Games

My gaming experiences.

Diamonds

Diamonds. Image from strongholdgames.com

Diamonds. Image from strongholdgames.com

I can’t believe my Blog Every Day in August Challenge is nearly over. This month has gone by FAST.

I’ve had a lot of fun writing about board games for the last 29 days. Of course, it’s not as fun as actually playing games themselves, but it’s given me a chance to connect with other gamers on Twitter. Thanks to all of you who have tweeted at me and re-tweeted me.

Today I’m writing about a game I’ve never played and don’t own, but that will change this Saturday.

This weekend is the third Strategicon event of the year, Gateway. Strategicon hosts three gaming conventions in Los Angeles each year on a three-day weekend (Orccon on President’s Day, Gamex on Memorial Day, and Gateway on Labor Day). One day I’d love to do an entire weekend, but for now I can only manage a day or two at each, which is fine by me.

As the saying goes, some gaming is better than no gaming at all (Is this an actual saying? If not, it should be).

Yesterday I shared my love of finding a good deal and every Strategicon has a flea market and math trade that are chock full of board game bargains. This Saturday I’m picking up a few games at Gateway via the flea market and one of them is Diamonds.

I’d never heard of Diamonds before, but I’m familiar with classic trick-taking games Hearts and Spades. While trick-taking games might not be my favorites, I’ve always wanted to add one to my collection (I liked Nyet!) and at a bargain price I couldn’t resist.

In Diamonds, each player is dealt 10 cards (or more, depending on player count). The cards are in the familiar four suits (diamonds, spades, hearts, and clubs) and instead of 13, there are 15 of each suit. Each player also receives a screen to represent their vault and three diamonds crystals (actual pieces, not cards) placed in front of their vault, aka their showroom. As the game progresses, they will be able to move diamond crystals behind the screen/into their vault.

To begin play, the first player plays a card face up to the middle. This is the current trick. The next player, if possible, must play a card of the same suit. All of the players do this and the player with the highest number in the current trick’s suit wins the trick. They take the cards played and place them in front of them.

What happens if a player cannot follow suit? This is what sets Diamonds apart from other trick-taking games and it’s what sold me on it. A player that cannot follow suit can play any card in their hand and take a special suit action. The suit actions are:

  1. Diamonds: Take a diamond crystal from the general supply and place it in your vault. Once a diamond crystal is in your vault, it cannot be taken away.
  2. Spades: Take a diamond crystal from your showroom and place it in your vault.
  3. Hearts: Take a diamond crystal from the general supply and place it in your showroom.
  4. Clubs: Take a diamond crystal from any other player’s showroom and place it in your showroom.

Also, after a player has won a trick, they get to take a suit action. For example, if I led with the 15 of hearts (the highest rank of any suit), I would then take a diamond crystal from the general supply and place it in my showroom.

Play continues in these tricks, with the winner getting a suit action, as well as anyone breaking suit receiving a suit action. When players are out of cards, the round is over. The player who has won the most cards in each suit receives the corresponding suit action. If a player has taken no tricks, then they get to do the diamond suit action twice.

The cards are shuffled together, dealt out, and the next round begins. Different player counts play a different number of rounds before the game ends. Players count up their diamond crystals and score points: 2x points for each diamond crystal in their vault (behind their screen), and 1x points for each diamond crystal in their showroom.

I love how the diamond crystals and the vault screen are integrated into play, with the theme being perfect for the game. Normally I wouldn’t be this fired up about a new take on a classic card game, but Diamonds takes well-known mechanisms and injects life into them with a few nifty actions. I can’t wait to play it.

My Growing Library

Games I Bought This Weekend

Games I Bought This Weekend

On the way to my fantasy football draft I picked up two used board games I won on a recent boardgamegeek.com auction: Takenoko and Imperial Settlers. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened Takenoko: although it was no longer in its shrink wrap, the cards were still in shrink wrap and the tiles were still unpunched. It was a great deal, paying less than half the MSRP ($50) for a brand new game. Imperial Settlers had a slight ding on its corner and two of the meeples were broken, but the meeples were the extras and I’m not worried about the box. Again, I paid less than half the MSRP ($50).

Yesterday I was in Orange County, which was excellent timing since I could pick up two games that I’ve been dying to get into my games library: Roll for the Galaxy and Star Trek Catan.

Roll for the Galaxy is awesome and it was the iSlaytheDragon.com Game of the Year for 2015, but I’m not very good at it. I always seem to be a step behind my opponents and haven’t gotten better than second place. Hence, my desire to own a copy: I need to learn the ins and outs of the game, the dice, the tiles, everything. I was close to pulling the trigger a few times on amazon.com whenever it dipped to $40, but I’m glad I waited. I managed to pay less than half the MSRP ($60) and I can’t wait to start rolling all of those dice.

Finally, Star Trek Catan was one of those on my Must Buy List, but it was never a priority until I found it for exactly half off MSRP ($50) in a boardgamegeek.com virtual flea market. I love the original series characters and their special powers in this version of Catan, which is definitely my favorite.

