| Titolo | Voto gioco | Commento | Data commento | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quest for the Dragonlords | 9,0 | Fun. Isn't that what games are about, anyway? I'm not looking for an elegant game every day. Sometimes I want to just have a lot of fun playing a game. Theme. There are many great games that have a theme tacked on to them. In fact, it seems that way with most games these days. However, Quest for the Dragonlords is a game with a theme, and a theme full of fun. The game resembles a cross between a simplistic RPG, Risk, and a little of Battlemist. There are a few weak points to the game, but with a bit of changes, especially with an expanison and advanced rules promised - the game really shines. The game is for 2 - 4 players, although I would recommend 4 if at all possible. Each player plays a race: Orcs, Barbarians, Dwarfs, and Elves. Not original races, to be sure - but we love 'em anyway. Each race has a slight advantage: Dwarves mine more gold, Orcs are cheap to produce, Elves can sneak attack, and Barbarians are the best attackers. The differences are minor, but even greater differences are promised in the advanced rules. For now, they suffice. Each race has one type of unit, sculpted out of plastic. The colorful plastic units all over the board are very colorful - and the game looks great when set up. The game board itself has a beautiful map laide out on it, with several land masses separated by oceans. It looks like your typical "Risk" layout, but the game itself plays a bit differently. The goal of the game is to elimnate each other's kings. Each player has 3 plastic disks with a sticker inside each. One is a decoy, and is worthless. The other two are a wizard and king. If your king dies, you lose! So you want to protect your king at all costs. The board spaces are divided up with mountain ranges cutting off access points in some places, castles and gold mines in others. Castles give a defensive bonus, so it's a good idea to put your king in them. It doesn't matter how large your force is - if you lose the king, you're out, so keep him safe. Conquering gold mine spaces is great, because they provide you with more money to buy more troops and ships. So your troops maneuver around the board across land and ships. Ships can reach all over the board quickly, so it's hard to build defensive lines. Combat is slightly similar to Risk. Each unit has a defensive number (6, usually), and and attack number (3, normally). When you fight a battle, you roll the defense number die. (A 6 defense is a 6 sided die) You have to roll your attack number or less to get a hit. It's a nice system, actually. When the advanced rules add stats, battles should shape up nicely. With wizards being able to cast spells, battles have a nice variety as is. There are currently 6 different spells - some of them rather powerful. The only other unit that takes part in battles is the powerful dragonlords. And that is where this game goes where very few other games go. Along the sides of the board, there are quest paths. You can send some of your units on (often dangerous) quests to get magical items, spells, and the coveted Dragonlord units. Quests are very simple, you meet some basic requirements, like having a torch, etc. Sometimes you fight a monster using the same combat system as above. The monsters are really difficult, but the rewards are fantastic! And this is where decision making comes into play. The more men you send on quests, the better chances you have of getting great units, etc. However, you are taking men away from the front lines, and battles. It's a fine balance that is a lot of fun. The Dragonlords are extremely powerful, with a nasty attack, and the ability to teleport around the board, taking troops with them. Critics say that they are too powerful, and that may be true - but they are really hard to get, and so are a nice reward. Games don't take very long, and you have to guard your forces (king) from all directions and prepare for all kinds of attacks. Some other huge plusses to the game. The game designers are very accomodating. They take feedback and make changes to future editions of the game. (For example, the game was originally released with gold colored rocks to use as money. Many people didn't like the nuggets, as they thought they were unwieldy, etc. The designers changed them to plastic coins in future editions. I personally like the nuggets, but the majority didn't, so they changed the game.) This shows that the designers aren't dead set against change - so if the game has problems, they will fix them. Also, advanced rules will be coming out soon, they assure me. New units unique to each race will come out (i.e. catapults, etc.) in pewter, so the game may get a bit of a "Warhammer" feel. I also appreciate the designers' answering my questions via email. And when I told them about something I wasn't keen on (I thought a card was too powerful) they suggested changes that I could try. Advanced rules, new units - you can drool while waiting. Meanwhile, there is a perfectly good game here to play. Immerse yourself in a fantasy battle, while delving into strange and wonderful quests. I highly recommend this game as a fun, fantasy-filled, time! | 21/12/2003 | |
| PeaceBowl | 9,0 | Peace Bowl is the newest game produced by Angelo Porazzi (creator of Warangel and Warbeast). It is set in the same universe created by those two games, but is a completely different game system. Four-way “football” sounded like a good theme for a game, so I was quite anxious to give this game a try. Is Peace Bowl worth trying out? My answer is that it is a thoroughly enjoyable game that is quite a bit of fun. There are some tactical decisions, a good bit of luck, and tremendous interaction between players. And now for more details… First, a description of game play… A board representing a field is set up in the middle of the table. The field is a 13 x 13 grid made up of 169 squares. In the center of each side, there are another 9 squares connected to form an “end zone” for that team. A block representing the “ball” is placed in the center square of the field. Each player takes 3 warriors, and places them anywhere in their end zone. A deck of cards is shuffled and placed in a draw pile, with five cards dealt to each player. These cards are to be placed on the table, face-up in front of that player. The youngest player takes the first turn, with turn order following clockwise. On a turn, a player first draws cards so that they have a total of five cards. They then have the option of playing as many of their cards as they wish. There are nine categories of cards: Many cards may be played on the same warrior, but only one of each type may be played on any one warrior. If the ball carrier enters any of the three opposing end zones, they score points for their team. If it is the end zone opposite their home zone, they score three points. Otherwise, they score one point. The first team to score seven points wins the game! The advanced game changes several rules. First of all, players do not keep their cards face-up in front of them, rather keeping them hidden in their hands. Players also have five warriors, with one warrior chosen as the “master”. The master may only be attacked by other masters, with the exception of the “Rage” cards. Warriors may now use Fight! and Steal Ball! cards to intercept passes or tackle players as they run by them. Special cards are also inserted into the deck. These cards may be used as a Joker! or may have their text utilized (shoot other warriors, etc.). One special card is called Hypnosis! which allows you to choose an opponent’s warrior and play cards on it (such as passing the ball to your team, etc.) Victory conditions for the advanced game are the same as basic game. Some comments on the game: 1). Components: With each game he produces, Mr. Porazzi’s games are increasing in quality. The box is light years ahead of his previous games’ quality, and is covered with very nice artwork (Mr. Porazzi is a fabulous artist). The cards have good artwork and are of a decent quality, but must be punched out of sheets prior to playing the game (if smooth edges are desired, you may want to cut them out.) All cards have Italian and English on them, but are very easy to read and are color coded, so that very quickly, one barely glances at the text of the card. The board is not of superior quality, basically being laminated heavy stock paper – but is quite functional. On the flipside of the board is a chart, showing all the races of Warangel (90 of ‘em). The counters in the game are of a laminated cardstock type, with about 300 included. Little wooden blocks are included, which can be painted, and counters mounted on them. This is a small amount of work, but the end product is very nice looking, and because you do it yourself, you can pick which armies you want to use. The games components are very well done, considering it comes from an independent designer. 