10/17 Featured Games and 10/3 Recap

Greeting Friends of FND!

This past Friday we had a great session!  A dozen people showed up to play dice games and dice games we did play!

To start, Beth, Drew, John, Laura, and Amy played a game of Dead of Winter.  Dead of Winter is a new release by Plaid Hat Games that has been all the rage in the gaming community.  These five players greatly enjoyed it and all of them ended up winning except for John.  DoW is a semi-cooperative game where everyone is trying to achieve a common goal in addition to their individual - the common goal was achieved, however poor John didn't achieve his individual goal.

While this was happening Tish taught Formula-De to a whole slow of people - David, Dana, David (2), and Dan (wow I didn't realize how many D's were at that table - it must have been extremely confusing).  From what I saw they were having a good time racing and Tish ended up winning.

After these were finished a group played Caverna while waiting and another played Splendor.  Once all of the games concluded we got in a couple of games of Werewolf!  It was a great night and we're excited for the upcoming one!

Feature Games - BGG Top 15

This next Friday (10/17) we will be featuring games straight off Boardgamegeek's top 15.  If you're not familiar with boardgamegeek.com, it is pretty much the only board gaming website.  It has a very intricate metric for ranking games - based off of the average vote and some how combined with the number of votes.  In other words if one person ranks a game as 10/10  and that's the only vote, it's not #1.  Generally speaking one shouldn't just look at the ranking system and assume that the #1 game on their is the best game for all scenarios, however, the games in the top 15 didn't get there by mistake - they're superb.

Not only that, but a lot of them by happenstance have not been played much in our gaming group... In fact, only three of them have.  Now nearly all of the games in BGG's top 15 are 'gamers' games.'  In other words, they're not exactly ones you'd teach people who really love Scrabble, so of course we'll still have some lighter fare.  We also don't own (or GCOM doesn't own) all of the games in the top 15 so we'll really only be featuring about a dozen of them.

This is a really good chance for you to learn some of these if you haven't played them before as they're all worth your while - plus you can have them taught to you rather than slaving over a rulebook (especially with some of the more complex ones).

With that said, in ascending order from 15-1, here are the ridiculous amount of games we'll be featuring:

#15 - War of the Ring

Ironically #15 is my personal favorite game.  War of the Ring is a 2 player game (it says 2-4, but it lies - it's two player) that recounts the epic struggles of the Lord of the Rings.  It is absolutely beautiful and it truly grasps the essence of Tolkien's work.  As a huge Tolkien fan this game is the best I've ever played.  I absolutely love it.  It's pretty heavy and again, is really just for two players.  It's pretty good to learn with a fellow noob so if two people wanna try it, this is a great chance.

#14 - Brass

Unfortunately we don't own Brass, nor does GCOM.  It involves trains and stuff....

#13 - Robinson Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island

This is the highest rated cooperative game on the geek and with good reason - it absolutely oozes theme.  This is my second favorite co-op and it is also one of my top 10 favorite games.  It's a challenge - you and your fellow players are survivors of a shipwreck and you have to achieve some type of scenario in addition to simply surviving.  This game can be somewhat unforgiving but its still great fun.

#12 - Le Havre

Le Havre is the first of three games by Uwe Rosenburg on the top 15.  They're all somewhat similar.  This one involves you constructing buildings at a shipping wharf and exchanging goods to earn the most points.  It's arguably the least stressful of his games as generally there are a lot of options available.  It's the one I know least of his games but I'll still be able to teach it if anyone is interested!

#11 - Castles of Burgundy

This lovely game by Stefan Feld is actually my wife's #1 favorite game.  In it everyone is a lord over an estate in the 13th century and you are trying to optimize your turns to have the wealthiest manor.  It's a pretty pasted-on theme but the gameplay is very elegant (I hate myself a bit for saying that, but it's true) .  It's a great game and isn't super complex once you learn to differentiated the three nearly identical shades of green that are used for different pieces in the game.  Also in German its called Die Burgen von Burgund which is just super fun to say.

#10 - Power Grid

Ironically I had to learn this classic game this week so I could teach it next Friday despite how well loved it is.  This is truly one of the modern classics of boardgaming and if you haven't played it you really ought to.  It is at its heart an auction game, but there is a lot more going on than that.  Players are manipulating pieces on a map, resources, turn order, and efficient actions all to end up with the most money.  It's a bit heady at first and may bog down a bit with a bunch of noobies, but once you play a round or two it makes perfect sense.