So for about the price of one brand new copy of Scythe, I was able to add four outstanding games to my growing library. I hope to add Scythe one day, but I’ll wait until someone’s tired of playing their copy so I can land another great deal. My bank account is thankful that I don’t follow the Cult of the New.

Happy Salmon

Happy Salmon

Happy Salmon

Best. Game. Ever.

I’m a sucker for simple, quick-playing games and Happy Salmon is one of the best. I gave this silly little card game to my wife for her birthday after we watched this video and we gave it a test-run tonight with our daughter. Even though the rules say it can play three, it’s the type of game that will work better at higher player counts (six being the max). We’re excited to add this to our game night rotation.

The goal of the game is to play all of the cards in your hand. Each player starts with 12 cards, which are 3 sets of 4 cards: Happy Salmon, Pound It, Switcheroo, and High 5. Shuffle the cards, then yell “Go!” To play a card, you say what you’re trying to play and if another player has the same card, then you complete the action and discard the card in front of you.

The actions are hilarious:

  1. High 5. Give another player a high five.
  2. Switcheroo. Exchange places with another player (if mobility is an issue, then switch cards with another player).
  3. Pound it. Give another player a fist bump.
  4. Happy Salmon. Tap another player’s forearm three times.

The first player to play all of their cards wins the game. It’s an absolute riot and what’s even better is playing it in Silent Mode, where nobody is allowed to talk so everyone must act out the actions they’re trying to complete.

Happy Salmon is a must-have for any gamer’s library. It’s the perfect way to start or finish a game night. It’s an icebreaker for newbies or a pick-me-up for grizzled veteran gamers. It’s a game to play with kids and it’s a game to play with adults. No matter how when, where, why, or how you play it, the Happy Salmon is sure to become your group’s default handshake.

Fantasy Football

No Limit Texas Hold Em

No Limit Texas Hold Em

My annual fantasy football draft was today, so there is no board gaming to talk about. Actually, I did score used copies of Takenoko and Imperial Settlers for over half off MSRP, thanks to a boardgamegeek.com auction. I picked up the games on the way to the draft, so that was nice.

It was all about football today, though. My league held its 17th annual draft and there were plenty of jokes about old age. Every year we tell the same types of jokes about players and we still laugh every time. We also joke about each others’ teams and how bad they are, or we praise others’ teams before trashing it. And every year there are more and more jokes about old age.

We don’t do board games, but we do poker. It’s not as much as our younger years (before everybody started getting married and having children), but when we do it’s like the fantasy football draft itself: we laugh at the same jokes and enjoy each others’ company.

While the poker sessions no longer rage all night and into the morning, it’s still the best time with this group of guys. I can’t wait to do the same thing next year.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

I missed my weekly gaming group last night, but thankfully my wife made sure I got my board gaming fix. We played our first game of Istanbul together and she enjoyed it.

Istanbul was the Kennerspiel 2014 winner, an award given to more “gamier” games. It’s easy to see why it won: turns are simple and elegant, with interesting decisions as the game progresses. The components are all top-notch and the rulebook is clearly written.

Players are in the busy bazaar district of Istanbul and are trying to accumulate 5 rubies (6 for two players) to win the game. Of course, these gems are scarce, so players must gather, sell, and trade resources to score one of the precious rubies.

Each turn players will do one thing: move. It’s that simple; you move horizontally or vertically one or two spaces.

Of course, that wouldn’t be much of a game, so players also have the option of performing the action depicted on their space: filling up their wheelbarrow with a particular resource, upgrading their wheelbarrow to carry more resources, selling goods from their wheelbarrow, gaining action cards, gambling for more money (lire), and more.

There’s one requirement, though, for performing the action: you must have an assistant with you. Either you use of the assistants you brought with you on your move or you use an assistant you previously left on the space. Players can find efficient paths on the game board (a 4×4 grid of separate tiles; these can be changed from game to game) and there can be several paths to victory.

I love Istanbul and I’m glad my wife liked it, too. We’ll be adding it to our growing rotation of game night titles.

By the way, it’s National Dog Day! Here’s our buddy Bruno wondering why I’m sticking my phone in his face.

Bruno is not amused.

Bruno is not amused.

Timeline

Timeline: Diversity

Timeline: Diversity

Timeline is a favorite among my gamer and non-gamer friends. It’s a light trivia game that can be played as a filler or as an introduction to the wonderful world of gaming.

The object of Timeline is to be the player with no cards remaining in front of you. Each player will receive four cards and all players must keep their cards in front of them with the date side down.

Each two-sided card contains one event; for example, one side might be “The Discovery of Machu Pichu” and the other side will again be “The Discovery of Machu Pichu” but will contain the year of the event. Before play begins it’s important to make sure all of the cards do not show the date.

The first card from the deck is flipped over so that its date side is shown. This is the beginning of the Timeline. The starting player will choose one of their cards and place it to the left or right of the Timeline card, signifying whether they believe their card occurred before or after the event. They will then flip over their card. If the year on their card has been correctly placed on the Timeline, then the player’s turn is over. However, if they are wrong, then the card is returned to the box and the player draws another card. Now, it’s the next player’s turn.

