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In Bullfrogs players take command of their frog forces in a battle for supreme power and control of the pond! Bullfrogs is a tactical area-control game with a constantly changing game surface. So how does one control an army of frog forces and reign over the pond? Glad you asked; let's jump in!
Read MoreWerewolf (or Mafia) is a classic party and youth group game. But it has its problems: Sometimes people get carried away with the backstory, so it takes forever. Sometimes people have a "boring" role, so don't really have much to do. And finally, people are eliminated from the game, so they get to sit out and wait. But what if you could eliminate those problems, and boil the game down to its essence and play for just one night? What if...?
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Vikings seem to be the new pirates. There are TV shows, an upcoming reprint of the great Kiesling game by that name, and now we're seeing a few new games added to the fray. Gone Viking! is a trick-taking game with a pantheon of twists on the genre. Is it a longboat of fun, or should it be sacked? Let's find out.
The Overview
Gone Viking! is a trick-taking game from Francois Valentyne (who designed the first Ticket to Ride Map Collection), for 3-5 players, ages 13+, that plays in 45-60 minutes. You'll be attempting to win tricks (and therefore wealth), which allows you to buy Ships. But if you're too wealthy, the Jarl will visit and expect some of your hard-earned plunder. The winner is the player who earns a certain number of Wealth tokens, depending on the number of players.
We received a prototype review copy, so the final pieces will definitely be better than these. And it's possible some gameplay will be tweaked.
The Components
54 Cards--These include 4 God cards, 48 Plunder cards (in four suits), 1 Jarl card, and 1 Trump Tracker card.
41 Wealth tokens--These include 5 Books, 6 Coins, 7 Hammers, 8 Fists, 10 Trees, and 5 Ships.
The Setup
First, separate the Wealth tokens, and give each player two Tree tokens. Then you'll create the deck by adding and removing cards based on the number of players. Shuffle in the four God cards, and deal out a hand--the number of cards in the hand is also determined by the number of players. Then place the remaining cards into the center as a draw pile. Use the Jarl card to cover the suits that aren't trump; on the first turn trump is set to Books. Select a start player--called the Raid Leader. Now you're ready to play!
The Gameplay
The first thing you can do is swap out cards. In turn order, each person can choose to pay one of your Wealth tokens to swap up to two cards with two new ones. You can do this as often as you want (and can afford).
Now you go raiding--which is the part where you play out the hand and win tricks. The Raid Leader plays one or more cards of the same suit. If you choose to play more than one card, you combine the numbers to determine the number you've played down. So a 7 is the same as someone playing a 5 and a 2. As with many trick-taking games, play goes clockwise, and each player has to follow suit if they're able. If they're not able, they're free to play any card--including trump if the led suit wasn't trump.
Once everyone has played, the person who played the highest card of the led suit wins the trick—unless someone played trump, in which case the highest played trump wins. If there is a tie, then no one wins the trick and the cards are simply discarded. The winner takes a Wealth token of the type used to win the trick—and if none of that type are left, the winner takes a Tree token.
The winner leads the next trick. Continue on this way until everyone is out of cards. Because you can play more than one card on a trick to "boost" it's power, some people might run out of cards earlier than others. If that happens, the person just passes.
There are four God cards, which are the highest numbers in each of the four suits. You can play these in one of two ways. You can play it as a "regular" card, and you simply count the value on the card. If you play it with another card of the God's suit, you can play it as a God card. You play the other card(s) as usual, but place the God facedown. Once the trick is fully resolved, the God card is flipped over. If there was already a God card in play, the new one replaces the old one, which is discarded. A God card can never be played as a God card by itself—it must always be played with another card of the same suit.
Each God card has a Raid Power, and a Home Power. The Raid Power takes effect as soon as the card is flipped over, and the Home Power kicks in for a God card that survives until the end of the round.
Odin (Books)
Raid Power: Immediately choose trump, and no boosting is allowed (only single cards can be played).
Home Power: You gain two additional Wealth tokens from the supply when the round is over.
Freya (Coins)
Raid Power: Choose trump if there is none, and any player who wins a trick also gains one Coin token from the supply.
Home Power: All other players must return one Wealth token of their choice to the supply.
Thor (Hammers)
Raid Power: Removes trump, and players aren't forced to follow suit. The highest value card(s) take the trick.
Home Power: You can return any four Wealth tokens in exchange for a Ship token. (I'll explain that shortly.)
Loki (Fists)
Raid Power: He doesn't affect trump, and the lowest-valued cards win the trick.
Home Power: Gain one Wealth token from the supply or steal one from another player—but you can't steal a Ship).
When the hand is played out, three things happen in this order.
First, you apply the Home Power of the last God card standing.
Second you build a Ship if you can. You can turn in one of each type of Wealth token—or four Tree tokens—in exchange for a Ship token. This can only be done once per turn.
Third, the Jarl visits the player who has the most Wealth. Each Wealth token is worth one point, and each Ship is worth four points. If there's a tie, count up the value of all Fist cards won during that round, and whoever has the most among the tied players breaks the tie and receives the visit. The Jarl will take half of a person's Wealth tokens, rounded up. Ship tokens are safe from the Jarl's visit, however...
Next you'll see if someone has won. With 5 players you need seven or more Wealth tokens; with 4 you need eight or more; and with 3 players you need nine or more—keeping in mind Ships are worth four.
If no one wins, the player targeted by the Jarl becomes the new Raid Leader, gathers up all the cards, and deals out a new hand. The new Raid Leader also gets a free swap of up to four cards, and gets to choose trump.
If there's a tie for winning the game, whoever among the tied is the new Raid Leader wins.
The Verdict
Firestone—I'm a big fan of trick-taking games. I'm not terribly good at them, but I really, really like them. So a new one with some cool twists definitely caught my eye. Gone Viking! doesn't stray too far from the familiar formula, but has enough unique aspects to make it a good addition to the genre.
Jeremiah— I have a specific set of friends who love trick-taking games, and I enjoy them myself. Euchre is—from what I hear—an Ohio phenomenon; while other areas of the country play the game, it's rampant here. I enjoy it, but I don't like how often the fifth trick is a throwaway trick, or that if you have the lead and both bowers and the ace of the trump suit you can basically lay down three cards and be assured at least one point for the hand. Gone Viking adds a greater margin for strategic error, and causes the player to think things through, while adding fun and interesting twists along the way!
Firestone—There are some interesting choices to make here. "Do I play a God card as a high suit, or as the God card for its power?" "I want to take as many tricks as possible, but one fewer trick than some other player, so the Jarl visits him instead of me. How can I accomplish that?" I like when plays aren't obvious, and they don't seem to be here. God cards are cool and powerful, but it's definitely not something where you always want to play one if you can. Some of their powers will guarantee a visit from the Jarl. And the Boosting mechanism is cool, too. You can play extra cards to win a trick, but it will keep you from winning one other trick every time you do it.
Jeremiah— Yes, everything you just said is why I like this game. The mechanisms of the game allow for decision-making rather than funneling you into one base strategy. Using the God cards to alter/reverse/remove trump add a good level of chaos, but also evens the playing field, especially if the front-runner chose trump and happens to have a great hand dealt to them. I really enjoyed the fact that the chaos in the game only served to balance the game—it wasn't simply chaos for chaos' sake. Mind you, I enjoy games with heaps of chaos driving them, but this game doesn't need that type of chaos, so it works well! It should also be noted that Boosting is a great way to ensure you score that one token you need to build a Ship, protecting your wealth from the Jarl; it's another strategic decision to make on how you play your hand.
Firestone—The Jarl mechanism seemed harsh at first—and it is! But it's a good way to reign in the leader and give other people a chance. Plus both the Jarl and the grab-a-Tree-if-the-token-is-gone mechanisms keep people from hoarding.
