tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58793764353841781642024-03-05T09:13:55.013-06:00Minotaur IllusionistThe labyrinth is a puzzle we build for ourselves.Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.comBlogger329125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-33911247913460478042017-09-18T10:35:00.000-05:002017-09-18T10:35:46.071-05:00Swords and Dragons and Space Ships.Reading the comments today on this <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/09/if-you-read-one-sci-fi-series-this-year-it-should-be-the-broken-earth/?comments=1&start=40">review</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifth_Season_(novel)">The Broken Earth Trilogy</a> by N.K. Jeminin makes it apparent a lot of people are really concerned about the hard definitions of science fiction and fantasy.<br />
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When it comes to this terrible divide we fight our wars of words over, my reading interests are firmly on the science fiction side. I like stories of space exploration, development of new technology, and the interaction of cultures different, yet in many ways oddly similar, to our own.<br />
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Yet the <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness">hardest-core</a> science fiction that people usually are enamored with in these comment battles is usually the most difficult for me to fathom.<br />
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I am a medium-to-large fan of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds">Alistair Reynolds</a>, so I will use him as a example of where things start to go rough in "totally hardcore" science fiction.<br />
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In the Revelation Space universe, you have these folks called Conjoiners. They are essentially a hive mind of people who have "transcended" to a new level of consciousness that is difficult to explain to us the non-elevated reader. They dress drably, don't have very nice facial expressions, and look with disdain on regular people.<br />
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Once you get hooked up to them, you start to see all the fancy colors and virtual computer representations that they are seeing beyond your senses. But most interactions involving the Conjoiners in Reynolds fiction are typically from the vantage points of outsiders. You can't really describe things from a Conjoiners point of view for very long, because you the writer aren't transcended and it takes a lot of brainpower and hand-waving to describe the experience.<br />
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So here is where the Dragons and Space Ships subset of science fiction starts to fit in.<br />
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Humans, once advanced to a certain degree, are difficult to describe and explain to both the reader as well as by the author. Their methods and motivations are either very Big Picture or entirely inscrutable.<br />
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So you do what Reynolds does and often describe the experiences from the perspective of an outsider.<br />
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The Ultras are a clear example in Reynolds fiction, as they are the ship crews who are naturally distanced from bizarre cultural evolution. Serveing on long sub-light space voyages all the time, Ultras can balance old-school thought with the latest in body modification. There's no brain-internet to upload your individuality and sense-of-self up and into and away.<br />
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Some writers take this a step further and remove the entire story from the technology and describe barbarians who have limited access to this experience-altering technology. Knights, Dragons, Games involving Thrones, we all understand how these things work instinctively by the time we reaching full fiction-reading maturity.<br />
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Last year, I fell head-over-heels for the works of Ursala Le Guin and read probably 75% of her catalog before moving on. She is probably "soft" science fiction yet I would certainly say it is by no means fantasy. Space Ships are used to transport between planets. The "Ansible" is used for faster-than-light communication (which is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msVuCEs8Ydo">against the laws of physics</a>, gentle reader). There are revolutions in thought toward gender norms and cultural structures. The economic models of Capitalism, Socialism, Collective Anarchy, Neo-capitalism, Neo-socialism, Feudalism and neo-feudalism are bounced around as we visit different worlds and governments. No one plugs their brain into anything. These concepts once you plug your brain in are difficult to describe.<br />
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Gene Wolfe wrote this epic series called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_New_Sun">The Book of the New Sun</a> which technically takes place on Earth in a very Warhammer 40k-ish archaic dystopia. Although I should note Gene Wolfe was writing about Severian the Torturer long before 40k was even a mote in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Priestley">Rick Priestley</a>'s eye.<br />
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But at the end of all that fantasy, there is a mind-blowing spaceship ride that lifts the reader out of all that fantasy and makes them see the world for how it really is. As seen from the vantage point of a medieval torturer/emperor of the world.<br />
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One thing I don't really like about Game of Thrones (aka the Song of Fire and Ice) is that there is no spaceship ride at the end. I know the books haven't been written (and probably never will be) but I am confident G.R.R. Martin has no spaceship planned. Make the <a href="http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/R%27hllor">Lord of Light</a> into an ancient satellite beaming signals into people's brains by way of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VALIS">VALIS</a>, and I would have gotten a lot more excited about the series as a whole.<br />
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You get too technical with your science fiction and you end up on the other end of the spectrum. A bunch of post-trans-humanism post-gender post-scarcity dudes enjoying utopia from the inside of a giant machine-consciousness or something. And they're probably simulating various fantasy scenarios from their little consciousness-boxes.<br />
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So that's why its okay to mix fantasy and science fiction. And why it makes a difference to have technology flying around instead of simple "magic." People get too hung up on definitions.<br />
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<br />Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-90283319405568504162017-09-18T08:51:00.001-05:002017-09-18T08:54:51.330-05:00I’ll Buy That for a Thaler: The Elusive Fresco of the Future<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Science teaches us that with sufficiently advanced technology, we might very well be living within a computer simulation. We could be entered into an incredibly detailed hologram, with all knowledge of our previous existence erased. Somewhere out at the edge of consciousness, robotic servants tend to our collective </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef-mxjYkllw&index=9&list=PLIIOUpOge0LtW77TNvgrWWu5OC3EOwqxQ" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matrioshka brain</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and ensure we never regain the realization of the universe’s dwindling energy reserves.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Within this monumental machine, we live as we once did millenias of millenias ago. We are painters, and we compete to finish a glorious ceiling fresco within a nondescript cathedral.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And our most important decision every day is of course what time to get up in the morning.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What era does <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66188/fresco">Fresco</a> take place in? The “</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaler" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thaler</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” used in this game is pretty non-descriptive. It's a currency with common usage over 400 years, sighted in many places around Europe and throughout the Holy Roman Empire.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whatever historical period these events happen, there is certainly only 1 hand on the clock. And it’s the hour hand. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fun Fact: the first minute hand was built in </span><a href="http://slideplayer.com/slide/8810640/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1577</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So we each pick a different hour (certainly no one is allowed to get up at the same time as anyone else) and we get out of bed. We buy our paint, then do some painting, then earn some side money, THEN mix some paint, then finally go to the theatre.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What shows are playing at the theatre? The game never tells you. Maybe they went to go see Rent. or Hairspray. These are the first 2 shows that come to mind.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you know what would make an even better pastime for exhausted master painter’s assistants? As an introvert, I would steer my off-duty hours as a painter towards a nice quiet board game. Perhaps </span><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9209/ticket-ride" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ticket to Ride</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUp-OGsATl2Qz5Pl5oNoVkvkh2FbEOpLQGXMi6nn4I8LJLm1iLERWCorK7qi4WJyZLDhTRnkLNJiM0ZEGgKjJkkbU1KJCc4JEx3Po_dl7Ng3EZq-FffLE1VQrGyxjajN3aobFE6pP0cNP/s1600/tickettoridedigitalboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUp-OGsATl2Qz5Pl5oNoVkvkh2FbEOpLQGXMi6nn4I8LJLm1iLERWCorK7qi4WJyZLDhTRnkLNJiM0ZEGgKjJkkbU1KJCc4JEx3Po_dl7Ng3EZq-FffLE1VQrGyxjajN3aobFE6pP0cNP/s400/tickettoridedigitalboard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><b style="font-weight: normal;">Two </b>assistant<b style="font-weight: normal;"> painters, Mario and Luigi, engage in a conversation:</b></i><br />
<i><br /></i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Luigi, what is-a this America we are-a playing on?”</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t-a know Mario, but I am-a blocking you out of New Orleans. How do you like that?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“ We should-a picked a better reality for our-a Matrioshka Brain.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Luigi, I don’t remember how we got-a here.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s-a because of the robots, Mario.”</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Blog author's note:</i></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course they didn’t say this, because they weren’t in a Nintendo game. Or in Italy, since Italy was never part of the Holy Roman Empire, and never used the Thaler. Perhaps they are painting in Bohemia. Yet Nintendo has never made a single game exploiting stereotypical Bohemian accents. The best I could find on Youtube was </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzDO688fOTw" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So you send the workers to the theatre. You send them out to buy paint. And you also have to make sure you are painting.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reverse Order Ceiling Art</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You have all these squares of potential Fresco you need to finish. Some take certain colors, and usually complementary colors you need to mix up FIRST. But here's the rub: in Fresco, you mix SECOND after you make the trip to the Cathedral.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So you have to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>anticipate</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the specific colors you are going to need the turn before. Sometimes a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>few</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> turns before because if you want one of the really awesome colors like Pink or Brown you are going to need to mix multiple times.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This goes completely outside my board game comfort area.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is comfortable to me is getting colors randomly, and then positioning my workers to take the best advantage of what colors I could possibly get. Instead I have to work for the colors, and then paint the most stuff out of what potential spots are going to be left on the board.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because you have all these other jerk players, 2-3 other jerk players, who are painting at the same time and trying to block you out of New Orleans like that high-jumping route-griefing Luigi in the previous example.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you get me outside my comfort zone, and you start making big demands for me to optimize my color selection for future turns, you are going to get a lot of orange.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I made all the orange. More orange than any fresco would need 100 times over.</span><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On BGG, Fresco is labeled as a “programmed movement” game. I never thought about this until after I bought my own copy but this is exactly what it is. If you pick the wrong action, in the wrong order, you are going to end up standing in a church without any painting materials to actually do anything. Which is what I see a lot of beginner players doing (especially myself). You are just out of luck.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the same way one false move in Robo Rally can put your robot in the shredder pit, one false move in Fresco leaves you with an empty cathedral, no income, and exponentially inefficient worker usage. The only “catch up” mechanism is giving our hypothetical planner first pick of what time to get up in the morning. Yup, we’re back to that again.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So instead of your robot being rebooted from a safe backup, you find yourself back at the hostel trying to order the coming day just like before. Only all your smart-brained opponents had a productive day to get ahead of you.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If only there was a way to make the game end faster once someone gets really far ahead. Or maybe some way to efficiently convert complementary paint back into its primary components. Of course, that runs pretty counter to the theme, right?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What is Reality?</b></span></div>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s plenty to enjoy in Fresco. My recommendation if you are playing it is to only enter the cathedral when you are 100% positive you can paint something. Stockpile cash, acquire paint, mix up a GOOD VARIETY of complementary colors. Don’t end up with too much of one color, because all the good spots for these colors can vanish over a turn or two.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And during the lulls in play, when others are deciding what time they should get up in the morning, consider the nature of the reality in which you live. Are you playing a board game? Or are you a pawn in someone else’s board game, playing a board game to improve the collective morale of your fellow pawns? You will probably never know, because the robots are programmed to remove these thoughts to preserve your virtual paradise.</span></div>
Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-38423787417650093602017-06-27T12:44:00.001-05:002017-06-27T12:44:18.396-05:00Ticket to Ride: First and Last Journeys <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjXfKP9QUyo0Pg3xqlV5YMOKejqs3FFBqoi5wKgX2vTZ4zJ4XZ2jWPJojjOmmP8nKxwuQJb6zSNnqmvQ-GxNszTq8JiNMU0sGas2jPnB-ejgQvEdgu5V_DvUrQrO5aTeJhxGQDWDA18em/s1600/TickettoRideFirstJourneys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjXfKP9QUyo0Pg3xqlV5YMOKejqs3FFBqoi5wKgX2vTZ4zJ4XZ2jWPJojjOmmP8nKxwuQJb6zSNnqmvQ-GxNszTq8JiNMU0sGas2jPnB-ejgQvEdgu5V_DvUrQrO5aTeJhxGQDWDA18em/s320/TickettoRideFirstJourneys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
A few days ago, in a fit of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_gambling">ludomania</a> I tweeted this message.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNrrAlust1pIjcBucfxzS9RCrXzy6sA4WKRitt9DQUkjjjg3y2fPSKb-wpqcMD1Z_9eV9VJrnr2OtPgyj2V4ygiwTQAxxKf-PSxYxiwVZRe8gwKuKkxwOs-8AlhGGlml-xXOSx7w6vNb8/s1600/TicketTweet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="121" data-original-width="594" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNrrAlust1pIjcBucfxzS9RCrXzy6sA4WKRitt9DQUkjjjg3y2fPSKb-wpqcMD1Z_9eV9VJrnr2OtPgyj2V4ygiwTQAxxKf-PSxYxiwVZRe8gwKuKkxwOs-8AlhGGlml-xXOSx7w6vNb8/s400/TicketTweet.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Out of all the current titles under the Asmodee NA board game <a href="https://www.asmodeena.com/en/">octopus</a> (aka <b>Bogactopus</b>), the best game I could come up with was First Journeys, essentially Ticket to Ride "Junior".<br />
<br />
But...why?<br />
<br />
There is a certain psychosis that pervades the hobby of board game collecting (and occasionally playing).<br />
<br />
It goes like this:<br />
<br />
If I buy the right game, people will play with me.<br />
<br />
So you end up spending 50% of your board game budget trying to get inside the heads of your family members and friends, trying to figure out what would be an attractive sell to get them in the hot seat on the other side of the table.<br />
<br />
It can be a pitfall. A real pitfall. Especially if you're not good at understanding other people, or if those other people just aren't very interested in board games.<br />
<br />
Ticket to Ride: First Journeys wasn't for me. It was for my kids. One kid actually liked it, which makes it a roaring success. It might not just be the First Journey, but the Best Journey.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4I6tmURteUk4adzh90_Lkw7WXNnlg8xSGwE_2mBfkRe4_Tr3BlG7em-2PnH7DmHJ7wGS7YShd55AdAhWy_8qNkP-NZka6sYzPpxhz5MQe2yVGMYkFMx2kEG7cqbG-lVzm9r7gbZMQ1lq/s1600/StevePerry.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4I6tmURteUk4adzh90_Lkw7WXNnlg8xSGwE_2mBfkRe4_Tr3BlG7em-2PnH7DmHJ7wGS7YShd55AdAhWy_8qNkP-NZka6sYzPpxhz5MQe2yVGMYkFMx2kEG7cqbG-lVzm9r7gbZMQ1lq/s320/StevePerry.jpeg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are you ready to ride this train?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Reducing Train Paralysis</b><br />
<br />
First Journeys junior-izes Ticket to Ride by removing the selection of face up train cards. Now you can only draw from the face-down discard pile. It also removes victory points, making each route worth exactly one "point" when it is completed. Both of these changes together turn a 60 minute game into a 15 minute game.<br />
<br />
Do they reduce complexity? They do.<br />
<br />
Do they make the decisions uninteresting? No, no they do not.<br />
