itself sitting on the shelf more often than I would I have liked. Between my dwindling attendance to the group and then moving, my number of gaming partners was pretty much reduced to my wife. While it was still a great game, I always liked it best with a full 5 players.<br />
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So I sold it (or traded it. I don't remember.) and that was that. It was a sad departing, but there were some other games I wanted to get that I was sure to play more. I never really thought much about it until recently when it started coming up on conversations. As soon as it got back in my head, I couldn't get it out. I finally had a good size gaming group and I felt that this time it would get the play it deserved.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fWxni0qJMBddI80-zzxeRNkAEflNmS6O0VxBGfHTO66aeVVd-ZuLBThR_zpKQgqJcRtQANe9m5FcXPjP_8GR2I8RFYD_nNJ4ToH8xrfDnzC-LcvovZ630FYY2DaavJXmJBrEaf01O-o/s1600/d8_bit_Catacombs_Board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fWxni0qJMBddI80-zzxeRNkAEflNmS6O0VxBGfHTO66aeVVd-ZuLBThR_zpKQgqJcRtQANe9m5FcXPjP_8GR2I8RFYD_nNJ4ToH8xrfDnzC-LcvovZ630FYY2DaavJXmJBrEaf01O-o/s200/d8_bit_Catacombs_Board.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Flick into the Dungeon</b><br />
Catacombs has the standard dungeon crawling theme. A group of adventures descend into the darkest depths to kill hordes of monsters and collect treasure to buy some loot. The twist on this game, however, is that Catacombs is a dexterity, disc flicking game. To move and attack with their characters, players flick small wooden discs across the board. If the disc hits an enemy, then damage is dealt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vn9GTL_q9BtO_fuZKdpSF1BfnJJ_3VETRU1aI_2s3Dkj9rN_d2AXlHY8x77Omq00uNxsyEoCJjlI4WVqItUNx5lXRnVDLthlx-kkMFVw7n3v0J2I5tV0UxOl34FRwbcSFl3U0YlXW-g/s1600/d8_bit_Catacombs_Heroes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vn9GTL_q9BtO_fuZKdpSF1BfnJJ_3VETRU1aI_2s3Dkj9rN_d2AXlHY8x77Omq00uNxsyEoCJjlI4WVqItUNx5lXRnVDLthlx-kkMFVw7n3v0J2I5tV0UxOl34FRwbcSFl3U0YlXW-g/s200/d8_bit_Catacombs_Heroes.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>The Heroes</b><br />
Up to four players take the role of the adventuring party. These characters follow the traditional fantasy classes of barbarian, wizard, thief and elf. Each of these characters has their own special abilities to help them on their journey. The barbarian has a special rage attack that allows time to activate four times in a row, although it leaves him exhausted afterwards. The thief earns additional gold for killing monsters and has access to a wide variety of special tools and tricks. The elf can fire arrow from a safe distance. Finally, the wizards has a spellbook at his disposal of fireballs, shields and skeleton warriors at his command. Together, these heroes descend into the darkest depths to vanquish an ancient evil.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6dVS3IJB719_xoibsmPQYFc-pk9hbfrWeANZ0pG4DGTbh0a1SyY5k_63a10N0toqLha4-3FPcfjD_Y8tOIMjqa2mghyxNsc_pahxhzUnHS_gGL26r3aUm_LYb-UW7CCVbayVL2eXIYk/s1600/d8_bit_Catacombs_Bosses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6dVS3IJB719_xoibsmPQYFc-pk9hbfrWeANZ0pG4DGTbh0a1SyY5k_63a10N0toqLha4-3FPcfjD_Y8tOIMjqa2mghyxNsc_pahxhzUnHS_gGL26r3aUm_LYb-UW7CCVbayVL2eXIYk/s200/d8_bit_Catacombs_Bosses.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<b>Speaking of Evil</b><br />
On the other side of the table, another player acts as the overlord. Controlling the wide variety of monsters in the game, his aim is to destroy the heroes and end their noble quest. The overlord begins the game by selecting one of four end-bosses from the Dragon, Sorcerer, Gorgon and Lich. Each of these monsters has their own special abilities, from summoning reinforcements or even turning the heroes to stone.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkHhoZstE5UJuhgFuPKrqKUKtgW6gj6U-XINcqIF8iEYtMAP09zk8NBDShmxwoJwQVfN84DSTz9Yv-DosnbxZPeiFND6O7ouu7GicTQ8gQQiccrTcS5TYm6tfiTgsZGImh91W-qF4Z5U/s1600/d8_bit_Catacombs_Monsters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkHhoZstE5UJuhgFuPKrqKUKtgW6gj6U-XINcqIF8iEYtMAP09zk8NBDShmxwoJwQVfN84DSTz9Yv-DosnbxZPeiFND6O7ouu7GicTQ8gQQiccrTcS5TYm6tfiTgsZGImh91W-qF4Z5U/s200/d8_bit_Catacombs_Monsters.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
In addition, a deck of room cards is put together. Each of these rooms details a specific room type as well as the monsters that dwell within. These monsters include skeleton archers, the cerebus and the ever-favorite zombie. Killing these monsters earns the heroes gold which can be used at set points in the dungeon to buy items, heal the party or even resurrect fallen comrades.<br />
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<b>The Ins and Outs</b><br />
The game does have it faults, mainly in the production area. The character artwork is rough and looks unfinished while the background textures on the game board is too muddy and busy. The game did have a redesign in a recent reprinting, and while this improved the layout on the character and boss cards, the artwork, unfortunately remained the same.<br />
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Despite this, the gameplay is excellent. It is a light, quick-paced game that is great for a casual game night. The flicking mechanic provides a good balance of skill and randomness as you can never bee 100% sure where you disc will bounce of to. There are some good tactical decisions to be made in when the heroes should use their powers and how they should spend their money. I also appreciate that the dexterity-based gameplay keeps everyone on their feet as they move around the table to scout out their best shot.<br />
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<b>Critical Hit</b><br />
As I said before, I am a fan of this game. I am happy to once again have it in my collection and look forward to many monster-slaying, hero-maiming, disc-flicking games.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-10733313858733510742012-07-12T09:39:00.001-07:002012-07-12T09:39:05.607-07:00Game Night: Separating the People From the GameI had some friends over for some gaming last night. One of them brought over their copy of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/98242/star-trek-deck-building-game-the-next-generation" target="_blank">Star Trek: The Deckbuilding Game</a> and suggested it to the group. I had played it before and it really doesn't rank on my list. I much prefer Thunderstone when it comes to deckbuilding. But some of the other people in the group hadn't tried it so I went along. Bad idea.<br />
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<b>Quick Rant</b><br />
I've mainly played ST: TDBG with two players, and once or twice with three. Like I said, it wasn't my favorite, but it was alright. Last night there were five players. Never again. The game lasted over three hours and just dragged on and on.<br />
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Star Trek has a couple major flaws in my opinion. First is the lack of theme and cohesion in the cards. You can build a deck with Federation, Ferengi, Romulans and Klingons all mixed together and it doesn't matter. There is no real benefit to stacking with only one race and it actually seems to hurt you as you fall behind on stats. I'm also not a fan of the giant stack of cards as opposed to individual stacks that Thunderstone has. This makes it much harder to plan ahead as cards constantly shift in and out of the play area.<br />
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My main problem is the battle system between players. When a players searched the space deck, there is a chance that he will initiate a battle between players. This completely halts the play of the game and disrupts the flow. And to make it worse, it constantly causes players to discard a great hand. It becomes more frustrating than anything and feels out of place.<br />
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<b>On To Better Things</b><br />
All that being said, I had fun. When I look back at the evening, I try to look past the bad gaming experience and focus on the jokes and laughs I had with my friends. We got to reminisce about Star Trek (although I'd prefer to do that over a game of Fleet Captains) and enjoy a beer.<br />
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Board gaming, at its core, is a social activity and thus the people you play with are a large part of your experience. Even the right crowd can make a bad experience bearable. Unfortunately the inverse is also true and even your favorite game can crash and burn if played with the wrong people. I used to DM at my local game store for the Wednesday night D&D Encounters program. while there were many players that I had a lot of fun it, it was hard to look past the one or two that I dreaded would come play at my table.<br />
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I am quite happy and feel blessed that I have come across a group of new friends with whom I always look forward to playing with. Even if the occasional poor evening comes around, the quality of the relationships will always outweigh the games.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-87745904580759396372012-07-09T17:12:00.004-07:002012-07-09T17:12:58.829-07:008 Shades of Fresco<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the first games that really piqued my interest back when I got into the hobby was <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66188/fresco" target="_blank">Fresco</a>. As a graphic designer, I was really struck with the theme of collecting paints and creating a masterpiece on a cathedral ceiling. The mechanic seemed very clever and unique. All around I couldn't wait to try it out. I had the opportunity to watch a round being played, but I couldn't join in as I had to leave the game group.<br />
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I finally picked up the game when it hit the clearance shelf at my local Barnes & Noble and was eagerly looking forward to trying it out.<br />
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<b>Getting Up</b><br />
As I alluded to above, the players in Fresco take the role of painters in the Renaissance who have been commissioned by the local bishop to paint the ceiling of a cathedral. They compete to collect the choicest of paints and paint the most complicated sections in order to earn the best reputation (victory points.)<br />
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To aid in this task, each player has four assistants that they send around town to buy and mix paints, work on commissions or even relax at the theater. This worker placement mechanic is the core of the game and has some interesting decisions to make through the rounds.<br />
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Each round is played across five different phases. At the start of the round, the players secretly decide how to assign their assistants over these phases to best accomplish their goals. After these decisions are made, the phases are executed in order, with every player performing the task before the next phase commences.<br />
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Before the main phases, the players decide the wake up time for their crew. This is one of the more interesting decisions because it affects three things. First is turn order; you get up first, you get to act first. The second thing is the mood of your workers. If you make them get up early, then they lose morale. Morale is important because if you treat your crew well, you can earn an additional assistant, thus allowing you more actions. If you make them get up early too much, then you can lose a worker, weakening your potential. The final part of the first phase is the price of paint at the market. If sleep in late, then paints will be cheap. The downside is that you'll also have a smaller selection. This first part part of the turn is really well designed and makes for some interesting choices.<br />
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The first phase is buying paint. There are three or four market stalls on the board, depending on the number of players, that have between two two and four paint tiles on them. The paint tiles various numbers and colors of paint. When performing this action, the players chooses one of the markets and buys one tile per assistant allocated there. The price of the paint depends on his wake up time. After purchasing, all the left over tiles on that stall are removed and the next player chooses which of the remaining stalls to visit.<br />
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Next, the players actually paint the cathedral. To do this, they trade in paints that correspond to one of the tiles on the board. Sections that require more complex paints are worth more.<br />
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The third phase is getting commissions for portraits from the local nobles. This is how players earn more gold to spend on buying more paint in future rounds. Each assistant assigned here receives three gold for their services.<br />
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The next phase is mixing paint. The game has two levels of paint (three in the included expansion) the primary colors of yellow, red and blue and the secondary colors of green, purple and orange. In this step, players can trade in the primaries for the secondary colors which are required for more valuable tiles.<br />
