tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72530742646076241532024-03-13T00:57:24.018-04:00That's What Jenni SaidLiving for TodayJenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.comBlogger473125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-62622251015318291012024-02-28T15:44:00.001-05:002024-02-28T15:48:08.236-05:00Level Up Winter Retreat 2024<p>There is a popular and well-informed YouTube channel called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@BoardGameCo">BoardGameCo</a> that has its finger on the pulse of the crowdfunding market for board games. A number of years ago, my husband Christopher shared the channel and its content with me, and it was an instant like for me. The main host, Alex, manages to come across as charming, intelligent, and principled all at once. He has a firm understanding of the board game industry, a vast library, and good instincts when it comes to predicting the value (both in terms of play and resale) of upcoming and current crowdfunding games, and makes recommendations on when to purchase and when to pass. I never feel like he’s trying to sell me something. He’s just very enthusiastic about board games and somewhere along the way realized people enjoy his work and I think that fuels him (along with YouTube ad revenue of course).</p> <p>In 2023, Alex and his business partner Motti Eisenbach (of <a href="https://addaxgames.com/">Addax Games</a>) launched Level Up Events and hosted the inaugural Level Up Retreat. The retreat is an annual board game and RPG convention associated with BoardGameCo. It’s a small (<400 attendees) and cozy event tucked away in the Tri-State metropolitan area  (NY/NJ/CT), and very welcoming to all. The library (800+games) is well balanced in terms of complexity of play, player count, publication date, and game mechanisms. </p> <p>This year the retreat was held in February and branded as the Level Up <em>Winter</em>  Retreat. One of my friends in the industry encouraged me to check it out and I was invited by Alex as a special guest to participate. My husband talked me into bringing him along as well since he’d introduced me to BoardGameCo all those years ago. <img title="" alt="Castles of Burgandy with Alex and others at Level Up Retreat" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPSsX61LWRcwzvX30vfjzUwhaaOTH-JWYU4SQRq_Eu3XCDeVdkgXzTd5uA0PWdVkxpF99dqkXpqk0H6-0vnpNyVyCImUS9_F8sqLhYiyIbUelbbfz5uOVykEt2ZrpktBRPYVroWG7ykoXnYXg3wvoFFgw=w1080-h810-s-no-gm?authuser=0" />There were a handful of other special guests in attendance – board game designers, content creators, etc. - and many of them became part of the draw of the retreat for attendees. It’s fun to play board games with smart, funny, and popular people. I definitely enjoyed getting to play with friends I don’t get to see often and also networking with other content creators.  I haven’t even mentioned the cosplayers yet but they were pretty cool too – shout out to all the Star Wars players especially.  </p> <p><img style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczP3z-oGymrJEdmR_5v9i1G6fOcXFd2NFaF5jdmVg3UpQIa17nbGeUvON9SZ74fIQ_Ct6rw0av05sAZswaVm0LLmzECu4j59TeL3KedBhdEejdyIWdFQYMqDE5xHhpfknJxlb-G2ydMssvd5xYOgHgoajg=w1080-h1440-s-no-gm?authuser=0" width="369" align="left" height="492" /></p> <p>One thing I really enjoyed about the Level Up Retreat is their choice to host a regional qualifier for the World Series of Board Gaming (WSBG). The WSBG is an annual event in Vegas where competitors choose from 16 different games to begin a tournament that ends in 1 finale winner and a cash prize of $25,000. Serious gaming! To enter the WSBG, one must pay a registration fee, OR, win a regional qualifier to receive a gratis entry. So for anyone living in the Tri-State area and interested in qualifying for the WSBG, the Level Up Retreat is especially a great idea. I competed in the qualifier and made it to the semi-finals and it’s really spurred my interested in the WSBG. After returning home from the retreat, I’ve been organizing practice games and I’m currently running multiple practice games on Board Game Arena at all hours and planning to attend the WSBG. It’s really fantastic that the Level Up Retreat included this event as part of its scheduled activities and I hope that more regional board game conventions follow suit.</p> <p><img title="" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; float: right; display: inline;" alt="Dune Imperium" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczP7sWiMKewyKOdim1odf8gZ_5GdsvxivPljUqBLl5QJjEPeekyHaxIA9cD8MJOCIqA8G6LOuUmtlf6wvppcdRR5rMbfKQwLTGrkACJc93easCzM2vuMS3sjIJqsidwEZi31QeKqJAium9CGWP0vOWW8Fg=w1080-h1440-s-no-gm?authuser=0" width="364" align="right" height="485" /></p> <p>Another nice touch at the retreat was the VIP snack room. Are you a chocoholic? Or maybe a sugar fiend who skips over the chocolate for straight sugar goodness like Sweet Tarts, Runts, or Sour Patch Kids, or Nerds? Perhaps you go for the salty and you fuel your games on pretzels, chips, and granola bars? You might even be in the select group of healthy noshers who prefer fresh fruit and protein bars? It’s all good because the VIP snack room has it all (except beverages; the hosting hotel did not permit the organizers to provide beverages this year). Personally, I ate a lot of Nerds ropes, punctuated by a few fresh fruits. It’s an upcharge to have access to the VIP room, but if you’re a hard core board gamer who likes to hyperfocus, you’ll want to opt for it. You’ll also get additional swag in a nice swag bag as well. </p> <p>So, the games were on point, the snacks were fantastic, the guests were great, and the events were numerous and well attended (including many many RPG events outside my scope that I heard were fantastic). Bonus: I never had to wait in a long line in the library for a game I wanted to become available. In fact, there weren’t any lines at the library at all, as it was kind of a constant free-for-all. And that’s the only aspect of this convention that needs some work – the library setup and procedures. While the library volunteers did their best to help people find games they were looking for, there isn’t any inventory list of games for attendees to browse through when selecting games, the games are not arranged on the shelves in alphabetical order, and there is no formal check-out, check-in process. Not only does this create a bit of chaos when trying to find a game, it’s a security issue. Most conventions have either a formal check-out/check-in process so that someone is always accountable for each game removed from the library, or they have the library setup directly within the gaming space and security at the door to prevent attendees from removing games from the gaming area. The Level Up Retreat had neither; it’s all operating on the honor system. I hope for the sake of future attendees and the profitability of the event for the organizing entities that more effort is given toward organizing and securely managing the library at the next retreat. </p> <p>The Level Up Retreat has found the formula for convention success and I’m confident that once they address the library management issues it will be well on its way to being recognized as one of the best regional board gaming conventions. </p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-28423523396481564432023-05-01T21:00:00.001-04:002023-05-01T21:00:18.537-04:00What Jenni Said About “The Body”: Glorious Detail<p>With "The Body", Bryson has done for our flesh houses within which we reside what he previously did for our brick and mortar ones in his book "At Home".  We have been treated to a full walk-through of the entire human body and all its functionality, in glorious detail. Bryson's language is beautiful and at times also mystical in its descriptiveness: </p> <p>"You have a meter of it [DNA] packed into every cell, and so many cells that if you formed all the DNA in your body into a single strand, it would stretch ten billion miles, to beyond Pluto. Think of it: there is enough of you to leave the solar system. You are in the most literal sense cosmic."</p> <p>Perhaps what I love most about "The Body" is the detailed narrative Bryson provides on so many key people in the history of medicine, infectious diseases, anatomy, etc. Many of these people I'd never heard of before and it was enlightening to read their fascinating (and often sad) stories. It seems there is a lot of drama and intrigue in the world of medicine. </p> <p>As with all books on science and medicine, some portions of the text are outdated. For example, Bryson writes that we have no idea what the full mechanism causing labor to begin for a pregnant woman involves. Only, the thing is,  now we do. Per some of the medical research of late, it seems to be induced by chemicals the fetus releases after their lungs are fully developed. So, as you read, should you come across one of his statements that science still hasn't figured out X yet, go ahead and google it because it's entirely possible that science has actually figured it out by the time you've sat down to read the book.  </p> <p>This is probably my favorite book by Bryson, outside of Notes from a Small Island. I recommend it highly as an addition to your library. A good read for young adults as well. </p> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Body-Guide-Occupants-Bill-Bryson/dp/0385539304?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=http241614776-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=98f83543307aaf27535e7adc40d5dba5&camp=1789&creative=9325" target="_blank">Buy This Book</a>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-11845892167078606832023-05-01T19:31:00.001-04:002023-05-01T19:31:09.625-04:00What Jenni Said About The Art of The Gathering: Fantastic<p>Priya Parker's book The Art of The Gathering (TAoG) was recommended to me by a friend from church who knows how much I enjoy putting together events for others. <br />As I began reading TAoF, I was quite inspired by the rich meaning Parker ascribes to gathering, and the significant possibilities of making a concrete difference in the world through our gatherings. Yes, I nodded to myself, the events I put together do matter. Nice ego stroke. But as she laid out a step by step methodology for ensuring those gatherings have purpose and are effective, my kneejerk reaction was that her approach felt overly controlling and I worried my guests would resent the kind of manipulative engineering she describes. What happened to organic gatherings that are completely open and free from any sort of direction? Isn't that where happiness and change can take root? Turns out, not so much. She makes a very good case for why proper planning and execution of gatherings under thoughtful leadership make for the best gatherings. I recalled the best events I've ever been to, and had to admit Parker was right - those that were carefully planned with purpose and direction, where the guests and activities were curated, turned out to be the most impactful. <br />So I've made it a goal to put the principles she's laid out in TAoG into practice, and it's going well so far. I set an intentional purpose for each gathering. I curate the invite list based on that purpose. I choose a setting that aids the purpose (the right density; the right locale). I actively manage the event - not heavy handed mind you, but not laissez faire - to protect/equalize/connect my guests. I aim to always create a temporary escape from the world during my events. I work hard before each event and prime my guests for the event. During the events, I include activities that encourage people to open up with each other. And I close the events with a recollection of our purpose, summarize the event, and try to leave my guests with something memorable. <br />If you are responsible (or enjoy and would like to be responsible) for organizing and hosting events (for work, for pleasure, as a volunteer, etc) I highly recommend this book. Life is too short to just go through the motions of meetings and events; they should be infused with purpose and Parker can teach you how to make it so. I especially encourage this as a read for those in the Christian community who have been given the gift of hospitality and want to refine and improve their event hosting, understanding that showing God's love to others through event planning and hosting is important work in the kingdom.</p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-23692821830443565872022-11-15T14:03:00.001-05:002023-02-17T10:12:10.276-05:00Gamers Ranch<p>Last week, I was invited, along with my husband, to join a group of board gamers from our local Iowa City area on their annual gaming retreat. For this event, they gather at the Gamers Ranch, for day after day of board games and fellowship. </p> <p>If you’re not familiar with the <a href="https://gamersranch.com/">Gamers Ranch</a>, it’s a short term rental/vacation property in the countryside, nestled among farms and open pastures, just outside of Bland, Missouri.  The site can accommodate groups of up to 20 people at a time and offers activities for indoors (frequently updated board game library with thousands of games including the BGG Top 100, arcade, LAN gaming pc area, Lego library, MTG library, miniature painting workshop area, reading nooks, and several large screen tvs for streaming) and outdoors (disc golf course, miles of hiking trails, a lake with boating, geocaching, fire pits, etc). The sleeping areas inside are well appointed with linens, toiletries, and wifi. Bonus for foodies: the kitchen is fantastic, offering a commercial fridge/freezer, large work area, and all the equipment you need to cook just about anything (they even provide a smoker!). Like other properties of this type, you just need to bring your own food, and you pay a base rate per night, plus a flat cleaning fee. Just a phenomenal property in terms of its amenities. The owner (Dave) has a home literally next door, and while he isn’t always around, he often is, so if you need anything (including some company to enjoy all those activities), he’s got your back. During our stay, because the retreat organizers have known Dave for a few years now, he was often gaming with us. </p> <p>Our group from Iowa City was about 15 people, plus a couple of kids. My husband and I arrived a day after the event began as we were coming directly from a vacation in the Maldives and had 7 and a half hours of driving to get to the retreat from O’Hare once we got off our flight. Within our group, the arrangement was that one of the folks was in charge of all the meal planning and execution, and the rest of us took turns doing  cleanup after. For those of you who know me, you know that I often take on that role, and it’s a lot of work, so I was happy for once to be able to attend a fun event like this and just participate as a guest and not an organizer. The gentleman who handled all the meals (Mike) was an amazing  talent in the kitchen, and I’m pretty sure I actually cried with joy the first evening I was there when a delicious pile of BBQ ribs with all the fixings was placed in front of me. I joked that one of the best things about the retreat for me, as a woman, was getting to play the role of the typical privileged American white male where I can just show up at mealtime and something yummy and made from scratch is handed to me. While not a built-in amenity of the Ranch, it was an absolutely amazing enhancement to the whole experience. </p> <p>Let’s talk about the games. Dave prides himself on having the latest and greatest new releases in the library and he delivered on that. I got a chance to play Mosaic from Forbidden Games, and to my delight, it was the fru fru version from the Kickstarter with all the upgrades (great game by the way, I hope to get a copy and play a few more times to write a review for you). </p>   Another recent release – Dog Park – was also on the tables, and this pattern of new games repeated itself many times over the retreat. I spent a good bit of time recovering from jet lag as the Maldives are 12 hours ahead of central time, so I didn’t play continuously as I usually do at game events, but I still got in plenty of games.  They included Mosaic, two games of Twilight Inscription (from Fantasy Flight), Tapestry (from Stonemaier Gamers) with all expansions, Brass Birmingham (from Roxley Games), and numerous games of Werewolf.   We wrapped up our retreat Sunday morning. I had hoped to get in another game or two before the 1pm checkout time, but as I’d stayed up till 4am playing Twilight Inscription, I needed to sleep in so I could be fresh for driving home. Once we were finally up, we said our goodbyes to all our new friends (before arriving, I only knew one person at the retreat) and were off. I’m home now, already two days into my workweek, and all I can think of is how much I can’t wait to go back with the group next year. I’m hoping perhaps even to organize a trip for the board game group we host at our hose each week as well. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you give the Gamers Ranch a visit with your favorite group of people. Go for the games, or the other activities, and have a great time. I think you’re really going to find it to be an amazing experience, just as we did.    <p><em>Note: If your drive home from the Gamers Ranch takes you by Hermann, MO as mine did, make sure to stop at the Wurst House for lunch and supplies (bring a cooler and ice packs to take home their award winning brats and summer sausages).</em></p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-24952751062062827382022-06-08T14:53:00.001-04:002022-06-08T15:33:33.465-04:00Board Game Review: Anno 1800<p>Whenever Martin Wallace designs a new game, I am all over it. This is because I absolutely love Brass Birmingham (another MW designed game); in fact Brass Birmingham is my #1 board game of all time. Over the years, his other games I've tried have been pretty good, but not necessarily amazing must-buys. Still, I keep trying each new release of his, searching for that next star performer. That's why I'm excited to report that Anno 1800 is, in fact, a star performer, and an amazing must-buy board game.</p> <p>Anno 1800 was adapted by the publisher (Kosmos) from a Ubisoft video game of the same name. In the board game, players take on the role of industrialists, charged with developing their island economies and exploring other islands. Each player begins the game with a personal industry board with trade & exploration ships, a shipyard, and industrial goods tiles printed on the board. </p> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLXwI4wCU-5VcuJ5lXngjjib8Bx4-KU9rhIy8qaySkodGRMd_Qjn9iMosEa8jc6r3YWA8akefcpEWgT2yfpEuoi14KC5eVJ09ilH7ICarUDkhwpmoYR-zKxj9apH595QJ9sjS6svNqT_v5ekFOUnGpgTtA=w1080-h1440-no?authuser=0" /></p> <p>A starting collection of workers (wooden cubes) of various types to produce the goods is also provided to each player. A specific type of worker must be placed on a goods tile on a player’s personal industry board to produce the good, and it remains there until an action is taken (the festival action) to move all the workers back to their unused (“residential”) area. Each player is also dealt a hand of population cards and a couple of trade and exploration tokens. The population cards have a requirement that must be met (depicted on the face of the card; typically the production of a good, or the relinquishment of trade or exploration tokens) before they can be played. The trade tokens are a prerequisite for using an opponent’s goods and the exploration tokens are a prerequisite for sailing to other islands. </p> <p>In the center of the play area, there is a common industries board, with a limited number of each type of goods tile stacked in little piles for the taking, as well as shipyard and ship tiles. If you’re familiar with Brass Birmingham, the layout on the central board in Anno 1800 is somewhat akin to how the industry tiles are stacked on your personal playing board before you remove them to place on the central board in Brass. </p> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLVH78P9--A-Kzwgki_MgoAO1FwQDO8U9xpieX1iqwYcHR9zmwCc4FxOt2gB5f12g0J261SOKAVtQjAm_bhZ4hmW3CiQT2MKpDpra2yDMsGefLrZXD6E6l0WVMHltzDsomlI5aVR9mRxvcF2VT40iSI8ew=w1080-h1440-no?authuser=0" /></p> <p>To round out the setup, there are stacks of population cards (sorted by the type of worker each card is associated with), new world cards (basically a twist on population cards; given out as a benefit when you explore new world islands), expedition cards (provide opportunities for additional end game scoring; these are given out as a benefit by population or new world cards but can also be purchased with exploration tokens), and a handful of common objective cards (each one provides end game scoring bonuses for players who meet the objective).     </p> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLVmXeVDwpFIKHpArTiQSTt0jXFAsHSD1ZUzdsYwyntjvAeuTMFqkr8M7DWe9Tj3sribCwTcNA--teDoj0Q7Y_EC83-UddBcnv4WbR1ws-KR1QQXq5Pu0U0cN-HQKaR3PNUcAbTBYd0Oc4dC6WjKk5INRg=w1080-h1440-no?authuser=0" /></p> <p>During a player’s turn, a player chooses from among several actions:</p> <ul> <li>Expand industry by adding the ability to produce new goods to their island (construct new industry). To do so, a player will take a goods tile from the central board, flip it over, and place it onto a free space (or over top an existing goods tile they are willing to lose the ability to produce going forward). Some goods tiles have prerequisites that must be met in order to construct them on a personal industry board. For example, to gain the ability to produce soap, a player must place the required type of workers on their personal industry board to produce pig fat and coal. Once they’ve done so, they may take the soap tile from the common industries board. </li> <li>Expand industry by adding a new shipyard to their island (construct a new shipyard). To do so, players will take a shipyard tile from the central board, flip it over, and place it onto a free space along the coast of their island (or over top an existing shipyard tile they are willing to lose the ability to produce ships from going forward). There are level 1, 2, and 3 shipyards, corresponding to the type of ship they can produce. Like goods tiles, shipyards have prerequisites that must be met in order to construct them on a personal industry board. </li> <li>Expand industry by adding new ships to their island (construct one or more new ships).  To do so, players will take as many ship tiles  as they’d like to build from the central board, flip them over, and place them onto free spaces in the harbor of their island (or over top an existing ship tiles they are willing to lose). There are level 1, 2, and 3 ships, corresponding to the type of shipyards that produced them. Like goods tiles, ships have prerequisites that must be met in order to construct them on a personal industry board. Additionally, ship production is limited to 1 ship per established shipyard on a player’s personal industry board.</li> <li>Increase the workforce by up to three new workers by meeting the prerequisites for recruiting each worker. When this action is taken, a player takes the worker cubes from the central supply that they have met the recruiting prerequisites for and adds those workers to their home island, placing them in the residential area. Note that each type of worker taken also requires the player to draw a population card corresponding to that worker type from the central card stacks. This card is added to the player’s existing hand of population cards. </li> <li>Upgrade up to three workers by meeting the prerequisites for upgrading each worker. When this action is taken, a player takes the worker cubes from the central supply that they have met the upgrade prerequisites for and adds those workers to their home island, placing them in the same general area that the worker they are replacing was located. This means if a player upgrades a worker from the residential area on their personal industry board, the upgraded worker should be placed in the residential area as well. But if the player upgrades a worker that was already in place on a goods tile, the upgraded worker should likewise be placed back on that same goods tile. </li> <li>Play a population card from their hand and fulfill the card’s requirement to receive a one time benefit (more workers or worker upgrades, gold, trade or exploration tokens, expedition cards, an extra turn,  new world resources,  or the ability to discard cards in hand without otherwise playing them first). Most of these benefits can be redeemed (“activated”) at any time after playing the card – on the current turn or on a future turn – and these activations are bonus actions, so you can do as many of them on a turn as you wish. Once they are activated, they are turned face down and kept in a player’s personal area. Playing a population card also amasses victory points (called influence points in Anno 1800) to be scored at the end of the game; these will make up the bulk of a player’s influence points when the game is concluded.  </li> <li>Swap up to three population cards from their hand with the same number of cards from the communal population decks. This might be done if a player didn’t find the cards in their hand useful and wanted to gamble for better cards from the central decks. </li> <li>Sail and explore an old world or new world island by expending exploration tokens.  Exploring old world islands extends the manufacturing spaces of a player’s personal industry board and provides an immediate one time bonus as depicted on the old world island drawn. Exploring new world islands provides access to three new raw materials (such as cotton, coffee beans, or tobacco) per island that can be obtained using trade tokens. These materials are accessible only by the player who drew the island (a private relationship with the island natives). If a new world island is explored, the player must also draw three new world cards from the central stacks and add them to their hand.</li> <li>Take an expedition and draw up to three expedition cards by expending exploration tokens. Each of these cards show an animal and an artifact discovered on the expedition. At the end of the game, assuming the player holding the expedition cards has the requisite workers in their supply to oversee the animals and artifacts depicted, they will receive influence points for the specimens.</li> </ul> <p><em>For any of the above actions that require a prerequisite good that the player cannot or does not want to produce, the good can be obtained from an opponent by trading the required number of trade tokens in exchange for the production of the good. Likewise, for actions that require a worker that the player cannot currently supply because it has been exhausted already, the necessary worker can be returned to its residential district before the action by paying the required amount of gold to entice them home.</em>  </p> <ul> <li>Celebrate a festival to reset all workers and replenish trade and exploration tokens. When this action is taken, a player moves all of their workers back to the residential area of their personal industry board and refills each of their ships with the type and number of token specified.    </li> </ul> <p>The game continues, turn after turn, action after action, until a player plays or discards their final population card. Once that happens, that player gains the 7 VP fireworks token, and the rest of the players are allowed to complete their turns in the current round and one additional round, prior to final scoring. Scoring is detailed in the rulebook, but to summarize, it consists of points from population cards, expedition cards, gold, the fireworks token, and the objective cards. Note that scorepads are not included in the game, but can be downloaded from the publisher’s website. </p> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="3"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top"><em>It’s suddenly clear to me that when I really really REALLY love a game, I get so excited about it that I take the time to explain in detail all of the rules of gameplay like I’ve done here for Anno 1800. For most games outside my top 10, I stick to my opinions on the game overall and simply comment on the rulebook (which is well written in this case, by the way) and advise you to read it yourself if you want details on all the gameplay.</em> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Let’s talk components. Highlights of the Anno 1800 component artwork include the box cover and the reproduction of the box cover art on the back of the player boards. The rest of the artwork across the components I’d classify as adequate; it does its job to reinforce the theme without being overly distracting. The component construction and durability are adequate also, and should hold up fine over several plays, <u>except for the population cards</u>. We’ve played less than 10 times and the cards are already bending at the edges. They don’t seem to be high quality I know it’s a little unfair to compare the quality of cardstock used in the high end Kickstarter games I’ve gotten used to with that of the cardstock used in a retail edition of a board game like this one, but it’s really an area that Kosmos could have put a little more care into. You might want to sleeve your population cards to prevent damage if you play this game frequently. </p> <p>Getting into the gameplay, there’s lots of strategy to explore, game after game. Reading over strategy forums online, I see a lot of discussion on trying to win the game by hoarding all the red workers, getting architect workers first to build ships, creating a strong feedback loop of acquiring new workers and 8 point population cards, etc, etc. Everyone thinks they’ve devised the very best strategy to ensure victory and there is much debate. And of course, the effectiveness of any given strategy varies across different player counts. What works exceedingly well in a 4 player game may not work at all in a 2 player game. </p> <p>I didn’t face a lot of analysis paralysis in my plays of Anno 1800, and since I’m prone to AP more than most, that bodes well for the rest of you. There just isn’t the complexity here to induce a brain freeze and because you must consume all resources in the same turn that you produced them, long term resource planning isn’t a possibility. </p> <p>The one drawback in the mechanics of the game is that a player can hijack the entire spirit of the game by attempting to rush the end conditions by disposing of their cards as soon as possible after the game starts. All they need to do is go out first, and if they can do that before any other player has laid down many of their population cards, they can easily come out ahead if no one else is paying attention, given they’ll also be awarded the 7 point fireworks token. What I want to say about this is that if you pay attention when you spot a player trying to do that, you can switch your strategy to focus on completing the 3 and 5 point population cards before they go out instead of the 8 pointers you might otherwise be prioritizing and you should still be able to come out ahead of them when they bring an early end to the game. Alternatively, you can just stop inviting over the friend who sucks the fun out of the game by rushing the ending. </p> <p>Just as with Brass Birmingham, what we have here in Anno 1800 is a well themed (love me some industrial action) board game with mechanics that are easy to learn, yet in their interoperability, provide depth to the game, especially when combined with the scarcity of certain resources like the red workers. There’s also  a highly addictive quality to Wallace’s games like this one, wherein you construct a thing that produces things, and then you produce those things, and then you use the things you produced as input to construct another thing or produce more things. I love that resource chaining in Brass and I love it here! </p> <p>Anno 1800 is a strong buy recommendation from me; pick up the game online or from your FLGS (shout out to mine: <a title="https://www.geek-city.com/" href="https://www.geek-city.com/">https://www.geek-city.com/</a>) and get it on the table. I’d love to know what you think of it also – you can comment here or tag me on IG @thatswhatjennisaid . </p> <p>--------------------------------------------------</p> <p>Publisher: Kosmos <br />Players: 2-4 (We played with 2 and 4) <br />Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 2 hours per game <br />Game type: worker placement, hand management, card games <br />Retail Price: $69.95 direct from the publisher <a title="https://store.thamesandkosmos.com/products/anno-1800" href="https://store.thamesandkosmos.com/products/anno-1800">https://store.thamesandkosmos.com/products/anno-1800</a></p> <p>Rating:</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img title="review-OUIOUIOUI" border="0" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="424" height="214" /></a></p> <p>Jenni’s rating scale: <br /><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it. <br />OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game. <br />OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME. <br />NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em></p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-86630437749753423212022-06-01T11:20:00.010-04:002023-08-02T23:21:49.026-04:00Board Game Review: Obsessed with Obsession<p><img align="right" height="443" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc-FHl2DT_lOMSOn7CKzdtbH0hqrOcfGh2AQGlQZqE0tm7mm2yFC-374QJSzVKMCuTWgEF8ubp8z-IiyhqJi6uKLslaDmpGkA-xGMxOHIg-sYpAarLDt5GEoVU0GzfY20ny5nZC1HP6F83XCVpNg5Bi3HQ=w332-h443?authuser=0" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 5px 0px 4px;" width="332" />I'm completely obsessed with Obsession! I received a review copy of the updated second edition along with all the expansions (Wessex, Useful Man, Upstairs Downstairs) and from the moment I took everything out of the boxes, my excitement was over the top. Actually, that's not even the half of it - I remember I was already quite excited before the game even arrived. I'd wanted to get my hands on a copy as soon as I learned there was a game that brought the lifestyle that we all fell in love with watching Downton Abbey to the gaming table. Back in 2021, I was having a great time at the Dice Tower Summer Retreat and a new friend Bonnie sang the praises of Obsession. She had seen me eyeing the box on the shelf and gave me a summary of the game mechanics as she owned the first edition. She explained that the theme is centered on running an estate in Derbyshire and competing against others to have the best home, reputation, gentry guests, etc. Based on her enthusiasm and description of the game, my husband and I sat down to play it that afternoon. I ruthlessly squashed him 96 to 78 in our first game and I was hooked. </p> <p> </p> <p>Back at home, months later, with the second edition and the expansions in front of me, my first task was organizing everything into one box. The publisher had included all of the expansions to ensure I had the complete experience, but as far as I could tell, some of the materials sent were duplicate cards or tiles. And that was true, even after carefully reviewing and incorporating the items that seemed to be dupes but turned out to be replacements for base game components with subtle changes. I think this happened because the Upstairs Downstairs expansion comes with materials to update the 1st edition of the base game, but those materials are already included in the second edition of the base game that I received, resulting in duplicates. I mention it in case you order the newer edition and all the expansions and find yourself wondering what’s going on with extra items you find. I just set them aside in my spare parts box. </p> <p>Anyway, let’s start by cataloging the components in the base game, shall we? The 2nd edition comes with:</p> <ul> <li>Supply Board</li> <ul> <li>Used to hold the Builder’s Market of improvement tiles available for purchase, as well as the guests, servants and objective cards that may be acquired as the game unfolds. </li> </ul> <li>Round Track Board</li> <ul> <li>Keeps the progress of the game flow through each round and season (a season is 3 rounds plus a special round called a courtship). There are 16 or 20 rounds to a game, depending on whether you play a standard or extended game. The Round Track also holds the theme cards, the victory point cards, and the two very special guests every estate is dying to get an audience with – Mr. Charles Fairchild and his sister Elizabeth Fairchild. </li> </ul> <li>Player components (given to each player)</li> <ul> <li> Family board to organize and process their estate’s reputation, servants, improvement tiles, and hosted events</li> <li>Starting estate tiles (improvement tiles)</li> <li>Set of basic servants</li> <li>Small hand of family guest cards + 2 casual guest cards designated as starter guests</li> <li> Reputation wheel counters</li> <li>Reminder tiles</li> <li>Player aids </li> <li>Any addl bonus guests, rooms, money, or servants granted by the family’s unique profile</li> </ul> <li>Other components</li> <ul> <li>Money (pounds)</li> <li>Scorepad</li> <li>Improvement tile bag</li> <li>Components for solitaire play </li> <li>Rulebook and Glossary</li> </ul> </ul> <p>These components are all well made and under normal use should last a long time and wear well. The rulebook is well written and the glossary makes it evident this was a passion project for the designer, as it goes into great detail regarding the historical significance of the various tiles and guests. Absolutely love it! Both the font and the artwork help to carry the theme across the components, which was a great point of detail. </p> <p>Gameplay is relatively straightforward. Across their turns, players are responsible for managing estate tiles, guests, and servants while seeking to conform to courtship themes, improve their reputations, and complete objectives. At the end of the game, the player with the most victory points is the winner.</p> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc9QWOmxVC2MbFU8_QsVWIm_L1VLXulx4HN9zGoF1ALNbI-yDi-yWDFK3pslJUgXHrSXMZn8SAwyEhJxRa17_m_2a44PiOGGdzBNbsqtr3WanfJKazSCX5BWFquyf2RBZ4S3_NCTBUH_jbZI3iU3l3YZAA=w720-h540-s-no?authuser=0" /></p> <p>Managing Estate Tiles</p> <p> During the game, each player will be responsible for managing the improvement tiles on their estate. Initially, each player only has a handful of starter tiles, but over time their estate will expand to include additional tiles purchased from the supply board. Each tile confers one or more benefits (called favours) when played, in the form of money, the ability to draw additional guests or dismiss guests one already has, the ability to hire additional servants, increased reputation, and end game victory points. Improvement tiles are flipped over after first use, typically revealing different favours on the backside. Most tiles remain on their backside after initial use, but some improvement tiles are designed to be flipped after each use. Note: each improvement tile has requirements as to which type of guest[s] and servant[s] are required to host an event with that tile so it’s essential that players approach estate tile management in a coordinated fashion with guest and servant management. </p> <p>Managing Guests</p> <p>In addition to their estate tiles, players must also manage a hand of guest cards (which are discarded individually after use to a personal discard pile and recalled en masse when passing). At the beginning of the game, the hand is comprised of family members and casual guests dealt directly to players, but as with the player estates, as the game continues into successive rounds, it will expand. Additional cards added to the hand will be drawn from the casual and prestige guests on the supply board. Just as improvement tiles provide favours, so do guests. Prestige guests give better favours and are generally worth more end game victory points. Some guests, based on their thematic description, have destructive favours that you have to watch out for. For example, a male guest labeled a cad might lower your reputation should you invite him to an event and offer negative victory points if you find him in your hand at game’s end. Adding a bit of complexity to the puzzle, guests may often have requirements for servants printed on their card; this is in addition to any servant[s] specified on improvement tiles used to host events. </p> <p>Managing Servants</p> <p>With improvement tiles to host prestigious events and guests to attend those events, of course servants will be needed to keep things proper in high society. After all, the guests aren’t going to serve themselves! Not to worry; players begin with a few starting servants, and will hire on more help as they wish to during the course of the game. In this way, staff management becomes the third leg of family affairs. Servant management can be especially tricky. This is because you typically cannot hire additional servants without having one of your most useful servants available (the butler). Additionally, to be kind to our staff and not overwork them, after a servant has been used during a turn, it’s not available again until two turns later (although a player can spend reputation if they are desperate and force a servant back to work early). It’s very easy for a player to back themselves into a corner with plenty of improvement tiles and guests ready to go and a shortage of servants to make the event happen. </p> <p>Courtship Themes</p> <p>At the beginning of each season, an event theme is drawn, revealing the improvement tile category that will be evaluated at the end of that season, during the courtship round. During evaluation, the player with the most victory points showing on the tiles in their estate matching the theme will be awarded a victory point card and their choice of the Fairchild guest cards. The victory point cards offer a player the choice of a useful one time in-game benefit or a chunk of end game victory points. And while the player must give the Fairchild guest back at the end of the next season, having them in hand during the next season to take advantage of their favours is very beneficial. Hence, tailoring improvement tile purchases and tiles selected for hosting (to flip them and reveal their higher VP side) to the theme each season is an essential tenant of good strategy and game winning players tend to correlate with VP card awardees. </p> <p>Reputation</p> <p>You cannot win this game without paying attention to reputation. Every improvement tile and guest card has a minimum prestige rating printed on them (or implied as in the case with family and the Fairchilds) which represent the minimum reputation required to use them for a hosted event. If you don’t improve your reputation as the game plays out, you’ll eventually be shut out of using the tiles and guests that have the greatest impact on final scoring. Additionally, a player’s reputation level at game end directly confers victory points, ranging from 1 point (for having a reputation level of 1) to 45 points (for having the maximum reputation level in an extended game). Finding ways to steadily increase reputation through favours found on improvement tiles and guest cards is very important. In every game I’ve played, the winner was among those with the highest reputations at game’s end. </p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>At the beginning of the game, all players are dealt a number of objective cards. These are end game goals, that if accomplished, reward victory points. They may be variable, such as x VP per servant on staff, or fixed amount, such as 16 VP for a player if they have tiles x,y, and z in their estate. While objectives are a great source of victory points and should not be entirely disregarded, I have generally found that the winners in our games are not the players who attain the most VPs from objectives. For example, in our most recent game, my friend Brian won a 5 player game with a total score of 221 (next closest player had only 189) and yet he brought in 28 of those points from objective cards while I had 38 points from objectives and two of the other players also had higher VP totals from their objectives than Brian. </p> <p>Player Turns</p> <p><img align="right" height="467" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc-Aacsn5vh4BEzgBfnQYPSIcfic5VNnrSjNx_BRgINKKlW2Gj6eXvSX3ejEO_rmsH3bd8namqJXM9YzILBrUIrrakIyqw2n46NpDz5jG18WnLXkYi_JgMfFYLMBYhc2K7afVavLJdrbQFAZWlQCnjI-Dg=w351-h467?authuser=0" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 4px;" width="351" />On a player’s turn, they begin by rotating their servants a step toward active service. If they’re currently resting in the servant’s quarters they move to active service and if they were in the expended service area they move toward the servant’s quarters. Next, the player observes any round events (for example, some rounds designated as village fairs provide income and some tiles provide favours at the beginning of each round). After that’s completed, the player decides which tile they’d like to use to host an event, moves it to the active event box on their player board, and decides which guest[s] (of those that meet the requirements) will attend the event. To be eligible, the guest[s] must be in the player’s hand and not their discard pile. This is the point where they most also provide the required servants – placing those required by the tile on the tile and those required by the guest[s] on the guest[s] card. To be eligible, the servant must be in the available service area of the player’s board. Once servants have been placed, it’s time to collect favours from the tile and the guests (gathering or giving up money, reputation, additional guests, and additional servants as indicated). As a final step in the turn, a player may buy an improvement tile from the market. The market is setup with tiles that have been drawn randomly from the tile bag and placed in market slots with prices listed above. When a tile is purchased, tiles in higher priced market slots are shifted over to fill the gap and a new tile is drawn from the bag and placed in the most expensive market slot. Normally, each player is limited to buying only one tile during a round, except during a special round that represents the Builder’s Holiday that allows them to buy as many tiles as they can afford and wish to purchase. Once a player finishes their turn, play passes to the next player. Once every player has had a turn during a round, the round marker is moved to the next round and the process begins again. During the courtship round of each season, no player actions are taken; this round is used exclusively to evaluate player performance against courtship themes. </p> <p>So that’s the nuts and bolts of the base game. It’s on point and the gameplay is both a challenging puzzle and entertaining adventure at the same time. Highly recommend! I can’t find a single fault in the game. Not a one. I could probably play Obsession dozens and dozens of times as presented in the base game and still be enthusiastic about it, just like my friend Bonnie was. But I was lucky enough to have all the expansions in front of me from the get go, so of course I started incorporating them as well, in the second or third play of the game. Let’s go over those now.</p> <p>Wessex Expansion</p> <p>Wessex adds a fifth family to the game, giving players an additional choice when selecting starting families. Dan provides a great deal of narrative backstory for the new family in the expansion insert booklet and I just love that. Again, great attention to detail, and it’s really appreciated by players like myself who care about theme and want to understand the backstory of who we are playing in a game and what our motivations are all about. This expansion also includes two new improvement tiles and an extended mode solitaire option. You’re going to want to pick up this expansion for the variability it provides. I have a personal goal to win the game as each family, so this adds to my challenge. </p> <p>Upstairs Downstairs Expansion</p> <p>This is a major expansion that adds complexity, variability, and extra joy to the base game through a lot of new and updated components. There are four new servant types, each of which has a variety of effects when integrated into the game. Very clever and all seamlessly thematically appropriate. There are dozens of new guests (including very unique promotional guests), objectives, and improvement tiles. There’s a new set of cards called milestones that offer in-game shared objectives that award victory points to the players who complete them first. There’s even a new round track board to facilitate a new game variant. For those who aren’t madly in love with the cute little mini sized VP and Objective cards included in the base game, this expansion provides a duplicate copy of these decks in a larger format. It’s actually a little debate in our group as to which set of decks to use every time we sit down to play as I really like the little cards but some of my friends appreciate the easier-to-read larger cards. As an added bonus, the expansion also allows the game to scale to 5 or 6 players (by providing an additional family/extra improvement tiles/extra basic servants). You’re going to want to pick up this expansion because it’s nothing short of amazing. It's a can’t live without. </p> <p>Useful Box Expansion</p> <p>This expansion is mostly a correctional tool, updating tiles from the base game (both the 1st and 2nd printings) that have errors as well as problematic tiles from the Upstairs Downstairs expansion. There are also a few new tiles and some components to expand solitaire variants. While this expansion was necessary for me, I would expect the entirety of the corrections and new tiles to be folded into the next printings of the respective games (base or U/D expansions) and likely unnecessary for future buyers. Just make sure to check your edition to determine if this expansions provides value for you or not before you spring for it. <br /></p> <p>Etsy Stickers</p> <p>I might be on the dark side of the publisher for recommending these (as they appear to be unlicensed) but I found these adorable meeple stickers on Etsy (<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1008836394/obsession-meeples-upgrade-kit-free" title="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1008836394/obsession-meeples-upgrade-kit-free">https://www.etsy.com/listing/1008836394/obsession-meeples-upgrade-kit-free</a>) that really took the servant components over the top. Highly recommend them. </p> <p>I just want to add a final note about theme. Obsession is so perfectly themed, that it lends itself to glorious costuming around the game table in historical period appropriate attire. If you’re not willing to take it that far, at least consider hosting a formal tea with gourmet sandwiches and delicate sweets for your friends who come to play the game. It really elevates the whole experience. