October 2006 Archives
Played a game of Die Säulen der Erde with Johanna yesterday, while the baby was sleeping. It was reasonably enjoyable. Nothing special - I've rated the game as 8 right now. As many of you have heard, there's more than a passing resemblance to Caylus, but I think the comparison doesn't hold too far.
At least with two players dSdE is clearly weaker of the two. Maybe we didn't play aggressively enough, but there was very little competition and tension, while two-player Caylus games are fun. With more players, I'd expect dSdE to fare better, when there's more competition for the best spots. Now there was relatively little reason to ever pay to place a master builder. I hope the tension goes up with more players, that's for sure.
Brian Bankler doesn't think dSdE has staying power - I kind of agree, I don't think this one's a real keeper. I'm happy to have it (well, I'm selling my German copy now, as the Finnish edition is coming out soon), but I think I'm probably going to sell it off in year or two, particularly since the game is available in BrettSpielWelt. Well, we'll see. This might be fun game for the Jyväskylä crowd, and I don't think this would be a bad choice for a SdJ (I wonder how popular the book is in Germany - at least one edition is ranked around 300 on German Amazon).
The Catan World Championships were played in Essen last week. The new world champion of Settlers of Catan is Markus Nuopponen from Finland. Markus won three out of the four games in the first rounds and kicked butt in the semifinal and the final. Go Finland!
I've had the pleasure to play with Markus, who is a nice guy and one of the better players I've ever met, in just about any game - he's not just a Catan guy (I heard the German guy in the finals had about 2000 Catan games under his belt - I understood Markus hasn't played Catan much outside the tournaments). Some people just have the skills to be good in many games, I suppose, and Markus is definitely one of those. If you can read Finnish, Markus posted a fascinating tournament report on the FBS message board.
Finland is now 9th in the national ranking. In addition of Markus's 1st place, Finland has 3rd and 4th place.
Pacific Theater is the latest expansion for Memoir '44. Like Eastern Front, it adds new figures, new rules and new scenarios to the basic game.
This time the fighting is between the Japanese and the US Marine Corps. Japanese forces never surrender (that is, always ignore the first retreat flag), attack with an extra die in Close Assault if full-strength and can run from two hexes away to perform a Close Assault. They're tough. Marines, in the other hand, always activate one more unit. They also have flame-thrower tanks and all sorts of other goodies.
The scenarios are an interesting bunch. Some use the new night-attack rules, where the scenario begins in full darkness (visibility and range one hex) and the day dawns slowly, based on die rolls.
Overall, I'd say Pacific Theater is another must-buy expansion for Memoir '44 fans. There are few downsides; I guess they could include more than eight scenarios. However, there's lots of stuff, and while the box is still quite flimsy, the new stuff is on the usual quality level (and the figures are probably the best so far).
I've been following the Essen discussion on the Board Game Society message, and here's my list of the new stuff I want:
Der Elefant im Porzellanladen - Mandatory Amigo card game. A friend will bring this to me to pay back a favour. Null & Nichtig was also on my list, but the same friend tried it and says it sucks big time, so I'm skipping that.
Space Dealer - Pretty much the hottest item on the list. Tobias Stapelfeld is a one-hit wonder for me right now (Neuland being the hit), and reading about this game makes me think here might be a second hit. Real-time space trading, sounds very, very good.
Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg - Interesting concept and a cheap game. I might get this or not, I won't mind too much either way, but it sounds like something that could be fun with bigger crowds. The name's a pain, though.
18VA - After more trouble that's real (slow communication, missing delivery, delayed invoice...), I was very delighted to hear that my friends actually got my copy of 18VA at the fair. Whew. It's also better (more ready-made) than the one I had ordered (and which didn't make it to Essen in time, it seems). That's just great.
Imperial - Mac Gerdts again. Antike was great, I'll probably try to play this before buying. Should be pretty good, though; at least the topic is interesting.