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And finally, the player can send his assistants to the theater to increase their mood. This is helpful if you keep wanting first crack at the market and making your crew wake up early. The game continues until there are only six cathedral tiles left on the board, in which case the final round triggers.<br />
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<b>Dried Up Paint</b><br />
I was very surprised when I first played this game, and not in a good way. I kept hearing it referred to as a gateway worker-placement, which is exactly what I needed for some of my family members. However, I found this to be much more complex and confusing than I expected.<br />
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In my opinion, one of its major faults is that lacks a clear direction for layers to take. When comparing it to other 'gateway' weight games, I found them to have a logical starting point for players to follow. Ticket to Ride has the ticket cards to complete. Settlers of Catan has the progression of roads, then settlements, then cities. But I felt that this game doesn't really have a clear goal to go towards. You just start doing things and see what happens.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tjF6gJFUK798ipkKKoO0OkqtHW6je8NXdYTWljrnXFsRKYHjQjMxfFFt505pgiW79vjQBwNtlpqspw5RFvUGHFTSbCduJTCDDs79cEZ-6GCeoakGQngS3zrzid-0si6a1tU1r6qEhKs/s1600/d8_bit_Fresco_interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tjF6gJFUK798ipkKKoO0OkqtHW6je8NXdYTWljrnXFsRKYHjQjMxfFFt505pgiW79vjQBwNtlpqspw5RFvUGHFTSbCduJTCDDs79cEZ-6GCeoakGQngS3zrzid-0si6a1tU1r6qEhKs/s200/d8_bit_Fresco_interior.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Glossy Coat</b><br />
One thing I do really appreciate about this game, however, is the production. I would expect a game about painting to be beautiful and this game delivers. All the pieces have a really nice classical aesthetic to them. The cardboard pieces are nice and thick. And the loads of colored cubes are fun to move and play with.<br />
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The inclusion of the three basic expansions adds some great value. I only played with the third tier of colors (pink and brown) and did appreciate that extra level of mixing and resource management. The other ones looked interesting as well, but no one that I played with cared to try again with them.<br />
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<b>Closed Stall</b><br />
I really am disappointed that this game didn't work for me. I really wanted to like it and have it be my intro to worker placement game. I haven't tried Stone Age yet, but from what I heard that may be better. I can't recommend this game to anyone. Maybe some day I'll try it again after some of the bad taste is gone from my mouth. I just like other worker placements in my collection better.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-70748526433314602632012-07-06T21:44:00.000-07:002012-07-06T21:46:30.865-07:00Game Night: King of Tokyo and Castle Panic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last night at my game group I had the pleasure of enjoying two great games, King of Tokyo and Castle Panic. Both make for night casual gameplay that will be the cause of many cheers, groans and laughs all around.<br />
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<b>King of the World</b><br />
The evening began with <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70323/king-of-tokyo" target="_blank">King of Tokyo</a>, designed by Richard Garfield of Magic: The Gathering fame and published by IELLO. The game was published in 2011 and quickly sold out. A second printing recently hit store shelves.<br />
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The premise of the game is that each player is a monster that is invading Tokyo. In the middle of the table is a small board with space for one monster (two in a 5-6 player game). Players try to occupy Tokyo for as long as possible in order to accumulate points. The game ends when one player earns 20 points or (even better) knocks out all the other monsters from the game.<br />
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On each player's turn, they roll six dice. The dice have symbols that can earn players additional points, attack other players, heal or collect energy cubes. The cubes are used to buy special power cards than have a variety of effects such as dealing damage or even gaining a second chance in the game if eliminated. These cards can easily turn the tide of a game if used correctly.<br />
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The way attacking works in this game is a great mechanic that keeps the game light and fast. If you are not in Tokyo, you deal damage to whoever is. If you are in the hot seat, then you deal damage to all other players simultaneous. This is a great way to remove a potential source of analysis paralysis as well as ganging up on a player. The game just moves at a nice clip and plays fast enough that you can easily get a couple games in before the night is over. I also enjoy that there are multiple ways to play and win. You can be aggressive and stand your ground in Tokyo for as long as you can, or you can stay in the outskirts and get points through dice and cards.<br />
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<b>Is There Anyone Else Up There We Can Talk To?</b><br />
Next up we played <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43443/castle-panic" target="_blank">Castle Panic</a> with the Wizard's Tower expansion. Castle Panic was designed by Justin Witt and published by Fireside Games. It is a tower defense style cooperative game. The players are defending a castle against a seemingly endless wave of monsters. The players win if they are able to defeat all the monsters. They lose if the last tower of the castle is destroyed.<br />
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The board is divided into three arcs (red, blue and green) and four rings (swordsman, knights, archers and the forest.) Players have a hand of cards that are primarily made up of attack cards that correspond to one of the specific spaces that a monster can occupy (ie Red Knight.) Playing these cards deals damage to the monsters and eventually kills them. The Wizard's Tower expansion also features a deck of Wizard cards that have more powerful effects. <br />
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At the end of each player's turn, they move all the monsters one step closer to the castle and then places new monsters randomly on the board, adding to the oncoming hoard. The expansion also comes with a very dangerous monsters that increase the threat level tremendously.<br />
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This was my first time playing this game and I really enjoyed it. It had a nice complexity between Pandemic and Forbidden Island. I felt that the game had a nice epic feeling to it and on most turns each player did something that felt amazing, especially with the wizard cards.<br />
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In our game, we just squeaked out a victory as an Orc was one move away from destroying the final tower before he was struck down by Azriel's Fist. It was a gripping conclusion and very satisfying.<br />
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<b>The King Returns</b><br />
The evening ended with another game of King of Tokyo before we parted ways into the night. Both of these games are a blast to play and great for casual get togethers such as these.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-29035359412132511432012-07-03T19:20:00.003-07:002012-07-03T19:21:58.534-07:00DC Deckbuilding Design Falls Short<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Some new images have been posted on the Boardgame Geek page for the upcoming <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/125678/dc-comics-deck-building-game" target="_blank">DC Deckbuilding game</a>. The images show the box, and some cards of various types. My excitement for seeing the cards was quickly pushed aside as I realized that these were some of the worst designed cards I'd seen in a while. Luckily they are still easy to read and the information on them is relatively clear. Its just the details that are crying out for some help.<br />
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<b>The Cards</b><br />
First off, I have to point out that these cards look like they're using a modified template from the last few runs of cards from the <a href="http://www.tcgplayer.com/db/game_review.asp?AID=2469&PID=322&DBID=2" target="_blank">Vs. System CCG</a>. Nothing particularly wrong with this, but to me it just exemplifies the problems when they're compared with a design that uses the same skeleton, but succeeds more often.<br />
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So starting from the top, I'm surprised at the lack of constrast of the name with the textured background. Sure I can read the names, but when compared to the card type in the middle of the card, it doesn't pop like it should. This is the main way card are identified and should be a focal point. And speaking of focal point, why is the DC logo so freakishly large? More importantly, why is it on the card at all. Only on a licensed property, would someone decide that the logo needs to be on every single card. Slap it on the back of the card as large as you like, but it has no reason to be on the front. I doubt players will suddenly forget what game they're playing.<br />
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The artwork so far is great. The images used are nice and bold and have a good consistency. I would hope that DC would be able to pull this part off as they have a giant library at their disposal. Hopefully the rest of the set will keep this cohesion.<br />
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The next part of the card type mostly fine. As I stated before, this is easy to read and understand the card type. The only part that bugs me is the 'super-villain' text as shown on Ra's Al Ghul. The text arc reminds me of someone who just discovered wordart in their copy of PowerPoint. In addition, I don't see the reason for him to have both labels, unless there's something in the rules. It just seems to clutter up the card.<br />
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The card text looks fine. It's easy to understand. One odd part of this text though it that there are constant references to a 'power rating.' I'm mostly surprised that this isn't its own icon as it appears to be a large part of the game and defeating super-villains.<br />
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At the very bottom of the card are two large icons, a star and a circle. I take that the star is victory points, but at the moment I'm not sure what the circle is. My guess would be some kind of currency to buy other cards. Both of these icons are big and easy to read, but the images themselves seem a little clip art-y and flat. Another problem I had is the large brick of copyright text at the bottom of the card.<br />
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<b>Cohesion</b><br />
The background texture of the cards is kind of cool and has a gritty texture that hints of movement and action. It provides a nice cohesion to the set. The colors used across the diferent types of cards don't seem to mesh too well though, especially the orange and yellow. They come off a little cartoony and dont really go with the darker artwork that has been used.<br />
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<b>Such A Shame</b><br />
I'm sure that these problems won't effect the game, which I don't know enough about to comment on. I am disappointed though that this is the best that DC can do. For a company that specialized in visual communication, I would have though they'd want a better looking product. Even Cryptozoic Games has produced better looking games. The World of Warcraft card game, for example, was well laid out and had good iconography.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-70562923917022738632012-06-28T12:09:00.001-07:002012-06-28T14:57:04.159-07:00Wits & Wagers Live<div>
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Tonight Northstar Games is hosting a live game of their newest edition of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/12926/wits-wagers" target="_blank">Wits & Wagers</a>, <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/123239/wits-wagers-party" target="_blank">Wits & Wagers Party</a> via <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/rpmetzler?feature=watch">YouTube</a>. The game will be hosted by Ryan Metzler. <br />
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The game itself will be played by Matt Carlson of <a href="http://www.gamesanityblog.com/" target="_blank">Gaming With Children</a>, Elliot Miller of <a href="http://thegaminggang.com/" target="_blank">The Gaming Gang</a>, Matt Morgan of <a href="http://geek-news.mtv.com/author/morganm/" target="_blank">MTV Geek</a>, <a href="http://becauseplaymatters.com/" target="_blank">Scott Nicholson</a><u>,</u> Tom Vasel of <a href="http://www.dicetower.com/" target="_blank">The Dice Tower</a> and David Miller of <a href="http://www.purplepawn.com/" target="_blank">Purple Pawn</a>.<br />
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It all starts at 7:30pm tonight so don't miss it. To add to the appeal, they are also giving away a copy of the game to one lucky viewer who comments.
