Game: Slapshot

Thread: Re: Can someone post the roster of players and their values for the PHANTOMS OF THE ICE Version?

Duglis — 2008-11-14T09:43:09+00:00

Hey thanks so much!

Thread: Re: Can someone post the roster of players and their values for the PHANTOMS OF THE ICE Version?

mevans444 — 2008-11-14T05:28:14+00:00

Patience, help is on the way!

It just took a couple of days to remember to dig out my copy.
I'm working on the computer file list now.

Update: Done, and submitted.

Thread: Re: Can someone post the roster of players and their values for the PHANTOMS OF THE ICE Version?

Duglis — 2008-11-13T17:34:16+00:00

bump. phooey!

Thread: Can someone post the roster of players and their values for the PHANTOMS OF THE ICE Version?

Duglis — 2008-11-09T09:23:23+00:00

I'm just asking if someone can post the roster of players and their values for the Phantoms of the Ice Version by White Wind?

-Doug

Thread: Re: Why set your line-up?

latindog — 2008-09-20T15:22:36+00:00

No one has ever bothered to set a lineup anytime I've played this. It would actually be annoying if someone did because it would slow down the game for no strategic purpose. Of course, you are correct that there is some decision making involved when it comes to overtime.

Thread: expansion for Phantom of the Ice?

Edbryan — 2008-07-01T17:25:51+00:00

I can't find any info on the a deck of expansion cards for Phantom of the Ice. The cards includes Bottled Up Jeanie. Did White Wind sell this or was it a give away?

Thanks for any help.

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

Yollege — 2008-06-18T22:20:42+00:00

Does that mean into production or off the voting list?

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

outofthenorth — 2008-06-18T00:29:52+00:00

the guy from columbia emailed me the other day saying he is 'going to pull the trigger any day now'.

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

SpareTire — 2008-03-10T02:50:16+00:00

Good heavens, but is this re-print moving slower than I had anticipated!!!

Thread: Re: 2007 WBC Game 13

raolsson — 2007-11-26T13:20:18+00:00

That sounds right to me. Also, I agree that it is unsportsmanlike to pick on the weaker teams. I think you should have to play all the teams in the league at least once before you return to any one team (by which time, they may not be the weakest team in the league anymore).

Thread: Re: 2007 WBC Game 13

Randy Cox — 2007-11-26T04:17:01+00:00

Don't know if the characters are the same (in terms of abilities) or not from edition to edition. I'm just saying that if games are short, they ought to allow some tables to use the current version of the game, even if some of the players are a little different.

Thread: Re: 2007 WBC Game 13

raolsson — 2007-11-26T01:10:51+00:00

Even with The Goon? I thought that was the big bonus of signing up on Columbia Games to have them reprint it.

Thread: Re: 2007 WBC Game 13

Randy Cox — 2007-11-26T00:09:54+00:00

I wonder if the rules of the later editions of the game changed. I learned the game in its Phantoms of the Ice incarnation, and I thought you had to play every other team once through before you could play anyone else again. Picking on a weak team over and over seems a bit unsportsmanlike, doesn't it?

ALso, you mention that it's out of print. That's only true of the Avalon Hill version (which wasn't even the original). I think it's currently in print by Amigo.

Thread: 2007 WBC Game 13

raolsson — 2007-08-23T14:01:18+00:00

Just as it was in 2006, Slap Shot was my last official game event at the 2007 World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA. I arrived with most of the crew from the game of War on Terror, but we got scattered as we looked for open tables among the sea of participants.

As Slap Shot is an Avalon Hill game that has not yet been reprinted, the event relies on people bringing their copies of the game more than others. After all, with Wellington, five games took care of all of the people entering any given heat. In Slap Shot? Well, there are a lot more than 20 people playing.

I ended up at the only table playing with open hands. This was so unusual that the MC of the event called attention to it. Open table saved me the trouble of trying to figure out who I would want to play in any given round, but it also provided an excellent opportunity to know who to look for to trade. I suspect that it takes away from the game, but it was the table I landed at, so I was in for the long haul.

And once again I ended up with the Goon. I stayed true to my vow of last year and did not let him go, and no one came looking for him either. In the end, it did not make much difference. There were eight of us at the table, and introductions were so fast that I did not get a chance to write everyone's names down. One name I quickly became familiar with was Becky. She had the team that refused to improve for the longest time, so everyone would play against her team to advance. I tried playing a few other teams, but that was probably what kept me out of the semi-finals. The other name I learned was Matt, who was our eventual winner.

