Boards, Cards, Etc.

Recently I've been trying to decide if there is room in my life for more than one gaming hobby.

Board Games

Certainly this is my primary interest in the hobby, and it's a fitting one if it's the only gaming niche in which I participate, largely because of its flexibility. I can pull out a board game to play when I'm alone and want a solitaire game, a two player game to share with the Mrs. or a friend, a strategy game for four or five, a party game for 6 or 8, or a handful of different titles to split up a very large group into 2 or 3 separate tables. A stack of board games can be thrown in the car and played with friends or family on a trip, or a game can tag along to a coffee shop or restaurant and be played over a drink or snack. There are even versions of board games online that I can play with long distance friends and relatives.

Collectible Card Games

CCG's, like Magic: the Gathering, are games in which you buy packs of cards and then build your own deck from the resulting card pool. Each player that plays constructs their own deck and uses it to play against others that have done the same. Magic is an amazing game, although keeping up with it is immensely expensive, and actually maintaining competitive decks would be even more so. Even so, the huge card pool that has been released over the years gives the game a huge amount of variety, the strategies are numerous, there are hundreds of different ways to play and thousands of ways to customize your style of deck and of play.

If taken just in a limited setting, Magic can fit in the board game world. I could simply take a stack of the cards I own and draft decks using that particular pool of cards with a number of friends, and then play. Magic is certainly best, however, when there is a large group of people playing in an area and many people building different types of decks and offering various styles of play. This is not really the case right now in Canton, so it's difficult for me to be involved with the game at all, though it has meant I've been able to fully concentrate on pursuing my board game interests. Ideally I'd be able to have some board game friends that were also into Magic so that I could stay plugged into that scene a little as well.

The Rest

I have given a little thought to playing a role playing game (RPG) at some point. I think it's something I'd devote a little time to if I happened to find an awesome group that inspired me to do so. I would say it is an ongoing interest of mine, but not something that I'd be willing to get off the ground myself. I did play a little Dungeons & Dragons long ago, but the group was not very interesting, and the DM not very ambitious.

I also rather enjoy video games, but I've now owned Okami for the Wii for a year, and despite loving the game, I just don't find enough time to play. Not that the pastime isn't enjoyable, I just choose to play the board game first every time.

Collectible miniatures have never really interested me all that much--they eat time & money just like M:tG, and I really don't have the same spark of interest in them as in collectible card games, so I think I can do without. I do have a Heroscape Basic Set, which is somewhat of a cross between board games and collectible miniatures, so I may end up pursuing that a little anyway.

Live Action Role Playing (LARP) is another part of the hobby I've never pursued, though many of my friends in the Burlington area did (and still do, so far as I know.) Not that the idea isn't quite intriguing, but I just don't see myself devoting that amount of time in another undertaking.

Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games (MMPORPGs) like World of Warcraft are immensely popular right now and I bet they would be a riot to play. They strike me as immersive and quite entertaining, but again, when played to their potential, these types of games don't really leave much time for other pursuits.

Well, that's probably enough babbling for now. Keep playing!

Board Game Reading

The Mrs. went out out last night, so I poked around a little on boardgamegeek.com before I passed out. Sometimes I'll just follow links to random games on the 'Hotness,' a list of games that have been recently or frequently viewed on the site. This gives me a mix of the obscure and the well known, and makes for generally good information.

The games I perused:

