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!!
Splendor:
Battlestar Galactica:
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
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