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News

Its All About Star Wars

For the Star Wars gamer and fan this has been and continues to be epic time, it really does not get any better than this. Whether you’re just a fan of the movies, board games, PC games, role-playing games or just like collectibles there is something for everyone Star Wars related. I thought it would be fun to do a little break down of all the awesomeness that is here and coming our way in the near future.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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The new Star Wars movies has everyone hoping for a revival given the generally accepted disappointment of the Old Republic era movies.

Naturally the best place to start is with the upcoming movie hitting movie theaters on December 16th. Brought to you for the first time by someone other than George Lucas, the Disney fueled J.J Abrams infused film continues the saga of one of the greatest science-fiction sagas ever made. The director who is often dubbed the reboot king has brought back franchise from extinction like Mission Impossible and Star Trek, not to mention some of the more interesting TV series like Almost Human and Revolution. I love this guy’s stuff, but Star Wars The Force Awakens is less a reboot and more a continuation of a story most of us nerds grew up with. The Force Awakens is more than just a movie to gamers however as it represents a new expanded place for some of our favorite games to draw materials for and its already begun.

Star Wars X-Wing: Force Awakens

Cleverly the new core set managed to add new and improved X-Wings and Tie-Fighters without making the old core set obsolete. A welcomed addition to X-Wing.
Cleverly the new core set managed to add new and improved X-Wings and Tie-Fighters without making the old core set obsolete. A welcomed addition to X-Wing.

We have already gained access to the new X-Wing Core set that features X-Wings and Tie-Fighters from the new movies, with more on the way. As part of the next Wave for X-Wing we are going to glimpse a little closer into Force Awakens with new X-Wing and Tie-Fighter expansions as part of the set that will show case a number of interesting new pilots presumably from the movies. Without question you can expect in future waves to see more of the Force Awakens universe to join Star Wars X-Wing, but the important thing here is that X-Wing has plenty of new room to grow into thanks to the movies.

The most exciting element of the upcoming wave however is that epic play is going to grow. We recently got the Imperial Raider which opened up Epic play in a big way but perhaps the most exciting upcoming release is the Imperial Assault Carrier that not only features a new epic ship but a number of awesome Tie-Fighters too boot! It’s an exciting time to be an X-Wing player!

Star Wars Armada

A much needed expansion to Armada has rounded out the game but we are yet to see anything for Force Awakens!
A much needed expansion to Armada has rounded out the game but we are yet to see anything for Force Awakens!

While we are still waiting to see/hear announcement of Force Awakens ships for Armada wave 2 is no slouch in bringing us much needed content for this epic game of capital ship battles. Joining the ranks is not only a new Squadron set that includes some of the most iconic ships in the Star Wars universe like the Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon and Boba Fett’s FireSpray just to name a couple but we are getting some of the most iconic ships from one of the biggest fleet battles in Star Wars movie history (Return Of The Jedi). Ships included are the Home One, MC30 Frigate and The Imperial Class Star Destroyer, not to mention the Imperial Raider.

For Star Wars Armada fans wave 2 has a completion effect, rounding the game out to its destination of 400 points and bringing much needed diversity to list building. What will Force Awakens bring to the table? Well you can bet your bottom dollar that Fantasy Flight Games knows how to milk it and its not much of a prediction to proclaim that the next wave will include Force Awakens capital ships, the thing is, we don’t really know much right now about what that will be. Fortunately we won’t have to wait too much longer as it’s only 2 days as of this writing before the movie premiers!

The Star Wars Role-Playing Game

Edge of the Empire kicked things of and immediately made all previous Star Wars RPG games obsolete. Its nearly perfect!
Edge of the Empire kicked things of and immediately made all previous Star Wars RPG games obsolete. Its nearly perfect!

Whether you are a fan of Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion or Force and Destiny (or all three) Fantasy Flight Games has been producing material for the game at a maddening pace. Dozens of books have been pushed out this year not to mention countless variety of supplements and expanded material with many more the horizon and now there is the question of how Force Awakens plays into all this. It’s a safe bet that we can expect a new core rulebook simply called Force Awakens kick starting a new era for the role-playing game and I’m sure I speak for many role-playing fans out there that the anticipation of the expected announcements is exciting. The prospect of playing in the new era may come sooner than we think thanks largely to the fact that FFG has already secured the rights to Force Awakens. Not enough excitement for you? Think about the possibility of linking all three games with Force Awakens and playing out the entire saga of Star Wars from the perspective of a single character of your own creation…. Ok that should do it!