• "Rezolution: A Dark Tomorrow is a fast paced, cinematic miniature battles game set in an original science fiction universe, with revolutionary simultaneous play and story based missions. Players need very few miniatures to begin play, in fact a starter set contains all you need." Released 2005. This seems like it's a collectible miniatures game and I really don't want to get into anything else collectible (M:tG is enough!) It does sound like a lot of fun, however, and I wonder if it is actually a really good experience right out of the box or if you really need to develop an army through booster packs. Intriguing, but probably nothing I'll bite on.
• Le Havre is a worker placement game by Ewe Rosenberg, and considered to some extent a sequel to his excellent Agricola. I read an incredibly long and thoroughly detailed review calling Le Havre "A Landmark Game." Besides making me very interested in the game (which it did!) the article references older games that the author maintains were stepping stones to this one, and insists that Le Havre is the best game of it's type, namely "resource game." (Resources are acquired throughout the game that can then be converted to food, used for energy, shipped to sell at market, or used in the construction of new buildings.) This concept of progress in game design intrigues me--some say that the obsession with the new is foolish and that games designed 10 years ago are just as good as those today, and then others, like the author of this review insist that some games built upon the shoulders of their predecessors make grand improvements and set a high water mark for the genre. In this case he generally seems to be referencing three games that he has great respect for, Agricola, Caylus, and Puerto Rico.
• I watched Tom Vasel's video review of a fantasy adventure card game called Adventure of D. It seems like a pretty interesting concept--12 place cards are laid out on the board which represent the kingdom you are exploring, and each player has a character with different sets of abilities. During the game additional cards will be drawn, and each card has a host of different purposes, depending on the reasons it was drawn. For instance, some cards can be discarded to move to other places in the kingdom, other times you will find a magical item, and one part of each card details such an item. I love this type of mechanic in a game--where you have a common pile of cards you're working through, but depending on the situation the same card may be used for several different things. This really makes for a huge amount of game to be condensed into a very small deck of cards. I don't know that I'm going to rush out and get this one, but it does strike my interest.
• Finally, I took a brief look at Time's Up: Deluxe, which is the original version of Time's Up (not the Title Recall edition), but with some cards from the two expansions mixed in and a nifty electronic timer to mark the turns. I might be tempted to purchase this at some point since it would give the game even more replayability and the timer would also be neat to have. My only concern is that we might not like guessing famous names as much as we do the titles in our version.

Maybe one of these days I'll actually play a game or two...

Gaming in Vermont

The family and I spent a largely sick extended weekend in VT, but did get a few games in anyway.

Ca$h'n Gun$

We weren't sure how Ca$h'n Gun$ would go over with my Quaker aunt and uncle, but decided to try it out. Game one featured five players and no super powers, as most of the participants were new to the game. Shockingly, I pulled out the victory! (My first at the game, I believe!) My brother Ben joined us for game two, bringing us up to a full compliment of six, and we added the super powers.

The most notable moment in the game was, I believe, round five, when there were about 15 bills on the table due to one impossible split-up, and one grenade detonation. Tara and I were the two that survived to collect that huge pot (although Ned could have used his super power to get a share as well if not for his misunderstanding of the timing of the power), and thus we had targets on our heads the remainder of the game. Everyone still felt I was probably the leader after round eight, but Darlene tied my final score and won since she had no shame markers to my three...

We also played Ca$h'n Gun$ with Tom & Emily, and despite only being a four player game it was still quite fun. We taught the game using two sample rounds with random bullet cards to introduce the basics, then read all the super powers out loud and jumped into the full game.

I like the two sample round teaching technique followed by the addition of super powers. There has been some confusion about the difference between phases and rounds and about when exactly super powers are to be used--I'll have to spend a little more time detailing those situations in the future.

Ghost Stories

After our play of Ca$h'n Gun$ the four of us jumped into a game of normal difficulty Ghost Stories. Emily was the only new player, so for the most part we taught as we progressed through the game. We kept up with the ghosts fairly well early, but as we neared Wu-Feng we were really overwhelmed by ghosts, having a completely full board for several turns before he arrived. We were able to free up a couple of spots, and the incarnation that appeared was Creeping Horror (4 green resistance, steals a die when he comes into play).

Emily happened to have two green tao tokens so she moved in front of him intending to set up another monk to take him down. She might as well take a shot herself, however, since she was right there, but she needed to roll greens on both remaining dice to pull off the victory. It was the perfect roll--two greens, high fives all around, and the win! I like the idea of moving up to Hell difficulty, but I don't know that we're quite ready for it--we do seem to be winning a high percentage of games at Normal, but the finishes always seem tight.

Time's Up: Title Recall

Later in the day we changed venues and added a couple of players: Mike and Sue. Time's Up was the game and though she and I did lose a match as a team the last time we played, the Mrs. is still the best single player at the game that I know. Thus it should come as no surprise that she and Sue took this one home, though Tom & Emily started to gain some ground in the later rounds. Ca$h'n Gun$ may be just as fun as this one at times, but nothing beats the Time's Up experience. Having to switch gears and be more creative as the rounds go by in the game really make for a rich experience, and one that I like to get to during any party game get together.