2). Rules: The rules come on heavy laminated cardstock, but are in Italian. Fortunately, an English translation is provided. It’s a fairly good translation, but parts of it are confusing. The rules are currently being rewritten by an English speaker for Mr. Porazzi, so hopefully future editions should be even easier to understand. The game is very easy to teach, and I have easily taught the advanced game without ever mentioning the basic game. 3). Warangel: The game has nothing to do with Warangel except its storyline, even though 10 complete armies that are compatible with Warangel and Warbeast are included. But this allows great diversity when choosing which armies you want to field. Currently, there are no special abilities unique to certain armies, although the designer indicated in an email that they might consider this in an upcoming expansion. But after several playings of the game, I’m not sure this is necessary, the game is fun enough as it is. 4). Fun Factor: Peace Bowl is extremely fun. There is a lot of “take that!” and groaning and moaning in the game. There is a fair amount of luck in which cards you draw, but decisions on how warriors are moved are all up to you. Should you go for the harder touchdowns that are worth more points, or scuttle in for a “cheesy” touchdown that’s only worth one point? I tried a strategy in which I would pass the ball back to a character in my own end zone, and send another of my characters to the opponent’s end zone, so I could throw a touchdown there. However, I’m not sure my strategy was wise, as every single time an opposing player stomped my ball carrier and scored a touchdown. But I enjoyed it quite a bit, regardless of how badly I lost – because the game has such a lighthearted appeal. 5). Players: I’ve played the game both two-player and four-player (three is possible, but seems awkward) and have determined that while two-player is an okay way to play the game, it’s at its best when played with four. The possibilities are wider with four players, touchdowns are harder to score, and the game just seems a lot more fun. 6). Basic vs. Advanced: After playing the Advanced version of the game, I’ll never play the Basic version again. The extra cards, extra players, and hidden cards definitely make it worth playing, and gives the game a bit of strategy to add to the fun. We had almost no rule questions when playing, as everything is rather basic, but we felt like we had a lot of control when playing the game. As soon as one game was finished, the players clamored to play again, and that’s always a good sign for ANY game in my book. So I highly, highly recommend this game. Unfortunately, it’s rather difficult to find in America (as of this writing, no retailers that I know of carry the game) and must be purchased from the owner, Mr. Porazzi, at his website, www.warangel.it . However, Mr. Porazzi is extremely helpful and sends his games quickly, so it’s not that difficult to obtain a copy. Whenever I need a fairly short game (about 30-45 minutes) for four players that is a lot of fun with a few tactical decisions, this is one of the first games to come to mind. The sports theme may initially turn off non-sports lovers, but after playing the game, they will come to enjoy it. It’s been one of the biggest recent hits with my gaming group, and one I will gladly pull out anytime. Congratulations to the Warangel universe for producing yet another interesting, fun game! Tom Vasel | 21/12/2003 | |
| Warangel | 9,0 | I first heard of Warangel when it hit the top 10 in ranked games on Boardgamegeek. I had never heard of the game and was intrigued that out of many comments, there were no negative comments. From what I could tell, the game is a huge hit in Italy. Then I tried to find the game for purchase and had a difficult time, as the only company I could find that carried it in America was New Wave, and the only way I’ll ever order from them again is if every other store in the world simultaneously explodes, and maybe not even then. I finally was able to get the game directly from the designer, who self-publishes the game, Angelo Porazzi from Italy. So is Warangel worth all the hype it’s gotten (mostly from Italians)? The short answer is that it is an excellent light war game, with replayability options I’ve seen in few other games. It’s a terrific game, and I’m glad I took the trouble to track it down. Now for the longer answer…. First, a short description of game play… Each player takes an army of their choosing. (10 armies are included in the basic set, with 80 more armies included in each expansion.). The armies included in the basic set are the Insects, Tentaculates (Octopus type army), Ghosts (evil guys), Felinians (humanoid cats, tigers, etc.), Barbarians, Centaurs, Ninja (ninjas with dragons), Sirens (mermaids and sharks), Gladiators and Eagles. Each army is very unique, with different statistics for the units. An army comes with a master, who is the leader of the army and has the best statistics. Then, each army has four other units, ranging from a powerful “dominant” class to the regular foot soldiers. Each army is made up of about 50 cardboard counters, with illustrations of the units on them. Each army comes with an army sheet that shows the statistics of the units along with explanations of their special abilities. The first ability is power. The number of a creature’s power shows how many shields it can flip when attacking in hand to hand combat. The game comes with tokens that have a picture of a shield on one side, and blank on the other. If a creature has a power of “5”, they can flip 5 shields, inflicting from 0 to 5 hits. The next statistic is vitality, which determines how many hits a unit can take each turn. If my creature with a power “5” attacks a creature with vitality of “4”, my creature must show 4 shields when flipping to kill the creature it is attacking. Wounds are not accumulated, as each creature “heals” between turns. However, in one turn, several units may combine their power to take down a creature with high vitality. The next statistic is movement. This determines how far a creature can move on the maps. The maps, made up of many different terrain types, are made up of many hexagons. Each player has a map of their own; these maps are not connected to each other in a physical sense. Instead, there are 10 “Blue Holes” on each map that correspond to the “blue hole” on the opponent’s map. It costs three movement points to move through these holes, the only way to move from map to map. Other terrain types, such as mountains and water, cost more movement points to move through than refular terrain. The next statistic is