The Meeple Beat

Trader

2008-03-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

The results of the latest math trade are in, and I could not be more pleased. I ended up trading my German version of Diamant (great bits, but the game just kind of fell flat after the first couple of playings--I can think of a couple other fillers I'd play before this one) for HeroScape Raknar's Vision (with Major Q9 and Jotun...) and another Master Set. I also received San Marco in a direct trade for On the Underground (a game that really seems like it could suffer greatly from AP).

I would have liked to have moved a few more games, but, with my recent love affair with HeroScape, the expansion + master set was (don't laugh) my highest hope. And I was kind of stingy with some of my higher games (Vinci and UP), so I did not expect anything there.

Catching the iron horse from Timbuktu to Baghdad

2008-03-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

As Cici and the girls were going to be gone all night at a friends house, I decided to try and find a few pals to game with. Two of the most enjoyable local gamers answered the call, Jeff and Jordan, and after some pizza and pleasantries, we sat down to some games.

Jeff claimed that Tombouctou was the last unplayed game in his collection, and really wanted to play it, so, after a brief rules explanation, we sat out on our caravans, attempting to outsmart the wily thieves that broke in at night and stole our wares. It is a very basic game, mainly composed of deduction, where players attempt to keep track of where the thieves are going to strike each night (not very smart thieves are they? Maybe we have inside men...). It is a simple game, and allows for a good amount of mental exercise in a neat package. Great bits, fully scalable from 3-5, and interesting decisions. The problem for me lies in downtime. As with many competitive deduction games, it can lend itself rather easily to AP--the rules even state that players are allowed to have pencil and paper to keep track of things. I just went with it, electing to attempt to remember where the thieves were supposed to be, and I ended up last by a small margin.

Side note: It is my personal philosophy that, the first time I play a game, I am mainly trying to learn it, inside and out, to see how the game plays and to try to understand it more in an attempt to discover if it is a game I would like. First time, I play to know, not play to win--most of the time. It is just too tedious to try and learn, understand, and compete all in the same game--well, at least it really can drag the game down.

Anyways, it was a good game, where Jordan (who did not take notes) ended up beating Jeff and I (who tied--Jeff took notes). It looks cool, plays pretty well, but, as a Queen game, really costs quite a bit for the game that you get (as opposed to Shogun, which costs just a bit more, and really delivers on the depth). It can be a longer-than-it-should-be game, as it does tend to really tempt the AP out of unwary people.

So, in a complete about-face in nearly every aspect, I brought in Wabash Cannonball in all its orphanic and homely glory. I have posted about it before--a step up from tic-tac-toe in its presentation, but superb gameplay. I ran through the rules, and away we went. This game went a bit quicker than Tombouctou, looked worse, and really ended up being a brain refresher for us. I just love the feigned co-op nature of the game, the pacing, the smooth flow of the game. Some games just get it--WC gets it, it makes sense. I led through 4 turns, really capitalizing on being the sole-holder of C & O stocks through the first 2 turns (it was a $10 payoff each time, but it was not divided at all). Jordan however, finally saw his high investment in the PA (red) railroad pay off in the last turn, passing me for the win. I just love this game, and cannot say enough about it.

So, the first and second games were fantastically different in nearly every way: bits, interface, and feel. For the 3rd game, we thought we ought to try to rid the world of all type of infectious menace known to common man--enter Pandemic. I had recently picked it up, played it once, found it a bit easy, so I asked Jeff to crank up the difficulty. As an ambassador for this game, Jeff has played it at least 20 times with all kinds of people. I was kind of worried that this might lead to Jordan and I taking back seats, and just going along for the ride--a concern in any co-op game. However, we all did work very well together, with Jordan finding several "better ways". Our team was composed of a scientist, a dispatcher, and an operations expert. After the 5th epidemic struck Baghdad, we really knew we were in trouble. No less than 12 cities around the world were holding at capacity for plagues, sicknesses, and assorted ailments. One false step, one slight miscalculation in our logistics, and we would be directly responsible for the untimely and historic dissolution of modern society. We were all tired, it was near midnight, we were all worried, we were all 3 on our feet, pacing, wringing our hands--it was going to be close. And when Jeff pulled up the final innocuous card, we rejoiced--I was a hiccup away from the research center in Baghdad, with all the research necessary to discover a cure for the Black Plague--we had won! I strolled triumphantly into the center, tossed the plans on the desk of the head technician, and accepted my place alongside Jeff and Jordan in the Worldwide Medical Hall of Fame--they actually moved Francis and Crick to let us have a front row display. President Bush, though it was long past bedtime, called and offered us congratulations, and we heard from both Obama and Clinton (who were attempting to pad their own causes). CNN, Fox, and finally Montel showed up (I immediately vetoed an appearance on Oprah). It was all a little overwhelming. The ticker tape here in Hanna City was falling on Main like the economy: fast, thin, and with no end in sight. We finally went our ways, and each found their own beds a little softer.

