Game: Take it to the Limit

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

DeanMary — 2008-10-03T04:04:17+00:00

Funagain does not have any in stock now, but expects to get some this month. They will be selling it for $35.99, which is a good bit deal better than $60.00

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

swaits — 2008-01-29T21:39:49+00:00

Ok, as you say Jeff, Dr. Kay responded to me. 30 kg to the US with DHL is 82 EUR. That makes the total, for ten copies of TttL 249.60 EURO (assuming we don't pay any sort of tax, etc.?), or about $370. It really is tempting to try to get a group buy going.

--Steve

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

DeanMary — 2008-01-29T21:07:42+00:00

Take it to the Limit was definitely worth it for me, but I guess it depends on how you look at it.

If I spend 10 dollars on a game I do not like, to me that game was too expensive. However, if I spend 60 dollars on a game I love, not only was it worth it, I actually feel like it was a bargain!

I like Take it Easy, but *love* Take it to the Limit. Since I will be playing TittL countless times over the upcoming years, I am very happy to have a copy, even for 60 bucks.

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

JeffyJeff — 2008-01-29T19:39:46+00:00

swaits wrote:
Hey with playme.de, how do you calculate shipping?
They (usually "Kay") have to compute it by actually packing it and weighing it.

If I recall it's 26 Euro for the 1st 2 kg, and then 2 more Euro for every additional kg, with a max weight of 32 kg for the package (that actually comes up to 86 euro which is what my last order's shipping was).

Remember however that was 13 months ago... USPS rates went up, so it's possible the Germany to US rates also went up.

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

swaits — 2008-01-29T19:33:02+00:00

Opera ftw! Been using it for a long time now.

Hey with playme.de, how do you calculate shipping?

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

JeffyJeff — 2008-01-29T18:19:43+00:00

Aubigny wrote:
JeffyJeff wrote:
Seems the VAT must have gone up to 19% (up from 16%) in Germany within the last 13 months?That's correct. 19% VAT since January 1st, 2007.
Ouch!

Also for what it's worth, I just logged into paypal and the current exchange rate is:

PayPal's Exchange Rate as of Jan. 29, 2008:
1 U.S. Dollar = 0.659926 Euros

That's now about $1.516/euro

ps: I'm also an Opera user

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

Aubigny — 2008-01-29T18:05:03+00:00

JeffyJeff wrote:
Seems the VAT must have gone up to 19% (up from 16%) in Germany within the last 13 months?

That's correct. 19% VAT since January 1st, 2007.

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

JeffyJeff — 2008-01-29T17:51:50+00:00

JeffyJeff wrote:
looking at their site now only EUR 17.19 (EUR 19.94 they display on their site divided by 1.16).
Correction, it would be even lower than that! Seems the VAT must have gone up to 19% (up from 16%) in Germany within the last 13 months? Because when I actually login to playme.de, because I have my profile setup that shipping will be to outside the EU, it displays only EUR 16.76. So even at $1.50/euro that's only $25.

And for yuks, the shipping on my last order was 85 Euro for 32 kg (max weight). If that hasn't gone up, that's $127.50. Funagain lists the weight of TittL as under 2 kg so you could possibly fit 14 copies in an order... so under $10/copy for shipping.

Don't you hate a weak dollar though! And it's likely to only get worse with the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates.

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

JeffyJeff — 2008-01-29T17:32:34+00:00

Also a funny little story... I sometimes play at the meetup game night at a local Borders bookstore. While playing I noticed in the rack of the store owned community games (usually just chess/checkers/etc) a copy of Take it to the Limit!

Turns out it belonged to a friend of mine, who got in from that same playme.de order I mentioned. He thought his copy had been stolen while all along it was sitting there!

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

JeffyJeff — 2008-01-29T17:28:59+00:00

13 months ago I placed a group www.playme.de order and there were 3 copies of this game in the order....

