May

29

Jycon Sunday 25.5.2008

Filed Under Bluff, Kosmopolija, Ligretto, Pirates Dice, Scarto, Session, Toledo | Leave a Comment

The last day of the con had some official Board Game Sociaty stuff in it and time for gaming was limited but I still got some games in and here’s my thoughts.

Game 16: Toledo

  • Light family game with elements from caylus. Cool components and the Finnish translation was also nicely done.
  • Building swords is a fun theme and I think this would work with most non-gamers easily. There’s not much meat in it but that’s not the aim and what Toledo promises it also deliveres.

Game 17: Pirates Dice

  • Simplified version of Liar’s Dice with Pirates of the Caribian theme -> who really needs this kind of game? Liar’s Dice is simple game and making it even more simple just made the game almost unbearable.
  • The Made in China tag on the bottom of the dice cups didn’t somehow fit the theme very well…

Game 18: Scarto

  • Scarto is probably one of the easiest games which can be played with Tarot cards (78 cards deck) but it is a decent game to learn to play with Tarot cards and get accustomed to the counting the score in Tarot. There are better trick taking games for three but Scarto is still enjoyable in small quantities.

Game 19: Ligretto

  • I had not played Ligretto before and now that Tactic has released Ligretto in Finnish I had a possibility to try this insane game. I’m not particularly big fan of speed games but Ligretto is fun with the right crowd. I’m not sure I’d be willing to spend many hours of playing Ligretto but as a filler it’s a good game.

Game 20: Kosmopolija

  • From Russia with love. A mix of Monopoly and Risk and unfortunately has taken the negative elements from both games (can last forever, dice determines everything and player elimination to name a few) and mixed them into a horrendously poor game. Game has really cool components and it’s a pity that the components doesn’t have a better game with them. Nevertheless we had fun playing Kosmopolija although we weren’t even close of finishing the game when we had to end the game and begin the trip home.

I had nice time in Jycon and I hope we’ll have bigger and even more enjoyable con next year in Jyväskylä.

Image by Cane


May

28

Lautapelisuomi – Jycon

Filed Under Jycon, Lautapelisuomi, Podcast | 2 Comments

LATAA – TÄSTÄ- LAUTAPELISUOMEN UUSIN JAKSO (.mp3)

Tässä jaksossa seuraavaa:

JOHDANTO

UUTISET

Spiel des Jahres 2008 palkinnoista löydät lisätietoa täältä ja lastenpelikategoriasta lisätietoja puolestaan täältä.

Gen Conin kotisivuilta löydät tietoa tästä mielenkiintoisesta lautapelitapahtumasta. Tutustu myös ihmeessä The Spiel -lautapelipodcastiin ja heidän aikeisiinsa osallistua Gen Coniin.

Mainitsen uutisissa myös Saikoro -pelin, joka Scott Nicholson esittelee Board Games with Scottin tuoreimmassa jaksossa. Pelin on julkaissut Solbenk, jonka sivut esittelevät pelin ja tarjoavat mahdollisuuden pelin hankintaan.

RAPORTTI JYCON -LAUTAPELITAPAHTUMASTA

Raportissa käsitellään seuraavia pelejä:

Raporttiin on upotettu myös kaksi haastattelua. Ensimmäisestä kiitos Antti “pulla” Yli-Tainiolle, joka toimi pääjärjestäjänä Jycon -tapahtumassa ja jälkimmäisestä kiitos Anna “akkeli” Kondralle, joka Suomen lautapeliseuran puheenjohtajan auktoriteetillä ja iloisella olemuksellaan piristi merkittävästi Jycon -tapahtumaa.

LAUTAPELISUOMI KILPAILUN VOITTAJA

Lautapelisuomen viidennen kilpailun voittaja on Mikko Raunio. Mikko Saaren mielestä lähes täydellisiä korttipelejä ovat Mhing, San Juan ja Race for the Galaxy. Voittajalle lähtee palkinnoksi Mikko Saaren uunituore korttipelikirja Tarotista Texas Hold’emiin – 600 vuotta korttipelejä.

Onnittelut voittajalle ja kiitos kaikille osallistujille!

