Unboxing the Blog
Summary
Life can get a bit hectic at times. This week or weeks was an example of those times. Work has come into a busy season and hasn’t given me much time to do anything else other than work. It’s why I like gaming so much. It’s a chance for me to kick back and unwind after all the stress of life. This is one of the reasons I hadn’t been able to finish the Game Night review on time last week so I decided to compile the last week’s review into this week. I’m sorry for the delay.
This past Game Night at Earthen Ales was a new experiment for us. We as a group decided that we needed to take a small break from the heavier games and stop to appreciate all the lighter games that still have lots to offer. We decided that the first Sunday of each month will be Game Night Light with a focus on lighter games. Games that take 30 minutes or less to play and are relatively easy to teach. It seemed to go over quite well so we will be pushing forward with this in the future.
This review will also include the statistics from the previous month and some analysis from a few smaller games that we were able to play this past week. It will also contain a brand new segment written by Eric Benac called “The Benac Briefing.” It’s going to be whatever he chooses to write that week which could be anything. His writings have always been entertaining so I excited to see them in these reviews as a semi-regular installment. I hope you enjoy and game on!
Games Played
Everdell
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, July 29th, 2018
Flash Point: Fire Rescue
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, July 29th, 2018
Faza
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, July 29th, 2018
Faza
Location: The Village at The Grand Traverse Commons
Day: Wednesday, August 9th, 2018
Deep Sea Adventure
Location: Earthen Ales
Day:
Sunday, July 29th, 2018
&
Sunday, August 5th, 2018
The Bloody Inn
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, July 29th, 2018
Hanamikoji
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, July 29th, 2018
Ca$h N’ Guns
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, July 29th, 2018
Founders of Gloomhaven
Location: The Village at the Grand Traverse Commons
Day: Wednesday, August 1st, 2018
Rushi
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Build Up
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Biblios
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Isle of Monsters
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Mythe
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Orc
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Santorini
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Kingdomino
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Dig
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Snap Attack
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Nut
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Smash Up
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Buffalo
Location: Earthen Ales
Day: Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Analysis
Total Plays – 4
Total Players Played – 9
First Played – July 31st, 2016
Top Ranked Player – Kyle Delgado (2 Wins, 66% Win Percentage)
Top Score – Kyle Delgado (12 Points)
Most Total Plays – Kyle Delgado (3 Plays)
Biblios has an interesting theme not found too often in a board game. I find any themes with religious or political context is usually a no-fly zone for a thing that was meant to be fun. I’m of the general belief that any theme can be explored in a fun environment. It’s always easier to learn about new things this way so I encourage it.
Anyhow, Biblios is a game about being an Abbott in a medieval monastery and building a library of sacred texts. The theme gets a bit murky for me after this stage as the mechanics tend to be the driving force here. I won’t be explaining how the game is played but here is a quick video on how the game works.
How to Play with Board Simple on YouTube
The Donation phase is my favorite phase in this game and I feel has the most intriguing style of play. The active player has to draw cards one at a time and decide whether to place the card in one of three locations. This adds a lot of tension to a game that can already be nerve-racking. Some cards drawn can be simple to place and have little decision making behind them but others may not be as simple. I find that the cards that are somewhere in the middle of value are the hardest cards to place in this game. Every slot in these three locations is limited to one card a slot so each can be precious. Do you give this card to the public space and hope that a better card is coming for your personal use? Do you simply place this card into your personal hand knowing that this is probably the best that will come up? Do you place the card in the auction pile in an attempt to assess it’s value later in the game? There are loads of choices and thoughts that pour over you with every single card draw. The final card draw is almost always one of the most exciting to witness no matter who draws it. Elation or regret washes over each player when they do which then displays their entire turn for you and the thought process behind it.
The Auction phase is also interesting as you get to further bolster your hand of cards to attain points. This is when you get to see whether your decisions in the previous rounds were the right ones. The interesting part of this phase is that you do have some idea of what will be in the auction pile but you only know the cards that you personally placed there. This is where the auctions get a bit more complicated. Each card must be wagered with gold or cards. This can be a tricky balancing act because typically you have will need those cards to win points at the end of the game so you will have to part with the right ones.
Overall, I feel Biblios is a strong little card game to have in the collection. It is relatively quick to play and teach. The game has a small footprint on the table so you can play almost anywhere. The gameplay itself is very challenging and rewarding with multiple plays. It is something that you should request and give a try on future Game Nights.
Total Plays – 1
Total Players Played – 3
First Played – August 5th, 2018
Top Ranked Player – David Noller (1 Wins, 100% Win Percentage)
I’m going to have a difficult time really reviewing this game as I didn’t enjoy this one. I know that it’s a bit early in this review to be dropping that thought but I want to remain objective here. The game is definitely not intended for an older crowd. This is very much a kid-friendly game that relies heavily on luck and a pretty aesthetic. I’m going to try to keep my thoughts within the realm of whom this game was designed. A family-friendly game.
Mythe Gameplay Run Through with Rahdo on YouTube
I will begin by saying that the card art and the board art is amazing. I love the cute mice all over the cards and the story being each card. The narrative here is strong and gives the gameplay a sense of purpose. The pop-up board is very pretty and adds a bit of toy factor to the game but I do think that its a bit unnecessary. It doesn’t really lay on the table flat without hyperextending the board and may not hold up with multiple plays. It’s a bit overproduced but very cool regardless.
The gameplay itself is where my gripes truly exist with this game. The way a turn is set up is that each player will draw cards from other players hand in a blind draft. When you draw an encounter card then your turn is forfeit. It’s basically a “push your luck” style game. It’s after this action that you take all the drafted cards into your hand and pass to any other player any amount of cards that you like as long as every player has a minimum of one card in hand. This sounds simple enough but is a system that had players doing the same exact thing every turn. They would grab cards from other players then dump all the non-encounter cards onto the next player in turn order. That player wouldn’t have the option to draw from there own hand so they won’t have much to choose from. It turned into a dull feedback loop that had players at the table bored. The strategies here seemed short-lived and shallow.
