Honestly why do they even build houses with cellars there. I mean, really.
4 Likes
On a non-Lovecraft note, got to a game day for the first time in a month yesterday and played Brass: Birmingham.
I do like Brass, though it makes my head hurt. This one did too (getting a few rules wrong helped with that), but after one play, I’d almost say I prefer this one to Lancashire.
Would like to play it again.
Ended the day with Cat Lady, which is a never-fail “I only have 45 minutes before I have to go” game.
(I am such a shill…)
I am only a couple of plays in but right now I rate Birmingham as my preferred incarnation of Brass. The addition of beer opens up the options rather than complicating the structure.
My two games played out differently and there was the ability, and necessity, to react to the actions of others. Recommended.
1 Like
Got in a couple games of John Company from Sierra Madre. Pretty heavy economic euro that is a hell of a lot of fun even when things are going very, very poorly for you. Very low VP totals mean you’re never completely out of it (our winner in game one had 4 points, game two only 11) and the game tells a wonderful story as the EiC’s wealth rises and then crumbles as the company falls apart.
Really enjoyed, as did my group. First game I’ve taught in a long time where they were all “let’s set it up right now and play it again”.
3 Likes
I love John Company. Some people just cannot grasp it, though. I would love to play An Infamous Traffic but getting a copy from Hollandpsiele would mean selling a kidney.
1 Like
I just got to play John company myself this last weekend and it left quite an impression. We played 6 players and up to 6 turns, and while the individual rules weren’t that difficult, it certainly was a challenge to see what the consequences of your actions would be. Now we’ve got a game under our belt I’d love to give it another go and really turn the screws on my opponents.
We made it to the end of the 6th turn despite having 5 bailouts, a director of trade that deliberately sent all the goods to the wrong port on the final turn, and so many reciprocal marriage ‘prizes’ that it all started to feel a bit incestuous. We ended up trading a lot of money between ourselves for favours, but now I’ve had some time to think I can see how clever the promise system is. It’s like the promissory notes in twilight imperium, but each promise is much easier to control and get back.
2 Likes
Played some Hive and Tak yesterday. And after that our first game of 7 Wonders Duel.
It certainly tastes for more.
I was kinda screwed on resources but tried to pull of a science victory. Almost. But my city got overrun and I lost. Those wonders that give another turn are nasty. And I need to grab more gold buildings next time if I dont get a decent amount of cards that produce resources.
Great game.
I have developed an extremely bad solitaire board game habit. I am in the middle of playing a game of The White Tribe: Rhodesia 1966-1989 which I have not finished because I am writing it up, which always extends a game’s play time by 500%. I discovered to my chagrin that I actually lost my 1942 campaign of Skies Above the Reich because I exceeded maximum acceptable pilot losses. I will be restarting that one, but I am mulling over some tracking tools to help make reportage less cumbersome first. I actually bought Ranger from Omega Games several months ago but have yet to play it; the manual appears straightforward, but I’m not sure I actually know how to play, yet. More study. Christmas brought a pre-order of Zeppelin Raider from Compass Games, which is not scheduled, thank god, to ship until March, now. And, cementing my insanity, last night I bought Redvers’ Reverse, a game about the Battle of Colenso, after a solid 3/4 of an hour of feverishly ransacking my memory (Google) for the name of “that solitaire wargame that takes place in 19th century Africa and models command problems”. Honestly I kind of hate myself.
Expect AARs from all of these in due time.
5 Likes
That all sounds awesome!
I don’t really get the chance to play solitaire at all, unfortunately. The occasional teaching myself game when the wife isn’t home (which isn’t often) and that’s about it.
Well, for me it’s pretty much play solitaire or don’t play much if at all. Lucky for me I find the concept and execution of solitaire board games inherently interesting, although I would like to have some more opportunities to play games with other people.
2 Likes
Speaking of solo games, Judge Dredd: Cursed Earth is up for preorder now. Was this on anyone else’s radar? Loved the game it’s mechanics are based on (The Lost Expedition).
My extremely bad solitaire board game habit is buying every game I can find that claims solitaire rules and only getting about 5% of them to the table. They look good on the shelf, though…
4 Likes
You know, I don’t own any (I think?!) games that play more than one but also have a solitaire option, but from everything I have read on many games that do, it’s usually just an inferior experience to playing with others. I stick to games expressly designed for one.
Which sounds reeeaaally sad when I type it out.
1 Like
I wish I had the time for more solitaire gaming. Between my wife and kids, though, I have almost no “me” time, and if I do, it is a lot easier to fire up a digital game than set up and play through a physical one.
1 Like
It’s actually much easier for me to do that, too, thanks to no dedicated game space being possible in our smallish apartment and two cats who would like nothing better than to play with the pieces when I’m not looking. That was one of the reasons I got Ranger, actually: no pieces!
Come to think of it, though, I do own at least one game that is meant for MP but can be played solitaire: Cuba Libre! Or should I say, Cuba Procedre. It was…unsatisfying as a 1p game. Perhaps I should give it another go.
1 Like
Then you should get some, namely any game from the COIN series or Churchill…
(Didn’t see your last comment about Cuba Libre. Never mind, then. If you didn’t like the flowchart AI, you won’t like these either…)
@Neumannium… your monthly reminder… and a great solo variant exists too. I prefer this to the COIN games as there’s only one bot to manage.
2 Likes
It’s a really interesting review, and the stuff he says the game gets ‘wrong’ is why the game is so good.
1 Like
I read that a while ago - I still like the first comment the best. Hands down one of my favorite 2p games and pretty good in solo too, although I tend to lose to the damn bot nearly every time… certainly my most anticipated digital release of 2019, as if my constant nagging of @Neumannium for more information didn’t communicate that clearly.
1 Like