Just add a friend

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Today this little deckbuilding game arrived. The collapsing pyramid mechanic sounded intriguing, especially when I know that the two player Seven Wonders: Duals game will also use a pyramid (although not collapsing). So I wanted to be able compare both and see which mechanic I preferred, maybe they are both awesome! There is also an expansion coming out for this game later this year too! And we all know what a sucker I am for getting expansions for my games.

Here is the contents of the box artistically arranged for you to see.

So now I just need to add a friend or two and get this to the table from the pile of shame it has just joined. Mind you it is in really great company on that pile. I have to admit it, but my pile of shame is awesome!

Ashes Rise of the Pheonix Born

I've got fed up waiting for this beautiful looking game to hit the UK (not even mentioned on Amazon yet!) So I've caved and ordered the game from the Plaid Hat Games website.

I like the fact Plaid Hat give me the option on postage, a choice between UPS (costing more than the game) or standard at a much more reasonable and affordable fifteen dollars.

So I'm now crossing my fingers that because of my thriftiness (cheapness) that the game will arrive before the bank holiday weekend. What's so important about that weekend? I'm back down visiting Nath that weekend.

In the meantime I have an NBN corp deck to work on. I'm going to call it “Tag you are it” (I thought yesterday's post title would be a great name for a NBN deck built around tagging and screwing around with the runner).

 

Tag You Are It

netrunner, tabletop

Today saw me head on over to darkest deepest Peterborough to play some Netrunner with Jamie at an undisclosed location. The location had to remain secret we didn't want the dirty corps crashing in and ruining our runs!

Netrunner

We played two games of Netrunner. The first time was my Noise deck (changed that morning) taking on Jamie's Jenteki deck. Jamie was playing the Jenteki corp id that requires me to do a run on a central server before I can do a run on a remote server. I had a good start, had installed a Hades Shard on turn one on archives, milled a couple of cards, done a run and next turn or maybe it was the first I scored a three point agenda.
My milling was working, I pulled the trigger on the Hades Shard and scored nothing. Jamie was scoring agendas at will. I wasn't doing any runs, so not really applying any pressure on Jamie's servers. I needed my Parasite or Crypsis but was not drawing either. Too late I remember the ability of the Djinn I had installed that allowed me to search the stack for viruses! Bugger that may have cost me the game, or been a contributing factor. Needless to say it was a comfortable win for Jamie.
The next game I played a core set NBN deck against Jamie's Kate deck. I'm still trying to find the corp faction that is me, so until I find that corp, I'm playing the core set decks.
Jamie got an early victory of a couple of agendas that were sitting in my HQ, while I was waiting to get the funds together to protect and advance the one I had in a remote server.
After that I was able to start tagging Jamie, setting a couple of ambushes that Jamie fell into, and start scoring agendas in my scoring remote. I started scoring agendas and eventually got the win.
I really enjoyed playing NBN. I like the theme of NBN, they are the media corp. I can pretend to be bigger then Murdock! So I think I've found my corp. plus in the next big box expansion NBN will be getting some card love too.

Thunderstone Advance: Numenera

Next up was a new game to me, and one that Jamie had only played solo, the deckbuilding game Thunderstone Advance: Numenera.

There was a few times when Jamie seemed to be walking away with the win because he was managing to kill more monsters than me, especially as I was struggling to get enough attack together to take out the monsters. Often falling short by one or two points, and having to settle with making a purchase in the village. After two and a half hours I was narrowly defeated (four points in it).

For me the game lacked immediacy. In the Legendary system (Marvel and Encounters) there is a constant pressure as the villains move through the city and you have to stop them escaping, otherwise something bad happens, plus you have the master strikes and scheme twists, that add to the pressure. Which is a shame because Jamie said this is present in the solo variant of the game, using a similar mechanic as Legendary.

Plus you can only do one thing each turn attack or buy a card, which slows the game down.

Overall I wasn't bowled over with Thunderstone, very meh I think.

Welcome to the Dungeon

Time for a micro game so Jamie introduced me to the bluffing game Welcome to the Dungeon. As Jamie suspected this game isn't really suited for two players and that it is better (I would imagine) with more players. I won the game we played, but would like to play this with the larger number of players (I think max is four) before making a final decision on this game. If I was only going to be able to play this as a two player game I'd avoid this, there are better two player micro experiences out there.