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The game starts out like any other trivia game. A question is asked to the players and everyone writes down an answer. The difference is that each play then places their answers down in order of smallest to largest. The players then place their bets on which answer they think is either the correct answer or closest to the correct answer. Points are awarded for answering right, betting on the right answer and getting bets on your answer.</div>
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I've played the original game a couple years ago and it was a lot of fun. It rewarded a general knowledge of trivia, but it wasn't required to win. Just knowing who knew was enough. Any version of this game would be a welcome addition to any collection and great for families and groups who like party games. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ukToHmNJN9pJYAsLixV1dxvA9un6Q9Ah5CFtO7pRxJRVmfuDRlXWzzaPvOQc-GsYZOGLRH9XvUUv7Eyh4-jbERsGgIWVsbIb8wX1Z3EgEdswqw6_z5QqUB-s_-EucooanbwlgZhX64A/s1600/d8_bit_Marvel_Heroic_Civil_War.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ukToHmNJN9pJYAsLixV1dxvA9un6Q9Ah5CFtO7pRxJRVmfuDRlXWzzaPvOQc-GsYZOGLRH9XvUUv7Eyh4-jbERsGgIWVsbIb8wX1Z3EgEdswqw6_z5QqUB-s_-EucooanbwlgZhX64A/s320/d8_bit_Marvel_Heroic_Civil_War.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
I've had a chance to read through the Civil War Event book for the Marvel Heroic RPG from <a href="http://margaretweis.com/" target="_blank">Margaret Weis</a>. This is the first of many announced additions to the game and features a large-scale story, new resources for Watcher's and new Data Files for the players.<br />
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<b>New Tricks</b><br />
The book starts with new tips and ways to play for the Watcher and Player characters. There is a new optional rule for using scene distinctions that is aimed to encourage their use in story-telling. The idea looks good and I think that this is a good way to get more things included and utilized in the game rather than just what's printed on the data files.<br />
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There is also a new concept called Troupe play. This gives a way for players to play as more than one character throughout a campaign. This allows for a more dynamic story that can always involve every player since even if a player's 'main character' doesn't make sense to be a given scene. With this type of play awarded XP is given to the player, not the character so that the player can choose which of his characters to advance in the story in a way that makes sense to him. A suggested use of this rule in the case of this event is that each player takes the role of a hero on both sides of the conflict. I could see this being a great idea with the game leading to some fun player vs player conflict and interaction.<br />
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<b>The Marvel Universe Comes Alive</b><br />
Even if you have little interest in the Civil War storyline, there is some great general resources that can be added to your games. Margaret Weis has a great collection of locations, agencies and background characters that can help flesh out any story.<br />
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There's Atlantis and Wakanda as locations that each have their own pages of information. Each has Watcher character files for generic soldiers and guards as well as the leaders of the nations, Namor and Black Panther. Each also has some plot points that can be used with each area and some unlockable bonuses for the players. In addition, there are descriptions and suggested distinctions for key locations such as the Daily Bugle, Stark Tower and the New York Subway.<br />
There's also organizations such as A.I.M., Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Illuminati that can be explored and utilized each with their own characters and milestones. These have all been pivotal groups within the Marvel Universe and are welcome additions to the game. The most surprising entry into this catalog is the press of the Marvel Universe. There are character files and suggestions for using journalists such as J.Jonah Jameson and Ben Urich and how the heroes of the game can interact with them.<br />
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<b>Here come the Heroes</b><br />
Don't think that this book is only for the Watcher. There are 32 data files included in the book for the players to use. Some of these are character that were seen in the original book, but they are not all exactly the same. Some of the heroes, such as Captain America have all of the same power sets and stats with just their distinctions and milestones being different. Other, though, have some pretty drastic changes which are worth a look. Spider-Man, for example, has his spider armor that was given to him by Tony Stark and the included version of Daredevil is when Danny Rand was covering for Matt Murdock so he has very different powers. One of the most interesting inclusions is Clint Barton who can use the power sets from his times as Hawkeye, Ronin or Goliath. The new heroes are very diverse and provide some great new options.<br />
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<b>The Main Event</b><br />
For those that are unfamiliar with the printed mini series, the basic premise is that the New Warriors were involved in a cataclysmic disaster that blew up a school and caused many casualties. This led to a backlash against untrained costumed heroes and the Superhuman Registration Act was passed, which forced heroes to either register with the government and reveal their identities, or they would be branded criminals and arrested. This caused a split among the hero community with Captain America leading the anti-registration side and Iron Man rallying for registration. The ramifications from this event were felt for years in the comics and is still having effects on the universe.<br />
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The event is broken down into three main Acts; The Road to Civil War, Registration and Rocket's Red Glare. Playing through will take characters from the event that will spark the great debate of hero registration, to the conclusion and setting of a new status quo. There is the obvious inclusion of plot points that follow the books exactly, but there is also some advice and suggestions of how to take the event in a whole new direction, which is great. To freely admit and encourage a completely different and original take from the source material is another example of Marvel Heroic putting the emphasis on the story the players want to tell.<br />
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<b>The Next Chapter</b><br />
I should also mention that there are three planned supplements for this book that will be coming out through the year. The first, <i>The Fifty States Initiative</i>, focuses on the Avengers Initiative, The Thunderbolts and Heroes for Hire. The second is <i>Young Avengers/Runaways </i> highlights the teenage heroes and how Civil War affects them. The last,<i> X-Men</i> follows the X-Men and other mutants through the story. Each of these books has new data files, scenes and distinctions that flesh out their respective focuses.<br />
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<b>Epilogue</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">My only complaint is the price point and format of the book. The original book was a $20 paperback while the new book at its cheapest is $30 and is only available as a hardcover. The upcoming supplements are also paperback. I would have loved if the main event book was also a $20 paperback to match the others in the series. The OCD gamer in me is not going to love having the mix of formats on my shelf. While a minor complaint, it is something I wanted to address.</span><br />
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All in all though, this is a great book and if you want a general sourcebook for the Marvel Universe then this is a must buy. The planned supplements will add some nice longevity to the story and allow for even more options and ways to play. Even if you don't want to use the main event, the background and characters included will be a valuable resource.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-67891722043700190692012-06-25T11:53:00.000-07:002012-06-26T08:44:20.957-07:00Neuroshima Hex: Android review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gL4tof0bDkCWSSDJtsUpMZVQz2ukVcB3d1zFqN7UV14Vt3PqFEb-XI5sqOxQL1P62H_34cXhRFE1HLnXwkfciB9UmNKAcuiuCAqKeXneyau7D7sKGB815CIMgEhyphenhyphenZEPKo-PSVbcWR40/s1600/d8_Bit_Neuroshima_Hex_Title.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gL4tof0bDkCWSSDJtsUpMZVQz2ukVcB3d1zFqN7UV14Vt3PqFEb-XI5sqOxQL1P62H_34cXhRFE1HLnXwkfciB9UmNKAcuiuCAqKeXneyau7D7sKGB815CIMgEhyphenhyphenZEPKo-PSVbcWR40/s320/d8_Bit_Neuroshima_Hex_Title.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/21241/neuroshima-hex" target="_blank">Neuroshima Hex</a> is one of the newest board games to make its appearance to the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bdc.nh&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5iZGMubmgiXQ.." target="_blank">Android Play</a> market. It been on the <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CGwQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fneuroshima-hex%2Fid391297152%3Fmt%3D8&ei=Op_oT5b9FKPa2AXXs-zZCQ&usg=AFQjCNG8TlC4QMnhSBH-WRXj4QRWqxvNaA&sig2=Hl138m_-IllJqeCH7akYkw" target="_blank">iOS</a> for a while, but now I finally get a chance to play. The physical game was released back in 2006 by Wydawnictwo Portal and has since been reprinted by various companies.<br />
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It has a medium-weight strategy game for 2-4 players. The app comes with the original 4 armies, while there are many expansions with additional armies for the physical game. I got to play the actual copy once, and I wasn't too thrilled by it, but I knew that was mainly due to my opponent (it was his game, but I had to teach him how to play, but that's another topic.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gupLlOwQ7tev9GEALlWPQGWUybx1kIRSTYS3Uf3GSATO20TALrLnx6ZzG9WoNmZ6hBKCvfcd6RPUc0eulWshNdeT83_H0Lptj36a8C3TynitbOQzREGbYtg_asyuMmXGQ-HjfJrCOOg/s1600/d8_Bit_Neuroshima_Hex_Tile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gupLlOwQ7tev9GEALlWPQGWUybx1kIRSTYS3Uf3GSATO20TALrLnx6ZzG9WoNmZ6hBKCvfcd6RPUc0eulWshNdeT83_H0Lptj36a8C3TynitbOQzREGbYtg_asyuMmXGQ-HjfJrCOOg/s200/d8_Bit_Neuroshima_Hex_Tile.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Hex Power</b><br />
In Neuroshima Hex, players control various armies in a bleak, post-apocalyptic future. The armies range from the remaining humans, cybernetic beings and mutated soldiers. Armies are composed of a HQ tile with is placed on the board at the beginning of the game. The rest of the army is shuffled and stacked or placed in a draw bag. The majority of these tiles feature a unit. They have a nice variety of icons on it that signify initiative, in what directions they can attack as well as the strength of the attack and the type of the attack (melee or ranged.) There are also tiles and icons that buff or inhibit other tiles. This can include making attacks more powerful, raising or lowering initiative or adding health. Then there's actions tiles, which allow players to move units or destroy enemy units.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53kb0MdQ3OIaD1vd2igsNZGFC17jD4mRvIUMAVDlu6XXuVZfzs2PIdtv-mdxlcgIBonAVjBasBRMWghzbq_5vdo9vIqgrYfEgdo3Gd8JUgzL2tPrF2t2D4vganmcwUer2LMQ4dN6jiAk/s1600/d8_Bit_Neuroshima_Hex_Game.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53kb0MdQ3OIaD1vd2igsNZGFC17jD4mRvIUMAVDlu6XXuVZfzs2PIdtv-mdxlcgIBonAVjBasBRMWghzbq_5vdo9vIqgrYfEgdo3Gd8JUgzL2tPrF2t2D4vganmcwUer2LMQ4dN6jiAk/s200/d8_Bit_Neuroshima_Hex_Game.png" width="200" /></a>Players take turns placing tiles until a battle is started. Battles are started by either playing a special battle tile or when the board fills up. When a battle commences, units attack in initiative order, starting with the highest numbers. All units with the same number attack at the same time, which means two units can take each other out. When all units of a certain initiative number have activated, then the next number down goes. Once all units have had their turn, then the the normal game play commences.<br />
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The game ends when either one player is left with the only HQ on the board or when one players runs out of tiles, in which case the HQ with the highest remaining health is the winner. Game play is fast, with games lasting around 30 minutes. A game on a digital device can be even faster.<br />
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<b>Digital Warriors</b><br />
I was very excited when this game was announced. I had been wanting to try again for a while and this seemed a great way to do it. This implementation met all my expectations and it plays great. The game looks good and it runs smooth on my HTC Sensation. The menu is easy to navigate and responds very well. I have been satisfactorily challenged by the AI on its medium difficulty.<br />
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It can play up to four players locally in a mixture of human and AI participants. The android version does not currently have online multiplayer, but Big Daddy Creations has said that it will come if the app sells well enough. The iOS version, which was released a while ago, already has multiplayer.<br />
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<b>Battle</b><br />