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kEuHxuvm-OA" width="320" youtube-src-id="kEuHxuvm-OA"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p> <p>--------------------------------------------------</p> <p>Publisher: Kayenta Games <br />Players: 1-6 (We played with 2,3,4,and 5) <br />Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 3 hours per game <br />Game type: worker placement, hand management, tile placement games <br />Rating:</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" border="0" height="214" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" width="424" /></a></p> <p>Jenni’s rating scale: <br /><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it. <br />OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game. <br />OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME. <br />NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em></p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-89896257201588931992022-04-01T20:50:00.000-04:002022-06-07T22:50:59.126-04:00Board Game Review: Tapestry Arts & Architecture Expansion<p>The good folks at Stonemaier Games sent us a review copy of the newest expansion for Tapestry recently. We have the base game and the previous expansion, Plans and Ploys, in our game library. Arts & Architecture is designed by Jamey Stegmaier and Mike Young, with artwork by Andrew Bosley and landmark sculptures by Rom Brown. The expansion adds more of the familiar components: five new civilizations, six new capital city mats, 5 new landmark cards with landmarks, twenty new tapestry cards, and eleven new tech cards. Arts & Architecture also adds completely new features to the game, including an arts track with accompanying landmarks, twenty masterpiece cards, twenty inspiration tiles, and an upgraded science die to include iconography referencing the arts track.</p> <p>The new arts development track is quite useful and thematically blends well with the overall concept of the game.</p> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLXqTi37tzHN7FSUHSwffYF2C8tTtGZ6G3mmd3iFM-G2C2GSSE-T0M6aVV-bE_jTsu2rQU6ywMC99d7VINyJICs-byLksi0_Ie2Secg3CU73sRVhVSUMudejcMfVD17AGOXW2KFHE6ZAVUTjZRFLeduJKw=w1080-h1440-no" width="827" height="1103" /></p> <p>It gives you the opportunity to place more of your income buildings, score victory points for tech cards and exploration tiles, acquire masterpiece cards which provide benefits during income turns, and place inspiration tiles on your income mat over existing income tracks to improve the rewards gained during income turns. In the first few games I played (2 player), I concentrated heavily on the arts track, progressing to the end of it easily before game end, all the while also making steady progress on two of the base development tracks. </p> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLUWLbJYjcEVGnZ1moE9ZFcURKGQWL9ruvDCkVn5pSAVX8EHgSA_U_QgtITUiy86EB6HeR6MUfcg6rPIwJ80G_ccFh4g6kf5VRktpBsI5iPY6fpUd7A95j32BEedXgZnZ_7kCYBk0AHm5eMTjj4Fng-H1Q=w1080-h1440-no" /></p> <p>In the most recent game (4 player), I didn’t use the arts track much at all, which was a huge mistake, landing me in third place while the frontrunners leaned on the arts track significantly. I’ve previously noted in my review of Tapestry (<a title="https://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2020/07/board-game-review-tapestry.html" href="https://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2020/07/board-game-review-tapestry.html">https://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2020/07/board-game-review-tapestry.html</a>) and Tapestry Plans and Ploys (<a title="https://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2020/12/board-game-review-tapestry-plans-and.html" href="https://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2020/12/board-game-review-tapestry-plans-and.html">https://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2020/12/board-game-review-tapestry-plans-and.html</a>) that to win the game, you must diversify and progress on at least two tracks simultaneously, but to be careful trying to do much more than that or you’ll spread yourself too thin. With this expansion, I’ll amend that to note you’re unlikely to win the game unless you focus on the arts track as well as two of the base development tracks, as the arts track is really an enhancer for all the other tracks. It will be interesting to see how development track focus will need to be adapted when Stonemaier releases additional expansions for the game (anticipating a religion track at minimum; every civilization has its religious scholars). </p> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLUy1z50ZLrnZMGGKCaPfvn_qqRUyBtk24iaqnwf7-utkKY0vO5he9oJYel13OwlpZ0zVBRfaBSGeEtAB4jIYVS1m2SIjFdTn0DtUiak6IeNZMPTD1GpgstgNUWMc0pdh_1nfpF_XgWjTvTG0S2wMeauDQ=w1080-h1440-no" /></p> <p>The additions to the tapestry deck include a new ability type - continuous. These abilities begin when played and continue for the duration of the game instead of just the current era. There are also new tapestry cards that allow you to place landmarks on them for scoring as an alternative to placing the landmarks on the capital city (or on the map as some civ powers allow you to do). I did not have a chance to play any of the continuous tapestry cards during my recent games (although they look useful), and I passed over playing any of the landmark tapestry cards I acquired as they did not seem as beneficial as the other tapestry cards I had in my hand.  I don’t think I’m a big fan of any of the cards that let you place landmarks on the for points (including the new tech cards with this feature); I prefer to prioritize my city map for landmark placement first. Maybe I’m just doing it wrong, but I haven’t made use of my landmark cards at all, even in the games where I won by a large margin. They seem to be an entirely optional aspect of the game and not necessary for a win.</p> <p> </p> <p>One more change with the Arts & Architecture expansion is another refinement of the civilization adjustments first introduced in the Plans and Ploys expansion. This fine tuning of civilization powers comes as a result of extensive real-world player testing and aims to rebalance the game for greater fairness. I think it might need further refinements because my husband Chris played the Architects civilization in our last game and the adjustment afforded him 30 VPs at the start of the game as some sort of handicap to balance out perceived weakness, but his city mat was so perfectly attuned to his civilization (the mesa) that he won in a landslide (80 points above the second place player). </p> <p>Overall, I think that the Arts & Architecture expansion is a great addition to the Tapestry portfolio. It adds more variety, layers in additional ways to strategize and score, and provides some new opportunities for player interaction on the map, without causing any additional complexity. While it’s not a must have for the base game, it’s certainly a nice-to-have addition that I’m happy to recommend. </p> <p>Beyond the details of the new expansion, I did want to take this opportunity to mention that with repeated plays of the base game as well as across the expansions, I’ve noticed that 4 player games are much more competitive than two player games (at least in our household). There isn’t a single time Chris and I have played the game by ourselves that I haven’t walloped him by 100+ points, yet when we play at 4 players, he has won twice or been neck in neck with the winner, whereas my scores are significantly lower. That’s got to be tied to the dynamics of how this game plays at higher player counts because it doesn’t make any sense that all on my own I could go from being a genius at 2 player to just average at 4 player. </p> <p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p> <p>Publisher: Stonemaier Games <br />Players: 1-5 (We played with 2 and 4) <br />Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 3 hours per game <br />Game type: tile placement, hand management, dice rolling, area control <br />Retail Price: $45 direct from the publisher <a title="https://store.stonemaiergames.com/products/tapestry-arts-architecture" href="https://store.stonemaiergames.com/products/tapestry-arts-architecture">https://store.stonemaiergames.com/products/tapestry-arts-architecture</a></p> <p>Rating:</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img title="review-OUIOUIOUI" border="0" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="424" height="214" /></a></p> <p>Jenni’s rating scale: <br /><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it. <br />OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game. <br />OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME. <br />NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em></p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-55645457202605402412022-01-16T23:20:00.000-05:002022-06-07T23:20:40.697-04:00Board Game Review: Rolling Realms<p>At every company, there’s some guy trying desperately to figure out a way to harness a current wave of consumer demand and somehow direct it right onto the doorstep of the company. “Even better…”, that guy explains to rest of management, “If we can deliver something on *that* demand that our customers will gobble up and that will drive their demand up for our *other* established products, we’ve gone above and beyond! A cross-promotional windfall!”  Well, it looks like someone at Stonemaier put that guy in charge of roll and write game development and Rolling Realms was the result. It’s meta game of sorts that mostly serves as an advertisement for the rest of the Stonemaier product line, as each card in this roll and write game is named after a different Stonemaier game title.  </p> <p> <img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/WrydLSBNSSsCtytf3M/giphy.gif" width="401" height="401" /></p> <p>On the plus side, Rolling Realms is a pandemic friendly, easy to learn, and quick to play roll and write that plays as easily over zoom with 20 people as it plays in person with a few people around a table. Every card presents a different way to earn victory points as it’s filled in, and in a standard game, 9 cards from the supply of 11 varieties are chosen and used (3 cards per round x 3 rounds). </p> <p>Environment sparing bonus: the cards are all laminated and dry erase markers are provided, so you can play unlimited games without killing endless trees. The Tapestry card gives me a headache with its Tetris like spatial relations exercise, but otherwise I enjoyed all the cards and their creative use of point collection. </p>   Despite its positives, Rolling Realms does not make the cut for my recommendations list. I played many, many games of Rolling Realms to give it a fair shake, and here’s the thing – it’s a perfectly adequate roll and write game. But in this modern era of board gaming, there are a ton of roll and write games on the market or in development and adequate just doesn’t cut it. Add on the creepiness factor of the cross-promotional marketing gimmick (BTW, can anyone tell me why the card for Red Rising is named “The Society” instead of RR?) and yeah…just no. Keep the game if someone gives it to you I suppose (I’m probably keeping mine), but don’t go out and spend your own money on Rolling Realms when there are so many other better roll and write games out there you could buy instead. I’m talking Cartographers. I’m talking Hex Roller. I’m talking Qwixx and Quinto. I’m talking Railroad Ink. I’m talking Noch Mal. And for the ultimate challenge, I’m talking Fleet or Hadrian’s Wall.     <p>As a final note, I want to let you know that I’m very sad I finally met a Stonemaier game that didn’t bring me joy. I mean, it was inevitable that it would happen someday, but it’s still sad. I've been reviewing games from Stonemaier for a few years now. I got drawn in by Scythe initially (amazing area control game) and then, with each new game the company released, I crossed my fingers and hoped that it would be awesome. I really respect Jamey Stegmaier as a designer and a business owner and I'm rooting for his continued success. And so far, it's all worked out, because I've fallen in love with each Stonemaier game that's come my way, outside of Rolling Realms. For example, Tapestry and Between Two Castles are amazing, as are their expansions, and I urge you to give them a try. Also, I hope Jamey doesn’t listen to any more bad ideas originating from the guy with the marketing gimmick idea that was behind Rolling Realms, whether he was one of the voices in Jamey’s creative imagination or an actual employee at the company.   </p> <p>-------------------------------------------------</p> <p>Publisher: Stonemaier Games <br />Players: 1 - many <br />Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): about 20 minutes per game <br />Game type: roll & write, dice rolling</p> <p>Rating:</p> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q6PPgv6sWSU/XCmbU9SApAI/AAAAAAAAg9g/QMX_En6N9EY1uW9Cjhrzx5x-gGAKSwaDACHMYCw/review-OUI_thumb?imgmax=800" /></p> <p>Rating scale: <br /><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it. <br />OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game. <br />OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME. <br />NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em></p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-89957965371790673942021-09-06T22:44:00.000-04:002023-06-06T22:48:19.956-04:00Board Game Review: Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig Secrets and Soirees Expansion<p>B<em>etween Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig</em> is one of our board game library essentials. There’s a great puzzle aspect to the game, it plays in under an hour, it’s family friendly, and it keeps analysis paralysis to a minimum. It also plays up to seven players, filling that niche when so many other games are capped at 4 or 5. For all of these reasons, when the <em>Secrets and Soirees</em> expansion debuted, we knew we had to have it. </p> <p>The expansion offers additional room types for your castle, extra bonus cards, two new solo modes, higher player count (up to 8), and a new variant of head to head castle building where each player builds their own exclusive castle. </p> <p>My personal favorite bit of the expansion is the puppy room!!! Adorable little corgis, just like we have at home. </p> <p><img style="margin: 0px 14px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AJFCJaXMD4641T6RXZZ9gf7DREdHuCCeUMJWQNPMQ3arwb0DKHUPkXvVqhf1gZNT3Hv1XB-a2ea2k0vVos9gGsLtJAK6dyI4u5vVqb163m4eo2xxK4Ui3CfEeLb0hIR8a7F_r2tKH-87ckbC0iLzW8vWghli3A=w687-h916-s-no?authuser=0" width="428" align="left" height="571" /></p> <p>We have played the expansion dozens of times. The first few months we had the game, we stuck to standard play, with everyone building two castles, and just focused on the fun of the new room types. These are activity rooms, secret rooms, and ballrooms. The activity rooms are thematically just that – clever little rooms themed around activities that give you points for each other room adjacent or penalize you if the listed prohibited room type is within the radius. The secret rooms are quite innovative. Each one has a little arrow printed on the tile pointing up, down, left, or right and takes on the same identity as the room indicated by the arrow, giving players a lot of flexibility based on placement in the castle. The ballrooms score points for specific room types in your neighbors’ castles. I really enjoyed these plays with the expanded room types and have not ever wanted to go back to playing with just the base game tiles again. </p> <p><img style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 6px; float: right; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AJFCJaVrhsBNdHE9Xva0k6cthzeTFCv8hX1zDrcYyeZvmsIJrekmrXUYCjOpPCLeXC6nt5ANpKNKehKjRFmtL-16aE2E3YHuc6P84b9zYfOrHT-poJ_jK25z48mOeHlvyFjDcL7p5VWa2kbD8Y0xa6C_EAnvhw=w687-h916-s-no?authuser=0" align="right" /></p> <p> <br />More recently, we’ve explored the new variants provided by the expansion. The Mad King’s Demand variant has players each build a single castle instead of managing two castle builds at once. It solves the problem of weaker players bringing a section of the entire table down in scoring and it plays so much more quickly than the regular game, so it can be a good choice for player counts larger than two. While it’s also easier and smoother in a two player game to play this way versus playing with the 3rd NPC player normally required in a two player game, I’m much less fond of using this variant with two players. I like the extra tiles to choose from when a third castle is in the mix; it helps make it a bit more challenging and feels more interactive. </p> <p>The Automa solo mode is very easy to learn and it’s the most enjoyable solo game I’ve ever played because it feels like you’re actually playing against other players.  I played on level 3 – normal difficulty – and won 58 to 55/55. I actually found myself wishing for longer rounds. The other solo mode (which is dubbed the Introvert variant and noted by the rulebook as technically not an Automa mode) feels less like a game against peers and more like a game of solitaire puzzling. It’s faster than the Automa solo mode and has the quirky hack of allowing you to force the NPC opponent to take a specific tile you don’t mind it having when there’s only one that meets the selection filter used to draft a tile for them. This is because, in this mode, the NPC follows an algorithm to pick between a tile you’ve marked as favored and desired for yourself and all the other tiles in demand under its selection filter that round. If there’s only one tile that meets the filter and you mark another tile you actually want, there’s a 50/50 chance you’ll lose your coveted tile to the NPC. However, if you mark the tile that meets the filter as if you wanted it for yourself, it’s forced to select it. Then you can choose whatever tile you actually prefer for yourself instead. The introverted solo mode is pretty great if you like that sort of thing, but I prefer the feeling of playing against others, so I’ll stick with the Automa solo mode, or competitive play against real life opponents.</p> <p>With a retail price of just $15 on the Stonemaier website, and having so much quality content in the box, the <em>Secrets and Soirees</em> expansion is a must-have. </p> <p>-------------------------------------------------</p> <p>Publisher: Stonemaier Games <br />Players: 1-8 <br />Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 45 minutes per game <br />Game type: card drafting, tile placement, set collection</p> <p>Rating:</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img title="review-OUIOUIOUI" border="0" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="424" height="214" /></a></p> <p>Jenni’s rating scale: <br /><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it. <br />OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game. <br />OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME. <br />NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em></p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-62225959878413893702021-08-09T22:18:00.001-04:002021-08-10T10:23:04.602-04:00Board Game Review: Lost Cities Roll & Write (A Comparison to the Original Lost Cities)<p>I really love the card game <em>Lost Cities</em>, designed by Reiner Knizia. When my husband Christopher and I were first getting to know each other, we used to meet up at Starbucks sometimes and play games. <em>Lost Cities</em> was one of our frequent picks. It’s a head to head, two player game in which both players are trying to outscore each other by laying down ascending runs of card suits on a small board between the two of them. There’s a theme laid over the mechanism (completing expeditions in the lost world) but it’s basically pasted on and so that is the last we will speak of it. So there we were, newly in love, eyeing each other across the table, smiling and flirting, and doing our best to beat one another at <em>Lost Cities</em>. It was awesome. And now, with the roll & write genre having made an impressive rebound a few years ago (let’s not forget the mechanism has actually been around since the 50s with <em>Yatzee</em>), Knizia has ported his award winning game <em>Lost Cities</em>  into this format, releasing <em>Lost Cities Roll & Write</em>  in 2021.  </p> <p>You can play the new <em>Lost Cities</em>  with up to 5 players, but in an ode to our romantic beginnings, Christopher and I played it exclusively with one another in successive matches.  The components are compact, lacking the pretty illustrations of the original game, and few in number – the rule book, a scorepad, three pentagonal trapezohedron dice (that’s 10 sided dice for the uninitiated), and three 6 sided custom dice with color suit symbols. Oh, and some pencils. That’s it. We could have played on an even smaller Starbucks table if we had this back in our dating days. </p> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLWvt-OBxFfWXovg2lXPY36WpFeZJOdsTu3mYeGkGHxQxGSU4n1Rvnp60PEJvxvdbKmLpI8iLMUdhAoTriBlkKXLqSwE3Z0Gx9FGpkFFaOq5j7BAt1AO1kYDgsVLH6Ajx5m9t11ze2g2u7OVEQbFDtDmng=w681-h907-no?authuser=0" /></p> <p>The cards from the original game (wager cards and numbered cards 2 to 10, in five different suits) have been translated into dice roll results. On each turn, one player rolls all the dice and chooses one of the six sided dice to represent the suit and one of the ten sided dice to represent the number. A zero on the number die can represent either zero (mimicking the wager card from the original game which serves as a multiplier for the total score in the selected suit) or ten (mimicking the highest card in each suit). </p> <p>In place of the tableau built up on a central board, each player tracks the progress of wager and number cards they’ve collected for each suit in color coded columns on their individual score sheet. Wager cards have been transformed into little circular boxes to be marked off from a suit column when rolled, while the numbered cards from the original game have expanded to include the number 1 and are recorded as numbers written manually in the square boxes running up each column. Whereas in the original game, only cards higher than the last card played in a suit were permitted to be played on subsequent turns by the same player, in <em>Lost Cities Roll & Write</em>, numbers that are higher than or equal to the last number recorded for a suit may be written into the column after future dice rolls. <img style="margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLUeUc3JMUkJCveq_hHvyWUxVkj29_leHo4Wznynzocf9eJwM_7oSGnBtKimUP5CrPpbfNkVzlgAzvWtpN5CQQErghy0WN_nbLTczzDQ9eYgrS57N_nnZyswrB7n4CAIM5gY9zbRK6Cl7A0yqShZkec-ag=w681-h907-no?authuser=0" width="373" align="left" height="498" />Expanding beyond the concepts from the original game, Knizia has included artifact icons on select spaces in each column and when those spaces are filled by a player, they may fill in one of the jars in the artifact column. Likewise, he’s included arrow icons on select spaces and when those spaces are filled by a player, they may fill in the next box in one of their suit columns with the number from the previous box in the column – note that it does not have to be the same column in which the arrow was filled.  