BOARD GAMES EVERYBODY SHOULD...
  • Home
  • Board Game soundtracks
    • The 7th Citidal
    • Kemet
    • Titan
    • Abyss
    • Claustrophobia 1643
    • The 7th Continent
    • Lucky Duck Games
    • Poule Poule
    • Syrinscape
    • Last Night
  • Board Game Talk
    • Reviews in English
    • Reviews en Français
    • Kickstarters
  • Burky & Badger podcast
  • Contact me

RECENT REVIEW THUMBNAILS

Barry has just played... 

Picture

Tetris the game show

7/9/2019

2 Comments

 

La Boca (2013) review

Picture
Designer: Inka Brand, 
Markus Brand

Artist: Franz Vohwinkel  
Publisher: KOSMOS, 
Filosofia Éditions, 


Player 3 to 4
40 minutes
Ages 8 and up


​Written by Barry
Picture

​Tetris is probably one of the most popular and well-known video games ever (baring Skyrim). It's a simple logic puzzle against the clock which has hooked many of us with it’s simple addiction. Luckily this formula has transferred into the board game medium very easily.
Blokus is one game that uses this entrapment mechanism. Ubongo is another very popular one. But I grew up with Skirrid, a game that I didn’t learn to play until I read the rules, once every year, for ten or so years (until I understood them). Placing these tetromino pieces down so they connect and give out maximum scores. And like Skirrid, this game has been out of print for a while as well. But it is coming back to store shelves very soon from french publishers Super Meeple & Tiki Editions. 



​​La Boca (no, I’m not going to talk about the buildings that inspired the title) goes one better than these 2 to 4 player titles, by offering 6 players the pleasure of moving cubes around to create patterns. Ok, that doesn't sound as much like Tetris. But for me, it's the same visual logical puzzle using cubic shapes and going against a timer. Another thing that this game offers which is different to many others is the fact that it is semi Co-operative but mainly competitive.
Picture

​The object of the game is one each round, 2 random players to arrange these cubic cubes into a pattern. And in the quickest time possible.
The quicker the time, the more points both these players will win. That sounds simple yes? The only problem comes from the fact that these two players will be constructing two patterns with the same cubes. As both players will be sat at opposite sides of the game board. Which just by chance happens to be the box insert. A very nice touch. There are two levels of difficulty in the game and these come in the form of cards. These cards depict the patterns that the players are trying to make. Once a card is chosen at random, it is quickly slotted into the box insert, cleverly stood on one end. So one player can see the front of the card and the other player sees the back. These patterns coincide with the structure that both players will need to build. Here communication is essential.
​
Picture

​Both players are trying to build the same structure but from two different perspectives. And these perspectives both must match. By chance, each block is a different colour, so you have a good visual clue to what goes where. It’s just arranging it so it coincides with the other players plan. Due to the fact that neither player can see the backside of this piece of architecture, they will be communicating which colours they see and don't see. As well as pointing out structural points of interest.
Against the clock, this banter will be hot and rapid. Tempers may rise and frustration make kick in when things do not go to your plan. But in the end, once you and your temporary partner are satisfied, the clock stops and the relief drains from your body. The other players who are not currently participating will then inspect your plan and construction to verify whether you have arrived at your goal. If doing so correctly,  you gain and number of points depending on which time band you have completed your quest.
​

​Once all players have partnered up at least once with every other player in the game, the conclusion unfolds. This is where you total up your score from the tokens you received to see who is the La Boca champion. And that's the game.
Picture

​It's simple in concept and elegant in its execution. The system for choosing who plays against who is a very simple one involving tokens. And this guarantees that nobody misses a turn. As in a clockwise order, you will take a token that you have randomly in front of you to reveal which player you're playing
. The graphic design on these tokens is a bit lackluster and I presume they are abstract images of window and shutters. And they kind of do their job because players are going to be moving around. Switching chairs as the main board will rest in one place. Therefore the tokens will be left lying around and sometimes players will confuse their tokens with another players as they sit in their space while the other is playing. An upgrade of individual sacks for each player with tokens placed inside may prove better but we shall see what the reprint will do.
Picture

​I like Tetris and some of the other board game variants around,  another thing that makes this stand out not only in complexity is the challenge of thinking in three dimensions. These cubic shapes can be rotated and rolled in more than one way. Some can lay behind others, hiding them from view for one of the two players. Shapes that you normally would stand up in one fashion may be played in a way that you would not recognise the form. Partially covering one shape with another. Giving you different ways to interpret the structure you need to create.
Is the pink cube on top of the grey cube or is it stood up behind the great cube?
​
Picture

​And it's this semi co-operative aspect which is really interesting. As you want to get the quickest time which will generate more points for yourself. But every time you play you will have an opponent play with you. And if they play badly or slowly, this will affect not only their score, but your own.
So motivating less capable players is a fun challenge. And creating a language that you and all the other players understand when it comes to your turn, or maybe a unique language for each individual player is a nice way to show off your management skills. And at the same time, this pairing of every other player balances the game to a point. Everyone will get to play with the novice and everyone will get to play with the expert. Then the winner becomes the one who is the calmest cucumber in every situation. Although the novice player will be a novice player in each game and accumulate a not so great score.
Picture

​I love playing this game and I would love to say that it is going down every time I have played it, but that is not the case.
Sometimes you may be sitting on the sidelines waiting for your token to be drawn or your turn, and this can be tedious for some players. Unless you are involved at all times by spectating and verifying the active players to make sure they are not cheating, you may find this game boring. And a few games I have played have gone this direction. Waiting players have gone off and had their own conversations, forgetting they are involved in a game, not only slowing the game down by having to call them back to the table but also breaking up their conversation. This is a real drag for a game that feels like a TV game show and should be a TV game show, or at least an aspect of it. With the right capacity of people, this game is a stellar idea.
​
Technical score 9.5/10
Great production values that use the box not only to store the component but also to play the game upon. A super specialised insert that holds everything in place. Good quality tokens and cards as well as nice chunky wooden blocks that seemed indestructible. Simple to read and digest page of rules. Unfortunately a little heartless graphic design in places.

