I think I mentioned briefly in a previous post the idea of creating a Dice Masters version of an MtG cube.
So what is a cube?
Basically a cube is a large pool of cards selected to play a limited version of the game, ie draft.
A cube is a casual format. Apart from I think CardKingdom there are no commercial cubes to purchase. A cube is normally put together by a person to play with friends or gaming group.
Usually a cube reflects a theme or mechanics that the person putting it together enjoys. So the cube could be a tribal cube containing cards that are tribes the creator likes playing like elves, slithers, dinosaurs, etc. Or it could be cards from MtG sets that the creator enjoyed playing, or a pauper cube with just commons.
There are usually at least 360 different cards in a cube, but can be more depending on how many players the cube is designed to support.
A cube is also a living thing. As you play them they get tweaked, new cards added, etc.
A cube is a very personal thing. It’s an expression of the person that created it. But they are fun. If you like the draft format that is.
So what about Dice Masters?
I think it is possible to create a cube for Dice Masters.
Currently draft in Dice Masters uses the blind draft packs that contain 2 or 3 basic action cards (depending which set draft pack you are using), 12 cards and 2 dice for each of the 12 cards.
It is this draft pack that I will suggest we try and recreate over the old draft of using booster packs.
I think as a minimum our Dice Masters cube should support up to four players (but could be built to support more players).
So with this in mind our cube when finished will have
48 cards (a mixture of character and action cards), that’s 12 cards per player
12 basic action cards, that’s 3 basic actions per player
96 dice to go with the 48 cards
Obviously these numbers will go up depending on the number of players we want to support with the cube.
Now the hard part choosing the cards to include in your cube.
Here are some ideas:
Pauper – only common cards from a set/sets
Only rare and super rare cards
Only certain teams, so just Avengers or X-Men for example
Cards only from certain sets like D&D
Hero team vs Villian team
Only Villians
Only female characters
No global actions
Only cards with global actions
No cards over a certain purchase cost
Only promo cards (are there 48 promo cards?)
You get the idea.
When it comes to play. Before hand I’d sleeve the cards. Ideally I’d sleeve the basic action cards a different colour.
Shuffle the basic action cards deal 3 per player.
Then shuffle the rest of the cards and deal 12 to each to player.
After that you follow the Double Rainbow Draft rules that Wizkids publish here.
This is a great format for breathing life into those cards from older sets or even cards you don’t use in newer sets. Let me know in the comments below if you tried building a cube and how it went when you used it with your friends.
In the meantime I will post on here any Dice Master cubes that I create.
In my previous post where I shared ideas that possibly might reinvigorate Dice Masters. More than one of the suggestions were heavily influenced by my experience of MtG.
One I missed is doing a Dice Masters equivalent of a chaos draft. This is where booster packs from various MtG sets are used for the draft instead of from just a single set.
I don’t see why this isn’t something that players couldn’t do themselves at events or with mates. But it’s also something Wizkids could run at conventions.
It’s that convention side I’d like to see the variety, using them or piggy backing on the convention to run a Dice Masters version of a MagicFest or whatever they are called these days. Not just the competitive play for a title (world, regional, etc) but side events like draft (which they did at GenCon), chaos draft, a Golden Age event, a pauper event for both Modern and Golden Age. You get the idea.
Yesterday I was chatting with my friend Freddy who lives in the US. Told him I’m back in the game. It turns out he still has most of his stuff from back when we were playing too. He’d sold off his cards that were worth money. So I’m guessing that’s cards like Gobby and Black Widow.
We agreed we should play a game or two again. Which would be using webcams at the moment. However there was some exciting news that would mean we would finally meet in real life and play a game or two in person.
Freddy is coming to the UK in December. How cool is that?
Taking into account the status of his collection our games I think would obviously be Golden Age, and what I’d call pauper. Plus when he is over here we could do a draft.
So excited.
I did start organising the cards that I have. At the moment alphabetically. Next it’s to organise by rarity. Which will make building more easy. So I know for pauper I can go to a particular box to get all my commons.