Star Wars Rebellion

Rebellion is the unquestionable king of surprises this year, before we have even had a chance to get excited the game is already on the calendar for release early in Quarter 1!
Rebellion is the unquestionable king of surprises this year, before we have even had a chance to get excited the game is already on the calendar for release early in Quarter 1!

The recent announcement of Star Wars Rebellion was perhaps one of the best surprises of the year. With virtually no knowledge that a Star Wars boardgame was even in the works, Fantasy Flight presented Rebellion, a game that lets you play out the original Star Wars conflict from A to Z, Death Stars Included. In the style of War of the Rings (quite possibly one of the greatest board games ever made) you and a friend will battle it out with the famous people, ships, planets and story of the Star Wars universe. The best part? The game is ALREADY AT THE PRINTER which means you will be playing it first quarter of 2016! Can I get a fuck yeah!

How does Force Awakens fit into it… well duh, EXPNASION! With the game already done and printing there is no doubt FFG will wait and see to ensure the game is well regarded and accepted, but assuming it is as awesome as it looks, A Force Awakens expansion in 2016 is practically assured!

Star Wars Imperial Assault

The familiar Descent-esque system brings the Star Wars universe to the cooperative dungeon crawler genre, but it boasts an impressive competitive skirmish mode that has gained a tremendous amount of popularity overshadowing the cooperative elements.
The familiar Descent-esque system brings the Star Wars universe to the cooperative dungeon crawler genre, but it boasts an impressive competitive skirmish mode that has gained a tremendous amount of popularity overshadowing the cooperative elements.

For the cooperative gamer, in particular if you were a fan of Descent, Star Wars Imperial Assault is an easy pick as it may quite possibly one of the best cooperative games ever made. Fantasy Flight Games isn’t pussy footing around with this franchise either. With countless mini expansions and two major expansions (Twin Shadows – At the Printers & Return to Hot – On the Boat) we already have enough content for Imperial Assault to last us through 2016 but at this point the games popularity is so huge a Force Awakens expansion is not only a guarantee it’s a shocker that they haven’t already announced it. If I had to guess, I would say they are timing it for the release of the films because you know, they are evil!

Star Wars RISK

Easy to overlook thanks largely to its poor title and association with RISK, this little nugget is actually a really great remake of Star Wars Queens Gambit set in the Return of the Jedi era!
Easy to overlook thanks largely to its poor title and association with RISK, this little nugget is actually a really great remake of Star Wars Queens Gambit set in the Return of the Jedi era!

Ok, bad title, very bad title and probably one of the reasons you probably didn’t give this one a second look. Look a little deeper under the covers however and you will discover that Star Wars RISK is actually a new edition of Star Wars: A Queens Gambit, a rare collectable and extremely well made game based on one of the worse Star Wars movies ever made (A Phantom Menace). This time however instead forcing us to play with Gungan miniatures Hasbro back tracked and created the epic battle over the second Death Star from Return of the Jedi. It’s called Star Wars RISK but has virtually nothing to do with the classic Yahtzee style dice roller. Instead Hasbro pulled out a miracle and actually created a great game that looks amazing managing to hit on some of the more distinguished top board game lists on the internet.

Now if I know Hasbro Star Wars Force Awakens: RISK is an inevitable follow up and while I’m not holding my breath they do have a good system to base a game on, the only question is, will the story support the 3 prong battle setup needed to re-create Star Wars: RISK? Here’s hoping that it does!

You wanted Excitement and as you can see from this list there is plenty for everyone here. Let’s just bloody hope the movie is as awesome as we all know it should be!

Gaming Articles

Rating System

People sometimes mention that I don’t give a full description of the game mechanics in my game reviews.  This is true and intentional.  For me personally, the best opinion I can get for a game is to find out what people think of it.  If I want to learn to play the game, I read the rules and always there are instructional videos and tutorials on the subject.  Hence my reviews focus mainly on my specific opinion about the game, how it feels, how it handles, what I like and don’t like etc.  I make the assumption that when the review is read, you have already done some preliminary research on the games mechanics.  I find explaining how a game works on a blog adds unnecessary word count for something ultimately that will still give you very little clue about how to actually play the game.

