Meltdown 2020
stats & comments (1)
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Unapologetically
United States
California
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Looking at the cover art, I thought Meltdown 2020 was an incredibly forward-thinking game from the '80's. That would also explain its incredibly macabre theme. For those of you who lived through the height of the Cold War, watching The Day After and Threads, you know what I'm talking about. What's that? The game is a 2011 release? Hmmm.
It's very possible that the written rules are more discreet than the verbal explanation I received: "Nuclear power plants are melting down. That cannot be stopped. You're on the emergency team trying to rescue as many people as you can."
The map is randomly assembled using pieces with hexes. Meeples of each player's color are distributed throughout, standing up. As the game progresses, crazily-sized hockey pucks representing nuclear fallout are placed on the board. Meeples exposed to radiation go from standing up, to lying on their sides, to lying flat, to being removed from the board (dead). Your goal is to use your vehicles to retrieve as many as you can, and deliver them to an airport where they can be airlifted to safety. Your four vehicles have traveling speeds that are inversely proportional to their passenger capacities.
Invariably there comes a time for each player where you realize that you simply cannot get to a meeple before it will expire due to continued exposure to radiation. That one will be left behind as you focus on the ones you can save. This form of nuclear triage felt slightly uncomfortable to me as a player. And this is coming from someone who, as part of a naval weapons class, had to learn the equations for calculating the sizes of nuclear payloads required to produce the desired lethality. Several of us talked about the black humor found in creating a game focused on this subject.
Meltdown 2020 is a simple game, that is effective in implementing its dark theme. It's a brave example of how games can push conceptual limits, and was even fun to play despite my misgivings. However, just as some artistic expressions are considered "art" for their shock value, I'll not be adorning my shelves with this game.
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Thunderstone: Dragonspire
stats & comments (1)
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Unapologetically
United States
California
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As a first time BGG.con attendee, I'll let those of you who have not yet attended in on a little secret:
Don't wait to start playing on Sunday.
Rolling in from Saturday night gaming at 4:00 AM meant an 11:00 AM start later that morning. Left to grab "breakfast" with friends, and it was already 12:30 by the time I was ready to sit down and play.
Uh-oh. The library was closing up. The Funagain store was closed. And since I don't check bags when I fly, I had already shipped my purchases and prizes home the day before. That left my friend Greg and me desperately looking for games to play. We decided to try a demo of Thunderstone: Dragonspire at the AEG tables.
Had I played Thunderstone before? Nope. I had played that "other" game. Was fond of it, even though it was a shuffle-fest. About the only thing I knew about Thunderstone was that it was a deck-building clone, capitalizing upon the success of the original (and therefore, better) game.
Drop your torches and pitchforks, Thunderstone fans. By the end of the game I was a convert. I guess that means that fans of Dominion can pick those items up off of the ground.
I liked the fact that money and "estate" cards weren't one-dimensional: if I couldn't mount a successful quest during my turn, then those same equipment and hero cards doubled up as currency to improve my raiding party. Earning experience points to level up my heroes was exciting. It turns out that Dragonspire includes a board to track monsters and Darkness, along with experience counters: plastic versions of the iconic Thunderstone. These differences provided my quests through Dragonspire with more flavor than a standard game of Dominion. I could feel myself becoming more invested in my heroes, wanting them to succeed. In comparison, Dominion feels dry and mechanical.
Don't get me wrong: Dominion still has a place in my heart, and on my shelves. I will still return to it as being the title which won both the Spiel des Jahres and the Deutscher Spiele Preis -- a feat only six games have accomplished -- in 2009. But before BGG.con, I would have said that there was no reason to own both games. Now, I can't wait to receive my copy of the entire set.
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Alcatraz: The Scapegoat
stats & comments (1)
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Unapologetically
United States
California
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Alcatraz was the darling of BGG.con for me. A dynamically shifting, asymmetrical cooperative game. I haven't played anything like it, and when played with the right group it was amazing.
The players are inmates, working together to complete their plan of escape. The plan has six elements, labeled A through F. When the plan is complete, the players escape and win.
The catch is that someone is going to be left behind. Each round, someone is elected to be "The Scapegoat." If the other players can assemble a complete set of plan elements between them, then they win and the Scapegoat loses. However, if the Scapegoat possesses a unique element of the completed plan, then the Scapegoat escapes and a different player whose contributions aren't critical (his letters are duplicates) is left behind.
This set-up creates an atmosphere of, "I'll help you by being the Scapegoat if you don't try to duplicate my letters." If you're elected Scapegoat when you're already non-essential, then you do everything in your power to keep the other players from escaping that round. The game is brilliantly full of backstabbing and betrayal. Which means it only works if you're playing with people who like that sort of game. At BGG.con, I spent most of my time playing games with friends from the Werewolf community. This type of game was just our style, and it was incredibly enjoyable as a result.