warrior amount. This number determines how many of that type of creature each player starts the game with. When the game is begun, each player takes their total number of units (varies from army to army, but is usually around fifty) and places them on their map, putting a shield up between the maps so that initial placement is secret. Each player also sets up 7 fortresses, each with a resource point underneath. These resources range from 1 – 3 points, and determine game victory. Each player starts with 10 resource points, and must control only 12 resource points to win the game – capturing only one or two of their opponent’s fortresses. Each space may only have one unit in it, except for fortresses, where a unit may reside as a garrison. The next statistic is value, not used in Warangel – being used in Warbeast, a compatible game system. The final statistic is specializations. This shows what terrain type, if any, that the creature is most comfortable in. In this terrain, the creature only spends one movement point and may re-flip their shield when attacking. Most creatures also have other special abilities. There are a wide variety of these, but they include: flying, jumping, holding (holding an enemy, keeping it from moving), weapons (attacks that may be combined with the normal close combat attack, or used to attack a different unit), shooting (attack with weapons from a distance), mental attacks (convert units to your side, confuse them, etc.), and more! These special abilities, when combined with each race’s statistics, make each race very different from each other. After setup, each player takes their turn. On a player’s turn, they may move their units, attack with their units, and use the unit’s special abilities. Each unit may do these actions in any order, but may only do them once per turn. Once one player has captured fortresses so that they control 12 resources (including their own remaining fortresses’ value), they are the winner! Some comments on the game: 1). Components: First of all, I must stress the fact that this game is produced by the designer. Mr. Porazzi designed the game, promoted it, produced it – even did the artwork! The counters for each army are laminated cardboard, and are of okay quality. However, Mr. Porazzi also sells small wooden blocks for a reasonable price. When these blocks are painted in the armies’ colors, and the cardboard counters are pasted onto them – they look fairly sharp. I will admit that this is a piece of work, but the designer recommends that you only do it with a few armies – your favorite choices. I’m a completist and painted as many armies as I could, and plan to paint all of them – but it’s not necessary. The game also comes with three maps – two ordinary maps, as well as a large, special “Grail” map. These maps are laminated, and hold up well on the table. Each of the first thirty armies of the series has their own “home” map, and these are available from the publisher, also. These maps are not laminated, and are just large sheets of paper, but are easily laminated, and hold up well. The same cannot be said for the box, however, which is a thin, cheaply made box. Once the armies are mounted, they don’t fit in it. I keep all mine in one of my game drawers, and if I transport the game, just take the armies with me that I’m going to use. The shield counters flipped for attacks and special abilities are a good method to use, but it felt a little unwieldy to use. We love dice, so we just rolled a die for each shield, using a 1-3 as a miss, and a 4-6 as a hit. The components for this game aren’t the best, but they are good for being self-produced. The game is good enough that I hope that it’s picked up by a bigger company and produced with higher quality components. But even so, I’m very proud of my armies and maps, and am eager to show off the game to people. 2). Artwork: And one of the main reasons for this is the artwork of the game. Very few designers are their own artists, and very few game artists are as good as Mr. Porazzi. The artwork on all the counters is very good, and – for having 450 different images in the game, very easily distinguishable. But the most incredible artwork in the game is on the army sheets and the maps. The army sheets each boast a nice, fantasy style picture of that army in fighting action. The maps are incredibly beautiful – I’m trying to think of ways to use them in other games – they look that good. 3). Rules: The designer not only did everything else with the game, he did his own translation work, also. Therefore, the translations into English are not that great. I was able to read the rules without any problems, but they were a little “clunky” in places. However, I know for a certainty that they are being rewritten by a native American, so future editions should be much easier to read. The website, http://www.warangel.it, also has a host of information, but is mostly in Italian, with only parts translated into English. The rules are somewhat lengthy, but are easy to teach and learn, with many examples. The game is a light tactical game, and doesn’t present too many decisions. However, there is enough for players to decide. Should a player block certain blue holes, preventing the enemy coming in from that side? How many units should defend, and how many should attack? Which fortress should a player head for, and with which units? How best can the special abilities of an army be utilized? 4). Game play: I was very pleased with how easy the game played. After reading all the special abilities (there are about 30), I thought the game might become complicated. However, each individual army only has a few different special abilities. Some armies may seem weaker or stronger than others, but they have more subtle abilities. Overall, they seem extremely well balanced. The time for the game isn’t too long, and seems to run a little over 90 minutes for a two-player game. I think the game plays better with only two players, unless the other players play on teams. Even then, it would certainly drag out the time involved. 5). Availability: While it’s hard to get a hold of the game, it’s easy to get in touch with the game designer. Mr. Porazzi was incredibly helpful, and was very easy to deal with via email. I received the game quickly and with little trouble. Hopefully, if there is enough demand for the game, it will become easier to procure in America. 6). Variety: The biggest thing in favor of Warangel is its variety. With only the first ten armies provided in the basic set, there are 90 different match-ups available. If you use all 40 armies that are currently available in English, you can have up to 156,000 different match-ups. That’s a LOT for a war game. You could never play the same game twice – and every army is fun to play. All the different maps, the different units, and the different special abilities create a unique experience each time one plays. 7). Fun Factor: Warangel is brimming with fantasy theme. The armies all have a unique flavor, and their special abilities act that flavor. It’s a lot of fun to use flying creatures to pick up other creatures and drop them into volcanoes. It’s fun to drag other units into chasms and let them fall to their deaths. It’s great fun to see a tiger attack a mermaid, a mammoth attack a giant spider, a knight fight a barbarian, and a penguin attack a T-rex. There are shades of Kings and Things in this game, and it’s certainly fun to play. A good background story is also written for each army, and contributes to the overall theme and fun. The flipping of the shields adds a lot of luck to the game, but the luck seems to even out with good tactics. So I have to highly recommend Warangel. If you like fantasy games full of theme, light war games with plenty of variety, great artwork and fun, fast play – then this is a good game to pick up. The components could be a little better, but I think overall the game is a blast to play. If you get the chance to play or buy Warangel, give it a shot – you may really enjoy yourself! Now excuse me while I go lead my army of dinosaurs against the evil pigs! Tom Vasel | 21/12/2003 | |
