The Best Board Games of 2012!

Thanks for joining us for Post #200 here at Theology Of Games. In the Better Late Than Never category: Here they are—our picks for the best games of 2012! Now, realize that even though we both have a board game group that meets weekly, there are some games we just didn't get a chance to play. So games such as Mage Wars and Snowdonia and Myrmes just didn't get played. They might have made the list, and I'm sure we'll play those at some point. You'll just have to wait for the review. :) We also went off of the release dates as seen on each game's page on Boardgamegeek. There are a number of games I was sure came out this year, but I was surprised to see they were actually released earlier (Mage Knight, King of Tokyo, Kaispeicher). So without further ado... 10. Mice & Mystics—It's essentially a dungeon crawler. You go through rooms, you fight swarms of baddies, you have weapons and armor and special powers, you roll dice, and you're following a loose sort of plot. My group is eight missions into the campaign and we're having great fun. One big reason it doesn't rate higher is that once I've played through the campaign, I'll likely never play the base game again. (Or at least until the expansion comes out.)

9. Lords Of Waterdeep—This is a worker placement game with a thick veneer of fantasy to it. There's a fair bit of mess-with-your-neighbor-ness to it, but I was okay with it.

8. Smash Up—A card-battling, shuffle-building game, featuring different factions that you can combine to smash up one of several bases on the table. Light rules, cool cards, and fun faction combos. Check out our review here.

7. Plato 3000—This was a surprisingly fun little filler! It's basically rummy with special powers—if you can snag a copy, you should do so! You can read the review here.

6. Gauntlet Of Fools—This is another filler that grabbed our attention. You grab your hapless hero and head into the dungeon, where you'll almost certainly die. Sounds fun, right?! Well it really, really is. Read our detailed thoughts on it here.

5. Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game—The minis are way cool. The gameplay is fast and fun. AND IT'S STAR WARS! This is the kind of game I expect to sink a ton of cash into, but the looks on my kids' faces when we play makes it worth it. Here's our review of this terrific game.

4. Android: Netrunner—The first of two LCGs on the list is a remake of the classic CCG from the 90s. This reboot is excellent. The key is the asymmetrical play—with one playing the powerful corporation and the other playing the plucky, tricky hacker. This has so much potential for interesting expansions...I can hear my wallet screaming now... Here's our review.

3. Star Wars Card Game—This is the start of something really great; the base set is already climbing to the top of our lists, and they haven't yet expanded it for 4 players. With the unique Edge Battle mechanic, paired up with some pretty awesome card artwork, the sky is the limit for this LCG. We're really looking forward to what Fantasy Flight has in store. In the meantime, check out Jeremiah's review.

2. Tzolk'in—I can't remember the last time I was this enamored with a game. Rather than gush over it here, I'll just point you to my review.

1. The Resistance: Avalon—What can we say about this game that we haven't already? The Resistance is one of our favorite titles of all time, and Avalon adds just enough variance and depth to keep us coming back for more back-stabbing, lying, skulduggery and intrigue. The new/optional roles have increased re-playability even more. Read our review here; then go get the game. Now. What are you waiting for?!

So what did you think were the best games of last year? Let us know in the comments, and make sure you "Like" us on Facebook. And over on Twitter too!

Thank You!

Today, as we set aside a day to spend time with loved ones, and give thanks for all of the ways we've been blessed, we thought we would take a few minutes to stop, breathe, and say "Thank you!" For the past 5-ish months we have both enjoyed writing for TOG, and are truly appreciative of you. If you have ever read, retweeted, mentioned, shared, liked, or commented on a post; emailed us; been interviewed by us; or sent us a game to review, we thank you. Please keep it up; because we truly cannot do this without you. Seriously.

We hope that you've enjoyed being a part of this little blog as much as we have, and we can't wait to see what's coming down the line!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

~Firestone & Jeremiah

LARP - A Tale of Two Realities

by Jeremiah

Having mostly kept my gaming habits to those that are confined to the table top—with the exception of the occasional video game and a very short stint as a force adept Trandoshan smuggler in the Star Wars Role Playing game—I'm writing about LARPers from a place of non-experience. However, because I have never taken part in this over the top form of gaming, it also doesn't mean I'm here to bash it. I personally find it fascinating.