Coin Age

Our final game was another micro game, this time Coin Age. Now I won both games we played. It's a very simple game, a very quick and light experience.

I liked the game, I'd certainly play it again, but I don't think it will make my collection.

So another great day of gaming. I found my corp scum faction! Tried some new games.

 

Father and Son Sunday

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Sunday and young men in the early twenties are not known for their ability to get up early. Which meant I had to make my own coffee. Really the dogs don’t make me a coffee in the morning and neither does my son. At least the dogs have a legitimate excuse (too short).

Above: Playing the beginning skirmish teams from the Skirmish manual, Nath was the Imperials while I played the Rebels. The map we used is the Imperial Labour Camp with the Prison Break scenario from the Chewbacca Allies expansion pack.

Once we had had breakfast, Nath had a seriously long shower, and put the washing up away, it was finally time to get Imperial Assault to the table.

However after setting up, and taking a couple of turns game play had to be suspended so that Nath could watch Crystal Palace take on Arsenal on Sky Sports. To my great shame and poor parenting Nath is an Arsenal supporter. So while Nath was in football heaven watching his team I was having to suffer (I’m a Liverpool supporter). The things we do as parents for our children.

Sadly this meant that we would not get to finish our game. After the match it was time for Nath to get ready for work, and myself ready to head back to the fens. So although the game got to the table, it doesn’t count. But we have got so much closer to playing it. Next time.

This is the part of my visits I hate the most and find the hardest. I hate saying good bye to Nath. He’s my everything, I just wished we lived closer to each other. I know we speak several times a week. But that’s not the same as actually seeing each other.

It’s been a great two days with Nath, and much more time with him than expected with him not having to work Saturday. Luckily I’m planning my next visit for two weeks time.

 

Father and Son Saturday

Cthulhu Realms, star realms, tabletop

After suffering the car park that is the M25, forty minutes to do three junctions, I managed to get to the M40 turn off and cut across to Naths avoiding the rest of the worlds largest carpark, and the congestion on the M3 also. Arriving a good hour and a half later than planned. Once we had eaten lunch of pizza washed down with coke it was on to some games.

The only game Nath wanted to know if I had bought was Star Realms. I told you he likes the game. And it warms my heart that he does, and that we are able to share playing it together.

Below our game of Star Realms in full flow. In this game I introduced Nath to the Gambit cards.

Nath finished me off with a really good combo score of 33 damage, easily wiping out my remaining 19 authority.

So after suffering a defeat at the hands of Nath, it was time to try Cthulhu Realms.

Nath didn't enjoy Cthulhu Realms. I think it was because it was learning the symbols and having to decode them etc. The game did seem to drag and not flow like a Star Realms game. However I put that down to this being our first game and learning the symbols on the cards and decoding them, and also trying to work out what good cards were.

Castle Panic was fun, we both enjoyed it. For a good three quarters of the game it was like “Oh this is easy”. We were controlling the monsters, keeping them down to one or two. Then it all went to pot. We drew a Troll Lord or something that required drawing another three tiles, one of those three was draw five more tiles, Nathan was rolling fours, fives and sixes. All these new monsters were accumulating on one side of the board. Before we knew it our castle was over run, and we were holding on to survival by a thread. We were praying for a miracle to help us out. Sadly none appeared. The inevitable happened the monsters destroyed our castle and we were defeated.

It was amazing how the game went from coasting to being under such intense pressure in a single turn. That was fun.

Even though we lost, Nath was happy because he had a higher monster head count than me.

Tomorrow it's more Star Realms I think and an attempt to get Star Wars Imperial Assault to the table!

 

Preparing for tomorrow

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Once more I compile my list of games to take with me to potentially play with Nath over the weekend. As I write this I have no idea what shifts Nath will be working this weekend. Which means our time together could be very limited or more than expected!

Top of the list will be Star Realms. Nath really enjoyed the game last time, and has been playing the app since (although he hasn't bought it yet, so we haven't played online against each other). It will be interesting to see how Nath has grown as a player since learning the game. I will introduce him to the Gambits expansion this weekend I think.

Cthulhu Realms will also be making the cut this time. Well the reason it didn't last time was it wasn't out! I'm pretty sure Nath will like this considering he is a Star Realms fan now. Or will the theme and design of the cards put him off the game?