I am very happy with this game and love to go to it for a quick strategic game. I really hope that it does well enough for the online multiplayer to get implemented as it would really help give the game some staying power. If you've ever been interested in the game or are already a fan, check it out.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-64558479340529987502012-06-25T08:15:00.000-07:002012-06-25T11:55:05.157-07:00Tsuro: Path to a Good Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFukEuK208bVM91MomjafP3Xnnaj3OS5aRUwDL52pyDyk994yI5d1NB8pugU9kFXCdHKeoamGiykakgFk7_LuGcCMCBk0WkcGt_w3dtR72GqjVVVEabYk4MThczLAIy61wSYHGpkok1E/s1600/d8_Bit_Tsuro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFukEuK208bVM91MomjafP3Xnnaj3OS5aRUwDL52pyDyk994yI5d1NB8pugU9kFXCdHKeoamGiykakgFk7_LuGcCMCBk0WkcGt_w3dtR72GqjVVVEabYk4MThczLAIy61wSYHGpkok1E/s320/d8_Bit_Tsuro.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I don't always touch upon art and visual impact when I talk about games. But when I do, thre's a good chance I'm talking about Tsuro. <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16992/tsuro" target="_blank">Tsuro: The Game of the Path</a> in a abstract tile-laying, path creating game that can accommodate from 2-8 players. It was designed by Tom McMurchie and is published by Calliope Games.<br />
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<b>The Path</b><br />
Tsuro is a very simple and elegant game that can be taught in a matter of seconds. Each player controls a dragon piece soars along paths that are created as the game progresses. They have a hand of three tiles that show a variety of paths connecting eight points (two on each side.)The paths range from straight across, to a slight curve to the side or a complete u-turn. On their turn, a player will lay down a tile in front of their dragon. Each dragon touching the new tile then continues along its newly extended path as far as it goes. If a dragon falls off the edge of the board or crashes into another dragon, then they are out of the game. From there, its last man standing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLrP-ON9s7ORXQOPWopwxjuaYlbxhPrnxE0mztRCxNOnPIW-6q1ba5TDl44299P7J6DYzaCvCzHNLakQPAylTP8Bj5a2PbzGNeEw_EasDXcYZj_KspG_4H-ze5uJbr6S9eKaPIFPjdC4/s1600/d8_Bit_Tsuro_Board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLrP-ON9s7ORXQOPWopwxjuaYlbxhPrnxE0mztRCxNOnPIW-6q1ba5TDl44299P7J6DYzaCvCzHNLakQPAylTP8Bj5a2PbzGNeEw_EasDXcYZj_KspG_4H-ze5uJbr6S9eKaPIFPjdC4/s400/d8_Bit_Tsuro_Board.jpg" width="261" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-y190f1B-NjkpXZvhbLaCenq-yacrJjpxM-eTVlp0b4KCqhhPvqLfOxX0Z_VePazGg6y4oNTB-osU17NWuBYx-KWYulCBqgcdcnBPm52wZreH9nYLVffgCHAvSneMKTslfalK3ZckwMM/s1600/d8_bit_Tsuro_Tile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-y190f1B-NjkpXZvhbLaCenq-yacrJjpxM-eTVlp0b4KCqhhPvqLfOxX0Z_VePazGg6y4oNTB-osU17NWuBYx-KWYulCBqgcdcnBPm52wZreH9nYLVffgCHAvSneMKTslfalK3ZckwMM/s200/d8_bit_Tsuro_Tile.jpg" width="112" /></a></div>
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<b>The Art</b></div>
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Tsuro is able to deliver a beautiful experience in its game play. As the game progresses and the board fills up with tiles, there is a wonderful pattern and fluid design that emerges. The tiles themselves are a nice sturdy cardboard with a beautifully produced background texture that has a great natural feel to it. The lines are smooth and elegant and can combine to form some great shapes along the way.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwTnQ-2SWO-Cgu3daQdamOV0fhOCzusLAs0oRMyY3XIeLzI-9q2r8XoqSfh7_NK6qXVLxAz89FeQLtPlUKDn-_7R-Oy2r6sndjjSsG4mZ3JHIFYQ-tafAhMoIqsbZXztKHCRTmax3huA/s1600/d8_Bit_Tsureo_Rules.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwTnQ-2SWO-Cgu3daQdamOV0fhOCzusLAs0oRMyY3XIeLzI-9q2r8XoqSfh7_NK6qXVLxAz89FeQLtPlUKDn-_7R-Oy2r6sndjjSsG4mZ3JHIFYQ-tafAhMoIqsbZXztKHCRTmax3huA/s200/d8_Bit_Tsureo_Rules.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6E6D2PuTB9O2QOYNmGOnHnsENaaI_Hh1ol_7Qc4rMbu3ClWBGNhPH0RCqUirWF_KY2VdkH6tTjlLxROL7zFh2NbPLNMcN3LdtyQrLGzhb_pb8Gk1wbe8lAuh7QrJQnOYs_80RzkQ4vjU/s1600/d8_Bit_Tsuro_Rules_Open.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6E6D2PuTB9O2QOYNmGOnHnsENaaI_Hh1ol_7Qc4rMbu3ClWBGNhPH0RCqUirWF_KY2VdkH6tTjlLxROL7zFh2NbPLNMcN3LdtyQrLGzhb_pb8Gk1wbe8lAuh7QrJQnOYs_80RzkQ4vjU/s200/d8_Bit_Tsuro_Rules_Open.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Even the rulebook is wonderfully created. It has a unique folded shape to it, which offers a similar experience as to that of opening a scroll when its time to read it. From box to board, the game has cohesive design and a wonderfully crafted style that evokes the games theme, even more so than the game play. This would easily fit in in a zen garden as you rake the sand with one hand and move your dragon with the other.</div>
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<b>In the End</b></div>
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If you're looking for an intense game of aerial combat and deep strategic thinking, then this game isn't for you. If you want a fast playing, fun and light game that perfect for an afternoon with the family, then this is a great pick. Its easy enough for kids to pick up and play while still remaining engaging for adults.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-16428844121713414052012-06-22T10:57:00.000-07:002012-06-22T10:57:56.967-07:00It's a Good Friday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKD7tz-zf1QHe8J2F-GioJ-j9ABQANu0Ka7jsvtTzaBE2R_x0WvRhiV-IVj7ciecWW_L0Q8_fjySm6ipq6XhMG53poIsDpBttsppC4Azm4rhDwrpEZFev2CNC6P6ycDio7Ch1RyylJdlQ/s1600/d8_bit_Friday_Box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKD7tz-zf1QHe8J2F-GioJ-j9ABQANu0Ka7jsvtTzaBE2R_x0WvRhiV-IVj7ciecWW_L0Q8_fjySm6ipq6XhMG53poIsDpBttsppC4Azm4rhDwrpEZFev2CNC6P6ycDio7Ch1RyylJdlQ/s320/d8_bit_Friday_Box.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm always on the lookout for a good solitaire game. I often find myself in the mood for a good game, but no one to play with. It was because of this that I decided to pick up <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43570/friday" target="_blank">Friday: A Solo Adventure</a>, designed by Friedmann Friese and published by 999 Games.<br />
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<b>A Shipwrecked Theme</b><br />
Friday is based on the story of Robinson Crusoe, the victim of a shipwreck who must struggle to survive on a strange an unforgiving island. The player takes the role of his companion, Friday and must aid Robinson in overcoming a series of hazards to build up his strength. The game does a great job of relating to the theme as you can actually see your own strength and power increasing as the game progresses. What would have been impossible tasks at the beginning of the game can become minor nuisances with smart gameplay. But at the same time, the hardships on the island slowly whittle away at your life points, forcing you to accept your own mortality and (mostly) inevitable demise.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rejZhdObCksLCHd9q51I9-L-k1dvZSpmFT73zkrkwQXt8C_3x5GmKQWjU-TQHR-KpzPk52DUaHkcsra-Q_LuDTrRUraD3-pfxIiVKrcVoSgkSRyOIWeXz1XW4JQ1XqFuyiUHno6eSvE/s1600/d8_bit_Friday_Starting_Cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rejZhdObCksLCHd9q51I9-L-k1dvZSpmFT73zkrkwQXt8C_3x5GmKQWjU-TQHR-KpzPk52DUaHkcsra-Q_LuDTrRUraD3-pfxIiVKrcVoSgkSRyOIWeXz1XW4JQ1XqFuyiUHno6eSvE/s200/d8_bit_Friday_Starting_Cards.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting cards</td></tr>
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<b>Gameplay: Deckbuilding With a Pinch of Push Your Luck</b><br />
Friday falls into the deckbuilding genre of games, pioneered by Dominion. The premise is that you start the game with a small deck of fairly weak cards. Through the game you will use these cards to acquire new cards to add to your deck. These new cards will be stronger, more valuable, more useful and allow you to obtain even better cards. In addition, you also hope to shed as many of the starting cards as possible in hopes of having a deck with as many strong cards and as few weak cards as possible.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgye6doDSItvbvY3cmluRMZUrpni6tZgnL9DJHQrDW2EgCLNPw4a2pvCDTm-HMwPghYsWW5t-6IW9-9qSN9fW49AcxES9ImYEW_mwZOnN4Dva_LAhq13oMJGByqdIXOo9ljp0C1Msk8JqU/s1600/d8_bit_Friday_Obstacle_Cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgye6doDSItvbvY3cmluRMZUrpni6tZgnL9DJHQrDW2EgCLNPw4a2pvCDTm-HMwPghYsWW5t-6IW9-9qSN9fW49AcxES9ImYEW_mwZOnN4Dva_LAhq13oMJGByqdIXOo9ljp0C1Msk8JqU/s200/d8_bit_Friday_Obstacle_Cards.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hazard Cards</td></tr>
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The starting deck of Friday contains cards with a value that ranges from -1 to 2. At the start of each turn, the player flips over two cards from the hazard deck and pick one to attempt. These cards allow the player to flip over a certain number of cards for free from your deck. If your cards have a value that equals or beats the goal number on the card, then you can add that card to your deck. On the bottom of each of hazard card is the reward that you may get. This can range from having a higher value, or allowing you to draw more cards for free or regain life.<br />
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If you fail to beat the hazard you have two choices. You can pay life points to draw more cards in hopes of beating the card or you can accept defeat. If you still fail to match the goal, then you can have the same choice: keep drawing or accept defeat. If you accept defeat you still lose life points equal to the difference between your target number and the value of your cards. But the upside is that if you accept defeat, you can also eliminate cards from your deck. This means that there will be many times early in the game that you are happy to lose because you can shed some of your weaker cards.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwpTteKslvZw43LYGoZNczYksOjSzWhbIeucnHeg1vw5MmkG8u3Q-siovvmVfHRbqY3oa3JBVr5-kmdZwLqQYcgEvBqly6_7NxEGx6xUJJ3aN0itYs97VjDXmOq_kepOdlaiyTnkGSM0/s1600/d8_bit_Friday_Aging_Cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwpTteKslvZw43LYGoZNczYksOjSzWhbIeucnHeg1vw5MmkG8u3Q-siovvmVfHRbqY3oa3JBVr5-kmdZwLqQYcgEvBqly6_7NxEGx6xUJJ3aN0itYs97VjDXmOq_kepOdlaiyTnkGSM0/s200/d8_bit_Friday_Aging_Cards.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aging Cards</td></tr>
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<b>The Twist: Aging</b><br />
I mentioned above that you hope to get rid of cards from your deck to have a slim, powerful set of cards. But the catch is that if you slim down too much, you will be punished. Every time you run out of cards in your deck, you must add an aging card to it. These are the nastiest cards in the game. They can have a value of up to -4, make you lose life or make your most valuable card equal 0. This adds another balance point that you must always consider.<br />
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<b>End Game: Ahoy!</b><br />
The game continues until you go through the hazard deck three time. Every time you go through it, they get hard to beat, but still offer the same rewards. After the third time through you face the end game bosses, two pirate cards. These cards follow the same formula as the hazard cards but they are tougher to beat. If you are able to successfully defeat both pirates, then you win the game. If at any time you lose a life point, but you have none remaining, then you lose.<br />
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The game includes a scoring method to track how well you did. If you feel like you're getting pretty good, then there are also multiple levels of difficulty. However, the game is punishing even on the 'easiest' level. I have played around a dozen time and have only beaten it a couple times. It requires some good strategic and a bit of luck as it can easily go from bad to worse in the draw of a card. But even when things are going horribly, the game never feels unfair.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
This has become my favorite solo game for the time being. It has a fast set up time, a relatively small footprint and can be played pretty quickly (especially if you lose). If you are in the market for a solo game, then I recommend trying to track this one down.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-82841704689672024262012-06-21T12:06:00.002-07:002012-06-22T11:03:34.200-07:00Inspecting Scotland Yard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOrfNA5GjeUzbLQOThbo7Te9tnQbDGVRir-xYX4ZKflnYbFtev3-mTZZNdT-7DmR4pRu2Uy0yJ8swHIGZ9M1gtF_TAtR4u3LieMV1blSr-D5LXDRsaSxsnATClYg4wyD5I0pdUiDrWFM/s1600/d8_bit_Scotland_Yard_Components.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOrfNA5GjeUzbLQOThbo7Te9tnQbDGVRir-xYX4ZKflnYbFtev3-mTZZNdT-7DmR4pRu2Uy0yJ8swHIGZ9M1gtF_TAtR4u3LieMV1blSr-D5LXDRsaSxsnATClYg4wyD5I0pdUiDrWFM/s320/d8_bit_Scotland_Yard_Components.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Goodwill continues to surprise me when it comes to finding deals on great games. It doesn't always work, but when it does, its amazing. One of my latest finds is the Milton Bradley version of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/438/scotland-yard" target="_blank">Scotland Yard</a>. This classic game pits one player taking the role of Mr. X against a team of 5 Detective Inspectors who attempt to deduce his whereabouts and capture him before escape. Mr. X begins the game in an unknown location and moves around the map in secret, trying his best to evade capture. If he is successful is eluded the law for 24 rounds, he wins the game. If at any time an Inspector piece moves onto the same space as Mr. X, the other players win the game. It's a brilliant game of cat and mouse, logic and deduction, bluffing and bold moves.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Space 185 is can be reached by all three<br />
while 186 is only available via Taxi.</td></tr>
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<b>Ticket To Ride</b><br />
The key to the game is the transportation. Every player can move around the city of London via Taxi, Bus or Underground. Not every space on the board is accessible by every type of transportation and each has their own pros and cons. Riding by Taxi is the slowest, but is also the most wide reaching as almost every space can be reached by a taxi ride. This is also the most abundant type of ticket that the inspectors start with. On the opposite end, the Underground can move you from one side of the board to the other in just a couple turns. But there are very few Underground stations on the map. The Bus lies in the middle of the two. <br />