Regarding The Rating System

On a number of occasions I have received opinionated emails, mind you always respectfully, that mentioned that when I review games while the reader gets a picture of what the game is about and what I think about it, they don’t have a basis for comparison. In other words if I speak highly of two games, there is no way to tell which I might like better, nor is there a way to know how the component quality effects the overall experience or how gameplay compensate for the lack luster adherence to theme. In a sense I think the complaint is that I don’t have a rating system that governs my judgement in reviews. I think it’s a valid complaint and one I intend to rectify. The truth is that I have given a lot of thought to this but never came to any conclusions until now.

Part of the reason is that I think rating systems can limit or force a certain score even when the reviewer actually thinks far higher of the game. For example the component quality might be terrible and the game might not have any theme to speak of yet the gameplay is so awesome that I love the game despite all its flaws and it would be unfairly graded if I simply scored each component and tallied it up.

I have looked at many different systems and really haven’t found one I liked in its entirety but I did find enough inspiration and ideas that I could use to create my own. Consider the following an explanation of the rating system that I will implement for all future reviews (I won’t be going back on old reviews to apply the system).

How it all works
I think it’s fair to give some background as to how the system developed as I explain it, I think might give the system a bit more credibility.

I began with determining what I think are the most important elements of a good board game, another words, what I think is worth judging. The list is as followed.

Components: It’s important to note that I’m speaking directly to the quality of the components rather than the quality of art work or style or thematic correctness. It think this often gets mixed up and I never really liked that a games components are judged on the quality of the art, rather than the quality of components. As a gamer I want my games to last and I want to know if cards are flimsy, miss printed or missing for example. Wonderful art is hardly compensation for bad component quality. For me personally, that goes more to theme and it’s their art work is judged. So in terms of components I’m speaking strictly to quality of the physical components.

Gameplay: The bread and butter of a games core mechanic and a judgement of how well it plays, how balanced it is and how complete it feels. Reviews are opinions of course, but when it comes to some things like components and replay ability you can decipher some objective facts, for example card quality is either sturdy and will last long or it might be flimsy and tear easily. Those aren’t opinions, they are observations. Gameplay leans far more towards the opinion side but the goal here is to judge it objectively, point our benefits and flaws of the gameplay and discuss balance and fun factor.

Longevity & Replay ability: Not all games are designed with longevity and replay ability in mind and to me this often a deal breaker. In this section I judge a game based on multiple plays and whether the fun and excitement of the original play is holds up over repeated plays. I also judge the game on its expandability and longevity as a product which I also think is vital to the success of a game in the long term.

Theme: When I look at a games theme I typical judge it on its fulfillment of a promise. For example if the game is about running a train company in Russia, do I have a sense of that as I play? Theme is often realized through artwork and judgement is made here as well but great games are a merging of art work and gameplay to realize the presence of the theme, so judgement is passed more on an overall look at a games thematic presence. It’s an important aspect of gaming that a games theme comes through gameplay and in this section we judge a games ability to do just that.

Giving the games different a score becomes important to come up with a final verdict and I settled on a simple 1 to 5 stars system. Each star represents an increasing level of quality.

0 Stars : FAILURE This represents an abysmal failure in the game. It simply means that for this part of the game has failed on every conceivable level.

1 Stars: POOR This game is well below a reasonably expected standard of quality. While its not an outright failure, its lacking far outweigh its success.

2 Stars: FAIR There are redeeming qualities here but still below a standard of quality that is worthy of note. A 2 star score means that the section is passable if you can overlook some flaws but far from good.

3 Stars: AVERAGE This simply means that the game has met the minimum requirements for standards, the section is passable or great, its simply right in the middle with an equilibrium of shortcomings and success.

4 Stars: VERY GOOD: This means that the section has exceeded expectation, its impressive and there few flaws hardly worth mentioning.

5 Stars: PERFECT: Simply put, a perfect score for this section. It means that there are no flaws, the game has over exceeded expectation and pleasantly surprised the judge.

