tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79889459195248158422024-03-05T00:47:52.776-08:00Game TheoryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-3440845406076216252023-06-22T10:05:00.001-07:002023-06-22T10:05:11.189-07:00SplendorLast weekend I participated in a demo event for SPLENDOR, the smash hit midweight strategy game of gems. It's easy to see why this game has already sold over one million copies. It's easy to learn and play, but has deep an interesting strategy. Build your engine as you go, acquiring cards that increase your buying power and give you points. If your performance is especially impressive, you may even get a visit from a noble! Check out Splendor at asmodee.com!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlR5axV6RfAbn_0Nr7wRkau3YEIAb7lS1MXt-ShD0vag8e3ZHRMyxLvl9P8rwcM07M9_7MqwaYvrNtQIKwdFGxXo_VDjzhdYEApEgIBgyEPMZwUJlL0H0r8YTyXnxUhmMBbvnm_gGyeDhcv7mcR5wOsU6uLSI2Wq4uMyWbCfD8sUGmWCSNhNon9X8ckXM/s2016/IMG_0613.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlR5axV6RfAbn_0Nr7wRkau3YEIAb7lS1MXt-ShD0vag8e3ZHRMyxLvl9P8rwcM07M9_7MqwaYvrNtQIKwdFGxXo_VDjzhdYEApEgIBgyEPMZwUJlL0H0r8YTyXnxUhmMBbvnm_gGyeDhcv7mcR5wOsU6uLSI2Wq4uMyWbCfD8sUGmWCSNhNon9X8ckXM/s320/IMG_0613.jpg"/></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-32897304025797272402021-12-27T11:47:00.006-08:002021-12-28T13:20:08.996-08:00The Game Wizards<div>If you're about my age, you may remember a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s when a new kind of game appeared - the role-playing game, an adventure in pure imagination. Far from the wholesome depiction on TV's <i>Stranger Things</i>, it was often seen as something insidious, on the fringes of the acceptable. But the appeal to players was undeniable - the game at its best creates community and combines tactics, storytelling, improvisation, mystery and cooperation - in short, the best tabletop games have to offer - and it steadily grew in popularity and has never fully faded from relevance; it's more popular today than ever.</div><div><br /></div>With the mark it has made on both tabletop and digital games, it is no exaggeration to call Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) one of the most influential and innovative games of the 20th century, if not of all time. But how exactly was this groundbreaking game created? <i>Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons and Dragons </i>delves into this mystery and exposes the infighting and drama surrounding the birth of this pop culture phenomenon that revolutionized gaming.<div><br /></div><div>Creative partnerships are rarely equal. History is littered with the detritus of two-person teams in which one half of the unit is grandiose and outspoken (especially where getting credit is concerned), and the other remains in the background. Until very recently, Bill Finger, co-creator of Batman, whas completely obscure. Also in the comics world, consummate showman Stan Lee has been in the spotlight forever as the creator of countless iconic characters, while Jack Kirby actually did most of the design work. Former carnival barker Nolan Bushnell saw Ralph Baer's idea for a game playable on a TV set and ran with it, founding Atari and generally being credited as the origin point for videogames. Of the two Steves who started Apple Computer, it was the charismatic salesman Jobs who people thought of when they thought of the Apple II, despite Wozniak's engineering genius - without which none of Apple's success would have been possible. <div><br /></div><div> A similar situation is revealed in the history of D&D. In the early 1970s, gregarious Wisconsin-based wargamer Gary Gygax conceived of a system for playing medieval wargames with miniature figures (rather than the more recent settings that were popular at the time). In the twin cities, Dave Arneson used this fertile ground to develop a completely new concept - fantasy adventures in which each player controlled a single character, whom they could design and customize themselves and which would improve in skill and abilities over time ("levelling up"). Arneson contacted Gygax and the idosyncratic auteurs collaborated on what became the original D&D. Since there was no demand for such games at the time (as there had never been anything like it) they estimate the value of the idea and the game at no more than 300 dollars. Thus began a roller coaster ride of meteoric creative and critical success and tragic business missteps - and to this day, outside of the hobby, only one name is generally ever mentioned in relation to the creation of the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>For more details on what happened next. I highly recommend reading <i>Game Wizards.</i> Jon Peterson is a true devotee of the history - his <i>Playing at the World</i> is the definitive tome on the D&D and the larger subject of role-playing and simulation games, but will be too weighty for most casual readers. <i>The Game Wizards</i> provides a much better introduction and is compulsively readable - night after night, I could not wait to see what happened next. The book's subject matter is fascinating and dramatic on its own, and the story is well told. Cleverly, Peterson leads off with a decisive moment to hook the reader, then lays the tale out chronologically. Neither of the brilliant authors of D&D comes out looking very good, but their genius is also on display alongside their flaws. More than anything else, it feels like an honest telling, without taking sides or exploiting its subjects.
I won't spoil any of the surprises you'll find between the covers of this fine book. Obtain a copy and discover them for yourself! Your quest awaits!</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9M84r5ZMdfJZJ1sfUyS15RB2Y8-EHUNlvCMeeRcKleSF-VAexzo1drNNyuQibhBV_hlx34NBws0TDVAvgKTjij4kHhSaltrP40gibaaeFHV_CYu3yJVF6BoUnF_ihH-0HynpQRC8qlX1LaGTI62cE-eeEDrteG3y1PUJdeNZfeasHUwwhI15RtrFh=s2304" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9M84r5ZMdfJZJ1sfUyS15RB2Y8-EHUNlvCMeeRcKleSF-VAexzo1drNNyuQibhBV_hlx34NBws0TDVAvgKTjij4kHhSaltrP40gibaaeFHV_CYu3yJVF6BoUnF_ihH-0HynpQRC8qlX1LaGTI62cE-eeEDrteG3y1PUJdeNZfeasHUwwhI15RtrFh=s320" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-54259019316085997822021-10-22T08:00:00.015-07:002021-10-22T08:13:05.671-07:00Wonderland Fluxx<p>Charles Dodgson - better known as Lewis Carroll - made a splash when he wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland back in 1865 - the book has never been out of print, has been translated into 100 languages and still has a powerful impact on fantasy and pop culture today. Looney Labs has just released Wonderland Fluxx, a wonderful variant set in Carroll's delightful nonsensical world - a great match for the absurdity of a game with fluid and always-changing rules!</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">
<p>I have reviewed many Fluxxes in these pages so I won't go into detail about how to play - you likely know the drill, start out with three cards, on your turn you initially draw one off the deck and play any one of the four you now have. These rules are subject to change and be added to based on cards you and your friends play. For instance, the new rule "Rhyme Time" lets anyone draw a second card or take an extra action on their turn if they speak in a rhyming couplet.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">
<p>This flavor of Fluxx is mechanically similar to its older brothers and sisters - you will see many familiar cards. But thematically, you'll see callbacks to Carroll's writing such as a Keeper "Vorpal Sword" that lets you slay one of your Creepers each turn, discarding it. The Looneys have done their usual solid job of melding the theme and the Fluxx concept.</span></span><p>One of the best things about this edition is John Tenniel's magnificent and enduring drawings, which if you're like me, you remember well from your childhood.</span><p>There is not too much else to say, <a href="https://www.looneylabs.com/games/wonderland-fluxx">try this new Fluxx today!</a> (+1 action)</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLm5Hw4enAvXWaQ8CeqizJElg2kBSem2gRoyJFAglDCLD7YjkmWu_R9c86q2ULRenI-_Pq6l0s9ilMxTzFhnFICgOjn8_evZ0EC5UZhQGi1ozICETkIhonWFY0vJKuGbtoVRy-chbrqhs/s1280/wonderland.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLm5Hw4enAvXWaQ8CeqizJElg2kBSem2gRoyJFAglDCLD7YjkmWu_R9c86q2ULRenI-_Pq6l0s9ilMxTzFhnFICgOjn8_evZ0EC5UZhQGi1ozICETkIhonWFY0vJKuGbtoVRy-chbrqhs/s320/wonderland.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-46623939406985379852021-06-21T15:13:00.003-07:002021-06-21T15:23:42.335-07:00Andor: The Family Fantasy Game<p> I am a big fan of Legends of Andor and have even been playing it during the pandemic, by utilizing multiple cameras so my fellow players can see the board and play remotely over videoconferencing. This is not something I would do for just any game, but I greatly enjoy Andor's combination of puzzly challenge, heroic narrative and gradually unfolding mystery. Now, publisher Thames and Kosmos has released a simplified version of the game that's fun for the whole family. I tried it out with my family and I am here to tell you - they loved it!</p><p>Andor: The Family Fantasy Game, sometimes known as Andor Junior, brings to the table all the mechanisms that make its progenitor a top-rated fantasy board game, but streamlines the game such that players as young as seven years (or younger) can understand the options and make their own decisions. Like the original, the game is cooperative, so all players win or lose together - this is great for teaching teamwork and working towards a common goal, and eliminates hurt feelings and over-competitiveness. Let's take a quick look at the game and then I'll go over what my family thought of it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijPsJe_skjt_YVK4AwyhmgOD3bUH26872R6EVGnLJFRXwtAxo1DFJiteuMvXqkWdNs3kyB-BSs3MAGPpQEA9e2P5TPhOgtSuL9JGO9N_-WFgLdErtQury2pgIS8p6wlHogBqCF4XfvgM/s1200/andor2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijPsJe_skjt_YVK4AwyhmgOD3bUH26872R6EVGnLJFRXwtAxo1DFJiteuMvXqkWdNs3kyB-BSs3MAGPpQEA9e2P5TPhOgtSuL9JGO9N_-WFgLdErtQury2pgIS8p6wlHogBqCF4XfvgM/s320/andor2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Game board and character boards, set up and ready</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>As you can see, the game has the same great look as Legends of Andor, courtesy of popular board game artist Michael Menzel. The idea is for the characters to make their way from the castle (top left corner above) and across the kingdom, fulfilling a set number of quests until they are deemed ready to venture into the mines (lower right corner) to find and rescue some lost wolf pups (having just gotten a canine pup of their own, my nephews were very much into this). Along the way, the adventurers will pick up and reveal those gray tokens scattered across the board, which might have useful items pictured on the other side. They will also have opportunities to purchase items. And they will be rolling dice to battle monsters, which (when the players are victorious) will help slow down the assault on the castle. Each one of the four characters has a different specialty, which guides each player's decisions and makes things interesting. But the players mustn't waste time - there is a timer in the game in the form of a fearsome Dragon making its way to the left across the top of the board - if it reaches the castle, all is lost. This lends a useful bit of tension and excitement and keeps the game from going on too long.