#9 - Mage Knight

Mage Knight has been in our collection for a while and doesn't hit the table often - mostly because it can run very long if people are prone to  analysis paralysis.  I can safely say, however, that no gam
e in my collection is quite like Mage Knight.  It is a very thinky game based around deck-building and adventuring.  Everyone starts with nearly identical decks of spells and uses them to move about a board, attacking, recruiting, pillaging, and learning.  The goal is to end the game with the most 'fame' (basically experience points).  The artwork is beautiful as well.

#8 - Eclipse

Eclipse was the most popular game ever for about 6 months in 2012 or 2011 (I forget) and then it kind of lost its buzz.  It was very highly rated as a game seamlessly combining more European mechanics like resource management and more American mechanics like combat and dice rolling.  We played the mess out of this thing when it first game out and we don't play it as much now, but it's still a great 4X space game that really should be tried if you haven't.   We do have the Rise of the Ancients expansion with this.

#7 - Caverna

This is my favorite of the three Uwe games on the list and also the most recent to come out.  Caverna is essentially Agricola 2.0 (which we'll get to shortly).  In it you are a Dwarf Cavefarmer trying to make your way in the world.  Through a series of farming, livestock-herding, mining, building, and adventuring you want to be the person with the most points.  There are an absolutely absurd amount of actions available to you and many many avenues to victory.  There are are also more wooden pieces in this box than any other game I own - I could basically go bowling with this thing it weighs so much.  This is one of my absolute favorite games and is well worth your time.

#6 - Android: Netrunner

Unfortunately we don't own Android.  It's an LCG (Living Card Game) that involves some cyber-punk cardplay.   That's all I know.

#5 -  Puerto Rico

My best guess is that if Puerto Rico came out today, it might not make the top 15 - it'd still easily be in the top 50 because it's a great game, but it's position in the top 5 of BGG (and for some time it was #1) is almost more of a homage to it's status as a game.  This game came out quite some time ago and was a smash hit.  It is really one of the quintessential Euro games. It is all about shopping, resource management, creating infrastructure, etc.  It's a very good game despite having somewhat simple components.

#4 - Agricola

The final and most important Uwe game is Agricola.  Agricola has also enjoyed some time as the #1 game on BGG and for good reason - it's really freaking good.  It is a pretty cut-throat worker placement game where players take the roles of farmers in the 14th century.  Life wasn't easy back then.  Your goal is to have the most productive farm by the end of the game.  Each game is different as players are dealt a hand of occupation cards and improvement cards that can be played throughout the game.  Despite being somewhat stressful, it is a superb game and one of the best the hobby as to offer.

#3 - Terra Mystica

I actually haven't played Terra Mystica yet nor do I own it.  It was hugely popular in 2012 but we haven't got around to it.  This is the last game we don't' own or have on loan from GCOM - 12/15 isn't bad!

#2 - Through the Ages: The Story of Civilization

This game by Vlaada Chvatil (also the designer of Mage Knight) is essentially Sid Meyer's Civ III in a box.  We've featured it before at FND and it is truly a great game.  Personally I prefer playing online (at boardgaming-online.com) as the game can be a bit fidly in person, but nonetheless it is very fun.  Like in Civ III, each player takes control of a civilization and works their way from antiquity to modern times, trying to earn the most culture by the end of the game.  You focus on infrastructure, population, happiness, military might, technology, and all of the other great things that make civilization games fun.

#1 - Twilight Struggle

The #1 game on BGG since I've really been into the hobby has been Twilight Struggle.  It is produced by GMT and is one of my personal favorite games.  This two-player war game (well... Kind of a war game) has players recreating the Cold War conflict between the USA and the USSR.  It has intrigue, deception, and tension out the wazoo.  It really feels like the Cold War as your playing it.  The historical theme is vivid and very educational.  I'm very anxious to teach this to two new players at FND as it really is best to learn with somebody else whose learning.  The game is driven by a deck of cards and knowing what's coming gives you a huge advantage - thus learning with somebody as clueless as yourself is really the way to go.  Seriously, if you haven't played this and you play games let me teach you it this next Friday.

