Game: Niagara

Thread: Re: Protective papers?

Dreadnaut — 2008-11-11T14:37:24+00:00

I didn't save them. I think the process of sliding them on the board will scratch and dull them a lot more than them just sitting atop each other in the box.

Thread: Protective papers?

Bad News [bnw] — 2008-11-11T14:27:01+00:00

The river discs come packed with protective papers inbetween them. Is there anyone who saved those? Will the disc surfaces wear down and become dull if packed without the papers?

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boski Olo — 2008-10-25T18:00:18+00:00

Niagara on Gratislavia II

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Jarek PL — 2008-09-27T21:36:14+00:00

Polish edition of the game published by Egmont Polska

Thread: Re: Didn't like 1st play - would 2nd be any better?

Kestril — 2008-09-07T04:19:53+00:00

Mood Barnable wrote:
I had a similiar experience the last time I played Niagra. I had my sister over for a 3 player match with my wife, and (to make a long story short) the game ended very quickly (way too quickly) with my wife the winner. After the game, I was left pondering - "Where's the beef?" with Niagra.

However, we set the game back up and played a second match and it was much more enjoyable. It seems the first match was just a warm up, and the second was much more engaging with everyone playing more strategically (for example - targeting the winning player to slow them down, timing the weather for greater effect, counting paddle point).

The game is more fun when played with a larger number of players. The weather gets more unpredictable and the gems become more scarce.

Overall, though, Niagra can be a fun, light, somewhat unpredictable game.

Question: What's the difference between Viagra and Niagra?

Answer: One goes up up up, the other goes down down down.

Sorry, I just had to poke fun at your incorrect spelling.

Thread: Re: Didn't like 1st play - would 2nd be any better?

DancesWithBeagles — 2008-09-06T23:16:33+00:00

]]>image uploaded by cmessenger

Well there's your problem right there. That's the American falls! Everyone knows the Canadian side is so much better.

Thread: Re: Didn't like 1st play - would 2nd be any better?

Mood Barnable — 2008-09-06T13:20:20+00:00

I had a similiar experience the last time I played Niagra. I had my sister over for a 3 player match with my wife, and (to make a long story short) the game ended very quickly (way too quickly) with my wife the winner. After the game, I was left pondering - "Where's the beef?" with Niagra.

However, we set the game back up and played a second match and it was much more enjoyable. It seems the first match was just a warm up, and the second was much more engaging with everyone playing more strategically (for example - targeting the winning player to slow them down, timing the weather for greater effect, counting paddle point).

The game is more fun when played with a larger number of players. The weather gets more unpredictable and the gems become more scarce.

Overall, though, Niagra can be a fun, light, somewhat unpredictable game.

Thread: Didn't like 1st play - would 2nd be any better?

mrwendal — 2008-09-06T09:09:19+00:00

In my geeklist describing my first month at the games club, I described Niagara as
The first 'bum' game so far
We ended up packing it away a little while after opening as felt that it was too light and a general lack of enamour for the game.

To give the game a fair chance, however, we agreed to play this again when the members of another game club came to visit.

Unlike the first experience, this time we were playing with 5 players instead of 3.
After setting the game board up, Stevie ran through the rules, and then we were away (not before the customary reminder that you can only capture upstream.

]]>image uploaded by Jeff

The game ticked along quite nicely and everyone started fairly well with a gem or two gathered by all. I would say once in every 4 or so pushes, the board discs would get stuck, which although accounted for in the rules, is still slightly annoying. If the pusher puts too much force, the whole board shifts forward, but even without this, it is just niggling when something doesn't work fully.

After a few of turns, it was obvious that Stevie was pretty much running away with it (or should that be paddling away?). Around the same time the river had shifted to +2 so those of us near the bottom and who had already played numbers greater than 5 or so, were looking doomed!!
]]>image uploaded by cmessenger

Together with only having one boat out, we were forced to part with our only gems to be able to get one boat back. Grrr!

Play continued with some kindly hearted chaps slowing the river back down which enabled a few of us to garner a couple of gems back.
However, it wasn't long before Stevie declared himself the (deserved) winner.

