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Hypermind BoardGame Night - December 2007
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Ho! Ho! Ho! December is here and Christmas is coming! The Hypermind BoardGamers are getting in the spirit early and our good friend and patron Denise-a Claus is here to spread holiday cheer! Although this will be a short gaming month (we’ve decided not to have game night on Christmas day), it will be the most “wonderful time of the year” anyway! So dash on through that snow and join us as we continue to dream of a game-filled Christmas…
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Posted On: 2007-12-09 15:23:44
Edited On: 2007-12-10 21:17:15
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Sweet Monkey Love... That's what you'll find at the Hypermind BoardGamers Meta-list. Monkey Love and lots of gaming reports. What could be better? |
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Posted On: 2007-12-09 14:10:47
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In planning out the Games of the Month! for the last quarter of 2007, we made the decision to take a bit of a gamble and let December's choice be whatever Games magazine chose as its 2008 Game of the Year. Fortunately, they selected Pillars of the Earth, which is a game that garnered quite a bit of notoriety early this year, and has settled into quite a nice reputation here at BGG. Personally, I'm a little ambivalent about the game, and I look forward to gaining a better appreciation for it this month. |
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Posted On: 2007-12-09 14:13:09
Edited on: 2007-12-09 15:24:25
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December 4, 2007
This was a great start to the most wonderful time of the year! Our first boardgame night of December was filled with new and favorite games, as well as tons of great people and lots of fun. I got to play two new games that I've been aching to give a try, and the first play of our Game of the Month! went very well. So, without further ado... On to the games!!!
Cartagena
We started and ended the night the same way, with a great session of my favorite little race game, Cartagena. As usual, Chris, Mark, and I arrived early and were looking for something to play. We pulled out this old favorite and got right to it. In the end, it was pretty close but I managed to edge out Mark for the win.
Then, to fast-forward a bit, the five of us remaining at the end of the evening again went for this quick, pirate-y game. Mark had a bit of luck in the beginning to jump out to a pretty big lead, but then sat for several rounds with only one pirate left. Several of us caught up and passed him, being only one turn away from victory, when Denise finally blew past us to take the game. My last brown pirate stood there at the dock and watched as the ship drifted away to safety.
Time: Game 1 - 17 minutes, Game 2 - 35 minutes
Game 1: Me 6, Mark 5, Chris 2
Game 2: Denise 6, Me 5(.999), Chip 5, Mark 5, Alton 2
Ratings: Alton 7, Chip 8, Chris 8, Me 8, Denise 8.5, Mark 8
Thebes
During the first game, Chip walked in with his spanking-new copy of Thebes, which is at the tippy-top of my wishlist. There was no real question of what to play next, and we started setting up. Unfortinately, Alton walked in (not because he stinks or anything, but just because Thebesonly handles 4). He said he'd just watch, however, and our archeological adventure continued.
Chip explained the rules (which are really quite simple) and we got started. I thought I would try to pick up several of the "lecture" cards that give an escalating amount of points as you gather more, but Chris ended up having more opportunity to grab them, so I instead picked up a few research assistants as I combed Europe for ancient knowledge. Mark made an early quest to go digging, choosing to make several small excavations (5-6 pulls), but got incredibly lucky in the tiles he drew and took the early lead.
I focused on yellow (Egyptian) and green (?) knowledge, and finally made my first quest near the end of the first year, getting in one dig in each of those colors. I started off the second year the same way, and ended up with most of the artifacts in both those colors. Chris dominated blue while Chip grabbed up some orange and purple, but both of them were pretty hurt by some bad pulls throughout the game. As time began to run out, I made my way back to europe and completed a couple of exhibitions as well, which proved to be the difference.
My (almost) final holdings.
After everyone was finally done with 1903, we totalled up the score and I actually managed to get the win!
Time: 58 minutes
Score: Me 58, Mark 54, Chris 41, Chip 33
Ratings: Me 8.5, Mark 8, Chris 8, Chip 8
This game was definitely everything that I had hoped it would be. As I'd heard, luck is certainly a big factor, but it can be compensated for at least a little and more importantly, it is extremely appropriate given the theme. The time/turn order mechanic is just brilliant, and gameplayt is just downright fun! If I just get one game for Christmas, I hope this is it!
For Sale
During the game, Sabrina also arrived. After she finished eating her supper, she joined Alton and Iesha for a couple of games of For Sale.
