There are several games which have become group favorites and seem to repeatedly hit the table. I'd like to share a short list of a few that come to mind. These are games that I play with my gaming group, friends and family. In a future post I'll have a few more games to add in Part 2 of this topic. This short list of games evolves and changes over time as you would expect. I may very well may revisit this topic at some point in the future. I'm sure I'll end up leaving out a couple favorites, however these are the ones that are currently top-of-mind and in no particular order. Let's start with one of my all-time favorites, Ticket To Ride. Published by Days of Wonder, this game designed by Alan R. Moon has been around for many years and seen many expansions. The original version is still probably my favorite, however with each new expansion map/board new twists are added. I'm going to assume most have played this game, as it has essentially become a mainstream game staple. It's widely available and can be found in retail stores such as Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, as well as your local game store and online. Part of the game's success has been due to the variety of digital implementations, making it easy to play on your phone or tablet or gaming console these are good ways to get introduced to the game and learn the rules and basic strategy. The game would typically be considered a middle-weight to light-weight game. Though it's relatively easy to learn and play, the strategies and gameplay can get quite intense. I know I can play this game with my wife and friends just about anytime. It's a great introduction to hobby boardgames and is often referred to as a "Gateway Game". Some gaming hobbyists have gotten tired of it, however I still enjoy it whenever anyone wants to break it out. A solid game, proven over time. Another go-to-game is Blood Rage. My gaming group especially likes this one. Published by CMON with Guillotine Games and Studio McVey and designed by Eric Lang, Blood Rage has quickly moved to the top of many board-game enthusiasts lists. It's multitude of viking and monster miniatures plus artwork by Adrian Smith make it a pleasure to look at on the table. Blood Rage is a middle-weight game that typically plays in less than two hours (60-90 minutes listed on box). The card drafting and territory control mechanisms are where this game shines. There are many different strategies to explore, giving the game replay-ability. A nice blend of strategy and "dudes on a map". A well-designed, fun game. Winning at Blood Rage on a game night feels like quite the accomplishment. AuZtralia is a relative newcomer to my collection, yet has quickly become one of the game night group's favorites. Published in the U.S. by Stronghold Games from SchilMil Games LTD, this game designed by Martin Wallace is quite a mixture of different game-play mechanisms. Your goal is to protect the continent of Australia from destruction by the great old ones. The game requires you build up resources in preparation for battling a common enemy, however this is not a cooperative game. There will only be one winner. Unfortunately, Cthulu and the great old ones can win the game, defeating the players ... It is possible for everyone to lose to Cthulu. Even though it's demoralizing when that happens, it makes you that much more anxious to play again, altering strategy with a desire to get revenge. Game length is listed at 30-120 minutes. This large variation in game lengths is due to the possibility that Cthulu could defeat you early in the game and/or the number of players may lengthen gameplay. A solo variant of the game is included. Definitely a unique style of game with many different reasons to like it (and sometimes hate it). I'll be posting Part 2 on this topic in a week or so. Please come back to see what other game favorites frequently hit the table at my place. As always, please leave comments to let others know your thoughts about this topic. If you'd like to get in contact please click to my contact page and send me a message.
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In the last five to ten years I have developed a small group of favorite podcasts and YouTube channels. These online content providers have become influential in my gaming knowledge and decision making. I have decided to purchase and not purchase games or accessories based on reviews, comments and suggestions made in these programs. I have learned how to play games. I have found a community that enjoys the same gaming hobby I do. The information, humor and personalities have kept me listening. I thought I'd share a little about each of these favorites and maybe you will find something that interests you as well. Let's start with The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast. That's where I started. I don't know exactly when, but it's probably been 10 years ago when I first sought out a board game podcast. I wanted to find out more about this growing interest of mine. After searching online and reviewing descriptions on iTunes, I tried one or two that didn't stick. Then I found the Secret Cabal Gaming podcast... and this one has become my favorite, go-to gaming podcast. Jamie Keagy and the gang are humorous, engaging and informative. These five friends, Jamie, Tony, Chris, Steve and Brian are the Founders and primary cast. As a listener I feel like I too have become "friends" with the whole gang. This podcast usually releases twice a month and typically lasts more than three hours per program. It's longer than most any other gaming podcast I know of. I typically don't have time to listen all in one sitting. I listen in the car on my way to and from work, while on a trip somewhere, or when I'm mowing the lawn. They have added content over the last several years, now with the shorter Express episodes and a spin-off called Lords of the Dungeon for those interested in role playing games. As they continue to expand now that Jamie is fully employed via crowdfunding efforts for The Secret Cabal, he's also added a YouTube channel where you can find reviews, lists, and fun topics. There's something for nearly every hobby game enthusiast. It is through this