On reflection, I'm glad that I gave this a second chance.
I did enjoy the game more with more people.
It was a game that about a month ago I had thought about buying on the off-chance based on the idea/comments I'd read. However, even after play #2 I am still seeing this as plenty of £££$$$ saved as something about it just doesn't float my boat (forgive the pun). It's a shame it takes as long as it does to play as it could be a good little filler between meatier games.

On the upside though, I can see its potential as a good one to play with the kids, or if you want to just play a game without having to do too much thinking.
I would play it again, but I think there are plenty of other games that would appear higher up the priority list.

Thread: Re: 'Niagara' falls.

Driver 8 — 2008-06-18T12:00:13+00:00

gobbeg wrote:
My family found it really boring and I traded it away. I never found out if there was a rules snafu about the ending. In both the French and English editions it says that multiple winners are possible since once a player has achieved the victory conditions phase II continues until everyone has played. In the few games we played, there was always more than one winner. My original post on this: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/136990

We've only ever played that the first person to obtain the victory condtion wins. That's why the rotating start player is so important.

Thread: Re: 'Niagara' falls.

Driver 8 — 2008-06-18T11:58:33+00:00

Too bad it cost you an entire $2.

I recieved this game in a trade and have used it as an opener for non-gamers. At one point, this was the game that was played the most out af all the games I own (the pieces have started to show some wear after all its use). I should note that I've only ever played with 5. I doubt it would have been much fun with only 3. Anyway, I really enjoy the game.

Having said that, I'd like to try playing with alternate victory conditions or making the gems worth different points based on color.

Thread: Re: 'Niagara' falls.

gobbeg — 2008-06-18T02:53:11+00:00

My family found it really boring and I traded it away. I never found out if there was a rules snafu about the ending. In both the French and English editions it says that multiple winners are possible since once a player has achieved the victory conditions phase II continues until everyone has played. In the few games we played, there was always more than one winner. My original post on this: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/136990

Thread: Re: 'Niagara' falls.

TGov — 2008-06-17T23:25:25+00:00

I have had great success with Niagara It seems to work better with adults than kids for some reason.

Thread: Re: 'Niagara' falls.

wwscrispin — 2008-06-17T23:22:08+00:00

My twins are 10 and this game and For Sale are their favorites. It is not exactly a gamer's game and it is a little too long for a filler but I think it makes a nice family game with some good interaction.

Thread: Re: 'Niagara' falls.

janglybits — 2008-06-17T23:17:10+00:00

Our family loved it. Me especially, as I kicked my son-in-laws butt - he kept going over the falls! It was simple, had a good degree of interaction (river movement) and we laughed a lot. What more can a game do?

Thread: Re: 'Niagara' falls.

Yollege — 2008-06-17T22:14:42+00:00

Traded my copy away after trying it twice. nobody really liked it much.

It looks awesome, but I just found the game itself came up lacking something...

Thread: Re: 'Niagara' falls.

Rob in Richmond — 2008-06-17T21:26:23+00:00

Gotta agree with a lot of what you said Ron. I picked it up for 50% off at Barnes and Noble last year and tried it out a few times with my family. No one's wanted to play it since. So a couple of weeks ago I lent it out to a buddy to try with his family. Maybe he'll have better results. Definitely not something I would recommend spending hard-earned money on.

Rob

Thread: 'Niagara' falls.

rantinronrevue — 2008-06-17T19:51:31+00:00

I picked up this game for $2.00 in a second-hand store. I'd never been overly interested in it, but my plan was to learn it, teach it to my nephews, and give it to them at the end of the game (if they liked it).
Components: All the pieces were in the box, and the game was in excellent shape. The components were all of a very high quality, and I especially liked the 'gems', translucent little jagged plastic pieces that looked pretty cool on the gameboard. The boats were a good size, but could have been just a bit smaller to make it easier to crowd 4 of them on a disk.

Rules: Here's where the problems begin. The rules should fit on a two-page piece of paper (4 pages if you use illustrations. Somehow, they manage to use eight pages to explain this game, and frankly my adult son and I bothe read it, and actually came up with different interpretations when we started to play. The game is Not really all that difficult.

