Showing posts with label The Sunday Miscellanea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Sunday Miscellanea. Show all posts

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Sunday Miscellanea - Sushi Roll and Felithian Factories

Just before the weekend, the Lake Geneva lunchtime crew played Sushi Roll with Brad, Tom Wham, and Larry Hamilton, of Follow Me and Die, at Culver's in Lake Geneva, WI.


Then we headed back to Lake Geneva Games to playtest Tom Wham's Felithian Factories with Tom, Larry, and myself.




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Sunday, August 28, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Alien Frontiers (2010)

We've had another go at Alien Frontiers (2010) recently with just the basic set.  Of those of us who had played before, we agreed that having at least the Expansion of the Agenda cards would be a good thing to keep the final push of the game less of a foregone conclusion.  But we played two in a row and it highlighted some of what this game does well because the expansions were not available.


The description from Board Game Geek is as follows:
Do you have what it takes to be a deep space colonist? An alien frontier awaits the brave and daring! This new planet will be harsh, but if you have the skills to manage your resources, build a fleet, research alien life, and settle colonies, the world can be yours.
Alien Frontiers is a game of resource management and planetary development for two to four players. During the game you will utilize orbital facilities and alien technology to build colony domes in strategic locations to control the newly discovered world.
The game board shows the planet, its moon, the stations in orbit around the planet, and the solar system’s star. The dice you are given at the start of the game represent the space ships in your fleet. You will assign these ships to the orbital facilities in order to earn resources, expand your fleet, and colonize the planet.
As the game progresses, you will place your colony tokens on the planet to represent the amount of control you have over each territory. Those territories exert influence over specific orbital facilities and, if you control a territory, you are able to utilize that sway to your advantage.
The planet was once the home of an alien race and they left behind a wondrous artifact in orbit. Using your fleet to explore the artifact, you will discover amazing alien technologies that you can use to advance your cause.
Winning the game will require careful consideration as you assign your fleet, integrate the alien technology and territory influences into your expansion plans, and block your opponents from building colonies of their own. Do you have what it takes to conquer an alien frontier?
Roll and place your dice to gain advantages over your opponent and block them out of useful areas of the board. Use Alien Tech cards to manipulate your dice rolls and territory bonuses to break the rules. Steal resources, overtake territories, and do whatever it takes to get your colonies on the map first! Don't dream it'll be easy, though, because the other players will be trying to do the same thing.

What I feel was noted when experienced players play the basic game on its own is the importance of the midgame and a need to keep all players in check lest one see find an inexorable path into the end game with an advantage.  Mind you, it will happen anyway, but that player will need to be more subtle setting it up, something I hadn't been aware was possible because the basic game is seemingly as transparent as any game could be.  There is no hidden player knowledge except for whatever strategy they have in mind.  If you have the game, even with expansions, try the basic game again with fresh eyes.


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Sunday, August 21, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Mystic Vale (2016)

I've had the chance to play a couple of games of Mystic Vale (2016).  It's got some neat components and ideas.  Once we played with three players and once with four, as pictured.  Everything I saw before learning the game made sure to mention it has a Card Crafting System.  I wasn't sure what to make of that idea.


The description from Board Game Geek is as follows:
A curse has been placed on the Valley of Life. Hearing the spirits of nature cry out for aid, clans of druids have arrived, determined to use their blessings to heal the land and rescue the spirits. It will require courage and also caution, as the curse can overwhelm the careless who wield too much power.
In Mystic Vale, 2 to 4 players take on the role of druidic clans trying to cleanse the curse upon the land. Each turn, you play cards into your field to gain powerful advancements and useful vale cards. Use your power wisely, or decay will end your turn prematurely. Score the most victory points to win the game!
Mystic Vale uses the innovative "Card Crafting System", which lets you not only build your deck, but build the individual cards in your deck, customizing each card's abilities to exactly the strategy you want to follow.