We had moved through the desert on camels, east across the country on the iron horse, and had flown worldwide all in one evening. It was a good game night.

First Best Of

2008-01-02T07:29:00.000-08:00

As 2007 marked my initial foray into the world of board games, this will be first best of gaming list. It is a response to a friend of mine's list, that really intrigued me (go check his list out). So, without further ado, here is the best of my great year.....

Biggest Surprise: I was shocked at how much I enjoyed Reef Encounter. In fact, I am involved in my 3rd straight online game of RE, all in rapid succession. Weird theme, it is an abstract, but I really love it.

Top 2-player game: Gail and I started out playing games together quite a bit. We started the year with only 2 kids, so our time was a bit more wide open. My favorite 2-player game is Twilight Struggle, but since that is so tough to find time to play, I will include Mr. Jack.

Old Saddle Game: I got so worn out on Lost Cities, playing it 15 times in one Sunday afternoon (at my opponents insistence). It is a good game, but I really don't care to play it for some time.

The 2004 World Series Game: I was so excited to play Cowboys: The Way of the Gun. We tried everything: Ennio Morricone soundtrack, wearing the girls cowboy hats, tweaks, etc. The game is so pedestrian, so basic (nearly as basic as any game you played as a kid) that it just did not work for me at all. Huge letdown.

The Dark Horse Game: The game that lurks in the shadows, that I often forget about, is Acquire. Funny, in that it is a classic, but I just tend to forget about it. Then I play it again, and am just floored by how much fun it is.

Best Kids Game: If you are a parent that wants to play games with your kid, and actually have fun doing it, then there are only two games that you need to really search for and find: Gulo Gulo and Tier auf Tier (Animal Upon Animal). I stuck Tier auf Tier into an order from Canada for the first Pitchcar Extension and Mr Jack Expansion--only place I could find both games), and we have played Gulo Gulo many times. Either game is great with kids or adults, does not take much time to set up or play, and provides great entertainment.

Best Filler (Quick) Game: For Sale is so clean it is hard to dislike. It only takes 15 minutes to play, is easy to teach, and promotes that "Just one more game" sensation. Honorable mention: Can't Stop and Diamant.

Best Marathon Game: Without a doubt, the game that rewards distance is Twilight Struggle. I am yet to play a full game, and it just amazes me with its demands on the players. Well-designed, thought provoking, and super theme.

If I Lived at a Convention: ...and time were no matter, and great opponents were everywhere, I would play Age of Steam, Age of Empires III, and Wabash Cannonball until my brain fell out. These are the games that I see nearly unlimited potential in. I should throw Goa in there as well.

The Ugly Duckling: Wabash Cannonball. Close second: Goa. Yuck.

Worst Games: Munchkin drove me nuts. I began liking Blokus, now I despise it. Throw Fairy Tale in the mix as well.

Next Time You See Me: I will likely talk about Agricola. It is in the bank, when will it get here?

45 Minutes Left, What Should We Play?: The game that you don't want to buy, but should be playing is Yspahan. 45 minutes of quietly tough choices, multiple ways to win, and a bit of chance. It is tough not to mention Ra, Zooloretto, or Race for the Galaxy here.

Games for People Who Hate Games: Wits and Wagers, PitchCar, and Ticket to Ride are all games that I really enjoy, and that I feel play very well with just about anybody.

Best Games of 2007:

Gail:
1. Power Grid
2. Cuba
3. Lord of the Rings: Confrontation Deluxe
4. Dungeon Twister
5. Samurai

Jaybird:

( in a haphazard, if not completely inaccurate order)

1. Wabash Cannonball
2. PitchCar
3. Age of Steam
4. Twilight Struggle
5. Gulo Gulo
6. Goa
7. Power Grid
8. Cuba
9. Race for the Galaxy
10. Pillars of the Earth

(sorry, I couldn't knock it down to a shorter list)

It has been a great year, life is great. I am so thankful to have found this hobby.

The Wabash Cannonball

2007-12-23T20:04:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would start off with a report of a recent homely little game that I tracked down called Wabash Cannonball. For warnings, it is the most unappealing game that I own--the map and two side "boards" are nothing more than laminated pieces of paper with some minor little afterthoughts of color. The money is glorified construction paper, as are some of the shares. But the colored cubes are pure-euro. It does not have a conventional box, just a snap-shut plastic job. So, if you are swayed heavily by the appearance of a game, look elsewhere. It is just awful looking.