While visiting the Funagain store, I heard that this game had been picked up by a U.S. distributor. I'm looking forward to picking it up at my first opportunity!
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Walnut Grove
stats & comments (1)
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Unapologetically
United States
California
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I heard Walnut Grove often referred to as Agricola-lite. I'm not sure that I completely agree with the comparison, as the similarities end with "You own some land." And some worker placement, but that's about it.
I think a more apt comparison would be to Vikings, where tile draws affect your ability to create regions in Walnut Grove. Player order also seemed to make a difference, as early access to desirable stores lightened the load for payments in winter. It's also quite possible that I'm not very good at this game, yet.
On the plus side, it had a nice feel of complexity, without being overly long to play. It's the type of game that I'm willing to explore more fully, if only because the time investment to do so feels light.
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Trajan
stats & comments (1)
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Unapologetically
United States
California
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This was a hard game to join in the "Essen room" at BGG.con. So much so that I was able to secure the copy from the library instead. The drawback was having to learn it from scratch.
It has a novel mechanism for resource tracking: a Mancala-like rondel. It took me a full three-quarters of the game to "get it," and then only after friend and fellow player Javal pointed out a move that I could make to "set up" for capturing a Trajan tile. The rest of them had all grokked the mechanism much more readily.
With all players understanding how to manipulate the rondel effectively, and with a good deal of trust that everyone is playing legitimately, turns can become a blur. There are a lot of different scoring possiblities on the central board, and none of them feel overpowered with the possible exception of capturing dual action tiles with a "Forum" action. These are sufficiently powerful that no single player should be allowed to monopolize them.
I'm definitely picking this one up!
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7 Wonders
stats & comments (1)
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Unapologetically
United States
California
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I finally played 7 Wonders while at BGG.con. It was a 3p game, and I'm going to need more plays to fully appreciate the "combos" that are available. A quick game, feeling light with some deceptive depth.
I ended up scoring quite a few points via military victories when I realized "If I build this card, then my opponents won't be able to catch me." In retrospect, an even better play would have been to bury it as part of my Wonder since I already had a lead. I'm looking forward to discovering those nuances.
I'm a sucker for civ-builing games, and 7 Wonders does a nice job of lightly scratching that itch. A good alternative for when I don't have enough time to play Glory to Rome.
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Belfort
stats & comments (6)
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jood shine
United Kingdom
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having played this quite a few times i have to say its brilliant.the 2 player scoring is inspired!
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Belfort
stats & comments (6)
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Unapologetically
United States
California
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I truly enjoyed Belfort at BGG.con! The theme added a needed touch of whimsy to keep it feeling fun and (relatively) light. I think it plays more like a simplified Le Havre, with fewer resource types, no refining, and your own buildings (players can't place their workers on your buildings).
Differentiation between worker types was new to me: unlike Agricola or Stone Age where all worker meeples are interchangeable, Belfort provides Elves and Dwarves which collect different elements. You manage the mix of the two throughout the game.
At the end of the day, the primary means for scoring points is area majority. It's easy to lose sight of that fact while you're placing your workers, collecting resources, taking actions, and building structures. Your structures are represented on the district boards by houses of your color, and the area majority is determined by the number of houses you have in each district. Ultimately, it works.
I enjoyed it enough that I purchased a copy immediately upon my return from the con!
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Belfort
stats & comments (6)
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Jason Obermeyer
United States
Tustin
California
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I just picked up a copy of this and am very excited to give it a try!
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Belfort
stats & comments (6)
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Zack Stackurski
United States
Mankato
Minnesota
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I don't really think Belfort feels much like Agricola at all beyond the bit of worker placement. Agricola is largely about building an engine on your farm to produce food to feed your workers... there is pretty much no engine building in Belfort, though I suppose paying your taxes feels a little like feeding your family.
I think the closer comparison is Stone Age (though Belfort is clearly the deeper game). Each turn you try to get the most out of the resources you gather and do your best to set yourself up for the next turn. There isn't a whole lot of long term planning beyond that (unfortunately there is still a bit of AP here as you really need to squeeze everything you can out of every turn...)
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Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan
stats & comments (2)
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Edward Bolme
United States
North Carolina
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My favorite tactic as the guards is to leave a bridge open, then fill it on turn 2 with awakened guards. I have caught ninja several times using that tactic.
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Belfort
stats & comments (6)
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Joe Heaney
United States
Shoreview
MN
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markaaronmassey wrote: To me it played similarly to Agricola, with a theme.
I definitely think Agricola has a theme. It just doesn't have a personality.
Belfort's got the theme, medieval building, but it's got this parody on bureaucracy and fantasy worlds that really makes it a unique Euro style game. It's point of view gives it a sense of its own personality. And the gameplay is phenomenal.
