1775: Rebellion hit the table for the second time today and was another great success: a draw, both sides controlled 5 colonies, and North America became a southern province of French Canada. The best of all possible outcomes when you look at today's presidential candidates. I really like the game - the strategies must really be balanced, if you want to hold the southern colonies, you also have to defend them, at the same time you don't want to lose the northern ones, because there are many colonies there. England is vulnerable because two hard-to-defend colonies lie far in the north, which the Americans can invade. I was two colonies ahead when I started the last round, but then I lost two colonies - and possibly Juliana could have even attacked three. Juliana also likes it, so it will definitely hit the table again.
Archive June 2016
Night of Man is a tactical combat game, Aliens vs Humans (or other Aliens). So far, my favorite game in the niche has been Hoplomachus, as it captures gladiatorial combat, which is its theme, quite well. And because it has solid solo rules. Night of Man complements my collection with more extended combat, also with solo rules. However, the rules themselves are also the biggest drawback - they are quite well written, but during the game, gaps and weaknesses become apparent, symbols without explanation, or situations that are not clarified. More careful development of the game would certainly have helped here. But if you use common sense, you can solve most things yourself. The game itself is very entertaining. The impulses go quickly, the game does not stall for long, as you usually only activate a few units (often only one). This way, both sides have something to do, and the reaction cards provide even more interaction. Definitely makes you want more, especially with the solo rules (so far it was left hand against right hand). And the components are well made, and especially the counters are very old-man-eye-friendly.
I don't really play MTG anymore (except online), but EDH is still my favorite format and I always check out interesting decks. Reinventing The Commander 2015 “Seize Control” Pre-Con, Part 2: It Seemed So Innocent… provides an interesting perspective on an Izzet deck focused on non-creatures. It really looks fun and is not the typical Mizzix or Melek Wahl. And it provides an interesting theme for the color combination that doesn't necessarily have to be based in Ravnica.
The Gallerist Review – A Masterpiece – Wolf's Gaming Blog is a good review of one of my favorite heavy games. This reminds me that I should definitely take the box out of the closet again.
Dawn of the Zeds (Third edition) is one of the Kickstarter deliveries I've been eagerly anticipating this year, which finally arrived a few days ago. The anticipation came from the fact that it's from one of my favorite publishers - Victory Point Games - who have ventured into mass-market production with this one. No more print-on-demand with laser-cut components, but professional production in high quality was the goal. Add to that the fact that Dawn of the Zeds is the pinnacle of the States of Siege series. Essentially tower defense with control of events and enemy attacks through a configurable deck of cards. The result? Wow. Simply wow. The components are absolutely top-notch, the entire material looks fantastic. The modular game system allows for different difficulty levels, both for cooperative play and for one-against-many. Plus, there's a No-Brains mode, which essentially offers an extremely simplified system for beer-and-chips evenings. The game is most comparable to a zombie movie, the story is built up excitingly and the prepared decks of cards keep the tension high. Absolutely fantastic gaming experience. The setup is a bit cumbersome, as all the elements need to be prepared, but it's within the acceptable range for such a game. This will definitely hit the table more often, as even in solo play, the whole thing is extremely fun.
UBports could potentially breathe new life into my old Nexus 5 when purchasing my next Nexus, which would be more than what was possible with my old Galaxy Nexus.
Simmons Games: Napoleon’s Triumph Sample Game shows well why I am looking for an affordable copy of this game. The graphic design is simply brilliant, the game system relatively compact and unusual, the whole thing looks more like one of the old military planning games than a classic wargame. Many possible ways the conflict can develop, depending on how the players decide. Simply all-around well made.
I am particularly fascinated by games with a scientific background. That's why Greenland was an obvious choice for me. The author Phil Eklund is known for his very intensive study of the themes of his games. This is also the case here - the struggle for survival of the Thule, Tunit and Norwegians in Greenland around the year 1000 is thematically addressed, especially the changes brought about by the Little Ice Age and the resulting changes in life and migrations. The result is a remarkably dense game with a lot of strategy and tactics. The rules are somewhat very compactly structured, but can be mastered with a bit of reading - or simply watch a few of the videos on the game page at BGG. In principle, not really much new in terms of techniques and mechanics - worker placement with dice decisions about success, resource management and an event engine that builds up the necessary pressure. The solo variant is solid and can be well adapted to your own requirements. Multiplayer I unfortunately haven't been able to try out yet, as the game is only available in English. But for solo, a clear recommendation.