RECENT REVIEW THUMBNAILS
Barry has just played...
|
|
Stellarium (2020) first impressions
Please note, these are first impressions of a prototype. Rules and components may change before final release. There is nothing more relaxing than on a hot summer night, than to lay out on the cool soil of your garden and letting your eyes wonder at the little dots that are so far away. Living out in the country allows me to see the trillions of stars that line the dome around our globe. It’s something that I adored doing as a kid and speculating on what those twinkling lights are. In Stellarium, you’ll be doing the same thing. But with a little astronomical experience. Knowing the names of constellations and using them to navigate your way around the seas.  1 to 4 players (yes, there is a solo mode, that I haven't tried) will have two star constellation cards at the beginning of the game. A basic very easy starting formation and an easyish one too. Each card has a selection of the three different coloured stars scattered on square spaces. These indicate the distance between each star and their colour. Fulfilling a card, by observing it in the playing area, or night sky will score you a number of points and tiles as marked on the bottom. And in between all of the players, a grid of random tiles will be drawn from the bag and placed out. This is the night sky. Somewhere in this Sky is the formations that you seek. But sometimes not. A majority of the game will be spent staring at this night sky and trying to catch stars that match your constellations you are searching for.  So far, this sounds like a quick fire observation game. But this is not a race against the other players but a race against the clock. Players will take 30-second turns to point out their constellations in the night sky that match their card. If you fail to find one or mistakenly point out the wrong stars, either in colour or distance, you miss a turn and the opportunity to score points. When you do find one, the other players must concur that you have placed tokens on the tiles that correspond to your constellation, you’ll score that card at the end of the game. An added bonus is provided on that card. It will tell you how many tiles you can take as a bonus. But only the tiles that you place the tokens on. These also score at the end of the game. One point per star on a tiles you have. So there's some benefits of taking a tile which has three stars depicted on it instead of one. The remove tiles up replaced with random tiles drawn from the sack. And now you have the choice of drawing a new constellation card, this time you'll have a choice of the difficulty.  There are three difficulties in the game. Choosing the very hard formations to find will obviously give you more points if you do find them at the end of the game and also let you collect more tiles. But of course, these will be harder to find as they have have large areas of the sky and more stars in the correct position to pinpoint. There is also a variant with the game which has another deck of constellation, and these are even harder. One is revealed to all the players during the game, meaning that any player, on their turn can discover and score this card instead of one of their own. There are only a handful of these and they are quite possible of finding. If playing with this variant, there will always be one on the table for all players to search for.  The good thing about having turns, where each player is put in the spotlight to try and score points, is it eliminates those very powerful observant people from winning. We’ve all played a speed observation game, like Ghost Blitz or Set, where one play racks up points because they can process everything rapidly. These players don’t stand out as much in this game. They have their own turn to talk and take actions, as well as push themselves to pick the harder constellations to find. Yes, these are more point than the easy and medium difficulty cards, but they are darn hard. Sometime hard to find in the time limit but occasionally because of the random layout of tiles, sith their 3 colours and numbers. So the game has a kind of balancing mechanism for different skilled opponents. If you're playing with the variant, they may accelerate their score rapidly by finding these mega point cards instead of the two they have in hand. Plus, if you're playing at the full player count, if you’re a slower player, you'll have much more time to try and find your constellations, even before your turn starts. But sometimes that time is never enough, possibly because you're constellation does not exist...  Yes, yes it is possible to look into the night sky and not find what you're looking for. But you shouldn't freet, as this sky will be changing when players collect tiles. On top of that, these bonus tiles that you have collected can be used to force your constellation to appear. A really nice touch is if you are struggling to find what you're looking for, for you have the power to place out one of your collected tiles. This is kind of a forfeit, as you will be losing the points from it. But by placing this one tile out, it will help you advance a little in removing a card from your hand that might be difficult to complete. This is great if you have a three starred tile as it acts like a joker. The sad news is, you will be losing those three points, as this tile cannot be collected from the selection of tiles that you collect. Being observant and resourceful can really be a big payoff in this game. Making stupid mistakes, like placing out one of your tiles to complete a card. Then finding out that the constellation is still not correct will have you kicking yourself as you have missed your turn, but also lose your tile with its points. That then becomes a permanent fixture in the sky and helps out another player.  The game continues until there are no more tiles to replace the empty spaces in the night sky. It's at this moment players count up the amount of points from constellation cards and from the stars on your tiles to see who has the most points. This ending seems a little unbalanced and is very swings and roundabouts. Having another player complete more cards due to the fact that they had more turns will seen a little unjust. And like any speed observation game, even though this one gives each player that own slot, is still unfair to slower players. Faster players are always guaranteed to score more, especially if you play with the verient. Where as slowest player may miss a turn due to not finding the most advantageous constellation. But it kind of even outs. Only playing many times will tell.  The game is quite tranquil as you gaze at a bunch of tiles, trying to to find your objectives. I enjoy observation games like “word searches” and “spot the difference”, so this game appeals to me on that level. As well as the theme and mechanism. And again, more relaxing with more players, as you will have time to find your constellations a few times over. If someone takes a tile from that formation before your turn, you can adopt from the new tiles or fallback to the second card in your hand. But that's it. It is pretty shallow and repetitive, but doesn’t drag out. A game can last for about 20 minute and at that point, you'll be ready to move on or play again. With all the playtester I encountered, some found it relaxing and pleasurable, while some found it stressful and frantic, and others found it a tad dull and drab. Not only in the colour palette but also so in the gameplay itself. Now, this is the prototype version that I played, that had missing pieces. Again, I am unsure if the style of the games art and design will be the same or change. But what I had was all clear and easy to interpriate. Games ran smoothly. We even player without a timer. This was not as fun. Maybe if you were playing with children, this would be an option. I’ll finish by saying that this is a great introductory game for those getting into the hobby and a sweet family game. Short and easy to understand. Some interesting ideas, but not enough to keep coming back. Extra rules or a fourth colour or larger night skies, would all be nice. We shall see when the final version comes to stores later this year from Precisamente.
