1/16 Featured Games

Hello Everybody!


This upcoming Friday (in two days!) will be our regularly scheduled FND.  Attendance has been great over the past few months and we expect that to continue as we push forward through this cold January!!  If you're not busy Friday night, come play some games in our lovely (and warm) facilities and Bridge Church!

Also, mark your calendars as January has five Fridays which means we will be having a bonus FND on the fifth Friday of the month!


This upcoming Friday we will be featuring games that involve BOATS.  Boats, Boats, Boats!

I (Lee N.) will not be there this upcoming Friday so our good friends Tish and Laura will be bringing and teaching all of these lovely aquatic games!

Tsuro of the Seas

I have never played Tsuro or its sequel (of the sea), however, I see them all of the time at game stores so I've always presumed they are solid abstract games.  Tsuro of the Sea has some nice artwork that features boats, so even though it is an abstract game (meaning the theme doesn't necessarily influence the mechanics), it still fits this theme quite nicely.  Again, I've never played, so I'm not sure how it works, but according to BGG:  The basic game play of Tsuro of the Seas resembles that of Tom McMurchie's Tsuro: Players each have a ship that they want to sail — that is, keep on the game board — as long as possible. Whoever stays on the board the longest wins the game.

Hansa

Hansa is another game I've never played - in fact I'd never heard of it until Tish mentioned it (which is impressive - I'm pretty nerdy and have heard of most games).  Hansa is a neat Euro-game that has players taking the role of Hanseatic Merchants trying to buy and sell goods, establish trading posts, and do other Euro-y things along the coasts of Scandinavia. 



Settlers of Catan: Seafarers


Settlers of Catan was my gateway game and I personally own every expansion (except the newest).  Tish will be bringing her copy of Catan with the Seaside expansion.  While at this point in my life I generally avoid Catan, there is a certain degree of nostalgia when I think of it.  We played the heck out of Catan back in the day and Seafarers was always our favorite expansion.  If you've never played Settlers before then you should because its arguably the most important board game of the past twenty years (its that old).  Trading, bidding, rolling 7's.  It'll all be there.

Pirate's Cove

Pirate's Cove is produced by Days of Wonder.  Days of Wonder is probably the company that produces the most consistently good games of anybody out there. They don't make a lot of 'em per year, but when they do, they're great. Ticket to Ride, Memoir 44, Shadows Over Camelot, Five Tribes - all superb Days of Wonder games.  Pirate's Cove never really picked up the sames team as those other games, but it has gorgeous components and by all accounts is quite fun.  You're pirates.  You do piratey things. I've never played it, soo that's all I've got to offer as far as specifics, other than a complimentary arrrrr.




Niagara

Our next game has actually won the Spiel de Jahres award and did so back in 2005.  I've never played Niagara, but generally speaking games that win the Spiel are quite good.  According to BGG, here's what you do:

Niagara is set in the not particularly safe world of rushing waterfalls. In the late 18th Century, the Shawnee and Iroquois Indians pointed white Desperadoes, Mercenaries and Adventurers in the direction of hidden caches of valuable jewels, in the hopes of turning them against one another and away from their territorial expansion ambitions. Players play as some of those Adventurers.

The first player to be able to claim ownership of five jewels is the winner. But the chase after the riches has some snags. The speed of the river is always changing, since the speed depends on the decisions of the players and the changeable weather. And once a canoe goes over the falls, it's a hefty investment to replace it. And there are also the Desperadoes to contend with, who aren't above trying to plunder the riches from Adventurers returning home. Niagara is distinguished by an innovative movement mechanic as well as a beautiful three-dimensional rendering of the waterfall setting.

Dominion: Seaside

Dominion is a very famous Deckbuilding game that has roughly six thousand expansions.  The one we will be specifically featuring this Friday is the Seaside expansion which has several boat and port related cards.  In this game, everyone starts with the same ten cards and as the game progresses you add cards to your deck to try and create the most efficient engine of cards.  It plays fast, is immensely replayable because each game has different cards, and overall is a very good game.  It also is a Spiel de Jahres winner (I think).

Well, that's all of our featured games!  We hope to see you out at FND this upcoming Friday.  Bring some friends and have fun!

1/2 Featured Games

Hello current and prospective FNDers!

First and foremost, Happy Belated Holidays and Happy New Years!  Hopefully if you're reading this you had a blessed season and are continuing to do so.

In the midst of this busy time, we have one more thing to add to your list - our upcoming session on Friday, January 2nd, 2015 at 6:30 PM!  What better way to start of the new year than with some board and card games?!  I sure cannot think of one!

This upcoming session we will be featuring Games We Got For Christmas!  By "we" I don't just mean Beth and I, though those are the ones I'll be writing about, but rather everyone who comes!  So bring your new games and let's give 'em a go.  Or, if you want to play some games you've owned for a while, that's fine to.

Here are some of the featured!

