tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71613177489552864612024-03-13T13:46:54.797+00:00Kevin & GamesOver time this blog will seek to record my own experiences with board games, the activities of two small board game group I run (their successes and failures), and explore how games may be used as a tool more widely in society with both young and old and in a variety of settings.Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.comBlogger215125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-35693928603810290832014-12-05T23:58:00.000+00:002015-05-12T20:28:34.703+01:00Games for Christmas 2014<i>Some fun dice games for Christmas plus stocking fillers</i><br />
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For those looking for their once a year games purchase, be it for children or the family, or just another game to add to their collection, then this article will hopefully offer some interesting possibilities. Possibilities all easily available online and most at around £20 or less!<br />
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This years's article focuses primarily on dice games, however towards the end of the article there are also ideas for Stocking Fillers all under £10 and mostly card games.<br />
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Each game has a suggested children's age it is suitable for; however this also gives a really good indication of how thoughtful or complex the game is and therefore what to expect when you open the box. All the games fall into one of three categories:<br />
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· Simple Family Game (8 years)<br />
· Stimulating Family Game (10 years)<br />
· Thoughtful Family Game (age 12 and up)<br />
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I recognize that you may have stumbled on this article and know little about modern board games, and be a little intimidated by games you will probably never have seen in the shops. No worries; using the power of Google and YouTube you will find lots of video reviews that will both expand on my short explanation and give a clearer idea of how to play any of the games that interest you.<br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Dice Games</b><br />
Most of us were brought up with dice throwing games and so at one level at least, all these games will seem in some way familiar. Yes there is luck in the games listed, but each uses different mechanisms to moderate that luck. It isn't simply a matter of the person that throws the highest dice being the winner, rather to a much greater degree it will be the person that makes the best choices with the dice they throw! And in saying dice games don’t think each of these games just has dice numbered 1 to 6, most don’t!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/153938/camel" target="_blank">Camel Up</a></u></b></span><br />
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<u>Complexity:</u> Simple Family Game<br />
<u>Playing Time:</u> 30-60 mins<br />
<u>No. of players:</u> 2 to 8 but best with 4 or 5 players!<br />
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<b>Theme / Mechanic</b><br />
Camel Up is a racing game where players bet on and manipulate the speed of 8 camels racing around a pyramid.<br />
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<b>Why?</b><br />
Camel Up is this year’s Spiel Des Jahres winner and in terms of family games there is no higher accolade! Having played it a number of times I feel confident most families will have a lot of fun with it; it will play within an hour; is quick to learn and will <br />
unusually handle up to 8 players. At only just over £20 it is simply excellent value.<br />
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<b>Why Not!</b><br />
If you like a quieter more thoughtful game where you can control the outcome, then this is unlikely to work for you. Equally if you are only likely to have two or three players, then whilst fun, there are other games that may offer a better experience.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113294/escape-curse-temple" target="_blank">Escape: The Curse Of The Temple</a></span></u></b><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWAmQdJAu-SbxxuH1B5xbOCQIAsg89HiMPF4QLkt6QARJSnI5nqE44UTXAUldWU4eQWUPoZxzYfdcmt1y8XoU4Z6x7EYg3vMU3NdTzvzO-kYLmOZSQ916Ovy_FEGwgOHuT1MDybfYnomq/s1600/Photo+Nov+10%2C+11+20+44+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWAmQdJAu-SbxxuH1B5xbOCQIAsg89HiMPF4QLkt6QARJSnI5nqE44UTXAUldWU4eQWUPoZxzYfdcmt1y8XoU4Z6x7EYg3vMU3NdTzvzO-kYLmOZSQ916Ovy_FEGwgOHuT1MDybfYnomq/s1600/Photo+Nov+10%2C+11+20+44+PM.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></u></b></div>
<u>Complexity:</u> Simple Family Game<br />
<u>Playing Time:</u> 10 mins!<br />
<u>No. of players:</u> 1 to 5 players, but best with 4 players!<br />
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<b>Theme / Mechanic</b><br />
Escape: The Curse Of The Temple is a race against time (using a CD) game where players reveal new areas of the temple and rush around as they seek to find a way to escape the cursed temple. All players are simultaneously throwing dice and moving their character token on the temple floor plan!<br />
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<b>Why?</b><br />
An intense fast paced dice throwing game, over in 10 mins! Players are all trying to escape a temple and to do it they need to work together! Yes it’s a co-operative game, the first of three in this article and if you haven’t played this type of game before then the players are pitted against the game with everybody winning or losing together! A popular game that will definitely raise the heart rate and liven up a Christmas afternoon!<br />
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<b>Why Not!</b><br />
There is lots happening simultaneously and it is very much against the clock. Having played it a couple of times I would happily never play it again but I recognise that that’s my view and didn’t concur with the other people I played it with!!! As a cooperative game then there is no clear winner, this is a feature that appeals to some, but leaves others cold! It is also at the more expensive end of the games listed.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/109779/garden-dice" target="_blank">Garden Dice</a></span></u></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.rebel.pl/repository/products/100/1770/_26444/gardendice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.rebel.pl/repository/products/100/1770/_26444/gardendice.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><u>Complexity:</u> Simple family game<br />
<u>Playing Time:</u> 60 mins<br />
<u>No. of players:</u> 2 to 4 and thought to work equally well with 2, 3, or 4 players!<br />
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<b>Theme / Mechanic</b><br />
In Garden Dice players acquire seed tiles and then through efficient planting and watering try to be the most successful player at harvesting their crops. But beware the unwanted attentions of other player’s birds and rabbits which will mess with your carefully planted crops.<br />
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<b>Why?</b><br />
An unusual theme for a game but one that I thought would appeal to a wide group of people. As a family game there are a number of reviews that speak of its appeal to both young and old and it’s got garden gnomes!<br />
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<b>Why Not!</b><br />
If gardens and gardening are not your thing then clearly the theme will be less appealing. Although mild compared with the next game (King of Tokyo) players can attack each other through the use of the birds and the bunnies!<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70323/king-tokyo" target="_blank">King of Tokyo</a></span></u></b><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic761434.jpg#%23" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic761434.jpg#%23" height="200" width="194" /></a></span></u></b></div>
<u>Complexity:</u> Simple Family Game<br />
<u>Playing Time:</u> 30 mins<br />
<u>No. of players:</u> 2 to 6 but best with 4 or 5 players!<br />
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<b>Theme / Mechanic</b><br />
In King of Tokyo the players take on the role of big monsters all battling to control Tokyo and either conquer it or be the last monster standing! This is the only exclusion game and unsurprisingly therefore the most aggressive in this list of games (an exclusion game is a game where some players will be forced out of the game before the game ends; other exclusion games include Monopoly!).<br />
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<b>Why?</b><br />
Because it is great fun with the right group of people, has great artwork, is simple to learn, quick to play and will create a gaming experience with lots of player interaction.<br />
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<b>Why Not!</b><br />
Clearly it is the most confrontational of the games in the list and personally I avoid such games. However I have played it, had a good laugh and know lots of people who would recommend it. Not for everyone and because of the exclusion element I would personally avoid playing it with young children!<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/150658/pandemic-cure" target="_blank">Pandemic: The Cure</a></span></u></b><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cdn.miniaturemarket.com/media/catalog/product/z/m/zmg71150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.miniaturemarket.com/media/catalog/product/z/m/zmg71150.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></span></u></b></div>
<u>Complexity:</u> Simple Family Game<br />
<u>Playing Time:</u> 30 mins<br />
<u>No. of players:</u> 2 to 5 but best with 3 or 4 players<br />
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<b>Theme / Mechanic</b><br />
Pandemic:The Cure is a more thoughtful cooperative game, than the earlier Escape: The Curse of the Temple. This game challenges the players to work together to save the world from a contagious outbreak of 4 deadly viruses.<br />
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<b>Why?</b><br />
It is based on one of the most popular games available today - Pandemic; however this game offers a package that is faster to play but equally challenging! As a cooperative game again you win or lose as a group and so it will test players ability to collaborate in what will be both an enjoyable and thought provoking game! With the current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, it offers a topical game that will resonate with many.<br />
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<b><u>Why Not!</u></b><br />
Cooperative games are not for everybody; some people only really enjoy games where there is a clear winner and with a more real world theme. This game is not as light hearted as the others in the list. It is also perhaps worth noting that the strength of a cooperative game of getting people working together is obvious. What is less obvious is that if you have one dominant player then they can end up telling everybody what to do and so create a pretty poor experience for all the other players!<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3190/quixo" target="_blank">Quixo</a></span></u></b><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.stalozaidimai.lt/application/images/Image/prekiu-nuotraukos/BGM-055-mini/quixo-mini-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.stalozaidimai.lt/application/images/Image/prekiu-nuotraukos/BGM-055-mini/quixo-mini-1.jpg" height="200" width="198" /></a></span></u></b></div>
<u>Complexity:</u> Simple Family Game<br />
<u>Playing Time:</u> 20 mins<br />
<u>No. of players:</u> 2 to 4 but best with 2 players<br />
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<b>Theme / Mechanic</b><br />
Quixo is an abstract game with a board made up entirely of wooden dice (25 to be precise), with either a circle or a cross. Sound familiar!<br />
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<b>Why?</b><br />
It’s a simple abstract tactile game that can be played with younger children. The principle of the game is simple and for those who enjoy abstract games it offers something that both young and old will enjoy and whilst best with 2 players, offers an interesting alternative for 4 players.<br />
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<b>Why Not!</b><br />
It is an abstract game so for those who like a game with theme and or good artwork this will seem a dry and unappealing game.<br />
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<a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37380/roll-through-ages-bronze-age" target="_blank">Roll Through The Ages: The Bronze Age</a><br />
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<u>Complexity:</u> Simple Family Game<br />
<u>Playing Time:</u> 30 mins<br />
<u>No. of players:</u> 1 to 4 but best with 2 players<br />
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<b>Theme / Mechanic</b><br />
In Roll Through The Ages: The Bronze Age players build an ancient civilisation using a combination of wooden dice representing their cities, a wooden peg board to record their food, wood and other resources/goods and a score sheet.<br />
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<b>Why?</b><br />
Yes its abstract and to me has always seemed akin to Yahtzee, but unlike Yahtzee it has a point to it! The mechanism is the same you roll dice and retain some choosing to re-roll others – simple enough. But as the game progresses you build, more cities so gaining more dice, ancient wonders and advance the abilities of your civilisation. I have played this game many times and in my view it’s a really great game, if you fancy something short over a coffee, but with some interesting decisions and no craziness!<br />
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<b>Why Not!</b><br />
It’s an abstract game and is a dryer with only very limited player interaction.<br />
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<a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34635/stone-age" target="_blank"><b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stone Age</span></u></b> </a><br />
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<u>Complexity:</u> Stimulating Family Game<br />
<u>Playing Time:</u> 60 mins<br />
<u>No. of players:</u> 2 to 4 but best with 4 players!<br />
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<b>Theme / Mechanic</b><br />
Stone Age is a worker placement game where the player’s tribe can go, hunting, felling trees, to school etc as they seek both to feed and advance their little community.<br />
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<b>Why?</b><br />
This is my favourite game on the list; with a lovely board and components it offers an interesting game with plenty of replayability that whilst thoughtful is not taxing and so would offer a great way of spending an hour on a wintery Christmas afternoon!<br />
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<b>Why Not!</b><br />
The most expensive of the games present in this list at over £30 and enough bits to intimidate many, but………!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Stocking Fillers</b></span><br />
Some fun quick games all at under £10!<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/98778/hanabi" target="_blank">Hanabi</a></span></u></b><br />
Hanabi is a collaborative card game that has won the prestigious German game of the year prize. The theme of a firework display is thin, but if you are playing with a group that enjoy; working together puzzles and are up for a game that requires clear headed thinking and good communication skills; both speaking and listening then Hanabi would be well worth buying!<br />
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<b><u><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/129622/love-letter" target="_blank">Love Letter</a></u></b><br />
Love Letter is the smallest game in this year’s list made up of just 16 cards, great if you will be travelling to friends this Christmas as it will easily slip into a pocket or handbag and be there should you need it. Love Letter is a really simple fun game where you are trying to work out what cards (characters) the other players have as you try to slip past the guards to deliver a love letter to the princess. Another game with some lovely artwork<br />
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<b><u><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15818/pickomino" target="_blank">Pickomino</a></u></b><br />
Pickomino is a classic amongst gamers and designed by possibly the best known games designer in the world. The theme of the game is about worms on a BBQ – who cares about the theme? It’s daft! But Pickomino is an excellent little game that will also handle up to 7 players, although its sweet spot is 3 or 4 players.<br />
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<b><u><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/117942/zooloretto-dice-game" target="_blank">Zooloretto: The Dice Game</a></u></b><br />
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<b><u><a href="http://www.thirstymeeples.co.uk/images/uploads/Zooloretto_IN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.thirstymeeples.co.uk/images/uploads/Zooloretto_IN.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></u></b></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">Zooloretto: The Dice Game is a lovely little game, based on the board game of the same name. The games dice have different animal symbols on them and using them you fill delivery trucks with animals on there way to your zoo. Essentially you are trying to collect sets.</span><br />
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<b><u><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/45/liars-dice" target="_blank">Perudo (Liars Dice)</a></u></b> Perudo is a fun and possibly noisy bluffing game where players inevitably lie about the dice they have hidden under their cups. Its quick and very amusing as players decide whether to bluff or tell the truth and gauge what their fellow players have done!<br />
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<i>Post Script. How could I have forgotten Rory's Story Cubes?! This is reviewed on the blog <a href="http://post%20script.%20i%20completely%20forgot%20rory%27s%20story%20cubes%21%20this%20is%20reviewed%20here/" target="_blank">here</a> and wold be another excellent stocking filler if you wanted to stay with the dice theme!</i><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">And lastly</b><br />
<i>I have really enjoyed playing these games this year and feel they would make excellent gifts </i><br />
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Firstly two Simple Family Games: <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/137297/augustus" target="_blank">Augustus </a>(Think Rome and then add bingo!) and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/158899/colt-express" target="_blank">Colt Express</a> (Wild West mayhem with a great model train).<br />
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Then three thoughtful family games that offer something deeper and again are included because I have really enjoyed them are: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/Keyflower%20http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/122515/keyflower" target="_blank">Keyflower </a>An excellent game from a British designer with the theme of building your New World settlement and trading with your fellow players.<br />
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<a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/148949/istanbul" target="_blank">Istanbul</a> The winner of this years Kennerspiel des Jahres roughly translated Connoisseur game of the year.<br />