Thinking aloud is it possible to do a Dice Masters version of a cube for drafting? I need to think how this would work. Just spitballing ideas that breath new life into collections and allow players to play with friends or family.
“Not another Dice Masters related post. You’ve not even got it to the table yet!”
I know. Plans I had to get it to the table this bank holiday weekend (in England) have been blown out. However that doesn’t stop these first impressions of stuff that lands through the letterbox.
heroes in a half shell – my first impressions of the TMNT Dice Masters box
I like TMNT.
Back in the late eighties like an awful lot of people I got caught up in the whole heroes in a half shell craze.
I really liked the first movie, enjoyed the episodes of the cartoon I caught on tv. Played the video games, and even bought a couple of the graphic novels.
At best you could describe me as a casual fan.
So the fact Wizkids did a TMNT set does appeal to my inner fanboy.
The nice thing about this product is it’s “complete” and you don’t have to go off and buy any boosters to try and get the cards/dice you want.
The box claims it has everything for two to four players to play. And I wouldn’t disagree with that.
I liked the themed waxy paper dice bags. I actually prefer these paper playmats to the glossy ones in the Secret War origin packs. Although I’m not sure how long they’d last with frequent use.
I do like the rulebook a lot. Although the size does make it hard to read the cards in some of the diagrams. But that could just be my failing eyesight. Why is this an issue? Well in the quick start section at the front of the rulebook it tells you to use the cards in the diagram! Which for me was unreadable. Luckily they are actually named in the full rules section.
I do like that they give two learning game teams. However I think it would have been a great idea to include two eight card team lists for two players. Or even suggested four card teams for a four player game of the doubles format that they suggest players can use. Plus the rules for a doubles game.
The box also acts as a storage box for dice too. Ho
SIQUK Dice Storage Case Initial Impressions
I was looking on Amazon to see if I could find a second (all already have the official Dice Masters one) dice bag with a suitable pattern. When in the search results it threw up this dice storage case for £12.99.
It looked just what I needed for carrying around a team or two to an event or a game with Nathan or a friend. And at a price I really liked.
There was a slightly more expensive version that was deeper and had a second dice tray. Which I did come close to purchasing. However a rough guesstimate of the single tray version capacity looked like it’d do me.
Plus Amazon was able to deliver it to me the same day as ordering. Cool.
The case is more than enough to hold a dice masters team and dice. If I was going to a tournament/event or playing someone else with their own stuff I could easily fit two teams in the tray.
If I wanted to take two teams and everything for two players, ie me playing with a friend it’s short of space by four dice. But playing 18 dice each isn’t too much a hardship. And for me not enough to warrant getting the two tray version.
As the photos show above it can easily hold everything for two players to use two learning teams. I have the two Secret War origin packs and the TMNT suggested learning teams in the case photos above.
Removing the tray for dice allows you to use the bottom half as a dice tray. Which is pretty nice.
In the lid half there is more than enough space for your team cards, and basic action reminder cards. Plus a large zipped pocket. I have a rulebook, and couple of paper playmats in mine.
Overall my initial impressions are very positive and just what I was looking for.
Well I’d bloody hope so after the recent spat of posts about Dice Masters that I’ve written, and ordering some Dice Masters stuff.
I have been listening to a Dice Masters podcast called Double Double ‘n Dice. I think the hosts of the show are Canadian. In the latest episode where one of the hosts talks about their GenCon 23 experience they mention about a new VP at Wizkids. The host talks about their conversation with the VP and how the VP wants to revitalise Dice Masters, and is looking into what they can do.
I have some ideas that I will now share with you of products I’d like to see and think might help with that revitalisation of the game.
Just so we know where I am coming from if it wasn’t already clear, I am a returning player to the game. I haven’t played the game for nearly seven years.
So I am really out of the loop as to what the current meta is. There has been a rule change for the first player and their first turn of the game. Tokens have been introduced. And thats just stuff I’ve come across so far in the last week!
Which means I’m not in too dissimilar a situation to that of a new player wanting to get into the game.