My BGG score 8/10
This is a game that I want to play and love more, but cannot due to not finding other like-minded players. Playing three players is quick and leaves me wanting more whereas playing 6 players is exciting but long-winded when you are not involved. 

Combined Score 8.75/10
And now it's over to you...


​
2 Comments

Festival at Epinal

3/20/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
On this Saturday, March 9, 2019, your mission, if you accept, will be to go to Epinal to discover the fun festival and come back with game reviews. Confident in our abilities, proud to receive this quest, we set out on a fun adventure. For the first time, I went to the festival Jeux et Cie d'Epinal, in France. Fortunately, to help me and support me in this heavy task, Barry (second time at Epinal) accompanied me and guided me in the pouring rain (as well as play the role of chauffeur).

After several hours of driving, we arrived at the site: the Congress Center. Easily found, rather well located when you come from far away and with plenty of available parking spaces, the mission seemed to be starting on a good track.

This is a free festival, which offers you the chance to discover new or old games in a good atmosphere and for all tastes. That's what the poster promised us. Once inside the room, we actually find ourselves in a family atmosphere, dare I say zen. The stands were quite spaced out, a lot of tables available, people were smiling, even very welcoming. On site, besides the games we found some service in terms of restoration (although I found the thing a bit expensive), games to bring back (wide choice in the local game stores). As for the types of games, the target audience is still family and children even if, here and there we did find games a little more focused on the expert public. The demonstrators and volunteers present were very good, friendly and quick to explain the rules with joy and good humor. A nice surprise for a festival this size. It is regrettable that some publishers did not make the trip or bring protos to test, while others were just  not present. Overall it's really nice. Too bad it is a bit far, (a 3 hour plus car journey) if not with pleasure I would go back (especially in such a charming company). Especially since the festival only lasted for three days! Wow.

As for our original mission ... So we tried no less than thirteen games. Here are these titles with a (very) short summary and opinion. Plus we pick out our top 3 gaming experiences of the event.
​Attention, these opinions are first impressions within the framework of a festival (noise/fighting for a table/rules not explained correctly/fatigue from continuous playing), as always in this type of events. These opinions can change by playing the game in other configurations, like at home or different player counts or after watching a Rodney Smith video =).
​

Res Arcana
Sand Castle games

Picture
Being a big Splendor fan, this game is the next evolutionary step in this genre. From each player taking their individual roles which will grant them a bonus resource every round to the large array of options for things you can acquire, this game does everything in big steps. You are mages each with your own small deck of cards that you will cycle through and either use to protect yourself against attacks or spend resources to put these items in your persons. Not only are they resources but there is also gold which is hard to get hold of. This makes the game a little bit more interesting in the fact that everyone will find different ways to get to different things. Whether it be monuments, creating items, or becoming the lord of the places of power. There is a lot of choices and decisions to be made in this resource fest. There is also a lot to get your head around and many different combinations of items to collect and build. This is definitely a game that I want to reply now that I have a little bit of knowledge on how everything fits together.

Picture
A game by Thomas Lehmann never goes unnoticed. For the occasion, we had the pleasure of playing with a third person, whose name I unfortunately forgot (sorry). The theme makes you incarnate magi in duels without mercy. This is a point-based points race game based on resource and card purchases. The big originality is that we play with a hand of cards, defined at the beginning of the game and we do not receive others during the game. Simple, fast, little thematic, clever. Clearly the type of games to deepen.


space gate odyssey
Ludonaute

Picture
I’ve already done a first impressions article for Space Gate Odyssey which you can find here. But after a second play, I still want to play this again. And with a larger play count. The game is still a nice brain puzzle of efficiency, where you’re creating a maze for your ants to run around in. And then hopefully give you the points that you need when they arrive on planets. Even playing a slightly altered strategy, I’ve found other things that I want to try afterwards. Although surprisingly light in mechanisms, this game is enjoyable and a little head scratchy as players try to complete actions without giving the other players benefits.

Picture
I finally got my hands on this new game by Cédric Lefebvre (designer that I appreciate a lot, humanly and playfully). This space game invites you to build your station to be able to send your settlers to take possession of untapped planets. A mixture of several mechanisms that work. It's simple, the material is nice (even if the icons are too small). Thematically, I did not feel the basic construction and spatial exploitation side. It stays in a semi-light game world but with some subtleties.


slide quest
blue orange games

Picture
This is a kid friendly game about balancing and sliding. Inside the box is a specially built platform that is held in place by four levers, each of the four edges of the base box. It is these levers that players will be lifting and dropping to make the main board tilt. There are a variety of maps that are put onto this platform which depicts a route, a start and finish space, and some obstacles, which are inserted into holes to give a 3-D effect. From then on, the players place a hero and the starting zone and use the levers to make him roll (he has a ball bearing inside) along the path and complete different objectives. Like push bandit into holes or move dynamite next to a monster. All very simple, just like in Loony Quest. But it did not hold my interest. Possibly because there were no kids playing with us. Definitely a family game, but not one I found myself having fun with.

