Game: Terra Nova

Thread: Peacenik Cowboys and No Indians

VixenTorGames — 2008-11-03T02:18:56+00:00

If you're an American, you're probably familiar with how we settled the frontier of the American West and built our nation, one blood-soaked acre at a time. Every red-blooded American is proud of our winning the West, with the possible exception of a few thousand Injuns, who may not have been as eager to donate their land to our cause. But in the end, might made right, and we have one proud nation, under God, indivisible, complete with baseball, internet porn and Grandma's apple pie.

But I'll tell you this - we're just lucky we didn't have competition like in Terra Nova. This little pseudo-Euro has a bunch of people settling a little island, but unlike the proud US of A, these people can't just whip out a cavalry charge and send the ungrateful bastards running for the reservations. Hell, in Terra Nova, they apparently have some twisted Geneva Convention working, because these guys don't even get to kill each other at all. That's completely unAmerican. You should probably write your state representative immediately.

No, to claim land in Terra Nova, the different people have to build walls. I guess that makes sense - there are those who believe that the single most important invention for settling the American West was barbed wire, so there may be something to the creation of walls for the purpose of claiming land. The problem is, those walls don't build themselves.

So you'll start off the game by putting your wooden meeple cowboys all over the hex-grid map of the island. On your turn, you can do three things. Those things can be either moving or building a wall. So you could move twice and then build a wall, or move one guy, build a wall, and move another guy, or move and then build and the build again, or... well, that's about it. Building a wall is pretty much a function of picking a spot next to one of your wooden frontiersmen and putting a wall piece on it.

The idea is to close off areas so you can claim them. When a closed-off area contains three or fewer kinds of terrain (your inventive land speculators can build walls in the middle of lakes, across deserts, or through craggy mountains with equal ease), the little wooden guys inside claim it for themselves. The worst thing is, nobody gets shot. All these pansies just go build wood cabins and start procreating. Make love not war, indeed. Little wooden hippies is all they are.

In fact, these peaceniks are so willing to share that if two groups have the same number of wooden hippies inside a closed-off area, they split it! They turn it into some kind of commune. I'm not sure how they overcome the language barrier, but however they work it out, nobody gets killed. The settlers probably intermarry and have little miscegenated babies. It's disgraceful. They probably let the women grow leg hair, too, and burn bras.

The whole process is pretty fast. You can finish a whole game of Terra Nova in about twenty to thirty minutes, and then you and your peace-loving friends can go brew up some herbal tea and name your children after magical creatures.

Even without an American level of violence, Terra Nova is still a challenging game to play. Your brilliant moves can backfire if you don't think ahead. You can wind up surrounded in a fairly pathetic back field somewhere, wishing you could close off one more area so that your little wooden farmers didn't have to marry their cousins and have inbred redneck babies. Some planning and clever moves, combined with the ability to see what your opponents will do, can help ensure you don't finish dead last.

But if you like games where stuff happens, and you're not just abstracting a theme with wooden blocks, this might not be the big winner your game group has been hoping for. Terra Nova has one of those rulebooks that Euro fans call 'elegant', which means that even a six-year-old kid could understand the rules and be bored to tears. In the end, your enjoyment of Terra Nova will depend on what kind of games you like. If you like deep theme, fast action and tricky interplay, this isn't your bag. But if you like a simple ruleset, quick gameplay and calculating strategy, you might really get a kick out of it. You might also like incense burners and yoga.

Summary

Pros:
Nice pieces and a pretty board
Easy, easy rules
Good depth and strategy
Plays really fast

Cons:
If it was any more Euro, it would be designed by a moody German
Theme is a little weak

Thread: Re: GIANT Terra Nova at "Gateway 2008" Strategicon

wwscrispin — 2008-09-01T03:27:52+00:00

Terra Nova has nice artwork. It is a game that can benefit from this treatment. I hope it goes/went well.

Thread: Re: GIANT Terra Nova at "Gateway 2008" Strategicon

Runehardt — 2008-09-01T02:04:26+00:00

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Runehardt — 2008-09-01T01:43:13+00:00

Giant Terra Nova at Gateway 2008

Thread: Re: GIANT Terra Nova at "Gateway 2008" Strategicon

Runehardt — 2008-08-30T06:23:12+00:00

russ wrote:
I would love to play in such a tournament. When are you coming to Pionek? I'd love to visit Poland.

If anyone from BGG stops by to check out the board please say hello!