Jeremiah— Yep, the elements that may seem chaotic or harsh have been well-thought-out and keep the game balanced, but they don't needlessly prolong the game or the inevitable; there's plenty of room for players to catch up, and for the lead to be exchanged between players.
Firestone—The one thing that keeps this from being a great trick-taking game for me is that you're not playing with all of the cards every hand. I like to know exactly what's out there. Sure, I don't know which player has what cards. And I have a crappy memory, so I usually screw up keeping track of what's been played anyway. But I don't want to have to wonder if the card is still in the draw pile. I know the draw pile, and the ability to swap some cards at the beginning, is part of the unique gameplay here, but part of the fun of trick-taking games is playing whatever hand you're dealt as well as you can. That's not really possible when there are a number of unknown cards still in a draw pile. I want control, and I don't have as much as I want here.
Jeremiah— Sheesh! Suffer from megalomania much? I get what you're saying, but from my point of view, the most frustrating thing about trick taking games is getting dealt a terrible hand and sitting there, having to take it while someone else runs roughshod over the rest of the table and having absolutely no power to stop them. It's a wasted hand, and it is terrible! Being able to swap cards alleviates some of this. True, you may still end up with a hand full of poopy cards, and it is costly, but it's a calculated risk; to me it gives the player more control than I'm used to having in a trick-taking game, and I like that, a lot.
Jeremiah's Final Verdict— There is something familiar to most casual/non-gamers about trick-taking games. Most people have played Hearts, Spades, or Euchre. I remember playing my first game of Hearts at a very young age. Gone Viking takes age-old mechanics and weaves them into an interesting, but not overbearing, theme, and adds some nice depth, creating a much less abstract experience—while mitigating some of my major frustrations with the typical trick-taking game. This is a really fun, light-weight game, so I say: Put this game on your table!
Firestone's Final Verdict—Despite my lack-of-control problem, I liked Gone Viking! This would be a great game to bust out with some friends who have played Spades or Euchre and are looking for something new to try. It's not heavy, but it's not too light, either. There are some neat and unique mechanisms that force you to think through choices. I like that.
Thanks so much for reading. Gone Viking! is on Kickstarter right now, and they're already over halfway to their modest goal.
We'd like to thank The Flux Capacity for providing review copies of Gone Viking! This in no way affected our opinions on the game; this was not a paid preview.
You can subscribe to TOG by filling in your email over on the right, we'd also love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and of course there's more TOG where this came from on our Podcast!
Space, the final frontier...
Hegemonic is a new 4X game for 2-6 players from Minion Games. For those who may not be familiar with 4X games the four X's stand for eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate. So maybe they should be called 4-eX games? Anyway. Hegemonic takes place in space, as players act as the rulers of different "houses" looking to expand their reach and control in the galaxy. What did we think of Hegemonic and the final frontier? Let's take a look!
The Overview
Like most 4X games, you'll start with a little, and grow your space, units, and power--eventually clashing with other players. But unlike most 4X games, this is done with influence, and not big fleets and the roll of the dice.
There are TONS of pieces, parts, and cool bits to this game. We'll list them here, but if you'd like to see them live and in video. Click here to see our unboxing video on YouTube.
1 - Galactic Core Board, which is the center of the game play and has a turn order tracker on it.
9 - Five-Sector Galaxy Boards - The five sectors are hexes, and you use a certain number of these boards depending on the number of players in the game.
The bits - there are an even number of all of these split into six colors -blue, green, orange, purple, red, and yellow.
90 - Industrial Complexes - two of these are used for score tracking.
54 - Political Embassies
72 - Martial Outposts
18 - Quantum Gate pairs
18 - Political Agents
18 - Fleet Units
1 - Score Tracker Board
48 - Sector Tiles - These have an assortment of possible bases that can be built on them of varying powers and ranges; this will all make sense shortly. Some of them also has a background color, which means it's part of one of three different Factions that can lend support in conflicts.
36 - Action Cards - This makes a set of six cards per player; they're all all the same set of cards, but they have different colors to let you know who played what.
54 - Tech Cards - This is a deck of cards with technology on them that can be advanced, or power values that can be used to help you win a conflict.
1 - Arbiter Token - This is the 1st player token but also has some benefits in game play.
12 - Leader Cards - These are optional and add some more options to the game play.
81 - CAP Tokens - this is the game's money
6 - Player Board - Very cool two-layer boards that hold all of your bases and show how much each costs to build, how much money you can keep at the end of a turn, and how much you gain at the beginning of the next turn.
The Setup
There are examples for setup, depending on how many players are in the game, but it should be noted that there is also a specific number of sector tiles and boards to put into the game.
Eight sector tiles are randomly selected per player, which create a draw stack. Choose a start player. Each player places his or her starting tile--each color has one on--the board. There are suggestions on where these should be placed, and they cannot be placed on the Core Galactic board. Each player then places one Industrial Complex, one Political Embassy, and one Martial Outpost on that starting tile. Each player then in turn draws two tiles and plays one adjacent to their starting tile--this one can be placed on the Core Galactic board--and then places the other one face up next to the draw stack, which creates the "Sector Pool" that will be used for the remainder of the game. Then each player is dealt two cards from the Tech Deck.
The Gameplay
After you've set up, play moves through six different phases. The first two phases start with the Arbiter, and then things get interesting. Here's a quick rundown of the phases.
Phase 1: Collection--Players receive CAPS equal to the highest "gain" number value for each track on their board--Industrial, Political, and Martial--that has an empty spot on it. In other words, the more they've built from one of those tracks the more money they get at the beginning of the turn.
Phase 2: Expansion--This is a pretty simple step. You draw one tile from the Sector tile draw stack, place it faceup in the Sector Pool, and then select any tile from the Pool to add to the board. It can be placed on any empty space, except for the very center space where the turn order tracker is. Then you draw two cards from the tech deck, and either discard one of them, or pay the cost denoted on a card to advance that technology. You also can only advance a tech if you have built that specific track to the particular tier denoted on the card--for example, if you've built your martial track into the second tier, but the card requires a martial tier of three, you can't advance that technology just yet.
Phases 3-5: Action Phases--All three of these are identical. You'll be playing an Action card from your hand, resolving the cards in the order of the number on the card (they're 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, and 4), and then getting your card back. You do this three times, and then move on to the next phase.
Phase 6: Arbitration--At this point in the game, whoever has the most money receives the Arbiter token. Then players pay money to the general supply until they have no more than the lowest "retention limit" value that is revealed on their board. These show up in the spaces that you build your bases from. The more you've built, the less you keep at the end of the turn--think of it as administrative costs for your growing empire...
And then you score points at the end of each turn. Players add up their power (or influence) on each 5-sector board: Whoever has the most gets six points, whoever has the second most gets three points, and if any other players simply have presence there they get one point. You get an extra two points for being the only player on a board, and an extra one point for each score awarded on the Core Galactic board.
Then you go back to phase one and do it all again.
The game ends on the round that the board is filled. The board is scored one last time and whoever has the most points wins.
Action Cards
We really need to take a minute to explain some of the Action cards, because this is where the meat of the game lies. There are a lot of options, and a ton of housekeeping that comes with the Action Phase, so let's dig in.
Each Action card has several actions you can choose from, and all of them allow you to choose up to two Actions. Most of them have a Basic action that allows you to use one of the actions to gain two Caps, or draw one tech card and advance one or discard one.
Here's a quick overview of the cards:
Assault - 1 - This action allows you to attack from one type of base to a non-alike base, for example you can attack with a Martial Fleet to an Industrial complex or Political Emabassy. This is a "Destroy" action so doing this only weakens your opponents and you don't take over the area you assault.
Industrialize, Politicize, Martialize - 2 - All three of these cards have the same number, and each does the same thing but for a different area of influence: Industry, Political and Martial. This Action card allows you to choose from the Basic action, or to build new bases -of the type you selected--and/or gates, fleets, and agents. Each base built has a "range" and "power" value printed on the tile you build them on, ranging typically from 1-3.