Factory Fun - Corné van Moorsel isn't my favourite designer, but this one sounds like a treat. Definitely on my play list, very high probability to making my buy list. In theory this is pretty much designed for me, but I'm less sure of the practise.
And that's about it. There are quite a few interesting games out there - Leonardo da Vinci is one I know I should be interested in, like Die Säulen der Erde - but I don't know, I'm trying to limit my game purchases, particularly on the heavy game front. I have enough games already, considering my limited playing time, so I'm trying my best to focus on the really interesting stuff.
Meanwhile, I've started a hunt for a cheap copy of Civilization. I can get a new copy of the Finnish edition for about 25 euros, which is too much for a game I don't know when I'm going to play, but if somebody has an used copy (of the Finnish or an English edition) for around 10 euros (preferably in Tampere or delivered to Helcon), I'm definitely interested.
I'm not sure if Larry Leadhead is a good webcomic or not, but this one kind of hit home...
DaVinci's Challenge is yet another game trying to milk the popularity of Dan Brown's books. Once again, any connection between this game and Leonardo Da Vinci is fairly thin and based on art alone (and even the art is mangled: let's just say the Vitruvian Man is less of a man in this game's art).
That's not a fault of this game, though - it's all marketing. The game is about laying pieces on a Flower of Life, a pattern formed of overlapping circles. Players take turns placing ellipses and triangles on the board, trying to form different patterns. Harder patterns take more time and are worth more points. However, blocking them is quite easy for the opponent.
Simple, but dull
The game play is simple, but dull. We found it very hard to recognise the patterns you create. Sometimes you create several patterns at the same time, some of them accidentally, and that can be pretty tricky to notice. Practise helps, I believe, but for now it's a challenge that I feel is quite unnecessary. I want the challenges to emerge from the placement of the pieces, not from trying to notice all your scoring patterns.
When the game begins, it's kind of awkward: players start patterns, perhaps block bigger patterns from their opponents. Then, the middle game is the best part, when the board has lots of opportunities to score, while you have to keep an eye on your opponent. The end falls flat, it's simply boring cleanup, filling the empty spots.
Overview
The game is not bad, just really uninspiring and a bit clumsy. The components were nice, but nothing exceptional; I'd preferred clear black and white pieces, instead of cream-ish and kind of dark gray. The Flower of Life pattern is unique as far as I know and the rules are definitely simple enough: most of the small slip explains how you can score more than one pattern with one placement.
I sort of feel I'm being a bit too harsh on the game, but then again, when we played it, it was simply no fun at all. I have no desire to play it again. I didn't enjoy it, and there are many similar games I really enjoy - Ta Yü is a good example of a similar, yet much better game.
Pentago, the Finnish Adult Game of the year for 2006, is a twist on good old naughts and crosses. Players try to form five in a row on a 6x6 grid. That's fairly boring, but fortunately that's not all. The twist is in the board, which is divided into quadrants of 3x3 spots. Each quadrant is a separate piece and after a marble is placed on the board, a quadrant is rotated 90 degrees. That creates a shifting and dynamic environment for the old classic.
Pentago is a very simple game. Rules can be explained in single sentence. Despite being so simple, the game has depth and strategies that are not obvious. It's not a really deep brain-burning abstract, but more than enough for most people, I suppose.
Nice bits
The game is pretty. The board is small, but made of oak with metal grid to keep the quadrants on their places. The pieces are black and white marbles. It's quite a sight, and definitely pretty enough to keep on your desk or coffee table. Thanks to easy rules and short length, it's easy to lure passers-by to give it a go.
Overview
I found the game fairly dull. The game has won several awards, but I don't think it's really a sign of the game's excellence, but rather tells the juries are a conservative bunch. Rewarding Pentago with an award or two is almost too easy. While I'm sure a lot of fun can be had with this game, there are many games that are almost as approachable, yet a lot more inventive and interesting.
If you're looking for a simple yet beautiful coffee-table game, Pentago is a good choice. If you're looking for something that offers exciting games and interesting experiences, look further. I'd recommend the Gipf project, particularly Dvonn.
