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!

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.

HALLOWEEN FND!

Hello friends of FND!

This upcoming Friday - Halloween! - we will be having our special evening of Halloween gaming!

Costumes are encouraged (but not required)!  There will be a prize for the person with the best costume.  There will be snacks and pop - feel free to bring some or donate a couple of bucks (but absolutely do not feel obligated to do so).  Most importantly, we will be playing a lot of spooky themed games!!

Below are some of the creepy games that we will be playing!

Ultimate Werewolf

It wouldn't be a Halloween FND without playing some Werewolf.  We'll try to coordinate this so that everyone gets to play and so it's at a time before people start leaving - we'd like this to be a good sized group of people playing.  Werewolf is a classic social deduction game where some players are werewolves, some are villagers.  The werewolves want to eat the villagers, the villagers want to lynch the werewolves.  Great game.  Great fun.

Rampage

Rampage is a mostly silly game but it fits the theme reasonably well because it has awesome monsters!  In Rampage (now known as Terror of Meeple City because they apparently originally broke copyright laws with the title Rampage) players are monsters destroying a city.  You win by eating the most 'meeples' and destroying the most stuff. It is a dexterity game similar(ish) to Jenga but with way more fun involved.

Zombicide

Okay so originally I was going to feature as our big Zombie game of the night but then another game came out that is simply way better which I'll get to in a moment.  Nonetheless, Zombicide is the best straight-up 'let's go roll some dice and kill zombies' game.  I actually don't know how to play it yet but I'll try and learn it quickly before tonight in case anybody really wants to learn it.  It's exactly what you expect- shotguns, dice rolling, and TONS of plastic zombies trying to eat your brains.

Betrayal at House on the Hill

This is probably the most 'horror' filled game I know of.  Other games like Eldritch/Arkham Horror would probably be close (though we don't have them) but this one is straight up cheesy horror film in a box.  If you're a fan of Will Wheaton's Tabletop series on Youtube, go check out his video of Betrayal as it is quite amusing.  In this game everyone takes the roll of a person exploring a haunted house - it starts out purely cooperative until a random event triggers the actual scenario, at which point one player turns on the rest trying to kill them - perhaps he's trying to send them all to hell or he just wants to eat them limb by limb.  Either way it is entertaining fun.  Especially on Halloween.  This one will definitely be happening.

Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game

We've actually played this a few times over the past two sessions but I can't not feature it on horror night.  Dead of Winter came out this past month and is absolutely (in my opinion at least) the best game of the year.  It has zombies in it but it's a game that isn't just about zombies!  There's social deduction (sometimes there's a traitor), it's cooperative, it's theme is greatly developed in the mechanics... This game is great.  Everyone who has played it has very much enjoyed it.  Again, this one I suspect will definitely be happening.

If you have any other horror game (Elritch Horror, Fury of Dracula, etc.) feel free to bring them!  Normally I'm pretty chill about non-featured games being played, but tonight in particularly we're going to try and keep it Halloween-esque with these games of horror and death and fun!

Hope to see everyone out there!!

8/29 Featured Games

Hello Gamers!

I'm doing things a little bit out of order this week in doing the featured games for next week before the recap for the following week.  The recap will come!  I promise!  But I wanted to get this out first as we're really trying to pump up next Friday's FND (August 29).

It is the Friday before Labor Day and so we're hoping that means most of us are back from vacations and trips over the summer and are ready to relax and enjoy some time with friends and family.  If you do not have plans for that Friday I highly encourage you to come on out, bring some friends and/or family, and play some games with us.

As always we'll have most of our personal library at FND but in particular we'll be featuring a handful of games.  So.... Let's get to them!

Featured Party Game:  Ultimate Werewolf

So we technically featured this at the previous FND and it really doesn't fit the theme of the rest of the games, but because of some Goblins attacking a caravan we weren't able to play a game of Werewolf with everybody at FND.  While Werewolf is fun with 8 or 9 people, it is significantly more fun with 16-20 people.  I'm expecting us to have at least that many next Friday and as such we will be scheduling again a session of Werewolf starting at 10:00 PM.  We'll be encouraging people to plan what games they play so we can finish up around that time and get a big game or two in.  I don't want to have to feature it again ;-)

Featured Strategy Games:  Worker Placement

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't super excited to do worker placement games on Labor Day weekend.  I've kind of been planning it for months in my head because it seemed like such a perfect theme.  So what is worker placement?  It is a very popular mechanic in which players each have 'workers' (usually some kind of pawn) that they place on a board with limited number of action spaces.  Most of the time, once another player uses his worker at a location nobody else can.  It encourages players to be strategic, but also requires you to be tactical.  Maybe what you were going to do just got taken unexpectedly - now what?  Or perhaps something else just became very opportunistic - do you hold to your guns and follow through with your plans or change things up spur of the moment?

Many of Boardgamegeek's top 100 games are worker placement games so there will definitely be some that we own and are great that we don't list.  I'm going to list a handful ranging from light to heavy, and then include a list of other available worker placement games at the end.