AGES will be making the trip along with Arctic Scavengers to complete the deckbuilder based games. Nath enjoys deckbuilding games. He really enjoyed Marvel Legendary and as we also know Star Realms. So it makes sense to take these to try with him as well. Which reminds me I must take Legendary Encounters Alien along sometime. But that's the problem, I've bought so many great games to play with Nath that we haven't even got to the table yet.

Once more I will attempt to play Imperial Assault with Nath. It is so embarrassing. We will get to play it. I'm determined to get this to the table with Nath if it's the last thing I do. Nath will so enjoy the skirmish mode of this great game. Last time I took it I was hoping that the new expansions would have arrived in time. Now about a month later they still haven't hit the stores yet (although very very imminent apparently). So no Boba Fett or the droids R2-D2 and C3PO. Naturally we will be playing with the new rule change for skirmish games.

And finally I'll take Hive with me. I'd like to see what Nath makes of an abstract game like this if we get a chance to play it.

EPIC Is Getting Closer

This morning White Wizard (those of Star Realms fame) sent out an email with the backerkit link so that those who backed Epic on kickstarter could confirm their details, and also confirm the addons that they had pledged for.

Amongst the addons was a very very pleasant surprise (which I think many Star Realms fans will be taking up) of the next Star Realms expansions Star Realms Colony Wars (a stand alone expansion or can be combined with original version) and the Cosmic Gambit expansion for pre-order. Both will ship seperately to the Epic card game (I have four copies of this coming plus a playmat – and I am seriously debating about ordering a second playmat).

With this email and confirming our details we are getting closer to the game shipping, and I believe (hope) White Wizard are still on target for the game to ship in September.

Is Dungeons and Dragons Attack Wing Dying?

The other day I got the regular promotional email listing new arrivals and offers from Boardgameguru. As I skimmed through the email the following caught my eye.

“Dungeons and Dragons Attack wing has tanked – there are a few remnants left which we have“

It got me thinking is this version of Attack Wing in decline? The use of the word tanked above would hint for this retailer the game has not proven to be very popular. Is this being experienced by other retailers? I certainly don't see many OP events being promoted for it.

I have to admit out of the two Attack Wing licences the Dungeons and Dragons one was the most attractive to me. However being firmly in the X-Wing camp I wasn't looking for another game like it. X-Wing is expensive enough as it is. Adding Dungeons and Dragons would just totally have broken my bank account. If memory serves me correctly I think it was released with seven expansions from day one!

What do you think? Did Dungeons and Dragons Attack Wing reach its peak and is now in decline? Are other shops seeing this? Is what Boardgameguru are seeing an anomaly?

 

 

Promos

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Above is the promo for the game Harbour that came with Cthulhu Realms.

Now I know for some this is an upsetting and despicable thing for Tiny Minstrel Games to do. But they are not alone in doing this. For example in the Halloween expansion for King of Tokyo there is a promo card for the King of New York game.

So why do some people see this as a heinous crime?

Suppose I'm a big fan of Harbour (well I do own the game and enjoy playing it so half way there). I backed it on Kickstarter (I didn't but just imagine I did), got all the exclusives from that for showing my early loyalty and faith in the game. I live and breath the game, bore my friends rigid evangelising how great this micro game is.

Then I find out that there is a new character card for the game. I'm wetting my pants in excitement at the news. I then find out after I've changed the new character is Cthulhu, I've got to go change again. How do I get this new character? Is it being given away at conventions, or as prize support? No. Wait! What? I have to buy a game that I don't want just to get this character card?! WTF?

Ok the above hams it up a bit. But basically the fan of the game the promo is for feel ripped off and that they are being forced to buy a game they don't want to get the promo. Which is a valid point. I'm lucky I have the other game already, so it's a nice little bonus for me. But in my copy of Harbour is a promo for a game I do not have (can't remember it's name). Does it tempt me to buy the game the promo is for? No. Although I'm sure the publisher would like it if it did.

I think it would be nice of the publisher to make the promo available separately at some point.

