This week we had enough time to get in two different games. Brian brought over one from his collection and Nikki and Jeff brought one from theirs. I thought I'd talk a little about both. The first game we played this week was Mission: Red Planet (Second Edition) which Brian brought along. This edition of the game came out in 2015 and was designed by Bruno Cathala and Bruno Faidutti. It plays two to six players and took our group of five approximately an hour and a half with additional time needed for teaching and learning the game. The theme of the game is somewhat self-evident. The artwork is a sort of steam punk space travel. The card art was very nice. The game board was not much to speak of. It was a circular puzzle-like construction instead of the typical folding rectangular board. Each team had its own color plastic mini's depicting an astronaut with a flag. There was no difference from one color to the next ... all used the same sculpt. Overall the components were of high quality and looked nice. The game was relatively easy to pick up. The goal was to acquire the most points by collecting different valued resources from the various regions on Mars or on Phobos its moon. To do this players send their astronauts to the Red Planet via spaceships (cards) which typically list the destination. To get your astronauts onto the ships you must use one of the 9 professional cards in your hand. Each player had the same 9 cards to choose from. Each card clearly states how many astronauts can be placed and where, plus other possible actions such as moving your astronauts, blowing up a space ship or resetting your hand of cards. There were also Mission, Action and Discovery cards that added additional goals and twists to the victory points and rules. The game plays over the course of 10 rounds. Spaced between rounds were three scoring opportunities (just after the 5th, 8th, and 10th rounds). Upon completing the tenth round the discovery cards are revealed and assessed. Points get calculated and a winner is determined by the highest points. A couple of the game mechanisms were reminiscent of other games we've played, however since the original version of Mission: Red Planet came out in 2005, its quite possible that it could have been the source of those mechanics or at least an early adopter. We all seemed to enjoy our game. Of course, Brian who brought it, ended up winning. That's to be expected when playing against others who are just learning the game and it didn't seem to detract from our experience. We all seemed to enjoy it. The concepts and rules were easy to grasp, and everyone quickly figured out how to use the professional cards implement some sort of strategy. The newbies all agreed that now that we've got one game under our belt and are familiar with the mechanics and game play, we'll be better equipped to play again. We said we'd be interested in playing again at a future game night. Better watch out Brian, we're coming for you! We had time to play Century: Spice Road for our second game of the night. This is a game released in 2017 and designed by Emerson Matsuuchi. This card-based "euro" game plays up to five players and took us about an hour or so at that count, including some teaching time. Chris and Brian hadn't played before, so Nikki took us through the rules and gave a refresher for the rest of us. The basic theme of the game centers around spice trading. The over-sized cards are nicely illustrated. The wooden cubes did a good job of representing the four spices with colors that were obviously different and easy to tell apart. Four plastic bowls are included to hold each of the spices as well as metallic coins, making this relatively simple game feel a little more robust. The goal of the game is to collect the most victory points. This is achieved by gaining the spice combination required to claim one of the five Victory Point cards that are available. The first two cards in succession add the bonus of a gold (3 points) or silver coin (1 point). Each player is given the same two starting merchant cards in their hand. Merchant cards allow you to gain new spices, upgrade spices, trade spices, etc... On a players turn, they may do one of four things:
This is a nice light-weight game that has plenty of strategy and thinking. It was almost odd to sit in silence periodically as each of us concentrated on our cards and contemplated strategy. Assessing what spices would be needed and cards to attain or play to get the outcome each of us needed. We seemed to be spending more time thinking on this game than in Mission: Red Planet. The game ended with Nikki winning. She is the current Century: Spice Road expert of the group, though Brian did score second best in this his first play. Again, we all seemed to like playing this one. Of course, with our group its rare that we don't have fun. Just getting together and playing games is part of the enjoyment. A great option for a shorter game! If you've had a chance to play either or both of the games described, share your thoughts in the comments. If you haven't played them, I hope you found my game-night descriptions informative. Always looking for your feedback, feel free to chime in or contact me with any questions or suggestions.
