Patrick Brennan: My Best Of 2011

Posted on December 20, 2011 by pfbrennan

Before I start gabbing on about the year just been, I should explain how I can whip out my end-of-year numbers before end-of-year. My gaming year ends (and re-sets) on my mid-December birthday. I used to strive to hit 100 new games each year, and usually managed to creep over the line each December. Because I’d only just make it, I’d then worry about hitting 100 next year (all in a good-hearted , don’t really care, but it’s fun to have a goal type way) so any games bought for my birthday and Christmas would sit on the shelves waiting for New Year’s Day. Much to the angst and chaffing of my gaming buddies who were denied the goodness of newness for the somewhat whimsical satisfaction of meeting an arbitrary number. When the suggestion came from said buddies to declare my birthday as year end, it was met with acclaim as a beautiful compromise – gaming pleasure wasn’t delayed, numbers could be met! As it turned out, that was the last year I ever struggled to hit 100 new games. But the tradition remains.

Anyway, my 2011 numbers are nearly all face to face and don’t include expansions: 182 new titles played, 477 different titles played, 1006 games played.

Games I’ve played 10+ times (8, in order): Lord Of The Rings: The Card Game, Memoir’ 44, 7 Wonders, Flash Point: Fire Rescue, Bluff, The Resistance, San Juan, Pandemic.

Games I’ve played 5-9 times (28): Eminent Domain, Dominion, Claustrophobia, Backgammon, Castle Panic, Schnappchen Jagd, Rallyman, Innovation, Villa Paletti, Mousquetaires du Roy, St Petersburg, Ascension: Chronicle Of The Godslayer, Cities, De Vulgari Eloquentia, Ra: The Dice Game, Geschenkt, Fairy Tale, Dragonheart, Puerto Rico, Roma, Valdora, Tichu, Lords Of Scotland, World Without End, LotR: The Confrontation, Feurio, Finito, Luna.

With that as a background, of those games played for the first time this year, let’s dole out some awards. Some of this replicates a write-up earlier in the year that was covering 2010 releases, but so be it. It also doesn’t include a lot in the way of current Essen releases. Sorry about that. It takes a while for these to trickle their way down to Australia. On the upside, by the time they get here, most of them have been reviewed enough to allow you to pick up the cream and avoid the duds, so that’s a bunch of money saved. Anyway, to the awards …

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Japanese Duo – Dazzle & Khmer

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Talia Rosen

The Japanese games that tend to make a splash in the U.S. market are those with zany themes and components.  Games like String Railway, Gra Gra Company, and Magical Athlete are the ones that get people’s attention.  But I’d like to draw your attention for a moment to two excellent Japanese card games that are neither wacky nor well-known.  They are Dazzle and Khmer, both released by the publisher Saien in 2010.

Both are two-player card games and each takes roughly 20 minutes to play.  I’d consider them in the same vein as games like Jaipur, Biblios, Lost Cities, Odin’s Ravens, and the like… except that far fewer people actually own them or are even aware of them.  I’d like to do what I can to rectify this by explaining what you’re missing by not having these two gems readily available.

Dazzle

Game Play.  Dazzle is played with a deck of 48 cards in four suits (Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue) with cards ranging in value from 1 to 3.  Before the game begins the deck is divided in half through a slightly funky method such that each player has the same number of cards of each value in his or her stack.  The players each draw 8 cards from their stack into their hand.  On your turn you pick any 2 cards from your hand to give to your opponent face up.  Your opponent then selects one of the cards to add to the VP value of that card’s color and the other card to add to his or her own strength toward winning that card’s color.  You then refill your hand back up to 8 cards and go back and forth until all cards have been used in this manner.

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Dale Yu: Awards Page added to Menu Bar

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Dale Yu

Well, it’s getting close to the end of the year, and it wouldn’t surprise me if some of the OG writers started breaking out their “Best of 2011” lists…  (hint, hint…)  I know that I’ve been quiet lately on the blog, but I’ve been working hard trying to get all of the new games played.  Thus far, I’ve played over 55 new Essen titles – or more correctly, games new since October – and I’m just about ready to start writing about them.