When I caught up with Malloc, Bobby Tweaks, and VuduJoie later on, they each lamented the open hand game of Slap Shot. When I told them there was no limit to the number of times you could play any one team, they thought that was a bit odd too. We had always played it that you had to play every other team at least once and no more than three times. I think I will probably give Slap Shot a pass next year. There are so many games to play, and although I had a fun time with the event, I could have spent that time in open gaming and had just as much fun learning another game.

We shall see if I can contain my excitement for Slap Shot next year. :-)

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Terry Egan — 2007-07-23T16:53:43+00:00

Phantoms of the Ice: Back of Box

Thread: Re: Swept Away

Ward — 2007-07-23T16:49:59+00:00

Herr Oberst wrote:
We agreed that it would be better with more than two people and the best news of all is that there are two "house" players on their way up the ladder to the bigs in our two sons. It will take a bit as they're still young (ages 5 years and 20 months), but we'll be ready for them.
My sons are 6 and 2, I hope they take a liking to it soon as it is always fun to play games with them. I've had Phantoms of the Ice for almost 15 years - I look forward to finally playing it next week at WBCs.

Thanks for the great session report!

Thread: Re: Swept Away

Domino Man — 2007-07-23T02:03:24+00:00

You don't have too long with the 5 year old. My son started around 6 or 7 if I remember.

You're correct that it plays much, much better w/ more than 2. I'd never thought to try this with only two people. We play this often and usually with 4 or 5, which seems to be enough variety in teams to keep it interesting and not too much downtime.

Go Wings!

Thread: Swept Away

Herr Oberst — 2007-07-22T14:17:45+00:00

As a hockey fan, I had wanted and then scouted out a copy of Slapshot on e-bay quite a while ago. I bid on and won an auction but hadn't been able to sit down and play the game. Thankfully that was resolved last night as my wife and I tried it out. Why hadn't I pulled this out earlier?!

I must preface all this by saying my wife is not a big gamer but is a hockey fan too so it was an easy sell to get her to play. After a quick read through on the rules we were drafting our teams. Since there was only the two of us we decided to play a best of seven playoff series. I drew my team and was pleased with my players, mostly all high numbered, but I was to find out that not all of them would stay on the team.

We began playing and right away we both loved the names given to the players. The first goal came for my side via Friar Puck's stick as he squared off with Napoleon Bonapuck. After going through our decks the final score was 4-1 in my favor.

Before game two began we decided to try out the draft feature so each of us discarded one player and "drafted" another. I got a bum deal as I discarded Moose (value of 3) and got Gay Blade in return (value of 1).

On to game two. In this game I was to find that bruisers are good to have but only if they're on your team. The game was pretty tight all along and my wife got the early lead as I turned over Gay Blade to her Headlock Holmes. We both got a laugh out of the picture that went with Gay Blade as she mentioned the anti-PCness of it but then again the game is from the early 80's when PC wasn't so PC. I tied up the score and took the lead as Puck Rogers scored a big goal late but it was against Jack the Tripper (a bruiser she got in the draft). Puck was gone for the rest of the series and I would have to replace him. The late goal by my injured star proved the winner. Final score: 2-1.

Game 3: A very, very close game that was tense till the end. My replacement for Puck Rogers (Chubby Checker) allowed a late goal. But Friar Puck to the rescue, scoring the game winner. Final: 3-2. I get to go for the sweep, but I lost another player (my goalie Trapper John) to Jack the Tripper's goon tactics. Trapper was replaced by my "backup" goalie Bulldog Brown.

Game 4: The crowd had their brooms out as as my team got off to a quick 1-0 lead with Friar Puck tallying the early goal roofing a shot over Canda Post's shoulder. In a totally unexpected draw of the cards the score remained that way until the final buzzer. I took the series four games to none and Friar Puck paraded around the ice with the Slapshot Final's MVP award.

Both my wife and I had alot of fun with Slapshot, she even mentioned that she wanted a rematch We agreed that it would be better with more than two people and the best news of all is that there are two "house" players on their way up the ladder to the bigs in our two sons. It will take a bit as they're still young (ages 5 years and 20 months), but we'll be ready for them.