Picture
I liked ​Loony Quest ... but this new title is clearly for the even younger ones. The materials are interesting, the basic idea is nice but the game is much less. No real challenge, the look is very childish, replayability seems limited. I am disappointed.


7 ronin
Grey Fox Games

Picture
A two player, out thinking, abstract a two player game. Where one player will have seven ronin to protect a village. While another player has a horde of ninjas ready and waiting to attack the village. Players will place their heroes and warriors on locations behind a screen before revealing to see which zones they attack and defend. Each Ronan has their own special power which they will used to try to illuminate the ninjas. Before any unhampered ninjas get to perform special actions depending on the area of the map that they approach the village from. It takes a little while to get use to colours, powers and actions, but it surely worth replaying to get into the theme and strategy layed out in the rules. An elegant to play, back-and-forth abstract game that requires lots of coffee and some ESP to win, but not necessarily to have fun.


Picture
A game of bluffing and tactics in the Japanese feudal world. Very minimalist in its material (and yet really beautiful), the game is very pleasant and offers a good challenge. It will take a good blow of bluffing, but also a lot of luck to prevail in this asymmetrical game that works really well.

guilou's #2 game of the festival


mississippi queen
super meeple

Picture
Soon to be reprinted by Super Meeple, this is a racing game based on the American Queen Steamboats that were used to transport passengers along the Mississippi. Each player’s boat has an engine which can change up and down gears, which adjust the speed and number of spaces it can move. And each has X amount of coal, that can be used to change the speed a little bit quicker. Mechanically interesting as the random generated river winds left and right, with passengers to collect en route. It felt like a light racing game for the family and is lacking something to make it a bit more intriguing. Hopefully this is something that will be added in the (probably deluxifier) reprint.

Picture
This is the proto of the reissue of Mississippi Queen. Racing motorboat game where you have to juggle speed and use of coal to take passengers and arrive at the destination first. Difficult to issue a final opinion especially that the two-player configuration. A small novelty, not necessarily the most interesting. The game is nice but the advanced tiles will soon be indispensable.


scarabya
blue orange games

Picture
I fell in love with this puzzle game that uses Tetris pieces as it’s core. Player all have the same playing board, which has scarabs depicted on random spaces that when collected give you points. And rocks that block the placement of your Tetris pieces. This is a synchronized puzzle game to see who can best manipulate their pieces to divided their board to get the most points. As one by one each player will take the same piece and lay it to enlarge their camp, leaving the scarabs uncovered in groups of two. With very simple rules (even though I messed them up several times), this was a simple pleasure where the replayability comes from the challenge against the other players. Something my family will love to play but may quickly be forgotten due to it being the same repetitive game.

barry's #1 game of the festival

Picture
A little game by Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc. We are on a tetris tile set with a handicap. We’ll pass on the theme that is not present, and we end up with a simple and fast game. The goal is to surround scarabs in spaces up to four squares. The scarab still need to visible in this space and will bring you as many points. The tile to be laid is defined by a map. All players play at the same time. It's a solitary game in a group. Family style, replayability can be quite important as long as you adore the concept.


 nagaraja
hurrican games

Picture
Exploring a temple Indiana Jones style is what this game promises. But it doesn’t deliver this experience due to the fact that the main mechanic is an auction. Yes, you’re going to be bidding for tiles to add to your player board. These tiles have paths that you can follow to take you to treasure that is allocated at the edge of your player board. Your cards, which have two functions that include, values of sticks (that are like dice) for the auction and powers that you can use if these stick like dice roll blank. This stick dice is a great idea but a little lost in this game. Again the construction of paths to take you to treasure is a nice idea but is lost entirely in this bidding war that you and another player will have. Some nice ideas, some fantastic artwork, but it didn’t convey the theme I thought the game was implying.

Picture
Another game by Bruno Cathala but this time with Théo Rivière. We recognized immediately the graphics of Vincent Dutrait. A game for two players (again a forgetfully theme). The objective is to be the first to recover 25 victory points with the help of treasures or relics that you will be able to unlock, thanks to tiles in your temple. The material is nice but the game is pretty average. It moves, but it is clearly missing the little slice that makes me want to come back. Yet there are good ideas inside.

ice team
the flying games

Picture
A polar bear race where they will be swimming, running and surfing on floating ice. For something that looks like a young child’s game, Ice Team has a lot of depth and strategy to it. Cleverly eliminating parts of the track may hinder your opponent in this two player, for polar bears per player race can help you. Or it may help your opponent, as swimming can make traversal of large open areas a rapid way to catch up. With a random course set up to the change the layout of icebergs, players will have a handful of replayable experiences. As it’s not about being the first across the line but it is also about how many fish you can pick up. Or steal. With some really nice ideas like freezing fish to stop players stealing them and sliding ice blocks, plus disintegrating ice all add up to a fun experience. Although only for two players.

barry's #2 game of the festival

Picture
I'm not necessarily a fan of this range, which I find a little too young for me. Once again, a game from ... Bruno Cathala (he is everywhere) but this time with Matthew Dunstan. I must say that I was really pleasantly surprised. Besides the really nice look (they have class polar bears), the game has very good ideas (surfing on the ice or frozen fish). Young and old can find this enjoyable. A good game, light but nice. And in addition presented very beautifully with a giant version is very nice! (not retail)


the Quacks of Quedlinburg
North Star Games

Picture
An interesting bag building game and the first of its kind that I have played. Drawing different ingredients at random from your bag to add to your cauldron to create the most powerful potions. With a high push your luck factor, as you do not wish to make your potion explode with the wrong ingredient, but also make it the largest potion possible. This benefits you in points as well as being able to buy better ingredients to add to your bag. Lots of choice and replayability in the ingredients that you can collect and I believe it adapt well to all types of playing styles. I can see how this won the Kennerspiel des Jahres, but I found it a tad repetitive, as I longed for the last round. I want to play it again, but with a shorter playing time and maybe 3D ingredients…!