Including the prorated portion of the shipping it came out to $42 per copy. Of course the we were getting the paypal exchange rate of $1.35/euro. That's probably around $1.50/euro now (11% more), and I wouldn't be surprised if the shipping fees are higher now too.

However interestnig note.... then it was EUR 25.82 (free of the 16% VAT their website displays since we don't have to pay that)... looking at their site now only EUR 17.19 (EUR 19.94 they display on their site divided by 1.16). Even at $1.50/euro, that's only $26 (before shipping). Order as much as will fit in an order (there's a max weight limit) and it should still come out far less than $60/copy, and you could sell the rest in the marketplace (42 users have it marked wanted, and no one has it for trade)

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

swaits — 2008-01-29T17:12:03+00:00

Thanks Jonathan.

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

ixnay66 — 2008-01-29T16:57:06+00:00

They have to charge that much because the materials are so expensive. Wait...it's just CARDBOARD. Nevermind.

Thread: Re: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

jtakagi — 2008-01-29T16:35:31+00:00

Take It to the Limit is distributed by FRED (like Brass, Through the Ages, Rails of Europe, Neuroshima Hex), whose prices are set at MSRP. Different online sellers have tried to offer different forms of discounts (free/discounted shipping, etc.) for their games.

If you like Take It Easy, but want a bigger challenge, I think Take It to the Limit is worth it. It's a pretty bulky/heavy box, with two different ways to play inside. But if you don't like the idea of a longer (45 min - 1 hour), more punishing version of Take It Easy, give it a pass.

Thread: In stock, but ouch! $60? Price fixed at MSRP?

swaits — 2008-01-29T16:12:55+00:00

I noticed this just popped up as in stock at my favorite online retailer, but at $59.95. I also noticed that this is exactly the same price the game lists for at several other sites.

So, is this game worth $60 to you, and why?

And second, do you think there is some retail price fixing going on?

I'm interested in this game, but disappointed by the price...

Thread: Re: Take It To The Limit With Photos!

sightreader — 2008-01-16T16:20:14+00:00

chaddyboy_2000 wrote:
I put all mine in plastic baggies separated by color. They just barely fit in the box insert that way, but they still fit and stay sorted that way.
Yeah, I finally went with laying some cardboard on the tiles then stuffing it with packing material to keep pressure on them so they don't spring loose. Since we were using two sets, it turns out that we never actually lost any chits; rather, they just ended up in the wrong box.

Thread: Re: Take It To The Limit With Photos!

chaddyboy_2000 — 2008-01-16T06:35:04+00:00

Cleaning up even tougher, though, and I think I might have lost a few chits. I still haven't found a good of way of keeping the zillions of chits from getting completely mixed up in your case whenever the box tilts.

I put all mine in plastic baggies separated by color. They just barely fit in the box insert that way, but they still fit and stay sorted that way.

Image

moxtaveto — 2008-01-06T00:50:14+00:00

less than 802 from the rows, but 1050 total points!

Image

moxtaveto — 2008-01-06T00:33:29+00:00

802 points from the rows ONLY (constructed)

Image

John Lyne — 2007-10-14T07:58:15+00:00

Designer Peter Burley at Essen 2006

Thread: Re: When and if will this be released in the US?

keithblume2 — 2007-08-22T04:45:00+00:00

Take it to the Limit is available to retailers from FRED Distribution. If you store doesn't carry it, they can visit the FRED Distribution website and join the network and order the game, along with several other exclusives.

Keith

Image

sightreader — 2007-08-18T00:06:43+00:00

This game is almost more fun to play in teams!

Image

sightreader — 2007-08-18T00:05:56+00:00

A game of tough choices

Image

Haffner — 2007-08-11T18:52:52+00:00

FrontBox

Image

Haffner — 2007-08-11T18:48:05+00:00

BoxBack

Thread: Re: When and if will this be released in the US?