<br />
I was inspired to think about the face-down cards because of a comment made by another designer, Thomas Lehmann. In designing <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28143/race-galaxy">Race for the Galaxy</a>, Lehmann made the unusual choice to have players discard face-down. This removes some strategy, because people aren't able to see what cards other people are discarding. But according to the designer diary I read (and I have no idea which one, because it was a long time ago) discarding cards face down also speeds up the game, since people no longer have to process that information every turn.<br />
<br />
I'm wondering just how fast the Ticket to Ride might go if you discard face-down as well.<br />
<br />
<b>Settlers of Routes</b><br />
<br />
Making each route worth a single point is another decision I keep thinking about. <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/catan">Settlers of Catan</a> did this, making each Settlement worth a single victory point. The trick in Catan was of course finding the most efficient and quickest way to build that settlement.<br />
<br />
Doesn't it seem like the same considerations should be made for a train route? Maybe train route builders shouldn't get MORE points just because a route took more effort and resources to build. Maybe they should be trying to build the quickest routes, and use those routes to daisy chain together the larger routes.<br />
<br />
I'll tell you one thing, it's wonderful (especially playing with kids) to not have a scoring phase at the end of the game. When you place the last winning route in First Journeys you win. The game ends. And it moves right into let's play again.<br />
<br />
I would happily play the "adult" (giggity) Ticket to Ride with the same rules. There might be some necessary modifications I'm not predicting, but I certainly don't see any less-interesting gameplay on the horizon.<br />
<br />
As for Last Journeys, the only thing that would make this game better would be a space theme. Maybe I need to make a Martian board? Only time will tell.<br />
<br />Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-47300770837733041962017-06-21T13:05:00.000-05:002017-06-21T13:05:09.435-05:00Dungeon of the Apes: A Primate-centric look at Clank! the Board Game<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJKHvOK4CEOnYn4xYtTH-948QrXyI0brug2ToT7QM_WyXWybV_7oOn-T2pFktQYK2mBO-s-q7vDLVUjtEYMYFO_MmnhPYVWTCbGfsAtZ1PZyd9_huk57HqFgAcmkXuV_m4bE9ureEqgcl/s1600/Ape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="736" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJKHvOK4CEOnYn4xYtTH-948QrXyI0brug2ToT7QM_WyXWybV_7oOn-T2pFktQYK2mBO-s-q7vDLVUjtEYMYFO_MmnhPYVWTCbGfsAtZ1PZyd9_huk57HqFgAcmkXuV_m4bE9ureEqgcl/s320/Ape.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, this is going to be interesting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My favorite fantasy stories carry a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jewels_of_Aptor">common plot twist</a>.<br />
<br />
You've adventured high and low, discovering secret knowledge and ancient treasures. But the final reveal is this:<br />
<br />
<i>You've actually been exploring Earth all along!</i><br />
<br />
This unfamiliar Earth has been distorted by war, the clash of empires, deadly radiation, the rise of new ancient magicks, and more. Yet nevertheless this is all that's left of home.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-5O35pRNRE-i_Re8NjhUP-4t9NnHvSWttEokH3Nd-GTkDVvMP_YULpZthgdacWo7oFVQqM12qP6096iQXfZq0qFAD0yqlwQZdw_x3cvtbJ80qRa-yjkTb4LFMTkJwDIxAxdEZuRqmkLw/s1600/ClankCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-5O35pRNRE-i_Re8NjhUP-4t9NnHvSWttEokH3Nd-GTkDVvMP_YULpZthgdacWo7oFVQqM12qP6096iQXfZq0qFAD0yqlwQZdw_x3cvtbJ80qRa-yjkTb4LFMTkJwDIxAxdEZuRqmkLw/s320/ClankCover.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something about this seems familiar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What drew me to <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/201808/clank-deck-building-adventure">Clank!</a>? Certainly not the theme. Adventurers exploring a dungeon and looking for treasure? I've been to that well before.<br />
<br />
When I first heard about Clank! I was downright disinterested.<br />
<br />
No, I crashed the first game of Clank! I even saw in action because people were pulling wooden cubes out of a mysterious bag. I'm a voracious pulling-stuff-out-of-a-bag'er. My hunger for such things is insatiable. I had to see more.<br />
<br />
<b>What I found made me earnestly regret my original disinterest. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDyVpUJQ8XwZS-G4BC4G7zAI-q1oxDdjxxbK_48GC_VaIFek5M_A4_sraapmVdvWK3aw4hdjwLiEnWwL-kbgnFKTyVx43Ujn4DhYtaDdxeFRn0DUMv98nBkF7CdvbW_ahzoyHdJWnrBfF/s1600/DragonBag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDyVpUJQ8XwZS-G4BC4G7zAI-q1oxDdjxxbK_48GC_VaIFek5M_A4_sraapmVdvWK3aw4hdjwLiEnWwL-kbgnFKTyVx43Ujn4DhYtaDdxeFRn0DUMv98nBkF7CdvbW_ahzoyHdJWnrBfF/s1600/DragonBag.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bag even has a deadly dragon on it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b>
When I originally saw people pulling cubes out of bag, I was actually seeing DEATH in action.<br />
<br />
In Clank!, characters are on a strict health-based timer to find treasure in the dungeon and then get the heck out.<br />
<br />
Every time you draw a new hand of cards, some of those cards are going to add cubes back into the bag. And there are precious few ways to "heal" your character once these blocks have been pulled back out again. You run out of health in Clank!, you die.<br />
<br />
Yes, this is a deckbuilding game with player elimination. And its awesome.<br />
<br />
You have to carefully weigh each turn, doing a classic "press-your-luck" evaluation. Hopefully you get just enough points to solidly be in the lead. But simultaneously planning your escape as early as possible to catch the rest of the players flat-footed.<br />
<br />
I have played quite a few hands of the original <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/53953/thunderstone">Thunderstone</a>. It was my original fantasy-themed bar against which to set other similar titles. Clank!, I've found, is ahead in every area, using lots of ingenuity to keep the game exciting each turn and pushing the game along to a definitive end.<br />
<br />
But IS Clank a true fantasy theme? I'm reminded a bit of the more recent Thunderstone expansion <span style="background-color: white; color: #161616; font-family: LatoWeb, Arial, serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/142961/thunderstone-advance-numenera">Numenera</a></span>. The aged crust of supposed "fantasy" reveals a high tech center: full of magic and myth which is really just science advanced enough to be perceived as magic.<br />
<br />
I got all the clues I needed by studying a subtle motif strewn throughout the Clank! dungeon. A repeating theme that kept coming up again and again.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Itx77pbKQNVljByNfC5iUxqNAOPnHA_qKQjz_Hw8Yt27_3rnCV-46heZ-OJZ-JBJ0_Y7P8JEwxItZeSs9xNWOCFPsvceGTG-T_xKhtccjYnmp9qm5u3WWUvjhdh8VScmvsNZ6ehS__Av/s1600/Ape+Fighter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="810" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Itx77pbKQNVljByNfC5iUxqNAOPnHA_qKQjz_Hw8Yt27_3rnCV-46heZ-OJZ-JBJ0_Y7P8JEwxItZeSs9xNWOCFPsvceGTG-T_xKhtccjYnmp9qm5u3WWUvjhdh8VScmvsNZ6ehS__Av/s320/Ape+Fighter.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's something familiar about this deckbuilder.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>It was the apes.</b><br />
<br />
I'm not some kind of ape-loving fanboy. But I've seen the original <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_the_Apes_(1968_film)">Planet of the Apes</a> and I understand the basics.<br />
<br />
In the past, humans got too full of themselves. They started a game of Global Thermonuclear War that they couldn't finish. And the result was hyper-intelligent apes swooping in and picking up the pieces.<br />
<br />
In Planet of the Apes we see a feudal society built from ape culture, with apes taking the place of humans in establishing a new civilization on Earth. It is assumed these apes are just as smart as humans once were, and will continue advancing technologically into the future.<br />
<br />
Imagine a world of scientific, industrialized apes. We caught a quick glimpse at the end of the remake.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFVMwu46uqMSKcYeeICutMMMAgf04yopGJ0DmYVDGuG0z8UlwnIrv1T8N9p4niRSJmLMGFmIQa876gvT5KAqMRiNj6GWGI5fnoLUtuEGMJDUFObK8RXqJWVxX5NpOxsujIorkOGqGuXXc/s1600/Ape+Lincoln.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="419" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFVMwu46uqMSKcYeeICutMMMAgf04yopGJ0DmYVDGuG0z8UlwnIrv1T8N9p4niRSJmLMGFmIQa876gvT5KAqMRiNj6GWGI5fnoLUtuEGMJDUFObK8RXqJWVxX5NpOxsujIorkOGqGuXXc/s320/Ape+Lincoln.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ape Lincoln</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But humans and apes probably share the same broken, selfish morals that originally led to humankind's downfall. It's indeed easy to imagine this new breed of Ape researching atomics and developing their own hideous weapons for global annihilation.<br />
<br />
After careful thought, Clank! is quite certainly a new Earth born from yet another cataclysm: this time involving the hyper-intelligent apes. And now who gets to swoop in? Those humans who've been lurking in the wings this entire time.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgbmjIb_blVLKIetxzhEmhyphenhyphenTv85Jfg4Ii1lR-iALc9wDubW8dDrR-DWzBXzXFWXwGbhQ49fXba4gyBAov-7IZd6JC02K8ZKyi3TWK8wCMa_Tp82v7GMP6aYntcG_ay5pQg1jT8gi6WJ6g/s1600/MonkeyBot3000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="578" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgbmjIb_blVLKIetxzhEmhyphenhyphenTv85Jfg4Ii1lR-iALc9wDubW8dDrR-DWzBXzXFWXwGbhQ49fXba4gyBAov-7IZd6JC02K8ZKyi3TWK8wCMa_Tp82v7GMP6aYntcG_ay5pQg1jT8gi6WJ6g/s320/MonkeyBot3000.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exhibit A</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All the relics are ape themed. There are strange mechanical ape devices you can add to your deck. Lots of subtle signs point to a strange ape-centered civilization now reduced to ash and ruin.<br />
<br />
This is no ordinary adventure.<br />
<br />
If you are tired of fantasy themes, just remember Clank! is NOT strictly fantasy. Instead, it is a new world swept clean by apocalypse, where humans aim to reclaim a long-lost heritage and hopefully do things right this time.<br />
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Delve deep into the dungeon. Hire some mercenaries. Grab that sweet, sweet ape gold. Just make sure you can get out alive!Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-63136780100636086042016-09-05T10:00:00.003-05:002016-09-05T10:00:59.438-05:00Vacation Consumption Phase: Video Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUnZlkMoF7cEs_VEdYGbOeeR5q9Mv9LGwQ2i_vstZB6sGOvnpI9sRTgSuIvOvjJk2KMx8a2ehOBSmrDqHLdCEVBwx658xPF_NU44bP6cs52WRWIWmIKFqyyQP2tRxa2ojYKTmpMGjev-6/s1600/OutThere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUnZlkMoF7cEs_VEdYGbOeeR5q9Mv9LGwQ2i_vstZB6sGOvnpI9sRTgSuIvOvjJk2KMx8a2ehOBSmrDqHLdCEVBwx658xPF_NU44bP6cs52WRWIWmIKFqyyQP2tRxa2ojYKTmpMGjev-6/s320/OutThere.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Out There</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the recommendation of <a href="https://twitter.com/knarfblack">Knarf Black</a>, I finally downloaded this <a href="http://omega.outtheregame.com/">grim game of space exploration</a> and ran it through its paces. You start as an astronaut awakening from cryosleep, adrift many millions of miles (perhaps millions of years as well) and the location of Earth quite uncertain.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luckily, you have enough hydrogen, oxygen and iron to continue moving, continue breathing, and maintain hull integrity in the face of uncertain random events. At least, enough to get you to the next system before reaching a terminal loss of one of these resources.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The star map is quasi-random generated, full of randomly built planetary systems you need to investigate and mine. Much like a typical roguelike, a large portion of your success depends on lucking your way into some decent starting resources. In the run in which I finally reached one of the game ending screens, I had managed to stumble across an awesome abandoned ship much better than the starting vessel. Huge cargo hold for carrying extra supplies, and the alien engines accepted hydrogen as fuel (the typical source) but also carbon, one of the more easily acquired elements in the game.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Probably the ultimate frustration in any roguelike scenario is one that happens a lot in Out There: not finding one particular resource because it doesn’t come up, and then starving through no fault of your own. Once you’re dead, you start at the beginning with all your progress erased, with the bare minimum supplies in the bare minimum ship.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That said, I had a lot of fun during those few runs where I was able to really get a good system set up. The universe of Out There is jam-packed with exciting technologies you can upgrade your ship with. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The various random encounters can be quite surprising. At one point I stumbled across an entire ship full of cryogenically suspended humans. I couldn’t thaw them out, and eventually I abandoned them back to space. But later I came across technology to create a “garden” world from a typical barren rocky one, and thought back about the rocky orb the cryo ship had been orbiting.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Ending</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you reach the conclusion of Out There, the ending is basically some text and a couple of static pictures. Afterwards you are unceremoniously restarted, without any of your stuff, right back at the beginning of the game.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I started looking for upgrades and technologies again, but quickly ran out of fuel and died. I’ve tried a few times since then, but have not managed to reach any of the other endings. Since Out There is a cell phone game, I can see a future where I find myself trapped for an extended period in a government queue or doctor’s waiting room, at which point there could potentially be some more space adventuring in store.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3LhcOfLJT3o7lFJVfnn-MOnnHRs4GQbZFAcWSOkLUvSftEWJuL8tzj1zGUXTJLn-B_pwMCukcrfDQ0My92WT7KwmtmZxXKWCrLMA8mH1hkNjzg-pEitI86-6gWeVmU2cE1d4EJtFAWxd/s1600/StarboundSpaceport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3LhcOfLJT3o7lFJVfnn-MOnnHRs4GQbZFAcWSOkLUvSftEWJuL8tzj1zGUXTJLn-B_pwMCukcrfDQ0My92WT7KwmtmZxXKWCrLMA8mH1hkNjzg-pEitI86-6gWeVmU2cE1d4EJtFAWxd/s400/StarboundSpaceport.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starbound</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My son’s 2 favorite games are Minecraft and Ark: Survival. A third popular option is Terraria. When he found out Starbound existed, it shot right to the top of his hot list for birthday presents. Strangely, once he secured the game it didn’t seem to get played with the unholy fervor of Ark: Survival, on which he has logged over a thousand hours.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since I was on vacation, and it was technically my Steam account too, I decided to take the reins and see what this game was all about.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I dug in. LITERALLY. Ha ha ha HA ha ha ha. Sigh.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okay, one thing I failed to realize about this game was this: of the playable races, one is a race of robotic knights trapped in a medieval aesthetic. If I had known this earlier, it would have been my game, not my son’s game. They even have glowy red eyes and weird emotionless dialog.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieymLlkH8aJQhcUDY3vtOP-6GJjxdfloHgYWjIZpisLp4-1SDrf5E033GXI4m87Q_hgi8HK46yVT9h9_cwqDJ8VzVnm-xmBOHHqREfejYq3j71B73Lr4xBkluq1m4hITgo_ddFvTqFdO0t/s1600/GlitchCastle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieymLlkH8aJQhcUDY3vtOP-6GJjxdfloHgYWjIZpisLp4-1SDrf5E033GXI4m87Q_hgi8HK46yVT9h9_cwqDJ8VzVnm-xmBOHHqREfejYq3j71B73Lr4xBkluq1m4hITgo_ddFvTqFdO0t/s400/GlitchCastle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exploring Caves and Visiting Planets</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the strange things about my experience with Starbound is that my son had plenty of free rein beforehand to help craft my experience. Like most of today’s games, there’s an active modding community and my son and seen fit to download what was probably an insane about of additional content.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since I never played the game beforehand, it can sometimes be tough to discern which was original and which is a mod.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Obviously the ancient forge that you can only use to craft lightsabers was an add-on. That one I saw through right away. But in the deep darkness of mining and cave exploration, I come across sections of weirdness.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caverns made of copper piping and gears. Planetary substrate made of gooey pink flesh and acid pits. Patches of “alien soil” filled with glowing roots and eyeball clouds. When I asked him if any of these stuff was content from mods, he couldn’t remember himself. Obviously his video game experience is completely different from my own expectations.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I go in digging through the goo. I mine gold and copper, tungsten and elusive “core fragments” hanging over steaming lava pits. I found you can even craft a breathing apparatus to explore airless moons and asteroid fields. The moons were particularly interesting: unexpected denizens were watching over the crystals you must eventually mine for spaceship fuel.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can spend weeks exploring just one star system, and then you branch out and find untold other systems all with the same level of complexity, perhaps more.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are rare periods my son’s not on the family computer. Or when my wife’s not on the family computer. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During those times, I am now on the family computer. And I’m playing Starbound.</span>Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-29892406439850352152016-09-05T09:52:00.000-05:002016-09-05T09:52:18.063-05:00Vacation Consumption Phase: Films<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nZx-0SgaKcBDjveJ7GsAkqQLTvHGyw6Rur-yBP8E2ReUnndE4JzrzX64fPIRMZE8T0AJUO3joE7C6WkeYs-o_mAdbSmPmgKaaxSW6kT8gc1T2-gBruYDg6vQDZ6OXUyTnODMNsV7_BK9/s1600/DarkKnight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nZx-0SgaKcBDjveJ7GsAkqQLTvHGyw6Rur-yBP8E2ReUnndE4JzrzX64fPIRMZE8T0AJUO3joE7C6WkeYs-o_mAdbSmPmgKaaxSW6kT8gc1T2-gBruYDg6vQDZ6OXUyTnODMNsV7_BK9/s400/DarkKnight.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dark Knight</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Up at the family cabin, there wasn’t a lot of DVD selection. The collection of hunters and fishermen who I call my relatives had amassed a bizarre menagerie including American Wedding, Wedding Crashers and Miracle. Why so many wedding-themed movies, guys? But they did have The Dark Knight.