Yesterday after sitting on a shelf since I bought it over two years ago, I finally built the ruined farmhouse.
Naturally the plan is to use this in a game or two of Last Days.
Smaller than I thought for sure.
I think it needs a barn to go with it. I’ll have to try and find one.
Naturally instead of playing the apps I already have. I’ve bought one or two new apps to play during this period of lockdown.
A couple I’ve already mentioned in the post about my online id’s being updated. However I’ve added a couple more since then. One because a friend reminded me it was a thing and had been for a while (Smash Up!) and the other was a brand new release (Charterstone).
Although for the later I’ve not been successful in getting an online game with any of my friends so far. A combination of no Android version yet and the PC price on Steam putting them off.
One of the new apps I bought to play was Through the Ages. A game I’ve always wanted to try. For whatever reason I’ve not done. But this lockdown has given me the excuse to try the game.
I really did like the tutorial for Through the Ages. It was about the right length, had a little humour mixed in. And after completing it left me with a basic understanding of how to play the game. So a success.
I’ve not played the game against a real life opponent yet. I rarely play against random players online. I much prefer to play against friends. Which my current crop of online games for Star Realms and Epic Card Game will back up. Although I will sometimes pop into the Arena in a Star Realms to try and earn a foil version of a card.
So all my games so far have been solo against the AI. Which for the record I’ve not beaten yet. I’d like to say they were close. But I’d be lying. I think I have done respectfully by scoring over 100 points most times.
I actually like Through the Ages a lot. Which I thought I would. Naturally I can’t compare how accurately the conversion is between it and the physical. But I like the implementation, the interface and the look.
The game ticks a lot of boxes for me. I certainly feel like I’m building a civilisation, but I think the graphics certainly help on that front. It’s an engine builder. A mechanic I like a lot. I have one or two in my collection. The variable powers for each player achieved through leaders and government cards helps make your civilisation feel unique, and helps shape your plans.
One of the advantages of an app version of a game is that it does all the heavy lifting of doing upkeep such as generating resources, handling triggers, and any calculations. But the one I’m glad for and it would be such a chore and time consuming I’d imagine in the physical game is the constantly shifting market. Each turn three cards drop off the market and are replaced with new ones at the other end.
The other app I’ve played but also only against the AI is Smash Up!
I knew I liked this game, having played it in it’s physical form with Gavin a while back now (probably last year).
Once again I like the interface but I did struggle initially with the in game one. I loved the deck selection interface and it’s carousel, it felt very natural. Which isn’t surprising because it reminded me of when you used to select tunes on an iPod with the click wheel.
At its heart Smash Up! is an area control game. Another mechanic I like. What I like about Smash Up! is the choosing two themed decks and shuffling them together to get your final deck to play with. It’s a clever way to remove deck building from the game. Which can be a lengthy process and require knowing about all the cards and how they interact to do it really well. Which would favour the experienced player. This way is a great leveller, and reduces that advantage to a degree. It’s also a fun way to do things.
Again the tutorial is good. And does its job.
I can’t wait to play this game against friends. Despite not beating the AI, I like the game. I’m seeing a trend here with these two games. All hail our AI overlords.
Two great board game apps worth considering getting.
In this uncertain times what does a famous game designer do when self isolating?
Design a roll and write game that’s what.
Jamey Stegmaier has spent the last week creating and updating a roll and write game called Rolling Realms.
All you need to do is down load the single page pdf (link below), print it out, find two d6 dice, and a pen/pencil, and you are all set to play.
Jamey is currently doing live Facebook streams playing the game with those that tune in. Yeah it scales quite well. These videos also act as a tutorial as well.
I hope sharing this with a wider audience (I’ve also shared on twitter and Facebook) will help make those self isolating or on lockdown have a slightly less stressful time.
I’d also like to Jamey for doing this. It’s very much appreciated.
Just a brief post to let whoever is interested/concerned that Nan, Mum and myself are ok.
I know I haven’t posted for a day or two. Didn’t want people to worry that this was a sign that the pandemic had managed to break into our house holds. Just not had much to write about. Plus I didn’t want to spam everyone with posts about random dungeons. That would soon get boring.
The attack chihuahuas Nico and Loki are doing a grand job keeping Nan safe during the day with snuggles under the blankets. They are like little hidden booby traps.
Be safe.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
It certainly feels like that at the moment. A crisis certainly brings out the extremes of human nature. The selfishness with those panic buying and hoarding, and putting vulnerable people at risk by ignoring advice about gathering in groups. Which is counter balanced with examples of people’s generosity and caring for others.