But if a game earns its keep solely by how it plays, then there is no greater example than Wabash Cannonball. I have never played a game that packs so much cutthroat play, cooperation, every man for himself gameplay into 45-60 minutes. I have only been able to play one 2 player game and one 6 player game--while 2 is not enough, and 6 is way too many, the game, when played with 3-4 people will (I believe) smash people in the mouth and leave them asking for more. Allow me to elaborate on how it all works.

At the start of the game, shares are auctioned off for 5 historic railroads. They all start on the east side of a hex map of the Eastern/Central United States. Each time a share is auctioned, the money is paid directly into that railroads treasury. Then, play begins with whomever holds a certain share of the starting railroad. On your turn, you are allowed to either expand the railroad (using only the money from the railroads treasury--thus, no money=no expansion), industrialize a city that the railroad runs through (basically, make your railroad worth more), or begin an auction for any other available railroad. These decisions (as they are called in the game) are tracked on a--surprise!--decision track. Once all of two of the types of decisions have been used a set number of times, then payouts occur based on the railroads income. The only way to make more money is to either buy stocks (which essentially make the railroads both stronger and worth less at the same time) or expand the railroad in anticipation of future payouts--which always help others who either have or will buy shares in the future.

Sound complex? Boring? Railroad-y? Yes, but not really. In actual play, it is simple--the complexity only comes in when you are trying to decide between 3 options. It is the polar opposite of boring--you cannot help but wonder at how the game plays in spite of how it looks. While playing with 6, I discovered that the only way to get closer to winning (whoever ends up with the most money at the end wins) is to simultaneously help your opponents and force them to cough up more money to win an auction of a share of a railroad that they already own. That, and keep your eye on what your own railroad is doing.

60 minutes (at most, though with 6 players it might last longer) of fast, agonizing, and highly competitive gameplay. Give it a chance, and you should find yourself hunting it down soon after.

Atop the cardboard soapbox....further worthless thoughts on the ridiculous debate over the origins and/or composition of boardgames

2007-11-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

I did spend a bit of time last night surfing Fortress: Ameritrash. What an incredibly interesting site. Those guys are passionate about the hobby, huh. While I think that they go a little overboard on some of their Euro bashing (after all, they are just games....), it is very refreshing to see some well-formed opinions on some popular games (boy, do they hate Caylus or what?).

I have heard about this hobbywide (in)famous blog, and I was drawn to it's somewhat coarse sense of intelligence. I really enjoyed reading most of the stuff that was there--only reservation was, like I said, they tend to sway a bit to the overboard side sometimes in their attacks on various games. That said, I think that they are simply trying to counteract the masses that fall in line with their adulation of popular Euros. One thing that I realized the other night, while playing Goa (an extremely dry and themeless game that is incredible in its interaction, mechanics, and thought-provocation)--Euros are quite often brain-excercises, while so-called AT games are meant to be immersive entertainment, dropping you in the middle of this alternate reality, making you feel like you are part of that alternate reality, and forcing you to roll with whatever punches are tossed your way.

What do you think of this assessment: Euros are for those who want to feel like they control:

1. The outcome (their "destiny" so to speak)
2. The circumstances (strategy trumps luck/chance)
3. The flow of life (you go where you plan to go, and do what you scheme to do--the biggest variable being other players)

While AT games are for those who:

1. Don't mind fielding bad-hops (an overcoming of awful dice rolls)
2. Want to feel like they are experiencing whatever it is they are attempting (much like many RPGs)--want to hunt Dracula? Good luck finding him first!
3. Feel that games ought to represent the way things are in life--you cannot control everything.

Hmm. The blog just got me thinking, and assessing what attracts me to games so much. I was playing Age of Empires III the other night, a game which is roundly smashed on F:AT, and thinking about how much I love that game in spite of its unabashed Euro-infatuatedness. It is a blast for me to clash my wits against others--regardless of how much far removed that actual clashing may be from what I am actually doing. On the other hand, it is hard (for me at least) to beat a loud game of Arkham Horror, where, heck I may get devoured because things aren't rolling my way, but, by gee, I am going to roll with the punches.

To wit: In a strategy-laden Euro-fest, I will likely flounder. But most of the time, that is because I am distracted by how much fun I am having playing the game, how much fun I am having matching wits (however lacking I may be) with the other players. So I love it. Goa is so dry, it is a visual disaster (what an amazingly awful game to behold...), and its mechanics are so far divorced from its theme. But I think it is one heck of an excercise. Perhaps more of an exercise than a game.

Also, planning, strategy, and player control of outcomes hardly exist in Arkham Horror, and, possibly to a greater degree, Last Night on Earth. Try as you might, in the end, it all comes down to one simple thing: how the dice shake out. That is an incredible amount of outcome to place on a handful of little numbered cubes. But these very facts are so entertaining: that every single game will play out at least a bit differently every single time, that you are always teetering on the brink of destruction, failure, victory and conquest--always, always, based on time, chance, and space.