Picture
The First game I had to read the rule (it was late at night and the demonstrators had gone, but not their games). Well we must say that we could not miss the chance to  play this Kennerspiel. Especially since I had heard a lot of good things about it. You are healers who have to find Potions recipes to sell on a market. But finally what a cold shower. Yes the game works, it moves, but ...  that’s all? It's a mix of bag-building with some original and well-found ideas. A family game at it’s base, to which one has artificially added mechanisms to become more for player. Too much manipulation, a lot of chances, not really smooth when discovering it, little choice, very repetitive, very little interaction, each player plays in their corner without looking at the other cauldrons. A real disappointment (and yet we were in very good company).


Lindisfarne
runes editions

Picture
Many moons ago I played this game as a Prototype. At that time it felt like a roll and write game as it was rolling dice and writing on paper. You’ll allocate at least one of your results to one of three charts to try to get superiority there. This final version has rune tokens and dice, with some exquisite Viking card art. The mechanisms have not changed but there are more ways to gain points in this version of the game as you collect cards. Whether you have had the highest value of saved dice or the highest collection of the same number, these will give you the first choice from a selection of cards in the zone. So, more of a set collection game where you will be collecting cards for the color or their panoramic view that you can complete. As well as individual scores for each card and special powers on some. This is a nice medium white dice rolling set collection game that will have you pondering for a while but never leaving you swimming for options.

barry's #3 game of the festival

Picture
A game that immerses you in the Viking universe. The goal is to plunder Europe and bring back wealth. A collectible game where you will have to try to win on several tracks to recover fresco cards or objectives to fill. Several ways to score, a lot of replayability, a strong interaction, the presence of chance (but can be lessened), fun and deceitful. I really have the desire to play it again. My favorite of the show! (and in addition the large version on the demo table was awesome).

guilou's #1 game of the festival


zombie bus
sweet games

Picture
Yahtzee​ for kids who are into zombies. That’s all I can say about zombie bus. It is a simple game for a family audience, where on the players turn they reveal a Zombie and roll some dice. The dice have various body parts depicted on them as well as the zombie cards. Having results that are the same as the zombie card means that you can damage that zombie. If you managed to tick all the boxes, that zombie is dead and you score points for them. But also at the same time, in the middle of the table is the bus that the game is talking about. And on it is a group of cheerleaders that everyone has to rescue. The dice also have other results, like the star and joker. Collecting a certain amount of stars on your turn can be used to rescue a cheerleader. Rescue all the cheerleaders will deplete the deck of zombie cards the game will end. Yes this is a cooperative game we are a family can work together to kick some ass before the zombie kick yours. Or eat the cheerleaders.

Picture
I love zombie games and I am generally good bate. But that did not take. Still, the atmosphere is there. Cheerleaders, special zombies, the second degree, the presence of dice ... But we are faced with a game where ultimately the choice is obvious. We did not feel like doing things, we let ourselves walk through the game. The zombies for, the vast majority are almost all the same. There was not really any epic or fun moments. We threw our dice without really thinking. And we watched the time pass. Too bad.


Honga
Haba 
​

Picture
Keeping your pet satisfied while doing your errands can be a handful. That’s what Honga is about. A very stunning looking have a game where players will draw cards at random and then play them on to the board at a certain angle that will allow them to one stroke the sabertooth tiger and to collect a resource or perform an action. A simple mechanic that will make younger children very happy and very angry when the sabertooth gets no affection and eats their resources. With plenty of paths to scoring points and some beautiful cartoon art components, this game is sure to please the young family and teach responsibility as well as management skills.

Picture
Hard to do better than Karuba (which I like a lot in style). Honga offers nice material, and the idea of Honga that comes to attack you if you forget it, adds a constant pressure. And yet, the game struggles to convince. The chance of the cards dictates the way you play and the most profitable actions appear on their own. Really not convinced. Children can find their account but for how long? To try again can be …


That’s pretty clever
Schmidt / Stronghold Games

Picture
A basic “roll and write” game, which means that a player will roll some dice and then players can write down the results on their sheet to tick some boxes. As simple as that. Although each color die has its own area to be ticked. Some of these areas just accumulate into points. And some areas create columns, that when once filled will allow you to tick another box somewhere else. I simple idea about taking boxes like playing bingo. But proving you are best at it by either rolling well or checking off the right areas at the right time, is not much of a game. For me it’s a little something and nothing.