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<a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126163/tzolk-mayan-calendar" target="_blank">T’zolkin</a> An innovative worker placement game with an ancient Mayan theme and using an interlacing cog system based on the Mayan calender<br />
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So plenty of interesting games to choose from. However if you have read this far and a) haven't lost the will to live and b) not quite found a game that works for you then please take a look at my previous articles giving ideas for other games for Christmas. The <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/games-for-christmas-2010.html" target="_blank">2010 </a>took the approach that so many cookery articles do of what would work at various points over the festive season and the <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/games-for-christmas-2011.html" target="_blank">2011 </a>article suggested games that offered a fresh perspective on the perennial favourites.<br />
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<b>Thank You For Reading and Happy Gaming!</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>THANK YOU to my fellow bloggers for the excellent photo's. In previous years I have used all my own however with limited time I have used those taken by others. I hope this is OK.</i></span>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-68791730138839474902014-05-23T20:58:00.000+01:002014-05-23T20:58:13.185+01:00A New BeginingIt has been a long time since I have put pen to paper, and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since I last wrote anything, but the joy I encounter around the world of games is still there and the desire to record it is slowly returning!<br />
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Many keen Gamers will have a circle of friends and family around them that I would call ‘Social Gamers’. These people enjoy games when they encounter them but rarely buy any themselves and it is unlikely they would list Board Games as a hobby. However it is these people on the periphery of the avid enthusiasts that are fuelling my enthusiasm to start writing again. In particular this brief post was prompted by:<br />
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<li>Turning up to see friends for a BBQ (with no games) and once the table was cleared it was the friends that raided their son’s small stash of games so we could play a game, or two: <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22497/straw" target="_blank">Straw</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2569/pick-picknic" target="_blank">Hick Hack</a> and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8203/hey-thats-my-fish" target="_blank">Hey, That’s My Fish!</a> In over 20 years of friendship this was a first!</li>
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But this most recent fuel is in addition to:<br />
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<li>Mentioning modern board games (and our Friday lunchtime group) in passing to a colleague at work and having her come back and ask ‘did you mean board games, I love board games! I used to love playing them as a kid and now I have children of my own……’ The conversation that ensued revealed that she was completely unaware of the word of modern board games and for those that know the film the Matrix it was like she had just taken the ‘<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/quotes">red pill’</a>. Her eyes where opened and I don’t think it would be going too far to say she was overjoyed at the feast of games now available to choose from! With her desire to involve her young children then her first purchase is not a gamers choice but an excellent little game none the less, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3586/sherlock" target="_blank">Sherlock</a>. It has proven a great success with her family. Gamers will no doubt be pleased to hear that other purchases are <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28143/race-for-the-galaxy" target="_blank">Race for the Galaxy</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25669/qwirkle" target="_blank">Pandemic</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37231/comuni" target="_blank">Comuni</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128554/voluspa" target="_blank">Voluspa</a> and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25669/qwirkle" target="_blank">Qwirkle</a>.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li>Highlighting the <a href="http://www.meetup.com/LondonOnBoard/" target="_blank">London On Board </a>Meetup group to another colleague at work (and member of the lunch time group) and he going off over the bank holiday and spending 5 hours gaming with a group of people he had never met before and having a wonderful time.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li>Combining a love of <a href="http://www.ceroc.com/home.html" target="_blank">modern jive dancing</a> with a love of food and obviously games I have been hosting monthly dinners where different people bring different courses and we intersperse each course with a game. The dance friends have never played any of the games before but the combination of good company, good food and good games is proving great fun.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li>Following last year’s Essen trip it was the game (<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/144789/the-sheep-race" target="_blank">The Sheep Race</a>) I didn’t buy that ultimately caught the attention of my Social Gaming friends and when I did buy they also wanted copies to play with their families and friends.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li>Lastly, introducing games designers to the team at work and seeing it result in a Print and Play game for schools – <a href="http://www.cafod.org.uk/Education/Secondary-schools/Emergencies" target="_blank">The Flood</a> (more of that in future posts).</li>
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It is also nice to report that the gamers group at Crowborough whilst not very visible at pubs in the area is alive and well meeting at a variety of people’s houses anywhere between Tunbridge Wells, Hailsham and Haywards Heath and has drawn in a number of new members. <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gaWySoEunjM/T2gklJ4l7dI/AAAAAAAADrg/rVOErdr1kAk/s1600/IMG_3066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gaWySoEunjM/T2gklJ4l7dI/AAAAAAAADrg/rVOErdr1kAk/s1600/IMG_3066.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
It’s meeting are a bit adhoc but its active and has a huge collection of games between its members. The only sad part (from my point of view) is I had hoped to start a Social Gamers Group and it is ultimately now a group of Gamers!<br />
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Reviews will follow slowly and other posts as the inspiration takes me but they are likely to be occasional rather than regular! Happy Gaming!<br />
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Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-68310869926563062002013-02-25T22:43:00.000+00:002013-02-25T22:43:08.211+00:00Games in a Pub – 17th February 2013 <i>8 Year Old Holds His Own At Pub Games Night!</i><br />
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As the group gathered they kicked off with one of our most popular fillers, <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/07/match-report-28th-july-2010.html" target="_blank">Straw</a>. Straw is an excellent card game that is simple, fast and has sufficient screwage to make it great fun. It is also a great way of helping children with their maths based skills.<br />
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With George joining us (Simon and Laura’s 8 year old son) the consensus was to go for a slightly simpler game next (although as will be seen later this really wasn’t necessary) and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/41636/abandon-ship" target="_blank">Abandon Ship</a> was selected. This is an amusing, but lightweight, race game about rats abandoning a sinking ship. Each player has 3 rats to look after. However the fun comes from the fact that the rats are shared and nobody knows who is looking after which rats. As the water level rises sadly the slowest rats get washed away. However the danger for the first rat on deck (the rats climb / race through 50 deck levels) is that it will get trampled by the passengers who are also trying to get off the ship; a close game that was won by George. <br />
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Next up at Simon’s suggestions was<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/46807/infinite-city" target="_blank"> Infinite City</a>, a game that I would not immediately have picked to play with somebody as young as George but at another level doesn’t surprise me given experiences with other children from families who play lots of games.<br />
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Infinite City is a tile laying game where each tile represents one of a number of different types of buildings each of which has some text narrative at the bottom of the tile explaining its special powers when placed in the city. As you place a tile you also place a marker in your player colour and it is these markers that indicate ownership of building which at the game end give victory points. In addition to these points you also score one point for each marker that is connected to 3 or more of its own colour. This was a game George clearly understood and was more than comfortable reading and understanding the text as well as making appropriate decisions! Whilst George didn’t win he competed well at and needed little help and when dad offered help George generally responded with a reasoned and logical argument for his actions.<br />
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The final game was <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/85250/the-dwarf-king" target="_blank">The Dwarf King</a> (reviewed <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-dwarf-king.html" target="_blank">here</a>) and is best summarised by Martin’s comment that he would pay good money not to play it again. This is because, I think, that in the final hand the previous scores where completely reversed and the looser at the end of round two became the winner. It may be fun but balanced it is not, particularly if you don’t play the recommended number of hands (put no. in here?) where some of the big swings may get evened out<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/100278546095098952782/albums/5848899127835470737?banner=pwa" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <b><a href="http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecrowandgatecrowborough/" target="_blank">Crow and Gate</a> (please note note NOT the Blue Anchor)</b>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 3rd March starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-81128181571674430942013-02-24T13:13:00.002+00:002013-02-24T13:13:23.963+00:00Match Report - 11th February 2013<i>A treasure island and the Robots of Doom! </i><br />
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This is a very short report & overdue - there are just not enough hours in the day! Although as ever there are plenty of photos (if you click on the link at the bottom of the post), in particular a series that show the progressive destruction of the robots involved in the second game <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/110524/goblins-inc" target="_blank">Goblins Inc</a>.<br />
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On this occasion we had a group of four gamer's and Gwen slipped off to have a quiet evening not playing games! Malcolm had just returned from a two month holiday in the Far East, Robin’s wife had just had a baby boy and Natalie had once again baked some lovely cakes. We started with one of the Zoch games, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42215/tobago" target="_blank">Tobago</a>. This went down well with the group, however as a family game I find the lack of player interaction makes it a little dry. I wonder if it might work best as a 2 or 3 player game, where there would be less down time between player turns? Note to self - must try those configurations at some point.<br />
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With coffee and munchies (wholemeal and apricot muffins) consumed, our second game was one of CGE’s new games, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/110524/goblins-inc" target="_blank">Goblins Inc</a>. This is an interesting co-operative game were players work in teams of two to build two robots. It has many similarities to Galaxy Trucker, which depending on your point of view is the better game. Goblins Inc introduces the co-operative element in much the same was as is found in games like <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/06/match-report-21st-june-2010.html" target="_blank">Saboteur</a>, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3955/bang" target="_blank">Bang!</a> or <u><a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/games-on-pub-15th-april-2012.html" target="_blank">Panic Station</a></u> i.e. you are working together in some way but perhaps not everybody is working to the objective you think they are! It also introduces a more combative approach in that you are building a robot to fight the other team’s robot. This element will appeal to some but perhaps not all! Thanks to some inspired driving by Natalie our robot pretty much destroyed Robin and Malcolm’s and through good fortune rather than ability on my part I somehow amassed the most points.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/100278546095098952782/albums/5845297002452182673?banner=pwa" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <b><a href="http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecrowandgatecrowborough/" target="_blank">Crow and Gate</a> (please note note NOT the Blue Anchor)</b>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 3rd March starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-72270179472063126122013-02-11T23:14:00.001+00:002013-02-11T23:14:04.920+00:00Match Report - 28th January 2013<i>From Norse gods to bikers! Two mini reviews - Voluspa plus Skull and Roses</i><br />
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We only had a small turn out but pleasingly there was a willingness to have a go at two of my favorite games from last years Essen.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128554/voluspa" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Voluspa</b></span></a><br />
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<i>2-5 players, 45 min playing time, age 10+</i><br />
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Voluspa was the only game I had pre-ordered at Essen this year and a game I have been very pleased with but this was its first outing with the Monday night group.<br />
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Voluspa is a tile-laying game with a theme of Norse Gods. According to the rules – “The oldest poem of Norse Mythology, the Völuspá, tells the story of the endless struggle of powerful gods, dangerous creatures, and forgotten races. Which beings will dominate each other? Will the Valkyries overtake Thor? Will Odin survive the challenge of the trickster, Loki? Every time the story unfolds differently, a new force rises in dominance”. For those interested in such things Voluspa is a reworking of an earlier game <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30024/kachina" target="_blank">Kachina</a> and an excellent article about the games evolution can be read <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/12929/designer-diary-voluspa-or-how-a-native-american-su" target="_blank">here</a>. The essentials of the game are:<br />
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· Each player has a hand of 5 tiles and each tile has a numerical value (bottom right hand side of the tile) and in all bar two cases a special power.<br />
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· The game comes with 8 characters as part of the base game and an optional expansion with an additional 4 more complex characters. <br />
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· Each player lays one tile seeking to dominate, by placing the highest value tile, a row or column of tiles if lucky both.<br />
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· The highest value tile (character) is frequently due its special powers rather than simply its numeric value e.g. the Valkyrie have a numeric value of only 2 but if there is a Valkyrie at either end of a row or column then they gain dominance of that line irrespective of what numbered tiles are already present.</div>
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· Assuming they gain dominance then the player scores a point for each tile in the row or column or both that they have dominance over. <br />
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· Having played a tile they then then replace their tile. <br />
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· The maximum length (most of the time) is 7 tiles. <br />
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Sounds simple! However it is not as simple as it at first appears as the trick is understanding all the tiles (characters) special powers and being able to calculate how many points they would gain you if used and thereby make the optimal decision when it comes to tile placement. Voluspa is a game that is probably best played with 3 or 4 players (rather than the maximum of 5) as the more players there are leads to a greater degree of down time between goes and this is not a game that offers any interaction / activity between goes other than hopefully players working out what their next move will be! <br />
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What I personally like about this game is the artwork (always an important element for me and in my view this iteration of the game is much nicer than <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30024/kachina" target="_blank">Kachina</a>), the theme appeals although is very pasted on, the speed with which a game can start (good for lunch time games), its relative simplicity whilst having a depth to reward repeated plays / mastery. <br />
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When teaching new players we have tended to exclude the 25 expansion tiles (4 Norse characters) for the first couple of rounds whilst players get their heads around the 60 basic tiles (8 Norse characters) .<br />
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The only negatives for us on the game were:</div>
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1. The Scoreboard, which lacked the artistic approach of the tiles and we found to be unhelpful rather than adding clarity (we now use pen and paper to record scores) and;</div>
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2 That it would have been good if the game had come with 5 quick play sheets (we have created our own) as it is important that players get their heads around the characters special abilities. <br />
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Pleasingly the game went down well with the Monday night team with all of them giving it a thumbs up. <br />
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If you liked this review then other games I have reviewed can be seen <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/search/label/Review">here</a> with more photos of this game <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/Voluspa02" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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With coffee and the obligatory munchies consumed onto the second game of the evening.<br />