There’s also a column for filling in dice shapes to represent rolls where a player could not or did not want to use any of the dice results. The latter column is particularly tricky to manage effectively, as it provides a similar point progression as the rest of the columns (negative scores for the first 3 boxes filled and then positive score for the rest) up until the last box in the column. If you color in that box, your score for the dice shapes column drops from 70 to 0. The bonus points awarded in the original game (20 points for laying down at least 8 cards in a suit) have been implemented in <em>Lost Cities Roll & Write</em>  for each column (including the artifact and dice shape columns) as a 20 point bonus to the player who is the first to fill in 7 boxes in the column on the scorepad. The roll & write game ends when either both players have filled in the dice shapes column completely or all eight columns have passed the bonus point marker. In our experience, the completed dice shapes column is a much more common trigger.</p> <p>I’ve played a ton of roll & write games over the past few years. Some are instant objects of adoration, while others are infuriating piles of poo (I’m looking at you <em>Imperial Settlers R&W</em>). <em>Lost Cities Roll & Write</em> is fantastic; a great addition to the genre. Knizia did an excellent job of translating the feel of the original game into the new mechanism. The iconography is clean and easy to read and the game can be taught and played in less than a half hour. And of course, it takes up very little table real estate, making it perfect for travel or tight spaces (when traveling as a passenger, simply roll the dice into the box cover). If you twisted my arm and forced me to choose between <em>Lost Cities</em> or <em>Lost Cities Roll & Write</em>, I’d be forced to pick the original, but only because of the lovely artwork on the cards and the sentimental value I have attached to the game after my love and I played it in our early days. But who would go around doing such arm twisting? Nobody. Therefore, with a retail price point under $15 for each of these, unless you’re down to your last $15, I recommend you pick up both. Play the card game with someone you love when you have a little more table space. Play the roll & write anywhere, with up to four additional friends.  </p> <p>-------------------------------------------------</p> <p>Publisher: Kosmos <br />Players: 2-5 (We played with 2) <br />Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): about 20 minutes per game <br />Game type: roll & write, dice rolling</p> <p>Rating: </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-euLS1uOYJHs/XAdNYiE2tVI/AAAAAAAAgcw/jmb6IbHEz7gpDGtaTk4Z69MPeK5mrSb1QCHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUI%255B2%255D"><img title="review-OUIOUI" border="0" alt="review-OUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JVYCcHlKhR4/XAdNZ0P_i7I/AAAAAAAAgc0/19LJHL4BcJ87HW7Vl5mVPIFUbkR6hgMOACHMYCw/review-OUIOUI_thumb?imgmax=800" width="270" height="245" /></a></p> <p>Rating scale: <br /><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it. <br />OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game. <br />OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME. <br />NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em></p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-6023345211455215852021-08-08T23:21:00.000-04:002022-06-07T23:21:51.038-04:00Board Game Review–Quests & Cannons: The Risen Islands<p>I had the opportunity to play a preview edition of <em>Quests & Cannons: The Risen Islands</em>  from Short Hop Games in advance of the game’s upcoming Kickstarter campaign. Designed by Eric and Shannon Geller, the preview edition arrived in a bright and colorful cover box that hinted at the beautiful artwork within. </p> <p>We got it on the table for a family game straightaway. As we unpacked the contents of the box, I was impressed with the quality of the wooden components. Especially for a preview copy, everything was incredibly well made and sturdy, which speaks to the care and enthusiasm Eric and Shannon have put into the game. <img style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLWIoRRth9uTVsonh3wcI-hQlOdKEhTIMJSpvU0WkYAQMCXledED_7bhavLICFTVN-hFqX18AI5VFz9rzoK5jeT3lotItv4ZlMkYenkozGwlc8fYayRDZRfLEkxw06BhqH9g0tRGaQhMec70GVuK-dIm9A=w681-h907-no?authuser=0" width="724" height="966" />The illustrations on the components are just lovely! The artists (Lily Yao Lu, Tony Carter, Regis Torres, Sita Duncan, and Lilia Sitailo) did a really great job integrating the theme into the materials.  </p> <p><em>Quests & Cannons</em>  is very easy to setup and the rules are straightforward,  so you can get started playing pretty quickly; no one is going to be stuck spending an hour reviewing the rules upfront. The only thing you really need to work out is whether you want to play the game solo, cooperatively, free for all, or in teams.  Regardless of the mode you choose, you’ll sit down as a leader of a kingdom, tasked with bringing prosperity (i.e. victory points) to your people as you explore new islands that have suddenly cropped up in the sea. The revelation of the islands has coincided with devastating famine and drought hitting the kingdoms to varying degrees, so you’re also on a quest to find a way to reverse these plagues. </p> <p>And since prosperity can be gained through attacking other leaders during explorations, you’ll need to be thinking about battle defense and offense.  My kids are teens, so they handled the attacks pretty well, but your mileage may vary with your youngsters, depending on their age and temperament. </p> <p>The underlying mechanics of the game are pretty simple: </p> <ul> <li>Explore to gather resources across the islands and turn those resources in to complete quests (pick up and deliver)</li> <img style="margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLU2_z8nsSA9YScGgttqq8v1bZWVXh9r_kHRJc_CFD6kAmpyGwTT2UTrVWAyhfGqdMwxbhrOuDz1RfmElrc-wweyTFrQcbDmEs9kQGli_K7dRqVJidVTiByZbIWAD7tVr9nNUqTK3J-mvfleJ_50jrtLcw=w681-h907-no?authuser=0" width="580" height="773" /> <li>Follow explicit instructions on map clue cards to do X action at X location </li> <img style="margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLUqH8H6_i5JZ7xkGBLsgembbOwX_HXL2JqfCGG24iOq3DQTlMCseU-S7aJyze3EJ29d7vsP0Df1F4rH541QGoAPoHyvh9Yy16VPmSZkgJric_jDOsHtq9bCiicSiv8h3lnvqNh1QO7toJrDtsKr7UeY8g=w681-h907-no?authuser=0" width="499" height="666" /> <li>Attack rival ships</li> </ul> <p>Players can do three actions on a turn, choosing freely between move, gather resources, and attack.  </p> <img style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; float: none; display: block;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLUA5FMeJP6T9c1l4RhQtSDvX3LSAUKdVcOUOiYNjQqXJ1AWxImmbKCCZQ-BNm52mEkPGx9SpPS30gHvfmguLzJWQby6doUJx7kk9jzgH39I2v8rEfdr4-ggjj-XbkXYPv8AFYAsNtZ2MZt5dpBvL-s_Hw=w1210-h907-no?authuser=0" width="815" height="611" />All of the how-to and particulars governing these actions are detailed in the rulebook (and in video play-throughs online). Variability in movement rules, attack/defense power, and resource storage capacity is dictated for each player by the leader card they’ve chosen at the beginning of the game (each one comes with special powers and differing stats) and the upgrades performed on their ship. <p><img style="margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLWllucVfGhtVpb0EG1TS0ACCo1GEvdnjOxd8qbtxdNPHmbxN0MNMrXkj3BZMuFhyFp6u6OdS_jCTeS9kZWnbtDWL5BqFetNhUjMz90Z_fJaC_Kl04VUvquA5peGstCVSr7BCzShxEtGQnz4lbr_amaAyg=w681-h907-no?authuser=0" width="767" height="1024" /></p> <p>I did find a few issues with the mechanics for the Geller team to address before the final version is distributed:</p> <ul> <li>Explain in the rulebook what should be done if the map clue drawn cannot possibly be used</li> <li>Add a 0 space to the action point track on each player’s ship to track the exhaustion of the final action point </li> <li>Implement monsters or other descriptive elements with differing effects into the treacherous sea spaces to add more complexity</li> </ul> <p>Outside of these issues, I recommend <em>Quests & Cannons</em> as a family game for gateway gamers (i.e. new to the hobby) or those who gravitate toward light strategy games. It’s kid-friendly and there isn’t any analysis paralysis inherent in the game.  It plays in under 90 minutes, gives kids exposure to different play modes within the same game, tackles conflict resolution, and comes with a variety of board layouts to keep things interesting over multiple plays. Note that this is not a game I’d recommend for players who prefer deeper strategy. Highly experienced gamers drawn to seafaring themes and beautiful artwork can find similar mechanisms with a bit more depth and complexity in other games such as Islebound (designed by Ryan Laukat from Red Raven Games). </p> <p>-------------------------------------------------</p> <p>Publisher: Short Hop Games <br />Players: 1-6 (We played with 4 and 5) <br />Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): about 90 minutes per game <br />Game type: pick-up and deliver,hand management, action points, kid-friendly, solo</p> <p>Rating for Gateway Gamers:  </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-euLS1uOYJHs/XAdNYiE2tVI/AAAAAAAAgcw/jmb6IbHEz7gpDGtaTk4Z69MPeK5mrSb1QCHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUI%255B2%255D"><img title="review-OUIOUI" border="0" alt="review-OUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JVYCcHlKhR4/XAdNZ0P_i7I/AAAAAAAAgc0/19LJHL4BcJ87HW7Vl5mVPIFUbkR6hgMOACHMYCw/review-OUIOUI_thumb?imgmax=800" width="270" height="245" /></a></p> <p>Rating for Advanced Board Gamers:                                           </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u9oGaNt20wM/XCmbT3VQOpI/AAAAAAAAg9c/I5W0UH3a9LM_5MEVzVxi2jMhuGl3i2ghwCHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUI%255B2%255D"><img title="review-OUI" border="0" alt="review-OUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q6PPgv6sWSU/XCmbU9SApAI/AAAAAAAAg9g/QMX_En6N9EY1uW9Cjhrzx5x-gGAKSwaDACHMYCw/review-OUI_thumb?imgmax=800" width="166" height="244" /></a></p> <p>Rating scale: <br /><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it. <br />OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game. <br />OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME. <br />NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em></p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-86828864884744091302021-07-20T00:43:00.001-04:002021-08-04T17:19:23.615-04:00Board Game Review: Red Rising (Collector’s Edition)<p>I had a board game first this summer: I read an entire series of novels in preparation for playing a board game. When Jamey Stegmaier announced he was designing a new game with Alex Schmidt based on the award winning <em>Red Rising</em> series by Pierce Brown, his excitement was so palpable that I wanted to understand the draw of the saga held for him. I checked my local library and the first book was already reserved, with a long waiting list in line before me. So I took the plunge and purchased the whole series from Amazon, hoping it would captivate me as it seemed to have done for Jamey. </p><p>Start with a narrative universe politically ordered by a tightly controlled color coded caste system; pull in the concept of a boarding school with quirky teachers (like Hogwarts from Harry Potter) but introduce some structural changes to the school so that only the most socioeconomic elite in the caste system are permitted to attend; have the students compete in fight to the death brutal competitions (evocative of The Hunger Games but more violent and rape-y); explore the dynamic of class struggles and the penchant for revolution the lower castes foment; and you’ve got a good understanding of the <em>Red Rising</em> series that details the life and times of our protagonist, Darrow O’Lykos. To be honest, it’s an intense and difficult read due to the graphic nature of the violence (definitely not a story I want to see acted out on the big screen). But it’s well written literature and it makes you think. </p><p>Once I finished the book series, I was emotionally charged and ready to play <em>Red Rising</em>. I unboxed my review copy, invited over a few friends, and sat down for my first game. Jacqui Davis, Miles Bensky, and Justin Wong designed the artwork for the game and I’d describe it overall as futuristic, with a cartoonish bent when it comes to the character cards. <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLU8jthvZQiImJgOGxLORPk3AseDGrN-ZoGEQpxC1DdHkQOFbFxEShqlPZpktz2UgAPhwtpEW4hydeOIlqRi8t1rnMuJutFNzRQZYOaozGVv62nJ1CqDekv3Jex4E8QxSqGMUykVQqQ7WdT4VQDeVHH-qQ=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>Before we get into the mechanics of the game, the components for <em>Red Rising</em> Collector’s Edition warrant a discussion. I loved the weight of the metal influence cubes and fleet tokens handed out to each player. Likewise, the start player token, sovereign token, central board, and house cards are well constructed. And I appreciated the gold foil on the character cards. However, our first group of players gathered around our game table (and subsequent groups I played with) identified nuisance problems with some of the components. Each player’s set of metal influence cubes is a different color and the yellow and gold sets are difficult to distinguish from across the table. The card holders included exclusively in the Collector’s edition are a disaster. </p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLXX8ea6aabnNY1WPf929KJ1w6jFYMVu6vL-UPPprnfyjCxwNGXj4f1O90Q83TTVMIvJ2osqNOcjD-KQt36M15VXNzDDVihGAQ5Cc5Uu1DzkmkoQxgahT-jeSpM-fQzJJ67lqPAiegZsMOe8bBoTyMpB7g=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>Every single person I played with managed to accidentally knock over their holder several times during a game, spilling out their hand for all to see repeatedly. Finally, the character cards reveal some questionable graphic design and font choices. For example, it was very difficult for all of us in the middle age cohort to read “obsidian” printed on the black cards. None of these issues are significant enough to downvote the game, but I hope to see them corrected in future print runs. </p><p>Onto the mechanics… <em>Red Rising</em> is a mid-weight board game with a primary focus on cards and hand management. At the start of the game, each player is dealt 5 character cards and a house card (which grants a special ability). One of the primary goals is to build a hand of highly valued character cards (tabulated at the end of the game using the interaction formulas printed on the bottom of each card). To build this hand, players will use most of their turns to discard a character card from their hand to the board (called deploying) and then pick up a character card from a different column of the board. </p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLW4Z1t5pfm6TgXPZOcx8NbMZuafK4Ze2TLXE5jovo57KxbSqiY5zu6EjYGvKDqgtsi67puYKLWrTF5i0X4u4-HFPektBNTePPB_9jNAMKMWaCLSeg7HcBRqGm5RmwLdrjanUuJLkvDbAaB4-gJhSe7yGg=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>To spice things up, each card has a deploy ability that is triggered when the card is deployed (for example, a card might let you banish another card, move a card from one column to another on the board, immediately choose another card on the board to redeploy, etc). And each time you pick up a character card, you get a bonus immediately that edges you closer to victory along the path of one of the other strategic goals established in the game – either the receipt of helium tokens (worth 3 VPs each), forward movement along the fleet track (increasing VPs for each step forward), the possession of the sovereign token (10VPs if held at end of game), or influence cube placement on the influence area of the board (worth 4/2/1 VPs each, depending on your player’s rank in the influence cube area population). Instead of discarding+picking up on your turn, there’s also an option, called scouting, to simply draw from the deck, place the drawn card on a column on the board, and then gain the bonus for that column. This option might be used when you are completely satisfied with your hand and can’t bear to part with any of it, or when you’re trying to pad the columns with cards of certain colors (some cards give you end game points per card of X color on the board) and crossing your fingers you can draw them. It should be used sparingly since you miss out on the deploy ability when scouting. </p><p>I didn’t encounter a lot of analysis paralysis when playing this game, and it plays in under an hour (maybe 90 minutes for your very first time at higher player counts). There’s plenty of replayability in the box given the large assortment of cards, but I do wonder if they’re going to eventually release an expansion for <em>Red Rising</em> to keep things fresh for experienced players with different character card abilities or new point tallying interaction rules. </p><p>Jamey and Alex have hit on an accessible and winning combination by supporting a large spectrum of player counts (1-6), providing mid-weight complexity, keeping the gameplay tight enough to finish in under an hour, and selling it for under $60 at launch. And perhaps most importantly for players who worship theme and backstory, playing the game feels incredibly personal after you’ve read the books. I felt connected to the characters as they were revealed from the deck because of my experience reading the series. I was delighted to have the Sevro card in my hand, giddy to be given the House of Mars player role, and I flushed with anger when the Jackal card appeared on the board. I spent a lot of the game explaining the highlights of each character to my friends as new cards were laid down. Pretty sure I had to fight back tears when Eo’s card came up. In one of our games, my friend Malinda played Apollo and probably didn’t understand why I worked so tirelessly to thwart her efforts. <em>Red Rising</em> is a solid OUI! OUI! OUI! from me for those who have read the series (and a OUI! OUI! for those who haven’t). Get the <em>Red Rising</em> book series and read it and then get the game and play it. In that order. And consider pairing the series with the game as a generous present for someone you love who loves board games and great dystopian novels. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------<p>Publisher: Stonemaier Games<br>Players: 1-6<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 45 minutes per game<br>Game type: hand management<p>Rating:<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img width="424" height="214" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Jenni’s rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-87001814399026027842021-05-13T17:24:00.001-04:002021-05-13T18:05:41.549-04:00Board Game Review: Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig<p>Years ago, on a snowy winter excursion to Bavaria, I took a tour of King Ludwig (Mad King Ludwig) II's castles. I really feel for the poor chap Ludwig II. He was very excited to be king and wanted to be a *real* king of the old order with power and dominion. Alas, he was born much to late in Germany’s evolution for such things and was reduced constitutionally to being a mere figurehead (such as Queen Elizabeth II is in England today). So he consoled himself by building castles throughout the countryside where he would escape and fully immerse himself in his pretend kingdom where all subjects worshipped him and did as they were told. Linderhof was one of the first castles he built and it was pretty modest so the taxpayers didn’t really bat an eye. This was the first stop on our tour. </p><p><img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/-SxKvLPaQfTU/TydgoWYn7_I/AAAAAAAAAyQ/x1sHNQBou90/s1600/P1020328%25255B2%25255D.jpg"></p><p>The same could not be said for his next building project: Castle Neuschwanstein. This grand and glorious castle (just up the hill from his parents’ country castle) was the castle to end all castles. He fancied he’d build himself a castle in medieval style (probably because that was a time when subjects dutifully respected their king or perhaps because it appealed to his alpha-male decorating sense) and he spent his way through a good portion of the national treasury before the impoverished taxpayers had enough and called shenanigans. The castle was never finished, King Ludwig II came to a premature end and within a year the political leadership had turned the castle into a tourist attraction. It was *this* castle, by the way, that Walt Disney held in his mind’s eye when designing the Disney Princess Castles. With the snow falling softly around it, it was truly an amazing site to behold. So beautiful!<p><img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/-jvPWuA0rq1o/TydgraugoqI/AAAAAAAAAzA/T2PUYfFnH6Y/s1600/P1020387%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><p>With the happy memories of the castle tour, I was drawn to <em>Castles of Mad King Ludwig</em> when it was released by Bezier Games a few years later. <p><img width="291" height="291" align="left" style="margin: 0px 6px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/xkOTIpxwGQN4iyvbeqnytQ__imagepage/img/y6CWS4BPOsuxhhFB_qtCHSurpig=/fit-in/900x600/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic1961827.jpg">Another Bezier release – Suburbia – is in my top 10 list, so the positive track record with the publisher was another indicator that I’d probably enjoy <em>Castles</em>. After a bit of research, I found the general consensus in the board game community is that <em>Castles</em> plays so similar to Suburbia that it feels like a reskin of the game with a castle theme. Players purchase tiles from a market to build a great infrastructure, with various points awarded based on which tiles are used and how they are arranged. After this discovery, I actually didn’t follow through with the purchase, as I’ve never been one who is keen to get every iteration of a game. For example, I rarely keep both the card game and board game version of a given game in my collection – I force myself to pick one and let go of the other. Since Surburbia was so close to my heart, I let go of any ideas to purchase <em>Castles.