Sidetrack - BGG Spring 2016

I just got back from Dallas (editor's note- a week ago, at the point at which I finally got to post), where I attended the second annual BGG Spring convention, formerly know as BGG FAM.  Last year, I was shocked at how small the convention was compared to BGG.CON in November, but still had a lot of fun.  This year was no different.  Still smaller than its fall counterpart, BGG Spring was bigger this year than last.  For most conventions, I volunteer for Stronghold Games.  Stephen is a good dude, and getting free games in exchange for demoing isn't bad either.  This time, however, I decided to take it easy and just focus on playing games.  I got 28 game plays over the two days I was there, and I thought I'd talk about them.

The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - 4 Plays

This probably doesn't come as a surprise, but I don't typically get a chance to play LOTR at cons.  I got to teach it to two of my friends, and these four games are me teaching them, and coming back for more!  We played two games each of Journey along the Anduin and Encounter at Amon Din.  I had built three decks for the event: A Leadership/Spirit deck with Aragorn/Arwen/Frodo, an Ent Deck with Treebeard/Merry/Pippin, and a Silvan deck with Celeborn/Legolas/Haldir.

Bear Valley - 2 Plays

This was one of the various games which I played and immediately bought.  New from Stronghold Games, Bear Valley is a press your luck "card game" from Carl Chudyk.  It's a card game, simply in the sense that it uses cards, but they could just as easily be tiles. In the game, you start on one end of a river, and you are trying to get to the other end before your other players.  That, and not get eaten by a bear in the process.  It's a pretty easy game to teach, especially since most features don't need to be explained until they show up on the table.  Very light, very simple, but a fun little game, none the less.

Codenames - 2 Plays

A classic late night game, since I first played it at Gen Con last year.  If you don't know Codenames, it's basically a team game, where one player on each team is giving clues to help the rest figure out their "codewords" while avoiding the other team's words, and the dreaded "assassin" word, which will end the game.  I imagine that I will be hard pressed to not play this game at cons, or other social settings for that matter.  Last Thanksgiving, this was in heavy rotation, even though the relatives are typically more of the "Five Crowns" crowd.

The Grizzled - 2 Plays

Another cooperative game that I love.  It is incredibly difficult, and while simple, takes a lot of team work to be successful.  I have only beat this game once,  these two plays weren't one of them.

Mafia de Cuba - 2 Plays

If you've played The Resistance, I recommend you try Mafia de Cuba.  Similar in the aspect of hidden roles, but different in that you get to choose your role.  One player is the Godfather, and he passes around his cigar box, which is the actual box for the game.  In the box are the boss' diamonds, as well as role chips, such as drivers, loyal hechmen, and federal agents.  The Godfather has to find all of his missing diamonds, while not making too many wrong accusations or revealing one of the feds,

Simon's Cat: The Card Game - 2 Plays

I have a friend who works for Steve Jackson Games.  When I first met up with him at the con, he was demoing this game.  A very simple game based on a YouTube series, which I have never seen, but basically you are playing cards to get other to take tricks.  Whoever takes the most tricks gets a "blame card", and whoever is first to get three blame cards loses.  

World's Fair 1893 - 2 Plays

I really dug this game.  My first game was a demo, then I checked it out from the BGG library and taught it to some friends.  Each section has cards next to it, and on your turn, you place a cube next to a section, take the cards from said section, refill and pass turn.  Whoever has the most cubes in a given section gets to submit invention ideas for points, most points wins.

Animals on Board - 1 Play

My second "demo then immediately buy" game, Animal on Board has the players filling the role off the Ark owners who were left out of the bible.  The basic mechanic is splitting lots, which seems basic, but has significant strategic potential.  You have room in your Ark for 10 animals, and the more of a single type, the more points you get.  Watch out for only having a pair of animals, though, because Noah will grab them.  I guess history is written by winners.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Boardgame - 1 Play

Another upcaming game from Steve Jackson Games that my friend showed me.  This one is a programmed movement game.  You move your phone booth around based on the directions on cards played, trying to pick up historical figures.  The trick is, though, that as you pick up historical figures, they add their own required movements that you have to take into consideration.  Pretty neat, and it's something I may have to pick up when it comes out.

