Monthly Archives: April 2010

Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization

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I played Through the Ages for the first time yesterday, using the Full version of the rules and with Ian and Steph at the Isleworth Gamers. At a leisurely pace, it took 4½ hours, including rules explanations and set up – so it’s really a weekend game.

I enjoyed it, although was a tough grind, as I had only read the simple version of the rules. By the middle of the game I was able to manage my board without too much help.

I can see why it’s so popular. There is plenty of variety, lots to think about and little luck. The theme is well handled. (Even the reference to Alex Randolph as a leader of civilisation wasn’t too jarring.)

My only complaint is that the core mechanic is quite unintuitive. More and more I’m missing the clean intuitiveness of early eurogame designs. I’ll clean my palate with a few weeks of lighter fare before I take on a stodgy main course like this again.

7/10 although I’m positive my rating will rise once I fully understand the system.

Carson City

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Carson City

Carson City is a clever and complicated worker-placement and building game (Caylus with gunfights) which will need several plays to get used to. It lasted 2.5 hours, which felt a bit too long, but we played with five, which may be too many. I expect it would work better for two or three. The Western theme did not work for me. Dice Town implements its theme better as it is more about shoot-outs and gambling than slowly building a town.

Gareth had already won this game three times, and it really showed. Jeff, with ten plays, had not seen such a high score. Gareth manoeuvred himself into the first choice position going into the final round, amassed over $100, picked the sheriff, which let him reserve the the action that allows you to buy VPs for $5. After that it was all over. Phil took to this game well too, scoring a load of points from fire-power tokens.

  1. Gareth – 44
  2. Phil – 34
  3. Iain – 30
  4. Barrie – 25
  5. Jeff – 24

6 Nimmt!

It’s surprising after a decade of playing German games that I have never played 6 Nimmt. I only played one hand, but it was a nice fun filler – working perfectly in a club environment. Quite a lot of tactics for such a simple and light game.

Dune

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I went to Peter’s house to play Dune today. We played the basic game, without optional rules and with the full complement of six:

  • Bene Gesserit – Peter
  • Atreides – Iain
  • Guild – Derek
  • Fremen – Simon
  • Harkonnen – Phil
  • Emperor – Mick

Dune is still 64th on the Geek, despite having been out of print for 21 years. Copies go for silly money on eBay, although Peter lucked out and got it for £20 a few years ago. It is listed as a four hour game at the Geek, which seems about right.

The art is flamboyantly 1970’s and pre-dates the flawed, but underrated David Lynch movie.

The Guild
Nice speedos!


Featuring Christopher Biggins as the Baron Harkonnen

We had an excellent time. At one point we played Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon for full 1970’s nostalgia.

I was crushed early on, but the game was always dramatic so did not drag on.

In the end, an alliance of the Fremen and the Guild were vanquished by a Bene Gesserit and Harkonnen team. Naturally the Bene Gesserit engineered the Harkonnen to win on turn five and won the game outright. A sneaky but perfect ending to a great day of gaming. Hopefully Peter will host another session soon.

Dune end position


Banter

Huge games order

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At the beginning of the year, a friend put in a bulk games order. In the interests of speed, I had to order games in advance, not knowing if they were in stock. In the past I had been completely unsuccessful in getting childrens games and this time I was determined to get some, so I ordered way too many, only expecting to buy a few. Naturally, almost all the children’s games were in stock, so I had a £266 games order.

Comments below on the games I have played:

  • Twilight Struggle: Deluxe – I have waited years to buy this and now I can’t find an opponent.
  • Chicago Express – Excellent stuff. Keen to play again.
  • Chicago Express: Narrow Gauge & Erie Railroad Company
  • Money – See my previous post.
  • By Golly! – Nice memory card game with chicken poo. My four year old girl (Hellie) likes it.
  • Chicken Cha Cha Cha – Memory race game. The better you memorise the cards, the faster your chicken moves. Can go into stalemate, the box is too big and it’s expensive, but the components are cute.
  • Circus Flohcati
  • Gloria Pictoria – I thought this was a game for very young children, but it’s for 8+. I didn’t realise it is a remake of Get the Goods, an excellent game, so I’m not upset.
  • Pickomino – See my previous post.
  • Enuk the Eskimo – For 5 years and over, but this worked for Hellie. Lovely components and they get to learn about the food chain – even if it is yet another memory game.
  • Click Clack – This is very popular with both Oscar and Helena. The components are lovely, but the box is massive and opens accidentally too easily. It is almost totally luck based, but the magnetic food stash discovery is irresistible.
  • Barnyard Critters – Hellie likes this pattern recognition card game very much, although the speed aspect gets her a bit too overexcited before bed.
  • Chateau Roquefort
  • Giro Galoppo
  • Piratissimo

It will be a while until we need to buy a new children’s game.

Galactic Emperor

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Another good night with the friendly Isleworth Gamers.

Galactic Emperor

Galactic Emperor six player game

In a nutshell – Puerto Rico in space with fighting. Twilight Imperium was one of the worst gaming experiences of my life. Galactic Emperor uses the same theme and basic structure but strips out the ridiculous play time. At one point I worried it would run on too long, but it finished quite suddenly. There was plenty of table talk and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
7/10 but will probably rise.

Money!

Money!

I have been meaning to get hold of Money for years. The new version has top quality linen-finish cards and the artwork is good. The simple rules, simultaneous bidding and short duration all make this feel similar to For Sale.
8/10

Game 1:
Scott – 650
Iain – 460
Steph – 290
Maynard – 60

Game 2:
Maynard – 530
Scott – 520
Philip – 510
Iain – 440
Vicky – 140

Pickomino, Liberté, Inquisitio

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It has been a slow few months for games, mainly because I had a contract job away from home, but also partly because I bought a new PC and have been playing too much Fallout 3 and Team Fortress 2.

On Wednesday I went to see the Isleworth Gamers and I hope I will be going regularly from now on.

Pickomino
I bought Pickomino on a whim, hoping I could play it with my four year old, but when I saw it was recommended for 8+ on the box I settled on it as a filler at the club . There is not much to say about it:

  • It is a dice game with worms on dominos.
  • It is fast – 20 minutes.
  • It works.
  • It is quite fun, but it’s the sort of game that might get boring if your friends like it more than you do.
  • It is probably best played in a pub
    6/10

Liberté
Liberte is a French Revolution themed, medium-complexity area control game, which is about as heavy at El Grande. The Tao of Gaming review covers the mechanics neatly. I bought this second hand for £40, as it’s hard to get hold of and fairly well regarded at #227 at the Geek. I liked that the area control mechanics contributed to a bigger strategic picture. We played with the Daggar Variant, which sped the game up slightly and meant the card display did not clog up. Opinion was divided. Russ and I liked it, Barrie and David didn’t and Emma abstained – a hung parliament. I will play it again – if I can persuade more people at the club to play. Liberté is due for a reprint by Valley Games, who are bound do make a good-looking version. If you like area-control games with a strong theme, definitely pick it up.
7/10

Inquisitio
A horror game about avoiding torture and witchcraft. I won this despite only half hearing the rules due to a bad headache and therefore playing randomly, so I don’t have a lot of respect for it. Ultimately I hate the theme and artwork, so I’ll avoid it.
2/10