Hypermind Board Game Night - April 2008
Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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Four days out of the week, Burlington (NC) gaming store Hypermind is usually filled with card-players or dedicated Clix fans. They arrange themselves in groups of at least four (or at least eight for the Magic players... stupid DCI sanctioning rules), have their little tournaments, and generally make a lot of noise. I know, because I am one of them (although not so much with the Clix).
But Tuesdays are different.
On Tuesday nights, a unique group emerges from their homes, converging on the sleepy little FLGS with but one intent. Their hunger never subsides, and no two meetings are ever the same.
They have waged conflicts between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers. They have been crowned the most prestigious Princes of Florence. Temples to their glory have been erected on the volcanic island of Taluva, surrounded by mighty Citadels. They have invoked the name of Egyptian sun-god (and apparently part-time auctioneer) Ra, ridden the rails of America, Europe, and Germany with their Ticket to Ride, and have even suffered Betrayal at the House on the Hill. With their help, the city of Arkadia stands tall once more. They have constructed cathedrals at the Pillars of the Earth, reluctantly spun a Power Grid across numerous countries, and even assisted the sheep-loving Settlers of Catan.
(They have also played Zooloretto, a game with a name so ridiculous I wasn't able to work it into a normal sentence.)
They are...
The Hypermind Boardgamers. And I am also one of them.
This is the latest chapter of the on-going Glog of their encounters with colored wooden cubes, malicious and deceitful dice, traitorous knights, and cards too small to actually be shuffled by human hands.
Join us now, as the Hypermind Boardgamers continue their quest for Victory Points on the sunny Caribbean isle of Cuba...
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Board Game: Cuba
[Average Rating:7.30 Overall Rank:162]
Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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Our Game of the Month! for April is, as mentioned above, the rum and cigar-filled Cuba. We got our first taste of this game in late March -- finally, after Mark toted it around for what felt like months -- and were eager to give it some focused attention. With group leader/co-founder Chris Norwood out of action for most of April due to family problems (that is, "starting one"), Cuba was one of the few games owned by one of the other regulars that we were willing to investigate every week.
Well, aside from one other game, but we're waiting on the expansion. Besides, we play that just about every week anyway. 
What we like about Cuba is its colorful presentation (much more so than Puerto Rico, our other "finalist" for GotM) and varied strategy.
So far, the only drawbacks we've encountered are the poor scoring track (complete with tiny cylindrical scoring tokens that easily get knocked over and roll away), somewhat-predictable Edicts (in that you will see the same six in each category every game, even if in a different order and possibly not actually enacted), and somewhat superfluous role choices that seem somewhat obvious, especially in the early stages.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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If Cuba is our GotM, then Race for the Galaxy is already our Game of the Year just based on how often we play it. We will literally go for this game as a reflex if we have less than five players, as it is so quick and clean that playing it is almost effortless. Honestly, the only thing that has stopped it from officially being GotM is that we're waiting on Race for the Galaxy: The Gathering Storm to allow 5-player action. I don't think it ever really needs to be GotM, however, as we already play it just about every week -- sometimes more than once!
One interesting phenomenon that we've noticed after our sessions is that new players are usually overwhelmed by the game and rank it lower than it probably should be, but as they play more often and become more comfortable with the game's mechanics, their ratings creep up slowly each time. Two of us (myself included) have this game locked firmly at 10, although our average rating is overall generally closer to 9.
Other than the newbie confusion, the real problem we have with RftG is that the game moves so quickly (thanks to simultaneous turns) and is so easy to return to the box afterwards that there is often no opportunity to take pictures! By the time it occurs to someone to snap a quick photo, we've already moved on to our next game!
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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Blue Moon City has been in my possession since I won it at our Anniversary Party, but only made it to the actual Board Game Night once prior to this month. This is mostly because it stays hidden in my backpack despite bringing it nearly every week.
Being a Reiner Knizia design, there are clearly few flaws in the gameplay of BMC. Games are almost always extremely close, with nearly everyone on the verge of winning when someone finally makes the final offering to the Obelisk. Often the game is decided on whether or not one of the movement-enhancing grey (Flit) cards are in someone's hand, which can make the game feel a bit cheap at times; victory can be snatched from your grasp just because someone else was literally able to swoop in when he normally wouldn't have been able to do so.
