Mrs. Mystery Blog

I like abstracts too!

My favorite two newish abstracts are Slither and Ponte Del Diavolo. Both are very interesting in play.

Also, I see you have pyramids. Have you tried Binary Homeworlds? It claims to be a space game, but really it is an abstract; its rules are so far from anything that could be called reality that it makes Knizia's Kingdoms look heavily themed. Anyway, I mention it because it's probably the most convoluted (ruleswise) abstract that I like. Usually I like nice simple rules, but something about Binary Homeworlds is appealing to me despite it's complexity.

Recently gotten more into abstracts myself and also prefer the lighter ones. I'd love to get into Go but don't feel like I can give it the attention required.
Also like the GIPF project games, my favorites are DVONN, TZAAR, and YINSH.
Recommend Coerceo which kind of feels like a cousin of the GIPF games.
Also like ConHex which I kind of suck at and Ponte del Diavolo and Kamisado all of which you can play at Yuccata.de
And Floriado, Mondriaan 2020, Gipsy King andTerritories which you can play at Mastermoves.eu
Haven't had a chance to check out the other abstract online sites yet.

A friend taught me Slither the other day. It's pretty interesting. Chase is another good one you can DIY.

Plenty of abstracts in A Gamut of Games by the chap who designed Acquire, which I see you like. Great value for money as well.

Hive for me, especially with the expansions.

Just wanted to add a shout out to Blokus Duo and Yavalath. Both are 2 player (Yavalath is also great with 3, and the regular Blokus can support up to 4). Blokus Duo is nicer than Blokus for 2 player games - it is tense and tight. Yavalath is fun because games go very quickly - 3 minutes is probably about what we average - while still having a lot of depth. 3 player Yavalath is one of the best games for 3 players that I have played.

You have to give GIPF more plays...I feel its the best of the bunch.

Yay Abstracts!

I like abstracts for a lot of the same reasons that you mention. My two current favorites are Dvonn and Tzaar.

I love to get caught up in two-player duels that are all about thoughtfulness and strategy; some of my most intense (and therefore fun) gaming moments have been playing these types of games. For such games I like the rules to be as simple and streamlined as possible; I shouldn't have to be preoccupied with what I can and can't do but only with how I'm going to meet my objective.

As far as themelessness goes, I feel like there's something cool and mysterious about black vs. white on a stark board. To me it's much more appealing than tanks or wizards.

What's funny is that a lot of people seem to assume that abstracts are dull and dry because there's no theme, and therefore no story, but I always feel like there's a very distinct story playing out on the board, and one which has a lot of emotion and drama involved. In fact, I usually feel like there's lots more drama in a good abstract game than in your typical so-called "Ameritrash" game; I've played games that have had all the little plastic aliens and spaceships and have still been bored stiff because even though there was cool stuff to look at there wasn't a lot to think about. More than that, there was nothing at stake, because chances were good that the game would be half-decided by luck; I mean, who cares if I beat someone because I rolled better dice? But if I get my ass kicked because someone outfoxed me, well, that actually stings a little.

When you're lucky enough to find someone who's about on your level and you get a nice little rivalry going across the board of an good abstract, those wins are a hundred times more fun then sending in an armada of dragon-riding space Valkyries, because you're not pretending to kick someone's ass, you actually are kicking their ass.

Thanks for the great blog post!

I am not a huge fan of abstracts (but my wife is) and we both really like Qwirkle Cubes.

Great post! I'm an abstract fan too, for many of the reasons you listed.

Here are a few other things I like about abstracts:

First, I like that they are conducive to independent study. Sometimes I just like geeking out and really picking a game apart, trying to enumerate all the possible end-game positions or whatever. The combinatorial nature of many abstracts makes this possible.

Second, I like the bits! Abstracts often have a smallish number of simple components. These might be lovingly made from fancy materials into elegant pieces of art, or they might be whacked together from stuff you have lying around your house. I love both ends of the simple bits spectrum. I also play a fair amount in coffee shops, and I really like that the small number of simple bits often leads to highly portable and liquid-resistant games.

Relatedly, many abstracts use a common set of standard bits, making it possible to play many different games with just one set. The Icehouse games are a good example (though I have not played these). I was very into chess variants for a while, which is a really fun way to play chess without the study. There are a whole lot of games in a single chess set.

One simple PnP abstract you might check out is Splut!. It's kind of chess-like, only on a much smaller board and with only three pieces each--a wizard, a dwarf, and a troll. You're trying to use your troll to throw a rock at the other player's wizard. I think it's really fun, and it can be made very easily.

As far as themelessness goes, I feel like there's something cool and mysterious about black vs. white on a stark board. To me it's much more appealing than tanks or wizards.

Great stuff, MMB. I am sure you are shocked to find me responding!