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

jollypirate — 2007-01-28T14:59:14+00:00

Not to mention that a new copy will run $15.99, while the only copy I've seen on Ebay sold for over $40.

It seems they've switched from pre-orders...now you can just "vote" to get a game in action.

Twist some arms at your next gaming event, and let's get out the vote!

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

Dolfin — 2006-11-01T19:20:57+00:00

Up to 188 now...long ways to go

Thread: 2006 WBC Game 30

raolsson — 2006-08-22T13:15:38+00:00

Slap Shot was my last official game on Saturday at the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA. If you have never been to this session, I highly recommend it. The crowd is loud and friendly and there are plenty of people in the room. This year there was a referee and whining players were sent to a corner of the room for a two-minute penalty. If only we could have that in some of the Euros we try!

VuduJoie and Bobby Tweaks settled at the same table that I did. Malloc moved off to another table (he was part of a team, the Natty Bohemians, and this was his competition event) Along with five other players, we began the wheeling and dealing that is Slap Shot.

My team was not the strongest or the bashiest, but it did perform well enough to drive us to the semi-finals. VuduJoie made it to the semis as well, along with two other players. Unfortunately, just before we got to the semis, I had traded the Goon.

This was the second time I had played Slap Shot, and the other version I played did not have the Goon. I traded him because although he took out a player, he was losing games for me because I could not get a point every time he came out. The player I traded it to had a stronger team and the Goon carried him on to win our match all together, promoting him to the next round of competition with the winners at the other tables.

VuduJoie had his team destroyed by the Goon, and I felt bad about that. I shall not make that mistake again.

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

malloc — 2006-08-14T19:53:19+00:00

I have been watching this move in the worng direction! whats up with that?
People get the word out that this game Rocks!

-M

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Boomer — 2006-08-14T00:12:21+00:00

Amigo Power Play version - The Great one is only an 8, Superstar is a 10

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Boomer — 2006-08-14T00:12:14+00:00

Amigo Power Play version - Tiny Tim card

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Boomer — 2006-08-14T00:12:09+00:00

Amigo Power Play version

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Boomer — 2006-08-14T00:12:04+00:00

Amigo Power Play version

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Boomer — 2006-08-13T23:42:49+00:00

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

Duglis — 2006-06-13T23:52:55+00:00

I already own the game and have mixed it with the German version, Power Play, to create my own super version.

Otherwise, I'd order one myself. Good luck with it, guys. It's one of the 2 games I rated a 10 out of all the games I own (approx 160).

Perhaps Columbia should just release this one. I really think sales would shoot up past their designated preorder amount if it was just released now.

-Doug

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

Swamigoon — 2006-06-13T02:08:45+00:00

My preorder just brought the count to 152.

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Boomer — 2006-05-11T19:42:34+00:00

The Prezcon 2005 Finals

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

ryder — 2005-12-22T01:46:19+00:00

My preorder is no 140, so it seems like I have to buy this game twice - otherwise it will take a while before I get to try it...
A must-try game for me (and that usually means must-buy!).

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

Yollege — 2005-08-15T00:49:31+00:00

That is what Columbia games called it, not me .

But they did say to watch for more Strategy Games coming, so let's hope they pick more good stuff to reprint.

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

Windopaene — 2005-08-14T01:49:32+00:00

I would say that calling Slapshot a strategy game might be considered a stretch.

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

Yollege — 2005-08-12T22:47:56+00:00

I am loving seeing it get to 86 so quickly, let's hope it can keep climbing .

This is my first pre-order from Columbia, but I like the potential of a few of their games. Even though I'm not a wargamer . But Slapshot excites me.

I am a recent devotee to the P500 style orders, having ordered Command & Colors: Ancients, Winds of Plunder, and Conquest of Paradise from GMT. I would LOVE to see both companies do more strategy games (all 3 of my GMT orders are more strategy than war games, with C&C being the same system of M44 & Battlecry).

Thread: Re: Slapshot is coming back.

TragicHeroBC — 2005-08-12T16:35:10+00:00

We are presently up to 86 preorders. Not bad considering the game has only been on preorder for 10 days. I've never played it, but I would like to encourage Columbia to do some strategy games, so I'm putting my $20 where my mouth is.

