It’s the fourth episode of The R&R Show! Every Wednesday at 12pm PT / 3pm ET, Rahdo and I talk about board games and more. Join us on YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook Live!
tabletop
Board Game Paradise
I took a trip to Redlands, California, to visit Board Game Paradise, a pop-up game store that’s now open for all of your gaming needs.
Humans of the Tabletop: August 9, 2018
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, I present Humans of the Tabletop, an ongoing series about the people I’ve played games with.
“I didn’t know I’d make a career out of playing games. I didn’t know that was possible. Every day I wake up and think, ‘I am so lucky to do this.'”
(Photo taken after Becca and I played Lords & Ladies on Game the Game. Watch the episode here.)
Sun Tzu
What a wonderful surprise Sun Tzu was!
Sun Tzu is a two-player war game of area control, hand management, and bluffing. It’s psychological warfare in ancient China, with thematic The Art of War text on the cards.
I scored my copy last year in a math trade and I liked the theme and premise, but it collected dust before I finally got it off my Shelf of Shame, thanks to another meetup with my buddy Daryl.
In Sun Tzu each player attempts to control regions in ancient China by using cards numbered 1-6. These cards are part of players’ hands throughout the game, but they also receive special one-time use cards after each turn: the numbers 7-10 and modifier cards like +1, +2, and +3.
For each round cards are played face down for each region, then they’re revealed one at a time to resolve battles. For example, in the Qin region Player A plays a “3” and Player B plays a “5,” then Player B places the difference (2 armies) on the region and they now have control of Qin.
Each round is made up of playing cards and resolving battles. There are nine possible rounds to a game, with scoring after rounds 3, 6, and 9; however, if a player ever reaches the maximum 9 points after rounds 3 or 6, then the game immediately ends. This is the basic gist of Sun Tzu.
But there’s so much more.
The special one-time-use cards are fantastic elements added to gameplay. For example, if I was trying to gain control of a region that contained a lot of my opponent’s armies, then I could play my “10” and hope that my opponent played a low card. This would allow me to take some of their armies from the board and replace them with mine. However, if my opponent had played their “+1” card, then my “10” was all for naught. Their “+1” card basically negates my 10, since it’s used as a +1 to anything I played. Thus, my 10 is trumped by their 11 and they get to add 1 army to the region.
Another cool one-time-use card is the Plague card, which, when played, cancels the battle in the selected region. It also calls for half of the armies in the region to be taken off the board. Since armies are limited (each player begins with 18 in their reserve, with a few more available via certain card effects or actions), this is a good way to gather your forces for future turns.
There are also one-time-per-game Warlord cards that can be used at any time. During our last game Daryl busted out a Warlord card to tip the final region to his favor, which led to his single-point victory.
Finally, there are event cards that can trigger other changes to the game if their conditions are met at any time.
I’m ecstatic that I was able to get this off my Shelf of Shame; Sun Tzu is a tense battle of wits between two tabletop generals. It’s become one of my favorite two-player games and one that I highly recommend (for a more in-depth review, check out the iSlaytheDragon.com review).
I’ve now played 6 of the 49 games on my Shelf of Shame!
Shelf of Shame 2017
- Agricola
- Amerigo
- Cheaty Mages!
- Chrononauts
- Cypher
- Dice City: By Royal Decree
- Dice City: Crossroads
- Doomtown: Reloaded
- Dungeon Fighter
- Eminent Domain: Microcosm
- Epic Card Game
Formula D- Get Bit! Sharkspansion
- Guildhall
- Guildhall: Job Faire
- Hanafuda
- Harbour
Imperial Settlers- Lost Legacy: Flying Garden
- Machi Koro: Harbor
- Marvel Dice Masters: Age of Ultron
- Mottainai
- Munchkin Legends: Guest Artist Edition
- Munchkin Zombies Deluxe
- NBA Interactive Card Game
- Ophidian 2350
- Pack of Heroes
- Pandemic: On The Brink
- Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords Base Set + Expansions
- Pingo Pingo
- Portobello Market
- Quiddler Mini Round
- Rampage
- Sail to India
- Sans Allies
- Santorini: Golden Fleece
- Seventh Hero (Doomtown edition)
- Space Base Mutiny
- Steam Torpedo: First Contact
- Suburbia
Sun TzuTiny Epic Kingdoms- Travel Blog
Valley of the Kings: Last Rites- Viceroy
- Vikings on Board
Viticulture Essential Edition- Wok Star
- Yahtzee: The Walking Dead Collector’s Edition
Day 262: Clearance Sale
Munchkin Zombies Deluxe
I occasionally stop by Barnes & Noble to see what they have in their clearance section and today I dug through a pile of Game of Thrones action figures, Ravensburger jigsaw puzzles, and assorted bookstore knickknacks before I found something to my liking: Munchkin Zombies Deluxe. It’s a zombie-themed version of the popular Munchkin game by Steve Jackson that retails for $29.99. The clearance price was 50-percent off and I had a 15-percent-off coupon, so after tax I ended up paying just under $14. Score!
There’s a terrific thread on boardgamegeek.com with information about the B&N clearance sale. I never knew there was a method to the clearance-sale madness and it was nice to learn about it so I could plan my next day of bargains.