Concept

Concept is a game I absolutely love - it is one of my favorite party games.  It is essentially 20-questions with pictures instead of verbal clues.  Well... Kind of.  On your turn, you get a word or phrase (anything as easy as Polar Bear to as difficult as "It is what it is").  On the table is a large board with many pictures, each a simple clip-art style image depicting some kind of 'concept.'  Using pawns of various types, you must get your team to guess your word.  If you got Polar Bear, for example, you could use a pawn to indicate it is a white animal.  If they still didn't get it, you could further indicate it is cold.  It requires a surprising amount of logical AND creativ
e thinking, which is why I love it so much - it really uses both sides of the brain.

No Thanks!

No Thanks! is a quick and light card game.  We'll probably play this between games at some point.  On your turn you either take the current card (which has a numeric value of either 3-35) or pass on it.  If you pass, you must put a chip on it.  If you're out of chips, you have to take it.  The catch is, you don't want points, so you never want cards.  But you have to take some.  When you take a card, you also get the chips that are on it - so maybe that 26 is rough, but it has 10 chips on it so it's not as bad.  Finally, if you have cards that make 'sets' of sequential numbers, only the lowest is counted.  So where as having 33 and 35 would net you 68 points (enough to give you last place almost certainly), having 33, 34, and 35 give you only 33 points.  It's fun and easy but still allows for interesting decisions, which is exactly what I look for in a card game.

Snake Oil

This was the Christmas of party games for us as we also got a fun one called Snake Oil.  This game is similar to Apples to Apples (or another game that comes in a Black Brick that shall go unnamed) in the sense that on a player's turn all other players are trying to win your vote.  In this one, on your turn you draw a card telling you what kind of  customer you are - you might be a cheerleader, or a homeless guy, or a pirate.  Then, from their hand of six cards, each other player combines two words to make a type of item.  This could be Joy Closets, or Stalker Vests, or Urine Bombs - and then they have to try and convince the consumer why their product is the one they want.  It is hilarious.

Imperial Settlers

This is the one I am most excited about.  This game just recently came out and is by the same designer as Robinson Crusoe - one of my personal favorites.  This is a civilization building game and it feels like it.  You are building an infrastructure based on cards that you put into play - some allow you to take worker-placement style actions, some give you production each round, some give you one-time scoring bonuses.  By the end, you want to be the civilization with the most points.  It is a very popular new game and is supposed to be quite excellent.

Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game

This game I've had for a while, but I received the Rebel Aces expansion for Christmas, which features a fancy new A-Wing and a fancy new B-Wing.  Last time we did this with like six players - probably a bit too much - but still had a good time.  We have enough ships where we can definitely do teams of two.

The Ancient World

This last one didn't actually come for Christmas, it just happened to arrive via Kickstarter around the same time.  This is a worker-placement game with the most beautiful artwork I think I've ever seen in a game - it is truly stunning.  The game itself seems quite enjoyable as well and it is about the same complexity level as Lords of Waterdeep.

So those are the games that WE got - feel free to post in the comments what you all got and bring 'em along to play!  Hope to see everyone out this Friday!!

12/19 Featured Games

Hello Friends of FND!

This upcoming Friday (one week from the day this is being posted) is our next FND Session!

The past two sessions have been exceptional - over the course of them we've had five new people show up and have averaged around 16 people per night.  It's been great.

This upcoming FND is particularly exciting because it is our final one of 2014!  Our gaming group is approaching our one year anniversary in a few months, having started in Spring of 2014, and it's great to see how the group has grown.  Our first session had around six people.  Now we average fifteen and have had well over fifty total different people show up.  We look forward to seeing that growth continue!

As this is the final gaming night of 2014, we will be celebrating all of FND's favorite games of 2014!  Now the GCOM webpage has a system for ranking our most 'popular' games based on the amount of times they've been played, but I'm not strictly going to use that so much as the simple eye-test for what people seem to really enjoy and also play a lot.  Of course you are more than welcome to bring games not on this list and play them :-)  Our featured games are always just an outline, not a strict set of rules!

Splendor:

We've played this SO much over the past three months.  It's not my favorite game of 2014, mainly because personally its a bit abstract and light for my tastes, but it is highly enjoyable and is many people's top game of 2014.  It was the runner-up for the Spiel de Jahres (the German Game of the year award) and many thought it should have won.  In this game you either are taking gems or buying things with gems on your turn.  The things you buy make it easier to buy subsequent things.  They also give you points.  You want the most points.  Sound simple?  It is.  And it's very fun!

Lords of Waterdeep:


Lords of Waterdeep is probably the #1 most played game at FND.  It is a very intro-level worker placement game but it is great fun.  In this game you are different factions in the D&D universe competing for the most prestige in town (aka points).  You recruit different people (warriors, rogues, mages) to go on stereotypical fantasy quests.  Who ever has the most points at the end wins.  This is a great gateway game doesn't take too long provided everyone is efficient with their turns.

Battlestar Galactica:

The first night we played this at FND was somewhat of a revelation.  Nobody had played it before and it was such a great time - there was in-character banter, accusations, and monologues.  It was exactly what you wanted a game of BSG to be.  Since then we've played a few more times and it's always been great.  I've also picked up the Exodus and the Pegasus expansions since our first time and am anxious to implement some of those components.  I think we're going to try and start with this game so that we definitely can finish with time to spare.

