Good to Great quotes from the 'Geek

I scour the 'Geek just about every day (and have 5 games of Euphrat and Tigris going simultaneously right now), and often come upon really good quotes about gaming. My favorite are the ones that are funny in their own right, and can be pulled from the context of the article. Here's a sampling of some good stuff I have read recently:

Discussing recent years "Spiel des Jahres" (Game of the Year) award winners (Geeklist #10974):

"I like Torres quite a bit, but it is significantly heavier than a typical SdJ winner... I can't see a typical family with older children sitting down and playing this with anything approaching competence even after several plays. With KuK and maybe Metro, at least everyone has a reasonable illusion they have a shot (and that's important in a family game). In Torres, if someone gets it at all, it's going to be one smackdown after another. Which is great in some contexts, but...SdJ? I think not."

"Kardinal & Konig is one of my favorite games, but again, I don't think it would have been a good SdJ winner... What should have won then? Princes of Florence in all its fiddlexity, multiplayer solitaire glory?"

Regarding a game that I don't get, Bohnanza:

"Clunky is an appropriate word choice. Not only is the hand management thing silly and near painful to watch (think of the person who keeps habitually sorting his hand saying "dang it, I need to figure out how it looked before"), but the entire mechanic of trading is often counterintuitive. You darn near give things away just because they appear at the wrong time (and we're back to that "hold your hand funny" thing all over again).

Yep, clunky."

Regarding a game called "Hare and the Tortoise":

"Purely a thematic change is that in the English language versions of the game it's Hare and TORTOISE whereas in other languages it's Hare and HEDGEHOG. This is, of course, due to the appropriate tale for that language, being based upon either the Aesop fable or the Brothers Grimm story. I should also note that there is a significant difference between these two tales. In the English version the Hare is lazy and, assuming that he'll win, decides to take a nap. Of course, the "slow and steady" Tortoise overtakes the Hare who wakes up too late and loses the race. In the Brothers Grimm story the Hedgehog is rather devious and has his wife impersonate him in order to win the race."

"... and if I'm not mistaken, they run the rabbit back and forth in 'rematches' till he dies."

Lost Cities

Reiner Knizia is one of the most prolific game designers ever. On his website, you will find a link to a pdf file that is 15 pages long listing his game releases since the mid-1980's! Amazing.

I own three of his games, including one of my few "10-ranked" games, Tigris and Euphrates. Also, Merchants of Amsterdam which I like but have yet to play.

I grabbed a copy of Lost Cities, one of his card games at the Unknown the other day. What a cool game! It's ranked 86 currently on the 'Geek, and although it is somewhat simple to play, I have really enjoyed it. Grayson and I have managed about a dozen games, and he's picked up the strategies nicely. I played a few games on BrettSpeilWelt, and actually won a couple of rounds.

The basic idea of this two-player game is this: there are 5 suites of 12 cards, each player is dealt 8 and must draw from a discard area or the deck after playing a card to his side of the table. Cards are played to the table in numerical sequence by suit. Double, triple or quadruple bonuses are paid for playing up to three starter cards before beginning the sequence of 2 through 10. After the draw deck is exhausted, the total face value of cards in each of up to 5 runs is multiplied by any starters, then twenty points is subtracted. Negative values are often obtained, and a score for each round can vary between -60 and +156.

The game has a large "blink" factor, in that you may discard cards to the center in 5 different stacks, as you will likely not be able to get to twenty points in all 5 suits. You and your opponent play a game of chicken as to which runs you will start, and which you with ditch to the center. You are hoping your opponent will be forced to toss you a needed card before you have to start building on a run. Also, you have to make gutsy calls about whether to start with the bonus multipliers, even though you may not have cards to follow through. Negative scores are multiplied as well as positives, so you have many desperate moments trying to get your totals above 20 and avoid a large loss.

