My Favorite Games of 2005
Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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Not all of these were new games released in 2005. Some of them were older games that I got to play for the first time in 2005. They are a real mixed bag, that’s for sure. But it was very good year as far as finding new games I like. I’ve included some variant suggestions for some of the games.
Warning to the Negative Crusaders. Constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. But if all you have to say is, “This game stinks,” or “I hated this game,” or “I gave this game a 1,” go somewhere else. I will delete these comments. You can voice these opinions in your own Geeklist or a Forum entry. I will never understand why someone feels the need to embark on a crusade against a specific game. Wouldn’t it be a lot more fun to spend that time writing about something you enjoy instead?
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1.
Board Game: Roma
[Average Rating:6.96 Overall Rank:375]
Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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MY GAME OF THE YEAR
This is like playing a CCG without any of the hassle of buying lots of cards or making decks. It’s the best example of a game that uses just dice and cards that I can think of. Each game is different and I have the good knot of tension in my stomach during every second of every game.
You need to use either the designer’s rule change or Mike Fitzgerald’s rule change to reduce the strength of the Mercator.
Variant – If you roll 7 or less, you get a Reroll Token. You can have any number of Reroll Tokens during the game. You can use a Reroll Token to reroll ALL of your dice or force your opponent to reroll ALL of his dice.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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FIRST RUNNER UP
This is a very close runner-up too. One of the hardest things to do when designing is to create a balanced game in which players start with unequal forces. This game succeeds in that and much more. I have no idea why there are eight turns per year instead of 9, when 9 would seem to be fairer for all three players. But the game works anyway, and Cassius who always goes last does not seem to be at a disadvantage. It is the best pure three-player game I’ve played. The simple movement and combat system, the simple choices during the Action Phase, and the different paths to victory typify the elegance of simplicity.
It’s a shame the Character, Governor, and Legion pieces aren’t figures. It would really be great to have Caesar, Pompeii, and Crassus figures moving around the board. But the game is still rich in theme.
Variant – Each player gets a Spy Piece at the start, which is placed with their Character. Each turn, your Spy has a movement allowance of 2, and can be moved separately from your Character. The Governor of any province with an enemy Spy in it is always placed inside the city, unless the province also contains the player’s Character.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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SECOND RUNNER UP
Richard Garfield taught me a game called KILLER at dinner one night in Essen years ago. Someone counted to three and each player had to point his finger (which was his gun) at another player or point it up in the air. If you pointed at another player, that player was hit unless he had his finger in the air. It was very fun. I thought about this game on and off for years and tried to design a game based on it several times without success. CASH & GUNS is exactly what I was trying to achieve.
CASH & GUNS is sort of BANG light or BANG light and quick. The foam pistols (and shotgun) may be unnecessary but they add a lot to the theme, the feel, and the fun of the game. The Police rule is absolute genius; don’t play without it. It constantly made me think of the movie Reservoir Dogs. It’s currently the rule I’d most like to be able to use in one of my games in some form.
Variant – The game is all about shooting each other. So why not give everyone one more bullet and take out one Miss. You want people to die during the game. Also, give each player two Special Cards and let them choose which one to keep; they are too fun to waste.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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THIRD RUNNER UP
My good buddy James Miller introduced this to me in March. Each time a player plays a card, the card is both his defense against the card played previously by his opponent and his attack against his opponent’s next card. The special cards, the way you must choose during the first three duels which cards to save for the final duel, and the way you are sometimes forced to play a card that means you take damage combines to create a wonderfully clever design. Again, elegant and simple and a mechanic I can’t stop thinking about.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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FOURTH RUNNER UP
This is the first design by that same James Miller I just mentioned. It’s a trick taking card game in the vein of games like SPADES but with its only special twist: the Control Cards. The bidding for the Control Cards is devilishly clever and in the games I played obviously beyond my mastering. The other thing I just couldn’t seem to get my head around was the scoring. A little reminiscent of MUE, it’s the stars that count as much or more than the tricks. The stars, the stars.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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FIFTH RUNNER UP
This game by Al Newman seems to be flying under everyone’s radar. Along with ROMA and LOTR: THE DUEL, it’s the third game in my 2005 triumvirat of great two-player card games. Support Jim Dietz and Jolly Roger and give this game a look.
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7.
Board Game: Antike
[Average Rating:7.21 Overall Rank:226]
Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
Scott Nicholson taught me this game and the first two times I played it with him, he ran away with the game. In the third game, I was ready for him as were some of the other players. That was good and bad. It was good because the game was close unlike the first two plays. It was bad because the game took at least twice as long. So while my Jury is still out pondering the exact sentence, I can still highly recommend this game.
The Rondele which dictates what a player can do on his turn is one of the most clever new game mechanics in years. It keeps the game moving and makes most turns very short. The Victory Cards are also interesting and force a player to keep his eye on the goal, as once you gain a Victory Card you can’t lose it. For example, you gain a Victory Card for each 5 cities you have. But even if you lose cities later, you keep the card.
Seems to be best with 4-6. With less, there may not be enough incentive for conflict. And conflict definitely makes the game more interesting and more fun.
Variant – Add Catapults. Catapults can be built when a player builds Armies and Fleets. A Catapult costs 3 Iron. A Catapult is equal to 3 Armies but can only be used by the attacker in a battle. A catapult can be captured if all friendly units in an area are destroyed.
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8.
Board Game: Ahoy
[Average Rating:6.05 Overall Rank:3918]
Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
Reminiscent of GULO GULO and another game that slips my mind at the moment (anyone?), this is a light memory race game. The art is wonderful too.