What is a LARP? LARP is gamer speak for Live Action Role Playing; it is exactly what it sounds like. Players enter into gameplay and play the role of a character who has certain skills, abilities, allegiances, etc. etc.

Why do people LARP? That is a great question. The more I've peered into the world of LARPing the more I've found this question has no easy answer. There seem to be a few common threads that tie all LARPers together.

• Acceptance—Folks who just haven't fit into most social circles in the "real" world can find friends and "family" within the context of LARP

• Creative Outlet—For some it's painting, and others it's songwriting or sculpture. And for some it's the creation of a character or navigating through campaigns as a character in their LARP of choice.

• Escape—For many it's a way to escape the daily grind of the rat race—a way to escape it all.

What do I think of LARP? The initial knee-jerk reaction, even around most hardcore gamers is, "Wow, those people are nerds!" I then have to remind folks that we're sitting at a table intently a) building fictitious empires, b) battling fictitious monsters, or c) competing for control of a fictitious land that's represented by a small piece of cardboard. Mr. Pot, it's time to put down the phone, Mr. Kettle knows full well what color he is. When I look at LARP as a whole, I think of it as a deeply intense Paintball battle scenario (something which is much more "socially acceptable" these days) or something akin to a civil war re-enactment without the tedious binds of historical accuracy, combined with improv theatre.

Would I ever participate in a LARP? My answer is a qualified: no. Every element of LARP I find extremely enjoyable: intense competition, immersive gaming scenarios, all things theatrical, and so on. There are two main factors as to why I will most likely never get involved with a LARP. Time and money. From everything I've seen, heard, and read about LARP it's pretty time consuming— taking up entire weekends at a time, and the cost of the gear can be a huge deterrent. Personally I have enough things in my life draining time and money from me, and my family and I simply cannot afford to entertain the thought of investing more into a gaming situation than I already do. Perhaps when my children are older, and my wife agrees to join in on a quest, the Isley family will take the LARP community by storm.  Until such time I say: LARP community, you have my support, but not my sword!

The Nerdist channel on YouTube has just wrapped up their first season of the new series called "Realm of LARP", a documentary, or as they call it a "Reality" series, that follows a group of 5 LARPers—one of whom is a Seventh Day Adventist—through a full campaign, giving a behind-the scenes glimpse along the way.

Also the independent film Darkon is an intriguing look at a LARP community in New England that battles for control of the "DARKON" realm...

So where do you land on LARP? Have you experienced it first hand? We'd love to hear your stories! Leave 'em in the comments! Thanks so much for reading!

Monopoly Jr. - Bad Grandma!

By Jeremiah I should preface this post with a short disclaimer. Disclaimer is as follows: My children have 6 grandparents, all of whom are retired and love them very much. None of them are bad; it's just a goofy title for a blog post. Please don't take the following post personally; thank you for loving my boys and getting them games!!

That being said...I recently had the extreme pleasure of discovering that Monopoly Jr. is as equally unenjoyable as its grown-up counterpart.

A grandmother who will go unnamed recently introduced the game to my boys and sent it home with them so we could enjoy it as a family. This was a very kind gesture, and well meaning. I had the opportunity to sit down with my sons and play this afternoon. Much like the adult version you are pretty much playing a game of chance (I often wonder why casinos don't have Monopoly tables in them), and I knew by the first time around the board I was going to lose. And sure enough...I lost. Mercifully, though, the junior version of the game plays in a much shorter time than the marathon style of the grown-up version.

My boys are gamers, yet they don't have the refined taste that years of gaming gives you, so they still enjoy Monopoly Jr.—or Bonoplewee as my youngest calls it.

You'll excuse me now, but I have to go bust out Castle Panic!