<div><br /></div><div>My nephews (age 5 and 7), their parents and I were very pleased with the Family Fantasy Game. It was simple enough to learn and teach from the rulebook (although I was already familiar with how to play Andor) and the kids jumped right in. They loved having their own character who was different and especially good at something. They were excited about discovering useful items on the fog tokens. And they loved working together to rescue the young wolves. They were so into the game, that after it was over, they later went and set it up to play again completely unsupervised! Young kids will need some guidance the first couple of games, but it was obvious how much they like this game - they could not wait to play again. This one shows signs of being a long-time favorite they will want to go back to again and again.</div><div><br /></div><div>I highly recommend The Family Fantasy game for any family looking for a cooperative board game experience.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiknHGlLYSsRh_KhsV7_U_uV-e4kOnenmqf05rh_9KLS676inEhDZAmJXxJNQkp1XUmlVJf1h1ZiG2XEi3lgBmcuY-NEindO3puP9J3S3iSiUzxuc_34MlyCqdRmBcmnQfkE80DkpGpd0/s2048/andor3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiknHGlLYSsRh_KhsV7_U_uV-e4kOnenmqf05rh_9KLS676inEhDZAmJXxJNQkp1XUmlVJf1h1ZiG2XEi3lgBmcuY-NEindO3puP9J3S3iSiUzxuc_34MlyCqdRmBcmnQfkE80DkpGpd0/s320/andor3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Flushed with excitement - he can't wait to play!</div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-46588010201382364152021-06-21T11:24:00.002-07:002021-06-21T11:25:28.168-07:00The Horror Gamebook<p>Officina Menigi has just completed a successful <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/officinameningi/edgar-allan-poe-the-horror-gamebook/description">kickstarter for The Horror Gamebook</a> - the second in their series of horror-fiction-inspired gamebooks a la Choose Your Own Adventure. The first adapted the works of H.P. Lovecraft; this one focuses on many of the short novels of Edgar Allan Poe.</p><p>If you are of a certain age, you will remember interactive Choose Your Own Adventure books from your childhood - these sold over 250 million copies in the 1980s and 90s. Ed Packard first conceived of a book with branching paths in 1970 when he was making up bedtime stories for his daughters improvisationally, ran out of ideas and asked them what they would do. Each girl had a different idea and he made up endings for both - and realized he was onto something.</p><p>Since those early days, gamebooks have evolved. The Horror Gamebook takes the idea and runs with it - in these pages you will encounter not only fateful decision points, but puzzles and other challenges you must solve. All wrapped in the dark mysterious worlds of Poe, the early American master of the short story, so influential to the form - and the first well-known American to earn a living solely through writing. Surely there is not a person alive who doesn't have some familiarity with Poe's works - The Raven if nothing else! His legacy is indelible and everlasting.</p><p>Some of the works which have inspired this book include: <i>The Pit and the Pendulum, The Black Cat, The Masque of the Red Death, King Plague, the Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart</i>, and many more. These works are skillfully blended with an original narrative - what could have come off as slavishly imitative is instead true to the original text while also revealing something new.</p><p>Fans of horror fiction, especially Poe's work - and fans of gamebooks in general - would do well to investigate The Horror Gamebook. Your path is fraught with dark challenge - and engaging mystery.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jEYa3riHR8oQAMR7GlTSn7wG8kb8N8SPodYDGJWM1Hu9Rii1n_nQy55hKavfaiZhe_bCl1_EiK6YNhTWSkjOjxVHDTci_aLtH3dmAlWB8d9u1zgfC_O8UiV4pJF2rMAd_UU517Q8h6o/s780/gamebook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="562" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jEYa3riHR8oQAMR7GlTSn7wG8kb8N8SPodYDGJWM1Hu9Rii1n_nQy55hKavfaiZhe_bCl1_EiK6YNhTWSkjOjxVHDTci_aLtH3dmAlWB8d9u1zgfC_O8UiV4pJF2rMAd_UU517Q8h6o/s320/gamebook.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-67491219322157088432021-05-12T06:47:00.004-07:002021-12-27T14:33:53.605-08:00You Said You Could Draw<p>Drawing games have a storied history, probably going back all the way to early humans drawing on cave walls, but at least as far back as the early 1980s when Robert Angel, a humble waiter, sought to liven up his parties by choosing a random word from the dictionary and drawing a picture trying to get his guests to guess it. The result was Pictionary and it ultimately kickstarted the modern drawing game. </p><p>Fast forward to 2021 and there's a new drawing game in town - You Said You Could Draw by James Nigbur.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7IOHXgNIt2pAxWM9x9EKS97-nakCEKrNsPcjA9-_LF4HHpNVKXGbiIfiU82XOSfVZbfdiwUVOC8ldh6fHVeUOEEWxecfoOZ02RByTw84LcS_r4pbtZBzolrlaIYN_OG8u7E7BOLsfso/s900/draw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7IOHXgNIt2pAxWM9x9EKS97-nakCEKrNsPcjA9-_LF4HHpNVKXGbiIfiU82XOSfVZbfdiwUVOC8ldh6fHVeUOEEWxecfoOZ02RByTw84LcS_r4pbtZBzolrlaIYN_OG8u7E7BOLsfso/s320/draw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A wealth of goodies come in the box.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The biggest hurdle to getting a drawing game going is reluctant players who don't like such games because they claim "they can't draw". What if there were some way to equalize everyone's ability to draw and make shy artists less reticent? Now there is! You Said You Could Draw comes with a blindfold so that all players draw without looking at their drawing - this adds a layer of interesting challenge as well as humor, as the drawings inevitably come out sort of awkward and puzzling. Because of the blind aspect and the sudden simultaneous reveal of the drawing to all players at once, the game has a very different feeling than Pictionary did. In Pictionary and similar games, players watched as the drawing happened. In YSYCD, doing an abrupt reveal results in a shared moment - a riddle that everyone starts solving at the same time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is an example - what would you guess this drawing represents? (The answer will be provided at the bottom of this article).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzZDtqXtd_2WJQePEnm_VeMuWGqeA-AFq0M0MB7Y3aQzF8u-9xTRCv3drc03sSH5GE_QzAwfR17MWPaiB2LoNLsJNJLuKGd236U0C9e2tayoFNG0vKxZ2VfNoy09V7CDf_eYEmpurk_I/s2048/IMG_1868.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzZDtqXtd_2WJQePEnm_VeMuWGqeA-AFq0M0MB7Y3aQzF8u-9xTRCv3drc03sSH5GE_QzAwfR17MWPaiB2LoNLsJNJLuKGd236U0C9e2tayoFNG0vKxZ2VfNoy09V7CDf_eYEmpurk_I/s320/IMG_1868.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In order to decipher this, one must first figure out what all the things in the drawing are, then figure out which one is the answer at hand. This is actually an excellent blind drawing from the perspective of making the lines meet up, the artist was able to draw an almost perfect circle and get the idea across beautifully. Take a moment to appreciate this artistry and make your guess - then scroll to the bottom of this page to find the answer. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So how does YSYCD stack up in the crowded universe of party drawing games? My players enjoyed it quite a bit, the shared experience of guessing and the good-natured laughter at some of the drawings and interpretations of the drawings. It's an evolution of drawing games and worth a look if you enjoy this sort of game. A few notes:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There's a scoring mechanism in the game to reward players for skillfully drawing, or correctly guessing, the most difficult words (marked with a star). I have not played enough yet to see if these are consistently and correctly classified on the cards, one player said he was not sure they are. But in any case, I like this as a potential way to catch up if you're behind but then get some extra points - it adds drama and rewards good play.</li><li>There's also a scoring mechanism that punishes the only player to guess incorrectly - that player must lose two points. I was wary of this at first, it seemed a bit punitive towards someone who may already feel dumb, but my players took it in stride. It definitely encourages one to try harder!</li><li>There's a quality blindfold included in the box - of course, in pandemic time, people may not want to put something on their face that was on other players' faces. It's easy to use the honor system and just trust everyone to close their eyes, if this is the case.</li><li>If you and your players have limited time, or just a lot of other games you want to get to, you may wish to agree to set a different scoring goal than 20 points, which could potentially cause the game to overstay its welcome. We played to 10 points and had a great time. Your mileage may vary.</li><li>I was glad to see the cards are double-sided and color-coded, so all of the red sides can be used, then the black. This increases replayability, especially since the cards are likely to get mixed up.</li></ul><div>Overall, my players and I recommend You Said You Could Draw. <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jaynigbur/you-said-you-could-draw-0">Sign up here to be notified when the Kickstarter goes live May 18th.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>ANSWER TO THE DRAWING:</div><div>The object on the right is a thermometer, but that's not the answer, though that is what I guessed. FEVER is the correct answer!