Now for me personally it’s simply not enough to judge a game on a 1 to 5 scale even if it is sectioned out because every game is unique. For example a game might have very simple components that aren’t terribly impressive and this might ordinarily lower its overall score, but the games designer or even the intent of the game might not be to impress with components but rather gameplay. As such, I feel strongly that I need to have some sort of tilt for myself where I can consider the weight of a particular section to its overall score for any given game. After all an awesome euro might be compromised of nothing but wooden cubes, yet it may have awesome gameplay.

As such I have lovingly called this part of the system “Tilt”. The tilt is simply a reference to the importance of the section. The tilt is a categorization of importance hence each section will be given a 1 to 4 tilt score (one for each section) which identifies how important that score is to the game. The tilt is than used to calculate the final score of the game.

4 Tilt: This is the most important score and is responsible for 50% of the game’s final score.
3 Tilt: This is also vital but considerably less so 30% of the score
2 Tilt: Even less important. 15% of the score
1 Tilt: Hardly worth mentioning, tilt weight barely effects the score 5%

Example
Lets imagine I just reviewed a game and gave it the following scores for each section

2 Stars – Components
4 Stars – Gameplay
3 Stars – Longevity and Replay-ability
2 Stars – Theme

Not a terrible good score for a game. However when I consider the game I come to the realization that the gameplay of the game is first and most paramount. The longevity and replay ability of the game are very important as well but the theme and components of the game are really kind of unimportant to the games quality.

So I assign the tilt to each score.

Gameplay – 4 Tilt
Longevity/Replaybility – 3 Tilt
Components – 2 Tilt
Theme – 1 Tilt

Mathematically the final score works out as followed.

Gameplay 4 stars is 50% of the score
Longevity/Replayability is 30% of the score
Components is 15% of the score
Theme is 5% of the score.

The score is calculated.

50% of 4 is 2 Stars
30% of 3 is .9 Stars
15% of 2 is .3 Stars
5% of 2 is .1 Stars

The total is score for this game is 3.3 Stars making this an average game.

Lets imagine however that the tilt was different. Let’s say that for this was supposed to be an awesome thematic game about conquering space full of awesome miniatures that fly around on a tactical game-board. Lets say that Theme and components carry more weight in this version.

Gameplay – 2 Tilt
Longevity/Replaybility – 1 Tilt
Components – 3 Tilt
Theme – 4 Tilt

How does that effect the score?

50% of 2 Stars is 1 Stars
30% of 2 Stars is .6 Stars
15% of 4 Stars is .6 Stars
5% of 3 Stars is .1 Stars (rounded up)

The total is now 2.3 Stars. A lot more disappointing given the new tilt. You can see that while in order to get a high total score you not only have to score well, but you have to score well where I place the tilt. The tilt is a vital component of the scoring system, but one I believe is important in order for games to be judged appropriately. After all, a Euro game might not have a lot of theme, but if the tilt is a 1 for that game identify that clearly theme was never intended to be a priority it will minimize any negative score it would get in that department and likely will still get a great final score it if did well in more important sections.

I might find reason to adjust the system in the future, but for now I believe this is at least as fair as I can get a rating system and over time I will hopefully get better and better at doing more concise reviews with a platform for comparison.

Enjoy!

Gaming Articles

Fantasy Flight Games and Star Wars Perfection

Since Fantasy Flight Games took over the Star Wars license for making board, card, miniature and role-playing games, there can be only one thing said about it. Perfect. There is absolutely no doubt that across every platform they have produced not only the best version of a Star Wars game in that class be it Board, Card, Miniature or Role-playing games, but they have done it by such a wide margin I can’t even remember what we had before it.

Let’s go over the list shall we.

Star Wars Edge of The Empire Role-playing game
Up until I played Star Wars Edge of the Empire, role-playing in the Star Wars universe was always a frustration for me. Every system I tried from old West End Game version, to more modern D20 versions by Wizards of the Coast, nothing did the trick. These systems always failed miserably in some element of presenting the Star Wars universe. Some of the these version of Star Wars RPG’s managed to get some things right, like the Saga system’s combat system was not all together terrible but they fumbled other things like ship to ship combat or messed up balance between force and non-force users. There was always a problem.