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<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/92415/skull-roses" target="_blank">Skull and Roses</a></div>
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<i>3-6 players, 45 min playing time, age 8+</i><br />
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This was another new game, Skull and Roses, to the group and one received as a Christmas present (bought on the High Street at Waterstones). A game that for followers of the blog will be recognised as the game that the team have played two years running in the Channel Tunnel across the top of the cars on our trip <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=ESSEN" target="_blank">Essen</a>! </div>
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Skull and Roses is essentially a bluffing game where players lay cards (each player has a hand of 4 cards 3 roses and 1 skull although they look more like beer mats) face down in front of them and then have to bid to name how many roses they can turn up without revealing a skull, starting with their own top card. </div>
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Starting with the start player players place a card face down in front of themselves. When each player has laid a card then the start player can either lay another card or start the bidding, if they lay a card then the next player has the choice to lay another card or start the bidding. Once the bidding has started then each player either increases the bid or passes. The highest bid then chooses which players cards they wish to turn over. If the player succeeds in turning over the number of cards they bid then they win that round the winner of the game is the first player to win two rounds. If you fail to reveal the number of roses you bid without revealing a skull then you loose one of your cards chosen at random </div>
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It’s fun its simple, the components are of a high quality and if there is a weak spot in this game it is that it is expensive for what you get (or at least need to play the game) and that the theme of motorbike gangs doesn’t do anything for me and I suspect may put many non-gamers / social gamers off what is an all other respects a good addition to the collection. Skull and Roses again received a positive response from the team on Monday night.<br />
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If you liked this review then other games I have reviewed can be seen <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/search/label/Review">here</a> with more photos of this game <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/SkullRoses" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20130128" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <b><a href="http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecrowandgatecrowborough/" target="_blank">Crow and Gate</a> (please note note NOT the Blue Anchor)</b>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 17th February starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a></div>
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Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-33760696349340653622013-01-20T19:38:00.002+00:002013-01-20T19:38:42.070+00:00Match Report - 14th January 2013<i>With the winter snows just around the corner the group gathered to eat the remains of the Christmas munchies and obviously play a few games!</i><br />
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At one end of the table Gwen led Crispin and Daniella in one of her favourites, <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/review-alhambra.html" target="_blank">Alhambra</a> with many references from Crispin to the need for his palace to have plenty of Seraglios! Gwen, unsurprisingly, emerged victorious.<br />
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At the other end of the table <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/107529/kingdom-builder" target="_blank">Kingdom Builder</a> was played by Robin, Claire, Brian and I. This game again proved popular and, whilst far from being my favourite game from <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/essen-2012-my-journal.html" target="_blank">Essen 2012</a>, it is growing on me due to its simplicity, speed of play, replayability and the balance of tactics to fun. Robin again won this game, although in part because I spotted a strategy that whilst I loused it up myself I had pointed it out to him. He obviously took the guidance with open arms and profited mightily from it!<br />
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With our first game over time for coffee, Christmas cake and Chocolate Pantone, yummy!<br />
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My group then embarked on one of my Christmas presents <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2653/survive-escape-from-atlantis" target="_blank">Survive: Escape from Atlantis</a>. A game that will appeal to those who like the ability to mess their fellow players up and will equally not appeal to those who dislike the more confrontational type of games. A quick explanation of the game will shed light on the reasons for these comments.<br />
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The concept is that each player has 10 explorers (with concealed numbering on their bases; 3 explorers * 1, 2 *2, 2 * 3 and 1 each of 4, 5 and 6). The game board has an island in the middle of the board made up of hexagonal terrain tiles representing beach, forest and mountain (their weight / depth indicate their relative height on the island) with 4 beach / safe zones in the 4 corners of the board. In each player’s turn they can use 3 movement points to move their explorers towards the safe corners, then sink 1 part of the island (generally forcing another players adventurer to start swimming) and then move one of the sea creature: whales which like knocking explorers out of boats, sharks which like eating people in the water and sea serpents who eat boats and explorers! The winner is the player with the highest value of explorers on the safe beaches when the island finally sinks or the volcano explodes.<br />
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Claire and Brian, who had not played the game before, gave it resounding thumbs up, in spite of Claire not doing so well – in part because I sunk a boat with three of her explorers and then sent the sharks in! Ooops, I really didn’t know that the sharks were hungry at that point!<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20130114#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <b><a href="http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecrowandgatecrowborough/" target="_blank">Crow and Gate</a> (please note note NOT the Blue Anchor)</b>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 3rd February starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a><br />
Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-80651414151200864802013-01-20T18:26:00.001+00:002013-01-20T19:43:56.767+00:00Review – Geistesblitz 2.0<i>2 to 8 Players, Aged 8 with a 30 minute playing time </i><br />
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Gesitesblitz 2.0 designed by Jacques Zeimet was kindly provided for review by our friends at <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/en.html" target="_blank">Zoch Verlag</a>.<br />
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In Geistesblitz 2.0 –we meet the ‘ghostess’ (and 4 new objects) a friend of Balduin the ghost in <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/10/mini-review-geistes-blitz.html" target="_blank">Geistesblitz</a> and this new game is essentially a re-working of the original. It is styled as ‘an independent game’ playable without the original but that can be combined with the original, in my view for unnecessary pain! <br />
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Given the similarities to the original Geistesblitz this review will build on my first review and seek to highlight the differences rather than go through the whole game again, although it will follow my standard approach. <br />
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What follows is an overview of the game broken down into 5 sections: <u>The Game Components</u>, <u>Setting Up The Game</u>, <u>How To Play The Game</u>, <u>What Did We Think?</u> and finally <u>Who Do We Think Will Like It</u>. So if you don't want to read the whole review scan down to the heading that interests you.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Game Components</span></b> <br />
A red towel (looking suspiciously like the rugs in <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29223/marrakech" target="_blank">Marrakech</a>, a green frog, a blue brush and a grey bath tub plus obviously the ‘ghostess’; a lady ghost whose impressive false eyelashes and cupid’s bow lips clearly are intended to convey femininity!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FLzyxJhUA84/UPhMmqSpE6I/AAAAAAAAGFI/O2AR6eR1DCE/s1600/IMG_4654.JPG" title="Geistesblitz 2.0 - The objects" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" alt="Geistesblitz 2.0 - The objects" height="207" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FLzyxJhUA84/UPhMmqSpE6I/AAAAAAAAGFI/O2AR6eR1DCE/s400/IMG_4654.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
A new deck of cards. </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Setting Up The Game </span></b><br />
As per the original<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How To Play The Game </span></b><br />
The basic rules are unchanged but 3 new optional rules are introduced to increase the pain:<br />
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<u>The Talking Frog! </u><br />
If the card turned-over shows a frog, players shout out the name of the correct item instead of grabbing the item.<br />
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<u>The Frog Speaks Two Languages!</u><br />
If the frog or the other item on the card is depicted in its original colour, players shout out the items name in a foreign language.<br />
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If neither of the two figures is shown in its original colour, you shout out the name of the item in English, (the same as for ‘The Talking Frog!’ variant). <br />
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Obviously before you start playing, you agree on the foreign language in which you will shout out with the rules claim to have the object names in French, German and Italian. <br />
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<u>What Has Been Dried Off By The Towel? </u><br />
Whenever a towel is depicted on a card, players look for the item in the colour of the towel. If one of the images on the card is a frog, you shout out the name of the correct item, otherwise you grab the item.<br />
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The rules for incorrect calls and grabs are as before with players only getting one attempt and with players making an incorrect attempt paying a forfeit of a card to the player who was correct. Obviously the winner is the player with the most cards when there are no more cards left.<br />
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<u>The Connoisseurs Rules</u></div>
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In addition to the aforementioned variants there is also the possibility for those whom the rules call “connoisseurs” (or I would describe as masochistic fools) of combining the original Geistesblitz with v2.0 – I have no comprehension of why would you want to do this!<br />
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Placing the objects from each game in separate circles in the centre of the table and shuffling the cards play proceeds as normal with the possibility of introducing any of the variants above plus that if the if the card shows an item in its original colour, you grab the same colour item in the other room. <br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What Did We Think? </span></b><br />
This is difficult for me as I am absolutely rubbish at this game and therefore struggle in this case to overcome a friend’s view voiced as ‘if I win the game is great and if I loose the game is rubbish’.<br />
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Geistesblitz 2.0 is quiet obviously not rubbish as the success of the original has led to the creation of this second version. <br />
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This game introduces the language element (albeit it would be easy enough to do this with the original) and so pushes the cognitive processes further and harder.<br />
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The absolute low point for me with this game was that whilst playing with two young friends (11 and 16) they started waiting for me to work it out! Sadly when I still grabbed the wrong objects they gave up with this tactic and resumed their attempts to beat each other. Suffice to say I got about 5 cards whilst Marcia gained a marginal victory over her older brother . <br />
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This game clearly works for some and having persevered I have got much better, if not necessarily good, at it - much as I have with the memory games from Zoch (which initially intimidated me and some of my older friends). This clearly shows the value of such games and the experience of seeing ones ability improve through repeated plays was also noted by one of my games friends who borrowed the original Geistesblitz to play with her family in Scotland over Christmas.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who Do We Think Will Like It? </span></b><br />
This first game has proven incredibly popular with families and gamers (as a filler) alike and it is perhaps not surprising that Zoch have decided to cash in on the success and create a variant on the original game.<br />
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Quiet obviously “connoisseurs” of the original will want to get this game, however for most I struggle to see that you will rush out to buy this if you already have the original. As to which game you get it may depend on the attitudes of those you play with. As adults you will probably go for the one you can buy cheapest, whilst if playing with children the feminine “ghostess’’ in Geistesblitz 2.0 may be the deciding factor.<br />
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I would suggest that any parent who enjoys playing games with their offspring should consider this quick and challenging game. Although I am not sure if the grandparents will thank you if the children bring it out when next you see them! <br />
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As a game that tests our cognitive processes, hand eye co-ordination and discernment it is also likely to appeal to professionals working with young people and others who need help developing these skills. <br />
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If you liked this review then other games I have reviewed can be seen <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/search/label/Review">here</a> <br />
<br /></div>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-67871723522207183782013-01-12T15:21:00.000+00:002013-01-12T15:21:20.243+00:00Games in a Pub – 6th January 2013 <i>A new year and a new pub, the Crow and Gate, Crowborough</i><br />
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With the beginning of the New Year we decided to take our merry band on the road and try out a new venue. We have been meeting at the Blue Anchor now for 2 years and it had been my hope to bring the wealth of modern board and card games to the attention of the wider community, not just gamers. <br />
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The reality is that with a few exceptions and in spite of the redoubtable efforts of Damian (the landlord at the Blue Anchor) to interest his clientèle in our activities, largely little interest has been shown. So following the premise of nothing ventured nothing gained the idea is to try a new nearby location and see if the winds of chaos result in a different outcome! Time will tell.<br />
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With two of our number sick (it’s that time of year!) it left just 4 of us to play. The question was what? Robin had been given <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/the-settlers-of-catan" target="_blank">Settlers of Catan</a> last year for Father’s Day and the game was still un-punched so what better way to start the year than with the daddy of modern board games. A game that as recounted elsewhere in my blog we have played many times over the last decade but one which Robin was yet to play. <br />
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It was a close game with those in second place all on 9 points at the point that Gwen won by acquiring a one point Development card taking her total to the winning 10 victory points. In a blatant (and I know unfounded) whinge about the game I feel I must mention that where both Gwen’s and my efforts had focused on Development Cards. However twice she used a Monopoly card to, I believe the term is rob, the rest of us of our Corn and Sheep (something that I of course would not have done!) whilst amassing 4 Victory points from the other Development Cards she bought. I on the other hand acquired virtually the same number of Development Cards, with only 1 victory point and built an Army that would have impressed Charlemagne but in terms of the game was of no value after the 5th knight! Hey ho, it was fun and victory could have gone to any of the players.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20130106#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <b><a href="http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecrowandgatecrowborough/" target="_blank">Crow and Gate</a> (please note note NOT the Blue Anchor)</b>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 20th January starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a><br />
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Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-35361089275878075122013-01-12T14:58:00.002+00:002013-01-12T14:58:34.053+00:00Match Report - 21st December 2012<i>A festive meeting with lots of Saboteurs!</i><br />
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With Christmas just around the corner there was a festive feel to the evening and a welcome visitation from one of the regulars at the pub.<br />
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Claire and Brian had just scooped a copy of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4390/carcassonne-hunters-and-gatherers" target="_blank">Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers</a> at a local charity shop for £2.50 (a steal) so it didn’t take much convincing to interest Crispin in a variant on one of his favourite games.<br />
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At the other end of the table Daniella, Gwen, Robin and I embarked on the group’s first game of this year’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiel_des_Jahres" target="_blank">Spiel des Jahres </a> winner <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/107529/kingdom-builder" target="_blank">Kingdom Builder</a>. This proved popular with everyone, the feeling was that it offered an interesting game in a nice package that could be played pretty quickly.<br />