I should mention I am a fan of promos. For me they add a little bit of variety, a way to personalise a game. They aren't necessary for a game (or they better not be because that would be a really crappy thing for a publisher to do), but they add a little bit of fun. For instance like having the Stan Lee bystander card in Marvel Legendary. When it pops up you can imagine it's his guest appearance in the Marvel film you are recreating in your Legendary game. A pleasant surprise for the other players (if they don't know you have the card).

No where I fallout with some of the publishers is the availability of the promos. The majority are given out at conventions or as exclusives for backing on kickstarter.

If you missed the kickstarter or unable to get to the convention then you have missed out and unable to get the promo. Unless you are prepared to pay the very often super inflated prices when they surface on eBay.

Now I like Plaidhat Games because they make their promos available on their website for a reasonable price. Not straight away, but not long after.

It's this exclusivity that I don't like. I can't see why the publisher can't make any promo for kickstarter or convention available to a wider audience. With kickstarter a timed exclusivity I could live with. For example making the promo(s) available to buy six or eight months after the game has hit the stores. The convention promos there is no excuse, they should be readily available to buy.

I'm also very tempted to say that any promos given out for those attending organised play events should also be made available after a set period. Not every store runs all the events for every game, or there may not be a store local to go to at all.

So I'm not saying don't have promos, I'm just saying stop being elitist or exclusive with them, and stop punishing the majority of gamers for not being able to make an event/convention/kickstarter.

 

About Last Night

catan

I get so easily side tracked from my plans. I had three awesome card games to play with me at the Kings Head game night. And what happens? We end up playing another game entirely, in this case Catan.

I think my friend found it funny and maybe slightly disturbing I was getting excited about the multiplayer setup for Cthulhu Realms when I got the rules out to briefly look at. But even excited I'm easily distracted. So somehow we ended up playing Catan.

Truth be told, I think I was releaved to be playing Catan. I think after Saturday's experience with the sulk monster, my confidence in teaching a game has taken a little knock. And it wasn't that great before that.

Below trading my way to victory in a game of Catan at The Kings Head game night. (photo courtesy of Sam Hoy and The Kings Head)

Sometimes having no sense of smell, or even a concept of it, is a blessing. Apparently last night was one such occasion. My two gaming companions and opponents in the Catan game smelt what I believe could be best described as an unpleasant smell wafting to the table we were seated at.

I do hope this stench put my friends off their game. I need every advantage I can get.

Couples, you have to love them. Especially when they get competitive against each other. During the first three quarters of the game maybe, I was able to fly under the radar as they battled it out with each other.

They roll a seven, the robber gets placed on a number that would impact the other. I roll a seven, I place it where it will do the most damage including myself. I'm a kind of cut your nose off despite your face guy sometimes. Especially if that action has a bigger payout damage wise for others.

I had claimed the longest road, and been allowed to defend it, so no one else could claim it (it was a length of ten across the middle of the board). By the time my friends had woken up to the imminent threat of my victory and tried working together to stop me, it was too late. I think at that point I was sitting on seven victory points to their six (both had this score). A castle and one more dwelling was all I needed.

They tried resource blocking, I did manage to get a trade with a generous offer so I could get two stone. I needed three, but there was no way I could convince them to sell me the third as well. I then on my turn swapped four wood for the third stone I needed and got that second castle. Three turns later I was sealing the inevitable (ok it wasn't but let me enjoy this moment) victory.

After packing the game away, I was feeling exhausted. There hadn't been much sleep the night before. So I headed home.

Now the thing is I know there are gamers in Wisbech. Some of them were at the Minicon at the weekend. Others I play with. Plus there must be more out there that I don't know of. So why is this Kings Head game night poorly attended? Lack of promotion? Tuesday night is a bad night? I don't know.

 

Good Timing

ages, Cthulhu Realms

Sometimes things just work out nicely. Today is one of those times.

Tonight there is a games night at The Kings Head (hope people turn up this time).

However when I got home a package was waiting for me. I quickly ripped it open to see its contents.

Well I had guessed its contents before opening, this should be the copy of Cthulhu Realms I bought off Chris Shaner. When I found out he had picked up some extra copies at GenCon and wanted to know who wanted to buy a copy. I snapped his fingers off. Turned out I wasn't the only one and managed to get the last spare copy Chris had. A quick PayPal transfer and the deal had been sealed.