Telestrations:

Everyone loves Telestrations (or mostly everyone). You draw, you guess, you repeat.  Laughter ensues.  This game is the 'telephone game' with drawing.  If you're good at drawing it's fun.  If you're bad at drawing it's a riot.  Some of the hardest moments of laughter in my life were while playing this game and most of the top levels of hilarity at FND have occurred while flipping through Telestration's flipbooks.

Kingsburg:

Kingsburg hasn't hit the table a ton at FND, but each time it has everyone has walked away enjoying it.  And that's also true in my experience outside of FND.  So maybe this one is a bit of stretch, but when thinking of 'games people seemed to enjoy more than others' this one was near the top of the list.  In Kingsburg you are rolling dice, placing them, and taking resources.  It sounds simple (and it is) but it's a good deal of fun.


Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game

I almost didn't put this one on here because it is so similar to BSG but I've had SO many people say they've thoroughly enjoyed this game, myself included.  This is one of the best games (in my opinion, THE best game) of 2014.  It, like BSG, is a semi-cooperative game in which everyone is trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.  However, somebody might be a traitor.  Everything you do is highly thematic and the game itself is such a delight to play.  It is also very hard to find in the USA right now so if you come just to play a copy, I'm totally fine with that!

Ultimate Werewolf

How could I not list this?  We play it at least once a month.  People request it.  It's great fun.  People get lynched and eaten.  If we're going to feature FND's favorite games of 2014, then this had to be on the list.  Hopefully we'll have a large crowd and can get a 15+ player game of this going.

There are so many more games that we played in 2014 and very rarely did it seem like people had a bad time playing.  Again, these games aren't the only ones allowed to be played, so feel free to bring your own and join in the fun!  If this is your first time coming, we're glad we go to see you at least once in 2014!!

Many blessings and hopefully we'll see you all Friday!

12/5 Featured Games

Hey guys and gals!
This past Friday we had an awesome night of gaming.  We played a few games with animals (as our theme indicated) and a few games without.  We got in a game of Smash Up, Lords of Waterdeep, Caverna, Robinson Crusoe, and Splendor.  I'm pretty sure an excellent time was had by all thirteen people, including our two newcomers Kevin and Clayton.

Next Friday marks an exciting day for us at FND.  It will be my wife's first day back since the birth of our son, Grady!  As such, since I'm in charge of this blog and the featured games, I'm going to be a bit selfish and have our next session's theme be "Games that Beth loves!"  I told her this recently and she responded "But then I won't be able to choose what to play!"  That's an excellent problem, my dear.

So, without further jibber jabbering, here's the games:

Splendor

Splendor is super popular right now in the gaming community and our game group is no different.  I think FND has had it played each session for the past three or four sessions.  My BGG list of games played had Ticket to Ride easily at the top for the year 2014.  In two months of owning Splendor it has soared above it, due largely to Beth's unfailing love for it.  It is a very easy game.  You take gems.  You buy things with gems.  Those things let you buy more things.  You get points.  You win.  It takes like 20 minutes but its pretty fun.


Carcassone

Carcassone is a classic tile laying game.  It's kind of like Dominoes but fun.  You get points based on how you place your meeples and the tiles each turn, creating cities and fields and roads and farms.  It's really simple and is really fun.  We have the Big Box so we have a boatload of expansions and can play up to six (I think, maybe seven).


Castles of Burgundy

Castles of Burgundy by good old Stefan Feld is a very highly regarded game by Beth and most gamers.  It is very 'elegant' for lack of a better word - on each turn you roll two dice and those basically decide your options you can take.  You're 14th century nobleman in France building up your land.  Honestly the theme is pretty lightly involved, but it is a very enjoyable game of taking efficient actions and building your estate.

Trajan

While we're listing Stefan Feld games, Beth also very much enjoys his game called Trajan.  Trajan takes the mechanisms found in Mancala and turns it into a way of taking actions.  Each turn you move little pieces around your roundel just like in mancala at whichever one you end on that's the action you take.  Now, I suspect when Five Tribes arrives at our house hold (the newest game by Days of Wonder) Trajan will go down a bit as it uses a similar mechanic in a bit lighter of a way, but nonetheless right now Beth really enjoys Trajan.


Ticket to Ride

Beth, like every other human being, enjoys Ticket to Ride - particularly on our fancy 10th Anniversary Edition.  Trains.  Tickets.  Pretty maps.  I don't think I need to explain Ticket to Ride much more than that.

Escape: Curse of the Temple

We literally just got this game, however we played it three times in a row just the two of us the first night - which is impressive because we don't play a lot of games two player.  This game occurs in real time (exactly 10 minutes long) and you are trying to escape a temple (picture Indiana Jones) before it caves in on you.  You are frantically rolling dice as fast as you can in order to get the necessary symbols to secure the required number of power gems needed to escape.  Curses can come up that prevent you from talking, make you lose dice that fall on the floor, and all sorts of other crazy things.  It is super fun and fast and frantic.