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-d1c71b72-fad1-3aee-11d4-44b9fe4a7726" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently, the wife and I had gone to see Suicide Squad. The best part of that movie was Deadshot. By a mile. With a distant second being the pizza I ate while I watched the movie.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can’t get over how much better the Joker of The Dark Knight is compared to the urban gangster/Hannibal Lecter mishmash presented in Suicide Squad.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since last seeing it, I had forgotten some of the details of the bank heist at the beginning. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Joker puts a grenade in the mouth of one the bank employees, and I assume its going to explode, and was pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be a simple smoke grenade. Because that’s something the Joker would actually do, occasionally let someone live in an unexpected way to keep you guessing.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCID6atx1PsYtTqCxrpE_y0K4WPY7XQqQTLPWNrvd4KxKLkYWbYu1Oe4cjwAveDymG6xE_i9Fn80Kr_hQi6BXla1ii1WgjOIWIHn9N29eZM36c-lPavktDALWnd1Nh0RIknHv4kkDwTswB/s1600/SmokeGrenade.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCID6atx1PsYtTqCxrpE_y0K4WPY7XQqQTLPWNrvd4KxKLkYWbYu1Oe4cjwAveDymG6xE_i9Fn80Kr_hQi6BXla1ii1WgjOIWIHn9N29eZM36c-lPavktDALWnd1Nh0RIknHv4kkDwTswB/s320/SmokeGrenade.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;">And who could forget the nurse scene. Another of my favorite parts.</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall though, I am sick of the relentless gritty, dirty, atmosphere Christopher Nolan’s Batman series helped contribute to the ongoing DC movie debacle. And speaking of which:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Vs. Superman</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Was this ever a hard slog.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After getting home, we picked this one up at Redbox. Everybody and everything sucked in this movie. I don’t know what I expected, since going in I had a few qualms with the entire scenario.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have yet to see or read any Superman story that really manages to make Superman work well in a world full of other superheroes. The guy is pretty overpowered. I have a hard time believing either Wonder Woman or Batman were really helping much in the fight with Doomsday.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet, fighting Doomsday was probably the best part of the film.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why were there so many crazy Batman dream sequences? Why did the movie spend so much time setting up various other Justice League characters? I’m really hoping this will payoff as less setup in the actual Justice League movie, and more actual story. But I’m not getting my hopes up.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWFCjikJld-f2cA-UJyhakMfdtw1_q-bCZa-DPY4lZsxPOjLKXKbd3-RvFgiFCYCnRXXxS_nuwff65zNUgjtVHeLFMnctbi77IFhEsS4S1tikflEe7WhPlscYL-RsXdkgP_EPVd0dgNYG/s1600/Synchonicity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWFCjikJld-f2cA-UJyhakMfdtw1_q-bCZa-DPY4lZsxPOjLKXKbd3-RvFgiFCYCnRXXxS_nuwff65zNUgjtVHeLFMnctbi77IFhEsS4S1tikflEe7WhPlscYL-RsXdkgP_EPVd0dgNYG/s320/Synchonicity.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synchronicity</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s forget about the superhero movies for a second and wormhole tunnel our way into a theme that honestly never fails to entertain: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crazy, sleep-deprived, methed-up scientists creating portals to alternate dimensions.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want a low budget sci-fi production, that is all you need to do. And Synchronicity delivers. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reviews surprisingly for this movie are pretty horrible. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But you are getting plenty of wonderful: flashing lights, dimly-lit tube-filled labs, actors playing duplicates of themselves, and plenty of twists and turns you think you have figured out, but then even more bodies start showing up and your brain breaks down trying to figure out where they came from.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I watched this on Netlfix as a random laundry day movie while I folded clothes. Would do again in a second.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Addams Family</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This movie, by all rights, should have been horrible. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But it’s a classic and when it came up as a recommended watch film on Netflix I accepted the challenge. Here is a movie that managed to feel incredibly authentic to the intellectual property it was using. Every five seconds another funny thing happens.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only thing I was left wanting was the original Addams Family television series from the 60’s. Netlix used to have this long ago, but evidently the world did not want to watch enough to keep paying for the rights. Shame on you world!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I remember a time when a </span><a href="http://addamsfamily.wikia.com/wiki/Uncle_Fester" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">crazy old man</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with a shaved head and a fur coat could jump out of the hallway screaming “Shoot ‘em in the back! Shoot ‘em in the back!” while madly clutching his antique blunderbuss. And we would call that comedy. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now look at what </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-image-could-explain-why-the-jokers-scenes-were-cut-from-suicide-squad_us_57bf00c6e4b02673444eaa3f" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we get</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Urban gangster Joker. And they call it edgy! There are people on Reddit who still want more of that guy.</span>Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-15945606905289319392016-09-05T09:46:00.001-05:002016-09-05T09:46:42.922-05:00Vacation Consumption PhaseI'm slowly coming back from a week-long family vacation Up North.<br />
<br />
Since I live in <a href="http://www.exploreminnesota.com/index.aspx">Minnesota</a>, "Up North" in this case means further north in Minnesota. Driving the long distances between various state parks, lakes and roadside attractions. Riding for hours drinking coffee, listening to the top hits on the radio. It was a lot of fun.<br />
<br />
While the vacation itself is probably not suitable for this blog, I did consume quite a lot of various media. So I'm quickly dumping my hot takes this week while I try to get back on track.<br />
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I will leave you with a couple of must-dos if you are ever in upper Minnesota.<br />
<br />
1) The Iron Range is awesome. Iron World, the Sudan Mine. Faded industrial glory, deep haunted dark spaces, vast epic monuments crafted from stone and metal. Love it.<br />
<br />
2) My kids walked across the Mississippi River at the headwaters located at Itasca State Park. Its a beautiful location full of rocky, pristine water and sandy wading pools.<br />
<br />
3) Split Rock Lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls, and Duluth itself are locations you never get tired of seeing. The weird rocky shores of Lake Superior remind me of an alien planet which pretty much seals the deal.<br />
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Anyway, reports from my vacation media consumption phase begin now!Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-48433467380858793222016-08-23T12:28:00.000-05:002016-08-23T12:28:05.044-05:00Conspiracy Theories, Board Gaming and Trolling before the Internet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAnGB4NDFXfrDHQ06c8UhPGvpInEJspl5ZOntdQV_SeAkFkOY29vqMkoDws6fi2aJyqqUhNRuTARlP7al3BPU1tWI_AUmEK2oJHhzv3skkuDgpY6HovZGaSvlxlhfcLvjBB-K0q-Z_PDv/s1600/SteveJacksonLogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAnGB4NDFXfrDHQ06c8UhPGvpInEJspl5ZOntdQV_SeAkFkOY29vqMkoDws6fi2aJyqqUhNRuTARlP7al3BPU1tWI_AUmEK2oJHhzv3skkuDgpY6HovZGaSvlxlhfcLvjBB-K0q-Z_PDv/s1600/SteveJacksonLogo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.dicetower.com/">The Dice Tower,</a> a pretty reliable source of information most of the time, tweeted this rebuttal from "Gary F. White" regarding a scathing review from a young Alan R. Moon. The board game being reviewed was Mr. Trucker, and the reply from Mr. White is hilarious in its magnitude.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLLSNJCP_z2X86WsQZUKAAAOaWacd4RRqAHIvS_9daQr7czN3E_6rtEBZ6CSSz1OfPq2qltikZ6L5X_Tvo0o6fuAZsqTQh3d84ojz1tJjqjxG9GSuBmm_F7FQO3tlEEE0FeH1m_JZYncj/s1600/DiceTowerTweet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLLSNJCP_z2X86WsQZUKAAAOaWacd4RRqAHIvS_9daQr7czN3E_6rtEBZ6CSSz1OfPq2qltikZ6L5X_Tvo0o6fuAZsqTQh3d84ojz1tJjqjxG9GSuBmm_F7FQO3tlEEE0FeH1m_JZYncj/s320/DiceTowerTweet.png" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/thedicetower/status/768114983238590464">Link to the tweet</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Here's the letter in it's entirety:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp03M6Bkp5bABDAtBGJbCQGbiIZwdZHnUfWgRqdt0BM3e97r1N0XA0s5vRutB-pT-aopFGZOTl8dPRDREoDwr4eH9BQP-eYuf0odPqMM5AOXws841g8k65ekIoWf9MJf_Qdf8tM6KnZTpl/s1600/ReboundGamesInternational1989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp03M6Bkp5bABDAtBGJbCQGbiIZwdZHnUfWgRqdt0BM3e97r1N0XA0s5vRutB-pT-aopFGZOTl8dPRDREoDwr4eH9BQP-eYuf0odPqMM5AOXws841g8k65ekIoWf9MJf_Qdf8tM6KnZTpl/s640/ReboundGamesInternational1989.jpg" width="506" /></a></div>
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It's easy to forget that before the Internet, most of the information in this letter would be impossible to check. You wouldn't be able to easily find Garry F. White unless he also included his phone number in the letter. You wouldn't easily be able to look up statistics in <a href="http://toysandgamesmagazine.ca/">Toy & Games</a> magazine.<br />
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There are a few obvious "calling cards" that this entire letter is a Discordian fabrication.<br />
<br />
1) The word "fnord" substituted for "ford." <b><a href="http://discordia.wikia.com/wiki/Fnord%3F">Fnord</a></b> is a word invented in the <i>Principia Discordia</i> for exactly the purpose it is being used here: to be mingled into the word gibberish of a crank letter sent to an unassuming publication.<br />
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2) The word "megabuck" is used to describe the list of branded corporate logos printed on the cover of Mr. Trucker.<br />
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As everyone knows, megabucks are the official currency used in Steve Jackson's classic card game <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/859/illuminati">Illuminati</a>.<br />
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It's easy to forget that before Munchkin, Illuminati was SJG's best-seller by far. First published in 1982 in black and white, then finally getting a deluxe color edition in 1999 (this is the version I have). Take a look at the Steve Jackson Games website and its still mostly <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/">conspiracy stuff</a>, because darn it...the Illuminati are fun!<br />
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There's probably even more I'm not seeing. Certainly, all of the statistics sound completely made up. There's no way Mr. Trucker has possibly beaten Trivial Pursuit in any category. It's impossible Gary would have received 10,000 letters when its very likely less than 10,000 copies of Mr. Trucker were ever made.<br />
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<b>The Conspiracy Goes Deeper</b><br />
<br />
In fact, I have a hard time believing editors for a gaming publication would fall for this, and find it highly more likely they were in on the joke.<br />
<br />
1) I find it suspicious that Mr. Trucker has zero reference to this article on BGG. Until today, that is. This tweet from The Dice Tower appears to be the first evidence of an Alan Moon "Mr. Trucker" review ever to make an appearance online.<br />
<br />
2) I have no evidence Games International was even a real magazine. There's no evidence of it easily google-able. I suspect we are all being played, here. Supposedly Games International was in London, and this is a regional game published in Canada about trucking.<br />
<br />
Either way, this makes me want to bust out some Illuminati. And I an incredibly grateful for the Dice Tower supplying me with this bizarre gift to roll around in my head over the lunch period.Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-33615869347268251472016-08-21T06:43:00.000-05:002016-08-21T06:43:03.503-05:00New Edition of King of Tokyo, and Why My Version is OK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_P-RUXubeWBHVXAYITgxv42RFMkYEoScclOxrFHrfx2MXLocacim8hscdrdqxfJ0qtoLLemHAjUUe-Wqk3xtRu07oYLgZQISrQar33mblfA4LPAQeDq-GPlcqPrdwGDAFzay6k8xfTfD/s1600/NewArtKingofTokyoComponents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_P-RUXubeWBHVXAYITgxv42RFMkYEoScclOxrFHrfx2MXLocacim8hscdrdqxfJ0qtoLLemHAjUUe-Wqk3xtRu07oYLgZQISrQar33mblfA4LPAQeDq-GPlcqPrdwGDAFzay6k8xfTfD/s400/NewArtKingofTokyoComponents.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It wasn't too long ago I was playing King of Tokyo again while also contemplating the slow-trickle of information regarding a <a href="http://iellogames.com/KingOfTokyo.html">2nd Edition</a>.<br />
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<b>New Art for a New Edition</b><br />
As far as I can tell, the art is going to be the only difference. But it will be a complete art revamp, with different monster art, different card art, different board art, different card back art. The most interesting part of this new art was that it was <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/54796/king-tokyo-scrubbed-clean-dressed-anew-fifth-anniv">financed</a> by the French government. This makes me think the <a href="https://www.arts.gov/">NEA</a> needs to get turned on to the board game industry ASAP.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHiHHNF1fzEGlFmn0Cnci_y0hON_HuJRAyBLh9FrapGAShQbNpSmKPsnF1YsOckRkhfK-Ai9FlS7BXmC4jk3EKgD84dZhjrI0AwhrKdMdKaaJX9RMAjOjEj6c1dPIlPNZAQJuvBU2f46nC/s1600/kingoftokyonewart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHiHHNF1fzEGlFmn0Cnci_y0hON_HuJRAyBLh9FrapGAShQbNpSmKPsnF1YsOckRkhfK-Ai9FlS7BXmC4jk3EKgD84dZhjrI0AwhrKdMdKaaJX9RMAjOjEj6c1dPIlPNZAQJuvBU2f46nC/s400/kingoftokyonewart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
Just this single compare & contrast between new and old Alienoid shows home much better the new art is. But I have a hard time upgrading a perfectly functioning game when all that's changed is the art.<br />
<br />
<b>The Variable Powers of King of Tokyo</b><br />
What appears to be the same, at least per any review I've read, are the powers you can upgrade your monster with using the ubiquitous green cubes.<br />
<br />
I love the powers, even as I understand they are <a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/2013/10/king-of-tokyo-no-expansion-necessary.html">not balanced</a> in the slightest. In fact, appraising the strength of these in different situations is a vital part of the game.<br />
<br />
I do find it strange, however, that absolutely no tinkering took place with these cards since everything else about the game is being redone anyway (including a revised rulebook).<br />
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<b>Forget about Releasing the Kraken</b><br />
The traditional Kraken slot in the new King of Tokyo is being replaced by non other than Space Penguin. Apparently Kraken's going missing for the foreseeable future is to make room for a special edition <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KingOfTokyoGame">Cthulhu</a> avatar. Yet another very compelling reason to keep my current version.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Playing the Player Elimination Game</b><br />
It goes without saying King of Tokyo is the sort of goofy game you can play quickly with a lot of people invested with varying amounts of motivation. When you get taken out, its not that big of deal. You can get up, go to the bathroom, dose yourself with some expired medication from the cabinet, wander around the living room with your thoughts. When you return to the table, the game will probably be over.<br />
<br />
This beats any poorly-designed game meant to stay inclusive until the bitter end. The worst ending to a game is not, in fact, player elimination but the LACK of player elimination. Wben you are so far down in the hole, and everyone else knows it as well, and you just have to sit there and make your minimal move every turn.<br />
<br />
<b>Chasing Victory</b><br />
So unless the 2nd Edition makes any improvements to the play of the game (and it doesn't sound like this is the case), I'm pretty happy with my current predicament. Pass me the big chunky dice, and I can try to make it to a points victory again, before being taking out in a flurry of claws on the top of a burned out Tokyo.<br />
<br />Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-56283145616970419892016-08-18T15:44:00.001-05:002016-08-18T15:44:55.646-05:00Anatomy of a Tableau<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Look at the fancy Frenchman and his "tableau." Why doesn't he call it what everyone else calls it, an "in-play zone."</span></i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">-- random invisible heckler</span></div>
<br />
The construction of a typical Race for the Galaxy tableau feels very organic. The mind doesn't know exactly what it wants, but it has a half-formed idea and tailors the hand to fit this idea.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKp4XkZxPV2RGmOlwsxd1ZoZhmYtGM_BOdau6-rSQgTuAokAB45OzHSUe4j76-UtzW3m6xg2EPGwkezCf6OHODoTKGmtwIrPIGL5Urc98Q3DDtlyi8EgTtyQyVsj9BA5ZIOdTK3wJYevu3/s1600/RacefortheGalaxyTableau.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKp4XkZxPV2RGmOlwsxd1ZoZhmYtGM_BOdau6-rSQgTuAokAB45OzHSUe4j76-UtzW3m6xg2EPGwkezCf6OHODoTKGmtwIrPIGL5Urc98Q3DDtlyi8EgTtyQyVsj9BA5ZIOdTK3wJYevu3/s400/RacefortheGalaxyTableau.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">End of game score: 43 points</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In the above tableau, the opening rounds were spent establishing a jack-of-all-trades mish-mash that could react to whatever cards I drew or actions the opponent played.<br />
<br />
The first round I played Destroyed World and immediately traded the good to establish a decent hand size. The next round I dropped the space marines and drew some explore cards.<br />
<br />
I then had both Terraforming Robots and New Survivalists in my hand, so I built the Terraforming Robots and was rewarded by my opponent also calling the settle action where I was able to play the New Survivalists for free and draw an additional card in the process.<br />
<br />