So back to my excited ripping open on the newly arrived package. Wait what's this around the box? OMG! This is awesome. Wrapped around the copy of Cthulhu Realms was a play mat for AGES!

Wow! I wasn't expecting that. What a big surprise. A very very nice surprise. The playmat looks amazing. I can wait to play the game on this mat.

But that wasn't the last surprise. On the side of the Cthulhu Realms box was a Nikola Tesla promo card for AGES.

The photo doesn't show it too well. But it's shiney ^__^

So I really can't say thank you enough to Chris for his very generous surprises, plus being prepared to ship a copy of Cthulhu Realms to the UK. Which isn't on sale here yet I believe (but is due to hit pretty soon).

So now you know what I'm taking to the game night tonight. AGES (got to use that awesome playmat) and Cthulhu Realms and maybe Arctic Scavenger. Think there is a theme to the games I'm taking tonight.

 

Lords of Waterdeep the app Initial Thoughts

iOS, lords of waterdeep

So remember from yesterday's post about the weekend I said I liked Lords of Waterdeep after getting to play it for the first time?

Well I've added the game to my BGG wishlist so I don't forget it (fat chance of that). But then I discovered there was an app version of the game.

So for the sum of £4.99 I was able to purchase the app and have it installed on my iPad in minutes.

My initial impression is very positive.

What eased the decision in buying the iOS version of the game was that it supported online play. Specifically asynchronous play. So after playing a game against the AI that I lost (well it was only my second game) I decided to try the online side of things.

This meant I needed to set up “yet another account” to be able to play using this mode. The system at the developer once you have entered your details for the new account is meant to send you an email. An email it claims is your account information, but I suspect also has a link in it to confirm the activation.

Guess what I haven't received yet almost twenty four hours after entering my details? Yep that email.

Every time I try and use the online mode, it simple tells me to check the email and kicks me back to the main menu.

So I have now raised a support call to get this sorted so I can play online.

As for the game I played, well it does a pretty good job of reproducing the game. The interface is pretty good, and it has the nice feature of being able to zoom in and out of the board.

As I said in the title this is an initial impression of the app. It is infuriating that I can't try the online mode against real people. But this will test the developers support I suppose.

Right I'm off to play against an AI.

 

Madhouse Minicon 2015

tabletop

“The highlight of the year for Wisbech True Gamers, Madhouse Minicon is three days of board games, card games, role playing games and other tomfoolery.“

“Originally founded for the players of the online game DungeonWorld it also welcomes local game fans to join the friendly get-together and take part in all manner of amusing games.”

So the above quotes from the private Facebook event page tell you basically what Madhouse Minicon is. It started this Friday evening and finishes later today.

This is the first Minicon I've attended. So let's look at my gaming experience for the two days I attended.

Day 1 – Friday Night

The first game of the evening for me was taking part in a four player game of the DC Deck-building game.

This was my first time playing the DC Deck-building game. So what were my impressions of the game? I wasn't really impressed. There was some interaction between players when you forced players to discard cards or take wounds (cards that waters down the players deck and gives negative points at the end). But it was weak for a competitive deck builder. This seemed more about buying cards that gave you more power to buy higher valued cards than your opponents for the end game add up of points. For me this was such a weak superhero game. The DC Deck-building game doesn't come close to Marvel Legendary. The only reason I can see people buying this game is because they are DC fans, and boy if they do they will be disappointed.

I'm glad I played the game, because I would have remained curious about it. So curious I might have spent good money on the game. Boy would I have regretted that.

After the game I asked the poor owner of the DC Deck-builder if he had heard of or played Star Realms. To which he responded he had a copy. “Cool, did you want to play a game?” I asked. Within minutes we were setup and duelling in space. Now you know I love Star Realms, I think that has been established well and truly on this blog. So I was in hog heaven playing a couple of physical games. I narrowly lost the first game, and comfortably won the second.

While playing Star Realms a game of Sheriff of Nottingham was going on. Which while observing it, re-affirmed my believe that the game isn't for me. You really do need people prepared to ham it up and get into the roles in the game (which one or two weren't in this game) for it to really work. Otherwise the game kind of falls flat.

Next up continuing the playing new games to me experience was a four player game of Lords of Waterdeep.