Our Favorite 2-Player Games [Firestone]

I’m part of a large gaming group, and I have a wife who doesn’t particularly enjoy board games, sooooooo...I don’t find many opportunities to play games with only one other person. But I’ve played my share of them, and here are my 10 favorites—in no particular order. (I apologize that some of these are practically impossible to find now; invent a time machine.) Battle Line—It might be the best pure 2-player game I’ve ever played. I couldn’t believe how good it was the first time I played it. Check out our review here.

Memoir ‘44—This is a very light WWII wargame. It comes with plastic miniatures, and cardboard terrain you put on a plain map to create specific places. There are lots of real-life scenarios to play through—one side as the Axis and one as the Allies. My oldest loves this game. Any shortcomings it might have just disappear when he’s fully engaged with this, peppering me with questions about WWII.

Blood Bowl—This game gives new meaning to fantasy football. You have a team of Orcs or Skaven (rats) or Undead, or any of the many other choices—filled with players with unique skills and abilities—and you square off against an opponent. There’s chaos, dice, injuries, deaths, and thrilling, last-second heroics as your tiny rat receiver slips through the defense, runs down the sideline, and rolls the exact number he has to to catch the ball in the endzone. If you can get some other players and a full league going, it’s some of the best board gaming ever.

Heroscape—A few years ago Hasbro had an insane idea for a turn-based squad game where people and creatures from all over time and space came together to fight for supremacy. You might have dragons, samurai, robots, orcs, and a cowboy all on your squad. It also came with interlocking hexagonal terrain that allowed you to build amazing and epic and creative maps. AND IT WAS AWESOME. I’ve played this many times with my 8-year-old, and it’s created some great stories. "Dad, remember that time my cyborg gorilla killed your giant robot? That was awesome..." I’m looking forward to my youngest being old enough for us have some epic 3-player games.

Jambo—This card game is part of the Kosmos line of 2-player-only games. You’re a merchant in Africa, and you’re trying to make more money over the course of the game than your opponent. You have special items, people, and animals to help you.

Lord of the Rings: The Card Game—Jeremiah talked about this one yesterday. It has gorgeous artwork, it’s expandable, and it’s just lots of fun. Yes, sometimes the draw of the cards means you just auto-lose, but that feels okay when you’re playing with someone against the game itself. I’ll continue to buy this game as long as they print it…

Fjords—I feel bad talking about this one because it’s long out of print. It has tile-laying similar to Carcassonne, with some area control thrown in for scoring. Plus it’s small, portable, and plays really quickly!

Lost Cities—You can read our review here. At least part of my love for this one stems from the fact that it’s the first game my wife played with me—and one she’ll still play on occasion.

Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation—Here’s another one that's out of print—though it’s possible they’ll reprint it with the new Hobbit movie coming out this winter… Anyway, it’s kinda like Stratego, in that you have pieces that only face you, so your opponent's not sure who’s who. Each piece is a character, and each character has special abilities. The good guys are trying to get Frodo across the board to Mordor, and the bad guys are trying to kill Frodo. Superb game.

Mr. Jack—Who would have thought a 2-player game of deduction would ever work? Well I’m glad designer Bruno Faidutti did… One player is Jack the Ripper—who’s trying to remain undetected and escape, and one is Scotland Yard—who’s trying to figure out which character is Jack. I can’t explain the mechanics in such a short space, but it works, and it’s fast, and it’s fun.

Well, those are our lists. What are some of your favorite games to play with two people? Leave a comment below, and thanks for reading!

Our Favorite 2-Player Games [Jeremiah]

My top two-player games aren't necessarily designed solely for two players. In fact, a game being strictly designed for two players is often a deterrent to me because I often game with at least more than one other friend—or at least want the flexibility to do so. That being said, unlike Firestone, my wife is a closeted gamer at heart. While she will deny it in public, she has, over the last 10 years of our marriage, ventured pretty far down the dork path from time to time. So it's not uncommon for a fly on the wall to see us sitting at the dining room table in heated competition. My only complaint in all of this is that she's a pretty bad cheater (again, something that she denies implicitly), and while I have no grounds or basis for such an accusation, I firmly believe foul play is afoot when she and I game.

