Gaming For The Week 22nd - 29th May 2010

Marcus came over early in the week with 2 new games - Innovation and American Rails. I've been dying to try Innovation as I'm a huge fan of Glory to Rome. Verdict? I like it and will be looking to acquire it. It does come across more abstract than Glory to Rome with a definite weaker theme. On the other hand, it feels more accessible than GtR despite its 100+ unique card powers. Perhaps it is due to the fact that only 5 card powers are in play for each player at any one time. Just like GtR, the strength is in the interaction which is a key element I look for in games. I enjoy the fact that not only are many of the card powers interactive in nature but you have to constantly 'compete' with other players to be ahead in card symbols to avoid sharing your powers with others. Van wasn't impressed even though she too is a fan of GtR. I suppose it's down to the theme or in this case, the lack of...

American Rails plays similar to Chicago Express which I own. And I have to admit, it's probably the better game. You get to start anywhere on the board unlike CE's fixed positions, which enhances replayability and offers more strategic options. Secondly, the action mechanism reminiscent of Steam also puts it above CE. I like the fact that each action can only be selected by one player each time round, and your choice of action will determine your turn order subsequently. It definitely adds more depth to the game. The game felt a lot more open, less predictable and many more options available with what you can and want to do with the different companies.

The sole advantage CE has over AR is perhaps its gateway potential. I like the fact that you reduce each player turn effectively down to only 3 options: Auction, Develop, or Expand. However, I find the whole Wabash addition once a company hits Chicago fiddly. Sure it adds an extra layer to the decision-making but new players tend to struggle wrapping their head around that part of the game. Nonetheless, the components of CE are far more attractive and I suppose that always serves as an important hook for casual/non-gamers.

Mid-week, the usual gang came over for our weekly fix of A Game of Thrones LCG. Can't remember much except that Jo (Greyjoy) and I (Lanni) took a close one from Ben (Bara) and Ivan (Martell). We ended off with Ra and Ivan took his first win in that, completely demolishing the rest of us. After Ben left, we managed to squeeze in a game of Dominion:Intrigue and a game of Citadels before calling it a day.

Gaming For The Week 28th March - 3rd April 2010

My cell had a connect gathering over the weekend. Most were non-gamers but they had a good time with Jungle Speed and Liar's Dice. Both games play nicely in the 6-8 range. With Jungle Speed, more players ramp up the difficulty since you have more cards to pay attention too but with too many, decks tend to rather thin and the endings of such games feel somewhat premature. I suppose getting the expansion solves this problem to some extent although I'm not sure if I would prefer to put the dough to a different party game altogether. I would say that Jungle Speed needs to be played quickly for maximum excitement. Over-deliberate flipping can slow the game down to a crawl and make it a far less enticing experience.

I organized a usual games session midweek and there was a nice turnout this time round with 6. The early ones started with a game of Dominion:Intrigue which I won with a low score. Once everyone arrived, we split into 2 tables, with a group of us playing Le Havre while the others took on Confucius. I broke my previous high with a 257 score for Le Havre but it was largely due to the fact that Ivan and Ben failed to challenge me for the use of crucial buildings since they were new to the game. Le Havre, like games such as Puerto Rico, is one that rewards repeated plays. Nonetheless, Ivan did well for his first game.

Both tables ended around the same time. Ivan, Ben and Jo proceeded with a game of A Game of Thrones LCG while the rest of us had a run at Nexus Ops. I heard the AGoT LCG game was a close one with Ivan taking the win by a point. They however couldn't play till 15 power tokens and decided to end the game on a pre-decided round. Marcus was first to 12 points in Nexus Ops. Nexus Ops is a nice alternative to Risk especially with its euro-elements. I like the fact that the objective of the game isn't to wipe out your opponents, but picking battles wisely in order to nab victory points. Nonetheless, the game can be prone to downtime and I can't imagine playing a game with 4. Perhaps playing in teams may help somewhat...

On Good Friday, the cell came over and before we began our themed dinner, we manage to squeeze in two games of Monopoly Deal which Van dominated and a game of Ra.

Gaming For the Week 14th - 20th March 2010

Had a good turn-out this week with 6. Jon and Jo were early so we managed to squeeze in a game of Ra and Dominion:Intrigue too. I took the win in Ra while Jo won comfortably in Dominion with his barrage of Harems.