| Castle | 8,0 | One of my favorite projects as a child was building a castle for all my troops to fight over. Castles have always been intriguing for me, and even though real life castles were dank, depressing, and unsanitary, they seem the pinnacle of fantasy fun. So a game called Castle just naturally sounded good to me, especially when I saw that it was co-designed by my favorite game designer, Bruno Faidutti (along with Serge Laget). It is one of Descartes Eurogames’ Blue Box series, produced in 2000. (2-5 players) So is Castle any good? The short answer is that it is a fun multi-player game, and an excellent strategic two-player game. Let me explain in more detail... First, an explanation of game play… A game board is set up in the middle of the table to represent the castle. This board consists of four cardboard “walls” that are placed connecting to each other to form the castle. Each wall is divided into four spaces forming a rampart, with another space as a tower in each corner. Inside the walls, an imaginary 16 square grid forms the courtyard. Each player takes all the tokens in one of five colors, placing them in front of them. A deck of cards is shuffled, and each player is dealt two piles of cards (the amount of cards in each pile is determined by how many players are playing.) One pile forms the player’s hand, while the other forms a draw pile exclusively for that player. All the rest of the cards are shuffled, and form a common draw pile called the “Exchange”. One player takes their turn, then each player follows in a clockwise order. On a players turn, they have two actions. There are three things a player may do, and they may do the same thing twice per turn. A player may draw a card from their deck, may play a card from their hand, or exchange a card from their hand with one in the Exchange. A player’s goal is to get rid of all the cards from their hand and deck – playing them in the castle. There are fifty-six cards, with thirty-seven different types. Each card shows a character (ex: Ambassador, Archer, King). The card is color coded to show where it can be placed. (Yellow cards go on the ramparts, red cards in the courtyard, green cards outside the walls, blue cards in a tower, and purple cards on top of other cards) Each card may also have additional placement requirements (adjacent to the King, etc.) When a player places a character, they put one of their tokens on it. Many cards have text on them, moving other cards, or sending cards back. When a card sends another card back, it returns to the hand of the player whose token is on the card. Some cards, like the “Knight” protect other cards from being sent back. The protected character can only be moved if the card protecting it is first moved/sent back. When one player gets rids of all the cards from their hand and deck, they win the game! Some comments on the game: 1). Components: As always, wooden discs are much more enjoyable to use over plastic ones – and there are quite a few discs in this game. The colors are nice, but I put the different colors in separate plastic bags for ease of playing. The cards in this game are extremely nice – they are square cards with rounded corners, are of good quality. They are easy to read and shuffle, and the colors that differentiate where each character should go are immensely helpful. The artwork on the cards is extremely nice with a definite fantasy feel. The only “cheap” feel of the components are the cardboard walls of the castle. The square cards fit on them well, and they don’t move around much, but I’d rather have a board. Of course, a board wouldn’t fit into the small, compact Blue Box, so it’s quite a minor quibble. Lack of a board keeps the price of the game down, and since the rest of the components are such good quality, I feel a purchaser will certainly get their money’s worth. 2). Rules: The rules are printed on four small pages, but in an easy to read format. The rules are quite simple, but many examples and possible combinations are addressed, making a FAQ unnecessary. The game is extremely easy to teach and learn. It may take a little bit for new players to get used to cards returning to their hands, but after a while, they join in with a vengeance. 3). Players: This is the only Blue Box game I would play with 2 players, and it’s one of the few games that I will gladly play both with a group of five players, or just two of us. The rules state that a two-player game is very tactical, and last longer, while a five player game is more chaotic and is shorter. This is exactly the case, and I really have a hard time deciding which game I prefer. But I think it makes the game worth getting. If I have a game that I can play with my wife, and one that I can bring out when a group of friends are over – and they are the same game – then that game is a keeper. 4). Fun Factor: The theme is certainly strong in this one, Luke. Certainly it’s just a tile placement game – but it’s a blast to play. Probably one of the more fun parts of the game is the Siege Engines vs. Soldiers. If four soldiers are placed in the same wall, they send back the Siege Engine facing that wall. If one Siege Engine faces all four walls, however, all the Soldiers on all walls are sent back. Other fun cards include the Fairy, who sends a card from inside the Castle to the outside, and the Ghost, who sends back a card that he lands on in a Tower. Each card has an interesting ability, and coupled with a fascinating picture, invokes a castle type feel. If I had to pick only one Blue Box game to get, it would be a hard choice. However, I think in the long run my pick would gravitate towards Castle. A good two-player game that couples as a fun 5-player game is a rare find, and coupled with the inexpensive price and mostly good components, makes Castle a game worth getting. Most people I have taught this game to have enjoyed it on the spot, and want to play again. And since getting others to enjoy board gaming is a high priority of mine, Castle will see play, again and again. Bruno and Serge have produced an excellent little game here, and one that should be in your collection. Tom Vasel | 21/12/2003 | |
| Cave Troll | 8,0 | Unless you’re a huge fantasy fan, the name “Cave-Troll” probably conjures up images of the massive beast in Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring movie. And who didn’t like that massive fellow? (Well, perhaps the people he was throwing around.) So it was with high hopes that I played Tom Jolly’s Cave Troll board game, hoping for a romp in a dungeon, slaying cave trolls and other foul minions. Well, that wasn’t quite the way the game played. It was not a version of Heroquest, where you slash and hack your way through hordes of evil beasts. I was a little disappointed, but was determined to see if the game good anyway. So is the game worth playing? The short answer is that it is a fine tile laying/moving game with a fantasy theme layered on that actually makes it fun! The longer answer follows. First, a short description of game play: Two to four players are seeking out the most gold (points) in a dungeon. The dungeon is a small, interlocking board, with thirty-three rooms. Each room has several doors leading to other rooms, and has a value of gold coins (1-5). There is a lot of little things visible, such as cobwebs, coffins, and skeletons, but they are just eye candy. Around the edge of the board is a scoring track, from 0 – 99 points. A triangle from each player’s color (red, yellow, green, and blue) is placed pointing