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During the game, when an Inspector moves, he must give one of the appropriate tokens to the Mr. X player. These tickets are a limited resource to the inspectors and must be handled properly. Towards the end of the game, Mr. X can easily evade capture by staying on spaces that the Inspectors no longer have access to.<br />
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On Mr. X's turn, that player will secretly write down the number of the space that he will be moving and then cover it with the token of how he got there. Thus, while the Inspectors don't always know <i>where </i>their quarry is, they know <i>how </i>he is moving around. This is where the deduction comes in.<br />
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<b>The Fugitive Is Spotted!</b><br />
To make things a little easier on the Inspectors, multiple times in the game, Mr. X must reveal his current location. This gives the Inspectors a chance to regroup and figure out if there anywhere close to their goal. Its also these moments that allow the players to begin to more accurately deduce where Mr. X has fled based on his modes of transportation used.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmtcj2JD7moT0f5S8skHyTAqKJQwVeqPLfIQVqGJAGkTGxtlzMO82NzVnPLkw4_lI6Vqx3gd8MZOaUKkuYh5q-p4_PLO_tsaOa3rlEjJH7TWpBReBhOq1Sfdi4P306_hH7Jc85TTB2hI/s1600/d8_bit_Scotland-Yard_Mr_X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmtcj2JD7moT0f5S8skHyTAqKJQwVeqPLfIQVqGJAGkTGxtlzMO82NzVnPLkw4_lI6Vqx3gd8MZOaUKkuYh5q-p4_PLO_tsaOa3rlEjJH7TWpBReBhOq1Sfdi4P306_hH7Jc85TTB2hI/s200/d8_bit_Scotland-Yard_Mr_X.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. X's secret weapons</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>That Sneaky Mr. X</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Mr. X, however has a couple tricks up his sleeve. First are the x2 tokens. Twice in the game, he may spend a x2 token and make a double move. This lets his make a quicker getaway if he is feeling a little boxed in. He also has five black tickets available to him. These can be used in place of the normal transportation token to mask exactly how is travelling. Used in conjunction with a x2 token, this can turn a narrow getaway in a clean break. The Mr. X player can also use this token to travel by river.</span><br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
This a fantastic and brain-burning game that plays great with anywhere from 2-6 players. Regardless of the number of players, there are always 5 inspectors so you can either have multiple opponents each with one detective or a single player who commands an entire unit in search of the fugitive. Thus, this makes a great 'all against one' game or a '2-player duel.'<br />
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This game has since been reprinted many times by Ravensburger with some upgrades in components and even a hat for the Mr. X player. There is also an iOS version of the game for the more digital minded. Regardless of the version, I highly recommend this game for a fun and tense game.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-88294861999437898202012-05-09T13:03:00.001-07:002012-06-21T12:07:48.294-07:00Step up from "Choose Your Own Adventure'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VXtHyXfkYpo/T6rNEfkbZ_I/AAAAAAAAFrQ/YMkCUpKEhiE/s1600/d8_Bit_Gold_Glory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VXtHyXfkYpo/T6rNEfkbZ_I/AAAAAAAAFrQ/YMkCUpKEhiE/s200/d8_Bit_Gold_Glory.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
While listening to a recent episode of the <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CF4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plaidhatgames.com%2Fpodcast.html&ei=MM2qT4LHIYidiALVxoTvAQ&usg=AFQjCNGC0KpbXjjL_uSZiZyYqdx4zP8O9g&sig2=iEDJegNHcnTP9gXBEpZjHQ" target="_blank">Plaid Hat Podcast</a>, I became aware of a genre of games that I can best described as a 'choose your own adventure' game mixed with an RPG. They play much like the classic book series that I was such a fan of as a child. You'll read a paragraph and then be presented with a choice which will then lead you to a subsequent paragraph and the cycle continues throughout the story. They do have an extra twist in that you also need some dice. Throughout the game there will be situations, such as combat, or performing tricky maneuvers, that the fates intervene.<br />
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Since discovering these types of games, I've been pleased to stumble upon a couple of them to explore a little deeper. The first one, "Cities of Gold & Glory" is the second book in the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=fabled+lands" target="_blank">Fabled Lands</a> series of books. The series of 12 books (although only 6 were released) spans the large region of the Fabled Lands, each books focusing on a certain region. You can start with any books, using either one of their pre-made characters or crating your own, and begin your adventure. Traveling from city to city and exploring whatever you come across. The interesting addition being that you can venture throughout the regions by moving between books, all while keeping your same character and stats.<br />
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I've only played a little bit of it so far and unfortunately I find it a bit lacking. I really admire the scope of the game, but it feels unfocused. The entire time I played I just wandered around aimlessly and was unable to find the beginning of the quest. It was just a little too open for my taste and would have appreciated a hint in the introduction that I'm looking for Person X who is located at Location Y. I will give it another shot, with maybe some help from online to get me started.<br />
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More recently I stumbled upon a copy of Gnomes:100, Dragons:0 from TSR. This book was part of a series the Catacombs solo adventure books based on Dungeons & Dragons. Compared to Gold & Glory, this book is a lot more focused and has a specific quest and character that the adventure is built for. The reader takes the part of a baker that finds himself leading a Gnomish army to clear out a cavern of dragons. It has a much lighter tone to it but looks very well put together. I appreciate being given a clear task to accomplish and I will most likely finish this one before trying the Gold & Glory again.<br />
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These books have been a wonderful discovery for me and I am looking forward to more. I have heard about an upcoming book entitled Destiny Quest that looks promising and I'll probably check that out when it is released. Are there any other good ones that I should keep an eye out for?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-50862638356644917232012-05-01T12:33:00.000-07:002012-06-21T12:08:14.630-07:00inFamous: Festival of Blood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I finally finished playing through inFamous: Festival of Blood, the the download only entry into the inFamous franchise. The original game in the series was one of the first games that I played all the way through when I got my PS3. I had gotten it as part of Sony's forgive us promotion after their massive blackout last summer.<br />
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I was really impressed with the controls and the massive city that you got to play through. I often found myself killing a few minutes by simply running around the rooftops and searching for some of the games hidden items.<br />
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When I finished playing through the game I wanted more of Cole's antics but wasn't ready to buy the second game, so this seemed like a good fix. It used the same engine as inFamous 2 so I'd be able to see the evolution of the series as far as graphics and control which I was quite interested in.<br />
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One of the first things you notice when playing is that Cole starts pretty much fully powered up. Unlike some other game franchises (I'm looking at you, Metroid) there was no cheap plot point that robbed the protagonist of all of his abilities, only to force him collect them one by one. While this was a great way to get the player to be able to dive right into the game, it did leave the game feeling a little shallow. There's a couple small upgrades, but really you don't feel like you're progressing anything. The first inFamous had a nice system of upgrades available and I just missed it in this game.<br />
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Another thing it fell a little short on in comparison to the first game is the amount of hidden items. There are hidden jars of blood (I'll get to that later) hidden around the city for Cole to locate. The problem is that there aren't too many of them and after a certain point early in the game, they all appear on the map. So you can easily just spend a few minutes flying around the city to fully power up and then there's nothing left to hunt for.<br />
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Apart from that though, the game was fun. The story behind it is that Zeke (Cole's BFF) is trying to impress a girl at a bar and tells this story of how Cole got turned into a vampire by the evil Bloody Mary and had to find a way to kill her before sunset or be trapped as her slave forever. There's some nice moments where Cole has to struggle with his newly found desire for human blood to continue to use his new vampire based powers. The blood jars I mentioned earlier increase this limit.<br />
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The atmosphere of the city really helped with the story and the theme. The game takes place during a Halloween type festival so the streets are covered in bonfires and people dressed up as demons and bats. It was a nice touch to keep the player feeling the darkness around Cole.<br />
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While this wasn't the deepest or longest game in the world, I think it was a nice value for what it was. There's still some replay value as the game features user-generated content in the form of additional missions. I haven't tried any of these yet so I can't speak of the general quality of them, but I'm hoping there's some good ones out there.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-68755449319889599942012-04-25T12:47:00.000-07:002012-06-21T12:08:24.609-07:00Taking a Breather: D&D Encounters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K9hyYOe5MOw/T5hVE1lOMUI/AAAAAAAAFi4/zcJ2Sb48I2U/s1600/d8_Bit_Elemental-Eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K9hyYOe5MOw/T5hVE1lOMUI/AAAAAAAAFi4/zcJ2Sb48I2U/s320/d8_Bit_Elemental-Eye.jpg" width="244" /></a></div>
Every Wednesday night for over a year, I've headed to my local game store to participate in the Dungeons & Dragons Encounters program. For the first bit I've been going as a PC, but starting with March of the Phantom Brigade, I've been running games as a DM. It was great practice to run games get comfortable with the role as well as meet new people and make some new friends. Tonight though, my seat will be occupied by another, as I am taking a hiatus.<br />
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I have enjoyed seeing the progression that the seasons have made and I applaud Wizards of the Coast for improving their program. Back when I started playing, the games were little more than dungeon crawls with a sprinkle of story. Since then the backgrounds and stories being told have been more interesting with some encounters actually offering players a meaningful choice as opposed to railroading them where the author wants then to go. But even with these improvements, I still recognize that I'm playing someone else's game. I'm telling someone else's story, and that's getting old.<br />
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My home group is going to be starting the Orcs of Stonefang Pass soon to get our characters through level 6. I'm looking forward to it as it will continue off of our starting adventure, The Slaying Stone. After that, I'm hoping I can convince the other players to start a new campaign. I don't really care what level, but I'm anxious to tell a new story. A cohesive story. Bouncing around from published adventure to published adventure has left me wanting more.<br />
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I've been beginning to realize that I am close to the edge of getting completely burnt out by the system. Sessions are combat heavy and combat itself gets too easily bogged down. Especially after playing a couple games of <a href="http://d8bit.blogspot.com/2012/04/marvel-heroic-rpg-review.html" target="_blank">Marvel Heroic</a>, I've realized that I'm looking for more emphasis on story and roleplaying than combat itself. Its still fun to cut down a horde of monsters, but that's not all I want to do.<br />
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Over the last few months I've been reading through rules of various game from various genres. I've looked at lighter and kid friendly games like Mouse Guard and I've looked at dark, horror games like World of Darkness. I've been amazed at the gamut of games out there and the wide variety of systems and mechanics. And to put it bluntly, I'm getting bored by d20s. Sure games that use them (D&D, Pathfinder, DC Adventures) have their differences in theme and each add their own little touch to the gameplay, but at the heart, it feels all the same and the pages and pages of rules start to blur together.<br />
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I'm hoping that by backing away from a weekly game that I can keep my interest in it enough to wait out the arrival of D&D Next. From everything I've heard about it, I'm really looking forward to playing it and really being able to make it the game that we all want.<br />