</div><div><br /></div></div><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-74433994809204475922021-03-26T11:34:00.003-07:002021-03-27T07:15:12.262-07:00Seven Dragons<p> If "Dominoes" and "Fluxx" had a baby, it would play a lot like Seven Dragons, a refreshed version of Andy Looney's 1998 game Aquarius. Seven Dragons features beautiful fantasy artwork by Larry Elmore and is extremely simple to learn and play - you can have fun with players as young as three, by starting with the basic color matching concept and adding in new rules one at a time. The idea is simply to get seven adjacent dragons of your color (your color is a secret at first, but it's not hard to figure out who's going for what). There are cards to switch hands or switch goals or to move or "zap" a card (return it to your hand), which will inject a nice dose of chaos and keeps the game from becoming simply dominoes with cards. But the proceedings are not as wacky as with Fluxx, and there's a lot less reading needed. Many players, especially the younger set, will prefer the straightforward play of Seven Dragons to the mania of Fluxx. And did I mention the artwork? I love it - it adds a touch of fantasy elegance to what is in essence a purely abstract game.</p><p>Every game collection needs games that are quick and easy to teach and play, and Seven Dragons has these attributes. It's easy enough for families with young children, but holds some interest for gamers too. This is a solid casual game for families and friends alike. I hope you'll give it a spin and see what you think! You can purchase the game or find out more at the <a href="https://www.looneylabs.com/games/seven-dragons">Looney Labs website</a>. (Note, there is also a <a href="https://faq.looneylabs.com/other-card-board-games/aq-7d">FAQ </a>you can refer to if you have questions when you play).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTf5dyrROZNIF6duky3GidRqvI54jAVnxwawPs6zFsowS891CxHqzDjzlhfDr1mtwtQB2wbGvV7MT0JfyFxQb6VOARzZxA57hBOCxnPUh3uwvAdDNukVS0FktLWrr_5yIyz7QS3SH6A4/s600/dragons.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="458" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTf5dyrROZNIF6duky3GidRqvI54jAVnxwawPs6zFsowS891CxHqzDjzlhfDr1mtwtQB2wbGvV7MT0JfyFxQb6VOARzZxA57hBOCxnPUh3uwvAdDNukVS0FktLWrr_5yIyz7QS3SH6A4/s320/dragons.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaUkuP3MTLEm-X8nfvqK_67K6UbjUKG0wKmrTpKGQXNplW86M12AIZ5WAvE8fCuvADP_047ETqB7eilGMMkaeBvJv9iUpWZDLC9WdG-ScHh4xgXgko0V5VUwut8Q1396tdGKqYhC94oE/s1073/cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1073" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaUkuP3MTLEm-X8nfvqK_67K6UbjUKG0wKmrTpKGQXNplW86M12AIZ5WAvE8fCuvADP_047ETqB7eilGMMkaeBvJv9iUpWZDLC9WdG-ScHh4xgXgko0V5VUwut8Q1396tdGKqYhC94oE/s320/cards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-62301106314057622122021-02-06T08:28:00.006-08:002021-02-06T08:33:22.451-08:00Fantasy Fluxx<p> Given how many nerdy intellectual properties are represented in the vast Fluxx pantheon - Dr Who, Star Trek, etc - it's a bit surprising that there has not heretofore been a Fantasy edition of Fluxx. For those who are new to this blog or just new to hobby games, Fluxx is a game of ever-changing rules; it's quick to teach initially but new players will have reading to do on some of the cards. Many cards change the game state - the rules, the win conditions, and so on - you could say the cards in Fluxx keep the game in flux! As I have reviewed many flavors of Fluxx in these pages, I will not go into detail about the mechanics; see previous entries or the second image below for the particulars.</p><p>The genius of Fluxx is its fluxibility.. er... flexibility. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluxx#Editions" target="_blank">Dozens of variants</a> have been produced, all with many similarities and a few differences. Once you learn the basics, you will understand generally how to play all of them. Fantasy Fluxx follows the template with a few interesting additions. The tropes in the game are readily recognizable from recent high fantasy film series and a classic reference here and there. As for what's new, Fantasy Fluxx has a few tricks up its sleeve in the form of magic items and magic spells. Three new Keeper cards - Magic Ring, Magic Sword and Magic Wand - confer special abilities that keep your Keepers safe, banish a Creeper to another player, and grant Spellcaster ability respectively. The Magic Ring bestows "invisibility" on your Keepers such that other players can't mess with them. Three new action cards - Healing Spell, Fireball Spell, and Invisibility Spell, let you resurrect a card from the discard pile, discard any card anywhere or force another player to discard their whole hand, and make your Keepers invisible (as does the Magic Ring), respectively. Even better, if you have a Spellcaster (IE if you have a caster in front of you on the table or you have the Wand) you can use these powers multiple times - you return the card to your hand and face it outwards as a reminder. This is a really neat new mechanism and players will be jonesing to get their hands on these powerful abilities.</p><p>Fluxx has many fans and they will surely enjoy this new entry. It's family-friendly and not overly complicated once you get the gist, which means almost anyone can play it if they have the patience to learn the flow of the game. And it's always fun to see familiar characters and ideas expressed in a slyly generic way, such as the Inconceivably Smart Fellow you will remember from The Princess Bride (mad props to the the great Wallace Shawn). I also liked the diverse skin tones on the illustrations on the characters.</p><p>I'm impressed at how the Looneys keep Fluxx fresh. Check out this latest edition... to do anything else would be... Inconceivable!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZqPUo9Skczn41SmouQLA2vnKvEfhlQ3PzzCCcllLMqTHbzypSr7hRUXkJnOkZI_WMyOZ2XdMpOyGed3GvD3PCwpeDt6xGVxhhpH6hGWZwShweGaw640fnuJRTGhwI1BW-M9S8VV-dbss/s1000/fantasy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZqPUo9Skczn41SmouQLA2vnKvEfhlQ3PzzCCcllLMqTHbzypSr7hRUXkJnOkZI_WMyOZ2XdMpOyGed3GvD3PCwpeDt6xGVxhhpH6hGWZwShweGaw640fnuJRTGhwI1BW-M9S8VV-dbss/s320/fantasy.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99Y7wQoht4-o3inCF5FyTYpkM_6cSrveLtd6ANFdPjl3_dZtBeqRHPfvRXUPYmul6PpI2xGHcpE2l5BfYnPzkvpNNEKxTyv09WHkmGiprEk0Ejj08n1qGbn9GiJ0qFs2c2egcHsTnyWs/s1600/FantasyFluxxBoxBottom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1198" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99Y7wQoht4-o3inCF5FyTYpkM_6cSrveLtd6ANFdPjl3_dZtBeqRHPfvRXUPYmul6PpI2xGHcpE2l5BfYnPzkvpNNEKxTyv09WHkmGiprEk0Ejj08n1qGbn9GiJ0qFs2c2egcHsTnyWs/s320/FantasyFluxxBoxBottom.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-68609840290157641512020-11-29T06:45:00.004-08:002020-11-29T07:13:16.401-08:00Albastini<p> Africa has been the origin point of many ancient games, such as Mancala and its dozens of variants. These games made their way to the Near East and Europe and the Mancala mechanism can even be found in modern games like Space Walk, Trajan and Five Tribes. But there's more to African games than Mancala. Albastini, which I am reviewing today, is a classic Swahili trick-taking game originating in Tanzania, East Africa (where I coincidentally was traveling in January of this year). This newly updated version of Albastini adds four new suits for a total of eight.</p><p><b>How to Play</b></p><p>If you have played trick-taking games you will pick up Albastini quickly. The dealer shuffles the cards and deals five cards to each player. Players who didn't win the last hand now have a chance to bid and exchange a low-value card. The idea is to guess which of the eight suits in the game will be trump for the round. The dealer then reveals the top card of the deck, the suit which is revealed will be trump.</p><p>The game proceeds like most any trick-taking card game, first player leads a card (which determines which suit is in play) and players play cards in response. It's possible to trump by playing a trump card, and a successive play of a higher trump card can take the trick (winning a trick is called "kula" - Swahili for "eating").</p><p>After the deck has been played through, everyone counts up the points on the cards they took, and highest score wins!</p><p><b>What makes Albastini different?</b></p><p>What sets this game apart is its flexibility and variability. Look at all the ways you can customize your game:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>2 – 8 Players can play individually or in teams (2v2,
3v3, 2v2v2, 4v4, or 2v2v2v2) </li><li>Playing in teams of 2 to makes the game competitive and unpredictable</li><li>Reduce playing time by removing some of the suits, if you have fewer people playing</li><li>Limiting bidding to those who didn't win the last hand, helps players catch up</li><li>There's even an accompanying app for your phone on which you can practice!</li></ul><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMMAW3qyCqkd9WquqNMhl8Lsk-cZ7quUyF7ox4iANGH7o2asc1Ii-Gt9BCSqis9CfX7Mi703a5J3o3lEeqyIY4K9ZRuOo5XvTgFEc9dB_YQ1DmoIVg86QvvUSyO5m9gzd2FNOR9BAjYQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="996" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMMAW3qyCqkd9WquqNMhl8Lsk-cZ7quUyF7ox4iANGH7o2asc1Ii-Gt9BCSqis9CfX7Mi703a5J3o3lEeqyIY4K9ZRuOo5XvTgFEc9dB_YQ1DmoIVg86QvvUSyO5m9gzd2FNOR9BAjYQ/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Who will enjoy this game?</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Those who love strategic card games such as Spades, etc</li><li>Families (kids as young as 7 can play)</li><li>Anyone who is looking for a simple yet competitive game in a very portable package</li></ul><div><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/albastini-card-game/albastini-card-game">Albastini is on Kickstarter now!</a> I recommend taking a look, the video does a great job of showing the game.</div></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-50074915989619639122020-10-23T07:32:00.004-07:002020-10-23T09:34:14.585-07:00How to Host a Game Night<p><i> [Disclosure: I know the author of this book, contributed some musings at his request, and am mentioned in passing in the text]</i></p><p>Board games are clearly not a fad. Originating in ancient or even prehistoric times, the board game phenomenon spans human history and currently enjoys record interest, continually increasing in growth - with thousands of games published every year and billions of dollars in sales. Thus it is a bit surprising that no written volume existed to serve as a handy manual for an aspiring game event host. Game expert and enthusiast Erik Arneson has now remedied that situation with<i> How to Host a Game Night,</i> published by Tiller Press on October 27th.