Thread: Re: GIANT Terra Nova at "Gateway 2008" Strategicon

russ — 2008-08-26T20:12:44+00:00

I would love to play in such a tournament. When are you coming to Pionek?

Thread: GIANT Terra Nova at "Gateway 2008" Strategicon

Runehardt — 2008-08-26T16:50:50+00:00

I will be running a Terra Nova tournament at Strategicon's "Gateway 2008" in Los Angeles. We will be using the giant Terra Nova board.
Gateway takes place over the Labor Day weekend and the tournament will be on Saturday the 30th of August at 2:00 PM.
The game will also be available all day for demo and play. If anybody is going to the convention and would like to play on this one of a kind 55" board, stop by, pick up a free button and say hello. I'm pretty sure it will be set up in the Collectible Card Games room.
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Kiko_Senda — 2008-08-07T09:20:25+00:00

People Playing in Essen Fair

Thread: Re: Over-sized Terra Nova board at Strategicon

Runehardt — 2008-06-12T05:29:15+00:00

Here's a picture from the tournament at Strategicon:
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The board is just the right size. It forces the players to walk around the table to make their moves.

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Runehardt — 2008-06-09T17:09:46+00:00

"We got yer back" Comparison shot of the custom over-sized Pioneeples used in the giant Terra Nova game

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Runehardt — 2008-06-05T02:40:05+00:00

Terra Nova tournament on the giant board at Strategicon (Gamex) 05/24/08 Los Angeles

Thread: Re: Over-sized Terra Nova board at Strategicon

Runehardt — 2008-05-28T15:39:34+00:00

We play tested the over-sized Terra Nova board the night before the convention. It's much easier to reach the center when it's on a couple of tables.
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It also seems to look bigger on the tables.

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Runehardt — 2008-05-26T05:12:13+00:00

Our first play on the giant Terra Nova board. I think we'll need a bigger table!

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

sisteray — 2008-05-22T15:51:54+00:00

russ wrote:
sisteray wrote:
I believe in having a small collection.

(Looks at sisteray's game collection, sees 701 games owned, feels confused.)

Yes, but think of all the games I don't have.

Thread: Re: Over-sized Terra Nova board at Strategicon

Sheylon — 2008-05-21T01:51:51+00:00

I might have to cancel some demos just to try and win that oversized Pioneereeple...

...Sheylon
www.boardgamebabylon.com

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

gashlycrumb — 2008-05-20T23:07:37+00:00

This game is sooo painfully dry to me, and I generally like abstracts and I am ok with lightly themed games.

Here is another option that I would throw your way:
Hacienda

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

russ — 2008-05-20T22:00:41+00:00

sisteray wrote:
I believe in having a small collection.

(Looks at sisteray's game collection, sees 701 games owned, feels confused.)

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

sisteray — 2008-05-20T21:52:20+00:00

Jim K wrote:
sisteray wrote:

Do you need this game? No.

You don't need any game.

now you sound like my wife, and I disagree.

I believe in having a small collection.

Thread: Re: Over-sized Terra Nova board at Strategicon

Runehardt — 2008-05-20T14:29:48+00:00

russ wrote:
Cool; post a photo of the giant Terra Nova in play if you get a chance, please! I will post a few pictures.

Thread: Re: Over-sized Terra Nova board at Strategicon

russ — 2008-05-20T07:34:18+00:00

Cool; post a photo of the giant Terra Nova in play if you get a chance, please!

Thread: Re: Over-sized Terra Nova board at Strategicon

Runehardt — 2008-05-20T05:24:40+00:00

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Here's an example showing the size of the pioneer.

Thread: Over-sized Terra Nova board at Strategicon

Runehardt — 2008-05-20T04:58:23+00:00

Visit Strategicon and check out the over-sized Terra Nova game. Complete with 55 inch wide board. Play Terra Nova on this one of a kind version of the game.

Terra Nova tournament at Strategicon - Gamex 2008
Memorial Day Weekend
May 24, 2008 starting at 12 noon
Gamex takes place from May 23 - May 26 at the Radisson Hotel - Los Angeles Airport, 6225 West Century Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90045

http://www.strategicon.net/index.php

The Guest of Honor at this year's Gamex will be
Zev Shlasinger of Z-Man Games

If you live in Southern California and you have not visited a Strategicon convention I encourage you to attend.

Prizes for the winners.
Some lucky competitors will get an oversized Pioneer Meeple to take home too.