Conclusion

Well that's the absurd number of games we're featuring this week!  Obviously we aren't going to play them all, but hopefully those are the ones we'll be choosing from!!  I very much enjoy teaching games and these are some of the best ones the hobby has to offer so hopefully folks who haven't played them will be anxious to learn.  Especially since we have so many potential games, it'd be lovely if people put comments below or emailed me requests - that way we avoid the Canadian stand-off where nobody wants to decide what to play on behalf of everybody else.

Invite friends and family!  We look forward to seeing you next Friday!!

10/3 Featured Games and 9/22 Recap

Hello FNDers!

Two Fridays ago we had our most recent session and had a strong crowd out.  We had fifteen people come out - which has been right around our average over the late summer and early fall meetings.  We're hoping to see that increase as we push forward!

At our last session we played several games with the focus being on some new releases.  To start, a large group of people played Fluxx, which was won by a newcomer named Rich.  During this, I taught Splendor to Brian and Annmarie (Beth also played) and ended up winning.  Later in the evening we played Splendor twice more with Laura and Dana and Laura won both games.  I take that to mean I taught it well ;-)

Finally, a game of Ca$h and Gun$ was played which was won by Beth - largely due to the entire table teaming up on me the first three rounds!  Lords of Waterdeep was also played and was won by Amy.

We had a great time and we expect the next session to be just as fun.

The featured games for next week will be Dice Games!

Everyone likes getting to chuck some dice so let's see what we'll be playing:

King of Tokyo:

I don't think we could have a 'dice' day and not mention King of Tokyo.  It's basically Yahtzee with mega monsters.  The game's easy - you roll dice, you beat up your friends, you yell 'rahr,' and you call it a day.  It's pretty much all you need in a 30 minute dice game.

Castles of Burgundy

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum is Castles of Burgundy, by designer Stephan Feld.  Where King of Tokyo is based around pure amusement, Castles of Burgundy is based around very fluid mechanics.  It is the definition of a Euro game - string together efficient actions and come out on top with the most points.  Each turn you roll dice to determine what actions are available to you and then you utilize them in the best way possible.

Despite sounding a bit dry, this game is superb.  It's currently #11 on BGG for good reason.  Also, fun fact, it is my wife's #1 favorite game.  (We have the English version, I just think the name of the German version is fun to say).



Alien Frontiers

Alien Frontiers has been featured before and we're gonna add it on here simply because of how well it fits the theme.  Like Castles, you roll dice to determine what actions are actually available to you and then try to make the most of it.  In this case the game is set in space involves an area of control mechanism on a galactic colony.  It actually is a pretty tense game as you battle for control of the different areas of land and is quite fun.

Kingsburg

Kingsburg is actually pretty similar to Castles of Burgundy or Alien Frontiers in the sense that, again, you are rolling dice to determine what actions are available to you.  Despite the seemingly identical mechanic, all three actually play quite differently - it's just hard to describe them more uniquely without being too long winded.  In this one you are using the dice to influence various advisers, gaining resources and using them to build buildings in your medieval fantasy town.  At the end of each year the town will be attacked by some sort of fantasy creature and so you need to be sure to have enough defenses to survive the onslaught.  This is a splendid game and has been enjoyed every time it's hit the table.

Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game

And finally the game I am personally most excited about - Dead of Winter.  This game just came out - as in I preordered it and it just arrived yesterday.  In it each player takes on the roll of a survivor in a colony during the zombie Apocalypse.  Sounds pretty typical, right?  Trust me - I'm not a big fan of games that just revolve around zombies.  This one's different.  There are zombies in the game but that's the the whole point.  The game itself is a semi-cooperative survival game.  There is a objective decided upon at the beginning of the game and everybody has a certain number of rounds to complete the objective.  Additionally, everybody is given a secret personal objective they they must complete.  If the main objective is completed but your personal is not, you lose.  The catch?  It's possible (but not guaranteed) that a player's personal objective is actually to sabotage the rest of the group.

Players can be exiled at which point they receive a new objective - which could be anything from 'reconciliation' to 'retribution.'  The game is very much driven by the deception and tenseness of a possible traitor, but along with this is constant dice rolling.  Every turn you roll dice to determine your actions and, to go along with most of the things you do, you roll the ever dreaded exposure dice, which can instantly kill off some of your characters.  This is quite possibly going to be the most popular game of the year and this will be a great chance for you to try it out!