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Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan
stats & comments (2)
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Frank Z
Germany
Holzminden
Niedersachsen
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My favorite game! Plays like a thriller. The tension and suspense rise and stays during the whole gameplay to the end. I love the theme, the great graphics and the wonderful miniatures too.
Compared with Nuns on the run this game has almost no luck elements and much more options how to win the game.
I strongly recommend to go on a shadowwalk or throw some shuriken (as the ninja  ), make the guards drunk and burn the supplies (as the traitor  ) and to slash the intruders wherever you find them (as guards  )!
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Belfort
stats & comments (6)
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Makis
United States
Lewisville
Texas
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I REALLY enjoyed this game. To me it played similarly to Agricola, with a theme. Unlike Agricola, Belfort offers variety in the form of interchangable "buildings" that will give each player an option they may not have had in previous plays.
Of course I'm basing this comment on the base game of Agricola.
That having been said, I have this game at the top of my list of games to buy post haste!
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Belfort
stats & comments (4)
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Joe Heaney
United States
Shoreview
MN
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ZackStack wrote: Bummer. Do keep an eye for it making it across the pond if you're into Worker Placement and Area Control though!
It's been since Pandemic hit the shelves that I've been so behind a game after just one play. Belfort is a pretty great experience. A mid to heavy euro non-gamers got extremely excited about.
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21 Mutinies Arrr! Edition
stats & comments (2)
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I don´t know but it is impossible because we did not go to Essen. Why is 21 Mutinies in this geekbuzz? Anyone could explain this fact?
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Stalag 17
stats & comments (1)
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Mikolaj Laczynski
Poland
Warsaw
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A very nice game with mechanics corresponding to the motif. This is no paste-on theme!
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Kingdom Builder
stats & comments (6)
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Russ Williams
Poland
Wrocław
Dolny ÅšlÄ…sk
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Everyone in our 4-player game at Essen enjoyed it. We bought it and have enjoyed it 2-player at home now several times.
If you're looking for lots of theme-related detail or complex rules, KB is not for you.
But as a rather abstract euro with light almost minimalist rules but nonetheless reasonably interesting tactics and strategy for 2-4 players, with the fun of different "special powers" and ways of earning points each game, I think it's nifty.
The simplicity of rules also means it will be quick and easy to teach.
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Dungeon Petz
stats & comments (4)
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Sebastian Grawan
Germany
Edemissen/Peine
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Played the game with my wife - it's great fun and not too easy on the tactical side.
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Wilderness
stats & comments (1)
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We at FryxGames are of course very pleased with this result. We knew we had good games, but it's always nice when players confirm it. And we didn't expect Wilderness to go all the way up to second place! With both our games (see Space Station) ranking top 20 (starwise) we really couldn't ask for more.
Now we have to see how we can increase the production and availability of our games.
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Antiquity
stats & comments (2)
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Undermining
stats & comments (2)
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Paul Grogan
United Kingdom
Cullompton
Devon
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As usual, votes cast probably by people who are friends of the designer. Our group played it. More than half really disliked it and didnt want to play it again. The rest thought it was simply "ok", with maybe one person liking it a bit. Whereas if you look at the average stars being always above 4, it is clear that these stats are totally flawed.
Yet another year where most of the actually really good games get pushed down the list by a large number of 5* votes for games that aren't really good. The same every year, but it still annoys me.
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Ristorante Italia
stats & comments (2)
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Hi Vincenzo. The game played with expert rules is more a strategic game than a family game. So if you are a "usual player" and like to play in a competitive way, then you may try the game : ) bye, Ricki
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PAX
stats & comments (3)
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Bernd Eisenstein
Germany
Berlin
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Hello!
Some people told me, that the game is buzzing... but what is a buzz?
I only told the people who tested the game and liked it to vote for it at the geek... I think that is not unfair.
greetings
Bernd
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Aquileia
stats & comments (3)
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Panic Station
stats & comments (1)
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Clyde Wright
United States
Washington
Dist of Columbia
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No comments at all? Anyone?
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Colonial: Europe's Empires Overseas
stats & comments (2)
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chuck dunn
United States
memphis
Tennessee
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risk looking if ya ask me though certainly different in play
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Tournay
stats & comments (8)
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Fairplay is more trustworthy, this list showsquite a few inconsistencies
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Antiquity
stats & comments (2)
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A reprint from 2005 in the top 10 of Essen's 2011? This list might use some curating :-)
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Tournay
stats & comments (8)
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Mike Ditlevsen
Denmark
Taastrup
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Well I was just sad they had sold out when my guy in essen whent to get it for me.
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Posted Wed Nov 30, 2011 9:32 pm