There is an "Indiana Jones" exploration and discovery theme pasted on the the oversized cards, which drew me to the box, and keeps my son interested. He excited hunts for 9's and 10's to add to his piles, and has favorite mission colors (suits) he likes to try to build. Meanwhile, Dad trys to calculate the odds of each play, and make good decisions about what to draw and discard.

The game can be learned in about 5 minutes, and it tickles a certain part of my brain that will make me pull this out frequently. I am considering adding this to the opening of one of our gatherings someday soon, perhaps using the winners to separate teams.

Catan Tips Published!

Yes, it's true. Microsoft has published five of my Settlers of Catan Online play tips on their website. They recently asked for some ideas, and as I've played over 100 games (and have a ranking in the 1700's, with a 40%+ win rate) I thought I'd throw a few ideas in! Check it out here. My handle is "phuntomx" on SoCO. Here's a quick sample of tip #5:

Also, be wary of the 6 and 8 locations, as these often attract the thief; they are rolled 14% of the time. 5 and 9 come up 11% of the time, still quite frequently, and are somewhat less likely to draw your opponent's thief.
- Phuntomx

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Got it! Whilst returning from Saratoga Springs on a business trip, I stopped in Albany, and found an interesting game store. It turned out the be the best stocked store I have ever been in! Despite a rough exterior, the store was very clean, probably the best merchandised yet. The owner was a little gruff, but I found a treasure:

GOA

This Rudiger Dorn game (think Traders of Genoa (57), and Louis XIV (71)) is sold out everywhere I've looked. Released last year in the U.S. by Rio Grande games, online stores have sold out for some time. Apparently a small print run, the game is currently 13th in the world (according to the 'Geek), and has been compared very favorable with Puerto Rico on other "heavies" from the last few years (Princes of Florence, Power Grid, etc.). Some highly respected reviewers rated it one of the best games of 2004.

With all the good press, I was really excited to pick this up. Found it on the bottom shelf and in the corner of the store, for only $32. Despite searching for the last year, I have only seen Ebay copies at $60+ so I was really excited to not only find it, but at a low price. Now... if I can talk Kevin into slipping this one in-between PG, PR, St. Petersburg, Alahambra, San Juan... So many good games, so little time!

PR for the PC

With all the rain lately forcing us indoors, there are a couple of excellent programs for your PC to allow you to practice Puerto Rico on your PC!

These two single-player options are an excellent way to learn (as I have) all the wrong moves that you are making in your PR games. I always wondered why I get completely crushed by the folks on BrettSpielWelt, and these programs (the spreadsheet in particular) have shown me why!

Geese's PR for Windows

Mitton's PR Evolver for Excel

Geese's program is very graphical, and somewhat easier to understand. It has (for example) descriptions of all the cards, and full color boards.

Mitton's PR game has no graphics, and is literaly an Excel spreadsheet that you play, or use to test various game strategies. I've used it entirely as a game, and have been beated soundly about 10 times so far. I've managed to get to third place as the first seat the last few plays, but it is clear that unless I pay more attention to the other players buildings, this game will destroy me every time. You can play with zero to five players in this one, and I highly recommend trying this one out. (Note: Make sure you ENABLE MACROS or this spreadsheet will not run)

New Template

Hope you enjoy the new template. This is an important upgrade, as with 3 columns we can now leave game information on the left (current hot games, GOF information, etc.), and important links on the right. The text is a lot more readable now as well. The next step is getting the archiving to work correctly.

Thoughts on the new format? Leave your thoughts/feedback by clicking "x comments".

How do you host a game night?

Being in the retail business most of my adult life (and being the son of a merchant as well), it has been traditionally difficult to have a regular schedule. Merchant's typically work when the customers shop (afternoons through evening), and especially on weekends. The schedule is frequently erratic, in a sense being on call 24 hours a day (alarm calls, unannounced store visits, other random events). For the past 11 years, I've also moved (changed residences) 13 times (!) which has tied up a lot of time.

Tammy and I are now settling in a bit up at Clarks Summit, and work is getting easier with my veteran crew in place in my store. We've been here over a year now, and it looks as if we may be here for the long haul. With that in mind, it has me thinking about:

How do you host a Game Night?