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In this post, I wrap up my list of current game faves that seem to get to the table most often. I feel compelled to share some of the games in my collection that the gaming group, family and friends enjoy getting out time and time again. Even if you have already played some of the games listed and have developed your own opinion about them, perhaps this will give you additional information to consider or maybe you'll read about a new one to try. This list is my endorsement of sorts for these games, hoping to encourage others who may be looking for a high-probability group pleaser. Terraforming Mars is quickly becoming a modern classic. Its popularity since its release in 2016 has continued to grow and as expansions have come out, it has maintained consistently high praise. Designed by Jacob Fryxelius, Terraforming Mars is a mid-to-heavy weight game of resource management and engine building. The game is created by Fryx Games and is published in the U.S. by Stronghold Games. A typical play lasts a little over two hours for 4-5 players. From the first time I brought this game out and played with my friends and gaming group, we enjoyed it. Terraforming Mars takes an interesting theme of corporations trying terraform the red planet for their benefit. Each card in the game is unique and the options they offer can vary greatly from one game to the next, giving the game a lot of replayability. Players may start a game with their own strategies, yet the cards you are initially dealt and draw throughout the game may guide your direction. Players work as a group to increase the amount of water, temperature and oxygen levels on Mars to trigger the end-game condition, however this is far from a cooperative game. Our gaming group really likes this one. Early on, Chris would talk smack due to his early dominance. Later, Dave and Jenny would be tough to beat, and most recently Brian has been the true Terraforming Mars strategist. He also introduced us to one or two of the expansions. They add to the game and can continue to bring more interest after you've played multiple times. I've not played all the expansions, however I hear good things from others about how they all bring good additions to the game without changing the core mechanisms and theme. I think I still need to play more to learn and improve my strategy and be more competitive against everyone. That may be the one knock I have on this game... when veteran players square of against newcomers or players that haven't played much, it can be fairly lopsided. The corporation cards try to address this by giving first-timers an easier to play and better starting situation, however familiarity with the game and its strategies are very important in Terraforming Mars. This game is truly worthy of repeated trips back to the table. A game I learned how to play with my friend Don at Gen Con a couple of years ago is Mare Nostrum: Empires. This game designed by Serge Laget and published in 2016 by Academy Games is actually a redesign or reimplementation of the original, Mare Nostrum game from 2003. After learning the game, Don and I returned later to play again. I purchased the game while at Gen Con and have since taught it to my gaming group as well. This empire-building, territory control and resource management game pits ancient empires against one another. Each empire with its own strategic advantage and leader with a special ability, Mare Nostrum does a nice job balancing the asymmetric factions. Another mechanism of interest in Mare Nostrum is that there are four different win condition possibilities. This allows players to play to the goal that best suits them or the the advantage of their empire. After initially learning the game future games typically take about two hours. There are lots of bits and pieces, so set up can sometimes be a little long, but I've seen much worse. I enjoy trying out the different empires to see how the different starting location on the map and different nuances of the leader effect game play. Its also fun to pick and empire and try to develop and perfect a strategy around it. This game includes sea battles, land battles, recruitment of heroes, monuments and monsters. There are a lot of options to focus on. Usually everyone can find an aspect they enjoy and play "their" game, until someone else decides to disrupt your plan ... and they probably will, as this game requires players to not only develop their own strategy, but to also be aware of others to avoid a runaway leader. Thanks to my friends Don and Shannon, I have the monsters and leaders expansion as well as a large neoprene mat for this game. The mat makes a big difference versus playing on the game board. Much more space to spread out, and it includes additional map areas for the Atlas Expansion, which I have yet to buy. We have brought this game back many times and with expansions and the asymmetric factions to explore and perfect will probably see this one many times to come. My latest favorite is probably Champions of Midgard. After learning to play earlier this Spring at Indy Con 2019, I just had to get it. Due to the recency of my purchase, I debated whether to put on this list of games that repeatedly get to the table, however, I have now probably played the game about five or six times in the past two months ... so I felt compelled to include it in this list. Champions of Midgard is designed by Ole Steiness and published in 2015 by Grey Fox Games. I learned to play using both expansions, Valhala and The Dark Mountains which both came out in 2017 and add more gameplay options as well as a 5th player to the game. I decided to buy the game and all its expansions. It's fairly easy to teach and to learn even with the expansions and plays in about 90-120 minutes with 4-5 players. I also purchased the neoprene mat and additional wooden pieces for the game. The mat in particular is a very smart purchase, as it incorporates all the expansions and is much easier to deal with than managing the four different game boards. It is a fun combination of a worker placement and dice game. Your viking warriors are represented by custom dice. Using placement of your workers in the village you can recruit warriors, gain resources, select runes or destiny cards, requisition a boat and select which monsters you will battle. In order to protect your viking village from Trolls and monsters your warriors must take the battle to them. Each round any monster you've placed a worker next to allows you to assign warrior dice for a battle. Rolling your custom warrior dice to try to successfully defeat an enemy gains the appropriate rewards shown on the card. Players gain glory for defeating enemies, collecting honor and gold and for accomplishing goals stated on destiny and potentially other cards. My game group has really enjoyed learning and playing this game. Jenny and Dave have also recently purchased and taught to their family. I posted recently about a new local game night at The Athenaeum in which I brought this game and we played there as well. We're having a lot of fun playing this one often and I anticipate that we'll continue to get it back on the table often. To close this topic for the time being, I'd like to also mention "honorable mention" games. There were a few I felt would have made my short list in other circumstances or perhaps a different time of year.