</em><p>A year after Bezier released <em>Castles</em>, Stonemaier Games released <em>Between Two Cities</em>. <img width="329" height="329" align="right" style="float: right; display: inline;" src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/2-3HBsfKxeSvE4J3yI6Mlw__imagepage/img/Ych2H0cAKJGyNTGXD-Mp78373_k=/fit-in/900x600/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic2326114.jpg"> In <em>BTC</em>, players draft tiles and then use them to build cities collaboratively with other players. We build one city with the player to our left and a separate city with the player to our right; each of our partners also contributes tiles to our respective cities in common. At the end of the game, all cities are scored and the lower scoring city of the two we helped build is assigned to us as our final score. The player with the highest score at the table wins. It’s a pretty unique approach to scoring and forces you to give both of your cities equal attention throughout the game. I don’t own a copy of this game either, mostly because I only began collecting Stonemaier games after I fell in love with Scythe in 2016, and have focused heavily on acquiring new releases (vs picking up their earlier games). <p>In 2018, Stonemaier (in collaboration with Bezier) released <em>Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig. </em>This game is designed by Ben Rosset and Matthew O’Malley and it takes the best of<em> Between Two Cities </em>and <em>Castles of Mad King Ludwig</em> and marries it all together. Now we find ourselves at the game table, working to build two castles at once, simultaneously but separately collaborating with our left and right neighbors. At the beginning of each round, each player draws nine tiles, comprised of various indoor and outdoor room types. Each turn, we select 2 tiles to keep (one destined for the castle we are building with the player to our left and the other for the castle we are building with the player to our right). We pass the rest of the tiles to our neighbor (to the left in round 1 and to the right in round 2). Once everyone has selected their tiles and passed the leftovers, we begin collaborative discussions with each of our neighbors regarding the tiles we selected and where they should be placed within our castles. There are a few straightforward rules governing placement (for example, downstairs rooms can only be placed below the ground level) but generally the selection and placement decisions should be guided by maximizing victory point scoring. Also of note, when the third or fifth regular room tile of the same type is placed, a placement bonus is earned and redeemed immediately. These bonuses provide either additional tiles (including specialty room types) or bonus cards that award conditional victory points at the end of the game. After tile placement, the turns repeat in the same fashion three more times, except that on the last run, there is only 1 tile left after selecting two for placement and that tile is discarded out of the game. Round two begins, and follows the same process as the first round, with the only change being the direction the unselected tiles are passed around the table. <p>In anticipation of the upcoming <em>Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig </em>expansion release (<em>Secrets and Soirees</em>), I received a review copy of the base game from Stonemaier. <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eFV4v3Nl2WzNMQPPJNC86Uz4It6lNFdQyKOeCLEOo9o4aH9T0vUtS49PfuB8D7vv67dKuY0Tm2cCK0U2gR6zXCdT72trYg9X6ipKi0XzG8Hll3eHdsUcAMz6-59NHArTNLnK1IUCoHej1ecyZ3gfe47g=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"><p>Opening the eye-catching box (with artwork by Agnieszka Dqbrowiecka, Laura Bevon, and Bartlomiej Kordowski), we inventoried the components (cardboard tiles, wooden tokens, plastic coated cards, and score sheets) and set up our first game. The rulebook was easy to follow (as it always is with Stonemaier) and the handy player aids included proved valuable as we worked our way through the game. There were five of us playing that first time, including two teenagers, and I was surprised to see just how varied each team’s castle was from the others. <p><img width="312" height="416" align="left" style="margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3d9n4NcelRNGq84JW4Km9PayOdp4_NFiJ8lP1kk5wAeVct-jhVrQwL-wS56janLdfuw-6GfESQaea_NWDkC7U_WTdCEnunJicL_QnkmYpMV4C2ens32kcVIhvYG2x5iKmXPOFYFdK3y9mtUa7H67MiROg=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"><p> I worked really hard to give my all to both castles I was constructing, knowing that I would only score for the one that brought in the lower victory point total. I had to to correct my efforts a few times as it started to feel like one castle was building to a much higher score than the other. With both my neighbor on my left and right, I focused on bonus cards and tiles to increase point totals, whereas the competing castle builds leaned more heavily on amassing points directly through the regular room tiles. <img width="369" height="492" align="right" style="float: right; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3coWXDHMHuQC831fMYElfp3SH5078r1_K94F4-8jeprn1_RzY_geNhSTcZ4U7f-xZSWhtE078pJDqIu9SUiUT3QQaeEirSo3J3AmvRkSA8P8rNI4Q42w8rQc68V9Ta9KHmsNACTIfrMEBxWLv6kEpL8cg=w681-h907-no?authuser=0">My strategy worked, and both of the castles I helped build were higher scoring than everyone else’s, giving me the victory even when taking the lower score of the two. In later games, my husband Chris and I played against each other, using the special 2 player rules in which a dummy player (“Ludwig” of course) is controlled by one of the players during the first round and by the other player during the second round. I focused on the same things in these two player games that I had previously at higher player counts. Meanwhile Chris focused almost exclusively on standard room tiles to accumulate points. Every time we played, the castle that Chris and I built together was by far the highest scoring one in the game (scoring highly on regular room tiles thanks to Chris and on bonus tiles and cards thanks to me), and my castle with Ludwig was runner up, giving me the victory again. <p>I really really love this game. Much more than I thought I might, given its straightforward and simplistic mechanisms (I usually prefer complex strategy games). Pick two tiles and arrange, rinse repeat. Sounds like it should get boring fast, but it never does. I think the real draw of <em>Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, </em>that keeps engagement and enthusiasm high even among experienced gamers, is the puzzle of having to work both castles at once. Dividing your time between two equally important projects simultaneously that will be scored against each other is a personal challenge, regardless of your skill level, because you’re competing against yourself. That’s genius, and I can’t think of another game I own that implements this kind of scoring. The only drawback to this scoring mechanism is that players who are significantly weaker in strategy or skill than the rest of the group will drag down the scores of their partners, giving a clear advantage to the remaining players who weren’t yoked to the underperformer. Tactfully, since the game scores average in the direction of the weaker player on each team, this is a game to play with a group of your intellectual peers, unless you want to stew in resentment over how irrelevant all of your hard work turned out to be when it came to scoring.<p> In addition to the puzzle aspect of the game, the quick gameplay (less than an hour), family friendliness, and low level of analysis paralysis all help to make it an excellent go-to game, even on weeknights. <p>I’m glad I gave <em>Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig</em> a chance on our game table, and our friends who played with us have already asked when they can come over to play again. I’m quite excited to see what the upcoming <em>Secrets and Soirees </em>expansion adds to the game. <p>-------------------------------------------------<p>Publisher: Stonemaier Games<br>Players: 2-7<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 45 minutes per game<br>Game type: card drafting, tile placement, set collection<p>Rating:<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img width="424" height="214" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Jenni’s rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-25076983836033355982021-02-26T16:30:00.001-05:002021-02-26T16:45:07.051-05:00Board Game Review: Beyond the Sun<p> Almost a decade after my interest was first sparked in reviewing games for Rio Grande Games, I finally met someone on the inside of the company in a mutual FB industry group and made a connection. Soon after, a review copy of <em>Beyond the Sun</em> by Dennis K. Chan was at my door. </p><table border="3" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2">
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<td valign="top"><p><em>Game Reviewing as a Hobby: A Peak Behind the Scenes</em></p><p>I have always had a soft spot for Rio Grande Games. I spent part of my childhood growing up in New Mexico, and graduated from New Mexico State University, where the actual Rio Grande itself was practically in my backyard. Because of my time in the area, I really enjoy supporting New Mexico businesses. So there's that. And the first "serious" board game I ever played was the Rio Grande distribution of Power Grid, which is still one of my favorites. We own over 30 games from the Rio Grande catalog, including Dominion, Puerto Rico, Carcassonne, Race for the Galaxy (another favorite), Stone Age, Underwater Cities (this game is amazeballs), and more. But I've never done a review for Rio Grande Games before. </p><p>A million years ago, before I was ever a board game reviewer, I regularly reviewed books for publishers. When I first fell in love with board games, I thought I'd approach the publisher of my favorite games - Rio Grande Games - and establish a partnership. I was very used to the review procedures at major book publishing houses where the marketing departments are run by MBAs (who may or may not enjoy reading books themselves), the review process is formally structured and well publicized for reviewers, and introductory discussions between reviewers and publishers are focused on marketspeak like "demographic penetration". I remember feeling exasperated at the time that the Rio Grande Games website didn't have a marketing page with straightforward information on requesting review copies, nor contact info specifically for their marketing department. I had to do a bit of digging to reach someone at the company and that's when I found out that it wasn't a cold corporate monolith, but a small company where people wore many hats and everyone involved loved board gaming with all their heart. I didn't know any of those people personally (I hadn't been to a gaming convention yet) and trying to approach them from a traditional marketing relationship perspective (I think I sent a formal email about demographics!) went nowhere so I just gave up. I loved board games so much that I just started writing reviews for new games we purchased and played and didn't make any more attempts to establish connections with publishers after my run in with Rio Grande Games that left me spooked. A few years into the hobby, I started attending Gen Con, where I met a lot of publishing folks face to face and made a lot of great connections based on a shared love of gaming. It was only then that I started receiving review copies and maintaining formal relationships with the various board game publishers. While it's true that the board game industry has become more sophisticated in its marketing and organization as it's matured, a lot of board game publishers are still small time operations and when I connect with these folks, it feels like being part of a family. </p></td>
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<p>My first observation: the cover art, by Franz Vohwinkel, is phenomenal. </p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3f24XuUEAWZFQPTr25-1hwkxNbtRWupnlAMPdfXlo9NdBhP9GGR7sagUwn-9JKNlvrbqF8Yn5R3ChcZGeRwQjKz651jQ_GDEFcot8irYPTpMUuC_hAn9_L8gph-8KsvQcTBCg1Vx_psGDk49d3XtnaJmA=w638-h850-no?authuser=0"></p><p>In <em>Beyond the Sun</em>, players take on the role of faction leaders on the move, colonizing space and researching new technological breakthroughs in a post apocalyptic universe. Each turn, players make decisions on what action to take and what resource to produce. However, most of the action spaces on the board are initially blocked off. A blocked action space can only be used by a player once they’ve taken the prerequisite actions on previous turns of researching the technologies associated with the blocked action. These technologies and associated actions are presented in a tree display with the level 1 technologies/actions branching off into level 2, 3, and 4 technologies/actions. </p><p><img width="973" height="365" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3ct3ukFwyN_6ushiIbvGqaGYv5paeg87KNFCsnGbxaV13__xjS5bFXUFFPlnO6chq9VP-n1i6xS64pkQQCOiOjd72CEYST5zKJ_YXQhZBfFx1Ra_SU4Sui9eNCk0dU6jbUeXrNuFWgXeyz9aMdzudaFyA=w1680-h631-no?authuser=0"></p><p>After the action and resource phases of a player’s turn, they may claim an achievement, if they’re eligible. There are multiple achievements laid out for each game and players compete for the limited spots on each achievement card. When 4 achievement discs have been placed, the final round is triggered, followed by scoring. </p><p><img width="652" height="870" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3f0B0zuT4BdFmz1rZF3mgSo078t_QUnRhRbvwS_EamBr-dujyoqivdxbgeZ8fwJadVXFLZJvC6alYyr8DzBLGOzAdDrrlUyU_QmXXIRT689NAcpZlQ8-X-cMQzzTsPEJKvTJ4Jgsf9OuoA0oLAcDsX9tQ=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"> </p><p>After a thorough read through the rulebook, I got the game on the table pretty quickly. It’s a well written rulebook by the way, with humor to boot. I especially love the rule for determining first player (see #13 under setup). <img width="431" height="574" align="left" style="margin: 0px 35px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eTHF3dyY6lmpQy4diRwR6LgM1eOys8_lxp90EIQ3D-92m4hfODelNpM-56L9e6ym7Drd6yxQiW2DUcUz5zRyCgnYElJE7H3ABpFaPhC38RzlPWy29ZWLQw2XLJm6vboHdDluBXBZrjwTX05K3VHU9FUQ=w638-h850-no?authuser=0"></p><p>With the pandemic in full swing and social isolation in effect, I’ve focused on 2 player games of <em>Beyond the Sun</em> between my husband Chris and myself. During our first game, we spent the first few rounds aggressively fighting over one system we both wanted to colonize. Back and forth, back and forth, the control shifted. At some point this power struggle became more about a matter of stubborn will between the two of us and less about strategic play and I have to admit, I got a kick out of the ability to passive aggressively annoy and rattle my husband in this way. <img width="327" height="436" align="right" style="margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; float: right; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eBcaBhD1a_YNDA4eAx9-6Mv_6p5zKVTKE9WaFr_IiKCuc1XfcnbD7qHimYDaXjsby1FsvpnpDag6Q9EgHARKS0XTC0cmufNVBdBg0lNfcLbc-aK86o7K8HzF8tWbJKTmHx7sc-jzTttjpXsfClNo5Mig=w638-h850-no?authuser=0">Eventually I gave in on that and moved on to focus on claiming the easier achievements while Chris focused more on building his engine through research and got caught up in trying to get to level 4 on the technology tree. That proved to be his downfall. Focusing on colonizing and the low hanging fruit of completing more level 2 research in lieu of making it to level 4 won that first game for me, 59 to 49. </p><p>I occasionally ran into a bit of analysis paralysis in during my plays of <em>Beyond the Sun</em>, but nothing too severe. And the components (dice, plastic coated cards, wooden tokens, ore crystals, player boards, player aids, and the central board) have held up well. They’re not as beautifully designed as the cover art, but the illustrations on them fit the theme and carry the story as intended.</p><p>We really enjoy this game at 2 players. It’s a solid engine builder that’s quick to learn but variable in play to keep the boredom at bay, and quite thinky. Our only complaint is that the game doesn’t come with a score pad to do the math at the end to determine the winner (the publisher would like to you know that you can download scoresheets on their website). A great addition to any well curated board game collection, I highly recommend <em>Beyond the Sun. </em></p><p> <img width="788" height="1050" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dMZXc4DE_qXpGslNxaYKk9v_xyzBgwD0-C-fup17YhKKp3pQ2gVISbtrnm82Dl_Z6CfK5yMktbwQVcdsRuZ2unVP5PZPiba-f8xX8r8vfXqqdqjg1We8to49EEOlrHy5TmCq1wePcTZd3XIv4jUSlrsw=w638-h850-no?authuser=0"></p><p>-------------------------------------------------<p>Publisher: Rio Grande Games<br>Players: 2-4<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 90 minutes per game<br>Game type: worker placement, point to point movement</p><p>Rating:</p><p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img width="424" height="214" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Jenni’s rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-89119798085931569122021-02-23T19:28:00.001-05:002021-02-23T19:28:52.228-05:00Board Game Review: Wingspan Oceania Expansion<p>When <em>Wingspan</em> was released in 2019, it caused quite a stir. It's a compelling board game that detours far far away from the usual themes of conquest or agriculture. The game romanced me with its beauty, mechanics, and unique subject matter (see my review <a href="http://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2019/08/board-game-review-wingspan.html">here</a>). Later that same year, the first expansion (<em>Wingspan: European Expansion </em>; review <a href="https://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2020/07/board-game-review-wingspan-european.html">here</a>) was released. It proved to be more of a subtle change to the footprint of the game versus a turn-everything-upside-down-and-wow-you kind of addition. It took me awhile to warm up to it, and I wasn’t sold on it as a must-have item. More recently, <em>Wingspan: Oceania Expansion</em>, was released in 2020. <img style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; float: none; display: block;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3f-SJLUt4jHLazNmbpHAfGbZ_cHrTOL6lbvxslh6fPZ-1NNkUAZkf6IVHgJhJKfFWVYPQJWaA0x4aGTWD2RCqbGQIcgDWFGclfJJp_PeWwzKkiHnFABPiLxZPXeKGGy8qeug0sxUPxI265Jh4lNKYj8YA=w638-h850-no?authuser=0">After several games, I’ve taken to this expansion much more than the previous one. That might be, at least in part, because my expectations have evolved for the series. Taking a lesson from my experience with the previous expansion, I assumed when opening the box that the designer (Elizabeth Hargrave), wasn’t likely to include any major disruptions in the mechanics that would upend the game as we know it. Instead, I expected another subtle shift in the mechanics and a widening of the bird inventory, both of which we did get. </p><p><em>Oceania</em> introduces: </p><ul><li>New bird cards from the Oceania range (some with spiffy game end powers)<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3e2uNo7kXsZV1L0JTT7VQoYdyoP5RQdzkPiDzlJ7TGraZAuWp67Jof71S0N6he3aFoSMseFWXiw_wcjrti7QZDOSGM9Q27g52O2Uzde2enOrEBhUFBkyB1tO_qm0sDO_zak7U-tjzRIa-Yj7rmjNLo0JA=w638-h850-no?authuser=0"></li> <li>New round goals <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fi1z35uTjQbDKIDg4622v_a_quBK5X2Stg_oVba-rLMJnQ5_dAGC4cj6sTJPY-FJgjYxjsejG2pksruCM4X03nV9Iwuvj22LTup_XyAfok6pXpvPBCHJIxA8AQIMSJsEkDTjUUI0WibK4kBPVKLnZjuQ=w638-h850-no?authuser=0"></li><li>New bonus cards <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3f64tX11OkbG9pFlGeQAXL4XYrTkRBsB07syDl_lsMn3aY2OnzC3TC-iEVQJ6ruwriWer04yEKJVOjB0ssHsnXuCKltO6vrjsyCHd-SAzeVJr4MNsc09Opyv2CIrs39C2BwFNkfET-hhzc3oevPDxKXIQ=w638-h850-no?authuser=0"></li> <li>Eggs in a new color </li></ul><p>As in the base game and previous expansion, the artwork is stunning. Here are some of my favorite new birds, based solely on appearance:</p><p> The cute and cuddly Little Penguin</p><p><img width="309" height="412" style="margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3ed7PolErtUSlWHEJAhxW9ah9fT_6ZeXe7IIhAHIEMfilgRgXn6BMIVSwmCckjeNd9bqHKvfg4ctPLM0VInfsxxokelPKDkT987Kz0sTYH3BS1MnFsswSPd7L0nTon94uj--JS6kbWwBi886w9uTci3wA=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"> </p><p>The exquisitely beautiful Many-Colored Fruit-Dove </p><img width="360" height="480" style="margin: 0px auto; float: none; display: block;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eQEXnuw0rjb-jcUp6-wjhKJwlfTJlcgtEGRx6nAHhqwZqF2jI8FlzAlmAUrxC6jUN_OD3G_05rsG5L3Ts42W5f-bsAm22_5fmC6he4NKheeA-onYxv0BLEIlWl-y0nBaCnNJMXHhFQNtoVoCMvJ6YB_Q=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"><p>Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo (this badass will totally steal your lunch money)</p><p><img width="375" height="500" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3djwSE9nealuQqLcqdNgV2UJKPY7D_LWsa2KMs8ds0Jl-eq-4ATs_WLVkUYGolmx2O0r8fVwDagaAptgqgV5bUW0YJThRDKFkvNVmGlrc2Xao0U47W8l7YXXQD0niMP9o84paJnKqg18aMn0TXncPZ5NQ=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>Guild’s Finch (performing at the Copa Cabana nightly)</p><p><img width="371" height="495" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; float: none; display: block;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3exoAcXLF4Cgp3Wv8yZ5KVlHnGCZz307HArvmnncyME1cGwVNl4G-91BJtypdNZr8wXyPuIcMPqTAr5p5DygFCmCJxdSRJ4OSxH71CzPRumuvpyljtJ7Xi_y7m-n6Loas6R1JH_dAn4-41xOB7d_vArJw=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>The punk rocker Crested Pigeon</p><p><img width="354" height="472" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3ey-2-z7AHhNV5EzL76fSRVq37RvRp9EDQ2g-izwTxkXoTWbLh030mA3nO5MVF8DeqIiYDGTSoC6pfxZNCUH_4ZQy4LFSNP5WcAAFLkh2wr4pX6yGCf_GtIIN-zm0beYqeC2I6OjiSs3ze4xVUykAbaKA=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>Beyond my expectations, this expansion also introduced a new type of food - nectar. Nectar is both more useful than then other types of food (it can be spent as a wild food, substituting for other foods in most cases, and putting spenders in line for end game “biggest spender” point awards in the process) and more restrictive (any nectar left in your supply at the end of a round must be discarded). Along with the nectar comes new dice with nectar depicted and new player boards with spaces to hold spent nectar. Elizabeth also provided a detailed explanation for the reasoning behind including nectar in the expansion rulebook and I thought that was a nice touch. I found that playing with nectar changed the emphasis of my actions to acquiring and spending nectar as much as possible in order to get the bonus points at end game for most nectar spent per action row. </p><p>The new player boards provided with <em>Oceania</em> also make it possible to refresh the dice in the feeder, refresh the cards in the face up draw pile, and have changed the resource quantities harvested when completing actions. <img width="423" height="564" title="" align="left" style="margin: 0px 16px 0px 0px; border-image: none; float: left; display: inline;" alt="Original Board (bottom) vs New (top)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cKkA0lh-FogePM3NwK9l9oGSXY3PXyo7AcIbKC3LiU9qwhi3CD3I709KyUTLrZNdqyCbgkXTCFyzV16qJo2l_U1Rn9L7juUnktizKxjXYPcUJhF_wVDTJ9T8Bh6qbeDftFfOss8BY2l0Gn1vugfwMIDQ=w638-h850-no?authuser=0">There’s been an overall shift to more food and more cards while scaling back egg production. This may have been done to address concerns with egg spamming in the base game– a powerful, late game strategy in which players spend their last few turns laying eggs in order to capitalize on the point value of the eggs and the bonus cards that focus on egg production. We didn’t feel any pain in the reorientation away from egg laying because we played our games with only the new round goals and the new bonus cards (none of which focused on egg laying) to get a good feel for the expansion. But I’m not convinced that weakening the egg laying action row was really a good idea. On the surface, it seems to heavily discourage egg laying at all except as minimally needed for playing more birds. And it feels like a heavy disadvantage if you’re saddled with a bonus card oriented toward egg laying and your opponents aren’t. <em>Oceania</em> also introduces some birds with egg laying powers, so that might balance out the action row weakening somewhat, but it would probably take hundreds of games across varying player counts to properly evaluate the net effect of these changes. </p><p>Despite my reservations about how the egg laying engine seems to have been crippled in this expansion, I still highly recommend it based on the twist in play the nectar brings and the replayability gains from the new card and goal inventory (especially for players who’ve played through the base game a ton and are getting a bit bored with the goals). I understand that the automa mode has also been updated quite a bit with this expansion, although I haven’t played that yet and am not covering the solo mode in this review. </p><p> I’m three games into the <em>Wingspan</em> franchise and as a completist, I'm firmly committed to maintaining a complete collection; it’s certain I’ll be picking up the next expansion when it’s released.</p><p> <img width="482" height="643" style="display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eRj-uLVs8sCph_Odnmc8v0Tgd8aHjuAaKGutoKMPOUdWuIypPJN6USa1Yo9qVJ6kWuPbqfLu52vCjbjsii9MdZRYRhLJUU58JmokPQuGyuipfi-xa1Afb-zb4-49nxrzKCR3cxtS0zrJIHZLIK_ojTxg=w638-h850-no?authuser=0"></p><p>-------------------------------------------------<p>Publisher: Stonemaier Games<br>Players: 1-5<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 90 minutes per game<br>Game type: card drafting, dice rolling, action selection, set collection, solo <p>Rating:<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img width="424" height="214" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Jenni’s rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-83882347946597392222021-01-24T12:37:00.001-05:002021-01-24T15:25:33.080-05:00Royal Architects, Unnamed Noblemen, and Viscounts–A 130 Year Tale of West Francia in Three Parts. Part Two: The Unnamed Noblemen (A Review of Paladins of The West Kingdom)<p>During the early reign of King Charles III (Charles the Simple) in West Francia, the area was besieged by Viking invasions, while the memory of the previous and frequent Saracen incursions was still fresh in the minds of the general populace. The Saracens were Muslim - mostly Berbers from Africa – and had only let up on the Franks because they’d been pushed back by the Vikings. The local nobles were left largely to fend the Vikings off on their own.</p><p>In <em>Paladins of the West Kingdom</em>, players assume the role of these unnamed nobles (most likely Dukes), working to keep the region safe and spread their faith (historically: Christianity). I really enjoy this theme, and in fact, playing the game nurtured my interest in the historical kingdom of West Francia. That’s why I can tell you that while the rulebook notes that the King lends his Paladins to the nobles to aid them in their quest, I’m giving all the credit for the loan to the designers, Shem Phillips and S J MacDonald. Paladins are a fictional group of knights in French lore (think of them as similar to the Knights of the Round Table in British lore), or alternatively, a translation of the Frankish royal title of Palatine Count, which was a noble that focused mostly on judicial and governing matters and was not known as a knight. </p><p>I’ve won a few and lost a few games of <em>Paladins</em>. It’s a worker placement game that incorporates card drafting. At the beginning of every round, players draw the next three Paladin cards in their deck and choose one to play for the round, one to put back on top of their Paladin deck to draw during the next round, and one to put at the bottom of their Paladin deck. Each Paladin boosts faith, influence, or strength (usually more than one of these), and also provides a special benefit. <img width="293" height="391" title="Paladin Cards" align="left" style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" alt="Paladin Cards" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3c0NmqjiNr8aojL_cZpXLHq9_mZEKXD7WOdkB4yHM7KIie3l52NBw_jp25Lu-4fkfwSBIyPCZmpMI0_Vjm2nzcp8kWgaUh5UAQPy54-T7kHpbSKKvg24Hmls361m3e_mQGLOzvOZaZ2OA4WxgHOeT2EAA=w681-h907-no?authuser=0">If you’ve got players prone to analysis paralysis, this is where they may get stalled, especially in the first few rounds. After Paladins are selected and put into play, workers for the round are selected by each player and put into their personal resource supply. You have many stations on your player board to place your workers during the round, and when you do so, your moves are independent and walled off from your opponents (they cannot tamper with your player board or placement of your workers on it). <img title="Player Boards (L and Bottom) and the Central Boards (R)" style="display: inline;" alt="Player Boards (L and Bottom) and the Central Boards (R)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cq-Rw1GScULpj6eVIqaLrvaXlYG5VDhpB3AJB0B8DcSXc16wu02KukjX-jbblWBQ6s-J0oLONUdWuIzxMzBx-ACWOBWmq0tgu-BHsUxJ3Wxk5irOpIHjcRRT4PRY5WSg-aqxl-DfnVc3XfRK0jLbK_6g=w681-h907-no?authuser=0">However, there is one area on the general board (the King’s Favour card area) where you can also place your workers and those spots are competitive. Also contributing to player interaction – some of the stations on your player board where you place workers allow you to move resources (monks and outposts) from your player board to the main board, consuming a competitive spot that provides a placement reward. And all the resource cards on display around the main board – the townsfolk you can hire, the walls you can build, the outsiders you can attack or convert, the tavern cards you draw workers from, and the suspicion cards you gain $$$ from, are all lucrative items for which players must compete. So we’ve got a good mix of independent action and player interaction in <em>Paladins</em>. There are not a lot of opportunities for “take that” behavior in this game, other than perhaps timing your draw of suspicion cards to trigger an inquisition when you know your opponents will suffer a penalty and be forced to take on more debt. </p><table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2">