Gameplay: while the game can be fun at times, it often seems like you need to force something fun to happen (i.e. stealing a gem). Depending on the play order, its' too easy to plan for this scandal, and the other player often sees it coming. My 9-year old nephew said that the game was 'too easy', noting that he beat my son "which is impossible" (his exact words).
If you play this as a gentleman's game, retrieving gems from the banks without stealing, the game is even more long-paced. The one decent mechanic in the game is the 'cloud' scale, which allows you to alter the speed of the river. This can really catch some people by surprise when timed well.
Playing the game with 4 or 5 players is preferable, in my opinion.

Closing thoughts: I now own the game, only because my nephews really didn't like the game all that much. I plan to trot it out to our usual game group some night to see how it plays there - perhaps the more cut-throat pace of that group will bring out the best in this game. If not, them I'm only out a couple of bucks.

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rbayu2 — 2008-06-03T05:38:06+00:00

starting niagara

Thread: Sunday afternoon rock-hunting

seppo21 — 2008-05-31T22:14:53+00:00

First Game: Niagara

This past Thursday evening, my younger daughter asked if she could play the waterfall game. Translated into actual games that I own, she wanted to play Niagara. I was more than happy to do that. However, since we were about to eat dinner, I told her it would have to be after we ate. Since she had already offered to set it up, I told her she would have to take care of that. For some reason, she was very distracted after dinner and forgot all about the game until earlier today. At that time, she asked if we could play a game. I suggested the game she forgot about earlier in the week. She immediately became very excited and dashed off to get the game ready for play. After it was all set up, daughter number one wanted to join. Then, as we were taking our first turn, Christine asked to join as well.

I always like it when Christine decides to play with us. For one, I just like having her play. The second reason involves gameplay. When the girls and I play a 3-player game, it is not terribly uncommon for all three of us to play relatively high paddle numbers, thus pushing the river along at a fairly brisk pace. However, for some reason, that fourth player really slows things down. I find that we rarely ever end up with a river speed of greater than three. Since we play (relatively) friendly games, we rarely see the river level pushed up. I guess I should mention that since we are playing nice, we do not play with the rule that allows you to steal gems.

So, at the beginning of the game, I try to get some of the gems that are closer to the fall, so I usually pick out a number in the middle, hoping my first boat benefits from a little bit of river flow. This did not help me so much. By the second turn, though, I had picked up a yellow and a white -- not exactly the start I needed. I then began to work to get these back to the beaches. Unfortunately, I managed to get them both bak at the same time. I really try to avoid this as it always seems to just slow things down.

At this point, I begin to head back down the river. I figure that this time around I'll try to go for the pink and blue gems. Blue seems to be pretty straightforward -- most of the time. Pink on the other hand, is often more of a challenge. So, I was able to get the pink I wanted. However, I was having trouble setting myself up for the pink. I ended up having to get a second yellow. That was all right because on my next turn, with some help from the river, I was able to trade it for the pink. While I was doing this, my other boat made it's delivery. I was now able to send it back for the purple gem. By the time I arranged that, I was able to get my other boat back up the river and move the two of them off.

Results:
Daddy has five different gems.
Christine and daughter one each have three gems.
Daughter number two has two gems.

Another interesting side effect of playing with four instead of three is that the river is a lot more crowded. Although I've never played with the theft rules, I can certainly see how that would be an interesting addition to the game, particularly with this many people. In fact, I would very much like to try it in a four-player game sometime. Maybe not so much with only three. I think that allowing theft would make the other two victory conditions more likely. As it stands, we always finish when someone gets one of each gem. With theft, I think it would not only be easier to get four of a kind or seven total, but it would be a lot harder to get that pink gem and hold onto it.

I also think the girls are getting better at their maneuvering. For the most part, they don't see their canoes go over the falls all that often. In this game, daughter number two did lose one of hers, but I think this was somewhat on purpose -- just to see it go off. Pretty soon I expect them to start showing some evidence of planning out their moves more than one turn at a time. I can hardly wait.

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swuyau — 2008-05-26T11:07:11+00:00

game

Thread: Re: rules questions: lost canoes

grrlgeek42 — 2008-05-23T00:20:55+00:00

Any official or non-official reply to the second question?
2. If a player has lost both canoes, must he immediately (pay to) bring back (at least) one next round, or is he allowed to wait (for example, until the start of the next 7-round cycle)?

I came here to see if someone had asked this before and gotten an answer or to ask it myself and am disappointed to see it got forgotten.