Kingsburg

Kingsburg is a dice rolling game somewhat similar to Castles of Burgundy.  You use your dice to influence various advisers, thus getting resources, which you can use to build up your little empires defenses and infrastructure.  It's really simple and it is really enjoyable - I don't think anyone's ever played it with me and not had a good time.  Beth, of course, enjoys it too.

Ultimate Werewolf

And finally we couldn't have a game night dedicated to what Beth enjoys without it also including a chance for her to lie and betray all of her friends.  So we'll play werewolf at some point.  If you're new and have never played, essentially you lie to your friends about whether you're a werewolf or a villager and try to get them killed.  It's fun.

So, those are all of the games we'll be playing next Friday!  I hope to see everybody out!  Even though they're games Beth enjoys, I think overall they're games the majority of FND enjoys, too.  I will update this again if I a 'reminded' of any games I forgot :-)

Blessings!

11/21 Featured Games

Hi everybody!

Tomorrow (November 21st) FND will be hosting its regularly scheduled game night!
We will be featuring (per my beautiful wife's suggestion) games that involves ANIMALS!
What could be more fun, right?  I mean, look at those two cutiepies to the right.  Okay, so in most of the games you'll end up turning them into lambchops and bacon, but they're cute while they last, right?

Anyways, the games we'll be playing are a fleet of highly regarded games that haven't seen much table-time at FND yet so I'm quite excited.  Let's look at 'em!

Agricola/Caverna

Both of these games, Agircola and Caverna, are by very highly regarded designer Uwe Rosenburg.  In Agricola you're normal 14th century peasants trying to raise a farm.  In Caverna you're dwarf adventurers.... trying to raise a farm.  Caverna is essentially Agricola's sequal and they're quite similar.  Personally I like them both a great deal and I've heard good reasons for preferring either over the other.  Either way, these are some of the best games the hobby has to offer - both are in BGG's top 10 with Agricola taking the top spot for a spell a few years back (it has since been dethroned).

In these games you're trying to successfully raise a farm - it sounds boring, but it's quite fun as there are tons of things to do and never quite enough time to do them.  Most importantly for our theme's sake, part of this means raising a whole host of animals!  Doggies, sheepies, piggies, cowies, donkeyies.... Yeah, you end up eating them sometimes, but sometimes you don't!  Yay!

Evolution

Evolution is a brand new release by North Star Games and involves players guiding the evolution of various species and trying to come out with the most flourishing animals.  You develop different
traits, making hunters, herbivores, scavengers, and all sorts of different creatures.  North Star did a wonderful job with the components and I own the Kickstarter version so I have some different cards and fancier player board AND a fancy plastic brontosaurus so what more could you want?

Dungeon Petz

Dungeon Petz has been featured before but is yet to actually be played.  It is a rather amusingly themed game where players are taking control of a pet store.  The pet stores don't have puppies and kittens, however... They raise monsters and creatures used by the villains who run dungeons.  So you m
ay be raising a dragon or a gollum or any other kind of creature with more eyes than legs.  For being such a light-hearted theme it's actually a somewhat complex game but it is great fun.  I've really enjoyed it each time I've played and not just because there are cubes that represent animal poop, though admittedly that's part of it.

Takenoko

Takenoko is a very light game that is great for new gamers or people who want something not super heavy.  In it you are simply a bamboo farmer trying to please the Japanese Emperor.  There's a big painted panda trying to eat your bamboo.  He's cute.  He's panda-y.  Its nothing super complex but the art is absolutely gorgeous and it is a pretty fun little game.

Robinson Crusoe

This one somewhat loosely involves animals, but its an AMAZING game and we're still yet to play it at FND so I'm sticking it on here more out of stubborness than anything else.  Players are stranded on an island (where they have to eat animals and not be eaten by animals - see that loose connection to the theme?) where they must survive.  It's a coop
erative game that is brilliantly thematic and, again, one of the best board games in existance. 

I think that's all of the animal games we'll be bringing, but others are certainly welcome to bring some - particularly games like Dominant Species, Zooloretto, and more.

Memorial Day Board-B-Que Games

Greetings FNDers and Friends!

As has been made known on a couple of posts via this blog, this upcoming Monday - Memorial Day (5/26) we are hosting an all-day gaming event with cook-out.  The full details are on a previous post, but know that it'll be occurring at Bridge Church (our usual spot) from 1 PM - 8PM.

As I've mentioned previously, the goal here is to play games that involve some type of conflict in honor of the holiday.  We are extremely grateful to the men and women, regardless of how long ago, that have served and sacrificed and very real ways so that on Monday we can enjoy simulating games of conflict while snacking on grilled meat and cold beverages.  It is so we could enjoy days like that those men and women gave everything and it is not lightly that we enjoy them.

As such we will begin at 1 PM simply by lifting up a prayer of thanks and remembrance for those who have given their lives.  If you're not comfortable with that you by no means have to join in with praying and can simply join in by being thankful and remembering.  That won't take long but we think it is important to begin the festivities with remembering the holiday itself.