Final Menu for Tastes of Spring 2010

Hospice has sent me the final menu for their annual Tastes of Spring event on April 11th at the Lobster House in Norwood. Participants and their dishes:

• John Sullivan: Seafood Newburg - Shrimp, Scallops & Lobster Newburg Nestled in a Buttery Puff Pastry Shell
• Steve Maiocco: Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Mashed Red Potatoes with Rosemary & Olive Oil, Haricot Vert, and Minus 8 Vinaigrette
• Nathaniel Todd: Maple Soy Glazed Salmon, Fried Rice, and Sautéed Ginger Vegetables
• Nathaniel's Vegetarian Option: Pan Seared Tofu with Warm Spices, Eggplant & Cauliflower Curry, and Steamed Brown Rice
  

As you'll notice by comparing my entrees to my previous brainstorming post, I tweaked the salmon dish and added a vegetarian option since one of those is always needed to round out the menu. My only regret is that I can't make all four of the entrees I proposed since I'm excited about all of them!

Also check out the menu from last year which I posted on my short lived food blog. Turns out I can barely maintain one blog, so why would I aim for two? When I have food thoughts I'll simply post them here in the future...

Tastes of Spring is going to be a lot of work this year since I will have to both work alone and serve two entirely different entrees. I'm hoping that the final counts will leave my dishes as the third and fourth most popular so things don't get too crazy! Seatings are available from 11:30 am through 2:30 pm, and each meal is served with a cup of soup, a beverage, and a selection of desserts. I'm not sure what the cost is per meal this year, but it's generally around $30 and all the money raised goes to an excellent cause--if you live in the area I urge you to check it out!

Call 265-3105 for more information or to make reservations. If you'd like to learn a little more about Hospice, their website can be found here.

The List!

For some reason I feel that so long as it is reasonably possible to play through my board game collection over the course of the year I should do so--since I own about 40 games (not counting kids' or mainstream titles like Clue, Life, etc.) this is certainly an attainable goal, albeit one that I'll have to work at a little. I'll break this into two lists, first those games that I have never played, then those that I've played before, just not this year.

Never played:

• Through the Ages
• Chaos in the Old World

Not played this year:

• For Sale
• Alhambra
• Neuroshima Hex!
• Fury of Dracula
• Scotland Yard
• Puerto Rico
• Caylus
• Memoir '44
• Blokus
• Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation
  

Actually, that's not as bad as I had expected--only about a third of my entire collection has yet to hit the table, and the year is still young. The easy ones to get off the list will be the light multi-player games that I'm sure people will not mind trying--For Sale, Alhambra, Blokus, Scotland Yard. Also, I'm sure at least Dave and the Mrs. will be up for playing the heavier Eurogames--Caylus, Puerto Rico, Through the Ages (though I still need to fully learn the rules to this one...) Chaos in the Old World will come off the list as soon as I have a group of 3 or 4 willing to learn a new game, and Fury of Dracula will need one dedicated night and the right group of folks. The toughest ones might be the 2-player games that the Mrs. isn't clamoring to play: Lord of the Rings, Memoir '44, and Neuroshima Hex! I'm sure these games won't be that difficult to get to the table, but with so many other good titles in the mix and a number of group game nights (rather than 2 person sessions), they tend to be afterthoughts.

Session Report: My Week in Games

I must admit that it's pretty amazing that I need to consolidate a week's worth of session reports in one post because I'm simply playing so many games!

Games played this week:

• Dominion (6 plays) I played Dominion with all sorts of people this week. I played one teaching game with Abby, two simultaneous games teaching several new players, a pair of 2-player games with Dave, and yet another simultaneous session in which we broke out a few of the Intrigue cards. I'm loving this game, but still feel as if my handle on strategy is fairly weak. I won two of the five games I played other than the one with Abby. The two games at one table system seems to work fairly well, though it has yet to play out quite how I expected. As players get more games under their belts and play proceeds more quickly, I envision games ending, players shuffling between the two groups, and then card sets switched out as desired. In this way players will get so see a variety of different cards and play against a number of different opponents over the course of an evening.
  