I'm stuck in a game with no boats and have used only half of my stack of paddle cards and am wondering if I can just sit back and influence the other players canoes via river movement with my paddle cards and my cloud or whether I have to jump back into things right away. I'd rather deplete my stack and buy back in the turn all players' paddle card stacks are refreshed.

Thread: Re: Isn't gathering 4 gems of a single colour too easy?

franklincobb — 2008-05-03T02:05:02+00:00

YES. This was one of several reasons I traded it away.

Thread: Re: Isn't gathering 4 gems of a single colour too easy?

BGGMax — 2008-05-03T01:56:58+00:00

You can also play with less gems per location ... 5 or 6 instead of seven. I also decided on a different variant that I'm going to test out after a few more plays.

What A Rush!
Over time, the mighty Niagara has swept some of the gems downstream.

Each of the locations is ranked in order of easiest to hardest: Purple, White, Yellow, Blue and Red. At the start of the game, place one extra gem of each color in each location of a higher rank.

* White Location: 1 Purple Gem
* Yellow Location: 1 Purple Gem, 1 White Gem
* Blue Location: 1 Purple Gem, 1 White Gem, 1 Yellow Gem
* Red Location: 1 Purple Gem, 1 White Gem, 1 Yellow Gem, 1 Blue Gem

In addition to the extra gems, each location starts with the remaining gems of the appropriate color.

Thread: Two Games, Two Results

BGGMax — 2008-05-03T01:38:32+00:00

I picked up this game to give as a birthday present to my 10 year old sister. But, so we weren't stumbling through the rules when I gave it to her, my and my wife tried it out first.

In our dry-run two player game, the river moved REALLY fast. There is a reason it's meant for at least three players. Without using one of the two-player variants on this board, we both ended up losing two or three boats over the course of the game, and a lot of time was spent aaalmost going over. I'd definitely suggest either dealing out a third set of paddle cards for the river, or starting the river at -1. However, we didn't do either the first time. But in the end, we both ended up winning: me with 7 gems and my wife with 4 purples. As has been noted elsewhere, the locations start with 7 gems ... don't put all of them out!

Our second game was with four players: my wife, my sister, my mother, and myself. This ended up being really fun. A lot more strategy was involved with four players, guessing what they would play, deciding when to try and steal, and managing the river. I'd have to agree with some of the comments that the rules as printed are somewhat confusing and disjointed. I ended up making a quick reference sheet, although some of the ones offered on the site would've worked just as well.

After spending three minutes describing the overall gameplay to everyone, we got right into it. There were a couple questions from my sister and mother the first two rounds, but by the third round, it clicked. And from that point, everyone was into it. My mom quickly realized some of the depth to the game (depth being a relative term for a light game like this), and got into the strategy of managing the river. My sister loved the river mechanic and took joy in sending people to their doom.

I had my strategy set and almost got away with snagging four of one color, but my mom picked up on it and the three of them immediately teamed up against me to stop me. My mom had a rough go in the beginning (sent her canoe way downstream early and ended up losing one), but even with one canoe she was doing pretty well (she never decided to spend a gem to recover her second canoe, even though I brought it up once in a while). My wife got a couple of steals in (one of them being my fourth same colored gem ). But I got her back towards the end of the game, and got her to lose both of her rafts at the same time after I sped up the river .

But of course, it was my sister who won the game. It seemed like she wasn't playing with any real strategy, but that was just a devious ploy. The end of the game was real tense, and at one point, 5 canoes were in danger of going over the falls simultaneously. But a well played cloud slowing down the river ultimately allowed her to move BOTH of her rafts to the beach in one round and get the last two gems she needed to win. That said, I was one round away from winning myself. My wife would have been close too if I hadn't sent her over ... but hey, our couch is comfortable .

Overall, everyone had a really good time, but most importantly, my kid sister had a blast. As a gateway game, you can't ask for anything more than Niagara. I'd highly recommend it to introduce younger players to euro style games.

Thread: Re: Influence weather and Moving the river.

eightbit — 2008-04-22T13:40:16+00:00

Gedeone wrote:

So river movement occurs AT THEN END of all players turn.

Yes the river moves after all players have made their move. It moves the number of river tiles the same as the player who has played the lowest number tile + or - the weather.