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

Jim K — 2008-05-19T19:54:11+00:00

sisteray wrote:

Do you need this game? No.

You don't need any game.

now you sound like my wife, and I disagree.

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

russ — 2008-05-19T18:46:40+00:00

Terra Nova and Through The Desert don't seem at all similar to me except in the trivial sense that they are both pure strategy games on hex grids. In TN your meeples move, and you are also placing (neutral) stationary stones. The rules, scoring, and strategy of the 2 games seem different to me. I own and enjoy both.

(Haven't played PM so can't comment on it.)

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

sisteray — 2008-05-19T17:55:07+00:00

I've played all three, they aren't much alike.

Terra Nova has individual meeple movement, unlike TtD or PM.
TtD is more like the tron light cycle game.
Portobello Market is nothing like this, it is an area control game with a Hansa like Cue Ball that determines building.

I would compare this more to Mexica, although I happily own both.

Do you need this game? No.

You don't need any game.

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

Larry Welborn — 2008-05-19T17:31:48+00:00

I'm not familiar with Portobello Market, but TTD and Terra Nova are sufficiently different that I have, and enjoy, both games.

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

quozl — 2008-05-19T17:16:26+00:00

I haven't played Portobello Market but while this is a little similar to Through The Desert, it feels different to me becuase of the moving pioneers.

Thread: Re: do i really need this game....

Tatsu — 2008-05-19T17:12:39+00:00

Nope, if you have TtD and PM, you do not need this one. Its a fine little abstract filler (yes the "theme" is barely held on by a piece of used tape).

Thread: do i really need this game....

Jim K — 2008-05-19T16:32:42+00:00

If I have Through the Desert and Portobello Market? They all sound very similar as simple, abstract area control games.

Thread: Re: Terra Nova event at Gen Con Indy 08!

WinningMoves — 2008-05-09T19:24:27+00:00

For anyone who had tried to sign up for any of the events and couldn't, the problem is resolved and you can now sign-up for events without issue. There was a problem in how some of our events were in the system that has since been corrected. Sorry for any inconvenience!

Thread: Terra Nova event at Gen Con Indy 08!

WinningMoves — 2008-05-05T19:35:40+00:00

This year will be the biggest year yet for Winning Moves/Immortal Eyes Games!

We are proud to announce that Vineta, imported from Winning Moves Germany, is the newest addition to the growing Immortal Eyes line! Joining the other Immortal Eyes Games, Conquest of Pangea, Terra Nova, and TransAmerica with Vexation, Vineta’s launch will be celebrated with a huge Vineta tournament and a daily giveaway of free games! Everyone who participates in the tournament gets a free copy of Vineta and we will give away Five (5) free copies of Vineta each day to the first 5 people at the booth in the morning!

We will be running demos all day at our booth of all four Immortal Eyes Games and giving away prizes to players the more demos they do! Over the course of the convention, if you demo two (2) of the games, we will give you a special set of Immortal Eyes dice. If you demo three (3) of the games, we will give you a set of dice and a dice bag. And if you demo all four (4) of the games, we will give you the dice and dice bag, a special notepad to keep track of all the gaming goodness at the con, and a new “Pig Pen” clip-on pen!

We're also running 4 events with CASH prizes:

August 14: Terra Nova Tournament (featuring $100 grand prize)
The 16-seat event features a $100 grand prize and Immortal Eyes T-shirts to all who make it to the final round!

August 15 and 16: Conquest of Pangea Tournament (featuring $100 grand prize and FREE Atlantis expansion)
This 16-seat event has it’s preliminary round of play on the 27th and the finals on the 28th. Grand prize is $100 and all players who reach the final round will receive an Immortal Eyes T-shirt! All players will receive a FREE Conquest of Pangea: Atlantis Expansion!

August 17: Trans America Tournament (featuring $100 grand prize)
This 16-seat event features a $100 grand prize and Immortal Eyes T-shirts to all who make the final round!

August 14-16: Vienta Tournament Qualifying Rounds (featuring a Free copy of Vineta to all players)
These 20- (Aug 14-15) and 24- (Aug 16) seat events are to qualify people for the Vineta Finals on August 17. All players participating in the qualifying rounds will get a FREE copy of Vineta just for participating and all players who reach the final round will get an Immortal Eyes T-shirt and an invitation to the Vineta Finals!

August 17: Vineta Tournament Finals (featuring a $500 grand prize)
This 16-seat event for the finalists of the qualifying rounds features a $500 grand prize to the winner of the event!

