Thursday, August 16, 2012
Vicariously attending via Twitter
GenCon is upon us and even though I'm not attending, I am eagerly devouring every scrap of information I can get. You can see what I'm seeing by checking out my twitter feed. I'll be retweeting all the most interesting bits all weekend long!
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Preview: Kaiju City
This past weekend I was at G-Fest XIX in Rosemont, IL. It was a fantastic con and I got the opportunity to break out some wonderful kaiju (giant monster) themed games including King of Tokyo by IELLO, Monsterpocalypse by Privateer Press and a new game currently funding on Kickstarter called Kaiju City by Bonsai Entertainment. I had backed Kaiju City a few weeks before G-Fest and was excited to learn that I would have to opportunity to not only play the game, but meet it's artist, Frank Parr. Here are a few of my thoughts on the preview copy they had available.
Components: Since this was only a prototype, I can't go into great detail about the components, but the artwork they have planned for the game is phenomenally good. The monsters are all unique and suitably fearsome-looking while the city tiles are varied and the military tiles pay fitting tribute to the armed forces that consistently get crushed in damn near every kaiju film ever made.
Gameplay: Kaiju City has players choose whether to play as the monsters or the city itself. I know what you're thinking - who would ever want to play as the city and why can't the monsters fight each other? Well, simmer down because even though I had the same thought going in, I was pleasantly surprised with the stalwart human defenders. The city player will draw tiles, build up resources and bring military might to bear in a desperate effort to kill 4 of the rampaging monsters. However, the monsters only need to carve a path of destruction through the city in such a way that no new tiles can be placed in order to achieve victory. There ends up being a solid amount of depth in placing city tiles as the defender and moving your monsters around to destroy them as the attacker.
Rules: The rules for Kaiju City are nice and simple. The city player draws tiles each turn to add to the city which starts as a 4x4 grid of unique tiles. Resources generated by these tiles are used to build new areas of the city each turn. Meanwhile the monster player will have control of 4 monsters, each with unique abilities that they must leverage in order to destroy the city and prevent the defenders from building new areas. The iconography on both the tiles and monster record sheets conveniently displays all the necessary information without cluttering up the amazing artwork, so players will always know at a glance what their options are and which monsters are the most threatening or which city tiles look tastiest.
Overall: Unfortunately, I didn't get nearly enough opportunities to play the demo of Kaiju City while I was at G-Fest, but based on watching a handful of games in addition to my own I have to say that this is a refreshing, beautiful and just plain fun game. The human player will have some tense moments where they'll have to decide which city tiles will be most advantageous to play that turn and the monster player will have to carefully coordinate where they move their kaiju in order to inflict the most mayhem. Hopefully Bonsai Entertainment will be able to deliver on some amazing components if and when they get funded because everything else in this game is as solid as Gamera's shell.
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| A mock-up of the proposed box art and some of the components |
Components: Since this was only a prototype, I can't go into great detail about the components, but the artwork they have planned for the game is phenomenally good. The monsters are all unique and suitably fearsome-looking while the city tiles are varied and the military tiles pay fitting tribute to the armed forces that consistently get crushed in damn near every kaiju film ever made.
Gameplay: Kaiju City has players choose whether to play as the monsters or the city itself. I know what you're thinking - who would ever want to play as the city and why can't the monsters fight each other? Well, simmer down because even though I had the same thought going in, I was pleasantly surprised with the stalwart human defenders. The city player will draw tiles, build up resources and bring military might to bear in a desperate effort to kill 4 of the rampaging monsters. However, the monsters only need to carve a path of destruction through the city in such a way that no new tiles can be placed in order to achieve victory. There ends up being a solid amount of depth in placing city tiles as the defender and moving your monsters around to destroy them as the attacker.
Rules: The rules for Kaiju City are nice and simple. The city player draws tiles each turn to add to the city which starts as a 4x4 grid of unique tiles. Resources generated by these tiles are used to build new areas of the city each turn. Meanwhile the monster player will have control of 4 monsters, each with unique abilities that they must leverage in order to destroy the city and prevent the defenders from building new areas. The iconography on both the tiles and monster record sheets conveniently displays all the necessary information without cluttering up the amazing artwork, so players will always know at a glance what their options are and which monsters are the most threatening or which city tiles look tastiest.
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| I couldn't resist including the art for Lukar - my favorite monster! |
Monday, July 16, 2012
Review: Small World
Whenever the opportunity has come up lately, I've been playing Small World by Days of Wonder. Small World takes roughly 40-80 minutes to play depending on how many players you have. The game supports 2-5 players and is a wonderful blend of simple rules and strategic depth.