If 4 people are playing and they played-

Player1- 5
Player2- cloud
Player3- 4
Player4- 5

Then the river would move 4 times, + or - what the weather is on after all players have made their move for the round.

I've also been playing this game wrong. Each person is supposed to turn over their paddle card when its their turn, we were playing that everybody turned over their paddle card at the same time and then each took a turn. This is a huge advantage because you can guess at what the other players are going to do.

Thread: Re: Influence weather and Moving the river.

Gedeone — 2008-04-22T09:18:06+00:00

You understood well.

So river movement occurs AT THEN END of all players turn.

We played in a different (and wrong!!!) way until now: all Players revealed their tile then during his turn whom played the cloud tile moved both cloud marker on Weather Track and the river.

thanks, Mauro

Thread: Re: Influence weather and Moving the river.

jedimusic — 2008-04-21T16:52:16+00:00

Not sure what you're asking here... you do know that everyone takes their turn/moves canoes/cloud marker... before the river is moved.

In your example Player A would move the cloud marker one space. Then player B and C would take their turns: if they played cloud markers, they would move the cloud marker on the cloud track one space respectively.

Now, it's time for the river to move ("lowest numbered tile" +/- "space cloud is on). When figuring the lowest numbered tile, cloud tiles are ignored. If everyone plays cloud tiles, then "lowest numbered tile"=0, and you just count the space the cloud marker is on (+1 means one space etc.).

HOW MANY river discs will player A have for moving the river?

You keep reusing the river disks until the river has moved it's entire amount.

Hope I'm understanding your question.

Thread: Re: Influence weather and Moving the river.

LoneCleric — 2008-04-21T16:48:02+00:00

Gedeone wrote:
For example: there're three players [A, B, C] and A is first player so during his turn he turns his paddle tile revailing it's the Cloud.
Since both players B and C has not yet revelead their paddle tile, HOW MANY river discs will player A have for moving the river?
Zero.

The river only moves when all the players have played their actions.
You then identify which tile has the smallest number (ignoring the clouds) and move the river by that amount, +/- the weather factor.

Thread: Influence weather and Moving the river.

Gedeone — 2008-04-21T15:35:05+00:00

Hi, I need a clarification about a player plays the "cloud paddle tile".

Rules says that a paddle tile remains face down until it's a player turn; so the question is:

- if FIRST player plays the Cloud Paddle tile, he changed the speed of the river (moving cloud marker on the Weather Track) but HOW MANY spaces he will move the river? Only whose showed on Weather Track (+1 or +2)?

For example: there're three players [A, B, C] and A is first player so during his turn he turns his paddle tile revailing it's the Cloud.
Since both players B and C has not yet revelead their paddle tile, HOW MANY river discs will player A have for moving the river?

I hope it's clear....thanks for answers....

Thread: Re: 3rd Grade School Variant

PlayMe1 — 2008-04-17T12:45:37+00:00

We tweaked it for time reasons and because this is the first boardgame these kids have ever played.

Thread: Re: 3rd Grade School Variant

grinningpik — 2008-04-17T06:07:27+00:00

In my grade 4-6 games club we play full rules and my daughter in grade 2 plays full rules too. I'm not sure this one needs a lot of tweaking unless it's for time consideration

Thread: 3rd Grade School Variant

PlayMe1 — 2008-04-13T12:49:24+00:00

In a game day with my wife's 3rd grade class, Niagara was very well received, and the kids enjoyed it. Here are the rules changes we made. We played as a 5-player game.

1. Use a die roll instead of card selections for movement.
2. If they roll a 3 or a 6 move the river downstream one disc.
3. When they've rolled a 3 or a 6 and the river has moved one they get a 2nd roll to get a chance to move this turn. If it's another 3 or 6 don't move the river again, but they don't get to move and this ends their turn.
4. No stealing gems.
5. One boat each
6. No money. If your boat goes over the falls you put in on the beach and just roll to move it on your next turn.
7. First one to get one of each gem back to the beach wins

In fact, with the die roll we borrowed the die from "Midnight Party" (aka "Ghost Party"), a game they also love. That die shows a ghost instead of a 3 or 6, so every time they rolled the ghost "the ghost moved the river." We called our game "The Ghost of Niagara." They really got into the game and had a great time.