Anyway, enough about my suspicions, here's a quick list (in no particular order) of some great games for two players.

The Lord of the Rings: The Living Card Game

While this game is designed and published for two players, it's expandable for three to four players by purchasing a second core set. But for a real challenge go on a quest with only a single companion. This game will test your deck-building skills, as well as your strategic ability. I do often play with three to four players, and it scales well for the added players, but I love the challenge of the two-player game. Overall this has become one of my favorite games, and the LCG has become (to me) the perfect mix of CCG deck building, board game strategy and role playing story and plot development. If you're not playing this game, you should be!

Battlefield General: Spearpoint 1943

Collins Epic Wargames released this at Origins a few years ago, and a friend of mine grabbed it up. It's a really fun WWII-based deckbuilder; they've released some expansions since then and I hear the game keeps getting better. I'd like to play this more often, so I'll probably invest in my own copy pretty soon!

Carcassonne

I know what you're thinking... Two-player Carcassonne? Trust me, the style of play is vastly different from a multi-player game. My wife and I play this one-on-one all the time; about mid-way through the game it becomes a very competitive battle for farm land. The cool thing is that the crazy strategy that requires eight perfect tile pulls to make happen can ACTUALLY happen! Just remember that when you're playing with more players, they generally don't work, unless of course you convince the other players to play tiles that help by assuring them it's the right move for their strategy... Not that I would ever do such a thing.

Kingdom Builder

I totally prefer to keep the expansion in the game and play 5 players on this one. That being said, there is again a nuance to playing a two player game of Kingdom builder: Do you stay out of each other's way, and hope that you play the right scoring options to out-race your opponent? Or do you intentionally start some trouble and try to block out the other player from getting the nifty ability tokens?

Omen: A Reign of War

Two players clashing for control of Greece by drafting creatures, soldiers, and the like, you war over control of three battlefields. A really slick game for two players that's quick to learn, and a lot of fun.

Board Games Get a Geeky Apologist

Wil Wheaton has maintained his Geek cred, despite years of being everyone's favorite whipping boy from Star Trek: The Next Generation. From guest spots on The Big Bang Theory to celebrity roleplaying panels at gaming conventions, he wears his Geek Badge with pride. Well now he's bringing boardgames out of the darkness into...well, slightly less darkness. Geek & Sundry is a series of YouTube videos designed to increase the amount of unique content on the site. There are numerous "channels"—including one on fantasy and science fiction books, and one on various Dark Horse comics. Wil's hosting one called Tabletop that deals with board gaming. He and a few of his friends get together and play a game. They introduce the rules gradually and visually, and you get to see a whole game played through. The production is slick, and they skip over some of the slower parts. Depending on the guest, sometimes the banter can get off-color. But we applaud his effort to make our geeky hobby just a little more mainstream. You can check out the episode where they play Small World—with Mythbuster's Grant Imahara—here. Or the Castle Panic episode here. (Caution: language.)

Stay tuned tomorrow for our own review of Castle Panic. See you then, and thanks for reading!

Ain’t That a Kick in the Head: The Joys & Pitfalls of Kickstarting Board Games

I sit here, mere hours away from the end of a kickstarter campaign, and I can’t decide whether to pledge my money.

In case you’re not familiar, Kickstarter.com is a Web site where people set up projects—be they books, or paintings, or video games, or board games—and ask people to give money toward that project. They have to set a certain dollar amount, and a date, and if the project hasn’t reached that amount by that date, the project doesn’t fund and no one pays a red cent. The incentive for backers is that they often get their hands on the project before anyone else. And they usually get some kind of special Kickstarter-only bonus. There are new games popping up every day…I’m just not sure that’s a good thing.

You see, in August of last year, I backed a game called Glory To Rome. I was supposed to have the game in my hands a month or two later. Well…it’s July, and those games are even now on a slow boat from China (literally). I might see it next month. I’m not confident.