You can also choose to attack and "Takeover" the same type as you are building this turn. This allows you to not only weaken your opponent but allows you to takeover and build the same type of base you just destroyed.
Subvert - 3 - This action card gives you the Takeover ability of the number 2 action cards, but you can do it with non-alike types of conflict--like card number 1, you can attack Industrial and Political with Martial power.
4 - Discover - This card gives you three options: Capitalize, which lets you to gain more money--often a power play to gain the Arbiter token next round. Survey, which allows you to add another tile from the pool to the board. Research, which allows you to discard and redraw Tech cards.
We feel we should also spend some time on the conflict-resolution mechanics of this game, this is where the game grinds to a snail's pace.
There are three distinct battle systems used in Hegemonic. Which one you use depends on what power you are using for your attack - Industrial, Political or Martial. And each of those areas has a unique defense value that is totaled.
When you attack with Martial power you must have a fleet in play, then pay to move that fleet, and pay to attack--based on the power of the base you're attacking. Then you calculate the attack power of your fleet by the number of one base that has the "range" to reach the fleet, and all of the bases that have the "range to reach that supporting base --and your gates can add other bases because they create adjacency and add your fleet's power, which is denoted on your player board and dependent on the tier you have reached on the Martial track . You then add up the total defense power of the defending outpost, which is simply adding the power of the defending outpost, along with any outposts that can reach it with its own range, along with any outposts that are within the defending outpost's range, and the power of any fleets that may be on the defending outpost's tile. Then you add the power of one tech card--using the icons on the bottom to match the type of conflict--and then total up the power and see who wins. It's THAT simple!
Industrial doesn't have fleets or agents so you can only attack within one complex's range adding attack and defense power from outposts that are within range, and a tech card from each player's hand.
And Political conflict is much like Martial conflict except you move your agents and only draw support from political embassies that are within range of your agent and then those around the board that are on the same Faction (color) as the supporting embassy.
There are a couple of advanced rules options, including Leader cards that let you do some really fun stuff.
The Verdict
Jeremiah--Let's talk about the components first. Everything in the box is really top notch. It's very well designed both artistically and graphically. It's a really great game to look at. The way the Martial outposts stack is cool in both form and function. The player boards are great and ingenious too. All the plastic mini bits just fit and work. My chief complaint about the components has to fall upon the rule book. The layout and explanation of the conflict, especially, leaves a lot to be desired. The gameplay is really complex with tons of moving parts and things to keep track of, and having anything short of an amazing rule book to reference was very frustrating at times.
Firestone--I agree on the components. I was blown away by the 2-layer player boards. All of your stuff fits right in the spaces, and if you bump it you won't have to spend 10 minutes righting everything. The plastic bits are cool, and I totally agree: The stacking Martial Outposts are cool. The Sector tiles are colorful, and interesting, and convey a lot of information using colors and icons in a nonobtrusive way.
Jeremiah--The expanding and exploring portions of Hegemonic are really, really cool. It all made a lot of sense, and was fun to plot out what you could do on your turn and think ahead and try to figure out what the other players were looking at as well. The monetary system works really well too. As you build you find out how necessary it is to build evenly, and the more you build there's a good chance you'll lose out on being the Arbiter because the cost to build increases as well.
Firestone--One of my favorite things about this was the Sector Pool. I really dislike the randomness of the tile draw in Eclipse. "Hey, I drew a crappy one! Hey, you drew an awesome one! Good for you!" Blech. Now, it can absolutely still happen that an opponent will draw exactly what she needs, and you won't, but at least you're not stuck with the one tile you drew. There are always options in the Sector Pool, and that tile that was useless to your plans earlier might be important to your plans now...
Jeremiah--The battle system, though, made the game feel unnecessarily bogged down. We trudged through each and every conflict, and had to dig into the rule book to find answers. I understand: There are three different types of power on the board, and they all use their power differently. Awesome. But there is just SO much to keep track of, it really kept us from wanting to attack the other players, which kind of stinks in a game that's designed to be one quarter eXtermination.
Firestone--Yeah, the conflict resolution is CONVOLUTED. It's not enough that you're trying to figure out what you need to do, and what you think your opponents might be trying to do, but when you add on this extra layer of conflict resolution, it's enough to make your head explode. Just like Jeremiah, every time there was a conflict, we'd have to go through all of it, step by step, and resolve it. Anther problem was that even if you were THINKING of attacking someone somewhere, you had to figure this whole thing out by yourself, because you didn't want to telegraph your move. But that meant more time, and a greater chance that you'd screw something up since you're doing it alone. "Okay, so if I attack there, I'll have to do it with that power, so I'll have to play this card. So now we add up his power, and then mine comes from there, there, and...there, so that's...and then I'll have to play this card, and hope he doesn't have that card..." Ka-BOOM!
I know it sounds like we didn't like it, but I like everything but this aspect. Unfortunately, this aspect is a huge part of the game. This isn't enough to keep me from playing the game, and I think it will get easier as you play more. It's just something you should know going into it.
Jeremiah--Our game group is split pretty much right down the middle about Hegemonic. Myself and a few others liked the game and see how much fun it can be. Others just couldn't abide the intricacies and the multiple battle systems, and all the housekeeping that went into it. I will say there is nothing in this game that makes it unfriendly to family players, or deeply offensive, other than the very involved and intensive learning curve. The theme is fun and exciting, but the game is long and laborious; many casual players will not make it halfway through the instructions.
Firestone--Yeah, this is a gamer's game for sure. I played twice with gamers, and they all thought it was pretty good, but they were all put off by the conflict resolution. Some of them would play again (as would I), but some would be fine never playing again.
One good thing was that our first game was with four brand-new players, and we finished in just over two hours. That's just not happening with Eclipse and Twilight Imperium III...
In the end, this doesn't feel much like a 4X game to me. Sure, you're drawing tiles and expanding and taking things over. And there's technology, and all of the things you'd expect in a 4X game. It just didn't feel like one... What it really felt like was an area-control game--El Grande if El Grande decided to do CrossFit, maybe...
Jeremiah Final Verdict--Hegemonic is not for the faint of heart. I have to give this one somewhat of the benefit of doubt. To be fair my game group does not often play 4X type games, it's mostly Euros, cards, co-ops and the like for us. So this was a pretty new experience, and deeper level of strategy game than most of us have played. I get the feeling a few of us may get together and sit down with this one and really enjoy it. But a table divided can not stand, so we had a rough time getting through this one a few times. The art, concept, and deep mechanics are well thought out. Maybe a little too well thought out. Don't even think about putting this on the table with kids, family or casual gamers; it's simply too much for those situations. If you're into 4X games, and love deep, and at times tweaky mechanics, this will be right up your alley, so in that setting, I say Put This One on the Table.
Firestone Final Verdict--I'm very conflicted on this one. The components are top-notch. The art direction, and "small" decisions, such as having three distinct shapes for the powers, and stackable martial triangles, are inspired. It doesn't much feel like a 4X game to me, so it's not going to replace Twilight Imperium III. And while I like area-control, this one has such complex resolution on conflict that I would rather just play a classic such as El Grande. But I still liked Hegemonic! I just didn't love it. There's very little luck. It's interesting. It looks great. It's obviously well-thought-out. As long as you have the correct expectations going in, I say Put This on the Table!
We'd like the thank Minion Games for providing review copies of Hegemonic. This in no way affected our opinions on the game.
Thanks for reading! Please check us out on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
You're at the doctor's office. Or the DMV. (Shudder...) Or in line at at amusement park. Or waiting to buy tickets to a Radiohead concert. You're bored. You don't have a surface to play a game. But you have the sudden urge to battle it out for pirate-like supremacy of the air. What will you do?! I have just the thing...