Where do I start? Is it worth taking part in an event in a FLGS or online?
And thats the major issue any competitive collectible game that has been around for any length of time has.
I know that Wizkids do starter decks. And I have liked the ones that they did when I was really into the game when it first came out. Will I like the new ones when they arrive?
Starter decks have a real aim of being used by new players to learn the game. They should be fun to play with against each other. But they most definitely are not something you could play at a competitive event. I think Wizkids hit the nail perfectly here on pricing and the fun side for learning the game.
That’s where I think Wizkids could learn from WotC and the Challenger decks they do for MtG. The Challenger decks whether Standard or Pioneer are meant to be decks a player (new or established) can buy and be competitive at a Friday Night Magic. (FNM). They may not win the event but they will have fun, and not be a door mat for other players.
Usually these Challenger decks reflect popular deck archetypes such as burn or control that make up the current meta for the format.
I think that Wizkids could do a similar thing for Dice Masters. Create a team pack that is competitive and allow a new player to take part in competitive events and win one or two games. Think of all the new content content creators could make such as “the three best cards to replace for under $10”
Another precon Wizkids could copy the idea of from WotC is the Commander decks. Dice Masters has its golden age format which is basically the games version of Modern, Vintage, etc. Well I think Wizkids could look at previous World Series team lists and reprint them as something new players or even current players could buy and play. Although thinking of it this is more in line with the decks WotC used to print with gold borders of Grand Prix winner decks. However they could do decks that are golden age format recreating popular archetypes.
I know that there was mention of getting more IP outside of the Marvel/DC stuff they currently release around. I’d love to see LoTR, maybe The Witcher. But I can see these licenses being real expensive if they can even get them. I love the FFG Android setting. It’d be so cool to see that licence in Dice Masters but not sure if that would have mass appeal. I could see My Little Pony, maybe He-man and She-ra being very popular. Would Nintendo IPs work? Going by how many people backed the Last Airbender RPG on kickstarter I would think that would sell like hot cakes.
Going back to MtG I’d love Wizkids to expand on the formats for the game. They have the two most obvious ones. However it would be cool if they could come up with the Dice Masters version of Commander. I think a multiplayer free for all format would be cool. Would it work with all players starting with say 30 health? Would we still need the current first player first turn rule? It would need it’s own ban list? Are we just looking at a rules tweak for golden age to make it work as a multiplayer format?
I’d also like to see Wizkids push a Dice Masters version of the MtG fan created pauper format for both Golden Age and Modern. So basically versions of each format that only common rarity cards can be used for team building. Making it more accessible to new players.
Which brings me onto conventions like GenCon. At least I’d like to see more variety in the type of events being run. They can still do draft and the competitive modern. But I’d like to see Golden Age and pauper version events also being run.
That’s some early thoughts for Wizkids to consider, or I hope they would. I think they can learn a lot from WotC (although not the releasing too much product and milking the players like WotC are currently doing, no One Ring stunts please).
Will anyone in the Dice Masters community read these? Nah. That’d require me to become active in the community and share these thoughts. I’ll stick to my little corner of the internet shouting into the void.
A first look/initial impressions of the Secret Wars Origin Packs
Just got my grubby mitts on my first bits of new Dice Masters. I went with the two Secret Wars Origin Packs and a couple of draft packs. I’m not going to touch the draft packs until I have a chance to play a draft game with Nathan or a friend.
In the meantime I thought I’d give my initial impressions of the two Origin Packs.
To start with I was caught off guard with the size of the boxes (both the origin packs and the draft packs). They were a lot smaller than I was expecting.
Once I had got used to the size I actually like the fact they are more compact with very little wasted space. Heck you can very easily through them in a pocket.
I did like the “play mat” although I would have liked it to be a little bigger. The little rule book is nice as well.
I was rather disappointed that the Origin Packs only had two character cards and two basic action cards.
At the cost of the product I wasn’t expecting rare or super rare cards in the box. So it wasn’t a surprise that these are common versions. There seems to be some synergy between the four cards and looking at them the game plan for each team should be easy for an experience player to explain to a new player. A nice touch would have been to include a sheet or in the rulebook a little bit about how to play the team.