Star Wars Edge of the Empire has grown to include a ton of material, but the truth is that the core book alone already makes this one of the best RPG's ever made
Star Wars Edge of the Empire has grown to include a ton of material, but the truth is that the core book alone already makes this one of the best RPG’s ever made

Then came Star Wars Edge of the Empire and what can I say about it other than not only is it hands down one of the best Star Wars role-playing games ever made, it may just be one of the best role-playing games in any genre ever made. It’s simply exquisite, it works on every level, it’s got depth where it’s needed, it’s streamlined, it handles every element of the Star Wars universe flawlessly, simply put, it just can’t be done any better. A++ to Fantasy Flight Games for finally making a Star Wars RPG we can actually play without frustration.

Star Wars Card Games
There have been many and frankly, they have been miserable failures across the board. There has never been a good Star Wars Card game until Fantasy Flight took over and not only did they produce Star Wars The Card game, a fantastic living card game but they gave us Empire vs. Rebels as a bonus.

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This catchy Star Wars Card Game is filled with a variety of depth and strategies, but it’s quick and painless to setup and play. More importantly FFG maintains it’s living card game strategy as opposed to the presumptuous and often over priced CCG style games.

Both are amazing games that represent the Star Wars universe in perfect splendor capturing its many nuances with style. More importantly I don’t see how it would be physically possible for the art to scream STAR WARS any louder, the game is worth buying just for the illustrations and collectors of Star Wars Memorabilia do just that. Awsome job, another A++ for both games.

Star Wars Board Games
Now I will say this, there have been some pretty awesome Star Wars board games in the past. Queen’s Gambit, Epic Duels, even Star Wars RISK was actually quite fantastic. When it comes to Board Games toping games like the elaborate Queen’s Gambit wasn’t going to be easy but as always Fantasy Flight Games was more than up to the task. It took a while but the result is Imperial Assault, a game I believe will be in the top 10 on board game geek within the next year or so, already debuting at number 37. Now this is a kind of cross over game, one could say it’s a miniatures game but the truth is that by those standards so would Queen’s Gambit be. The truth is that if you’re going to make a Star Wars game, it very clearly needs to have miniatures in it, it’s just part of the allure of that franchise and it needs.

Queen's Gambit is an as impressive to look at as it is fun to play, but unfortunately it's out of print and has become something of a collectors item making it very expensive to pick up these days.
Queen’s Gambit is an as impressive to look at as it is fun to play, but unfortunately it’s out of print and has become something of a collectors item making it very expensive to pick up these days.

That said Imperial Assault not only blows any Star Wars game that came before it out of the water, but it does so with style, balance and experience. It’s a fantastic game that offers immense amount of replay ability and I suspect like the Arkham Horror series, this one is going to see a ton of expansions.

Star Wars Miniatures
Without question Star Wars X-Wing is not only the most successful miniatures game in decades, but it may very well rise to be one of the most successful miniatures games of all time. It’s simple to learn impossible to master mechanics and infinite replayability made accessible by taking the work out of the hobby with pre-painted miniatures has paved it’s way with gold. It is hands down in my humble opinion one of the best products Fantasy Flight Games has produced to date and with each expansion they release the game is improved 10 fold. It just gets better and better and better with no end in sight. Now with a third faction released, the game has already immortalized its iconic status, if nothing is ever released for it again it would still be a near perfect game. To say I love it would be an understatement, if I was stuck on a desert island and was forced to choose a single form of entertainment to take with me, Star Wars X-Wing would unquestionably be that entertainment.

I will probably never stop praising Star Wars X-Wing, easily one of the best games ever made.
I will probably never stop praising Star Wars X-Wing, easily one of the best games ever made.

Star Wars Armada
So why should you be excited about Star Wars Armada? Well if it isn’t obvious already, Fantasy Flight Games kicks ass at making Star Wars games and Star Wars Armada is slated to be the biggest, most epic and most iconic Star Wars game to ever be made. If they succeed, they will have done more for the Star Wars franchise than the last three movies did.

Star Wars Armada is as ambitious as it is elaborate and expensive, it's going to have to be one hell of a game to get my money.
Star Wars Armada is as ambitious as it is elaborate and expensive, it’s going to have to be one hell of a game to get my money.