Time: Two games in 45 minutes
Game 1: Alton 79, Sabrina 64, Iesha 57
Game 2: Iesha 81, Alton 81, Sabrina 75
Ratings: Alton 8, Iesha 7, Sabrina 7 |
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Posted On: 2007-12-09 14:49:05
Edited on: 2007-12-09 15:27:08
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December 4, 2007 (continued)
Pillars of the Earth
At this point, we had six people wanting to play. I had a plan, and it was perfect. First of all, I reviewed the rules for our new Game of the Month!, Pillars of the Earth, with everybody. Alton, Chip, Chris, and Sabrina then decided to give it a shot while I took Mark away and had my way with him (in a gaming sense, you dirty-minded people).
Being occupied elsewhere, I don't know much about the game other than it was pretty close. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I think it was a good start to our Game of the Month!.
Time: 90 minutes
Score: Chip 45, Sabrina 43, Chris 41, Alton 31
Ratings: Chip 7.5, Sabrina 8, Chris 7.5, Alton 8
1960: The Making of the President
My goal for the evening, however, was to find someone to try out 1960: The Making of the President with. So that's what Mark and I did during the Pillars game. We set everything up and I went through the rules with him pretty quickly. Mark was a little familiar with Twilight Struggle (which I still need to play, by the way), so he had the basic ideas down already. I played Nixon... and I changed history.
Mark never really threatened me in the West, but I quickly made serious inroads in the South and the Midwest. I got a lot of high-Campaign-Point cards early, which meant that Mark was way dominant in political capital (cubes in the bag) for the rest of the game. He kept getting distracted by the issues, the media, and the big states, however, and never made enough attempt to neutralize my ridiculous control over the various states. Despite having endorsements in every region, he kept fighting me for New York and Texas rather than just knocking lots of the middle-weight states down to neutral (which he would have won with his endorsements). By the last couple of rounds (after the Pillars game was done), I ended up needing to use the red workers from that game to supplement my own red cubes.
I lost the debate (2 issues to 1), had virtually no stand on the issues, only dabbled in the media, and had no endorsements, but I dominated the final score. At least Mark was happy that Jackie Kennedy had taunted me and apparently gotten me egged in Michigan.
Time: 95 minutes
Score: Me 324, Mark 213
Ratings: Me 9, Mark 9
Once again, after my first play, this game is everything I'd hoped it would be. We made one slight rules mistake (only pulling out one cube for initiative rather than until you got two of the same color), which shows that the rules really are pretty easy to follow. There's a lot going on, and it's easy to get distracted (as Mark found out), but this game also has such a great integration of theme and mechanics. The only downside I see right now is that it is exclusively 2-player, which is obviously inherent in both the theme and the system itself. Otherwise, it is relatively quick, easy to teach and understand, and immensely fun. I can't wait to play again!!!
Guillotine
The only other game of the evening was Guillotine. Everybody else seems to just love this little game, but I don't see why. The theme is pretty neat and darkly humorous, but gameplay itself is boring and random.
And as I was entering all this week's data into my huge boardgame night spreadsheet, I realized that I had passed a milestone. I played my 200th game this week, but was it Thebes or 1960: The Making of the President? No. It was Guillotine... yipee. What a game to remember. I'm so fricking excited.
Anway, here's the stuff on it:
Time: 2 games in 39 minutes
Game 1: Chris 16, Chip 15, Mark 12, Me 11, Alton 8
Game 2: Denise 16, Chip 15, Mark 12, Alton 12, Me 11
Ratings: Chris 8.5, Denise 8, Chip 8, Mark 8.5, Alton 8, Me 5
So, altogether it was a fantastic game night! I can't wait to play these and other games for the rest of the month. Come and join us if you can! |
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Posted On: 2007-12-09 15:23:25
Edited on: 2007-12-09 15:30:03
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December 11, 2007
This was a very active week for the Hypermind BoardGamers! In addition to seeing several new games, we also saw John return to us from law school, being home on Christmas break.
Cold War: CIA vs. KGB
When I arrived, Chris Ingersoll was playing some Magic: The Gathering CCG (which is why we call him “Magic” Chris), so I sat down with Mark and played a game of Cold War: CIA vs. KGB. Mark was the KGB and made heavy use of his Deputy Director, which both foiled several of my assassination attempts as well as costing me the objective points for each of those rounds. In the end, I gave him the game with a boneheaded move when I again tried my Assassin on a round that he had used his Master Spy and the objective (Vietnam) was enough for him to win. I killed his Master Spy alright, but just after he had claimed the objective for the win.
Time: 45 minutes
Score: Mark 100, Me 55
Ratings: Mark 8, Me 7
This game has some really cool things going on with it. I like the simplicity of the basic mechanic (I don’t know any other games based on blackjack), as well as the choices they made to spice it up. What I don’t like is the fact that “event” objectives all have only a population of one. It virtually removes any chance of tactical play, making it a simple random draw to determine who wins. The game is also a bit too long for what it is, but that can easily be fixed by simply playing to a smaller target score. I also think that it is a game that is aching for an expansion or two, and I’d like to see what could be added to make it even better.