Picture
Another game by Wolfgang Warsh. This time we are dealing with a little game dice super clever. The thing is very simple, we have a grid to fill, we throw dice, we choose and next where we check if we can unlock bonuses. The game offers good ideas with different scoring areas. Fast, simple, clever and can be deceitful. The choice of the dice for the first player will determine the choice for the following. A success.

guilou's #3 game of the festival

And there you have it. All the discoveries we made and fun we had playing. Plus it was a good laugh in our company and those we encountered. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comment, write them below.
0 Comments

Where game should go and Cuzco

1/8/2019

0 Comments

 

Cuzco - Tested (2018)

Picture
By Michael Kiesling, Wolfgang Kramer
From Super Meeple

Plays 2 - 4 players
Ages 8 and up
​

​witten by Barry
Picture
​(Tested is a format that I use to give a first or second impression of a game. Therefore, this article is not a final review, as I like to know all the ins and outs of a game before I score it. And this should be treated as an giving you an idea about the game.)
Tile placement and world building is the name of the game here. Just like in Carcassonne, you and the other players at the table will be generating a landscape, from which you will profit in the form of points. But so will the others, using the stepping stones that you have already created to boost their scores. ​
Picture
Cuzco is the 3rd in the “Mask Trilogy” from Kiesling and Kramer, that has been rejuvenated by the team at Super Meeple. Although this game has not kept the same name of Java, it still has a small component upgrade just like Mexica and Tikal had before it. And having never played any of these game before, I will be coming at this with a fresh perspective. I can’t tell you if the games rules have been changed or improved, but I can obviously see that the has been a facelift done on the temples and meeples, that are physical improvements to the aesthetics of the game. And man, the game looks more and more beautiful as the game develops. So let's talk about the game.​
As an Inca dignitary, you’ll spreading out your tribe over virgin soil to cultivate and develop the villages you construct into cities. Constructing temples will earn you prestige points as well as being the tribe that offers the most gifts to the gods at a temple, when a festival is held there. Irrigating ponds to water crops will also give big points too.
Picture
The land on the main board will terraform very quickly as each player has six, sometimes seven actions points to use on their turn, if they decide to use one of three bonus tokens. Most of your action points will be use to add a tile to the board. You’ll have a personal reserve of special tiles, made of one and two hex’s, but you’ll mainly draw from the general pool. This pool consists of a three hex tiles, each has one village hex while the others are fields. You can place these on any of the spaces of the main board and even go off the main board, as long as one of the hex’s of the tile sits in a space. Which is an interesting prospect that can change the game, when you think all is lost in the closing stages of play. Tiles can also be stacked, giving you a 3D terrain, that is not only pleasing to look at, but also gives the games main strategic mechanism. Connecting the village sections of tiles together, make a village bigger. The bigger the village, the bigger a temple can be constructed inside it, transforming the village into a city. Which mean the architect of this monument reaps a bigger chunk of prestige points.
Picture
But to be able to construct, you need to have control of the village. Having one of your Incas on the highest village tile, gives you this control. And it’s this control mechanism that is the main strategic mechanism I mentioned earlier. Adding an Inca of your colour to the board will cost an number of action points, depending if they enter the map from the forest side of the board or the mountain side. Which doesn’t sound like much, but as the game goes on, the Incas will stop entering from the cheaper forest side of the board and start coming from the action point eating, mountain side. As it may be quicker or cheaper in action point spending to get your Inca to where you want them. Your Incas can move about freely on one type of terrain, field or village. But as soon as you cross over from one type to the other, that eats up an action point. Seen as your opponent's Inca’s will block routes, you may have to weave in and out between them. Or it may be more beneficial to move one you placed earlier to get to where you're going. Having your Inca of the highest level tile in a village, gives you the right to construct a temple, or enlarge one that is already there. Giving the 3D meaning to the game and leaving you fighting for this higher ground. Or terraforming for.
Building costs an action, but will give you those much needed points. The larger the village, the larger the temple you can construct. And the stone like pieces of the temple components look stunning as you build here, there and everywhere. Adding depth to the board, with its colours and shape, making for a easy reference in the game. As do the little flame tokens that are place on top, when a festival is held there. With the increments of the temples at 2/4/6/8/10, which also tie in with the village size, you will find yourself following a pattern on each of your turns. You’ll start by making the village sections as vast as you can, getting an Inca to the higher ground of said village, before finishing your last action on the construction. And possibly hold a party after, gaining bonus point. See, burning the candle at both ends does pay off…
Picture
Then the next player will come along, enlarger that city, insert an Inca and add levels to the temple on their turn. Receiving a larger chunk of points than you did previously. Maybe have a better party than you did too! Before the player after them, maxes out the city, sending the temple to its highest level and parties like it’s 1999. Which at first will make you think that this is just a rinse and repeat game. And it can be that for lazy players. Or you could “PLAY THE GAME.” It’s always advisable to get in the other players way, while helping yourself to the largest piece of cake. That’s where the pleasure of the game comes. Placing tiles out that make your opponents think “what are you doing!” Or getting to a temple, just to finish it off, amassing the largest score possible. Even block main routes with you Incas, forcing other players to use more actions to get to where they want to go. And even just simply, laying the foundations for your next turn. And even though there is this slight nastiness between players, it is hard to see, but occasionally felt.
Picture
Many Inca’s in the same village may jussel about to get the privilege to build. As ties can be a frequent occurrence. If players are joint on the highest level, the deciding factor goes to the one who has the next highest Inca. So on and so on, meaning a village may be swarming with players Inca’s, which can be a good and bad thing, as a village can be cut into parts. A strategically placed tile can replace that one village hex with a field, making that once larger city/village into two smaller ones. Again, having a Inca in the right place can play havoc on this possibility, retaining this man made settlement in it’s form. ​
Yes, villages and cities can be reduced as well as be enlarged, as long as there is only one temple in that zone. And as long as the tile placement rules are followed. What’s that? More rules? Well, nothing overly complicated. But something else to carefully plan as you play. If you play a tiles on top of another, it can not stack in the same way as the one beneath it. So in the case of a three hex tile being played, it can not be directly placed on top of another of the same size. Meaning that it has to be placed on top of different tiles. Although placing a smaller tile on top of a larger one is permitted. This prevents a back and forth of, “this was a feild, now a village, now a field, now a village…” And lends itself to a deeper way of thinking, as the tiles need to sprawl out and not stack like a two year old stacks the same size Lego blocks together. This cuts down on the “I’ll just place these willy-nilly on the board” moments that unthinking players do. You may find that you will have to place two or more other tiles on the board before placing the one that you need to fulfill your dream. As you can see, there is a little more to this game than in other tile placement games, due to this 3D aspect. As 1) being higher allows you to build temples and basins, 2) let’s you shape the map and 3) make for a sexy tabletop experience.  ​
Not only can you build temples, cities and villages. Small and large basins of irrigation water can be created. These can gain you a small or large chunk of points in one fail swoop, if you pay attention. These basins can only be created on the board itself and never on top of tiles already placed. If while placing tiles, you leave a hole of empty board spaces, totally surrounded by tiles, for an action you can transform them into these water pools. Collecting three points for each single irrigation tile placed. That can sometime be a large chunk of points. Again, as long as you are have the highest Inca adjacent to this body of water when you build it, you will get these points. So being careful not to give points away or lose them in a tie is always a think to look for.
Picture