0 Comments
Azul (2017) review
With three versions of the game now in print, (Summer Pavilion, Stained Glass of Sintra and the basic version of Azul) the sky seems to be the limit for Next Move Games. All three games are abstract tile placement games, share the delightful tactile feel and have had some generus buzz built around them. Winning an award or 10 in the progress, like the 2018 Spiel des Jahres and the As d'Or. Having never played the to newer versions, I cannot give you a comparison or rank the titles in any shape or means at this time. Maybe in the future this will come to pass.    Two to four players will have the privilege of collecting these delightful otherworldly tiles and try to apply them on their wall. Of course this sounds very simple, but there are ways and means of collecting and attaching them to your wall, that will add a challenge. Each player will have their own plateau to place their tiles on and score their own points. While in the middle of the table, tiles will be randomly placed on a number of beer coasters, (there is no other way of saying it) to squabble over. This is technically the heart of the fun, or discomfort of the game. Planning ahead and calculating what the other players will take or discard will take up a vast amount of your gaming experience. And the great thing about it is you can still play the game haphazardly and probably still fair well by the end of the game. Making it an easy game for any level of experienced gamer. Just like anybody can slip on a pair of socks but weather there a matching pair all the correct way round doesn't really matter.  So let's go back to the beer coasters. When your turn comes around, you can select one of these beer coasters and remove the tiles from it. From those removed, you can only keep one set of the same pattern. As seen as there are only 5 different patterns (or colour) in the game, you're more than likely keep one or two of the four tiles that are placed there. All of the remaining tiles will be removed to the centre of the table. The centre of the table is treated like one giant coaster. At some stage in the game, a player may decide to collect all of the tiles of one pattern from this space. As the game goes on, more and more tiles will be added to this. First player to do so will have the benefit it of being the first player in the next round. Of course it has an advantage but it also has a disadvantage explain later on. Taking from this pool can have some benefits of its own, as you can grab a greater number of same coloured tiles in one action. Totally beneficial. Also someone could leave you with no choice but to pick up large group of same coloured tiles to add to your board, which could lead to your downfall. This is one of the great dilemmas of the game. Calculating what you need and guesstimating what the others will need. Picking and choosing while forcing the other players to leave you the best scraps. This is not evident in the first and possibly second round, but as the game goes on, you will find and that this is all you're doing.  Let's go back to the tiles that you have decided to keep. These will go to your individual player board, where you have a 5 by 5 gridded wall to try and decorate. But before you can add these tiles to your wall, they will have to be placed off to the side of a column that you wish to add them to. As soon as all of the tiles from the coasters and the middle of the table have been collected, this is when they can be applied to your wall. But only if you have the correct amount for the column. Each column requires a different number of same coloured tiles before they can be added to your wall. One column requires one tile. Another two tiles, three tiles, four and then five. It is only now that they can be added to the wall and you will score points for each that does. Again restrictions are in place to make the game a thoughtful, challenging and hopefully fun experience. Each pattern can only be attached to the wall all in a column that doesn't already have the same pattern. Think sudoku. Not only are you trying to get the correct colours in the correct column, but also so in the right quantities. If you do not have the prerequisite to move a tile onto your wall, the tiles you've collected it was stay in that saved space until you do have the required amount. This can lead to missed opportunities in scoring. And the hope of getting them fulfilled the next round. Observant players may take a gander at your previous rounds treasures and play it to their advantage, as I stated before, taking the things you need leaving the tiles you don’t need to collect in you negative point box...  Moving onto scoring, there are multiple ways to get points from this game. These are all relatively simple, but the strategy relies on how and which spaces on the wall you fill. Placing a tile on the wall will give you a point. Adding a title to an adjacent tile will give you a number of points depending on the number of adjacent tiles, either horizontally or vertically. So as you can see, placing a tile in the right column at the right moment can give you big numbers. This is the strategy that will separate the mice from the men. But it relies on what tiles come out of the bag and onto the coasters, what tiles the other players leave for you to take and which columns you place these tiles into. To win every time you'll need to be a clairvoyant. Or just aware of the scoring strategy. Two things I haven't told you about the scoring are 1) there is a bonus chance to get extra points at the end of the game and 2) you can lose points by taking the wrong pattern or number of tiles.  The bonuses are very simple. You get extra points for each column horizontal or vertical. On top of that, if you manage to add 5 of the same coloured tiles to your wall, they score you mega points as well. But the gut-wrenching part of the game is losing points from round to round. How does this occur? Going back to the very beginning, when you collect tiles from a coaster or the middle of the table, your add them to one column next to your wall. These all need to be of the same colour. And the correct amount needed for the column. If you have more than you need, they cannot be added to another column. If you have no space in a column or it cannot be added to a column due to the fact that you already have that colour attached to your wall in that row, these count towards negative points. At the bottom of your bored there is the negative point boxes. You will add these unused tiles to this one by one, from left to right. And even the first player marker, which is a tile, will go there as well (see, being first player has benefits and negative effects). When a scoring round comes along, this is when you total up every negative point that every negative tile gives you. If you miss plan or have other superior players screwing you over, this can really sting, as each box gets a little more negative. One time that this happened to me, made me hate the game immediately. If I had reviewed the game then and had been a vain critic, my rating would have been very poor. But that's not the kind of critic that I am. Everything deserves more than one chance and not be judged by its cover. Plus this is it go-to game for my wife, hence I have no choice but to play. LOL  Even if you're not enjoying the game, they never tend to last very long. Normally after five rounds the game or come to a close. As the finishing condition is when one player or more has as five tiles in a horizontal line. This is very easy to achieve as the first column only requires one tile of one colour. As long as someone one fills this column each round, round six never exists. It is then that you look at your final scores to decide who the winner is. With relatively simple rules to follow and a rapid playing time, this is a perfect family weight game in a family sized box. Play loose or play it with profound concentration, the choice is yours.  Chunkiness is the key. The boards are thick and sturdy. The tiles are gloriously smooth. And the sack is not bad too. Although I'm not a fan of the black cube, which you place on your board to keep your score. This sucker will slide around from time to time, with so much movement having to move and removing tiles from your board, the board with shuffle or the cube will get knocked. All very minor when you consider the rest of the presentation. Presentation is at its best in the accompanying Rulebook. Well written and well presented with plenty of examples. There is even a variation to the game. By simply flipping your player board over, you will go from a wall that tells you where to put a particular tile, to a wall where you have to decide where to put a particular tile. Still following those Sudoku rules.  Technical Score 9.5/10 The game is brimming with wonderful tactile components, although it a little dull to look at. Simple rule set and quick dplaying time makes for a good family game. My BGG Score 6/10 (ok -will play if in the mood) I will hand it to Azul, that it is a very interesting game. But it feels restrictive and repetitive. You have to learn how to be good at it, with a little card counting, bluffing and of course luck. You could say the same about Carcassonne, but there's something enduring and pleasurable about building a map in my opinion. Combined score 7.75/10 Now it's over to you... Going back to the darker days of board gaming. When a slightly younger version of me was making segments for The Dice Tower "Barry Thinks..." There, I was a disgruntled little man with opinions on what is right and wrong with our hobby. And here I am, doing it again. But why? Well, I received a package the other day from a Kickstarter. And it lead to this... What do you think?Please feel free to write comments in the section below. I would be happy to respond and hear your side of things. And if you missed out on those Dice Tower videos, here are a few of them for you to muse over.
Queenz: To bee or not to bee |
 | Designer:Bruno Cathala, Johannes Goupy Illustrator: Vincent Dutrait Publisher: Mandoo Games 2-4 players 30 minutes Ages 8+ Language dependency: None Written be Guilou  |
Queenz is one of the last games of the prolific author Bruno Cathala. For this new game, he is accompanied by Johannes Goupy and we find the excellent Vincent Dutrait adding his artistic hand. The game was released at Essen 2019 by Mandoo Games and is distributed in France by Blackrock Games.
Queenz is a game that gives you the chance to become a Beekeeper. You will have to place your hives judiciously according to your land and plant flower beds that cover them. Each flower, as in real life, offers the possibility of producing a honey of a color but especially of different taste. The more you have the ability to diversify, the more points you will earn. But do not forget that without bees, there is no honey. This is good because you can also opt to collect and position them onto your fields. But beware, a bee too far from his hive will not give anything. Dilemma and choice are at the heart of the game.
Queenz accessibility is one of its strengths. Indeed, the rules are really very simple. Each player starts the game without a parcel of land but with three unused hives of your color and "pots" of honey representing the possible future products. Plots of land are available for purchase and positioned next to the central plateau.
The central plateau offers a square of 6x6 boxes initially covered by orchids taken at random. The flowers care of different colors (5) and can also contain or not bees (one queen or up to three workers). Around this flower garden, a meeple gardener walks from space to space depending on the flowers collected by the players. This meeple occupies an important position in the game. Indeed, you will be able to choose to recover flowers only according to its position. On your turn, you will have the choice between two actions.
The first action is one of the most important: collect flowers. You will be able to take from one to three flowers depending on the position of the gardener. Indeed, it will indicate the row available to recover the flowers. And without being paid. What a nice gardener. Because yes, taking flowers in this game, it's free. And you will be able to collect up to three. But of course, there are conditions to that.
- If you choose to take only one flower, then you can take the one you want, whether or not there are bees on it.
- Do you want two? Go for it. But only if there are no bees on them.
- It is not enough ? Do you want three? Go because it's you, it's a gift. But, only take orchids of 3 different colors.
The flowers thus collected are stored in the personal reserve of the player. Attention, this reserve contains only six places. And when there are no more places ... you can not take flowers anymore. Gluttony has its limits and waste is not tolerated. The gardener then moves as many boxes as flowers taken by the player.
As you can guess, the central plateau will empty little by little. It will become more and more difficult to recover the desired flowers and especially the desired number. Especially since the flowers take time to grow, they are not replaced immediately. First come, first served. This will also play a role in choosing to take one to three flowers so as not to give too much opportunity to his opponent.
The other possible action is the construction or enlargement of his field. It could not be easier. The player takes one of the land tiles available for purchase. It's always free ... If it's your first tile, you simply place it in front of you. Otherwise, it must be added adjacent to existing tiles. Here too, there is a constraint. The tile chosen, once placed, must be filled with flowers from your reserve and possibly a hive. No empty spaces.