Variant – Each time the leader completes a lap, let the player in last place draw two cards of his choice into his hand. The player then replaces them on the board, either swapping their positions or placing them back in their original positions.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
I’m not a big fan of abstract games. I really liked BLOKUS last year though. RUMIS is the same type of game as BLOKUS, just a little better. I’ve only won once in the dozen or so games I’ve played. I always feel like I’m doing well and then bam, I’ve lost. Still, I’m eager to play again.
Variant – Create your own board, or maybe the designer will put some new ones up on the Geek.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
My good friend Richard Borg spends an incredible amount of time working on his COMMANDS & COLORS Series of games. One night a week, every week, a bunch of guys go over to Rich’s house and that’s all they play, and that’s been going on for years. In addition, Rich usually goes to a local game store each Saturday and plays. The result is a fully-tested system that continues to evolve. The expansions to MEMOIR ’44 are a perfect example. Combine that with the Days Of Wonder excellent production qualities and you have a total winner.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
Yes, SOMETHING FISHY is another CAN’T STOP variant and yes it’s very light, but it’s simply fun. One of those games I can’t help thinking I wish I’d designed every time I play it.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
Here is an example of the minimalist school of game design at its best. A small, basic board, some plastic pieces, some cards, and voila a good game.
Variant – Give each player 2 Double Score Markers (pieces from Manhattan might work). During your turn, you can place a Double Score Marker on any vacant space on the board. The player who scores for this space gets 2 Points instead of 1.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
I imagine that many designers have spent at least some time over the last five years trying to come up with their own CARCASSONNE game. I know have. If you’d asked me if I thought anyone could take CARCASSONNE and make it simpler, I’d have said I doubt it. Wrong again Moon. Leo Colovini has done it. The complete vs. incomplete scoring takes a little getting used to, but once you get it you’ll appreciate the brilliance of this game.
Variant – Combine two sets of the tiles to make the game longer. This will make the decisions about whether to remove a Meeple on the board or leave it on longer much more significant.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
Scott Nicholson introduced me to this one too. Just when I think I’ve seen every possible race game or every possible game using a clever movement system (like WINGS OF WAR or WURMELN), another one comes along. It very light but great fun.
Variant – At the start of the game, give each player 6 Spell Counters valued 1-6. If you run into another Witch during your turn (your witch overlaps another Witch), you and your opponent both must play a Spell Counter. Players select their Spell secretly. If there is a tie or if the defending Witch plays a higher Spell, follow the normal rules. If the attacking player plays a higher Spell, he wins and can take another turn again, starting from where he is, using all the movement pieces he used to get to the where he was. When the first Witch finishes, he scores a number of points equal to all his remaining Spells. The game continues however. Each time each other player takes his turn and doesn’t finish, he must discard one of his remaining Spells. Each players who finishes also scores all of his remaining Spells, so the first player to finish may not win the game anymore. If a player must play a Spell and can’t, he automatically loses the fight. If a player must discard a Spell and can’t, he loses the game.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
The latest wonderful card game from Reinhard Staupe.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
My most vivid memory of this game is a bunch of us playing it on a Casino Cruise after the POKER tables were closed and the boat was heading back to shore. People passing by us must have thought we were drunk.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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HONORABLE MENTION
This is the latest customizable game from WizKids. I’m a big NASCAR fan so I’m not exactly objective on this one. But the one game I’ve played was fun despite playing with some of the wrong rules.
If you’re collecting the cars, I still need Matt Kenseth and the rare Greg Biffle. Have almost all the other cars to trade.
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18.
Board Game: Caylus
[Average Rating:7.97 Overall Rank:11]
Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON THESE
I need to play these games again before I decide whether they are in or out: CAYLUS, IL PRINCIPE, KINGS PROGRESS, BEOWULF, MAKA BANA, SKAAL, RAILROAD TYCOON.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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MY BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF 2005
Last year, two of my favorite games were LIGHTNING D-DAY and LIGHTNING MIDWAY. Both games had incredibly clever game systems that fit the themes perfectly. So I was really excited when I saw LIGHTNING WAR ON TERROR at WBC. I couldn’t wait to read the rules. It’s not a bad at all, reminiscent of ATTACKE and other games of this genre. But I was hugely disappointed because it just isn’t up to the level of the first two games in the series.
Of course, since playing the first two games, I’ve been trying to come up with my own LIGHTNING game. Up until the last few weeks, I’d struck out completely. But now I’m working on a game that I’m feeling really good about. But I won’t mind if Dan Verssen or someone else beats me out with the next great game in the series either.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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GAMES I CAN’T WAIT TO TRY THIS YEAR
I was hoping to try all of these last year but didn’t get to them: WARCRAFT, DESCENT, DOOM, 1829 MAINLINE, and 1825 STANDARD. I’ve had a resurgence of interest in the 18XX system lately, after not playing them for over 20 years, and I’m curious to see if they live up to my memories of all those 1829 NORTHERN BOARD games.
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Alan R. Moon
United States
Unspecified
New York
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THE PLUG
Three of my own games were released late in 2005. The first was HAPPY DOG which is currently only available in Japanese and in Japan as far as I know. The second was 10 DAYS IN EUROPE, the third game in the 10 DAYS Series from Out Of The Box. It’s basically a revised version of EUROPA TOUR (from Schmidt), but the new ship movement is a significant improvement. The third game was the TICKET TO RIDE CD Game with the new Switzerland map. People have been asking me if I’m getting tired of designing new TICKET TO RIDE games. No way! For the first time in my life I’m actually working on something I know will make money.
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