Games with Gargoyle: Yinsh, Dungeon Twister, Blue Moon

Yesterday I had a small "welcome to Tampere" games session with Mikko, also known as Gargoyle (you might remember him from Gone Gaming). We met in the Konttori bar for some two-player games.

First up was Yinsh, which we both have played little. Our skill levels seem to match, as the game was quite enjoyable. After my first ring, Mikko got 2-1 lead, but I managed to tie the game and then found a beautiful win-win situation later (which I think was set up by Mikko, not my excellent plays), where I could force a victory. Corners rock, ti seems. It was a good game, now that I had some idea what to do. I was still dazzled by the early game, the setup. I need to play more - I wish they had this on Little Golem.

Mikko is a fan of Dungeon Twister and I was willing to give it a go. The game has an interesting relationship with Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation . Both have similar goals and share the combat mechanism (character value + modifier card), but in some respects they are polar opposites. While The Confrontation is tight, constricted and constrained, Dungeon Twister is wide open and full of options. There's just so much to do!

It was fun. There were interesting challenges, optimizing the actions and using the characters to support each other. Mikko was much better, with his experience and all, but I believe I offered at least some resistance. I enjoyed the game, but don't have much need to play it more - I found the strictness of The Confrontation more enjoyable. Still, I'll definitely play Dungeon Twister again should an opportunity arise.

To finish it up, we played three rounds of Blue Moon. First two saw the Buka Invasion in action. I like them! The character-filled deck is fun to play. There isn't many boosters or supports, but every character doubles as a 2/2 support. The bluffing mechanism is interesting, and offers lots of flexibility for the Buka. The ships are also interesting. I'm very satisfied with the Buka, and looking forward to putting their abilities to test.