If by the time you finish placing your pieces, you have an area with at least two adjacent orchids of the same color on your land, then you produce honey of that color. Take your "honey pot" pawn of the corresponding color and place it on your personal tray. If you have all the pots of all colors, then you receive a distinction in the form of a bonus points. Be aware, the faster you are, the more points you will have (these diminish over time).
Now that you have placed your new land, it is time to see if it brings you something. If you manage to create areas of the same color, or if you enlarge an area already present on other tiles with at least two more flowers (of course with the same color), you will gain one point per flower belonging to these areas.
To note a small exception which I did not speak to you for the moment. When choosing to retrieve orchids from the gardener. You can take a flower with bees on it. If there are several, they will count at the end of the game depending on their promiscuity with a hive (pollen, honey production all that stuff). Queens work a little differently. Indeed, they allow to act immediately their taking of the garden. You then have permission to replace one of your flowers already laid by the one with the queen on it. The removed orchid returns to your reserve and the queen settles on your field. This ability is sometimes handy for increasing the connection of a colored area or for getting closer to a hive.
The end of the game occurs when a player places his fifth land tile in their playing area. The opponents of this player can then bloom a last field without the necessity of it being filled. The last chance to make points.
At the end of the game, we move to the count up of end points. First of all, look at the points earned during the game. Then add the end-of-game bonus points.
First the points indicated on the diversity of production token. You know it's the token gained during the game thanks to your honeys of five colors (yes, this was easy). These points range from ten for the fastest, to two for the slowest. Without necessarily making a big difference, it can still affect the final score.
Then you’ll review your hives. Hives that have attracted bees will earn you points. A good beekeeper knows how to take care of his workers. Each player will earn one point for each bee on their eight adjacent squares. Eight boxes, eight possible points, three hives, so it can go up to 24 boxes so 24 points. Not so bad is not it? For the most skeptical so far, you now see the interest of the capacity of the queens? It's a score that can make a clear difference. Especially if others have focused on the immediate points of color areas.
There you go. The one with the most points is judged by an incredible assembly of beekeeper recognized in the middle, as having achieved the best honeys and thus wins the game. Youpi! Hooray! Bravo!
The great strength of Queenz is its ease of access. Short rules, limited possibilities, the kind of game that allows you to dive directly into the game without resifting through the bow for the rules. This type of game is perfect for casual players who sees it as a present challenge and a possibility to play without taking the lead. It is true that the parts are nice.
The game is in tune with the times. In other words, simple rules but with a relative depth and a reduced playing time (count less than 30 minutes when you start to know the game). Despite the number of restricted actions (two), the number of possibilities and play patterns are quite important. This allows replayability and satisfy the players who are keen on this type of game. The game also has a variant to "complicate" the game adding a new bonus flower. An accessory, but nice.
Another strong point, it is possible to play 2 to 4 players, and it works well in all configurations. Said like that everything seems to work like clockwork, and we are far from having hives "buzzy" ... and yet. Honey may not be as good as wanted.
My first concern, that's why I’ll start with it, because in reality this is not one for many players, because of the theme. Or rather, it’s absence. It should not be hidden, and it appears very quickly, Queenz is actually a disguised abstract game. The idea of the hive, the honey, the bees, the flowers ... all that is superficial. You could definitely replace all that with something else and it would work just as well.
Let's move on to less forgivable things: the overall quality of the material. Unfortunately, the game is far from irreproachable. One oscillates between hot and cold during the depunching. While the flower tokens are correct, the field tiles and the trays (individual or central) are very thin and a lot of tiles of land do not fit together properly. It's nerdy when we want to make a nice display on the table. The size of the score pieces is also disturbing. These are slightly larger than the boxes of the dots. Which is ultimately quite impractical especially if you play four. Frankly, we remain in the field of non-crippling and that does not prevent us from having fun, but this lack of finish is regrettable. To be forgiven (?), You have Queenz token in quantity. There, I confess I have not yet understood their usefulness.
In terms of gameplay, the game actually offers a lot of possibilities. But finally these possibilities can be summed up in two main axes of scoring : to leave the fastest on the diversity and the bees (thus seeking to accelerate the game) or to realize larger areas of the same color. After several games, we found ourselves limited in these two ways of scoring points. For the general public, this feeling will certainly not appear, but for most players, you will see there a possible limit to playfulness. A limit that necessarily negatively affects the replayability and willingness to return to it.
Finally, focusing on the illustrations, we are starved on this front too. Normally, I really like the work of Vincent Dutrait. In addition to being one of the most prolific board game illustrators, he is above all a person with great talent and in many ways. On the other hand here, outside the box, I had a sense of "minimum union" for the rest of the material. It's colorful, it's not devoid of interest, it's visible (even if the flowers are very similar) but, at the same time, it's relatively "cold". Finally, one could even say that it is abstract as are the mechanisms. A sensation difficult to explain but, visually, the game will not remain in the annals. However, I am fully aware that art is purely subjective and I do not doubt that others will find this game superb.
Very inspired games like Patchwork or the series of Cottage Garden, Queenz finally fails to offer enough originality to win. The proposed mechanisms are known and without real risk taking, even if effective for those who love this style of play, it remains a simple game to access with pleasant mechanisms, and for optimization accessible. It will easily find a place in the family toy libraries. Far from being demanding, it will offer you a certain challenge and will entertain you, but for a short period.
Technical note 7/10
Some technical errors that unfortunately ruin the experience. The game is simple, the rule more or less well written. Once understood, no reread needed. It's colorful, visually clean but maybe the whole lacks a bit of soul.
My score BGG 6/10
(An ok game, to play from time to time if it is proposed to me)
A game that unfortunately offers nothing original, but based on proven and recognized mechanisms. A game in the format intended for the family audience or higher. In this context, the game works pretty well, to discover the optimization. Before moving on to something more solid ...
Combined score of 6.5 / 10
And now, it's up to you to play ...
Some technical errors that unfortunately ruin the experience. The game is simple, the rule more or less well written. Once understood, no reread needed. It's colorful, visually clean but maybe the whole lacks a bit of soul.
My score BGG 6/10
(An ok game, to play from time to time if it is proposed to me)
A game that unfortunately offers nothing original, but based on proven and recognized mechanisms. A game in the format intended for the family audience or higher. In this context, the game works pretty well, to discover the optimization. Before moving on to something more solid ...
Combined score of 6.5 / 10
And now, it's up to you to play ...
Freshwater Fly (2019) review
 | Author : Brian Suhre Illustrator: Darryl T. Jones Publisher: Bellwether Games 1-4 players 40-90 minutes Ages 14+ Language dependency: very little Written by Guilou  |
Bellwether Games is a publisher who gained recognition with the game Coldwater Crown. A game rather interesting and perfect about fishing. They are now back with a new Kickstarter, this time, Freshwater Fly. No surprise, it rests in the theme of fishing. While the first game was intended to plunge you into a world tournaments, the second offers a more intimate approach, more solitary. Indeed, in Freshwater Fly you go fly fishing in a slightly mountainous area, with friends. Just that, your whole program. Indeed, I like games that offer original themes. This one is one of those. However, I have to admit, not being a fisherman myself, I have not mastered the jargon specific to this passion.
Freshwater Fly is a game of Brian Suhre. All the visual was done by Darryl T. Jones. The game was available in small quantities at Essen 2019 and sometimes in a few shops. But the stock quickly melted. Hard to get your hands on now. The theme played a big part in the success of the title, especially in a current production that is struggling to renew itself. But what about the game itself?
Freshwater Fly invites you to play as a fisherman. Here, no religion. No, a real fisherman, with his rubber boots, his overalls, his gloves, his bucket hat... In short, all you need to not catch a death by cold from facing the currents. With your fishing rod, you and your friends decided to start a small competition. The subject of the competition: angling. The goal: to get the most points at the end of the game. Simple, basic. Fishing rod in hand, let's go.