As I mentioned early, the game can follow a repetitive formula of, place a few tiles, move an Inca into a village, build the temple, score point. Added to this simple pattern is the prospect to earn extra points by using a free action at the end of your turn, holding a festival in a city. Any city on the board that you have an Inca in, can be used. If there are other players, with Incas in the same city, they also can participate in this mini game. Players will start the game with a few cards in their hands, depicting one or two gifts for the Gods. More cards can be collected by spending one or two action points to receive one or two cards, each turn you take. And these are always blind from the draw pile. With only three types of gift on these cards, you could draw the same thing every turn. That can be a benefit and a curse where festivals are concerned. 
Some of these cards are spilt, holding two different gifts, so they can be used as one or the other. The discard pile will dictate which gift or gifts the Gods hold as the flavour of the month. These images are of statues and masks, but it’s the colour of the background that makes them easy to distinguish. When a player holds a festival in a city, they play a card that has the same colour background as the card on the discard pile. Each other player, in the same city may also offer the same gift to the Gods. And so on around the table, until all players are fed up with giving or can not give any more. That’s when you count to see which player has offered the most gifts. That player then earns some bonus points, depending on the size of the temple and if there were other players at the festival. Before all played cards are discarded and a new card from the draw pile is place on top of the discard pile, create the next fashion that the Gods wish the Incas to follow. This mini game breaks up the play a little and adds a little layer of marzipan to the already nice simple icing covered sponge cake. You may feel that wasting an action to draw a card is a pointless affair, but it is one you should not forget. Festivals can be frequent occurrences and other players will get fat on the juicy points that are left behind. No sugar rush included. And after the festival is finished, a touch is lit on that temple, signifying that another festival can not be had there until the temple has been developed to a higher level.
Picture
The game comes to an end when the general pool of tiles is empty. From then on, each player has one more turn to scrape up any point that they can get, plus move their Incas to prominent positions in each city. Because after you have used your last action point, it is time to do your final scoring. A simple case of looking at each of the cities and seeing which ones you have control over. Remember, control is the Inca that is on the highest level in that city. For each city you have in your control, you win the points indicated by the size of the temple there. As you can see, you may have control of a city at the end of your turn, giving you points, but then the next player can then take control, scoring from the same city. This makes for an intriguing last turn. You may just try to take as many points as you can or try to make it hard for others to claim control over the cities, by dividing them or moving one of your Incas to a hex, that makes players spend more actions than they should. Oh, so sweet, when you can reduce someone's potential final score from 55 points to only 30.
Picture
All in all, this is my type of euro style game. The rules are relatively simple, with a few exceptions. Like Carcassonne is simple to explain and then you get to the Farmer scoring rule. But once you get your head around all of the little intricacies and start playing, you’ll take to it like a duck to water. This is a game that could be classes as just one of those classic euros, with very little variety and small replay value because it’s the same thing over and over. Much like Splendor and Pastiche, games that I can see myself playing many time, adapting my strategy and learning new ways to get the most points. This is definitely a game that an experienced player will walk away with, in regards to final score. And there is no sign of luck helping you. You’ll just have to use your keep eyesight, imaginative perception and mathematical calculation to be a master at this game. ​

Tested - Liked - Want to play again soon

Picture
0 Comments

U.S. Telegraph - review

9/13/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
U.S. Telegraph from Super Meeple
Marcel-André Casasola Merkle
2-4 player
ages 10 and up
​Video review at the bottom

A different type of outlaw

​We all love building things. And board games give us the key to construct marvels in a short space of time with just a little sprinkling of brain power. Spaceships. Empires. Cities. Farms. While you are building whatever it is your building, you'll be building a score, hopefully larger than the other's sat at the same table as you. It is very rare for this type of to have any other reason to build, but meagrely to get points.

But what about building to win a race...?