The Overview
Oddball Aeronauts is a 2-player card game where you're trying to force your opponent to discard all of his or her cards. It's for ages 9 and up (which seems about right), and plays in about 15 minutes.
The Components
Note: We were sent prototype copies of the game. The quality and exact component list may change before publication.
Cards... That's it. No tokens. No nothing. Just cards. The cards are broken into two types:
Faction Cards - There are 2 decks of 24 cards per Faction. These cards have 3 skills listed on them - Sailing, Guns, and Boarding. Each of those skills has a primary "Skill Level" and a "Skill Bonus." We'll tell you a little more about that in a minute. These cards also have Special Abilities that will either affect this turn, or the next turn.
Event Cards - There are a total of six Events in the game, but with rule updates only three of them will come out in the game play. These Events come into play from one player's deck but affect the whole game and both players have to deal with its effect.
The Setup
Give each player a Faction deck, and randomly shuffle three Event cards into one of the decks. Players then hold their deck face-up towards them so they can see what is now the top card's face. The rules say to play Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine the starting player--the starting player is the one who loses. And you're ready to go.
The Gameplay
The game is played in rounds, and each round is essentially a portion of a battle between two rival Factions.
Before we go into how the game actually works, there are some interesting concepts and actual physical mechanics that should be noted and understood. As you probably noticed, the entire deck is being held by each player at this point. The goal of the game is to get the other player to discard all of their cards. It's a war of attrition. When a player discards a card they turn the card face down and puts it at the bottom of the deck. Once one player gets to his or her first face down card, they've exhausted their deck--and lose. Certain abilities and round results will allow players to recover a card, and in this instance players search down in their deck to the first face down card and then turn it face up, thus keeping more cards in the game. Some have an ability to add a bonus in the next round after it's discarded. They've printed this bonus on the back of the card in the top corner, so in this instance the card is discarded and then pushed up to reveal that bonus for use in the current round. There are also some abilities that take effect that round, and use the same mechanism to reveal the ability to your opponent by pushing the card up, without revealing the face to them.
The rounds are broken down into 5 phases:
1. Events -- If the player with the Event cards has an Event in their top three cards, it's brought out and dealt with. Or continues its effect on the round.
2. Announce Skill -- At this point each player will fan out their top 3 cards, and determine which skill they will use--Sailing, Guns, or Boarding. You're allowed to look past your top 3 cards to see what is coming up next, but you can only use up to your top 3 cards. Once both players have decided what skill they will use, they announce it and the next phase commences.
3. Play Cards -- Like we just said, you can choose to play up to 3 of your top cards. By playing more than one card you are supporting the top card in the fight. So you'll be using the top card's "Skill Level"--which is the big number on the top for that skill--but for the cards below it you'll be using their "Skill Bonus" value--which is the smaller number on the bottom of that skill. You also can only use the special ability of the top card. Once both players have decided how many cards they will play, the lead player--the one who lost Rock-Paper-Scissors--will count to three and each player will hold up X number of fingers: X being the number of cards they intend to play.
4. Winner of the Round -- Players reveal the cards they are playing, and show the total of their Skill, by adding up Skill Level, Skill Bonus and any Special Ability Bonuses that may be applied, and the player with the highest level of Skill wins the round. If there should be a draw, then no one wins and the cards are discarded.
5. Win Result --After one player is declared the winner of the round, both players discard any cards they played, and then you resolve the results. If the winning player used Sailing, they recover 2 cards. If they used Guns, the loser discards 2 additional cards. And if they used Boarding, the winner recovers 1 card and the loser discards 1 additional card.
The winning player starts the next round as the Lead player and you do the whole thing over again.
After all of the effects have been resolved, if a player has no more active (face up) cards, they lose; if both players have no more active cards, it's a tie!
The Verdict
Firestone--What a terrific idea! I have no idea if someone's already thought about making a game that needs no surface to play, but who cares? It's great. I'll definitely be grabbing this game on trips and hikes and any travel I have to do.
Jeremiah--Yeah, I'm sure there are a few micro games out there that don't use a playing surface, but this is much more than a micro game, and I love the idea. You could easily play this on a table and lay down the cards you're playing for a round. But I love the thought that went into making it work without a playing surface. I played this with a friend while we were sitting on my couch. That's just cool.
Firestone--Yes, steampunk is all the rage now, so there's a part of me that wants to avoid everything steampunky, just on general principle. But I can't help myself! The artwork is really cool and evocative. The characters are interesting, and I'm kind of a sucker for anthropomorphic animals... Let's make this into a kick-butt cartoon!
Jeremiah--Yeah, I'm okay with the Steampunk movement for now. It's creative and imaginative, and it's just cool to look at; this game is no different. Steampunk is very much the Japanese Animation of this generation. I remember when Akira hit these shores; it was unlike anything anyone had ever seen and it blew up from there. Steampunk is riding that wave; I'm sure it will settle before long, but its carved out its niche and I'm sure it's here to stay. Lucky for us it doesn't involve sparkling vampires or any other lameness...
Firestone--With a box that small I wasn't expecting to be thinking too much, but there are definite, actual decisions to be made. Interesting decisions. You're always having to look at the next few cards and try to figure out the best way to play them, and when to tiptoe, and when to bum-rush.
Jeremiah--I totally agree. With not needing a playing surface, and holding all of your cards, I was really thinking along the lines of a streamlined micro game. But it's really not. Is it a 3-hour Euro? No. But the fact that you can plan ahead, and potentially throw a round so you can maneuver a card into a position to really slam your opponent hard in the next round, is a great mechanism, and adds a ton of strategic decisions to make. None of them are too deep that you get analysis paralysis, but enough to make the game really interesting and fun.
Jeremiah--If there was one thing I would add to this game components-wise, it would be something like three stones/tokens for each player. So instead of counting to three and sticking up your fingers, you would reach into your pocket and pull out a number of stones to reveal how many cards you're playing that round. It seems piratey to reveal stones in your hand, and wouldn't clutter up your non-existent playing area. But the fingers work fine.
Firestone--I've played this with adults, and they all thought it was clever and fun. Not super deep, but who wants to play Tigris & Euphrates at the doctor's office? I also played with my 9-year-old, and he loved it, once we got past the rules, which were a little hard for him to grasp at first. But as he was making his way through his deck, he kept seeing the next picture and saying, "Oh cool!" or "Aww....look at that one, Dad!" And then I'd have to remind him that he probably shouldn't show me his cards...
Jeremiah--I haven't played this one with either of my boys. My oldest could probably grasp it, and it would be good to work his math skills. Thematically and visually though I can't imagine many people that wouldn't think it's cool, including kids. The cards are just really cool to look at--very richly designed!
Firestone--I hope they come out with expansion cards, and maybe a way to customize your deck a little. It doesn't need that, but it would be fun, and give it some legs for the long-haul.
Jeremiah--I kind of don't want to see deck customization in this game; I feel like it could get unbalanced really easily, or just convoluted too much from what it is. It's a quick-playing game that you can throw in your pocket, laptop bag, etc. I'm sure there will be an expansion or two down the line--more events most likely--or maybe even another two decks that bring out more Factions. If there was a way to bring more than 2 players into the game, I'd be all for that, as long as it wouldn't break the game, because I really like it the way it is.
Firestone Final Verdict--oddball Aeronauts is a unique game. The footprint, artwork, and gameplay all combine to make a game I'm happy to play wherever I am. Even the DMV! I would say put this on the table, but it doesn't need a table! That's awesome!
Jeremiah Final Verdict--We totally agree on this one. oddball Aeronauts packs a lot of fun and strategy into about 15 minutes of gameplay. The unique mechanics and card design/layout seamlessly serve the purpose of the game, and don't come off as gimmicky at all. This a great play-it-anywhere game and yes, it doesn't need a table so, just go play it already!
oddball Aeronauts is on Kickstarter right now! They've got a little less than three weeks to go, but they're nearly funded! Yay!