Me, I dig my saplings, to go fishing, musette on the shoulder, sausage, cold beer. (french song "LA PÊCHE À LA LIGNE" - RENAUD) Settled in my little corner of paradise, I'm ready. First thing to do, choose my fly. There are six flies available, each corresponding to a color, which itself corresponds to the hatching tokens. It is important to study the game board in order to choose a color that corresponds to your target fish at the risk of telling the story of how the big fish got away. Each player, in the order of the turn, will prepare their rod carefully.
In Freshwater Fly, there is no lap count. You have the time, as this requires practice. Although ... the first to catch their seventh fish, will end the game. It remains a race. Monitoring the progress of others and catching up is a good idea. Just be contemplative and enjoy the water and clean air.
Each player has an individual board representing their abilities and reel. This is not a simple accessory that challenges but represents a real pretty ingenious and well inserted in the theme. The central board corresponds to the whole accessible end of the river and gives you a visual of the catchable fish. And essentially with which bait to catch them.
At each round, you will roll a number of dice based on the number of players. The dice are at the heart of the game. In turn order, you will choose one of the dice still available and perform a force action equal to its value. There are three main actions available: casting, reel or finesse +2.
First of all, you'll need a target, a whipping fish (no Igor, put that whip away!). For that, nothing more simple. The chosen die will show you a column on the board. In this column, you will be able to choose a position among those available (paying attention of the rocks). But for your prey to be attracted, you must have a fly of the same color as the hatching token at the bottom of the river. If this is the case, you must go to the second step: catching your fish.
For him to bite the hook, you will have to show skill ... not in fact, it's more luck but in a controlled way. There is a small deck consisting of four cards. Among them, is a card "fish caught". You mix this deck, and if you have a hook of the same color as a hatch, you draw one. If this famous card is drawn, bravo you can go to the next step. If you missed your fish, do not panic. Concentrate. Do you see your fineness level on your personal board? If you have any, you can spend one (you slip your token one step to the left) to take another card. Still missed? Decidedly, this fish is tough. You can even do it again, if you really lack luck (perseverance is a good virtue).
But what happens if you miss your fish? The current will move your line will drift one step to the left. If you were already in zone 1, too bad for you, you will have to retry your luck on your next action. In other cases, if your hook corresponds to a hatching token you can try again to hook a new fish. Take back the cards, shuffle them and ... this time you do not shoot one but two cards. Yes, it is like that. You want this fish! If, after this second chance, you have not succeeded, your action is lost.
In case your hook does not match the hatch token, it's a little less convenient. If this is your first run, your line drifts down a notch. You can only try your luck if your hook matches the hatch token. If it still does not fit, you still drift one step to the left. With each drift, you have the right to try your luck to catch the fish. But be careful, after the second drift or after the second attempt, your turn is over. Small bonus of a drift, it is not one but two cards that you will draw. Sometimes, going farther can be a good strategy.
Once your fish is hooked, you have it at the end of your cane. It took the fly, which may tend to annoy it. But expert as you are, it's not a problem. So you take the corresponding fish and position it on your personal board according to its color. Each color corresponds to a step in the capture. The more difficult a fish is to catch, the more points it makes. You also take the hatching token (which will serve at the end of the game) and of course you place a fish in the space of the one that your caught. If by chance you have caught it next to rocks, draw the first card from the pile. These are bonuses that will help you greatly during the game. Finally, the reel is positioned on its starting space.
Which brings us to the second possible action. Play the reel to tickle this stud. In short, bring the fish to the surface. Your reel has five spaces. Each corresponds to a specific action:
- Breaking the fish by decreasing its strength to 0 (put the correct token on it)
- Win an available bonus tile, if you already have one, your flip it on it’s back
- Gain a fineness (one step on the right)
- Depending on the resistance color of the fish, you will move one space back or forward. If it is green: you advance one space; if it is yellow you retreat.
- The starting space makes it possible to bring the fish closer to the surface. When you stop or go past this, you do not collect € 200 but you lower the resistance of your fish one step to the left. If it was already on the green box, bravo you captured it.
To use your reel, you will have to select a remaining die. You decrease the value of the die by the resistance strength of the fish and you advance your reel by that many spaces. Once this is done, you can use the power indicated on the space.
There remains a third and last action available, focus. You can take any dice and regardless of its value, to move your fineness slider two notches to the right. This is the best way to ensure future success or desired power.
There are also bonus actions that depend on your rock cards (permanent but once per turn), your speed tile (one-shot) or your situation on your ability (lower your fineness by one step to the left). These actions can be done in addition to the main action.
The end of a round occurs when there are no more dice available. To determine the first player, you’ll calculate the value of each die you used, the smallest total is prime. Being first can be important. This is also one of the ways the author tries to convince you not to just take the big numbers.
The end of the game comes at the end of a round where a player fishes their seventh fish. You’ll then count the points. Starting with the fish, then public goals and after private goals. Finally, the points from rock cards are added and the one that has the most wins.
Contrary to what it seems, Freshwater Fly is not a complicated game. Everything seems quickly logical and the rounds are linked in a rather important fluidity. In front of the small choice of available actions, the wait between turns is quite limited.
Thematically, the game is really exemplary. Everything breathes the theme. That it is the material but also the mechanisms. Special mention to the idea of the reel. We found ourselves with the impression of raising fish at the end of our lines. A little cricket singing in the background, relaxing music with water streaming and you're there.
The rules are in the majority quite clear and the components is relatively correct (some problems may be on some material). You’ll quickly identifies your objectives and the fish that you wishes to catch. Moreover, the idea of having personal boards with asymmetrical objectives is excellent. Everything is well indicated and it is not necessary to go back in the rule book.
The duration of a game is not very long. I must admit that it is sufficient. Longer, the game could have become quite boring. Because yes, it is not free of defects.
Already, the game seems pretty scripted. This feeling finally agrees well enough with the theme, but we quickly feel forced. One of the things you need to do first is hook a fish. When you do not have fish, the rest is impossible. Then, once you have one at the end of your line, you will have to go back up, so you will do almost this action. And so on. Finally, you take a dice, you take a fish, you spin your reel. However, this repetitiveness of actions and especially choices fits perfectly into the theme. How else would you have wanted it? To have wanted to stick too close to the theme, the author may have forgotten that this is a board game and that playfully non-fishermen could quickly get bored.
Luck is present. But it is relatively discreet and most of the time controllable. Once again, you could have liked unforeseen events (fish snaps the line, the wind reverses the current, etc.) which would have broken a little this playful monotony. The dice, in turn, play a role that is ultimately rather minor. The game will sometimes be a race to the one who will be able to take the strongest dice first (hence the interest of being the first player). Collect dice of small values quickly finds its limits.
The replayability of the game is theoretically good. However, it can quickly become a problem if your resistance to do more or less the same is low.
The game offers a solo mode that has the merit of existing and remains interesting. Not convinced by cons, once realized, we return with great pleasure.
I was really attracted to the theme that was off the beaten track. I would have loved to love this game. It is pleasant but unfortunately far from what had sold me, at least in my imagination. Maybe I was expecting too much? Far from being a bad game, it is not unforgettable either. If it had not had its original theme, would it have been so successful? Nothing is less sure.
Freshwater Fly is a pleasant game with a refreshing theme and incredible thematic respect. But even if it has interesting mechanisms, the game suffers quickly from gaps. Shortcomings that will be quickly forgotten if you are fans of fishes, or that will be important if you search more than a theme. This points race could finally be compared to a long calm river. A known place, relaxing but not surprising.
Technical score 8/10
Many good things in this game. The graphics, the material (even if some things are disproportionate or just below the rest), the rules, everything is clear, clear and thematically respected. The reel is a small gadget that has its charm. We hoped for a finish on some elements, for a little less generic look.
My BGG score 7/10
(Good likes from time to time play)
The strength of the game is its theme, rather its thematic respect. On it, the work of the author is remarkable. However, when you touch such a special passion, you have to know how to balance. Focusing on it alone can quickly knock out those who do not have this fiber. Paradoxically therefore, the game suffers from the thematic omnipresence that prevents it from coming out of the currents. A current sometimes too linear.
Combined score 7.5 / 10
And now, it's up to you to play ...