podcast that I learned of other online content providers. A couple of their friends in the industry are included in my other top picks below. Check out The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast's website for more information about all the content they produce: http://www.thesecretcabal.com The Dice Tower Podcast and its network of online content. Tom Vasel has created an entire network of gaming podcasts, video reviews and game-play videos. I discovered this podcast via The Secret Cabal, although The Dice Tower had been around prior to The Cabal. Tom and Eric co-host a weekly podcast in which they talk about games played and usually features a top-10 list of some sort. Within the last couple of years they expanded the team to include hosts Mandi and Suzanne. They typically rotate podcast releases with Tom & Eric doing an episode one week and Mandi & Suzanne the next, sometimes mixing it up with hosts/hostesses. The two versions of this podcast and the four personalities create a nice diversity from week to week. The podcasts typically last one to one-and-a-half hours, making for a good length to listen to in one or two sessions. Though the podcast is the primary way I consume The Dice Tower, there is so much more. They have several other hosts, podcasts, video reviews and game play-throughs that are certainly worth watching and listening to. A ton of information in several formats and with several associated podcasts falling within The Dice Tower umbrella. A great way to sample many different game content options. Check out their website: https://www.dicetower.com Watch it Played YouTube channel, powered by Board Game Geek. Rodney Smith is an excellent game tutor and personality. His videos are both informative and entertaining. If I'm ever looking for a how-to-play video, my first step is to see if Rodney has taught it on Watch it Played. Another recommendation from The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast. You can't go wrong with this one. Rodney's videos are the best in class. He is very prepared, professional, easy-to-follow ... I could go on-and-on. He also hosts game-play videos and other related videos to help you on your quest to learn and play games. He has an occasional co-host, Pep who is also quite entertaining and a good compliment to Rodney. The two of them work well together and it is especially helpful in game-play videos. I enjoy learning to play games and even reading the rules for the intricacies, however I still see if there's a Watch It Played video to help ensure I understand, reinforce what I read and answer questions I may have had with the rules. So, if you're looking for a well-done video to teach you how to play, refresh your memory, or walk through full game play, there is no better option. Check out Watch It Played's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/WatchItPlayed I realize there are many other excellent podcasts and YouTube channels out there. I wanted to just give you my favorites. Feel free to chime in with your own comments and suggestions. This community of hobby board gamers and the online content providers continues to grow and become more diverse. If you have any other questions or comments, please be sure to add below in the comments or send me a message through the contact page.
This week I broke out a classic tactical miniatures game, HeroScape for our gaming group. We had an epic battle with eight players. This was a test of sorts, revolving around a couple of primary reasons.
The first reason was, that I had been trying to think of a good entry-level exposure to tactical combat miniatures gaming. If you're familiar with HeroScape, then you know that this was a popular game published by Hasbro and intended for the larger gaming public. Individuals wanting to play a pre-painted miniatures game and Families with kids could all enjoy playing. The rules set included a "Basic" set of rules for the lighter simpler option and a "Master" rules set for those looking for a more robust experience. Though the game is no longer in print, I had acquired quite a large collection of miniatures, terrain, map tiles, etc... This would be an opportunity to break out this classic and show my friends. So, that was reason number one. The second reason revolved around finding a fun gaming option that can support more than four or five players. As you may have experienced yourselves, it can be a challenge to select games when you have more than five players. Most of the time our weekly group has 4-6 who can attend and occasionally we'll have seven or more. I think the most that have ever attended was 10. Typically when we have six or more, we break out onto two tables and play two different games. This can lead to one group getting done earlier than the other. Splitting into two sub-groups also makes it less social for everyone. I wanted to avoid just breaking out "party games", as this game night was intended to get medium to heavier weight games to the table. I thought playing HeroScape would allow the entire group a chance to socialize and enjoy team strategy while getting some exposure (for most) to tactical miniatures combat. The end result of this week's game play was a mixture of responses. Let me walk you through the general progress of the night and then I'll get to observations and thoughts after. The initial reaction to seeing the large game table set up with 3-dimensional plastic hexes and terrain pieces was exciting and positive. Everyone seemed ready to give it a go. I recruited my son Alex this week as he's home from college. He helped me set up the game and has familiarity with the rules. His participation got the player count to eight and gave us equal teams of four. I explained the overarching concept and the rules, going over the army-card details, movement, attack, etc... We broke out into two alliances (thanks to the Chwazi app) and drafted our individual sets of pre-built 200-point armies. The two teams had conversations on what kind of strategies they would employ and began turns and movement. The game progressed and soon escalated to combat. It wasn't long before we had figures eliminated and then a player got eliminated. The team I was on with