Nov
28
Nokia Board Game Club 27.11.2007
Filed Under Filou, Im Jahr des Drachen, Session, Ziegen Kriegen | 2 Comments
I attended the
N-BGC session last night in Colonial Bar at the Scandic Hotel Espoo. There was 8 of us so two tables for some games. We began with
Ziegen Kriegen designed by
Günter Burkhardt, a 2007 release from Amigo Spiele. Ziegen Kriegen is a light trick taking game where the objective is to capture as many goats as possible. There is also a little twist – there is a limit for the goats and the one with most tricks and goats in probably not going to be the one winning the game. There are a lot of little trick taking games and my opinion is that this was not the best one but for non-gamer this would be a good way to grasp the idea of a trick taking games in general.
The second game we played was
Im Jahr des Drachen by
Stefan Feld which is also a brand new (2007) release from Alea games. This was the first time for all the players (Me, Phil, Tuomo and Saku) and the rules explanation took some time while non of us really new how to play the game. In Im Jahr des Drachen players are Chinese princes seeking to maximaze the prosperity and prestige of his province. This is done by using the seven actions and 9 different person types the game has as efficiently as possible. Game plays in 12 rounds (years) and every year has one event. First two years there is a peace but after that comes the painful events which make the game really bitter sweet.
In our game I was youngest and got to choose the starting person tiles last which left me not so many good choises basically. So I decided to take the lead in the person track. I had no strategy and found out after four rounds that I was going to lose. My first place in the person track changed into last very quickly and after some nasty events I did not have any money either. So for me the first game felt like two year long struggle against the inhumane events and watching others gaining lead in the points track.
Others were doing much better. Saku invested early in priviliges and fireworks and had a nice lead after the first six months. His problem was that he had too few healers and shortage of rice which almost cost him the first place. Phil was also doing well and building up floors to his temples. There was lots of people in those temples as well but maybe a clear stategy on which persons he had was missing. Tuomo took quite different path; he left behind in the person track on concentrated in building as many temples and rice tiles as possible. In the end he had loads of both and was really close to win the game.
After a tight end the score was Saku 82, Tuomas 81, Phil 78 and me 52
My initial impression of the game was that I definitely have to play a couple of more games before I give any final judgement. There might be a slight problem of beging left behind after some misjudgements but that’s the way these games work. One thing I really enjoyed was that even those who were in the lead could not get over with all the events without painful consequences – they were in a appreciable lead in the points but it didn’t feel like. I was also a bit suprised how much player interaction there were. Interaction is not the most direct one but decisions really have an huge effect on the players and how they build up their own game tactics.
After Im Jahr des Drachen we had still time and energy for one short game and Phil unwrapped
Filou by
Friedemann Friese and 2F-Spiele. Filou is bidding game where you bid on cats; there are good and bad cats and obviously you are trying to bid on the good cats. Problem is that you don’t actually know what you are bidding on apart from the card you played on the current round so there is a lot of bluffing and luck involved. Game’s graphics are cute and this could be a hit among the younger gamers and while I did not find the game extremely interesting I could still play a game or two more someday.
A really great session again with the guys in the N-BGC. I had loads of fun and hopefully I’ll be able to participate again in the near future.
Nov
25
Beef and board games – what could possibly be better that that?
Filed Under Dvonn, Lost Cities, Power Grid, Session, Vegas Showdown | Leave a Comment
I was able to play couple of games this weekend. Last night I visited my friend end after we had had garlic soup and steak we began to game. I took some games with me which I thought would fit into the situation well. We started with
Lost Cities which is always a good way to start with a friend who is not a gamer (not yet at least). He got the hold on the game rather quickly but in the end it was experience which turned the game for me.
After Lost Cities I suggested that we should play Dvonn. He agreed and after a swift rules explanation we were again playing. I did some terrible moves and ended up losing both games we played. Still I must say that I really enjoy Dvonn: it’s not too complicated as an abstract game but offers tough choises in an relatively short playing time.
The last game of the night was
Medici vs Strozzi by Reiner Knizia. This is a game that i basically like. The auctioning and shipping goods works with two players and game has a lot of though pricing decisions. The only problem I have with the game is that it is almost impossible to make profit out of the deals. If the other player is asking for a lot in the beginning you have to react or the other player is able to gain a huge lead in the habours. And reacting leads to spiral were prices are high and profits lost. One could ask that what is the idea in a business game where making profit is almost impossible. I don’t actually know and I must say that this bothers me a bit. Our game ended in me winning with 250 money against 58 and this was the nearest I’ve been to the 300 each player receive in the beginning.
