it's pretty much an homage to the entire sci fi ourve.

before last night’s game, i had only played race for the galaxy once before, and while i enjoyed the game, i didn’t really grasp the way that the rules and the cards worked together.  that point of view changed last night. 

at its core, race’s game mechanic balances card management and action choice, but there is a synergy between the various cards that a player can have in their tableau and the actions chosen by all players at the beginning of a round that rewards smart choices and flexible planning. 

playing are aaron, jacob, and i.  here you can see aaron explaining the various actions to jacob.

as we started and the game progressed, i continued to get more and more development opportunities…

… while jacob made a run collecting alien-centric worlds and developments…

…and aaron pulled some military, but seemed to miss out on the cards he really wanted. 

at the end of the game, jacob was the winner with a massive 54 victory points.  i was in second place with 34 victory points and aaron had 32. 

now that i’ve got a better grasp on how race for the galaxy is played and the various interactions possible, i think that this one will be a game that i play a heck of a lot more.

race for the galaxy is property of rio grande games.  all other images property of little mens.

well, that was weirdly prescient...

last night, i got in a game of cold war:  cia vs kgb with dave p. 

   

produced by ffg as one of their silverline games, cold war allows play as one of the two major intelligence agencies from the 60’s through the 80’s, the komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti and the central intelligence agency.  

the game is pretty straightforward:  a particular objective is revealed.  both intelligence agencies choose an operative who works to recruit groups to claim the objective.  each group has a point value and a special action that can be used as your agent tries to bring the objective into their sphere of influence.  the winner of the round then gets to add the objective score to their running total.  first player to 100 points is the winner.  

here the kremlin has claimed the objective.  which was a recurring theme for the entire game.  another point in favor of the game is that savvy play can stop a runaway victory by one player.  unfortunately, my play as the cia just wasn't good enough, and dave's kremlin took the victory.

while playing the game i kept getting a strong sense of déjà vu.  over a third of the objectives being fought over during the game are still global hotspots today:  libya, korea, egypt, et al.   kinda makes you wonder, how much longer those particular places will continue to have such a strong influence on global politics. 

like many of ffg’s silverline games, cold war is a a lot of fun, and the fact that it’s portable, has a neat game mechanic, and is quick to play means that cold war is definitely worth adding to your collection.

dominion

yeah, so what?  they can't all be super catchy titles.  jeez.

at the risk of sounding like a shill for rio grande games, today is yet another one of their games:  dominion.

a heck of a fun little deck building game, dominion has spawned several expansions, but the basic game is one that i would recommend to any gamer looking for a game that is both tactical and strategic yet quick to play.

the basic concept is that you are a motivated noble looking build the local area into your new kingdom (or dominion, if you will).  this is accomplished by building a deck of cards (that represents the entirety of your kingdom).  within this kingdom/deck are duchys, provinces, markets, villages, libraries, blacksmiths, and throne rooms, gold, silver, copper coins, et al.

this is all done by playing an action, buying a new card, and finally, cleaning up/discarding any cards in your hand and drawing new ones from your deck.   simple as:  a-b-c. 

The cards are broken down into treasure cards, kingdom cards, and victory cards.  the treasure cards are how you purchase other treasure, as well as kingdom cards (which have benefits all their own), and victory cards (which only give you vp at the end of the game).

to win dominion, you have to balance the acquisition of currency against the construction of helpful kingdom cards, and the purchase of victory cards.  too many of any one type will reduce how effectively you can build.

dominion is one of those games that pretty much everyone that has ever played it, is willing and happy to play it again.  and since a single game can be played in about 30 minutes (45 if there are new players), several games can be played in a get together.

in our first game, i was the winner, but during the second game where we substituted the militia cards with the witch and added in curses and gardens, jacob was the winner.  just look at him.  it's obvious.  he's a witch!

thanks to jeff, jacob, and adam for helping out with 30 games in 30 days, yet again!  and congrats to jacob on winning dominion!

next up is the game that kicked puerto rico out of boardgamegeek's #1 spot:  agricola.  this one will be played at chicagoland games (wednesday night is their board game night).  hope to see you there!

who's the biggest fool of all?

that might just be me.  in order to push myself to post more, and to include some of my favorite board games, i've decided to document my descent into madness, aka "30 games in 30 days"


starting on 01 april, i will play a different boardgame everyday and post the evidence here for the world to see!  the schedule for the imminent insanity is below:

01 april:  power grid
02 april:  ticket to ride
03 april:  race for the galaxy
04 april:  factory manager
05 april:  dominion
06 april:  agricola
07 april:  beowulf:  the movie board game
08 april:  the settlers of cataan
09 april:  cold war:  cia versus kgb
10 april:  albion
11 april:  roborally
12 april:  alhambra
13 april:  fearsome floors
14 april:  chaos in the old world
15 april:  beowulf:  the legend
16 april:  red november
17 april:  carcassone
18 april:  puerto rico
19 april:  cartagena
20 april:  pirate's cove
21 april:  chinatown
22 april:  pandemic
23 april:  citadels
24 april:  mystery of the abbey
25 april:  colosseum
26 april:  memoir '44
27 april:  space hulk:  death angel
28 april:  clue
29 april:  mansions of madness
30 april:  tigris & euphrates

as i post the results daily, i'll also go ahead and include where the next game will be played (my apartment, black sun games, northside chicago game night, etc.)  if you want to be a part of the madness feel free to show up!