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With the first games out of the way and a lovely coffee and walnut cake consumed it was time for yet another foray into the subterranean world of <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/06/match-report-21st-june-2010.html" target="_blank">Saboteur</a>, a world where it is difficult to tell friend from foe and one in which as ever there was much doubt, suspicion and false accusation as well as fun and laughter!.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20121217#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you would like to try some of the games talked about on this blog come along to our next evening at the Crow and Gate, Crowborough is on Sunday 20th January starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a></div>
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Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-61495647711504371242012-12-15T16:13:00.000+00:002012-12-15T16:13:01.398+00:00Games in A Pub - 9th December 2012 <i>A group of Convicts and Samurai arrive at a new pub! </i><br />
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With carols at the Blue Anchor and an expected full house it was time to take our games group on the road and move about 2 mins (by car) towards Uckfield to the <a href="http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecrowandgatecrowborough/">Crow and Gate</a>. I am not sure what the diners made of as we started our first game of the evening <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/96613/alcatraz-the-scapegoat">Alcatraz: The Scapegoat</a> , listening to us get into character and drop each other in it. <br />
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Alcatraz: The Scapegoat finds the players as convicted inmates in the famous penitentiary, all collaborating to escape. However as you might expect with a game in this setting the collaboration only works up to a point! The players quickly got into character, from an early point sizing up who they could make the scapegoat and unsurprisingly they continually plumped for me, ahh I hear you cry that is so unfair! Well to be fair to them within the mechanics of the game what tools I had found had also been found by other inmates all of whom had more to offer. However what they hadn’t bargained for was that an aggrieved convict might throw his lot in with the guards and start making life very difficult for his erstwhile friends. Now this may not be entirely as was intended by the designer but I had a lot of fun making them work and ultimately watching them fail! I think they might have won if a number of the others had not also at various points not failed to deliver on undertakings they had made to each other. It wasn’t quiet <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/games-on-pub-15th-april-2012.html">Panic Station</a>, but certainly distrust was high!<br />
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Next up was <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128667/samurai-sword">Samurai Sword</a> this is a reworking of a game both Simon and I know well, <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3955/bang" target="_blank">Bang!</a> Our (my) frequent references to cards and activities in this game set in Samurai Japan probably irritated after a while but it is really hard when playing a game that is so similar to one you know about Cowboys and Indians not to make reference to oh that’s just like the Indians, or the Dynamite or…… Anyway this game has three factions (Samurai / Shogun vs Ninja vs Ronin) each trying to win the game but nobody is quiet sure who is in which faction and a faction wins if it wins more fights than the others. So as a game it won’t work for everybody but definitely built well for our group on the 1st game of the evening.<br />
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The advantage it has over Bang (assuming that you share my issue with Bang!) is that it has no player elimination, the disadvantage (in my view) is that Bang offers a cleaner more thematic game. I had been keen to play Samurai Sword as in the past I have enjoyed many games of Bang! (but would now avoid it – too many early eliminations for me!) and was hopeful that it would offer a compelling alternative; for me it was fun but somehow lost that “je ne sais quoi” that has made Bang such a hit. <br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20121209#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event will revert to our normal venue the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough and is in two weeks time on Sunday 23rd December starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a><br />
Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-29540773158620740012012-12-07T20:00:00.002+00:002012-12-07T20:00:52.388+00:00Match Report - 3rd December 2012 <i>A big turnout, </i><i>2 award winning games</i><i> and lots of munchies</i><br />
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Six of us started the evening with one of the group’s favourite fillers, <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-hick-hack-in-gackelwack.html" target="_blank">Hick Hack</a>. Although in this case it was being played with Karen, Brian and Claire who had never encountered this amusing family game where the farmyard birds try to eat as much feed as possible whilst avoiding the unwelcome attentions of the local fox population. During this game Natalie and Daniella arrived and we thought the group was complete, and then there was a ring on the doorbell and Alex unexpectedly joined us. As the group settled down with <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/12/match-report-22nd-november-2010.html" target="_blank">Dominion</a> at one end (Brian, Daniella, Alex and Natalie) and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/68448/7-wonders" target="_blank">7 Wonders</a> at the other end the door bell rang again (I was beginning to feel like Bilbo (in The Hobbit) at this point and there was Ben.<br />
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These are two excellent games that have been played many times before by various members of the group although not all. The verdict was an enthusiastic thumbs up from those who were encountering them for the first time, with in all cases “I would like to play them again”. Crispin won 7 Wonders narrowly ahead of Karen (the first time she had played it).<br />
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It must be said that whilst with such a large group you might have expected more games however it was one of the most conversational evening we have had in a long time, Malcolm’s engagement, Alex’s new job, the return of a number to the group and discussions about Natalie’s exciting new job. On the munchies front we were overflowing (probably a mixed metaphor) Crispin had brought doughnuts, Karen a carrot cake and I had loads of munchies left from the weekend of gaming all of which made for a very convivial evening.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20121203#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you would like to try some of the games talked about on this blog come along to our next evening at the <b><a href="http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecrowandgatecrowborough/" target="_blank">Crow and Gate</a> (please note note NOT the Blue Anchor)</b>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 9th December starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a></div>
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Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-90063293170873912582012-12-06T06:35:00.005+00:002012-12-06T06:35:59.722+00:00Games in a Pub – 25th November 2012 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>One big Mayan game and the return of the the pirates</i></div>
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<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126163/tzolkin-the-mayan-calendar" target="_blank">Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar</a> (the beautiful worker placement game)finally made it to the table. This was one of my favourite games from Essen but being a more medium weight game it needs the right opportunity. With 5 players this wasn’t ideal, as it is a 4 player game, but as this was my best opportunity to date I took it with both hands - offering to teach the game to the others and watch / check out rule clarifications as the game progressed. This is a reasonably complex game and whilst I had played it twice Simon ‘s interjections as I walked through the rules (based on having watched a 40 min video about the game on BoardGameGeek) where very helpful.<br />
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Given the depth in the game it is one that benefits from being played more than once. The first outing inevitably feels like you are stumbling around trying to discern how to optimise the various elements into a winning strategy. Martin and Stephene both looked very thoughtful, even at time perplexed, but in spite of their more vocal protestations of ‘hmmm this is complex’ or ‘I don’t understand this game’ both made a lie to these early comments on the game by being the two who had most obviously identified competitive strategies. Sadly Robin had to leave us half way through the game and so I took over, the result of this in my mind was never in much doubt! Stephene won the 2 horse race for first place closely followed by Simon, unsurprisingly I lost.<br />
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The comments on the game were balanced between cautiously negative due to the time it took between a players go and cautiously enthused at the possibilities given its innovative mechanism and potential re-playability plus the hope that it will play significantly quicker once players are familiar with it. At three hours for the first game this is not a game for your average social gamer!<br />
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Whilst we were wrestling with Tzolk’in another group led by Chris had a lot of fun with <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/review-riff-raff.html" target="_blank">Riff Raff</a>. Chris had played <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/12/match-report-6th-december-2010.html" target="_blank">Bausack</a> with us and rated it highly but from the noise they had every bit as much fun with Riff Raff and even dragged a couple of other regulars over to have a go. As we left Chris was so exhausted he was seen fast asleep in a corner of the pub!<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20121125#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <b><a href="http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecrowandgatecrowborough/" target="_blank">Crow and Gate</a> (please note note NOT the Blue Anchor)</b>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 9th December starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-76228646976163514562012-11-24T08:56:00.001+00:002012-11-24T08:56:40.131+00:00Match Report – 19th November<i>A welcome return!</i><br />
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With Brian’s health issues pretty much behind him now we saw the welcome return of Claire and Brain after what has been for them a difficult year. Taking one of our occasional trips to Daniella’s we were joined by a couple of her offspring plus ‘mum’ bringing our number to 10. <br />
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Crispin and Malcolm led a game of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14996/ticket-to-ride-europe" target="_blank">Ticket To Ride: Europe</a> at one end of the room (eventually won by Leonie) which saw Tom either desperately disappointed at loosing to his sister or listening for the sound of trains on the track depending on your interpretation of the photo’s! Mum had never played a game of this type before and was heard during the rules explanation to say “maybe I should have stayed watching the TV”. However by the end of the game she had enjoyed it so much she was talking about the possibility of buying a copy of the game.<br />
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On the other table I led a game of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113293/article-27-the-un-security-council-game" target="_blank">Article 27: The UN Security Council Game</a>. This was mentioned in my Essen report and has been played a number of times with other groups since my return and largely enjoyed although it does have one issue for some people. The aspect that attracted me to the game was the amount of player interaction called for in negotiating your issues onto the floor of the UN and thereby into the next motion. This negotiation can take many verbal forms but centres on giving influence points to other players to get them on side with your objective and threatening to abstain and or in some cases veto the motion. This level and style of negotiation is something that many social gamers have never encountered before and at times they struggle with the whole concept or can do it but feel uncomfortable doing so.<br />
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A little like Bohnanza you have to be active and vocal in the negotiations; being quiet and or hesitant will ultimately allow other players to profit while you miss opportunities. This was the second game on the trot were I noticed that what seemed natural and easy to me (having played so many games this is no real surprise) was something that initially at least my friends struggled with. That said Brian went on to win with Daniella in second place and all bar Daniella felt they wanted to play it again.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KeQhh2vOezM/UK8cegAU-4I/AAAAAAAAF7c/xljwsvq2SfQ/s1600/IMG_4478.JPG" title="Article 27: The UN Security Council Game - Head in hands the chairman just wishes the players would stop pressurising her!" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" alt="Article 27: The UN Security Council Game - Head in hands the chairman just wishes the players would stop pressurising her!" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KeQhh2vOezM/UK8cegAU-4I/AAAAAAAAF7c/xljwsvq2SfQ/s400/IMG_4478.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FiOUOzwA5uE/UK8crA8BkeI/AAAAAAAAF8g/-Byfa-7YjlQ/s1600/IMG_4488.JPG" title="Lots of Munchies" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FiOUOzwA5uE/UK8crA8BkeI/AAAAAAAAF8g/-Byfa-7YjlQ/s200/IMG_4488.JPG" alt="Lots of Munchies" width="200" /></a>With lots of munchies (including leftovers from my birthday party) we lost three of our number and found ourselves with just half an hour left to play, so what better game than <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/06/match-report-21st-june-2010.html" target="_blank">Saboteur</a>. This was filled with the normal paranoia and in the end the single round with just 2 saboteur’s saw one of the good guys (who had wanted to be a saboteur) use a cave in card near the end of the game on a key part of the tunnel. This sealed the good guys’ fate since at that point in the game this meant they could not make it to the gold; needless to say the person (who shall remain nameless) received a significant amount of abuse for his traitorous actions.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20121119#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you would like to try some of the games talked about on this blog come along to our next evening at the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 25th November starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a></div>
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</div>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-35254124274405257562012-11-18T11:45:00.000+00:002012-11-18T11:45:01.012+00:00Games in a Pub – 11th November 2012<i>3 Return whilst 1 leaves </i><br />
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Oliver had told us all a couple of weeks ago that he would be moving out of the area soon and as this would be his final night with us he was given free reign to choose the evenings games.<br />
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First up was a game of Braggart, reviewed <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/01/review-braggart.html" target="_blank">here</a>, this was a game that has been played at our games evening a number of times and with much laughter. It is one of those games which can be played at two levels. You either go for points and don’t worry about the cards or go for fun reading out the boast (made up of a Foe and a Deed card plus optionally Scene and or Result cards). I think this game lived up to Oliver’s hopes and may yet be his first game purchase as he felt his family would enjoy this one.<br />
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Next up was <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113293/article-27-the-un-security-council-game" target="_blank">Article 27: The UN Security Council Game</a> a game we had started playing at our last evening but run out of time. This is a game that will appeal to those who like lots of social interaction and horse trading as players seek to get their issues (hidden objectives) included in the next Security Council Motion, using a combination of persuasive argument, bribes and if all else fails the threat of a veto. As Martin and I have discovered this is a game that plays very differently depending on the group you are playing with. On this occasion I think the 6 of us could have been split as the end of the game with 2 players having significantly (50%) less influence then they started with, 2 of us with marginally more and two Martin and Robin with well over double and nearly treble the influence they started with. Robin was the winner of this game.<br />
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Half way through our game Matt, Adam and Nick joined us and Martin and I took turns helping them set up a game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14996/ticket-to-ride-europe" target="_blank">Ticket To Ride: Europe</a>. I think victory in the end went to Nick with his yellow coaches and the longest railway.<br />
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With only half an hour left the 6 of us (Martin, Simon, Oliver, Robin and Stephene) had a quick game of Tran Europa (reviewed <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-trans-europa.html" target="_blank">here</a> and which could simplistically be described as Ticket To Ride light), with Martin again finishing in second place whilst on this occasion I managed to pip him to the winning spot.<br />
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During the evening we had a look at the beautiful paint job that Stephene had done on <a href="http://czechgames.com/" target="_blank">CGE’s</a> <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126163/tzolkin-the-mayan-calendar" target="_blank">Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar</a>. Maybe we will get to play this next time. <br />
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<a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1437504_md.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar - The central wheel before it is painted"><img alt="Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar - The central wheel before it is painted" border="0" height="297" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1437504_md.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lastly I should just say a quick word of thank to Oliver who joined us back on the 1st May 2011 and has been our most regular attendee. Seeing us through the early days when it was touch and go as to whether we would give up on our effort to start a group of social gamers in Crowborough, to the point now where we know have a regular group. We wish him well with his future endeavours and happy gaming!<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20121111#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 25th November starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-1710151661242396662012-11-12T08:01:00.002+00:002012-11-12T08:01:38.347+00:00Match Report – 5th November 2012<i>Lots of chat and one of the classic 'gateway' games</i><br />