BoardGameWench — 2007-08-09T02:11:52+00:00

go to ebay store Best Board Games.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?type=4&cam...

Thread: Re: When and if will this be released in the US?

waddball — 2007-08-03T15:45:12+00:00

Just a quick follow-on to the above: I've now played this game ~20 times since my last remarks. This and/or Take it Easy should be on the shelves of every mass-market game store in the country. Anyone 6 and up can understand and play it, it has a great combination of luck and skill, there are no hard feelings, it doesn't take very long, it has no "nerd" aura surrounding it, and it's wonderfully scalable. TittL is a bit fussy in terms of setup and sorting, but that's about the only negative. I can completely understand why most highly-rated games on BGG just wouldn't fly with the general public, but this one, IMHO, could and should be as commonplace as Scrabble.

Thread: Re: When and if will this be released in the US?

waddball — 2007-07-06T17:36:43+00:00

I got my copy from http://www.timewellspent.org, so I think it must be filtering through to other retailers.

Great game (though I wish the box wasn't so big).

Image

dougadamsau — 2007-05-03T03:42:29+00:00

The Scrap Yard board

Image

dougadamsau — 2007-05-03T03:39:21+00:00

Spying on my opponent

Image

dougadamsau — 2007-05-03T03:37:05+00:00

The Nexus board - still in control!

Thread: Re: When and if will this be released in the US?

Henry Rhombus — 2007-03-04T06:31:03+00:00

Dean, I believe that Funagain is the only US source for Take it to the Limit: http://www.funagain.com/control/product/~product_id=016450/~.... From talking with Peter Burley at Spiel 2006, I got the idea that other distributors won't be carrying it in the US.

Thread: [Review] Take it to the Limit!

TomVasel — 2007-01-01T01:44:36+00:00

As a geometry teacher, I keep several logic puzzles in the classroom for the students to work on when they finish their work. One of the more popular types is the puzzles in which students must get a certain amount of pieces into one area, having none left over. These puzzles, simple-looking, can be rather devilish as it is often quite difficult to put the pieces in correctly. Take it to the Limit! (Burley Games, 2006 - Peter Burley), takes this puzzle idea and puts it into a game that is both mathematical and fiendishly clever.

Take it to the Limit! is an advanced version of Mr. Burley's popular game Take it Easy! but is bigger and more interesting. It's a game of strategic tile placement, and everyone has the same chances but must make brutal and interesting decisions throughout. Working well with one to six players, this game has features of Bingo, puzzles, and tile laying games but manages to squeeze them into a very intriguing game, which will cause delight or horror in players, as the final tiles are called out.

In the main version of the game, players each take the Nexus Board, which is a hexagon shaped grid of smaller hexagons with four hexagons per side. Players also receive a smaller board called the ScrapYard, with seven hexes total. Players take a pile of sixty-four tiles - one player placing theirs face down, the rest facing them in organized piles. Each of the tiles shows three pipes crossing it - each with a number and color. There are twelve numbers - four different numbers for each of the three directions the pipes run - and there is one tile for every combination. Some of the tiles also have "40" or "80" bonus numbers on their middles. Finally, half of the tiles have a "sun" on them, and the other half has a "moon" on them.

Each turn, the "caller' (player who has placed his tiles face down) reveals one of their tiles randomly and announces the three numbers on it. Each other player finds the exact same tile, and all players simultaneously place it on their Nexus or ScrapYard boards. Players must always place tiles so that the numbers are upright but can otherwise place them wherever they want. Tiles can never be moved, and players are attempting to connect pipes of the same number from one side of the hex to the other. Once forty-four of the tiles have been placed, filling up both boards, the game ends; and players score the boards.