After that we will have a whole array of games awaiting us!  While we'll have the normal array of games out, again, we'd like to see people stepping maybe a tad out of their comfort zone and play some games that you normally wouldn't.  Of course, if you'd rather play something that has nothing to do with conflict we won't stop you!  We're just happy to have you bless us with your presence.

Here are the games that we'll be playing and their target audience/complexity:

Party Game:  King of Tokyo (If you're the type that normally likes The Game of Life and Group Solitaire, then this game is for you.)

Okay... Calling this a "Conflict/War Game" is really a bit of stretch, at least in terms of involving Memorial Day... There aren't any people really involved, unless you count the citizens of Tokyo that are running in fear from all of the stereotypical monsters involved in its demise.

Nonetheless this is a game where you are trying to be the biggest and baddest monster and claim Tokyo for yourself.  Each player takes control of one of six available monsters, each of which mimic (while carefully avoiding copyright infringement) monsters from some of the best (by which I mean worst, by which I mean best) old movies available.  This includes "The King," "Gigazuar," and "The Kraken," amongst others. 

The game is played almost exactly like Yahtzee, but instead of just getting sets of numbers, you're using the symbols on the nice to punch other monsters in the face, heal yourself, or buy super cool power ups.  It is very easy.  We've taught this to ten year olds and they've gotten it and loved it their first turn. 

If you're somebody who is a bit overwhelmed by any kind of strategy game then this is probably the best place you could start as it is just pure fun.

Light Game: Small World
(If you prefer games like Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, or Dominion, then this game is for you.)

Smallworld is a game that tips its hat a bit to Risk, but is about 50,000,000 times more fun and only takes around 80 minutes to play.

Each player will assume the role of a generic mythology-esque race:  I.E. halflings, dwarfs, giants, wizards, skeletons, etc..  In addition, they will get a bonus attribute that essentially acts as an adjective to the race.  So instead of just being giants, you might be Flying Giants.  Or Seafaring Skeletons.  Or Spirit Halflings.  Yup, Ghost Hobbits.  I could stop there...

Basically you're vying for control of the map.  One of the key elements of the game is being able to go into 'decline.'  Essentially this means you abandon your current race and pick a completely new one at an opportune time. 

Small World is a staple of the lightweight game and really is above and beyond any other conflict games that could go into this category.

This game is really not any more difficult than Ticket to Ride and in my opinion is way more fun than Settlers of Catan. 

Light Game:  Cosmic Encounter

Cosmic Encounter is another light game that involves heavy player interaction and just a whole mess of fun.

Every player stars as a specific alien race and controls five home planets.  Their goal is to get foreign colonies on five of any of their opponents planets.  This involves a lot of player interraction and table talk, focusing around very straightforward mechanics.  The super fun part is each alien race.  In the base game and the one expansion I own there are aroudn 90 available aliens, each of which lets you do anything from making minor tweaks to rules to inventing completely new ones.   They're all unique and all quite fun.

This is also a game where multiple people can win and endings are almost always memorable.  One game I played with a group of friends involved one of the players getting a rather annoying alien power.  He proceeded to use this power in the most obnoxious ways possible.  As a result, the rest of the group decided to team up and win together - so we did!  It was a four person victory with one loser, ha!  Quite enjoyable.

Again, this one is quite simple and a great one to play with 4-6 players.

This game, like Small World, is not much tougher than a Dominiion or Settlers, so if that's your comfort zone, check this out!

Light-Medium Game:  Memoir 44

Ah, finally a game that actually involves war between humans on Earth and in some way simulates real events!  The company Days of Wonder is most known for its game Ticket to Ride, however second behind that is either Small World (shown above) or its World War 2 simulator Memoir 44.

Memoir 44 is one of the most accessible miniatures games there is.  Players take the side of either the Axis or the Allied forces and play out any one of a number of short scenario battles - i.e. the Landing at Omaha Beach.

Play is very straightforward and very simple - Days of Wonder really shines with accessibility in their games.  If you've never played any kind of war or conflict game that simulates real life events this is a very fun one to start out. 

This game plays just 2-players so bring a buddy who you want to learn it with and somebody at FND will be thrilled to teach you!

If you want to try an easy and short conflict simulation then this is absolutely the place to start.  Plus it doesn't take long so if you don't like it, then you still have 7 hours to play other games!

Medium-Heavy Game:  Twilight Struggle

It would not be a proper War Game day if we did not include a spot for Twilight Struggle.

I really got into the hobby of boardgaming in 2010 and since then not a day has passed where Twilight Struggle has not worn the crown of #1 game on Boardgamegeek.  Let me tell you, it is for good reason.  While my personal favorite game award will go to the one I discuss next, Twilight Struggle is top 3 for me.

It is a simiulation of the conflict of the Cold War between the United States of America and the United Soviet Socialist Republic.  It is produced by GMT Games which means the key word used to describe the components is 'functional.'  GMT doesn't specialize in fun action figures or flashy colors so don't expect that - at the same time, don't let the less-than-flashy chits make you think this game isn't loads of fun.