So come on out to Friday Night Dice this upcoming Friday and play these and many more games with us!  Bring some friends!\

We hope to see you there!

9/19 Featured Games!

Greetings friends of Friday Night Dice!

This upcoming Friday yet again we will be hosting a game night.

We've had pretty solid streams of attendance over the past few weeks, averaging right around 15 people.  What's really exciting is how many total people we've had walk through our doors.  Without actually adding it up I believe it is somewhere in the ballpark of 50 different people come through our doors!  We're thrilled about that and would love to see that number continue to increase.

Before we get to the featured games, I want to take a moment tell ya'll that we will be hosting a special Halloween Friday Night Dice on Halloween night.  The 31st of October happens to be the 5th Friday of the month, a scheduled meeting time anyway, so that night we'll be playing scary games (well, games with 'scary' themes - Zombicide, Dead of Winter, Betrayal at House on the Hill, etc.) AND we'll be doing it in costume.  I mean, technically you can show up not wearing a costume, but preferably you will be!  We'll be giving out a prize to the best dressed attendee!  Mark your calendars now!!

So the theme for this upcoming FND is a bit unusual but I'm going to roll with it.  We'll be featuring a whole bunch of games that just came in the mail for us!   Not a very specific theme, but a lot of them are either a) recent releases, b) recent re-releases, or c) fresh from Kickstarter so I think people will be excited to try them if they haven't.

So without further adieu, here are the games we'll be playing!

Splendor

Splendor is a game that just came out in 2014 and was nominated for the Spiel de Jahres award (game of the year in Germany - it's pretty much the biggest gaming award).  It didn't win but many thought it should have.  It is a very fun and easy (super easy - like, one page rule book easy).  In the game everyone is some type of Renaissance era trader of gems.  Honestly the theme is so light it's almost an abstract game, but that's okay because the gameplay is very smooth.

CV

CV is most easily compared to King of Tokyo simply because it features the exact same mechanics - roll dice ala Yahtzee.  However, the theme is nothing similar.  In CV you are essentially living out a person's life.  Each turn your roll dice, the symbols of which include Good Luck, Bad Luck, Relationships, Money, Knowledge, and Health.  You keep the ones you want, reroll the rest, then do it again (just like in Yahtzee).  Afterward you get to buy one or two cards based on what you roll and what your other cards provide you.

It's all very thematic.  For instance, in the 'young adult' deck you can buy a Pension Plan for 2 money symbols.  This gives you an event called "Pension" that you can play later, but only once you get to the Old Age deck, and it gives you twice as much money as you put in for a one time use - very thematic.  This game is particularly exciting as it is not yet released in the United States.  I was lucky enough to find somebody selling on Ebay that picked it up from the Essen game fair in Germany.  This is a great time to check out a new hard to find game.

Among the Stars

This game was originally released in 2012 but it only just got printed again by Z-Man games.  However, at the same time Z-Man was reprinting it they were also releasing a campaign on Kickstarter.  It would get shipped to the States a bit later than Z-Man's publication would, but you could pay a similar price and get all of the promos and stretch rewards.  I chose that option and it just came in the mail!

Among the Stars is a drafting game VERY similar to 7 Wonders in play style.  However, the theme is quite different.  You use your cards to build a space station and, unlike 7 Wonders, the physical layout of your cards is very important for further turns and final scoring.  The artwork on the cards is gorgeous and between the base game, the expansion, and the ridiculous amount of promos there are so many cards you'll never have the same station twice.

Ca$h and Guns

Cash and Guns is a fun and light party game where everybody gets to shoot their friends with fake guns.  Not even joking.  Each round the 'boss' (I.E. The Godfather) counts down.  Everyone is holding foam guns.  When he says '3' everybody simultaneously points their gun at a different person, possibly inflicting damage depending on whether or not they just to play a 'click' or a 'bang' card before hand.  All players still in the round at the end of it get a share in the loot.  The player with the most money at the end of the game wins.  This game takes the ending scene in Reservoir Dogs and makes an entire game of it.  It's pretty light but it's also quite fun.  I have the new second edition of the game which looks great.

We may end up featuring one more game as I'm still waiting on Dead of Winter to arrive, but we'll see.  Either way, hopefully you'll join us as we play these and many more!