This looks to be the best year yet for Winning Moves/Immortal Eyes! We hope
to see you there!

Thread: Terra Nova events at Origins 08!

WinningMoves — 2008-04-16T17:19:55+00:00

This year, we have more events, more games, and more, well, everything!

We are proud to announce that Trans America (including the Vexation expansion) will be the newest addition to our Immortal Eyes Games line. That’s right, Trans America is now being published solely by Immortal Eyes Games! To celebrate this exciting event, we will give away Five (5) free copies of Trans America each day to the first 5 people at the booth in the morning. Additionally, you can play Trans America at the booth all day as well as our games Conquest of Pangea and Terra Nova. You can find us again this year at Booth #74, right inside the front doors!

We're also running 3 events with CASH prizes:

June 26: Terra Nova Tournament (featuring $100 grand prize)
The 16-seat event features a $100 grand prize and Immortal Eyes T-shirts to all who make it to the final round!

June 27 and 28: Conquest of Pangea Tournament (featuring $100 grand prize and FREE Atlantis expansion)
This 16-seat event has it’s preliminary round of play on the 27th and the finals on the 28th. Grand prize is $100 and all players who reach the final round will receive an Immortal Eyes T-shirt! All players will receive a FREE Conquest of Pangea: Atlantis Expansion!

June 29: Trans America Tournament (featuring $100 grand prize and free game to all who participate)
This 16-seat event features a $100 grand prize, Immortal Eyes T-shirts to all who make the finals, and best of all, a FREE Trans America game for every player!

This looks to be the best year yet for Winning Moves/Immortal Eyes! We hope to see you there!

-

Joe Sequino
Vice President of Marketing
Winning Moves Games

Thread: Re: Warning: There is a 3rd Game Ending Condition missing in official Engish Rules!

russ — 2008-03-24T23:23:44+00:00

Grr, I never got an email notification for these very useful and welcome comments on the thread. Lucky I thought to check back through the forum for answers! It is great to see the publisher paying attention and answer questions. Thanks very much for the clarifications!

Thread: Re: Move, Stone, Move?

russ — 2008-03-24T23:19:33+00:00

Move Stone Move is also explicitly allowed according to the FAQ at:
http://www.winning-moves.com/Images/TerraNova_FAQ.pdf

Thread: Re: "Immediate" scoring

russ — 2008-03-24T23:18:35+00:00

Scoring is immediate (i.e. right after the stone is placed which forms territory), not at the end of your turn, according to the FAQ at:
http://www.winning-moves.com/Images/TerraNova_FAQ.pdf

Thread: Re: Scoring an 'island' stone in a territory?

russ — 2008-03-24T23:17:06+00:00

No covered spaces count for scoring according to any sane interpretation of the rules as well as the FAQ at:
http://www.winning-moves.com/Images/TerraNova_FAQ.pdf

Thread: Re: Simple, Clever & Fun

WinningMoves — 2008-03-21T16:09:36+00:00

Glad you guys like the game! I know, personally, I really like this one and it's an abstract favorite of mine. Thanks for playing!

- Craig
Marketing Assistant

Thread: Re: Simple, Clever & Fun

MENAREUS2000 — 2008-03-20T22:46:19+00:00

Your Welcome.

Have you tried Easter Island, it's under rated I think too.

Thread: Re: Simple, Clever & Fun

sshawmd — 2008-03-20T18:24:26+00:00

Im not even the biggest abstract fan, but I love this game and think its sorely underrated!! Thanks for the read!

Thread: Simple, Clever & Fun

MENAREUS2000 — 2008-03-20T16:21:07+00:00

Simple, Clever & Fun

This is a wonderful game but it's easy to think it's a different type of game, when seeing all the different colored landscapes on the board and the cute little meeples. At it's heart though, it's a pure Abstract Strategy game of pure skill. If you like Abstract Strategy Games, then you'll love this one.

The game plays 2-4 players and the players start out by taking turns placing one of their meeples on the board, in any empty hex space, until they've all been placed. Your initial supply of meeples with be either 8,10 or 13, depending on the number of players. The fewer players, the more meeples you get. Once all meeples have been placed, you have 3 actions to complete on each turn, which will either be moving a meeple in a straight line any number of spaces (provided it isn't block by any other meeples or boundary stones) or placing a boundary stone. The first action must always be moving a meeple. The boundary stones may only be placed next to a meeple you're moved during your turn.

