Tag: board games

When adding 1 more player is too many

When adding 1 more player is too many

One of my absolute favorite games to play -- Battlestar Galactica. But only with five players.
One of my favorite games to play — Battlestar Galactica. But we only play it with five players.

All games come with a set number of players. It says so right on the box. But as you game more and more, those numbers often become mere suggestions. Sometimes playing with the max number of players isn’t always a good idea. Sometimes adding another player negatively affects everyone’s gaming experience.

On boardgamegeek.com, when you search for a board game, there’s an entry for each game that says “# of players” and then, “User suggested # of players.” That second entry is key. Just because you can play with seven players doesn’t necessarily mean you should.

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Busy, busy week

Busy, busy week

Kanban ... making cars with either negative or positive reinforcement. I can't wait to bust this open!
Kanban … making cars efficiently with either negative or positive reinforcement. I can’t wait to bust this open!

Hey folks! It’s been an insanely busy week, so this will be much shorter than a usual post. Also, I’ll be combining my Friday link love to this entry as well.

First off, the Easter Bunny came and sent me Kanban! By Easter Bunny, I mean amazon.com. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this game since first playing it back in December. But before I write about it, I have to get more familiar with it and have a few more games under my belt. It took about 2 hours (with various interruptions) for my friend to explain this game to us newbies. It’s pretty heavy, in my opinion. I’m so excited to play this again!

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Games and technology

Games and technology

Can you handle the pressure and save the world against aliens?
Can you handle the pressure and save the world against aliens?

I recently played two board games that required digital devices — XCOM: The Board Game and Alchemists. I totally geeked out over playing both of these games for the first time as I’ve never played a game that incorporated such technology. Fancy! I thought both games offered a fresh new dynamic to board gaming.

XCOM is a 4-player cooperative game where you and your friends are defending the world against an alien invasion. The game incorporates an app on the iPad or tablet that streamlines the game and dictates human response to the invasion. The app tracks your play in real time, which can be very nerve-wracking. Talk about making critical decisions under the gun!

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Friday link love

Friday link love

board-game-friday-links

It’s Friday! You guys are probably just counting down the hours at work, surfing the net and thinking about the weekend.  In the meantime, I’ve rounded up some board-game links and other fun things for you all to enjoy.

— An entertaining boardgamegeek.com thread about naming your kids after board games. I love Meeples probably more than the next guy (obviously since it’s part of my alter ego)  but that would be an awful baby name. But I must admit, Caylus sounds pretty bad-ass.

— A great list of top 10 cooperative games by Board Game Quest. Eldritch Horror is on the list, which is a great game and a slightly shorter version of Arkham Horror.

— Opinionated Gamers did a review on Istanbul. I had a chance to play this at BGG Con. It has a mechanic that’s similar to Five Tribes in terms of moving around the board and collecting resources.

— The Board Game Family talks about going to SaltCon, which is a gaming convention in Utah.

— Over at The Daily Worker Placement, a review talks about how Diamonds brings a fresh approach to the old trick-taking card-game mechanic. I also love how the website banner looks like a newspaper masthead.

— Lastly, who doesn’t love a board-game birthday cake?? Here’s the thread that accompanies the photo below.

I totally need to learn how to bake, so I can create things like this!
I totally need to learn how to bake, so I can create meeple-shaped and nerdy things like this!

Have a good weekend, everyone! Happy gaming!

Why I play board games …

Why I play board games …

I play a lot of board games. It’s been about four years since I got my first eurogame Ticket to Ride and learned about this whole other world of strategy board games. And it’s been about two years since I’ve joined meetup.com and met other board gamers in the Phoenix area. Let me tell you … it’s been pretty awesome.

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Friday link love

Friday link love

board-game-friday-links

It’s been a great week for me personally as I’ve been picked to be part of Team Geek at this year’s BGG.Con. Woohoo! I will be volunteering my time at the event (I had so much fun last year) and will get a snazzy BGG jersey with my name on it. You can get convention tickets here. It’s selling out quickly!