The mechanics of it are relatively easy - each player has a hand of cards (each of which is unique) and throughout the game they are strategically using those card to influence different countries in the world.  Because of the way scoring and the cards work, there is a deep sense of distrust, intrigue, and paranoia that develops.  I learned a good deal about various events of the Cold War from this game and the simulation is spot on. 

Knowing the cards in this game gives a HUGE advantage so it would be best to play this 2-player product with a fellow newbie.  Lucky for you, Brian and I are the only two people who are familiar with the game so you're almost guaranteed to be playing somebody on equal footing.  It's a bit heavier and will probably take 2-3 hours, but it could take less if somebody wins early.

Seriously.  If you consider yourself a gamer and you haven't played this, then getting in for a game should be at the top of your list.  It is that darned good. 

Medium-Heavy:  War of the Rings

Like I said previously, one of the unique opportunities of this event is the ability to learn and play some 2-player games that don't get much face time at normal FND events.  This is one of them.  It is also worth noting this is my favorite game of all time.

When it comes to games based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, you will hardly find a pickier person than myself.  I have great contempt for games that paste on the LotR theme (particularly the movies) just because it'll earn them some extra cap.  I played the Lord of the Rings: Deckbuilding Game recently and absolutely loathed it.  Terrible game. 

War of the Ring, however, is brilliant.  Tolkien's writings (it is based on the books, not the movies) shines through the entire.  It genuinely FEELS like Tolkien.  Even better it does a superb job of playing the "what if?" game.  In the game you can answer questions like "What if Gandalf hadn't fallen in Moria?"  "What if Aragorn stayed with the ring in Mordor?"  "What if Boromir left the fellowship immediately to aid the war in Gondor?"

The most recent game I played (we also used the expansion Lords of MIddle-Earth) began with Merry departing the fellowship early because of fervent pursuit from Nazguls.  This forced him to go back to Rivindell where he joined a batallion of Elves.  Meanwhile, the Balrog escaped Moria and threatened to burn Rivendell to the ground.  Merry fought and defeated the Balrog but gave his own life in the process.  It was the most epic moment in recent War of the Rings memory.  And it is moments like that why I absolutely LOVE this game.  It is currently the only 10/10 on my BGG collection.

Medium-Heavy:  Wilderness War

Wilderness War is another production by GMT.  It is the third of the two-player games we'll be showcasing at the Board-B-Que.  We don't necessarily expect all three to be played (though we hope they will be) but we we like to give options, particularly for people interested in learning some 2-player games.

Wilderness Wars is a simulation of the French-Indian War.  Like Twilight Struggle, it is a Card-Driven Game and features the manipulation of events and operation points to achieve victory.  To be honest, Wilderness is a recent purchase and I'm still only midway through digesting the rules, but I'll have them down by Monday in order to fully teach the game.

This is one of the highest rated War Games and is as popular as it is because of how accessible it is.  I personally picked it up because I find colonial history to be one of the most interesting and this puts you smack-dab in the center.  One side controls the French and the other the British, trying to win full control over the colonies of the New World. 

There are various scenarios so the time of this can be pretty decent with the shorter one only taking a couple of hours.

Heavy War Game:  A Distant Plain

Our final game that I want to feature on the blog is the heaviest we will do:  A Distant Plain, again by GTM Games.   I recent posted my first official game review on boardgamegeek and it was of this game so if you want the full write-up, check it out.

A Distant Plain is a four-player game and it is the newest installment of GMT's "COIN Series."  All three COIN games depict simulations of various Counterinsurgency struggles.  A Distant Plain details the 21st century conflict in Afghanistan.

The four sides of the conflict are the U.S./U.K. Coalition, the Afghan Government, the Taliban, and the Warlords.  The cool part about this game is that all four factions play totally asymmetrically, which is why I'm labeling this as heavy.  The general flow of the game is actually very simple, it's just keeping track of all of the options that is tough.  I have played this game and have a good understanding of it and am aiming to teach this to four people and just stand and help out.

I think this is VERY accessible to people who have played their share of medium games and am very much hoping to get a full game of this going - in fact I'd say that is the priority for Monday as far as these deeper war-games go.


Concusion:

The big thing here is to not be daunted by games a notch above where you're used to playing.  FND leaders will be there to teach ALL of these games.  I'm a teacher by profession and enjoy doing so and can all but guarantee you will come away understanding and enjoying them.  In particular do not let the big heavy ones scare you!!  They look VERY intimidating but I carefully selected ones that are accessible for a reason.

Ticket to Ride is a delightful game, but it's not the only one!

As I've mentioned before please RSVP via my email (lee.a.nicholas@gmail.com) or by commenting on this blog as we will be grilling up some munchies for all present (for FREE)!

Also if you have any questions or really want to sign up for a specific game, say so in the comments and you'll get a seat reserved at one of the games being played.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!!

Memorial Day Board-B-Que Full Details

Greetings Gamers!

Memorial Day is fast approaching and we at FND wanted to get out the full details for the Board-B-Que.

Where:  Bridge Church.  We will attempt to use the Cafe and front patio area for grilling.

When:  Monday, May 26th at 1:00 PM.  This is Memorial Day.  It will go to around 8:00 PM.