Today I was in the gaming session in Library 10 where we played
Power Grid with
Central Europe map and
Power Plant Deck 2 and
Vegas Showdown. Power Grid is a great game and I enjoy playing it a lot. With 5 players there is nevertheless a bit too much down time especially if someone suffers from even a mild AP. Our game went on rather smoothly but still I felt that I could have had another game going next to our game. Maybe this was also the reason why I did not win the game but ended in the 3rd place. It was still a lot of fun and the game was very tight.
I had not played Vegas Showdown before and I must say that it seems very interesting. It’s nothing too heavy (and after Power Grid I really was not in the mood for anything too heavy) but is still very tempting. Theme is cool and mechanics back up the theme nicely. Playing time is under an hour even with newbes and there is interaction to a certain degree. Good game I have to say and I hope I’ll be able to play this again sometime soon.
Nov
23
Secret Santa 2007
Filed Under General, Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries | Leave a Comment
I sent today my Secret Santa gift. Secret Santa is a event arranged in BGG where people all over the globe send Christmas gifts to each other. Everyone have wished for something and one of those wishes is going to become true during the Christmas time. And what else would we have wished for than more board games.
My gift went on another continent and I hope that it will arrive some time soon and at least make it for Christmas. Sending games oversees is rather expensive and costs limit the size of the paggage. I would have wanted to send a copy of
Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries because it is not available outside Europe but it’s over 40 euros plus freight and that’s more than I can afford. But fortunately my target person had one less expensive game in his wishlist which has been also printed in Finnish and this game is now on its way to spread the joy of Christmas.
Now I can concentrate on waiting for my own gift to arrive. Just like when I was little…
Nov
21
Lautapelinurkka – 1960: Making of the President
Filed Under 1960: Making of the President, Lautapelinurkka, Podcast | 2 Comments
LATAA JAKSO - TÄSTÄ-
Tässä jaksossa arvostelen 1960: Making of the Presidentin.
Voit kysellä ja katsella pelin saatavuutta joko Lautapelit.fi:stä tai Milan-Spielestä. Tämän hetkisellä dollarin kurssilla peliä ei kannata Yhdysvalloista tilata.
Kerro minulle, mitä mieltä olet arvostelustani. Oletko samaa mieltä vai puhunko aivan puuta heinää.
Ja erityiset kiitokset jälleen Mikko Putkoselle ja Eminorille musiikista, joka on ihan taivaallista ja johon toivon sinun tutustuvan.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Nov
17
A Night of 1960:MofP and Dvonn
Filed Under 1960: Making of the President, Dvonn, Session | Leave a Comment
For me
1960: Making of the President has been the most anticipated game of the year 2007 and now that I’ve played it 4 times I must say that it has met the expectations. Game is mechanically well balanced, it is relatively easy to teach even to those who are not so used to meatier games and game captures the feel of campaigning and all the ups and downs of it.
Last night I had the pleasure to play the game with my good friend O-P whom I’ve known since childhood and who I knew would really enjoy playing the game. We are both interested in politics and history and I can’t think of any game that would be more appropriate for such tastes.
After 30 min rules explanation we were ready to play. O-P wanted to be underdog and took Nixon which was fine to me because I had only played Kennedy side only once. Nixon started stong in the West and took all but one state relatively quickly through some nice events. Kennedy got a firm hold in New Your and Pennsylvania and then moved on to Midwest. After taking the states in the West Nixon travelled to East and began a fight over New York. Nixon was also lucky to have strong media support in the region which made it much harder for Kennedy to defend his ground. The fight over the issues was also heavy all the time but Kennedy managed to keep the track under his control more often.
Debates went to Kennedy 6-3. O-P was forced to play Kennedy’s cards to issues because he had not been able to play the cards during the rounds. Kennedy got a hold on California with the state support and battle continued. Kennedy got a firm grip on the South with Gathering Momentum event and Nixon wasn’t so interested in fighting back. In the end the most important single thing which gave Kennedy maybe 30-35 more votes were endorsements which Kennedy had in the West and Midwest and that Kennedy was the last player to go in the last turn. This didn’t decide the winner though bacause Kennedy had such a strong lead already.