It is a deck building game in which you can change your cards, rather than exchange your cards.  Kinda neat on its face but the Vale area whence come the overlays can be tricky for more than a couple of players to view, in practice, unless others don't mind leaning over the cards each time a new one is added or picking them up to read them, thus tipping your hand.  Plus, because they are transparent, one can look at the draw piles and see what's coming, in some respects.  I think the game design needs a bit of refinement but shows promise.  Once all players are familiar with all of the overlays and if the draw piles could be hidden somehow, this should mitigate the flaws I see with this design.  Other than that, it's an enjoyable race for victory points which can be had a number of ways.


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Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Dice Boxes

Over on awesomedice.com, have a look at the "Pewter Dice Box" here.


Also, on elderwoodacademy.com, check out the "Hex Chest" here.


Finally, on the Pub Meeple YouTube channel they share "DIY Gaming - How to Make a Dice Box" though it is more of a tray, really.  Enjoy!



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Sunday, August 7, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Mystic Vale (2016)

There is a new game that my buddy Mark brought round to Culver's called Mystic Vale (2016).  Tom and I gave it a go with him on a day when they were particularly crowded, so I can't say it got its best showing.  Brian was around to see us get started but had to take off before we could really get going, so we played with three players.  We played most, I think, of a game before deciding we were taking up too much space on a day when they needed it but I feel we got the gist.


The description from Board Game Geek is as follows:
A curse has been placed on the Valley of Life. Hearing the spirits of nature cry out for aid, clans of druids have arrived, determined to use their blessings to heal the land and rescue the spirits. It will require courage and also caution, as the curse can overwhelm the careless who wield too much power.
In Mystic Vale, 2 to 4 players take on the role of druidic clans trying to cleanse the curse upon the land. Each turn, you play cards into your field to gain powerful advancements and useful vale cards. Use your power wisely, or decay will end your turn prematurely. Score the most victory points to win the game!
Mystic Vale uses the innovative "Card Crafting System", which lets you not only build your deck, but build the individual cards in your deck, customizing each card's abilities to exactly the strategy you want to follow.

I had seen this game in a trade publication last month and wondered if the "Card Crafting" aspect was more gimmick than worthwhile mechanic but now think it is a good one  While it makes for a bit of setup and clean up time after can be more than typical, I think it is worth it.  I was also concerned about the potential for component damage harpooning the game but it seems a sturdy one.  It might be a good idea to grab and extra pack of the non-standard card sleeves the game uses to ensure they'll always be available to you.  In any event, the overlaying mechanic is a good one and crafting the cards as a way of deckbuilding adds an almost three-dimensional component to the game much like the UP! expansion for Lords of Vegas really adjusts the way that game works exponentially, albeit in Mystic Vale it is there from the start.  That's not to say this is overly complex.  I've only played the once but that's not my gut reaction under conditions that weren't ideal.  There's a good amount of complexity to this that's worthy of more exploration by me.  It feels like a good game that might even be a great one so I'll check this out further.


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Sunday, July 31, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - LEGO Science & Tech

Over on space.com, they tell us "Sally Ride, Mae Jemison Among 'Women of NASA' Proposed as Lego Minifigs" here.


Also, on pinterest, check out all sorts of  fan-made Lego builds here.


Finally, on the nature video YouTube channel, they share a video on a "Lego Antikythera Mechanism."  Enjoy!



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Sunday, July 24, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Liar's Dice (1987)

Once more unto the breach . . . with a game of Liar's Dice (1987).  This one tends to be at the ready for times when we have more people than games to play and need to squeeze folks in.  However, last Tuesday, when I found myself at Taco Bell around lunchtime, it became the game of choice for Tom, Brian, and I.  Allow me to say up front that what talent I may possess for fibbing falls far short of what these venerable prevaricators can muster.  When the crowd is larger, I can sometimes slip through the web of their deceit but when just the three of us are in attendance, I am the last honest man in Bluffsville.