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<td valign="top"><p>Strategy Tips: </p><p>[1] Don’t be afraid to take on debt. It’s not too hard to flip debt cards for additional victory points and the income generated from the suspicion cards + the usefulness of the criminal workers are worth the increase in debt.</p><p>[2] As with all worker placement games, look for opportunities to get more workers. For example, try to recruit any townsfolk that provide workers as a reward for other actions.</p><p>[3] Attacking outsiders is a reliable way to get provisions and build influence, which are prerequisites for building the wall, which in turn give more strength and allow you to attack more outsiders. When paired with the townsfolk card that provide a bonus worker for every attack action, it’s a powerful combination. </p></td>
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<p>Giving the game more intellectual weight, worker placement on your board and the actions workers trigger often have additional requirements beyond number and types (i.e., colors) of workers. The actions triggered by worker placement may be constrained by your strength, faith, or influence level. And some spots or actions triggered by placing workers in those spots require money or provisions. All of these prerequisites can be gained as rewards from prior actions triggered by various worker placement, so much of the game is finding the most efficient ways to obtain prerequisites associated with the series of actions you’d like to take as the game progresses. I worried this decision making would be a weak point for analysis paralysis (I’m a pretty good candidate for testing potential AP, as I’m prone to it) and while there can be a bit of that during the game, nothing excessive was logged during our plays. </p><p>The artists (Shem Phillips on graphic design and Mihajlo Dimitrievski on illustrations) have printed helpful indicators next to each placement location on boards and cards to identify any prerequisites as well as rewards. It’s an example of how the designers have worked with the artists to layer meaningful game information into the layers of artwork. In fact, all of the symbols implemented across the game components are really quite helpful. Bonus: once you familiarize yourself with them in one of the West Kingdom games, you’ll have learned them for the entire series as the artists reuse the same symbols in all three titles.</p><p>Beyond the iconography, the illustrations and other artwork are lovely. As with the iconography, the same style of artwork is implemented across the entire series and it carries the theme well. There was a good mix of cisgender representation, but not a lot of racial diversity, especially as would be suggested by the historical setting of the game (for example, Berbers in the area had skin tones ranging from light to to dark brown). </p><p>The components for <em>Paladins of the West Kingdom </em>are well made. <img title="Components" alt="Components" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dyFvrLraK7kJBimhVt5tZcZLTu7Ph790OtiRop1NHUSCVsN_sjrNqjGxdFgfas-yIByCQsfYw9CnGqjDBrCfsIMOK1HD0ROioUuhHQWMonh3JYM5ih7pG7Zz6Jxrvr_NJEjjjefS74TERFcIYRB1FTdg=w1210-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>There are wooden meeples, an assortment of foldable boards constructed from cardboard, and various plastic coated card decks. We found the rulebook to be clear and direct, and there weren’t any items we had to look up online. It would have been nice if the designers included a player aid in the components, but I was able to compensate for the oversight by downloading a detailed player aid another user uploaded to the forums on BoardGameGeek.com. </p><p><img width="614" height="819" title="Player Aid" alt="Player Aid" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3e6n88X7_5LqXUB6Es3jwOYKExpIBtdot9lEIUBTvjo8p1-chjijvGAGPncHvP8x-MBiFH4g-ZG3KlR4NaqTcGjTbZdYJA_ADPz-vJK6hejagJeC5gMQ4pFWI-0rqWMjr3byquWcZ8EPpByCnEaOGo_Rg=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p><em>Paladins of the West Kingdom </em>is my favorite game of the West Kingdom series. All of the worker types and available actions make sense within the context of the theme, the mechanisms (worker placement, card drafting) integrate tightly with the scoring system to provide opportunities for building a victory point engine, and the game is complex and interesting yet still accessible for new players. The game is also a great value at its price point (approx $50) given you’ll get dozens of multiplayer games in before even a hint of same-o same-o creeps in. Many games with comparable replayability and complexity are double the price of <em>Paladins</em>. There’s also a solo play mode, which provides an additional way to explore the game. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------</p><p>Publisher: Renegade Game Studios<br>Players: 1-4 (We played with 2)<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 2 hours per game<br>Game type: card drafting, worker placement<br>Retail Price: $50<p>Rating:<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img width="424" height="214" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Jenni’s rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-90498471630858634512021-01-03T21:36:00.001-05:002021-01-04T12:20:41.126-05:00Board Game Review: Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated (spoiler free)<p>We’ve had our eye on <em>Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated</em> since its debut in 2019 from Renegade Game Studios. In our house, we love legacy games and we own most of the other <em>Clank!</em> editions, so it seemed like a good fit.</p><p>Boy, was it ever! We finally got the game a couple of weeks ago, and immediately fell for it so hard during the first few minutes of the game that we played it nearly every day with our 11 year old twin sons, Max and Locke. </p><p>In <em>Clank! Legacy: AI</em>, designed by Andy Clautice and Paul Dennen, players take on the role of employees at a small organization. At the beginning of the legacy campaign, the organization is in the process of applying to become a franchise of Acquisitions Incorporated, a megacorp famed for its for-profit adventuring services. We loved the narrative and appreciated the touches of authenticity, like the franchise charter agreement. We’ve played through other legacy campaign games over the past year where the narrative fell flat at times (I’m looking at you <em>Aeon’s End Legacy</em>), but <em>Clank! Legacy: AI</em> doesn’t suffer from that problem. Every game session (mission) introduces new and compelling twists in the ongoing storyline and is able to hold our interests. And the gameplay - including choices, restrictions, and goals- makes sense within the narrative universe Clautice and Dennen have constructed for us. We found that the narrative so captured our kids attention that they were better about staying in the game each mission long enough to explore the terrain to everyone’s satisfaction as compared to their more typical race to the finish behavior when playing the standard edition of <em>Clank!</em> . I was very pleased with that aspect of this edition as I really enjoy exploring the far reaches of the board. </p><p><img title="Central Board" alt="Central Board" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dVxyMiJ5IiZCaiI_32_2AzIRdPgsVTfnjXCSTu4rMGPOJk0NzxNDptmnwU6VjgzcCcEM2bBtnh1gvb3gRe2RLBuINgdKHG2lyhuBsrm9j9k_fM3b8TRytIUQbQuHV_pTiCx4zJC1IBjWId5Mj65XjE1g=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>The game mechanisms here are based on those in the base game (primarily deck building and point to point movement), with players descending into lower depths on the central board, tasked with obtaining rewards and escaping to safety before the game ends. But the legacy edition of this midweight strategy game introduces additional non-player characters, rewards, perils, and side quests as play unfolds. Spaces on the board have narrative icons indicating passages, from the Book of Secrets, which are to be read when a player lands on the space for the first time. These passages will often direct players to apply stickers to the game board, cards, or the rule book. They may also reveal new game components such as additional cards or tokens. <em>Clank! Legacy: AI</em> also utilizes both sides of the central game board, providing a lot of real estate for legacy modifications. </p><p>I didn’t notice a lot of analysis paralysis during our plays of <em>Clank! Legacy: AI</em>. The requirement to play all cards each hand coupled with the movement restrictions on the board provided only a few reasonable options to choose from each turn in terms of movement. Occasional delays were seen when players selected cards to recruit using skill points, but even then, it was never more than a few moments of hesitation. Each game session wraps up in a couple hours or less. </p><p>The components (the central board, the cards, cardboard tokens, etc) are of average quality for the price point. Our franchise board (where you deposit clank, hold market items for purchase, track dragon rage, and track player damage) arrived slightly warped and seems to have warped further as it has sat out on our game table (we’ve had some wild temperature swings here in snowy Iowa), but otherwise everything arrived in and remains in excellent condition. </p><p>The artwork (implemented by a full team of artists, including Clay Brooks, Anita Burrell, Derek Herring, Raul Ramos, Nate Storm, and Alain Viesca) is on point. It reinforces the narrative, is kid-friendly, and is generally unobtrusive, which is just what I’m looking for in this price range. It also blends seamlessly with the artwork in the base game, so when the legacy campaign is finished and players want to mix components of this game with the base game, it works visually. <img title="Artwork: Closeup" alt="Artwork: Closeup" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cYyjRK9WjDQpZGpYnmpiUc9g0pfpj7jeWD4p6BFrvdMAyCYxWnzlgAAOzHCI1M4bYBM-IY54pJEKHBAun-J_YuhbiTzckhWlF6wX6CcQ2WNNHo9g5LAAzXTjr7UN5IJ0RE2TK5v_pXaGFO35w1cZ_rkw=s907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>The rulebook was generally clear and we didn’t need to look up much online, although we did have a few questions about some of the language on the cards that we didn’t feel the rulebook addressed (and we also couldn’t find a clear answer online, so it might just have been a brain block unique to us). </p><p>Every aspect of <em>Clank! Legacy: AI</em> has been well planned and executed by Clautice and Dennen. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing this edition with my family and I’m hoping they’ve got additional legacy campaign expansions in the works for this IP as I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Solid storytelling, from start to finish. </p><p><iframe src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=http241614776-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B07QT5PVMK&asins=B07QT5PVMK&linkId=915fcf8bf09726ff7760101ae124fb15&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;">
</iframe></p><p> -------------------------------------------------</p><p>Publisher: Renegade Game Studios<br>Players: 2-4 (We played with 4)<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 90 minutes per game<br>Game type: deck building, point to point movement, legacy, campaign<br>Retail Price: $75-100<p>Rating:<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img width="424" height="214" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Jenni’s rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-73337639458759673272020-12-16T23:31:00.001-05:002020-12-16T23:31:17.691-05:00Board Game Review: Tapestry Plans and Ploys Expansion<p>I was so excited when Jamey Stegmaier’s <em>Plans and Ploys</em> expansion for <em>Tapestry</em> (published by Stonemaier Games) showed up in the mail. <img width="295" height="291" align="right" style="margin: 6px 0px 0px 6px; float: right; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dQ8nDKhE5v0Nk5STHL3EWYD_bIECAuEzwPv8FOcIwJ3GlEl2raJK_07dq9FW3ZVBYUoO68ztUP-Ks3swZZ40TSyA74wK5CX8kJuHy_11InPKSW44KmOAPsp_V23kEf-6ZFQSEKiTsLia_gVMj5lrA7xg=w295-h291-no?authuser=0">I’d played a lot of <em>Tapestry</em> games with my social isolation pod (see my review for <em>Tapestry</em> <a href="http://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2020/07/board-game-review-tapestry.html">here</a>) over the summer and I was eager to explore the new Tapestry cards and civilizations promised in the expansion. Beyond these updates, the <em>Plans and Ploys</em> expansion also includes a new game element (Landmark cards), new space tiles, a handy bag for drawing exploration tiles, and landmark place marker tokens which offer an easy way to identify which landmarks have already been claimed just by looking at the central board. </p><p>As soon as we unboxed <em>Plans and Ploys</em>, we invited a few of our friends over to give it a go. <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fApzFS7E8l9o1bjxcdOwX0U75XCLAtfSdF-gqemkujEIshFks2Xl6qyD9mVnqUtaJogUhG6ktrs4cZk7-HuTqQ2q_wc1S0r1Xq3C3fxkReAYExEXtk4V_HvsYz9KlMRqULKxQDzqUXJV2Y3T30_L0oqw=w681-h907-no?authuser=0">Our previous social isolation pod had disbanded with the spike in new COVID cases in our state (Iowa: ground zero for the pandemic once the fall semester of school started) and none of the members of our newly formed pod had ever played the base game before. So we weren’t sure whether we should play the base game without the expansion first or if the expansion was straightforward enough to merge into the base game in a way that didn’t prove too complicated for new players to understand. We spent a bit of time going over the base game rules with our friends and then read the rules addendum for the expansion together and decided to jump straight into playing with the expansion. It was a good decision. Everyone got into the flow of the game without any difficulty.</p><p><img width="681" height="907" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fnSFIbMyDfMKqIXW5KSvLkmECXqmCg4mUyDhiuG44LjSFyOB5Nmybfvv80WMgKo-iZSY-2A6UHl0TZ4GWBIKyylYcj2kT2N4UCI_M3vYgGoHhfkyIGJUkK3QkrRZF7UbCtpnjQKddvQOm2qKWcxeBkgg=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>I played the Advisors civilization. This is a new civ from the expansion and I wasn’t sure if I was in love with its special abilities as compared to the other new civs I’d peeked at before we shuffled all the civs and randomly drew for each player. One point per Tapestry card didn’t seem to amount to much, and at first I didn’t see the power in forcing others to take my Tapestry cards instead of drawing from the deck. But as the game unfolded, I quickly realized that I could use the giveaway power to purge less helpful Tapestry cards from my hand and churn through the Tapestry deck much quicker in search of the really powerful cards. Plus, I could influence my opponents’ behavior by giving them Tapestry cards that would encourage them to favor certain actions over others and then use the knowledge of what they were likely going to do for my benefit. For example, I might give someone a Tapestry card that strongly encouraged military track advancement and then play a Tapestry card myself that allowed me to pick an opponent and a track and copy the opponents movement on that track. Knowing that a specific opponent would likely play heavy on the military track for their next several turns allowed me to be more confident in my bet on that player and that track in conjunction with the track+opponent copy power of my Tapestry card. Overall, the Advisors are well balanced and constructed civilization, as are all the others from the expansion that I’ve studied closely.</p><p>At the beginning of the game, each player was given a Landmark card and building. These are personal goals that allow a player to place a building on their Capital city map once the goal is met. All of the goals are fairly straightforward, but as with other games that feature personal player goals, players have to be careful not to become overly focused on their goal at the expense of general game strategy. </p><p><img width="634" height="846" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3egFJVYvc2xr7rHJmqil66auD66dLP3UGaIs9GTf-w5tlCgMngdOPpiH4ltEdMp2311xCpd5KsT9ssP9ICqa5apYtYRCOfHN7yCjfQkhJ_yYaRnN9F2glQAVww3v-a99q-qIlXzByoRQFCTbvSf8Zqy6Q=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"> </p><p>All of the new components packaged with the <em>Plans and Ploys</em> expansion feature the same artwork style and the same quality of construction as those of the base game. The additions integrate very well in terms of gameplay and strategy too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Stonemaier revealed Jamey had done a Peter Jackson: <em>Lord of the Rings</em> move with this game, designing everything all at once and just releasing it in separate parts as the base game and an expansion. I especially appreciated the new landmark tokens that saved me from that grumpy feeling that wells up inside of me when I realize someone else has already taken a track landmark I was eyeing. Now as soon as they claim a landmark from one of the tracks, the landmark token is removed, signaling its unavailability. Nice. <img width="222" height="296" align="left" style="margin: 0px 6px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dz4bT8Tky36sBZtb-y__Qhvdi4GnANiBjEkSQC8zXFHnVO0dQBjiK9BdqAVBVr83ApyL6Oj8j4xoj7ZshTugxjYdltsyytze94q-aSOHxfX8pIq5YE70uuY8VPzg-ZVTC9g9iI4SQlWd17PFoZxT1I9A=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p> Our game was really close in score as far as everyone could tell for most of its duration. I wasn’t sure I was going to win, but I was having a hell of good time playing the six, count them, SIX, civilizations I’d managed to acquire in the game due to some crafty manipulation of my technology cards in conjunction with track actions. I felt powerful. Very powerful. <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3evfPFQ9KprJkR6Cs6cmT_1GWnTZFsWef3LI_wbM-un2GNrJp4HS8tLq-oH7k7ALRTVfCIRwYuBoSBDYliFSgK6Y_eMh68jSBqfWXIuLmVwWY1vvsQSdSsqmnmoaaRuNX9RqDal9jDmKC1A-iKTxQB_9g=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>In the end, my husband Christopher won (but not by much) and I came in second. Our newbie players did pretty well at final scoring, especially considering they’d never played before and were playing against veterans. </p><p>I loved everything about this expansion. If you haven’t picked up the base game yet, call/email your local game store to reserve a copy (or order online from Stonemaier) and add <em>Tapestry Plans and Ploys</em> to your order at the same time. You’ll want them both. And if you already own <em>Tapestry</em>, this expansion is calling your name. There’s still time for you to add it to your Christmas wishlist and if no one gifts it to you, you can give yourself a copy (you deserve it after surviving 2020!) when the new year rolls around.</p><p>-------------------------------------------------<p>Publisher: Stonemaier Games<br>Players: 1-5 (We played with 4)<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 3 hours per game<br>Game type: tile placement, hand management, dice rolling, area control<br>Retail Price: $27 direct from the publisher <a title="https://store.stonemaiergames.com/collections/tapestry/products/tapestry-plans-ploys" href="https://store.stonemaiergames.com/collections/tapestry/products/tapestry-plans-ploys">https://store.stonemaiergames.com/collections/tapestry/products/tapestry-plans-ploys</a><p>Rating:<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img width="424" height="214" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Jenni’s rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-65776694305512265012020-11-23T15:08:00.001-05:002020-11-23T15:55:21.773-05:00A Tale of Two Towers–Part One (A Review of Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time)<p>Six months ago I didn’t even know what a tower defense game was and now I’ve played two of them several times and have some strong opinions on each one. In this post, I want to talk to you about one of them - <em>Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time</em>. The good folks over at Lucky Duck Games sent me a review copy of the game, designed by Helana Hope, Sen-Foong Lim, and Jessey Wright.</p><p><img width="765" height="830" title="Cover Art" alt="" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eQHF4R-WiqaJKaKnYwnWNEII5HZU0boXHPi4vFX4mOJu6-3mV1Li-cydypN4Jz4c5yszn5_s-z-ZJJHvfpg-LuPbHwYZlMjbBFluJbdmm93nfsgy04jlWqly-EncwoS59zmsCS7Od5HFeLhmNBg0xTUg=w836-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p> Now I mentioned that this is a tower defense game, but what exactly does that mean? In games using this type of mechanic, one of the primary objectives is to continually defend your assigned sector of the board (i.e. your home base) against incoming threats. This is managed through the use of armed towers, which reign down violence and death on any malicious parties approaching. This mechanism got its start in 1980's video games (source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_defense">Wikipedia</a>) and is one of the most popular mechanisms in modern game apps on cell phones and tablets. More recently, it's crossed over into the tabletop board game industry, with the earliest tower defense games appearing in 2013. </p><p>
<em>Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time</em> was funded on Kickstarter in 2019 to the tune of over a million dollars. It's derived from an app (Kingdom Rush) originally published for the browser and iOS by Ironhide Game Studio back in 2011. There are 58+ million users <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Rush"> who have downloaded and reviewed the app on Metacritic</a> so the built-in audience for the board game from the existing app users alone could potentially keep the publisher churning out boxes indefinitely (how long does it take to produce millions of copies of a board game?!). With a retail price approaching $60, even with licensing fee expenses, I imagine it's a lucrative project for Lucky Duck. But is it a good purchase decision for board game enthusiasts who've decided they want to add a tower defense game to their collection?