Light - Lords of Waterdeep (BGG Rank #27)

Lords of Waterdeep is Dungeons and Dragons themed but don't let that scare you if that's not your thing - its pretty generic.  It could by Skyrim themed or Game of Thrones themed and it would be almost the same exact game.  In this game each players takes control of a different powerful faction in the fantasy town of Waterdeep.  You are strategically using your agents to hire adventurers (mages, clerics, etc.), build buildings, and achieve quests in order to game the most fame and power in town (measured, of course, in victory points).

It is a very simple and very fun worker placement game that is also quite accessible.  If you're into gaming and haven't played this yet - give it a go, it's very satisfying.  If you've never played any kind of game like this, Waterdeep is one of the best places to start.

Light - Stone Age (BGG Rank #43)


Stone Age has been around for quite some time (ironically).  It is usually thought of as the premier gateway game into worker placement.  I think Lords of Waterdeep may have that title now as it is just a touch simpler, but Stone Age is still pretty straightforward, involves worker placement, and is very fun.  Each player has a tribe of cavemen and you use them to do various things - gather resources, make more gavemen, develop tools, build huts, and collect special cards.  The cards and huts each give you points throughout the game and there are multiple ways to win and strategize.  You could have a huge, farming village or a smaller, more technologically savvy village.

This is another one that all gamers should play at least once
and if you're new to the hobby then it is a good stepping stone into more complex games.

Light - Fresco (BGG Rank #156)

Fresco is a very interesting little game where each player is a painter trying to finish the ceiling of a chapel.  You use your workers in interesting ways to collect paint, finish parts of the ceiling, do portraits to collect more money, and more.  It's a really fun game and is actually probably the easiest of all the ones so far on this list.


Medium - Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island (BGG Rank #13)

This is one of the best games to come out in the past year (my personal favorite at least).  It is exactly what it sounds like - a game based on the Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.  More specifically everybody plays cooperatively as various members of a team that's been shipwrecked.  Using worker placement you determine what your character does each day to try and keep the group alive or solve whatever scenario you are doing.  This can be building tools, gathering food, exploring the island, etc.  This game is definitely challenging for new players and veterans.  Like I said, I love this game and it is definitely worth checking out if you haven't.

Medium - T'zolkin: The Mayan Calendar (BGG Rank #15)

This game was one of the most popular games of 2012 and for good reason.  It is very enjoyable and has some very unique mechanics.  On the board is a series of gears that turn as everybody's turn progresses.  On your turn you either place one or more of your workers on a gear or pick one or more up.  You pay a cost when you place them.  When you pick them up you get whatever action they happen to be next to after several gears turn.  This leads to a lot of interesting decisions.

Medium-Heavy - Dungeon Petz (BGG Rank #95)

This is one of the newest games in our collection and it is one we've really come to enjoy.  I'm classifying it as Medium-Heavy simply because there's a lot going.  No individual aspect of it is complicated, there's just a lot of little things to keep track of that make it more of a gamer's game.  In it each players is an owner of a pet store!  Instead of cute puppies, however, you raise monsters.  Some
of them you raise for shows and exhibitions, others to sell various nefarious people who need them for different things.  Sometimes its an old witch who just wants a companion. Sometimes its an evil mastermind that wants a vicious killer.  You need to raise your pets to best accommodate these people.

The theme is pretty amusing and the game is really fun while also being quite challenging in its strategy.

Medium-Heavy - Agricola/Caverna/Le Havre/Ora et Labora (BGG Rank #3/#7/#12/#36 respectively)

We couldn't have Worker Placement day and not feature at least one game by Uwe Rosenburg.  He is the mastermind behind Agricola, which has resided in the top 3 of Boardgamegeek since I've been involved in the hobby.  He has three games in BGG's top 15, four in the top 40.  While they're all at least a bit similar in feel, most of them (with Agricola/Caverna being the exception as Caverna is really a sequel to Agricola) are quite different games.  Agricola features you playing farmers in the 14th century.  Caverna is simple, but now your Dwarf cave farmers/adventurers.  In Le Havre you are part of a shipping company trading and converting goods.  In Ora et Labora you are monks developing your land and producing goods.

They're all thoroughly enjoyable and some of my favorites.  We will have all four available for play.

Other Games:

Bora Bora, Alien Frontiers, Kingsburg, Archipelago, Dominant Species (possibly)

As you can see we will have a ton of games that fit our theme this week!  If there's any in particular you really want to play let me know in the comments and we'll be sure to save time to get that game in.  And as I said earlier we'll have plenty more games that aren't worker placement games that you are of course welcome to play!

Hoping to see many many many of you out!!

7/18 Recap

Greetings Friends of FND!

This most recent session on July 18th was another very successful gaming session!

We had fourteen people present, one of which was new.  Lee, Beth, Brian, Annmarie, Amy, Drew, Helen, Dave, Dana, David, John, Amber, Heather, and Tim (our new guy) were all present!  Fourteen is actually the lowest we've had in a few months but if that was our average (it's not) it would still be one of the highest (possibly the highest) averages of all GCOM locations.  Technically speaking it is our average attendance, but that's including the first few sessions where there were only a handful of us getting it started.  Our more accurate average is right around 16.