When the full group arrived, we started with Battlestar Galactica. I wanted to use the no-Sympathizer variant but wasn't sure how to further tweak the resources in view that the shortened game variant was a staple. We decided to stick with the Sympathizer in the end. Jo was toaster from the start but sort of gave himself away when he opted not to allow his loyalty card to be checked as offered by one of the Crisis deck cards. We promptly brigged him and he chose to remain brigged in an effort to waste our skills cards instead of revealing. We soon caught on and refrained from throwing in additional skills cards. Furthermore Ben who was playing as Tom Zarek used his special ability to increase the difficulty of the skill check by 2 each time, and successfully halted any attempt to escape by Jo.

Jo lost his Admiral powers, but having already slowed us in our first FTL jump by choosing a destination of distance one. Wei Ning ended up with both the Admiral and President powers somewhere along the line, which spelt doom for us if he too was Cylon. Thankfully for the human race, he proved reliable and Ivan turned out to be the 2nd Cylon after receiving a dubious loyalty card at the Sleeper phase. We had multiple resources in the red by then, which meant it was 4-2 in favour of the humans. We managed to pull out a victory with the Cylons making their move perhaps a little too late.

Jon had to leave after, so the remaining 5 of us proceeded with a game of Chicago Express. The 5 player dynamics proved rather different from the 3-player game which is what I'm more familiar with. You have much less control in the 5-player game and it is far harder to claw back ground after a bad move. As it turned out, I overpaid for the 2nd red share and failed to acquire a monopoly over any of the train companies. It was a close game with the top 3 separated by a single dollar. Wei Ning took the win on his first play - great job!

Wei Ning left soon after and then there were 4, which meant it was time for A Game of Thrones LCG with the usual gang. We had limited time so we paired up and agreed to play till 20 power tokens as a team. I took Lannister as usual and paired with Jo who played as Greyjoy. Ivan and Ben took Targaryen and Baratheon respectively. It was a close one with Jo's combo of the 'Rise of the Kraken' plot card and the 'Assault of the Kraken' event card clinching the win. The plot card gave him an additional power token for each unopposed challenge with a claim of 2. The event card allowed him an additional power challenge that turn provided both were unopposed. This is an awesome clincher combo for Greyjoy and reaped us the 6 power tokens needed for the win.

Gaming For The Week 7th - 13th Feb 2010

Jo, Ben and John came over earlier in the week. It has been awhile since my first play of Tribune which left me with certain doubts and I was eager to try it again to ascertain if it warrented a place in my collection.

Verdict? As much as I want to like the game especially since it falls into my preferred category of short but relatively deep games, it simply doesn't strike a chord with me. I don't think the issue is with the perceived abstractness of the game as criticized by some but more that at the heart of Tribune, it is ultimately a 'race' game. Players aim to be the fastest in achieving a set of goals. The option of selecting which goals to pursue is a nice touch but it doesn't change the fact that through most of the game, you are preoccupied with your own moves and plans than that of others. In some way, it reminds me of Race for the Galaxy and its subtle interaction which leaves me dissatisfied. It is ironic that I am complaining of a lack of interaction in a worker placement game but that's how I feel playing it despite it also possessing elements of faction
control. I can see how Tribune appeals to some but clearly for me, it's a case of so close yet so far.

We decided to give Battlestar Galactica a go next and this was another new game I was also deliberating over. The uniqueness of the game experience is certainly commendable but I fear the difficulty of bringing it to the table. Its theme appeals more to guys who do not follow series than their female counterparts. In addition it plays best with 5, thus facing extremely stiff competition from El Grande and the Princes of Florence, which are amongst my favourite games.

We played with 4 and with the sympathizer since I had no idea how to adjust for a shortened game without the sympathizer. I took Baltar, Ben Tigh, Jo Boomer and Jon, s. It turned out that there weren't Cylons before the sleeper phase but we struggled with the crisis cards leading to multiple resources in the red. Ben discovered he was a Cylon all along at the sleeper phase and proceeded to scheme against the humans. He didn't to do much as Galactica was hit by waves upon waves of raiders and despite being a jump away from Earth, the humans met with destruction as multiple civilian ships were lost taking the population indicator down to zero.