Fairy Tale
During our game, John and Sabrina joined Chris for a quick game of Fairy Tale, which I barely noticed until it was over.
Time: 15 minutes
Score: Sabrina 38, John 35, Chris 33
Ratings: Sabrina 7, John 6, Chris 8
The crappy, unseasonably warm weather here in North Carolina was screwing with Sabrina and giving her a headache, so she headed on home to rest. The rest of us pulled out a new game that I picked up a few weeks ago…
Cutthroat Caverns
I had heard some really good things about Cutthroat Caverns from several of my trusted internet and podcast reviewers, so I grabbed it a charity auction at MACE just before Thanksgiving. One comment I heard was that it “is what Munchkin should have been”, which made me kind of tingly, because pretty much the only thing I like about Munchkin is the “idea” of it. Anyway, we finally got it to the table using both the base game and the Deeper & Darker expansion which adds more encounters and one-time-use special character abilities.
The game went pretty well, except for the fact that we pulled both of the encounters that extend the game. I think that the one nagging problem with this game is the fact that it can, once again, go a little too long for what it is. The varying creature abilities and interesting card play make it interesting and all, but especially when you play through 10 or 11 encounters (which is what we did), it gets a little old. As far as this particular session goes, there was lots of hacking and slashing, selfishness, and backstabbing… which is exactly what we wanted! In the end, John succumbed a trap in the last round and died, leaving Mark with the most prestige.
Time: 60 minutes
Score: Mark 13, Chip 12, Chris 3, Me 3, John DEAD!
Ratings: Mark 7, Chip 6, Chris 7, Me 7, John 7
Overall, I liked it. There’s nothing revolutionary or “special” about the mechanics, but it’s a fun, solid game that I’d gladly play again… maybe pulling out those “extending” encounters to keep the game length a little more manageable.
Pillars of the Earth
From there, we were at a bit of a loss. We had five “core” people wanting to play, and a Game of the Month that only handles 4. Chip graciously bowed out and played a few games with James and Brett.
While I’m not a huge fan of Pillars of the Earth, I still definitely wanted to give it a few more plays this month just to make sure that my view of it is wholly justified. Chris and I set up the game as I explained the rules to John and Mark, then we got started. I have a theory about this game, that the “2 wood for 8 gold” Woodworker! is broken and gives a ridiculous advantage to whoever gets it, so I made sure to pick it up on the first round. Our master builder pulls were relatively balanced throughout the game, which makes the game better, and the game went smoothly.
Play was pretty tight, but Mark fell behind towards the end of the game, while I pulled ahead a little. Finally, despite other people stealing both Goldsmith craftsmen from me, I still won. Now, I also had as much or more experience with the game as anyone, but that extra 8 gold a round is just hard to compete with. I think that everyone else used a master builder on almost every turn to be immune to taxes, while I was able to do cool things with mine (like pick up the privilege card that let me look at the top event, which let me be sure to be immune to the “place only 2 master builders” one on the last turn). Without the Goldsmith, I just went to market and use my extra gold to buy up the resources I needed to maximize VP production in the last round anyway.
Time: 70 minutes
Score: Me 52, John 42, Chris 41, Mark 33
Ratings: Me 7, John 7, Chris 7.5, Mark 7.5
Right now, I still enjoy the game, but I feel that there continue to be some lingering issues with it that keep it from being really “great” for me. I will continue to keep an eye on that broken Woodworker, and see if my theory holds up.
Cave Troll
The first game that Chip played with James (and then Brett as well) was Cave Troll. I don’t know a heck of a lot about this game, other than I heard generally positive reports about it online. Based on their ratings, it appears to be a solid but not terribly inspired game. Chip and James played one game alone, then were joined by Brett for a second game.
Time: 25 minutes (2-player game), 40 minutes (3-player game)
Game 1: Chip 54, James 37
Game 2: James 50, Brett 43, Chip 40
Ratings: Chip 7, James 7, Brett 7
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3 Comments []
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Posted On: 2007-12-15 00:17:36
Edited on: 2007-12-19 22:18:59
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December 11, 2007 (continued)
Maus nach Haus
The other game that Chip, James, and Brett played was a Haba game that Chip got from his BGG Secret Santa, Maus nach Haus. Chip has two small children, so he keeps us well-acquainted with all the great children’ games out there that can also serve as fun adult fillers. We also played another session to end the evening, and we all had a blast. It’s no | |
Posted On: 2007-12-10 09:38:50
Overall, my impression of the game had improved since our last play session, as I had anticipated. Chip's rating actually went down a bit, despite winning both sessions!