at the zero. Each player gets twenty round counters with different pictures on them. These are shuffled and placed in front of each player, face down. On his turn, the player may do four things. He may draw a counter from the pile and play it, move a counter, or play an artifact. He can also do any combination of these things. For example, I can draw an adventurer, place it on the board, and then move it three spaces. Or I can move a counter already on the board 4 spaces. Or I can draw 4 counters and put them on the board. Each counter has different abilities. Explorer (10) – These are your run of the mill heroes, with no special abilities. You want to have the most heroes in a room to claim the treasure (points) there. Heroes are placed on one of four sets of stairs, where they can then move into the rooms. Heroes do not fight one another, you’re just trying to get a majority of them in as many rooms as possible. There can never be more than five heroes/monsters in a room. Barbarian (1) – This guy is just like a hero, except that when scoring occurs, he counts as two heroes. Dwarf (1) – This guy counts as a hero, but he also doubles the value of the room he is standing. Of course, if an opponent controls the majority of the heroes in the room – you are giving them those extra points! Thief (1) – This lass can move anywhere on the board for one action. She also counts as a hero. Knight (1) – This hero keeps anybody else, both monsters and opponent’s heroes, from entering his room. Only other knights may enter. Knights also kill any orcs in a room they enter. Wraith (1) – This is a monster that can move a hero out of a room when it enters. Orc (1) – This monster can spend an action to kill (discard) a hero in the same room as it. Cave Troll (1) – The game’s namesake. When you draw the Cave Troll, you place it in a room, and everything must move or die. Then, nothing else can move into the room for the remainder of the game. I suppose the Cave Troll is quite invincible. Treasure (1) – Putting this counter in a room adds 4 points (gold) to that room. Find an Artifact (1) – When you draw this counter, you draw one of 6 different artifacts. Each artifact can either be played for a special ability during the game, or can be kept until the game is over for bonus points. Count the Loot! (1) - Whenever any player draws this counter, the game is scored. The game is over when any one player draws and uses their last counter. The board is scored again. Each player gets points for every room they control (have the most heroes in), and moves their marker on the scoring track. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game is the winner! Some comments on the game: 1). Components: First of all – I love the box. Fantasy Flight makes all their small box games the same size, and they fit neatly on the shelf, and stack quite well. All the components fit easily inside. There are no trays for the pieces, however, so I had to bag each of the colors separately. The board is very nice, coming in 4 pieces that fit together puzzle-wise. When the whole board is flipped, it has a beautiful drawing on the back. It’s certainly not important, but adds a nice touch. The game board itself is really quite a treat to look at. Each room is clearly defined, the doors are easy to see, and the gold coins are easily distinguishable. All the “Easter Eggs”, such as the coffin in one room, are nicely drawn, and don’t distract from game play at all. The counters are sharp, and are language independent. It is a bit of work at first to look up the pictures on the reference sheet to see what each counter means, but after one game play, I don’t think you would forget them. The artifact counters are a bit small, but not horribly so. The only counter I don’t like is the scoring counter. They are triangles that point towards the number on the scoring track. This means that any jostle can move them around rather easily. It’s only a minor quibble, however, for overall, this game is a work of art. 2). Theme: While this game is certainly not a dungeon romp, and is more like a tile game – the theme fits very well on it. We find ourselves immersed in the theme after a while. The only thing that is strange is the huge amount of heroes and relatively few monters. But it doesn’t seem to matter that much, as the monsters are quite powerful. 3). Artifacts: The artifacts are a strange bunch. One of them, the Idol of El’darr, is so powerful, that I can’t ever imagine not keeping it for points at the end of the game, rather than playing it. Others are so weak I can think of few situations that I would ever play them. But that’s okay, they fit the theme well, and the Idol isn’t a game breaker, so I don’t mind them that much. 4). Time: This game is very, very quick. There isn’t really much chance for analysis paralysis – just make your decisions, and move the pieces. It usually lasts around half an hour, which makes it a good filler. 5). Rules: I really like the rules that FFG puts out. They are printed in 7 languages, and each set of rules only takes two pages. Why don’t more companies do this? The rules are very clear and concise – with a nice map laid out for examples. 6). Fun Factor: Without a theme, this game wouldn’t be quite so much fun. There is a good bit of randomness in the game, but a lot of strategy. It’s a fairly good romp, and everyone has a lot of fun. The fun factor is high in this game! This can easily be classified as a “filler” game, but I’ll play it regardless of time, frankly. I really like the game, the theme, and the cave troll. It really stinks when someone else steals both my dwarf and my treasure, but the joys when I kill their thief with my orc! This game is inexpensive, nice quality, quick, and fun. I highly recommend this game for all players. The fantasy theme may put off some, and draw in others – but the game is fun nonetheless. Stay away from cave trolls, but make sure you don’t hide from Cave Troll, it’s a winner! Tom Vasel | 21/12/2003 | |
| Democrazy | 8,0 | I’ve always felt little about my voting powers until the 2000 Presidential election. There, I found that my vote (I lived in Florida at the time) really mattered. Voting on things is also a game mechanic that I like and enjoy quite a bit. So when I saw that an entire game was designed around the voting mechanic, I was ready and eager to play. So is Democrazy (Descartes Eurogames, Bruno Faidutti, 2000) a game worth playing? The short answer is that it is a great party game, especially with 10 players, and one that I find works extremely well with teenagers. Now, for the explanatory longer answer. First, a short description of game play… Each player is given three cards, one that says “No”, one that says “Yes”, and one special card. Sixty wood chips, in four colors (red, green, blue and yellow) are mixed up in a bag, and several are drawn by each player (the actual amount is determined by the amount of players in the game). A deck of “law” cards is shuffled and an amount dealt to each player (again determined by player number). Twenty-five of the remaining cards are used to make a deck, while the remainder of the cards are removed from the game. A special “End” card is shuffled into the last ten cards of the deck. One player then starts the game by taking their turn, with each player following in a clockwise order. On a turn, the player first draws the top card from the law deck. They then choose a law card from their hand and read it to all the players. If it is a red law card (donated by red graphics), it is a card that has an instantaneous effect on the game, then it is discarded. If it is a blue law card, the text on the card has a permanent effect on the game. No matter what color the card, however, the players must immediately vote on it, to see if the law takes effect. During voting, each