These packs are what I would equate to the free Welcome Decks that WotC used to give to FLGS to give to new players to learn to play MtG. These are clearly aimed at teaching the game and giving the new player the required sidekick dice for future plays.
I didn’t mention this in the earlier part of the post but if Wizkids were to do a similar thing to the Welcome Deck for stores to give to new players to learn to play with this is exactly the sort of thing I would have suggested.
Sadly these are too expensive for that to be the case. They are not even up to the old starter packs which I would have said are the Dice Masters equivalent to the MtG Starter kits.
Overall these look like fun little intro teams to teach the basics of Dice Masters. But I will say there is a large asterisk over the fun bit until I get a chance to get them to the table.
As promised in the previous post earlier in the day here are the episodes I plan to watch tomorrow morning for those that wish to do similar and then discuss in the comments below of this post.
Thundercats
S1E4 – The Slaves of Castle Plun-darr
S1E5 – Pumm-Ra
S1E6 – The Terror of Hammerhand
Batman the animated series
S1E4 – The Last Laugh
S1E5 – Pretty Poison
S1E6 – The Underdwellers
Dungeon & Dragons the cartoon
S1E5 – In Search of the Dungeon Master
S1E6 – Beauty and the Bogbeast
S1E7 – Prison Without Walls
Don’t worry if you don’t have the dvds like I do. I’m sure that there are streaming sites that you can find the episodes on or even YouTube!
With the previous post announcing my sad attempt to recapture my youth on a Saturday morning I thought why not see if others are interested in doing the same.
Plus to follow along I thought I better share where I am after the first Saturday morning watching the shows. Jut in case folks need or wants to play catch up.
Thundercats
S1E1 – Exodus
S1E2 – The Unholy Alliance
S1E3 – Berbils
Batman the Animated Series
S1E1 – On Leather Wings
S1E2 – Christmas with the Joker
S1E3 -Nothing to Fear
Dungeon & Dragons the cartoon
S1E1 – The Night of No Tomorrow
S1E2 – The Eye of the Beholder
S1E3 – The Hall of Bones
S1E4 – Valley of the Unicorns
As I briefly review what I have written (and yes mistakes still get through) I realised that I had not said why I chose these three cartoons to start with. So that’s rectify this right now.
I chose Batman the Animated Series not because I watched it during the seventies growing up, or even the home computer boom years of the early to mid eighties. The series didn’t actually come out until what ‘89 or their abouts after the Tim Burton movies. The cartoon captures the aesthetics, and tone of the the Burton movies perfectly. It had edge. I do have a special relationship with Batman that I explain away in a very long post due to be seen by the world in the later half of October. So because of a reason that will eventually become clear I added it. Plus I have fond memories of catching episodes at the time.
Thundercats and the Dungeon and Dragons cartoon are two shows that I have very fond memories of watching as a I went from a kid to a teenager in the early eighties. Often these shows were an escape from the world, moving up from a primary school to a secondary school, bullying, etc. I can’t say I saw every episode. Don’t forget tv viewing was vastly different to now. Often you would miss an episode for some reason such as tea, on holiday, etc. There were rarely repeats of kids cartoons.
Another factor that also influenced the choice was the affordability and availability of the series as well. For instance my holy grail of the complete Battle of the Planets is not easily available and those copies that are for sale are very very expensive. Too expensive for me to justify the purchase.
I’ve also added a couple more shows to the Saturday morning schedule. See the photo below to see what they are. As I write this the New Adventures of Batman is on its way.
Two new shows arrived to add to the Saturday morning viewing. I’ll talk more about them in a future post and their significance to me once I start watching them.
But for those wishing to join me in this walk down memory lane I’ll put a post up with that Saturdays planned viewing. Which we can then discuss in the posts comments after we’ve watched them.
A third retro tv project idea
Having Blake’s 7 and MASH dvd boxsets sitting on my shelves waiting to be shown some love by being watched. I thought these would be a great start to a retro midweek tv project.