Finnish edition of this review
It's easy to dismiss Viva Topo! as a simple game for kids. That's what it is, but it's also more! It's become the current favourite of me and my wife. We play it together, as our son is still way too young for board games.
Viva Topo! is a simple roll and move game, where players try to reach the cheese paradise with their mice. There's a catch, though: on every roll of one (and there are two of them on the die), the cat takes a step towards the fleeting mice. The cat is fairly fast, and as each player has four or five mice, it soon becomes obvious that everybody isn't going to make it to the cheese paradise. Actually, most mice will be lucky if they survive at all!
Hunting for cheese
Fortunately there are other goals, too. In each corner of the board is a small room, where the mice can escape and get some cheese. The cheese in the first corner is worth one point, in the second two and so on. The full cheese discs in the paradise are worth six points, so getting even one mouse there is definitely worth the effort.
Obviously the game is very heavy on luck. If you roll low, you'll do bad and if you roll high, you'll probably win. However, with many mice, managing them all offers some tactical decisions. Focusing on one or two mice is almost mandatory for real success, but letting those left behind be eaten by the cat or settling for one-point cheese crumbs is hard.
Brutal fun for children and adults
I don't know how the game works with kids - well, I'd suppose - but Viva Topo! is definitely a very cheery filler for adults. With four players the cat can be very, very brutal, which of course contributes to the fun of it all. The components are gorgeous, by the way. Selecta makes wooden toys, and it shows: the pieces are great. The mice are a bit tipsy, though, and tend to topple over. The cat is particularly great.
So, if you're looking for a brutal little filler, Viva Topo! is a very good choice.
I played Da Vinci's Challenge with Johanna yesterday. She hated it, and I didn't like it much better. Basically it's a simple abstract game, where pieces are laid on a board with a Flower of Life pattern.
It's nice, except the game is somewhat boring, counting points is tedious as you must check carefully to notice all the patterns you made and the end game is very dull. The bits could look nice, except at least the copy we had was a bit smutty. The Da Vinci theme is nonexistential, of course, except some Da Vinci art on the board. Removing Vitruvian man's manhood is a disgrace, if you ask me...
Ugh. Review is coming up; I'm not going to play this stinker again.
I played Pentago, the Finnish game of the year, yesterday with Johanna. My darling wife was amazed when she heard that was the winner. She may not be a hardcore gamer, but she isn't clueless either!
The game sucks, simply put. It's your typical naughts-and-crosses on six by six board; one board quadrant is rotated 90 degrees after each move. That's it. Boring! I'd rather play five-in-a-row on a Go board, if I wanted something like that... The larger board is more interesting than a twisting board.
It's a nice object, though, makes for a great coffee-table game.
Here's a list of hottest games for the third quarter of 2006 for me. This is based on number of plays, my enjoyment of the game and the novelty value, so new games tend to show up higher on the list.
You can also check the previous quarter, with completely different games.
Memoir '44 - I played five games with Olli during the summer, with base game and the expansions. All were great fun, despite the results. I really enjoy this game, it's always good fun.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective - Played three solo games of this. Sherlock Holmes is clever, I'm not. That's clear... It's fun, but I'm not much of a solo player. I ended up selling the game (price wasn't bad, around what I paid for the game). It's fun, but in a fairly limited way.
Rat Hot - Churned this with Olli. It's a nice two-player filler, and it felt quite fresh. I still want to play it more, though I'm not sure how long that would last. Still, it's fun.
Elasund - This is on the list based on novelty, not on quality... Four games, of which three were evry enjoyable two-player games and one was a four-player game and a total disaster. Not my game, this one! I already sold the game.
Viva Topo! - Once with four in the board game club, rest with Johanna. It's our current number one game to play between us. It's simple, it's fun, it's fast.
Jambo - Played this twice with Olli. This one I enjoyed, it's definitely my favourite Rüdiger Dorn game. I'd love to play more.