So please, just give me a good game. But at the end of the day, it does not matter how the game "works", so long as the leaden shroud of the mundane is torn asunder, and, for 15 minutes or 4 hours, I am thrust headlong into the throes of that which is removed from what will ever happen to me, be it knighthood, vampire hunting, locomotives, goods trading, electioneering, global politicking, or any other sort of conquest.

So long as it is a conquest, and I am some part of it.

zzz

2007-11-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

we played a game of GOA last night. it was pretty fun, but i'm still so baffled by the very poor graphic design of the board/pieces. why don't the spice colors match the spice markers? very silly.

and right now jay's sitting at the table with jordan & todd. i think they forget that i'm in the house. and now i'm going to bed. so nice to have competition back in the air. aaah.

boring

2007-10-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

our game blog is boring. we've been busy with stuff. more later, when we finally play some games.

samurai

2007-10-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

Blogmaster ("BM" as i like to call him) cannot overcome my mad Samurai skills.

which reminded of us our game-playing last winter, when i was pregnant with our third love-child. or, as i put it earlier, "yeah, when i was always edgy, crabby, & my temper was atrocious." there are many funny memories from that long winter or largeness, and many of them involve playing games & our fuses being too short.

the infamous carcassonne tile flying across the kitchen and into the pantry is my favorite one. i never did anything like that, that i can remember. only BM did.

game table

2007-10-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

the blogmaster went to a game convention a few weekends ago. a few pictures from that GLORIOUS trip.

Without a needle or a spoon

2007-10-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

Anybody that knows me well will attest to the fact that I have a fairly addictive personality--meaning that if something strikes my bones right, I will hang on to it for dear life for quite a while. Certain candies can do this to me (every so often, I get on a Baby Ruth kick), or television shows (especially 24) can also bring this out. But nothing in recent memory has struck me as this hobby has. Today, as I was listening to the new Kanye West while mowing my parents' lawn, I wondered why games in general have such a rabid following. Why are there so many of us that have to have that game?

My first thought was the elusive greatest deal ever. Boardgames are not cheap (at least the good ones aren't--typically)--Memoir '44 will set you back more than $30. Usually, bigger games run right around this price range. But there are also plenty of smaller games that cost quite a bit for what they are (San Juan retails for $23-$25 I believe, and really is just a deck of cards with a few tiles). So, if you are a more dedicated gamer who loves your games and is always on the lookout for the next great game, when you come across a game that is either:

A) Headed towards being out of print
B) A few dollars cheaper than you can normally find it (ahem, Tanga)
C) The last copy at a convention/game store
D) Cool bits, artwork, mechanics, etc.
or
E) any combination of the above,

then it becomes irresistible to you. That game has your name on it. Your collection becomes incomplete in your eyes without it. I know--I suffer this.

Part of it is the American way--you have to have what you do not already possess. If it resembles meat, then it must be steak, right?

Part of it is exclusivity. This is well-done by the publishers in the hobby. Only 1000 copies of a popular game might be printed. Once they are gone, then, if you are lucky, there may be another print run. In 6 months, you might get that game.

Part of it is price. Like I said, games are expensive. Knock a few bucks off the cheapest price, and man you'll sell a ton of stuff (not always games). Tanga has mastered this philosophy. Toss in the occasional decent price on a very hot game, and you will sell lots of mediocre games, along with flashlights, corded phones, and popcorn tins. But, when you see Shogun for $41 instead of $43, then it becomes a no-brainer. Right?

So what do you make of all of this?

I can't twist as well as you

2007-08-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, as my gaming has been fairly limited. However, I am compelled to post about an odd game that I absolutely love. Two points must be made before I begin:

1. I hate abstracts. Aside from Through the Desert and Polarity, I have an aversion towards most abstracts. Blokus was one of the first games I ever bought, and I really avoid playing it.

2. I also steer clear of anything dealing with a fantasy theme or a dungeon theme.

Those two points made, my favorite current game is Dungeon Twister. Basically a very tricked-out abstract with an odd-dungeon theme, it shocked me how great this game plays. There is an incredible amount of thinking to do, but the game never feels like it swamps you with its difficulty. I am yet to win a game of it (though I nearly beat Gertie last night--I had her within reach, had a lead of 4-1 and still lost....), but it is one of those games that is so engrossing, so well-designed, and just plain fun. The genius of the game is that, as you get closer to winning, your team gets weakened considerably.

I was a skeptic too. It has a weird theme, complete with Mekanorks, a goblin, a wizard, pit traps, etc. But, by the third time around, the game just took me. Gert is a fan as well--our recent sessions of Dungeon Twister have helped ease the tensions of moving.

