Bad Draws & Wrapping Paper (Classic)

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 relate dice-rolling & probability to some important spiritual truths.

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, and even listen to a few podcasts. In addition, I write for the Opinionated Gamers and appear as a guest on gaming podcasts. (OK, maybe you were right to snicker at the last paragraph.)

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:

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

There's a lot of different ways to celebrate Advent - but however 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.

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.  

Frank McKibben

"Making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it..."

"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."

"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,” 

“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."

Donald Trump (December 20, 2023)

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. 

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.

Finally, this kind of language is reminiscent of the eugenics movement and the "one-drop" rule... abhorrent pieces of our American heritage.

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. 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. 

President Andrew Shepherd (from the film 'The American President")

As evangelical followers of Christ, we don't have to live this way. Historically, we have.

“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.”

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.

“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.

“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.”

interview with evangelical historian John Fea

Let's remember how the story ends... and not fall prey to those who would stoke our fears for their personal gain.

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!”

Revelation 7:9 PHILLIPS

Legacy of Yu: Solo Review

Let’s start with a trio of caveats and a bold summary statement:

Caveat #1: 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!

Caveat #2: 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.

Caveat #3: 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).

Bold Summary Statement: Legacy of Yu is a well-designed and well-produced solo-only, fully resettable, nonlinear campaign game that I’m enjoying immensely.

With those out of the way, let’s get to the meat of my review!

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.

And you have to do it seven times to win.

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.

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.

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.

How It Works

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.

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.

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.)

Each round, five phases happen:

1. Harvest
2. Take Actions
3. Return Barge (if used)
4. Suffer Attacks
5. Refresh the Card Row

Harvest

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).

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.

As the game progresses, townsfolk cards assigned to huts will also produce resources and workers.

Take Actions

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).

Townsfolk can be used in a variety of ways:

• played to your exhausted pile to gain the item(s) shown in the top left corner (brown) area
• 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
• tucked beneath the board to improve your harvest in subsequent rounds – one per built Hut space
• used for their food icon (which is explained as the story unfolds)

Workers and resources are spent to accomplish a number of different actions

• Building the Canal – 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.
• Attacking Barbarians – spend provisions and workers to eliminate the barbarians and gain rewards.
• Recruit or Dismiss Townsfolk – 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.
• Construct Farms, Outposts, and Huts – spend the required workers, clay, and wood in order to move the building to an open build site.
• Farms – provide you with additional workers or provisions each harvest
• Outposts – give you additional cowrie shells each harvest and allow workers to “cross-train” and be spent as different color types.
• Huts – provide new spaces for worker placement and tucking townsfolk cards.
• Trading – as mentioned before, you can use any trade marked on the board and exposed at any time during the game
• Using Huts – you can place workers on hut spaces to activate them

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?

Return Barge

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.

Suffer Attacks

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).

Refresh the Card Row

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.

At this point, if the top row is nothing but barbarians, you lose.

The End Is Coming

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:

• 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
• Yes, I’ve lost this way.
• due to the barbarians overwhelming you and completing occupying all seven spaces at the top of the board
• And this way.
• due to losing more townspeople than you have remaining in your townspeople deck (taking damage)
• And, no surprise, this way as well.

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.

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.)

Final Thoughts

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.

Legacy of Yu does a number of things right:

• Clear rulebook with helpful examples
• 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
• Consistent iconography (and a guide to all of it on the back of the rulebook)
• Splendid game insert design
• Compelling gameplay with enough variety due to the campaign/story cards to keep it fresh
• Easy to rest and replay (in other words, has the legacy game “feel” without any of the legacy game permanence)

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.

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.)

A version of this review appeared on the Opinionated Gamers site.

A Holiday to Remember

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.)

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

Convention Report: Gulf Games 50

I was there at the (nearly) beginning… my wife & I were one of nine families who made up the attendees of Gulf Games 2. For the next 4 years, I was a pretty regular fixture – then we moved across the country and I only managed to make two Gulf Games events between 2004 and 2014. Beginning in 2015, I began bringing my sons (first the oldest, then both of them) to enjoy one of my favorite family-friendly gaming events.