When choosing to build the Terraforming Robots, I also had Consumer Markets in my hand. But I couldn't afford to build it and didn't want to wait around a turn exploring to get enough cards to make it work. That would have set me back quite a bit.<br />
<br />
Luckily, the next turn I settled the Runaway Robots and traded the good immediately for a fresh stack of cards. And what should pop up but Free Trade Association. The next round I built Free Trade Association, then produced.<br />
<br />
For the rest of the game, I consumed with the 2X bonus and produced until the victory point pile was exhausted. The last turn I settled Galactic Trendsetters.<br />
<br />
If I hadn't drawn Free Trade Association, who knows how the game would have gone. I could have very well run into a bunch of gene/rebel/military worlds and gone that direction. If I had drawn one more consume development or settlement, I would have started a consume/produce cycle anyway.<br />
<br />
All in all, a pretty good game.Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-15284070697271215612016-08-17T19:03:00.003-05:002016-08-17T19:03:50.599-05:00How To Race for the GalaxyI'm going to hopefully be playing some online games of Race for the Galaxy this evening, and I thought I would go over the basic rules of the game.<br />
<br />
If you've every tried to learn <a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/2014/03/race-for-galaxy-galactic-parasite.html">Race for the Galaxy</a> from the rule book, it can be a harrowing experience. Surprisingly, the game itself will seem simple once the initial confusion is over. But that initial confusion can be a big hurdle to make your way over.<br />
<br />
<b>A Little Background</b><br />
At the very heart of Race for the Galaxy was an attempt to create a card game version of the popular board game Puerto Rico. If you ever want to play the actual card game version of <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3076/puerto-rico">Puerto Rico</a> it's called <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8217/san-juan">San Juan</a>. Available in paper form at the store, and also as both an iOS and Android smartphone/tablet game. Race for the Galaxy is slightly more complex than San Juan, with a greater variety of play options.<br />
<br />
Obviously the better game. But San Juan is pretty good, too.<br />
<br />
<b>Winning the Game</b><br />
Race for the Galaxy is over as soon as on of the players in the game either a) builds the 12th card in their tableau or b) exhausts the victory point chit pile (which is typically 12 VP per player in the game). So building things and earning extra victory points (by the consume action) are the two things you want to be doing as much as possible.<br />
<br />
<b>The Actions</b><br />
There are 5 possible actions in Race for the Galaxy, and at the beginning of the round you will pick a single action from these 5 choices. There are actually more choices than 5, but we will go into the options of each action further down the post. Each action is pretty simple, but complicated by possible bonuses.<br />
<br />
While you just pick a <b>single</b> action, you will usually have the opportunity during the round to do <b>multiple</b> actions, because <b>all</b> the actions each player picks are available for <b>every</b> player to take.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Explore</b><br />
This action is a simple way for you to draw cards if you don't have anything better to do, or you want to dig around for a specific card combination from the deck. The basic explore action is this: draw 2 cards, pick one of them, then discard the other card.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURuIEq-lD7p3rdLfMaE5AmZMMDt-OtDhPGoRmGBCYbk4MWmjr8ERRiODRIk7PBLWV7AeNA-NSDQBEnGcn2qhOepgicL5XvxS3cDHC2qfV1t6HvcRV2yUsxAlCPH2V0yqxDRYMslfPawC0/s1600/DevelopmentRaceGalaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURuIEq-lD7p3rdLfMaE5AmZMMDt-OtDhPGoRmGBCYbk4MWmjr8ERRiODRIk7PBLWV7AeNA-NSDQBEnGcn2qhOepgicL5XvxS3cDHC2qfV1t6HvcRV2yUsxAlCPH2V0yqxDRYMslfPawC0/s400/DevelopmentRaceGalaxy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical developments</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>2. Develop</b><br />
This action allows you to build a development card from your hand and place it in your tableau. The cost for building a development card is the number in the large tan diamond in the top left corner of the card. You pay this cost by discarding that many other cards from your hand.<br />
<br />
Developments are technological advances for your galactic space empire. They typically allow you to do things better, give discounts to other costs, better consumer options etc.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyHatKTPcTpPBhPEkiK75pwfgUoX8TIMe0iyzbDAHM1QBdUevIHGRl3KiA8kUJHMFI8QcfiTiGhRXZGecA_PTLYBRdE7q8dnBPp7uBzdQF9AgV1Hiq6iTT2XoJiCHUeGJfyUtu4pDRTTE/s1600/SettlementGalaxyRace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyHatKTPcTpPBhPEkiK75pwfgUoX8TIMe0iyzbDAHM1QBdUevIHGRl3KiA8kUJHMFI8QcfiTiGhRXZGecA_PTLYBRdE7q8dnBPp7uBzdQF9AgV1Hiq6iTT2XoJiCHUeGJfyUtu4pDRTTE/s320/SettlementGalaxyRace.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Settlements. The Artist Colony produces blue novelties</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>3. Settle</b><br />
This action allows you to build a settlement (sometimes people call these planets) to your tableau. Settlements are mostly paid for exactly like developments except the cost in in the large circle in the upper left corner of the card.<br />
An additional type of settlement is a military settlement. You will know a military settlement by the red ring around the planet. You can discard cards to play for a military settlement, instead you can play a military settlement for free if you have military strength equal to or greater than the cost of the settlement. Military strength is gained from various settlements and developments. You typically start with 0 military strength.<br />
Adding military settlements to your empire is either extremely easy or completely impossible depending on your military strength.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Consume</b><br />
This action turns goods into either the currency of the game (cards) or victory points. Some settlements and developments have consume powers and it will tell you right on the card how many goods you can consume and what you get back in return. The consume action is one of the ways you win the game.<br />
In a consume action, you need to consume as many goods as you possibly can. Because all players have all actions available, this is one way to screw over other players by forcing them to consume goods before they have their cards set up optimally.<br />
You may be wondering where goods come from, since I haven't said anything about them yet. Well just wait one more paragraph.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjHJ3kHuVS0OH879APFqXcbXnmHU_AnDGbkc7GRSzEMPDbUYAAJl2uFxUMa4MvDIO4gOrKSQlz0yjGBWSdO2VwV5-LkidlPyNIY7Feq6MKKTtkBwGIjhcmbZOTusTOvefwsGduOC8lluY-/s1600/ProductionRaceGalaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjHJ3kHuVS0OH879APFqXcbXnmHU_AnDGbkc7GRSzEMPDbUYAAJl2uFxUMa4MvDIO4gOrKSQlz0yjGBWSdO2VwV5-LkidlPyNIY7Feq6MKKTtkBwGIjhcmbZOTusTOvefwsGduOC8lluY-/s320/ProductionRaceGalaxy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 windfall Production settlements</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>5. Produce</b><br />
This action creates goods in your settlements. Some settlements start with a good (windfall worlds, which are empty circles with a glowing halo on the outside). But most need a produce action to get goods. Settlements produce a specific color of good denoted on the card. Blue goods are the least valuable, while yellow alien goods are the most valuable.<br />
<br />
All settlements that can produce a good do so during this action. A settlement can only hold one good, if the produce action happens again, any settlement with an existing good is passed over.<br />
<br />
<b>The Bonuses</b><br />
When you pick an action for a round, you get a special bonus. While all other players get to take the basic action, only you get the bonus. Here's where things get a little complicated.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22mqyaG9deio8XvRLeZe8e3t34pR5X1Rm1F4IJ6faAE9UWDQTEhHsaIAc7HKkM3ApaSCm28vG_DsZP9x_lGGqGwzT33DYZm3jIULBgB5PqZGBRJ_yb4r7bM6cXE10oHJXpKBwVwbsWqpd/s1600/ExploreRaceGalaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22mqyaG9deio8XvRLeZe8e3t34pR5X1Rm1F4IJ6faAE9UWDQTEhHsaIAc7HKkM3ApaSCm28vG_DsZP9x_lGGqGwzT33DYZm3jIULBgB5PqZGBRJ_yb4r7bM6cXE10oHJXpKBwVwbsWqpd/s320/ExploreRaceGalaxy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The 2 Explore action choices</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Explore Bonus</b><br />
When you pick explore, you have the choice of 2 bonuses.<br />
1) draw an extra card and keep an extra card. (Draw +3, Keep +2 total)<br />
2) draw FIVE extra cards, and don't keep any extra cards (Draw +7, Keep +1 total)<br />
<br />
The first bonus is chosen most often, but the 2nd bonus is often chosen when there is a specific type of card you really need to make your <b>economic space engine of doom</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>Development Bonus</b><br />
The development bonus is a discount of 1 less card to pay for building your development. Easy!<br />
<br />
<b>Settle Bonus</b><br />
The settle bonus is to draw a card <b>after</b> you build your settlement for the round. Again, easy!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41Fbi-QCZPRjXvaotoZBE-mhsAjcY2ao_KuMMJobHE5hg30VUk_gtnIk0-9STJz_SMAORUV453IvWFeKdN5gBpnMd0ExV3nteVS2yhDMqlDT_5LbhXmDUjFvPpQltATBGtxYuYvS58HyS/s1600/ConsumeRaceGalaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41Fbi-QCZPRjXvaotoZBE-mhsAjcY2ao_KuMMJobHE5hg30VUk_gtnIk0-9STJz_SMAORUV453IvWFeKdN5gBpnMd0ExV3nteVS2yhDMqlDT_5LbhXmDUjFvPpQltATBGtxYuYvS58HyS/s320/ConsumeRaceGalaxy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 2 Consume choices</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Consume Bonus</b><br />
When you pick consume you have the choice of 2 bonuses.<br />
1) "Sell" one of your goods for a specific number of cards. Blue goods are worth 2 cards, brown is worth 3, green is worth 4, yellow is worth 5. After you sell you then do the rest of the consume action normally.<br />
<br />
2) 2X Victory Points. When you take this bonus, all victory points generated during the consume action are doubled. This is can be a bonkers number of points. If someone is taking this action and they have 3 or 4 planets with goods, they are currently in the process of winning the game. All will be over soon.<br />
<br />
<b>Produce Bonus</b><br />
The produce bonus is to produce a good on one of your windfall worlds. Typically these settlements start with a goods card, but don't generate any extra during the game. With the bonus, you get to make a good on one of these special settlements.<br />
<br />
Counting up Victory Points<br />
When the end game conditions are met, the game is over at the end of the round. There are 3 sources of victory points. Settlements and developments are each worth a certain amount of VP, as printed on the card in the white hexagon. And then victory point chits are added to the total on top of that.<br />
<br />
The final objective is simple enough, but there's a bunch of ways to get there. If you have a hankering to play Race for the Galaxy, check out the online version <a href="http://en.boardgamearena.com/">here</a>.Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-60634985449572466072016-08-16T12:48:00.001-05:002016-08-16T13:12:35.780-05:00Walnut Grove: Extremely High-Level Strategy (Not Really)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibokGbsQf0tuAf6dL2Mj09yuJIE1JXI-lP-p85IF1z7K3oHr99RM0LJRYXtcekUwZgDGWwDk355RCUfinxoxEJvEGShID4Qab3iB9MZwo4WUDZY7SEGEKvvVN4XrkKUYZAQJelpTrpaiDU/s1600/WalnutGroveBoard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibokGbsQf0tuAf6dL2Mj09yuJIE1JXI-lP-p85IF1z7K3oHr99RM0LJRYXtcekUwZgDGWwDk355RCUfinxoxEJvEGShID4Qab3iB9MZwo4WUDZY7SEGEKvvVN4XrkKUYZAQJelpTrpaiDU/s400/WalnutGroveBoard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
My 3rd <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103185/walnut-grove">Walnut Grove</a> solo battle went about as well as the first one, with me earning enough points to just barely squeak ahead for a beginner solo victory. I was sabotaged by my daughter, who arrived about halfway in and started up a vigorous battle between my farmer and his farm hands. Seems they all wanted to live in the house together, and of course room was lacking.<br />
<br />
The big improvement I cashed in on was the Ladder, which saved me from defeat. I also bought a barn and loaded both buildings with coins, ending up with 9 points that way.<br />
<br />
I normally feel pretty competent in this game, but I'm usually teaching it to new people. Thanks to its relative obscurity, I have yet to run up against any seasoned Walnut Grove players.<br />
<br />
In the face of practiced opponents, or perhaps the release of an on-line version, I would certainly fail, fail, fail. I am reminded most of my attempts to master <a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/2015/01/agricola-into-belly-of-beast.html">Agricola</a>. With the right brain on your shoulders, you should be able to plan your play out pretty far ahead, compensating for unexpected developments in the tiles you grab.<br />
<br />
I'm actually looking forward to more solo games, and of course multiplayer games if anyone asks.<br />
<br />
<b>Resources</b><br />
It's true you want to make as many resources as you can using the fewest workers. But past a certain point, resources lose their usefulness. Because the General Store only accepts 1 of each type of resource, ideally you want lots of different types of resources available. So after you build a 3 or 4 tile field, you should probably start on another one.<br />
<br />
Being able to store lots of resources is also very important: a 3-tile field that can only store 3 of its resource is going to be dragging you down the entire game.<br />
<br />
<b>Placing Tiles</b><br />
Finding a way to get more use out of every tile is a very important part of Walnut Grove. If you can find a way to make 2 tiles meet together to create an even bigger field, its about the best feeling in the game.<br />
<br />
<b>Fall Actions</b><br />
As I've previously stated, Fall is the only time you can do most of the building actions. The one thing you should try to avoid at all costs is picking up MORE resources (from Post Office, Church) during the Fall. You have exactly 8 Fall Actions, never more, never less. And ideally every single one of these actions is going to be directly earning you victory points.<br />
<br />
If you can nail down a really important improvement tile by waiting a turn to get more stone, go for it. But realize you are effectively making that improvement worth 2 turns of actions. Is it still worth it?<br />
<br />
<b>Buying Workers</b><br />
Unlike Agricola, the extra workers in Walnut Grove carry a very steep price. With 3 different flavors of food to collect, and assured double-dipping at regular intervals, you need to be sure you can support a new worker and make some solid profit on the side. But each worker also has the benefit of being worth an extra 2 points at the end of the game, the same as a gold coin.<br />
<br />
At the end of each game, I had always wished I had worked on getting more workers.<br />
<br />
Also, the milk workers seem particularly costly, as they eat the exact same amount of milk as other workers eat fish or grain, and milk is easily more valuable.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Biggest Takeaway</b><br />
Study the improvement tiles before you start moving in different directions. It is highly likely you will have to acquire one of these tiles, and they can steer your growth in dramatically different directions.<br />
<br />
Also, have a plan and stick to it. Which I personally have a difficult time with.<br />
<br />
<b>Final Thoughts</b><br />
I'm glad to be bringing Walnut Grove Week to a close. I feel like the content I've provided is a little uneven, but hopefully will offer insight into my own unique psyche. I can't provide the same level of evaluation as some other sites, but I can honestly say at least my madness is my own.<br />
<br />
If you have a weird, under-appreciated game in your own collection, consider giving it some time in the spotlight to get reacquainted. Today I see <a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/p/walnut-grove.html">Walnut Grove</a> in a whole new light.<br />
<br />
If I still have time I plan to do a short write up on Race for the Galaxy play and strategy. Might be tomorrow, might be the next day. See you then!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
-- Zeke</div>
Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-57070960589256151912016-08-14T19:05:00.002-05:002016-08-14T19:05:42.335-05:00Walnut Grove: Battle Reporting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoMX6T0zn1I04ZFK93-PEHnh6kZtvsgtsuREK-aHXmeCAu8OO_Bot0_gXTJ8EyLjyxZHuKPLfERnVm-jtE7akpSKxfibDMqP5583dkEr7_x-DfIEEdsCd9_SJi6ibaKZlElNwPaK4rR3n/s1600/BattleReportWalnutGrove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoMX6T0zn1I04ZFK93-PEHnh6kZtvsgtsuREK-aHXmeCAu8OO_Bot0_gXTJ8EyLjyxZHuKPLfERnVm-jtE7akpSKxfibDMqP5583dkEr7_x-DfIEEdsCd9_SJi6ibaKZlElNwPaK4rR3n/s320/BattleReportWalnutGrove.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have no idea what turn or which game this is</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>First Battle: Too Many Resources</b><br />
<br />
<div>
The starting turn there was an obvious choice: I added to my wood production. In Walnut Grove, you never want to get caught in the cold. Perhaps I felt the same terror a frontiersman might have faced seeing winter on the horizon and not having a few cords of split wood in reserve.</div>
<div>
When time came to visit the clockwork village itself, I decided to invest in extra resources to cover future contingencies. Knowing milk as the lifeblood of this game, I stopped at the Post Office to get two cubes of the vital liquid. Winter passed uneventfully.</div>
<div>
When spring came around again, I expanded into wheat. My single farm hard was a yellow worker, and he would eventually hit me hard for 2X wheat. It was only a matter of time.</div>
<div>
I then used my 2 0-value copper coins to buy a house for my farm hand. Over the rest of the game, this would save me 7 cubes of wood, so it seemed like a good investment. Winter again passed without too much agony, even with an especially cold winter I only had to spend a single wheat and 2 wood.</div>
<div>
Turn 3, I decided money needed to be made to replenish my coin supply. After adding to my waterfront, I generated some fish and some wheat. In town I only managed to sell 1 milk, but since there was a bonus on milk I earned 2 coins: both a copper and a gold! Winter again was pretty low-stress thanks to my farm hand and his snuggly warm house.</div>
<div>
Turn 4, I hit the bonanza. Circle of Farm Management: the "play 2 tiles" card. I liked having lots of wood, so I used both tiles to expand wood production. During spring I generated 3 milk and 4 wood. In town I used my 2 fish to buy another yellow worker. Winter has the easiest of the game, with no wood being spent and only 1 wheat.</div>
<div>
Turn 5, I thought I better start making some stone. I expanded stone production and made 3 stone, 2 wheat and 4 wood. My conservative movements in town had so far avoided the taxman, but I was finally foced to pass over that bitter rubicon and pay my 1 coin. I then sold 1 milk, 1 wood and 1 fish for a stack of coins.</div>