Shows I’d like to add to this new project include Sapphire and Steel (ordered second hand from Oxfam, so awaiting delivery), Wonder Woman (surprisingly affordable), The Six Billion Dollar Man (you would not believe how expensive this is), The Man from Atlantis (nor this), and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (budget friendly). Shows I have fond memories of watching as a kid and teenager.
I have the germs of a fourth retro tv project as well that revolves around the tv I used to watch as a kid on the holidays. Such as the 1930s (I think that’s when they came out, although could be the 40s) serials for Flash Gordon (already own), Buck Rogers, and King of the Rocket Men (already own). I’m going to add Thunderbirds (yep have these too), Joe 90, Captain Scarlet, Space 1999 and UFO to this list.
As I slowly dip my toes back into the world of Dice Masters I find out that the online side of playing the game took off.
Now I’m not talking about using platforms like Tabletop Simulator or Board Game Arena. Although I’m sure some are using these platforms to play it. They just ain’t for me. Plus I have other issues with them (maybe I’ll write about that sometime).
I’m in fact talking about the use of webcams.
Back in 2014 when I was really into the game when Dice Masters first came out we were using webcams to play.
I even shared a post or two of mine showing my setup at the time with others wanting to do the same.
There aren’t many games that work really well using a webcam. But Dice Masters is one of them. As long as you can see your opponents play area you are good to go.
Playing Dice Masters this way is how I met my friend Freddy. We moved on to the Star Realms app, where he regularly beats me. But still that’s nearly a ten year friendship that’s grown from first playing Dice Masters via a webcam.
Obviously during the lockdowns this type of play would have become even more popular with fans of the game. As did many other games that were playable this way.
But it’s cool to see tournaments and weekly matches being organised this way now.
I should join some Dice Masters communities online at some point and dip my toes into playing the game again this way. Maybe once my project of sorting my home out is finished.
Epilogue: I did have a Dice Masters play mat. Looking back at the post of my old webcam setup there front and centre in the photos was the play mat. Pretty sure that went with everything when Gav took ownership. So must have been lost at some point. Oh well. At least I’m not going mad.
Belated apology! I should say sorry to those that take the trouble to read the words I put on the internet and these Dice Masters posts. Yes there have been one or two lately on Dice Masters. Like most things on this blog, my blog reflects my current addictions within the gaming world. So I’m sorry for talking so much about Dice Masters lately, and at least for the immediate future too.
After I wrote those last paragraphs in yesterdays post about getting back into Dice Masters I started looking for play mats (could have sworn I had one, but no longer the case).
It was during this search of the Internet that I discovered I had been incorrect in calling the game deceased.
There does indeed appear to be a scene for the game. Apparently there was a world championships at GenCon. Plus a tournament at this years UKGE.
It’s also had a lot more releases than I’d thought over the years since I got out of the game. Some have even been within the last three years! Not sure in the last couple though.
Heck there are even a couple of active podcasts for the game too.
Obviously Dice Masters fails my test for if a game is popular and has legs. The game just isn’t being played at any of the FLGS in my area. I don’t care if there is a “scene” in big cities like London. They are the outliers, not the norm. You’re not going to travel hundreds of miles or many hours regularly to play a game or two. So unless you live in those cities with their larger communities they are irrelevant and don’t prove the game is alive and doing well.
“…you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it bein’ tired and shagged out following a prolonged squawk.” Monty Python Dead Parrot Sketch
The Ashes Reborn (I also loved playing this when it was Rise of the Phoenixborn) also fails this test. It has some die hard hardcore players mainly in the capital from what I can tell. It does seem less active than the Dice Masters scene.
It’s this rule that I judge new kids on the block such as Lorcana with as well.
Back to the play mats for Dice Masters.
I think I’ll have to go the custom route. There are some cool designs out there. I need a couple. One for me and another player (most likely Nathan).
Oh and before I forget a second dice bag. I hate those waxy ones that come with the starter and box sets.