Update: Finally beat her the other night. She must have been tired. Or some other excuse.

Give me the money, ya filthy animal!

2007-07-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

We went home this past weekend, mainly to check out a house. I was extremely exhausted, as work just ran me into the dirt, and Henry had not slept very well the entire week. But Saturday night, my little brother Jordan wanted to play Bootleggers. Cam graciously said he'd play, we called our friend Andrew, who brought over his wife, Jenny. As we were setting up the board, I asked my dad if he wanted to play. He said sure.

One of my most favorite things is getting to do things with my dad. I don't get to do them enough. But when he agrees to play a game, I may just be one of the happiest men around. The only thing that tops it is playing games with Audrey. But anytime my dad says he will play a game with me--that is just alright.

The game went well--I started to explain the rules, and people just wanted to play, so away we went. On-the-fly gaming is sometimes a rough idea, but it worked OK. We were around turn 6 (of 12) when I went from $3,000 to over $100,000 in two turns, ending the game rather unceremoniously. Everybody else paid too much attention to Andrew (as he was described by his wife as cut-throat), so I just waltzed on by. But I got to play with my dad, and 2 of my brothers.

And I am going to see them more often now.

I heart rulebooks

2007-07-26T03:57:00.000-07:00

In one of the telling signs of weirdness, last night I said out loud that I just wanted to read the rules to a new game. Of all the things that I could do, of all the options at my disposal (we were going to watch an episode of Arrested Development--the greatest television show of all-time), I honestly just wanted to sit down on the couch, and learn how to play a new game. To pour over rules, tables, turn-orders, chits, charts, steps, phases, and endgames. I just wanted to read some new rules.

power struggle

2007-07-23T19:57:00.001-07:00

i am really ticked off right now. power grid is a stupid game. i am seething. i am glaring at the blog master himself. he's counting the pieces of the game. i am counting how many pieces i would like to suck up in the vacuum tomorrow morning. might just suck up the whole stinkin' game.

obviously--i lost.

and the gamebler thinks it's funny when i'm a poor sport, when i call him names, & when i exhibit childish behavior. thankfully.

Hits like a wave

2007-07-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

I tend to jump into things with both feet--if something gets its teeth into me, it will probably end up tearing me to shreds. This hobby has done so.

Starting in late December, I began to wander down a cardboard road full of tiles, chits, meeples, and bits. I had no idea what I was in for when I placed my first order at an online retailer with a chunk of Christmas money. It was fairly innocuous at first, and I thought that I just might like the games I had ordered (which included Memoir '44, Samurai, Power Grid, Bohnanza, Bang!, and Thurn and Taxis--which I soon traded for Age of Steam....). And then the box arrived. Not since my youngest days had I torn open something with such vigor and anxiety. I was not disappointed.

Fact was I was hooked. Little compares to tracking numbers, chock boxes, and shrink wrap. The potential that lies within a new game is staggering. The hours of thought and fellowship that are waiting, dormant, inside that colorful (or drab) cardboard container is unmatched. I came from the world of video games, and, little did I know, I was soon to burn my green card and take up permanent residence here.

Ask Carmen--she has seen the "mania" firsthand. She endures my stories, my thoughts, and the fact that I somehow find a way to sell something to get more games. Unused tools, baseball cards, and now--my Xbox 360. The big white box of whirring electronic wonder is now gone. And in its place: Tide of Iron, Age of Empires III, Twilight Struggle, Citadels, and a nice chunk of change. I felt a slight twinge as I boxed it up and realized that my video game days are finally over. But, as I left FedEx, a burden was lifted. It was gone. I am officially unplugged.

Boardgames have hit me like a skyscraper wave.

My name is Jason. I am a weirdo, a boardgamer.

Turn on the lights

2007-07-11T02:39:00.000-07:00

For quite a while, I have really tended towards "American" style games--games where the theme is pretty prevalent, as is a fair amount of luck. This is in contrast to "European" games, where strategy and planning take precedence over theme. There are exceptions to each of these, but--for the most part--games tend to fall into these two categories. And, to start the hobby, I really was not drawn to European (or Euro) games at all. Until Power Grid.

The very first time I played this game, I knew that I had found something. I love the artwork for the game (especially the box and cards), and I now know why Euros are so attractive to many gamers--they require a certain amount of a player. To me, Power Grid forces me to plan (something that, in real life, I tend to lag at), to look at the future and go about my business accordingly.

I have played with my game group, with family members, and with my wife. I have enjoyed it every time, and it seems to me like everybody else has loved it as well. It has made Gloria realize that she really leans towards Euro games. Power Grid has a very balanced mix of player interaction, very slight chance elements, with a heavy dose of common sense math. It will make you think, but not make your head sore.