Many good things in this game. The graphics, the material (even if some things are disproportionate or just below the rest), the rules, everything is clear, clear and thematically respected. The reel is a small gadget that has its charm. We hoped for a finish on some elements, for a little less generic look.
My BGG score 7/10
(Good likes from time to time play)
The strength of the game is its theme, rather its thematic respect. On it, the work of the author is remarkable. However, when you touch such a special passion, you have to know how to balance. Focusing on it alone can quickly knock out those who do not have this fiber. Paradoxically therefore, the game suffers from the thematic omnipresence that prevents it from coming out of the currents. A current sometimes too linear.
Combined score 7.5 / 10
And now, it's up to you to play ...
Red outpost (2019) first impressions
| Designer : Raman Hryhoryk Artist : Irina Pechenkina, Maxim Suleimanov Publisher : Lifestyle Boardgames, Imperial Publishing | 2-4 players 30-60munites age 10+ laungage dependent : No Written by Barry |
(Remember, this is a first impression and not a final review. The game was played on a well rendered prototype, of an upcoming Kickstarter game. These words and thoughts are of a one-time play play with a 3 player count.)
If you're looking for a game with a unique theme and gameplay, here is a game that should pique your interest. Theme wise, Red Outpost is about the Russians winning the Space Race. And instead of going to the moon, they crash on another planet and start inhabiting it. Mechanics wise, this is a worker displacement, resource gathering and and Influence scoring game. Where are all the workers and resources are shared between all players. But this is no “co-op game” by any shape or means. Players are going to be scrambling to manipulate these workers for their own benefits and mainly trying to hold the others back from doing the same. Each, trying to keep their head about the water, at the same, submerging the heads of others.
If you're looking for a game with a unique theme and gameplay, here is a game that should pique your interest. Theme wise, Red Outpost is about the Russians winning the Space Race. And instead of going to the moon, they crash on another planet and start inhabiting it. Mechanics wise, this is a worker displacement, resource gathering and and Influence scoring game. Where are all the workers and resources are shared between all players. But this is no “co-op game” by any shape or means. Players are going to be scrambling to manipulate these workers for their own benefits and mainly trying to hold the others back from doing the same. Each, trying to keep their head about the water, at the same, submerging the heads of others.
The ruleset for the game is very simple. You’ll move an unused worker to a unique empty location, place one of your influence tokens on that workers image, possibly change the mood of that worker, before taking the action as indicated on the location. As simple as that. Although so your first game, you may occasionally forget to place out your influence token. This can sometimes screw up the game. Or at least your score, if you forget to do so. But that's an easy player error to make in your first game. Quickly forgotten in this very rapid, slick, elegant game. To help the game run smoother, it has its own simple to read, iconography at each location. This, players will pick up very quickly and make your gaming experience run very smoothly. But with all that being said, this game is easy to pick up and play (with a possible error...lol) but is no easy game to master.
The game is played over 2 rounds, which represents 2 days. Each day is broken down into 5 phases. Morning, first half of the day, lunch, second half of the day and evening. All of the six unique workers will start their day in the barracks, sleeping. Waking up from they're wonderful dreams and preparing for that hard but yet satisfying day of work. In the morning, lunch and evening phase, each player will be able to move a worker to a new unoccupied location. Whereas as in the first and second half of the day, players will activate all available workers until they have all been utilised. This may mean at certain player accounts, some players will activate two workers while others only one in this phase. Here there are some little thematic ideas that play into each of these times of the day. For example, any workers that are not moved in the morning phase will sleep in and instantly be satisfied, augmenting their mood level. That's true in the real world, yes? The kitchen space is only open at lunchtime, but you're not obliged to send a worker out there to elevate their mood. Again in the evening, the barracks is the only place that you can send a worker. And not all workers will go there, but any that do will have their mood increased.
To add a bit of variety to this, the game comes with 3 morning and evening tokens. These can be placed out randomly or in set locations, rendering them closed for that part of the day. Reducing the amount of locations during two phases of a round. This is not as restrictive as it sounds, although it will make a few players feel claustrophobic, as they become first play and have free reign of the board. But that one action they want to do is not available! But it will add a little more to your thought process from game to game. Plus with the restriction of only one worker being able to move to an unoccupied location, will consume a little bit of your grey matter.
Let's talk a little bit about these locations and what they do. Most of the locations will gather resources, like wheat from the fields or coal from the coal mine. A few of them will allow you to draw cards to see whether you collect resources, like whether you catch a fish from the lake. All resources are pooled together the storehouse. For each resource your worker collects, you will move your token on the production wheel. Once it passes a certain space, you're received two points and a crystal, which is its own unique resource. More about these crystals later. If at the end of your turn, you have added a third resource of the same type already stored there, you’ll score some additional points. This is an action that can be stolen from you by other players, so don’t try to think too far ahead. Two of these resources are removed while the other is placed on a resource score track. At first, this track will only give you one point. Over time, as more players contribute to this resource gathering, that score we'll go up to a level before caping itself to a solitary point. Making resource gathering important but at the same time only at certain stages in the game. As the game goes on, players may be forced to collect resources and add them to the pool, which in turn may lead to another player scoring off of that action.
Other locations may require the aforementioned crystals. Going to the beer house will allow you to spend a crystal that will allow you to manipulate the mood tracks of 2 of the workers. While going into the palace will allow you to drop off a crystal to contribute towards the construction. Leading to another way to score. If at the end of the game you have contributed the most, there are some bonus points up for grabs. Going to the storehouse will allow you to use the resources to manipulate mood or collect crystals. Going to the administration will allow you to move other players influence around. This all sounds great and well, but most of these locations also have benefit or malediction depending on the worker that is sent there. Again this ties in with the theme of the game and can lead to some interesting decision making.
Let’s say you send the minor to go mine at the mine (that's a lot of mines). This will benefit you with 2 coal resources and no penalty. As the minor is used to working in the mine and will not be upset with the working conditions. Send any other worker to the mine, and as they are not at proficient as the minor, they only collect one coal. And as they are not accustomed to working in the mind, and their mood will decrease by 2 to. Making them a very sad bunny. And that's how most of the locations work. They will give you something but they also may change the mood of the worker that you have used to do that task. Each space thematically ties in with the worker. Another example is the commissar, who will lose morale if they visit the beer house (dull chap) but will gain morale every time another worker goes to the palace to contribute to the construction.
So I have done a lot of talking about morale, moods and influence. These are all important at the end of each day, as they will also add points to your game. Or lose them! Once the workers have gone to bed, your tally each of your your influence markers that you have used on each of the workers. If you have the most or are joined for the most influence on one of these meeple, you will gain or lose points depending on their mood. This adds an entire heavier level of planning in regards to just sending “so and so” over there to do this or that. It also prevents a player from using the same I'm working over and over again, due to too many of the locations making them sad rather than happy. Added to that is the restriction of only six different workers, which will force players to play dirty. Maybe leaving behind the last worker for you to influence, knowing they are on negative points. Just like real life, if we are all contributing to make this world better, but stabbing each other behind their backs.
This influence and mood scoring track is probably the hardest ball to juggle in the game. Sometimes it feels just like luck that you have been left with a certain meeple to manipulate or a certain location due to others being occupied. But that's part of the give-and-take of the game. Using a character and figuring out how to get a special bonus in a special location but also penalizing yourself we'll have you head scratching for awhile as you search to see if it is beneficial in the long run. But this can be overthrown by another who is quicker or wiser enough to manipulate the workers moods.
This influence and mood scoring track is probably the hardest ball to juggle in the game. Sometimes it feels just like luck that you have been left with a certain meeple to manipulate or a certain location due to others being occupied. But that's part of the give-and-take of the game. Using a character and figuring out how to get a special bonus in a special location but also penalizing yourself we'll have you head scratching for awhile as you search to see if it is beneficial in the long run. But this can be overthrown by another who is quicker or wiser enough to manipulate the workers moods.