<div>
Turn 6, I finally managed to make enough stone to build a Gateway, and decided to work on building out my wood production for extra Gateway points. The worst winter yet, having to pay 3 wood even with the hut. Also 2 fish and 2 wheat. These workers are hungry!<br />
Turn 7, expanded stone (hey, wasn't I supposed to work on wood?). I was really flying around the board and ended up having to pay taxes again. Built safe improvement. Had another cruel winter where I spent 2 wheat, 2 fish and 3 wood keeping everybody happy.<br />
Turn 8, added to my wood field, ensuring I would get a nice 5 point bonus from my Gateway. Sold 3 resources (with bonus) to net 4 coins (I had to return a couple 0-value coppers to the bag). Mediocre winter to send me off.<br />
<br />
Final Points 26! The big difference made here was the Safe (I ended up getting 11 points with all my coins added together along with the Safe). Next in line was the Gateway, with 5 extra points thanks to my big wood field.<br />
<br />
According to the Walnut Grove rules, I just barely won if playing a "beginner game". Looking back on my performance, I generated a LOT of resources, with the result being an enormous surplus still sitting in my fields. At the end of the game, resource cubes are worth absolutely nothing. This indicates a low efficiency, and I definitely want to improve that for the next game.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AWeZBIfBldGYmWKKNKBU8SrPdSTt0B3X_5Jrx-l7pu9F8DONEO0dgRRYhwCGC7lMbZIIwNhqvndvrS1GHCofc4K1QKIc8WRCByvnaQAf-OcUie9B21ugrsuiU7DoKLcwCnJGPKCaZkq3/s1600/MoreWalnutGrove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AWeZBIfBldGYmWKKNKBU8SrPdSTt0B3X_5Jrx-l7pu9F8DONEO0dgRRYhwCGC7lMbZIIwNhqvndvrS1GHCofc4K1QKIc8WRCByvnaQAf-OcUie9B21ugrsuiU7DoKLcwCnJGPKCaZkq3/s320/MoreWalnutGrove.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something was happening here...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Game 2: I go deep off my A-game</b><br />
Round 1: I used the same player board as the first time, so having some extra wheat was a must. Especially because my Wheel of Farm Management was reporting my yellow farmhand was planning an 2X devour action at the end of the round. To compensate for not generating very much wood, I decided to build a house again right away. Worked good last time!<br />
Round 2, I expanded milk (didn't want to rely on any magic post office hand-outs!)and because it was the awesome 2 tile turn, I also expanded wood. I sold 2 resources for 2 coins.<br />
Round 3, I expanded fish. I bought an extra yellow worker (for 2 fish).<br />
Round 4, I expanded wood again. I built a barn to hold extra coins I hopefully would earn later in the game. I was forced to take a neighborly help token to pay my taxes.<br />
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<b>Note:</b> The fact that I had to borrow a coin from the bank to pay my taxes on the same turn I build a barn to hold more coins has me pretty flummoxed, good reader at home.<br />
<br />
The only thing I remember about this game was a sense of frustration I had somehow closed off my main wheat field without noticing, forcing me to start on a fresh new wheat field and use two workers for wheat production on some turns. The only outside influence I can blame on my performance is the hour, it was getting pretty late and maybe my brain went into power-saving mode.<br />
<br />
Let this be a lesson to you! Don't stay up all night playing Walnut Grove!<br />
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Now, back to the action.<br />
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Round 5, I increased wood production. While in town I managed to sell 3 resources for a 3 coin payout. I didn't write down what coins I got, I hope they were good! I did use one of those coins to help heat my housing structure.<br />
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Round 6, built a barn.<br />
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Round 7, sold 2 resources and managed to get a gold coin. Huzzah!<br />
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Round 8, paid taxes. Sold 2 resources and got 2 silver coins.<br />
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Final Points: 17. A terrible defeat, but I am consoled by 2 factors. First, it was a solo game. Second, my Walnut Grove alien family continues to live on, even if they aren't experiencing success by solo game metrics.<br />
They are happy and humble!<br />
<br />
Typing up this Battle Report has reinvigorated me to do yet another solo game. I deserve it. My blog deserves it. The aliens of Walnut Grove deserve it.<br />
<br />
But I'll save that for tomorrow. Along with the Walnut Grove strategy insights I've been developing.</div>
Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-59142049528798861652016-08-13T08:30:00.001-05:002016-08-13T10:35:13.453-05:00Walnut Grove: The Fall Guys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmxmSJc_SBd3BBJ5F-0vkqaRwZA3rto2_widKZYvwHER1QaBxihdTuewxW3xnruEu7VJA1qNEbvUoEGbDs-30OcK_vis2Tc2SegP_G9vW-EFEuYuWrjbEgQ18t_Kf9U-WrXd4SCZZdGSx/s1600/WalnutGroveBoard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmxmSJc_SBd3BBJ5F-0vkqaRwZA3rto2_widKZYvwHER1QaBxihdTuewxW3xnruEu7VJA1qNEbvUoEGbDs-30OcK_vis2Tc2SegP_G9vW-EFEuYuWrjbEgQ18t_Kf9U-WrXd4SCZZdGSx/s400/WalnutGroveBoard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Look at this haunted, empty city.<br />
<br />
Upon a barren tor sits <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103185/walnut-grove">Walnut Grove</a>. Workers stand frozen in their hibernation chambers. Decrepit machinery stands waiting to whirl into life once the proper amount of energizing milk has been poured into the system.<br />
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There are many forgotten artifacts strewn about this artificial realm. It may take some time to explore them all.<br />
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<b>Where DO player's start?</b><br />
<br />
I pride myself on having a better-than-average understanding of the English language. But even the most advanced Englishologist occasionally gets hung up in the odd mental corridors of the typical board game rulebook.<br />
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On the placement of the player pawns:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In clockwise direction, each player chooses either the Church or the Town Hall and then places his player figure onto an empty starting space in front the chosen building. Spaces must be filled in order, starting with the space closest to the street running around town."</blockquote>
On taking turn order for the Fall season:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The player whose figure is the furthest away from the town hall (in clockwise direction) goes first, followed by the other players according to the positions of their figures. In the first year, the player whose figure is on the first starting space in front of the church goes first."</blockquote>
Now, I'm not some sort of uneducated rube. I know which direction is "clockwise". I'm falling under the assumption (a mostly safe one) that they are using terrestrial clocks and not some sort of alien clock that runs backwards.<br />
<br />
But direction is an odd thing when you're talking about a circular path. A pawn might travel away from a position, but because its a circle, it is simultaneously moving farther away and closer to the position it starts in. It took me 15 minutes of metaphysical exploration before I was 99% sure which pawn goes first.<br />
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In addition, the starting spaces for this game are lined up in a row in front of each of the 2 buildings. Technically there are multiple players who are going to be in front of the Church. A starting space could probably be either the space closest to the Church, or the space farthest away depending on where you start counting from.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7HDtBkaTV8k2zLEH8_bT_ToRNKJhbHUheaJ3c7XnNfni30bK8g45DAJ4NuYiMBUXbup33vlXhJwEwamDBfzXxculwNCxAyXGuTFy1SazTYpkJmfkaVd-rFdOt0ABwcQItA2kuX7WG4mk6/s1600/WalnutGroveStarting+Positions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7HDtBkaTV8k2zLEH8_bT_ToRNKJhbHUheaJ3c7XnNfni30bK8g45DAJ4NuYiMBUXbup33vlXhJwEwamDBfzXxculwNCxAyXGuTFy1SazTYpkJmfkaVd-rFdOt0ABwcQItA2kuX7WG4mk6/s320/WalnutGroveStarting+Positions.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's even an arrow, which should have helped me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I feel like there had to have been a way for all players to just start on the same space, in the same location, and just have the turn order be static the first time around. Maybe in order the players are positioned around the table.<br />
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But a rules reader should also probably be able to get past such rudimentary hurdles as figuring out which pawn is closer to a location moving clockwise on a circle. I feel like this is the first time in 30 years of gaming I've been stuck on something like that.<br />
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Finally, to top off all these turn order shenanigans, it's also easy to forget what color you are. Much like in my review of Rattlebones, I've noticed people have a tendency to accidentally grab the wrong piece. A reference point on your own player board would have helped this a lot.<br />
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<b>The Dream Factories</b><br />
There is a post office and a church, both of which vend you whatever resources you are most in need of at the moment. Imagine a post office that gives you a package filled with exactly what you want, and all you have to do is think of it. Is it the Twilight Zone? No, this is Walnut Grove.<br />
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<b>Buying Extra Farm Hands</b><br />
3 locations on the board, the Lodge, Hotel and Saloon, vend extra workers for you to use in generating more resources. Costs for unlocking a worker might be 2 fish, 1 milk, or 2 wheat.<br />
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The extra workers in Walnut Grove are very unusual for a typical "worker placement" game because there's only one section of the game they can be used: resource generation. Otherwise, all the other actions during the game are on this city board using your one "big hat" differently colored pawn.<br />
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And your farmhands eat a tremendous portion of the resources they generate, especially in the early turns.<br />
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Be careful buying extra workers!<br />
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<b>Building Tiles and Improvement tiles</b><br />
The 2 main upgrades you can add to your player board are building tiles and improvement tiles. There are 2 building tile types: huts and barns. The huts keep your farmhands warm and reduce wood payments during winter. The barns give you more room to store extra resources and coins.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8w5iSLBjACmCsyCosL2Rim5FjK9FnWNrpr-nF6K1teP564ujhuGgNqvaF87IL_fUXZcGy1Vqna_bGEGHEA9rVGrTQewIkNjsFA4rz64DI3GHtHuW-QwUbgge1_bJ5ZLXTozSAgMsXa2U/s1600/WalnutGroveImprovementTiles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8w5iSLBjACmCsyCosL2Rim5FjK9FnWNrpr-nF6K1teP564ujhuGgNqvaF87IL_fUXZcGy1Vqna_bGEGHEA9rVGrTQewIkNjsFA4rz64DI3GHtHuW-QwUbgge1_bJ5ZLXTozSAgMsXa2U/s400/WalnutGroveImprovementTiles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Improvements are VP modifiers for the end game. They all have a serious case of <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3955/bang">BANG!-itis</a> where each tile is just a picture and you have to look the picture up in the rule book to understand how many extra points you get.<br />
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<b>General Stores</b><br />
You can sell your extra resources for coins. Having a vareity of resources is helpful, since a general store can only accept 1 of each type. If you can swing 3 different resouces to one of these places it could potentially be a pretty big payout. Some of the coins are worth 2 points, others 1 point, and others 0 points. So you could earn between 0 and 6 victory points.<br />
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And you can always use the 0 coins to pay taxes.<br />
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<b>Coins and Taxes</b><br />
Coins have a variable value for victory points, but each is still worth 1 coin for the 2 purposes coins are used for in the game. First you need to pay taxes every time you cross over the 2 tax spots on the game board. Second coins can be "wild cards" to replace any other resource in any situation.<br />
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So it usually makes sense to sell as many of your goods as you can at one of the general stores, even if you need those resources later in the round.<br />
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<b>The Ever-Presence of Milk</b><br />
After a couple of plays of Walnut Grove, you realize milk has a special place in this game. Of the 9 spaces you can pay resources into, 6 of them use milk. In most cases, milk seems to have a value twice that of fish or wheat. Yet the milk-colored farm hand still demands the same amount of milk, and devours a double share if the milk worker comes up on the Wheel of Farm Management.<br />
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Always keep an eye on your milk production!<br />
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Stone is a tough resource to gather. No one eats it, but you need stone to build the improvements that actually give you a shot at winning the game. Luckily you can also use coins for this role, and keep generating other consumable resources in the meantime.<br />
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<b>What Else Can I Say?</b><br />
There's one more post coming to close out Walnut Grove Week (which ends on Monday/Tuesday of next week). At the urging of this <a href="http://gameritis.blogspot.com/2016/08/blogust-3-tips-for-playing-solo.html">guy</a>, I've started playing some solo games of Walnut Grove to re-familiarize myself with the game.<br />
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So what could be better than a Walnut Grove Battle Report!<br />
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Plus I plan to include some next-level strategy to consider for your future games of Walnut Grove.<br />
<br />
See you then!Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-30297406296319676442016-08-10T12:38:00.002-05:002016-08-10T12:38:55.644-05:00Walnut Grove: The Wheel of Farmland ManagementThere's a lot of really good parts in <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103185/walnut-grove">Walnut Grove</a>. In fact, the game has at least 1 weird similarity to <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28143/race-galaxy">Race for the Galaxy</a>, in that most of the actions happen simultaneously across all players. The result is a surprisingly fast-moving game. <div>
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During each of the 8 rounds you expand your territory, produce resources, sell them at market and even buy upgrades for your empire. And the whole thing takes about 45 minutes, unless there's extra rules-explaining or a deep-thinker holding up the show.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLjal4hY8GbhdwqVFxtFZ86yLzQGEKhKZUY6b8l1DKlfOpygoTaC4wOewBoD79AHng10ckzHiFtfMN0vOuTEqTzkorkUxzAq4iTOlBlgJ-GAQ75CSU7jTGPIbQxJwRLjmAiDAKnAQY-k3/s1600/Walnut+Grove+Wheel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLjal4hY8GbhdwqVFxtFZ86yLzQGEKhKZUY6b8l1DKlfOpygoTaC4wOewBoD79AHng10ckzHiFtfMN0vOuTEqTzkorkUxzAq4iTOlBlgJ-GAQ75CSU7jTGPIbQxJwRLjmAiDAKnAQY-k3/s320/Walnut+Grove+Wheel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wheel of modifiers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Each round is described by one of these circular tiles you flip over at the beginning of the turn. They are nice, simple, graphic representations of the various modifiers to be aware of during the round.</div>
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1) You start the round off with Spring, which in true xenomorphic fashion is denoted by the color pink. In this case, you draw 3 tiles from a bag a la Carcasonne, and place one of them.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnjt-1kzhlFKWlA-fCifuSCIKJg4Ojcf0gN5A2VPG3Fk7Ig8eLDojHWG3LYjkZJv-y_BwimvBqLq84RE1Cs9NWI5s8JRUS-DG-qQjbQVfPW4MRSFBXLBNvkkkWLz93_gMANFtQIFkwHK_/s1600/WilnutGroveChooseTIles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnjt-1kzhlFKWlA-fCifuSCIKJg4Ojcf0gN5A2VPG3Fk7Ig8eLDojHWG3LYjkZJv-y_BwimvBqLq84RE1Cs9NWI5s8JRUS-DG-qQjbQVfPW4MRSFBXLBNvkkkWLz93_gMANFtQIFkwHK_/s320/WilnutGroveChooseTIles.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 tiles to choose from</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQzf54ajE-MGw4_wr689NnO3YIU9tohC73KWDbqdZ1Jl8qX-bWz1KOXKr8Npi1K8Xuzsu8NYiofFWBVe3wHTKrU6spVhnlPRuuNdIUdCYozae_jyYIrf9wo-pvrJgK0u-keREvhMCiDwF/s1600/WalnutGrove2ndTurnTiles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQzf54ajE-MGw4_wr689NnO3YIU9tohC73KWDbqdZ1Jl8qX-bWz1KOXKr8Npi1K8Xuzsu8NYiofFWBVe3wHTKrU6spVhnlPRuuNdIUdCYozae_jyYIrf9wo-pvrJgK0u-keREvhMCiDwF/s320/WalnutGrove2ndTurnTiles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
This how a player board would probably look on the second turn. You don't have to match up the terrain on each tile, but it helps to do since this matters for production.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-87ZOYJS0Xo8Nfy6im24mUtUtmjFLkNqvJHWP36k5GC-oSrhAq-K6Ll31uFlpgBBqny6Ybks4sj6oIpPINZ8McqU0Co8FFZhyphenhyphengXMeSBxPwCMfgHrpLxFDmhfTNmG7aKjy1Sx58Kw9y7m/s1600/WalnutGroveFarmhands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-87ZOYJS0Xo8Nfy6im24mUtUtmjFLkNqvJHWP36k5GC-oSrhAq-K6Ll31uFlpgBBqny6Ybks4sj6oIpPINZ8McqU0Co8FFZhyphenhyphengXMeSBxPwCMfgHrpLxFDmhfTNmG7aKjy1Sx58Kw9y7m/s320/WalnutGroveFarmhands.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Placing workers and producing resource cubes</td></tr>
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<div>
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<div>
2) You follow Spring with Summer, when all the resource cubes are generated. I put my yellow farmhand down on the wheat field (since I'm going to want a little wheat for him to eat) and my farmer on the wood so I have lumber to light my fires during winter. Because there is a wood bonus this round (per the wheel) I get an extra cube of wood. Normally I would get 2 because my wood field stretches over 2 tiles. I have to put my 3rd wood cube into my barn storage, because the field can only hold 2 cubes.</div>
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<div>
3) During Fall you go to town. Fall is where you will spent the most time during your game, since all kinds of decisions have to be made. It's like an entirely different game, and I'm going to do an entire post on the Fall actions of Walnut Grove.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw73jBoEm_CJoQABE4lbS19URg7I0X4fv-LYYjNoKvup_NLbBGOyMJSfw6YS_zQGxLGHE8pfaUwPGiMZdDP_1TPpfO__d7RSwsvrpEpX2TgPV-kTZ8E1bhKwXa3e8IdCL5IGL51IRV2_f/s1600/WalnutGroveFeedingTime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw73jBoEm_CJoQABE4lbS19URg7I0X4fv-LYYjNoKvup_NLbBGOyMJSfw6YS_zQGxLGHE8pfaUwPGiMZdDP_1TPpfO__d7RSwsvrpEpX2TgPV-kTZ8E1bhKwXa3e8IdCL5IGL51IRV2_f/s320/WalnutGroveFeedingTime.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeding Time! Time to Eat the Wheat</td></tr>
