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Plays and stuff from the Gathering (ok, I'm done now)
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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I am just wrapping up my second visit to the Gathering. I had a great time, and even played a few games. I was one of the early comers and will have been here for 11 days by the time I leave on Monday. I'm not currently as active in regular gaming as most people at the Gathering, or as most people on the Geek, or as I was a year ago. I now live out of the country, without my games, and without any game group. So my perspective is a little different. Perhaps as a result, I learned a few things. So what did I learn? I am not a collector. I don't htink I ever really have been, not even close (I guess it depends who I compare to, but certainly compared to folks here), but I used to at least want to get most/all games I liked to play. I've come to realize that I'm happy to just be able to play games I enjoy. I neither need to own a game just because I like it, nor do I even need to try every game, even games by big designers/publishers. It's a bit of a relief, actually. At my first Gathering, I made a list of games I wanted to try. The list was long, but entirely tractable. I think I mostly accomplished my goal. This time I had no such list. The new games I tried were simply what looked cool to me, what was popular (at least once), or what I got roped into when folks were looking for one more. It was actually much more relaxed this way. But I certainly played many many fewer new-to-me games than I expected. So here's a report of sorts, of what I played. For better or worse, I am not as "detail oriented" as many folks here, and don't track every game played, what time, who was in it, who won, scores, colors, phases of the moon, etc. So this list is the games I remember playing, with random comments about each. Stuff I saw more than a couple games of but didn't play myself: 1960 Prototypes (somehow I didn't play any this time) Tribun (heard good things--didn't get a chance to try) Descent (there was a big table with this setup for most of the time) Various miscellaneous rail games Pandemic Ticket To Ride Card Game (seemed pretty popular--maybe I'll get one in tomorrow) In The Year of The Dragon Cuba Kingsburg Hamburgum Power Grid (w/ expansions) Probably a few more that I can't remember. I suspect I'll get a few more games of Tichu in in the next 20 hours before I need to leave to head back to Beijing.
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Posted Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:39 am
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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First game for me. I like this game a lot. Maybe my favorite press your luck game. Better than Can't Stop. Cool thing is odds of busting change on every dice roll (and go up on each roll), but the odds are not easily computable. But with more than 3 players it becomes fairly chaotic. You've been warned.
Why is there no image of the full box cover? Someone go earn some GG!
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2.
Board Game: Agricola
[Average Rating:8.29 Overall Rank:1]
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Finally played. Yup, great. This was in virtual constant rotation. Sometimes as many as 5 or 6 games going on at once. There were also a few highly customized sets, using either replacement or even handmade bits for all the various stuff. About the only thing I didn't see replacements for is the board. I only played a few times, and got my lunch handed to me by people have played a lot. I look forward to playing with fellow newbies. I do worry that it will suffer like Puerto Rico for me, if it becomes "solved". But at least there are per-player cards that are unique and hidden (at least until used), providing some variety. I'm optimistic. But for some reason I wasn't clammoring to play all the time, like some people. Probably just sore from the rear-kicking.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Weird. The cover looks great. The board looks... garish. Functional, for the most part, but garish. Loud. This is incredibly simple. Dare I say elegant. Only luck is the goal cards each player are given, then it's off you go and no luck form there. The game is pretty fast for a big box game. Certainly under an hour. Maybe 30 minutes for experienced players. The entire gameplay hinges on a single mechanic, which is how buildings are placed. I happen to like that mechanic. It's by far the simplest Ystari game yet. Much simpler than either Mykerinos or Yspahan. I will be picking this up for sure. It didn't actually get too much play though. Not sure why. Maybe because it wasn't available yet, no one came into the event already knowing how to play. Also only a couple copies available.
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4.
Board Game: Tichu
[Average Rating:7.72 Overall Rank:37]
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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This was by far the most played game at the Gathering. I did nothing to reverse that. I played I think a couple full games everyday. There were always multiple Tichu games going on, and lots of 'em. Odd that this was getting even more play (much more) than 2 years ago. There was also a tournament which drew something like 25 teams. My partnet and I made it to the final match but lost. It might appear to some that the opposing team (which had a designer of a top 10 game, but I don't know if he wants me mentioning his name) sacrficed a goat to the Tichu gods to get the hands they were getting, but I'm sure it was nothing more than their superior play. Most of a day was consumed getting through the 4 rounds before the finals. Ugh. You would think that I would have had enough Tichu from that, but oh no. I continued to play every day. Again, it's just more fun than about anything else, so why bother trying new games that aren't as fun?
This is only game I saw that really brought out "spirited" discussions about "correct" play. I may have even been involved in one or two of those.
Oh, Jay (Rio Grande) brought the new decks with two full decks, with each deck having the specials. And it's also a cool red second deck instead of black. For those of us who repeatdly replace old Tichu decks, it's like Tichu just went on a permanent 50% off sale.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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This is awesome!