This is exactly what you will be doing in U.S. Telegraph. You are building an enterprise that is trying to be the first to connect two cities with your new technological innovation that will replace the Pony Express. No points. No scoring. Just a race to be the first. And being first will make you the winner. Simple, yes! The game shines with simpleness from it's rules, game play and theme. But does that simplicity help or hinder the game?
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

This town ain't big enough

Every player takes control of a telecommunications company in the old wild west, as marked on their chosen coloured player board. Plus a number of building tokens, that are shuffled and placed in four stacks, face down. All players have the same building tokens that correspond to the images on their player board, which are grouped in different conglomerations of various amounts. Like four building connected to the railway industry or two buildings that relate to farming. None of that has any reference to the game, so having a ranch will not effect the blacksmiths business. It's merely there to create a chaining combo for those groups when built.
Picture

Each of the buildings of your colour connect your telegraph wire across the vast deserts that filled John Wayne's career. A number of hexagonal tiles, depending on the number of players, are placed in the middle of the table. With a number cities placed around the outside of this dust filled plain. These cities are the objective for the players, creating a continues line of their coloured buildings that connect one city to another.

How the west was built

Picture
Each building is going to require resources before they can be constructed. Some are scattered around the tiles that were places randomly. Other resources will come from a deck of cards, that players will receive in limited quantity, depending on the turn order. More cards can be gain in the game by sacrificing parts of your actions. There are two of these to chose from on your turn, making game play fast and fluid, like your favourite gunslinger. Due to the limited choices, the game is simple for the average player to slip into, like drawing your weapon. But knowing how to and when to use it is the dilemma in the game.

To draw or to construct are the choices available. It may not seem like much but as the game goes on, every action has consequences for you and the other players. The beginning of the game is a calm affair as you will be mainly drawing from your face down tiles, to see what you can build. This you can preform up to two times. If you decide to draw less than this amount, you get to draw a resource card. For example, you draw a tile and a card or you don't draw a tile but draw two cards. The latter is not really a good idea with this action, that you will see later...
Picture
The moment you draw a tile, you'll have to place it either on your player board in the allocated
area or you build it. Building requires you place it on an empty space, paying the resources from either your hand of cards or more practically, from the resources marked on the board adjacent this building. This is the start of your settlement and the commencement of your telegraph road. Starting a settlement somewhere else on the board will be a little more expensive, as you have to pay an extra wood, brick or whatever you wish, to do so. Connecting is cheaper and maybe free. If you build your viaduct (tile 61) next to your already constructed bridge (tile 60), you pay nothing.
Picture
The second action is to build. This is where you can place building that have already been revealed and placed on your player board, onto the main board. Again, resources will be paid or not, depending on the buildings you build and where you build them. A simple arrow system on your board shows the flow of which building can be built for free if place next to them. And this action you can preform three times on your turn. Which make more sense with the draw resource card option that I mentioned earlier. You could build one building and draw two cards for the actions not completed or simple play the wild card and take three cards straight up. And every time you build something, you'll place a marker down on it's image on your board, like playing Bingo. Completing a collection of the same group of the same coloured buildings will give you a worker to use on your turn to extend you actions. Utilizing a worker when you want will allow you to draw or build more times than normal. Playing them at the right time can be a life saver that will keep you in the game or help on the final sprint to finish the game.
Picture
Picture

wanted dead or alive

You will make enemy's in this game as they steal that space you wanted, while you block entry to a city, so they have to go around. If possible...

There will be times where there is a Mexican stand-off. The map has been divided into slices as you route of buildings start a one city but can't make it to another. This can be frustrating at times, as you have lined up a row of building that you could have placed on your next turn, but a border from another player cuts off you chance. And with the main board being one size, space becomes limited quickly, forcing decisions you didn't want to take at that moment of the game. But there is hope.

If on your draw action, you remove the last tile from a pile, you immediately get to add a hex tile to the main boards. Placing it wherever you wish, creating a trail that will permit you to build around this road block. Making the map bigger and giving other more growing space too. Strategically placing your buildings or settlements and joining them up at the key times to win is a trick that everyone is trying pull off. Because of the nature of these hex tiles, they fit nicely together like a tiled mosaic. Until you realise that the cities are a small space that creates a connection problems, like a horse shoe in a line of wagon wheels. Trying to build around the back of a city becomes interesting when the tile doesn't connect symmetrically but obscurely. Leave only one space touching another, limiting the route into the city. Creating another puzzle for you to solve. Timing and placement locations are part of the fun, but you won't be able to stop being get drawn into the Bingo frenzy. Drawing tiles until you have a full set of buildings, then gaining a worker. Helping to get your route complete.
Picture
Picture
But the west was not won just this way. Sometimes a stalemate might make you switch tactics to the second way to win the game. By being the first to build all of your buildings, filling your boards, like a Bingo card. Doing this makes the game a little longer and not always the first path to victory that is viable, but it's there.

Lucky Luke and the Dalton's

The drawing of tiles, some may see as a big luck factor. Considering that everyone will be drawing at the same time, the quick draws of matching groups can pay off. But it doesn't take much to take that lucky player off their tracks with just one well placed building. And the more players there are to gang up on that leading player, the more chance you will hold the reigns on their horses. Again, you may have to sacrifice an action ahead of it's time due to pressure place on you and you alone.

In fact, more players leads to a more intense race, as players are planing routes to different cities and you're never sure which they are. The free resources get eaten up more quickly and players settlements sprawl everywhere. Leaving a lot more of information for you to deduce their strategy and hiding route that you didn't see. The keen observers in the group will flourish.
Picture

Get off your horse and drink your milk

So, we have simple rules that lead to interesting and sometime difficult choices. But it's not all plain sailing, even with rules that are this straight forward as these, errors can happy easily as well. Forgetting to cross off your already constructed gold mine could cost you your game. Forgetting that have chosen the draw actions on your turn, because you build directly and therefore continue your turn as if you had taken the build action. These types of little error happen frequently with new players and, time to time with experienced players too, throwing the game into debatable territory. Or just making you win or lose in a non satisfying way, so a rematch is scheduled. Not that it's a big problem for most players, but disgruntled players may carry a chip on their shoulder until one of you gets to Boot Hill.