Day 229: 7 Wonders
7 Wonders
After a few rounds of solo play to get acquainted with the rules, I played 7 Wonders with my niece and nephew. We’d played plenty of rounds of Sushi Go!, which turned out to be the perfect segue to 7 Wonders since both share a similar card-drafting mechanic (play one card from your hand, then pass the hand to your opponent).
7 Wonders is currently my favorite game. I love the civilization-building theme. Players build their cities and score victory points based on their city’s structures, treasury, military, science and technology, commerce, guilds, and their wonders (for example, Giza’s wonder is the pyramids). The cards represent the structures and players accumulate points based on the cards and other factors.
A player’s city is built up during three ages and each age consists of six turns. With how simple the game is and how quickly it can be played (30-45 minutes), there’s a surprising amount of depth here. Different strategies yield different results; for example, you can focus on strengthening your military or trying to improve your science and technology. Sometimes during an age, you can try to build your wonder while others build their civilian structures.
So far this year, my top three games are Pandemic, 7 Wonders, and Ticket to Ride. Each one takes less than an hour to play and are terrific for players of all levels. For newbies, I’d recommend Ticket to Ride first. But no collection would be complete without Pandemic or 7 Wonders.
Day 222: Card Games
Our latest game night was with the youngest members of the family. They liked these three card games the best: Sushi Go!, Pit, and Milles Borne. The most popular was Sushi Go! and we played it numerous times. It was the perfect combination of easy-to-learn rules, fast play, and fun player interaction.
I’ve had the Milles Bornes game sitting in storage for years, so it was nice finally playing it. We did one run-through to figure out the basic game play. We’ll figure out scoring and strategy the next time it makes it to the table.
Pit is always a popular choice with any crowd I play it with and especially with the kids since it gives them an excuse to yell while playing.
I’m pretty sure it’s the same reason why adults like it, too.
Day 221: Games Library
Games library growing
The games library in my home is growing slowly but surely. In addition to my latest games-buying binge, I found Carcassonne in storage. It’s a game that I bought years ago during a time when Game Night was called Poker Night and the only game that made it to the table was played with 52 cards, stacks of poker chips, and didn’t stop until long after midnight.
There still aren’t any heavy or hardcore games in my collection. I doubt I’ll ever get back into Dungeons & Dragons (my junior high self can’t believe this), since I prefer the light strategy games that don’t take up hours upon hours to complete.
I also prefer the games that are easy for non-gamers to play. Nowadays, it’s more satisfying for me to introduce people to the wonderful world of board games.
Day 212: GenCant
GenCant 2015 badge
I stumbled on #GenCant earlier today — what a cool idea! This virtual get-together that runs during the same time as Gen Con, the tabletop gaming industry’s biggest convention, is for all us who Can’t make it to Gen Con.
What makes this online “convention” so fun is that there are actual prizes given away and you can even print your own badge (I’m using the one above). I can’t tell you how happy my inner geek is, especially since I’m doing game night tomorrow. Perfect timing for GenCant!
Here’s the history of GenCant from the official site:
“#GenCant started in 2014 on Twitter as Jason Paterson (@nakedmeeple,) Suzanne Sheldon (@425suzanne) and others were chatting enviously about all the Gen Con news in the social media sphere. One fateful Twitter exchange created the hashtag – and GenCant was born. Twitter gamers jumped in head first with enthusiasm by participating in the conversation, tweeting #GenCantContest photos, and donating prizes of all sorts. Soon the event had enough buzz that publishers and designers were asking how to get involved too.
- GenCant is a community created and fueled event.
- Call it an UnConvention, a Virtual Con, or Digital Gathering – just call it fun!
- GenCant is intended to be something a bit fun for everyone who can’t attend the world’s biggest board gaming event, Gen Con.
- GenCant is not intended as criticism or insult to Gen Con.”
I wonder if there’s a San Diego UnComic Con out there?
Day 95: Game Night Continued
Pandemic and Ticket to Ride
I’m considering changing my 2015 Goals list to include “Play 10 New Games.” I’ve bought and played four new games in two months, so I’m nearly halfway there and I have more than enough on my Amazon Wish List to make this a reality. While my stepdaughter was back for spring break, she really got into Pandemic, which happens to be my favorite game of the new bunch. My wife is slowly getting into it as well and we managed to win on Heroic Level this morning.
Running a close second is Ticket to Ride, which is my favorite for a family experience. Everybody has a great time playing this and, as I’ve read in several articles, it is a great “gateway” game to bring in new players to the hobby. I love that my niece and nephew enjoyed it so much that they immediately wanted to play after their first game.
The other two games I bought were fun as well: Tsuro and Castle Panic. Tsuro is quick and light; easy to learn and a perfect “warm-up” game. It was fun with my youngest niece, who learned quickly and nearly won in her one attempt. As for Castle Panic, I believe my nephew and I were the only ones who took to this one. When we played with his sister he was our designated sound-effects guy, eagerly providing the soundtrack for each goblin, orc, and troll that we slayed.
I’ve loved every second of our game nights. It’s much more satisfying bonding over board games than video games or television shows. Even the good-humored trash talk has been great; I’ve learned that my wife is quite skilled at the art, as she regularly reminds me who owns the longest win streak (7 straight) in our Ticket to Ride matches. Hint: it’s not me.