Kennedy 40W, 98MW , 128S, 84E, 350 Total
Nixon 75W, 43MW, 0S, 69E, 187 Total
I think that O-P enjoyed the game and seemed even to be interested to buy the game when it again is available in Finland. And I hope that he’ll play this with me again despite the loss.
The second game we still had time to play was
Dvonn. Dvonn is a game which I like a lot and wish that it would hit the table more often. O-P hadn’t played the game before but in this case it didn’t matter that much. I told him the rules and we began to play. It took us some time to finish because of the conversation we had (and maybe because of the i-dont-know-how-many glasses of red wine) and in the end O-P beat me quite badly (23-13).
Its always great to play good games with good company and our session was not an exception.
Nov
14
Lautapelisuomi podcast
Filed Under Lautapelisuomi, Podcast | 2 Comments
Lautapelisuomi – Preludi <
lataa tästä>
Lautapelisuomen ensimmäinen lähetys, jossa kerron, miksi ja mitä aion tehdä ja kuka olen.
Preludin kesto on 9.25 ja voit kuunnella sitä soittimilla, jotka tukevat mp3-tiedostomuotoa.
Jaksossa mainittiin seuraavat pelit:
Erityiskiitos musiikista Mikko Putkoselle ja eminorille
Suosittelen lämpimästi tutustumaan kyseisen bändin tuotantoon!
Laita ihmeessä palautetta jaksosta sekä toivomuksia siitä, minkälaista ohjelmaa toivoisit kuulevasi. Palaute otetaan ehdottomasti huomioon uusien jaksojen suunnittelussa.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Nov
11
Trying to turn my parents into gamers
Filed Under China, Lost Cities, Notre Dame, Session | Leave a Comment
I had the chance to spend a weekend with my parents in their summer cottage. Summer cottages are really cool but in November one shoudn’t emphasise the word summer too much. It was snowing, cold and dark (so dark that if you went outside the light perimeter of the cottage you couldn’t see farther than an arms length) and therefore the surroundings were perfect for some gaming.
My parents haven’t played board games.
China is relatively easy to play and I figured that it wouldn’t be too complex for them. I set the board and began to go through the rules. After 5 minutes I could notice that they were looking at each other and were lost. So I quickened the pace of the explanation ; there isn’t a better way to learn a game than to play it.
After we started playing it became obvious that my mother got the idea of the game. She made some nice moves and played her cards well. My father on the other hand didn’t do so well. He was drawing cards mainly from the deck and was asking what to do all the time. I helped him and tried not just tell what’s the best move but also why it’s the best move. I didn’t succeed to make my father understand the game but my mother got a bit annoyed. She was trying hard to beat my father and I was only helping him. Fonrtunately my mom isn’t a competitive person and she didn’t take me helping my dad too hard.
The final score of the game was:
Me 59
Dad 52
Mom 49
We did take another try right after the first game which my mother won (mom 55, me 52, dad 47). My dad didn’t do much better than the first time but he did like Lost Cities a lot and beat me 3-1 in the four games we had during the weekend after I had introduced the game to him.
We played a game of
Notre Dame Saturday night which again was a bit confusing for the others players in the beginning. Fortunately the rounds are similar in Notre Dame and first timers can get a hold in the game quite rapidly. After a couple of more plays thay can also start to understand how to maximise points in the game. I hope that we’ll play the game enough that parents really can get a hold on Notre Dame.
I’m quite positive that this was not the last time I’m going to play games with my parents and I think I really should buy them a couple of games that they can take to the summer cottage (it’s hard to carry all the games I wish to play with me every time I visit parents’ summer cottage).
Nov
7
Boardgamingfinland.com
Filed Under General | Comments Off
Welcome to participate in my little project. As you can see the site is still very heavily under construction but I have high hopes that I’m able to begin regular blogging and podcasting soon.
Yours,
Antti “cane” Koskinen
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Kuten huomaat, sivuni on vielä kehittelyasteella. Tarkoitukseni on kuitenkin aloittaa säännöllinen kirjoittaminen sekä podcast pikaisesti.
Terveisin,
Antti “cane” Koskinen