There are even examples of corporate acts of kindness. Which in the longer run will hopefully reflect on them in a good way when times get better. One such example is game publishers making their digital versions of board games free or greatly reduced in price.
Let’s face it gaming sessions wherever you are have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. So unless you like playing solo games (or games that support solo play) this social hobby of ours is not a thing.
But all is not lost. People are turning to digital alternatives.
Role players are turning to the likes of Roll20, Skype, Google Hangouts, and others to keep playing.
Board gamers also have digital versions of some of their favourite games. Plus the likes of Tabletopia and Table Top Simulator that allow you to play digital representations of board games as if you are playing the physical version.
I have a few board game apps on my iPad. The majority I’ve bought but not played. Yeah I know. Majority of the time the only app I’m playing is Star Realms with Epic now starting to get some love.
Many of these app versions support online play with friends. And that’s the bit that people are now making use of to fill that void left by the cancelled game nights. Especially with the majority of the apps allowing cross platform play. So it doesn’t matter if I’m on my iPad whilst my friend is on their Android device or even a PC.
Last night for instance Jonathan and I played a couple of games of Onitama. Naturally I was using my iPad (after all it is my main computing platform these days) and he was on his Android device. Worked perfectly, despite me losing 2-1 in a best of three.
Despite having a lot of apps, I still lust after one that isn’t out on iOS yet. It’s stuck on steam and the PC. It’s my favourite game of all time Scythe. If it was on iOS I’d be all over that. On a plus side I do believe Charterstone is hitting app stores everywhere next week.
I’m even using this time to learn two games I’ve always wanted to try but not pushed the button on buying physically. With the generous drop in price I’ve decided to let the app versions do the heavy lifting and teach me. Those games being Through the Ages and Race for the Galaxy.
Anyway I’ve updated my online play page (link at top of the blog page) with the games I have and my id/in game name. So if you fancy an online game or two hit me up.
I’m totally enjoying my games of Epic Card Game digital against my friends. And that includes my losing streak of having never won against one of them.
Our format of choice is Dark Draft. Which I’ve said many times I think that this is my favourite format for the game. Unlike a regular draft, you have an idea what cards your opponent has but you don’t know exactly. Mainly because you know what four cards they were given but you don’t know which two they kept and which two were discarded. I like that mystery.
Sometimes though due to the nature of the game type, luck of the draw, etc. More time is spent drafting than actually playing.
Once it was an option to purchase (you only pay for cosmetic stuff like this and to enter official events/tournaments) using my credits I hit on my avatar for the game that won’t change.
I love the pack alpha art. It fits me as leader of my own “wolf pack”.
The other thing I’m currently spending my hard earned Kickstarter credits on are the foil versions of cards when they become available.
I like how foils work in Epic and Star Realms. For the concept works better digitally than in a physical version. Although they are pretty cool in real life.
I actually like how the actual game looks during play. Granted it doesn’t have those flash animations of the likes of MtG:Arena and Hearthstone. But you don’t miss them or need them. Unlike the two mentioned competitors this is completely free to play. And the bit I like a lot, just like Star Realms, when playing against friends you get 48 hours between turns. It means playing can fit in around what you are doing in the real world, and allow you to play with friends in different time zones.
Granted games take longer to play this way. But that’s a price I’m willing to play. Plus you can play in real time if you wish. It’s nice to have the choice.
This is definitely my preferred way of playing the game. It means I get to play it for starters. That’s always a good start.
You can find me on Epic and Star Realms as Whitespider.
Last night I finally caught up with a YouTube video or two from my subscriptions and one of them was a video by the Nerdarchy guys about hidden gems in the DMG.
The basic summation of this video is that they went through Appendix A – Random Dungeons of the DMG. Which is basically a collection of tables you roll dice for to generate a dungeon.
Naturally as pointed out in the video the appendix is basically split into two parts. The first is about generating the dungeon structure wise, rooms, passages, etc. The second part is about stocking the dungeon. What’s in the rooms and passages.
You can use these tables anytime you want really (as pointed out in the video, well more suggested). In the video the example they give is the tricks table being used to “punish” a party for getting a puzzle wrong. But look at those dungeon dressing tables, particularly those that allow you to enhance descriptions of a room that describe what the senses are detecting like smells and noises. That’s two or three tables I’ll be using a lot more.
But the other Appendices are pretty useful also.
I particularly like the following appendix, Appendix B – Monster Lists. What I love about this appendix is the categorising of monsters by environment. Within each environments table the monsters are sorted by challenge rating. But I’m more interested in what monsters my party are likely to come across as they wander through that hilly forest on their way to the lost mine. Being able to look at this table and chose a monster that is in it’s correct environment is really handy. Although picking a monster that would not naturally be in say a mountainous environment might be a plot point, something for the party to investigate. Why was this monster here?
