tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123662012024-03-19T04:30:35.283-07:00aka pastor guyEverything including the kitchen sink... but with special attention paid to board games, Jesus Christ, my family, being a "professional" (and I use that word loosely) Christian, and the random firing of the 10% of the synapses I'm currently using.Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.comBlogger2044125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-775667467059975702024-03-19T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-19T04:30:00.138-07:00#82: Nexus Ops (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcbAYaD_Y8-2A22EjsX2sRrEg2uQEqgmeiazQjWEf6NaNLOYKYxlzVjHYUZ3Or-q-nMpLAoHvBb3okhzno8dbN_LDaFyomzLf5lHuBlCiZZgQ5daO75XdLy4kPgm3-OuFIRl-VziM7OAxU9NCyWNo3KK-PSGePrxcyi8VJG-g2AGmPyxDG708=s3024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcbAYaD_Y8-2A22EjsX2sRrEg2uQEqgmeiazQjWEf6NaNLOYKYxlzVjHYUZ3Or-q-nMpLAoHvBb3okhzno8dbN_LDaFyomzLf5lHuBlCiZZgQ5daO75XdLy4kPgm3-OuFIRl-VziM7OAxU9NCyWNo3KK-PSGePrxcyi8VJG-g2AGmPyxDG708=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;">Nexus Ops</span><br /><br /><div face="arial"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15363/nexus-ops" style="font-family: arial;">BoardGameGeek</a></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rank: 618</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rating: 7.2</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">published: 2005</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">designers: Charlie Catino & Steven Kimball</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">out of print (but not for long!)</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">A really well-thought-out "dudes on a map" game that subverts the ever-present turtling problem with a varied set of rewards for attacking other players.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">Hordes of cheaper figures can work just as well as a few expensive figures - and sometimes even better.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">This is the rare combat game that works well with 2, 3 or 4 players.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">I know I said it in the previous section - but it's worth saying again: turtling does NOT work in this game. ("Turtling" is emphasizing heavy defense and little or no offense, in hopes of getting your opponents to exhaust themselves fighting each other and/or throwing themselves against your defenses in vain.)</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1043432/avalon-hill-vs-ffg-edition" target="_blank">FFG edition</a> (2nd edition) evidently contains some variant stats for the units as well as some extra tiles and an alternate middle hex - but I haven't played it and am perfectly happy with my H/AH original edition.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">There's a new edition with new art coming from Renegade Games Studios this summer... with a molded plastic Monolith (and some of the rules variants from the FFG edition).</span></li></ul><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdwKKLwdopjIX0Z4IJ6_mg0gDc1kU0lpK7BoTyuS_TwS3UM4qDHzlzZLdmbAV7irjkmpyb3qFcMx_ws2-qRGmDS_ljkEn5PVHMv1fz02XgI4EY0lZxAMFGokyoqjTRlRSDfzQBA6MrHx2MRt6xx4eeDM0FHUv6ywsVV1HuOie-tsUAT2jopmYmw/s1280/NexusOps_BoxFrontFLAT_2000pxls__10128.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdwKKLwdopjIX0Z4IJ6_mg0gDc1kU0lpK7BoTyuS_TwS3UM4qDHzlzZLdmbAV7irjkmpyb3qFcMx_ws2-qRGmDS_ljkEn5PVHMv1fz02XgI4EY0lZxAMFGokyoqjTRlRSDfzQBA6MrHx2MRt6xx4eeDM0FHUv6ywsVV1HuOie-tsUAT2jopmYmw/w200-h200/NexusOps_BoxFrontFLAT_2000pxls__10128.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-82805292773186626562024-03-18T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-18T04:30:00.139-07:00#83: Battle Beyond Space (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZB7I6SlGipCCIJiMQswA-aOoIpRMSMH7AVk1dXCErOf6eP9jJlr6EzBcD4Cvmy16BFyUdcTfKstaUhy1upaKDt_Knm9APyy8zd9GryZAj8DTbvepiErTnrptfpxZP-2mB6fvIjBgbQVZEoBrQ8FnSl_D5eKzCm1xalfZ0TbcupBrEhJjFl0OsBg/s3024/IMG_8343.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZB7I6SlGipCCIJiMQswA-aOoIpRMSMH7AVk1dXCErOf6eP9jJlr6EzBcD4Cvmy16BFyUdcTfKstaUhy1upaKDt_Knm9APyy8zd9GryZAj8DTbvepiErTnrptfpxZP-2mB6fvIjBgbQVZEoBrQ8FnSl_D5eKzCm1xalfZ0TbcupBrEhJjFl0OsBg/s320/IMG_8343.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;">Battle Beyond Space</span><br /><br /><div face="arial"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18400/battle-beyond-space" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">rank: 8,286</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">rating: 6.3</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">published: 2012</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">designer: Frank Branham</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">in print</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Have a massive multiple armada space battle... in 60 minutes. With almost no luck.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">Important safety tip: I was a long-time playtester on this game... it's not my baby but it certainly feels like it.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">I do wish the colors of two of squadrons in the blue fleet weren't so dang close. I need to use a Sharpie to mark one of them.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">Like Catan, initial placement is important. You have to make wise choices based on your special power and your judgement about the relative aggressiveness of your closest foes.</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I wrote an <a href="http://akapastorguy.blogspot.com/2009/04/battle-beyond-space.html" target="_blank">ode to joy</a> about the publication of Battle Beyond Space on my blog back in 2009.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The inscription on my "thank you for playtesting" copy of the game...</span></li></ul><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirv-UkJLdvhJfq3-7ESqx7HYn0ahOvVnc96HfI-OG3D5beSKtuf3gV1qo4oTtXeMjED6srVpdVhMFNsvjxC8Vd9Ju9zRnCaKMXVwkG2Qq-V1Nt3SEY7W_Y6sjSb0cBx3q74sVuXxMC8n3WBwskhQOWr5NeYJ13jqQt3SvBYnegMFIyLJqD64mIHQ/s4032/IMG_8340.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirv-UkJLdvhJfq3-7ESqx7HYn0ahOvVnc96HfI-OG3D5beSKtuf3gV1qo4oTtXeMjED6srVpdVhMFNsvjxC8Vd9Ju9zRnCaKMXVwkG2Qq-V1Nt3SEY7W_Y6sjSb0cBx3q74sVuXxMC8n3WBwskhQOWr5NeYJ13jqQt3SvBYnegMFIyLJqD64mIHQ/s320/IMG_8340.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-2646395808616972102024-03-17T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-17T04:30:00.247-07:00#84: Anno 1701: Das Brettspiel (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7crNjbz2CX8SJKRhsrDE499ubzg-Aa3MIyBMtD8CWXnZr5wmzOesUcWu0S2the4fxGJeJCcA5Aj9SuJH8Mo6r-ZVxURsZT3nY5_n-7f8kcnBnMfxLZgwNkB3J2TFNpNLI1KJaw/s1600/anno.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7crNjbz2CX8SJKRhsrDE499ubzg-Aa3MIyBMtD8CWXnZr5wmzOesUcWu0S2the4fxGJeJCcA5Aj9SuJH8Mo6r-ZVxURsZT3nY5_n-7f8kcnBnMfxLZgwNkB3J2TFNpNLI1KJaw/s1600/anno.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20.8px; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20.8px; font-weight: bold;">Anno 1701: Das Brettspiel</span><br /><br /><div face="arial"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31897/anno-1701-das-brettspiel" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span>BoardGameGeek</span></a></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rank: 6,333</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rating: 6.7</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">published: 2007</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">designer: Klaus Teuber</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><span><b>Print Status</b></span></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">very out of print</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: "arial";">While I didn't like Klaus Teuber's attempt to make <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8166/anno-1503" target="_blank">Anno 1503</a> deeper via an expansion - I thought it was bloated & made the game much too long - </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">I think his 2nd attempt at a similar game was very, very successful. And that's Anno 1701, which feels like a cross between <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/catan" target="_blank">Catan</a> & Anno 1503.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">There are lots of options to harvest victory points (which can win you the game) - but you can't try to do all of them.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">The island tile sets are nearly identical - the brown ones are just farther from the starting point.</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Sadly, this game has never been published in English - there are some translation issues but they shouldn't be an insurmountable barrier.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Not liking Catan does not necessarily mean you'll dislike Anno 1701 - give it a try!.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "arial";">My hot take: I think this design informed the design of <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/135378/catan-explorers-pirates" target="_blank">Catan: Explorers and Pirates</a>... they share a number of very good design ideas.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "arial";">This is the second of five games on my top 100 list designed by Klaus Teuber.</span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-17494742503426742342024-03-16T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-16T04:30:00.129-07:00#85: Quantum (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGqj9eIK7Aldk9vy28dlcfkHSrMUpAxPueBSJPKq25uX6wXnqqe6B7nJ1lWMuJiMJfe4lrpdR7xzg8n-vSHLvgmQcIHSK31lX-CoYo23VtU1tN4hPmtc2XfWMMKCkFyQ98_XEOQ/s1600/HipstamaticPhoto-601509170.478669.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGqj9eIK7Aldk9vy28dlcfkHSrMUpAxPueBSJPKq25uX6wXnqqe6B7nJ1lWMuJiMJfe4lrpdR7xzg8n-vSHLvgmQcIHSK31lX-CoYo23VtU1tN4hPmtc2XfWMMKCkFyQ98_XEOQ/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-601509170.478669.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><strong>Quantum</strong></span><br /><br /></span><div face="arial"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/143519/quantum" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">BoardGameGeek</span></a></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rank: 664</span></li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"></span><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rating: 7.2</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">published: 2013</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">designer: Eric Zimmerman</span></li></ul><div face="arial"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">out of print</span></li></ul><div face="arial"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">A fast-moving game of space conquest with built-in variety and room for great tactical play. And I love the cover art.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Thanks to the modular board format, the game works like a charm with 2, 3 or 4 players.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The combat system is pro-attacking... wise players will take advantage of this to slow down opponents, even if it doesn't directly benefit your plans for placing quantum cubes.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Learning how to use the "free" ship powers is the key to playing well. They are easy to overlook in your first play.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The technology cards may seem out of balance at first - but each card can be very helpful when paired with the right strategic and tactical play. I'm constantly finding new ways to combine card powers and ship powers.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">When I say "fast", I'm not kidding. A long game of Quantum lasts an hour.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: "arial";">I haven't written much about Quantum - which is really too bad. It's a great, great game.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/149799/quantum-void" target="_blank">The Void</a> expansion - which was available through the BGG shop - is a nifty addition to the game.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Quantum is available to play on <a href="https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=quantum" target="_blank">BGA</a>!</span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-6437952616739418082024-03-15T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-15T04:30:00.136-07:00#86: Suburbia (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHUPQFMZQPEnFb_mxzdgxLsv4I0suae19UlOrQRsf4802gjTfr6-h3DL_FWX_6aV3diFsiCf3y1QUsja5V_Rlbrob8sLbZYbAaKAjf5CEdQUFJmSGXCfzFl0-1J3pjbQm5XfYQ-bSKCbwEmFaYTOl7Uoafr79GpDeViJU8I5qxgaHUZlv-TAA=s3024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHUPQFMZQPEnFb_mxzdgxLsv4I0suae19UlOrQRsf4802gjTfr6-h3DL_FWX_6aV3diFsiCf3y1QUsja5V_Rlbrob8sLbZYbAaKAjf5CEdQUFJmSGXCfzFl0-1J3pjbQm5XfYQ-bSKCbwEmFaYTOl7Uoafr79GpDeViJU8I5qxgaHUZlv-TAA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 21px;"><b>Suburbia</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 21px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/123260/suburbia" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a></div><div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rank: 210</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rating: 7.5</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">published: 2012</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">designer: Ted Alspach</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">in print (2nd edition)</span></li></ul><div><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li>A city-building game that does three things really, really well: 1) it plays cleanly, 2) it uses the Age of Steam braking system in a way that doesn't make me want to throw myself out a window, and 3) every player ends up with a city/neighborhood with it's own personality.