The description from Board Game Geek is as follows:
Liar's Dice is a dice game where each player is given five dice and cup to roll and hide them with. Players make successively higher declarations regarding the results of all the dice remaining in the game, e.g. "there are ten sixes". However, someone can always contest the bid. When that happens, all the dice are revealed and either the bidder or the caller loses dice, depending on who was correct. The last player with dice is the winner.

Okay.  I lied.  I won on this day and did so in grand fashion.  I even crudely Photoshopped the guy out behind Tom's right shoulder in the first picture but left him lurking in the third pic.  Serves you right for reading my blog.  I am a bad man.


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Sunday, July 17, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Eldritch Moon Prerelease

The Eldritch Moon prerelease weekend at Lake Geneva Games has been going pretty well so far and there is one day left.  I was worried that the Pokemon Go trend would put a damper on it but we've has some good events so far with a couple more taking place today.  The additional game space has served us well for our events the last couple of months.


The 1 pm event is a 2-Headed Giant, which means you play with a partner, one you bring or we can find you a good one on site from among our casual card playing crowd.  Either way, you win just by signing up for $30 per team member ($60 per team), because you get an Eldritch Moon prerelease kit which includes four booster packs of Eldritch Moon, two booster packs of Shadows Over Innistrad, a spindown die with the Eldritch Moon set symbol on it, a two-sided zombie token, and a fine little box (which is very nicely constructed).  Plus, for each round your team wins, should you manage that feat, the team gets two more booster packs of Eldritch Moon.  Win all three rounds and take home a kit plus six extra booster packs.


Finally, at 5:30 pm, we have one final Eldritch Moon sealed event.  It's only $15 and there are two rounds of play.  No additional prizes but, of course, you get your own Eldritch Moon prerelease kit with the aforementioned six booster packs and more.  That's a damned good deal so come on in to Lake Geneva Games today for Eldritch Moon!


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Sunday, July 10, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Concordia (2013)

My buddy Mark stopped by the store the other day and showed off his copy of Concordia (2013).  I have a copy of the game at the store but hadn't made the time to check into it more closely than just a passing glance.  One cannot know every game.  However, we broke out his copy and played a few rounds just to check it out and this one is just as intriguing to me as the games in the Harvest series, which is saying quite a bit.


The description from Board Game Geek is as follows:
Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire ruled the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. With peace at the borders, harmony inside the provinces, uniform law, and a common currency, the economy thrived and gave rise to mighty Roman dynasties as they expanded throughout the numerous cities. Guide one of these dynasties and send colonists to the remote realms of the Empire; develop your trade network; and appease the ancient gods for their favor — all to gain the chance to emerge victorious!
Concordia is a peaceful strategy game of economic development in Roman times for 2-5 players aged 13 and up. Instead of looking to the luck of dice or cards, players must rely on their strategic abilities. Be sure to watch your rivals to determine which goals they are pursuing and where you can outpace them! In the game, colonists are sent out from Rome to settle down in cities that produce bricks, food, tools, wine, and cloth. Each player starts with an identical set of playing cards and acquires more cards during the game. These cards serve two purposes:
They allow a player to choose actions during the game.They are worth victory points (VPs) at the end of the game.
Concordia is a strategy game that requires advance planning and consideration of your opponent's moves. Every game is different, not only because of the sequence of new cards on sale but also due to the modular layout of cities. (One side of the game board shows the entire Roman Empire with 30 cities for 3-5 players, while the other shows Roman Italy with 25 cities for 2-4 players.) When all cards have been sold, the game ends. The player with the most VPs from the gods (Jupiter, Saturnus, Mercurius, Minerva, Vesta, etc.) wins the game.

Even a brief bit of play convinced me this was a good game, good enough that I ordered a copy of the Concordia: Britannia & Germania (2014) expansion for us to carry and plan to get a copy of the Concordia: Salsa (2015) expansion as well.  I have a feeling these will be coming home with me, though, so I'll have to get another copy of each for the store shelf.


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Sunday, July 3, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Paper, Sword, & Drawing Box

Three from the epicfantasy YouTube channel and StormtheCastle.com this week with the first being "How to Make Home Made Paper."  Enjoy!