Appendix C – Maps falls into that Jim Murphy advice territory about collecting maps and having them on hand ready for use in your DM folder. But the advice at the start of this appendix is some of the most sage going “…unless you have something specific in mind, you’re better off conserving your time and energy by repurposing an existing map.” And reenforces that suggestion from Murphy. There are nine maps here for people to use.
I like videos like this. They remind you of the great stuff that is contained within the DMG and other books.
My final bandwagon post. It’s time to look at my game of the decade.
Twilight Imperium 4 – an updated classic. The game that basically built FFG got updated, stream lined a little and included some stuff from the expansions. It’s a long game to play, but the time just flies by. You are constantly engaged, making alliances, breaking them. A great game to play.
Star Realms – such an amazing deck builder. The base game is cheap, replayable and portable. There are numerous expansions out for it now, that add more of the same and new mechanics (depending on the expansion). These are also cheap, and just shuffle in to the deck. It’s a fun, quick (around 30 minutes) game for two players. But can play more as well.
EDH/Commander – ok I know this is technically MtG but it’s the format for me that makes it here. Easily WotC most popular format, and in the last few years it has really taken off. A casual format that is multiplayer, has that whole social political element to it. My favourite way to play MtG.
D&D 5th Edition – another updated classic. WotC really did knock it out of the park with this update. They made it accessible, and free to play with free digital downloads of the basic core rules. Which was a fantastic decision. Plus the update and any planned rule changes get shared with the community for play testing and feedback. This involving the community is probably the best decision WotC made, building that brand loyalty. Tie in the meteoric rise in popularity online of D&D and other RPGs it was like the perfect storm.
Love Letter – 16 frickin cards! 16! That’s all it takes to create such a fun game. This game created the micro game movement. It’s fun, quick. My personal favourite version is the Batman themed one. I love the slight tweak to the rules, that when you guess another players card you get a point.
My favourite game of all time. Could it be any other game?
Variable player powers, action selection, resource management, area control. Scythe has it all. Great replay ability. Expansions that add to that, introduce new mechanics. Then add in the Rise of Fenris expansion you get a campaign, which can be replayed or used as modules to add in during a regular game.
The production quality is the usual Stonemaier high quality. There are some official component upgrades that really pimp out the game. Plus there are also third party component upgrades.
The art by Jakub Rozalski that inspired the game is just stunning. And really helps bring this alternative history to life.
The game definitely has table presence. The commanders and mechs look awesome on the game board. Throw on the airships from the wind gambit expansion that goes to another level.
For me this game has just the perfect mix of gameplay and mechanics that I enjoy a lot.
Welcome to my GOTY post for 2019.
The candidates for this were taken from the 35 new games I played in 2019.
These games were either brand new in 2019 or older games that were new to me.
Tapestry – another stunning looking game from Stonemaier games that delivers a civilisation like game experience in about 2 hours. It’s turning out to be a bit of a marmite game. You either love it or hate it. I love it.
Hanamikoji – this is an amazing two player area control card game that plays so quickly. If you play a lot of two player games then this needs to be in your collection.
Via Nebula – pick up and deliver with route building. Definitely worth tracking down a copy.
Penny Lane – a fun light weight worker placement, engine building game from the designer of Mint Works.
I think it’s an amazing achievement for a game that came out at the start of the year to hold that spot all year. Along the way it has had numerous reprintings that keep selling out. Picked up many awards such as the prestigious Kennerspiel des Jahres. Been covered in mainstream press. To cap the year of success an expansion was released that too has been well received.
Designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and art by Natalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, and Beth Sobel. This engine building game just knocks it out of the park.
As usual for Stonemaier the production values of the game are very high. The art for the birds is sublime and would not look out of place in one of the old Observer pocket guides. It’s that good.
The game has great table theatre, the bird feeder dice tower, the eggs, along with the stunning art just looks fantastic on the table, and attracts people to the table to see what you are playing.
Theme just shines through out the game, and makes a pleasant change from the usual almost tired themes of fantasy, sci-fi, and zombies that flood the market place.
A third party industry has sprouted up around the game allowing fans to pimp out their copies. That’s always a good sign for how popular a game is.
Such a worthy winner and totally deserves the success it has achieved.
Merry Christmas to everyone one of you.
Hope you have a great day.
I’ll leave you with this Charlie Brown funny to keep you going through the day.