</p><p>Having organized game events since 2005 and having participated in them since childhood, I am well-acquainted with the pitfalls of Game Night, and Arneson articulates them well here. How can one make use of a smaller space? How to protect games from curious or rampaging pets? What if your players don't all get along? The book does a great job of laying out the challenges and solutions with humor and wisdom. The first chapter describes all the essentials of preparation, including one of the biggest barriers to game night - learning and teaching the game rules. The following chapters methodically explore paths to success for game nights of various sizes, starting with just two players, and proceeding to big gatherings of twenty or more. A helpful list of recommended games by player count - including some of this year's finest - is included at the end of most chapters.</p><p>The great hidden truth of game night is that game night is not so much about the games at all. Sure, the games are the impetus for getting together, and they are often brilliantly designed and fun. But the most important component of a game is not the cards, the dice, or the board - it's the players. People are the point. The games are in a sense a means to an end - a way to bring your family or friends together. So, it's critically important to find the right mix of people and games those people will enjoy - it means the different between great memories and lifelong friendships, and a general bummer of an evening. This is laid out well in Chapter 3 - in canvassing a wide array of game experts, Arneson confirmed what he already knew by experience - it pays to be selective and sagacious with your guest list. There are many great ideas shared here, which I will let you discover for yourself in the book. Depending on how the guests and the games shake out, a successful game event organizer - like a successful bartender - may sometimes need the skills of a psychologist, a diplomat, or even King Solomon.</p><p>Finally, no book on game gatherings published in 2020 could leave out a chapter on "virtual" online board game possibilities. The COVID-19 health emergency has changed all our lives in many ways - and gamers have often had to migrate to the internet for their regular game get-togethers. Fortunately, the online sites have obliged with an explosion of new platforms and digital versions of hundreds of classic and recent games. Arneson recommends <a href="https://boardgamearena.com/?sp=1f5weq" target="_blank">Board Game Arena</a>, a site I endorse as well, among many other possibilities. BGA (as it's known for short) takes the legwork out of gaming by moving pieces, enforcing rules and keeping score for you, unlike some sites which present you with a virtual environment which approximates the experience of playing a board game by giving you a virtual board and pieces to move yourself using your mouse.</p><p>At around 170 pages, <i>How to Host a Game Night</i> is not a weighty tome, but an efficient and effective reference for aspiring game event hosts. It will give you the information you need to be successful with organizing your event, and more importantly, with its humor and enthusiasm, it will inspire you to actually DO IT. I highly recommend this book and I strongly recommend you utilize the strategies within - it's a winning move.</p><p>- <a href="https://erikarneson.wordpress.com/2020/05/21/how-to-host-a-game-night-new-book-in-october/" target="_blank">Erik's post about the book on his blog</a></p><p>- <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/How-Host-Game-Night-Play-Strategies-ebook/dp/B084GB5251/ref=pd_sbs_351_1/138-9952260-9277852?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B084GB5251&pd_rd_r=d9121dab-dff3-471f-ac1f-392e65067f4b&pd_rd_w=DCuYB&pd_rd_wg=yIqH6&pf_rd_p=b65ee94e-1282-43fc-a8b1-8bf931f6dfab&pf_rd_r=BNH9ZYWDDHQE3Z0WE2PB&psc=1&refRID=BNH9ZYWDDHQE3Z0WE2PB" target="_blank">Purchase the book at Amazon</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0hyo9h2A6kIuZEBxkJO0JEvkv8EUoO-RFST_XDZdfYvP9lhq4sW8HrBmebhns9abiwLeNaxQQyttarCKOeXtnW8IScJ6ub5hCRCcJBioRrP-DV5VOyKbxu1eef33LiDYQhsgCrwuwfE/s400/how-to-host-a-game-night-9781982150471_lg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0hyo9h2A6kIuZEBxkJO0JEvkv8EUoO-RFST_XDZdfYvP9lhq4sW8HrBmebhns9abiwLeNaxQQyttarCKOeXtnW8IScJ6ub5hCRCcJBioRrP-DV5VOyKbxu1eef33LiDYQhsgCrwuwfE/s320/how-to-host-a-game-night-9781982150471_lg.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-26571627002941714932020-07-26T15:36:00.007-07:002020-07-28T14:37:28.879-07:00RucksackRucksack, a new party game launching on Kickstarter, is an improvisational storytelling and "pitching" game about creating a plan for dealing with a given challenging situation, using five assorted items. First, the challenge is issued in the form of a "scenario"- some of the various scenario cards are illustrated below:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy67ZkhdXimbkKzLMb5l8P_IqOMbJfRiQdZe5UH9vEbufd1QOFOPP07wnj0ttFt3e6yyo6jJykUT2H40H5ZpjFKEnsREZVTrMLkILsGdmcqkKL9rbIA6uATYowJUY4imJrZRE0EVuaJkM/s1500/cards-scenarios.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy67ZkhdXimbkKzLMb5l8P_IqOMbJfRiQdZe5UH9vEbufd1QOFOPP07wnj0ttFt3e6yyo6jJykUT2H40H5ZpjFKEnsREZVTrMLkILsGdmcqkKL9rbIA6uATYowJUY4imJrZRE0EVuaJkM/s320/cards-scenarios.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /><div>Then the players acquire their items - these are in another deck of cards, pictured below:</div><div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-aqQWXHnqbpp0ber-FWTYR_TPDoJfRQlF8y5eukK0J9uKG5N1wsYAvWmbRJXMQU0uBiMD-G1clouaKMxpRHpcak5gm5JFLzYv1hnhX7Y2Mu-uo7MwpA6iQlFEmnCYW3VMh9ZeS4SlII/s1500/cards-items.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-aqQWXHnqbpp0ber-FWTYR_TPDoJfRQlF8y5eukK0J9uKG5N1wsYAvWmbRJXMQU0uBiMD-G1clouaKMxpRHpcak5gm5JFLzYv1hnhX7Y2Mu-uo7MwpA6iQlFEmnCYW3VMh9ZeS4SlII/s320/cards-items.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In turn, each player draws an item card and can keep it or discard it (if there are cards in the discard pile, taking the top discard is also an option). If she discards it, she must keep the next one drawn. This lends an opportunity for absurd humor as a player might be looking for a item to help, say, "Defeat a seasoned gladiator in combat," and might reject something and end up with something even more useless or incongruous - like a pillow, some makeup, or a toilet plunger. This causes some amusing mental images and laughter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once all players have their five items, they take turns telling the story of how they intend to meet the challenge of the scenario. The rules state that it's encouraged to good-naturedly "poke holes" in others' plans, and say why YOUR plan is best. My players did not do this much - but I can see how it could add to the fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some examples of techniques my players utilized:</div><div><br /></div><div>- One told her story in dramatic fashion, like a novel.</div><div>- One created a tale in which singing played a major part.</div><div>- Several subverted expectations by using items in creative ways counter to their implied original purposes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The game provides opportunities to be as funny, serious, creative, or ridiculous as you like. Once everyone has had a turn speaking, each player votes for the player whose tale they liked the best. This process repeats for a total of three rounds and whoever scored the most points is the winner, but the game is more about the fun stories and less about who wins.</div><div><br /></div><div>The players and I were ok with the amount of content in the game. There are a good number of cards and the variety should make for good replayability. Also there's a wide range of types of challenges and items. In addition to physical scenarios, there are more emotional ones like "Endure a reunion with your ENTIRE family." The item cards have humorous or clever "flavor text" - for example, the Throwing Stars (Japanese shuriken) have the text "I want to survive, but I'm not shuriken" (sure I can).</div><div><br /></div><div>The game lends itself well to variants and tweaks. To speed up the card acquisition process, we cooked up a new way of refreshing our hands in succeeding rounds. The instructions offer variations with open voting and using one voting sheet instead of each player having their own. The rules are flexible and simple. It's quick to learn and I was able to lead a game of it over a video call.</div><div><br /></div><div>If your game group enjoys classic pitching games like Snake Oil or Malarky, Rucksack is well worth a look. With creative or talented players, you are sure to create some memorable moments.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grumpy-spider-games/rucksack?ref=5jeqbp&token=54153279" target="_blank">Rucksack hit Kickstarter July 27th</a>. Wishing you good gaming!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-73475791330801405832020-07-18T09:17:00.002-07:002020-07-18T09:17:21.411-07:00SpongeBob Squarepants FluxxWho lives in a pineapple under the sea? If you know the answer to that question, you're a candidate to join in to the latest edition of Fluxx, featuring the Absorbent One himself, SpongeBob Squarepants! In fact, anyone who's a friend of fun and freewheeling card games should consider giving this one a try. Readers of this blog have already learned the basic concept of Fluxx since I've reviewed many of the previous editions here - in essence, it starts with draw a card, play a card, and meanders and morphs from there with ever-changing rules. Mixed into the proceedings are characters and concepts from the beloved animated show, presented on delightfully colorful cards which include an "under the sea" background. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0J8wv11Albtw1pSV0PdsFRPYZ95q55fvW5HAl73i-swyfMGn6jp-Z0dMetV4fIh2SOymNOPr6GYrgViAC8g_A1Ahdky7yWp8extA6zJzSMyZG22uSERsE4rcTSGnrL1JJVkVE1h3qItk/s600/spongeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="490" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0J8wv11Albtw1pSV0PdsFRPYZ95q55fvW5HAl73i-swyfMGn6jp-Z0dMetV4fIh2SOymNOPr6GYrgViAC8g_A1Ahdky7yWp8extA6zJzSMyZG22uSERsE4rcTSGnrL1JJVkVE1h3qItk/s320/spongeb.