Tragic

Thread: Slapshot is coming back.

dotburn — 2005-08-04T12:33:32+00:00

Pre-orders are available.

http://www.columbiagames.com/cgi-bin/query/cfg/zoom.cfg?prod...

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alkaiser — 2005-07-18T20:06:02+00:00

Some cards from the German Amigo version of the game.

Thread: Tao of Gaming Review

Bankler — 2005-07-05T00:38:10+00:00

[This was originally reviewed around 1994 -- Brian]

Phantoms of the Ice is the first game by White Wind that isn't solely by Alan Moon. It's a cute little game about managing an Ice Hockey team. It takes about 1-2 hours depending on the number of players.

Each team has a goalie, two defensivemen and three forwards. The defensivemen may or may not be "bruisers" who can injury other players. Each card has a value from 0-11. Higher is better. During a turn, a player can do one of three things:

* Draft a player,
* Trade with another player, or
* Play a game

When you draft a player, you just discard a player you don't like and replace him with the top card of the same type of player (you don't show what you discarded or got).

When you trade with another player, you pick a card at random from his hand and then replace it with one of your players of the same type (and you can't give back the card you got). This is somewhat risky as you might get a poorer player than you get. But, if you know that someone has a strong team, it is a good way to balance things out.

Finally, you can play a game. During a game, you each play one card and then simultaneously reveal it, and score goals according to the following rules:

* If neither player is a goalie, the highest number scores a goal.
* If one of the players is a goalie, there is no goal.
* If both of the players are goalies, the higher number scores a goal.

In addition to scoring goals, if you play a bruiser (some of the defensivemen) then your opponents card is injured. Injured cards must be discarded (and the top card of the draft pile taken) after the game.

After each round, you play another round from your remaining hand, until six rounds have been played. That is the game. Highest number of goals wins. If there is a tie, you replace injured players and have sudden death.

You must challenge each player once before you can challenge anyone a second time.

The first person to get to 9 victories wins the game. This is actually a variant rule. The real rules say the first person to win 9 games plays against the 2nd place team (best of 7), but that seems boring for everyone else.

Complications

There are actually a few complications. Tiny Tim is a defensive player with a value of 1/2. However, he scores against any goalie. Rumplestilskin has a value of 1; however, whenever a bruiser tries to hurt him, the bruiser gets injured.

At $18, this game is a great buy. And, for once, others agree with me. Mike Siggins said PotI was the big seller at Essen 94, selling over 1,000 copies. The artwork is nice, the cards are funny, and the game has luck, psychology and memory. Maybe even a bit of skill too, although I'm not sure. It plays from 3-10 or so, although 5-6 is just fine...

Update December 9th, 1999

Phantoms of the Ice is one of those games that never got pulled out of the closet much after the first few plays. I don't know why. I still think it's a good game, but it's one of those good games that I don't play. Oh well. I also now know that the game is a remake of Slapshot.

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JSE0508 — 2005-03-14T16:41:02+00:00

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JSE0508 — 2005-03-14T16:41:02+00:00

Thread: Why set your line-up?

fooyongfoo — 2004-11-19T05:34:36+00:00

Most of the time, there's no real reason in Slapshot to ever logically set your lineup. You're as well to shuffle your cards randomly.

Suppose you have Superstar and your opponent has a bruiser. Now you don't want Superstar to get hurt so you choose a place in your lineup for Superstar that you're guessing your opponent will not put his bruiser. Of course your opponent may guess this as well and put his bruiser in exactly that spot. Lots of fun, right? Lots of strategy and planning, right? No, not at all, because essentially there's no more strategy than if you arranged your six cards in a random order.

Of course this out the window in Sudden Death OT.

Thread: Session Report

saulsehy — 2004-07-25T22:17:39+00:00

Dan finally arrived halfway through Metro and watched curiously as we finished. He was pumped for some action, and requested that we play Slapshot next. I agreed, Dan sorted it out, and we explained the rules to Max quickly.

This is an easy game to play and teach. The fun is in beating up on each other. We've played this game so many times that we agreed next time we'd need to use the sheets that count trades and drafts so teams have some limits. We were constantly upgrading our team, making this the longest game of Slapshot we'd ever played.