I miss the ratings correlation tool from BoardGameGeek. Actually, I miss it so much, I went and built my own: BGG ratings correlation. Type in two usernames and you'll get the correlation between the ratings.
The tool will cache the collections to reduce the strain to Geek servers (not that it's a huge problem), and eventually I'll add in a feature to check your correlation with every user in the cache with just one click.
I got a review copy of Celtica, the much-dismissed game from Kramer and Kiesling. I don't get the really bad ratings; the game has an average of 5.2 now, I'd expect something above 6 (like the 6.4 for That's Life! - I think the games are on pretty equal level).
We played with Johanna, and it was fun. Sure, there's plenty of luck, but there are also decisions to make. It's a light game, but not pointless. Thanks to a card-hungry baby, we had to play a variant (with open cards), which kind of ate the surprise value from the game, but I don't mind. I'd like to try this with more players, though five is probably way too chaotic. Three or four could be nice.
The game's also really pretty, it's definitely one of the pretties boards in my collection. It's the emerald green, I think...
But yeah, the angry ratings amaze me. I mean, you don't have to like this one, but to give it a two, meaning it's "extremely annoying", now that sounds a bit over the top. Maybe those people are really allergic to luck or maybe they've played a different game, I don't know, but this is such a harmless game, how can you hate it with passion?
Yesterday I went to the Board game club with a mission: I want to play Age of Steam! It took some trying, but I got a group of four together to play 1830's Pennsylvania. It immediately leaped to the top of the ranking: it's one of my favourite AoS maps.
The trick of the map is the coal: coal mines dominate the western side of the map. Coal pays well: you can either move the coal double distance or normal distance with double income. That means moving coal (black cube) six links earns you 12 income. Amazing.
Moving coal is tricky, as all black cities are on the eastern side and there's a huge mountain ($5 per track) between them. Still, after some initial links on the first turn, I started a push to the coal and guess what, I won the game. My only competition was from another coal miner, who didn't do coal quite as effectively. The two players who got stuck on the eastern side lost.
So, coal is good. However, reaching it is expensive. While the coal dominates, I'm quite sure that once all players realize just how powerful it is, the competition will be fierce. A basic strategy is to steal the coal: with a engine of four or five, you can move the coal eight or ten steps. So, give few income to the coal miner, sure, but keep five or six to yourself! First move should be very valuable to the coal miner who wants to keep her super moves to herself... Things should be very, very fierce.
The expansion was bit on the expensive side, but this map alone is worth it.
This is off-topic, but interesting enough. Reading is one of my passions outside board games. My tastes can be a bit difficult: many of the books I'd like to read are not translated (or are translated with quite a delay) and the availability of English books in libraries is pretty weak here. Buying all the books I'd like to read isn't an option either, particularly as selling the books after I've read them isn't really an option.
I've found a solution: BookMooch is a book trade web site, where books are traded for points. You get points when you send a book to someone and can then use the points to get new books. The concept is very simple and easy to use. Sender pays the shipping costs, so there's no need to move money around.
The selection is pretty good (about 100 000 books right now) and for me, the price of the books I've got has been less than two euros each. Not bad. The system works really well. There are occasional inactive users who simply won't respond to your requests, but it's easy to cancel and request the book from someone else. Not every book is available, but I haven't had any problems filling up my wishlists with interesting books.
If you're interested, getting started is easy. Just join and list the books you're ready to send - you'll get 0.1 points for each book, so you can make your first requests soon. The more books you list, the more likely it is that someone will mooch your books. If anybody wants my books (lots of Iain M. Banks, Marian Keyes, Neal Stephenson, the Thurn & Taxis inspired The Crying of Lot 49, and many others), I'd be more than happy to send them anywhere in the world for free!
Finnish Players' Picks have been chosen for 2006! The winner is Caylus. Nice surprise, I'd say. I wonder how much the fast release of the Finnish edition helped...
A GeekList of top 25 games is once again available, as are the complete results.