We'd like to thank Maverick:Muse for providing preview copies of oddball Aeronauts. This in no way affected our opinions, and this was not a paid preview.
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"A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys. Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys. One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more, and Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar."
- Peter, Paul & Mary
Over the past several weeks, we've seen an influx of 2-player games come our way, and today's review is yet another one. Draco Magi is a 2-player battle as the Gold and Green factions seek to claim the recently vacated throne, and become the Dragon King... errr... that is, Draco Magi. Let's take a look!
We should state that the images we've included, and the copies we're reviewing, are prototypes and may not be indicative of the final product that is released.
The Components
Cards, cards, everywhere! Here's the breakdown of the cards that come with the game:
Battlefield Cards--16 double-sided cards that serve as the battlefields where your dragons will duke it out, and feature a location name, some modifiers that affect the dragons you send there, and a colored jewel. Each side of the card is different, which gives you twice as much bang for your buck, and extra replayability.
Dragon Cards--There are two identical decks of 26 Dragon Cards, one Gold and one Green. There are 5 attributes to take note of on the Dragon Cards: Defense value, Ranged Attack value, Melee Attack value, Special abilities, and finally the Dragon's Type, which is anything from its color, to its "metallic" type.
Battle Cards--Two decks of 20 Battle Cards. Again, each player has an identical deck. These cards are broken into two sections: The top section is the Ranged Attack section, with a Defense value and an Attack value, and the bottom section is the Melee Attack/Defense section.
Advanced Battle Cards - This is a single deck of 18 that players add to their individual Battle decks as the game progresses.
First Player Token--We didn't get one in our prototype, so we just grabbed whatever and imagined it was something dragony or kingy or dragon kingy. But the game will come with one.
The Setup
Setup is fairly easy and quick. Each player takes their Dragon and Battle Cards and sets them in different piles. Then shuffle the Advanced Battle Cards and draft them: Each player is dealt three, they keep one, give one to their opponent, and the third is shuffled back into the Advanced Deck. The cards the players drafted are shuffled into their respective Battle Decks. The Battlefield Cards are shuffled, and three are dealt out from the bottom of the deck. Each time a new Battlefield Card id dealt out, it's from the bottom of the deck so the next location(s) are hidden from both players. The Gold Dragon faction gets the First Player token, and each player draws 8 Dragon Cards and the game begins.
The Gameplay
The game is played in 5 rounds.
Set Battlefield Phase--Which you already did during the setup, but in subsequent rounds you'll deal out enough cards to have 3 battlefields in play.
Draw Phase--Which, again, you've already done in Setup. But as the game moves along, players will draw back up to 8 dragon cards to their hand.
Placement Phase--This is where the game starts to get interesting. Players will--in turn and starting with the first player--place one Dragon Card on a battlefield. There can be no more than 3 of a player's Dragon Cards on a battlefield, and each dragon played is placed on top of a player's previously played dragon. If a player places a Dragon Card with a Ranged Attack value and there is an opponent's dragon on that battlefield, then the Ranged Attack is resolved. Ranged attacks are resolved by looking at the number next to the placed dragon's flame icon, and the defending player's top dragon's Shield/Defense value. Players then draw and flip over the respective number of Battle Cards from their own Battle Deck. The attacking player counts up the number of successes (starburst symbols) in the Ranged Attack section of the cards drawn, and the defending player does the same for the Defense section of their cards. If the attacker has more bursts than the defender, the defender loses his or her top dragon. If the defender has at least the same or more bursts, they defend and their dragon stays in play. This placement phase continues, and players place and resolve Ranged Attacks until players are either out of cards in their hand, or there are 3 dragons on each player's side of the battlefield.
Melee Phase--The First Player gets the party started by picking a battlefield, and the battle begins. Here's how melee battles work. Each player adds up their Melee Attack value for that Battlefield by adding together the numbers listed on all of their dragons' claw icons, and then draws that number of Battle Cards from their Battle Deck--remembering to check for Battlefield or dragon special abilities that can affect that number! Once cards are drawn, again beginning with the first player, attacks are made, this time using the melee section of the battle cards. So the attacking player makes an attack with a Claw or Bite card, and then the defending player must defend those attacks with the same type of card. Each of these cards have a "combo" icon that allows you to attack with multiple cards as long as the icons on the cards match. For each attack card that can't be defended, a dragon on that battlefield is defeated and discarded.
Then the player who just defended gets to attack, and this goes back and forth until only one person has dragons left on the Battlefield--or both players run out of battle cards. The player with more dragons wins the Battlefield, and its all-important gem. If the players run out of battle cards and there are an equal number of dragons on both sides, it's a tie and all of those dragons stay there, along with the Battlefield, until the next round. Once a Battlefield is resolved, the second player chooses the next Battlefield and it's Game On once again.
Draw Phase--After all three Battlefields have been resolved, each player draws one Advanced Battle card, and shuffles it and all of their Battle cards in the draw pile, discard pile, and any left in hand to re-form their battle deck. You can choose to discard or keep any Dragon cards that may be left in your hand, and then draw back up to 8 Dragon cards and return to the Set Battlefields phase.
Game End--The game ends immediately when one player wins enough battlefields to collect 3 gems of the same color, 3 gems of different colors, or 4 gems of any combination.
The Verdict
Jeremiah--Finally! A game that's clever, but not too clever for its own good! I can't really remark on component quality at this time, since we have prototypes, and the quality, art, graphic design, etc., will vary once the retail version hits the shelves. Robert Burke has been in contact with us, and some of the concerns I did have about iconography and fonts and such are being resolved, which is great news. The overall look and artwork, though, is amazing! The dragons look super awesome, the Battlefield artwork is really spiffy too! I can't wait to see the cards in their full splendor!
Firestone--Yeah, the art on those dragons is just terrific. They're colorful and evocative, and each one is unique. It probably wasn't cheap, but that was money well spent!
Jeremiah--I was really impressed with the way this game brings two unique and completely different styles of battle to the table, using the same set of cards. The battles interlock well enough to not make it feel completely disjointed from the game, but are still unique and have their own strategies. The dragons' abilities play well into the battle systems, also. Some are better at Melee while others better at Ranged attacks. It's slick and streamlined. I'm a fan of both battle systems.
Firestone--Really what this all reminded me of was Blue Moon. You're both competing for the same "thing," and playing cards to jockey for position to win that thing. It works really well.
Jeremiah--My first thoughts on resolving battles--especially Ranged--were, "Oh, no. It's down to a card pull, or luck of the draw." But this game is super balanced. There were plenty of battles where I thought I was going to blow away my opponent, and barely squeaked out a victory--or even lost--and vice versa. Every game I've played has come down to some pretty epic battles that decided the game one way or the other. I haven't seen a game that was completely lopsided.
Firestone--There's definitely some luck in the cards, though. For one battle, both of my Flight cards were drawn out during the Ranged attack. Well, that made it really hard to win that Battlefield--and, indeed, I lost it. I'm okay with the luck here, though. It feels about right for the weight of the game, and rarely feels punishing.
Jeremiah--I liked the function of the Advanced Battle cards. As the game moves along, there's a little more variation given to each player. So while you know the majority of your opponent's Battle Deck, there are still a few surprises along the way. Again, nothing that really throws the balance of the game, but enough to make the choices you make during melee battles just a little more precarious.
Firestone--One of the best things about the game was the "small" decision to let people add one Advanced Battle card to their decks at the end of a round. (There are a couple of other ways to get the cards, too.) That inserts some "fun stuff" into the game, but it also pushes it toward the End Game. Adding those cards makes it so most games of Draco Magi are going to go three or four rounds, which keeps it from overstaying its welcome.
Jeremiah's Final Verdict--I really had a lot of fun with this game. It plays right around 30 minutes, and packs a lot of punch for a relatively small number of cards and components. Every card played in the game requires a strategic decision, and these decisions then ripple through the upcoming phases. This is a really fun game, and I suggest you Put This on Your Table!