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The cards don't change up the game in any radically new ways, but that's not a bad thing for families and kids looking for a comfortable, familiar game during the uncomfortable time in which we currently find ourselves. There are no "Creepers" (cards that can prevent someone from winning) in this variant, and everything is friendly and light, much like the thematic source material. Some rules require players to talk like a pirate, or like a cartoon character (it's unclear whether you're supposed to choose a specific character or just improvise what a cartoon character sounds like to you; I'm guessing the latter is fine). Players who are uncomfortable being silly and "immature" - some teens, for example - might not be comfortable with this. Personally, I find it excellent. Mostly I feel anyone of almost any age (who can read) can have a fine time with the game. And that brings me to my one caveat - there is a LOT of text on some of the cards, and the first game or two, play will have to pause while someone reads a card. But this lessens with each successive game as the cards become familiar.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like other recent editions, SpongeBob Fluxx comes with a collector's coin (a sort of poker chip) for passing around to show whose turn it is. I don't find it essential, (I think one of the cards refers to it) but it's nice to have, I am thinking of adding it to my poker set.</div><div><br /></div><div>SpongeBob lovers, let's get nautical! You can learn more at <a href="https://www.looneylabs.com/games/spongebob-fluxx" target="_blank">Looney Labs</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-41052555903995342082020-07-18T08:44:00.006-07:002020-07-18T10:12:22.049-07:00Hammin' it up: The Game of HAMThe Game of HAM takes the core concept of Cards Against Humanity (a deck of prompt cards paired with a deck of ostensibly humorous possible responses), amps up the dirtiness factor, and wraps it all up in a tactical, move-your-pawn-on-a modular-track game of racing to the end goal space. I have not been able to play as of yet, due to the pandemic, but I wanted to get the word out about the game in case my readers are in the market for a good-naturedly offensive adult party game with some light strategy.<div><br /></div><div>The base set of HAM is known as the Adult version and it lives up to its name. Like CAH, you won't want to play this with your kids, or likely with your grandparents either. What is most remarkable about the game is the extreme number of play variations it offers - it even invites the players to invent their own ways of playing. This is very unusual in a published game. I am also very pleased to see the game supports up to 16 players, as in healthier times, my party game events are often packed.</div><div><br /></div><div>First let's take a look at the components and I will describe for you what each one is and what it does.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAb41wldUw8Z7VOqnbG9y6Jy-V1cVS8LzkUUwULsNbZ58RZE7JY89RuOM3Htjyl4lZZRM-HN4lBBBG9mo3cBsTEfSraMyWQUVTRve6CPPtOfRA5p3mAD786vMiRYNja-zne_Jmcb4JFZo/s900/ham.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAb41wldUw8Z7VOqnbG9y6Jy-V1cVS8LzkUUwULsNbZ58RZE7JY89RuOM3Htjyl4lZZRM-HN4lBBBG9mo3cBsTEfSraMyWQUVTRve6CPPtOfRA5p3mAD786vMiRYNja-zne_Jmcb4JFZo/s320/ham.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div>Starting from left, you can see the Pink cards - these are the ones you use in response to the Gray cards (shown immediately to the right of the Pink stack). The game comes with an astounding 810 Pink cards for untold hours of nasty fun. You could play with just these two decks for a perfectly cromulent naughty-party-game experience. </div><div><br /></div><div>The colorful cardboard hams you see in the lower left are the spots to place the four colorful matching decks in the middle of the photo. These are cards you get for landing on various spots on the board, which is modular so you can arrange it to play on a different configuration every time. The cards allow you to do influence the game deliciously maliciously - bouncing other players around the board, skipping people's turns, etc. </div><div><br /></div><div>HAM has impressive production values for a self-published effort. All the cardboard is sturdy and of good quality, and the cards are fine. The artwork is a bit simplistic, but serviceable. I don't know yet if I find it fun, but I will update here when I have had a chance to play. In the meantime, <a href="https://gameofham.com/" target="_blank">check out the game's website</a> (you can purchase the physical game or download a digital version of the Adult set for free), check out <a href="https://youtu.be/GYBZ-XVdEsE" target="_blank">Meeple Mentor's excellent gameplay overview and rundown</a> of all play variants, and stay safe!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-7433968401864691912020-02-28T12:14:00.001-08:002020-02-28T12:17:42.552-08:00Astronomy FluxxThe Looneys are at it again, by which I mean Andy Looney and his merry band of game designers here in the great state of Maryland. Astronomy Fluxx, another entry in the long line of Fluxx card games has launched (see what I did there).Seriously, Fluxx must surely hold the record for the most iterations of a game. If not, it surely will be soon at this rate! As one who enjoys Fluxx and space in general, I was interested to see how the two combined. Let's take a look.<br />
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<a href="https://www.looneylabs.com/games/astronomy-fluxx" target="_blank">Astronomy Fluxx</a> is 100 cards with a decidedly different look - they all have black backgrounds instead of white, which I found quite striking (as you can see from this blog, I approve of white on black). The theme of the game is heavenly bodies and space exploration, a subject near and near to my heart as I was born a few months before the moon landing, and grew up in the age of satellites, probes and of course the Shuttle. Nowadays most young people don't even believe the moon landing happened - but I digress.<br />
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Readers of this blog know how the game works by now. Deal each player three cards, on your turn, you start out with the basic rules: Draw one, play one. As you go, you'll collect Keepers (cards you play in front of you that may make you win) and play goals (cards which state which Keepers are needed to win). In Fluxx, change is the only constant, and some cards cause chaos. You can even win on accident. Some gamers are not a fan of this, and Fluxx is largely a "love it or hate it" sort of game. But if you take it light, it can be a fun ride.<br />
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Like a few other entries in the Fluxx line (Anatomy Fluxx, Math Fluxx, Nature Fluxx) Astronomy Fluxx purports to be educational. I am not convinced it's worthy of the classroom, per se, but you can pick up an interesting factoid or two, and show off how many constellations you know, for instance. The game injects a bit of "Chronology" or "Timeline" with a few cards that have dates on them - an Action card called "Quiz Me!" calls for players to guess the date of an astronomy-related event (for example, the launching of the Hubble telescope). First player to guess correctly gets to draw a card. Mostly the game is just about having fun with space concepts.<br />
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This version of Fluxx contains no "Creeper" cards which can prevent you from winning the game. That means it's a more lighthearted experience than some other variants. If you've played Fluxx you already know if you like it, and if you haven't, I suggest you give it a go - it's a unique and variable experience. And now.... on to Mars!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-76939587894896140902020-02-28T11:07:00.001-08:002020-02-28T11:10:56.615-08:00GroupThink<i>Cards Against Humanity</i> fundamentally shifted - some might say ruined - the party games market. In the past 10 years or so there has been a huge influx of "adult" party games, both cut from new cloth, clones of <i>CAH,</i> and dirty versions of classic family party games. Whether this is a good, bad or indifferent thing is debatable. But I was pleased to get a chance to try a potentially contentious, yet clean and fun party game in GroupThink, a new release coming to Kickstarter in spring of 2020.<br />
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<i>GroupThink</i> is a game of controversy and conversation. Start with a card with a question on it, which is read to all players. Then everyone secretly selects their "Agree" or "Disagree" card. After that, everyone secretly estimates, by selecting from their deck of cards with numbers on them, how many people selected "Agree". Then everyone reveals their cards and anyone who got the number exactly right, gets a point. It's that simple!<br />
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That part of the game is fine, but where the game is really memorable is in what happens next. Now you discuss as a group why you agreed or disagreed. This can make for some lively and fascinating discussions. People can get so into it that the game suggests setting a timer! Otherwise, you and your friends/family could be talking all night.<br />
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My prototype copy of <i>GroupThink </i>is solid, but the inventors of the game are working on polishing up the questions. There are some very good questions in my copy but not all are up to par. Also, some are very open to interpretation. It was not clear to us whether we were intended to try to reach consensus in defining what a question meant, or each interpret it for ourselves. As an example, we found a question about "If you were waiting at a red light at 4 am and there wasn't a car in sight, you would run the light" to be ambiguous. How long are we theoretically waiting? Some of us who are very law-abiding had been stuck at red lights for 5 minutes or more in the middle of the night, which to us implied they were malfunctioning. These are minor quibbles and I'm sure the questions in the published game will be excellent.<br />
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The game includes a variant called <i>YouThink</i>. This one focuses on one player at a time. You take turns being the active player and everyone guesses whether that person Agrees or Disagrees with the question. You don't need the number cards in this version. Our friend Marc went first and we joked that the game should be called "Question Marc".<br />
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Obviously my game had prototype components, but I need to give a shoutout to the meeple pieces that were provided to track players' points. My players loved these. "Sparkly," "Beautiful" and "Adorable" were all used to describe these.<br />