I must say that the game is a quick one and would be a great warm-up game for families with young kids. It’s simple enough to learn quickly for almost anybody. A serious gamer playing with like-minded players will have better luck elsewhere than looking to this game. A mixed review when it comes down to it.
Total Plays – 2
Total Players Played – 10
First Played – January 1st, 2018
Top Ranked Player – Eric Homminga (1 Wins, 100% Win Percentage)
Top Score – Eric Homminga (44 Points)
Most Total Plays – Kyle Delgado (2 Plays)
Last year, I realized that my collection was lacking dexterity games. It contained only two games in this category, Animal upon Animal and Jenga, which at this point were slightly played out. I decided to make a change and seek out a few new titles in this category. While attending Grand Con, I purchased a copy of Flipships which was a great dexterity game. It didn’t quite fit what I was looking for in a dexterity game as it just wasn’t light enough strategically. I wanted something that needed less set up and could be explained in less than a couple minutes. Three months passed and I found Build Up at a local event here in town.
Build Up is light dexterity for 2-6 players that plays in 30 minutes. Players will be placing variously sized and shaped blocks on a tower in such a way that causes the next player in turn order to topple the tower. Players will be choosing these blocks using cards in their hand that indicates a specific block. Each block will have a point value attached to them so when a player topples the tower then the last player to successfully stack the tower will attain all the points of the blocks on the tower. Once toppled, the game is reset and players will start over. The first player to reach a specific amount of points wins the game.
I want to start this write up with some pictures of play to further demonstrate the intensity of this game. Also, that “Tada” moment all players will have.
It takes the most boring of players and turns them into a laughable riot. I love it!
The card play here is deceivingly tricky as the player may only place a block on the last two blocks that have been placed. This rule paired with the various action cards that let you change up this rule makes for some interesting decisions to be made on your turn without being too dense. Some of the rule questions that came up were a bit foggy as they didn’t seem to be addressed in the rule book but we managed. I would knock the game too hard as it’s just not that type of game.
This game is quite a bit a fun and gets started quickly. The strategies are light and fit perfectly into the Game Night collection as a light filler style game. I would even caution to say that any player can play regardless of the amount of beer they have had at Game Night. It is worth a try. Request it at Game Night the next time you come on out.
The Benac Briefing
by Eric Benac
Complex board games create an intellectual thrill unlike any I’ve experienced. I’ve boggled at the strategic depths of “Scythe” and felt the buzz of balancing my cave and farm in “Caverna.” The excitement I get from these kinds of games is a big part of why I love board games.
However, I enjoy small games just as much, those 10-20 minute ones that come and go and leave you with a big smile on your face. That isn’t to say that these games can’t be a challenge. In fact, there are many small games that provide a unique level of challenge and strategic thinking.
And that’s why I love the work of Chris Handy so much. Under the brand name “Perplext,” he creates some of the best small games I’ve ever played. Each game comes in a gum-sized box and features the same number of cards. However, Handy’s genius lies in tapping into a multitude of gaming styles and experiences.
So let’s take a look at four of my favorite. If you have kids or enjoy a simple and quick game, buying his game collection is one of the best investments you’ll ever make. But make sure you watch the instruction videos, as Handy’s written instructions can often be too detailed for their own good.
In this tense game, you and up to three other players jump into a world of espionage. Everyone fans out several cards in their hand and tries to find three different items in the proper order. Find them all and you win. But watch out! Like you, your opponent has two bombs that will blow you up. The mechanics of this game relies heavily on memorization and strategic movement.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a dog burying and digging up your favorite bones? Well, probably not. But this game recreates that scenario in a strategic way. Carefully balance how many bones you dig up and carry to avoid slowing yourself down. And make sure that you pick the right colored bones, as their point values can change in the blink of an eye.
Nut
In this surprisingly cerebral game, you play squirrels foraging for nuts on trees. The end goal is to create the largest possible clusters in each of the six nut colors. However, your possible cards are limited thanks to a unique draw mechanic. As you play, try to get at least one or two squirrels on your board, as they double the score of a nut cluster.
“World of Warcraft” fans will fall in love with this battle-based card game. You and another player take turns placing your orc soldiers on battle zones. Place enough orcs and you gain control of that territory and its points. But watch out! Taking over a territory too soon can trigger a chain reaction that may end up costing you a few tight battles.
Before finishing up, I just want to say that the artwork on these cards is fantastic. It ranges from adorable squirrels and dogs to downright menacing orcs. And each of these games is simple enough to teach to a middle schooler but complex enough to provide a challenge to hardened gamers. While they might not be as deep as “Terraforming Mars,” they are well worth your time.
Statistics from July 2018
Plays – 55 (+6 from June)
Games – 35 (+10 from June)
New Games – 8 (+4 from June)
Players – 28 (No change from June)
Time Playing – 28 hours (+3 from June)
Days of the Month Playing Games – 13 (+3 from June)
H-Index – 3 (3 games were played at least 3 times)
Top Logged Player – Eric Benac (21 Games Played with 35 Logged plays)
Most Different Games Played – Kyle Delgado (24 Different Games Played)
Most Total Wins – Eric Benac (16)
Highest Win Percentage (More than 5 Plays) – Ryan Monette (46%)
Most Played Game by Different Players – Memoir ’44 (10 Different Players)
Top 5 Most Played Games in July 2018
5 Total Plays
4 Total Plays
4 Total Plays
3 Total Plays
3 Total Plays