This week one of my gaming pals Nikki and I attended a new game night event, Dice and Decks: Game Night at the Athenaeum. A new public event at an iconic Indianapolis location, The Athenaeum and Rathskeller. Hosted by The Athenaeum Foundation, Inc. the event was free to the public and all beverage and snack sales proceeds went to support The Athenaeum Foundation. I first learned of the event from another gaming friend whom sent me the Facebook event information. In turn, I too sent onto some gaming friends. The Facebook event post encouraged attendees to bring their games to share. Among my game group, Nikki and I were both available to go check it out. From our homes on the Northeast side of Indy in the Lawrence area, we drove about 30 minutes to get to the downtown venue and parked in the Athenaeum lot which had event parking due to another event going on outside the Rathskeller. Ten bucks was a bit more than I planned to spend on parking, however, being relatively unfamiliar to the area, I wasn't sure how long it might take to find street parking or other options. Once we arrived inside, we found the gaming area set up on the second floor. About six long tables and several round tables were set up waiting for games to be played. We were greeted immediately by Craig the organizer and a couple others who had already set out a card game. Within about thirty minutes, people filed in to check out this new event. Everyone was quite nice. With Nikki's help, I set up Champions of Midgard to share with whomever was interested. It was a welcoming environment despite the fact that neither Nikki or myself knew anyone. The bar area was adjacent to the gaming tables and provided easy access to refreshments. Again, proceeds from the refreshments benefited The Athenaeum Foundation, Inc. Eventually a couple of people sat down to join Nikki and I. I had planned to teach the game to newcomers however the two new friends we met, David and Jamie, had played before. As it turns out, they were more familiar with the game than I. I purchased Champions of Midgard within the last month or two and only had about four or five games under my belt and Nikki had maybe one less play than I. David and Jamie stated later that they had played maybe about 15 times. This turned out to be quite helpful. As we played, I learned a couple nuances of the rules that I had either missed or forgotten. They also came to the game with different approaches and strategies than I was used to seeing. I plan to add more details about Champions of Midgard in a future post. Before I knew it our game had ended and game night had come to its conclusion. People packed their games and began to disperse. I got a chance to meet a few of the other gamers and hope to meet more at future events. Craig said they planned to continue this "Dice and Decks" event on a monthly basis. I expect to see this group grow as the event continues forward. It was a good time and great way to spend a Thursday evening while supporting a local cause.
I have attached a link to this past Facebook event post below. Message the event host to see how you can be added to future event invites. Hope to see you there at a future game night! https://www.facebook.com/events/325710311452170/?active_tab=about In a recent post I discussed what games have been getting to the table most often. One game that certainly fits into that category, yet deserves a discussion all to itself is Mechs vs. Minions by Riot Games. Based on the video game League of Legends, the publisher wanted to create a special gift to its fans by designing a board game based on the popular Multi-player Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game. Mechs vs. Minions is in an interesting category of board games. Although it can be played as a "one-off" game, it is intended to be played as a series of progressively harder missions. As you complete missions, your "mech" character will gain additional ability cards that you can opt to use in the current or future missions. Mechs vs Minions uses the action programming game mechanic. Drafting cards the players select which actions their character can add. Each player has a command line board where the cards are "slotted" which effects the actions of their respective character. The primary function of the cards is to move, turn or attack. Each round starts with a card draft allowing you to add to the command line and thus the functionality of the mech. Mechs must contend with evil minions and other obstacles along the way. The minions can swarm your team and attack every round. Obstacles like oil slicks, spiked walls and lava can interfere with completing each mission. The win condition of each mission may change. Sometimes it has you deliver cargo safely to a location while in others your characters may simply need to make it to a finish area on the map. If (and when) you fail the mission and need to replay it before going onto another. At the conclusion of a successful mission the team is rewarded with the gratification of having beat the mission and can then move onto the next mission as listed in your congratulations message at the end of the mission instructions. Each mission is sealed in an envelope. After winning a mission we enjoy opening the next envelope and getting juiced up about what our next challenge will be.
Each of our group has latched onto a specific mech character in the game. Although there is really no advantage or difference in play, each character has a fully-painted miniature. Even though you can switch up characters each mission, we've each gotten attached to ours. Nikki is Tristana, Jeff plays as Ziggs, Chris is Corki and I'm Heimerdinger. This past week Nikki, Jeff, Chris and I completed Mission #9. It's hard to believe we started on Mission #1 more than a year ago. Next, will be Mission #10, which is stated to be the final mission... however there seems to be a mysterious eleventh envelope with potentially more to do??? We'll have to successfully complete the mission to find out what's in that last envelope. Online there is even an option to create your own custom missions, allowing for even more fun after completing what comes in the box. Speaking of what's in the box... there are a few surprises here and there. One of the impressive things about this game is the box and components themselves. You can see the extreme care the publisher took to create vacuum-formed plastic inserts. The way all the pieces fit into the multiple trays and the way the trays fit together into the box is some kind of an engineering miracle! Sound like I'm overselling it? Believe me, once you get this behemoth of a box open and unearth all the treasures within and then see how nicely its all organized ... you will understand that I'm not overselling. What a fun game. Speaking for me and my neighbors, we have really enjoyed this experience and are excited about trying other cooperative mission or campaign-based games. Nikki and Jeff just backed one on Kickstarter, but it'll be another year before we'll get to see that. Until then, there's the new The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth game that we might try. Let us know if you suggest any good cooperative mission or campaign games in the comments. If you'd like to learn more about Mechs vs. Minions, check out the link below to their site: https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/featured/mechs-vs-minions |
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March 2021
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