The Timeline will expand as correct answers are played and this is where things get interesting. It’s easier to place an event before or after one other event, but when there are several cards in the Timeline it can be tough to pinpoint exactly when an event happened.  What year was the toaster invented? Was that before or after the invention of the camera? And did it happen before or after Cinderella was written?

While I’ve never been good at memorizing dates, Timeline allows you to guesstimate when things happen. You can generally figure things out based on historical context, but when you’re off it can be hilarious. Almost every game I’ve played has resulted in at least one “Wow, I had no idea that happened then!” comment.

Obviously, like other trivia games, there can be limited replayability if you play enough and begin memorizing dates. Thankfully, there are several expansions and they’re all reasonably priced (MSRP $14.99; I’ve picked up copies on Amazon for as low as $8). It’s a much more fun and rewarding experience than Trivial Pursuit and other trivia games.

 

 

Wheeling and Dealing

Used Board Games

Used Board Games

One point I forgot to mention in yesterday’s blog about the Cult of the New: buying board games after they are no longer “hot” can save you money. They’ll usually be discounted if you wait a while (of course, you risk the price going even higher thanks to good ol’ supply and demand). Better still, wait long enough and you’ll be able to find them on the secondary market.

I love buying used games. My bank account certainly does and it’s always a treat getting last year’s hot title at this year’s bargain price. Games like the ones pictured above: the total retail price is several hundred dollars (the copy of Escape has five expansions inside of it) and I managed to score all six for $70. I still haven’t gotten Nexus Ops, Steampunk Rally, and Pingo Pingo to the table yet, but I’ve gotten my money’s worth from the others.

The Strategicon conventions in Los Angeles are excellent places for finding deals. Like other gaming conventions, each event has a flea market (and math trade) where gamers can unload wanted stock and buy or trade for new games. I’ve been able to build my collection at a fraction of what I’d pay in brick-and-mortar or online stores. I might not have the latest and greatest on the tabletop, but my collection gets a ton of bang for the bucks I’ve paid.

 

Microbadge 2016 and the Cult of the New

10x10 Challenge 2016 completed!

10×10 Challenge completed!

I completed my first 10×10 Challenge last month and today I received a microbadge for my boardgamegeek.com profile. After checking my stats I learned that I’ve played 16 different games 10 times each this year. Not a bad year so far!

Gamers often talk about the Cult of the New; that is, the desire of gamers to play the newest games. When you’ve been in the hobby for a while, the latest shiny thing will be that much more attractive than your shabby, well-worn copy of Catan or whatever gateway game is taking up space on your shelf.

I enjoy learning new games, but it often takes me two or more plays to grasp a game’s mechanisms, strategy, and nuances before I decide whether or not I like it. I just get a better feel for a game as a whole after multiple plays and I should know by then if I want to add it to my personal library.

I’m fortunate to belong to two gaming groups with various tastes; in one group I’ll find well-established games and some lesser-known or under-played titles while my second group has a new game or two nearly every week. Thankfully, both groups are accommodating; first, if there’s ever a game that can only be played by a certain number of players, we won’t play it if it means someone must sit out. I’ve always appreciated this because nobody is ever left out, which could’ve happened a lot whenever there were five of us at the table and someone wants to play something that only handles four players. Second, everyone must agree to play the proposed game. Again, people are accommodating and most are willing to try games that are unfamiliar to them. If we have enough players, we’ll split into two or more groups so that everyone can play something to their liking.

Games aren’t repeated from week to week too often, but whenever they are, I usually jump at the chance to play them again for the reasons listed above. And it’s helped me earn my first microbadge for the 10×10 Challenge.

 

Dr. Eureka

Dr. Eureka

Dr. Eureka

I usually don’t buy games on a whim or without reading a few reviews, but Dr. Eureka was the exception. There was nothing like it in my game library and at only $20 it seemed like a relatively risk-free purchase.

I was right. The game is a perfect mix of a puzzle and dexterity contest, with a simple ruleset: place the colored balls into the beakers to match the face-up card, but you can’t touch the balls and if they fall out of the beaker you’re out of the running for that card. First player to earn five cards wins the game.

My wife usually kills me in Dr. Eureka, but I’ve been getting better. I love puzzles and dexterity games, but for some reason put it together like Dr. Eureka and my brain goes on vacation.

Still, it’s been a hit with whomever plays it with us. It’s another game that goes over well with hardcore gamers and newbies and it’s one that I’m always up for playing.

Scythe

Scythe

Scythe

I’m keeping this post short and sweet: Scythe lived up to the hype.

… okay, maybe a few more words. I was terrible on my first play as I tried to get my head wrapped around the game. It reminded me of my first experience with Terra Mystica: I knew I was doing some things wrong and by the time I could correct my mistakes, it was too late.

And I couldn’t wait to play again.

(My buddy Patrick actually pulled an all-nighter to paint all of the figures so they’d be ready for our Thursday night gaming group. Just like his Blood Rage figures, these were beautifully done and made the experience even better.)

Scythe Player Board

Scythe Player Board