It’s not just this bad experience that’s made me gun-shy. I don’t really like all these companies seeing this as a way to move mediocre games into the system. Before, companies were more discriminating when it came to what they produced—their money and warehouse space was on the line. Did some gems slip through the cracks? Sure. But now we have lots of games out there that passed a bare minimum vetting process, and will be produced as long as it gets backed on Kickstarter. Some of them are great games, but I also think this is leading to more stinkers getting through. I don’t think a game should be produced just because the money comes through—I want good games produced!

Another problem is that this process provides the consumers with very little info on these games. Before, a game would be produced, and you could do research, or play a friend’s copy to find out if you liked it. With Kickstarter, you have very little information to go on, and if you want to get all of the cool bonuses (and who doesn’t?!), then you feel compelled to back a game you have almost no information about. Is a short video—produced by the company who wants your money—going to give you a good idea about whether the game really is good or not? I'm doubtful. That leads to people buying mediocre games that they might not have before. Which leads to gun-shy people…like me…who hesitate to back games in the future.

Which brings me back to my current predicament. This game looks pretty fun--anthropomorphic, crazy, steampunk vultures?! Awesome! It’s not very expensive. But I just don’t know.

I’m backing it on faith. It might be a stinker; it might be awesome. Either way, I’ll let you know.

Uuurrrnnggg... Dead Games, the fad of the 90's

1993 changed gaming as we know it, at least for a decade or so. Wizards of the Coast released the first "Alpha" series of Magic the Gathering, the first collectible card game. Heretofore card games on the market pretty much consisted of games played with a pinochle, or poker deck, or if you were really progressive you were playing Milles Bornes and Uno.

Magic the Gathering (MTG) introduced an entirely new gaming experience, and subsequently an whole new wooorrlld, of games that followed suit. The concept was quite ingenious, instead of having an out of the box game playing experience players could now customize their own deck of cards, and pit them against other players, and in the meantime chase down highly sought after cards that would make your opponent tremble in fear when it was thrown on the table. It caught on, and BIG, MTG is still thriving and new sets are being released regularly, with just about every gaming store in existence holding monthly if not weekly tournaments.

Because of the wild success of MTG, the entire gaming universe jumped on the collectible card game (CCG) band wagon, new gaming publishers sprouted up, and nearly EVERYTHING was turned into some form of a CCG.

What I'm about to say might be the most shocking thing you've ever heard. I have never played Magic the Gathering. I know, I should hand in my Geek Card. But I never got past the eerie and hostile nature of the majority of the cards (particularly the Black and Red cards).

I did however play my fair share of CCGs that showed up on the scene, all of which are now commonly referred to as "Dead Games." There are many I still dust off and enjoy playing from time to time, and others that, while I don't play them anymore, still hold a special place in my heart. Over the next several weeks, Firestone and I will be revisiting these games. Join us as we take this trip down memory lane and look at the games that time forgot, we'll look at the good, the bad, and those that shall not be named.

I'm A Liar: Hesitance About the Resistance

One of my favorite games of the last few years is The Resistance. This terrific little card game takes everything that's good about games like Battlestar Galactica, Werewolf, and Mafia and boils them down to a 20-minute gem. Depending on the number of players, there will be a certain number of people who are members of The Resistance—you can call it the Rebel Alliance if that’s easier. But what makes it interesting is that a few people are also spies for the evil Empire. The spies know who each other are, but the members of the Alliance have no clue. That’s the short version, but you get the idea. For the long version, read my review here.

Like most games with a traitor, it’s just more fun to be a spy. But the thing that has me questioning my love for the game is this: When I’m a spy, I lie. A lot. And I'm super good at it. I’m not sure what to do with that.

I tell myself it’s okay, because I’m playing a role—like an actor. It’s not me who’s lying, it’s Bolt Vanderhuge—spy.

Is lying wrong in the context of a game? Is it wrong when everyone understands that there are spies, and those spies are supposed to lie? Am I applying legalism rather than common sense here? Am I trying to find a "loophole" so I can do something I'm against without feeling guilty? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Throw me a comment!

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