</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">Over-obsessing about goals early can cause real problems in creating the proper engines to get income and population growth.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">Hate-drafting is possible here - if for no other reason that you need another lake to generate some quick cash. </li><li style="font-family: arial;">The game is (except with five players) almost perfectly pitched for playing time - you have enough turns to do interesting things but not so many turns that the game wears out its welcome.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">In some ways, the 2 player game is more swing-y than the 3 or 4 player game... because of the number of tiles you don't see in the game. (I still really like as a 2 player game.)</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">There is are two expansions for Suburbia - I really like <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/145196/suburbia-inc" target="_blank">Inc.</a> for adding borders and other interesting twists. <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/171007/suburbia-5" target="_blank">Five Star</a> is a little clunky but it's the only way to add a fifth player. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The new edition is available now... along with a <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/332410/suburbia-expansions-second-edition" target="_blank">single box</a> that contains both previously mentioned expansions plus Nightlife and two smaller sets of tiles.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">There's also (as pictured) a very cool <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/267367/suburbia-collectors-edition" target="_blank">Suburbia Collector's Edition</a> - which I own and cherish.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Important note: I was a playtester of the original edition of Suburbia.</span></li></ul></div></div></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-50308426420342766752024-03-14T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-14T04:30:00.128-07:00#87: Expedition (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyP2btFEAd2iaojyiVFLF8Rlz_L7Zkfp25lQKr_OhlmaAZb1b0YwY_HDpJShyswPjJEKXAKhB5pNFQrv_UlGUn8ySpgOWTu4x1vcZmvcYYpgIw5RjzHjyuLw07BByKLT3OLCGMS6g4RVCo7eCsIvVrfUUlpzBp7dbwpFdVvL2tFItRb19aGtzVzQ/s3024/HipstamaticPhoto-731193358.232422.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyP2btFEAd2iaojyiVFLF8Rlz_L7Zkfp25lQKr_OhlmaAZb1b0YwY_HDpJShyswPjJEKXAKhB5pNFQrv_UlGUn8ySpgOWTu4x1vcZmvcYYpgIw5RjzHjyuLw07BByKLT3OLCGMS6g4RVCo7eCsIvVrfUUlpzBp7dbwpFdVvL2tFItRb19aGtzVzQ/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-731193358.232422.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 20.8px; font-weight: bold;">Expedition</span><div face="arial"><br /></div><div face="arial"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/223/expedition" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: 13.6px;">rank: 3,065</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 13.6px;">rating: 6.8</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 13.6px;">published: 1996</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 13.6px;">designer: Wolfgang Kramer</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">recently re-published as <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/381854/expeditions-around-world" target="_blank">Expeditions: Around the World</a> in 2023</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I love the expedition mechanic at the heart of the game. There's nothing quite like it... (well, this isn't altogether true - but look in the Extras for more on that.)</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">Travel bucks are a relatively scarce currency that aids you in game play and must be managed VERY carefully.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">Watch the number of arrows left in each expedition - other players can run them out to keep you from certain sections of the board.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">There are a variety of options in how loops work - we like the "place anywhere on the loop" one - but you should give them all a try.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">While the game will work with 2-6 players, it's best with 2-3.</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The designer (Wolfgang Kramer) actually revised his classic Ravensburger game (<i>Wildlife Adventure</i>) which became Expedition - and then he gave it a big tweak and turned it into a children's game (<i>Schatzsucher</i>). While I haven't played Schatzsucher, I've enjoyed my couple of plays of Wildlife Expedition (and still kick myself for not picking up a copy back when you could find them at zoo gift shops).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">There were some rules changes for <i>National Geographic Expedition</i> edition - I only played once but I didn't like them. Frustratingly, I don't remember what I didn't like!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's what I wrote about Expedition for <a href="http://fluffysnoop.blogspot.com/search?q=expedition" target="_blank">The One Hundred</a>. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the first of five games designed by Wolfgang Kramer on this countdown.</span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-66277494159616882562024-03-13T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-13T04:30:00.254-07:00#88: Heat: Pedal to the Metal (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3WN5l7mngfmfLPZjsI_R4xnrkkR9M-Qc5Lb-KJFpVP3Z-GTCExm0_XqsH6jNuZP1AOWzwhB-gMx-ZBR6ykeXXp_vYn4CKJL1NN7sOvmui_3uAqTZj7ld_XnXWT9vFYVQxB81Ecwm7HDhU_w-h57KxDoW397_MUYxlKmAk2XGXTsxWr_xT4DZIg/s3024/HipstamaticPhoto-731190196.783193.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3WN5l7mngfmfLPZjsI_R4xnrkkR9M-Qc5Lb-KJFpVP3Z-GTCExm0_XqsH6jNuZP1AOWzwhB-gMx-ZBR6ykeXXp_vYn4CKJL1NN7sOvmui_3uAqTZj7ld_XnXWT9vFYVQxB81Ecwm7HDhU_w-h57KxDoW397_MUYxlKmAk2XGXTsxWr_xT4DZIg/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-731190196.783193.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;">Heat: Pedal to the Metal</span><br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/366013/heat-pedal-metal" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">BoardGameGeek</span></a></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rank: 44</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rating: 8.1</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">published: 2022</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">designer: Asger Harding Granerud & Daniel Skjold Pedersen</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">in print </span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Riffing on the same basic system as Flamme Rouge (also a great game), the designers created an even more interesting and fluid early '60s racing game, complete with customizing your cars, multiple tracks, weather conditions, and even a coherent way to play a season of races.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></span></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Management of your engine heat is crucial... I've seen more than one game won simply by one player having enough heat left to boost his final shot at the finish line.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The base race system is solid - but the game floors it when you add in the additional modules.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The Legends module allows you to run non-player cars - I recommend it highly to have full field.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The first expansion (I'm guessing, since there's room in the original box insert for another expansion) has just been released - <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/410291/heat-heavy-rain" target="_blank">Heavy Rain</a>. It includes new tracks, a new car, and new upgrade/championship/event cards.</span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-41455930397364744522024-03-12T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-12T04:30:00.136-07:00#89: Nations: The Dice Game (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAyEZGFWgNWMY9lNgoS-pf9NN7RrxTzaCFmBwocEwNtGgmEXEvopseB_UT5xqNkcFDzg8uRVNejaDPLzV7K_jA97vWPeXY5DxjWT95kpdLso63qqYzXBaxWNvZc-Cqxz9NX1gmxU5HPXa8mjNpEA9p0AjpXQxmUbGcFRfQqpAxlUIjX6PXpKNWg/s3024/HipstamaticPhoto-731185752.072759.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAyEZGFWgNWMY9lNgoS-pf9NN7RrxTzaCFmBwocEwNtGgmEXEvopseB_UT5xqNkcFDzg8uRVNejaDPLzV7K_jA97vWPeXY5DxjWT95kpdLso63qqYzXBaxWNvZc-Cqxz9NX1gmxU5HPXa8mjNpEA9p0AjpXQxmUbGcFRfQqpAxlUIjX6PXpKNWg/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-731185752.072759.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;">Nations: The Dice Game</span><br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/50/lost-cities" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">BoardGameGeek</span></a></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rank: 1,106</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rating: 6.9</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">published: 2014</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">designer: Rustan Håkansson</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">in print? (easy to find the base game, expansion is difficult to find)</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">While the original game Nations is enjoyable, the dice game does a lot of the same things in a much tighter time frame... and with a really clever dice manipulation mechanic.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></span></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The base game is good - but this is one of those games that really shines once you add the expansion: asymmetric starting positions, unrest dice, more variety of tiles.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The shift from engine-building (getting more dice and tokens) to point-harvesting is key - and especially pronounced in the fourth & final round of the game.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">You cannot do everything - colonies, wonders, leaders, etc. Let that impulse go.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Don't forget that you can convert a pair of dice into other resources - it feels wasteful, but sometimes it is your best choice.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The solo mode works - but there are better solo civilization games.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I need to write a full review of Nations: The Dice Game (which is becoming a refrain as I create these posts - sheesh).</span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-88856766325947080012024-03-11T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-11T04:30:00.135-07:00#90: Jump Drive (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jzeCnz1iyL5Xh3RqGIOBXNxSKbA1zA1qmufx_Bu_JubStYOXBKwAQTzxqIvgOcatnlp3djLh9Byvkr3oxMCvr-Zr5l1Pm0cq5MqJPI1x9XlpdP20DmPPMLla3aj7IuhIf_L0yTSlwl7yT4uIber15KuuLfEL9fg1XKd9dfEC0KMN9c5W1NY/s3024/IMG_7656.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jzeCnz1iyL5Xh3RqGIOBXNxSKbA1zA1qmufx_Bu_JubStYOXBKwAQTzxqIvgOcatnlp3djLh9Byvkr3oxMCvr-Zr5l1Pm0cq5MqJPI1x9XlpdP20DmPPMLla3aj7IuhIf_L0yTSlwl7yT4uIber15KuuLfEL9fg1XKd9dfEC0KMN9c5W1NY/s320/IMG_7656.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Jump Drive</b></span><br /></span><ul></ul><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/205597/jump-drive" target="_blank"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">BoardGameGeek</span></a><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></span><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rank: 1,126</span></li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"></span><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rating: 7.0</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">published: 2017</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">designer: Tom Lehmann</span></li></ul><div face="arial"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">in print</span></li></ul><div face="arial"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The lightest of the <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/4571/game-race-galaxy" target="_blank">Race for the Galaxy family</a> games is not just a sci-fi retread of Tom Lehmann's The City... it's an interesting blend of the two systems to make for a very quick and highly enjoyable tableau building card game.