Game: Bitin' Off Hedz

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KrudgeWelder — 2008-02-20T23:33:50+00:00

Alternate Packaging - Island Pic

Thread: Re: throwing rocks question

Salt-Man Z — 2006-09-04T01:35:26+00:00

Yep, you can only throw along a single sight path at a time.

Thread: Re: throwing rocks question

SwedeLad — 2006-09-03T16:49:57+00:00

Hi Mark,

From what I remember (and I'm really thinking back here) you can only throw rocks the length of one connecting line. At least that's how we played it. We never chained together straight lines. Good luck and have fun.

Bryan

Thread: throwing rocks question

craniac — 2006-09-03T13:55:07+00:00

How far can rocks be thrown? the length of one connecting line, or can connecting lines be chained together if it's a straight line? Thanks!

Thread: Bitin' Off Hedz review

keethrax — 2006-08-27T18:06:47+00:00

This review is in two parts. The basic game, and the fun game.

In both forms this game is just a roll and move on a neat mapboard that comes in lots of pieces from Cheapass Games.

You roll to move, and can occasionally throw rocks at or bite off the heads of the other dinosaurs in an attempt to be the first one to throw yourself into the volcano.

When using the basic rules, it's a pretty lame game. And gets even lamer as the number of players gets smaller. At 2 players, with the basic rules, it's failry possible to never intereact with the other player at all. Not exactly exciting. With more players the possibilitieis for interaction increase, but that's all there is to it.

The "advanced rules" are where the game goes from terrible, to bad or even OK.

The game is actually not that bad when playing with:

a) a large number of players
b) various different plastic dinosaurs
c) the variant rules for each dinosaur form the back (make them up for ones not in the "rules")

Then it's significantly more fun than the basic game. Still not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but playable once or twice to show off the cool board to others.

And for a few bucks that makes it good enough for me.

With a small number of players, the basic rules, and generic looking counters, it rates a 2 at best. The abisc rules with a full conpmpletment might rate a 3 the first time you play. I gave it a 5 assuming the three factors above, and even then it only rates highly the first time or two. This would be a major problem with an expensive game, but a few good plays for a few bucks seems like a decent enough deal to me.

Thread: a cool big map but rather dull rules

Gnomekin — 2005-10-06T23:30:03+00:00

One thing I can’t accuse James Ernst of is coming up with boring themes. From demonic hares to wild west moon shots, the guy clearly is not afraid of being weird. A bunch of dinosaurs racing to commit suicide because they’ve got nothing better to do is as close to ordinary as I think he’s ever come.

Unfortunately, Bitin’ Off Hedz also happens to be the closest to normal rule set that he has come up with as well. In the end, when all the theme is stripped away, it is just a roll and move game. While that is a game mechanic with an illustrious history going back at least as far as the Royal Game of Goose, it isn’t one that thrills me.

To be honest, I think the real reason this game was made was so that Cheapass Games could put out a board that was a giant dinosaur skull.

This being a Cheapass Game, you will have to supply pawns for every player, rock tokens for the rocks you will be picking up, and a six-sided die or two. The little plastic dinosaurs that you had when you were eight that attacked your little green soldiers do a dandy job as pawns. If you’re like me and no longer have the ones you had when you were eight, it turns out that you can still pick them up real cheap.

So, what do you get when you buy the white paper envelope? Well, you get what has to be the largest board that Cheapass Games has ever produced. The board shows a winding path that reminds me more than a little of the Game of Life gone primordial overlaid over an island the shape of a dinosaur skull. I haven’t checked at the natural history museum but it might be fossil-sized. (I really can’t get away with saying life-sized, now can I?)

And, I’ll be honest, it’s a really neat looking board. I don’t get that much of a kick out of the game but it’s really fun to own this board.

The essence of the game is that you are trying to get to the end of the path and chuck yourself into the volcano. You do this by rolling the two dice and moving your pawn the appropriate number of spaces. If you land on someone else, you have the option of biting off their head and sending them back to the start. (Note, that is that your dinosaur pawn bites their dinosaur pawn’s head off. You should not actually bite your opponent’s head off. That would be called cannibalism and that would be wrong.)

If you’re moving past someone, you have the option of pushing them instead. You stop where they are they move on for the rest of your move. You also get to steal one of their rocks. Yes, rocks.

Along the way, there are places where you can pick up rocks. Although the dinosaurs had brains the size of jelly beans and never used any form of tools normally, apparently, they can chuck a rock like no one’s business. If another player’s pawn is on the path parallel to you, you can throw a rock at them with a chance at sending them back to start. You can also use a rock to reroll a single die. That rock gets dropped where you used it. If someone bites your head off, you drop the rocks you were carrying on the spot while you move your pawn back to start.

There are other special places on the board. What would a roll and move game be without them? There are mud pitts (dinosaurs aren't big on spelling), which slow you down to only one die and boo spaces that let you roll again, in addition to the aforementioned rock spaces where you get to pick up rocks. There are also a couple of forks in the road, so you do get a few decisions.

Oh, and you must roll precisely to end your move on the volcano, winning the game and hurling yourself to a fiery death. If you would overshoot it, then you don’t move at all. At least Cheapass was kind enough to make the last couple spots mud pitts so you cannot theoretically be stuck forever.

The newer edition of the game comes with optional rules for playing specific species of dinosaurs (or early mammals) that have special powers. Having never played with them, I really can’t make that strong an assessment of them.

In the end, the problem with Bitin’ Off Hedz is that you don’t have any real choices. You just roll those dice and move. Biting folks heads off or throwing rocks depend on where you land. Rerolling a die requires having been lucky enough to get a rock. In the end, pushing is the likely choice you’ll ever have to tactically make. It is too easy to get sent back to start, meaning the game can replay itself endlessly before it’s finally over.

I’m not sorry I bought the game. Four bucks for the guilty pleasure of looking at a really big map doesn’t seem like that much. However, I’m happy enough to give actually playing the game a miss.

Thread: Alternative rock-throwing...

Pompoli — 2005-09-20T19:53:59+00:00

Instead of throwing the die to determine if a rock hits, throw the rock! (At the other dino.) Much more fun that way.

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Ravsitar — 2005-03-14T16:43:56+00:00

Simulated game play.

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davemenc — 2003-10-29T13:34:11+00:00

Bitin' Off Hedz Cover

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2002-08-12T13:28:44+00:00