The rules need to have a section on safety about spectators staying clear of the participants when they pull.
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6.
Board Game: Amyitis
[Average Rating:7.17 Overall Rank:224]
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Finally played this. I heard mixed reports, but it seemed good to me. I don't understand the complaints. Only 1 play so far.
This got a played a fair bit by others.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Hmmm... there's really not much to this one. Take one part Rat Hot, make 2x3 cards instead of the 1x2 tiles, add tiles that you collect when you create blobs of connected symbols. Blobs of size 4+ score a tile. Tiles come in different types which score at different progressions, depending on how many you have of that type. I played a few times. I'm actually surprised that it got played as much as it did.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Oh yeah. This was the highlight for me. I was able to play someone else's copy only once before coming, but there were tons of people who had it here, and I played it almost every day. I think it wasn't until my 4th or 5th game until I actually completely understood the rules correctly though. Given that even in my last game I still learned something new, I don't know how many more it will be before I'm actually correct. I appologize to the folks I taught it to and I realize I forgot a few important details, such as removing 2 population at the end of each age. Oops.
This game is long. About an hour per player (not including the time from Alan coming to ask rules questions to the designer of the game he's playing). No reason I can see to ever play more than 3 players. But even after finishing, I feel like playing again right away.
It was fairly surprising to me that despite the length of the game, this was in constant rotation.
Did I mention I love this game? Luckily I was picked early in the prize table drawing, and was able to snag a copy for myself. In my haste to get it and run, I didn't realize that I grabbed a used copy when there where copies in shrink available. Oops. Oh well. Now I just have to find people to play with without a standing game night. Here's hoping my family will play with me.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Extremely heavy rotation. Probably the most number of plays of any board game at the Gathering. I must have played close to a dozen times. There was one copy left permanently setup. Luckily Jay had a few for sale, and they flew off the proverbial shelves like hot cakes, even at full retail ($45). These were getting immediately opened up and played.
This has the worker placement like Pillars / Leonardo. It's much simpler than both, which for me is a good thing. Lots of luck here, so if you're dice averse, don't even bother. For me, I have no problem with the luck. It feels like there are enough rolls for it to even out (unlike Pillars, where drawing from the bag can completely hose you, and it doesn't average out). And most importantly for me, the dice rolls don't affect anything that becomes an economic engine, so it doesn't really matter (much) whether your bad rolls come early or late in the game. Certainly some rolls will be more important than other though, so yeah, it's possible to win/lose based on the dice. Deal with it, or move on. I really liked it, and will definitely pick it up (even though I'm sure many others will--specifically so I can play with the family--family games with the family, what a concept).
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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This didn't go over too well with our group. Perhaps some group think. But it didn't feel like there was any control at all, and borderline broken when played with max players. Although we didn't play the auction variant. It didn't seem worth the time investment. I did see it get played a bit throughout the week though.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Silly. No other word for it. But that's why games like this get played at the Gathering. Actually, the number of games that get played strictly because they're silly is amazing. No, no one died on turn 1, but no one made it to the dragon's lair either.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Another silly game. Fantasy Flight??? They need a different label if they're going to publish this and stuff like Descent, Game of Thrones, etc. This is about as silly as it gets. Take turns putting magnets onto snakes (spots on a board) and try to put all your magnets down without causing magnets to clump together. Fun for about 5-10 minutes. Max.
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13.
Board Game: Brass
[Average Rating:8.06 Overall Rank:11]
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Another that got good rotation. I played this once before coming (when extremely tired), and my impression upon further plays improved significantly. It's actually not that complicated, but the presentation doesn't really do much to make it intuitive, so a bit difficult to explain/learn. I would probably pick this up if not so expensive. I'm happy to play others' copies.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Like the first huge box FF sci-fi game, this is also not for me, despite the thematic tie in to the computer game which I liked, and despite the clever action token stacking system. I could possibly be convinced to try again, but only if playing 2v2, just like on the computer.
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15.
Board Game: Taluva
[Average Rating:7.16 Overall Rank:189]
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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This one's a bit unusual to be on this list, as I didn't play many games that weren't either new, big/long, or Tichu. I had never played this, and was glad to finally try it. I was actually surprised by what a nice little game this is. Works best when people play quickly. Kind of has the fun of tile stacking of Java in a fraction of the time. (not nearly as deep, but fun for what it is--abstract--and really nice looking). Stay away if you don't like the "stomp on the player to your left" games.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Really glad to be able to try this finally. I can see why people like this so much. I just wish I could have seen the strategy a bit sooner. Our game was ridiculously close, something like 1635 to 1634. Not sure the exact number somewhere in the 1600's with a 1point difference. While that sounds cool and all, it's a bit unsatisfactory that many times during the game points are awarded strictly by player choice when having a choice whose player's boats to use. I'm not a big fan of this. But there's a lot of really interesting things going on. Especially the stock merging, and the microwave dinners that can only come about by merging rice and spice. Cool! Also very clever is that idea that money you pay as part of a turn order bid is still your money (money = vp) but you have to put it aside and can't use it during the rest of the game. Also takes some AP out of the bid, since you dont' really need to figure out what starting position is "worth", since you don't actually lose your bid. I would be happy to play again. Probably not fork over the $$$ for it though.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Lots of fun. Unfortunately my previous game ran late so I joined this late. I only didn't win once. We use the "advanced" rules where you have to win three rounds, and after each round you win, you start with one less token. The only way to play. I don't like the newer smaller set. The motion is more crazy and you can't really use any finesse.