9/5 Featured Games

Greetings Gamers!

After last Friday's FND session we have a very fast turn around for the next one!  We had about 15 people show up for our bonus '5th Friday of the month' session that coincided with Labor Day and we had a great time.  We played Lords of Waterdeep, Letters From Whitechapel, and Werewolf, amongst other things. 

Our next session is going to be on this upcoming Friday, September 5th, at 6:30 PM.  As always we look forward to having our regulars back to game with us as well as any number of newcomers.

In particular we think this will be an exciting Friday Night Dice as the theme of the games is Humor!

Now, an important distinction should be made.  I was contemplating making it "Party Game" week but that would limit us.  Blessedly there are a number of games by modern designers that are more contemplative than simply "Party Games" but still involve a good deal of lightness and humor!  Some of these will certainly be party games, but there will be a few strategy games with extra amusing themes or deliberate attempts at humor.

So, to the featured games.....

Say Anything!

Say Anything is a lot like Apples to Apples, but instead of having a hand of cards from which to choose, you have a small whiteboard and are given the ability to 'say anything.'  One person chooses a question  ("What would my dream job be? What am I most afraid of?") and everyone writes down the answer they think will most likely please the player choosing the question.  After everyone has submitted their answers players 'bet' on which answer they think will be chosen.  The player reveals his secretly chosen answer and points are distributed.  It's a lot of fun!

Telestrations

Telestrations is a very popular game and has hit the table a fair amount at Friday Night Dice - laregely in part because it is the hardest I have ever laughed playing board games, and I've played a lot of them!  This game combines the telphone game and pictionary in a hysterical way.  Each player gets a word and writes it down on their flipbook, passing it clockwise.  The next player draws that original word, and again passes the flipbook.  The subsequent player writes what they think has been drawn.  The next player draws that, then the next player guesses that... It results in the complete annihilation of whatever the original word was.  At the end all of the players 'show and tell' their flipbook to the ensuing laughter.  We have the Party Edition and so this can play up to 12 people.  I expect us to get a full 12-player game going.

Faces

This is an old game that friends of ours from college will be bringing.  It is out of print and so this is a nice chance to play it.  The game is a lot like Apples to Apples in that players are playing cards that they think most appropriately match a description, however this time they are playing amusing pictures of old timey people and animals.  It is quite amusing and is a very light and easy party game.


Smash Up!

This is a good gateway game built around deck-building.  Each player has two decks they mash together, each representing a different fantasy race.  You might be Ninja Dinosaurs, or Cthulu Pirates, or Zombie Bears.  Either way it is pretty zaney and results in a lot of amusing situations.  It is definitely more of a strategy game than a party game, but is very light-hearted.

Tales of the Arabian Nights

This game is almost more of an activity than a game, but it is still great fun and possibly the most unique game I own.  In it, players take control of different figures from the classic book from which the game gets its name - Sinbad, Aladin, etc..   The game itself is essentially a choose-your-own-adventure game in which players receive a small scenario and decide how to respond.  Perhaps an angry beggar approaches you - do you punch him or give him money?  Perhaps you give him money and he turns out to be an enchantress who ropes you into a devilish plot where punhing him would have spared your life.  It's pretty zaney and a fun time.

Bang!

Bang is a deception/card game in which players get various roles.  One is the sheriff (which is public).  Some are deputies whose job is to protect the sheriff. Some are bandits whose job is to kill the sheriff.  One is a renegade whose goal is to be the last person alive.  The theme is that of a Spaghetti Western and throughout the game you play cards that fit this theme well.

Dungeon Petz

This is the most complicated game on this list.  This is a pretty meaty euro-game despite the seemingly cute theme.  Each player is the owner of a pet store - however these aren't ordinary pet stores, they sell monsters for dungeon lords and raise them for curious exhibitions.  Each monster is unique and as you raise them and train them for various purposes you grow quite attached.  It is a very fun game, albeit thinky, and has a quirky and amusing theme.

Ultimate Werewolf

Okay so we've featured Werewolf three sessions in a row now but each time we've had people leave giving us a group of only 8 people.  This isn't terrible as that's still a fun number, but the gang at FND wants to play a bigger game of Werewolf.  Given that most of these games are shorter we are going to play them until 8:00 PM, at which point we are going to do a massive group game of Werewolf - hopefully with 15-20 people.  So be prepared for a delightful time!

