Game: Make 'n' Break Extreme

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whoami — 2008-11-03T12:22:55+00:00

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Angry Duck — 2008-06-12T06:58:56+00:00

sample of completing a use all 10 pieces card in the game

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Angry Duck — 2008-06-12T06:57:10+00:00

sample of completing a any 5 pieces card in the game

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Angry Duck — 2008-06-12T06:54:09+00:00

sample of completing a any 4 pieces card in the game

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Angry Duck — 2008-06-12T06:51:06+00:00

sample of completing a 1 point card in the game

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Angry Duck — 2008-06-12T06:47:49+00:00

sample of completing a 2 point card in the game

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Angry Duck — 2008-05-14T06:27:23+00:00

sample of a 2 point using one hand card in the game

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Angry Duck — 2008-05-14T06:25:08+00:00

sample of completing a 3 point card in the game

Thread: Re: The Bickerstaff Variant

Karlsen — 2008-03-06T10:24:36+00:00

Verkisto wrote:
My wife and I played this a few times tonight, and halfway through the first game, we came up with our own variant that we think is more fun, and more fair for all players.

Play Three Rounds
We played three rounds, one each for each setting on the timer. So, instead of rolling the die, we both took a turn with the timer set on 3, then we both took a turn with the timer set on 2, etc. I suppose if you're playing with kids, it might make sense for the adults to use setting 1, while the kids use setting 3, but really, why roll a die? It's more skillful if you have an equal amount of time.
Yeah, we ditched the concept of rolling the die for both this and Make 'n' Break

Verkisto wrote:
Don't Reshuffle the Deck
Instead of taking the time and trouble to reshuffle the deck for each and every time one of us built structures, we simply kept the cards for the structures we completed, and passed the deck to the other person. This might put more luck back into the game than some people would like, since certain cards might be completely gone from the game for one player, but hey, it's better than a die roll, right? And it takes care of the problem of using the chips. Is that actually in the rules (he asks admitting he has never actually read the rules past an explanation of the cards)? We have always done the same, just work through the deck and keep the cards of the ones you got.

Verkisto wrote:
Toss the Box
Dang, but all you need are the pieces, the timer, and the cards. You could fit the whole thing into a Crown Royal bag and tote it with you wherever you go. You might want to take some chips with you for those cards where you both get points for it, but still, you don't need that ginormous box for what little there is of the game. But it is such a nice box, and if you also have Make 'n' Break they will both easily fit into the same box.

Thread: Re: Anyone have the rules in English?

sbszine — 2008-02-27T05:49:09+00:00

Legend has it that if you go to the Ravensburger UK website and send an email to the replacement parts folks, they'll send you a pdf of the English rules.

Thread: Anyone have the rules in English?

fnord23 — 2008-02-19T22:56:47+00:00

I picked up a German copy...

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Verkisto — 2008-02-10T23:55:08+00:00

The structure isn't on the card, but it's awfully pretty!

Thread: Re: Totally extreme, dude

eightbit — 2008-02-10T20:40:18+00:00

1/2 price at Barnes and Noble right now- http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?EAN=97806...

Heres a coupon for another 25% off- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/email/nav.asp?r=1&PID=21448&af... Its good online or print it out and take it to the store.

Thread: The Bickerstaff Variant

Verkisto — 2008-02-10T02:31:50+00:00

My wife and I played this a few times tonight, and halfway through the first game, we came up with our own variant that we think is more fun, and more fair for all players.

Play Three Rounds
We played three rounds, one each for each setting on the timer. So, instead of rolling the die, we both took a turn with the timer set on 3, then we both took a turn with the timer set on 2, etc. I suppose if you're playing with kids, it might make sense for the adults to use setting 1, while the kids use setting 3, but really, why roll a die? It's more skillful if you have an equal amount of time.

Don't Reshuffle the Deck
Instead of taking the time and trouble to reshuffle the deck for each and every time one of us built structures, we simply kept the cards for the structures we completed, and passed the deck to the other person. This might put more luck back into the game than some people would like, since certain cards might be completely gone from the game for one player, but hey, it's better than a die roll, right? And it takes care of the problem of using the chips.