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On our last two evenings we explored <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14996/ticket-to-ride-europe" target="_blank">Ticket To Ride: Europe</a> and with a request from my wife to not learn anything new (suffering with a headache all day she didn't feel she could cope with anything too complex – hmmm!) and with 5 players it was unsurprising that Ticket To Ride: Europe was a popular choice.<br />
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What was less expected was the way in which once the game got started that Gwen demolished the rest of us scoring over 40 points more than her nearest rival – headache?!<br />
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Having just returned from Essen I had hoped to get one of the new titles to the table; sadly not on this occasion. With lots of chat and munchies we only managed one game. At some point we let Crispin get hold of the camera - he likes doing close ups! I f you check out the link below you will see his handiwork.</div>
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20121105?authkey=Gv1sRgCLbR7r-kyo39Yw" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you would like to try some of the games talked about on this blog come along to our next evening at the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 11th November starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a></div>
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Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-31757660736414382202012-10-30T22:00:00.000+00:002012-10-30T22:00:54.399+00:00Games in A Pub - 28th October 2012<i>It was half term for the local schools and close to Halloween so it was great to welcome a couple of young friends, including a wizard!</i><br />
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The larger element of the group embarked on the traumatic game of <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/08/match-report-2nd-august-2010.html" target="_blank">RoboRally</a>. More than once I looked across having heard hoots of laughter to see somebody with the head in their hands. A feeling I can immediately recognise from playing this game. I find playing it more than twice a year leaves me feeling I need to see to a counsellor or psychotherapist. Victory eventually went to Oliver however, I can only hope I won’t receive claims for damages from those who at times struggled to reconcile the enjoyment with the chaos and difficulty of getting their robots to complete the simplest of tasks!<br />
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Stephne, Gwen and I headed off into the world of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/110524/goblins-inc" target="_blank">Goblins Inc</a> where crazy teams of goblins (the players) build robots to compete in some weird combat with the robots built by another team of goblins. This has many similarities to <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/04/match-report-11th-april-2011.html" target="_blank">Galaxy Trucker</a>.<br />
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This game intrigued me in that ideally it is played with 4 players who work in pairs as a team potentially with very different possibly even conflicting objectives. Once the combat phase of the round is complete the teams of players are reset i.e. you work with another person to a whole new set of objectives. This aspect seemed to me to be a new gaming mechanic and one that lent itself to the fun / social games our various groups seem to enjoy.<br />
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Gwen whilst not loving the game gave it a cautious thumbs up which given this is not her preferred theme or style of game is verging on a ringing endorsement. The game is ideally played with four and we had only three so it is perhaps not surprising that Stephene was also cautious in his views on the game. Hopefully it will get a run out at our next evening with the optimum number.<br />
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With Simon and his family leaving our final game of the evening saw the two groups coming together for a game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113293/article-27-the-un-security-council-game" target="_blank">Article 27: The UN Security Council Game</a>. This is described in brief in my <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/essen-2012-my-journal.html" target="_blank">Essen post</a> and I think may well prove to be the most popular game from Essen. It will not suit everyone as not everyone wants a game with a lot of negotiation and horse trading but it certainly works for me! With time short we only played 4 of the possible 6 rounds, with victory went to Stephene but two people had not had a chance to take the Secretary General’s role which frequently brings in many victory points.<br />
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In the closing moments of the evening Stephene agreed to paint the <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/image/1441830/tzolkin-the-mayan-calendar?size=large" target="_blank">wheels</a> from <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126163/tzolkin-the-mayan-calendar" target="_blank">Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calender</a>. As he is an outstanding painter I am really looking forward to seeing what magic he can work. To see examples of his work check out his blog <a href="http://www.drwillettsworkshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Dr Willet's Workshop</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1437504_md.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar - The central wheel"><img alt="Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar - The central wheel" border="0" height="297" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1437504_md.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20121028" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 11th November starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-53703581245146499592012-10-28T17:37:00.001+00:002012-10-28T17:37:12.724+00:00Essen 2012 - My Journal<i>Reflections on my pilgrimage to <a href="http://essen%20spiel%202012./" target="_blank">Essen Spiel 2012</a>. </i><i>If you are looking for photo's of the games rather than the people I played them with then click <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/2012101821EssenSpiel2012#" target="_blank">here</a></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Day 0 </b></span><br />
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As our group of 18 (from across the UK) gathered in Essen at the end of a long days driving the first thought was food and beer but given our nature (!) these concerns were only marginally ahead of which game should we play? </div>
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With schnitzels and bear ordered our first game was Paul Grogan’s prototype, code named Shaun. Paul (the group’s ringleader) had described this as we had driven across Europe and it had left me distinctly cold. However, when it came to playing the game I found the level of interaction and trading between players really engaging and the scepticism I had felt on the journey at the sound of ‘power stations’ and ‘factories’ was laid to rest. This game was played a number of times by others on the trip and all gave it a favourable review. Fingers crossed that this will eventually see the light of day as a successful commercial offering. </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Day 1 </span></b></div>
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After an early night and some much needed sleep I started the day by meeting up with Rory O'Connor (of <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/review-rorys-story-cubes-voyages.html" target="_blank">Rory’s Story Cubes</a>) and we played a demo game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113293/article-27-the-un-security-council-game" target="_blank">Article 27: The UN Security Council Game</a>.<br />
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This was one of the games on my list to check out at the Spiel, because of the theme e.g. the UN Security council voting on sanctions, nuclear non proliferation, humanitarian issues, etc and my work with young people. It seemed to me that if the game lived up to its billing it might provide an interesting platform to stimulate discussion around the intractable issues facing the world. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable games of the trip and one of the games I brought back with me. This was a very social start to the Spiel, joining three fellow travellers from Britain, as the game called for lots of negotiating and trading (a dynamic in games that I particularly enjoy) as players sought to get their fellow players on side with votes before the UN Security council. </div>
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Next up was a game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128271/ginkgopolis" target="_blank">Ginkgopolis</a>, a city building game set in some future world. Whilst very attractive and with high quality pieces it was a game that after half an hour we were all tempted to walk away from and one of the players did exactly that! However myself, Rory, Phil and Fred (sorry I didn’t get your real name) stuck with it to the end - we did ultimately enjoy the game but none of us felt it would be a game we would rush to play again.<br />
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My next rendezvous was with Brett Gilbert the British designer behind <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/118418/divinare" target="_blank">Divinare</a>. During our time together we spent some time with Andrea (Creative Director) on the <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/en.html" target="_blank">Zoch Verlag</a> stand looking at three of their new games; Riff Raff (reviewed <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/review-riff-raff.html" target="_blank">here</a> and a game being played on what seemed like 20 demo tables – sadly my photographic skills failed to capture this image); <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/index.php?id=2836&L=4" target="_blank">Mimikri </a>(a memory game with an interesting new twist) and <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/index.php?id=2834&L=4" target="_blank">Banana Matcho</a> (a game for which Zoch had shipped in 2.5 tonnes of bananas to the Spiel as promotional give aways!). <br />
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It was really interesting to have a discussion with Andrea about the development cycle of a game; how sometimes publishers take just a raw idea from a designer and the amount of work necessary to make it into a workable game. With another meeting booked for 7pm (the show's close time) I didn't leave the Spiel until long after the public had left and the cleaners had started their work of clearing up after 20,000+ people.<br />
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Evening entertainment consisted of another schnitzel, a game of <a href="http://www.whitegoblingames.com/game/126/Vlusp" target="_blank">Voluspa</a> (with a mistaken understanding of the rules)<br />
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and then another game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113293/article-27-the-un-security-council-game" target="_blank">Article 27: The UN Security Council Game</a>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Day 2 </span></b><br />
This was a bit of a funny day with lots of time to look around the show, the second exchange of games as part of the BGG Essen Spiel Maths Trade and poor timing that meant I never quiet seemed to get the opportunity to play a decent game.<br />
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The highlight at some emotional (rather than logical level) was that I discovered that my name appeared on the credits of <a href="http://stratamaxgames.com/sheepdogs-of-pendleton-hill-essen-preorder/" target="_blank">Sheepdogs of Pendleton Hills</a> as a play tester. This came as quiet a surprise, but a pleasant one (having never appeared on the credits of a game before) and so it is perhaps no surprise that it was an impulse buy. <br />
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The evening saw the group gather for pizza and games of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/123540/tokaido" target="_blank">Tokaido</a> and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/110277/among-the-stars" target="_blank">Among The Stars</a>; the first was a definite hit and had already sold out at the show but, in my view at least, the second game was another OK game that offered nothing compelling.<br />
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As some of us turned in it surprised nobody that Chooi and his crew were embarking on one of the epic games of the trip, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40765/clash-of-cultures" target="_blank">Clash of Cultures</a>, apparently they finished at around 4am! <br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Day 3 </span></b><br />
Frustrated at my fellow travellers enthusiasm for boring and bland games (adjectives used for effect, more accurate to say that they didn't interest me) e.g. <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/121297/fleet" target="_blank">Fleet</a> (about docks warehouses and building a fishing fleet), <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/123260/suburbia" target="_blank">Suburbia</a> (building a metropolis) and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126792/myrmes" target="_blank">Myrmes</a> (the work of an ant colony) and their complete lack of interest in playing the new CGE games (said disinterest was largely because many of the group had either already decided to buy copies of these games or been involved in demo’s at the <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/uk-games-expo-2012-journal.html" target="_blank">UK Games Expo</a> earlier in the year or even play tested them.) </div>
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Anyway, I digress (I hear my wife’s voice telling me I am wittering on!).....said frustration prompted me to make the effort and get to the show as it opened on Saturday in the hope of making it through the crush to the CGE demo area; in particular I was keen to try <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126163/tzolkin-the-mayan-calendar">Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar</a> and <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/110524/goblins-inc" target="_blank">Goblins Inc</a>. Getting the last seat (phew!) I joined two Belgians and a Russian for a game of Tzolk’in. We were lucky enough to get our explanation of the game from the designer <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/59986/daniele-tascini">Daniele Tascini</a> who it transpired Phil and I had met at the previous year’s show whilst playing Hawaii – a small world. We only played the game to the half way point but all of us were left enthusing about the game.</div>
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That evening I arrived back at the room knackered and wanting to just lie down and sleep however, I immediately perked up when Phil agreed to teach Paul K, Andy and myself Goblins Inc. In this game you work in pairs to build robots that then enter some bizarre contest to destroy their opponents. We played the standard rules which meant that you didn’t talk to your team mate (because you have hidden / different objectives) whilst building your robots or when planning how to attack your opponents robot. As Andy put it this seemed incongruous with the artwork and theme of the game which seemed a light affair which should have been more fun. The absence of interplay between the players made the game seem flat and uninspiring. This seems easily remedied by simply ignoring this ‘no speak’ rule and allowing players to be as truthful or more likely disingenuous as they like. With this change it is a game I am really looking forward to playing again.<br />
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The gods were obviously answering my prayers as after a delicious Chinese (the culinary highlight of the trip) our next game was Tzolk’in. As the only one who had played it I was expected to explain how the game worked, I am not sure we could use the word ‘teach’! In spite of my failings in this effort leading to a number of early misunderstanding Andy seemed to grasp some of the interplay in the game mechanism much faster than the rest of us creating a powerful use of the games elements that, in spite of the best efforts of the rest of us (Simon in particular), gave him a comfortable victory.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Day 4</span></b><br />
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The last day of the fair always seems a bit flat as you keep a close eye on the clock and know you have the long drive ahead of you. The main excitement is trying to work out of you can get all the baggage and games in the cars!<br />
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The long drive home was unsurprisingly punctuated by the snores of those tired after the many late nights.<br />
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Once the discussion in the car livened up the consensus was that the group as a whole had probably most enjoyed playing Suburbia, Myrmes, Fleet and Clash of Cultures. Although Paul wouldn't have said this for a couple of us at least project Shaun would also rank in the highlights. Unlike some previous years we did not identify one stand out game. <br />
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Thankfully the journey was uneventful and once in the tunnel we did manage one final game, a game of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/92415/skull-roses" target="_blank">Skull and Roses</a> which to my surprise I won.<br />
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It was another great trip, with a wonderful group, on a very social pilgrimage to the biggest games fair in Europe. </div>
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More photo's from the trip can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/2012101821EssenSpiel2012" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-35416265306630992112012-10-16T08:34:00.000+01:002012-10-28T08:31:32.206+00:00Review – Riff Raff <i>2-4 Players, Aged 8+ with a 30 minute playing time </i><br />
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A review copy of Riff Raff , designed by Christoph Cantzler, was kindly provided by our friends at <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/en.html" target="_blank">Zoch Verlag</a>.<br />
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This is a tactile game of dexterity with quality components set loosely around a pirate theme. In the game blurb we learn that for some bizarre reason Captain Bullseye has decided that he should stow his cargo high up in the ships rigging, “so no peg-leg can get it”. Given the possibilities of losing the cargo to the pitching and rolling of a ship at sea, let alone the able bodied crew the last thing I would have thought the captain would worry about is those crew members with peg legs! As with so many games don’t worry too much about the theme, it is only loosely held together and doesn't stand up to close inspection. That said we think this is a real gem of a game so read on.<br />