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Have you been burnt out by a game before? How long did it take before you could give it another go, or are you still left queasy at the sight of it.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-2591902318581639482012-04-24T13:11:00.000-07:002012-06-21T12:08:45.747-07:00Getting Rules Wrong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-omzc49rCVA8/T5b5s97HR2I/AAAAAAAAFiQ/gOmAepOYzA4/s1600/d8_bit_Rules.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-omzc49rCVA8/T5b5s97HR2I/AAAAAAAAFiQ/gOmAepOYzA4/s320/d8_bit_Rules.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many rules, so little time</td></tr>
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I had some friends over last night to play some games and have some fun. We started with a 4 player game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/110327/lords-of-waterdeep" target="_blank">Lords of Waterdeep</a>, which I am <a href="http://d8bit.blogspot.com/2012/04/lords-of-waterdeep-review.html" target="_blank">still enamored with</a>. Quick note on this before I move on, I just played a two player game with my wife over the weekend and it was interesting to see the difference in how the game scaled with a different number of players. In a two player game, each player gets 4 agents to place as opposed to only 2 in a four player game. This leads to games with more players feeling more tense and increasing the wish that you wish you had just one more move. The number of agents in the game remains relatively the same so the board will always fill up, its just a matter of how much you get to do before it does so.<br />
<br />
We then played a game of Saboteur, which was pretty nice. Players act as dwarves trying to dig for gold that is placed in one of three possible locations. The catch though, is that there's a possibility that one or more of the players is secretly a saboteur, trying to stop the operation in its tracks. This is a great mechanic that adds some nice tension and really forces players to analyze each others movements to try to detect who the traitor might be. Even if the players figure out there is no traitor, the player who finds the gold first gets the highest reward, which still causes the players to try and slow each other down, just a little bit. I'd like to play this game again, hopefully with more players.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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The final game of the evening was Doom: The Boardgame. I've had this game for just over a year and this was the fourth time I've brought it to the table, each time with a different group. As a result, I've been playing the first scenario over and over, but that's besides the point. As with most Fantasy Flight games, the rulebook is fairly hefty and chock full of rules and exceptions and symbols and explanations. This unfortunately means that if I'm not properly prepared (such as last night) then some things can slip through the cracks. In this instance it was forgetting that all figures block line of sight and that grenades don't need line of sight.Luckily for me, the guys I was playing with were pretty chill about the matters and we were able to move on. This did, however, make me think of what to do in situations such as this.<br />
<br />
<b>The Best Case Scenario: </b>Hopefully in most cases the mistake is caught early on and maybe a move or two is retracted and fixed. Going back to my game of Doom last night, after the the first round of actual combat I double checked the LOS rules and realized all figures block it, not just enemy ones. The first player just slightly altered his turn, moving back to allow another player to move up and play continued. Nothing detrimental to the flow of the game and we were able to move on.<br />
<br />
<b>The Not As Good As Best Case Scenario: </b>My other example from Doom fell into this category. It wasn't until halfway through the game that I realized that I was hindering the usage of the grenade weapons. This did cause some missed opportunities from the players, but none of them were really that game changing. This is most usual for cases that a resource is being expended. Either used earlier or later, the resource is gone even if it wasn't used in the most optimal way.<br />
<br />
<b>The I'm Serious I'm Not Being A Jerk Scenario: </b>Perhaps the most embarrassing one of the list. This usually happens a at least halfway through the game. When teaching a game, one his turn that player suddenly remembers a critical rule that other players could have greatly benefited them if they knew about it. This can suddenly lead to the teaching player having a great advantage as he has the first stab at whatever was forgotten. This could take the form of terrain benefit, or additional move options. To attempt to make things a little more fair, when I find myself in this situation I explain my mistake and then make a sub-optimal move, trying to ignore the information I just shared.<br />
<br />
<b>The Way Too Late Scenario: </b>Sometimes it isn't until after the game ends completely that you double check a rule and realize that you completely played it wrong. As long as the game ran smoothly, I don't tend to dwell too much on this one. Its just if I gave someone bad information that would either led them a bad move or prevent them from taking a good one. This most recently happened when I was teaching Alien Frontiers. It was only my second time playing and I didn't fully understand one of the territory bonuses. I didn't realize this until the end of the game and one or two of the players weren't too pleased.<br />
<br />
While none of these scenarios are the best way to play any game, the best thing to do is just to learn from your mistakes and try to learn from them. I also suggest the following tips.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>If you know what games you're playing in a session and you're a little rusty, take some time to review the rule books. </li>
<li>Make notes in the rule book or highlight things that often slip your mind. The files sections on <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/">boardgamegeek.com</a> are good resources to players aids and cheat sheets.</li>
<li>If you're an experienced player and someone else is explaining the game, try to let them take the lead as not to confuse the other players. If they gloss over something though, politely remind them and the relinquish control again.</li>
<li>Remember that its just a game and try not to take it too seriously. Have fun.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Did I miss any good examples or tips?</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-33585356036682369842012-04-23T20:40:00.000-07:002012-04-23T10:43:16.333-07:00Arkham Asylum Is Crazy Good<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gxv-jQp34MA/T3oamctEqvI/AAAAAAAAFUs/uVsn0p1sEQo/s1600/d8bit_Batman_Arkham_Asylum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gxv-jQp34MA/T3oamctEqvI/AAAAAAAAFUs/uVsn0p1sEQo/s320/d8bit_Batman_Arkham_Asylum.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
When I got my PS3 a few months back, I knew that one of the first games I had to get was Batman: Arkham Asylum. It seemed like a no brain brainer; the reviews were stellar across the board and Batman is great character.<br />
<br />
<b>The Story</b><br />
The game starts by setting up the story. Batman has just caught the Joker (again) and is delivering him to Arkham Asylum. They begin the long walk through the halls to the holding wing while being joined with guards, doctors and Commissoner Gordon. Batman thinks aloud that this time it seemed too easy, like the Joker actually wanted to get caught. The group finally reached a checkpoint that Batman would not be allowed to pass through, as his presence would greatly disturb the other patients, and that's when the real story starts.<br />
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As soon as the Joker is out of Batman's reach, he breaks free of his restraints and runs off deeper in the facility. It is also quickly revealed that his loyal sidekick, Harley Quinn, has already taken control of the main security room and is quickly able to head off Batman's pursuit. And thus Batman now has to explore the island of Arkham Asylum, which is not swarming with angry inmates as well as a handful of super powered criminals.<br />
<br />
<b>The Game</b><br />
The highlight of this game is great mix of action and stealth. There are some rooms where you will be met with a large mob of released prisoners. At time like this you use the nice and fluid combat system to chain attacks together between enemies. You can punch, throw, block & counter, toss some batarangs and perform nasty finish moves that lead perfectly into each other. The controls for these parts are just wonderful.<br />
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On the other side of the coin are rooms that are rooms that swarm with armed gunmen, intent on ending Batman's career. These rooms feature the stealth aspects of the game. To survive, you need to stick to the shadows and air vents in attempt to take down the inmates one by one without alerting the others. This mix of gameplay styles really epitomizes the essence of Batman's character and how he operates.<br />
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<b>The Goodies</b><br />
At the heart of it all, this game is a love letter to Batman and a real treat to all of his fans. The game is littered with secrets and easter eggs that cover the gamut of his mythology, rogues gallery and secrets. The super villains that they used as bosses are a great selection and are done extremely well, especially scarecrow's very eerie and disturbing sections. There is plenty of content to keep a gamer going.<br />
<br />
I'm glad I finally got a chance to play this great game and I'm looking forward to getting to Arkham City.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-14747394579996526522012-04-17T20:40:00.001-07:002012-04-18T12:14:38.927-07:00Lords of Waterdeep: Review<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OuqHmuA32wI/T43_g3e5rPI/AAAAAAAAFec/EvMsDFav-8k/s1600/d8bit_Lords_Of_Waterdeep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OuqHmuA32wI/T43_g3e5rPI/AAAAAAAAFec/EvMsDFav-8k/s1600/d8bit_Lords_Of_Waterdeep.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lords of Waterdeep from Wizards of the Coast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lords of Waterdeep is the newest Dungeons & Dragons board game from Wizards of the Coast. Hot on the heels of the Castle Ravenloft and the other D&D Adventure Game series as well as Conquest of Nerath, this one sticks out as being 'not like the others.'<br />
<br />
Lords of Waterdeep is a euro-style, worker placement, resource management game. That's right. While the other games focus on groups of adventurers fighting through dangerous dungeons or battling waves of monsters, this game focused on the political power that lies in secret behind the scenes.<br />
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<b>The Secret Lords</b><br />
In this game, players take the role of one of 12 secret Lords of the city of Waterdeep. Each Lord has certain interests that they want seen accomplished in the form of quest cards (and in one case, real estate). Players then take turns dispatching their agents around the city to recruit adventurers, collect money, retrieve, construct buildings and more. After 8 rounds, the game ends, players reveal their Lord cards and the winner is announced.<br />
<br />
<b>The Meat of the Game</b><br />
The core of the game is the deck of quest cards. They are the main source of victory points in the game. The quests are spread over 5 categories; warfare, commerce, piety, arcana and skullduggery. The majority of the Lords favor two of those types of quests and will award extra points at the end of the game for completing them.<br />
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To complete a quest, the players needs to have the appropriate resources in the form of adventurers (cubes representing fighters, rogues, wizards and cleric) and gold. These resources are collected by either dispatching agents to certain buildings on the board or through the use of the other deck of cards, Intrigue Cards.<br />
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Intrigue cards comes in three flavors; utility, attack and mandatory quest. Utility cards reward you directly and may even help other players. They allow you to do things such as collecting 4 four and one other player to collect 2 gold. Attack gold are direct attacks on other players, either stealing resources or forcing them to discard resources. Mandatory quests are also played on other players and force them to complete that quest before any other. They are generally good for slowing down your opponent and forcing them to waste resources.<br />
<br />
<b>The Lord of my Gameshelf</b><br />
I am enamored by this game. I love playing it and when I'm not playing it I'm thinking about playing it. It just works so perfectly. The competition is tight and fierce and there are plenty of decisions to make. Even the end game gets tense as those final bonus points are counted up.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-71873153534416144152012-04-17T11:16:00.002-07:002012-04-17T11:16:23.322-07:00Marvel Heroic RPG: A Review<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D6p-ixrxML4/T42f8xjtpBI/AAAAAAAAFeU/nlAT8ooVPbw/s1600/d8bit_Marvel_Heroic_RPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D6p-ixrxML4/T42f8xjtpBI/AAAAAAAAFeU/nlAT8ooVPbw/s320/d8bit_Marvel_Heroic_RPG.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marvel Heroic by Margaret Weis</td></tr>
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I got a chance this last weekend to play the new Marvel Heroic RPG from <a href="http://margaretweis.com/" target="_blank">Margaret Weis</a> with two different groups, my home group and at my FLGS. I wanted to take a couple days before writing this to really make sure that I had a chance to think over my impressions of the game and now I can safely say that its great. I had a great time playing and was really impressed by the Cortex Plus system.<br />