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<div>
4) Finally, winter comes. This is where most of the resources you generated (only moments ago!) get consumed. I pay my wheat to my wheat-eating yellow worker. I heat my property using 2 wood, which I calculate by adding the fire icons (1 on the wheel and 1 next to yellow farmhard's covered wagon).</div>
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<div>
If I had a white farmhand, he would have devoured TWICE as much milk as normal. A pretty scary thought, but luckily you can see this extra payment before you plan the production part of your turn. Hopefully there would have been a way to squeeze out some extra milk somewhere.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
The 3 seasons I just described all happen simultaneously. And the decisions are usually pretty simple and straightforward. Anyone you teach this game to will understand most of it very quickly.</div>
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<div>
But you'll notice our player board has lots of empty spaces. That's because you can build houses for your workers, add more barn space, and buy victory point increasing upgrades. You can sell some of your resources for money. And you can also buy more workers to occupy more of those covered wagons. All of that happens during the fall going-to-town season. Actions are no longer simultaneous. And things get crazy. </div>
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Stay turned.</div>
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Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-53251539749440230642016-08-09T13:22:00.000-05:002016-08-09T13:22:10.573-05:00Walnut Grove: Not of This World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMuFvcGnUE6rRSzR6V03JKzyS2Ie7SNw7OxZM45_SRZvsCJav6FlpZcsqSDW7tepcZI8II3gg92oULmoLOpPekmgUbPmdZ6X_UztGH1kwI2VFMJxbqM45LnvTmbUHqd3Je0rfCtLxsCoTV/s1600/WalnutGroveBoardGame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMuFvcGnUE6rRSzR6V03JKzyS2Ie7SNw7OxZM45_SRZvsCJav6FlpZcsqSDW7tepcZI8II3gg92oULmoLOpPekmgUbPmdZ6X_UztGH1kwI2VFMJxbqM45LnvTmbUHqd3Je0rfCtLxsCoTV/s320/WalnutGroveBoardGame.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
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<i>Walnut Grove is a cross between jigsaw puzzles and worker placement, with the players as farmers who find their plots merging into a single landscape as time passes and their holdings grow.</i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
-- from <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103185/walnut-grove">BGG</a></div>
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<br />
Once you start laying out tiles, you notice something funny about Walnut Grove. I've lived on Earth most of my life, and lived in Minnesota almost as long. This farm you're creating looks <b>nothing</b> like a typically terrestrial rural area.<br />
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There are: water areas, woods areas, yellow wheat fields, green fields with some sort of milk-able animals grazing on it. And mountainous quarries.<br />
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IAnd what about these farmhands?<br />
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There's all sorts of laborers for hire in Walnut Grove, of all different colors. At first I thought the different colors denoted a specialty. Like the yellow laborers produced more wheat in wheat fields or something.<br />
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But the color denotes what they <i>eat</i>.<br />
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At first, I made a slight alteration in my own mind: you were paying these laborers in a specific type of resource. I could envision a seasonal worker at the time signing a deal to be paid at the end of the season in a specific good they were interested in.<br />
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But the rulebook is specific: laborers are eating these resources, and sometimes they demand twice and much as originally promised. What laborer only drinks milk, or only eats fish?<br />
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<b>An Alien One.</b><br />
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The Theme of Walnut Grove falls apart pretty fast unless you take the drastic leap of assuming you are in some Alien Science Experiment.<br />
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Prison? Zoo? Laboratory? Created long ago by inscrutable gods, the strange planet sits in its own pocket dimension…inescapable, unobservable, solitary to its bizarre inhabitants.</div>
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Each "field" is its own biome. Separated by an invisible barrier, each field contains a complete ecosystem along with all the requirements for a particular intelligent species to thrive.<br />
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You can send laborers to produce resources in any area, all of them can breathe the air, and harvest the 3-eyed whale fish or milk pods or whatever. However the color of the laborer pawn refers to the alien's home biome, and when it comes time to feed he (or she, or it) MUST devour a resource cube from that color. All other colors an anathema.<br />
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This means yellow laborers only eat from the wheat fields. Blue laborers only eat from the blue fish fields. White laborers only eat from the green milk fields. It is a simple system, once you understand.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjpi7niTmcefz-Qm-TNbQ3WRG34TRxdZTiVHzeOhjdk8siYm2nQUekJ_ckPDF6GtEIuaQWHbKX8IPWUBTU90qokclHsYNJj_6Uvmbc3Sy76Zo3UubTL_0luAi7lYWAfuTyzL4_TwuCDMZ/s1600/Warlnut+Grove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjpi7niTmcefz-Qm-TNbQ3WRG34TRxdZTiVHzeOhjdk8siYm2nQUekJ_ckPDF6GtEIuaQWHbKX8IPWUBTU90qokclHsYNJj_6Uvmbc3Sy76Zo3UubTL_0luAi7lYWAfuTyzL4_TwuCDMZ/s1600/Warlnut+Grove.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>If This is a Town, Where's Are All the People?</b><br />
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The town of Walnut Grove (if you want to call it that) is eerily deserted. The buildings look like facades in a barren artificial world. Yet each building provides valuable opportunities for advancement!<br />
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At one store, you might purchase a new laborer in exchange for a cube of milk.<br />
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At another, you might build a new barn on your property in exchange for a cube of milk and a cube of wood.<br />
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In fact, milk is the primary lubrication for a variety of commercial endeavors, replaced by stone when you move up to the victory point doubling bonus tiles. Who do you pay the milk to? I imagine some advanced android, constructed from the same <a href="http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Shore_Leave_(episode)">artificial cells</a> found in the surrounding plants.<br />
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<b>A God of Your Own Realm</b><br />
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Finally, tile-laying in the game gives an interesting feeling. Since you are allowed to pick from a couple different tiles, and then choose the exact spot you want the new tile to go, it feels much more like you are creating your world rather than exploring it.<br />
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This is a very powerful feeling, to terraform blank useless space into mountains, or lakes or grand green fields full of chittering multi-segmented milk-producing organisms.<br />
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But it does't feel like Earth.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTj2hEaqLNnAqpPi6uflbfufDBAHK0NS4Nyjenl18jKuWyctc4pOmo5gD-5FcMiz5mX9SL587_Xn43Lv2qdacZCFfXSF1XsYTwgoLZbqEjfLQ1wNMdFIO_REa4QKy8DwVPl-5u5uRYLy6/s1600/SpectreoftheGun.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTj2hEaqLNnAqpPi6uflbfufDBAHK0NS4Nyjenl18jKuWyctc4pOmo5gD-5FcMiz5mX9SL587_Xn43Lv2qdacZCFfXSF1XsYTwgoLZbqEjfLQ1wNMdFIO_REa4QKy8DwVPl-5u5uRYLy6/s1600/SpectreoftheGun.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: medium;">
Perhaps it's a test of <a href="http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Spectre_of_the_Gun_(episode)">sorts</a></div>
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<b>But Who Wants to Live on Earth Anyway?</b><br />
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From the perspective of a strange organism constantly fighting against the constraints of the machine around me there is something refreshing in Walnut Grove.<br />
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Making the long journey to an alien world, where I can forge my own empire out of the empty wasteland, staffed by milk-sluicing reptoids appeals greatly to me. So by no means does any of the previous commentary intend to steer you away from this board game.<br />
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And the mechanisms are awesome (although some could do better). But more on that to come.Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-39965560666563538982016-08-09T13:08:00.002-05:002016-08-09T13:08:39.357-05:00Welcome to Walnut Grove Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJC1IeFSnguxs115EcI-VhUjYsM_kvt7S-hirwlAgcw7bnJpYLu8VkYH2pJHlsMjoc66R4-sX-JmV2_lGfVd3I6TSqhMrkRXf3fe0b4qP80xjqLL3gf5G9uup5QfYnoK49zri5LavJ0cXY/s1600/walnutgroverulebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJC1IeFSnguxs115EcI-VhUjYsM_kvt7S-hirwlAgcw7bnJpYLu8VkYH2pJHlsMjoc66R4-sX-JmV2_lGfVd3I6TSqhMrkRXf3fe0b4qP80xjqLL3gf5G9uup5QfYnoK49zri5LavJ0cXY/s640/walnutgroverulebook.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Going through the drafts section of this blog reveals one big standout: <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103185/walnut-grove">Walnut Grove</a>. For whatever reason, I've been trying to write about this weird little game for more than a year and been unsuccessful at it.</div>
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It's been hardly touched by most reviewers since its original release back in 2011. One reviewer who didn't leave it lay: master video promoter Richard Ham from youtube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/rahdo/videos">Radho Runs Through It</a>. </div>
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Which is how I learned about the game. You can watch his take on Walnut Grove right <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOoYiSTHV9s">here</a>.</div>
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You may recognize Walnut Grove as the main setting for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_House_on_the_Prairie_(TV_series)">Little House on the Prairie </a>television series. Strangely enough, Laura Ingalls Wilder doesn't mention this town in any of her books, but it is home to the Wilder museum and I believe the Ingalls family spent some time there during Pa Ingalls continual adventuring.</div>
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If you are a huge Little House fan, it will have little bearing on liking this board game implementation. But more on that in the coming posts. Walnut Grove Week will continue until Tuesday the 16th, when I may or may not make another detailed post about Race for the Galaxy.</div>
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Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-91005849445782271402016-08-06T08:09:00.002-05:002016-08-06T08:10:41.064-05:00RFTG: Jump Drive due for Q4. A Few End Notes.Ok, last post on Jump Drive until new information comes out. Let's break this into like 3 mini-posts.<br />
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<b>Graphical Clarity</b><br />
Twitter user (and <a href="http://islaythedragon.com/">iSlaytheDragon</a> writer/photographer) <a href="https://twitter.com/UpliftAndrew">Uplift Andrew</a> noted the graphical clarity of the new cards versus the older Race for the Galaxy cards. While the RFTG art appears to be getting recycled to a certain extent, it's presented in a far better way: text and iconography in a completely separate box, without covering portions of the art like in RFTG. For the most part.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4k1qQCiKzY-QujIHU52Ct5xf6ps-eU8kYLPoVk1fmRpjYSoo8mXZJIkt7UnKHq0NLgGDwgi04vrser5s25j8cUmtoPSD2ghJLLOsj7CPovpU4skm_9PIIhElGjK8tHo8DR4oO-6cNaFM/s1600/blasterfactory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4k1qQCiKzY-QujIHU52Ct5xf6ps-eU8kYLPoVk1fmRpjYSoo8mXZJIkt7UnKHq0NLgGDwgi04vrser5s25j8cUmtoPSD2ghJLLOsj7CPovpU4skm_9PIIhElGjK8tHo8DR4oO-6cNaFM/s320/blasterfactory.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI974xYFW7APRDScT5QlgOm25rer0IQKuRWH1wbsvysvldgun7ntkOzn_KDqAeV4WZj_JRmw00fXWt7DMLTZPLal55rMlR58rBmlxMIrjK13MnWV4YhyphenhyphenbAJMK4Nm_38zr7WmSmKVNytm6k/s1600/SpaceSymbiotesJumpDriveCard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI974xYFW7APRDScT5QlgOm25rer0IQKuRWH1wbsvysvldgun7ntkOzn_KDqAeV4WZj_JRmw00fXWt7DMLTZPLal55rMlR58rBmlxMIrjK13MnWV4YhyphenhyphenbAJMK4Nm_38zr7WmSmKVNytm6k/s320/SpaceSymbiotesJumpDriveCard.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
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<b>The Moons of Color-blindness</b><br />
In the above Space Symbionts card, a small moon is orbiting the planet in the bottom left corner. In the above Blaster Factory, the moon is orbiting in the top right corner. Per Lehmann, this was done to help color-blind players quickly identify types of planets without guessing on the color. I'm glad to see these little touches go into a game, most people would never even notice them unless it was called out.<br />
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<b>Dirty Downward-facing Discard Piles</b><br />
After spending a lot of time playing RFTG online as part of my <a href="http://www.gencant.com/">GenCant</a> celebrations, I once again really appreciate all the work the designer of this game went into taking out extraneous thought points.<br />
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In most games, it's a given you can see the discard pile. In many traditional card games sometimes this is the only information you have!<br />
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But RFTG, The City, Jump Drive (and even San Jaun) buck this historic tradition and tell players that in all cases cards are discarded facing <b>down</b>.<br />
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I thought this was pretty weird at first. But after countless games, I really like that I can focus with laser precision on my hand, my tableau and my opponent's tableau without trying to memorize what cards I've seen go through the discard pile.<br />
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In a big stack of cards, with many duplicates anyway, seeing the top card hardly makes a difference. But it speeds up the game by chiseling away information that might subtly affect your decision making.<br />
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When you end the round in RFTG, and I assume the same applies to Jump Drive, you have all the information you need in your hand for planning your turn, and unless there is a big upset during the turn you won't be changing your plans.<br />
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<b>The Future of Jump Drive</b><br />
Unless Rio Grande Games throws out a surprise delay, Jump Drive should be arriving in stores in time for Christmas. Very convenient indeed. Now I need to find something else to focus on for the next post.<br />
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See you then!Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-40239772297942765342016-08-03T12:59:00.000-05:002016-08-03T12:59:29.160-05:00Tom Lehmann and The CityAs details continue to trickle in for<a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1614720/teaser-1/page/1"> Jump Drive</a>, I can't help but consider one of the inspirations for Jump Drive, Tom Lehmann's 2011 title <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103649/city">The City</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkJKIP_fJGsmY1T4H-vKvXuaubsFDPidEfGShrz5793v3W_8BDuXYdziGdNaT-MhGH1fRLjvHeT3JlQYWhmeErw6g-1Zg26XPna5YO_SMqHJctGx-GDIFXTSvhmJJNo6c4qhzMvX1yPGW/s1600/TheCityBoxCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkJKIP_fJGsmY1T4H-vKvXuaubsFDPidEfGShrz5793v3W_8BDuXYdziGdNaT-MhGH1fRLjvHeT3JlQYWhmeErw6g-1Zg26XPna5YO_SMqHJctGx-GDIFXTSvhmJJNo6c4qhzMvX1yPGW/s400/TheCityBoxCover.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
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The City is somewhat like Race for the Galaxy. Cards are the main currency of the game. </div>
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But The City plays faster, with scoring every round, and fewer paths to victory. There are no goods or production, only a tableau that steadily improves each round.</div>
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A typical round:</div>
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<b>Building or Surveying</b></div>
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Players each lay a card down in front of them, then reveal simultaneously. The card becomes a part of their tableau and is paid for using remaining cards in hand. If a player can't or doesn't want to build, instead they survey and draw 5 more cards into their hand.</div>
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<b>Score Victory Points</b></div>
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Each development in the tableau earns victory points, and the victory points come each round. This sounds somewhat like the experience you'd normally expect from consumption powers in Race for the Galaxy.</div>
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<b>Earn Income</b></div>
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Each development in the tableau also potentially earns you income. After scoring, each player draws cards to collect the required income for the turn.</div>
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<b>Ending the Game</b></div>
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The game ends when a player reaches 50 points. I would expect these points ramp up quite quickly, as each round cumulatively earns greater points and income (with which to buy ever-bigger developments and earn even more points). Per BGG reviewers, games of The City last about 15 minutes as the main action is the very definition of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_effect">snowballing</a>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtdB9F1uA0NnBghZEVmYzALiajABDg25gUDOwI3Hn0Mo6pIpO0ZKK891dEKJ7pt193uvbu3_NroHO4se7JXoJhXUMWW74EZAlBwl38yooZEuQSlZ0JbMrVkYayNKLU8ZpmMVrAeiIYjsA/s1600/TheCityCards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtdB9F1uA0NnBghZEVmYzALiajABDg25gUDOwI3Hn0Mo6pIpO0ZKK891dEKJ7pt193uvbu3_NroHO4se7JXoJhXUMWW74EZAlBwl38yooZEuQSlZ0JbMrVkYayNKLU8ZpmMVrAeiIYjsA/s640/TheCityCards.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From BGG user <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/user/binraix">binraix</a></td></tr>
