…So Little Time.
At the UK Games Expo 2015 held on the last weekend in May in Birmingham...
Games Played
RPG (Role Play Game)
This was quick to pick up and quick to
play, much faster than the original and still keeping the quirky unexpectedness
element without the ‘paranoia’ descending into frustration that the old version
could suffer with.
‘Part of the Computer's never ending attempts to pre-empt
Terrorist Mutant Traitor attacks involves it's very careful Catastrophic Early
Simulation System, and you lucky, lucky, Trouble Shooters have been assigned as
volunteers to assist in defending Alpha Complex from potential future threats.
This session will be running the new Mongoose
Kickstarter rules set for the classic game of Paranoia. Familiarity with
previous less fun versions of this darkly humorous RPG, of a far future
askew-utopia, is not a requirement but may help.’
Board Games
This was a difficult co-op game to win
even on the easy starter scenario.
'Dead of Winter: A
Crossroads Game, the
first game in this series, puts 2-5 players in a small, weakened colony of
survivors in a world where most of humanity is either dead or diseased,
flesh-craving monsters. Each player leads a faction of survivors with dozens of
different characters in the game.
Dead of Winter is a meta-cooperative psychological survival game. This
means players are working together toward one common victory condition — but
for each individual player to achieve victory, he must also complete his
personal secret objective. This secret objective could relate to a psychological
tick that's fairly harmless to most others in the colony, a dangerous obsession
that could put the main objective at risk, a desire for sabotage of the main
mission, or (worst of all) vengeance against the colony! Certain games could
end with all players winning, some winning and some losing, or all players
losing. Work toward the group's goal, but don't get walked all over by a
loudmouth who's looking out only for his own interests!
Dead of Winter is an experience that can be accomplished
only through the medium of tabletop games. It's a story-centric game about
surviving through a harsh winter in an apocalyptic world. The survivors are all
dealing with their own psychological imperatives, but must still find a way to
work together to fight off outside threats, resolve crises, find food and
supplies, and keep the colony's morale up.
Dead of Winter has players making frequent, difficult,
heavily- thematic, wildly-varying decisions that often have them deciding
between what is best for the colony and what is best for themselves.'
This is another difficult co-op game,
where we failed the tutorial scenario at the last game tile.
'In the Dungeons & Dragons: Temple of Elemental Evil
Board Game, you play as a heroic adventurer. With amazing
abilities, spells and magic weapons, you must explore the dungeons beneath the
Sword Coast where you will fight monsters, overcome hazards and find treasure.
Are you ready for adventure?
Temple of Elemental Evil includes multiple scenarios, challenging
quests, and co-operative game play designed for 1-5 players. The contents can
also be combined with other D&D Adventure System Cooperative play board
games, including The Legend of Drizzt and Castle Ravenloft.
Each
player selects a hero, such as a fighter, cleric, or wizard. On their turn,
each player can explore further into the dungeon (turn over new tiles), move
through the already explored parts of the dungeon, and fight monsters. When a
new dungeon tile is revealed, there is typically an encounter of some sort, and
new monsters to fight are added. Slain monsters reward the players with
treasure, and experience points, allowing them to level up and increase their
skills during play. Players must cooperate to stay alive, slay the monsters,
and achieve the goal of their quest. Each scenario has a different goal, from
retrieving a relic to slaying a large boss monster.'
This is one our groups stand-by games that
we often play and this time we used the new USA Austin track which proved to be
demanding on the cars and made for an entertaining game.
'Formula D
is a high stakes Formula One type racing game where the players race simulated
cars with the hope of crossing the finish line first. This is a re-release of Formula
Dé with several changes from the original format. Whilst old
tracks can be used with the updated Formula D rules, the new game features
boards that have an F1 track and a Street Track on the other side. These street
tracks each have a novel inclusion or two to add greater theme -
The game
mechanisms are a simple race, get to the finish line first! However, players
have to use a significant amount of planning, and rely on quite a bit of luck.
Each player manages when to shift gears, with each gear providing a different
speed. (For example, 4th gear is a die that rolls random numbers from 7 to 12
for spaces moved.) Each turn, players may move up one gear, stay in that gear,
or move down gears. This forces players to match possible rolls with the
optimum distance for that turn, and hopefully plan ahead. However, speed is not
the only issue! Corners have a "stop" rule that requires players to
stop once, twice, or three times on that corner in consecutive turns or face a
penalty. This creates an effective speed limit to the corners.
Of course, things do not
always go as planned! Players take penalties if they miss their roll, bump into
another car, are blocked by other cars, have to brake heavily, or have to
downshift several gears. These are taken off of a car’s attributes (Tire
health, Brake wear, Transmission Gears, Body, engine, and Suspension). Losing
the maximum in any of these categories will result in elimination, or a severe
setback for that car. This requires that players manage their car’s health,
plan for their best path, and have good luck on their rolls. This high amount
of luck gives the game its family appeal, and lets weaker players have a chance
at winning once in a while.