Who:  Any and all people! 

Food:  We will be providing free food and beverages for dinner around 5:30 PM.  We'll be grilling up burgers, dogs, and brats as part of this event.  Donations are welcome but not expected by any means.  They can go toward Friday Night Dice, not its leaders.

Purpose:  This is just an extra gaming day on a day people have off.  We're going to try to play conflict and war games but we'll have the usual library available and any games are welcome.  Conflict and war games can be a bit overwhelming at first so I encourage you to try some of them out even if it's a tad out of your comfort zone!  We will be including some very light and fun ones as well as some much heavier.  Listed below are some of the games we will be playing or have available to play.

Games:

Very Light/Introductary Games:  King of Tokyo, Small World, Hey That's My Fish!


Light Games:  Cosmic Encounter, Galaxy Trucker, 7 Wonders, Pandemic, Kingsburg

Medium-Heavy Games:  Defenders of the Realm, Alien Frontiers, Eclipse, Runewars, War of the Ring, Twilight Struggle, Twilight Imperium Third Edition

Actual War Games:  Paths of Glory, Wilderness Wars, A Distant Plain, Here I Stand

We at FND would really like to see this be a day where new games are learned.  In particular there are a number of 2-player games that we would love to teach that don't see much tabletime at normal FND events.

Sign Up!

First and foremost please RSVP if you are coming to this event, either in the comment section of this post or via email to Lee.A.Nicholas@gmail.com.  In addition, please let me know if you're are interested in playing any of the aforementioned games.  Some of them, particularly the heavier ones, take a good deal of set up and time can be saved and appropriated depending on interested.

If there any questions, comments, or concerns, post them in the comment section of this post!

Blessings!

 

5/16 Featured Games!

Greetings FNDicers!

Before proceeding with the descriptions of the upcoming FND's Featured Games, I want to make it clear how much we value all people who come to our group.  In the group already we have a wide variety of gamers - from people like myself who think nothing of spending 10 hours to play a single game to people who find Candy Land to be a tad long and complex.  We love that!  Our group wants to encourage people to come out from all walks to find some type of fellowship.  We do our best to meet a wide range of audience so whether you have never played a game before or you've shaved your neck-beard in the shape of a meeple, we want to play games with you!

As such, we've decided to feature two styles of game each night.  A lighter, easier game for newbies to the hobby to learn and enjoy as well as a game for veterans.

Sign Up!

Because our group is growing and we want these featured games to be a success, we ask that you sign up for the game you'd be interested in.  This will both help us gauge interest and plan.  So please respond in the comment section of this blog if you'd like to play a certain game (or multiple)!

We will have a few options so go ahead and sign up for any one you're interested in and we'll assess and set up accordingly.  That includes regulars to the group!  If you have no preference, sign up for all of them!  If nobody signs up for a game we may not bring it so make sure you sing up!

Introductory Game of the Week:  The Resistance: Avalon

Don't be intimidated by the image to the right!  While Avalon may seem to be something daunting and complicated involving really nerdy stuff like spells and knights, it really isn't.  Well it kind of involves that stuff, but in a very superficial way.  Seriously.  Let me explain...

Avalon is a lot like the card game Mafia (if you've played it).  Each player is dealt a role card.  This card tells you whether or not you are a good guy, or a bad guy.  Additionally, it may tell you that you are a specific person or just a generic goodie or baddie.  You might be Merlin (who is a good guy) or the Assassin (who is evil).

These roles are secret!  Nobody should know what you are until the designated time!  Once everybody has seen their roles all heads are lowered and eyes are closed.  All of the evil people are asked to look up, open their eyes, acknowledge one another, and then lower their heads and close their eyes.  Subsequently, Merlin raises his head and opens his eyes followed by the evil people all raising their thumbs.  Thus, all of the evil people know who each other are and subsequently which people are good (but not who specifically Merlin is).  Additionally, Merlin knows which side everybody is on, though doesn't know who specifically the assassin is.

The game itself will then begin and it consists of 5 rounds of 'going on quests.'  Basically each round a leader (randomly chosen at first, then passed clockwise) will choose a set number of people to go on a quest.  Each person has two voting cards - one for failure, one for success.  The people going on the quest secretly choose one (their choice, not random) and give it to the leader.  If even just one comes back 'failure' the quest fails.  If at any point the bad guys cause three failures, they win the entire game.  Similarly, if the good guys win three quests, they might win the game.  There is one final catch for the good folk - if after the good guys win three quests the bad folk can successfully identify Merlin (with the Assassin getting final say) then they win instead.

So it all comes down to deduction.  If you're a bad guy you need to get the quests to fail but without being so obvious that you're never picked for quests.  Maybe that means letting one succeed to foster a false sense of security.  If you're a good guy you need to find out who is actually evil.  If you're Merlin, you need to help your team know whose evil without being too obvious - quite the challenge!

It is a tremendously fun game that plays from 5-10 players - and the more there are, the better!