However, when we finally reached the playoffs, Dan was the top team (no surprise, since this is his favorite game), Eric was second, Max third, and Chris and I tied for last. That meant that Chris and I would play a one game playoff to see who met Dan in round one. (You can run playoffs however you wish in Slapshot...we decided to have a best of 5 first round and a 7 game Stanley Cup round). Chris had El Bos, which helped him with Dan after he eliminated me from the tournament. Max took out Eric (neither had a bruiser). Max lost good players every round to El Bos (having a bruiser in the playoffs is SO helpful). Finally he got Superstar after the third game, but it was too little, too late. Chris won the Stanley Cup after just barely making the playoffs.

I think Chris played it right. Really, there are two parts to the game. One is jockeying to MAKE the playoffs. However, you need to try to set up your team for the playoffs because you can't trade once you get there.

Max asked "where do you find these games" (another signal that we'd just converted another "non-gamer" to our world!). Eric said "Nerds R Us" and we all laughed. Our club now had a name....

Thread: Quick Comments

Jimzik — 2004-02-15T18:59:31+00:00

You start this game by taking turns blindly recruiting a team. 1 Goalie, 2 Defensemen, 3 Forwards. Each is drawn from his own seperate draw pile. The objective is to win enough games to make it into the play-offs before the other owners. In a turn you have 3 choices: 1.Recruit by placing an unwanted player at the bottom of his particular draw pile and blindly choosing the top card in the hopes it's a better player 2.Trade with another player by having him shuffle his cards in a pile and then picking out the card whose number from the top you call out 3.Play a game. All the players cards are sitting face-up on the table so you can always tell where you stand in the scheme of things. The best team in the game never remains that way as other players goons may knock out your best players or you might be forced to trade them away. You have to know when to go for it and play a game when you have any kind of an edge to win. Certain cards are only good against a specific type and nothing is ever for certain. To play a game both you and your opponent pick up your cards and secretly arrange them in a pile. In a "war-like" style you each reveal the top card with the higher number scoring. If you have the same number as a goalie you score on a 1d6 roll of 6, if you have a greater number then you score on a roll of 4-6. Tiny Tim scores on all goalies but everyone else scores on him. Le Goon injures everyone except Tiny Tim. There are many more special player abilities that come into play that keeps this game interesting and re-playable.

Thread: Session Report

bullseye008 — 2003-07-28T14:00:20+00:00

Bruce, Loyd, Renae, Michelle, Kirk, Rosie, and Patrick faced off in a seven team league. It was agreed that we would all play each other once for the regular season. All managers were rookies (new to the game).

Bruce was the first manager to challenge another manager to a game and was edged by Michelle 2-1. Most mangers took at least three turns of drawing before challenging. Bruce was also the first to trade with Michelle on the turn after his defeat. Renae revealed a very strong team with an early win over Patrick, but lost some prime players to free agency as other managers picked her hand for trades. By the middle of the season it was clear that Rosie had the team to beat with with some strong forwards and two bruiser defensemen that took a heavy toll on other competitive teams heading into the playoffs.

End of season standings were:

Rosie W 5 L 1 Goals 16
Renae W 4 L 2 Goals 14
Michelle W 4 L 2 Goals 13
Kirk W 4 L 2 Goals 13
Bruce W 2 L 4 Goals 12
Loyd W 1 L 5 Goals 8
Patrick W 1 L 5 Goals 7

In the first round of the playoffs, Rosie defeated Kirk in OT and Renae defeated Michelle in OT. In an exciting final, Rosie edged Renae for the championship in yet another OT!
CHAMPION: ROSIE

The game was very well received and will definitely be the game of choice for large groups in the future.

Thread: Session Report

Michael Becker — 2003-05-31T01:04:54+00:00

With the 2003 NHL season winding down (finally – does hockey not have the longest season in sports????) I decided to bring some hockey themed games to “celebrate”. After our game of Tycoon I asked for five players to join me in some silly fun. I brought both Team and Power Play and we decided to play Team. I believe this is the original version of Slapshot. It is even simpler than Slapshot as the game board only tracks game wins. There is no dice, no board which dictates your actions, or advanced rules. On your turn you can do one of the following: 1) play a match, 2) trade with another player, or 3) trade for the top card of any face-down pile.

Most players have values from 1 – 7 (the exceptions are Tiny Tim who is worth 1/2 a pt but always scores on goalies, and The Superstar whom always scores against opposing defense or forwards).