player places one of the three cards in their hand face down on the table. Once everyone has decided their vote, the votes are revealed and tallied. If there are more “yes” votes than “no” votes, the law is passed and the effects are carried out. Otherwise, the card is discarded. In case of a tie in votes, players look at a small circle at the top of the card. If the circle is white, the tie is broken in favor of the law, while a black circle breaks ties by rejecting the law. The votes are taken back by the players who played them. Each player has a special voting card that they can use once per game. These cards, of which there are three types, are discarded after use. One is a “Definite Yes!” card. This card will beat any amount of “No’s” and will automatically adopt a law. The only way to cancel it is with a “Definite No!” card, which does the opposite. A “Scam” card reverses the outcome of the vote. There can only be six blue law cards on the table, and if any more laws are adopted after that, they replace one of the six. Some laws have special symbols on them, and two laws with the same symbol cannot be on the table at the same time. Some examples of red laws include “All players lose all of their chips, except for two.”, “One law of your choice, chosen before the vote, is discarded.”, and “Simultaneously, each player takes two chips in their hand, and passes them to the player on their left.”. Examples of blue laws include “Each player triples the value of chips in colors of which they have only a single chip.”, “Players with beards score 5 bonus points”, “Red chips are worth zero points”, and “Blue chips are worth two points.”. The game ends when the End Card is drawn by a player, or when the bag runs out of chips. At that point, each player counts up their points. Chips are normally one point a piece, but all the blue laws modifications and bonuses must be taken into account. Whoever has the highest point total is the winner! Some comments on the game… 1). Components: I’m a big fan of all things wooden, so I like the easy-to-handle, brightly colored wooden chips. The cloth bag provided for them is of good quality and easy to reach inside. The cards are of good quality – even though mine (especially the vote cards) have taken quite a beating from repeated, excited playings. The artwork on the cards (as with most Faidutti games) is quite humorous and cartoonish. The box is the same size as all Blue Box games – small, compact, and strong – and holds all the components well. 2). Rules: The rules are printed on a small, four-page leaflet. They are easy to understand, even though they may be a bit crowded on the pages. This game is extremely easy to teach and learn – and makes a great game to bring to a crowded table full of people new to games like these. 3). Fun Factor: The game is a riot of fun. Many of the laws are silly – and the yelling and arguing that goes on before and after voting is pretty funny to watch and partake in. Some people may be put off by how silly some of the laws are. (One insists that players play all vote cards with their left hands or lose a chip.) However, I think that it adds to the fun. Democrazy is not a game to be taken seriously, as the artwork should suggest. There is some strategy to getting others to vote for laws that benefit you the most, but it’s mostly about having a good time arguing. 4). Amount of players: One thing I really like about Democrazy is that it can accommodate up to 10 people – and that everyone votes on every turn, keeping them interested in the game. The game is not unwieldy with that many players – so if you have 8-10 players, this would be the first game I would recommend (if you were all staying in one group to play a game, that is). 5). “Carte Blanche”: This is a variant that adds some blank cards to the deck. When a blank card is played, the player who plays it must make up a red law of their choosing. However, this opens up a whole can of worms. What laws are acceptable, and what laws are total nonsense. Can you make a law that says, “Joey loses the game”, or “Anyone currently eating loses two chips”. The rules say that it is up to the players to decide what laws are acceptable, and I have found that the hottest arguments in the game occur over these. I would prefer to leave them out, but if everyone is in a silly mood – by all means, include them! Democrazy was my first Faidutti game I bought, and it hooked me on his chaotic, fun style. It’s my game of choice for a ten-player crowd, and is a fun game to bring out whenever everyone is in a light mood and ready for some fun! It’s inexpensive, plays well in big crowds, and is a lot of fun. Give it a try! Tom Vasel | 21/12/2003 | |
| Dice Run | 7,0 | Collecting dice has always been a hobby of mine. Even though I’m not extremely fond of games that are totally based on the rolling of dice, such as Yahtzee and Risk, there’s something about rolling dice that no Eurogame can ever take away from me. So when I opened the box of Dice Run (Kidult Games, 2002 – Spartaco Albertarelli), I felt joy in my heart at seeing thirty dice in six different colors. Do dice make the game? Well, every time I play Dice Run I am reminded very much so of Formula Motor Racing. There are differences in the game, but the similarities are striking. Dice run doesn’t involve as much rolling as one might think, but there’s still a good deal of randomness in the game. Despite this, Dice Run is a very fun “racing” (I prefer to use the term “positioning”) game that runs fairly quickly, flows rather smoothly, and while lucky – is a good bit of fun. Game setup is simplistic. A pile of game cards is shuffled, and four lap cards inserted into the deck, the first a fifth down, the next two-fifths down, etc. All the dice are rolled, and placed in a pile in the middle of the table. Small square tokens (target cards) are shuffled, and each player draws one secretly, placing it face down in front of them. (The 30 target cards have a picture of a die on them. There are six for each color, with a different number showing on each tile.) One player is chosen to go first, and then play continues clockwise around the table. On a turn, a player must play one of his cards face up, or use the “reroll” option. The cards affect the “racing” dice in the middle of the table. For example, at the beginning of the game, if a card is played that moves forward all the purple dice, then all the purple dice are moved one spot in front of the group. Groups can be moved all over the table, as long as the position of each group is intact. Each player is trying to maneuver dice of their color and/or number to the first position. There are several different types of cards a player can play. After a player finishes this, they draw a card. If they draw a lap finish line card, all players reveal their target tiles. Each player gets one point for each die in the first group on the table that matches their number and/or color. If a die matches both, they get two points. Whichever player gets the most points receives three winner tokens, with the second getting two winner tokens, and the third one winner token. Ties are broken by going to the second group and calculating points, then the third if necessary, etc. In the last lap (when the fourth card is drawn), the player with the most points gets five winner tokens rather than three. After a lap card is revealed, all players draw a new target tile, and play continues. After the last lap card is drawn, players total their winner tokens, and the player with the most is the winner! (If it’s a tie, racing continues until all the cards in the deck are exhausted, and then scores are calculated again.) Some comments on the game: 1). Components: The dice are typical normal size, six-sided dice in six vibrant colors – purple, pink, blue, green, and red. I