Blood Rage - 1 Play

Colosseum - 1 Play

This is up there as far as favorite board games.  I own the original Days of Wonders edition, and while I don't plan to get the Tasty Minstrel edition, I am excited it's going back in print.  There are so many interesting aspects to this game that make me love it.  It really rewards learning the game, as you need to plan from the start what you want to do on your last turn.  In addition, I love that your score through the game is a strategic element as well.  

The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game - 1 Play

First off, I know nothing about The Dresden Files books or TV series.  I say that, because I really enjoyed playing this game, and it had nothing to do with the source material.  Very different than other cooperative card games, you see all of your threats from the start and unless you can get some card draw, you're stuck with your opening hand.  I have reached out to the publishers, Evil Hat Productions, and I hope to dig into this game further.

Master Thieves - 1 Play

This is a must play if you go to BGG.  Master Thieves is all about spacial memory.  You have a pile of diamonds that you are trying to launder through this very impressive box.  You've got to experience it to fully appreciate it.

Of Dungeons Deep! (Second Edition) - 1 Play

This game was originally a Kickstarter project by Jason Glover.  I discovered it while browsing the vendor area.  One of the vendors, Bob's Weekend Wonders, a non-brick and mortar FLGS, had their own lending library for people to check out.  In addition, checking games out entered you into a drawing for the game at the end of the con.  I played this with a random guy, who ended being the dude who made Captain N: The Game Master (for those who remember that cartoon).  It was an interesting dungeon crawling card game.  It reminded me of Cutthroat Caverns, where you work with the other players to kill the monsters, but you only get rewards if you do the most damage, but you can also set it up so your opponents get hurt by the monsters.  Not a bad game, especially considering I ended up winning it in the drawing!  Definitely worth the price.

Quadropolis - 1 Play

This is one I had come into the con wanting to play.  A game built around tile placement, but with a spacial element involved in the drafting of tiles.  It's interesting to have to balance which tile you want, plus having to make sure you have an "architect" that can grab that tile, plus having the space available to play said architect.  I really enjoyed it and expect to eventually pick this up.

Qwirkle Cubes - 1 Play

Qwirkle is one of those games which are easy to sit down and play.  Qwirkle Cubes is a version of the classic game, but with cubes (shocker!).  Each cube is a certain color, and the sides of the cube have the different shapes.  Each turn, you get to reroll the cubes to see if you can get the shape you need.

Taluva Deluxe - 1 Play

This was a Kickstarter I remember seeing last year.  I had never played the original, but the the pretty factor of the deluxe intrigued me.  A very interesting game where you are trying to layout tiles to make an island, meanwhile trying to put out your hut pieces.  Each type of piece you have has their own rules for placement, and if you ever can't place a piece, you're out of the game.  If you are able to place all of two types of pieces, you win the game.  I didn't win this, but it was really close.

Trajan - 1 Play

This was the last game I played at BGG Spring, and I'm still impressed I was able to teach, play, and win a Stefan Feld game after midnight.  For those unfamiliar, it has a mancala mechanic for choosing actions taken.  Like other Feld games, efficiency is 

Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game - 1 Play

Last, and unfortunately least, was this game.  Probably the biggest disappointment of the con.  I played the tutorial scenario, and had no desire to play any further.  The game play was really simplistic, but in such a way that I wasn't motivated to keep going.  Obviously, the scenarios past the tutorial are more complex, but unless someone really wanted to play with me, I'd pass.

Sidetrack - Sentinels of the Multiverse

Back in 2011, the same time that Fantasy Flight brought out Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, a small company named Greater than Games brought out their first game, Sentinels of the Multiverse.  The game follows exploits of various superhero teams (Freedom Four/Five, Prime Wardens, Dark Watch) as they fight the villains of their world and beyond.