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips &Tricks:</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Chances are excellent that someone who hasn't played much will tell that a certain building strategy is "broken" and "always wins". See my personal information below for why I raise a Spock-ish eyebrow to that claim.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">You only have 6-8 rounds before the game is over... so exploring (drawing extra cards instead of building) is a serious decision. Doing it twice is just a nice way to say "let's play again after you beat me."</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I have played Jump Drive 139 times and <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103649/city" target="_blank">The City</a> 111 times.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The new expansion for Jump Drive, <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/375115/jump-drive-terminal-velocity" target="_blank">Terminal Velocity</a>, not only adds some new elements to the game but also has a really well-done solo mode.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I wrote a review of Jump Drive for the <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2017/04/03/10-questions-1-about-jump-drive/" target="_blank">Opinionated Gamers website</a>. (I will note that I am now incorrect in that review - the newest edition of The City makes it much easier to teach - it's in English - and score - it has point chips just like Jump Drive.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the second of seven (7!) Tom Lehmann designs on the countdown... and the first of three Race for the Galaxy-themed games.</span></li></ul></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-25972155475003617142024-03-10T04:30:00.000-07:002024-03-10T04:30:00.136-07:00#91: Zauberschwert & Drachenei (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNeVEYd57a4Rnw3AgldkXl_LL9Z0crRjL9F1KaAIfe5NoZDccNqupde9_vOPCVoyH7eyuUHXEoDF3DOKjJIaY5iINDz908j6LcBeE0tUv503zINzVp6xdy-CoDGpoBDyR_ZW2DNcfShhvoHQFM8G3Iakl16x2i-C76AQcdR_4wbDxZTqfJbxsJQ/s3024/HipstamaticPhoto-731095113.499723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNeVEYd57a4Rnw3AgldkXl_LL9Z0crRjL9F1KaAIfe5NoZDccNqupde9_vOPCVoyH7eyuUHXEoDF3DOKjJIaY5iINDz908j6LcBeE0tUv503zINzVp6xdy-CoDGpoBDyR_ZW2DNcfShhvoHQFM8G3Iakl16x2i-C76AQcdR_4wbDxZTqfJbxsJQ/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-731095113.499723.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 21px;"><b>Zauberschwert & Drachenei </b></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 16px;"><br face="arial" /></span><div face="arial"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8232/zauberschwert-drachenei" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a></div><ul><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">rank: 8,283</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">rating: 6.1</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">published: 2003</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">designer: Jochen Schwinghammer</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">out of print</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">the name means "Magic Sword & Dragon Egg" - and it's a fantasy-themed game of auctions, negotiation and engine-building that has won my two sons over</span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">There are two basic truths you must remember in order to play Z&D well:.</li><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">remember that you can negotiate - but never trust that the player following you in the turn order will honor your deal</li><li style="font-family: arial;">remember there is a certain level of engine-building that must be done in order to be successful - just saving up energy to zap monsters for victory points will not win you the game</li></ul><li style="font-family: arial;">I am a huge fan of both expansion boxes - they add some great twists to the base system that increase the variety of paths to victory. They do, admittedly, add some length to the game.</li><ul><li style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/20178/helden-zauberspruche" target="_blank">Helden & Zauberspruche</a> ("Heroes & Spells") </li><li style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/38791/wissen-artefakte" target="_blank">Wissen & Artefakte</a> ("Knowledge & Artifacts")</li></ul></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I haven't written much about this game, either... sigh.</span></li></ul></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-6944245009306297452024-03-09T04:30:00.000-08:002024-03-09T04:30:00.135-08:00#92: Lost Cities (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgooimeF6Tcj4jf8e4lzBo9en6FwDMPMfvivYV7M1jgzSCImvE6nhyphenhyphenkuysAh9062h1GrEy1euY7_-OWrNwfjsZn5PGSExtLjt5TYBsxLsLDdVo-kg3X_o_dcoG0qG_eODwRdLLKng/s1600/HipstamaticPhoto-602890579.687975.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgooimeF6Tcj4jf8e4lzBo9en6FwDMPMfvivYV7M1jgzSCImvE6nhyphenhyphenkuysAh9062h1GrEy1euY7_-OWrNwfjsZn5PGSExtLjt5TYBsxLsLDdVo-kg3X_o_dcoG0qG_eODwRdLLKng/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-602890579.687975.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;">Lost Cities</span><br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/50/lost-cities" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">BoardGameGeek</span></a></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">rank: 326</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">rating: 7.2</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">published: 1999</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">designer: Reiner Knizia</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">in print </span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I've played this over & over and I'm still intrigued each time. How far can I push my luck? Should I play aggressively or defensively? For such a simple game, it continues to draw me in. (Probably doesn't hurt that the production of the game is gorgeous.) Now, it's not that I win all that much. My wife is a pro... and my oldest son gets better every game we play.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></span></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I know some people don't like the big cards or the board... but I do.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Good Lost Cities play is based not only on the cards you draw but also on the play of your opponent. It is a game about reading their plan as much as executing your own.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Lost Cities spawned a whole series of games:</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Keltis</i> & it's uglier cousin, <i>Lost Cities: The Board Game</i> (I enjoy them both)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Keltis: Die Orakel</i> (which I have not played)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Keltis: Der Weg der Steine</i> (which I like enough to put on my old <a href="http://akapastorguy.blogspot.com/2014/11/74-keltis-der-weg-der-steine.html" target="_blank">top 100 games list</a>)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Keltis: The Dice Game</i> (so-so)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Keltis: The Card Game</i> (decent - but I like Lost Cities better)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Lost Cities: Rivals</i> (which is very good!)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Lost Cities: Roll'n'Write </i>(which is decent as well)</span></li></ul></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Here's a link to what I wrote about Lost Cities for <a href="http://fluffysnoop.blogspot.com/2005/11/25-lost-cities.html" target="_blank">The One Hundred</a>...</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "arial";">This is the first of seven(!) Knizia game designs on my top 100 list.</span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-66872164856353342292024-03-08T04:30:00.000-08:002024-03-08T04:30:00.137-08:00#93: CloudAge (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTJcPdQlk97Dc4pX4e47LTQYoVJDXiEnoD2lfHGLUdL6JX7laV1JmJ6TcMi2Tke2SJZw8lR3hZ0LHS17YRbTCdiepkHXuZFQd4qduKwdzMDPc02IycRHiHWCOaiIu7O4DkuvQ3aWzgreZtWSLBPx-aVhxxzb4ffxodcxklYm0-y7PMqyIXrbE=s3024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTJcPdQlk97Dc4pX4e47LTQYoVJDXiEnoD2lfHGLUdL6JX7laV1JmJ6TcMi2Tke2SJZw8lR3hZ0LHS17YRbTCdiepkHXuZFQd4qduKwdzMDPc02IycRHiHWCOaiIu7O4DkuvQ3aWzgreZtWSLBPx-aVhxxzb4ffxodcxklYm0-y7PMqyIXrbE=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">CloudAge</span></strong></span><br /></span><ul><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></ul><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/316858/cloudage" target="_blank"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">BoardGameGeek</span></a><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span><br /></span><ul><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rank: 1,399</span></li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"></span></span><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rating: 7.2</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">published: 2020</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">designer: Alexander Pfister</span></li><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></ul><div face="arial"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></span></div><ul><b><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></b><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">in print</span></li><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></ul><div face="arial"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></span></div><ul><b><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></b><li><span style="font-family: arial;">A solidly Alexander Pfister game - but less complicated and long than Great Western Trail and substantially more thematic than Oh My Goods and/or Expedition to Newdale. Added bonus: post-apocalyptic theme <i>sans</i> creepy post-apocalyptic art design.</span></li><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Once you head down a particular scoring/development pathway, the shortness of the game requires you to make sure you are doing everything you can to keep that particular game engine fed. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Resources are much more plentiful in 3 & 4 player games... switching back to solo is sobering!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The game can be played as a campaign (7 games long) or as a single game - it works well both ways.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">It is not a legacy game - but it does have campaign elements that hang on from game to game.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></span></div><ul><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></b></span><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I've enjoyed the solo campaign so much that I've played through the seven game arc twice! </span></li></ul></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-21672713505726824942024-03-07T04:30:00.000-08:002024-03-07T04:30:00.147-08:00#94: Die Schlacht der Dinosaurier (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div><span face="proxima-nova, Arial, sans-serif"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoeb8whJrkgxUX1DtY9G-qo9GfOvexxLVoWgGLuPJbnlx-xnU9TTssc5S_2-BRUb0r3XsKBWgBZAWV72JZ5xBitvz2X5eWf3qwq-8xpzbRPf8Eu1t6KQGMJSDPBFOSESFB3yYBhKSuxs0pWZnE2O8ajW-oeXcuk6PVTaIXRjTOiXpx9jO7pwA=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoeb8whJrkgxUX1DtY9G-qo9GfOvexxLVoWgGLuPJbnlx-xnU9TTssc5S_2-BRUb0r3XsKBWgBZAWV72JZ5xBitvz2X5eWf3qwq-8xpzbRPf8Eu1t6KQGMJSDPBFOSESFB3yYBhKSuxs0pWZnE2O8ajW-oeXcuk6PVTaIXRjTOiXpx9jO7pwA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 21px;"><b>Die Schlacht der Dinosaurier</b></span></span><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1081/die-schlacht-der-dinosaurier" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a></div><div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rank: 11,380</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rating: 6.3</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">published: 1993</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">designers: Stephen Baker & Roger Ford</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">very, very out of print</span></li></ul><div><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Any game that involves guys riding dinosaurs into combat around a volcano is totally worth my time. The fact that it's stupidly fun just makes it even better.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes, it pays to decimate a particular type of dino (raptors, for example)... so you can use their cards as wild cards for other dino types with more firepower.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">Whatever happens... no matter how bad you want revenge for a sneak attack... remember the win condition - when one player is knocked out, the player with the most dinos left wins. It's "all too easy" (thank you, Lord Vader) to get preoccupied and give the game away to satisfy a thirst to beat on the guy who's been hitting you.