Ra!

2007-07-02T04:03:00.000-07:00

We went home this weekend, mainly to get one of the axles replaced on the Silver Hornet. That went quickly, so we were left with a free day on Saturday. The kids got to run around at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and the rest of us enjoyed great weather. Some more family arrived in the evening, and, after the kids went to bed, I pulled out Ra. My brother-in-law, Darin, had played before, but Cam and Jordan had never played. We sat down to play, and asked Dad if he wanted to play. Dad had never played a boardgame with us (besides childhood and party games), so when he agreed, I was reservedly ecstatic. I am very happy to say that everybody had a great time. It was wonderful to play with a full table of 5, with all kinds of interaction, comments, and verbal jabs. But it was especially great to play with my dad. I love my dad, and it meant quite a bit for him to sit down and play with us. Kind of like a Cardinals ballgame. Or Cornerstone. Thanks Dad.

test run photos

2007-06-26T04:26:00.000-07:00

tikal

2007-06-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

betty won.

Remembering the dead

2007-06-14T18:13:00.001-07:00

My brother Jordan and I played about 5 games of Memoir '44 last weekend. I taught him on Saturday night, after we had all played a game of Bohnanza, and neither of us wanted to stop playing after our second game got over at 1 am. There is something about moving army guys around on a board that just makes sense to any male of any age. If there ever were a game that dads should play with their sons, this is it.

The premise of the game is simple: one side is Axis, the other side is Allies. Cards in your hand dictate where you can move, and battle dice decide the outcome of your action. Seem kind of boring? Not when you add in historical accuracy for each of the 60 something scenarios, plastic army men, tanks and artillery, and a fully customizable double-sided board that is laid out in a hex pattern. The game plays fast, there is much to remember regarding modifiers, but once you play, it makes sense.

The realism in certain boardgames is staggering. When I play Memoir, I hear the shouts of young men who may someday be our grandfathers. I hear the dull clanking of steel track on tanks as they move through the woods. I can feel the heat from a mortar gun firing, and feel the percussion from the rounds battering the earth in the distance. But I can't help but smile as I see the joy on my brother's face as I know he is enjoying this as much as I am.

There have been many lives lost throughout history so our country can not only exist, but thrive in its existence. Too many Memorial Days pass where I do not tell my father-in-law "Thanks for enduring Vietnam for me". The history in Memoir '44 shines into far deeper reaches than the simple playing of a game. And any time that I can share that with another person, especially one of my brothers, the depth of my happiness knows little boundaries.

Thanks Jordan for playing a few rounds. I can't wait to play again. Don't lose that youthful joy.

ps One of my favorite things that June ever did for me was to learn how to play this one night. And she liked it. Then, as if that were not enough, she sewed me army green bags with hand-knit stars on them to store the army men in.

Lost in Manhattan

2007-06-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

Manhattan is one of the truly underrated games in my collection. I think that this game plays great--very good mix of strategy and interaction with just a hint of luck involved. Quick to learn--about 5-10 minutes of rules, but mastering the game takes a while. There is no such thing as a guaranteed win, and one-upmanship plays a key part. This game looks very 80's--cheap art and bad colors, but man is it fun to play. Great with spouses, non-gaming friends, and more intelligent household pets. Rudy would love it.

Zena thinks that this game plays better with 4 than 2 or 3, but I really believe that it is worth playing no matter how many people are playing.

The Confrontation: I am the lord

2007-06-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

It was a busy night. After hamburgers on the grill, we took a walk & let our 4-yr. old exhaust herself on the walking trail by our house.; she has an insatiable love for "getting sweaty". We took turns pushing the other two kids in the stroller, while "Caitlyn", as she likes to be called these days, ran ahead as quickly as her legs would go. By the time we finished our mile plus route, her cheeks were bright red & her hair was wet with perspiration. A little friend stopped by & the kids did flips in the front lawn, played "tag", ate cookies, and had baths afterward.

I fed our 3 month old son & put him to bed, Jason took care of some correspondance, and by the time we were done with family time, it was nearly 10pm...our usual bedtime. And just when Jason probably expected me to say, "Let's go to bed", I confessed my recent thoughts:

"I've been working on a winning strategy for that "Lord of the Rings". Sometimes I think about it a lot."

You see, this game isn't a trivia game & you don't need any familiarity with Tolkien to play. It's a fantastic, quick-moving strategy game to keep the good side (Frodo) from getting to the evil side (Mordor). You have characters with different strengths & special abilities, and the real trick to winning this game is knowing how to move your players at the right time. Simply, a chess match. And this game, "Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation", just happens to be one of my favorite two-player games of all time. And it just so happens that ole Jason was bested by his night-owl woman, Bette.