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18.
Board Game: Oregon
[Average Rating:6.81 Overall Rank:433]
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Eew. Really didn't like. Feels like a bad caricature of a Euro. Draw some cards. Put some meeples and tiles down. Score points based on placing meeples/tiles next to each other. Rinse and repeat until almost out of tiles. Yawn. Although someone picked up a copy off the prize table fairly early, so again, the problem could be just me.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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By far the most beautiful components to a game I've seen in a long long time. And by componenents I mean the cards. The board is fine, but the cards are over the top. I'm happy just looking at them without even playing. This is a pirate racing game. Sounds silly, right? It is. And that's why it works. Of course what kind of pirate racing game would be complete without needing food for your crew, finding treasure, getting cannons to blast other people's ships, and stealing their booty? Check. Check. Check. I actually find the game to be fairly clever, even beyond the great art and silliness. There's an interesting mechanic where each player gets a hand of three cards, where each cards has two actions, morning and night. But the magnitude of the actions (e.g. how far to move forward or backward, how much gold, food or cannons to collect) is determined by dice. One person rolls, then chooses which to assign to morning and which to evening. After seeing, everyone chooses one of their cards simultaneously, and then turns are resolved.
This got a bit of play, but was largely under the radar. Only one or two copies available. I played it a couple times. I would definitely pick this up if I could find for a reasonable price. Not distributed in USA as far as I know. So look for it as an import.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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I haven't played the old edition, but the new edition looks really nice. I can see what people like about this, but it's my kind of game. I don't really mind the kind of development games where you make a to get b to get c, etc, but in this one there is a very limited number of things to get with the end-of-the-line goods (e.g. a sword). And the things that can be built with it are fixed in a strict order. So what someone builds (or even doesn't build if you're planning on them building something) can completely screw you up. In this game you get a number of actions (well actually, you choose the number) to move your meeples around, but it's hard (for newbies at elast) to see the actions required to do something, which results in a lot of do and undo. BTW, this is a zero-luck game, and no variable setup, so it falls into that category of games that get "solved" and take the fun out of it for me. I have no problem with those who claim this is a great game, however. Just not one I would clamor to play. Having said that, however, this has the absolutely best mechanic for determining action points. I expect (and hope for) it to be brazenly stolen for future action point games.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Again new to me. I had heard about many times and would have bought, were it available. In this case I think my expectations were a little too high, as I was underwhelmed. Sure, it's a clever trick taking game, but I found the lack of control unsatisfying. Gameplay is so simple that there's no "arc" to the hands like there is in many other card games (Mu, Tichu, etc). I won't be forking out the big $$$ to import this. I'd be happy to play again though.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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Speaking of card games with no control. I suggested this (Bottle Imp) to the folks that really liked the previous card game (SJ--no, I can't actually spell it without seeing it) because they had never played this and we had exactly three--the best number for Bottle Imp. But this time it was the reverse as they were underwhelmed. Weird. This went over pretty well with my game group. In fact probably the favorite card game for three of many of us. Certainly getting stuck with the bottle is so bad that you can't just play a few hands. You have to play to 500 or so.
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Curt Carpenter
United States
Redmond
Washington
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The final game for me before the prize table thing was a monster game of Alhambra with all four of the expansions (each with four mini expansions). That's right, 16 completely independent expansions in all. That's The Vizier's Favor, The City Gates, The Thief's Turn, and The Treasure Chamber. (Not sure I got them in order.) This is a frankenstein of a game, but it's a hoot. We played with 4. I think 5 is probably the best number, only because it emphasizes turn interruption more, and encourages specialization more, rather than just take what you can get for exact pay. I ended up mostly ignoring the expansion stuff, except I liked one dude I bought at auction that let me pick up 3 cards adding up to 7 instead of 5. That was nifty. The attacks form the sides reminded me of Galaxy Trucker. I wanted pieces of people's Alhambras to come flying off. As silly as this was, I would do it again.
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Posted Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:03 am
Berthoud
Colorado
Redmond
Washington
Redmond
Washington