Gameplay is quick, and the game is very easy to explain to new players. Set up takes a bit of work, but nothing terribly time-consuming.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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Previous winner of our "Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride" Award, The Downfall of Pompeii is one of those games that just doesn't grab the attention and scream "play me!" like a few others. When it does make it to the table, however, it creates a favorable impression. It just doesn't seem to make enough of an impression to show up more than once every couple of months.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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The perennial "Gateway Game", Ticket to Ride is always good for a quick play among players of all experience levels and/or ages. Several different versions add their own twists, but there's nothing wrong with the base game other than maybe some tedium at being nothing terribly special, just a solid gaming experience.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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One of the favorite fillers of the Hypermind Boardgamers, For Sale is quick, easy, and fun. Typically we get in multiple plays in a very short period of time before moving on to something heavier.
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7.
Board Game: Taluva
[Average Rating:7.14 Overall Rank:242]
Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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Our Game of the Month from June of 2007, Taluva was one of the first big hits among the group. Gorgeous, heavy-weight tiles and brilliantly-colored wooden pieces make Taluva as lush as any real island on the Pacific Rim, while subtle strategic decisions keep the gaming fresh every time. Victory can sometimes come out of nowhere, as a well-placed tile can allow for surprising expansion, but often moves are planned well in advance.
Taluva features very little in the way of preparation and clean-up time, as long as you keep the buildings in separate bags, which also adds to its appeal. The quicker you an start playing a game once you open the box, the more likely you are to actually play it.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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As I mentioned up in the OP, Hypermind has a small but loyal group of CCG players -- and former CCG players -- that frequent the establishment on several nights. It stands to reason, then, that introducing them to a game that features drafting as its primary mechanic should be a slam-dunk.
While that's not quite the case with Fairy Tale, the game's quick play is always useful for enjoyable filler. The game isn't really solid enough to be favored, but it is simple and efficient, which are never bad things. The fact that, unlike our current golden child Race for the Galaxy, the entire 100-card game fits in a conveniently-sized box is also a huge plus, enabling the game to always be on hand more or less "in case of emergency". The glass may not always be broken in such situations, but it is often comforting just to know that the option exists.
(Seen at left: Gwen Norwood, wife of our "fearless leader" Chris Norwood and recent new mom, and "Yet Another" Chris "Fuzzy" Wickline -- himself a CCG player -- engage in a game of FT while gamer-girl-in-training Piper Irvin looks on from her cage.)
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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I had been eyeing Primordial Soup ever since John brought it to the table many months ago. As a biology major, the theme was right up my alley, and the gameplay is solid. Plus, what six year-old boy (or former six year-old, in this case) can resist a game that prominently features "pooping" as a mechanic?
The biggest drawback to Primordial Soup is its player restriction; like Tigris & Euphrates, it only (officially) plays with 3 or 4 players, which can be a hindrance to larger groups and/or gaming couples. The expansion lets it support up to six, which may be worth looking into. It also brushes up against my personal bias against tons of bits, but (again like T&E) the majority of them are just colored cubes; I'm more opposed to a large variety of bits than I am to a large quanity, and Soup's BP and DP tokens/beads are fairly harmless in that respect.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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As somewhat demonstrated by the artistic photowork of Chris Norwood depicted on the left, Through the Desert is not a game for the color-blind. The pastel hues of the little candy-like pieces can be hard enough to distinguish for people with standard color vision! Aside from that, however, TtD is a quick-playing family-friendly game that should see more play time in our group than it actually does. In fact, unless I missed it in Chris's meta-list, I don't think it has ever seen a table at Hypermind prior to this month! I know it's been there, but for some reason we've just never given it a shot until now.
Somehow, I suspect that could change in the future, as the game is rock-solid. Combining area majority with multiple-player abstract strategy in a well-devised theme, TtD is easy to learn and a great way to spend ~half an hour.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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Thurn and Taxis is an interesting variant on the usual Rail Game, similar in many respects to Ticket to Ride but with a few unique features. Playing the role of Post Office managers, players looks to complete letter-carrying routes in and around Germany. The main objective is to earn large carriages, but bonus points can be scored for canvassing an entire region, especially long routes, and covering as much territory as possible, which provides alternate routes of strategy. The four various Postal Official powers, only one of which can be used each turn, further complicate the issue by allowing players to draw or place extra cards, claim larger carriages, or refresh the face-up tableau of cards prior to drawing.