ACQUIRE

2007-05-21T19:23:00.001-07:00

If you are at all interested in entertainment that requires you to think and enjoy yourself, then this is the game that you must find to play with someone. Acquire is an American classic that knows no equal. It is so rich, so engaging, and so close to perfection that you must play it to appreciate it. I tracked down the cool-looking version, and I must say that, though it is my most expensive game, it is worth every penny. Any boardgame site you care to look at will list it as one of the all-time greats, if not the greatest. It was introduced in 1962, and has been re-issued throughout the years, with the most recent (1999) version being the favorite.

Find it and play it. I got completely buried the first time I played it. And I absolutely loved it. If there ever was a game that was both merciless and graceful, this is it. After the first play, it became my favorite game. I am gushing now, but I am not ashamed. It is worth the effort.

For us, a classic

2007-05-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

The first boardgame that Sheila and I ever played together was Carcassonne: The Discovery. This game taught us that there was life beyond Trivial Pursuit, Win, Lose, or Draw (who remembers that one?), and Monopoly. The Wal-Mart games, as I like to call them, are fine--I have no problem with the games that everybody knows. It's just that once I started playing these more complex, more elegant and rich games, I found it tough to go back. But Carcky (as we are want to call it around here) was our intial venture.

The Carcassonne series is pretty popular worldwide, maybe the most overall popular. It is relatively cheap, easy to learn, and can be played either cutthroat or multiplayer solitaire. During games, we whine, yell, throw game pieces, raise hands, and curse (friendly cursing, of course). But we never ever help each other out. When we play, we are at odds with one another. Though we are joined in holy matrimony, a thick black dividing line cuts between us like a ornery bolt of lightning, and we are sworn enemies. And we love it.

We have been known to knock out a few games in the morning, before the kids get up. Over coffee and cereal, we plot and weave, scheme and agitate. The sun has not even come up yet and we are young, in love, and playing Carcassonne as mean and dirty as we can.

Life is wonderful and painfully short.

If I only had sticks for fingers

2007-05-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Boardgames are not always relegated to boards. Some of my favorite games have no board at all. Carcassonne, Hive, and Gulo Gulo are some of the best example of games that lack boards but are incredibly entertaining. All have their charms, but by far, the one that is the most fun is Gulo Gulo.

I will spare the rules details, but the object of the game is to turn over tiles and then pluck a wooden egg out of a bowl whose egg corresponds with the overturned pile. Whoever gets to the last tile, and then is able to find the single purple tile in a stack of 5, and is then able to draw that egg from the bowl is the winner. The only thing that you must remember when drawing eggs: do not set off the alarm (a pole with an egg on the end of it.) Simple. You can learn in 5 minutes. But if you are an adult, you will quickly learn the extent that your age inevitably will increase your clumsiness. If you are a child, you should not be reading this blog. If your parents read it, they are cool. But if perchance you are a child, you will quickly find that you have the upper hand here. You have no fear. You approach the egg without trepidation, without any hint of hesitation. You have tiny little ninja fingers. Your fingers strike quickly.

Annie has beaten me far more times than I have beaten her. She is a good sport, "Good game, dad, good game." Easy for her to say. She always wins. I have fat sausages for fingers compared to her tiny surgical fingers. If I win, it is merely because she got antsy and impatient and did not pay attention to what she was doing. For this reason, it is one of my favorite games. I have rated it a 9 out of 10. Only one other game has that high of a rating by me: Ticket to Ride.

Lulu and I played a late night game of Gulo Gulo once. It was nearly 10:30--past bedtime--and we sat at the kitchen table, and played a game. It was hilarious. If I was a drinking man, (which I really am not--most of the time) or a Bob Marley fan (love his music, but....) then this game would always entertain. I would love to watch a bunch of drunks play this game. Now that would be entertaining.

He chose.....poorly

2007-04-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Some games require all kinds of adroit thought, slick wits, and a holy reverence for strategy. Other games are best played when all players love to carry on, prone to gambling, and given to fits of noise and well-displayed anguish. Diamant (German for "diamond" I assume) is the latter.

All players represent Indiana Jones-type explorers. Their aim is simple: to win the game with the most jewels (represented by diamonds and rubies). The game is played in 5 rounds, with each round proceeding as follows:

1. Each person places their Indiana Jones Meeple on the table. The first player flips a card from the stack of cards. It is either a hazard (poisonous gas--popular in our house, rockslides, explosions, scorpions, snakes, etc.) or a treasure card. If it is a treasure card, all players divide up the number of gems (if the card indicates a 10, and 3 people are playing, each player receives 3 gems), with the remainder staying on the card.