Players Possible:  5-10    Ideal Number:  10

Veteran Game(s) of the Week:  Deckbuilders

Deckbuilding a is a subgenre of games that has gotten a lot of love and attention the past few years in the gaming community.  It all began with Magic: The Gathering and other subsequent Collectible Card Games (CCG) where essentially you build your own deck.  This prototype was taken and altered into a standalone tabletop game, made particularly famous by the game Dominion.  Since Dominion's release (and subsequent 8 expansions) there have been a number of games created using this mechanic - whether exclusively or coupled with another kind of mechanic.  The beauty of deckbuilding is it is a relatively simple concept, so even if you're not a seasoned gamer, there is certainly a game on this list that you can enjoy!


Dominion (w/ Cornucopia, Seaside, Dark Ages, and Intriuge)


While the flare for Dominion seems to have died down a bit as of late, we would be amiss if we did not put it as an option for Deckbuilding night!  The theme of Dominion is... Something involving the Middle Ages.  There really isn't much of a theme - which is part of some people's complaints about it now that other (and better?) deck-builders have emerged.  Nonetheless, it is a goliath of the genre because it basically started it.  Additionally, it is one of the most accessible games I own.

The rules are simple.  Everyone starts with ten cards.  Shuffle them.  Form a pile.  Draw 5 of them.  If you have any action cards, play one.  If it allows for more actions, play more.  After you've played all you can, add up your money.  Use it to buy a new card - either a new action card of the ten randomly selected before the game, a treasure card (more money!), or a victory point card.  The points are the only thing that matters at the end, but usually do nothing for you mid game.

The beauty of Dominion is that the base game alone comes with 25 different action cards.  Since only 10 are used each game, even without the expansions there are a crazy amount of possible games.  With all 8 expansions there are 14,782,231,840,815,648 possible combinations.

Possible Numbers:  2-4     Ideal Number:   3 or 4

Thunderstone Advance

Don't let the word "Advance" trick you.  It simply denotes the newer edition of this game.  Original Thunderstone was good.  Thunderstone Advance is simply an updated version with better rules (and thus better gameplay).  It is actually very similar to Dominion - in fact it's been called Dominion with Theme - but instead of you being medieval fiefdoms you are adventurers in a dungeon.

Like Dominion, you have your own personal deck of cards from which you draw a fresh hand of cards each turn (this time six cards rather than five).  Then you go to either the Village (to buy more cards - heroes, weapons, spells, etc.) or to the Dungeon (to kill monsters and get victory points).

Undead Treefolk.  Need I say more?

There are a ton of cool cards in this game and I own one expansion (The Caverns of Bane) so there are even more than normal.  There are heroes you can buy that as you kill monsters will level up.  There are need weapons and spells.  Different 'regulars' to buy to aid your hand.  And there are a lot more options than in Dominion.  It is a bit more complicated than Dominion, but if you know that game this will be easy to pick up.

Players Possible:  1-5   Ideal Number:  3

Smash Up!

Our next one is both a tad lighter in theme but also has some additional mechanics.  You start the game by combining too different 'types' of decks.  The different decks are based on various prototypical nerd-related themes.  I.E. Ninjas, Dinosaurs, Robots, Aliens, etc..  There are a ton of expansions that offer other things but I believe we just have the base game.  Regardless, you take two of those.  So you're not just dinosaurs.  You're alien dinosaurs.

Or ninja dinosaurs.  Or ninja robots.  Or pirate dinosaurs.
Pirate.  Dinosaurs.

I haven't played this personally so my description will be a bit weaker, but from what I've gathered there area various bases for which you are vying for control.  Using your cards you can claim more power for some or bump others off.  It is a fun game, especially if you're playing as Mutant Leprechauns.

Players Possible:  2-4   Ideal Number:  3 or 4

Mage Knight

Finally we have a deck builder that is not for the faint of heart.  Mage Knight is a behemoth of a game.  It is by far the most complex of these games listed and is only recommended if you've been around the block.  That's not to say it's impossible, but if the most complex game you've played thus far is Yahtzee you may want to choose a different deck-builder to start (which is perfectly fine)!

Mage Knight is actually based off of a miniatures game by the same name.  I've never played it so I have no idea how it compares.  Nonetheless it has been very highly regarded
by a lot of gamers, reaching has high as 5 or 6 on Boardgamegeek's top games (out of well over 60,000 games) before settling in at #9 where it currently resides.

Mage Knight, like Smash Up, combines two mechanics.  It is a deck builder mixed with an adventure game.  You take control of a Mage Knight - essentially a demigod- and using deck building mechanics you wander around the realm and slay monsters, hire allies, and assault cities.

The artwork in this game is gorgeous and there are many scenarios (including an intro one which we will likely end up playing).

Throughout the game you acquire fame which allows you to level up.  When you level up you get more spells and abilities, letting you kill more monsters.  There's a lot of fun stuff.  It can run a little long, and it's very important to start planning your turn between rounds.

Players Possible:  1-4                Ideal Number: 2 or 3

Because of the nature of Avalon we will do it at a time when everybody (or almost everybody) can play it as a group, so feel free to sign up for it as well as some deck-builders.