Brian, Dave and Chris had early success. We were able to move and attack and get great roll results. Alex, Jenny, Jeff and Nikki made up the other team. Their roll results were not so lucky. Alex, being more familiar with the game was quite aggressive showing his team how to get right into the thick of battle... resulting in his figures' elimination. It started to become apparent that those of us on the dominating team were having more fun than those on the other squad who were struggling with dice rolls. Eventually the game ended with my team winning the battle. Afterwards, we had conversations about what people thought and if they liked the game. As you can probably surmise there were different levels of enjoyment. Nikki was vocal that she would probably not play again while Chris stated he really liked it. This is somewhat fitting, as Chris tends to like the aggressive nature of battle in games. It also aligns with being on the team that lost vs won. Enjoyment of the game doesn't always rely on winning or losing, but it certainly can effect the first impression someone gets of a game. I doubt many have learned a new game and won, then stated they didn't like it or want to play again. Other general reactions were somewhat positive. Brian said he enjoyed playing a game where he could just play without having to think too deeply about his moves, making for quicker play and decisions. Jenny and Dave had played in the past with their two sons, but it had been years. They felt there was certainly more to it than what they remembered. I think Jeff enjoyed the tactical nature of the game but dice rolling was a source of some frustration. All-in-all the game night went well. The game was received with mixed emotions and reactions, yet all seemed to enjoy each other's company and the game night event itself. My final observations and thoughts: I had concerns about playing this game for a couple reasons mentioned above. Player elimination can suck. A game like this with eight people could definitely include someone getting knocked out early and not get to play for the remainder of the game. In our case, teammates gave extra army cards to the player who got knocked out, somewhat alleviating this issue. Another concern I had revolved around team play and potential long wait times between turns. As it turned out, it didn't feel like the time between actions went long. We were busy discussing strategy with our teammates and getting snacks. I don't think that was a factor. I'm not sure what people thought about the two large teams. We could have tried four teams of two, I suppose. I believe the cooperative nature of playing in teams was fun, though I think many may prefer to play and win individually. Its possible that tactical combat miniatures games might be best played with individuals who already know they like to play those kinds of games... although how would anyone know without being exposed to it or playing. There were probably other conclusions to be drawn from this week's game night, however I think I may have over analyzed as it is. In future weeks I'll probably just plan to break out into separate small groups of 3-5 players when we have a large player count. Do you have any thoughts about how you would approach large player counts, or what you think about team play, or HeroScape, etc...? What do you think about any of my comments and observations? Please feel free to comment on this post and add your thoughts. I began hosting a weekly (mostly weekly) game night at my house a couple of years ago. It started with inviting a variety of friends. People I knew from a Golem Arcana gaming group, some neighbors and other friends I new liked to play strategy and board games. After the first several game nights, it began to become apparent who was going to be able to attend on a regular basis and who wasn't. I stopped and restarted a couple of times. Tweaked the number invited so that it wasn't too overwhelming and arrived at a smaller group that's more manageable. I'm sure things will continue to evolve, however that is how we got to the current state of things. For the past six months or so we've had a fairly steady group composed of three neighborhood friends and three friends in the area whom I met through my son's robotics team. Of course there will be times when my son Alex will join in or other guests come, which is always welcomed. I decided that it makes sense to provide a brief introduction of this core group, as much of what I will be writing about will be regarding our group interactions and individuals' comments, reactions, etc... We're all in our 40's and 50's and come from varying backgrounds. My neighbors Nikki and Jeff are a married couple whom have recently become more interested in hobby gaming. Chris is another neighbor who had indicated he enjoyed gaming. His experience seemed to be mostly video games and the traditional board game fare. He too was excited to get an opportunity to try some newer games introduced at our game nights. Dave and Jenny are a married couple whom I met when our sons participated in high school robotics competitions together. We found out we had a common interest in board gaming. They along with my neighbors have been attending my game nights from the beginning. Brian is the most recent addition to the group. He too is a robotics team parent and found out he's also quite the hobby games enthusiast. He has a lot of experience and adds a lot additional insight and expertise to the group. All of us seem to enjoy the social setting and ability to learn and commiserate about games together. Now, I hope to share a bit of that with an online audience. As I continue to share about game night, I think getting to know the individuals who participate will bring additional interest and insight to the dynamics of the group and our thoughts about gaming together and the games we've played. I hope you'll relate to our experiences and find something of interest in my posts. The above photos were taken at a recent game night where I pulled out a classic tactical miniatures combat game, HeroScape. I'll give some comments and details about our experience in my next post.
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