However,
the fun does not end with a single race! The rules include the ability to
customize your cars, use a pre-generated character, add Slipstreaming
(Drafting) rules and road debris, and change tire types to modify your distance
rolls. There are also variations for a single lap race, or multiple laps with
pit stops to repair some of your damage points. In addition, numerous expansion
tracks can be purchased to vary the demands on each driver and car. Each track
may also have weather effects (rain) that change car handling and die rolls due
to skidding on wet track. This opens up the game for rally rules giving
championship points over a number of races.
Formula D
adds a few items that are not in the original Formula De: There is the added
excitement of illegal racing in the streets of big cities - anything goes! This
adds custom cars, nitro acceleration, drifting in the curves, dirty tricks, gun
battles, and trash on the road to add more variation. A basic change is the use
of a "Dashboard" with movable pegs to manage your car’s attributes
instead of the paper forms from Formula De. There are also two sets of
pre-painted cars; a Formula 1 set and the Street Race set of stock cars. The
street cars come with "Character" profiles to give a bit of
role-playing to the game. Finally, the old category of "Fuel" for the
car has been renamed Transmission Wear to give a better thematic fit to the
effect of multiple downshifting.'
This is another of our regular games
that is fun and easy to play. My only gripe being that as a last man standing
concept it means that many players are out of the game before it actually
finishes, which can be frustrating.
'In Red Dragon
Inn, you and your friends are a party of heroic, fantasy
adventurers. You've raided the dungeon, killed the monsters, and taken their
treasure. Now you're back, and what better way to celebrate your most recent
victory than to spend an evening at the Red Dragon Inn. You and your
adventuring companions will spend the night drinking, gambling, and
roughhousing. The last person who is both sober enough to remain conscious and
shrewd enough to hold onto his Gold Coins wins the game.'
This was a game I bought more for the
imagery (as I often buy the pretty games) but was pleasantly surprised that it
had a great mechanic and was an entertaining and involving strategy game (the
look of it is lovely too) . We didn’t have time to play it all the way through
but we were impressed with what we saw.
'Onward to Venus is based on the Doctor
Grordbort graphic
novels from writer/artist Greg Broadmore, with those books being a parody of
sorts of the British Empire in the late 19th century, but instead of the race
for Africa, we now have the exploitation of the Solar System, which is
populated by various natives who resent the Earthling settlers.
The game Onward
to Venus takes lots
of artwork from the books and mixes it together to create an empire-building
game set in the Solar System. The core rules are fairly straightforward, and a
game can be completed in 90 minutes. The game is played over three turns; in
each turn you whizz around the planets and moons claiming tiles. The tiles
grant you cards, allow you to build a factory or mine, let you hunt strange
beasts, or simply earn you some money. Other tiles allow you to attack other
players or add to the crisis level on the planet/moon in question. You have to
be careful with crisis tiles as if you let too many build up, bad stuff —
Martian invasions, robot rebellions, space pirates, etc. — starts happening.'
This was an entertaining, back
stabbing game that played very well with the different phases of the game
giving it variety whilst linking them together with a balanced feel. It ended
up in a very close finish. Not bad for a TV tie in.
'In Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery,
an exciting game of twisted schemes and bloody combats inspired by the hit
STARZ Original series, each player takes on the role of Dominus, head of a
rising house in the ancient Roman city of Capua. Each house is competing for
Influence to gain the favor of Rome. Through a combination of political schemes
and glorious battles on the arena sands your house will rise in fame and
stature. As Dominus, you have a variety of resources at your disposal. Guards
protect you from schemes launched by rivals. Slaves run your household and earn
gold. Gladiators compete to bring glory to themselves and influence to their
Dominus.
Three
main phases occur in each game round of Spartacus: A Game of Blood &
Treachery.
The
Intrigue Phase is when players launch their Schemes, hoping to raise their
fortunes while undermining their rivals. Schemes and Reactions are represented
by cards in the Intrigue Deck. Players wield their Influence to put their
Schemes into play, often asking for (or bribing) another player’s help in
hatching the most complex plots.
The
Market Phase is when players buy, sell and trade Assets (Gladiators, Slaves,
Equipment and Guards). Players also bid against each other to acquire new
Assets at Auction. Wealth is not the only path to success as players bluff and bargain
with each other to acquire the Assets they covet.
The Arena
Phase is when the bloody games are held. Gladiators from two rival Houses are
pitted against each other in a brutal fight for glory. The spectacles of the
games are represented by miniature combat on the arena board. Fighters pit
their Attack, Defense and Speed dice against one another to determine the
victor. All players seek to increase their fortunes by betting on the outcome
of the gruesome conflict. Fighters who emerge from the arena victorious gain
Favor and their Dominus gain Influence.
The goal
of the game is to become the most influential house in Capua, securing your
family’s power for years to come. During the game, players will bribe, poison,
betray, steal, blackmail, and undermine each other. Gold will change hands
again and again to buy support, stay someone’s hand or influence their
decisions. Will you be the honorable player whose word is their bond or the
treacherous schemer whose alliances change with the wind?'