Also like any ccg Wizkids have had to deal with the rotation issue. My current searches have uncovered that Wizkids have two official formats, Modern and Golden Age.
Not owning any sets from the last couple of years means I won’t be playing Modern anytime soon. However with Golden Age being everything ever produced it looks like this will be my format of choice for the time being.
Heck Wizkids also have their version of the banned and restricted list. Surprising to me that the ol’ Gobby and Black Widow cards that were so op when I was playing the game are not on it. So I’m assuming that in the intervening years since I left the game that they became less powerful or there are solutions.
I think one of my gaming highlights of the year has to be the annual gaming day that Jeff hosts to celebrate another year going round the sun. For the record the other is going to the UKGE.
This year like the previous one saw Memoir 44 hit the table with an overlord map.
Our first conflict from World War 2 saw the British forces of Montgomery’s 8th Army go up against the German forces of Rommel’s African Corp at Alam Haifa.
Dave (German General/Commander), Diego, and Katie (a friend and colleague of Jeff’s) were the German forces aka the bad guys.
Whilst Jonas (British General/Commander), Gavin, and myself were the British forces aka the good guys.
Wait Jeff wasn’t playing? I hear you say. Kind of. Whilst we were engaged in bloody conflict he was finishing off the curries for lunch. Then at opportune moments in the cooking process joining us to “consult” with the German forces. Which is a fancy way to say he offered advice to Katie because she hadn’t played Memoir 44 before.
There was lots of good natured banter, lots aimed at me. But when your own side are cheering on your opposite number on the battlefield. I rely on one of my favourite quotes.
“Again, right in the ears, straight to the feelings.” Wil Wheaton Big Bang Theory
Sadly for my “team mates” my opposite number with the aid of outside advice, great cards from her Commander, and really good dice rolls, was kicking the butt of the units under my control.
My team mates were getting what they had been calling for earlier in the game. What’s the say “be careful for what you wish for”?
It was getting so dire Jonas our Commander had to move some tank units to my sector to shore up our forces.
Around midday play was interrupted for lunch. Which was a welcome relief from the whooping we were getting.
Game two for the day saw a change in the conflict to the from the North African theatre to the Pacific theatre of war. It also saw a personnel change as well.
With the food all consumed Jeff was able to join in the action replacing Katie who had to leave.
That meant that the American forces aka the good guys at Guadalcanal were being represented by Dave, Jeff (General/Commander), and Diego.
Which meant the Japanese forces aka the bad guys were unchanged from the first game members and role wise.
There was a Sudden Death victory condition for the Japanese. All we had to do was get a unit to an exit marker and leave the area of play through it.
Early on I got a behind enemy lines card that allowed me to make a dash for that exit marker. I was three hexes from the exit marker. A great distraction for the opposition forcing them to attempt to stop the unit. They had one turn to stop the unit or lose in spectacular fashion.
Luckily despite a little shenanigans from Jonas weakening the American attacks to take out my unit. They did indeed stop my lone unit. But it did divert their attention and force them to burn up some cards.
We were in a strong position I was getting control of my sector whilst Jonas and Gavin inched forward in theirs.
We were getting some great cards, and dice rolls. Whilst the opposite was true for the American forces.
Points wise we were inching closer to victory. Although it was pretty close still.
And then Jonas played one two knockout combo. He started with an arial bombardment to clear the exit space, followed by a behind enemy lines card allowing his unit to make a dash for the space and grab the win.
After our glorious victory defying history once more, we chewed the fat whilst enjoying Jeff’s salty tears over the manner of the win.
This was a great day. They always are. Great food, great company. An amazing way to celebrate Jeff getting a year older. I’m lucky he invited me. A big thank you to Jeff for being such an incredible host.
Another cunning plan with an old favourite…
I did pick up from Gavin his Dicemasters stuff (which was originally mine before we did some wheeling and dealing a few years back). And Jeff very generously gave me what bits of Dicemasters he had.
I really liked Dicemasters back when it came out. But sadly Wizkids really fumbled the ball with it. Which is a shame it’s a great game.
