Many games utilize maps of some sort; especially war games. Games such as Risk and Axis and Allies are known for their realistic map interpretations; players moving their units across the country borders as they do combat. Other games use an alternate method of movement; grid based. This is most often seen with a map being broken down into hexes or squares.
BGG has the first dated game using grid movement as Hnefatafl (year 400); I’ve never heard of the game, but the system is used in chess and checkers so its historical existence is not in question. The system itself is quite variable as well; as seen in Chess. In Chess each player is given the same equipment and starts with the same pieces and positions as their opponent the pieces, however, hold the...
Monthly Archives: March 2015
Favorite Friday – Clue
I have received a few requests to look at the mainiest of mainstream games; games such as Monopoly and Clue. I have debated doing so and alas I have given in. Clue is one of the few games that I find in the houses of my non gamer friends and am willing to play.
Released: 1949
Designer: Anthony E. Pratt
Plays: 3-6
EPT: 45 minutes
Clue is one of the games that I often look at with a sense of lost awe. It was once a game I loved as a child; not because of frequent victory but rather because of a frequent challenge. Clue, along with Pit and Scotland Yard was a game that was no stranger to my families table. Similar to these games it was not one my...
Wild Card Thursday – Mystery of the Abbey
Just about everyone is familiar with the game Clue or one of its many versions. The game has players trapped in a mansion attempting to solve the mystery of who killed their host, where the murder happened, and with what weapon. Players are equally familiar with the game Guess who; attempt to deduct which character your opponent has by asking a series of questions so as to narrow down the possibilities by way of process of elimination. What happens when these games merge? What happens when you find a monk dead at the bottom of a cliff? That is the what players must solve in Mystery of the Abbey.
Released: 1995
Designer: Bruno Faidutti and Serge Laget
Plays: 3-6
EPT: 120 minutes
Mystery of the Abbey is a deduction game much...
Wild Card Wednesday – Biblios
Dungeon crawling, city building, empire expanding; all common themes to find in board games and the board game hobby. There are a rare few games, however, that find ways to use themes that most of us would never imagine; one such game is Biblios; a game of monastic library curation.
Released: 2007
Designer: Steve Finn
Plays: 2-4
EPT: 30 minutes
Biblios sets players as abbots attempting to amass a grand library with the victor being the player who manages to claim the most victory points. Victory points are awarded at the end of the game with players scoring the various victory dependent upon the cards in their hand and the value on each of the colored die.
There are 5 die in the game as well as 5 suits; blue (pigments), green...
Follow Up Tuesday – Sheriff of Nottingham
Yesterday we looked at at the mechanic of bluffing and how and when it works in games. Today we will be looking at Sheriff of Nottingham; a game that uses this mechanic quite well.
Released: 2014
Designer: Sergio Halaban, Bryan Pope, and Andre Zatz
Plays: 3-5
EPT: 60 minutes
Sheriff of Nottingham is one of those rare games that when I first hear the premise I know the game will be one that I will either love or hate but am not sure at the time which side of the fence the game will land on. The game sounded like it was a party game made for a small group; and yet when played it was nothing of the sort.
Each player takes on the role of a merchant attempting to get...
Mechanic Monday – Bluffing
Just about everyone has been raised with the moral standard that lying is wrong; what about when that lying is part of a game? This has been a hot topic among groups for some time now; The Dice Tower’s temporary side cast, The Dice Steeple, had a good discussion on the topic as well as a few others. Rather than tackle the issue of the moral side of bluffing in games we will rather look at is as a mechanic. How does the mechanic work? When does it work? And what can the future hold for Bluffing games?
I went to check Some history on bluffing as a mechanic and to my surprise it was not listed on Board Game Geek. I thus decided to look at a few games that use bluffing and discovered the...
Favorite Fridays – Geister Geister Schatzumeister
When I think children's games I traditionally think of games such as Chutes and Ladders, Hi Ho Cherry O, and Don’t Break the Ice. This is because those are the games I grew up playing, granted this was subsidized by games such as Scotland Yard and Crossbows and Catapults. I’m sure these list would alter greatly based upon each of our families involvement in the gaming hobby as we were growing up, but I have found in general children of gamers often played games that their parents enjoyed as well. I am excited to see what future children’s games look like; especially after this year’s children game of the year went to Geister Geister Scharzsumeister! NOTE the game ships with rules for a basic and for...
Wild Card Thursday – Gloom
I love a good story; and I love a good game. So what happens when a game tells a story? What if that is a sad story; a tragedy? Gloom happens.
Released: 2005
Designer: Keith Baker
Plays: 2-5
EPT: 60 minutes
Gloom went from near obscurity to a hit due to its feature on TableTop. It was with this exposure that I was able to break out my copy again which I had only previously had a few chances to play. Gloom is a hand management storytelling hybrid in which players are attempting to use the cards in their hand to tell a story about the tragedies afflicting their families and the triumphs effecting their neighbors.
Each player takes on one of the four families placing all the family members before them...
Biblios (8/10)
Sean and Brian take a look at Iello Game’s Biblios
Worker Wednesday – Agricola
The second most asked question since I started Worker Wednesday has easily been, “Brian, when will you look at Agricola?” preluded only by, “Worker Placement games? Really how long can you keep that going?” Today we will address the first of those two questions.
Released: 2007
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Plays: 1-5
EPT: 30-180 minutes
I have intentionally postponed my review of Agricola for one prime reason; I wanted a palate cleanser before the review. I will go into more details on that later, but up until recently my last experience with the game was far less than idea leaving a bad taste in my mouth; did my recent re-experience change that? You’ll have to stick around… or scroll down… and see.
Just about everyone who is active in the gaming hobby has,...
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