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Palaute on tervetullutta ja pyrin ottamaan sen huomioon tulevia jaksoja suunnitellessani. Lähetä ihmeessä myös toivomuksia tulevia jaksoja silmällä pitäen. Kiitokset myös Eminorille ja Mikko Putkoselle sekä Mikael Konttiselle jakson musiikista.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

May

27

Jycon Saturday 24.5.2008

Filed Under Caylus, Container, Cuba, Dvonn, Gipf, Hamburgum, Hey That's My Fish, I'm the Boss, Im Jahr des Drachen, Jycon, Modern Art, Money Lisa, Oregon, Pillars of the Earth, Primordial Soup, Ticket to Ride Card Game, Yinsh | Leave a Comment

One could never have imagined that there was a serious board game convention going on when I turned up at the con site at 9.15 am. I was waiting for lively but tired gamers but instead what I fuond was a silent and sleepy con. After a moments wait the first warriors woke up from their coma and we could start the gaming for the day.

Game 7: Ticket to Ride Card Game

  • There’s similar elements in the game as in the original TtR; train cards, tickets ets.
  • In it’s heart TtR Card Game is a  memory game where you try to memorize which cards you have collected during the game and which routes you can complete with those cards.
  • Fast and easily accessible which makes it a good family game for not too serious gamers

Game 8: Unpublished prototype

  • Esa wanted to show his prototype and I had nothing against that. The game was more or less a advanced version of  Hey, That’s My Fish. Players collected tiles they landed and tried to cut of the other player. The difference was that there were three categories of shapes drawn in the tiles and when you collected sets of shapes you could execute special actions.
  • Proto played fast and seemed to be rather nice variation from the hey, That’s My Fish game which I also like. But isthe proto different enough that it really could be published someday?

Game 9: Primordial Soup

  • There are really weird themes for games and this game is in the weird category; planting your ameebas on the game table.
  • Quite abstract game and the theme really works. There’s also a lot of interaction and a bit of luck-factor because of the die rolls. Luck can be balanced with cards and skilled play so it did not bother me during the game.

Game 10. In the Year of the Dragon

  •  I like this game although it makes you feel awkward. Disasters hit you wether you like it or not and you have to be able to give up some of your creation.
  • Plays fast and is easy to teach to new players because every round is exactly the same. If there would be more interaction with players game would be even better.

Game 11. Hamburgum

  • Same Rondel mechanic as in Antike and Imperial and the designer is also the same. This time players collect points by donating money and building resources to church.
  • I like the Rondel mechanic because it keeps the game flowing quickly. Sure there’s the chance of someone suffering from AP and slowing the game but usually this should not be a problem.
  • What I was missing was interaction which can be found in the previous games of the same mechanic – players are building their own resource collecting engines and are not in too close connection to each other. In addition, I also don’t get any kicks from the theme.

Game 12. Cuba

  • Here’s a game which has nice theme which is also incorporated into the game itself.
  • Cuba has elements from Pillars of the Earth, Caylus, Container combined into a new game which works fine. There are enough diffirent paths to victory for sure during the six rounds of the game. But I still felt that I’ve playerd the game before and there’s nothing new in it.

Game 13. Oregon

  • Lautapelit.fi released Oregon a while back in Finland and I feel that it’s going to be one of those games that will be nominated for the Game of the Year in Finland. Oregon is a solid family game; it’s not too complex, it plays fast and it has a luck element in it. But I have had fun with it and felt that it is not completely the cards which determine who will win the game.

Game 14. Money Lisa

  • Finally I got Money Lisa on the table. I’m a sucker for arts and auction games tend to interest me also a lot which led Money Lisa into my collection.
  • Who on earth came up with the name Money Lisa?
  • The game was a mix of Modern Art and I’m the Boss and it worked nicely. Money Lisa is not the best auction game there is but nevertheless it’s a good addition to the art games category which could be a bit larger that it is at the moment. Game lasted maybe a bit too long and was dryish but the paintings are really cool.

Game 15. Gipf

  • Gipf is one of the games in the Gipf series which includes fife abstract 2-player strategy games. I’ve played and enjoyed Dvonn and Yinsh before and it was great to test Gipf with JoeLamer.
  • Gipf is definitely challenging that Dvonn and even Yinsh. Maybe this is because you’re building the game board with your pieces and thus the game demands different capabilities from the player than the other games.
  • I liked it although I was far too tired to do well in the game. More practise is needed to really master the game and it’s strategies.

May

26

Jycon Friday 23.5.2008

Filed Under Down Under, Galaxy Trucker, Jycon, Mustang, Pentago XL, Railroad Tycoon, Rails of Europe, Rummy, Session | Leave a Comment

I attended Finnish Board Game Society’s Jycon last weekend and here’s the first part of the thoughts I have of the games I played.

Game 1: Galaxy Trucker with Rough Road Ahead expansion cards

  • I’ve played the basic game quite a lot and found out that it’s not so challneging after all. The expansion makes the game much harder but brutal for the beginners.
  • I still enjoy Galaxy Trucker and I think it’s one of the best games from the year 2007

Game 2: Pentago XL

  • Cool and sturdy board and other components but that’s about it. The game itself is dull and there are far better abstract strategy games to make Pentago XL obsolete.