This is an area control game with 8 different types of landscapes on the board and you score points by surrounding 1, 2, or 3 types of landscapes and by having the majority of meeples within the area enclosed. Ties can occur, in which case the players split the number of points for the area, rounding down.

What's so clever about this game, is the way in which surrounded areas are scored.

A surrounded territory can contain no more than 3 types of landscapes in order to score. Once surrounded, the player scores points for the number of hexes within the territory multiplied by a factor of 1,2 or 3. With 3 types of landscapes enclosed, you multiply the number of empty areas by 1. With 2 types of landscaped enclosed, you multiply by 2 and with 1 type of landscape enclosed, you multiply by 3.

The game continues in this fashion until either the board has been totally divided or if it's possible for only one player to move.

It all sounds simple enough, but there's a war going on here for every single space on the board.

I was a little surprised that "Terra Nova", didn't take the top spot in the Abstract Category, when Games Magazine picked their top 100 games for 2007. Even though "Easter Island", which is a great game in it's own right, took the spot, I have to imagine it was a tough decision.

On any given turn, you'll love looking at all the choices before you. Should you try and improve your own situation, hinder your opponent, or better yet, do both at the same time. It's pretty to look at and the rules are real simple, but beneath the surface, there's a constant struggle for control of the board with ties being very unlikely.

So if you're the type of player that loves the feeling of knowing you out played your opponent, when you win, this game is a must.

Arthur Reilly

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Runehardt — 2008-03-19T17:51:48+00:00

A giant Pioneer

Thread: Re: Warning: There is a 3rd Game Ending Condition missing in official Engish Rules!

JeffyJeff — 2008-03-14T14:42:53+00:00

PCOrbanes wrote:
The official rules also need to be updated, with a third bullet point under "End of the Game":

• when one player's supply of pioneers has been depleted
Wow! I wasn't expected that! I've updated the title on this thread. That can really change one's strategy and I'll have to see how it plays out in a game, but I'm not sure if I like that game ending condition or not.

Thread: Re: Warning: Quick Start Guide has incorrect game ending condition

PCOrbanes — 2008-03-14T14:36:57+00:00

JeffyJeff wrote:
Phil, I agree that the printed official rules are cut/dry... but I don't think you addressed that the "Quick Start Guide" posted here on BGG (from someone also at Winning Moves) is inconsistent with the official rules (as well as the original German rules).

Ie. the "Quick Start Guide" says "or when one players supply of pioneers has been depleted"....

Jeff, the Quick Start Guide needs to be updated with another end-game condition: "or when only one player is able to move."

The official rules also need to be updated, with a third bullet point under "End of the Game":

• when one player's supply of pioneers has been depleted

Look for the Quick Start Guide and online Rules to be updated in the next couple of days.

I apologize for the confusion this omission has caused. This is something that actually arose after production, when we were first marketing Terra Nova in the States. So, we called into the German office to find out what the official ruling was, and it does indeed bring the game to an immediate end. FYI: any points scored while removing a player's final pioneer(s) from the board count towards the final score, but then the game is over and a winner is determined.

Thread: Re: Warning: Quick Start Guide has incorrect game ending condition

JeffyJeff — 2008-03-13T21:32:57+00:00

Phil, I agree that the printed official rules are cut/dry... but I don't think you addressed that the "Quick Start Guide" posted here on BGG (from someone also at Winning Moves) is inconsistent with the official rules (as well as the original German rules).

Ie. the "Quick Start Guide" says "or when one players supply of pioneers has been depleted"....

Thread: Re: Warning: Quick Start Guide has incorrect game ending condition

PCOrbanes — 2008-03-13T20:45:18+00:00

Hi Jeff and Russ. Philip from Winning Moves USA here.

The end-state of Terra Nova is pretty black-and-white if you take the two listed conditions absolutely literally:

The game ends

• when the island is completely divide into territories, or
• when only one player is able to move.

All territories that have been completed in the last turn are still scored.

The player with most points wins.

However, I agree it is not clear in the rules WHEN the second condition is determined. I'll address that in this post.

FYI: As Russ point out, "killing your remaining pawns if you're ahead" is indeed a valid strategy. I've lost enough games to this strategy to attest to this.

As for Russ' question regarding the inability of the other player(s) to move and when that triggers end game: The game ends in this case when all players (save one) are unable to take any sort of turn due to their inability to move.