Is this all sounds too simple for you, then don't fret. There are also some special cards that you can add to your game that will make your decisions a bucket load more interesting. At the beginning of the game you can be dealt two cards. One location and one worker. Each has its own extra benefit when you either visit that location or use that worker. This variant of the game that we played with, did make the decision making process of your action a hell of a lot more interesting. Adding an additional level of though as you want to use that power, but it may hamper other benefactory ideas further along. Also these cards are open knowledge to all the other players, they may deliberately occupy that worker or location, just say you can't benefit from your special powers. I would definitely recommend playing with this variant if you have a group of experienced gamers.
So this game has a lot of interesting and thematic ideas in tangled inside it's small framework. And left me with the sensation of playing a kind of Mediaeval Academy meets Outlive hybrid. Even though the artwork and theme were reminiscent of Scythe. And a game does seem to be a cold logical puzzle, where you are having to adapt to what is available and whatever the other players are doing. Saying that, one detractor from the game is the luck factor.
There are two small decks of cards located next to the lake and the spaceship. Going to these locations is a bit of pot luck, as some of the cards don't contain resources, but a whopping big red “X”. Meaning there is nothing there and you have practically wasted an action. This can definitely sting you. And players adapted to this by not going to the spaceship or they use the fisherman and only the fishermen to go fishing at the lake. This guaranteed a resource. And then there's the nasty action which a player can take. Sending the bureaucrat to the administration office. Or spending crystals to create mood swings,not only to the workers, but also the players. This then just blatantly let's them move one of your disks of influence from a worker that will probably get you lots of points to another that's going to give you negative points. This can sometimes feel like a real kick in the nuts action to take. Even if it costs a crystal. Points win the games, while crystals can also contribute.
Apart from that, this is a real solid and interesting euro game. It seems well balanced in how you get points. Either from scoring from resource collecting and crystal depositing. To the influence and mood scoring. Though some players may have trouble trying to manage this second part of scoring or losing points, as it is player dependent. Plus it's a mechanism that is not frequently used, worker displacement and influence. Have to play with the leftovers of other players feels refreshing and also a little confusing. Possibly not everyone's cup of tea.
Even for a prototype, the components are very well realised for a euro style game. The rule book was very easy to digest, with a few added corrections and clarifications, it is near perfect. And the footprint of the box itself will not eat up a lot of shelf space. But saying all that, some of that is subject to change depending on the Kickstarter. There may be other components that add to the size of the book. Other rules that will add to the replayability or upgrades. These we will see in time. But if you're looking for a different type of solid and fluid euro, that has you thinking in a different fashion, as well as being fantastic themed, this is one you should be clicking on.
Papering Duel (2018) review
 | Designers : Martin Nedergaard Andersen Artist : Agsty Im Publisher : Mandoo Games 2 player 10 - 25 minutes Ages 7 + Language dependent : no Written by Guilou  |
Released in 2008 was a small game called Papering Duel from Mandoo Games. You do not know this publisher? Who are they... Well, they are a Korean publishing house best known in Asia. But back here, especially through its presence in Essen, we are able to talk about them little by little. Most of their productions have themes, components or quite original mechanics. Papering Duel is no exception to the rule.
This is a game from Martin Nedergaard Andersen (I already told you about him and his Hippo game). What acts as illustrations is due to Agsty Im. Papering Duel is an abstract sheet placement game for two players (yes, there is the word duel in it).
This is a game from Martin Nedergaard Andersen (I already told you about him and his Hippo game). What acts as illustrations is due to Agsty Im. Papering Duel is an abstract sheet placement game for two players (yes, there is the word duel in it).
The first thing that catches the eye is the components. Everything fits in a box of rather moderate size. You play from outside the box to inside this box. What acts as the game board is a cardboard sheet, that is thermoformed ideally. Each player will then have a deck of cards. But these are not normal cards. It is rather small sheets of transparent plastic. These sheets are divided into four squares of identical sizes. On these squares, there will be two full boxes and two empty ones. Some boxes will have symbols (dots, a square or a kind of star) and others will have colors (yellow, red or purple). Each symbol is accompanied by a color and vice versa. Do you follow?
The basic principle is that each player has a unique deck. A player will have a deck with filled boxes diagonally place while the other players has adjacent ones. The central plateau represents a grid of nine squares. Players will alternately place their cards on this main grid to perform tricks to win the game.
In turn, a player has the right to play one to three cards from their hand. The goal is to make combinations of three patterns either by the same symbol or the same color. If they do both, it validates two goals. Not bad, huh! Once the cards are played, you’ll check that the player has completed at least one of the objectives and that their opponent no longer has one. To help find your way around, there is a small cardboard tray next to the game. On this board, players announce current goals filled with small chips (black or white). This silly pest is quickly very practical but requires a little manipulation.
Players will superimpose their cards as the game progresses. This mechanism is visually quite attractive and is reminiscent of other games like Gloom or Edge Of Darkness (to name a few). But very quickly, everything can become a bit confusing, especially if an area has not been covered for a few turns.
But what is the purpose of this pile of cards on top of each other? The most noble way to win is to achieve three combinations in a turn. Immediate victory. Nothing to say again. That's class and something you can brag about it. But there are other ways to lose. You can also win if your opponent can not remove your current combinations during their turn or if they can not make a combination. And that's as simple as that.
Indeed Papering Duel is not a complicated game. There is also a variant with a few more cards for each player. These cards have gray boxes. These new colors allow you to add a new way to lose or trap your opponent. Indeed, if one of the players does not manage to cover a gray box of their opponent, they win.
But what is the purpose of this pile of cards on top of each other? The most noble way to win is to achieve three combinations in a turn. Immediate victory. Nothing to say again. That's class and something you can brag about it. But there are other ways to lose. You can also win if your opponent can not remove your current combinations during their turn or if they can not make a combination. And that's as simple as that.
Indeed Papering Duel is not a complicated game. There is also a variant with a few more cards for each player. These cards have gray boxes. These new colors allow you to add a new way to lose or trap your opponent. Indeed, if one of the players does not manage to cover a gray box of their opponent, they win.
Papering Duel is a little abstract puzzle game that works on the principle of associations of colors or shapes. A bit like Connect 4, but more thoughtful (not necessarily more complicated). Concretely, we’ll say it like this: “I play my cards... You play on top of mine... You pay attention and you're lucky... You do not pay attention *Bang* I have you trapped!” The games play quickly enough and everything can easily be transported and played everywhere. The game offers a cerebral challenge that can satisfy fans of the genre. On the other hand, do not look for a possible theme or to live a story. You’ll be facing a pure abstract game.
The challenge side is quite interesting and the initial postulate can give the impression of a very calculating game. But very quickly, one realizes that there are some elements which come to invalidate this sensation.
Already, luck is important. The cards are mixed and drawn in a completely random way. For an abstract game based on the anticipation of plays on several turns, this can be problematic. And at the same time, it allows a family audience to find their feet and play it without thinking too much.
Indeed, some might argue that for random drawing, but players have a hand of three cards. Except that the fact of being able to play all three in the same turn, lessened the strategy side of the game and favors the chance of the good hand. Again, this allows a family audience to have fun but can disappoint the player in search of cerebral challenge.
The game runs smoothly. After playing it several times, I think it's hard to define it’s real target audience. A bit too risky for fans of abstract games, too abstract for players in search of stories, too punitive for a truly family audience ... All that rests are the players who like to rack their heads but not too much, those who love games not too long but with a present challenge, the fans of the games with a beautiful components. As such, Papering Duel can satisfy their curiosity and their desires.
Far from being a bad game, it remains pleasant to play. However, we can ask the question about the long-term life. However, the part time coupled with a relatively short installation time allows to play quickly without taking the lead. Especially since the interaction is ubiquitous. No time to watch flies fly. You will have to pay attention to what the other person is doing at the risk of losing in style. Far from being frustrating, the game is relatively simple to access while having a certain depth. And finally, is this not the most important? Take pleasure in playing and work that little brain while having fun ... A game that will, without hesitation, find its place in some toy libraries without imposing itself as inevitable. But after all, was it its goal?
Far from being a bad game, it remains pleasant to play. However, we can ask the question about the long-term life. However, the part time coupled with a relatively short installation time allows to play quickly without taking the lead. Especially since the interaction is ubiquitous. No time to watch flies fly. You will have to pay attention to what the other person is doing at the risk of losing in style. Far from being frustrating, the game is relatively simple to access while having a certain depth. And finally, is this not the most important? Take pleasure in playing and work that little brain while having fun ... A game that will, without hesitation, find its place in some toy libraries without imposing itself as inevitable. But after all, was it its goal?