Trading is simple. You select an opponent and draw a random card from their hand. If you draw a defenseman you have to give the other team a defenseman in return. Same thing goes if you draw a forward or goalie.

If you trade with the resource deck you draw a single card from the forward, defense, or goalie stack. You must keep the card you drew and you then replace it with a like position from your hand. This card goes to the bottom of the face-down stack.

Games are played in rock, paper, and scissors fashion. Each player selects a team member from their six cards.

a) If both players play a forward or defenseman the highest value scores. If the values are tied no goal is awarded.
b) If one player plays a defense or forward and the other player plays a goalie no goal is awarded.
c) If both players play a goalie then the highest value goalie scores.

Whoever has the most goals after all cards have been revealed wins the game. If the scores are tied at the end of the first round the game proceeds to sudden death overtime (i.e. the next goal wins). To complicate the mix some players are bruisers. These players take out their opponent by “injuring” them. The player is replaced at the end of the game with the top benchwarmer of the appropriate type (i.e. from the face down stack of cards).

Every time a team wins a game they advance their marker on the win track. Once someone gets to ten wins the playoffs start. The top two teams which have advanced the furthest make it to the final match. If there is a tie for second a tie-breaking match occurs.

I was joined by Jim, Mark, Jason, Trent, and James. James started out quickly as his opening team was very, very good. Then the forced trades started. Jim traded a player with James. Then Trent, then Mark, etc. In less than one round James went from a stacked team to a miserable lot. Jim also had a good opening team and very quickly racked up win after win. Mark waited patiently and finally made his move. He quickly caught up to Jim and then surpassed him. Towards the end of the game I tried a comeback but it was a bit too late. And once they saw the team I had formed I met the same fate as James had earlier. The game is very light and fluffy, and to add to the festivities we all broke into the Hockey Night in Canada theme song each time a game started. Mark continued to move the ladder and challenged Jim to one final game. Mark easily won and this meant he would face Jim in the championship. Jim didn’t have any bruisers and therefore had no way to get rid of Mark’s stacked team. He conceded the match to Mark.

Final Scores:
Mark 1
Jim 2
Jason 3
Trent 4 tie
Me 4 tie
James 5

Even though Team is an elaborate game of Rock, Paper, Scissors it can be a lot of fun with the right group. I was scanning some Boardgame Geek lists and noticed that Slapshot is one of the best attended events at the World Boardgame Championships. There are times for something heavy and then there are times for something light. Team is an excellent example of the latter.

Thread: Session Report

Dan Bosley — 2003-01-20T18:20:55+00:00

Then Patrick, Sean, and I played Power Play, the 2nd-guessing hockey card game. Patrick proved an absolute whiz at 2nd guessing both Sean and I, winning far too many hockey games as far as I was concerned. Patrick had more trouble with Sean - but Sean said he he was playing randomly - so it’s kind of hard to 2nd guess someone who is picking randomly!

First player to win 9 hockey games wins the game. And that was Patrick.

Patrick - 9 (winner)
Dan - 3
Sean - 2

Thread: User Review

Eggo — 2002-10-30T16:17:52+00:00

Powerplay

This is the German version of the excellent American card game “Slapshot”, which, slightly inspired by the black film comedy with the same name about ice hockey (starring Paul Newman), became most known in it’s old Avalon Hill edition.
You won’t find a Paul Newman card, but rather an assortment of fantasy and paraody characters very removed from real ice hockey in the German version. Each player randomly draws a team of 3 attackers, 2 defenders and a goalie. Every turn each player has 3 options: 1) exchange one player card for a randomly drawn card of the same type (presumably in the hope of getting a better player). 2) Randomly steal a card of another player and replace it with a card of your choice from your own hand (risky, but worth it if the other player is known to have a strong team). 3) Challenge another players team (you have to challenge each other player before challenging the same player again).
Who can score 5 wins wins the game.
Games (or rather battles) work a little like the card game “War” – Each player selects a card secretly, the higher card scores a goal, with some special rules (goalies always stop attackers, or concede to the higher goalie, certain defenders have the ability to incapacitate the opponent’s card, forcing him to exchange the card after the game, etc.). There are even players with “special abilities”, like the “Hydra”, which is stronger if played late in the game.
All 6 cards are played and the higher scorer wins (sudden death continuation is possible, if there is a draw). Card play is relatively random for the first 3 cards or so, but becomes increasingly tactical, as you know what cards have been played and which ones not. Also, the other players will watch the game like hyenas – if a player is known to have a weak team the others will certainly take advantage of that knowledge.
All in all this is a really fun game – it plays quickly, uses at least parts of your brain that other games do not use, and it is also cheap. A true classic, especially as a quickstarter or light finishing game.