However, the rules only 'check' to see if you can move at the beginning of your turn. Here's an example of a four player game brought to an end because three of the four players cannot move.

Example:

Player A takes his turn per normal. Player A was able to perform three actions (make a move, plus two more actions ~ either more moves or placing stones or a combination of the two).

It is now Player B's turn. All of Player B's pioneers are unable to move because other pieces are blocking them. From the point of view of "will this game soon end?" the proverbial clock is ticking.

Now it is Player C's turn. Just like Player B, Player C is unable to move any of his pioneer pieces. It is looking like the game could end soon, but this is not certain until we check if Player D can make a move.

Now it is Player D's turn. Just like Players B and C, Player D is unable to move any of his pioneer pieces. Now the game is over and whoever has the most points at this point wins.

So, to specifically address Russ' question:

Is temporary inability to move significant for purposes of game end? Is this condition continuously checked (e.g. in the middle of Bob's turn, can he block the last piece of his 2 opponents with his first move, and the game ends immediately?), or does it mean "at the start of their turn"?

As I hope is now clear, a temporary inability for an opponent to move is irrelevant. What matters is if an opponent can move when their own turn begins.

If at the start of all opponents' turns they each conclude they cannot move, the game ends.

Thread: Re: Warning: Quick Start Guide has incorrect game ending condition

russ — 2008-03-11T17:25:07+00:00

Speaking of which: being "unable to move" could happen due to having no pieces left, OR due to having your remaining pieces blocked in little alcoves by other players' pieces (i.e. temporarily unable to move). Is temporary inability to move significant for purposes of game end? Is this condition continuously checked (e.g. in the middle of Bob's turn, can he block the last piece of his 2 opponents with his first move, and the game ends immediately?), or does it mean "at the start of their turn"? The rules are rather woefully unclear on the game end condition.

As to your point about strategy (ending the game quickly by intentionally killing your remaining pawns if you're ahead) - yes, in a 2-player game! In the 2-player game this is often an excellent strategy. It was a delightful aha-insight when we first realized that during play.

Thread: Warning: There is a 3rd Game Ending Condition missing in official Engish Rules!

JeffyJeff — 2008-03-11T16:37:53+00:00

edit: Thanks to Phil from Winning Moves game... it looks like the real answer is that there are really 3 game ending conditions!

1. all areas have become scored
2. only one play can move

*and* (the missing one in the official English rules)

3. one player has no more meeples left on the board!

*************************
Warning that the Quick Start Guide in the files section (at least as of this writing) appears to have an error as to one of the two game ending conditions...

The publisher's printed English rules and the English Translation also in the files section, as well as Steve+Jackie's translation from the German rules, all state that the 2nd game ending condition (after all areas have been turned into scored territories) is when only one player is able to still move....

The Quick Start Guide on the other hand says "or when one players supply of pioneers has been depleted". This would completely change the game as it would open up a new strategy... one of speeding up (possibly by having all your remaining pioneers in the same territory) the end of the game when one is already winning (or would be on scoring what will be the last area scored).

Thread: Re: Terra Nova: An Introduction

vandemonium — 2008-02-12T20:53:11+00:00

Fantastic review! I just received this game and played it for the first time this afternoon with some colleagues during lunch. I would echo your review word for word, including the very especially the first 9 words

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WatchmanX2000 — 2008-01-25T17:36:07+00:00

Valerie Putman and Terra Nova

Thread: Re: Surprisingly Interesting

russ — 2008-01-23T06:20:02+00:00

badweasel wrote:
The game comes with 44 settlers in 4 different colors: 13 each of red and yellow, 10 blue, and 8 green.

This was a major copout in the component compartment because it forces you to play with set colors for different numbers of players. By simpling adding 8 more settlers, which are very small, they could have made it possible to pick any of the colors. It doesn't affect gameplay but it feels really cheap to me.

I agree. I've seen several games that do this penny-wise pound-foolish "clever" gimmick, and I really dislike it.

(The meeples are also a bit tall and thin and thus fall over a little easier than I would like, but that's not a real problem.)

The game was surprisingly enjoyable. It has a decent amount of depth stemming from a very simple ruleset. From my limited play, it seems better to try and score for yourself than to screw your opponent over. I focused primarily on trying to trap my opponent and ended up losing by a huge margin, whereas my opponent focused on scoring.