This summer was the fiftieth Gulf Games… and my younger son & I attended for 5 days (Wednesday – Sunday). What follows is my quick recap of my weekend of gaming (and a bit of his) – and it doesn’t begin to cover the entire event and the joy of gaming with folks I’ve known for years.

Wednesday

Greeneville, SC, is a fair piece down the road from Nashville, TN – so we took off early in the morning and arrived mid-afternoon… in time to both play some games and be able to attend the Welcome Party (a tradition that started after I headed west… and that I managed to miss multiple times due to schedule vagaries and missed flights).

Heat: Pedal to the Metal

I taught and/or played Heat five different times (with 22 different players) during the convention… which isn’t really a sacrifice as I enjoy the game immensely. It may well be my favorite auto racing game. (That’s not to downgrade Downforce… which is still splendid – but it doesn’t actually put you in the driver’s seat like Heat.)

I won one game outright… and another game I managed to finish 2nd to the Legend car (bot). But the best game we played was Sunday morning, when we added in the weather and car customization “advanced” rules – they take a solid game and make it even more enjoyable.

I’ve now played Heat: Pedal to the Metal 26 times … it holds up to repeated play very well and is easy to grasp for most (but not all) players. I’m waiting somewhat patiently for the good folks at Days of Wonder to announce the expansion (since there’s already room for two more cars in the game insert!).

Ready Set Bet

This was a fast-moving and delightful betting game… made even better by the use of the app to run the races for us. It’s real-time – something I try to avoid as my brain and reflexes slow down with age – but it works really well here. I don’t own a copy, but I’d be happy to have it in my collection.

Splendor Duel

Here’s the deal… I play Splendor (the original game or the Marvel re-theme) because other people like it. There’s nothing wrong with it… but it’s just not something I love.

So I was pleasantly surprised by how well Splendor Duel works – the addition of multiple victory paths and the tricky decisions about which line of pieces to grab and/or whether to hand over an advantage to the other player raise the level of the game system nicely. (I won – but just barely.)

KuZOOka

I’m on the record as having a miserable first playing experience with this the first time I played it… but was coaxed by David Sidore into trying it again. And, with his suggestion of certain conventions for bidding and a couple of strategy hints, I can see what other see in the game. Our experience was tense but enjoyable… and we lost (but it was close).

I’m still not convinced, though – I think the game is fragile and really needs a gamer crew plus some discussion of conventions to work… which just isn’t enough for me.

Wild Tiled West

Another game I was looking forward to – I’m a big fan of Paul Dennen’s designs for Dune: Imperium and the Clank! family of games. The production is top-notch: multi-layered game board that holds all the tiles that you draft and clear art design & iconography.

I appreciate Kevin & Rhonda Bender teaching us the game… but I think it runs a bit long with four players. Despite the whimsical art style, there are some real decisions to be made and the playing time of 90 minutes felt too much. I’d like to try it again with two or three players.

Thursday

Crokinole

Mark Smith is an able partner, but I am not a particularly skilled OR lucky Crokinole player. Ted & Toni Alspach let us hang in for a couple of rounds then put us out of our misery.

Imperium: Classics

I wrote an extensive review of my love for Imperium: Classics and Legends… so it was a joy to get it to the table with two folks (Mark & Toni) who wanted to play a second time to make sure they grokked it. It was a tight game, with Mark’s Romans edging out Toni’s Macedonians & my Persians (64-61-61).

I’ll say it again – this is an amazing card game that works well with 1-4 players. Please give it a try!

Archeos Society

This is a re-imagining of Ethnos… but since I’ve never played Ethnos, I’m unable to compare the two. On its own merits, this is a relatively straightforward drafting/hand management, where scoring depends on working the tracks as well as collecting larger sets. The wise use of the various special powers is key.

Again, the Benders welcomed me to the table and taught me the game (along with their friend Lee, who you can see in the picture at the top of this post.