Some in our congregation play basketball every Monday night (and have for years). Others play wallyball (volleyball in a racquetball court) every Friday night. Some golf every week. Homeschoolers meet every Wednesday. Could a once weekly or monthly game night be possible?

It seems that weekends would be good as most are off work (except retailers like me), but often folks have various (and important) family or congregational events planned. Weekend events mean leaving a wife/family behind, or putting off something important at home. Weekday evenings are often devoid of serious activitiy (usually rest?).

Does that mean a monthly, or bi-weekly game night might be possible in the middle of the week?

Assuming that it could be arranged, what are some other things to consider? An excellent forum article on the 'Geek was posted by a regular, with some suggestions if found interesting:

"CONSISTENCY: Pick a date and time and stick to it like a glue, so everyone automatically knows when it is. For busy working adults, weeknights are probably best, since most people usually have family commitments or social/getaway plans on the weekends.

The gaming activities should also be run in a consistent manner. Non-gamers in particular, might be a little intimidated by games because they don't know how to play them, or they may think they are bad at games. If they at least know what the routine is every week, it will help to put them at ease.

COMMUNICATION: A weekly email inviting everyone to the game night is extremely helpful. You can also include a short summary of what happened last week, and even announce what will be played this week.

GAME SELECTION: Depending on your style of hosting, you may or may not want to have control over which games are played. 99% of the games we play are owned by me, mostly because the non-gamers don't really have any games, and because my collection just happens to be quite large. But just because I own the games, doesn't mean I pick them.

Each week we have a "main game". The player who won last week's main game gets to pick this week's main game. This has turned out to be a really great method of game selection, since it gives everyone a chance to express their gaming preferences and provides a small reward for winning. I email a list of my games to the winner, including links to the Geek, and have them make their pick ahead of time so I can announce the selection in my weekly email.

As for the other games that we play, I usually pick a quick opening game to start the evening, and any other games we play are picked "randomcratically" (everyone picks the game they want to play, and we a use a die roll to make the final selection).

STATS: I keep stats for my group, not because I'm a stat-geek, but because stats provide continuity and a fun metagaming component that everyone seems to enjoy. You don't have to get fancy, just track how many wins everyone has, for example. Most people in my group could care less about the stats, yet everyone seems to enjoying talking about them from time to time."

Any thoughts on this subject? Please leave COMMENTS below (click the "x comments" link at the end of this post, log in and post with your name or anonymously! Then, answer the poll question at the very end of this blog!)

Desert, Chess960, Empire Builder

My Northwest airlines flight back from Detroit to Wilkes-Barre was cancelled on Wednesday night (apparently the pilots had spent too much time in the air and there were no pilots available). I called my Dad and he and Mom shot up from Toledo and picked me up!

Took a 2.5 day vacation in Toledo, and of course Dad and I had to get some boardgames in -

In two days we played about 20 games of Knizia's Through the Desert, a lovely little go-like game I have written about before. Victories went back and forth, we probably split the games, although I had a 3-game win streak going at the end. We tried to talk Mom into a game, but she wasn't biting.

We brought out Chess once, and tried Bobby Fischer's Chess960 (Fischerandom). We took turns picking pieces for a pseudo-random setup. The white queen was in the right corner, next to a rook, then king, then bishop and rook, then knight, knight and bishop. A bizarre battle took place on the opposite side of the board after Dad castled. We got to about 40 moves and I managed a queen-backed checkmate.

Stopped by a game store on Sylvania Ave. in Toledo (the Game Room) that I had never been too before, and the owner was actually one of the friendliest and nicest I've ever met. Mind Games (my 'home store') has been good to me for years, but all the owners and workers are generally very passive. They typically only engage you in conversation (despite the fact that I have been shopping there for 20 years) if you initiate it. Sometimes I wander around in total silence. Here, the well stocked store had 4-5 customers shopping, painting, reading, and the owner was chatting with everyone.