Anyway, it’s Friday, folks! I’ve rounded up some board-game related links and other fun things for you guys to enjoy.

The Worst Board Games Ever Invented. The author writes “The worst games, for the most part, have one thing in common: luck.” A distaste for luck is what separates those who play eurogames vs. games such as Monopoly.

— Daniel Solis writes up a quick introduction to typography grids in graphic design, as it pertains to rule books for board games.

— Why many eurogames are inherently single-player games.

Sixth Tribe Causes Identity Crisis. The meme accompanying this article cracks me up. I wrote about Five Tribes a few months back, and it still bugs me that it’s a four-player game. Why is it not five?! Now it’ll have six tribes!

— The first teaser is out for Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion’s web series Con Man, whose IndieGogo campaign launched this week and has already raised over $1.5 million for episodes.

— Table Flips You goes back to 1979 by playing the Star Trek Game.

— You can now play Cards Against Humanity online. We are all terrible, terrible people.

— Lastly, Happy Pi Day tomorrow! Time to make pies and celebrate! I’ll be having some folks over for Arkham Horror and pie-eating.

 

Twilight Struggle: No. 1 for a reason

Twilight Struggle: No. 1 for a reason

I haven’t been this excited to talk about a particular game in a while. Granted, I’m always excited to talk about board games, but this one in particular, I’m uber excited to share. Which game is it? Twilight Struggle.

Twilight Struggle is ranked No. 1 for board games, war games and strategy games on boardgamegeek.com. That’s quite impressive. I’ve had this game for about a year and a half but have never played it until two weekends ago. And then I played it a second and third time in the next few days.

Twilight Struggle is a 2-player game that plays about 180  minutes. The mechanics seem daunting at first glance, but the main reason I just played it is because I’ve never wanted to bring a 2-player game to a gaming event. It seems very anti-social. So when a friend of mine who enjoys heavier board games had a few hours to sit with me to learn and play, I immediately busted it out.

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Incan Gold: A fun, quick push-your-luck game

Incan Gold: A fun, quick push-your-luck game

Do you continue farther into the temple for more gold? Watch out ... there are hidden dangers within.
Do you continue farther into the temple for more gold? Watch out for hidden dangers within!

This next game has actually gotten a lot of play among all my social circles. Incan Gold is a fun push-your-luck game where you are exploring a temple for gold and treasures. It plays out over five rounds, and the game is about 20 minutes long. The goal is to have the most treasures after five rounds.

The game is easy to learn, and best of all, about the size of a thick book. It’s easy to travel with and can easily fit inside your purse. It’s one of the games in the Bookshelf Series from game publisher Eagle/Gryphon.

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When it helps to cooperate … well, sort of

When it helps to cooperate … well, sort of

In CO2, if the pollution isn't stopped, it's game over for all of us
In CO2, if the pollution isn’t stopped, it’s game over for all of us.

There are a number of gamers out there who refuse to play cooperative games. I get it … if you’re going to spend hours playing a game, you want there to be one clear winner, preferably yourself. I myself don’t mind some cooperative games (you all know I have much love for Arkham Horror).

But recently I’ve gotten a chance to play a few games under the “One winner but we can all lose” variety. It would fall under semi-cooperative but I don’t particularly like labeling it as that as it can mean games with hidden roles and traitors, such as Battlestar Galactica, another game I love, love playing.

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Agricola: Farming, feeding and breeding

Agricola: Farming, feeding and breeding

One of the oldest games I own is Agricola. It’s a classic worker-placement strategy game by one of my favorite designers Uwe Rosenberg, who I mentioned in my post about Le Havre. I love Agricola so much that I played it twice this past weekend.

Each player starts with a farmer and a spouse, meaning you can take two turns per round. As you grow your family, each new member can take a turn as well. The game is played out over 14 Rounds occurring in 6 Stages, with a Harvest at the end of Rounds 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14. During Harvest, your crops come off the field, you feed your workers, and your animals breed.

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