Firestone Final Verdict--There's a good amount of game in this set of cards. It's fun, and clever, and cheap, and plays quickly. And that art! I also really like their Kickstarter strategy, which is just: "Give us $15 and you get this game." No exclusives. No convoluted tiers. Just the game, and some stretch goals that everyone gets. Bravo. You should go back this game, and then Put It on Your Table!
We'd like to thank Robert Burke Games for supplying us with prototype review copies of Draco Magi. This in no way affected our opinions.
Draco Magi is on Kickstarter! It's only $15 for a copy shipped to your US door! And you can find all sorts of updates on their Facebook Page - Right here!
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September 13, 1997--I brought the machete down again and again today--cutting a swath through the dense jungle. It's been days since we've seen anything besides this oppressive jungle and more bugs than I thought existed in the entirety of the world. As the son was setting, we did run across a pair of giant paw-prints. I pray we don't meet their owner...
It's been a few years since an exploration game broke any new ground. But newcomers Foxtrot Games are hoping to change that with their first game: Relic Expedition. So how is it? Let's see...
The Overview
You're an explorer, making your way through a jungle in search of treasure. But there are dangers lurking around every corner. Well...jungles don't have corners, but you get the idea. The first player to collect four matching Relics, move to a helicopter clearing, and use three Action Points, wins the game.
The Components
The Setup
The Gameplay
On your turn, you'll roll the two dice--the animal one and the number one. If an animal is rolled, and one of those animals is on the board, it moves. Starting with the person who rolled, he will choose one of those animals and move it one or two spaces. If there are any other of that type of animal, then the next player clockwise will choose one of those unmoved animals and move it. This continues until each animal has moved. There are some specific rules on where and how an animal can be moved, but those aren't important for the review.
If an animal moves to a space with an explorer, an encounter happens. What that looks like will depend on the animal. Snakes will cause that explorer to lose a turn, but a player can trash a first aid kit supply token to avoid it. Boars cause you to lose a turn and become "knocked unconscious"--which means all of the things in your backpack are placed on the space, and can be stolen by other players until you pick them up on your next turn. This can be avoided by playing a trap or tranquilizer supply token. Panthers wreck you even worse, and cause you to lose your stuff and be MedEvacced out. You can enter on a helicopter clearing of your choice, and hopefully make your way back to where your stuff is. Again, tranqs and traps can help with this. Monkeys will take a random item from your bag; hopefully it's not a Relic. They can be bribed with bananas.
The number die will give you a result of either 2, 3, or 4, and that's the number of actions you can take. As you move through the jungle you'll reveal new tiles, and sometimes animals or Relics or new features will be revealed. There are rules that govern what can and can't be traversed, and how many action points it costs, but, again, it's not important for the review. Just know you'll be moving around, trying to avoid animals and trying to get Relics. There are three special features that have loads of relics on them. The Mountain, Cave, and River features are all triggered when you find certain tiles. The feature is now moved to the board, and the Relics on them are open season. But each feature also takes a special supply token to traverse. So a Raft to get on the river, and a Headlamp for the cave. It's evocative and interesting.
The Relics have six different insignias and six different colors. Someone has to have four matching Relics--either the same color or the same insignia, make it to one of the boards helicopter landing spots, and spend three action points. Each backpack only holds eight items, so this makes for some interesting decisions, as the closer you get to winning, the fewer handy tools you can carry in your backpack. So you might be winning, but you're also vulnerable.
The winner flies off into the sunset, leaving the others as Panther Chow...
The Verdict
Firestone--I really did like this game, but the fact that your actions each turn are determined by a die roll just kills this for any kind of serious play. That simply means it's a family game, and that's okay.
Jeremiah--Yeah, that die roll is a head scratcher for me too, but definitely not a killer. Our family and my gaming friends enjoyed it. If the die is that big of a killer I think playing with a house rule of a set amount if actions is a suitable option.
Firestone--The exploration aspect of this was great. In a game such as Tikal, the jungle is still constrained by the board, so the "exploration" aspect is mostly muted. I think one of the reasons Carcassonne works so well is that it can go anywhere and everywhere, so you're never sure what the board will look like. Similarly, the jungle we revealed in Relic Expedition was different every game. And the special features like the cave and the river add even more interesting exploration options. It just works.
Jeremiah--Couldn't agree more, the feature pieces are a nice variation from just placing hexes. But the art design and the way the jungle is revealed as you explore it is awesome! Every time we play the jungle looks unique and picturesque!
Jeremiah--MEEPLES, MEEPLES, MEEPLES! Monkeys, snakes, jaguars, boars, Indiana Jones-looking adventure meeples! They're all awesome. Everything about this game's bit and boards is super well done!
Firestone--Yeah, that's all top-notch. Those animeeples are great, and way better than just using tokens. The board tiles are all nice and thick, and the artwork is great. And I really like the art and aesthetic of the supply tiles; those just grabbed me for some reason.
Jeremiah--My only complaint is the rule book; it's a small book, designed to look like a pocket field guide. I get it: The form is awesome, but the function isn't so much. The learning curve isn't that strong on this one, so you don't have to grab the rule book too often after your first play or so, but the rule book made it a little tough for quick-referencing certain scenarios. Again the form is awesome and it fits the theme perfectly. But the function leaves a little to be desired.
Firestone-- Making it a Field Guide was clever and evocative--and I didn't even mind that it was small. It has color pictures, and line drawings of the animals, like you would find in an old scientific journal. That's cool! If it had been organized better, and had everything I needed, I wouldn't have complained at all.
As it is, there are a few times where the Field Guide says, "See the Quick Start Guide for details." Well...no. A quick-start guide should never have the details. It's a quick-start guide. The rules should have everything, and the quick-start guide should be for starting...quickly. It should gloss over rules. That, and the fact that rules weren't found where you expected them to be made it a little slow to get started. It's not overly complicated, and after a couple of games you probably won't need the rules at all, but for the first couple, it's kinda rough.
Jeremiah--While I agree that the dice roll to determine the number of actions a player gets each turn is maybe a little to far down the random trail, using the die to determine which animals--if any--move/attack that turn is spot on and the way it plays out is seamless and balanced.
Jeremiah Final Verdict--We've certainly seen our share of Kickstarter games that have come to market with questionable gameplay, component quality, and everything from minor to major design flaws. But Relic Expedition is one of the best Kickstarter games we've seen! The game is fun to play, has massive replay value, is gorgeous to look at, and appeals to everyone from kids, to families, to casual players, and maaaybe even some serious gamers. We didn't do a list of top Kickstarter game's but if we did, Relic Expedition would be a top 5 game on that list, no doubt. So with that I say, emphatically, put this game on your table!
Firestone Final Verdict--I've been thoroughly impressed with Foxtrot's first game. They stumbled a bit on the rules, and I can't get on board with the action die, but this is a great, great family game. It can be hard to truly capture the feeling of exploration, but Relic does that really well. As the board opens up, you realize how well done the game is, and how thought-out the decisions are. Combine that with cool animeeples, great artwork, and a little luck, and you've got a game that deserves to be on your table.
We'd like to thank Foxtrot Games for providing review copies of Relic Expedition. This in no way affected our opinions on the game.
Thanks for reading!
Yes, they're chaotic, and unpredictable, and sometimes full of take-that mechanics, but race games are also pretty stinking fun.
12SP Entertainment has just launched a new racing contender on Kickstarter—Zeppeldrome: A Humorous, Hazardous, Dirigible Relay. So is it worth your money to back this project? Or will it crash and burn, Hindenberg-style? Let's find out.
The Basics
You're a dirigible captain, competing against other dirigible captains in a race. You'll have to fight your way through numerous hazards to claim the prize—all while messing with your opponents' plans, just as they mess with yours...