Not seeing your coloured tiles on the main board is another bug of the game, as the drab tile colours do nothing to pop out on the sandy tiles. Blue and green tiles are more distinct than the red and brown ones, that also share the same pallet as the buildings on these tiles. Where other games get around this by using bright, non thematic colours and 3D components that help locate you pieces, this feels like a missed opportunity. As this is just a re-theming of an older game Attika, and it looks like the same game. Although there is an art overhaul.
Picture
Picture

High noon

All in all, with those minor quibbles of easy mistakes players can make that could upset your game, it's a smooth and fast fun racing game. Without the racing theme. A family game that will have you replaying because you were so close to winning the last game. Simple in it's execution of actions but with a diverse number of choices for you to make after your third or fourth turn. Not only do you have to out-smarting your opponents, but be a “down right, dirt player” at the same time. 2 players is just a back an forth rodeo. You stand on their toes, they stand on yours. Where more players bring out a more interesting challenge. And as your pulling tiles off your piles, that sensations that your surrounded by hundreds of elderly ladies, with their heads down in silence, only to be broke by you, shouting “BINGO!”


the video review


Technical score 9/10
My BGG score 8/10
Combined score 8.5/10
0 Comments
    Picture

    Authors

    Barry &
    Guilou & Arnauld

    shortcuts

    All
    1st Impressions
    99 Monkeys
    ABACUSSPIELE
    Act In Game
    Alderac Entertainment Group
    Ameritrash Games
    Arnauld
    Asmodee
    Atalia
    Aurora Games
    Barry
    ​Bellwether Games
    Blackfire
    Blackrock Games
    Blog
    Blue Orange Games
    Bombyx
    Bonjour Games
    Burky & Badger
    Buzzy Games
    Catch Up Games
    Choice Provisions
    Clyde & Cart Press
    CMON Limited
    Cool Mini Or Not
    Cosmo Duck
    Cranio Creations
    Cryptozoic Entertainment
    Czech Games Edition
    Draco Ideas
    Druid City Games
    DV Giochi
    Eagle-Gryphon Games
    Eclipse Editorial
    Edge Entertainment
    Eggertspiele
    Elwin Klappe
    EmperorS4
    Essen Spiel
    Events
    Fantasy Flight Game
    Filosofia Editions
    Flying Carpet Games
    Flying Frog
    Funky Sheep
    Game Brewer
    Game Works
    Gen Con
    Gigamic
    GMT Games
    Golden Egg Games
    GREIFERISTO
    Grimlord Games
    GRRRE Games
    Guillotine Games
    Guilou
    Haba
    Hasbro
    Helvetiq
    Hexy Studio
    Holy Grail Games
    Homosapien Lab
    Homosapiens Lab
    Horrible Games
    How To Play
    HUCH!
    Iello
    Imperial Publishing
    Impressions
    Inside Up Games
    Interview
    Intrafin
    Itten
    Japan Brand
    Jeux Opla
    Jolly Dutch Productions
    Jolly Thinkers
    Jumping Turtle Games
    Junk Spirit Games
    Karma Games
    Kickstarter
    KOSMOS
    La Boite De Jeu
    Last Night
    Lifestyle Boardgames
    Lucky Duck Games
    Ludonaute
    Ludonova
    Mandoo Game
    Matagot
    Meeple City Games
    Modiphius
    Monolith
    Monthly
    Moonster Games
    Morning
    MOZI Game
    My Cup Of Tea
    Mythic Games
    Nauvoo Games
    Next Move Games
    Norsker Games
    North Star Games
    Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag
    Oink Games
    Oka Luda Editions
    Osprey Games
    Oya
    Ozaku Brand
    Oz Editions
    Pandasaurus Games
    Paris Est Ludique
    Parker Brothers
    Pegasus Spiele
    Pixie Games
    Plan B Games
    Player 3
    Podcast
    Precisamente
    Preview
    Quantum Quiz
    Queen Games
    Renegade Game Studios
    Review
    RUNES Editions
    Say Cheves
    Schmidt Spiele
    Second Gate Games
    Serious Poulp
    Sit Down!
    Sorry We Are French
    Soundscape
    Space Cowboys
    Spielworxx
    Steamforged Games
    Stronghold Games
    Superlude Editions
    Super Meeple
    Sweet Games
    Tasty Minstrel Games
    Tested
    The Flying Games
    ThinkNoodle Games
    Tiki Editions
    Top Ten
    Treefrog Games
    Twitch TV
    TWOPLUS Games
    UK Gaming Expo
    USAopoly
    Weta Workshop
    White Goblin Games
    Yoka By Tsume
    Z-Man Games

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture

Contact me

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Board Game soundtracks
    • The 7th Citidal
    • Kemet
    • Titan
    • Abyss
    • Claustrophobia 1643
    • The 7th Continent
    • Lucky Duck Games
    • Poule Poule
    • Syrinscape
    • Last Night
  • Board Game Talk
    • Reviews in English
    • Reviews en Français
    • Kickstarters
  • Burky & Badger podcast
  • Contact me