I don't know. It is an interesting game for sure and probably the best available on the market but something about co-op games leave me ambivalent, even with the traitor mechanism. It also feels a little too random and my decisions don't seem significant enough in determining my fate in-game. Coupled with the difficulty of tabling it, I suppose this is yet another expendable game. Won't mind playing it, just don't like it enough to keep a copy of my own.

The guys came over again later in the week with the addition of Ivan. They were invaluable in helping me sleeve my new copy of Dominion: Intrigue but we couldn't try it with 5. Instead we went with Age of Empires III since Ben and Ivan in particular were keen. I warned them that the 5 player game was prone to AP, having so far only played with 3-4.

In the end, it took over 2 hours together with rules but just as my previous plays, it didn't 'feel' long. Perhaps I do have other preferred games to play with that sort of time frame available but I must admit that AOEIII has seldom disappointed, keeping me engaged throughout. The rest seemed to enjoy it and there were generally favourable comments all round.


We needed a short game to round off the session only Ra and China seemed to scale well with 5 in about half an hour. We went with Ra in the end and just like with AOEIII, I ran away with the victory largely due to my familiarity with the games.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Gaming For The Week 24th Jan - 30th Jan 2010

Ivan and Ben came over for some mid-week gaming of what else...A Game of Thrones LCG. It really is a brilliant game and I'm glad to have found common enthusiasts for a game with such niche appeal.

Ben and I opted for familiarity and played with Ivan's Baratheon and Lannister decks, while Ivan unleashed on us his new Martell deck from the recent Princes of the Sun expansion. House Martell has a couple of interesting effects triggered after challenges are lost. It is somewhat unintuitive as you are in a situation where you take one step back to gain two steps forward. It requires far more thoughtful play and bodes well for the strategic depth of the game. I enjoy the peculiar strengths and weaknesses of the various Houses and how a different play strategy is required to utilize each of them successfully.

I struggled with income early on, which is highly ironic for a Lannister deck. I played Wildfire Assault in the early rounds in a bid to rein back my opponents. I leveraged on my draw effects to gain further ground. My advantage in Intrigue reaped me a couple of power tokens through the Lannisport location card which allowed me to pay 1 gold for a power token after each Intrigue challenge I win. This added up quickly and by keeping my power tokens on my House card as opposed to my characters, my progress was undeterred by Ben's Melinsandre, which negates power tokens on opposing characters. In contrast, Ivan struggled as he had a number of card effects which gained him power tokens on his characters. I finally clinched victory with an unopposed power challenge by stealthing Ivan's only unkneeled character with the power symbol.

I played a game of Joust with Ben after Ivan left. I was flooded with income this game but fell prey to Ben's Baratheon power rush. He searched out Stannis Baratheon and racked up power tokens through unopposed challenges as I was unable to defend without a Lord character in play. By the time I managed one, his lead was large unassailable. I played an event card to take out his Robert Baratheon and his mountain of power tokens from Renown but that only delayed the inevitable as he romped to victory shortly after.

In between, we played a 4 player game of Ra with Van joining in. The Ra tiles came fast and furious and my greed got the better of me on the last epoch, opting to hold on to my 13 tile instead of swapping it for a full row. The epoch ended sooner than I expected, and Ben who swooped in on that row with his last tile took the win, with Van a close second.

On Friday, our cell and a couple of friends joined us at our Conrad suite for some games. They were mostly tired after a long day at work but still managed a game of Settlers of Catan.

It occurred to me that despite having explained the game multiple times, I don't seem to have grasped the best formula for it. It is especially ironic considering 1. I'm almost always the 'rules' guy when it comes to new games, and 2. Settlers is like the first Euro I ever played! Somehow, it's difficult to present the rules neatly in a logical flow when there are so many tinny bits here and there to explain e.g. trading, rules governing development cards, etc. I don't think I necessarily do a bad job but I always have a nagging feeling after that my explanation could be better. I probably find it easier to explain more complex games such as Agricola or Puerto Rico as compared to Settlers. Either that or it could simply be the audience I usually pitch Settlers to - opting for it as my go-to "gateway" game and thus facing crowds that may not immediately tune in to such rules and mechanics of Eurogames.