</p><p>
Well, it depends on what kind of board gamer you are. </p><p>
Let's dig in a little deeper. </p><p>
Regular readers know theme is very important to me. Is there a good narrative explaining our roles in the game and a plausible backstory to illuminate how we got into the position we are in and why we are doing what we're being asked to do in the game? For <em>Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time</em>, the answer is yes to both. There's a time mage who has opened up a rift in the fabric of time, hell bent on taking down our kingdom and our job is to stop the mage before they can do so. It's simple yet compelling call to heroism. </p><p>
The artwork, by Mateusz Komada and Katarzyna Kosobucka, is cartoonish and playful. It definitely has that cell phone app flavour to it. <img width="414" height="414" title="The Figures" align="right" style="float: right; display: inline;" alt="" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eL6rf6w2hnRo5duX66VR6C-qhCwSYNpTpUQ-3KQmPjM5pNf9NxQneimptUhu70Imt-5IBKKWp9eAkgPGrQm4eCtawZAeUjWmjzKgPiqkeLapC0MFROXCCi0hJgOLTPmLYfaFkAH95PwU3CMmXaswKM_w=s907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>
The components are average for the price point or for a mass market game. And here's where we begin to tie things to what kind of board gamer you are. If you've been playing higher end games lately (those typically with a retail price over $100), the components might feel a bit flimsy and look a bit cheap. They're comprised of colorful cardboard tokens and boards, plastic figures, plastic trays, a handful of wooden meeples, and many (thin) cardstock cards. </p><p>If your tastes or budget gravitate toward games at a similar price as <em>Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time</em>, I don't think you'll find anything problematic about the components here and on that criteria, this is a good tower defense game for you. Happy bonus: among the components is a campaign progress map and stickers that allow players to mark their accomplishments as they play through the campaign. As a person who likes to check off boxes, I adore this feature. Kudos to the designers for the thoughtful addition. </p><p><img width="1116" height="580" title="The Progress Map" style="display: inline;" alt="" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cEuTQnINsos38eZ91QGzGDisGYQKduLaE1lsYPPNJgeUnlSUTlDA-ceM7z5iBhaRFTfcbfjex5YwNl-XgtOUT_dJogUnmz-wZixZNdfx1-MW5DxjOME_aEFBKB3kPukISq0Otr6fduBwvM46eVGpDULQ=w1680-h874-no?authuser=0">I also really appreciated the player aides provided - the summary of steps in a round printed on the hero boards, and the helper cards that detail the various enemies. <img width="379" height="506" title="The Helper Cards" align="left" style="margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" alt="" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3exDuaF-g9q0lOv_kPBoXnm3_L4jqo5_kFI5m3hoPU5HiyL9OsmRnjzC_MQixv3qTntSmUZfv7VQBiVx4ZOa4ChtVJ5nPpp9b32TYTtY7Jmg0I0mf5Bo4Pd7AGbVFPreOtjbwTdvm7x5PUGZszupSrJ0g=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p> The gameplay is simple enough that it doesn't take long to set up or learn the rules. In each round of this cooperative game, players spawn new hordes of enemies marching on the kingdom, play tower and hero cards to attack the hordes, check to see whether any hordes have been destroyed (and remove them if so, reaping the crystal rewards), move the surviving hordes closer to the kingdom, pick up the surviving tower and hero cards played, and spend crystals to buy more tower cards. Rinse, repeat for every round. The individual monsters within a horde have different rules for engagement (for example, some cannot be attacked by heroes and others are self healing) so players will need to vary their tactics when playing tower and hero cards. Also, instead of playing all your tower cards during a round, you can upgrade one or more of them and pass them to a fellow player to use next round.<img width="368" height="452" title="The Tower Market" align="right" style="float: right; display: inline;" alt="" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fLVDzMklpJyj2V0Lq3h8Le7NhqPGTNzWnUoRGnqz-wr8fzvdNHSVafQ-3daifmknpcXTRX-9f1KxHoIsqKVEDHv-i55agGrvouFSMlTsI89YP79-M1ft94QvQXZ3rTr6Pxkvn4jRcpwwiy2V_nWi-iig=w739-h907-no?authuser=0"> And instead of activating your hero's attack against a horde during a round, you can restore your hero's health if needed. Mixed in among the hordes are portals that the time mage wants to use to reach and breach the kingdom. If one of these portals crosses into the kingdom, the game is lost immediately. Conversely, for most scenarios included with the game (there are 10 in the base game and several expansions already available and each can be played on varying levels of difficulty, providing plenty of replay) all of the portals must be destroyed in order to win the game. You can also lose the game if enough of the regular hordes breech your kingdom, causing you to run out of kingdom hearts (health). </p><p>The rulebook, which is well written and illustrated, suggests playing the game on difficulty level 3, while Tom Vasel (respected reviewer) has recommended playing on difficulty level 1. So we took the middle road during all of our games and played on level 2. Even though we lost our first game because we didn't do enough upgrading of towers (the second portal that came out could only be attacked with towers we didn't own), we didn't feel there were any overly complicated nuances to the game that would take several plays just to learn. You can play this game with your teens and tweens and they'll do just fine. The puzzle aspect of figuring out the best place to establish each tower on the board to maximize the damage to the hordes is an excellent logic puzzle for young and old alike. So we return to our discussion of what kind of board gamer you are. Do you want a family friendly game you can play with your kids? If so, then this is a good tower defense game for you. Do you enjoy board games that don't require a steep learning curve when it comes to strategy? If so, then this is a good tower defense game for you. <img width="289" height="355" align="left" style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fpEyhO9gcIlhfKs5LlZu9siL9TBnpeS119z9zIGQj0D3AuQ243ovaJk8-kIjcjw11hNlOe9-WM1W_2_CzNBmG-rqhdnqzzowM5M_GArlYQeuFaWM_NgQ1diOWw7r_tEIMZxZGmXEQHmShQ9JPOt5_oMQ=w739-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>
To recap, <em>Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time</em> is an accessible, affordable, family friendly tower defense game and board gamers who value those qualities would do well to pick up a copy for themselves. And of course, with the holiday season upon us, it's a smart choice for gifting as well. I'm glad we own a copy, and I plan to pick up the expansions to play with my kids. </p><p>
For my friends who exclusively prefer complex gameplay that will take you many games to even begin to master and expensive components with a luxury look and feel, stay tuned for my review of Cloudspire, because that's the tower defense game for your cohort.</p><p> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</p><p>
Publisher: Lucky Duck Games
Players: 1-4 </p><p>
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): approx an hour per game
</p><p>Game type: cooperative, tower defense, tile placement
</p><p>
Rating:</p><p>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JVYCcHlKhR4/XAdNZ0P_i7I/AAAAAAAAgc0/19LJHL4BcJ87HW7Vl5mVPIFUbkR6hgMOACHMYCw/review-OUIOUI_thumb?imgmax=800">
</p><p>
Rating scale:
</p><p>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
</p><p>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
</p><p>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
</p><p>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me. </p>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-33240500715936224842020-11-13T21:30:00.001-05:002020-11-13T22:24:56.637-05:00Board Game Review: Artsee<p>Before the pandemic trapped us all in our homes, I spent many an hour at our local <a href="http://volunteer.unitedwayjwc.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=32688">United Action for Youth</a> center in Iowa City volunteering as a board game coordinator. Every month, I’d bring a few games with me and introduce them to the teens who hung out at the center after school. One of the games that got rave reviews from the group is <em>Artsee</em>. <img width="564" height="751" align="right" style="float: right; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fWm2TCTNUFeYRv2Cc7SLRKxPHdwiu1L8MUk9AE_cu1kMtWJ_QEfdYA3RBN2dWv6eJPiMxxghoPDlYsY40MBYI3oYrntnq78K8sakEsOJ6GYh_JO-51n-pSKn6ucfEjXldaihj1pVWzLphphlLpaXtWoA=w703-h937-no?authuser=0">Designed by J. Alex Kevern, and published by <a href="https://www.renegadegamestudios.com/">Renegade Game Studios</a>, it’s an easy to learn, quick playing card game with a small table footprint for up to five players. Each player takes on the role of an art gallery curator, attempting to build the most prestigious gallery in order to win the game. Galleries are built from individual exhibits (cards) that depict two or three paintings from different categories (abstract, landscape, portrait, or still life). In addition to the paintings, each exhibit also indicates a featured category. Each time an exhibit is played to one of the four columns in a gallerist’s tableau, all opponents of the active player may deposit a meeple, representing a gallery visitor, on each exhibit in their gallery that has the same featured category as the exhibit the active player just laid down. <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cN2UkZoEUbkFw5dyM1X0vMmumpmFotMakdrrx8-TnCfEZ0AkBTUooQT-Npwbu0AA5wHqBunpxyOYAlocd6PR6259vzpM1YbJ9WH4Cl613MnolUUJuOQ63RLgvYaZlgF9AaqpZnhgtg8_-p11UsftEd1A=w703-h937-no?authuser=0">Next, the active player scores points (prestige) for any visitor meeples that were previously located on the top most exhibit of the column they just added their exhibit to. The meeples are removed and returned to the active player’s general supply when this occurs. The active player also scores prestige for the number of paintings in the column to the left or right (as indicated by the direction of the arrow on their exhibit card) of their just-placed exhibit that match the featured category of the exhibit card. If the player earns enough prestige during their turn (5-9), they may also claim a masterpiece painting token. <img width="351" height="468" align="left" style="margin: 0px 11px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3ebgoGwxHqLO9uJc-dqPQImaIjTCNXYqA-S2sEGQD2lCdooxIEGHDN-1GbfeJ0U3-OeQNMCmKo4bPwIcviOB9k2kUPsPlo5az3D7NVph3B_4mvoEEiw4qO3cduhC94jqF1wby5J5aKSqrNib8IDn-ut6A=w703-h937-no?authuser=0">These tokens are worth prestige at the end of the game during final scoring and also count as another painting of the chosen category when added to a column in the gallerist’s tableau. Once a player has played an exhibit, earned prestige, and claimed a masterpiece token (if eligible), they draw a card and play passes to their left. </p><p>The gameplay continues until there are no more cards left to draw and all player hands are empty. We found that turns progressed pretty quickly, with little to no analysis paralysis. Prestige bonuses are calculated at game end based on the number of masterpiece tokens accumulated. Each player adds their bonus to the prestige tokens they earned during the game. Don’t forget to also count the prestige on each masterpiece token. The player with the most prestige is the winner. <img width="546" height="728" align="right" style="float: right; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3f3C727DKDthvmWwH-UGjqcaXhZwWulRftabwxNjPoo97IRm6UuEKFUieV3qx40ljQmgx3tjxdR07rRXcic_C8jN75vdeInReqnWg24LxVlhseTWp01IxhCNX0d2SYkSraiOYG9DK3E-in_lr513UdbJw=w703-h937-no?authuser=0"></p><p>While the components for <em>Artsee</em> are nothing special, the artwork is well done (it’s comprised of reproductions of famous artwork with humorous twists). And it’s true that the art gallery theme seems to be just pasted on. But at core, <em>Artsee</em> is a relaxing and fun little logic puzzle that doesn’t get boring, even after repeated plays. It’s especially fun to play with tween and teens and at under $25, makes an affordable holiday gift.</p><p>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<p>Publisher: Renegade Game Studios<br>Players: 2-5<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): about 30 minutes per game<br>Game type: card game, set collection<p>Rating:<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-euLS1uOYJHs/XAdNYiE2tVI/AAAAAAAAgcw/jmb6IbHEz7gpDGtaTk4Z69MPeK5mrSb1QCHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUI%255B2%255D"><img width="270" height="245" title="review-OUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JVYCcHlKhR4/XAdNZ0P_i7I/AAAAAAAAgc0/19LJHL4BcJ87HW7Vl5mVPIFUbkR6hgMOACHMYCw/review-OUIOUI_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-90262054577731693332020-09-06T23:04:00.001-04:002020-09-06T23:05:04.076-04:00Board Game Review: Tokyo Sidekick<p>Earlier this summer, <em>Tokyo Sidekick</em> arrived on our doorstep from Japanime Games. I knew absolutely nothing about the game before it showed up. Turns out, it's a big game, with a big board, in a big box. Unpacking everything, I was pretty impressed with the breadth of inventory. Check out the pic below from the publisher of the core game components beyond the board and cardboard standees. </p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eyeOdgAScABi3hy8_SjiSFHwPOfcaNzDNKAm0kIYP9Y_NvbnTGQIoojuxOxIyNusLv_8Q_ypgJF77D-WFp8Pnq6YeWvXdV2U4lZS_UAIbcbaM31Lkrxif-Wuay4PbgVqbbzLbaYawge1Ex_dwZ2mXM-Q=s680-no?authuser=0"></p><p>My copy also included a comic book giving the origin stories of the heroes, as well as upgraded acrylic standees. The components are well made and I particularly like the acrylic upgrades; you’ll want these for sure if you can get them. </p><p><img width="304" height="405" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cpB6T0AOWMZdmi1WwAEzbnV6EkigERZ6SketRc7gbaSwh2xjukvMrAWuauwhtaUGHV_oH73PwwLM6xqBkiI-ZL-8flhtpknrB99IwKW05bFscxlrFKgroVV1xvW_j-s5XFZDgqQTPPgQe92UiJhC9fFQ=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"> <img width="305" height="407" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cazTyXPyBRLfWrHzZd_ptvVMVXM6yjC-Y_rRQ-fNy-m1xg4Hw5oPhJ-sAaWyZ0v7m1SPc7wjYrydP7ttv8W1FSji8Ge3nP3hhVN3RayHYhxRC3xyNc5GtBZcYcDuSXa9hZ4rc-_ap8zY4Zjb5RvC_0Ig=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"><img width="307" height="409" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cKKkf-H5rdQduEkHNJF9VrHhkAAOGKoX201ClWykMH11N_9Q9JgP-JIC8oQygrYqBu4X1JvqLW6h7b-dlmBuN4nuZY3yNcJ15jV94QPvojvwLcL-CoRVZBydsBnp7kBDZ3gRFgmSQl4MbBjbxdS8cWLw=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>Perusing the rulebook, I started to get a good understanding of <em>Tokyo Sidekick</em>. It’s a cooperative game designed by Yusuke Emi where 2-4 players take on the role of heroes and sidekicks who battle against villains, supervillains, and menaces, while also navigating around the central board to deal with incidents as they crop up. There’s a lot going on at once for players to manage, and that’s part of the fun. It feels a lot like playing <em>Pandemic</em>, if the characters we played in <em>Pandemic</em> were more personable and relatable. </p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dBxFrIxpYKZymZ0bL0eSalg0NLzpFQ_WEijlgvh-ZwirDMkOPEWAhSO_6HgCXb5BP8W8oOqHqKd8YaXp8-TM19ygE02CCevMHPallAxHoSP9HzLqr88VuPdgOR1URnzLEBKUwg_ZnBsw8TDGbbQav-CA=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>Turns pass back and forth between players and during the active player’s turn they must do their best using their array of selectable actions (actions that are paid for with energy cards from their deck) to thwart evil and handle critical incidents that have been revealed. We didn’t find there to be much analysis paralysis during turns. At the end of each player’s turn, during the End Phase, new incidents are added to the board, the player redraws their hand, and circumstances are evaluated to determine whether additional steps grouped under something called “Crime Time” will occur. If it does occur, special effects on enemy cards activate, towns on the map get destroyed, a subset of incidents on the board become critical (if you leave these unresolved on the board for too long, you lose the game automatically), new enemies are revealed from the enemy deck and placed on the board, and new incidents are added to the incident row (to be added to the board on future turns). </p><p>What I love most about this game is the detailed descriptions and backstory on every hero and sidekick. Chamaru is my absolutely favorite sidekick to include on my team. Look at his adorable profile! </p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fOrTZbxT5f0HgJ6sKy-Jki1DwkBOwCa0nmrNiynxZOl3p_Ha6KbCse4SabZwTkN4otIG1Ct1kfE4_-rRHOjKRjfnB0yNbOOVRjMdjaB3i6TbWUGeNSm-bFeoQvhWCrBZHPb6rIUxS4iF6vy9nOzdXbQQ=w1330-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>There’s even a mind map at the end of the rulebook showing the intricate connections between each hero and sidekick in the game. The artwork is lovely too. Sometimes I’m a bit hesitant when a new Japanime game is released because I never know if the artwork is going to push boundaries a bit too far out of the family friendly genre (which is always a shame when it happens because the gameplay is usually solid). Happy to report that while the game isn’t going to win any awards from the feminist corner for empowering representation, it’s nothing too risque; tweens and teens can play this without being scandalized. Another thing I really enjoy about <em>Tokyo Sidekick</em> is the free lesson in Tokyo geography. All the locations on the board are neighborhoods of Tokyo, like Otsuka, Waseda, or Shinjuku. If you thought Pandemic was good at teaching you world geography, this game is really good at teaching you the areas of Tokyo as you move between them. </p><p>The rulebook is very detailed and well written. We didn’t have any trouble understanding the instructions and we weren’t left with any unanswered questions after reading it. </p><p>The myriad of hero-sidekick combinations and the variety of enemies in the enemy deck make the game highly replayable. We’ve played a handful of times and have yet to even eke out a win but we never got tired of trying. The first time we played we didn’t stay on top of incidents and then after that we tried to manage our incidents better but were overrun with villains. I’m sure there some clever strategy to score a victory in <em>Tokyo Sidekick</em>, but we haven’t stumbled upon it yet. Which is another plus for the game as far as I’m concerned; there’s no easy win to be had here. You’re going to have to collaborate closely with your team partners and really put your heads together to beat this thing. </p><p>This is definitely a game to put on the shopping list, if you’ve not ordered it yet. The Kickstarter for <em>Tokyo</em> <em>Sidekick</em> just closed the first week in September, but Japanime has already started taking pre-orders for the retail version of the game on their website. If you’ve got tweens, I especially think this is a must-have. The whole family can work together to save Tokyo and learn Japanese geography in the process. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------<p>Publisher: Japanime Games<br>Players: 2-4 <br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 75 minutes. <br>Game type: deck building, cooperative, hand management<p>Rating:<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img width="424" height="214" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Jenni’s rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-6283016228028277782020-07-26T22:25:00.001-04:002020-07-26T22:52:36.432-04:00Board Game Review: Hues and Cues<p>Last week we received <em>Hues and Cues</em> from The Op Games. We recently finished playing through <em>Scooby-Doo Escape from the Haunted Mansion</em> (a fantastic game in The Op Games catalogue designed by Jay Cormier, Sen-Foong Lim, and Kami Mandell that you should absolutely pick up to play with your family) and wanted to give another game from the same publisher a go. I picked <em>Hues and Cues</em> because I’ve been pleasantly surprised by other “test whether our minds think the same way” games such as <em>The Mind</em> and <em>Wavelength.</em></p><p>In <em>Hues and Cues</em>, players gather around a large central board comprised of 480 graduating colors of the rainbow surrounded by an x-y axis and scoring table. White and black (which are technically not colors) are conspicuously absent as are shades (mixtures of color + black; e.g., grey) and tints (mixtures of color + white; e.g., cream). On each player’s turn, they draw a card with four colors and the x-y axis codes of those colors depicted and they select one. <img width="250" height="335" align="right" style="margin: 5px 0px 0px 6px; float: right; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eF1lu2S2rzqpY4CxdliNIq9rut8pDad55Opuu5Z1QwYX3YR-uhNhe-HPByMDefDR9YbaRncztHxPS4Rneh9eS3lWeMAxzoYLikVtPFzREGxyBQISnwHbQYKmaShAYi_bwLkcw42XFZa8YTInYK_1uWnQ=w679-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>They are in the role of the clue giver. They attempt to convey which one they selected using a one word clue without directly pointing to it, naming its x-y axis, or using basic color references such as “yellow” or “green”. After they’ve provided their clue to everyone, each of the other players gets to select and mark a color on the board with their token that they think is the one to which the clue giver was referring. Then the clue giver gets a second shot at leading everyone to the correct color and this time they follow the same rules except that they can use a two word clue if they wish. Once again, all of the other players select and mark a color. <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cwf1pemseZvpu2wEbg_-TuDDfK7SEAxuRIvMaHLmG4i7MFe2SV781lFMjXqXhDeJvT2fJsPSE20WuKcTR2jwunpyLVlMoAnkr8YSM-9Wl-Q0e3iZlDfBO37ZDVXqYuzrWPLCjq2IGlWe74qf47eIJ7qw=w681-h907-no?authuser=0">After everyone has finished marking colors, the clue giver lays a 3x3 square cutout over top the board so that the color they were giving clues against lies directly in the middle. Any player who has a marker in that spot gets 3 points, any player who has a marker in one of the surrounding 8 spots gets 2 points for each marker of theirs in that area, and finally, any player who has a marker in one of the 16 spots surrounding the cutout gets 1 point for each marker of theirs in that area. Meanwhile, the clue giver scores 1 point for every marker (of any player)<br> inside the cutout.</p><p><img width="668" height="524" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3c1g6l-ELht_9DgQR2jFADe8HqI-L_GZguHIoo7pbeAzZohdd_1bTB8UXLEArt-XabpNALoSRZjEPpFbAqUbhEOzcI93prQRgk6dfhzSvgWZkkrRxrEVbSgxm6lH0pqGqUoOt8JxA3zzNt7ijWE-fe3pg=w1156-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>Just as with <em>Wavelength</em>, <em>Hues and Cues</em> reinforced the absolute truth that we all think a bit differently. When I say lilac and imagine the corresponding color, it’s likely that it’s at least a few steps away on the board from the color you imagine. Ditto for emerald and periwinkle. And don’t get me started on apricot, as we had a big debate among 4 players on exactly which color square corresponds to that. Then there are misunderstandings in the clues themselves. In our group this happened when a clue giver said robin and I assumed they meant the dominant color of the bird (orange) but they were thinking of the iconic eggs of the bird instead (a shade of blue). It also happened that time a clue giver said bazooka and I assumed they meant the rocket launcher (brown) and they were thinking of the bubble gum (pink). </p><p>Overall, I think <em>Hues and Cues</em> is a fine party game. My core gaming circle enjoys heavier strategy games, but we often look to a party game to start off our evening and get everyone comfortable before breaking into smaller groups to play the brain busters. <em>Hues and Cues</em> works well for us in that role. I prefer <em>Wavelength</em> ever so slightly over <em>Hues and Cues </em>so if you’ve only got the budget to add one more party game to your collection I’d lean in that direction, but if you’re open to a couple of games or if you already have <em>Wavelength</em> and want something a little different, pick up <em>Hues and Cues</em>. One thing I really appreciate about <em>Hues and Cues</em> is that its language independent. As long as all players speak a common language, it doesn’t matter what that language is. You could even easily use sign language to give the clues. In this way, it’s especially a great game to bring into your collection if you host international board gamers (I’m looking at you, game cafe owners and Air B&B hosts!). <em>Please note: while it should be obvious, this is not a game for the colorblind.</em> </p><p><iframe src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=http241614776-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B084D2XQ9F&asins=B084D2XQ9F&linkId=57e01179f080c2765665f83c3f2c583d&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;">