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But I've never played the game. </div>
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An official English version has never been produced. I pulled this summary together using <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/72118/english-prototype-rules-city">unofficial prototype rules</a> posted on BGG by Lehmann in 2011. And in 2014 an English version was still waiting when Lehmann posted <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1116230/luminarious-language-independent-redesign/page/1">news</a> to BGG he was attempting to "recover" publishing rights for an potential English version.</div>
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I personally blame Amigo. What good can possibly come from a company responsible for <a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/2013/05/bohnanza-no-mouth-to-scream.html">Bohnanza</a>?</div>
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Finally, in 2016 we have Jump Drive. </div>
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Per Lehmann, it will be the best of all worlds, combining the simple play of The City with the added <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1614720/teaser-1/page/1">complexity</a> of "two card types, different actions and bonuses, military conquest, and some new player interactions."</div>
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Of course, we'll probably see the rules this weekend. I will keep my eyes out for the moment they arrive.</div>
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Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-22975237236042044752016-08-02T12:53:00.000-05:002016-08-02T12:53:29.361-05:00Eye on Gen Con: Rio Grande Games Releases Jump Drive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_wiLSb6TxUQgS9h04-NjbOgtY_7IL34DCQ4bCPOd2ZPLb_3Ij0SrNyIursMGFIm8T2MwYxlWK4UK1s-6AMOT3lKgfhPdpwVl0S60sghHh-M13aGkJw4CPHH7hkMpT-jllLju61Q_YAGx/s1600/JumpdriveBoxCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_wiLSb6TxUQgS9h04-NjbOgtY_7IL34DCQ4bCPOd2ZPLb_3Ij0SrNyIursMGFIm8T2MwYxlWK4UK1s-6AMOT3lKgfhPdpwVl0S60sghHh-M13aGkJw4CPHH7hkMpT-jllLju61Q_YAGx/s640/JumpdriveBoxCover.jpg" width="459" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28143/race-galaxy">Race for the Galaxy</a> has a honored place in my collection. Nevertheless, I hardly ever play it with other human beings. Most of the time, unfortunately, the action is happening on Board Game Arena.</div>
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Rio Grande Games, probably the game publisher most out-of-touch with today's world of sneak previews, decided for Gen Con 2016 (this weekend) to release <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/205597/race-galaxy-jump-drive">Jump Drive</a>, a new simplified quicker-playing, stand-alone version of Race for the Galaxy.</div>
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Quicker playing? While the online Race for the Galaxy takes about 8 minutes to play a game with 2 motivated individuals going head-to-head, the real analog Race for the Galaxy can be done in about 45 minutes if people spend extra time thinking about what to do.</div>
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Simplified? Race for the Galaxy is a pretty easy game to play, once all players understand the rules. To understand the rules, you need to play a full game with everyone NOT knowing the rules so they can figure it out. Will Jump Drive somehow be able to pull this off?</div>
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In typical Rio Grande style, promotion is not to be found. However blog-favorite designer Tom Lehmann took it upon himself to do a <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1614720/teaser-1">little preview</a> on the how the cards look.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMAhADXb-JnJC5GdLqKyibn1X1s_UMAZH2cVLZvJrhwtbjE7_YcEaY3dCM7OgDrQJiCntGXwu4zibhUJwsv0p8fwrwo-oja_AUU1s5DPhoBUi_qecyrembONpScBcmrw6clj2HcKTRajG/s1600/blasterfactory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMAhADXb-JnJC5GdLqKyibn1X1s_UMAZH2cVLZvJrhwtbjE7_YcEaY3dCM7OgDrQJiCntGXwu4zibhUJwsv0p8fwrwo-oja_AUU1s5DPhoBUi_qecyrembONpScBcmrw6clj2HcKTRajG/s320/blasterfactory.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
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At first, I thought this might be a "Race for the Galaxy: Junior" by another name. But the cards certainly look like they require a little concentrated thinking to fully understand. These aren't <a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/2015/01/catan-junior-twisted-parrot-strewn-path.html">parrot tiles</a>. </div>
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Since this is only "Teaser #1" it's my hope Lehmann posts some more stuff on this game, especially the RULES so I can figure out whether to get my hopes up or not.</div>
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In the first Teaser he notes a similarity between Jump Drive and <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103649/city">The City</a>. I've always wanted to play The City, but never wanted to learn German or pay to import it. If this is truly a space-themed version it could be the best of all worlds.</div>
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The apparent complete lack of goods production, seem to paint this as much more of a civilization builder in the direction of 7 Wonders, only without the card drafting. I will certainly post more analysis as information continues to develop.</div>
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Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-52858681816777853692016-08-01T12:04:00.001-05:002016-08-01T12:04:28.945-05:00Front Porch Classics's Egyptian Ratscrew<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Somewhere down the line writing my detailed explanation of Gamewright’s <a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/2016/04/down-rathole-with-gamewrights-slamwich.html">Slamwich</a>, I became a middling expert on the game of <a href="http://guide.sportsmansguide.com/classic-card-games-ratscrew/">Egyptian Ratscrew</a>. So it should have come as no surprise the arrival on my desk of this beauty.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwLqYfIQ7ICIokWoYQ6Pyzq1-DVBu2ZbPUEqoeIEY3yz_5b9xMRPADDHyu6IsQkfPLiC62FXPF_4nDt5aAGwxnUtbo_OBDg4FvgkAFu36Fya4dMgdFtH_CGxSo3GjAOu5VgjYoPqu3_8q/s1600/ratscrewfrontcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwLqYfIQ7ICIokWoYQ6Pyzq1-DVBu2ZbPUEqoeIEY3yz_5b9xMRPADDHyu6IsQkfPLiC62FXPF_4nDt5aAGwxnUtbo_OBDg4FvgkAFu36Fya4dMgdFtH_CGxSo3GjAOu5VgjYoPqu3_8q/s400/ratscrewfrontcover.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Egyptian Ratscrew from </span><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/1270/front-porch-classics" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Front Porch Classics</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Front Porch Classics has a terrible portfolio of games. The most terrible one that I am somewhat familiar with is </span><a href="http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/deer-in-the-headlights-board-game?a=1784628" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deer in the Headlights</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHjeYNGcv-tY-EFBMWZXvGdVP3b9vpD3kwWnjv5dEPJZiboJ9Y0bg52EBh6nrILoq3gO5qE5LNuo0NYZk1wpxcveyDBB4Ns7B9u9yEjpRsbXjBz1S5HeJ1RM89g9BOWniqnSOM9LYds7jx/s1600/ratscrewcontents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHjeYNGcv-tY-EFBMWZXvGdVP3b9vpD3kwWnjv5dEPJZiboJ9Y0bg52EBh6nrILoq3gO5qE5LNuo0NYZk1wpxcveyDBB4Ns7B9u9yEjpRsbXjBz1S5HeJ1RM89g9BOWniqnSOM9LYds7jx/s400/ratscrewcontents.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Analysis of Box Contents</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inside the box: 2 standard decks of playing cards, 3 large wooden dice and 1 book of instructions. All of which pack into a slimline box.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Using current Goodwill Industries appraisal algorithms, this game in used condition is worth approximately $1.99.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The 2 Decks of Cards</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are 2 standard decks of playing cards, with a custom Egyptian Rat Screw backs. The Jokers are also Ratscrew themed. The rest are the standard clubs, diamonds, queens, jacks, etc. This is a little unfortunate because of how important the “munchers” are for challenging your enemies. Ancient Egyptian/Rat-themed face cards would have been appreciated.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The 3 Dice</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the more enticing and seductive components in any game are the custom dice. These are no exception. The coolness of the dice is somewhat compromised by my knowledge that Front Porch Classics has these exact same dice as a component in most of their games, just with different printing on the sides. So later when I go into the slight modifications they have made, I’m pretty sure they figured out how to use these dice first, rather than develop special dice to take care of the new rules they were envisioning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Body Location Die</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A custom die specially-built to mock and humiliate those suffering from selective body dysphoria. This die calls out parts of the body including “back of the neck,” “ear,” “top of the head,” etc. This is one way to tackle one of the long-standing gray areas of Ratscrew: what to do with your hands.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ratscrew requires lots of covenants among players, and the location of your hands is one such agreement. Without any prior discussion, hands slowly move closer and closer to the central pile, and constant desire to slap with the very hand a player is using the flip their card in the first place and alive and well.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Combined with the red die, the body location die specifies a hand, along with a location the hand needs to start at. For instance, this roll:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Ioi7R69XaVaXuKJ5FxPx4ya31iDiQ_4j_Dpkt3aC52GkkYrPHrWItaBYSd2amtUoJ64U6ZGTqKu_zbvgHSyTdBfz50gPiU8Rn_0UYfNilCc2l0yCiuv2p-Bum0E5s2-IUHdiyqzbLdtG/s1600/redbodydie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Ioi7R69XaVaXuKJ5FxPx4ya31iDiQ_4j_Dpkt3aC52GkkYrPHrWItaBYSd2amtUoJ64U6ZGTqKu_zbvgHSyTdBfz50gPiU8Rn_0UYfNilCc2l0yCiuv2p-Bum0E5s2-IUHdiyqzbLdtG/s320/redbodydie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Requires the left hand to do the slapping, with a starting location of either ear. I really like this in theory, but I don’t so much enjoy the added challenge of remembering a NEW starting location over and over again. Front Porch Classics would have you re-roll these dice after every slap, but I would rather do it once at the start of the game. It’s hard enough to stay alert to doubles and sandwiches (and this version </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">counts</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> runs as slap-worthy too) without also messing up hand placement.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSyfXYyrpTQpGmfSEFdGoFT76YoOtLrJbQxAVrSLZRKxlmTybVO1cymWmMaCeAm8G0Czg3zUNCFb1xu300C4czFnLywWMUc0ayhIBRM4KDNBSMrZOR9LwJKd_v_xfjsSFSVhZRPeZF0AO/s1600/blackdie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSyfXYyrpTQpGmfSEFdGoFT76YoOtLrJbQxAVrSLZRKxlmTybVO1cymWmMaCeAm8G0Czg3zUNCFb1xu300C4czFnLywWMUc0ayhIBRM4KDNBSMrZOR9LwJKd_v_xfjsSFSVhZRPeZF0AO/s320/blackdie.jpg" width="301" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Dark Die</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally we have the mysterious black die. Strangely enough you never roll it, and all sides have the exact same picture. Instead, the black die goes into the possession of the person who flips a Joker.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The black die is used as a “get out of jail” card if someone messing up their slapping. If the slap comes from the wrong location, or the wrong hand, the black die allows this transgression to be forgiven as if it had never happened.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Why Slamwich Slaps Regular Ratscrew Silly</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I joke a little about Slamwich ripping off a public domain game.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the truth of the matter is this: after lots of Slamwich, it's almost impossible to go back to regular Ratscrew. The only place Ratscrew is superior is in the shape of the cards themselves: sandwich-shaped cards are delicate, easily-bent things compared to regular playing cards.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the bright, colorful, easily recognizable pictures on Slamwich more than make up for the shape. Especially for young children, the red and black numbered faces of a playing card deck are a snoozefest compared to fish, tomatoes, birthday cake, gummy worms, etc of Slamwich.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do like the body part slapping rules. But anyone can come up with those. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Playing regular Slamwich, my favorite hand positioning is right against the forehead, for maximum comic appeal, and there’s no die face for that.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My dream deck would look like this: perfectly square cards (like with Among the Stars) with sandwich toppings. And probably fewer of the 1 card munchers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think it’s safe to say Egyptian Rat Screw can stay on the Goodwill shelves, especially when Target is selling Slamwich for about $10 fresh in a shiny lunch box tin. No contest.</span></div>
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<br />Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-32182982538415369322016-07-15T13:03:00.002-05:002016-07-15T13:03:56.113-05:00Lucky Hans and the Board Game Business<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Short Answer from Chevee: Unless you’re a select few at Hasbro or the </span><a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-exploding-kitten-situation.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exploding Cats</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> guy, you aren’t making money.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What we think of as the board game industry is actually a pretty small niche made up of dedicated fans of the board game arts. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even the guys producing those huge over-blown miniature games in Kickstarter are doing it because they love it. They make hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then turn around and inject that money back into making all those overblown models.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or, if they have less business sense, they throw the money away on <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/forkingpath/the-doom-that-came-to-atlantic-city">impossible future speculations</a>, soon become destitute, never to be heard from again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let us consider one of the longest running game companies I am aware of: </span><a href="http://www.hans-im-glueck.de/english/" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hans Im Gluck</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I’ve had a soft spot for the company for years, ever since I saw my first copy of </span><a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/2013/05/carcassonnea-thin-veneer-of-civility.html" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carcassonne</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39kxXV-1Z_VqCCpSx0Vdw-KLmHuIgeQs-YLYCCPD6kIdQHKr7HHOjpAmBjp7jovScPKCWV9lxdsTpwppFYfdX2sJwaR4wliac1eTeBPlloRlX5G4ZjsOtBG_cpVJknjJA0Gv68zpKsTJz/s1600/Carcassonne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39kxXV-1Z_VqCCpSx0Vdw-KLmHuIgeQs-YLYCCPD6kIdQHKr7HHOjpAmBjp7jovScPKCWV9lxdsTpwppFYfdX2sJwaR4wliac1eTeBPlloRlX5G4ZjsOtBG_cpVJknjJA0Gv68zpKsTJz/s640/Carcassonne.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">The company logo is an amazing piece of graphic design.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczL_AOHuDMgzHDa4M9o5uwIe7oj06dOWbJOCIEPcPDnVI6lt_bLskWN9JFsqU25xxQOaULFgYWrbmryVA9mLO0C0mDAz4AJl2Y7yMZ_TJno8yZ1tFKLBLmX2F0pFyJRJAzr0amlzzxf9r/s1600/HansimGluckLogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczL_AOHuDMgzHDa4M9o5uwIe7oj06dOWbJOCIEPcPDnVI6lt_bLskWN9JFsqU25xxQOaULFgYWrbmryVA9mLO0C0mDAz4AJl2Y7yMZ_TJno8yZ1tFKLBLmX2F0pFyJRJAzr0amlzzxf9r/s1600/HansimGluckLogo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why is the guy riding a pig?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://germanstories.vcu.edu/grimm/hans_eng.html" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;">“Hans in Luck,”</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> written by the Brothers Grimm, is one of the original "trading your fortune away" stories.</span><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the case of Hans, he starts with a big bag of gold and trades it down from horse to cow to pig and so on. Eventually he’s penniless but still happy. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you look at the people behind the curtains of most board game companies, you find guys very similar to Hans. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People who started out with money from some other industry, and now are using that money to pursue the dreams they had while programming, managing data systems, designing aircraft, digging out ditches, or whatever else the world needed them to do.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It wasn’t the fortune that made them happy, it was the board games they got to pursue afterwards.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all have stuff we do to pay the bills. But it’s important we also do the stuff that makes us happy, even if it's not a money-making venture. Very seldom do these two paths intersect. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hans im Gluck found the perfect pig for the saddle they were carrying all along. We should all be so lucky.</span>Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-85063858110587096982016-07-10T10:38:00.001-05:002016-07-10T10:38:47.773-05:00Re-purposing Mechanics: Finding New under an Old SunThe <a href="http://www.genesisoflegend.com/2016/07/episode85/">RPG Design Panelcast</a> had a particularly board-game-related episode in "re-purposing" the mechanisms of previous games during the creation of your game.<br />
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When is it stealing? When is it ripping someone off? When are you creating something new from the soup of other people's previous successes.<br />
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The short answer the Panelcast offered was the old saying "There is No New Stuff." Which is ultimately true.<br />
