Category Archives: Mainstream

Favorite Fridays – Eldritch Horror

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eldritchIn my second Favorite Friday I wrote about Arkham Horror; the 2005 reinvisioning of a 1980s classic. Today we will look at the successor of the reinvisioning of the original; Eldritch Horror. It is days like this I am glad I shifted away from in depth rule explanations because this game; is a big one. Released: 2013 Designer: Corey Konieczka & Nikkia Valens Plays: 1-8 EPT: 180 minutes Like the games that came before it Eldritch Horror drops players into the world of HP Lovecraft’s mythos fighting ancient entities bent on making the world their own. Eldritch, however, takes us out of the Arkham area and lets us explore the world; all of it. Someday mayhaps I can do a very in depth critical analysis comparing Eldritch to Arkham, but I feel...

Wild Card Thursday – The Resistance

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resistanceThere are times that my friends accredit me with the term “Board Game Hipster” I would argue the title is undeserved though it is not uncommon to hear me say I enjoyed a game “before it was cool”. The Resistance is one such game. Released: 2009 Designer: Don Eskridge Plays: 5-10 EPT: 30 minutes I picked up The Resistance while on a family vacation after hearing it described as “Mafia without player elimination or a need for a narrator.” Having lived in a dorm environment the year before that enjoyed almost weekly mafia games where I was always eliminated round 1 or made the narrator I was very excited at the prospect. In The Resistance players find themselves living in a world in which the government has become too powerful and run...

Follow Up Tuesday – Dominion

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dominionIn yesterday’s Mechanic Monday we looked at Card Drafting, one of my favorite mechanics carrying over from my days as a MTG Booster Drafter. Today we are following that up with a look at Dominion; a game that was once the new hotness, and after releasing it’s fifty second expansion last month is still holding on in many people’s top 10 lists. (yes the 52nd expansion was an exaggeration there are only 9ish expansions) Released: 2008 Designer: Donald X. Vaccarino Plays: 2-4 EPT: 30 minutes We are experimenting with a slightly new format today; rather than give an in depth rule explanation we will merely skim the rules as this isn't a tutorial so much as a review. In Dominion players are attempting to earn the most points in the form...

Mechanic Monday – Card Drafting

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Everyone has mechanics that speak to them and hold a special place in their gaming hearts. For me Card Drafting is one of those mechanics. This developed favoritism helps games that use this mechanic just as much as it hurts them. Games that manage to use card drafting well will be that much better in my eyes, while those that implement the mechanic poorly will feel that much worse in my hands. The mechanic can be traced back on BGG to some time before 1742. The exact date of the first games to use Card Drafting may not be known but the 1742 edition of Hoyle’s Guide to gaming is flagged as using the mechanic; one desiring to pick out a specific game for the mechanic’s debut need look no further than the 1800s where they...

Favorite Fridays – Ticket to Ride

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ticket to rideThese last 7 days we have looked at a fair amount of train games and one of the mechanics that drives them. I figured what better way to wrap up than where we started with another installment of our Favorite Games series. Last Friday we looked at Empire Builder, followed by the Crayon Rails System, and then British Rails. Today we shall look at a game by another company using other mechanics in; Ticket to Ride (the original). Released: 2004 Designer: Alan Moon Plays: 2-5 EPT: 45 minutes In the last 10 years Ticket to Ride has experienced fantastic success meeting the expectations to some and to the surprise of others. Following the games release it has been regionalized with European, Nordic, India and other maps and versions being...

Wild Card Thursday – Wits & Wagers

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W&W_Box_Top.inddI have mentioned before that more often than not I don’t enjoy party games; there are always exceptions to the rule, however, and Wits and Wagers is one of those exceptions. Released: 2005 Designer: Dominic Crapuchettes Plays: 3-7 EPT: 25 minutes Wits & Wagers is a trivia party game; though it is not at all like Trivial Pursuit which is the game most people think of when they hear the words ‘trivia’ and ‘party’ in the same sentence. The goal of the game is to have the most chips at the end of the game. Players begin the game with 2 wager chips of their color, a answer card bordered with their color and dry erase pen. The game takes place in 7 rounds (with our house rules it takes place in X...

Follow Up Tuesday – British Rails

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DIGITAL CAMERALord of the Rings, Star Wars, Nolan’s Batman... we all love trilogies; so today I will complete my Empire Trilogy, and like all good trilogies; a future prequel could always happen that ruins everything… *Note: I recommend reading the Empire Builder review before continuing if you haven't done so already. Friday we looked at Empire Builder, Mayfair’s 1982 foray into the world of the Crayon Rail System. Monday we followed that up with a look at the mechanic of the Crayon Rail System. Today we will complete our trilogy with a look at British Rails and a summary of Mayfair’s interpretation of the Crayon Rail mechanic. Released: 1984 Designer: Jim Griffin, Elaine Henninger, Joe Roznai, Barb Roznai Plays: 2-6 EPT: 180 minutes British rails plays much like Empire Builder as...

Mechanic Monday – Crayon Rail System

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Friday we looked at Empire Builder; a great classic from 1982 that brought the Crayon Rails mechanic into the mainstream. The mechanic is traced on BoardGameGeek back to 1973 with the game Railway Rivals. As of when I wrote this blog BGG has 80 games listed as using the Crayon Rail System; most of which, however, are additional maps for Railway Rivals or games in the Empire Builder series. The last decade, however, has shown potential promise, mostly in the indie communities, of this mechanic expanding. So what is the Crayon Rails System? How does it work? In which ways does it influence themes or partnered mechanics? These are all questions that I imagine a variety of readers are asking simply due to the smaller scale of exposure Crayon Rails has in comparison to mechanics...

Favorite Fridays – Empire Builder

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Iempire builder love trains and by proxy I love train games; some of the time. Not all train games are created equal, and while I have not player all train games in existence I have my favorites, one of which is Empire Builder. Released: 1982 Designer: Darwin Bromley and Bill Fawcett Plays: 2-6 EPT: 180 minutes Using the Crayon Rails System players spread their locomotive dominance across North America attempting to move goods and passengers across Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The first player to end their turn with 6 of the 7 major cities connected to one continuous railroad while holding 250 million in cash is declared the winner. Before play begins each player is given a colored pawn, a crayon of a matching color, a train with a speed...

Worker Wednesday – Bremerhaven

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bremerhavenLast week on Worker Wednesday we looked at a game that splits the fence on if it counts as worker placement game in Castles of Burgundy; this week I will continue in the world of ambiguity; why? Because some men just want to watch the world burn… So let us look at Bremerhaven and ask the question is it really a worker placement game? Released 2013 Designer: Robert Auerochs Plays: 1-4 EPT: 90 minutes Bremerhaven gives players the chance to take on the position of a harbor manager controlling the incoming and outgoing of goods with the end goal of having the highest score once the final round is over; this score is calculated by multiplying your remaining money by your harbor’s prestige. The game takes place on three main boards; water,...
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