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eightbit — 2008-04-13T02:42:15+00:00

Birthday party game day

Thread: 2-player variant

Ponton — 2008-04-09T18:36:44+00:00

Each player plays two colors. Turn order is alternating, P1C1-P2C1-P1C2-P2C2-... (p = player, c = color). You win if both of your colors fulfilled at least one victory condition each. They need not to be different, both of your colors may fulfill the same condition.

Thread: Re: Eu começo a notar um padrão

tiagoaob — 2008-03-03T18:03:17+00:00

lbathayde wrote:
O q quis dizer com "...achava que contra dois gamers mais experientes, eu poderia me dar mal."

Anyway, nunca tinha jogado Niagara!

Quis dizer que eu esperava que você e o João vissem antes meu truque ardiloso e que me impediriam de continuar com ele, ou ainda que um dos dois tentasse a mesma estratégia e daí os dois saíram frustados. Em suma, mesmo sabendo que era a primeira vez dos dois no Niagara, achei que não passaria despercebido.

Thread: Re: Eu começo a notar um padrão

lbathayde — 2008-03-03T14:41:33+00:00

O q quis dizer com "...achava que contra dois gamers mais experientes, eu poderia me dar mal."

Anyway, nunca tinha jogado Niagara!

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barnyams36 — 2008-02-29T09:48:37+00:00

Trying to save gems...

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CannonFodder-jm — 2008-02-23T04:28:42+00:00

Lots of colorful bits make gamers happy.

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CannonFodder-jm — 2008-02-23T04:27:09+00:00

These kids ages 5-11 really enjoy conspiring to send Dad's canoes over the falls.

Thread: Eu começo a notar um padrão

tiagoaob — 2008-02-20T19:47:02+00:00

E depois do Manila, ligamos para ver se mais alguém iria aparecer, como não tinhamos certeza ainda, acabamos por atrasar mais um pouco a partida de StarCraft: The Board Game. Mas tudo bem, a noite ainda era uma criança e graças ao término do horário de verão, teríamos uma hora a mais de noite para jogar .

Expliquei as regras para o João e para o Luiz e começamos. Decidi novamente tentar a clássica tática "tudo pelas roxas", mas achava que contra dois gamers mais experientes, eu poderia me dar mal .

Começamos então o jogo e enquanto eu joguei baixo para tentar já pegar uma gema roxa no início da próxima rodada, os dois jogaram alto e desceram o rio com tudo e então pensei: "Talvez não seja tão difícil assim, já que ambos cometeram o clássico erro de principiante".

Depois de algumas rodadas, a coisa já não parecia estar tão boa. Eu já estava com duas gemas roxas, mas o Luiz tinha duas brancas e meu irmão tinha uma rosa e estava trazendo uma roxa. Logo em seguida o Luiz pegou outra roxa e comecei a ficar com medo de que as roxas acabassem antes de eu conseguir pegar quatro.

Como os dois estavam se concentrando mais em pegar gemas perto da cachoeira, eu decidi jogar logo a minha nuvem e aumentar a vazão do rio. Com isso, consegui derrubar um dos barcos do Luiz e os do João estavam bem embaixo. Infelizmente, como estava na sexta rodada, não tinha fichas para manobrar meus barcos adequadamente.

Porém, na oitava rodada, pude fazer o que queria e consegui pegar mais duas gemas roxas para na rodada seguinte vencer o jogo. Meu irmão notou que não haveria como evitar que eu ganhasse e dessa forma, demos o jogo por terminado.

E novamente tentamos contato com mais jogadores, sem sucesso.

Thread: Re: I wish the boats were warmer...

Liumas — 2008-02-17T03:08:14+00:00

chockle wrote:
But you can't have your kayak and heat it too!
Can we please bring back the 'Thumbs Down' system?

This would be a perfect use for it.

Thread: I wish the boats were warmer...

chockle — 2008-02-17T00:54:05+00:00

But you can't have your kayak and heat it too!

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exquisitecactus — 2008-02-11T04:55:31+00:00

Loch Ness Monster invades Niagara game, along with some other chaos too.