Colin and Kaelyn dropped by halfway through and I was able to introduce them to Monopoly Deal and Citadels. Kaelyn commented Citadels felt very much like a "guys' game". I suppose there's some truth to it considering its medieval theme. For female non-gamers, the theme of the game is probably far more crucial as a 'hook' than its mechanics. Even Van who I consider a gamer of sorts gets turned off by space (read Race for the Galaxy) and medieval (read A Game of Thrones LCG) themes. She may be willing to give them a try but rarely will desire to play them again. Abstracts don't sit well with her either. My most thematic game is arguably Battlestar Galactica but unfortunately, that's the wrong sort of theme for her, especially when she has never watched a single episode of BSG and is unlikely to.

29th Oct 2009 Session Report: A New Friend...

I got to know Ivan over the Singapore Boardgame Meetup forums when he posted a thread looking for A Game of Throne LCG players. I too had ordered the game and was eagerly looking for other "kakis" (gaming pals), recognizing that such games had a niche appeal. We arranged a time and he dropped by this evening for a game.

Van was busy so we started with a game of joust. He took Baratheon while I, Lannister, figuring some familiarity from my last play couldn't do any harm. I found out later that he had started reading the books so looks like he is even more into the Game of Thrones universe than I am. The game was a close affair, ending 15-13 in his favour. I was plotting my victory in the next round when he played an event card to stand Robert Baratheon for a military challenge, nabbing 3 power tokens at a go. 1 for the unopposed challenge and 2 for his Renown key word and special ability.

Despite being his first play, Ivan had familiarized himself well with the rules, and we played more carefully, ensuring we took note of the special text on the various cards. Play flowed relatively smoothly and none of the potential timing difficulties of different effects came up.

Though keen at another go, I requested for a change so that Van would join in. I went with Endeavor after spending time last night to run through the rules. They were relatively easy to explain and we began the game without a hitch. It took a few turns to grasp the nuances of the game but it would definitely qualify as a gateway of sorts in my book. It ended 62 (Van) - 55 (Ivan) - 48 (Me).

I like the simplicity of the rules and relatively short playtime. We probably took about 90 min inclusive of setup and rules. The setup and final scoring were a bit of a hassle but still bearable I suppose. It was clear that the game was one of efficiency and potential poster child of eurogames. It was important to manage your status tracks so as to maximize your glory points and occupy strategic cities in a bid to nab connections, both of which award glory points at the end of the game. I remember 2 point cities in the rules but we seemed to have missed them during the game. Will look out for them next time round. Van commented the game felt rather similar to other games, particularly Age of Empires III which she preferred. I am still on the fence, it seems like it might possibly fill a niche in my collection but I will probably need a few more plays before I'm ready to make a decision.

Ivan had some time left so I looked for a short game to intro him to. I wanted to go for China but Van preferred Ra. Van continuing her dominance took the game with 33 points to my 27 and Ivan's 20. It was a particular quick game with the Ra tiles appearing in a flurry in 2 of the 3 rounds. In fact, in those rounds, none of us managed to utilize our numbered tiles fully. Oh well, at least it kept the game short!

26th March 2009 Session Report: The One Where We Played My Top 3 Games

Well that's the good news... The bad news? My losing streak extended - can't remember the last time I failed to win so many consecutive games. Oh well, not winning doesn't detract from any of the fun of gaming...ok, maybe just a tinny bit ;)

Ben and Mun joined us in the afternoon for games. While waiting for Mun (late as usual, hah), we started with a game of Ra as requested by Ben. I didn't mind since I find Ra best with 3 since it accords players with more control. 5 player games can be somewhat more random. I failed to obtain much value with the auctions I won, and sorely trailed in terms of monument collection. I think I ended up with something like 3 and was deservingly trounced by Van and Ben who had 57 and 49 respectively. I ended up with a score of 38 thanks to me winning the Pharaoh bonus all 3 epochs.

Since Mun was likely to arrive at any point, we decided to opt for a quick game of High Society. It was Ben's first go at the game (he emphasized that I should note this in the session report *cough*) and struggled in finding the balance between acquiring points while conserving his cash. He racked up a impressive point total but wasn't a threat as he was down to his last cash card 2/3 way into the game. Van spent more of her cash than me by avoiding the 'bad' cards and ended up with a score of 20, thanks to two 2x multipliers and a 5 point luxury card. I was too conservative with my cash and ended up with both the 1/2 and -5 cards, resulting in a final score of 8.5.