The Components
Please note that the copy we reviewed was a prototype. The final components will be better, and some may have changed.
● 10 Double-Sided Playing Board Sections ● 4 Dirigible tokens ● 4 Flight Plan covers in corresponding colors ● 4 Movement cubes in corresponding colors ● 70 Flight Plan Cards ● 8 Ballast Tokens ● 1 Chunk-Chunk Token ● 4 Old Folks Tokens ● 7 Lemming Tokens ● 20 Vector Chits
The Setup
First you're going to pick which four hazard boards you'll be using. The boards are divided into A, B, C, and D sections, which indicates which order they'll go in. If you want a shorter game, you can choose to use fewer sections. Then you'll randomly choose the order players will start the race, and put each player piece on the starting spaces. Each player grabs a color, and its associated pieces. Then shuffle the Flight Plan cards and deal each player four of them, and place the rest as a draw pile.
Two things before we move one. First, you determine who is in the lead(or sequence) by looking at the dirigible closest to the finish line. If multiple dirigibles are in the same column, then it's the one that's closest to the top that is in the lead.
Second, each Flight Plan card has a top section and bottom one. The top one shows a flight plan, and the bottom shows an action. You'll be using each card for only one of those things, so whenever you get a card you'll be looking at each card and determining which section is best for you right now.
The Gameplay
On your turn you'll have four cards in hand. Each player will pick a card to play for the Flight Plan portion. That will constitute the "base" that you'll be flying. Everyone picks one, and then you simultaneously reveal them. Each player has a little card, that matches his or her player color, that you can use to cover up the bottom portion so everyone can quickly see your color, and what you'll be doing that turn.
It may be that none of the cards have a flight plan y0u want to follow. In this case you'll just leave the card facedown on the "reveal." Each card has a single-movement-in-any-direction icon on it, and you'll be doing just that for your flight plan.
Now, in sequence order each player has the option to play one of the three remaining cards in his or her hand for its action. Some of the actions hurt, and some help—and some do a little of both. As such, you can choose to play the action on yourself or on another player.
Most cards will affect a dirigible's movement during the regular movement step. The game comes with extra chits with directions on them that you can grab and add either before or after your Flight Plan, depending on the action played.
Some action card effects happen immediately. If that happens, move the dirigible immediately, and this might affect the sequence for the next round of cad play. Once each player has had a chance to play one action card, or passed, you'll start a new round. Because things on the board have likely changed, players who passed previously can jump right back in and play a card this round. These rounds of card play continue until every player has passed.
Now the movement phase begins with the person in the lead. Movement is the only "tricky" part of the game, but because of the mechanisms it has to be. First, you take a cube and move it onto the farthest left vector of your Flight Plan—which might now have extra vectors attached to it, thanks to action cards. Once you've done that, then you'll attempt to move your dirigible piece on the board. If your dirigible runs into a hazard, or another player, it simply bounces back to the space it came from. But the cube remains on the vector, because you've attempted that move. Some Flight Plans have alternate routes, designated by an open arrow (rather than the solid one you'll usually see). In order to take that route, you'll need to discard a card from your hand.
Once each player has moved—or attempted to move—on the first vector, then you go to the next one. But player order may have changed now, and you use the new player order. This might change after every single vector, but that's just part of the game.
People will start running out of vectors on their Flight Plan, and as they do, they're just done. Others continue moving until they run out of vectors, too.
Once everyone has moved, each player can discard any unwanted cards, and then draw up to four cards.
Once someone crosses the finish line, he or she is declared THE WINNER!!!
The Hazard Boards
We'll just highlight a few of the hazard boards. Again, some of these might change, or become promos, or whatever. This is just to give you idea of what sort of things are on the boards.
A Bit of Ballast—On this board are a number of tokens depicting anvils connected to balloons. If you stop on a space with one of these tokens, you can pick one up and keep it with you. You immediately move one space down. At any time you can drop one of these ballast tokens to immediately raise up one space. You can have (and drop) multiple tokens at the same time.
Inspiration Point—If you end your move on this board, you can draw up to five cards instead of four.
Slalom 1—There are four gates on this board, each in one of the player colors. You HAVE to move through your color of gate in order to proceed to the next board.
Slalom 2—This is just like Slalom 1, except there are gates at the start and the end of the board. And the colors aren't lined up...
Headwinds—Dirigibles cannot move straight forward on this board. All other movement directions are okay, but any straight forward move results in a bounce.
Four Old Folks Looking for the Farmer's Market—These are four balloon tokens that start on the board in predesignated spaces. After action cards have been played, but before movement, the player in last place gets to move each on of the tokens to any adjacent open space. They block movement just like any other obstacle, and dirigibles will bounce.
There are others, but you get the idea...
The Verdict
Firestone—Two turns into this, my 9-year-old said, "This is a really fun game!" And that pretty much sums up my thoughts, too. This was fun. While I'm generally not a fan of take-that, and mess-with-your-opponent games, it fits the theme here. It reminds me of the old Hanna-Barbera "Wacky Races" cartoon—except everyone is Dick Dastardly and Muttley, trying to jockey for position by sabotaging opponents.
Jeremiah—Yeah, this is a fun take-that game with some great puzzle-solving strategery involved. The art and theme constantly reminded me of a Monty Python-esque universe in the animation style of Terry Gilliam. Pretty outrageous, and absurd all at the same time. It made for a lot of fun. I will say that my 5-year old did have a tough time getting through this on;, it seems like it's a game he would hang in there with, but I had to give more than a moderate amount of advice to him each turn.
Firestone—The hazard boards are a great way to introduce variability, replayability, and humor into the game. I generally like racing games, but the only real variability in games such as Mississippi Queen and Snow Tails is that sometimes the track will go this way, and sometimes it will go that way. That's good, because static tracks get boring quickly, but these hazard boards make every game really feel different. And it's ripe for expansions—either from 12SP themselves, or fan-made boards people post on Boardgamegeek. That's going to give Zeppeldrome legs...
Jeremiah— I totally agree: The board and card concepts make this game exponentially expandable, and multitudenally (that's not a word) re-playable. I also enjoy the fact that you can create a custom length to the game by adding or subtracting game boards, without completely breaking down the game and how it plays.
Firestone—The programming can be a little complex, as you're trying to figure out where your zeppelin might end up, and when that might happen. You also have to look at what other people's programs look like, because someone moving to a spot before you will cause you to bounce back to where you were, and that will affect your programming. That puts it on the upper end of the Nongamer Complexity Spectrum (tm) for me. Not a dealbreaker at all; just be aware.
Jeremiah—Yeah, like you said, whereas most race games are very non-gamer friendly, this one can lead to tons of analysis paralysis, and many, many threats of the cutting off of hands, or other forms of bodily harm in order to get the game moving again. I think the general rule of thumb is either play every action card on yourself, or every action card on someone else to try and mess them up. Splitting your strategy seems to be a bit confounding.
Firestone—I like how you can strategically fail a move, just to allow you to do what you want. You're limited by what the cards in your hand will allow you to do, but there are ways to manipulate it in your favor. That adds a lot for me. There's still chaos, mind you, but also some strategy.
Firestone—The only word of caution here is one of the cards: It's called "Captain Ernst's Cheapass Engine." This is a nod to James Ernst, who founded the game company Cheapass Games, which has small, cheap games that simply provide you with a set of rules, and you cobble together the needed pieces from other games. There are two of those cards in the game, and I simply took a pen and drew over the word "ass." It was a simple fix, though I wish I hadn't had to make it—especially since everything else about the game is so perfect for playing with your family!
Jeremiah's Final Verdict— Go back this game! Zeppeldrome is a fun family game that will get you some great replay value; it's a fun theme that will engage both gamer folks and non-gamers alike! There's plenty of fun, decision-making, an,d of course, a touch of chaotic take-that, which leads me to say, put this game on your table!