I've played 11 times now, mostly 2-player. In a 2-player game, trapping seems legitimate to me (as long as you aren't giving the opponent some golden opportunity to score big in the process of trapping one of their meeples, of course). In multiplayer, as in any multiplayer game, of course it's usually better to help yourself than hurt just 1 of several opponents (unless you know the other opponents are not a threat to you).

Terra Nova is indeed quite a nice clever game. We have discovered a variety of strategy and tactics that arise from the simple elegant rules. Very pleasing.

There is a subtle rules ambiguity about the end conditions, but in practice it hasn't come up.

Thread: Surprisingly Interesting

badweasel — 2008-01-22T22:11:47+00:00

Introduction:
My only previous experience with an Immortal Eyes game was Conquest of Pangea which was a horrible and boring experience. I was devastated by the games cool theme being ruined by rather poor gameplay and bland components. Now Terra Nova, it had to be bad, the instructions didn't make it seem electrifying, the theme was bad, but it had good components.

Components:
The components are fairly good. The box is sturdy and easily holds the board and it comes with a bag that holds the rest of the components. The game comes with 44 settlers in 4 different colors: 13 each of red and yellow, 10 blue, and 8 green.

This was a major copout in the component compartment because it forces you to play with set colors for different numbers of players. By simpling adding 8 more settlers, which are very small, they could have made it possible to pick any of the colors. It doesn't affect gameplay but it feels really cheap to me. Each color also has a scoring marker that is shaped like a disc.

The blocking stones are decently thick hexagons and stained a pleasant brown color. Nothing special, but they do look rather nice. The board is broken up into several different terrain types and features nice artwork for what it is and has a scoring track around the outside. The scoring track only includes the even numbers with the odds being the blank spots in between. This again doesn't affect gameply but I feel it was a poor design choice.

Rules:
The games rules are contained on three pages, but can be pretty much simplified to only a few lines.

Different number of pieces are used for different numbers of players: 13 per player for 2 players, 10 for 3 players, and 8 for 4 players. The game begins with all players taking turns and placing all of their settlers on the board.

A turn then consists of taking three actions. The first action must be to move a settler. The settler can move as far as desired along any of the six sides of the hexagonal spaces.

The second and third action can be to place stones or further move settlers. A stone can only be placed next to a settler that has moved this turn and it can be placed by either settler if two have moved.

Scoring is completed when an area is close off with three or less terrain types included. Areas are scored if a settler is present and are based on the number of hexes included not counting those covered by blocking stones. A multiplier is applied depending on the number of terrain types. If three types are included, it is x1, x2 for two terrain types, and x3 for only one terrain type. Scoring is talllied immediately upon closure of an area and all settlers are removed from the game. If more than one player is tied for the most settlers in the area, the points are split equally among them.

The game ends when only one player is able to move their settlers.

Thoughts:
The game was surprisingly enjoyable. It has a decent amount of depth stemming from a very simple ruleset. From my limited play, it seems better to try and score for yourself than to screw your opponent over. I focused primarily on trying to trap my opponent and ended up losing by a huge margin, whereas my opponent focused on scoring.

Though this type of game is not my favorite, I would play Terra Nova again and it is a major improvement from Conquest of Pangea.

6/10

Thread: Re: Computerstategy? I seek Ideas how to rate a position.

subhan — 2008-01-17T19:47:53+00:00

I suspect that rating a board position is not an easy task for Terra Nova. Rating a given position requires a broad & deep analysis many plies deep into the game (similar to Go in that respect). Until an area is blocked off completely & scored, it is very difficult to determine who could or could not occupy space within it.

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WatchmanX2000 — 2007-12-31T18:36:00+00:00

Game play at Buckeye Game Fest

Thread: Re: Terra Nova - Reseña en Español (Review in Spanish)

WinningMoves — 2007-12-18T20:39:00+00:00

I ran this through Babel Fish (http://world.altavista.com/) to see it in English and I'm really happy you liked the game! We Certainly love hearing it being mentioned in the same sentence as a great game like Through the Desert! There are similarities, but we saw that it played differently and had it's own strategies to offer.

Thanks for the great review, Juan José!

Thread: Re: Terra Nova - Reseña en Español (Review in Spanish)

CasaIlimani — 2007-12-18T18:58:49+00:00

Un juegazo en toda regla, para los amantes de los abstractos. Yo tambien le encuentro bastante parecido al Pinguinos&Cia.