Thread: Session Report

davekohr — 2002-09-16T15:31:36+00:00

(CharlesP, EdB, *BobC*, RichI, KevinO, MattC, RichF, JohnH)

RichI: "This Slapshot/Phantoms of the Ice remake was a lot of fun with eight players. We didn't use the special player rules (other than "bruiser" players), and only played to five wins...a little short for trading/drafting strategy. A fun spin on "War."

KevinO: "RichI is right, lots of fun with a large group of players."

Thread: Session Report

davekohr — 2002-09-16T15:31:01+00:00

(CharlesP, EdB, *BobC*, RichI, KevinO, MattC, RichF):

MattC: "Hmm. This game was okay. It's pretty fun and has a little flavor, but the system by which you play the actual games seems a little gauche. We played a shortened game to 5 points, which was fine by me. I think next time I will write a simple computer program to play optimally and then I will go play something else."

RichI: "This is the German version of Phantoms of the Ice (aka Slapshot). To those who have never played before, each player has a hand of 6 cards which represent a hockey team (3 forwards, 2 defensemen and a goalie) Each turn you can "draft" (discard one of your cards and draw a card of the position), "trade" (randomly draw a card from an opponent and then give him back a card of the same position.) or "play a game" (where you basically play War--you could pick your cards "strategically, but it rarely matters. The higher player scores a goal with some funky effects for "bruisers" and goalies.)

It was odd game, people kept challenging the weak players and then were losing by really freak hand distributions.

We played a shortened game to only 5 wins, I think it would have been better at the regular 9."

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2002-09-16T15:29:58+00:00

Well, this was our first visit to Rick's place, right in the heart of downtown Vancouver, and of course, suburbanite that I am, it took me about 15 minutes of looping Homer and Granville, trying to find parking. Corwin had arrived just before me and was checking out Rick's game collection, and I scurried over to check it out. (I've got to add, that at the 21st floor, Rick's place had a really nice view of the city.) I spotted the recently-arrived Die Macher on Rick's table and just drooled (figuritively) on the board. We decided to stick with other games tonight, but it will take very little persuasion for me to play that game in the near future. Knowing Jeff wouldn't show for another 90 minutes or so, we settled on some games we thought would play well with 3 players and started in.

PowerPlay was the first to hit the table. I'd nearly pruchased it several times in the past, but couldn't find enough 'good press' on it to convince me to buy it. I thought it would be a good opener, and I'm glad the other guys agreed. This game is very simple, not unlike War, but in a good way. You have a team consisting of 1 goalie, 2 defence, and 3 forwards, each with a value (and some with special powers.) On your turn you can either trade players, or play a game against another 'team' (another person's hand of cards). On your turn you just have a 1 on 1 blind binding war. Each time both players lay down cards, and highest number scores a goal. Goalies make saves, and bruisers knock out players. It is sort of random, but a lot of fun!

I went on a huge win streak early compiling 5 straight wins while Rick and Corwin sputtered in the early part of the season. In the second half of the season, despite some injuries and poor trades, I'd still managed to win the majority of the games. Corwin just edged out Rick to take second place overall.

Regular Season record:
Jy 9 wins
Corwin 3 wins
Rick 2 wins

So to the championship!

Feeling confident, my squad came in to the Stanley Cup with high expectations! A squad of scorers and a great goaltender meant things looked good. But Corwin's scrappy squad had a lot of heart, and my team ended up being a bunch of overrated whiners who can't win the big game! (Sounds a lot like the real NHL come to think of it...)

Championship Game:
Corwin's Avengers 3 - Jy's Bigheads 1

Way to go Corwin! My squad will be back for revenge next 'season'!

Ratings: Corwin 7, Jy 7, Rick 7
Group avg: 7.00

Corwin was the big hockey fan in the group, but we all thought this was a great little filler game. It's a tad long-ish for filler (30-45 mins) but a great little game. I'd highly recommend this one to families with kids as it's a great fun game with a neat theme. I am definitely going to pick this one up oen of these days.