Firestone's Final Verdict—Zeppeldrome is a fast, fun race game. The programmed movement works well. The variable boards mean most games with be different. And the ability to mess with your opponents feels right in this sort of racing game. My family has had great fun with this one, and you should definitely put this game on the table! (After you back it on Kickstarter, of course!)
We'd like to thank 12SP Entertainment for providing prototype copies of the game for us to play. This was NOT a paid preview.
Stay tuned for more on this game—including an interview with co-designer Anthony Gallela next week! Thanks for reading!
We told you we had another podcast in the hopper. But you probably thought we were just blowing smoke. Well guess what? There's another podcast up RIGHT NOW!
Come on... It's Saturday. There's no football on today. So you may as well download it and listen to two dorks talk about our Christmas Gift Guide. Which is out-of-date, now, but that doesn't make the list any less helpful. We hope.
We also reviewed Relic Expedition, and announced a contest to give away a copy of it, thanks to the fine folks at Foxtrot Games! All you have to do is subscribe to us SOMEWHERE. And every place you subscribe will give you more chances to win, because we're going to pick one follower from Facebook, and one from Twitter, and one from Instagram, and one from YouTube, and one from the blog-----> And then the winner of each of those will be the finalists for the prize. So following us in each of those categories will give you a better chance of making the finals.
Thanks for listening!
The higher Nilus swells,The more it promises; as it ebbs, the seedsman
Upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain,
And shortly comes the harvest.
Antony and Cleopatra Act II. Sc. 7.
There definitely aren't many games that tackle Egyptian culture or lore. This little card game from Minion Games is a self-proclaimed game of "ancient agriculture," set in ancient Egypt, where apparently it floods... all the time... seriously, like on every turn!
So what did we think about it?
The Overview
Nile DeLuxor is a game about farming, but don't worry, it's not a heavy duty gamer game about farming, like Agricola; it's a lightweight set-collecting card game about farming, and floods, and ancient mythical gods and such.
The Components
Cards—They're broken into suits of seven different crops/colors: Papyrus, Wheat, Lettuce, Castor (presumably harvested for its oil), Flax, Grapes, and Onions. There's also a set of cards called Speculation cards which have two of the seven suits on them.
Nile Deluxor also comes with an in-the-box expansion that features stone and monument cards; these can be included or excluded from the game at your whim.
There are two unique cards included as well: the Flood card, and the Plague of Locusts card.
The Setup
You will play with a number of suits/crops in the game determined by the amount of players. 2-4 players will pull out 2 suits/crops, 5 players just one, and for 6 players you'll use them all. You'll also have to remove the corresponding Speculation cards.
After you've selected the cards you'll be using, set the Flood card in the middle of the table, set aside the Plague of Locusts card, shuffle the deck and deal each player five cards. Then shuffle in the Plague of Locusts card.
The Gameplay
Players take turns in order, and a player's turn consists of five steps or phases.
Flood—See! We told you it floods on every turn! To complete the flood step the player simply turns over the top card of the deck and places it on the Flood card. Floods determine which speculations were correct (and by speculations we mean guesses you made with Speculation cards) and which fields will be harvested. How do you harvest? Keep your pants on!!!
Harvest—Any player who has a field with crops matching the Flood card will harvest the top card of that stack, and place it face down into their Storage Pile. It's important not to let people see what's in your Storage Pile, so keep it face down!
Trade—Trading is a fun way to manipulate the game and is completely optional. There are two ways to trade:
The cool thing about trading is you can do either or both of these types of trading in any order, and as much as you want, during your turn—provided you have the cards to do it.
Plant or Speculate—This is where the game can get a touch fiddly. One major rule about planting and speculating is that you cannot plant or speculate a with a card that is showing a crop that is currently the Flood card.
Okay, first let's talk about speculating.
If you choose to speculate, you simply play one or two Speculate card from your hand. If the next card that floods has one of the crops you speculated, then you get to draw three cards into your hand for each correct guess.
Planting—Planting is essentially playing cards from your hand to stacks or "fields" in front of you, with some special rules involved. If someone already has a field of a certain type planted you can't plant another one, unless you have more cards to play than they do on the table—and if this happens, they lose the field. So if you're playing with six crop types, then there will always be a maximum of six fields planted at any point in the game. To plant you have to have at least two cards of one crop type, or two cards of two different types. These can start two new fields, or one of them can be added to a new field. Or you can just add as many cards as you like to the fields that are in front of you already. See...a little tweeky, but not terrible.
Draw —After you've done everything else, you draw two cards, ending your turn, and the next player starts the cycle by turning over another Flood card.
If you draw the Plague of Locusts card—from either the Flood or Draw phase—resolve it immediately by letting them devour the largest field on the table and tossing those cards into the Flood pile. Then draw another card.
After all the cards have been used, reshuffle and keep going; you'll go through the deck as many times as there are players in the game, and then the game ends and scores are tallied.
The scoring is the same brilliant one used by Reiner Knizia in his classic game Tigris & Euphrates: Your score is whatever crop you have the least of. So if your numbers are 4, 4, 4, and 1, your final score is 1.
The Verdict
Firestone—The theme here is unique and interesting. I've done trading and set-collecting in the Mediterranean 100 times, but not very often in Egypt. The artwork is cool and stylized, and the colors are easily distinguishable.
Jeremiah—Yeah, definitely a unique theme and a unique game. Designers and publishers like to foist their Mediterranean and European themes upon us with great gusto, and this one definitely breaks the mold in a refreshing and well-executed manner.
Firestone—I wish the gameplay matched the artwork. I never felt that I had much control in the game. Things were changing, morphing, swinging, and all over the place. The luck of the draw plays a big part in it. I suppose it's okay for a filler, but it's just not a very good filler. That's a broad and crowded category, so you better be awesome if you want to rise to the top. Nile Deluxor isn't awesome. It's merely "fine."
I will say that my only plays were in multi-player games, and I've heard many people say that they enjoy this as a two-player game. I never got a chance to play that way, but I can see how that could cut down on the chaotic feeling I had the whole time.
Jeremiah—The game play does feel a little swingy at times. The fewest I played with was three players, and it definitely seemed to calm things down. The gamers I played with enjoyed it well enough to pull it out every now and then, and it is truly a "quick play" which will get it on the table for us in the right situations.
Firestone—I do like that the game forces you to balance what you're going for. And the Plague Of Locusts card adds some good tension—especially since, as the game goes on, it will come out more frequently. If you do play this, I would suggest playing with the Monuments expansion. They make the game a bit more interesting and add some strategy.
Jeremiah—The Monuments expansion does create some opportunity to break the game play up, so that every turn isn't the exact same as the one before it. It's worth pointing out, due to the nature of the theme this game is set in, that when you use the monuments expansion the monuments you're building are to ancient Egyptian gods. Also, when you choose to trade in cards in order to flip over another flood card, you're making an offering to an Egyptian god. Was I totally tweaked out and felt like I was performing pagan rituals when I played this game? No. Are there folks who might see this differently? Yes. Be aware of it, but I wouldn't write the game off on this merit alone—and the Monument cards are an optional expansion anyway, so they can be left out if you so choose.
Firestone's Final Thoughts—In the end, I just wanted to have some meaningful decisions to make, and more control. I know they're not terribly similar, but if I want to play a set-collecting agriculture game, I'm going to pick Bohnanza every time over this. I say leave this one on the shelf...
Jeremiah's Final Thoughts—With its unique theme and unique scoring system this one stood out a little more than most games in that "here's a filler card game" genre. There is a decent amount of luck of the draw involved, but not enough to kill the game for me. I'll bring it out with casual gamers, or one-on-one with my wife. So I say, in the right situations: put this one on the table!
We'd like to thank Minion Games for providing a review copy of Nile Deluxor. It in no way affected our opinions of the game.
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