Mosaic: A Story of Civilization

One of my top ten new (to me) games from last year… and this play with George, Greg Hoch, and Floyd was no exception. Clocking in at just over 2 hours for four players (two of them new to the game), it’s quickly becoming my favorite “civilization” game. (And, yes, part of that is the cool bits of the Colossal Edition.)

I managed second place in spite of avoiding building any military – while Greg’s belligerent empire took the win.

Gnadenlos!

After a game of Heat (see comments above), four of us jumped into a long-time Klaus Teuber favorite of mine – Gnadenlos! This bidding game of provisioning Old West characters doesn’t overstay its welcome – and offers enough randomness to encourage unwise usage of promissory notes. In the end, Ed defeated us. (It’s OOP – but worth tracking down a copy if you like 3-4 player games that play in 35-45 minutes.)

Thunder Road: Vendetta

The first of three plays of what will surely be on my top ten list for 2023… this re-imagining and chroming of the late 80s mass market classic is a joy to play. Kim – who’s not normally a love of chaotic shoot-em-up’s, noted later that she enjoyed it a lot more than she thought she would.

My son, Collin, took the win… this time.

Kalimambo

We finished the night out with an oldie (10 years?!) but a goodie – the very random but ridiculously fun Kalimambo. Best as a late night closer with 5+ players, this game of “I don’t have to outrun the rhino, I just have to outrun you” generated a lot of laughs as Sharon Madden emerged with the victory – while Warren Madden managed to win the award for “Most Likely to Be a Hood Ornament for Mambo the Rhinoceros”.

Friday

In the Footsteps of Darwin

The first of three plays of what Ted Alspach declared was “an incredibly pleasant game” – he’s not wrong. This is a beautifully produced tile-drafting game with a variety of scoring options… and a pretty consistent playing time of 5-8 minutes per player. Ted edged me out in a two player game… but I’d do better at it later in the day with a larger group.

Gipsy King

Weird little placement game from Cwali that uses a random board to force players into tricky decisions… I’ve enjoyed it both times I’ve played it… but I don’t think I’ve ever really been in contention of winning. (Congrats to Bob Trezise, mi compadre, for the win.)

Scram!

In my convention report from Gulf Games 49, I mentioned loving a prototype from Bezier Games, but not being able to talk about it. Well, it’s here! (It lands at GenCon next month.) Scram! is my favorite of the Silver/Cabo family – probably because the partnership element allows for some really clever “bump-set-spike” kind of plays. Thomas & I beat Ted and Bob… I’m 2-0 at this game… another reason to like it! :-)

We followed that with another playtest of an unpublished prototype. My lips are sealed.

Team Play

It was a morning of card games as Bob & I joined our esteemed founder (Greg Schloesser) and Gail for another partnership game I enjoy – Team Play! (Note: I like the original German edition much better than the U.S. edition – easier to read across the table.) Either way, Bob & Gail beat Greg and I.

Cape May

Anye & George joined John & I for a game of Cape May – and while I had enjoyed my first try of it solo, my first four player game was even better. Not only does it look nice on the table as the city grows, there’s a really solid game under there about balancing income and development of points. I’m glad I own a copy!

George managed the win – even if it delayed his brew pub tour by a few minutes!

Kabuto Sumo

Following another game of Heat (at the request of Chip, who won!), Collin & I talked Anye & Dallas into Kabuto Sumo… which Collin describes as a “coin-pushing” wrestling game. He’s not wrong… and went on to prove his prowess by beating all three of us. (It’s not really a dexterity game – I’d call it a physics game with a wry sense of humor.)

Thunder Road: Vendetta

Two games back to back – including Tyler rolling 6 on 4d6 two rounds in a in a row and a Dan Calhoun win, followed by my large vehicle being chased by a plethora of choppers as I sped ahead to leave everyone else in the dust. The final game was played with the Choppe Shoppe expansion in – which I highly recommend for gamer-y types.

Man, I love this game.