found that the colors were rather easy to pick out when playing the game, but I’m not sure I’d recommend the game to someone with color blindness. The winning tiles and target tiles are nice and of decent quality. The cards were nice, but I have the same nitpick with them as with other games. First of all, I’d prefer if game companies would put the name of the game on the back of the cards rather than the name of the company. (Other examples of this are Mamma Mia and Coloretto) It’s just more aesthetically pleasing. Also, I would have preferred small playing cards instead of the square shaped cards in the game. However, these are minor quibbles, and all components (which are language independent) fit into a wonderful plastic case that sits nicely in a very sturdy, starkly black box. 2). Rules: As with all rules translated by Kidult games, there are some “interesting” quirks in the English translation, but it suffices. The game is a lot simpler than the rules let on, as they explain in great deal how to position the dice – using illustrations and examples – while I figured it out in about five seconds. Still, it’s better to over explain, sez I. The game is immensely easy to learn, and when I taught it to kids, they had it down pat in about one minute. There are some optional rules included in the rulebook (one of them – variable objectives, I highly recommend), as well as some more on their website. 3). Website: And once again, I applaud Kidult Games on their excellent website, www.kidultgame.com. On the Dice Run section of their page, you can find a kids’ version of how to play the game, as well as an “expert” version. There is a nice blurb by the designer as to how he created the game, as well as downloadable rules in various languages, and even new cards that can be downloaded and added to the race. A great page to modify the game, if you are one of the people who likes to do such a thing! 4). Theme and Formula Motor Racing: The theme is about racing dice. I think the game is a lot of fun, but the theme really doesn’t do it for me here, as I just can’t imagine dice racing down the street. The game itself is fun, but I think Formula Motor Racing may be a bit better, since the theme is just a bit stronger there (I know that sounds strange, talking about a strong theme in a Knizia game). However, complaints against Formula Motor Racing are that the whole game is really decided by the final cards played. Since Dice Run has four times throughout the race that points are awarded, it’s more important when cards are played. 5). Strategy, Luck, and the Fun Factor: There’s a little strategy in the game – when to play what card, but it’s usually fairly obvious. Usually it’s pretty obvious what color and number a player is trying to advance. Luck and chaos compose a large part of the game, especially with a lot of players. But strangely enough, it’s still fun. I know that as a filler (the game shouldn’t last more than 30 minutes), taken lightly, the game should be rather enjoyable. So, if you like luck and games where your position can swing drastically, then this is a good game for you. If you really aren’t a fan of such games, stay away! I personally enjoy the game quite a bit, and especially found that it was a fun party-type game for the younger crowd (read: teens). It’s easy to pull out and teach, and everyone has fun. It doesn’t seem to have any lasting power, but if I pull it out occasionally, I’m sure there will be a lot of people who will gladly play it as a filler. Tom Vasel | 21/12/2003 | |
| Delta V | 5,0 | I’ve enjoyed many of the smaller boxed games that Fantasy Flight Games has put out (Cave Troll, Drakon, Kingdoms, etc.), so when I heard of Delta V, the space theme and the company that produced it sounded like a good match to me. I was a little surprised to find almost no press about the game on the internet, and generally negative opinions about it. But since I love space-themed games, and don’t mind memory games too much (one of the negative things said against the game), I decided to get the game anyway. So is Delta V worth its price tag ($15 or so)? I found that the theme of the game was so loosely based that it became a distraction from the not-so-very-much-fun game play. It reminded me quite a bit of Lord of the Rings: the search in that it has a theme that caused me to expect more than the simplistic game inside. Let me explain a bit more… First, I’ll tell you a bit about how to play the game… Forty-eight tiles are shuffled and placed face down in a 7 x 7 square grid, around a center tile – the space station. Each player takes five plastic rockets in their color, placing one on the space station. They also take the five bribe counters of their colors. Each bribe counter shows a certain type of mineral on one side, and “-2” on the other. Several contract tiles are also placed to the side of the grid, each on showing one or more minerals on it. One player is chosen to go first, with each player taking a turn clockwise… On their turn, a player may do two things. First, they must take an action. These actions include: After an action, the player may try to fulfill a contract. They pick one of the contracts, declaring that they will complete it. Then, from memory, they must reveal tiles to all players that match the minerals shown on the contract. If incorrect, they flip the tiles back face down and their turn is over. If they do reveal all the minerals on the contract, they keep the minerals and the contract in front of them. Each mineral has a point value from”1” to “5”. There is also one mineral (purple Omnidium) that acts as a wildcard for any type of mineral. If a player reveals an incident tile at this time, it is played. A player may also turn over one of their bribe counters to the “-2” side if the mineral shown on it matches one of the minerals they need. Another player may “bid up” the contract by flipping over one of their bribe tiles. The player completing the contract must then also find that mineral, or they fail to fulfill the contract. Incident tiles are usually kept, and can be played on a turn as a free action. They… The game ends when the last contract is fulfilled, when the last alien tile is revealed (there are five), or if there are no tiles that are clear at the end of a turn. All players count up the points of the minerals they’ve collected, and subtract all the “-2”s they have showing. Whoever has the most points wins the game. Some comments on the game… 1). Components: The box is the same size as all other Fantasy Flight small games (why don’t all companies do this?), and holds all components well. The box art leaves something to be desired, as does the pictures of the alien. I do like the art on the tiles- the minerals look pretty good, and the tiles are of a decent quality and size. The plastic rockets are okay, even though they look like they were stolen from a hokey 70’s space game. Overall, the quality of this game is good, but not superb. 2). Rules: The rules are only on two pages – and are fairly easy to understand. The game is easier to teach than it is reading the rules, though, but the rules aren’t often referred to – except in the case of incident tiles. This seems to become a recurring theme in most Fantasy Flight small games – like Dragon, Cave Troll, etc., where the tiles only have symbols on, and you have to refer to the rules to see what each tile does. It would be much better to have a little player aid chart. 3). Theme: Christian Petersen has designed some of the best themed games I’ve ever played, like Twilight Imperium, Battlemist, etc. But the theme for this game has nothing to do with game play. This isn’t a problem if the game is a good game, but Delta V is a little lacking there. The theme actually can become a bit of a distraction. Do we really need to call the minerals “Gammatite, Deltamite, Betamite, etc.”