2. Each player then takes their Indy into their hand and then, on the count of 3, all players open either an empty hand (indicating that they are going to head back to camp with their treasure intact) or a hand with their Indy in it (indicating they are daring enough to keep exploring deeper into the cave).

3. A new card is flipped. Again, it is either treasure or hazard. If it is a hazard that matches a previously flipped hazard, all explorers in the cave are terrified, they turn and run, leaving all of their treasure in the cave, and the round is over. If it is treasure, however, the explorers still in the cave divide the number of gems indicated on the card, and they again decide to turn back or explore deeper yet. If they decide to turn back, they pick up any extra gems left behind on the previous cards.

4. Each game consists of 5 rounds. A round ends when either a second hazard is encountered, or all explorers turn Nancy and run, leaving the cave for the safety of Kum-bay-ya and smores.

5. All cards are then picked up, shuffled, and a new round of exploration begins.

I have played this game 3 times. I love to egg players on to be more daring, I love to stay in the cae and find huge amounts of jewels (as other players leave, explorers still in the cave get larger and larger shares of treasure). After 3 games, I ended with a grand total of...no treasure. I went home broke, alone and forsaken by the good men who funded this expedition of mine. I was too tempted by the prospect of great riches and deeper fortunes. Belinda, however, surprised me more than once by taking the safe route and turning back early. I guess she does not like asps or poison gas. The first "push-your-luck" game I have ever played, I absolutely loved it, every minute of Diamant.

Now if I could only learn to "...choose....wisely".

Anger, knots, and victory

2007-04-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

I am a competitive person. My wife, LaTanya, is incredibly competitive. It does not matter what game we are playing--both of us play to win. There is no such thing as letting anyone off the hook in our house. No game brings this out more than Ticket to Ride: Marklin. A retooled version of the venerable Ticket to Ride, it features tension, decisions, and entertainment in spades.

Each player is given the task of connecting various cities of various distances apart, each assignment given through different ticket cards. This connection is done by collecting colored cards that correspond with spaces (routes) on the board. Each turn, you are allowed to either (1) draw more colored cards, (2) place trains connecting two cities, (3) draw new destination tickets, or (4) move passengers along your routes, collecting tokens that count as points.

The tension comes from two places: either you take one of the above options, at the expense of the other, or one of the other players takes a route that you intended to occupy, which oftentimes forces you into rerouting your trains, ostensibly throwing a wrench into your entire plan. The anger comes from one of the tension-inducing options working completely against you. The accomplishment of victory, however, is very sweet indeed. In many games, you compete with yourself as much as your opponents.

During sessions of Ticket to Ride, I have been called various names, I have thrown cards and trains, I have refused to tally up my final scores out of sheer frustration, I have cheered as new players cruised to victory, have stood in anxiousness as my intended routes were nearly snatched up before I got to them, have slumped to the ground as my best laid plans came down in smithereens around me, and raised my hands in a hard fought victory from a bloodless but gory battle. It is easy to learn for many ages, the artwork is fantastic (second I believe only to Mr. Jack in my collection), and strikes a perfect balance of strategy, luck, and tension. One can learn to play in 10 minutes, and it is criminally easy to become addicted to its narcotic mixture of joy and anguish.

OK, time for the first game

2007-04-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

MR. JACK

I begin with this game for the simple reason that I find it nearly impossible for me to defeat Barb (my wife, whose name has been changed for protection). A difficult to find game, I am very glad that I sought it out.

The BASIC PREMISE: One person plays Jack the Ripper, the other plays an erstwhile inspector trying to apprehend Jack. Jack tries to escape by one of three means: escaping through one of two open exits at a corner of the board, eluding capture for eight rounds, or through a false accusation from the inspector.

I will post a longer description of the game later, but for now, all you need to know is that Barb has either escaped as Jack or nailed me as the inspector for each of the last 7 games. She has won several times as the inspector. I have never caught her as Jack. She is so cunning and sly, sticks to shadows well, which is why I love her. But one of these days, I will nab her and her red blade.

An blind swipe at a stab in the dark

2007-04-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

This is the first post I have ever attempted on a weblog. I am going to attempt to describe what I am going to attempt with this mess of thoughts. Here goes:

1. This blog will primarily be about boardgames. The occassional video game might slip in there somewhere, but my aim is to simply track my thoughts on my latest passion: boardgames.

2. I am also going to attempt to track what games I play, who I play them with, and who emerges victorious. Most of my games are with my wife, who is gracious and cool enough to play along with me. Though most of the times, she wins.

C. I can get kind of verbose at times.

4. If you don't like it, then get lost. Actually, I strongly believe that if anyone gives boardgames any sort of chance, one will find that they are quite possibly the most rewarding form of entertainment.

End of post