However I had been thinking recently I’d like to get back playing it, especially with Nathan. I think he’d like it.
I know it’s a “dead” game. But that just means we can use what I have, and anything I can get cheaply to build “teams” and play. It doesn’t mean we can’t play it or have fun.
What I do need to do is try and remember how to play the game again!
The pills I have to pop to mask the arm pain are still working. Which means I was able to get some gaming in.
This meant I was able to carry out the Three Sisters plan on Tuesday.
What hadn’t been taken into account was we were clashing with the open mike night at the social club.
Unlike the open mike night at my local back in Guildford when I lived there, which was poetry and comedy. This one was all people that had the impression they can carry a tune.
One particular crime against humanity and music was a cover of Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive. Apparently the singer is a really nice guy. But I’d argue otherwise just based on this one song alone that he is a cruel sadistic git.
The other acts were not much of an improvement with their covers either.
With this audible assault going on we were still able to concentrate on our game of Three Sisters. Barely.
This game was an all in game using both the weather mini expansion plus the third mini rock garden pad.
I rarely use the apiary when I play Three Sisters. But this time I set my self the goal of focusing on progressing along its tracks.
It’s one of the things I love about this roll and write. There are so many ways to approach the game and focus on things.
I also managed to grow all the pumpkins! Plus complete a couple of perennials.
Considering Dave had been thrown in the deep end (literally) with this game his score was quite respectable.
Three Sisters Scores
We followed Three Sisters with a game of the roll and write I picked up second hand from this years UKGE, Roll Through the Ages Bronze Age.
This is a step down in complexity from Three Sisters. But still an enjoyable game especially when you roll three skulls and cause a plague giving your opponents minus three points.
I was pleasantly surprised when I won this one. Everyone else was building more than me whether it was cities, monuments, or making discoveries.
Roll Through the Ages Bronze Age scores
After the two roll and writes the “music” got too much for Dave forcing him to leave before he was driven mad and forced to get revenge. We had a three player game of Village Rail.
This was a new to me game. Which was very enjoyable.
You know in Small World if you want a faction not at the start of the market row you have to place a coin on each faction until you get to the one you want? This game uses the same mechanic to draft cards whether they are scoring cards or track cards.
Money is quite tight in this game, with your main source of income coming when you complete a line and earn money for the number of items matching the bonus card or whatever it’s called you decide to use for that track.
Otherwise you are drafting cards to place in your play area to try and maximise the points you score when you complete the a track or for the long game of end game scoring.
Somehow I managed to get a convincing win. Beginners luck.
Village Rail scores
After this victory we too made a dash for the door with our auditory pain tolerance levels having been reached.
Last night saw me play AuZstralia for the first time.
This is a Martin Wallace game. I have one or two of his games in my collection (London second edition, Wildlands, Hit Z Road, come to mind straight away).
Having played this now I can see what all the fuss was when it came out.
These days I find Cthulhu themed games boring or at best a lazy theme for a game. However it works here but then again it could easily be replaced with dragons for example with Cthulhu being replaced by Tiamat.
But it’s the mechanics I like about this game. I like how each action you can take has a time cost, and repeating an action already with a cube on means it costs you gold plus the time cost.
Like Tokaido, Glen More, Trekking Through History, Patchwork, etc the person at the back of the time track takes the next turn until they are no longer last. It then becomes the new last placed person to take a turn or turns.
A rather cool thing is the ancient ones don’t actually start doing their thing until all players pass them on the time track. Then they start waking up and causing havoc.
Our game ended when Cthulhu destroyed Marcin’s port. After the points were totted up Diego and I would have shared the victory if Cthulhu hadn’t scored one more point than us to grab the victory.
AuZstralia final scores, the ancient ones won with a score of 24
I blame Marcin for building too many farms for Cthulhu to reduce to desolate waste lands and thus giving the ancient one the points for victory.
But it is a fun competitive co-op. I like it a lot.
I’m glad the meds masked the pain enough for me to play some games this week with my friends. I needed these after missing last weeks gaming.