The Nexus board is scored thusly. Each player scores points for each row in each of the three directions that has pipes of continuous color from one side to the other. These scoring rows award points equal to the number of tiles times the number on the pipe. (Five "9" tiles award forty-five points). Players also score points for each bonus tile which is in three complete scoring rows. If only two scoring rows go through a bonus tile, it scores half points, and no points if one or none scoring rows go through the bonus tile. Players also score points for their longest Sunray or Moonbeam (tiles that have the same symbol on them), scoring ten points per tile. Finally, players must evaluate the ScrapYard - the same way as they do the main board, except only the three highest scoring rows are evaluated. However, a player scores no points for the ScrapYard, but they will lose 60 points from their entire total if they do not have a final score of sixty points in the Scrapyard. All players' scores are then compared, and the player with the highest score is the winner!

Players can alternatively use the Orchid board side. When this side is used, players only use either the Sun tiles or the Moon tiles. The game is played very similar, except that players have three tiles that they can set aside and use at the end of the game in three specially marked spaces to enhance their score.

Some comments on the game…

1.) Components: The boards and tiles are very nicely done; and the pipes on the tiles, although differentiated by number, are also very easy to tell apart using color, making the game a bit of a visual treat when finished. A plastic insert is included with the game but is too snug to hold the tiles easily - I had to really jam them to get them into place - and finally decided that this wasn't worth it and instead will use plastic bags. The box is a rather large square one, and everything has a nice - if abstract- design.

2.) Rules: If you look at the rules, you'll see that they're basically extremely simple - the majority of the fifteen page rulebook is spent covering how to score - with a full example for illustration purposes. Really, the full illustrations helped clarify any questions we might have had and were very useful to show to new players for both versions of the game. Teaching the game to others was fairly simple, as long as I could actively show them how scores were calculated. Actual gameplay itself was fairly intuitive.

3.) Numbers: There's really no way to tell at any point who is winning. Players are usually concentrating on their own board, and unless they have calculators for brains, will only have a basic idea how well they are doing. At the end, players can gather quite a few points, and it may take a bit to score. Great for teaching math; bad for those who hate addition.

4.) Puzzle: We spent some time to see if you could get a "perfect" setup with every row scoring, and it is possible. It wasn't extremely easy, but doable; so I'm certain there are hundreds of solutions. However, players must place the tiles down in the order they are drawn; and once it is placed, a tile can never be moved. This changes the dynamics from a puzzle to a game, as players must seek the best spot to place their tiles without knowing what is coming in the future. That doesn't mean that players are completely clueless, they can see which tiles haven't been played yet and guess which ones have the greatest chance of being drawn. Near the end of the game, as the amount of spaces for tiles grows smaller, you can hear people groan and moan as they are forced to mess up scoring rows with the tiles drawn. Occasionally you'll hear an excited cheer, as the tile drawn is exactly what someone needs; but it's working with bad tiles more often than not.

5.) JunkYard: And that's the focus of the game - just where do you put your bad tiles? The JunkYard is a fascinating part of the game, as it lets you "throw away" several tiles. But even then, players can't ignore it, as losing sixty points can easily be the difference between first and second place. Players who get too caught up in the JunkYard will find that perhaps they've lost no points there; but they've wasted good tiles, and left themselves with fewer options at the end of the game. In the beginning of the game, I'm tempted to place several tiles in the JunkYard but always regret it near the end!

6.) Interaction: There really isn't any in this game, as players are seeking to fill their own board. I suppose you could play your tile in the exact same spot as another player, but eventually you'll diverge; and the better player will win. At the same time, this lack of interaction allows a person to play the game in solitaire mode, simply seeking to score the highest possible total with the tiles they draw.

7.) Choices and Fun Factor: The enjoyable part of the game is also the most agonizing part of the game - deciding which tiles to place where. At first decisions are easy, but they get harder as you go. Eventually players will be forced to ruin rows on their board, and deciding which ones to mess up, and which to attempt to complete can sometimes make one's head spin. The bonus tiles can also be lucrative but force the scoring of lower point rows - and is that worth messing up a "12" or "11" point row? The Sun and Moon beams are also something to take into consideration, and it gives a player a bit of satisfaction to see how many rows they can complete. Even people who don't normally like puzzles often enjoy the game; because laying down each individual piece is simple, and players can mess up in certain spots and still possibly win the game.