</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The literal translation of the game's name is "The Battle of the Dinosaurs"... but I've always called it The Battle of the Dinosaur Riders. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, I've badgered the good folks at Restoration Games to take a close look at re-imagining this game.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the first of two games on my countdown designed by Stephen Baker... who is assisting Restoration Games in restoring the classic <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/342075/crossbows-and-catapults" target="_blank">Crossbows & Catapults</a>.</span></li></ul></div></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-56112006235267929912024-03-06T04:30:00.000-08:002024-03-06T04:30:00.131-08:00#95: Rum & Pirates (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFpmOdwhq43z5cUyU2pKBpY3DgSRbGiahkq9j7VyILfUkog1ffCpMgHuNx960fiswDd6jOFJ2lROfBCgCaKrquoWVM-yXFouWtXs9qsnblhZZlkybhKcnMSuOOYUSr5w157EY5sKeQEiqI7eSn696lXLhq7Vrrzg-IX9XPhIczxi7E23AkdNl8w/s3024/OriginalPhoto-731080368.983364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFpmOdwhq43z5cUyU2pKBpY3DgSRbGiahkq9j7VyILfUkog1ffCpMgHuNx960fiswDd6jOFJ2lROfBCgCaKrquoWVM-yXFouWtXs9qsnblhZZlkybhKcnMSuOOYUSr5w157EY5sKeQEiqI7eSn696lXLhq7Vrrzg-IX9XPhIczxi7E23AkdNl8w/s320/OriginalPhoto-731080368.983364.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2QsM7ceG19S32aZiGGMKaBtNgM8gTjCUpWBaxFhp4-4vzF5F1XC9HQQ70OiaTZSWmtdH0Lbj7QScBxjyJxukaZxi2dpETjfNOYwo4YsupQz4WFOxX3pZscO7SN4160ZLc10dog/s1600/iPhone+072.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;">Rum & Pirates</span><br /><br /><div face="arial"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19948/rum-pirates" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rank: 3,248</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rating: 6.4</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">published: 2006</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">designer: Stefan Feld</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status:</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">out of print (but there's a new game based on Rum & Pirates coming out in 2024 - <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/409005/nassau" target="_blank">Nassau</a>)</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List:</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">a dice game with opportunities to manage your risks... and a really neat movement mechanic that makes for some great board play... and a nicely done theme</span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">If you can pull it off, always have a coin so you can get in on tavern runs.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">Don't forget you can pay a coin to skip your turn!</li><li style="font-family: arial;">Extra sailors are the key to winning - don't pass them up & don't set other players up to get them easily.</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras:</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Rum & Pirates<b> </b>is my favorite Stefan Feld game (though Marrakesh is very good as well)... which is funny, because for most hardcore gamers, it's the one they like the least</span>.</li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">If you've got five players who are not prone to downtime, it's a great game. Otherwise, stick to 3-4 players on this one.</span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-69715838297895742132024-03-05T04:30:00.000-08:002024-03-05T04:30:00.132-08:00#96: Gnadenlos! (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihUDbmaZtIkj-_Gz1I5eG5ZYb-bflox6YdlO9_GcTQNV9kgSQHuKR86n-CqMWVPrthpR0IjbeKV6Sry4lwKmU5qwly92OlDWweN2P6KgjgBAxo1HusUdBv459UiNyIbZUtN9uF-g/s1600/gnadenlos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihUDbmaZtIkj-_Gz1I5eG5ZYb-bflox6YdlO9_GcTQNV9kgSQHuKR86n-CqMWVPrthpR0IjbeKV6Sry4lwKmU5qwly92OlDWweN2P6KgjgBAxo1HusUdBv459UiNyIbZUtN9uF-g/s1600/gnadenlos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;">Gnadenlos!</span><br /><br /><div face="arial"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1335/gnadenlos" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">rank: 10,922</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">rating: 5.9</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">published: 2001</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">designer: Klaus Teuber</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">out of print</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Klaus "I'm makin' a mint off the isle of Catan" Teuber managed to make a Wild West themed Euro game that uses a press your luck element to create some really great suspense</span><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">Poker is where you can lose the most ground if you're pushing to the front - make sure you've got a poker player in your hand.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">The game is shorter than you first anticipate... be ready for it end slightly quicker than you'd imagine the first time you play.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">Just because everyone else is spending big money does NOT mean you need to spend big money - payday is rough if you've got a lot of notes out there.</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Another game that was never published in English - but the components are language neutral. (The name of the game means "Merciless", btw.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">One nice thing - it will NEVER go longer than 45 minutes (there are three different game "timers" - and at least one of them is guaranteed to go off by that time).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's what I wrote about Gnadenlos! for <a href="http://fluffysnoop.blogspot.com/2005/12/marks-37-gnadenlos.html" target="_blank">The One Hundred</a>.</span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-8610439557401843932024-03-04T04:30:00.000-08:002024-03-04T04:30:00.130-08:00#97: Res Arcana (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Wg5IF9J3nCpm1aYfMla9biJGO7F150f5dFuYpWZJuVWJJVvv2D-V3siBFLv97ZMSirRabofDf6g7qiKw7DUxIOsv9QzedaUHlQP6vyddw6Tc2n0SubDZ89urg45wZlfZ-kjrHU6RP-KG6vDnLCOAdf0oLT4kOmv0GvsPRFjObySx-WRdD3g/s3024/HipstamaticPhoto-672113942.189076.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Wg5IF9J3nCpm1aYfMla9biJGO7F150f5dFuYpWZJuVWJJVvv2D-V3siBFLv97ZMSirRabofDf6g7qiKw7DUxIOsv9QzedaUHlQP6vyddw6Tc2n0SubDZ89urg45wZlfZ-kjrHU6RP-KG6vDnLCOAdf0oLT4kOmv0GvsPRFjObySx-WRdD3g/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-672113942.189076.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Res Arcana</b></span><br /></span><ul></ul><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/262712/res-arcana" target="_blank"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">BoardGameGeek</span></a> </span><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rank: 125</span></li><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rating: 7.7</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">published: 2019 </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">designer: Tom Lehmann</span></li></ul><div face="arial"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">in print</span></li></ul><div face="arial"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">You'd think that a game with an eight card individual player deck would feel claustrophobic - instead, it's the entry point to a brilliant Tom Lehmann design that challenges each player to build a victory point engine while defending themselves against the direct and indirect challenges of the other players.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Proper assessment of your deck at the beginning of the game is vital.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Like many of Tom's designs, the speed curve is slow for the first couple of turns and then accelerates rapidly toward the end of the game. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">You can win without taking a Place of Power - but it's not easy to do.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">You don't have to "crank" every card in your tableau - sometimes it's smarter to pass and grab the magic item you need.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The first expansion - <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/288168/res-arcana-lux-et-tenebrae" target="_blank">Lux et Tennebrae</a> - adds some nice variety to the system and a couple of new mechanics that don't overwhelm game play. (Note: my son noted that there's a lot more Tennebrae and not very much Lux in the expansion.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The second expansion - <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/340375/res-arcana-perlae-imperii/credits" target="_blank">Perlae Imperii</a> - throws more new curves into the system - but again without overwhelming the incredibly solid base game.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The production of Res Arcana is gorgeous - and the box is appropriately sized for the components - including both expansions!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the first of seven(!) Tom Lehmann game designs on my list. </span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-26206730293489438142024-03-03T04:30:00.000-08:002024-03-03T04:30:00.130-08:00#98: Vom Kap Bis Kairo (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div><span face="proxima-nova, Arial, sans-serif"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbZED6UhmhUHpssTy9c3fi7xtEb5c9jkIzlFVUhsOKatxqNoWN-uq3qZ2ZIQqyWaCrcjseDQ6LopWo2VikjaTB70tJMyyGvlEorV5kjc1Z-xeRsByWcUtc7YuNNATtGWP37ZNZOVmG7_r-hSkUu11xLZx_oIbzd1FmPZs-cHMjnw1FeCYXwos=s320" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbZED6UhmhUHpssTy9c3fi7xtEb5c9jkIzlFVUhsOKatxqNoWN-uq3qZ2ZIQqyWaCrcjseDQ6LopWo2VikjaTB70tJMyyGvlEorV5kjc1Z-xeRsByWcUtc7YuNNATtGWP37ZNZOVmG7_r-hSkUu11xLZx_oIbzd1FmPZs-cHMjnw1FeCYXwos" width="320" /></a></div><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 21px;"><b>Vom Kap bis Kairo</b></span></span><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2555/vom-kap-bis-kairo" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a></div><div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rank: 5,132</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">rating: 6.3</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">published: 2001</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">designer: Günter Burkhardt</span></li></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Print Status</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">out of print</span></li></ul><div><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why It's On The List</b></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">A small box card game about railroad building across Africa (the title translates as "From the Cape to Cairo") that packs a wallop - the sealed bid auctions are only half of the game, as you struggle with when to invest precious cash into building rails instead of giving your opponent a gift.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li style="font-family: arial;">The value of a card is not determined by how cheap it is to build across it - the number of track symbols makes a HUGE difference, particularly if you're trying to catch up.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">Saving a decent amount of $ (20-30?) for the your end-game lunge can work... but if everyone is doing that, it can cancel out.</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><b>Extras</b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I love that Adlung managed to pack such a great game into such a small (30 minute) playing time... and I miss the utter crapshoot that was buying the small Adlung card games. (Were you going to get something interesting and playable, or something - not?)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The rules translation of Vom Kap was a bit tricky - but once you get it figured out, it's a keeper.</span></li></ul></div></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-48828620218679986562024-03-02T04:30:00.000-08:002024-03-02T05:25:17.222-08:00#99: Cape May (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LClvcweAVR7ASnhc_Tn0ABdZqhnMj-6R71H18_e6TtYjd4JhVIdJSZfqzCB5mkmcB6DTuPUHdd1ALRxp21P6jn14KyJ-R6VtppLZEcnaMa7WRmaOTPl7XjMBnnQKCt9YUKrlBTimqt9CiXsBlR0oCp1xd8vgJMaAesdU3Hw5gTJJvCUirTL4bQ/s2390/IMG_7538.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2390" data-original-width="2390" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LClvcweAVR7ASnhc_Tn0ABdZqhnMj-6R71H18_e6TtYjd4JhVIdJSZfqzCB5mkmcB6DTuPUHdd1ALRxp21P6jn14KyJ-R6VtppLZEcnaMa7WRmaOTPl7XjMBnnQKCt9YUKrlBTimqt9CiXsBlR0oCp1xd8vgJMaAesdU3Hw5gTJJvCUirTL4bQ/s320/IMG_7538.