In the meantime, instead of making my own list, I thought it would be a good idea to go over the games which won accolades in 2011.  Each of the “major” awards has a different jury and different target audience, so there is usually some variation seen when comparing the winners.

  • Spiel des Jahres: Qwirkle
  • Kennerspiel des Jahres: 7 Wonders
  • Deutscher Spiele Preis: 7 Wonders
  • International Gamers Award: 7 Wonders
  • Golden Geek Award: Dominant Species
  • Games Magazine (awarded 12/2010): Jump Gate
  • Meeple’s Choice: 7 Wonders, Innovation, London

Then, I went ahead and generated a chart of the previous winners of these awards.  Looking at the award winners in a longitudinal sense can really give you a good feel for what games were hot in a particular year.

You can see the whole chart for yourself at this link found in the black menu bar near the top of the page:  Game Award Chart

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Catching The Latest Essen Releases at Lobster Trap

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Craig Massey

Lobster Trap is a small invitation only games weekend in Boston that takes place the second weekend of November.   As befitting the time of the year, the focus of the event is on Essen games, with a large selection available for folks to try out just in time for the holiday shopping season.  Below is the commentary from a couple of OG contributors Joe Huber and Craig Massey (one of the Lobster Trap organizers).

Joe’s Commentary – I’ve played eighteen Essen (or Essen-like) releases there, and six others before or since, plus a couple in prototype form.  Overall, I’m not terribly impressed with the games I’ve played from this year’s Essen crop – but there are a few games I expect or know I’ll enjoy which I am not counting yet, likely once again bringing Essen to the six-good-game level (thank you, Mike) that it has typically enjoyed for me for as long as I’ve been following the event.

Starting with the games I played at Lobster Trap, some quick thoughts:

Alba Longa – players try to get their cities to be the Rome of ancient Italy. The game has a purely take-that war element (with a variant that at least gives some advantage to attacking, if not making it more interesting), and rather a linear feel to it otherwise. Not the worst game I’ve ever played, but I would not play it again. Continue reading →

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Book Review – The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Joe Huber

The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design
By Mike Selinker, with James Ernest, Richard Garfield, Steve Jackson, and a dozen more of the world’s best game designers
Published by Open Design LLC, 2011
138 pages
ISBN 978-1-936781-04-1

Disclaimer – I received a review copy of this book.  This was provided courtesy of Dale Yu, one of the “world’s best game designers” listed on the cover.

I have read a number of books on board game design, and most have followed the same formula, helping the aspiring game designer through the process from inspiration to game to sale, often offering anecdotal tales of the trials and tribulations other designers have face.  Selinker – a notable game designer himself – takes a very different approach, with twenty different essays, divided into four sections.  As a result, the book doesn’t feel as cohesive as other books on the subject – but it does offer a broader set of advice.

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Kingdom of Solomon – Review

Posted on December 13, 2011 by gschloesser

Design by:  Philip duBarry
Published by: Minion Games
2 – 4 Players, 1 -1 ½ hours
Review by:  Greg J. Schloesser

The history of the Israeli people is rich, dramatic, tragic and fascinating.  Not only does it make for scintillating study, but it seems ideal as the subject for board games.  Sadly, most of the few attempts made at producing a board game using this theme have been an attempt to appeal to a religious-minded market, which is not in itself a bad thing.  However, the games have generally been woeful.

Fortunately, Kingdom of Solomon by designer Philip duBarry and publisher Minion Games is an exception.  Set in Israel in the time of King Solomon, the game challenges players to collect resources, which they will use to construct various buildings, including the legendary Temple of Solomon.  It is a clever worker-placement game that requires proper timing and the ability to beat your opponents to coveted locations.  There is nothing startlingly new here, but everything blends together well to create a challenging and tense game.

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