Thread: Terra Nova - Reseña en Español (Review in Spanish)

ponchera69 — 2007-12-18T13:19:09+00:00

Terra Nova - Gaetano Evola / Rosana Leocata (Winning Moves, 2006)

Sorpresa sorpresa. Eso es lo que representa este juego, en realidad no me lo esperaba. ¿Las razones? Primero por los creadores: la dupla Evola / Leocata es nueva en el ambiente y solamente les habían publicado un juego antes, llamado Squeeky. ¿A quien le interesa un juego llamado Squeeky? A nadie, así que ahí va el primer "sorpresa". Lo segundo es que la compañía que presenta este juego es Winning Moves, una marca nacida de Alex Randolph y otros más a mediados de los 90, y que se caracteriza por tener juegos mediocres y anticuados. Ahí está el segundo sopresa.

Terra Nova es un juego corto (la primera vez que lo jugamos no duró más que 30 minutos, aunque la caja decía 45) y que da para 2 a 4 jugadores. Lo jugamos de a 3 y salió muy bien. Creo que con 2 perdería la gracia y con 4 sería un poco más largo, por lo que me alegro de haberlo jugado de a 3.
La idea del juego es bastante sencilla: tienes un tablero "hexagoneado" con una isla y tienes que hacer cercos; quien logre los cercos de más puntos gana. Así de simple. Si lo piensan este juego comparte varias cosas de Through the Desert (que lo traía Edge o Devir, no me acuerdo como "A Través del Desierto" y ya verán por qué.

A diferencia del clásico de Knizia, aquí los Pioneros (que vendrían a ser como los camellos) parten colocados en el tablero y lo que haces en tu turno es mover pioneros y colocar piedras (que lógicamente serán los cercos). El movimiento es obligatorio en la primera de tus tres acciones, y las otras dos puedes repartirlas entre volver a moverte o colocar una piedra adyacente a uno de tus pioneros.
El mapa de Terra Nova está dividido en distintos tipos de terrenos (agua, mar, montaña, etc.) y cuando un terreno es cercado completamente se produce la puntuación, que es lo entretenido del juego. Quien tenga mayoría de pioneros en ese lugar se llevará todos los puntos (¡cuidado con caer en trampas!) y estos se dan en virtud de dos factores: la cantidad de hexágonos vacíos y la cantidad de tipos de terrenos que abarcan. Con 3 tipos de terreno se multiplican por 1 los hexágonos vacíos, con 2 tipos se multiplica por 2 y con un tipo de terreno se multiplica por 3. Y no hay mas reglas.

El juego es rápido, fácil de aprender, fácil de enseñar, se digiere muy rápido y da para bastantes estratégias.
¿En qué se parece al Through the Desert? En que el tablero es un mapa con hexágonos, se cercan terrenos y se cuentan los puntos por los hexágonos vacíos que quedan dentro del cerco. Suficientes similitudes como para que un fanático del Through the Desert se interese por este. Creo que la nota en el BGG no le hace mérito, creo que es más dinámico, más atractivo para la vista y los componentes son de muy buena calidad.

Una pena lo subvalorado que está, le doy un 8.5.

Thread: Re: Battle on 53rd and 3rd

turtleback — 2007-12-11T05:45:30+00:00

RAMONES!

Thread: Battle on 53rd and 3rd

Noaceyet — 2007-12-11T04:23:27+00:00

Thommy8

vs.

Noaceyet

Friday 12/7/07 11:30am New York City

I met up with GeekBuddy Thommy8 in the City today after going to the German Consulate for my new passport. Thommy8 met me for a quick lunchtime game.

After the initial setup, Thommy8 took an aggressive approach in the NW corner of the board, trying to get most of the forest,but I was able to sneak in to get the majority and the points. I quickly came up with a huge lead and jumped to 51 points on the board. Soon the NE corner's grasslands were decided and Thommy8 staged a quick and ferocious comeback scoring some smaller regions times 3 to pull ahead by one.

Then the battle moved to what seemed the West and SW. While I appeared to have control of the lake, Thommy8 was trying to get the mountains for himself. I pulled ahead again, scoring the lake, while Thommy8 made sure the mountains would be his.

The board was now almost filled, and only one or two moves would remain before the last region is going to be decided. Thommy8's majority in the mountains lead to a commanding lead. The end came quickly, and we split the SE region of the board.

It was a good match. It was a very high-scoring match.

Final Score Thommy8 - 130 : Noaceyet - 110

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2007-12-10T22:59:45+00:00

game components

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greatsage — 2007-06-03T04:20:44+00:00