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What follows is an overview of the game broken down into 5 sections: <u>The Game Components</u>, <u>Setting Up The Game</u>, <u>How To Play The Game</u>, <u>What Did We Think?</u> and finally <u>Who Do We Think Will Like It?</u>. So if you don't want to read the whole review scan down to the heading that interests you.<br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Game Components </b><br />
1 wooden ship, consisting of the ships hull, 1 weighted “keel”, 1 mast, 6 elements with which to construct 3 yardarms and various other components that allow the ship to move<br />
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2 wave stands on which the ship is balanced<br />
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4 sets of player cards (numbered 1 to 10) in blue, red, grey, purple plus 8 wooden cargo tokens; a light blue chest, an orange barrel, a blue member of the crew (initially thought by some players to be a monkey!), a canoe, a green box (maybe this is supposed to be a tea chest), a black plank, a large red vial and a grey <strike>mouse</strike> rat!<br />
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The plastic setting found in the box</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Setting Up The Game </b></span><br />
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Build your ship and place it so it is suspended on top of the waves with the weighted keel hung in the “tower” <br />
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Each player takes a set of cards and 1 set of 8 cargo items (these are not colour coded per player) that must be clearly visible in front of you. The numbers on the cards correspond to the numbered areas on the ship and yardarms. <br />
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Elect a starting player. It is suggested this should be the oldest player. </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How To Play The Game </span></b><br />
At the beginning of each round, each player selects one of his own cards and lays it down on the table face down in front of them. All players then simultaneously reveal their cards at the same time.<br />
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The player who has played the highest card immediately becomes the new captain. If several players have played the highest number, the current captain decides which player becomes the new captain. When playing with adults, rather than children, in a social / after dinner situations the tie break was decided in all cases based on relationship / loved one! <br />
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The new captain begins the round by selecting one of their cargo objects and attempting to place it on the part of the ship where the number corresponds to the number on their card. Once the ships captain has completed their go, play passes to the person who played the second highest number and so on. If several players have played the same number, the captain decides in which order these players take their turns (see earlier comment about loved ones).<br />
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If the area is on the yardarms (areas 5-10) and already has one item on it then the player may elect to place two items. However once they have decided on two then they have to follow through on this. Unlike some other dexterity based games you can change the piece of cargo you are attempting to place on the ship if after initial attempts you feel a different object might be more appropriate. However placing two objects was not something I have yet seen successfully done! <br />
The round ends after each player has taken their turn. The cards played remain face up on the table and are not available for the remainder of the game.<br />
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In placing the cargo the following rules need to e observed: <br />
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• Each piece cargo may be laid or hung on the ship with either one hand or both hands. <br />
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• Cargo may protrude beyond the ship‘s edge but not into other ship areas. It was this rule that sadly stopped us laying the monkey or is it a crew member flat on the rigging with one arm round the mast. <br />
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• In the process of placing the cargo onto the ship existing cargo already safely (!!!) stowed may not be physically touched by the player, but can be moved with the help of the piece of cargo the player is endeavouring to place. <br />
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When cargo falls off the ship, as it inevitably will, your turn ends and you may not place the second piece of cargo if you had indicated that this was your intent.<br />
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As the cargo falls from the ship the active player should try to catch as many of the falling pieces as possible. Those pieces caught are removed from the game whilst those that are not caught by the active player are added to those pieces they still have in front of them waiting to be loaded on the ship. <br />
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The winner of the game is the first person to have no cargo left in front of them or the least number of cargo items in front of them once all the cards have been played. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What Did We Think? </b></span><br />
The ship is of solid construction, although you feel nervous about inserting the mast into its hole in the deck and the risk of breaking the dowels that act as stoppers for the three yardarms. The metal weight is heavy and created a very sensitive ship that if you blow from a few feet will move! Essentially everything from the box to the cargo is of the highest quality, not a plastic piece in sight.<br />
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For players who like Zoch games the card mechanism will be very familiar as it has appeared in <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/review-niagara.html" target="_blank">Niagara</a> and more recently <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-kalimambo.html" target="_blank">Kalimambo</a>. Ultimately this mechanism gives each player the same set of choices and the knowledge that they will have to use all the numbers whether they want to or not. This differs from the typical games available on the high street in the UK where the players use dice and have no control over what numbers they have to use and can profit or suffer to a much greater degree at the hands of lady luck. <br />
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The game suggests that the first captain is the oldest player and this is presumably to allow an adult to try and direct the early play. As the game progresses the ability as captain to decide who goes in what order when players reveal the same number allows some small tactical play amongst those monitoring the growing or diminishing selection of cargo in front of their fellow players. This to some degree can have a levelling effect that helps those who are not doing so well whilst potentially hampering those that are doing better. Younger players may obviously miss these opportunities and or succumb to the tensions of sibling rivalries, where logic goes out the window.<br />
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The game is simple to understand and, whilst subject to the vagaries of what cards your opponents play, offers choices on both which cards to play as well as which cargo items to attempt. When adults play though Riff Raff is a game of outguessing the other players, were everybody is trying to guess what their fellow players might do and so adjust their card choice accordingly. Whatever position you go in there are rarely easy options for the placement of cargo. <br />
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If you can live with a degree of luck, a level that is not uncommon in family games and games that appeal to social gamers, then there is a lot of laughs and fun to be had in this game. A game that is nevertheless tense at times as you struggle to concentrate on placing your cargo safely on the ship. I certainly found myself having to take a deep breath as I sat back, on some occasions, having succeeded in the challenge.<br />
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Inevitably some players will be better at the dexterity and assessment of the weights and possibilities than others. However, as occurred on one occasion when a player lost in grand style(blaming his lack of success on believing that the game was a “set collection game”) he had laughed all the way through and gave every indications of having thoroughly enjoyed himself. On another occasion a player did equally badly but was immediately up for a second game having enjoyed losing at the first one so much! <br />
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A number of the players felt Riff Raff had similarities to <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2452/jenga" target="_blank">Jenga</a> and <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8392/buckaroo" target="_blank">Buckaroo</a> (games that families in the UK would be more familiar with), but scored Riff Raff more highly - immediately asking where they could buy it (see the recommended retailers on the right hand side of my blog). <br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who Do We Think Will Like It? </span></b><br />
Obviously families and in particular those who are looking for something more challenging / interesting than Jenga or Buckeroo.<br />
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Those volunteers and professionals working with children and others that are looking to help develop fine motor control and an understanding of shapes and weights. <br />
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Social Gamers in particular those who have enjoyed Zoch’s previous games with a strong dexterity dynamic, most particularly <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/12/match-report-6th-december-2010.html" target="_blank">Bausack</a>, <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/index.php?id=217&L=4" target="_blank">Bamboleo</a> and <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/index.php?id=2334&L=4" target="_blank">Hamesterroll</a>. <br />
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Gamers looking for something as filler that is very different from the normal card and board games – see the positive comments from Paul Lister (<a href="http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/" target="_blank">BoardGameGuru</a>), in his weekly newsletter. <br />
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Adults after a few drinks!<br />
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If you liked this review then other games I have reviewed can be seen <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/search/label/Review">here</a></div>
Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-42701302925224225332012-10-14T18:29:00.001+01:002012-10-14T22:51:20.350+01:00Essen Spiel 2012 – What To Expect<i>Looking forward to the biggest board games show in Europe</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>This will be the 3rd year I have been lucky enough to make the pilgrimage to the largest games fair in Europe, the <a href="http://www.internationalespieltage.de/e000.php4" target="_blank">Internationale Spieltage</a> at Essen or Spiel for short (my earlier trips are recorded <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=essen" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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This year I thought I would write a piece before the show; a show that last year attracted 147,000 visitors, hundreds of press, radio and TV journalists and 786 exhibitors from 34 nations. The show covers 46,000 square meters of exhibition space and once again over <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/142246/spiel-2012-preview/page/1" target="_blank">700+ new board</a> and card games are being released; games that span every age range, theme and style. <br />
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As I write this (early October) the games industry is working flat out with designers and artists putting the finishing touches to rules for new games after last minute feedback from play testers and proof readers. It involves late nights and much stress as the games publishers seek to hit the publishing houses deadlines. In many cases the games companies will only know when they get to the show if their latest game has completed the journey and will be available to sell to the eager public.<br />
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As examples of this <a href="http://www.fragorgames.com/" target="_blank">Fragor Games</a> 2011 release was <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/105624/poseidons-kingdom" target="_blank">Poseidon's Kingdom </a>and the first time they saw of the finished game was when the boxes arrived at the show - no stress there then! However unlike others on this occasion there were no issues with the finished product.<br />
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Others were not so lucky; as one example <a href="http://www.zmangames.com/" target="_blank">Z-Man Games</a> discovered that the eagerly awaited and much heralded game <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70149/ora-et-labora" target="_blank">Ora et Labora</a> by pre-eminent designer <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/10/uwe-rosenberg" target="_blank">Uwe Rosenberg </a>(the man behind the <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgame/page/1?sort=rank" target="_blank">No 2 </a>game on <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a> (BGG) <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31260/agricola" target="_blank">Agricola</a>) had arrived but when the boxes were opened the tokens had been mis-punched so although the German language version was available from <a href="http://lookout-spiele.de/" target="_blank">Lookout Games</a> the English language one wasn't - a disappointment for many not to mention an opportunity cost for Z-Man Games.<br />
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<a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1384587_md.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Voluspa - The box artwork"><img alt="Voluspa - The box artwork" border="0" height="137" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1384587_md.jpg" width="200" /></a>But as the publishing engines crank their cogs, so the marketing guys are busy raising the visibility of their games with discounts for pre-orders (see these two BGG Lists <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/listitem/2333674?commentid=3247103#comment3247103" target="_blank">A</a> and <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/145770/essen-spiel-2012-specials-freebies-promos-and-othe/page/1?" target="_blank">B</a> highlighting all the games in this category), competitions and giveaways that attract visitors to the web sites of the likes of <a href="http://www.blogger.com/" target="_blank"><span id="goog_536740041"></span>White Goblin Games <span id="goog_536740042"></span></a>who will be releasing more than 8 games at the show - <a href="http://www.whitegoblingames.com/game/126/Vlusp" target="_blank">Voluspa</a> being one of them.<br />
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Advocates writing detailed notes and reviews about games that are yet to be seen in the finished form (see Paul Grogan’s work in support of <a href="http://czechgames.com/en/essen-2012/" target="_blank">Czech Games</a> and their new games <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126163/tzolkin-the-mayan-calendar" target="_blank">Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar </a>, <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/110524/goblins-inc" target="_blank">Goblins Inc</a>, <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/126839/dungeon-lords-festival-season" target="_blank">Dungeon Lords: Festival Season</a>, <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/97845/galaxy-trucker-another-big-expansion" target="_blank">Galaxy Trucker: Another Big Expansion</a> and Galaxy Trucker: Anniversary Edition as just one example of this).<br />
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<a href="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1351185_md.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar - Part of the box artwork"><img alt="Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar - Part of the box artwork" border="0" height="400" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1351185_md.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Others like myself and Chris Bowler (of <a href="http://www.unboxedtheboardgameblog.com/" target="_blank">Unboxed: The Board Game Blog</a>) were lucky enough to have been involved in early play-testing for games being released at the show. In our case <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126076/sheepdogs-of-pendleton-hill" target="_blank">Sheepdogs of Pendleton Hill</a> by <a href="http://stratamaxgames.com/" target="_blank">Stratamax Games</a> and so we have our own small interest in what the finished articles will look like. There are also those games that were released earlier in the year at events such as <a href="http://www.gencon.com/" target="_blank">GENCON </a>in the US or the <a href="http://www.toyfair.de/" target="_blank">Nuremburg Toy Fair</a> and these will have been sent to favoured games commentators to help raise the visibility of games that publishers hope will make a big impression at the coming show. <br />
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Then there are all the visitors coming from round the world, some visiting the show for a day and others like our team of 18 going for all 4 days, plus all the gaming that goes on once the show has finished each day. Food in my experience so far is largely utilitarian, something to be consumed rather than enjoyed, be it Currywurst, Pizza or Chinese. With people in our group having gathered from around the UK, there is much to catch up on but mainly there are all those games we have just bought to play! So eating food can not be allowed to eat into gaming time.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7KVJaMXJUH0/TqSEsBBB-eI/AAAAAAAACy0/Wsb276AyIZQ/s1600/IMG_2235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Essen Spiel 2011 Day 3 - One of the many large areas where you can play demo games in Hall 12 (1 of 11 exhibition Halls)"><img alt="Essen Spiel 2011 Day 3 - One of the many large areas where you can play demo games in Hall 12 (1 of 11 exhibition Halls" border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7KVJaMXJUH0/TqSEsBBB-eI/AAAAAAAACy0/Wsb276AyIZQ/s400/IMG_2235.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
The visitors to the Spiel have an unparalleled opportunity to meet fellow gamers, talk with their favourite designers, get access to the latest games and scour the hundreds of trade stands looking for that allusive bargain / game. To varying degrees visits to the show are planned like a military operation, with plans of the halls printed and target games identified.<br />