Minigolf Designer

Ed & finished up the night with the excellent Minigolf Designer… it was close – my slightly more difficult property card was the main difference. (Short description: imaginge crossing Kingdomino and Carcassonne to build a minigolf course.)

Saturday

Anno 1701: Das Brettspiel

Another sadly under-appreciated Klaus Teuber design – Earl & Michelle joined Bob & I as we tried to please the Queen and explore the islands of, well, Catan (or something Catan-like). I think this is the best mixture of Catan resourcing and Entdecker-ish exploration in the Teuber catalog.

Bob had feelings about the Happy Colonist icon (see the picture here) – I will admit that the happy colonists do bear a striking resemblance to someone being electrocuted while wearing a tri-corner hat.

While Michelle got left behind, it was a tight finish between Earl, Bob, and I – and Bob took the win.

Liar’s Dice

The Liar’s Dice tournament is a Gulf Games tradition… as is me getting knocked out in the first round. I do take pride in the fact that I was the last person knocked out at my table (and by the eventual tournament winner, Ken Girton!)

Skylanders

While there are couple of odd graphic choices (why not put the bonus for the player each action on the VERY large action spaces?), this re-think of The King of Frontier was fun to play… even if the Soylent Green/Logan’s Run-ish nature of some of the thematic elements was strange. It was also really good to play with Frank Branham for the first time in a a number of years…. and I won!

Memoir ’44: Overlord

Since 2016, I’ve been hosting an Overlord game at the winter Gulf Games event… this summer, I hosted two!

The first battle was Encirclement at Khalkin-Gol… with Soviet and Japanese forces (including cavalry units on both sides!) engaging in a pitched battle in 1939. The Japanese side (commanded by Sheldon Smith) began to collapse the middle of the Soviet forces (commanded by me)… but Field General Rozmiarek fought back valiantly. The battle see-sawed back and forth as we fought over two ridges on the left and center sections… with the Japanese finally prevailing 18-16. (Eight player Overlord is so much fun – even when I lose.)

The second battle was Operation Lightfoot – with British tanks trying to plow through German minefields in North Africa in 1942. This time, I was the British commander (ably assisted by Ian Moore) while Charlie Davis (and TJ Bailey) led the German forces… Despite our best attempts, the Germans held us back and captured the win 15-12.

Take It Easy

160 people (or more) all playing one game of Take It Easy – yet another Gulf Games tradition. My score was decent but not spectacular. (If you’ve never played Take It Easy, it’s math-y gamer Bingo. For less math-y gamer Bingo, try Rise of Augustus.)

Rolling Heights

I’m really conflicted about Rolling Heights – I tend to like John D. Clair’s designs (Dead Reckoning and Ready Set Bet, for example) and the underlying game system here is solid. But the graphic and component choices for this game are, well, not solid.

Bob played with Kevin & Ed & I – and Bob’s colorblindness was challenged by the meeple colors. All of us struggled with the tiny print… and the fact that building structures often obscure the information you need to read.

In addition, the buildings are made with stacks of pieces – which, granted, looks very cool. Unfortunately, they are not Lego pieces that click together – instead, they are simply stacked and can be knocked over by, well, me. At least five times I brushed the top of a tall building and sent it crashing to the table. (In discussing the game online the next day, I described myself at the Destructor – and Bob published the following picture.)

As is, it’s not a game I’ll purchase, even though I love the theme and the way it looks on the table. I’d love to see an online version on BGA.

Sunday

Jump Drive

I talked Bob into a quick game using the new Terminal Velocity expansion cards… and my experience carried the day.

Trails of Tucana

Another quick flip’n’write game against Bob in which my experience proved worthless.

After a final game of Heat with the advanced content (weather/car mods – the best way to play, btw!), we headed home.

Final Thoughts

Gulf Games is always wonderful – both due to the gaming AND (more importantly) the people who make up the GGs family. Thank you again to Greg & Ted & Ty for starting this thing so many years ago.

The picture below is from a wall display in the game room… and yes, I’m thinner and without gray hair.

This convention report originally appeared on the Opinionated Gamers site.