Have you tried my two favorites, Cannon and/or Ordo? I have reviewed both, detailing why I believe they are masterpieces of the genre.

I second the recommendation to try Binary Homeworlds - the learning curve is steep, but the game is worth some effort.

We live in exciting times as AbStrat fans - it seems there are just so mamy great new games coming out every month. So much to explore.

Every game is abstract if you're tone deaf to emergent narrative; every game is richly themed if you parse moves in terms of human relationships.

Me, I hear chess pieces scream.

Another great posting. I like all games - including abstracts. Abstracts are great for teaching family or casual gamers since the rules are usually not 16 pages in length. I also tend to be attracted to and enjoy the colorful bits in games such as:

Phoenix 2p goodness, neat "match the middle" concept.

Ingenious My "go to" gift game sinc it scales so well from 2-4, and the solo play is OK too.

Gemblo Think Blokus, but can handle up to 6 players - just got it to the table recently after acquiring it last year off Ebay.

If you like relatively quick but deep games, and since you seem sympathetic to Gigamic games, allow me to nudge you in the direction of Gyges. Once upon a GeekList, Stephen Tavener recommended it to me, and he was right. It's a wonderful game. Beth Heile has a good video review of it, and you can play online at gyges.net if you want to try before you buy.

Miscellany:

--Confession: I gamestalk Avri. His review of Ordo sold me on it, and I'm about to start investigating Cannon. So +1 on Ordo.
--Was your game of Gipf with or without the Gipf (stacked) pieces? The basic game (I think it's called the Standard Game in the rules?) is only about half the experience. The stacked pieces really make the game.
--I'd like to plug Abande, if I may, which you can play using your Gipf pieces and board, actually. No need for a dedicated set of pieces.

I'm a long time abstract fan. A couple of my favorites not listed in the above thread are Ferti games Diam and Siam. I haven't yet come to the conclusion as to whether or not Six is broken. Another really great game and personal favorite is Mana, also abstracty. My very favorite abstract, aside from Chess is Quarto!.

Check out Ringgz.

Like Blokus, it works best with 2 or 4 players but is very unique and very pretty.


Edit:
Next post "The Hype Machine as it relates to BGG, games, and game recommendations." sounds very interesting and near and dear to my heart!

Here are a few of my favorite abstracts that I would recommend (and you haven't already listed or tried):

Magnet - A Z-Man release that VERY few people probably know exists. The great thing here is the evolution of the Stratego system (without hidden information), not to mention some highly strategic chain-ractions. It's also quite fast, like most abstracts. There are new copies in the market place for less than $7. This might help you decide about it: I've Been Drawn In

Pueblo - I have to assume Rumis came first and then Kramer figured out how to make a game out of it; or at least more of one. This one has a high degree of spatial awareness required, but also plays fast, and even includes variants. It's obtainable at a reasonable price here on the geek.

Ingenious - Easily the most main stream abstract in modern gaming, second only to qwirkle. Reiner's color-centric scoring and interaction stacking is at an all time high in this purely abstract presentation. There's a "very good" copy for ten bucks. Given that the playing pieces are plastic it can't be in too bad of shape.

I guess price is another advantage of abstracts. Tons of people buy them and many of them hate them keeping them plentiful =P

As a big abstract fan, let me suggest you consider Ingenious and Ta Yü. Ingenious is quick to learn and scales extremely well from 2, 3 and 4 people. Ta Yü has players working at cross purposes and uses a unique scoring method.

I like Yinsh a lot as well, but I play it so poorly my wife is convinced I'm throwing every game we've played.

Thank you! Ta Yu looks cool!

Sadly the nice ivory and blue version is OOP

You have to give GIPF more plays...I feel its the best of the bunch.

Yay Abstracts!

I played a lot of Hippos and Crocodiles when they were having the giveaway contest. It's fun...but I can see it wearing thin after a while. It seems to me that strategies are limitted.


I will say this about Go:
If you start playing with someone who's also just starting to play, so that you have the same amount of experience, there will be absolutely no problem in finding hours of enjoyment, challenge, and satisfaction.

It's also one of the easiest games in the world to handicap, if you have a natural advantage; simply give your opponent more free stones at the beginning of each game until the outcome is no longer certain. That's assuming there's a large disparity. Against a similar opponent, no such handicap will be necessary.

In addition, the three traditional board-sizes make for very easy training grounds and have their own challenges.

In summation: you don't have to play for years to enjoy this game. It's a brain-burning blast right off the bat. Especially in a face-to-face setting. What you do have to do to enjoy the game, right off the bat, is avoid playing someone who's played for years and has no patience for someone just starting out.

Thank you, Paul! Maybe I'll try it out with my daughter.

Like nearly everyone I like Yinsh and Tzaar above all else, but one that does not get a lot of mention that you should really check out is Entrapment. It's a great game that as easy to grasp and thus broad appeal as the Gipf games.