Components: Small World starts off with incredible artwork from Miguel Coimbra and soars from there. The game doesn't have any plastic figures, but the plethora of thick card stock tokens is both functional and pleasing on a tactile level. The game comes with 2 double sided boards that are used for different numbers of players. Each of these boards is colorful and easy to read with a layout that divides the world into various regions - forests, mines, plains, etc.
Gameplay: In Small World, you'll be competing for victory points over a set number of turns. Players take control of a variety of fantasy races that are combined with a random special power. Often hilarious and sometimes scary, much of the strategy and replay value of the game is nested under the different race and power combinations that come up. These races conquer regions by either claiming empty lands or giving a swift boot to whoever happens to be there at the time. As play progresses, players will reach a point where their current race can't spread much farther and they must go into decline. From there, the player will choose a new race and power combo and start all over again! Deciding when to go into decline is a very compelling aspect of the game. Generally, you'll get less points on a turn when you put a race into decline, but it's worth it for the opportunity to start fresh conquests!
Rules: Small World is sheer elegance in its simplicity. The basic rule for conquest is to place 2 of your tokens on the territory of your choosing plus 1 additional token for each piece that is already there. For example, if you're conquering an empty territory, you'd just place 2 of your race's tokens down. However, if an opponent has 2 of their race tokens in said territory it will cost you 4 of yours to take it (2 as the base + 2 for the two enemy tokens present). This rule is further modified by the a player's race ability and their special power.
Overall: Simply put, Small World is a masterpiece. The game is gorgeous to look at and fun to play on a tactile and strategic level. It works as a gateway game, plays casually and yet has enough meat on its bones to keep even the most curmudgeonly gamer satisfied. The only downsides (if they can even be called that) are that there are a vast amount of cardboard pieces to keep track of (which can make cleaning up after a game a lengthy process) and the random distribution of race/power combinations (which can lead to some very opportune turns for someone lucky enough to get the right combo) - but those are nitpicky negatives at best. Small World should be in your collection, hands down.
Components: Small World starts off with incredible artwork from Miguel Coimbra and soars from there. The game doesn't have any plastic figures, but the plethora of thick card stock tokens is both functional and pleasing on a tactile level. The game comes with 2 double sided boards that are used for different numbers of players. Each of these boards is colorful and easy to read with a layout that divides the world into various regions - forests, mines, plains, etc.
Gameplay: In Small World, you'll be competing for victory points over a set number of turns. Players take control of a variety of fantasy races that are combined with a random special power. Often hilarious and sometimes scary, much of the strategy and replay value of the game is nested under the different race and power combinations that come up. These races conquer regions by either claiming empty lands or giving a swift boot to whoever happens to be there at the time. As play progresses, players will reach a point where their current race can't spread much farther and they must go into decline. From there, the player will choose a new race and power combo and start all over again! Deciding when to go into decline is a very compelling aspect of the game. Generally, you'll get less points on a turn when you put a race into decline, but it's worth it for the opportunity to start fresh conquests!
Rules: Small World is sheer elegance in its simplicity. The basic rule for conquest is to place 2 of your tokens on the territory of your choosing plus 1 additional token for each piece that is already there. For example, if you're conquering an empty territory, you'd just place 2 of your race's tokens down. However, if an opponent has 2 of their race tokens in said territory it will cost you 4 of yours to take it (2 as the base + 2 for the two enemy tokens present). This rule is further modified by the a player's race ability and their special power.
Overall: Simply put, Small World is a masterpiece. The game is gorgeous to look at and fun to play on a tactile and strategic level. It works as a gateway game, plays casually and yet has enough meat on its bones to keep even the most curmudgeonly gamer satisfied. The only downsides (if they can even be called that) are that there are a vast amount of cardboard pieces to keep track of (which can make cleaning up after a game a lengthy process) and the random distribution of race/power combinations (which can lead to some very opportune turns for someone lucky enough to get the right combo) - but those are nitpicky negatives at best. Small World should be in your collection, hands down.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Back at the table
It's been a rough couple of months between school and work, but with the spring semester behind me, I can finally get back to slathering the internet in my opinions. And it's a good thing, too! This summer is shaping up to be a game-filled fiesta and I have more than a dozen reviews under construction as of this writing.
In addition, I happened to land a guest spot on the All Things Nerdy Podcast (also available on iTunes) today and I'll need as much material as I can get to keep my geek cred up to date. Stay tuned!
In addition, I happened to land a guest spot on the All Things Nerdy Podcast (also available on iTunes) today and I'll need as much material as I can get to keep my geek cred up to date. Stay tuned!