• Wits & Wagers (2 plays) This one is fun and quick, and I'm glad I've been able to work in a couple plays of the game. I'm reminded, however, that it is very light.
  
• Pandemic (2 plays) I recorded one play with Abby (our second game overall), and though she gets all the basic mechanics, much of the strategy is still over her head--perhaps not the best choice with her yet. Also, the Mrs. and I taught the game to a couple during their second night over for games. They enjoyed it for the most part but will probably get a better grasp on more advanced strategy in subsequent plays.
  
• Race for the Galaxy (2 plays) Still loving this one despite Dave beating me in all three of the games I've played with him so far. Maybe I'm just not good at this one! So many hard decisions here to be made every turn--both in which cards to play and which to spend, and then which actions to select each round. I feel as if I have a much firmer grasp on the former, and not so much on the latter.
  
• Time's Up: Title Recall (1 play) Best party game ever! Can't get enough of this one, it's the centerpiece of every party game evening we host. We have never, to my knowledge, played two games of this back to back, however, perhaps because it's a little longer than the other party games we own.
  
• Cluzzle (1 play) I enjoyed my play of this on Friday. I respect the idea, the creativity, and the game system here, though I am pretty horrible at the game. I finished in last place. Again. Others I've played it with also seem a little lukewarm here despite doing significantly better in the final standings. Cluzzle still needs a few more plays before I can really decide what I think.
  
• Ca$h'n Gun$ (1 play) Really enjoying this one since we added the super powers, although I'm not entirely sure that someone's super power has ever actually tipped the game in their favor yet in our plays. I'll have to pay attention to that the next time we bring it to the table. I need to run the undercover cop variant soon, but feel as if we should try the super powers a few more times first.
  
• Say Anything (1 play) This one was fun as always--lots of laughter paired with creative answers. Say Anything is an excellent social game, especially with 6-8 players.
  
• Ghost Stories (1 play) Our one play of this one was late in the evening, with many distractions and a little too much booze so it dragged a little. Ghost Stories really requires you to be almost fully lucid to make the most of it. We've played the last couple games on Normal difficulty (two on a scale of four, four being hardest), and that seems fairly appropriate. The next level, Hell, seems like it is going to be a decent hike in difficulty and we're not quite there yet, methinks!
  
• Cheese Snatching (1 play) The cute and quick little push your luck kids game is still a favorite of mine (and the kiddos too!), and we played it yesterday before bedtime. Lincoln took this one 16 points to Abby's 14 and my 12. Apparently this is another one that I'm just not cut out for!
  

Well that's the last seven days in games. The coming week will probably be a little lighter game-wise since we'll be visiting family in Vermont and there will probably be fewer people looking to play games. I may aim for a gathering to get some party games to the table, however, with the family.

My 4 Favorite Types of Games

Honorable Mention--Kids' Games One of my favorite ways to interact with my children is through playing board games. Why is this only an 'honorable mention' then? For the most part these games are difficult to compare to the vast array of games I play with adults since they are primarily designed for kids. So, though I may enjoy playing some of our kids games just as much as the other games in my collection, it is very difficult to rate them on the same scale.

Not only do we own a decent handful of good kids' games, but Abby is old enough now that I can play many lighter adult strategy games with her as well. If we only have time for a short game I'd probably reach for Cheese Snatching, a cute little push your luck game by Haba. If the whole family wants to play, either Suitcase Detectives or Chicken Cha Cha Cha would probably fit the bill. If it's just Abby and I and we have a little time to spend, I'd probably go for Carcassonne, which we both love and that title even scratches that strategy game itch.

4. Heavy Strategy Games Games in this category often have complicated rules, many difficult decisions, and take several plays to really get a firm grasp of the rules and a feel for some of the strategies involved. Though I admire the designs of all the heavy strategy games I own, they have been somewhat hit or miss as far as my enjoyment goes. I love Puerto Rico, Agricola, and Race for the Galaxy (RftG), but thus far games like El Grande and Caylus just haven't clicked for me.

