Tabletopper Friday - Lake Geneva May 2019 Tabletopping

As May 2019 comes to a close, I find myself at Nexus Game Fair, which is now in Brookfield, WI.  I think this will prove to be a good move for this convention.  I've been unable to go for more than a day the last couple of years but worked out some vacation time to go for a little longer this year but more on that next week.  For this post, I want to just look back over a few of the games I played that I didn't highlight along the way.  for a few of them, I didn't get pictures but I'll be more attentive next time, I hope.  Earlier this week, Jesse broke out his newly acquire copy of Machi Koro (2012).  It's a fast, little card game with some interesting challenges, an engine-building component, and just enough ways to mitigate the dice rolling aspect to keep it from feeling like you need to be lucky to win.  Granted, being lucky can help but it can be overcome by solid strategy, so I enjoyed it.  I guess Anthony, Rick, Jesse, and I owe some thanks to Dennis for putting it in the Blind Auction for Jesse to win.

We got Rise of Augustus (2013) back to the table early this month.  I like to call this Roman Bingo.  It's amazing how tense it can get hoping your needed symbol is drawn from the bag before someone else gets what they need.  Great fun!

I've already mentioned Architects of the West Kingdom (2018) in other posts and I played it a lot the last couple of months but I don't doubt I will play it more throughout the summer.  It's a clever game but I think it is going to need some expansions to keep it fresh beyond a few more plays.  In this instance, we were happy Tom's longtime friend Mike Bell was in town to join us.  Don't ask him what the "A" on his hat stands for because it seems to change with some frequency.  Later in the month, but before getting in that game at the Pizza Ranch, Tom, Brad, and I knocked out yet another game of Architects!

There was also a good deal of Love Letter, Magic the Gathering, Stone Age, and more squeezed in at one time or another but it's time to gear up for a lot of boardgaming and card play at Nexus Game Fair, so I say, So long," to May and look forward to gaming in June.  Go, Cubbies!

Tabletopper Friday on MFWARS.com 

Mostly about card games and board games,
unless they have a decidedly wargamey feel.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Wiz-War (1983)

One of the games we regularly played as the group was straggling in for our D&D games in the 1980s was Wiz-War (1983).  It was fast paced, scratched the fantasy itch, and provided hours of fun in half hour to one hour splashes.  Granted, the game can take twice that long when you are new to it and if you aren't be aggressive but we played the game well, we played for blood, and we played for quick resolutions.  It was as cutthroat as any game I've ever played.

The description from Board Game Geek is as follows:

In this light, beer & pretzels type of game, players are transformed into wizards attempting to collect treasures from a twisted little maze. At the heart of the game is a deck of cards that the players use to cast spells, power-up spells, and augment movement. Each turn, players can move up to three spaces (or more with the use of number cards). However, the goal is to penetrate the other players' sections of the maze, pick up one of their treasures, and bring it back to your home base. The first player to capture two such treasures or kill all the other wizards is the winner.

I currently have a copy of the "Classic" game printed by Chessex in 1997, which is just as good as the original, and I have yet to play the newish Fantasy Flight Games version yet (though I'd like to try it someday).  Admittedly, the older version does allow players to get knocked out of the game which I think they changed in the newer version but the game doesn't last so long as for that to be a big deal, IMO.  I know that modern boardgaming design dictates that being knocked out of a game before it is over isn't "fun" but in shorter games, I think that can be minimally problematic.  I need to introduce my regular crew of gamers to this traditional D&D side game soon, I think.  Maybe tonight!

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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