War on a massive scale with all the fittings of Star Wars X-Wing, but bigger and more elaborate. Now I don’t usually do hype, I believe very firmly that objectively speaking no matter how excited I get for something, I recognize the possibility that I will be terribly disappointed, but I can say that if Armada isn’t the crowning achievement of Star Wars based games coming out of Fantasy Flight Games, my disappointment will reach epic proportions. It has all the markings of an amazing game, designed and produced by an amazing company at a time when they are on a hot streak of perfection. It’s the perfect storm for success, but it may also be the perfect recipe for disaster. I reserve my opinion until I play it, but to say that we should be anything by hyper excited would be selling the potential short.

Fantasy Flight Games is an amazing company, they have done for gaming what Quentin Tarantino did for movies, they showed us that games can be awesome again, that the status quo can be changed and that it’s still possible to invent new things or take old things and make them new again. They have done an amazing job and they have earned every bit of praise for their accomplishments. For me personally if I’m looking for a new game my first stop is always Fantasy Flight Games official website, there are so many diamonds in their product line I feel like I should just mail them my credit card.

Gaming Articles

Creating A Great Game Night

Planning a game night may seem like a simple thing, pick a time and place, everyone shows up and you game, piece of cake! The truth is that most game nights are ruined long before anyone shows up to the table as there are so many things people don’t think about when they decide to host a gaming night at their house. Any one thing in this list of problems/solutions may not ruin your game night, but mix a couple of them together and the combination can create some pretty horrible game night experiences. If your host or organizer of a game night, be a good one; Here is some advice!

Lighting
Without question one of the most important thing you can do to see massive improvements is proper lighting. In particular dulled, but bright lighting focused on the table itself rather than the people. There is nothing worse than playing an awesome board game or role-playing game and finding myself squinting to read the often small text of cards, game boards and RPG books. I can honestly say that most of the gaming environments I have played in over the last 30 years of gaming have been in relatively shitty lighting, it’s an epidemic in gaming areas as gaming space requires far brighter lights than you would ordinarily need in a room. It has to be more akeen to a pool table light than a room light. I’m certain that lighting and performance, speed and organization of game play is severely effected by poor lighting. If you take no other advice, take this one, keep your playing area’s very bright.

High Seating
Another common problem to gaming space is low seating. Typically when you game you need to be almost hovering over the table, in particular for board gaming. You want a top down view of the game board and as such the table either needs to be low with normal seats or you need high seats. Again this comes down to visibility, gamers need to be able to see what’s going on, if you are sitting at a table and you can’t see what’s happening on the other side of the table without standing up, you have a seating issue in your game space that needs fixing.

Be A Good Host And Know When You Can’t Be
One of my biggest pet peeves, one that has resulted with me actually skipping game nights when a certain player hosts in some cases even leaving a game group all together is the quality of it’s host. Being a good host is not so much about being gracias and generous but rather welcoming and comfortable. So often I find that when I go to someone’s house for a game night it’s crystal clear that it’s forced. It’s little things that get to you like a host who has children who are being ignored because they are gaming, or where clearly someone’s wife or girlfriend doesn’t want us there giving us the stink eye all night, or where instead of playing in the kitchen table with great lighting and access to a fridge and bathroom we are ordered out to a fidget garage or basement.

Gamers are often willing to tolerate inconveniences and rudeness for the opportunity to game, but as a host it’s your job to know if your house/situation is not a good one for gaming. Sure, it’s in a way easier for the host as the gamers come to him, no need to drive anywhere, but if you can’t be a welcoming host, if your situation is obviously not ideal and makes your guests uncomfortable then don’t host.

Proper Gaming Table
If you don’t have a proper gaming table, don’t host gaming nights at your house. There is absolutely nothing more detrimental to a game night, in particular a board game night than playing on a table that is obviously way too small. It’s absolutely destructive to a gaming experience to not have enough space. It’s better to skip gaming all together than play on a cramped table or cramped space. Let the people breath!

Plan Ahead
In particular for board game nights it’s absolutely vital there is a plan in advance. You want everyone coming to your game night to know what games you are going to be playing so that they have the opportunity to read the rules/rulebooks of the games. More importantly if your hosting or if you are going to be introducing a game to players, read the rules in advance, know how to play the game well so that you can explain it to the others quickly and efficiently.