Toss the Box
Dang, but all you need are the pieces, the timer, and the cards. You could fit the whole thing into a Crown Royal bag and tote it with you wherever you go. You might want to take some chips with you for those cards where you both get points for it, but still, you don't need that ginormous box for what little there is of the game.

Thread: Two Quick Games

punkzter — 2008-02-07T00:52:16+00:00

While waiting for Dan to arrive, I got out my copy of Make 'n' Break Extreme and quickly taught Mike how to play. We played the "less random" game that excludes the roll of the included die. I have actually found this variant better for another reason...you are able to finish the game in a shorter time frame. This meant that we were able to play two fun games in 30 minutes.

Anyhow, in Make 'n' Break, each player takes turns flipping over cards that depict certain towers/structures that you must build using Tetris shaped blocks. After finishing one card, you break your tower, flip over another card, and start working on that one. When the timer runs out (that's right, you have a time limit) you get points based on the values of the cards that you have completed. In the variant that Mike and I played, each player gets three turns. The timer is set to three for the first turn of each player, two for the second turns, and one for the final turns (indicating that each subsequent turn is shorter than the previous one).

Mike won both games that we played, but they were close games. One card that I found particularly problematic was the card that forces you to pass the blocks to the person on your left, who then builds a structure before passing the blocks back to you to start another card. If they successfully complete the structure you both get 2 points. In a two player game, although the game is so much silly fun that you have no incentive to strategically mess up your opponent, this card acts like a huge time void for no real gain to the person who drew it (which happened to me...three times!). Ah well, I had a great time playing the game with Mike and I imagine that it will show up at future gaming sessions as a game to play while waiting for the third or fourth gamer to arrive.

A Quick Review: I like this game. It is not the best dexterity game that I have played, but it is a lot of fun. It feels more like a cooperative game than a competition, and I often find myself rooting on my “opponent” to build a particularly complex structure. A potential flaw in the game is the point structure of the various cards. The cards that are valued at “3” vary greatly in difficulty. Yet when I drew this card I was more excited about the challenge of building a tough structure than I was concerned about how many points I would get for doing it. I have read that this game gets better after a few drinks. To this I have no response. I can say that I enjoyed playing it sober. I would also imagine that it would be an excellent game to play with young children. I picked this one up for 50% off at Barns and Noble, and I would encourage anyone else who spots this one to pick it up as well.

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punkzter — 2008-02-05T21:30:25+00:00

Cut this out and keep it for the solution to the hardest puzzle in the game

Thread: Re: Totally extreme, dude

kat644 — 2007-12-21T16:09:06+00:00

Thanks for this review! I just picked up Make 'n Break Extreme at Barnes & Noble this morning, hoping it would make a good game for "Santa" to leave under the tree for our family. Reading your review, I see that it'll be a good fit for us, especially my 9-year-old, who likes dexterity games.

Thread: Re: Totally extreme, dude

tritone — 2007-11-07T04:46:38+00:00

greatsage wrote:
Wow, well wicked I had heard talk about this game! Hmmmm I think it still may well be an illusion as I haven't actually seen it. C'mon admit it this is just a cruel joke to get me salivating like Pavlov's dog innit??

I actually saw this game at a Barnes & Noble bookstore this evening. Didn´t notice the price, but I´d seen it there a couple weeks ago too. B&N are stocking up for the Christmas holidays. They don´t usually have a very big supply of BGG-style games (what is that exactly?) I guess I mean... they seem to stock a lot of the same things you´ll find at Wal-Mart, Target, etc. (like 100 variations of Monopoly, 100 variations of Risk, etc.) but today I also spotted Arkadia ($35) and World of Warcraft ($75)! Last year they had Puerto Rico, Rheinlander, and Settlers of Catan. Haven´t spotted those yet this year at B&N... maybe yet to come?

Don´t know if they have B&N down under, but keep the faith... Make ´n Break Extreme is really out there!

Thread: Re: Totally extreme, dude

edosan — 2007-11-06T23:00:13+00:00

Cool! We really had fun with the original game, so this looks great!