When Mun arrived, we started on Glory to Rome, my current no.1. Mun and Ben did exceedingly well in the game, scoring 33 and 32 respectively. Mun racked up points by stuffing her stockpile early and building the Wall which rewards VPs for material in the stockpile. She also played a few timely Merchant roles when our stockpiles were empty. Ben loaded up on his clientele and used his Basilica to shore up his vault midway through the game. I built the same building but took more time getting it up, resulting in my failure to make up the deficit. I ended with 28 while Van had 19.

I then suggested Princes of Florence, which has quickly risen up my favourite list, just short of overtaking Glory to Rome. I felt I played exceedingly efficient on most counts, producing a total of 5 works throughout the game and winning 3 best works bonuses. My only mistake was my failure to acquire a Prestige card. Instead I took 2 recruitment cards which I could have substituted with purchasing Profession cards. I used 3 Bonus cards on my last turn which was an overkill. The WV points obtained then pale in comparison to the potential Prestige points available from a single Prestige card. I ended with 47 to Van's 51 while Mun and Ben had 45 and 36 respectively.

We ended the day with my former no.1, El Grande. I wonder if it is even no.3 now that Le Harve has entered the fray. I built a sizable lead after the 1st scoring which was a mistake because the rest started ganging up on me by banishing my cabelleros to Portugal (Mental note to self: Avoid taking too many scoring cards early in game). Van overtook me by the 2nd scoring and with my weakened state, I struggled clawing back the deficit and ended up with 108 to her 120. Ben and Mun scored 90 and 83 respectively. 

9 March 2009 Session Report: The One Where We Revisited Ra

We had a new friend, Shouqin at our gaming session tonight whom we met on the Singapore Boardgames Meetup forum. Marcus was also able to join us but before he arrived I took the opportunity to teach Shouqin the rules for Glory to Rome.

We started the game once Marcus arrived and it wasn't clear in the early going who was going to emerge with an advantage. My early buildings were unimpressive and I basically started building with whatever cards I had in hand to gain some influence points. Marcus on the other hand was quietly completing his Scriptorium which he learnt from his last game with me that it allowed the completion of multiple buildings with a marble material each. 

The breakthrough came when he used that ability to complete his Colosseum. I was more prepared for it this time round and started building my Palisade (Immune to Legionary) though it was only completed after Marcus had a turn at my clientele. He managed an early lead over the rest of us by stashing a couple of cards in his vault that very turn.

However, the killer blow came when he used his Scriptorium to complete a Prision which he in turn used to steal my Bridge. While I gained 3 additional influence points, it didn't make the loss any less painful. I built it in hope of breaching Van's Palisade but my failure to keep an eye on Marcus's buildings allowed it to be stolen and used again me.

The consequences were devastating. He now not only could overcome my Palisade but also steal from every players' clientele, including Van's who was sitting opposite him. The vault points he racked up easily steered him to victory while the rest of us were left in the dust. My decision not to build the Wall early in the game but instead use it as concrete came back to haunt me.

The final scores were 45 (Marcus), 31 (me), 20+ (Shouqin) and 14 (Van) respectively.

I was keen to get Princes of Florence out as the next game since it was rare that we had 4 at a session. However Shouqin needed to leave within an hour so we opted for Ra instead. Marcus and Shouqin were new to the game but picked it up quickly. Ra has simple mechanics but the tricky bit is to valuate the tiles appropriately in light of not just their scoring but also the proximity to the end of the epoch (round).

I had a small lead after the first epoch but the other players exited early in the 2nd epoch and left me to draw freely with 4 Ra spaces yet unfilled. I had good draws and managed to take 2 full displays with only one disaster tile with my remaining 2 number chips. This built me a comfortable lead and I took the game with 51 points. Marcus, Shouqin and Van had 42, 25 and 23 points respectively.

Shouqin had to leave after the game, and Marcus stayed back for a round of Red November. I was keen to give the game another shot after our last attempt at the 2-player variant. Playing with 3 was definitely easier than our last attempt with 4 gnomes. Marcus drank 2 grogs early and rode his luck for half the game. He eventually failed a faint check and got trapped in a room which caught fire. That spelled his doom. Van and I on the hand managed to experience our first rescue as we worked together to deal with the remaining problems. We almost succumbed to the expiry of the heat track on the last turn but survived. 

While we ended on a good note, Van was clearly not impressed by the game. Guess it's headed for the trade pile...