If I explain this game to someone who already knows LOTR, I call it LOTR lite.  It's similar, but simpler at the same time, and this simplicity has its advantages as well as its own drawbacks.  Where as in LOTR, you have to build a deck before coming to play, in Sentinels, each hero has their own deck which is used each time that hero is chosen.  The only customization available is through the promo versions of certain heroes, which allows for different starting abilities, but otherwise they play exactly the same.  Instead of an encounter deck, the players choose which villain they will face, and a location.  These two choices will have their own respective decks.  The locations are especially interesting, as certain locations are more friendly to the players than others.  One of my personal favorites is Silver Gulch, where the heroes and villain have found themselves sent back in time to the Old West, in the middle of a shootout!  The combinations of different villains and locations allows for replayability, but because the players have limited hero customization, certain characters are significantly more powerful than other based on who and where is involved in the fight.
Sentinels of the Multiverse has enjoyed significant success, with five expansions out to date, another due later this year, a handful of mini-expansions, and a spin-off game in Sentinels Tactics, a scenario-based miniatures game.

If you're interested in checking out Sentinels, I highly recommend Sentinels of the Multiverse: The Video Game.  Developed by Handelabra Games, this implementation is loyal port of the card game onto your digital devices.  Currently, you can get the base game, a few of the mini-expansions, and the first expansion, Rook City.  Not only is it significantly cheaper than buying the physical version, the video game version takes care of a significant amount of the accounting required in the game.  In the card game, between passive effects, temporary effects, advanced rules, etc, it can be very difficult to catch all the effects that take place, even with all of the tokens included in the game.  The digital edition tracks all of that automatically, for a much smoother experience.

I'd be interested to see who has played this, and what your opinions are.  What's your favorite heroes?

Sidetrack - Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Last September, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor was released to much fanfare.  Instead of following the stories already told in Tolkien's Legendarium, Monolith Productions decided to make their own story.  The video game follows the story of Talion, a Gondor ranger assigned to guard the border between his home land and Mordor.  His garrison is attacked by Orcs, led by the Black Hand of Sauron.  The Black Númenórean sacrifices Talion and his family in an effort to summon a wraith, who ends up being (semi-spoiler) Celebrimbor, the Elven Lord who crafted the rings of power for Sauron.  Over the course of the game, Talion's power grows as Celebrimbor's power is revealed, and eventually he gains the power to dominate lesser minds (namely Orcs) to build an army up against the forces of Mordor.

This game does a good job of weaving old characters and new into the story without it feeling tacked on.  During parts of the game, you are following Gollum as he finds artifacts for the "Bright Master", and other times you are hunting with Torvin the dwarf, tracking down the mighty Graug.

I have enjoyed playing through this game, and hope that they continue the story.  Bringing it back to the living card game, inspired by Ian's (Tales from the Cards) work on the First Age, I have been developing custom player cards and quests to follow the adventure of Talion.  In a later post, I will share some of the cards I have made, but here's a sneak preview of what is to come:

Sidetrack - The Lord of the Rings Deck-Building Game

Welcome to the first Sidetrack entry.  These are meant to be opportunities for me to discuss things not related to The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.  For this first entry, I chose to stay close to the card game.  I'd like to talk about The Lord of the Rings Deck-Building Game.

Cryptozoic has put out a wide variety of deck-building games: Street Fighter, Naruto, DC Comics, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings.  All of these are essentially the same.  All are based on the Cerberus engine, which is a fancy word for "Theme Glue".  Regardless of the theme, you basically have a hand of cards, all of which are used to either gain power (the currency of the game), hurt your opponents, or do some shenanigans.  I first played the the DC version and was not a fan.  I did not understand why I was Nightwing, but was collecting different colored power rings, or how I spent punches to buy a kick.  With that said, I actually like the Lord of the Rings version.

Why?  Maybe it's bias towards LOTR, though I am a fan  of DC Comics.  Maybe it's a bias towards DC to the point that I can't get over the abstraction.  Regardless, I enjoy it, to the point of buying all three versions, sleeving it, and even buying a custom insert so I could hold them all in one box.

What do you think? Have you played any of Cryptozoic's games, and which is your favorite?

Keep Running!