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Cape May</span></strong></span><br /></span><ul><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></ul><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/281248/cape-may" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">BoardGameGeek</span></a><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span><br /><ul style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span><li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">rank: 2,972</span></li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">rating: 7.2</span></li><li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">published: 2021</span></li><li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">designer: Eric Mosso</span></li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Print Status</b></span></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></b><li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">in print</span></li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></ul><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Why It's On The List</b></span></div><ul style="font-family: arial;"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></b><li>Yes, the adorable miniature Victorian homes are the first thing that caught my eye - but they are in service to a well-designed & built game system of city-building that moves at a nice clip and doesn't overstay its welcome. </li><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Tips & Tricks:</b></span></div><ul><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></b><li style="font-family: arial;">I'm always a bit nervous about event cards in a game system - they can be overly powerful and skew the game in ways that make it decidedly "not fun" for one or more players. The balance here is just right with the Newspaper (aka "event deck") - enough to keep the game situation fluid, but never overpowering player choices.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">My first couple of games, I pretty much ignored bird-watching (a random set collection mechanic in the game)... but with more plays under my belt, I'm beginning to experiment with using the collection process in tandem with setting up my next turn. It's not a lot of points, but sometimes you just need a bit of an edge to get the win.</li><li style="font-family: arial;">The same was true of converting shops to businesses, which generates an extra "power" card that can be the tiny boost you need to push for the win.</li></ul><div style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Extras</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">I need to write up a more official review of this delightful game.</span></li></ul><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-28559325301731970172024-03-01T04:30:00.000-08:002024-03-02T05:19:42.944-08:00#100: Tante Tarantel (Mark's Top 100 2024)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEUCqEYwBV_UagX9I25C5aagn2yatQ5_iAjxOrh_a3FxnPyJ_HOPGjGH4NyipOcPLtRKi1U2tY7yU7sQmgyCtabe42AsHn5tcJcOxIP9uTQl58xpni1C-6Z7MugjdSeyZ5dx-Xt5j1G8M2AxlpAHaLCXeJ0Ff3xLh8JGnxK01bxLN4NFWNFcgQQ/s3024/HipstamaticPhoto-729961503.136733.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEUCqEYwBV_UagX9I25C5aagn2yatQ5_iAjxOrh_a3FxnPyJ_HOPGjGH4NyipOcPLtRKi1U2tY7yU7sQmgyCtabe42AsHn5tcJcOxIP9uTQl58xpni1C-6Z7MugjdSeyZ5dx-Xt5j1G8M2AxlpAHaLCXeJ0Ff3xLh8JGnxK01bxLN4NFWNFcgQQ/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-729961503.136733.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: 21px;"><b>Tante Tarantel </b></span></span><br /><br /></span><div face="arial"><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/454/tante-tarantel" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">BoardGameGeek</span></a></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rank: 12,230</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">rating: 6.2</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">published: 1991</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">designers: Doris Matthäus & Frank Nestel</span></li></ul><div face="arial"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Print Status</span></b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">out of print</span></li></ul><div face="arial"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Why It's On The List</span></b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">"Auntie Tarantula" (that's how the game translates into English) is an odd blend of think-y movement decisions (the movement of your bugs is fixed at one space per turn) and wild swings of random craziness (Auntie T., on the other hand, moves at the whim of a die roll). </span></li></ul><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Tips & Tricks:</span></b></div><ul face="arial"></ul><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the first "kid game" on the list... but there's enough going on here to make it a nice end of the night filler game.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">My boys were both playing this by the time they were 5 years old - WITH adult help. The endgame scoring & the odd movement system for the spider (along with the German language notes on the board) require some supervision.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Timing your exit from the web is key... since the point values fluctuate, it's important to think about player order & the appropriate level of risk.</span></li></ul><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Extras</span></b></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">This game was #18 on my <a href="http://akapastorguy.blogspot.com/2009/04/18-tante-tarantel.html" target="_blank">Kid Games 100</a> back in 2009.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">There evidently was a version of this with bug pieces rather than pawns... which would be awesome. I've never seen it.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Tante Tarantel was reprinted in 2009 in a "two games in one box" edition with the also fun (but not quite as good) <i>Igel Argern</i>. </span></li></ul></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-72236621686774599012024-02-19T04:30:00.000-08:002024-02-19T04:30:00.131-08:00The Lawyer, The King, And The Would-Be President<span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Lawyer </span></b><br /><br />Turns out, the two "heroes" of the Southern Baptist 'Conservative Resurgence' were: <br /></span><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">a tone-deaf autocrat who specialized in using DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim & Offender) to bully sexual assault victims and protect his friends & proteges</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">a deeply cynical lawyer who used his position of power to actively groom and sexually assault young men over decades </span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;">It's become clear that not only was Paul Pressler (the lawyer) <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-22-mn-711-story.html" target="_blank">passed over for a presidential ethics commission</a> due to "undisclosed issues" but that the law firm and lawyer who handled all of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention business <a href="https://www.kentuckytoday.com/baptist_life/debate-surrounds-2021-email-from-former-sbc-attorney-regarding-pressler-case/article_6d1d9bf6-ba01-11ee-b687-87e284ad11f0.html" target="_blank">for years knew that discovery in a civil suit would reveal sordid details</a> about Pressler and his abuse of young men. The <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/29/southern-baptist-convention-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-settlement/" target="_blank">lawsuit was settled</a> late last year... because it became obvious that all of this would spill out into open court.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I have spent the last month sick at my stomach - my heart and mind churning at how I defended the institution of the SBC for years, believing that by fighting from the inside for Christ-like behavior and fidelity to our stated mission to share the love of Jesus Christ that it would make a difference. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I know that there are many people of goodwill and great faith in SBC congregations... I've been privileged to lead and be led by them. I am deeply thankful for the education I received at Baptist institutions (Baylor and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) and the mentoring I had from faithful Baptist leaders. And I am convinced that the majority of my faithful mentors would be horrified and angered by this wholesale betrayal of the Christian faith by the leadership of the denomination.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">But, frankly, I'm exhausted by the drumbeat of scandals, coverups, and insipid excuses. (The recent stupidity of SBC entities filing amicus briefs against an abuse victim in Kentucky is both a public relations disaster and a clear indicator that protection of the institutions is more important than truth or justice.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The King</span></b><br /><br />I am deeply wearied by arguments like "God uses broken vessels" and "look at King David". In fact, let's look at King David and the havoc his sexual assault of Bathsheba wrought in his life and hers.</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">summoned Bathsheba to <a href="https://churchleaders.com/news/415702-did-david-rape-bathsheba-john-piper-weighs-in.html" target="_blank">rape her</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">was responsible for her pregnancy</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">got her husband drunk in an attempt to cover up the pregnancy</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">ordered Joab to abandon her husband on the battlefield so he would die, thus freeing David to marry his widow</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">ignored the rape of his daughter by his son (her half-brother)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">banished the son (Absalom) who murdered the rapist son two years later</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">was manipulated multiple times by Joab based on the fallout from the initial decision to take Bathsheba</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">brought back Absalom but shunned him for two years</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Absalom undermined David's leadership & led a revolt</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">David was forced to flee for his life</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">David is betrayed by multiple key leaders</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Joab murders Absalom to end the rebellion</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">And then more rebellions happen...</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Actions matter. There are consequences. Sinful behavior has a ripple effect in your life and in the lives of those around you. The greater your position of influence, the greater the ripple effect.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So, when the two "heroes" of the Southern Baptist 'Conservative Resurgence' turn out to be unrepentant abusers and enablers, it has a powerful and heart-rending effect on those who are trying to follow Christ.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Would-Be President<br /></span></b><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmp0Ic3qSjWRMMqZjRHDwFuM-6hvYln6H6qlRY6vHa8fK3m2XroMYgy29MeZEIQ0ft9SQIONKH0deC9MKnC1Q56s4iM7v1ldIcNEykG9v8l9_V5GrRGuElSzrPnW5zlVyycLOpLQG_GMnPmodIsa268y2zGCIuCv8RU_Ad9wdRJI77SY5um5qWg/s720/pressler%20trump.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="720" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmp0Ic3qSjWRMMqZjRHDwFuM-6hvYln6H6qlRY6vHa8fK3m2XroMYgy29MeZEIQ0ft9SQIONKH0deC9MKnC1Q56s4iM7v1ldIcNEykG9v8l9_V5GrRGuElSzrPnW5zlVyycLOpLQG_GMnPmodIsa268y2zGCIuCv8RU_Ad9wdRJI77SY5um5qWg/w400-h158/pressler%20trump.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">When we move into the current political arena, sinful behavior still has a ripple effect in your life and the lives of those around you. The greater your position of influence, the more profound the effect of your choices and consequences.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The Southern Baptist Convention in 1998 stated this clearly in their <a href="https://akapastorguy.blogspot.com/2020/08/be-it-finally-resolved.html" target="_blank">Resolution on Moral Character of Public Officials</a>:<br /><div></div><blockquote><div>"Governing authorities are not themselves exempt from the rule of law and must submit to the nation’s statutes, rather than mocking them (Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:14; Proverbs 19:28-29; 2 Samuel 12:7; Mark 6:17-18)...<br /><br />"Tolerance of serious wrong by leaders sears the conscience of the culture, spawns unrestrained immorality and lawlessness in the society, and surely results in God’s judgment (1 Kings 16:30; Isaiah 5:18-25)...</div><div><br /></div><div>"We implore our government leaders to live by the highest standards of morality both in their private actions and in their public duties, and thereby serve as models of moral excellence and character...</div><div><br /></div><div>"We urge all Americans to embrace and act on the conviction that character does count in public office, and to elect those officials and candidates who, although imperfect, demonstrate consistent honesty, moral purity and the highest character."