Overall, T&T has a bit of a learning curve to it, as a few of the mechanics are unusual and somewhat difficult to explain, but once in action the game rolls pretty smoothly. The only drawback we really noticed so far is with the somewhat restrictive Officer abilities, as their use is fairly obvious (and in at least one case mandatory); they keep the game moving, but they almost feel assigned per round.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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After Liar's Dice (more accurately the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean "Pirate's Dice" edition), To Court the King is probably our most popular filler. Affectionately dubbed Yahtzee: the Gathering by a BGG reviewer (a nickname which caught on quickly amongst our Magic: The Gathering-oriented players, including myself), TCtK is a quick-playing dice-rolling game that smooths out the randomness a bit by allowing you to use specific powers of various earned characters to add, modify, or outright reroll dice as you race to assemble seven-of-a-kind to win the favor of the King.
There's not really any deep strategy and the game doesn't really hold up against repeated sessions, but every now and then it's more than up to the task of killing time and having fun.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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The Hypermind Boardgamers were first introduced to the Red Dragon Inn back in October, when Slugfest Games designer Cliff Bohm stopped by our FLGS to demo some titles for us. What we wound up playing that night was a prototype expansion to RDI, allowing for six players to get in on the ale-chugging, gambling-cheating, after-the-adventure revelry instead of the usual four; it would eventually become The Red Dragon Inn 2 (I believe we just had Fleck and Gog added to the party). We've since played other games from the Slugfest roster, including Kung Fu Fighting (which we like, on the whole) and Tiki Mountain! (uh... not so much), but Red Dragon Inn hasn't made another appearance until now. I think we were spoiled by being able to play with six instead of just four.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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The game that served as our GotM for October got to stretch its traitorous legs six months early this year. The game is full of unique mechanics and is never quite the same game twice thanks to the various possible Haunts and random layout of the House itself. Supporting anywhere from three to six players, Betrayal is a nice game for a Halloween gathering or anybody who enjoys splashing around in the goo-filled wading pool of the supernatural. The downside is that the playing time can vary wildly; a unfortunate Haunt roll could doom you all within half an hour or could be exploring the weird mansion for an hour and a half before your simulated B-movie reaches a conclusion.
Oh, and since the game is pretty much out of print now you might have to fork over a tidy sum to grab a copy. Pity.
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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Pandemic is an interesting cooperative board game that pits all of the players against the game itself. It is also the most fun you will ever have getting your collective butts kicked by a bunch of wooden cubes and cards that seem to have a malicious will of their own. To win this game you need solid teamwork, sound strategy, and a surprising ton of good fortune (aka luck). Succeed, and you save the world.
Fail... well, let's not think about that, shall we? Besides, you'll have more important matters on your mind, like keeping said mind from leaking out your ears.
Perhaps the most unique aspect to Pandemic is that it is actually somewhat easier with fewer players. Due to the way new epidemics are triggered, the fewer the number of players the less cards get drawn in between each given player's turn and the less likely the chance of a new problem cropping up before you can contain one that's already out there. It's possible to win with four players... it's just amazingly hard (especially if one of you is the Operations Expert instead of a useful role).
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Chris Ingersoll
United States
North Carolina
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The final week of April was a crazy one by Hypermind's BoardGame Night standards, with a level of attendance -- and gaming -- not seen in quite some time. At some points we had three separate games running at once! Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with some of those games so I can't really provide commentary on them, and since I didn't participate I can't properly recap the sessions. Here are those "other" games that went down on 4-29-08:
Lexogon One
Time: ?
Final Scores: Thomas 6, Barbara 16
Game Ratings: Thomas 9, Barbara 9
Poison
Time: 48 minutes
Final Scores: Thomas (Win), Barbara (Lose)
Game Ratings: Thomas 9, Barbara 8
Blink
Time: 5 minutes
Final Scores: Wendy (Win), Bobby (Lose)
Game Ratings: Wendy 10, Bobby 6
5 minutes?! "Blink" indeed!
For the month of May we've selected China as our GAME OF THE MONTH!, partially because we all like the game and partially due to the recent closure of the game's publisher, Uberplay. Join us next month as we memorialize the company that brought us this and other games (including For Sale, Hansa, Alhambra and August '07 GotM Ra) while we engage in one of the finest area-majority games we've experienced.
Plus play a ton of Race for the Galaxy, of course.
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Posted Wed Apr 2, 2008 8:30 pm