Another co-op game and the most
challenging yet; this one also had the most complex system and number of
variables making it hard work to get to grips with straight out of the box.
'Robinson
Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island is a game created by Ignacy Trzewiczek, the
author of Stronghold. This time
Trzewiczek takes the players to a deserted island, where they'll play the parts
of shipwreck survivors confronted by an extraordinary adventure. They'll be
faced with the challenges of building a shelter, finding food, fighting wild
beasts, and protecting themselves from weather changes. Building walls around
their homes, animal domestication, constructing weapons and tools from what
they find and much more awaits them on the island. The players decide in which
direction the game will unfold and – after several in-game weeks of hard work –
how their settlement will look. Will they manage to discover the secret of the
island in the meantime? Will they find a pirate treasure, or an abandoned
village? Will they discover an underground city or a cursed temple at the
bottom of a volcano? Answers to these questions lie in hundreds of event cards
and hundreds of object and structure cards that can be used during the game...'
This game comes in a large box,
necessary to contain the number of very detailed miniatures. It is also a
challenging co-op game but has a simple mechanic and is easy to get into.
'Star Wars: Imperial
Assault is a strategy board game of tactical combat and missions for two
to five players, offering two distinct games of battle and adventure in the
Star Wars universe!
Imperial Assault puts you in the midst of the Galactic Civil
War between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire after the destruction of
the Death Star over Yavin 4. In this game, you and your friends can participate
in two separate games. The campaign game pits the limitless troops and resources
of the Galactic Empire against a crack team of elite Rebel operatives as they
strive to break the Empire’s hold on the galaxy, while the skirmish game
invites you and a friend to muster strike teams and battle head-to-head over
conflicting objectives.
In the
campaign game, Imperial Assault invites you to play through a
cinematic tale set in the Star Wars universe. One player commands the seemingly
limitless armies of the Galactic Empire, threatening to extinguish the flame of
the Rebellion forever. Up to four other players become heroes of the Rebel
Alliance, engaging in covert operations to undermine the Empire’s schemes. Over
the course of the campaign, both the Imperial player and the Rebel heroes gain
new experience and skills, allowing characters to evolve as the story unfolds.
Imperial Assault offers a different game experience in the
skirmish game. In skirmish missions, you and a friend compete in head-to-head,
tactical combat. You’ll gather your own strike force of Imperials, Rebels, and
Mercenaries and build a deck of command cards to gain an unexpected advantage
in the heat of battle. Whether you recover lost holocrons or battle to defeat a
raiding party, you’ll find danger and tactical choices in every skirmish.
As an
additional benefit, the Luke Skywalker Ally Pack and the Darth Vader Villain
Pack are included within the Imperial Assault Core Set. These figure packs offer
sculpted plastic figures alongside additional campaign and skirmish missions
that highlight both Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader within Imperial
Assault. With these Imperial Assault Figure Packs, you'll find even more
missions that allow your heroes to fight alongside these iconic characters from
the Star Wars saga.'
Games I bought
A very pretty game that is quite
simple to learn but can offer some challenges too.
'A long
time ago at the Japanese Imperial court, the Chinese Emperor offered a giant
panda bear as a symbol of peace to the Japanese Emperor. Since then, the
Japanese Emperor has entrusted his court members (the players) with the
difficult task of caring for the animal by tending to his bamboo garden.
In Takenoko, the players will
cultivate land plots, irrigate them, and grow one of the three species of
bamboo (Green, Yellow, and Pink) with the help of the Imperial gardener to
maintain this bamboo garden. They will have to bear with the immoderate hunger
of this sacred animal for the juicy and tender bamboo. The player who manages
his land plots best, growing the most bamboo while feeding the delicate
appetite of the panda, will win the game.'
This is another pretty game that is
quick and easy to pick up and play and is fun too.
Welcome
to the city of Machi Koro. You've just been elected Mayor. Congrats!
Unfortunately the citizens have some pretty big demands: jobs, a theme park, a
couple of cheese factories and maybe even a radio tower. A tough proposition
since the city currently consists of a wheat field, a bakery and a single die.
'Armed
only with your trusty die and a dream, you must grow Machi Koro into the
largest city in the region. You will need to collect income from developments,
build public works, and steal from your neighbors' coffers. Just make sure they
aren't doing the same to you!
Machi Koro is a fast-paced game for 2-4 players. Each
player wants to develop the city on his own terms in order to complete all of
the landmarks under construction faster than his rivals. On his turn, each
player rolls one or two dice. If the sum of the dice rolled matches the number
of a building that a player owns, he gets the effect of that building; in some
cases opponents will also benefit from your die (just as you can benefit from
theirs). Then, with money in hand a player can build a landmark or a new
building, ideally adding to the wealth of his city on future turns. The first
player to construct all of his landmarks wins!'