</div></blockquote><div></div>Instead, evangelicals seem hellbent (pun intended) on pushing forward a candidate for the president who currently is facing 91 felony counts in four different trials as well as three civil trials, two of which so far have saddled him and his companies with nearly 90 million dollars in judgements for being judged liable for doing what he clearly explained to Billy Bush in 2005 that he could do whenever he wanted:<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote>"I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the p*ssy. You can do anything." </blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In 2022, the former president doubled down on this during a deposition for one of his civil trials:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div></div><blockquote><div>KAPLAN: And you say – and again this has become very famous – in this video, ‘“I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the p*ssy. You can do anything.” That’s what you said. Correct?</div><div><br /></div><div>TRUMP: Well, historically, that’s true with stars.</div><div><br /></div><div>KAPLAN: It’s true with stars that they can grab women by the p*ssy?</div><div><br /></div><div>TRUMP: Well, that’s what, if you look over the last million years I guess that’s been largely true. Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately.</div><div><br /></div><div>KAPLAN: And you consider yourself to be a star?</div><div><br /></div><div>TRUMP: I think you can say that. Yeah.</div></blockquote><p>The unbelieving world is watching. We evangelicals don't have sacrifice abuse survivors or Biblical truth on the altars of political power and institutional stability. But it certainly looks like we're going to do it again.<br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p><b>The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.</b></p><p>Brennan Manning</p></blockquote><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p><b>We now see young evangelicals walking away from evangelicalism not because they do not believe what the church teaches, but because they believe the <i>church itself</i> does not believe what the church teaches. </b></p><p>Russell Moore</p></blockquote></span></div>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-1776132512189270322024-01-02T04:30:00.000-08:002024-01-02T09:05:54.289-08:00It's Still Personal: Mark's Five & Dime Games for 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMWgcuTYnsIuvUvv3XhLXzgDinitlbqkanZdJq2sO427K3DWH1r8Xm6D9cvT10rle-ODQ-_pMmKHtQSdEjyw4Cl8B-zyr3QLZAFfG2u0SZqrbTVBco3JzQ9W6J6OzUH3crL0lqA/s1600/FivenDime.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMWgcuTYnsIuvUvv3XhLXzgDinitlbqkanZdJq2sO427K3DWH1r8Xm6D9cvT10rle-ODQ-_pMmKHtQSdEjyw4Cl8B-zyr3QLZAFfG2u0SZqrbTVBco3JzQ9W6J6OzUH3crL0lqA/s200/FivenDime.jpeg" width="177" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Hey, campers... I may have <a href="https://akapastorguy.blogspot.com/2014/12/five-dime-fond-farewell.html?m=0" target="_blank">stopped collecting the Five & Dime stats</a> for everyone else - but I haven't stopped collecting my own!</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Here's my own personal Five & Dime list (the games I played 5+ and 10+ times in 2023).<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">As always, I include only face-to-face games and games played with <u>human</u> opponents over apps/online. What that means is that games that I play only solo via an app or website (examples: Next Station: London & Tokyo, Ascension, etc.) are not counted. (Both of those would be 50+ plays if I did.)</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Games with an asterisk [*] were on my Five & Dime list last year, games with two asterisks [**] have been on my list for the past two years, games with three asterisks [***] have been there for three years, games with four asterisks [****] have been there for 4 years, games with a plus [+] have been there 5 years, games with a plus and an asterisk [+*] have been there 6 years, games with a plus and two asterisks [+**] have been there 7 years, games with a plus and three asterisks [+***] have been there 8 years, games with a plus and four asterisks [+****] have been there for the past 9 years, games with two plusses [++] have been there (wait for it) a decade, games with two plusses & an asterisk [++*] have been there eleven years, and games two plusses & two asterisks </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">[++**] </span><span style="font-family: arial;">have been that has been on this list for 12 years</span><span style="font-family: arial;">. And, believe it or not, there's actually one game that has been on this list for 13 years [++***].</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">If you're curious, here's the games that have been on my Five & Dime list for 5+ years</span><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Race for the Galaxy <i>(13 years)</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">7 Wonders <i>(8 years)</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Jump Drive <i>(6 years)</i></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosv89lKWfP-nfdlqwDMeJaW-1zbFVObpihwA1RmcfbcYQg3yj38RErv-Xh3ChgQ8hacfaLSjgs_aGCRgia3eZqpuDXwFIQn7-HW1iAhSui8qT0Ls2FLhvt2ffEb_q0hKKm7mOZMCTSDWwwlWG-rs5yrxhQzYnaFL492ZSZMQwjDK4w2f3mZHMjQ/s1083/Image-1%20(6).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1083" data-original-width="1083" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosv89lKWfP-nfdlqwDMeJaW-1zbFVObpihwA1RmcfbcYQg3yj38RErv-Xh3ChgQ8hacfaLSjgs_aGCRgia3eZqpuDXwFIQn7-HW1iAhSui8qT0Ls2FLhvt2ffEb_q0hKKm7mOZMCTSDWwwlWG-rs5yrxhQzYnaFL492ZSZMQwjDK4w2f3mZHMjQ/s320/Image-1%20(6).png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Dollars</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Memoir '44 104 *</span></li></ul></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Quarters</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jump Drive 32 +*</span></div></li></ul></span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Dimes</span></b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Thunder Road: Vendetta 20</span></li><li><div style="font-family: arial;">Unmatched: Battle of Legends 20 ****</div></li><li><div style="font-family: arial;">Race for the Galaxy 20 ++***</div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">7 Wonders: Architects 16 *</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Clank! Catacombs 14</span></div></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">7 Wonders 11 +***</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Can't Stop 11 ***</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Minigolf Designer 11 **</span></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mosaic: A Story of Civilization 11</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Return to Dark Tower 11 *</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Heat: Pedal to the Metal 10 *</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's a Wonderful World 10</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Legacy of Yu 10</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Red Dragon Inn 10</span></div></li></ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Nickels</span></b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">DC Comics Deck-Building Game 9</span></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dead Reckoning 8 *</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Eleven: Football Manager Game 8</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Empyreal: Spells & Steam 8</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kabuto Sumo 8</span></div></li><li><div style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Legendary: A Marvel Deck-Building Game 8</span></div></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Call to Adventure 7</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Daybreak 7</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive Edition 7 *</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition 7 **</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Ark Nova 6 *</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Bad Company 6</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Dice Realms 6 *</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Everdell 6 *</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">My City: Roll & Build 6</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Cape May 5</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Dune: Imperium 5 **</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Great Western Trail: New Zealand 5</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Innovation 5 *</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Meeples & Monsters 5</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Res Arcana 5 ****</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">StreetSoccer 5</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Trails of Tucana 5 **</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Tucana Builders 5</span></li></ul><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWMoi4ET7UkzKjmCRIeWSDujj5Jpr7wx9oMd8Y7RHPav3eRjp9unrbN4y-Eoe_O-X5y13ERwNhR7wCECMH855kCAomdhWt5F6ZQcT81fWyNNRdrbRra8VneQ-qKOz19pxtWLYlo_CEEWHdQuE8mraIcRth3wJhKa2Z-oiAILW2RnHyder7Crkxg/s1083/Image-1%20(7).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1083" data-original-width="1083" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWMoi4ET7UkzKjmCRIeWSDujj5Jpr7wx9oMd8Y7RHPav3eRjp9unrbN4y-Eoe_O-X5y13ERwNhR7wCECMH855kCAomdhWt5F6ZQcT81fWyNNRdrbRra8VneQ-qKOz19pxtWLYlo_CEEWHdQuE8mraIcRth3wJhKa2Z-oiAILW2RnHyder7Crkxg/s320/Image-1%20(7).png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Just Missed (with 4 plays)</span></b></span></div><ul style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></ul></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A caret [^] denotes that they were on the Five & Dime list last year... and a pound sign [#] marks games I'm pretty sure will return in 2023. </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A dollar sign [$] indicates that the game was on the "Just Missed" list last year.</span></span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">After Us </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Faraway #</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Gnadenlos!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Marrakech</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Marvel Champions: The Card Game 5 ^</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Marvel United: X-Men</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Marvel: Remix</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Midnight Party</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Pandemic Legacy: Season 0 #</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Pioneer Rails #</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Tenpenny Parks</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">War Chest</span></li></ul></div><div><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">After All These Years</span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">These are games that fell off the list... after years of repeated play. I felt compelled to say a few words at their passing.</span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Played a lot solo on the app (which is quite good) - not as much on paper</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Fast Food Franchise</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Obviously, something is wrong in the universe. This will be corrected.</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Lost Ruins of Arnak</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Kept waiting to play until I picked up the new expansion... won't make that mistake again.</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Terraforming Mars</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">This is another one that will see more table time this year with my bigger table.</span></li></ul></ul><div><br /></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-98199052730896822023-12-20T09:00:00.000-08:002023-12-20T09:00:00.138-08:00Bad Draws & Wrapping Paper (Classic)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0sfgqnywDVPDStYtyflVO-hlR91cI_wlB_Q1iBGPCgl1XEM2p5wlpXoE-DoSFEri4bBMxdNWYUuP7XSKG_SMaBjcQGZI13Q8Jq5TQ6pHIOliwavQsfABmg0xzgRcanccE7SSEQ/s1600/767481_29713715_bad_card_hand_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0sfgqnywDVPDStYtyflVO-hlR91cI_wlB_Q1iBGPCgl1XEM2p5wlpXoE-DoSFEri4bBMxdNWYUuP7XSKG_SMaBjcQGZI13Q8Jq5TQ6pHIOliwavQsfABmg0xzgRcanccE7SSEQ/s200/767481_29713715_bad_card_hand_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>Pretty much everyone who reads this blog on a regular basis is aware that I like board games. (Quit snickering... "like" is just a nice way to avoid the phrase "am obsessed about board games".) Anyone unclear on the concept should have picked up on it back in 2013 when I managed to <a href="http://akapastorguy.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-primer-on-probability.html" target="_blank">relate dice-rolling & probability to some important spiritual truths</a>.