Thread: Samurais na Cachoeira

tiagoaob — 2008-02-08T16:24:08+00:00

O Lopez desistiu de brigar com o violino dos pais do Ian e então estávamos em cinco para o próximo jogo. O escolhido foi Niagara, uma novidade para a maioria das presentes. Depois de uma rápida explicação das regras, começamos o jogo. Eu, que ainda estava com zero no placar, decidi apelar e ir para a estratégia das gemas roxas, afinal de contas, apenas o Ian conhecia o jogo e poderia reconhecer a estratégia e tentar impedi-la. Como ele estava a minha direita, seu poder de afetar minhas jogadas era pequeno, já que dificilmente conseguiria roubar alguma gema de mim.

Bem, iniciamos e cometi um erro logo de início, mas muito menor que os outros jogadores, que cometeram o clássico erro de jogar pedras altas para descer o rio rapidamente. Eu joguei uma pedra de 1 e com isso fiquei muito acima no rio e não consegui chegar nem perto de qualquer gema. Na segunda rodada, resolvi sacanear, já que a maioria do pessoal estava bem rio abaixo, resolvi modificar o tempo para empurra-los ainda mais. Deu certo, mas meu barco foi junto e ficou lá embaixo.

Finalmente comecei a por meu plano em prática e de uma só vez consegui pegar duas gemas roxas. No turno seguinte puxei-as para cima e metade do caminho já feito. Comecei a ficar preocupado, pois haviam poucas gemas roxas, apenas três, e poucas possibilidades de roubar as que faltavam, assim, joguei bem agressivamente e passei as gemas roxas por causa do fluxo do rio, mas no final das contas, consegui pegar as duas gemas que faltavam. Uma boa conferida no tabuleiro e me certifiquei que ninguem poderia me alcançar e/ou impedir a minha vitória.

Finalmente um para o bolso, mas foi a única do dia...

Image

zombiegod — 2008-02-04T17:10:53+00:00

Thread: Reme, reme, reme o barco

tiagoaob — 2008-01-21T18:58:15+00:00

Terminada a partida de Modern Art (Arte Moderna), a Nirvana, que tinha chegado no meio da partida anterior, quis jogar Niagara que ela havia ganho do Secret Santa dela, mas não tinha jogado ainda.

Apesar de ter vindo com todas as expanções, nós resolvemos jogar ele puro, pois era a primeira vez para quase todos na mesa e a Nirvana não queria perder tempo com leitura de regras.

Começamos então o jogo e alguns começaram rápido, enquanto que outros começaram devagar. Eu fui atrás da estratégia 4 roxas, que funciona muito bem contra novatos, pois eles demoram a perceber que você está para ganhar o jogo.

Bem na terceira rodada, todos colocaram apenas peças rápidas e boa parte dos jogadores ficou em uma situação delicada. A Luciana chegou a perder um de seus botes, mas logo recuperou o mesmo.

Eu rapidamente consegui sair do rio com duas pedras roxas e logo depois comecei a caçar outras duas. Novamente o rio veio bem rápido e fui empurrado para muito longe da minha vitória, mas com um pouco de calma, fui subindo o rio. Se alguém notasse que eu estava para ganhar, teria sido fácil evitar, já que fiquei vários turnos dentro do rio sujeito a um roubo de pedras.

Porém, ninguém notou e consegui sair com meus outros dois barcos juntos e venci o jogo enquanto a maioria dos outros jogadores ainda estava achando que ele estava no início.

Vingança pela derrota humilhante no Arte Moderna.

Thread: Re: Isn't gathering 4 gems of a single colour too easy?

af7hqs — 2008-01-21T11:04:47+00:00

I've played with only 3 players till now and I've noticed that it's easy to win with 4 gems of the same colour... I'll plan to play the score variant in the future...

Thread: Re: Is there anywhere to play this online other than BSW?

checkmate123 — 2008-01-08T17:53:54+00:00

thanks.

Thread: Re: Is there anywhere to play this online other than BSW?

jeblucas — 2008-01-08T17:49:28+00:00

I don't know of any other places to play this. I make Niagara appointments with some distant friends and relatives--even if only 1 because at least one BSWer will join in. So, mostly 3-person games. Check in on Mondays around 9PM PST (GMT-8).

Thread: Re: Rewritten, easy to understand rules

jgrundy — 2008-01-05T08:52:08+00:00

In your rules:

C.2. (you can unload then move then steal) and D.1. (move the canoe "beyond" the rope to land gems)... I agree with these interpretations but they're not clearly specified in my English rules. Do you have references?