Also, check out the "How to make a Sword - Complete tutorial."  Watch and learn!



Finally, we're back in time with "Make a Medieval Drawing Box."  Wonderful!



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Sunday, June 26, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Etsy Items

Over on the DragonFishTreasures Etsy store, have a look at the "Tabletop RPG Dice Box" here.


Also, on the LadyHelenSoaps Etsy store, check out the "Star Trek Insignia novelty soap" here.


Finally, on the ElephantCraftsShop Etsy store, there's a fine "Splendor board game wooden organizer" here.


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Sunday, June 19, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Cookies, Dice, & Foam

Over on geeksaresexy.net, check out the "Critical Hit Cookie Cutters" here.


Also, on thinkgeek.com, have a look at the "Squishy 7pc Polyhedral Dice Set" here.


Finally, on thefoamcave.com, you can get all sorts of ideas and help making foam costume pieces here.


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Sunday, June 12, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Easy Roller Dice

A recently got hold of a few items from the Easy Roller Dice Company and I am very impressed with their wares.  With Father's Day right around the corner, I have to say that any of their offerings would make fine gifts for the Gamer-Dads you might happen to know.  The first of the three items I am featuring in this blog post is the "Wyvern Reversible Microfiber Self-Standing Large Dice Bag" which can be purchased here.  It's a thick, reversible dice bag that should hold up well to all sorts of gamer usage.  I love the wyvern logo which comes on both the interior and exterior of the bag so that it appears no matter which side I choose to have outward.  I'm also fond of the fact that it is self-standing, something I haven't had in past dice bags, and allows me to sift through my dice without having to dump them all over the table.  This bag is definitely a winner.


Also, I got to check out the "Blue Ice 7 Piece Dice Set With Carrying Bag."  This is one of a wide array of poly dice sets they have available and they are beautiful  I've seen some patterned dice in the past where the coloration made the numbers difficult to read or, perhaps, numbers might be too small on some other dice, but this is not the case with these.  They are easy to read, seem well-balanced, and look wonderful.  And the price is right on these, plus they throw in that nifty dice bag, here.


Finally, check out the "Legendary Copper Metal Dice Set" here.  These are some weighty, fine-looking dice and come in a very cool (gift?) box.  I knew as soon as I picked these up I had something in my hand that I would love to be able to chuck into my dice tray.  Well done on all three of these offerings, Easy Roller team!


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Sunday, June 5, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - First Sunday Open Boardgaming

I don't often announce or promote events on this corner of the CMG Blog Triad but it seems to me that some folks might read this section and miss some things from elsewhere.  Anyway, the point of this post is to ensure folks are aware of the First Sunday Open Boardgaming event that takes place on the first Sunday of every month at Lake Geneva Games.  It runs from Noon to Nine and folks can play whatever strikes their fancy.  Sometimes we'll have a demo or a special game event, so we'll try to make sure that information is included in the Facebook event set up for each one.  You can check out the details of today's June 5th First Sunday event here.




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Sunday, May 29, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - RPG Auctions Pro Tips

Chris Hinson's RPG Auctions group on Facebook has been chugging along and successfully helping gamers exchange RPG stuff for quite a while.  It is one of a number of Facebook auction groups under a single banner but it is the first and one must be vetted to gain access by starting off in the RPG Auctions - Lobby here.  Join there, read the rules, follow the protocols, and clear out your closet, or fill up your shelves, as the case may be.  One of the additional efforts Chris has made to make the group function better is to set up a YouTube channel where he gives tips on being part of the auction process here.  What follows are three videos that stand out as well worth watching starting with Tip #1 before diving in . . .



Also, have a look at Tip #2 . . .



Finally, check out Tip #3 . . .



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Sunday, May 22, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Bloktown

Late last week, I blogged about Tom Wham and his wonderful game The Awful Green Things From Outer Space (1979) but I also got a chance to play a game he has in the playtesting phase called "Bloktown" over at Lake Geneva Games.