Technical note 8/10
The component quality is good. Thermoforming is well considered for both storage and playability. The cards are nice and the overlay side works well. Everything happens inside the box. There is an hourglass present in the box but no explanation of its use (Cooking eggs? Playing in Blitz mode? Time storage?). The rules are well written and you do not have to go back.
My score BGG 5/10
(Average game, will not please everyone)
I’m still a little hungry after this game. Not unpleasant to play, it will not leave you an unforgettable memory either. There is a part of this game that will satisfy you, while you play, but will not have this little taste to come back. Too random for the big abstract players, a tiny bit punitive for casual players, it has however pleasant material and ease of access.
Combined score of 6.5 / 10
And now it's up to you to play ...
The component quality is good. Thermoforming is well considered for both storage and playability. The cards are nice and the overlay side works well. Everything happens inside the box. There is an hourglass present in the box but no explanation of its use (Cooking eggs? Playing in Blitz mode? Time storage?). The rules are well written and you do not have to go back.
My score BGG 5/10
(Average game, will not please everyone)
I’m still a little hungry after this game. Not unpleasant to play, it will not leave you an unforgettable memory either. There is a part of this game that will satisfy you, while you play, but will not have this little taste to come back. Too random for the big abstract players, a tiny bit punitive for casual players, it has however pleasant material and ease of access.
Combined score of 6.5 / 10
And now it's up to you to play ...
The Girl and the Robot: The Card Game
(2019) first impression
|
Designer :
Salim Larochelle Artist : Ayaka Nakamura Published: Flying Carpets Games 2 - 4 player 30-60 minutes Ages 10+ language dependant : a little Written by Guilou 
|
The game The Girl and the Robot is currently in the prototype state (although very close to the final version), I offer here a first impression and not a finished review. This seems to me an honest way for you and the publisher.
It all started in 2013 with a successfulKickstarter campaign for the video game The Girl and The Robot. It took three years of development to see the light of day on PC and consoles. A video game based on the puzzle / exploration game that immerses you in a universe that recalls some tales.
The Girl and The Robot follows the adventures of a little girl released from prison by an old man. She then tries to escape and in the process, bind a medallion to a Robot, who will become her bodyguard. This is the beginning of the video game. Of course, in the card game, you learn more about the story.
The little girl is actually the princess of the kingdom (of an unknown name) and the daughter of the king. The king was a good person and concerned about his subjects. Along with his wife, he allowed his people to flourish and be happy. Unfortunately, one day, a strange illness seized the queen. This queens health would deteriorate little by little. Desperate, the king finally accepted a pact with a demonic presence to save the soul of the queen. Once the pact was sealed, the kingdom fell into a strange silence. Several years later, a rumor spread that the kingdom fell into the hands of a demonic queen and an army of robots. In this kingdom, living out of sight, locked in a prison, the princess grows up. One day, the doors that were closed, open. The little girl then undertakes an adventure in order to escape from this cursed kingdom. But the demonic queen does not want her to escape. She will then do everything to recover the little girl (the why is not explained). During her escape, she will make friends with a robot who, strangely, does not obey the Queen's orders. Both will then oppose demonic hordes to regain their freedoms.
As you can see, the universe is not necessarily original and takes a lot of things in what is known. This does not prevent you from enjoying it and it has the merit of existing. Especially that it must be admitted, the presence of the theme is not necessarily the highlight of the game (I'll come back to that).
At the time of writing, the game is currently being running on Kickstarter. It has just reached his funding. A French version is potentially under way too. The volume in terms of text is quite limited. The Girl and the Robot is a little card game drawn from the video game. The game created by Salim Larochelle and illustrated by Ayaka Nakamura, is published by Flying Carpets Games.
Depending on the number of players, the game play is slightly different. The two-player mode is a face-to-face clash. At four, it can play in a team of two, head to head. There is also the possibility of playing three, with two against one.
The game system is quite simple. Each player starts by choosing a character. For the two-player mode, the demonic queen will be opposed to the little girl. With three players, this will be the girl with the robot facing the queen. Four players, the girl and her sidekick will be opposed to the queen and a robot of her army. Each player then receives a basic sword card. Everyone starts with a weapon. You then receives a hand of cards and go.
Cards are divided into three categories: actions, objects and abilities. There is a fourth kind of card, the demons, which are not going to be directly used by the players but which will correspond to the permanent threat of the end of the game and the game over. When your turn comes, you can play as many cards as you want.
Actions are, “one shots” that once used join the discard pile. Actions allow you to anticipate threats, better prepare, avoid drawing cards, recover used cards, go after your opponent directly, help your teammate (in team mode).
The objects will be positioned (face up or not) in front of you. They will serve you to defend against the demons. The objects remain in front of you until they are used, unless another player steals them. These cards are among the most important. Having several guarantees you a lot of advantages against your opponents.
Each character has their own abilities. To activate these abilities, players must use the enabled cards. These cards correspond to numbers: from 1 to 3. Each capacity requires a different cost that must be paid by discarding the correct number (whether in one or more cards). A used capacity at the right time can save your life. It is also true that some are more interesting than others. Unused bonus points are lost at the end of a turn.
In turn, you can play any number of cards and in any combination. Collecting new cards is not a simple thing and can be double-edged. So be careful not to reveal too much at once. At the end of a turn, the active player draws the first card from the deck. If it is not a demon, they keep the card and play continues with the next player. If it's a demon, then there are two possibilities. If the player has a weapon in front of them, they sacrifice it to repel the demon. The demon card is then put back into the deck, face-up at any position desired by the victim player. If they have no weapons, they are then possessed and the game ends. The player or team that falls victim of the demon, loses the game.
A reading rules, I will not hide that I thought that this was a duplicate of Exploding Kittens. Everything is there or almost. The use of the Russian roulette system, the “take that”, the cards that can protect you ... But are they the same game?
With two players, the two games are relatively close and the sensations are very similar. The durations of games are very variable. It can be played in less than 10 minutes, but it can last around 30 minutes. This time is explained by the speed or not the appearance of demons, the presence of weapons. Because yes, the luck of the draw plays a key role in the game. The strategic side is often put forward. However, with two players, it is the luck factor that occupies an omnipresent place. Basically, if you have the right cards you win. But it's quite inherent to games that use the Russian roulette system. It can easily appear to have a sense of injustice in the face of repeated bad luck. One can also end up just drawing, without playing anything and waiting for the announced death of the other. Even if it is playable at two, this mode is clearly not what gives the charm of the game
The four-player mode is the more interesting version of the game. Players do not play in their corner, but must consult, act together and help each other against the opposing team. The tension is not the same. The possibilities are a little more important and fun is here. Notably because the game may have time to build up. Of course, this is the same game. The importance of luck is always there, but it is lessened by the distribution of the bad luck side. Being able to help each other allows for good combinations. Turns can last a little longer. As a team, the game has a different interest and can keep you indulge a little longer.
The theme is, for its part, is abundantly absent. You end up just playing your cards while trying to escape the card that will end the game for you. Besides, why would demons want the queen to lose? Has not she succumbed to their powers? Yes, I may be pushing the interpretation too far. But when you try to embed a game of this type with a theme that potentially holds the road (without being original), why not stick to it? Moreover if we push the thing even more. What is the relationship between demons and robots? Is it a metaphor that technology is evil? A priori, the video game does not answer these questions either (or no one has looked at them). In short, I’m go astray.
Graphically, the game has a real charm. The cards are clean. The illustrations, while being cartoonie, offer a very pretty pastel tone. The whole thing is trying to plunge you into this magical world and would get there if the gameplay followed. For her first work on a game, Ayaka Nakamura makes you want to follow her future visual productions. In terms of quality, cards are good quality and pleasant to handle. The rules are pretty well presented but not always very clear.
The big highlight of the game and on it, they did not lie to us, is the ease of learning. The game is explained in a very short time. The understanding of how to play is also very fast. From the first part, you know what to do and pray that you do not fall on demons while trying to take on others.