</iframe></p><p>You can pick up <em>Hues and Cues </em>at Amazon for under $25. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------<p>Publisher: The Op Games<br>Players: 3-10<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): ~25 minutes<br>Game type: party games<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-euLS1uOYJHs/XAdNYiE2tVI/AAAAAAAAgcw/jmb6IbHEz7gpDGtaTk4Z69MPeK5mrSb1QCHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUI%255B2%255D"><img width="270" height="245" title="review-OUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JVYCcHlKhR4/XAdNZ0P_i7I/AAAAAAAAgc0/19LJHL4BcJ87HW7Vl5mVPIFUbkR6hgMOACHMYCw/review-OUIOUI_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-80600688205188387422020-07-22T12:54:00.001-04:002020-07-22T15:34:21.158-04:00Board Game Review: Wingspan European Expansion<p>I was really looking forward to playing <em>Wingspan:European Expansion</em> since I enjoy the base game so very much (see my review for <a href="http://www.thatswhatjennisaid.com/2019/08/board-game-review-wingspan.html"><em>Wingspan</em></a>). According to the publisher, the expansion encompasses all of this:</p><p><strong><em><font color="#0000ff">In this first expansion to Wingspan, we increase the scope of the world to include the regal, beautiful, and varied birds of Europe. These birds feature a variety of new abilities, including a number of birds with round end abilities, abilities that increase interaction between players, and birds that benefit from excess cards/food. Along with the new bonus cards, they’re designed to be shuffled into the original decks of cards (and cards from future expansions).</font></em></strong><p><strong><em><font color="#0000ff">The European Expansion also includes an additional tray for storing the growing collection of birds (past, present, and future), as well as 15 purple eggs, extra food tokens, and a colorful new scorepad designed for both multi-player and single-player scoring. It's designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and features birds illustrated by Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez.</font></em></strong><p><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/imagepage/img/ksBmeS_TaiL4YKMA3USnzhLRPI8=/fit-in/900x600/filters:no_upscale()/pic4982682.jpg">Sounds great right? So we get <em>Wingspan: European Expansion</em>, we unbox everything, and we set up to play <em>Wingspan</em> including the expansion. I’m ready to be dazzled, reviewer’s notepad by my side. As we play, I notice a few of the new cards with round end powers popping up in the draw stacks and on player boards, but otherwise things don’t seem too different. The art on the new cards carries the same style and beauty of the original deck. There’s a few new bonus cards added to the bonus deck and goal tiles added to the existing goal tiles but the new additions of both easily get lost in the shuffle. There’s a also new scorepad that has a side tailored to solo play and I really like that. </p><p>I play <em>Wingspan</em> again with the expansion, and have the same experience, except this time, I feel the bonus scoring criteria on the bonus card I chose (birds that eat anything) seems impossible to meet. <img title="Playing with the expansion and original decks" alt="Playing with the expansion and original decks" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cWlN0XYe3_xntJKr-SOAWjYdY5fkgl2VXG9Wz2oaDUOj3tzpBjNqG-IgiejWNWHC3mA-rBPoISfpnKonvztL7PGPDbb0UMQNx5v1Rtpfz0fTVMuucjtysaE1RSpP4XYgiQUCDUGPdqb3ctbmaJIdguvw=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>None of the cards that have come up in the deck fit the bill. I note that this is a bonus card from the original deck and become convinced the expansion has thrown the percentages off (10% of birds in the deck allegedly fit this criteria according to the bonus card) so after the game I sort all the cards – original and new – and count the birds that meet the criteria. <img width="273" height="364" title="Bonus card" align="left" style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" alt="Bonus card" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3c83EVApmDpdKt8JAig7HQ9L7ERNKAcLR54Qn6PhuFGHuXk8W9E2rlJ83eGGfHbKqejPLJbnmIv06Boe6Qm0JgZimV5gg8spqRzV7cdA_3mc1gx0eTq1Jj5kSIUqNPCTP84wqUmqOhSsEoisbdHOTPdRQ=w681-h907-no?authuser=0">With 170 cards in the original deck, there should be 17 birds from that deck that can eat anything. Well, in fact, there are 28, which is actually 16%. The expansion deck of 81 cards adds 13 new bird cards that can eat anything, keeping the percentage at 16%. Seems like my poor luck with meeting my bonus is just that – luck of the draw (or bad shuffling on our part) and not indicative of anything broken with the expansion. I’m still not sure why the bonus card lists 10% of birds meet the criteria of eating all food when it’s actually 16% but since that helps me and doesn’t hurt, I’m not going to complain. <strong><em>Update: after publishing this review, I took a look at the Stonemaier FAQ for Wingspan and learned that this discrepancy in the percentage of birds that meet this bonus criteria is noted as a misprint in the original edition. <a href="https://stonemaiergames.com/games/wingspan/rules/">https://stonemaiergames.com/games/wingspan/rules/</a></em></strong></p><p>I play a few more times, and these times I hijack the game, setting aside the original deck and goal tiles to ensure I really get the full experience with the expansion. <img title="Expansion deck cards" alt="Expansion deck cards" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fxkvdhTrucz5lh5Txn4sAp-7uRrypbulBjQ2ez4w5UKvebHA4JuwDgWwd9Ew6TxPEXg-frc8uQcBRebvoxAslOdEC0qmbFiJIOc7YeNabCej_qWm4nWH37EJctv0KcSUFOFsU-U6WuFlpFF9vZbbGMrw=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>It’s noted in the rulebook that the expansion is designed to be mixed in with the original components and not used standalone but I’m just not getting the full impact of the expansion powers and new goals that way. In these games with just the expansion deck, I notice a difference. We each have end round or once between turn powers on our boards that interact with other players’ actions and it throws off our assumptions and calculations about our ability to best each other in meeting the end of round goals. For example, Chris isn’t looking too closely at my bird that lets me tuck a card under it whenever he tucks one. He excitedly thinks he is going to have more birds tucked than me and then his plans are upset when I match his tucking each time. Hah! Likewise, I’m not paying close attention to another player’s end round power that lets her count one of her birds double for end round goals and it bites me as she takes the lead on that. Since we are playing only with the expansion end round goals, they’re all new and different and I like most of them. None of them relate to eggs in types of nests, so none of us pay much attention to laying eggs other than what we need to play more birds. All the games with just the expansion decks and new end round goals feel a lot more competitive and interactive than games with the original deck. This validates the promises of the expansion marketing blurb I shared in the beginning of this review, but because there are so many cards in the deck and several goals, the impact is diluted when the new components are shuffled in with the old. </p><p>After playing all of these games of <em>Wingspan</em> with the expansion what have I learned? The changes in the expansion are subtle and blend well with the original game. It took playing the game with only the expansion deck and new goals to really see a noticeable difference. Is subtleness a good goal for an expansion? I think I’ve become used to expansions that introduce AMAZEBALLS!!! level changes to significantly improve the game.. To be fair, maybe that just represents original releases that were released too early or deliberately crippled in order to guarantee expansion sales. In any case, it’s the way my brain has been trained with regard to expansions: expect AMAZEBALLS!!! And <em>Wingspan: European Expansion</em> doesn’t bring that to the table. It’s an expansion I’m happy to have and that I appreciate in my collection, but I don’t think the original release of <em>Wingspan</em> suffers without it. If you play <em>Wingspan</em> at a high frequency at the 4 or 5 player count, you’ve probably become very familiar with all the bird powers in the original deck and I’d say you want to put this on your list to introduce a bit of newness back into the game. And if you’re buying <em>Wingspan</em> for the first time, you might as well go ahead and pick up the expansion at the same time. Otherwise, if you already own the game and play it only occasionally, you may not find the expansion a “must have” you need to rush out and buy today; wait for a sale or put it on your Christmas list and let one of your relatives pick it up for you. </p><p><a href="https://stonemaier-games.myshopify.com/collections/all-products/products/wingspan-european-expansion">Purchase from Stonemaier Games</a></p><p>-------------------------------------------------<p>Publisher: Stonemaier Games<br>Players: 1-5<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): 45-70 minutes <br>Game type: hand management, card drafting, set collection, dice rolling<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-euLS1uOYJHs/XAdNYiE2tVI/AAAAAAAAgcw/jmb6IbHEz7gpDGtaTk4Z69MPeK5mrSb1QCHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUI%255B2%255D"><img width="270" height="245" title="review-OUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JVYCcHlKhR4/XAdNZ0P_i7I/AAAAAAAAgc0/19LJHL4BcJ87HW7Vl5mVPIFUbkR6hgMOACHMYCw/review-OUIOUI_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-89485711234316074692020-07-11T00:16:00.001-04:002020-07-11T12:57:37.283-04:00Board Game Review: Tapestry<p>It’s usually several months after a Stonemaier Games release before we pick the game up for our collection. By then, the flurry of strategy articles on the BGG forums have been written, the F.A.Q.s on the rules have been clarified, and the debate on where the game falls in the ranking of the entire Stonemaier catalogue is well underway. <img width="718" height="718" src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/imagepagezoom/img/bCtcABehh9wC-UqbsSxYcUC42C8=/fit-in/1200x900/filters:no_upscale()/pic4884996.jpg"><em>Tapestry</em>, designed by Jamey Stegmaier (artwork by Andrew Bosley and Rom Brown), is no exception. The game was released in 2019 and arrived just a few months ago to our household. </p><p>In <em>Tapestry, </em>each player takes control of a civilization and its capital city, and works to advance their civilization more adeptly than other players. It’s played over rounds (called eras in <em>Tapestry</em>) but in a departure from many other games, players advance rounds independently of one another. I might be well into in my third era while you are still in your second. This is a bit different than Jamey’s other games where play might come to an abrupt end for everyone when one player reaches a final milestone. There are incentives for being first to enter a new era (resource bonuses) but there also can be drawbacks to doing so (for example, if you control the Heralds and you enter the 2nd era before anyone else, one of your key civilization abilities might be hindered). In addition to the special abilities and powers granted to each civilization, at least once every era from the 2nd-4th, players can lay down a Tapestry card that affords them some advantage or benefit; at times these also provide a lesser benefit to other players in win/win fashion. During each turn of an era, a player advances on one of the four development tracks, paying for the advancement with resources and obtaining the benefits or completing the actions of the new space they have landed on. New resources can be earned during an era as a side benefit of certain actions like exploring or constructing a military outpost, or through some special civilization or Tapestry card powers, but are always replenished during the income turn that begins a new era. In fact, what typically triggers a player to end the current era and begin the next is running out of all resources. Throughout the game, victory points come from strategically arranging buildings on the Capital City maps, the network of territories controlled on the shared central map, bonuses for the number of buildings of each type constructed, bonuses from the income mat, bonuses from action spaces on the four development tracks, technology upgrades, Tapestry card benefits, and civilization bonuses. <strong>TL;DR: there are many many ways to score points in <em>Tapestry</em>.</strong> </p><p>In the short amount of time Tapestry has been with our family, it’s quickly become one of my favorites. I think it might be a good fit for a lot of gamers and their gaming circles too. Like all of the other Stonemaier games I’ve played, it offers solo play in addition to accommodating couples or small groups without proving to be dramatically weaker at any player count. In light of the ongoing pandemic, it’s useful to have games that scale well down to single player. It features some of Jamey’s signature design touches (stars, “first to” victory point bonuses, win/win actions) but differs widely enough from his other games so as not feel redundant. It’s a journey in a box with dozens upon dozens of ways to walk your path to victory given the permutations of Civilization mats [16]+Capital City mats [6]+Tapestry cards[50]+track actions[4] each turn. </p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dTtdizXjVMea5TgmS3AAgYTv-9HBVhWTIKcBRGRy650PrNwH0wMzTBYiRP5WvM6YFGV5_8G9DB_chfW_wlSeOoda0WpspNWkjm_ic1aGDREDBeWijg6TMGVbNs39gSPCoiLEw-gYfQwUbwM7ltgExjPA=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p><strong><em>My first game of Tapestry – I controlled the Heralds and beat my opponent.</em></strong></p><p>The few complaints I read about <em>Tapestry</em> before I got the game are that it’s (1) unbalanced, (2) too expensive, and (3) not precisely a civilization game. To these criticisms I answer that (1) Jamey, never one to stand on pride, showed enough humility after the initial release to rebalance the game following player feedback (see here for the updated starting rules for each civilization: <a title="https://app.box.com/s/uqp6m71co7gdyfahz5qamp3bd7o1v06i" href="https://app.box.com/s/uqp6m71co7gdyfahz5qamp3bd7o1v06i">https://app.box.com/s/uqp6m71co7gdyfahz5qamp3bd7o1v06i</a>), (2) the pricing is competitive with games of similar component quality and strategy weight, and (3) by definition, civilization games offer you the chance to improve a society over time by advancing in different areas such as agriculture/technology/warfare/economy/exploration and <em>Tapestry</em> does that with a creative twist using the development tracks players move their tokens along as the gameplay unfolds. </p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dFgh1KwxA1v_GduXD5pTwtGjVlLUQsUU-6qqLNXEhZImve3lPrnSIHSKsR1bsjV8MdzJ-j4HCOVzIX3vGoV4h0JR5LOUirBPEWTmp6KgSyfWiW1_ndV-VUUT9o9czLNvk1LOhqwHvl0Z7I3PnLdeAYwg=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"> <strong><em></em></strong></p><p><strong><em>A later game of Tapestry – I controlled the Nomads, which are able to build on the central map in addition to their Capital City mats.</em></strong> </p><p>The artwork is lovely, the color scheme serene, and the components are of high quality, excepting a few of the landmark buildings that look a little amateurish (as though they were shaped and baked in an introductory ceramics class). </p><p>The rulebook is pretty thin compared to most and although it manages to convey the necessary information in summary fashion, it can be easy to miss a rule. We played several games before we realized we overlooked a key rule – you can’t upgrade a technology unless you or your neighbors meet the upgrade requirement. I’d recommend a read through of the BGG Tapestry rules forum to clear up any questions. </p><table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2">
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<td valign="top"><p><strong>Strategy tip : Balance your development track progress carefully. You can’t go all in on just one track to the exclusion of all others and expect to claim victory. At the same time, I’ve never seen anyone pull off a win by maintaining equal progress across all four tracks – that’s too thin of a spread. Best to concentrate on two tracks at a time that play well off each other and with your civilization abilities and powers. </strong></p></td>
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<p>As most of my readers know, I’m the queen of analysis paralysis. I own a t-shirt that reads “It’s still my turn”. So I’m a very good judge of whether a game is going to drag on when folks like me play, and <em>Tapestry</em> doesn’t suffer from such problems. There’s usually enough time on my opponents’ turns to plot out my next move, and since this isn’t a game where players can typically block one another from actions (although a few special Tapestry cards do just that), there aren’t many last minute changes to my plans. </p><p>My favorite thing about <em>Tapestry, </em>as I alluded to previously, is the myriad of ways a game can unfold. Every game I’ve played has progressed completely differently from the last, with players focused on different tracks and strategies to come out ahead, given their civilization, capital city, and Tapestry cards. I’ve had games where I scored well over 300 and other games where no one pulled past 180. Jamey’s constructed a good balance between luck (Tapestry card draws are all about luck) and skill (how one handles their civilization and approaches the development tracks is 100% skill). This gives <em>Tapestry </em>a high degree of replayability and gives players a chance to puzzle through different strategies every game. </p><p>I’m really glad we added Tapestry to our board game library; it was well worth the wait and I look forward to any expansions (more civilizations? more Tapestry cards?) that are forthcoming. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------</p><p>Publisher: Stonemaier Games<br>Players: 1-5 (We played with 2 and 4)<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 3 hours per game<br>Game type: tile placement, hand management, dice rolling, area control <br> Retail Price: $85 direct from the publisher <a href="https://stonemaier-games.myshopify.com/products/tapestry">https://stonemaier-games.myshopify.com/products/tapestry</a></p><p>Rating:<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AyZlKNsYfw0/XACwjuX37WI/AAAAAAAAgWU/bXezcVmDiMIBmi9IB7ig8KBADnVorMYVACHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUIOUI%255B3%255D"><img width="424" height="214" title="review-OUIOUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bfvBrHLa6E/XACwlHZpi6I/AAAAAAAAgWY/-SkrrniZJC8LZ2EBjun9ffXW7lq0WaY3ACHMYCw/review-OUIOUIOUI_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Jenni’s rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253074264607624153.post-54026586972110864752020-07-04T22:04:00.001-04:002020-07-05T10:32:16.736-04:00Board Game Review: Betrayal Legacy<p>Let me start by saying I’ve never played <em>Betrayal at House on the Hill</em>. Despite that, when <em>Betrayal Legacy</em> was released, I jumped on it. Horror themed legacy game designed by Rob Daviau? YES PLEASE. </p><p><img width="332" height="223" align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 4px; float: right; display: inline;" src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/imagepage/img/RyAl_XGkTD4BgH4n9Tn6PtOXQ2E=/fit-in/900x600/filters:no_upscale()/pic4314964.jpg"></p>
<p>As soon as we got the game, we rounded up a team of friends to play through the 13 game campaign with us. Two of them had played <em>Betrayal at House on the Hill</em> before and the other three of us had not. Having at least one player familiar with the standard game is helpful, as they can help explain the nuances of the gameplay, but don’t take that as some sort of requirement to play or enjoy <em>Betrayal Legacy</em>. </p><p>This is a narrative driven game. Each time you sit down to play with your team, the story picks up with a return to the same setting (the haunted house) and you might be reprising the same character you played in the last game, or one of their descendants. The story is tracked in the back pages of the Traitor’s Tome booklet – you’ll need a volunteer to journal the events. </p><table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2">
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<td valign="top"><p><em>Excerpt from our custom narrative:</em></p><p><strong>Thirty-three years later, Genevieve and the others returned to the house or saw their descendants return. At the start, the Cubbins fellow coerced the whole lot of us into the basement. Left to ruminate in the mildewed room, Genevieve connected on the spiritual plane with her ancestor Madeline who, in her fury, brought forth Suzanne to hasten the collapse of the house …(snipped to prevent spoilers).</strong> </p></td>
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<p>The hijinks take place on a grid of tiles representing the inside and outside of the haunted house; the game begins and various events, items, and omens are revealed on the tiles as they are uncovered and explored. These are detailed on cards that are drawn from their respective decks when instructed on a tile. </p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dm8Xb4K5CStqQw5VlawArO2uaGlAjhZm6YsDrCFXUkqYxbjwz7iR7tuK59LOFevlft1e2nwodbyE7nrdsnNlptflN1-bAnvqgkcbPt4B01nKSeJtjMYsK1TDE4M7yCFLFkfcRpbIIRYn_lR8vQBVeRnQ=w1613-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p>Players spend the first part of each game exploring and accumulating resources along the way.</p><p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3ddMPDuVckxrQSff0q1F9c08njZ3iZm20Nyn2klzGbnaDSv_MEwEEU4meWPcls_j2gdIbPldm0eVCxm586ZoSGZKCaQ0k6y5vROlRHt7ZvBUqCrekdY2oWJwBVfI_fhPP6ulM5kQe9XHkzObABAxIsWDQ=w681-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p> Each time an omen card is drawn, the team moves a step closer to being fractured. Eventually, most sessions devolve into a cat and mouse game between a different evil haunting the house who has begun to make their presence known and is working in league with one of the players, and the rest of the players who must band together to fight the evil. At that point, the player in cahoots with the great evil picks up the Traitor’s Tome and silently reads the entry corresponding with the haunt revealed by the campaign deck. The rest of the players need to read the haunt entry in the Secrets of Survival book and discuss their strategy. To aid in the secrecy of everyone’s planning operations, the evil aligned player will physically retreat to a separate room for 5 to 7 minutes. Once the player is welcomed back to the game table, the two sides battle it out on the grounds of the house until one is victorious. </p><p>One thing I really like about the game is that the narrative accommodates characters coming in and out of the story, so if you want to add or drop a team member between plays you can do so without any dire consequences. </p><p>The components are a mix of cardboard tiles and tokens, plastic coated cards, dice, four paper booklets, and plastic player tokens (which come prepainted – hurrah!). There isn’t an abundant amount of detailed artwork showcased on the game components but when illustrations are used, they fit the theme.</p><p><img width="223" height="397" align="left" style="margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dh5Yt8rL8Nx1WeeHkyVzwlpdgxnceUTSqypzrdgo0jxUhVBAnXZ4jE5VePYnCMBAY8sB_DhIhr_B0B-pxuw54cNUC2hC8bGnU-GNgYI0bNxRZ8XRlKOu2jwc6j1XPWO8sPVedPWwMagGrqn6GEHlyg4w=w511-h907-no?authuser=0"></p><p> The rulebook is written pretty well; we only had a few questions that we felt it didn’t answer adequately and needed to look up on boardgamegeek.com. And of course because this is a legacy game, the rulebook sees additions each session of the campaign as secret compartments are opened and the gameplay changes. </p><p>We didn’t see a ton of analysis paralysis during our games. Most of the time the next action for a player is limited and obvious, although before the haunt begins there is more freedom to wander about the house and grounds aimlessly. </p><p>Rob has designed <em>Betrayal Legacy</em> with replayability in mind. Once the campaign ends, players can replay the game as many times as they’d like in stand alone sessions using the instructions provided in the back of the rulebook. There are 49 haunts available in the game and we know only 13 of them are used in the campaign, so that leaves a great deal of adventures yet to be played once players are in free play mode after the campaign is over. </p><p>We had so much fun with this game. One of our players was worried going into the campaign because he had some problems with <em>Betrayal at House on the Hill. </em>Specifically, he noted that sometimes the haunt would begin and the traitor would already have what they needed to win (so the game would instantly end in a letdown) or even worse, the traitor would have no possibility of winning. Fortunately, neither of these problems cropped up in <em>Betrayal Legacy, </em>so if you’re new to the Betrayal franchise, I’d recommend skipping over <em>Betrayal at House on the Hill </em>and going straight for <em>Betrayal Legacy </em>which perfectly pairs an<em> </em>unfolding narrative with semi-cooperative play. This is a game that definitely deserves a spot in your game library, especially if you are a fan of horror. For a special treat, I recommend a delightful evening of friends gathered to play a game of <em>Betrayal Legacy </em>followed by a screening of a classic paranormal horror movie. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------</p><p>Publisher: Avalon Hill<br>Players: 3-5<br>Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): 1 to 2 hours per session; 13 sessions in the legacy campaign <br>Game type: cooperative, traitor, grid movement, dice rolling, tile placement, narrative driven</p><p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-euLS1uOYJHs/XAdNYiE2tVI/AAAAAAAAgcw/jmb6IbHEz7gpDGtaTk4Z69MPeK5mrSb1QCHMYCw/s1600-h/review-OUIOUI%255B2%255D"><img width="270" height="245" title="review-OUIOUI" alt="review-OUIOUI" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JVYCcHlKhR4/XAdNZ0P_i7I/AAAAAAAAgc0/19LJHL4BcJ87HW7Vl5mVPIFUbkR6hgMOACHMYCw/review-OUIOUI_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>Rating scale:<br><em>OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.<br>OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.<br>OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.<br>NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.</em>Jenni Stephenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14032674707429381218noreply@blogger.com0