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<b>Cortex (Gets an A) Plus:</b><br />
The Cortex Plus system is a dice pool mechanic, which means that you add dice to your pile based on what action you're trying to take and your characters data file (example: <a href="http://margaretweis.com/images/stories/bonus_content/data_file_captain_america_promo_2.pdf" target="_blank">Captain America</a>). Each character has stats for affiliation (whether they're alone, with one other hero or on a team), distinction (personal idioms and viewpoints), lists of their power sets and any specialties. Using Captain America as an example, say he is leading the New Avengers and going to throw his shield at the Grey Gargoyle.<br />
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He would get a d10 for being in a team environment, a d8 for leading by example, a d8 for using his super strength to throw, another d8 for using the shield as a weapon and finally a d10 for being a combat master. In total he would roll 3d8+2d10. After rolling, the player adds 2 of the dice to get a total and uses a third die as the effect die (the number rolled has no effect, just the size).<br />
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This system can take a couple rolls to really get the hang of, but once you've got that under your belt it becomes very fast to read down the page and add dice as you go. I also really like how it opens up the characters and power sets for interpretation and creative uses. If you want to use Cap's shield to deflect bullets, just use its durability instead, if you want to use it as a sled to go down the side of a building, use the durability and Captain America's acrobatic expert. The stats and power sets really become a toolbox and let the player decide how to use them.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>A Story Telling Game:</b><br />
My favorite thing about this game is that they really designed it to feel like you're playing out a comic book. Players rounds are compared to a panel in a book, so if it could fit in a panel, you can do it. This eliminates worry about timing details such as character speed that I feel can slow down other games.<br />
<br />
For example, in one game, Matt Murdock (played by me) needed to run to the security room to retrieve his briefcase that contained his Daredevil costume. In other games, this could have easily kept me out of the action for multiple rounds, but it just took me saying what I needed to do and it was done. my actions could easily fit into a panel or two and thus I didn't need to worry about slowing the story down.<br />
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The initiative system also reflects the emphasis the game places on story. Essentially, after one character performs his actions, he gets to choose who goes next. This keeps the action focused on where the players want. Do you want to see how Carnage responds to Spider-Man jump kicking him? Or would you rather go and see how Iron Man is doing with the security system? This can also keep everyone alert to what's going on, as you never know when it will be your turn to roll.<br />
<br />
<b>Extreme Opposition</b><br />
Every dice roll in MHRPG is an opposed roll, meaning that two players roll their dice and compare the outcome. If the attacking character gets a higher total, then the attack is a success. If the defender wins, then the attack misses and the defender has a chance to counter-attack. Everything flows, actions can lead into other actions. The game feels very organic and smooth as play proceeds around the table.<br />
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<b>Never Split The Party (Unless You Want To)</b><br />
In most games I've seen, it really behooves the players to stick together at all costs. MHRPG is designed so that sometimes it may be in your best interest to split up into teams of 2 or even go it alone. This leads to difference scenes being played simultaneously across a larger set piece.<br />
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I played the same event in both of the games I played in, the Breakout story included in the Basis Manual. What was really cool though, was that the story played out completely differently based on the characters that were chosen. In the first game, Iron Fist and Luke Cage were escorting Foggy Nelson to the lower levels while Iron Man and Human Torch were above ground when the event started. This caused the game to be broken into the two scenes. In my second game, all three characters (Spider-Man, Daredevil and Luke Cage) started together which had the majority of the battles to occur in the same area, although characters did split off from time to time to do their own thing. It was fantastic not to feel boxed in by what was written or by what the game master had planned for us.<br />
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<b>What's Not Too Love</b><br />
I'm trying not to lavish too much praise so I don't come across as a paid stooge (although I'd gladly become one), but I can't really think of anything I didn't like about the game. The only thing I can think of is just to make sure this is right for your group. If you want a more structured game where every conceivable possibility has a (mostly) clearly defined rule, then this may not be for you. This game rewards free play and open interpretation of the datafiles and rules.<br />
<br />
I look forward to playing this some more and for more events and character to be made available. Especially the upcoming Annihilation book. I loves me some Marvel Cosmic.<br />
<br />
Have you had the chance to play yet? Did you like it as much as I did?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-10178339794623249752012-04-12T09:32:00.000-07:002012-04-12T10:06:17.240-07:00Marvel & DC: RPGs<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--zH4nF3dZ0U/T4ZV2AjuP9I/AAAAAAAAFak/jR4EcUq_IdY/s1600/d8bit_Marvel_DC_RPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--zH4nF3dZ0U/T4ZV2AjuP9I/AAAAAAAAFak/jR4EcUq_IdY/s200/d8bit_Marvel_DC_RPG.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Battle of Champions</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've recently taken the time to do a cursory reading of both the <a href="http://www.greenronin.com/store/category/dc_adventures.html" target="_blank">DC Adventures RPG</a> from Green Ronin Publishing and the new <a href="http://margaretweis.com/shop#ecwid:category=2262007&mode=product&product=9555027" target="_blank">Marvel Heroic RPG</a> from Margaret Weis. Since the companies have always been the subject of debates comparing their take on characters and story, I thought it would be interesting to compare these two games. Keep in mind, this is not a review. I have yet to play either (I'll be playing Marvel this weekend, so expect an actual review next week) so this is based solely on my first impressions of the games.<br />
<br />
<b>Main Mechanic</b><br />
<span style="color: red;">Marvel: </span>The Marvel uses the Cortex Plus system which Margaret Weis uses a variation of for all of their games, such as Leverage, Smallville and Supernatural. The basis of the system is a dice pool mechanic. On each character's datafile there are number of traits, distinctions and power sets with corresponding value that relate to sizes of dice, from d4 to d12. When performing an action or reaction, the players chooses one entry from each set of distinctions to form his dice pool. That pool is rolled, and two dice are chosen to make up a total with a third used as an effect. This is then compared to the opposing roll and the proper effect is carried out. There's a little more detail than that, but that's the basics of how the game is played. One of the great things about this book is that there are a lot of well-written examples of how the game is played in each section, which makes the rules very easy to pick up.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">DC:</span> DC uses the Mutants & Masterminds game as its base, which is a d20 system. I was able to grasp the basics of this game a little faster, because I'm already familiar with the basics of it from playing Dungeons & Dragons. This game also uses character sheets, but they list out more detailed descriptions of powers (from super strength to laser beams to teleportation) and skills (such as acrobatics, endurance and stealth) with positive or negative modifiers. When performing an action, the players rolls a d20 and adds the appropriate modifier. This result is then compared to a target number, weather is be the defensive value of the villain or an abstract number that represents the difficulty of the task being performed. If the total value equals or beats the target number, then the action is a success.<br />
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<br />
<b>Price</b><br />
<span style="color: red;">Marvel: </span>The Marvel Basic Rules is a paperback book that retails at $20, which in my opinion is a fantastic deal. Everything you need to get started playing is in the one book. It starts with the Operations Manual (core rules), a two-part event (based on the Breakout story of New Avengers #1-6) and data files for 23 heroes (including stars such as Iron Man, Wolverine and Spider-Man). This is definitely one of the better values I've seen. A lot of games sell just the the player's book for $30, in addition to whatever the game master needs and a starting adventure.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">DC:</span> The DC Adventures book is a hardcover book retails for $30. This also a pretty good deal as it includes almost everything that a player needs to play. It does have all of the rules as a well as a wide variety of characters to choose from; 28 full character sheets of super heroes and villains. It does not however, have any introductory adventure included. It doesn't seem that complicated to make your own, just think of a story, throw in appropriate super villains and supporting cast and go. There are some good chapters on the history of the DC universe and some key locations. If you're new to role-playing though, and need a little more support starting up a game, you'll need to find something elsewhere.<br />
<br />
<b>Character Creation</b><br />
<span style="color: red;">Marvel:</span> The character creation is Marvel is one of the most abstact takes that I've seen. It doesn't really focus on character balance, but instead focuses more on just building a character that is representative of who you want to play. There is no point budget or even set statistics.<br />
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The first thing to be determined is decided the character's affiliations, or how well they work solo, in a buddy environment or on a team. These are given values of d6, d8 or d10. Then there are distinction, which are three guiding phrases for the character. They can be catch phrases or ideal that guide the character and either be a help or a burden. Then there's powersets and specialties. These make up all the cool things that heroes can do. These are given values between dd6 and d12. There's really no limit to how many powers your hero can have, beyond what your fellow players will put up with. The manual even states to just do what feels right and you can always tweak it later. The final thing is creating milestone. These are the key way that characters earn xp. They are story points that the character will eventually have to deal with one way or another. For example, one of Captain America's milestones is that he puts the Avengers back together.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">DC:</span> DC takes a more traditional stance on character creation. The first thing you do is set a power level for your hero, whether it be more a more street level hero like Batman or a demi-god like Superman. This choice will give you a certain number of points to spend. These points are used to add and upgrade powers, skills and other special features. This ensures a more balanced party and help the game master know how tough to make the adventure.<br />
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<b>Additional Content</b><br />
<span style="color: red;">Marvel:</span><b> </b>The Marvel game is brand new and as of now, there is only the basic book available. There are already three supplements planned to come out later this year based on the Civil War, Annihilation and Age of Apocalypse story lines. These books are described as including full event adventures and more hero datafiles. I am looking forward to these, but I will say that Margaret Weis hasn't had the best track record of releasing books on time (if at all).<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">DC: </span>Green Ronin currently has two supplements for the DC Adventures game, both of which are full of additional character sheets for heroes and villains. Additional content in the book is information on teams, side characters, animals and more guidance on creating your own characters based on existing creations. Again, there are no adventures available.<br />
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<b>Final Thoughts</b><br />
<span style="color: red;">Marvel:</span> I've been reading through a lot of RPG rules lately, just to see what else is out there, and Marvel just struck me as being very different. I was very intrigued by its focus on story and keeping the game moving as opposed to getting bogged down with loads of rules and exceptions. The couple paragraphs I wrote above cover just about 75% of everything you need to know, and the other 25% can easily be explained as you get to it at the table. Even the character creation is very abstracted and focus driven. I like the idea of just making what feels right. It may take a little more time to fully grasp but it really forces you to know who the character your playing is.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">DC:</span> On the opposite end is DC. Not that there's anything wrong with the system. It looks like it would be fun and I would enjoy playing it, it just didn't excite me. It may just be that I've mainly played D&D, but moving to another d20 game isn't that appealing.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