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The huge genre-creating new game most people first think of is <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion">Dominion</a>. And if you consider Dominion to be the first "deckbuilder" there are hundreds of copies out there doing almost the exact same thing: either changing the theme, or combining deckbuilding with other mechanisms to create various levels of differentness.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wtiAwXvvErm1P7VbvqYlgqfCxNWd-8gSaetUXbkSDp5kCOEXvowU0XrOkJpr-pEupj44UIADjOdFhf7P5xOChQxDvRmd_P6wST7RRO_ZM6Zmiu3siSnNz_tJtGaDb1TJsM_abXlyg6b0/s1600/DominionAllExpansionsCustomDeckbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wtiAwXvvErm1P7VbvqYlgqfCxNWd-8gSaetUXbkSDp5kCOEXvowU0XrOkJpr-pEupj44UIADjOdFhf7P5xOChQxDvRmd_P6wST7RRO_ZM6Zmiu3siSnNz_tJtGaDb1TJsM_abXlyg6b0/s400/DominionAllExpansionsCustomDeckbox.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by <span style="background-color: #f5f5ff; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 12.31px;"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/1513587/dominion?size=original">Anders Nordström</a></span></td></tr>
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The designer of Dominion, Donald X Vaccarino, has often been asked how he feels about the tide of deckbuilders that came out after Dominion. Find any <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/10525/donald-x-vaccarino">interview</a>, and you will find he is somewhat dismissive of the entire genre, seeing most as simple clones of the game he made.<br />
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Other break-out mechanisms have less familiar origins. People still argue to this day about the first "worker placement game". Early contenders are Stone Age and Pillars of the Earth. But there's good evidence the earliest worker placement is actually <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/552/bus">Bus</a>. And who's played Bus?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_o45PUFxdhRPdN7u5XyjIWbTyxQomHAbLCM0Vt0rlnprM8ZBli-8FIkd0xwMrcCGeUYFGyJMFX3gQ5_WcP-w86377VCUv_8Uok2QM6fmCd49CjzO0pUiPOrq1lOvTvk1_tKuch9ZqoGfk/s1600/busboardgame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_o45PUFxdhRPdN7u5XyjIWbTyxQomHAbLCM0Vt0rlnprM8ZBli-8FIkd0xwMrcCGeUYFGyJMFX3gQ5_WcP-w86377VCUv_8Uok2QM6fmCd49CjzO0pUiPOrq1lOvTvk1_tKuch9ZqoGfk/s400/busboardgame.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo taken by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/1673450/bus?size=original">Toshiyuki Hashitani</a></td></tr>
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I think if you look at the huge following for both "deckbuilding" and "worker placement" games you realize there is something special about these mechanics. They "gamify" a previously unexplored segment of a game: deckbuilding explores the actual construction of a deck of cards as the game, worker placement messes with turn order in a way previous games haven't attempted.<br />
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But both mechanisms also offer plenty of wiggle room to execute those new explorations in different ways.<br />
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I don't care how many expansions Dominion releases. There will never be an expansion approaching what Xenon Profiteer does with the addition of tableau-building and filling contracts.<br />
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I think this is the point of creative originality: when a game is so different it could not easily be incorporated back into its "parent" game.<br />
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Changes to the theme or slight changes to the basic existing mechanism are not as original. Of course, I should say right now failing this test doesn't mean a game shouldn't be made. An un-original game can be fun, rewarding and even superior to its carbon-copy forebears. But that is for another post.<br />
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<br />Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-68669086606357874682016-07-08T15:54:00.000-05:002016-07-08T15:54:10.773-05:00Rattlebones, and the Struggle with Overpopulation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwyWShU69v5pULP1kj6eSDK2Jy7_guaOGif15KCmBADMZwJ5u2nvCon6k2fOerQBx2uKVRXwi71M4189UYvv_e8hJ5tjGy4CFjrDnP2UqQBfEBvltX55nMBZ-yVJn9u_YgDFP3DppiGa9/s1600/RattlebonesBoxArt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwyWShU69v5pULP1kj6eSDK2Jy7_guaOGif15KCmBADMZwJ5u2nvCon6k2fOerQBx2uKVRXwi71M4189UYvv_e8hJ5tjGy4CFjrDnP2UqQBfEBvltX55nMBZ-yVJn9u_YgDFP3DppiGa9/s320/RattlebonesBoxArt.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/150146/rattlebones">Rattlebones</a>, designed by Stephen Glenn<br />
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Most of my plays with Rattlebones have seen less players than the max of 4. With all players fully loaded into this game, a few extra issues float to the surface.<br />
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Like any decent roll-and-move, all the pawns in Rattlebones begin on the "start" space.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VclYAUAcC8zFAeCcaFmY5HwJS9VuTiDfhmf9abKohXe7ne05z2dDKWf3CG51tjJX17DDSonox4rJFh-wkKQ49lECh_m8v3vqpJmhZkW6OI0h4LHPAr7VA-IVKD5ZC-AYhcV8TbQknq_5/s1600/startspacerattlebones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VclYAUAcC8zFAeCcaFmY5HwJS9VuTiDfhmf9abKohXe7ne05z2dDKWf3CG51tjJX17DDSonox4rJFh-wkKQ49lECh_m8v3vqpJmhZkW6OI0h4LHPAr7VA-IVKD5ZC-AYhcV8TbQknq_5/s400/startspacerattlebones.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Part of the problem lies in the dense, meaty nature of each of these pawns. Each of these magic monkeys is enormous compared to a traditional pawn in just about any other game. And you play with 3 of them!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifw83pqa58Pd_RfY7X2MlSpyYlivUgPiFN-CtjOIC8iCR8BNLfmPM3YZpiARCfQDnIMyx55qrHyG44CSawdJJOhh3JHeBWrzhU3KNqjvwuhGaRk9L3CeFLP8kHi2_ti1hw0o5MZ5pdhKMR/s1600/monkeyspaceshipRattlebones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifw83pqa58Pd_RfY7X2MlSpyYlivUgPiFN-CtjOIC8iCR8BNLfmPM3YZpiARCfQDnIMyx55qrHyG44CSawdJJOhh3JHeBWrzhU3KNqjvwuhGaRk9L3CeFLP8kHi2_ti1hw0o5MZ5pdhKMR/s400/monkeyspaceshipRattlebones.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A 4-player game of good ol' classic Klingon Monopoly looks ok.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvUlGl_euSuGBY03PEbSDux-btDO_awYwuMoEkvUsi8no988m3DJQ1zlo68k7-K_Y0G-eZZFQR7YofJxq8ft0omkQLbs_2hzq_S0HWNZpYE9tERKPhy02AFa7U7Lpq7JLfq4ydn10ISLV/s1600/4playerklingonmonopoly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvUlGl_euSuGBY03PEbSDux-btDO_awYwuMoEkvUsi8no988m3DJQ1zlo68k7-K_Y0G-eZZFQR7YofJxq8ft0omkQLbs_2hzq_S0HWNZpYE9tERKPhy02AFa7U7Lpq7JLfq4ydn10ISLV/s400/4playerklingonmonopoly.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A 4-player game of standee-infused Monopoly Disney Junior starts to look a little packed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ny5c1ClgdRZye-_YqS_5Yw0pFBNepcJKWIZ5kyz9inVbF3VhynauwO-aR6a0gzbkeQ3LM3wo8TtZgHiTCaAAKILicJvis2bxGWDp6LXXi7W0yqa-s-qJOscpmDQcji5AwrXnFDqqaA_Y/s1600/4playermonopolyjuniordisney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ny5c1ClgdRZye-_YqS_5Yw0pFBNepcJKWIZ5kyz9inVbF3VhynauwO-aR6a0gzbkeQ3LM3wo8TtZgHiTCaAAKILicJvis2bxGWDp6LXXi7W0yqa-s-qJOscpmDQcji5AwrXnFDqqaA_Y/s320/4playermonopolyjuniordisney.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Finally, this is what 4-player Rattlebones starts out with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLfzEa2zFomDCuJV7FKEcGbpEPBVS3zx5JfcYjCO4iqnV1fbsAiqbbxJvyZkWDYilrH-uvWDQtNoOxEeeu0oyGqapgkVqX9gxOcyh2RrtZBo0w3JH-FCmK2It2Vc3cPDvtLwPTVoKN0FM/s1600/4playerRattlebones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLfzEa2zFomDCuJV7FKEcGbpEPBVS3zx5JfcYjCO4iqnV1fbsAiqbbxJvyZkWDYilrH-uvWDQtNoOxEeeu0oyGqapgkVqX9gxOcyh2RrtZBo0w3JH-FCmK2It2Vc3cPDvtLwPTVoKN0FM/s400/4playerRattlebones.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In a loud, crowded table environment, Rattlebones is the kind of game you always wish you could remember what color you were playing, or whose turn it is. With the pawns moving pretty rapidly, and people often taking their turn while the previous player is still adjusting their dice, things get mixed up. I could really use the <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/2625441/firefly-game">plastic dinosaur</a> from Firefly: The Game.<br />
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The squares of the game are also poorly delineated. While the circles ARE easy to see, you aren't going to pig-pile 4 different magic monkeys on one of these circles. And ambiguity starts to arise.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_M44x92x0stSHALwS1hJmT6MeQl3XO8CT4ZEhoW9BQrSA-v7mtyhvwtj50AjiXlW3QQ9ieCKDl0F51v2o49Ifsm5wChnkaB0K3mLXKX6qkfRe-NH12ejK38osCRBtSRjiR6EijYuSmyjM/s1600/monkeypilerattlebones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_M44x92x0stSHALwS1hJmT6MeQl3XO8CT4ZEhoW9BQrSA-v7mtyhvwtj50AjiXlW3QQ9ieCKDl0F51v2o49Ifsm5wChnkaB0K3mLXKX6qkfRe-NH12ejK38osCRBtSRjiR6EijYuSmyjM/s400/monkeypilerattlebones.jpg" width="370" /></a></div>
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Finally, there is always at least one person picking something off the floor at any give time. Strangely enough, my dog has yet to show interest, I can't wait for a die component to end up in his digestive tract.<br />
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I still appreciate Rattlebones for the stylish blend of determination and luck. And I love the off-beat theme of magic monkeys + mice + the creepy guy in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22076.From_a_Buick_8">From a Buick 8</a>.<br />
<br />
But a responsible game owner needs to reign in this type of overpopulation before subjecting other players to a confusing pile of wooden knees and elbows.<br />
<br />Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879376435384178164.post-59654134712447681202016-07-03T13:29:00.002-05:002016-07-03T13:29:51.108-05:00Tom Lehmann & Joseph Huber's Starship Merchants: Not What They Wanted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1yS1IDMRCIGEGpDrZWXLS7j11V0GRdTH3w9511dleUjbx1MqBF9hDDqifcEOe0IE6gb-HHb1co_7jm052CQBMuEF60Pl34DY9MQw3hdsRSkEWZNUPw3zeOvNQpBtDVKaIA5LQ9wBIr9G/s1600/StarshipMerchantsBoxArt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1yS1IDMRCIGEGpDrZWXLS7j11V0GRdTH3w9511dleUjbx1MqBF9hDDqifcEOe0IE6gb-HHb1co_7jm052CQBMuEF60Pl34DY9MQw3hdsRSkEWZNUPw3zeOvNQpBtDVKaIA5LQ9wBIr9G/s640/StarshipMerchantsBoxArt.jpg" width="490" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not going to lie to you. I found </span><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/114912/starship-merchants" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starship Merchants</a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at a garage sale. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The price was $5, and the game was still in the shrink. Judging from the rest of the titles on the table, all still in the shrink, my best guess on what occurred is this: Someone tried out the </span><a href="http://minotaurillusionist.blogspot.com/2016/07/tc-petty-iiis-xenon-profiteer-learning.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Board Game Bento</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “loot crate” and what they received was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not what they wanted.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What Did They Expect?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Judging from the forum posts, most gamers were expecting the next big </span><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/816/2038-tycoons-asteroid-belt" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">space-themed “train game”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from the great <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lehmann">Tom Lehmann</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And they didn’t get it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead, Starship Merchants is a focused economic game without the exploration, route building or stock manipulation of the traditional uber-heavy <a href="http://thattraingame.com/the-best-strategy-board-games-part-i-heavy-games/">train titles</a>. It was too heavy for the people who wanted a light game. And too light for the people who wanted a heavy game. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A lot of wanting and not much getting, which is sad because there’s actually something good here for people to get if they want it.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starship Merchants is a race for profit in a nice, streamlined package. It’s super easy to setup, you just need a few people for opponents (I think it plays fine with 2), and it doesn’t take all day to play.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiiYFDc3BqlY33lcRfxISGuICB7Pw-a_St-wNkA5TM1dHBozDq3pCVVks0ZpVmfGRoyWjY5r_jc8IrpSxB_zGXEkoOj5o1KEQqeGzabhEObl1PdgTJqcz7R3zmDx_5jUMnmScDMyUcFJ8B/s1600/StarshipMerchantsBoard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiiYFDc3BqlY33lcRfxISGuICB7Pw-a_St-wNkA5TM1dHBozDq3pCVVks0ZpVmfGRoyWjY5r_jc8IrpSxB_zGXEkoOj5o1KEQqeGzabhEObl1PdgTJqcz7R3zmDx_5jUMnmScDMyUcFJ8B/s640/StarshipMerchantsBoard.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Snowballing that Sweet Asteroid Belt Money!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starship Merchants has a business cycle, comprised of 4 quadrants you must travel through. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Shipyard is where you buy new ships. The Market is where you buy upgrades for your business. The Belt is where you collect resources. And the Dock is where you deliver your goods for money.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxzfhfzcAA6xblP08jU0BLzA7Fj0LZZ4OWEANWU-iboy1CWw0B8xskZcDnYPo9oRnDrlQqEdBhFlJLOZgzg4KjY92uh2hNsGMgOCzygtB-QpC4B5uaPuVIUf-M1wkA4Q_apOmpQ64is37/s1600/StarshipMerchantsCollectingResources.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxzfhfzcAA6xblP08jU0BLzA7Fj0LZZ4OWEANWU-iboy1CWw0B8xskZcDnYPo9oRnDrlQqEdBhFlJLOZgzg4KjY92uh2hNsGMgOCzygtB-QpC4B5uaPuVIUf-M1wkA4Q_apOmpQ64is37/s640/StarshipMerchantsCollectingResources.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collecting resources. The M1 Scout has an upgrade. The M2 Tug has a pilot.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each ship you buy allows you to collect more stuff as you pass through the Belt. And the upgrades in the Market provide simple extras like scoring better mining opportunities or making a little extra when you cash your resources in at the Dock.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you get more money, you will probably buy more ships (I think it’s a safe bet) and use those ships to get more money. Once a player has earned 100 space dollars the last turn takes place and the players count up their cash.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doing Your One Thing, then Passing the Turn</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Becuase the business cycle is broken up into 4ths, you usually can only do one specific thing on your turn. Buy ships. Buy upgrades. Load up resources. Sell resources. It’s a simple action, you’ve got the opponents’ turns to figure out what you’re going to do, and hopefully it won’t take you very long to execute once the turn passes to you.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The inexperienced player is going to get hung up trying to do the "best move math" but if you are willing to wing it the turns really fly by.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition, the $100 threshold for winning comes up quick as long as people are making good investments to increase their earning potential. The time on the box reports 90 minutes, but I think you can zip through this game a lot faster than that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your Technology is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWW-14d8Zk4&list=RDxWW-14d8Zk4#t=1">Obsolete</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While much of the game is streamlined, there are some obvious unexpected train game elements thrown in to foul the reception for this game among the casual crowd.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_cObJFhg8W8_G6i6QZY4zQ2fpDCdi5hn-ubz6flFKAThqwJjel-ddmSjZ2JVaVbNE4Oj0qiXQk3ia5jinRqjyDPrbCmkww5Jm9j5_RcUsth55uy94I9urLy2SKDSWi9LWQrxcqLAkVI1/s1600/StarshipMerchantsObsoleteShips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_cObJFhg8W8_G6i6QZY4zQ2fpDCdi5hn-ubz6flFKAThqwJjel-ddmSjZ2JVaVbNE4Oj0qiXQk3ia5jinRqjyDPrbCmkww5Jm9j5_RcUsth55uy94I9urLy2SKDSWi9LWQrxcqLAkVI1/s640/StarshipMerchantsObsoleteShips.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reaching Mark III makes all Mark I ships obsolete</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are loans you can take out for the ships. In fact, the very first decision the beginner player has to make is whether to lease or own their first spaceship. And that beginner player is probably not going to have enough information to make an informed decision, and will have to hope for the best.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are also multiple tiers of ship technology! Graduating to the next tier makes the lowest tier of technology obsolete. Which means throwing your oldest ships in the trash, possibly at the exact worst moment. Another sore spot if you aren’t expecting it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Run Some Numbers with your Money-grubbing Pals</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starship Merchants sets up fast, and plays fast for its level of complexity. The choices on the board are stretched out so you don’t have to absorb too much on your very first turn.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re used to the idea of infrastructure “rusting” when someone buys the next new model, you’ll love the more advanced economic aspects of Starship Merchants.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I found this game an unexpected hit with my son, and I think it’s largely due to him having an open mind. He saw this as a “business simulator” which I had to agree was the perfect description. He didn’t pause for a second over the obsolete ships. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And the collecting/delivery portions of the game are as simple as counting up the numbers on the mine tiles and collecting your money.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkikaNu65AReiQMUuUFjHLC86qMgGr8wLeR-1GM6l4K1EK7zQILtNv97rXkOEc00_4cm62c-ofpKGgODeWpEgD5DbS4P4yrfLuFdEImc4_b8yAUtoWQAxhq5WSg8Mi1ShyGAplyeC6C0V/s1600/StarshipMerchantsTomMajor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkikaNu65AReiQMUuUFjHLC86qMgGr8wLeR-1GM6l4K1EK7zQILtNv97rXkOEc00_4cm62c-ofpKGgODeWpEgD5DbS4P4yrfLuFdEImc4_b8yAUtoWQAxhq5WSg8Mi1ShyGAplyeC6C0V/s640/StarshipMerchantsTomMajor.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I did have to explain the concept of retro-futurism. If you like having pilots will bullet-shaped helmets, this game is for you.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ignoring the Tom Lehmann pedigree, I am actually more interested now in searching out other titles from Joseph Huber. He's responsible for Rio Grande’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://riograndegames.com/games.html?id=42">Burger Joint</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://riograndegames.com/games.html?id=42"> </a>and short-and-sweet business games seem to be his specialty.</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once you get over not getting what you wanted, you might want to get Starship Merchants. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make sure to check out the <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/114912/starship-merchants/marketplace/ebay">garage sales</a>.</span>Zeke Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com0