? Wouldn’t it be easier to call them by their colors (which is what we did when playing the game). And the 7 x 7 grid is a joke, really, as the spaceships can go anywhere. I suppose it’s just there for the memory aspect. 4). Memory Match: If playing Memory! when a child enthralled you, you may like this game, as it felt to us like a slightly advanced version of that childhood game. I like some memory games, like Mamma Mia!, but this one just didn’t have the same feel. Memory! is an excellent game to teach young children memory skills, but it gets rather boring for adults – and this game doesn’t improve very much. 5). Luck: Since the numbers on the tiles are so wide-ranging, a small amount of bad luck can really ruin the game for you. If you find three of the “1” tiles, and your opponent only finds 2 of the “5” tiles, they’ll have an immense lead on you. I like a good dash of luck in my games, but it may be too much in Delta V. 6). Good points: I did like the “bidding up” aspect, as it has a bit of a mess-with-your-neighbor feel, and makes a slightly boring game a bit more interesting. The bribe counters are a good idea, and the different things you can do each turn do provide a bit of variety. 7). Fun factor: We didn’t hate playing the game, but we did expect a bit more fun than we had. Space games need to have a little theme in them, and this game fails to deliver in that regard. It may look neat to fly your rockets through the asteroid field, but it doesn’t’ FEEL like you’re flying rockets, so that drops the fun factor down a bit. The fact that the game can end early, at the whim of a player (if they find most of the alien tiles) takes a bit out of the game also, along with the whopping amount of luck. So, I really can’t recommend the game, unless you are a huge fan of Memory! and need a variant to satiate your appetite. I’m a huge fan of space games, but this is probably my least favorite in that genre (if it can even be considered part of the genre). I will give the game that it’s fast and it’s not totally un-fun. It’s just that there are so many better games I’d rather play. This one may be played by us again, but probably with my children, when they tire of Memory! And even then, maybe not… Tom Vasel | 21/12/2003 | |
| Diceland | 4,0 | Familiar components abounded when I opened the box of Diceland (Kidult Games, 2002 – Spartaco Albertarelli). As a dice lover, I was pleased to see forty dice, in two different colors – I thought that this could only mean good things. Hexes are also included, of different types of terrain (shades of Catan). And another two-player game would be good for my collection! And my initial pleasure at seeing the components faded a little at reading the rules, and then faded a bit more when actually playing the game. The problem is that the game is – frankly – boring, and that the strategy and tactics is so outweighed by luck to cause the game to become quite unfun. This may surprise some, as I’m a big proponent of luck in games, but the luck is obscene in this game to the point of making some games pointless to play. The basic game consists of the players building a board with the hexagons, using from eight to the maximum of thirty-six. Each player then takes an amount of dice to use in the game (equal to half of the tiles used to make the map + two). Both players roll all their dice, and the player rolling the most sixes places one die on any space on the map. The next player follows suit, and the players continue until every hex contains a die. Dice are left face up on the side that they were rolled, and whichever player has the higher total from the dice left over (the most clever mechanic in the game) gets to go first. On a player’s turn, they do two things: attack (mandatory if possible), and move (possible, with restrictions). When attacking, a player can use any die on the board to attack any adjacent die. The attacking person rolls one of the dice that is to the side of the board and compares the number rolled to the number on the attacking die. Three things can happen… If, both players CANNOT attack each other two turns in a row, or if one player’s dice are eliminated, the game is over. The player who has the highest value of the dice left on the field wins the game (ties go to the player who moved first). Several rules can be added for the advanced game. “Fatal Attraction” forces moving dice to move into contact with the opposition, if possible. “Grouping” allows a player to combine dice (meld a “1” die and a “4” die to get a “5” die). “Territories” adds special properties to certain hexes: Some comments on the game: 1.) Components: The box is very sturdy (and bright) and has a great plastic insert that holds the pieces quite well. As I said earlier, it’s great to get forty red and blue dice in the box, and I can see that they would come in handy (for other games). The hexes would be neat, if I never saw another game. They’re pretty much the same size as Settlers of Catan, but the art isn’t that great, and they didn’t punch out of the frames very easily. When the board is set up, with the dice on, it does look fairly snazzy, though. Maybe it’s just all that dice on one table. 2.) Rules: The rules are printed in five languages in a thin, full-color booklet. There are seven pages of rules, which is frankly too much, and they aren’t very clear, with some translation errors. One was extremely important – the rules stated that when attacking with two dice, you had to choose the “highest” value. Rather, you can choose the “best” value. This is rather important to the game. The game is easy to teach, and the advanced rules are fairly simple, so they can really be taught in the first game. 3.) Website: Before I deride the game, let me again say that they should get major kudos for their website with downloadable hexes, rules, etc. Nice site! 4.) Luck: I’m sorry, but the game is just too based on luck. I dislike Risk, because the soundest strategy in Risk doesn’t work much of the time, because of dice rolls. The same holds true here. If your initial dice rolls are bad, you are frankly out of luck. And, throughout the game, it seems that luck is just a massive part. Does it matter if you attack with a six or a one? They both can lose, almost as easily. The advanced rules add a little to the strategy, but not much. The author spends almost a page in the rules trying to convince the reader that strategy plays an important part in the game, but I just don’t see it. We played the game and just were frustrated that one’s options were so obvious, there really weren’t many choices to be made. 5.) Theme and Fun Factor: A better theme might have helped. I’m a big fan of using dice as pieces in a game (I’m designing one myself), but I just can’t get into the theme of this game. And the game wasn’t really that fun. I tried to hype myself up as I rolled each attack die, but it just didn’t do it. Maybe as a multi-player game, but as a two-player game, I want something light and fun (that my wife would like), or something a bit heavier (for my gamer friends). The kids that saw the game pretty much just said “bleah”, and asked for Dice Run again (just as lucky, but a lot more fun.) Well, I didn’t like this game, and neither did the folks with whom I played it with. No one said that it was a bad game, the word used was “boring”. And games should NEVER be boring, but should be fun! I’m not even sure what demographic this game is trying to appeal to. Is it war gamers? Casual gamers? It doesn’t seem to fit or satisfy any niche, but not for lack of trying. I applaud the designer for some original concepts and ideas, but gently chide him for forgetting to put “fun” in the box. If you want to get a good two-player game, I’m not sure this one should be on your list. Tom Vasel | 21/12/2003 |