Sadly, and no doubt slightly under the spell of this nice game store owner, I grabbed a copy (at 10% off) of Empire Builder, from Mayfair. Published originally in 1980, it has spawned numerous expansions, and sold very well over the years. On the strength of reputation (and vacationish weakness), I plunked down my $35 and boy am I sorry I did.

Let me just say that this is a classic example of why I don't play American games anymore.

No, let me add some more: Too long ('Geek reports 1.5 hours plus .5 per player), ugly components (butt-ugly would be a better description), super dry theme and mechanics (move goods from point-a to point-b by drawing from point-to-point on a white board with a crayon), odd damaging random events, and the ability for a veteran to memorize ideal locations - forcing an inexperienced player to spend tons of time hunting for possible delivery locations that you might have missed, zero interaction, loads of down time waiting for your turn (which often consists of turning in 3 cards, and drawing three more - exciting!)... I mean come ON.

I have come to the conclusion that I need to stay out of game stores/never buy anything that I haven't thoroughly researched/never buy an American game again/stop assuming that the number of sales/expansions has anything to do with how much I will like the game. (Probably the only games with huge popularity that I enjoy are: Carcassone, Puerto Rico, Settlers)

One fact that was not published on the box (but was in the manual) was the original date of publication: 1980. This edition had different box art, and had a 2002 date on it, making me think it was perhaps something new that I had missed. Nope. The 80's were pretty sad overall for gaming (except perhaps some conflict sims that I no longer play due to length: Squard Leader, Star Fleet Battles, etc.). Empire Builder is proof. Fun maybe 25 years ago before the internet and modern publishing techniques reduced my attention span and raised my expectations (i.e. made actual quality important), but not today. Ebay, here we come.

More on the Polgar record

Susan Polgar (the number one ranked female chess player in the world?), addresses some interesting topics regarding her recent world record in a chess simul event. Andrew Martin (IM), the previous record holder has some 'issues' with the event:

" I found this a really gruelling event and was only too glad when it finished. Yet Polgar seems to have taken this record to an entirely new level, but my question is.....how ?"

and

" I just don't understand this second record. How can one play so many games in such a short time? (16.5 hrs = 990 mins) That's less than 1 min per game overall! How long were these games, how many moves?"

The link to the answer is found at Chessbase.com, here.

The Rocketmen

The Rocketmen collectable/constructible game has been something Gray and I have been poking at lately. At $4 a pack, and includes everything one person needs to play a game: 2 complete spaceships, 1 asteroid, 1 mineral card, a crew card, one tiny die, rules and a one page comic.

The game is a kind of retro-science-fiction affair, with some Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, The Rocketeer, and Pirates of the Spanish Main thrown in.

The owner of the Unknown in Scranton was kind enough to take some old 1980s comics in trade, and we picked up a dozen packs and combined them the 8 or so we had already purchased. Although disappointed with the poor randomization (seems like half of my packs were dupes) of cards, the ships are interesting looking a fun to build.

I am not crazy about free movement minature games, and so I broke out my old black hex-map, that I used to use with Star Fleet Battles back in the day. I whipped up some rules for hexes, and recreated an impulse movement system from SFB. Pretty excited about the results, looking forward to trying a few more games.

One of the best ideas for the game is resource collection. The Pirate's series seemed to be a race to various islands to collect victory points with combat interspersed. In Rocketmen, their is s race to the center of the map, and a battle to secure resources. These are then raced back to the player's home base where they are cashed in to construct more ships. There are multiple ways to go about winning, but collecting and harvesting resources to build more ships (up to the size of your original fleet), or trying to strip/capture/destroy the opponents ships before this happen gives you some extra things to think about and adds considerable variety to what could be simply a basic "meeting engagement".

Geeklist: upgrades

I've been experimenting a little with Geeklists, on the 'Geek. I have been thinking about games lately that involve some sort of upgrading of pieces. Have a look at this list I have been working on: Upgrades.