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As part of the planning process gamers are scouring the web as we speak for comments and images on new games and amongst the geekier (me included) building a focus list of games they are interested in, seeking comments from fellow gamers that will help them make the right decisions when they get to the show. Again BGG enables this for its members and one member has helped by the creation of a <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/139290/item/2307040#item2307040" target="_blank">List of Lists</a> as a way of members canvassing for thoughts and feedback on the games they are interested in. If this wasn’t enough then this is also what is termed a <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/147056/essen-spiel-2012-no-shipping-math-trade" target="_blank">maths trade</a> attracting 2,500 new and used games for exchange from over 140 people across Europe..<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OI8ZhlSd7hw/TqSE5D_U17I/AAAAAAAACzs/KRzBt_P2Vfo/s1600/IMG_2266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Essen Spiel 2011 Day 3 - So many people want to play games they spread out onto the floor"><img alt="Essen Spiel 2011 Day 3 - So many people want to play games they spread out onto the floor" border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OI8ZhlSd7hw/TqSE5D_U17I/AAAAAAAACzs/KRzBt_P2Vfo/s400/IMG_2266.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Designing and publishing games are hard work, with much labour, frustration, and risk of mishap. In recent years, I heard of a UK game company who hired a rental van, which only just made it to Essen. As the journey progressed the vehicle developed mechanical failures. Somehow it was nursed all the way to Essen, was driven into the courtyard at the Messe, where it promptly "died". Stock was offloaded, and the vehicle was carried away on the back of a flat bed truck. At the end of the show, remaining stock, and other company items, needed to be palletted up, and then freighted back to UK. More expense and great inconvenience.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BaQOjAv0O1Y/TqSE3VKC0QI/AAAAAAAACzk/LXKZLPfJFIs/s1600/IMG_2265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Essen Spiel 2011 Day 3 - A large scale demo of Gary Gouda, the new game from Haba"><img alt="Essen Spiel 2011 Day 3 - A large scale demo of Gary Gouda, the new game from Haba" border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BaQOjAv0O1Y/TqSE3VKC0QI/AAAAAAAACzk/LXKZLPfJFIs/s400/IMG_2265.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Once at the show there is a large area devoted to second hand games and a massive amount of space devoted to demo games where punters can just sit down and try out a game. Surprisingly and very pleasingly there is no hard sell. It really is seen as OK to sit and play a game for an hour or more and than walk away having not bought the game, although frequently this is not the case! An equally pleasing part of the experience is the way that you may come together with people from around the world and often that you have never met before to play the game, a situation that happened to me on a number of occasions last year. It really is a very social pastime!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ud5GboF4EUw/TqSE9vpUBkI/AAAAAAAAC0A/c7PqR1Joxbk/s1600/IMG_2271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Essen Spiel 2011 Day 3 - Three of the guys in our demo game of Hawaii"><img alt="Essen Spiel 2011 Day 3 - Three of the guys in our demo game of Hawaii" border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ud5GboF4EUw/TqSE9vpUBkI/AAAAAAAAC0A/c7PqR1Joxbk/s400/IMG_2271.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Obviously for many once we get to the show the planning will be set aside at times as games that have been overlooked or bargains hove into view and the human impetuosity takes over and the retailers dream ‘impulse buys’ happen!<br />
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So if you haven’t planned your visit this year, maybe it is time to start thinking about next year!</div>
Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-37751886218241205732012-10-14T17:29:00.000+01:002012-10-14T17:29:59.301+01:00Match Report – 8th October 2012<i>Trains, boats, a galaxy far far away and + a little ghost! </i><br />
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As the team gathered we started with that old favourite, <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/07/match-report-28th-july-2010.html" target="_blank">Straw</a> and played a few hands of this until it was clear that somebody had beaten me – Crispin! <br />
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With 6 people gathered around the table Ben led a team of intrepid astronauts in a game of <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/04/match-report-11th-april-2011.html" target="_blank">Galaxy Trucker</a> whilst I led Crispin and Malcolm in their first game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14996/ticket-to-ride-europe" target="_blank">Ticket To Ride: Europe</a>. This was quickly explained and resulted in a very close game and a marginal win to me. Malcolm attempted to claim bonus points as he had been part of the project team that installed new signalling equipment along one of the routes on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. A claim that, however valid and creative, we declined to accept. Having now played this three times I can see why it is rated so highly as a gateway game. Both Malcolm and Crispin gave it big thumbs up.<br />
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A board game, with the need for planning - but not too much, playing time of around an hour and fast game play. It was frequently the case that it was your turn again before you had re-ordered your cards.<br />
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Sadly Ben’s game did not quiet as well with Kelly and Daniella (who has played it before and enjoyed it) not really enjoying the game and whilst the ladies completed the first mission Ben’s space craft was badly knocked about in the flight and his crew wiped out. This didn’t however change Ben’s view that this is one of his favourite games. <br />
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With Galaxy Trucker abandoned they moved onto <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/118705/geistesblitz-2-0" target="_blank">Geistesblitz 2.0</a> with as you would expect much laughter, as players sought to grab the correct object before their fellow players and as is the case so often with this game grabbed the wrong object! <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tf53jt1ZKk0/UHqexhGSxFI/AAAAAAAAFOI/Zj5neR3JsTc/s1600/IMG_4291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Geistesblitz 2.0 - A funny game"><img alt="Geistesblitz 2.0 - A funny game" border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tf53jt1ZKk0/UHqexhGSxFI/AAAAAAAAFOI/Zj5neR3JsTc/s400/IMG_4291.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
With Giestesblitz 2.0 complete another game was called for and it has to be said I shamelessly suggested the latest review game from Zoch, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=orhAqudjy5E" target="_blank">Riff Raff</a>. This is a dexterity game that made its first appearance at our last games evening. In the first game of this Kelly sadly ended up with more cargo at the end of the game than she started but this did not seem to detract from her enjoyment as once the first game was complete Malcolm joined them for a second game.<br />
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As the second game neared its conclusion there was enthusiastic discussion about what an excellent game this was, how well it would work with families, particularly at Christmas and WHERE CAN YOU BUY IT? This later comment being made by 2 or 3 of those present and being notable for all the fact that our regulars love playing the games they rarely react so enthusiastically to a new game.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20121008#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you would like to try some of the games talked about on this blog come along to our next evening at the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 14th October starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a><br />
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Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-25432698710531016052012-10-13T21:20:00.000+01:002012-10-13T21:20:21.559+01:00Review – Niagara <i>3-5 Players, Aged 8 with a 45 minute playing time </i><br />
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A game themed around the wild waters of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls">Niagara river and its famous falls</a> offers an interesting set of challenges that will probably be preferred by those who like risk taking with a good dose of screwage.<br />
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Loosely set in the late 18th Century, when the Shawnee and Iroquois Indians pointed white adventurers in the direction of hidden caches of valuable jewels, along the banks of the river in the hopes of turning them against one another and away from their territorial expansion ambitions. <br />
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The players take on the role of these fearless adventurers (canoeists) seeking to collects gems from along the banks of the river close to the falls. It will come as no surprise that the most valuable gems are to be found closest to the waterfall! <br />
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The first player to collect either five different coloured, four of the same coloured or seven of any coloured gems, and bring them safely to land will the game and bring it to its close. <br />
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What follows is an overview of the game broken down into 5 sections: <u>Game Components</u>, <u>Setting Up</u>, <u>How To Play</u>, <u>What Did We Think?</u> and finally <u>Who Do We Think Will Like It?</u>. So if you don't want to read the whole review scan down to the heading that interests you.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Game Components</span></b><br />
1 game board with a sunken river bed, water fall and 5 pits to hold the gems found along the banks of the Niagra. Each of the pits is colour coded to correspond to the 5 different types of gems.<br />
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5 sets of player tokens (in red, green, yellow, blue and brown) consisting of 2 canoes and 7 paddle cards. There are six numbered paddle cards, 1 to 6, plus one cloud card. The paddle cards are used to move your canoe/s on the river whilst the cloud card adjusts the flow of the river from a gentle trickle to a raging torrent! </div>
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8 Gems in 5 different colours, red (ruby), blue (sapphire), clear (diamond), yellow (amber) and violet (amethyst). 7 of the gems are used in the game whilst the 8th is a spare.<br />
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1 wooden cloud, the rain-maker marker <br />
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1 wooden life preserver, the starting player marker <br />
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12 clear Perspex discs used to represent the flow of the river <br />
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1 set of rules and the box. Unlike most games this is important not just for storage purposes but also as the game board is placed on top of this in order that the illusion of the waterfall can be created. <br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Setting Up </span></b><br />
Place the box top and bottom, with their open sides down (hmmm, more on this later), side by side, so they form a platform.<br />
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Place the game board on this platform so that it forms a waterfall at one end. <br />
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Place 7 gems of the colours that match each of the discovery places set aside for the gems.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0C6HFq4ancs/UHW0IALW7vI/AAAAAAAAFKw/bIF6OrVwG2g/s1600/IMG_4014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Niagara - 9 of the transparent river discs in the riverbed"><img alt="Niagara - 9 of the transparent river discs in the riverbed" border="0" height="223" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0C6HFq4ancs/UHW0IALW7vI/AAAAAAAAFKw/bIF6OrVwG2g/s400/IMG_4014.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Place 9 of the transparent river discs in the riverbed so the upper-most river disc is placed below the rope spanning the river. Leave the upper-most riverbed spaces empty. The 3 remaining transparent river disks are placed to one side for use later in the game.<br />
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Place the rainmaker marker (cloud) on space 0 (zero) of the weather track on the game board. <br />
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Each player takes two canoes and all 7 paddle cards of the same colour. The canoes are placed on one or both of the beaches. It makes no difference to the game which side of the river players use to move into and out of the water. <br />
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Each player selects one of the round and rectangular spaces around the game board edge that is nearest to them. This is where they will place their paddle tokens and the starting player token or life preserver. <br />
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Having chosen a starting player they are given the wooden life preserver token that is then placed on their round space on the game board.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How To Play </span></b><br />
On the first round a player must launch their canoe into the river. So each player selects one of their paddle tokens and places it face down in their rectangular space on the game board.<br />
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In player order starting with the first player each player launches their canoe into the water from the beach by what the rules describe as “docks” but look more like wooden jetties. This means placing the canoe onto the transparent disk immediately below the rope. <br />
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The movement rules that need to be complied with are: <br />
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1. It costs no movement points to move a canoe into the water. <br />
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2. Moving from one transparent disk to another costs 1 movement point and the movement points on the paddle token must be used in full. <br />
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3. Canoes can only move in one direction per turn i.e. either up or down the river. <br />
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4. You can only move the canoe out of the water by the docks and it costs one point, as if moving from one transparent disk to another.<br />
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5. You choose if and when to launch the second canoe into the water. <br />
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6. If you have both canoes in the water then both must move the full distance of the paddle card, albeit they can move in opposite directions. <br />
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7. Each canoe can carry 1 gem, to collect a gem costs 2 movement points. <br />
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8. You can place a gem from your canoe into one of the Discovery Places for 2 points, although it must be of a different colour from that Discovery Place. <br />
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9. If your canoe is empty and it is moving upstream and finishes its go on the same disk as an opponent’s canoe containing a gem then you may steal your opponent’s gem. <br />
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10. Gems collected need to be landed in order to count toward the victory conditions. Canoes can land by the docks, on either side of the river, and this is the only occasion when they do not have to use their full movement points. They are not allowed to then move straight back into the water even if they do have spare points. <br />
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The remaining paddle tile allows players to influences the flow of the river and this may not be played on the first go. When played the players canoes do not move instead they are able to move the flow of the river up or down by 1. <br />
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The final part of the turn is Moving the River. The River is moved by the weather index plus the lowest paddle card. So if the Weather Index is at +1 and the lowest paddle card is 3 then the River will move 4. This is achieved by introducing the relevant number of disks, one at a time, at the head of the river.<br />
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Inevitably this may cause some players canoes to go over the waterfall. If this occurs then any gems they may have in the canoe are returned to their Discover Place. The canoe remains at the foot of the waterfall until the player pays one gem at which point they may move the canoe back to the river bank by the docks. <br />
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The winning conditions are either: <br />
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A. 5 different coloured gems <br />
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B. 4 gems of the same colour <br />
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C. 7 gems of any colour <br />
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When players land their gems they must be placed in front of them in such a way as all the other players can see them. <br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What Did We Think? </span></b><br />
A colourful board, great components, a very different mechanism and an interesting if little abstract theme all of which got big thumbs up from my wife not to mention most of the people we played it with. It did bomb with one couple but as one of them was virtually comatose and the other didn’t take kindly to having one of her canoes pushed over the waterfall maybe we shouldn’t read too much into this!<br />
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Niagara is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiel_des_Jahres">Spiel des Jarhres </a>winner from 2005 and coming from <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/en.html">Zoch Verlag</a> it is no surprise that this is very much a family game rather than a gamers’ game. That said we found we could play it in half an hour and with the opportunities for screwage it would make a good filler particularly if you can pick up a second hand copy at a good price (there seemed to be quiet a few on offer at the second hand stands at <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Essen">Essen</a> last year).<br />
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The screwage opportunities come in the form stealing their gems and or speeding up the pace of the river. So whilst not a complex game there is enough in it to make it interesting and we believe give it plenty or re-playability. <br />
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In order to provide the board with a secure platform/base you need both the top and bottom halves of the box to have their flat side uppermost so what did seem strange to us was that (especially given the high quality of all the other components) the artwork on the inner box had not been printed upside down so that when in play the pictures on the base appeared the right way up. We also thought it might have been helpful to have printed the victory conditions on the box sides. This wouldn't ordinarily be relevant but given they are visible to all the players throughout the game why not make use of them. <br />