Also re landing gems / section "D" ... you don't seem to note you can move upriver and land an empty canoe.

Cheers
Joe

Edit: My "C" and "D" section references are to your summary sections. In your "full" rules they are sections E and F.

Thread: Re: The most valuable gems?

jgrundy — 2008-01-05T08:39:25+00:00

The gems near the waterfall are more valuable (more highly valued) because... they're harder to get and land. Given a choice of two gems I don't have, I'll steal a gem from further down the river.

So it's not "the more valuable gems are placed near the falls" so much as "the gems near the falls are harder to get and hence more valuable".

(I'm assuming your opponents aren't going to let you walk away with a "four gems the same" victory.)

Thread: Re: The most valuable gems?

PlayMe1 — 2008-01-02T18:23:21+00:00

I agree -- the rules are misleading saying that the more valuable gems are nearer the waterfall, which is not at all true. In fact, I was disappointed to learn that that is a false statement and there is no point in going near the falls if you can take gems from safer locations.

Since this game also doesn't have any tie-breaker, maybe one way to make the gems near the waterfall more valuable (and create a tie-breaker factor) is award victory to the tied player with the most valuable gems, i.e, the gem(s) closest to the waterfall edge. Or even assign points to the types of gems for tie-breaking purposes: one point for each of the safer upriver gems and two points each for the ones at the river split and waterfall edge. This point count could also weigh in the favor of someone who has collected more gems and not just the first player to scoop up 4 of the easier gems.

Thread: Re: rules question: tie-breaker

PlayMe1 — 2008-01-02T18:17:27+00:00

I think that would be an excellent tie-breaker -- whichever tied player has the most valuable gem(s) is the winner. Most valuable = the ones closest to the waterfall.

Thread: Re: Cloud Question

beri — 2007-12-26T05:47:36+00:00

The expansion, Spirits of Niagara, introduces a piece (a beaver) which is placed on the river when the weather hits +2, which resets the weather to +0 once it falls off.

Otherwise, yes, the weather stays where it's at.

Thread: Re: Cloud Question

Kiboko Hippo — 2007-12-26T00:58:10+00:00

Yes, your interpretation is correct.

Thread: Cloud Question

howaa — 2007-12-26T00:00:51+00:00

If the cloud position is changed in one round is it kept in that changed position for subsequent rounds (until someone else plays a cloud and changes it again)? In other words, if it is at +1 after round one, would it stay at +1 for all subsequent rounds until another player plays a cloud and changes it again? Thanks.

Thread: Re: Light but fun.

MerricB — 2007-12-24T01:11:38+00:00

Faerun wrote:
What is wrong with the packaging?

I think mine is packaged great, everything in ziplocks, great box insert etc. (except that the green cano's are missing ^_^ )

But what did you not like about the packaging?

Cheers!

Great review btw!

The interior packaging is great. I just don't think the cover art is very good.

Cheers,
Merric

Thread: Re: River movement: random?

locusshifter — 2007-12-21T21:05:59+00:00

Yeah, let the river do it's thing, unless it gets stuck. Decide ahead of time what everyone will do when a disk becomes stuck.

Thread: Re: River movement: random?

IronMoss — 2007-12-21T17:11:29+00:00

When we have played, the river - when fed new disks from the top - will alternate between flowing down the left and right forks. However, there is no guarantee that it will always happen that way. Every once in a great while a disk may just decide to follow the one in front of it as you feed new disks from the top. It has been very rare in our experience though - certainly not frequent enough to alter game strategy.

On a few occasions, we've had a disk "get stuck" on the point of the folks. In those cases, I remember the rules having a contingency to guide the "stuck" disk down the fork opposite where the previous river disk traveled.

Occasionally, the river disks may get inadvertently "bumped" in the placement of canoes, which could alter its "natural" flow pattern - you may want to be a little vigilant in alerting folks to the potential for river manipulation.

Hope you enjoy the game.

Thread: Re: River movement: random?

smok — 2007-12-21T17:04:22+00:00

The river mostly alternates. We play that the river movement is whatever the mechanism does. If it jams we tend to manually enforce the alternating sides.