That is all of the games!  Bring friends, bring families!  This is a great one for newbies to game as we're featuring a lot of lighter ones.

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

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!!

8/15 Featured Games (and 8/1 Recap)

Hello FNDers!!

First and foremost I would like to point out that GCOM website's calendar is still incorrect.  They have not updated it based on our switch to the first and third and fifth Fridays of each month (I don't have direct control over the calendar).  Our next session is August 15th followed by August 29th followed by the first Friday in September.  Please be advised to disregard where the "Annapolis" meeting site is on that calendar.

Additionally I want to say a quick apology for the blogs slightly less speedy updating over the past month or so.  My wife and I are both teachers on summer break and so we take full advantage.  Thus we are not home much and when we are things are busy.  As school begins again next week you will see this updated much more frequently and efficiently.

On a related note we have an FND coming up on Friday and I still haven't done the 8/1 recap.  On the first of the month we had over a dozen people show up for games.  I wasn't there personally but word on the street is that many a game were played.  This includes King of Tokyo, 7 Wonders, Lords of Waterdeep, Quarriors, and Smash Up.

Also, before I get into the upcoming featured games, I want to take a moment and talk about an awesome gaming experience I had over the past week!  I'm fortunate enough to be able to attend the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA with one of my best friends every summer and last week we got to go.  There are tournaments out the wazoo and open gaming 24/7 for a solid week.  It's a great time and always occurs in the first week or so of August so mark your calendars for next year if you have never heard of it.  It's only a couple hours north of Balitmore and is extremely affordable.

Because of the WBCs I got to play a few new games, some of which I'm anxious to feature this FND.  So, without further adieu.......

The theme of our featured games this weekend is BLUFFING.

Bluffing is a 'category' on Boardgamegeek that has a good number of interesting games, some of which get some pretty regular play time in our group so I'll be leaving them off this featured list (I.E. Battlestar Galactica).

Group Game of the Night:  Werewolf

If you've been gaming for any length of time you may have played Werewolf.  It's very popular, particularly at conventions like the WBCs as it thrives on huge groups.  There are plenty of people who are not a fan because of the player elimination, which is perfectly reasonable. As such, we will aim to begin a group game of Werewolf at 10:00 PM.  That way if it goes fast we can do two games.  If not and it looks like it's going to drag out then the eliminated players can go home without risk of missing other games.

Werewolf is a game where players are all given secret roles.  You are either a werewolf or a villager.  If you've played Mafia it is very similar.  All players close their eyes and then the werewolves open them, acknowledge one another, and point to a villager to eat.  That player is eliminated and then the banter occurs.  The villagers have to determine which person they will lynch in response to the murder of the night.  A lot of this part is deducing (sometimes through wild accusations) which players are in fact werewolves.  Of course, it is very likely throughout the course of the game that they will lynch a handful of villagers.  A small price to pay for ultimately getting the wolves.  You only win if you survive till the end and everyone on the other side is dead.  Quite, quite fun.

Other Featured Games:


Dixit:

Dixit is essentially a party game, but one that requires a lot more thinking and creativity than most.  If you've ever played Balderdash its quite similar.  Everyone has a hand full of unique and interesting cards with illustrations.  One person is the 'storyteller' and describes a card in his hand.  Everyone else then submits a card that could have matched that description as well.  The cards are shuffled and revealed and everyone (except the storyteller) says which they think is the correct one.  The catch here is the storyteller only gets points if at least one person guesses the correct one, but not everybody.  He must be vague and clever enough that its not obvious, but not so vague that nobody has any idea.

This game won the Spiel de Jahres (German Game of the Year) award a few years a
go and is well worthy of that praise.

Love Letter

Love Letter is a filler game (meaning its very short) that revolves around deck of roughly twenty cards.  There are eight different 'characters' in the deck, each of which has a different number of copies.  On your turn you will have one card in your hand.  You will then draw another card, discarding one of the two cards now in your hand.  Whatever the card you discard says to do, you do.  There are many ways to get eliminated or cause others to get eliminated
and a lot of the game is bluffing about what you're holding while deducing what others are holding.  A full game takes less than thirty minutes and a single round usually less than five.