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Part of my enjoyment of gaming is my part in the online community of board gamers - I participate in a number of mailing lists, read a bunch of blogs, </span><span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">and even listen to a few podcasts. In addition, I write for the </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/" target="_blank">Opinionated</a></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/" target="_blank"> Gamers</a> and appear as a guest on gaming podcasts. (OK, maybe you were right to snicker at the last paragraph.)</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>So it's no real surprise that all that conversation about gaming sometimes ends up bleeding into my thoughts about life & God & important stuff. Which is what happened when Christopher Dearlove (a gamer in the U.K.) posted this little blurb as he was writing about a new game:</span></span><br /></span><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>I've played enough games to know bad draws stick in the mind more than good ones, so I suspect it wasn't as bad as I felt it to be...</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></i></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>And that got me thinking... if that's true of games (I can give you story after story about drawing the wrong card at the wrong time, or how I lost a game of Catan due to one bad die roll on my last turn), it is probably true in my life as well.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>So if I'm going to really "give thanks in all circumstances" (1st Thessalonians 5), then part of my job is to remember all of my life - the "good draws" as well as the bad. When Braeden wakes up at 3 am with a nightmare, that isn't the whole story of his life - it doesn't take into account the miracle of his birth (after 3 years of trying & multiple miscarriages) or the wonder of his healing from Kawasaki syndrome in 2005.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>God made sure the Israelites had this hardwired into the lives - festivals like Passover & Hanukah were not simply excuses for getting together & eating until you had to loosen your belt... they were reminders of places & times when God has moved in amazing ways to take care of His people.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>In Christian tradition, that's what Advent is all about - remembering the birth of Jesus Christ with more than just a one-day orgy of ripped wrapping paper & too much eggnog. By setting aside the 24 days leading up to Christmas to ponder on the mystery of the Incarnation (big fancy theological word meaning "God becoming man"), we take time to remember that in a world full of "bad draws", we were given a very good draw when Jesus was born.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>There's a lot of different ways to celebrate Advent - but h</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>owever you choose to do it, I want to encourage you to spend less time & energy on shopping for the perfect gift or decorating your home so that the photographer from Better Homes & Gardens can come in & do a layout... and instead spend more time enjoying your relationship with Jesus Christ - whose birth we are celebrating.</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span><br /></span></span></span><div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving & receiving, not even the carols, but the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift, the Christ. </span></span> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.5pt;">Frank McKibben</span><span style="font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.5pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-24080300374658338542023-12-20T05:52:00.000-08:002023-12-20T05:52:43.517-08:00"Making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it..."<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhP6oHUiCgfWaho9rwsefg8bDUCy7SiKLswiMGDC3gPftrkdVhnQfXQpUATTfq-ZwML8CcihHBFiOph37_oqdsxBH2LAnZpnOvfDa0N3NSB9ZOvNuymKy9ndyVs_Rk0QJYqhr1vXitmD4G0a6zpzp91LO8Fe4VE4qUc_5gy_j8FE2pJvljQEh60mg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="600" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhP6oHUiCgfWaho9rwsefg8bDUCy7SiKLswiMGDC3gPftrkdVhnQfXQpUATTfq-ZwML8CcihHBFiOph37_oqdsxBH2LAnZpnOvfDa0N3NSB9ZOvNuymKy9ndyVs_Rk0QJYqhr1vXitmD4G0a6zpzp91LO8Fe4VE4qUc_5gy_j8FE2pJvljQEh60mg=w200-h113" width="200" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">"They’re destroying the blood of our country... They're ruining our country. And it's true they’re destroying the blood of our country. That's what they're doing. They're destroying our country."<br /><br />"They don't like it when I said that -- and I never read ‘Mein Kampf.’ They said, ‘Oh, Hitler said that’ - in a much different way. No, they're coming from all over the world. People all over the world,” </span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">“They could bring in disease that's going to catch on in our country, but they do bring in crime. … They're destroying the blood of our country. They're destroying the fabric of our country."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Donald Trump (<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-claims-read-hitlers-mein-kampf-doubles-anti/story?id=105794639" target="_blank">December 20, 2023</a>)</span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I wish to note at this point that I have not read Mein Kampf... but I can recognize "blood & soil" rhetoric when I see or hear it. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I'll also note that the former president's argumentation - that Hitler said that "but in a much different way" - suggests some familiarity on the part of Mr. Trump.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Finally, this kind of language is reminiscent of the eugenics movement and the "one-drop" rule... abhorrent pieces of our American heritage.</span></div><div></div><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. <b>He is interested in two things, and two things only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections.</b> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">President Andrew Shepherd (from the film 'The American President")</span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">As evangelical followers of Christ, we don't have to live this way. Historically, we have.</span></div><div><div></div></div><blockquote><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">“Whenever there is a threat to that Christian nation – whether it be immigration, Catholics coming in in the 19th century, or slave revolts overturning the white social order – it’s the evangelical Christians who are leading the charge against that social and demographic change.”</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The phrase of “evangelical fear” should be oxymoronic. The Bible offers the command to “fear not” or similar ideas extremely frequently. A belief in the God of the Bible should be coupled with a freedom from anxiety.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">“It’s very strange and somewhat ironic that anyone who reads the Bible will find a lot of exhortations against fear,” says Fea. “Fear represents a kind of lack of faith in God’s sovereignty or God’s will to work out his purposes. I love the quote from Marylinne Robinson: ‘Fear is not a Christian habit of mind.’ Fear is a product of the broken world that we live in, but fear is not a place where one can dwell and still claim to be an evangelical Christian. It produces negative consequences.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">“What’s striking here is that evangelicals have in almost every circumstance where there’s some kind of change in the culture, have not responded with hospitality to the stranger, with grace, with hope, with the idea that people who are different from them have been created in the image of God and have that dignity and worth. Instead they have built their walls and protected themselves against people they fear Fear. [It’s] an inherent contradiction for anyone who takes the Bible seriously. That’s what I’m trying to call people to think about in this book. Why are we so afraid? We love to claim a big God who controls everything and will work out his purposes for good as it says in Romans. Their politics is driven by fear much more than any kind hope.”</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.popmatters.com/believe-me-john-fae-interview-2579257864.html" target="_blank">interview</a> with evangelical historian John Fea</span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's remember how the story ends... and not fall prey to those who would stoke our fears for their personal gain.</span></div><div></div><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">When this was done I looked again, and before my eyes appeared a vast crowd beyond man’s power to number. They came from every nation and tribe and people and language, and they stood before the throne of the Lamb, dressed in white robes with palm-branches in their hands. With a great voice they shouted these words: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb!”</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Revelation 7:9 PHILLIPS</span></div></div></blockquote><div><div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-53246873399889339512023-12-04T08:54:00.000-08:002023-12-04T08:54:18.186-08:00Legacy of Yu: Solo Review<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFYOwMBC7v4uqAQcyMozyzSbsnDv8A0mGg8mz30t5dlufwCL_MXcdBkVwYoTD3QpTjcdYnQ98N-4KfdKESouv7uGbcZQXHAZ29GHz_pM6jF4ttFL3QFa1RzxRaWSjR15-al900lgH99dmkjLmYD3O34j0mQjle0x7G14PHcSiWLSM-IYPlwM6FQ/s768/HipstamaticPhoto-704765082.199316.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFYOwMBC7v4uqAQcyMozyzSbsnDv8A0mGg8mz30t5dlufwCL_MXcdBkVwYoTD3QpTjcdYnQ98N-4KfdKESouv7uGbcZQXHAZ29GHz_pM6jF4ttFL3QFa1RzxRaWSjR15-al900lgH99dmkjLmYD3O34j0mQjle0x7G14PHcSiWLSM-IYPlwM6FQ/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-704765082.199316.webp" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Let’s start with a trio of caveats and a bold summary statement:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Caveat #1: </b>The good folks at Garphill Games describe Legacy of Yu as a “solo-only, fully-resettable, nonlinear campaign game in which you step into the role of the legendary hero of the Xia Dynasty, Yu the Great.” I’m hard-pressed to do a better job of summing up the nature or design of the game… but I’m certainly going to give it a try!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Caveat #2: </b>I am not a scholar of Chinese history – so I’m not going to comment at any length on the debates about the historicity of the accounts of Yu the Great… though if you’re interested, they make for some fascinating reading.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Caveat #3: </b>My fearless leader at the Opinionated Gamers site (Dale Yu) has not yet required any of us to call him “Yu the Great” – but it may just be a matter of time. His legacy, however, is secure – he not only created the Opinionated Gamers website, but was also a key developer on Dominion, Suburbia, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, and the Agricola solo mode (to name a few).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Bold Summary Statement: </b>Legacy of Yu is a well-designed and well-produced solo-only, fully resettable, nonlinear campaign game that I’m enjoying immensely.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">With those out of the way, let’s get to the meat of my review!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In Legacy of Yu, the player is in Yu’s shoes (the rhyme, I assure you, was unintentional), working to stop the horrendous flooding of the Yellow River while fending off barbarian attacks. You must produce the necessary resources, make wise trades with those around you, convince local townspeople to join the work, erect important buildings, and create the canals that will divert the water before it overwhelms the countryside.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And you have to do it seven times to win.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, that’s right – winning an individual game of Legacy of Yu is not enough. Winning the campaign requires that you record seven wins before you reach seven losses.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Since each game takes 30-45 minutes (unless you make a fatal error early on), that’s a pretty substantial time commitment: approximately 4.5-5 hours if you run the table (don’t count on it) or 8-9 hours if you end up playing out all the possible games (13) in a campaign.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Just so you know, I have not been playing Legacy of Yu back-to-back… one of the classy design features of the game is the excellent box insert, which makes set-up and tear-down of the game breathtakingly simple. This means I can play a game when I have a spare 45 minutes, then put it away and return to it another day.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvKYU71tGFwrqpvPBqXALiIxbGmEciihqYULKSoSX-xiqnzqxyfEfBYgsV1xu4ojyK0Josu7BEil1w_80ebwwDu-5xeZWK-SeGaaMmUheDAN7NEQUBpsxTK47d6B-cPPhgEYs28aj69HROpVCgcXw2SH_wJZAacHg2wTr8DlnW48OhafAQxv7DA/s768/HipstamaticPhoto-704765102.283593.