The girl and the Robot is a party game that does not revolutionize the genre. Fans of fast games, Russian roulette and team games can find themselves comfortable here. However, we are clearly in fast play. Quick to learn, quick to play, and unfortunately fast to forget. Replayability is more at the level of the players than at the level of the gameplay. It's a shame. Yet the game has a certain charm, a special atmosphere that could have been put forward. Its average price can be an asset to convince players to help the girl (without a name?) to repel the demonic forces.
If you are convinced by the potential of the game, you can already pre-order the game on Kickstarter (the French version seems to depend on the success of the campaign) or wait for its availability in store in the future.
If you are convinced by the potential of the game, you can already pre-order the game on Kickstarter (the French version seems to depend on the success of the campaign) or wait for its availability in store in the future.
RONE (2018) 1st impression
|
Designer : Štěpán Štefaník
Artist : Rastislav Kubovic Publisher : GREIFERISTO 2-4 players 30-45 minutes ages 14+ Language dependent : yes Written by Barry 
|
The post-apocalyptic, Magic the Gathering card game without the endless years of collecting. That's one way to describe this card game. As you are a hero who is picking through the remains of a destroyed planet, possibly Earth, collecting technologies and other warriors to fight for your cause.
Let me start by saying that the version of the game we played was of the second edition. So some of these comments might not apply to the future installments of the game. Again remember that these are first impression of a “One Time” play, of a two-player game. Therefore different configurations of players may change the overall feel of play
Let me start by saying that the version of the game we played was of the second edition. So some of these comments might not apply to the future installments of the game. Again remember that these are first impression of a “One Time” play, of a two-player game. Therefore different configurations of players may change the overall feel of play
The rules of the game are pretty straightforward, especially if you are familiar with dueling card games. Each player will have a deck of cards and they will be using these cards to attack their opponents. Simple as that. But there are some interesting mechanisms and differences between this game and others of its ilk.
One of those differences is the set-up. For the base game, you'll be randomly constructing your deck and randomly picking your hero. As this is not a collectible card game, we found a very large selection of cards of each type in the game. This randomness in constructing a 24 card deck fits the theme of you picking through the ruins of a destroyed City, finding technologies, and other fighters ready to fight for you. With about 250 cards to choose from, and what looks like only two copies of each card within the deck, everytime you distribute cards you will have a different setup. And therefore play your strategy on the fly, with each card you reveal. This leads to a lot of random gameplay and possibly put off players who have to adapt quickly to what they have. But the alternative is to either give your deck a good looking over before playing or to play the advanced rules and build your own deck.
After our first play, I can admit that I wasn't too enthralled by this prospect, although I see the possibility of multiple plays leading to a better understanding of the game. Again multiple plays would also lead to faster smoother gameplay, less pausing and rule book reading. But my feelings were also tainted by the poor luck that I had. First impression, remember! In the game, your deck is your life points. Burning through your deck is not an option as these cards will go into your graveyard and when you have no more cards to draw or in hand, it's game over for you. Every time you take damage from an opponent, a card from your hand or your deck will have to go into the graveyard. I had the disadvantage of chance when everytime I took damage I discarded a card from the deck. Which all happened to be Unit cards. And every time I drew a card into my hand, it happened to be a Tactics card. What's the difference?
A nice element about the game is, there are these two types of cards. Units will fight for you, while tactics are like one shot effects. Can you now understand my frustration? In hindsight, I should have kept the tactic cards instead of playing them to try and melt my opponent's life points. And then when damage was taken, I would discard these for my hand and instead of blindly drawing from the deck. Not only are there two types of card, each type of card comes in one of three levels. These are to correspond with the level of your hero character. Which again could be a problem for some players who don't level up their hero at the beginning of the game. There's nothing worse than drawing cards that you can use, due to a restriction.
So apart from my quibbles of randomness in the game, there are some interesting and exceptional ideas. Unit cards and the Hero have attacks or powers that, once used will have a cool down period. This is signified by the numbers on each side of the card. A simple colour system will remind you of the duration of the cooldown. Making tapping your card a simple affair, although it took a little while to remember in which direction the card should be turnt at the refresh phase at the beginning of your turn. For some reason we have a natural affinity to turn things clockwise. Where as in this game, it's anticlockwise.
Combat in the game is simple and logical. Some units have weapons that can shoot at a distance while others are hand-to-hand combat only. Leaving way for some interesting decisions that you will make while trying to take out your opponent. Two characters with the same attack is simply a case of the numbers and who has the most highest. Both doing damage to each other as well as exhausting themselves for a round. Where as, someone with a gun going up against a hand to hand expert has different consequences. The gun will always fire first, before the puncher I can punch. Realistic and interesting, as well as refreshingly simple.
When cards go to your graveyard, you have a choice of placing them either on the top or the bottom. This can be an important tactic because you can bring cards back from the dead, if they are on the top of the graveyard. Each card has its own recycle value, which means that you’ll eject that number of cards from your graveyard to bring the top card back into play on the battlefield. Plus there are other ways and power that will allow you to do this.
Now let's talk about the heroes. There are about 20 in this version of the game, each coming in three levels. Each will bring you a certain amount of water at the beginning of your turn. It is this water that is the currency of the game, allowing you to recruit and play cards into the Battlefield. Also this water will permit you to level up your Hero so they can activate more powerful cards from your deck. In fact, you may spend your first 3 to 5 turns doing so, while your opponent starts chiseling at your life points. Not only do they give you access to more powerful cards but also themselves, collect more water or even give the ability to draw a card into your hand each turn. All have the same regular power, of an additional water or card, but each also has their own unique power to discover. We also played with the optional rule all of technology cards. Again, these are dealt out at random. Of the five cards dealt to you, only three of them can be played into the game. These changed the balance of the game as they were introduced, once more leading you to adapt your gameplay to what you have in your hand. Plus giving each player a unique playing style.
The quality of the product is pretty high. The card quality is good, although there is no proper storage solution in the box. The tokens for marking damage or power-ups and power downs are chunky and easy to read. In fact the whole icon system is simplicity itself. The dark apocalyptic art is somewhat lost in the cards, but if you stare at them closely you can appreciate the wonderful details the artist has created. The rule book is nicely spaced out and easy to read. But could still do with some “easy to find” chapter markers and possibly being a bit more profound in its descriptions and definitions. We did run into some questions that we could not answer from the rule book or even the videos that we watched.
This is definitely a Board Game that Everybody Should probably get better at, with time and an understanding of some of the hundreds of cards. A great idea for those who just want to jump in a card battle, without having to collect or trade from blister packs. Plus very little down time to explain the rules. It's theme of scavenging the wastelands of a destroyed utopia is there at the beginning of the game but slowly dissipate into dust as you realise that this is primarily a two player Magic/Yu-Gi-Oh card game. But you can also play as 3 or go up to 4 players team matches, which is a bonus for this type of game.
As I said, these are the thoughts and feelings after one play of the second edition. The complete edition with expansions is currently running on Kickstarter. If this sounds like your type of thing, click on the link below to be zapped to an alternative universe.
Is he a Cool Mini or Not? Peter Shirey is here to talk about being CMON's Play Manager and Retailer Relations Coordinator. Or Not? ...
This is an interview show where I have taken the idea of the tv show “Quantum Leap”, and put our guest in the shoes of Sam Beckett. Time traveling into people's bodies, in our case people we know. And finding out one of two things. If our Sam will walk in that person's shoes, absorbing a character trait or admiring their life. Or if our Sam will change something in their life, for better or worse.
Who will he jump into? And what is coming from CMON in the future? Maybe some Zombicide 2nd edition? Watch and see...
This is an interview show where I have taken the idea of the tv show “Quantum Leap”, and put our guest in the shoes of Sam Beckett. Time traveling into people's bodies, in our case people we know. And finding out one of two things. If our Sam will walk in that person's shoes, absorbing a character trait or admiring their life. Or if our Sam will change something in their life, for better or worse.
Who will he jump into? And what is coming from CMON in the future? Maybe some Zombicide 2nd edition? Watch and see...
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