Thread: Re: Totally extreme, dude

greatsage — 2007-11-06T07:37:19+00:00

Wow, well wicked I had heard talk about this game! Hmmmm I think it still may well be an illusion as I haven't actually seen it. C'mon admit it this is just a cruel joke to get me salivating like Pavlov's dog innit??

Thread: Totally extreme, dude

sbszine — 2007-11-06T04:52:58+00:00

Overview
Make 'n' Break Extreme is the sequel to the much loved dexterity game Make 'n' Break. The gist of both games is that the active player must build colourful towers of blocks to score points, while a mechanical timer buzzes angrily. The towers to be built and the points scored are shown on a deck of cards.

So, what makes this edition 'extreme'? Firstly, the blocks have changed from wooden rectangles to plastic tetris-style pieces. Secondly, there are now some event cards that hamper your building. Thirdly, all of my gripes with Make 'n' Break 2nd ed* -- block colour similarity, die randomness, card size and count, lack of VP chips -- have been fixed up. Oh, and the box is red now.

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oooh...red

Bits
* 10 plastic blocks
For plastic bits, these are pretty good. They have a pleasing heft, vibrant colours, and clean moulding. I think I prefer the wooden blocks of Make 'n' Break 1st ed, but Extreme's plastic blocks are a shade better than the smaller wooden blocks from 2nd ed. Colourblind folks should have much better luck with this version.

* 80 full-sized cards
The cards are well made and, though they aren't linen backed, look like they'd last a while. If memory serves, the separate children's deck is gone and both kids and grown-ups use the same cards in this version.

* Mechanical timer
Same as the timer from the original game. Good robust construction, but it can be hard to see what you've set it to after a few beers, since the pointy bit is perpendicular to the actual setting. I suggest putting a sticker or a dab of paint on the knob. I like it, though. It's certainly more extreme than a sand timer.

* A bunch of cardboard VP chips
These are serviceable enough, but for some reason they're single sided.

* 1d3 (die numbered 1,1,2,2,3,3)
Wooden, and nice to have in the dice box for other games. I can't see myself ever using it with this game, since the included no-die variant is more enjoyable.

* Rulebook
Currently in German only, but I reckon with the rulebook from the original Make 'n' Break and the aid of the Google translator you'd be okay.

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the bits in question

Gameplay
The game plays over three rounds. One player builds stuff while the others cheer or boo as they see fit. After every player has a turn, the next round begins.

A player's turn lasts until the timer runs out. The timer has three settings, and you can either roll the included d3 to determine the setting, or use the variant rule where the first round uses setting 3, the second round setting 2, and the third round setting 1.

While the timer ticks away, the active player tries to build the tower depicted on a card. You can usually get through 5 or 6 of these before the timer runs out. I found the extreme structures much easier to build than the original structures. Mentally rotating the tetris blocks was challenging at times, but the structures seemed much more stable than those from the original game. I never encountered the situation from the original where I had to use some blocks as counterbalances or keystones, or stop and think about order of operations. Also, some of the cards were very similar to each other; there's a bit of filler in the deck. But, having said that, it's still heaps of fun, particularly if booze or children (or both) are involved.

The new event cards are pretty cool. There are six types: play one handed, get the adjacent player to build a tower for you and split the points, design your own tower with three annoying blocks, design your own tower with a different three annoying blocks, design your own tower with four blocks of your choice, design your own tower with five blocks of your choice, and design your own tower with all ten blocks. The 'design your own' cards all require the tower to have less than three pieces at its base. The ten block tower card is attempted during a bonus turn with the timer set to 1, but we all found this to be too easy (I suggest setting the timer to 0.5 for this card, or insisting on a one block base, or both).

Conclusion
I quite liked Make 'n' Break Extreme. The components are great, my gripes the with 2nd edition have been addressed, and I got to build more stuff. It may not be as fiendish as the original, but it's got a lot of great new features, and the difficulty can be adjusted with a few house rules. Recommended.

* i.e., the later English language print run with the smaller blocks