There is absolutely nothing I hate more than someone pulling out a board game and saying “hey let’s play this”, followed by him pulling out a 20 page rulebook to “figure out how to play”. It’s practically a guarantee that three things will happen. First the game will take 2-3 times as long to play. Secondly you will play rules incorrectly, overlook important rules and this will likely lead to someone winning/losing a game because of this fact. Finally it’s likely that the game will be rejected in the future, this often happens because the game appears unbalanced/broken or boring as a result of getting the rules wrong.

So be smart about your game nights, plan what you’re going to play in advance, read the rules for the games that are planned and be ready to teach players how to play the games without having to read the manual to them.

Know Your Audience
Kind of part of planning ahead, but know who your gamers are and what games are appropriate for them. There is nothing worse than inviting casual gamers or first time gamers to a game event and trying to introduce them to an epic, highly complex board game like Twilight Imperium for example. You really need to think about what sort of game you’re going to play, in particular it’s complexity level and compare that to who’s coming. It’s a sure fire way to ruin a game night to pull the wrong game off the shelf for the wrong kind of group.

This goes a bit further as well for player count. For example Twilight Imperium is clearly a 4, 5 or 6 player game. Sure you can play it with 3 players but you know it’s a shitty game with 3 players so don’t pull it out. Find a game appropriate for the audience and the amount of players you have.

Don’t force it, play games that you know will work with the amount of people you have and the type of gamers you have.

Don’t Take It Too Seriously
It’s a tragic illness that many gamers have, myself included, that we often take the hobby too serious. We become obsessed with trying to find that victory in a complex strategic game and if we can’t be it because the dice gods are against us, or the rules of the game leave something to be desired that we can get outright mean towards our opponents. We forget that we are there to play games and have fun, become competitive, aggressive sometimes even vengeful.

Remember, it’s a game, the people you’re playing with are your friends, quite possibly your guests if you’re the host. Keep your cool and win or lose do it with grace.

Board Game Reviews

Board Game Time!

It was never my intention to make this blog just about 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons.  Neither was it my intent to have long winded articles and so few of them. I always assumed to some degree I would write one or two shorter articles each week but to be fair when I find time to write about games I’m usually wondering why I’m not playing them instead, a classic dilemma.

Starting today I’m going to push out a few board gaming articles.  Its strange that I haven’t already given how much more often I play board games compared to role-playing games.  My goal with these articles is to be less a reviewer, and more an informer about some of the great board games to fill the needs of different types of player.  Now they will be reviews on some level, but generally I’m going to focus on games I have a positive opinion on because frankly, I tend to not play games I don’t like and so there really isn’t much to say about it.  That said I might use other board games I don’t like as references of comparison when talking about good board games as that is often a good way to keep things in perspective.

I will also use some terminology which I think is important to define up front.  Words like Euro Game and American Game for example or Euro Gamer/American Gamer.  These are commonly used terms, sometimes intended to be derogatory, but they do help to define elements of game play.

Euro Games to me are typically games with certain types of common mechanics in them.  Worker placement, area control, most tile laying games tend to be mixed with other Euro Game mechanics.  Euro games tend to use a lot of un-thematic components (cubes), or be considerably lighter on the connection between theme and actual game play.  Euro Games very often have extremes on the scales of luck, either leaning completetly in one direction and having no luck or random elements at all to the other side of the spectrum having insane amounts of randomness and luck.  Good examples of that are like Puerto Rico (Almost no randomness at all) and Carcassonne where you draw one random tile each round and put it in play (lots of luck).

I think the main feature of American games is that they usually very theme heavy and themes tend to have a strong connection to mechanics and sort of run the game.  American games also tend to have a moderate amount of luck elements, its rare that an American game doesn’t have dice to roll and cards to draw.

In any case its not often easy to differentiate the two and there are a lot more ways to define either type of game, but there are sufficiently familiar motives where most gamers will identify themselves as either preferring Euro games or American games.

In my discussions of the games I’m not going to score them, nor will I spend too much time defining the game mechanics.  I may link some videos if I find them of people doing that, I find its much easier to learn “how to play” games visually.  I will spend most of my time trying to get to the heart of what makes the game fun and what sort of gamer might or might not enjoy it, with the why’s and how’s of it mixed in.

Board game articles incoming, enjoy!