Heavy strategy games tend to rely very little on luck so all the hard work and tough decisions that one makes along the way tend to culminate in an appropriate outcome--if you've played the best game, you are almost certain to win. Strategy games in general tend to function best with a small number of players, tending to play best with 2-4 participants (a number that does not function well for party games in general). There is a lot of work to be done in these games, but a good job is very well rewarded with victory and satisfaction. With the right group of players who have all played the game a number of times and each of whom is thinking independently and pursuing diverging strategies, these types of games have no equal.

There are a number of potential downsides to heavy strategy games, however.

1. Many people don't want to have to think that much about a board game, especially if they are playing one to relax after having to think all day at work, and therefore it can be difficult to find people who will willingly play them!
   
2. They feature very steep learning curves. The rules are often somewhat difficult to understand, and even once you have a grasp on the basic idea of how to play you still have little to no idea how to form an effective strategy. A couple of experienced players teaching one of these games to newbies will have a huge advantage, and it will generally take many plays before the playing field is somewhat level.
3. Heavy strategy games are all about making many tough decisions and thus players must spend most of their time and energy during the game thinking. This tends to make for fairly quiet gaming experiences. There's nothing inherently wrong with this, of course, but often it is nice to have a more lively gaming experience.
4. If you have a large group of people on hand you just can't play one of these games.
5. Heavy strategy games tend to take a fairly long time to play, especially with a larger number of players and/or a number of new players. Agricola, for instance, plays in about half an hour per player--that's 2 1/2 hours for a five player game, plus time for rules explanation if it's anyone's first play. While I have no problem with this, it can be a hurdle to getting other people on board.
   

3. Party Games These are essentially the opposite of heavy strategy games in almost every way, yet I like them just as much! My favorites (as described in my previous post) include Time's Up: Title Recall, Ca$h'n Gun$, Say Anything, and Wits & Wagers. Two that have potential but for which I harbor some reservations are Dixit and Cluzzle.

Party games have a lot going for them. They tend to be very highly interactive, easy to teach, generally accommodate large groups (at least 6-8 players), and tend to favor creativity or lighthearted fun over difficult decisions.

On the flip side, party games have a weaker connection between making good decisions and victory--quite often the victory conditions are just a guide to maximizing the fun factor along the way. If you're looking for a game that will challenge you at every turn and will culminate with a victory if you've had the best strategy or made the best decisions over the course of play, you should avoid party games! Also, the flip side of the 'accommodating large groups' feature is that party games simply don't work with two players and are not optimal for small groups of three or four.


2. Light Strategy Games These are much like the heavy strategy games above, but tend to be somewhat more dependent on luck, easier to learn, have simpler strategies, and play in much less time. My favorites in this category are Carcassonne and Dominion, though I also enjoy a host of others including Metropolys, Wasabi!, and Settlers of Catan.

Light strategy games are a good middle ground between heavy strategy and party games. They are much more accessible than the former, and still have more strategic elements than the latter. New players have a better shot at winning than they would with heavier games, and really have the opportunity to have more fun with them almost immediately. These also tend to play in much shorter amounts of time than their heavier equivalents, so it may be possible to play two or three games in the same session as opposed to one.

1. Cooperative Games Though I really only own two games in this category (Pandemic and Ghost Stories), they are amongst my favorite games, and I do intend to add more to my collection in the near future.

Coops place much less pressure on new players than competitive strategy games since they don't force each participant to make all their own decisions and come up with their own strategy independently of the other players. It is also less important to give a complete explanation of the game before play, because there is no harm in teaching some of the rules as the game is played. This being said, Pandemic and Ghost Stories are both very challenging games that demand much thought for players to be victorious over the game, the pressure is simply off individual players to be fully responsible for the entire strategy.

These games succeed when they throw down the gauntlet and players have to brainstorm together to come up with creative ways to combine their abilities and game options to be able to deal with the situation on the board. These lively debates are the real core of the game, and it is possible for the session to suffer if a couple of the players just aren't into it. Also, some gamers might just not get the point of playing a game when there is no winner crowned in the end. For me, there is a place for each of these types of games, but most recently the majority of my favorite gaming experiences have been with cooperative ones, and thus they make the top of the list.

Anyone find it odd that my last post made a big deal about only being able to come up with lists of four, but I follow it immediately with a list of five? Lame.