I liked this game a lot. The game has you playing a secret Lord of the city Waterdeep. It has a worker placement mechanic with some take that interaction with other players. I liked that there was a limited number of turns, stopping the game going on forever. It was quick to pick up the basics of the game. Overall a very nice game. Plus I came joint second in the game. This will definitely be added to my wishlist.

The final game of the evening was Qwirkle, the third game of the evening I hadn't played before. I suppose you could as the owner described it call it a game similar or in the style of dominos.

Another game that I enjoyed playing. Simple rules to learn, so quick to pick up. Did I enjoy it enough to add to the wishlist. Not at the moment. But I'd gladly play a game or two if some-one whipped out a copy and said who would like a game?

Day 2 – Saturday

The con started back up at 10am. On my way in I stopped off at The Luxe and made use of their August promotion of all cinema tickets are £4 during August to buy a ticket to see The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Once one or two others turned up it was time for the first game of the day. I was going to be starting the day of with another game I hadn't played before Sentinels of the Multiverse.

With free coffees and teas fuelling us, our four chosen heroes battled it out with a super villain. Often when it comes to superhero card games the majority of players are either Sentinels or Marvel Legendary fans, with the DC Deck-building game a poor third (and having played it now, I know why).

So to have this opportunity to play the game was ideal for me. In a way I feel that it is wrong to compare Marvel Legendary with Sentinels. Marvel Legendary is a co-op deck building game, while Sentinels is a co-op hand management game. You play a pre-constructed deck in Sentinels. Although the Ironman/Hulk type character I was playing did seem very thematic. And it is at this level that I feel that the two games can be compared. Which of the two really carries off the superhero theme? For me I think Sentinels may edge it.

However I feel that Marvel Legendary is the better game, and more fun to play. I kind of felt that Sentinels was an ok game, maybe a bit biased towards the villains. Would I play the game again? I think I'd be ok with playing it again but wouldn't go out of my way to. I don't think it's good enough to go on my wishlist.

The second new game of the day, Antimatter Matters. This is an educational game!!!! It tries to teach you through game play like physics stuff! The game has three ways to be played, the default competitive, a team mode and co-op. The flavour text on cards is all science like and educational. It was hard but I managed to block out that side of the game, I was determined not to learn. The game is basically role and move, do the action at the location, possibly mitigate the role with a move card. There is a bit of planning, working out routes that get you the symbol required to get the elements required to build your electron and proton. Plus the game can also be made more challenging by adding a side board for the player that also needs completing.
Even though I won the game (victory is always sweet) I felt the game was ok. An enjoyable experience, I'd play again.mbut another not good enough for the wishlist.
Below a couple of misguided Magic players. Everyone knows Android:Netrunner is by far the superior game. I even trolled them about it ^_^
My last game of the day was Five Tribes.
Three of us played this game of mine. It was my first play of Five Tribes since buying the game. I enjoyed playing the game, despite one player having a little hissy fit because he was losing, didn't really understand the game. They even stormed off at the start of the scoring. Another first for me, an adult behaving like a little kid because of a game. They apologised later for their behaviour.

Day 3 – Sunday

Decided not to do the last day.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed the games I played, but the question is would I go again?

For me despite that I knew one or two of the people there. This event came across as cliquey. At the Top of this post I quote that this event was for gamers and welcomes local gamers. However the event page itself on Facebook was private, and the event wasn't promoted (to my knowledge) to the general public.

The majority attending also were players of the online game DungeonWorld. For which they had a little “icebreaker” game for those people specifically. Not only did it exclude those of us not players (admittedly most likely just myself) it took out a table for a good twenty minutes and paused play while a large number decided to do the trades that the “icebreaker” encouraged.

Adding to the feeling of the clique was that the local players attending all seemed to be from the same gaming group. Apart from myself and one other I think everyone else was either a player of the online game or this gaming group or both.

The experience of the little temper tantrum on the Saturday kinda ruined the experience for me too. A couple of families attended, with their kids then taking up one of the larger gaming tables for their junk and playing on their Nintendo DS/3DS consoles.

On a whole I enjoyed playing the games. It's just everything else around it I didn't.

I think this would have been a great opportunity to promote gaming in the local area. However I think this was missed with the limited visibility of the event.

To answer my initial question for these final thoughts I don't think so. That's assuming that after reading this they invite me again!!!