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My players were effusive in their praise of GroupThink. If you and your friends enjoy discussion games, I recommend you give it a look. You can play with your family too, the game box says players as young as 12 are welcome. Although the game box jokes that the game "should not be played on first dates, with future in-laws or in place of a job interview," it's overall good clean conversational fun. And if you really feel the need for a more filthy rendition of this concept, there's always the game <i>Privacy</i>.<br />
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I will update this review with a link to the <i>GroupThink </i>Kickstarter when it is live.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-43806740734552149992019-10-16T17:41:00.001-07:002019-10-16T17:46:03.445-07:00Marvel FluxxSuperheroes are hot right now, and none more so than Marvel heroes! The time-honored Fluxx card game and the venerable comic superhero universe have come together and the result is suitably epic.<br />
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Long-time gamers will be very familiar with Fluxx, which has been around for decades. The premise is extremely simple - at the outset, the rules are: draw a card off the deck, then play one card. These rules get modified and added to over time, making the game a chaotic free-for-all. The idea of the game is to play Keepers in front of you (Thematic cards which help you win the game) and also try and manipulate the GOAL so that you have the Keepers that are necessary to win. The Marvel flavor keeps what works well about Fluxx while doing away with elements that are not always as well-loved (like Creepers, cards that prevent players who have them from winning the game). Some of the new cards are thematic in fun ways, like Groot, a Keeper who requires you to say no words other than "I am Groot." If you forget and say anything else, Groot goes to another player.<br />
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Marvel Fluxx also comes with a high quality "current player" coin that is affected by a certain card, and may have seven bonus cards depending on where you purchased the game. This version will have wide appeal and can be played by a wide age range. Marvel Fluxx is a great addition to the Fluxx universe and does the Marvel universe proud.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-53150048473538131892019-09-25T13:54:00.000-07:002019-09-25T13:56:52.516-07:00Are You A Robot?Andy Looney and team have built an empire out of making games more complicated with their super-successful FLUXX line of card games, but they also at times carve away the extraneous trappings of a genre in order to find a kernel of elegant simplicity, as they did with <a href="http://spielnacht.blogspot.com/2014/02/decisions-decisions-looney-labs.html" target="_blank">Choose One</a> and their new social deduction game <b>"Are You A Robot?"</b><br />
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AYAR is an extremely simple package and a simple concept: the game is three cards, two of which say "You are a human" and one of which says "You are a robot." Simply deal these out randomly and start playing. The humans' job is to figure out who the robot is and "zap" it. The robot's job is to stay hidden, throw off suspicion and hopefully a human will zap another human. It's the Werewolf game taken to its simplest extreme, which is refreshing in the age of Ultimate Werewolf (dozens of roles! Everyone gets one! Try to keep up!), One Night Yadda Yadda and the new Clocktower game which justifies its high price take with a fancy complicated box. Are You a Robot has a very high ratio of game to components.<br />
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That said, you will get out of it what you put into it. If you think there's no real way to tell who the robot is and insist on just guessing randomly and zapping, it's doubtful anyone will have much fun. The reality is there are lots of ways to detect who is who, both verbal and nonverbal. You really have to play it and truly experience it to understand how it works, sort of like the card game The Mind. It's a bit mysterious how it works, but it works! Another nice feature is the game is so quick (usually about two minutes) that if you don't like it, it will be over before it overstays its welcome, and if you DO like it, you can play several times in a row. The game instructions include some variations and there's a page on the Looney web site that has info on combining sets to add more people.<br />
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Could you make your own copy of <b>Are You A Robot</b>? Of course you could. But Looney Labs has done it for you and the cards are nice, they're more uniform and sturdy than you could easily print yourself, and the game is only 2 bucks. So why not <a href="https://www.looneylabs.com/games/are-you-a-robot" target="_blank">get yourself one</a>. And start sniffing out that pesky robot!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-20362000283131699112019-06-23T13:42:00.001-07:002019-06-23T13:56:49.020-07:00Star Trek: Deep Space Nine FluxxThe latest version of Fluxx - Looney Labs' chaotic card game of ever-changing rules - continues the Star Trek theme begun by the versions inspired by the original series and The Next Generation last year. This edition has a similar art style, so if you liked those, you'll likely like this one as well. While much of the game will be familiar to anyone who knows Fluxx (it has some similarity to the more generic "Star Fluxx"), it adds some nice touches such as the keeper "Morn" (like the character himself, you must refrain from speaking while his card is played in front of you) and the creeper Jem H'adar, which you can give away to another player after discarding a keeper. The new rule "Rules of Acquisition" lets everyone steal a keeper or creeper from someone else each turn. And many of the keepers have special abilities as well. This makes this version of Fluxx interesting and compelling for those who are already Fluxx experts - yet the game is still simple for new players to learn.<br />
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I had thought gamers might tire of the Fluxx formula but they have been eager to jump into DS9 Fluxx. Obviously it's a must-buy for any fan of the show. And the Fluxx goes on! There's not much more to say, <a href="https://www.looneylabs.com/games/star-trek-deep-space-nine-fluxx" target="_blank">grab a copy</a> and play!<br />
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If you are interested in combining this with the other Star Trek decks, <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2216955/combine-tng" target="_blank">take a look here</a>.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-88751660387277108172019-03-23T08:00:00.003-07:002019-03-23T08:03:25.626-07:00Time BreakerWhen I first brought out Time Breaker at one of my events, someone commented, "That artwork looks like Fluxx, from Loony Labs." Good eye - Time breaker is by the creators of Fluxx, and provides the same sort of chaotic "loonacy."<br />
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Players are agents of the Time Repair Agency, working to capture and bring in the Time Breaker, a temporal terrorist who acts as a sort of slippery temporal football. To stop the Time Breaker messing with the timeline, move across the randomly-set-up grid of the game board, following the arrows (each time square warps to one other time square) or playing cards from your hand to move laterally, vertically, or to a specific time.<br />
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If you reach the time where the Breaker currently is, you can (and must) verbally declare you are making an arrest, and you're on your way to winning - but first you have to get back to HQ - easier said than done. Everyone will be trying to get to where you are and make their own arrest, and there are also "Breaker" cards that let you act as the Breaker, causing him to slip away or shutting down squares on the board. It's an ever-changing fun house game experience that should not be taken too seriously. Relaxed players will have a great time with this. My players liked it a lot (even the ones who don't care for Fluxx, which surprised me.) It's fast and fun. Check it out at the <a href="https://www.looneylabs.com/" target="_blank">Looney Labs web site.</a><br />
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<img src="https://thenextissuepodcast.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/gama-tb-poster-01.png?w=400" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-42698729207039901262019-03-22T16:22:00.001-07:002019-03-22T16:27:18.555-07:00Lab PartnersLab Partners is a quick and easy game of assembling chemical combinations and testing them by "experimenting" (rolling dice) and then using multiple compounds to attempt to deliver products and claim points and special powers. It's easy enough to be played by families but the tactics of choosing which powers to go for could interest some serious players.<br />
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On your turn, you first draw three cards, Ticket to Ride style (you can choose from three face up cards or "go random" off the top of the deck). Choose cards to add to your compound and roll dice to see if it succeeds - if not, it could explode and you'll lose all but one of the cards. Add a card of each color ((1 stabilizer, 1 or more reagent card, and 1 catalyst card) to create a compound:<br />
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<img alt="TTG_moleculecard1_al_v5_rgb.jpg" class="CToWUd a6T" data-image-whitelisted="" height="224" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=a6d052b9c9&attid=0.7&permmsgid=msg-f:1626096949060312753&th=16910e8f4b161eb1&view=fimg&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ8pQpeGl3gQVbq093DAHUDSawOOaEEc6nVKSu5bBb0Z7wrGLJJpKa8wTyCtpYg_UUn6SN5mvyuxE4mGg2UT1kJGcToOiyXm1lj9e_tBTd-ulseSD6anGtlnyOM&disp=emb&realattid=ii_jseu54vt5" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-right: 0px; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="164" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><img alt="TTG_moleculecard2_flouro_rgb.jpg" class="CToWUd a6T" data-image-whitelisted="" height="224" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=a6d052b9c9&attid=0.5&permmsgid=msg-f:1626096949060312753&th=16910e8f4b161eb1&view=fimg&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ8K9MCLZcYXOjq09acgOClpBxHDcvR9cN0AjpCpiOqqybOHUeVRK7uU9nzItnUcSrgC0Io28iElA4r4yjRmF3DGG8lpfR2DxvDF4aTgmnZ3cfauwIYGYlQPE1k&disp=emb&realattid=ii_jseu54ve4" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-right: 0px; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="164" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><img alt="TTG_moleculecard1_zine_rgb.jpg" class="CToWUd a6T" data-image-whitelisted="" height="224" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=a6d052b9c9&attid=0.6&permmsgid=msg-f:1626096949060312753&th=16910e8f4b161eb1&view=fimg&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ8I6r19GUFQ12n8vhXiVRopJ_9LEbPSUf1UfgDSFGIuLEdkjf16vGh33ogYS37sMKJRwnwB45QEqc4GPUo1onxV__ra_SjMcqN5qgsM3ULcizlplnBkwR1NoOY&disp=emb&realattid=ii_jseu54w26" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-right: 0px; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="164" /><br />