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvKYU71tGFwrqpvPBqXALiIxbGmEciihqYULKSoSX-xiqnzqxyfEfBYgsV1xu4ojyK0Josu7BEil1w_80ebwwDu-5xeZWK-SeGaaMmUheDAN7NEQUBpsxTK47d6B-cPPhgEYs28aj69HROpVCgcXw2SH_wJZAacHg2wTr8DlnW48OhafAQxv7DA/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-704765102.283593.webp" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">How It Works</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Play begins with your barge on the first canal space and the flood marker on the space behind it. As well, there are 3 farms, 4 outposts, and 4 village huts placed on the board for you to build, as well as 6 canal cards that show the benefits and cost of building their particular section of the canal.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">You have 10 townsfolk cards in your Ready pile (meaning, they are working for you) with another six arrayed along the top of the board, waiting to be recruited. There is also the first (of many) barbarians waiting in the seventh space above the board.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The Story Card deck remains in the box, waiting to dripped into the game by reading from the Story Book. (Those are triggered by various cards when they are resolved.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Each round, five phases happen:</span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Harvest</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Take Actions</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Return Barge (if used)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Suffer Attacks</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Refresh the Card Row</span></li></ol></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Harvest</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This is your “income” phase – you not only draw a new hand of townsfolk from your ready pile, but you also receive cowrie shells (currency), provisions, and worker pawns (including those who were assigned to huts on the previous round).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">You are limited by the physical components in the game – but there are ways to trade items (marked clearly on the game board) in order maximize your intake.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">As the game progresses, townsfolk cards assigned to huts will also produce resources and workers.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Take Actions</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">At this point, you will combine a series of actions in your attempts to build canals and defeat the barbarians – and, most importantly, use all of the townsfolk cards in your hand (none can be save for later rounds).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Townsfolk can be used in a variety of ways:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">played to your exhausted pile to gain the item(s) shown in the top left corner (brown) area</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">discarded to the townsfolk discard pile (which means they will not return to help you) to gain the items shown in both the brown and red areas of the top left corner of their card</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">tucked beneath the board to improve your harvest in subsequent rounds – one per built Hut space</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">used for their food icon (which is explained as the story unfolds)</span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Workers and resources are spent to accomplish a number of different actions</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Building the Canal</i> – once per round, you can spend the appropriate amount of workers and cowrie shells to dredge the next section of the canal. (To indicate that you’ve done it this round, you have to remove your barge from the board.) There is usually a reward in resources plus a cost in townsfolk discarded from the top of your Ready deck. It’s also possible that the card you resolve will lead you to the Story Book and see changes to the game.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Attacking Barbarians</i> – spend provisions and workers to eliminate the barbarians and gain rewards.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Recruit or Dismiss Townsfolk</i> – pay provisions to add townsfolk cards to your exhausted pile or dismiss them to the discard pile to obtain the reward in the brown area of their card.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Construct Farms, Outposts, and Hut</i>s – spend the required workers, clay, and wood in order to move the building to an open build site.</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Farms – provide you with additional workers or provisions each harvest</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Outposts – give you additional cowrie shells each harvest and allow workers to “cross-train” and be spent as different color types.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Huts – provide new spaces for worker placement and tucking townsfolk cards.</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Trading </i>– as mentioned before, you can use any trade marked on the board and exposed at any time during the game</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Using Huts </i>– you can place workers on hut spaces to activate them</span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Combining these actions into some sort of coherent order/plan is the heart of the game… how can I best use the resources I have to both accomplish my immediate needs and plan for the future?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Return Barge</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If you used the barge to dredge, it is now returned to the leftmost canal card – ready to work again once you can pay the cost.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Suffer Attacks</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Each remaining Barbarian card above the board requires you to either pay a bribe (to keep them from attacking) or suffer damage (discard townsfolk cards from your Ready pile to the discard pile).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Refresh the Card Row</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Add the appropriate number of Barbarian cards to the row above the board… filling the remaining spots with new townsfolk cards. The rate of barbarian entry rises as you build more and more canals.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">At this point, if the top row is nothing but barbarians, you lose.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The End Is Coming</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Like most solo/cooperative games, there is one way to win (finish building six canal sections and survive to the end of the current round) and many ways to lose:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">due to the flood reaching an unbuilt section of the canal – or even off the edge of the board in a final turn of the game</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, I’ve lost this way.</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">due to the barbarians overwhelming you and completing occupying all seven spaces at the top of the board</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">And this way.</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">due to losing more townspeople than you have remaining in your townspeople deck (taking damage)</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">And, no surprise, this way as well.</span></li></ul></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Thankfully, I’ve also won… and it’s an exhilarating feeling dredge the last canal card and knock off enough barbarians to keep yourself in contention for the win.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Win or lose, you take the appropriate victory or defeat card from the respective set – which will offer new difficulties to deal with (if you won) or assist you with your work (if you lost.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YrQ8ZKt8reJxjx9pCNFyTYAFan_r2B7Mk9eJq62TNB-yQACtk8-MjB-OFXt03tTC3fnt-7pQ4QsQ-2IKU8Hiu2WEQ_RRkShLb1IIMk3J081dHM0-UF0fe0B3IRaknUhwif8UzZrfoCrqkud_KI5h-vY2ei99Fn25_WyxmfsAk1qngbmTuOzPrw/s768/HipstamaticPhoto-704765050.519649.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YrQ8ZKt8reJxjx9pCNFyTYAFan_r2B7Mk9eJq62TNB-yQACtk8-MjB-OFXt03tTC3fnt-7pQ4QsQ-2IKU8Hiu2WEQ_RRkShLb1IIMk3J081dHM0-UF0fe0B3IRaknUhwif8UzZrfoCrqkud_KI5h-vY2ei99Fn25_WyxmfsAk1qngbmTuOzPrw/s320/HipstamaticPhoto-704765050.519649.webp" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Final Thoughts</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I’ve got eight games of Legacy of Yu under my belt… three learning games followed by a complete reset – then five games (2 wins, 3 losses) into a full campaign. I’m a little intimidated by what I’ll be facing in my next game – but that won’t stop me from playing it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Legacy of Yu does a number of things right:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Clear rulebook with helpful examples</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Well-written story book that uses different text treatments so you can skip color commentary if you’re one of those “just the facts” kind of players</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Consistent iconography (and a guide to all of it on the back of the rulebook)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Splendid game insert design</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Compelling gameplay with enough variety due to the campaign/story cards to keep it fresh</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Easy to rest and replay (in other words, has the legacy game “feel” without any of the legacy game permanence)</span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So far, my only gripe is that I wish they’d had little 3D cowrie shells and provision to match the quality of the rest of the components… which is, as board game gripes go, pretty weak sauce.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Shem Phillips (the designer) and has done a wonderful job of designing a captivating solo game – and then giving it a production quality to match. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys solo gaming with a solid bit of crunchy tactical play and sense of narrative. (Note: I did not receive a review copy of this game… bought it with my own hard-earned gaming budget. It was worth it.)<br /><br /><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A version of this review appeared on the Opinionated Gamers site.</span></i></span></div><a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366201.post-25034733628673286312023-12-01T13:00:00.000-08:002024-02-15T10:04:03.817-08:00A Holiday to Remember<a class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-count" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" title="Post on Google Buzz"></a>
<script src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LDzXb6pRv_I" width="320" youtube-src-id="LDzXb6pRv_I"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If this ad didn't gut punch you by surprise during the Thanksgiving weekend football games, chances are decent that someone you know has posted it to their social media feed. It is, as intended, heartwarming and emotional... and in many ways, an accurate depiction of the effect of Alzheimer's on someone. (Chevy worked with the Alzheimer's Association on the ad.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I find myself with really mixed feelings about it... well, not as mixed as I would like. I saw parts of it once over the Thanksgiving weekend and had to fight back a reaction. Then, watching the full five-minute version today, I sat in front of my computer as tears rolled down my face.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">When I'm talking about mixed feelings, I'm not talking about the effectiveness of the ad - it's an impressive piece of filmmaking and a brilliant use of John Denver's "Sunshine on My Shoulders" as the soundtrack. The ad has a happy ending - Grammy's memory is sparked by the field trip with her granddaughter and she's able to connect in a meaningful way with family. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">But the ad stops before what happens to many families in this situation - when the person suffering from dementia lapses back into a thousand yard stare or confusion or becomes stuck on a mixture of memories and fiction like a record skipping across a deep scratch.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I say that because we chose to move my almost 85 year old mother into a memory care facility the week before Thanksgiving. And while there are moments when Mom peeks through the haze, those are getting fewer and farther between. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I don't really have a point - and I'm not interested in debating the choices we as a family have made. I just felt the need to share my reaction to the video... and that I love and miss my mom.<br /></span></div>Mark (aka pastor guy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920114022832644455noreply@blogger.com1