Game 3: Mustang

  • Interesting Polish design. This was probably the first time Finns play the game which made playing the game more fun.
  • The game is not bad; it’s light card game with pokerish mechanics and rather nice components. Quick to play but maybe a bit too luck driven for me.

Game 4: Classic Rummy

  • I had never played rummy before which made it great to try it out. Unfortunately the rules of the game were poorly written and we had to struggle quite a bit to begin the game.
  • the game itself is all about set collecting in an easy way which makes is great for non-gamers. There’s was not that much in it for me though.

Game 5: Down Under

  • Game with an Aussie theme and abstract mechanics. Tile laying game where players try to form the longest route and collect Autralian animals on their path.
  • Simple to explain but much harder to master. Cool components and fitting theme although the game is abstract in it’s nature.

Game 6: Rails of Europe

  • This is the expansion for Railroad Tycoon; an old favorite PC game from the end of the golden 20th century and a game that I’ve been longing to try out for some time now.
  • Rails of Europe is Railroad Tycoon in Europe and it rocks. I really enjoyed the game because it’s all about business and building one’s company but it did not go too deep into the finances. I have my master’s degree in accounting so business and finances are not bad in a game but typically stronger emphasis on the financial side make games much longer and harder to grasp.
  • Board is smaller than in the original RT which means that you don’t have to buy a new table to play the game.

All in all Friday was a great start for Jycon and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. There could have been a bit more people around but I suppose Friday night is not the best time to attract gamers.

Image by Cane

May

18

Gaming with old friends

Filed Under Blokus, Modern Art, Oregon, Session, StreetSoccer, Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries | 2 Comments

I have had problems of finding time to play games lately. This is hopefully going to change now that studies have ended for the spring thus making the schedule more flexible and while it’s been so quiet in gaming front it was super cool to have two old friends to play some games.

Image by Luis NunesWe began the night with two player games when waiting for the third person to arrive. Firstly I introduced StreetSoccer to Lauri and we began a game. I’ve been playing StreetSoccer a lot since I discovered Little Golem and the oppurtunity to play StreetSoccer online. Board game version of the game is also very enjoyable eventhough computer is a huge aid in the game where there is several possible moves to make all the time. I had maybe a bit more luck with the dice in our game and secured a 3-2 win.

Image by Tim MossmanThe second two player game we played was Blokus. Blokus is a tetris like block laying game which has simple rules and very interesting game play. I like abstract games and Blokus is simple enough that it can be played basically with anyone. The only limitation is that you have to have either 2 or 4 players. Game can be played with 3 but with three Blokus is not at its best.

Image by Gary James The third game of the night began after Virpi joined our group and the third game was Oregon which Lauri had won from Lautapelisuomi podcast’s contest. None of us had played the game but after a short briefing of the rules we were playing the game. Oregon is a game where players play cards to employ workers or build buildings. After the placement of a worker or building a building player receives points. Oregon is all about cards and therefore there is a high luck element in the game. Fortunately there are few mechanics which even the luck factor and make game interesting. I’m pretty sure that Oregon is one of the nominees of the family game of the year in Finland because Oregon has definitely those merits which are needed for a great family game.

Image by Neven RihtarAfter Oregon it was time for some auction and what would have been more better game for that than Modern Art. My version is the “old” version of the game and I have to say that I’m seriously thinking of buying the new Lautapelit.fi version of Modern Art. I saw the new game and components and they were impressing. But the fact is that the game is the same and equally the fact is that Modern Art is very interesting auction game. There are five different auction mechanics in the game and variety of autions makes the pricing really hard. Inexperienced players tend to buy paintings with too high prices or then hand them over to competitors easily and cheaply. Our game went on smootly and Lauri was the one who basically lost the game early on. Maybe it was the Finland-Sweden hockey game in the background which lead to a lack of concentration but nevertheless Lauri spend his money carelessly and left me and Virpi fighting for a win. I was the lucky one who had most money in the end but I think that the others had also fun playing the game.

Image by John WWe ended the night with Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries which is a 2-3 player expansion for the Nordic markets in the Ticket to Ride product line. I’ve played the game earlier only with two players and in those occasions the Murmansk route has played a major role. This time none of us finished the route and somehow the map played better with three players than two. Map is tight and definitely harder than the original USA map but I enjoy competitive interactive gaming with blocking the opponent and Nordic Countries map offers a great chance for such play. And as usual guys where beaten in the game and Virpi got an easy victory.