The theme of the week was Civilization building games and we definitely played some.

To start while waiting for newcomers there were two games going.  One was a friendly game of Uno (I'm guessing anyone reading this knows how to play Uno).  The other was Smash Up.  The big thing to come out of that was that Brian, who owns the game, finally suffered his first defeat - at the hands of Helen.

After this we segued into two groups of games.  The first table was quite large and played 7 Wonders.  Only about half of the group knew the game so Beth taught everybody.  Apparently she did a good job because after winning the first, Dana won the next two games and she was one of the newbies.  They played three straight games of 7 Wonders so apparently they enjoyed it!

While this was going on I (Lee N.) taught Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization to Tim, Drew, and Heather.  This is definitely the most complex game we've done at FND to this point and these three learned it quite impressively. We ended up calling it at the end of the Age II with me on top, but for it being the first game while I have played it a handful of times, it was pretty competitive.  They seemed to get it very well and everyone had a good time.

They finished 7 Wonders with a little time left so they finished the night with Telestrations while we finished up Through the Ages.  This was actually the smallest quantity of games in recent memory at FND but we still got a solid five different games in.

The next session is August 1 (this upcoming Friday) and the featured games should be posted within the next 24 hours.  I will be out of town for this upcoming Friday but am very okay with leaving some of my games at the church for others to use.  Below is a link to my BGG Collection.  If there's anything you really want to play Friday please leave a comment and I'll be sure to have it at the church.

http://boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/Nicholee

Many blessings!

7/18 Featured Games

Greetings friends!!

This upcoming Friday, July 18th, marks the first Friday Night Dice under the new schedule.  Again, we are now meeting on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month, so after this our next meetings will be on August 1st and August 15.

Anyways, as I've been saying we as a leadership for this group have been ecstatic about the consistency of our meeting group.  Over the past few months our lowest attendance has been 16 and every other has been 18 or 19.  We're more than ready break into the 20's so invite all the friends you can!  Should be a beautiful evening of gaming.

With all of that in mind, let's get to our featured games!

Featured Games:  Civilization Building

Civ-Building games are generally diverse and are a pretty popular genre of game.  They take their roots in computer games that focus on building your civilization from meager means to flowing, technological empires.  Some focus more on warfare, some on economics, some on trade and development, and some encompass them all.  This genre very much lends itself to long, complex games, but there are plenty of shorter, easier ones to get into as well.

Light Game:  7 Wonders

7 Wonders is a very rudimentary Civilization building game.  The theme is based around building a civ through ages of ancient times while at the same time trying to build one of the wonders of the ancient world.  The theme is somewhat pasted on, but it is still a very fun game based around a card drafting mechanic.  Its pretty simple and is a good game for novices.  It also plays as many as 8 with the expansion.

Light Game:  Smallworld

This is one of the simplest games we own.  If you've played Risk and enjoyed it then this is a good step into more modern games.  Each player is a different fantasy race (hobbits, giants, zombies, etc.) and also gets a special attribute (flying, tunneling, etc.).  You're trying to earn your race the most points by taking over the most land in the realm on your turn.  Eventually, though, your race will probably extend too far and further conquest will not be viable.  At that point you can go into decline, choose a new race, and start the conquest again!  Its a light game and is pretty enjoyable.

Medium Game:  Suburbia

Technically Suburbia is a city-building game which is really slightly different from civ-building but its a great game so we'll get over it.  If you've ever played and enjoyed Sim City then you have to play Suburbia.  Its very similar - you're mayor of a town and you're managing your reputation and economy in order to attract the most people to your town.  The theme is VERY strong and it is one of my personal favorites.  I also have the Suburbia, Inc. expansion if we get a game of veterans playing.

Medium:  T'Zolkin:  The Mayan Calendar

This game was the bees-knees back in 2012 - easily one of the most popular games of that year.  It also fit well with the whole doomsday business.  This game has little to do with that and much more to do with building an economic and technological structure as the leader of a tribe of Mayans.  While doing this you are trying to please one of their three gods and end the game with the most points.  On the board are multiple gears that all spin each other, causing different actions to become available to your workers and advancing the game clock.  I recently played this for the first time and its very enjoyable.  The basic rules are pretty straightforward, but there are a lot of options which adds some complexity. 

Advanced:  Through the Ages: The Story of Civilization

I'm not going to lie, I'm extremely excited to hopefully get a game of this going.  Through the Ages has been in the top 3 of Boardgamegeek for as long as I've been into board games.  At various times in held the #1 spot.  Designed by Vlaada Chvatil, who has made many games in the top 100, it is quite simply Sid Meier's Civ 3 put into board game form.  It's a pretty heavy game but moves fluidly once you get all of the rules down. It can get bogged down big time if people are distracted or taking longer than necessary on their turn but we should easily be able to get a game in if we start early enough - in theory it should take 2-3 hours.  It only fits 2-4 players so if you're interested shoot me an email or post in the comments to save a seat!

Of course other games will be available including our usual slew of party games so regardless of whether these peek your interest, come on out and play some games with us!!!

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.