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In this example we've created "alflourozine," (which as usual for this game is not a real chemical, but is still worth 8 points if you succeed in rolling at least an 8). If you want to press your luck you can use multiple "reagent" (yellow) cards in a compound to try for more points. Your "partners" (the other players) can add their own reagent cards to your attempt, possibly foiling you - or possibly giving you additional points if you succeed anyway!<br />
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Once you have at least two compounds, you can attempt to combine them to form a "solution" and claim points or special powers. Each solution has a target range you must roll within. Roll too low and the chemical is inert - your turn ends, try again next time. Roll too high and boom! lose one of your compounds. Here are some example solutions:<br />
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<img alt="TTG_liquidlightbulbs_rgb.jpg" class="CToWUd a6T" data-image-whitelisted="" height="562" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=a6d052b9c9&attid=0.2&permmsgid=msg-f:1626096949060312753&th=16910e8f4b161eb1&view=fimg&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ_K0DcbSIrNsYPlLgpSP8tLnw7HeyZVQlYfSf95IMJhyPTf3GLn8sEnIraA4_2uUn5sE_w4NC6kGW2rJqGMtl13uRGFnBllkMVYRZlqlNalT-FRFUnwmxb_K5A&disp=emb&realattid=ii_jsetx4vh0" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-right: 0px; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="412" /><img alt="TTG_spotremover_rgb.jpg" class="CToWUd a6T" data-image-whitelisted="" height="562" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=a6d052b9c9&attid=0.4&permmsgid=msg-f:1626096949060312753&th=16910e8f4b161eb1&view=fimg&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ9FVW7DghwZSunZP5o_D4-h6LYoiGBj5zsnsC5Ey-MYT51BkK3jD3cMUQ1EjHWkAIj8rKvrM_uE53sS1Q1Azi05q231Nc8v5jyNXM6WityGuEHbEHvnbVwjJyc&disp=emb&realattid=ii_jsetx4vr1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-right: 0px; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="412" /><br />
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On the cards above, you can see a beaker with a threshold (5-8 and 4-8 respectively). If the player rolls between those numbers, they score all the chemicals they used to create this "solution" and earn money (victory points) based on that. Additionally, they earn the power indicated on the bottom of those cards.<br />
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Lab Partners aims for a sweet spot that is not too hard to learn and play, but that a range of people might enjoy. The choosing of cards for your compounds seems of lesser importance - as long as you have one of each color you can try for a compound. Which solutions to go for is the more "Gamery" part of the game. By choosing well (and rolling well), you can increase your ability to succeed in future. The down side of this is the game could potentially reward a "runaway leader" who does better and better, and the rich get richer. Luckily it's a short game and so having lots of luck in the game is not a huge problem - you could always just play again.<br />
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The game will mostly appeal to families with kids, who will get a real kick out of rolling successfully (or thwarting their opponents with a surprise additional card - or getting additional points from a card played on THEM!) There's otherwise not a lot of interaction in the game, although you can trade cards 1-to-1 with other players. It will especially appeal to kids with an interest in science. The game does not claim to be educational, but it offers a "sciencey" experience. The creators of the game tell me they have some expansion ideas in the works that could up the complexity and enhance the appeal to experienced gamers.<br />
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Lab Partners is on Kickstarter soon! I will update this entry when the campaign is live.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-43634072312158087742018-11-02T11:20:00.001-07:002018-11-02T11:20:18.877-07:00Star Trek Fluxx (x2)Star Trek, as a concept and a franchise, is inextricably woven into our popular culture, and for good reason - it imagines a future where humanity strives to be its best, despite significant challenges. In a world of entertainment (indeed, in a world of reality) that overwhelmingly seems to be sliding towards dystopia, this is a refreshing and evergreen idea.<br />
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The Looneys at Looney Labs have released not one but two editions of Star Trek Fluxx - one based on the original show, one based on the Next Generation, and have even provided a "bridge" expansion so you can play with both versions together in a way that they interact (for example, needing to collect both doctors, one from each show). This is something new in the world of Fluxx - you could always combine decks, but with mixed (no pun intended) results. Fans of the shows will be pleased to see all their favorite characters, and the ideas of the shows are used in thematic ways - such as the new rule "Darmok," which states players can only speak in names, numbers, and sounds, similar to in the much-loved TNG episode.<br />
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With every new release of a version of Fluxx... and as you know there are many.... the question may arise "How much Fluxx is too much Fluxx?" Will Fluxx one day reach saturationville and overstay its welcome? That day, should it ever come, is not today. Star Trek Fluxx is a must-buy for any fan of Star Trek, and any fan of Fluxx. It's interesting and entertaining and does right by its venerable source material. I highly recommend beaming it up.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-9648092734915327632018-01-06T13:20:00.001-08:002018-01-06T13:33:22.401-08:00ZendoZendo, a game of guessing and logic by Kory Heath (creator of <a href="http://brightestbulb.net/why_did_the_chicken/rules/" target="_blank">Why Did the Chicken</a>, one of my favorite creative party games) was first published back in 2003 but has just been re-released by Looney Labs in a new and improved version.<br />
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Zendo is a game of inductive reasoning, rather than the deductive sort. That is, rather than narrowing down the scope of your search (a la a sleuth ruling out suspects, or a codebreaker eliminating possibilities in the old game Mastermind) you are instead including new possibilities that guide you towards your conclusion. Let's take a look.<br />
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Players take turns being the moderator and presenting a structure using the beautiful playing pieces - pyramids, wedges and blocks all in various colors. The structure follows a hidden rule that the players must guess:<br />
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Of the two structures above, the one on the left has been marked with a white stone by the moderator, showing it follows the rule. The other one is marked with a black stone to show it does not. One guess could be "The structure must contain a vertical block". Or "The structure must contain a vertical wedge". An included deck of cards contains lots of possibilities for hidden rules; players can also invent their own rules once they become experts.<br />
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Zendo is a fascinating game because it is at once elegant and open-ended. The flow of the game is quite simple once you grasp it - it is merely a matter of presenting a visual riddle and adding additional visual guesses which are classified as following or not following the rule. The additional information coming into the mix is what makes it an inductive logic game. It requires a different mode of thinking and some players will need to adjust to it a bit, but once you "get it", it's a revelation. What a great feeling when you find the secret rule and guess correctly!<br />
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The game comes with plenty of pieces and hidden rule cards in various difficulties. I also appreciated that in addition to the game manual, there is a second book called "Going Deeper," for those who want to explore further. But go easy on the guessers in the early going - this game can be very difficult for the uninitiated. Start with the easy cards!<br />
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I'm very pleased to see Zendo make its return. The addition of the new shapes (not just pyramids any more) and the variable rule cards are great. A very different sort of game for healthy brain exercise and fun. Because remember - if you don't use it, you lose it! Check it out and order now at <a href="http://www.koryheath.com/the-chicken-game-system/why-did-the-chicken/" target="_blank">Looney Labs</a>.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-27248002791091628402018-01-06T11:51:00.001-08:002018-01-06T12:10:48.642-08:00SpeechlessCharades, as a concept, has been around for a couple hundred years or so and has gone through many changes. In 18th-century France, Charades was played as a literary riddle game, acting out each syllable of a phrase. It's easy to see why the concept has had such longevity.. it's just plain fun to watch your friends or family find clever ways to pantomime words - the more ridiculous they look, the better!<br />
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Speechless is a charades party game from Arcane Wonders that has been granted the coveted "Dice Tower Essential" status. Players in Speechless take turns being the “presenter”. The Presenter has 90 seconds to act out 6 words, (or an average of 15 seconds per word) trying to get the other players to correctly guess what word they are presenting. So far, sounds like garden variety Charades, right? But here's the kicker - the other players don't shout out their guesses - they, too, must remain silent. You'll see why in a minute.<br />