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As to game play:<br />
<ul>
<li>Keep a close eye on what the other players are collecting. If possible collect 4 gems of the same colour as this is the quickest way to win, but beware other players trying the same tactic!</li>
<li>Try to avoid giving your opponents the opportunity to push you over the waterfall, but don't hesitate to take the opportunity to help them on the way!</li>
<li>Look for opportunities to wreck other players efforts by stealing their gems, whilst being vigilant to not giving other players that same opportunity.</li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who Do We Think Will Like It?</span></b></div>
Families with children in the pre-teenage and teenage years should find a game here that will create much fun and laughter if played in the right spirit and amongst players that don’t take things too seriously or personally.<br />
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Social gamers we would expect to enjoy this relatively simple game however it is very much a filler whatever your gaming style. <br />
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If you liked this review then other games I have reviewed can be seen <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/search/label/Review">here</a>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-69917171779045723712012-10-06T10:25:00.001+01:002012-10-06T10:26:00.121+01:00Games in Pub - 30th September 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Building castles in a pub!</i><br />
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Splitting into two groups one embarked on the ever popular <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-ankh-morpork.html">Discworld: Ankh-Morpork</a> whilst 3 of us headed off to medieval France to set about building a castle and the surrounding town.<br />
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Discworld: Ankh-Morpork, designed by British designer Martin Wallace, has continued to prove one of our most popular games from last year. On this occasion the players, Robin (Lord Rust), Oliver (Lord Vetinari ) and Simon (Chrysoprase), who was the eventual winner, had an extremely close game with each only 1 point away from winning.<br />
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On the other table Martin, Gwen and I were getting deep into quarries and all manner of other locations seeking out the resources to both build the town as well as the castle of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18602/caylus">Caylus</a>. In this game it seemed more effort went into the former than the later. A key part of the success in a game is remembering that activities are resolved in an order determined by your workers (the round cylinders in the photos) proximity to the castle. This was something that twice caught Gwen out and did nothing to help her final score. Not surprisingly Martin (who has played this several times) won the game, whilst we both put in a creditable performance in one of the most highly regarded worker placement games.<br />
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On the other table they has finished their game and moved onto<a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/222/space-beans"> Space Beans</a>. On ours it was time to board the pirate ship <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/118695/riff-raff">Riff Raff </a>and play a very different game where dexterity and finesse are called for. It certainly amused the other table watching us struggle to keep the ship balanced and or catch the falling cargo. The photo’s do not show how finely balanced the ship is but if you sat 2 to 3 feet away and blew that the ship will start rocking! I think Martin may have won this game as well.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20120930#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 14th October starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-12737574542087914032012-09-29T09:56:00.002+01:002012-09-29T09:56:59.711+01:00Match Report – 24th September 2012 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Pirates, trains and dwarves plus more munchies!</i><br />
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Lunch time had seen a surprise request from work colleagues for a game of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4390/carcassonne-hunters-and-gatherers">Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers</a> and the introduction of two new players, a good start to the week. <br />
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The evening saw our smallest turnout for a very long time with apologies because of funerals, over work, holidays and hectic social schedules. The good news was that our master baker was available and had tried her hand at some chocolate and ginger cookies – yummy, and only Gwen and myself to share them! <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-79FKpnC-3l4/UGaxwKSOm1I/AAAAAAAAFD4/IjGcs2VehXM/s1600/IMG_4241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Ticket To Ride: Europe - The board and other components early in the game"><img alt="Ticket To Ride: Europe - The board and other components early in the game" border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-79FKpnC-3l4/UGaxwKSOm1I/AAAAAAAAFD4/IjGcs2VehXM/s400/IMG_4241.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
However before the food comes the games and we started with a game of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14996/ticket-to-ride-europe">Ticket To Ride: Europe</a> a game that having played <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-trans-europa.html">TransEuropa</a> many times was immediately familiar to all of us. Ticket To Ride is one of the three <a href="http://boardgameforge.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/top-5-gateway-games/">classic gateway games</a> (the others being <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/04/match-report-26th-april-2010.html">Carcassonne</a> and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/the-settlers-of-catan">Settlers of Catan</a>) and in this version is about completing routes between European cities and is described in more detail in this video. We all thoroughly enjoyed the game, although it will surprise nobody to know that when the final scoring came in Gwen had piped both Natalie and I.<br />
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Munchies and coffee were quickly followed by one of the games from last years <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/essen-spiel-2011-overview.html">Essen trip</a>, <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-dwarf-king.html">The Dwarf King</a>. Described in more detail <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-dwarf-king.html">here</a> it is essentially a trick taking card game but one where rules change for each hand and that can create some quiet wild swings in the scoring a point that will put serious gamers off, but was perfect for us on this occasion.<br />
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We all had a good laugh, the girls in particular as I was repeatedly mugged by them. Victory in this game went to Natalie. I think I ended up with a negative score and Gwen was heard to complain that she had misunderstood the scoring for one particular hand and that had she understood it better would have played her hand very differently. This was a hand in which I collected -8 points and the girls scored zero – in this hand that was success. Gwen then revealed that she would have sought to play the special card on me that would have resulted in doubling my score ergo -16! Wives!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hwh-ulpJ4pg/UGax_vL-uhI/AAAAAAAAFFo/f1OAlw2f8oY/s1600/IMG_4258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Riff Raff - At this point the ship is surprisingly balanced in spite of all the cargo in the yardarms"><img alt="Riff Raff - At this point the ship is surprisingly balanced in spite of all the cargo in the yardarms" border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hwh-ulpJ4pg/UGax_vL-uhI/AAAAAAAAFFo/f1OAlw2f8oY/s320/IMG_4258.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Last up was a game that I had been hoping to play all evening, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/118695/riff-raff">Riff Raff</a>. This is the latest review game from <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/en.html">Zoch</a> and one I think will prove very popular with social gamers and families of every age. This is a game with quality wooden components in box that seems sturdier than usual, where players are set the task of trying to stow the ships cargo on the yardarms (?!) of a precariously balanced pirate ship (don’t think too much about the story line!). The game is tactile, tense and just plain fun. <br />
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In each round players seek to place one or occasionally two pieces of their cargo on one of the 10 locations on the ship. Obviously a large part of the fun is seeing your fellow players struggle to balance the ship and then in turn struggling yourself. Inevitably the ship becomes unbalanced and as was the case for me on a number of occasions most of the stowed cargo lands on the table and so is added to my cargo. However, any falling cargo caught by the player is removed from the game, something I was not very successful at. The winner is the first player to successfully stow all their cargo. The girls were joint winners of this excellent game.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20120924" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you would like to try some of the games talked about on this blog come along to our next evening at the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 30th September starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-79966772743896147742012-09-21T22:31:00.000+01:002012-09-21T22:31:58.691+01:00Games in a Pub – 16th September 2012 <i>The group gather after a summer break and immediately head off to Manila</i><br />
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Returning to the group after an absence of three Sunday’s gallivanting around Europe - make that a long drive to Venice for a camping holiday with family and more games of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2223/uno">Uno</a> than I care to think about – it really isn’t that good a game. <br />
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On the upside I played quite a few games of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2655/hive">Hive</a> which I needless to say lost to Gwen, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31449/army-of-frogs">Army of Frogs</a> although one of the green frogs went AWOL, presumably preferring the Italian climate, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/117942/zooloretto-wurfelspiel">Zooloreto Würfelspiel</a> a game the boys enjoyed and has inspired them to play its big brother a number of times since they returned and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/119890/agricola-all-creatures-big-and-small">Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small </a>which I played on my own whilst the team went to <a href="http://www.aqualandia.it/en/">Aqualandia</a> losing to virtual Gwen (how can she beat me when she isn’t even present?!) and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4390/carcassonne-hunters-and-gatherers">Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers</a> a game I had acquired via a swap and which the team were distinctly unimpressed with. <br />
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Back to the Blue Anchor; whilst I had been away the group had played numerous games of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70323/king-of-tokyo">King of Tokyo</a>, and <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70919/takenoko">Takenoko</a> plus <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/91536/quarriors">Quarriors</a> and <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/83330/mansions-of-madness">Mansions of Madness</a>. <br />
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Coming into this Sunday’s meeting there had been a lively discussion on Facebook about what games to play and as we gathered this came down to <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15817/manila">Manila</a>, a game Gwen had particularly liked on the one occasion she had played it previously.<br />
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This is essentially a betting game where boats laden with commodities (there are 4 different types in the game) return to port and in each round players get an opportunity to place one of their three men either : <br />
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<ul>
<li>On one of the three returning boats.</li>
<li>Attempt to adjust the speed of the boats, positively or negatively.</li>
<li>Act as Pirates, taking control of a boat and throwing all the other players off it.</li>
<li>Position their men on the quayside to welcome the successful craft as they land their goods.</li>
<li>Position their men to salvage those craft that do not make landfall.</li>
<li>Underwrite the potential loss of those craft that do not land.</li>
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Each players starts with 30 coins and a share in 2 of the commodities (allocated randomly and kept hidden). Through the course of the game they bid for the role of the harbour master (start player), buy additional shares and invest / place bets by placing their three men on combinations of the above options most of which have a cost and most of which give the opportunity for some form or enhanced monetary return.<br />
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After round two Simon and myself (playing as a team as by this point we were 6 players) had lost our gains of the first round and were well below our starting money. At this point I was swinging towards the view that this was a rubbish game (based largely on the if you loose it must be rubbish!), then the winds of fortune changed and we had a massive success landing two men on one successful craft and as a pirate taking control of a second yielding 36 coins in one go! On the last go we managed to lure Martin into bidding for the first player role and then withdraw leaving him deep in hock to the bank so we somehow managed to win with 140 coins. Obviously I now see that it is a brilliant game!! <br />
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Seriously whilst it has a high degree of luck, it has a quality feel about it (typical of most of the <a href="http://www.zoch-verlag.com/en.html">Zoch</a> games) and will probably suit those who don’t mind a bit of chaos in their games. So is more likely to appeal to social gamers than hard core gamers who may be offended by the lack of control they have over events. For what it is worth Gwen really enjoyed it again and has asked that both Martin and I keep our eyes peeled and try to secure her a copy at <a href="http://www.internationalespieltage.de/e000.php4">Essen Spiel</a> next month!<br />
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With the first game out of the way we moved onto <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172/for-sale">For Sale</a>, won by Oliver and then a short game of <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11/bohnanza">Bohnanza</a> won by Gwen.<br />
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More photo's of the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20120916" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Our next event at the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough is in two weeks time on Sunday 30th September starting at <b>7.00pm</b> - £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a>Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161317748955286461.post-18319363713858391122012-09-16T16:41:00.000+01:002012-09-16T16:41:48.798+01:00Match Report 10th September 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Hello again to some old favourites </i><br />
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With the summer holidays over, teenagers back to school and the end a wonderful summer of Olympics it was back to games night on Mondays. <br />
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With a guest appearance from Ian (brother-in-law now living in the West Country) who is always a keen saboteur it was the obvious game to go for. Bizarrely he once again, entirely randomly, was one of the saboteurs in 2 of the 3 rounds. A fun role but with <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/91072/saboteur-2" target="_blank">Saboteur 2 </a>even more difficult to win at. After much tunnel digging victory eventually went to Crispin, helped in part by the normal interplay between Ian and I which saw both of us (instead of my elderly and increasingly rich friend) being robbed by our fellow dwarves.<br />
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Time for some early munchies and Natalie continues to demonstrate her superb baking skills with on this occasion mini Victoria sponges.<br />
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Back to the games and the group was keen to give another old favourite a run out – <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/05/match-report-24th-may-2010.html" target="_blank">Bohnanza</a>. The only game where you can legitimately answer the question “what would you give me for a stinkey?”with “a blackeye!” Less helpful was Crispin’s response of “a slap”, however unsurprisingly it raised chuckles around the table. This is a game we were all familiar with and have played many times so perhaps no great surprise that when the gold was counted that a mere 4 points separated the winner (Liza) from the bottom placed looser – yes that was me!<br />
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With 20 mins to go till closing time (i.e. Gwen throwing our guests out and turning the lights off) there was just time for another game we have not played in ages – <a href="http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com/2010/07/match-report-28th-july-2010.html" target="_blank">Straw</a>. This is another game that Ian has built an enviable reputation at, resulting in those with longer memories trying to swap seats so they were not sat next to the master of this game. It was a little like the Tom & Jerry cartoons where you see the characters diving out of the windows in an effort to get away from what ever bad thing is about to happen. Sadly with age (hee hee) and / or lack of practice, his skills were a little dulled, allowing Gwen and I both to amass impressive point scores (80 points as we entered the final round). Sadly for me my better half won despite the handicap of being seated next to Ian!<br />
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More photo's from the evening can be seen <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100278546095098952782/20120910#" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you would like to try some of the games talked about on this blog come along to our next event at the <a href="http://www.blueanchorpub.com/" target="_blank">Blue Anchor</a>, Crowborough on Sunday 16th September <b>starting at 7.00pm </b>- £1 per head. More details can be seen on our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Gamers-Crowborough/131803900222315">Social Gamers - Crowborough</a></div>
Kevin OSullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122863362746839336noreply@blogger.com0