8.) Orchid: The Orchid board is a nice change of pace from the basic game (Nexus board), and I enjoy both of them; but I like the Nexus board better, if only because it has more options and uses all of the tiles. The rulebook also includes a few variants - all of which have to do with the ScrapYard, and some of them rather fascinating. Really, this is a lot of game in one box, and the replayability is quite high.

When I first looked at Take it to the Limit!, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, but I have to say that I was thrilled with my playings. It took some puzzle-solving skills that I enjoy using and allowed them to be completed in the course of a game that anyone can enjoy. Visually very stimulating, this game combines math, logic, and a bit of hope together in an entertaining package. While its abstract nature won't appeal to everyone, the ease of play hides a great, impressive strategy game - one that works just as well with one person as it does with six.

Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com

Thread: When and if will this be released in the US?

DeanMary — 2006-12-15T17:07:52+00:00

I was wondering if anyone knows if and when this game will be released in the US? Thanks!

Dean

Thread: Re: Churches should dump bingo and adopt this game

Henry Rhombus — 2006-11-16T06:17:51+00:00

Pz V wrote:
Don't you mean "Bunco"?

Bunco, too!

(You're not familiar with Bingo? Churches have held giant Bingo games for years. It's a game of chance, not skill, so anyone can play it, which makes it an ideal socializer. Check out Wikipedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bingo_%28US%29 -- for how to play.)

Thread: Re: Churches should dump bingo and adopt this game

Pz V — 2006-11-15T23:51:33+00:00

Churches should dump bingo and adopt this game

Don't you mean "Bunco"?

Thread: Churches should dump bingo and adopt this game

Henry Rhombus — 2006-11-15T07:50:04+00:00

This review first appeared on FunandBoardgames.com.

In the 1970s, Peter Burley invented a simple, tile-laying game that played somewhat like bingo. One person would pull a hexagonal tile out of a bag, then all the players would place that same tile from their tile stash onto their personal playing board. Players repeated this process until their boards were filled, then they calculated their scores and determined a winner.

Burley sold the game to British manufacturer J. W. Spear in the 1980s, and Spear published it under the title “Hextension.” In 1993, the game was picked up by German publisher F.X. Schmid, and “Take It Easy” went on to be nominated for the German Game of the Year award. Over the next decade, Take It Easy moved to German publishing giant Ravensburger and racked up more than a half-million sales.

Despite the success, times have changed, and Burley felt the need to revise his game for a fresh audience. Where once players were advised to take it easy, now they’re challenged (or perhaps warned) to “Take It To The Limit.”

While the complexity of the new game has been elevated a few notches, the core of Take It Easy has been transplanted intact, which means that Take It To The Limit can be taught in less than five minutes. Here it goes…

Each player has an identical set of hexagonal tiles, and each tile depicts three colored bars, each of which runs from one side of the tile to the opposite side. The bars come in 12 colors, and a color always runs in the same direction; yellow, for example, runs north to south, while orange runs from the NW side of a tile to the SE side. Each color has a point value from 1 to 12 associated with it: yellow is worth 9 points, and orange 8. Different combinations of colors are depicted on 64 tiles, and each player has an identical set of 64 tiles, which differ only in background color.

In both versions of Take It To The Limit, one player (the caller) shuffles his tiles face-down, while everyone else arranges his set of tiles in some organized manner. The caller randomly draws a tile from her pile, announces the numbers on the tile (so that every other player can pull this tile from his set), then players place the tile on a playing board. The caller repeats this until a certain number of tiles have been drawn, at which point the game ends and players score.

Your goal is to place tiles so that you have continuous rows of color running from one side of the playing board to the other. If you manage to do this, you score points equal to the number of tiles in the row multiplied by the point value of the color. Make a row of five yellow tiles, for instance, and you’ll score 45 points.