I think its fantastic that the two games are so different. If you're a comic book fan and want to try out an RPG, one of these will be up your alley. If you just to tell stories, don't want to get lost in pages of rules and are ok with abstraction, then Marvel is where you should go. If you need more structure and want to ensure character balance then check out DC. Either way, I'm sure you'll have a good time. Even if you're more intrigued by the Marvel game but really want to play Green Lantern, or want to play a d20 game with Hawkeye, there's no reason that you can't create the appropriate character sheet and get your game going. That's the great thing about role-playing games. You can play who want to wherever you want.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-38508527164054295282012-04-08T05:00:00.000-07:002012-04-08T05:00:01.462-07:00Happy Easter with Chuck-It Chicken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1T95ffsWQt4/T4EfsPZLdEI/AAAAAAAAFYM/PUGugb7pATI/s1600/d8bit_Chuck_It_Chicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1T95ffsWQt4/T4EfsPZLdEI/AAAAAAAAFYM/PUGugb7pATI/s320/d8bit_Chuck_It_Chicken.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I wanted to write something special for Easter, and so I looked through my collection to find something thematic. There's wasn't much but I did find <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/23656/chuck-it-chicken" target="_blank">Chuck-It Chicken!</a>, published by <a href="http://www.ravensburger.com/us/start/index.html" target="_blank">Ravensburger Games</a>. <br />
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This is actually one of my many great finds when perusing one of my local Goodwills. It was a steal at $2 even though it was missing some pieces. I figured I could make or find some kind of replacements. Worst case scenario, the board itself looked really cool and I only wasted a couple bucks, but luckily for me, a quick email to Ravensburger got me a full set of replacement pieces. I was quite ecstatic when I opened that envelope and realized I didn't have to worry about making pieces.<br />
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Chuck-It Chicken has the players trying to get one of their chickens to the top of the rooster at the top of the board. Each player has a team of three chickens of their color, but wearing different types of hats; safari, football helmet and baseball cap. On their turn, each players rolls 2 dice and moves their chicken that matches the hat rolled. Each die also has a chicken symbol and if that gets rolled, thats where the real fun comes in. <br />
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Attached to the large rooster, is a small slide. If a player rolls the chicken symbol, he can choose to roll an egg down the slide, aiming to knock his opponent's chicken back to the bottom. This is made a little difficult by the random bouncing of the egg and the various barriers that chickens can hide behind. This adds a great dexterity element to the game and makes for some fun and tense moments. Especially when you actually knock over one of your own chickens and you have to suffer the heckling of your opponents.<br />
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This is a great, fun little game that kids would get a kick out of. The components are brilliant and really sell the light and fun theme. I'm hoping to get this to the table today, just to say I did. Who knows, it just might become my new tradition..<br />
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What about you? What are you playing today? Anything Easter themed?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-53590534243696955142012-04-04T13:01:00.000-07:002012-04-04T13:01:09.565-07:00Commands & Colors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_f7EyUNHCss/T3yeRezTfpI/AAAAAAAAFV4/5QJP8oZcwQM/s1600/d8bit_Abaddon-Command-Colors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_f7EyUNHCss/T3yeRezTfpI/AAAAAAAAFV4/5QJP8oZcwQM/s320/d8bit_Abaddon-Command-Colors.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Richard Borg is most known for his design of the <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/50/commands-and-colors" target="_blank">Commands & Colors</a> series of games. The series started with the design of Battle Cry, a Civil War themed war game with easy to learn mechanics and fast gameplay. The system is best identified for three key elements; a hex board divided into three sections (left, middle, right), units being divided into categories (whether is be color or type) and cards that are used to activate certain units.<br />
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The game board also features a modular and customizable design. The board itself is bare and has no features, but the game comes with stacks of hexagonal cardboard terrain features that quickly turn a large, flat field into a hilly landscape or a dense forest. These terrain pieces allow for an almost endless variety of scenarios and battlefields.<br />
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The differentiation of the units is important in combat when it comes to the attacking die rolls. The dice have different colors or symbols that correspond to each group, depending on the game. When attacking, a certain number of dice are rolled, depending on the attack value of the attacking squad and the object is to roll the symbol corresponding with your target. For example, in Memoir '44, if you are attack a tank, you want to roll the tank symbol and in Battlelore, if you are attacking a red cavalry unit, you want to roll the red helmet. This mechanic makes combat very fast and easy to follow but still adds a nice amount of luck and tension.<br />
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The deck of command cards come in two varieties, section and tactic. The section cards allow you to order a certain number of units on the different parts of the battlefield, such as move 2 units on the left flank. The tactic cards are much more powerful and versatile, allowing for things such as order 4 infantry units anywhere on the board, or allowing certain units to move father or attack with additional dice.<br />
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Since the publication of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/551/battle-cry" target="_blank">Battlecry</a>, there have many other games in the series covering a wide range of time periods. <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14105/commands-colors-ancients" target="_blank">Commands & Colors: Ancients</a> warfare from the begging of military history (3000 BC) to the Middle Ages (400 AD). This installment also has expansions that add in other armies such as Roman, Greek and Egyptian. Next up (chronologically) is Commands & Colors: Napoleonics, which depicts the campaigns in the Napoleonic Era, focusing on England against France. Then there is <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10630/memoir-44" target="_blank">Memoir '44</a> which takes place in World War 2. The base game is Axis against allies, but this one also has many expansions that add in Russia, Japan and various terrain types. <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25417/battlelore" target="_blank">Battlelore</a> is a fantasy-themed version of the system that is based on the Hundred Years War and features dwarves, giant spiders and ogres as unit types.<br />
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Despite using the same basic system as the skeleton of the game, each game has its own personality and tweaks to the ruleset. Some games focus more on keeping your units in tight formations while in others you can spread out more. Some rely more on ranged attacks while others have more melee combat. Battlelore also has an additional deck of cards called the Lore Deck which allows the players to collect magic points to spend on powerful attacks and maneuvers.<br />
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This year will see the release of two new games into the family. <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/112381/abaddon" target="_blank">Abaddon</a> is a sci-fi themed game that features giant mechs in battle. This one is interesting because it does differ in some of the key elements that I mentioned above. First and most obvious is that the board uses square spaces, not hexes. Also the funtion of the cards and dice are switched. With the dice being used to select which units can be ordered and the cards are used to resolve combat. I am interested to see how these changes will affect the gameplay and the experience.<br />
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The other new new release is <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/122913/samurai-battles" target="_blank">Samurai Battles</a>. This one features combat in feudal japan between armies of samurais. The interesting thing about this one, is that the game actually comes with two completely different rulesets. It has the Commands & Colors rules as well as rules based on the <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70461/art-of-tactic" target="_blank">Art of Tactic</a> game designed by Konstantin Krivenko. This is the one I am most looking forward to as I am very curious how the two systems will compare.<br />
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All in all, I a fan of the Commands & Colors system. I haven't played as much as I'd like but I love Memoir '44 and Battlelore is pretty good too (although a little clunkier, in my opinion). I hope to one day be able to play more in the series to really get a good understanding of it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917309033925401317.post-86924350908341842022012-03-28T14:17:00.003-07:002012-03-28T14:21:53.220-07:00Days of Wonder: Online<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best of Both Worlds</td></tr>
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In today's world of iPads and handheld gaming, its been exciting to see the growing trend of board games finding their way to a digital format.<br />
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<a href="http://www.daysofwonder.com/en/" target="_blank">Days of Wonder</a>, in my opinion, has been on the forefront of this movement. By the time that I had gotten into the hobby, they already had a version of <a href="http://www.daysofwonder.com/online/en/t2r/online/" target="_blank">Ticket To Ride</a> for PC/Mac/Linux. It provided a great way to get a quick game in when I didn't have another player available or I wanted a small distraction when watching TV. The initial download comes with the original USA map. Many of the expansions (USA 1910, Europe and Switzerland) are also available for and additional purchase.<br />
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Back in 2011, they also released a digital version of <a href="http://www.daysofwonder.com/online/en/m44/online/" target="_blank">Memoir '44</a> for PC/Mac/Linux. This game featured a freemium model of play. The game itself is free to play and an account initially starts with a certain amount of in-game gold. Each game requires a certain amount of gold based on the chosen map and scenario, with additional gold available for a small fee. This game features a wide variety of expansions and maps and can either be played solo against a computer opponent or online against another person. Recently, Memoir '44 has also been made available on the <a href="http://www.daysofwonder.com/online/en/m44/steam/" target="_blank">Steam</a> platform.<br />
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Since then, Days of Wonder and began to release some of their games on iOS. Ticket to Ride has a version for the <a href="http://www.daysofwonder.com/online/en/t2r/ipad/" target="_blank">iPad</a> and <a href="http://www.daysofwonder.com/online/en/t2r/pocket/" target="_blank">iPhone/iPod</a> and Smallworld is available for the <a href="http://www.daysofwonder.com/online/en/smallworld/ipad/" target="_blank">iPad</a>. Both games have pass n play as well as online asynchronous gameplay.<br />
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Personally, I think that this transition is great for the hobby. These versions lower the barrier to entry and makes games much more accessible to new players. The game itself takes care of any initial set up, lowering the time it takes to get a game started to just the time it takes for the game to load. Another great thing is that the games themselves can track and enforce rules, freeing the players to focus on their strategy instead of having to reference rules over small details. In Ticket To Ride, for example, no matter how many times I play, I can never remember starting hand size; TTR Online takes care of that for me.<br />
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Obviously there are drawbacks to these as well. First of all, there just isn't the same feel and impact of looking at a small screen as opposed to seeing the board, large and real. There's also just the feeling of board games that can't be replicated. There's something satisfying about slapping down the winning card, feeling the dice in your hand or keeping your hand on your piece as you take one last second to analyze your move. In fact Eric Hautemont, CEO of Days of Wonder, talked to Ben Cachura at <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/days-of-wonder-ceo-explains-how-ipad-ticket-to-ride-boosted-sales-of-the-re" target="_blank">Penny Arcade</a> about how the success of their apps has actually increased sales of the physical game. As great as it can be for a family to be able to play a quick game at a restaurant, nothing can replace the experience of setting up a game on the dining room table.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04087864630346546786noreply@blogger.com0