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After the Presenter’s time is up, he or she will ask the players what their guesses were for each word. The other players, one at a time going clockwise around the table, reveal their guesses. After all guesses have been revealed for that word, the presenter then reveals the actual word. There's a nice drama to all this, not only because of the anticipation of hearing the guesses unfold, but also because you will sometimes guess the same word as another player guessed, which is a good feeling.<br />
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Players score 2 points for guessing the correct word. However… If a player did not guess the correct word, but at least one other player made the same incorrect guess, all players with the same guess score 1 point! And that is the interesting twist and the reason that guessers are silent - you can score points even if you're "wrong".<br />
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Speechless was an insta-add to my collection because I love Charades games and this one approaches the concept in a unique and interesting way. It's only right that players should be rewarded for connecting among themselves, even if they didn't necessarily pick up what the Presenter was putting down. Obviously something about what was presented was interpreted in a particular way. As with any Charades game, there are plenty of opportunities for clever or humorous wordplay or pantomime. One player mimed picking something off a tree, then held her hands in front of her chest, to give a clue for the word "Coconuts."<br />
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Some might be curious as to how Speechless measures up to the reigning heavyweight champ of Charades party games, "Time's Up" (a monetized version of the home brew charades game "Celebrity".) While Time's Up is worthy of its classic status, I found that Speechless had a few areas in which it topped Time's Up. For one thing, the cards in Speechless are categorized by difficulty - green cards are easiest, yellow cards more challenging, and red the most difficult of all. This makes it possible to adjust the difficulty level as you wish, for example, if you're playing with kids. Also, I have found that Time's Up often creates intense competition among some players, which may or may not be something you enjoy. Personally I find that party games are best when they provide relaxing fun, and Speechless fits that bill.<br />
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Speechless is a Charades game that manages to add some new twists even after centuries of fiddling with the idea of guessing at mimed words. At the heart of the game, it's Charades, so it's automatically familiar and fun. But the additions make it a worthwhile addition to your party game collection. I am putting it in the rotation for all the party game events I organize.<br />
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Learn more and purchase the game at <a href="http://www.arcanewonders.com/speechless" target="_blank">Arcane Wonders</a>.<br />
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<img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic2944475_md.png" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-16152955572245203442017-10-25T09:28:00.001-07:002017-10-25T09:29:27.713-07:00Drinking FluxxAfter three million decks sold, venerable, multivaried and ever-changing card game FLUXX turned twenty-one this year, and is celebrating with a new edition - Drinking Fluxx! This version has been in development for 10 years and is the first Fluxx to feature (optional) drinking rules. Interestingly, the designer rarely indulges in alcohol himself, but reportedly enlisted the help of his "boozy friends" to craft the best possible Fluxx drinking game. But how will drinking mix with Fluxx? Let's take a look.<br />
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Fluxx veterans will have no problem getting into Drinking Fluxx. The game works just like regular Fluxx, with the addition of all-alcohol themed cards and some cards that cause players to take a drink (these can be removed if desired). Fully Baked Ideas, the publisher of Drinking Fluxx, reminds all players to know their limits, choose to take small sips if they wish, and always designate a driver.<br />
All the familiar standard types of Fluxx cards are in the game - Goals, Keepers, Creepers, Actions, and New Rules.<br />
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The Drinking Rules card is a Meta Rule that controls whether drinking is a part of the game. When all players agree, this rule is in play for the entire game. Here are some of the New Rules that can be played when Drinking Rules are in effect:<br />
<ul>
<li>Forbidden Word - the person who plays this chooses a word - anyone who later says that word has to drink (Conversely, there is also a "Required word" card)</li>
<li>Move the Card! - at the end of your turn, you must move the "It's My Turn" card to the player whose turn is next - otherwise, drink</li>
<li>Toastmaster - during your turn, you must remember to make a toast, otherwise drink twice</li>
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And some of the new Action cards include:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Not it! - silently touch your nose. The last person to touch his or her nose must drink</li>
<li>New Vocabulary - choose a new word for Forbidden or Required word in play</li>
<li>Switch to Water? - If anyone feels a player had had "one too many," that player can be required to switch to water. He or she gets to draw three additional cards.</li>
</ul>
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As you can see, it's Fluxx with a fun alcohol theme (the Goals are mixed drinks, shots, and situations resulting from drinking) mixed with classic drinking party games. My players enjoyed the game and one person actually won by accident, which seems appropriate for a game of this type. A possible difficulty would be following the rules while inebriated. Some folks have difficulty with Fluxx even when stone cold sober - addling their brains would make things additionally challenging. But this has always been intended as a short, silly, fun game and although rules change, the game follows its own internal logic and is not hard to understand once you've played a few times. My players enjoyed it.</div>
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Drinking Fluxx is a festive and fun addition to the Fluxx canon. And the cards are 100 proof... spill-proof! Enjoy it responsibly!</div>
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For a video of members of the Fully Baked team playing the game, please <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctl5JPQcniM" target="_blank">see this link</a>.</div>
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Cheers!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7988945919524815842.post-42820090743794921092017-10-17T07:46:00.002-07:002017-10-17T09:52:26.107-07:00NanofictionaryStorytelling is a truly time-honored human activity, a source of shared history and culture from ancient times, more recently found in games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Near and Far (arcade mode). I'm a big fan of improvisational storytelling (for example, going around a circle each saying a word, to make a story together) so I was pleased to see Nanofictionary is back.<br />
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Looney Labs first published Nanofictionary way back in 2002, and it was out of print forever, then briefly back in a print on demand format. Now it's back for real in a new improved second edition. The premise of the game is simple - using a hand of five cards (or more), tell a super short story that ties all the elements together:<br />
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- Two Characters (WHO is in your story?)<br />
- One Setting (WHERE is the action taking place?)<br />
- One Problem (WHY is this narrative happening?)<br />
- One Resolution (HOW does it all end?)<br />
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The elements on the cards are creative and fun:<br />
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CHARACTER: A super-evolved sentient broccoli.<br />
PROBLEM: The interdimensional doorway is closing.<br />
SETTING: The bus depot, near locker #17.<br />
RESOLUTION: The villain was finally defeated (...or WAS he..?).<br />
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You see how it works - the game gives you flashes of inspiration that you fit into your own creation. Is the broccoli the hero, the antagonist, or simply a bystander? Is the interdimensional portal inside the bus station locker? How do these pieces fit together?<br />
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The game plays in three phases: Brainstorming, Storytelling and Voting. <b>Brainstorming </b>means looking at your cards (and possibly exchanging for new cards) as you ponder how to make a story out of the elements in your hand. <b>Storytelling </b>is just that, you tell everyone the story you came up with. It's fine to embellish a little or diverge a bit from what's illustrated on the cards. <b>Voting </b>is when everyone points, on the count of three, at the person whose story they enjoyed the most. Whoever gets the most votes, wins!<br />
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Nanofictionary is a good blend of game-provided content and creativity. The cards are good prompts but how you put them all together is up to you. My players and I enjoyed making up and sharing crazy, super-short stories. Some people take a while to warm up to games like this because of the creativity and performance element - they feel "put on the spot." But if you stick with it you will find Nanofictionary is a fun diversion and a quick, light break from other thinkier games. I think it's great that you can draw and discard cards during the Brainstorming phase (even resetting your whole hand if you wish). That way you never feel stuck, yet you always have at least one of each type of story element available. This gives you structure and a goal and at the same time, great flexibility.<br />
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Nanofictionary was created by Looney Labs right here in my home state of Maryland and it's printed in the USA. For more information, you can see the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-vbMlboVsQ" target="_blank">Looney Labs folks playing the game in this video.</a><br />
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