The trick is that placing an off-color tile in a row makes that row worthless—and since not all the tiles will be used in a game, you can’t be assured that the colors you need to complete a row will be drawn. You’d naturally love to build a 12-point color bar across the longest row, but if the tiles aren’t drawn, you’ve earned nothing, whereas an opponent who managed to create a shorter row of 12s will score.

A few tiles also carry bonuses marked 40 or 80. If the color matches in all three rows that contain the bonus tile, you score the 40 or 80 points in addition to the points for the rows themselves; if only two of the rows containing the bonus tile are color-coordinated, you score half the listed bonus. Complete only one row or less, and you get bupkis for a bonus.

Take It To The Limit comes with two separate but related games. On the Orchid Board, you play with a smaller set of 32 tiles which has each color represented 8 times. You’ll place 22 tiles on the hexagonal portion of the board and three tiles on the large orchid in the corner. At the end of the game, you can choose to place any of these three tiles on the smaller orchids within the rows of hexes, potentially boosting your score, yet possibly wrecking an existing row.

The second game, the Nexus board, uses a large hexagonal main grid and a smaller grid called the Scrapyard. You play with all 64 tiles, and for each tile you can choose to place it on the main board or in the Scrapyard. The Scrapyard serves as a kind of escape valve—except that if you don’t score at least 60 points on it, you’ll deduct 60 points from your point total for the Nexus board.

Both games have a fun push-your-luck aspect to them. You can gamble on completing long rows for beaucoup points, or you can work on finishing shorter rows and let the points pile up in pieces. For everyone but the caller, your remaining pieces are face-up in front of you throughout the game—and the caller can just glance at someone else’s pieces—so you always know which tiles can still be drawn. Do you start a long row of 11s with a 4-5-11 tile that could be worth 55 points? Or do you use the tile to extend your 4 and 5 rows that are more of a sure thing?

Despite the possibility of players doing exactly the same thing—given the number of spaces available—players’ boards rarely look the same, even after only one or two turns. Everyone has a different risk threshold or a personal feeling for which tiles will appear this time, and the games allow you to take chances or play safe as you see fit.

The only sure thing is that everyone will be groaning in the final rounds as their hopes for a final row are dashed as the wrong tiles are pulled, one after the other. Sometimes, very rarely, fate smiles on you, and that one desired tile pops into the caller’s hand like magic.

The real appeal of Take It To The Limit, as with Take It Easy, is that you’re competing against yourself as much as other players. While you can buy multiple copies of the game and play it with dozens or even hundreds of other players just like bingo, you can also play by yourself and focus on beating your previous high score. As such, it’s rare that the game gets played only once. “Just one more game,” they say, and you can hardly protest because you’re already sweeping your own board clean to test the odds once again...

Thread: Warp...

GeoMan — 2006-11-14T00:53:12+00:00

Straight to the point:

I just got the game, removed the shrinkwrap and in less than 2 hours all the boards and box cover began to warp badly...

I immediately checked the box and i discovered... another game "made in China"...

UPDATE: A day later the warped boards and box look much better! Strange...

Thread: Re: From one Eagles song to another?

AnakinOU — 2006-10-24T21:18:14+00:00

For the uninformed, that's pronounced "Fuh-hug-a-wa-gads."

And they're saving that one for the deluxe 25-player box set.

Thread: Re: From one Eagles song to another?

rootbeer — 2006-10-24T21:05:18+00:00

They should've called it "Everybody To The Limit" -- come on fhqwhgads!

Thread: From one Eagles song to another?

Verkisto — 2006-10-24T20:43:17+00:00

It was bad enough that I had to get "Take It Easy" stuck in my head whenever I saw that game, but now I'm going to have "Take It to the Limit" stuck in my head whenever I see THIS one. Is it a conspiracy?