Cosmic Encounter

This is an absolutely wonderful game that we are yet to play at FND and it is time that changed. Everybody takes control of an alien race and is trying to conquer five colonies on other players' planets.  Essentially each turn all you do is draw a card to determine who you're attacking, then each player simultaneously plays a numbered card from their hand.  The highest number wins.  It sounds ridiculously simple (and it pretty much is) but the real fun comes from all of the different alien races.  Each one lets you break the rules in some capacity and there are over 90 to choose from in the set we own.  No two games are the same.

Letters From Whitechapel

This is the modern Clue.  I will never play that game again now that we own Letters from Whitechapel because it so vastly outstrips it in every way.  One person plays as Jack the Ripper.  The others are the London police trying to track him down.  Using deduction and logic they systematically track him as he makes his way from murder scene to hideout over the course of four different murders.  It is a very tense game where both sides feel pressure.  Jack feels the pressure of outrunning the police and the police are worried that any second Jack will declare himself home safe and thus end the round.  We've only owned this game for a month but have played it eight times in that span.  That says a lot about its quality.

Twilight Struggle

Twilight Struggle has been #1 on Boardgamegeek's list for as long as I've been involved in the hobby.  It is on my top 3 list of my favorite games of all-time.  It is a masterful simulation of the Cold War conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.  As such, bluffing, intrigue, secrecy, and espionage play huge roles in this game.  This is only 2-player and I only own one copy of the game but I am very happy to teach two people interested as it is best if two newbies play against each other.

All of these games will be available to play and learn this upcoming Friday.  Invite as many friends as you have!

8/1 Featured Games

Hello Gamers!

This upcoming Friday we at FND will be hosting another game session.  It will begin at the normal time of 6:30 PM at Bridge Church.  The full details are on the right hand side of the blog in the info section.

First I want to put my BGG library link on this page as I will not be present at this upcoming FND.  If anybody wants to play a game we own then please let me know and I'll be sure to leave it at the church for ya'll.  I plan on dropping off a handful of them but if there's any specific requests please be sure to let me know.

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

If you're newer to the gaming hobby and haven't visited Boardgamegeek yet spend some time there and check it out.  It's the premier gaming website and is definitely worth making an account.

Anyways, this Friday the theme of the featured games will be Dungeon Crawls.  Dungeon Crawl is a colloquial term for games that generally have players playing as various heroes or characters in some type of personal setting.  Usually this involves a dungeon as in fantasy games (think Skyrim or Dungeons and Dragons) but sometimes it can be others scenarios - surviving Zombies, that type of thing.  We have a handful of these games in our members' personal libraries.

Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft

Castle Ravenloft is one of three D&D Board games to be released by Wizards of the Coast, each of which can basically be combined to play large scenarios.  Each players is a traditional fantasy archetype - mage, warrior, rogue - and the team groups together to complete the selected scenario.  Each scenario is different and unique, which is pretty neat.  Throughout the game you will be drawing even cards, fighting monsters, and possibly teaming up to defeat a boss.  You also work as a team making this a cooperative game.

Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd Edition

Descent is one of the best dungeon crawls to be released.  The follow-up second edition is even better than the original - creating a very streamlined and fluid gaming experience.  It plays best as a campaign but each scenario from the campaigns (I own a few expansions so there are no less than forty) can be played as an individual session.  Like Castle Ravenloft everybody (except one players) takes control of a unique fantasy archetype, but in Descent they get a subsequent subclass making everybody more individualized.  One player plays as the Overlord, the evil mastermind behind the bad guys the heroes are trying to destroy.  It is a terrifically fun game and one that won't disappoint new players.

Lords of Waterdeep

Okay this game is actually not a dungeon crawl but is rather a Euro-styled worker placement game (pretty much the exact opposite of dungeon games).  However it is based in the D&D universe so it fits really nicely with this theme and is a very popular and easy-to-learn game.  Each players takes control of one of the controlling factions in a fantasy city.  Essentially that players is trying to gain the most power in the city by hiring various adventurers to go complete different quests (the kinds of quest you'd expect in Skyrim).  It's a very straightforward game and is, like I've already stated, quite excellent.

In addition to these games, as I said before we'll have others available as well as any from my personal library that have been requested.

Please invite your friends out to FND this upcoming Friday!!!  We look forward to seeing you all!