Friday, December 9, 2011
New Poll Added
I've been playing around with Blogger's options and decided to open up my next review to the masses. Let me know what you'd like to see me put the spurs to next by checking out the poll in the sidebar. If you don't like any of the options I've tossed up there, then give me your two cents and let me know what you'd like to see.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
From the Wishlist: Dominant Species
This is a new kind of post that I've been kicking around for a while. I've got a massive list of games on my wishlist and every now and then I have to go back and refresh myself on what I'm waiting to buy and why. With that in mind, I thought a series of entries about some games on my wishlist might be enough to entice other people to take an interest as well as foreshadow some of my upcoming reviews.
For the first installment of "From the Wishlist", I'd like to discuss Dominant Species by GMT Games. GMT is, of course, the company behind Twilight Struggle - a game which sits atop the charts over on Board Game Geek. I have limited experience with their games, but they generally cater more towards complex themes using simple components. Dominant Species is no exception.
The game chronicles an encroaching ice age and the struggles of various types of animals as they try and adapt and compete over resources that are becoming more and more finite. Now, I'm a huge fan of biology and evolution so the theme for this game has got me hook line and sinker. The mechanics focus on worker placement, tile placement and area control, but I haven't been able to see it in action yet. The rulebook is posted online, but I generally get a better idea for a game when I have the components on hand to reference. Speaking of the components, I've found a few images/videos of them online and...well...they're definitely the weakest selling point of the game for me.
I don't want to go too nuts posting other people's pictures of the game, but I feel that this one best encompasses the overall package that is Dominant Species. For me, what you see here does not match what you see on the box. The colors are muted and the components are all abstract representations. If this were a Fantasy Flight game, you can bet that there would be about 250 little plastic insects, reptiles and mammals. With that being said, I'm a sucker for wooden components and these little blocks and cones remind me a lot of Pandemic which is a game where the abstraction of the theme works perfectly. Obviously, all I can do without playing the game is judge the pieces aesthetically. While they might not be as grandiose as I'd like them to be, they do look well made and functional which is really all a gamer can ask for - everything else is gravy.
Dominant Species carries a hefty $79 price tag. Obviously, online retailers can offer it for a considerable discount, so it's up to each gamer to decide whether they want to save some cash or throw a lot of support behind their friendly local game store (expect a post about that debate soon). For my money, I could definitely see myself paying retail for this game. While the components might be lackluster, the theme has me salivating. Coupled with a strong position on the BGG charts and a number of favorable reviews, I find myself helpless to resist the call of nature to change, adapt and thrive.
Since this is a new "feature" on the blog, I'm anxious for your feedback. Let me know what you guys like and dislike about From the Wishlist and the blog in general. As always, thanks for reading!
For the first installment of "From the Wishlist", I'd like to discuss Dominant Species by GMT Games. GMT is, of course, the company behind Twilight Struggle - a game which sits atop the charts over on Board Game Geek. I have limited experience with their games, but they generally cater more towards complex themes using simple components. Dominant Species is no exception.
 |
| The box art pretty much says it all. |
The game chronicles an encroaching ice age and the struggles of various types of animals as they try and adapt and compete over resources that are becoming more and more finite. Now, I'm a huge fan of biology and evolution so the theme for this game has got me hook line and sinker. The mechanics focus on worker placement, tile placement and area control, but I haven't been able to see it in action yet. The rulebook is posted online, but I generally get a better idea for a game when I have the components on hand to reference. Speaking of the components, I've found a few images/videos of them online and...well...they're definitely the weakest selling point of the game for me.
 |
| Photo credit - Penteado, BoardGameGeek.com |
I don't want to go too nuts posting other people's pictures of the game, but I feel that this one best encompasses the overall package that is Dominant Species. For me, what you see here does not match what you see on the box. The colors are muted and the components are all abstract representations. If this were a Fantasy Flight game, you can bet that there would be about 250 little plastic insects, reptiles and mammals. With that being said, I'm a sucker for wooden components and these little blocks and cones remind me a lot of Pandemic which is a game where the abstraction of the theme works perfectly. Obviously, all I can do without playing the game is judge the pieces aesthetically. While they might not be as grandiose as I'd like them to be, they do look well made and functional which is really all a gamer can ask for - everything else is gravy.
Dominant Species carries a hefty $79 price tag. Obviously, online retailers can offer it for a considerable discount, so it's up to each gamer to decide whether they want to save some cash or throw a lot of support behind their friendly local game store (expect a post about that debate soon). For my money, I could definitely see myself paying retail for this game. While the components might be lackluster, the theme has me salivating. Coupled with a strong position on the BGG charts and a number of favorable reviews, I find myself helpless to resist the call of nature to change, adapt and thrive.
Since this is a new "feature" on the blog, I'm anxious for your feedback. Let me know what you guys like and dislike about From the Wishlist and the blog in general. As always, thanks for reading!
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