I won't say too much about this game except that it is an auction style game with victory points dependent on clearing properties to ready them for constructing various building.


For four and a half decades, Tom has had games published through many companies in the US and abroad.  This is one of a dozen I have been lucky enough to play during pre-release and I look forward to playing more.


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Sunday, May 15, 2016

The Sunday Miscellanea - Alien Frontiers (2010), Factions (2012), & Outer Belt (2014)

Alien Frontiers (2010) gets to our local table A LOT since we discovered it, even though that was some years after it was originally published.  We've been adding in the expansions from time to time as we've gotten to know the game better over the last year or so.  At times, we've even just played a quick game or two of the base game and that is still just as enjoyable.  I really can't say enough about the balance an replayability of this game.  We added in the Factions (2012) a couple/few games ago but this session report focuses on our most recent game in which we added the Outer Belt (2014).


The description from Board Game Geek is as follows:
Do you have what it takes to be a deep space colonist? An alien frontier awaits the brave and daring! This new planet will be harsh, but if you have the skills to manage your resources, build a fleet, research alien life, and settle colonies, the world can be yours.
Alien Frontiers is a game of resource management and planetary development for two to four players. During the game you will utilize orbital facilities and alien technology to build colony domes in strategic locations to control the newly discovered world.
The game board shows the planet, its moon, the stations in orbit around the planet, and the solar system’s star. The dice you are given at the start of the game represent the space ships in your fleet. You will assign these ships to the orbital facilities in order to earn resources, expand your fleet, and colonize the planet.
As the game progresses, you will place your colony tokens on the planet to represent the amount of control you have over each territory. Those territories exert influence over specific orbital facilities and, if you control a territory, you are able to utilize that sway to your advantage.
The planet was once the home of an alien race and they left behind a wondrous artifact in orbit. Using your fleet to explore the artifact, you will discover amazing alien technologies that you can use to advance your cause.
Winning the game will require careful consideration as you assign your fleet, integrate the alien technology and territory influences into your expansion plans, and block your opponents from building colonies of their own. Do you have what it takes to conquer an alien frontier?
Roll and place your dice to gain advantages over your opponent and block them out of useful areas of the board. Use Alien Tech cards to manipulate your dice rolls and territory bonuses to break the rules. Steal resources, overtake territories, and do whatever it takes to get your colonies on the map first! Don't dream it'll be easy, though, because the other players will be trying to do the same thing.
And the Factions expansion description is:
Alien Frontiers: Factions adds a number of items to the Alien Frontiers base game:
Ship and colony tokens for a fifth player. 
Factions (thus the name), with each faction providing its owner a special ability and new orbital facilities under his control. 
Agendas, which are hidden objectives that allow a player to earn bonus points at game's end or when the agenda is revealed in-game. 
New Alien Tech cards, such as the Lunar Tunneler, which will allow its owner to pay one fuel to receive an extra ore when using the Lunar Mine. This card's discard power will send all ships docked at the Lunar Mine to the Maintenance Bay, which can be useful when the Mine is clogged with high-value ships.
And the Outer Belt expansion description is:
The Outer Belt expansion to Alien Frontiers adds ships and colony tokens for an additional player and expands the playing board. This side-board expands the moon with a new territory, and introduces the nearby Asteroid Belt. Asteroid Counters move through the belt during the game, changing their docking requirements as they change their positions. Staking a claim to an Asteroid will give you resources, a derelict ship, or new alien devices. Outer Belt can accommodate 2 to 5 players (up to 6 players when combined with Alien Frontiers: Factions).

First off, a shout out again to how well this game packs up with the dedicated boxes and design that allows these expansions to work their way into the original box, which never seemed all that empty in the first place.  It's impressive how well all aspects of this game have been thought out.  Anyway, this session included the Outer Belt and it was Norm who took greatest and fastest advantage of that expanded set of resources.  I think we probably didn't keep him in check well enough as he started exploiting that and it showed again how every corner of the board needs to be watched lest someone find new and clever ways of getting their colonies swiftly into play.  Good stuff!


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