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A Gaming Life
Dragonflight 2024 Retrospective
This past weekend was the Dragonflight boardgame convention in Bellevue, Washington.
I’ve gone down the last couple of years and used to go down before the pandemic, but this was the first year where most of my Vancouver contingent didn’t go down too.
Thankfully, I have a Seattle contingent of friends to hang out with, and I even got to meet more of them on the weekend!
I pretty much only see them annually (most didn’t go to OrcaCon last January and aren’t going to it this coming January either) so it’s always good to catch up with them.
Of course, one of that group is the awesome Sean Epperson from Thing 12 Games, a man who not only designs great games, but also somebody I love hanging out with.
This year, I didn’t play a whole lot of games, but every one of them was new to me!
And also fairly new, which isn’t going to make my cult happy.
Since all of them are new to me, I’m not going to go into great detail about them here. I’ll save that for my September “New to Me” post.
This convention is always fun, but it was marred this year by the fact that there were so few “free play” tables and tons of scheduled games.
Were they a victim of their own success? Maybe?
The Hilton in Bellevue doesn’t have the largest space if a convention is getting successful.
That’s why OrcaCon (supposedly) moved to a new venue starting in 2025.
Other hitches made Friday a bit of a slow day for gaming.
Read MoreTravelling on 3 Cards a Day
I’ve never been to Japan. I hear it’s a fun place to visit, but that hasn’t been me yet.
While Let’s Go to Japan will not give you the feel of travelling to Japan, it will give you the feeling of planning your trip!
And then not going…but that’s ok.
It’s the planning that counts, right?
Let’s Go to Japan was designed by Josh Wood with art by Chaykov, Kailene Falls, Toshiyuki Hara 原としゆき, Magdalena Pruckner and Erica Ward. It was published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 2024.
When you break the game down to its basics, it’s a card drafting game where you are trying to match icons in certain ways and choosing which card will give you the best bonus at the end of the day.
That all sounds kind of dull, but in reality it’s…well, it kind of is.
But not to the extent where it’s a bad or unenjoyable game!
It’s just if you don’t play it right that it’s dull.
Let me explain.
Read MoreEvolving to the End of the World
There’s something to be said for cute, family-weight games.
Sure, they aren’t always super-exciting, exercising your brain in the way that may keep it active until you’re 100 like some of the heavier games might.
But they’re cute!
Doomlings is definitely the cute, family-weight game rather than the heavy one, but that’s ok!
It still has lots going for it.
Doomlings is a 2-6 player card game designed by Justus and Andrew Meyer, with artwork by Justus and published in 2022 by Doomlings LLC.
The game is basically a race to play as many cards for points on the table as you can, and hopefully worth more points than the other players, before the world ends in disaster.
The trick is that there is a bit of engine-building as well, depending on the cards (or traits, as you are technically evolving your species every time you play a card) that you place in front of you.
Let’s go back to the beginning, though.
Read MoreNew to Me – July 2024
I knew July would be a bit of an off month for gaming, but it wasn’t too bad.
However, it didn’t really hit the “new to me games” jackpot, with only three of them to write about.
Funny how it’s still taken me longer to do that than normal?
Blame vacation.
What’s even more is that it wasn’t really that good of a month for new to me gaming, at least until the end.
One of the games, I don’t really want to play it again, though I will if it comes down to it.
Another is decent and fast, with “fast” being the word that will get it played more often than “decent” will.
Finally, though, I played a true gem and managed to actually get it played three times!
Though now I want to travel.
Damn it.
Anyway, the Cult of the New to Me was actually pretty chill this month, maybe because I was on vacation or maybe because one of the three games is from all the way back in 2012!
Of course, that’s the one that I don’t really want to play again, but don’t tell them that.
Some things are best left unsaid.
August is Dragonflight, so I’m sure next month’s post will be filled to the brim with new to me games!
But first, there’s July.
Without further ado (all of my ado was used to make that hideous dress that Ingrid is wearing anyway), let’s begin!
Read MoreJuly 2024 Gaming
It’s hard going back to work after a month off.
It’s been a really tiring week, so much so that I will not be posting my “new to me” games post until at least the weekend.
But I did want to get my July gaming post out.
Being away from work, there were no lunchtime games at all, something that I figured would seriously hinder the stats.
Without a few plays on Boardgame Arena, it would have!
Let’s take a look at the month.
Many thanks to the wonderful BG Stats app for giving me access to these great statistics!
Here’s the list view.
And here they are in beautiful grid format!
A couple of minor things to note, but nothing really major (other than the new to me games, which I will elaborate on later).
Read MorePutting Wood on the Biblical Fire
Reading the description of Ezra & Nehemiah when it first hit Kickstarter, I was intrigued.
If you read this blog for more than just one or two posts, you know I’m a huge fan of Garphill Games and the games designed by Shem Phillips and SJ MacDonald.
While I have enjoyed pretty much every “trilogy” game, I haven’t played many of their other games, including any of the “Ancients” line of games (which aren’t connected at all, except that they all portray “ancient” history in some way).
This was apparently going to be their heaviest game yet, and the setting of the game was also very attractive.
The game takes place in the aftermath of the Babylonian Captivity when the Judeans were returning to Jerusalem and having to rebuild it.
The temple was destroyed, all of the city walls and gates were nothing but rubble.
You, as players, have to take on this daunting task of rebuilding, as well as installing new scholars and teaching the Torah to the masses.
The game actually condenses these years of activity into three weeks (I wish our downtown skyscrapers would get built that fast!), one of many aspects of the theme that seem a little out of place.
I admit that I know very little about the Babylonian Captivity, nor do I know much about the rebuilding of the city.
My friend Dan Thurot over at Space-Biff has done a very good review that talks a great deal about the thematic disconnects he found in the game.
But how does it work as just a game, especially if the issues with the theme don’t bother you?
Ezra & Nehemiah is a game where almost everything you do will get you something, not just for the future, but for now.
Burn stuff on the altar? Not only do you move up on the altar track, but almost every step you move will give you something. This could be a blessing, or maybe some gold, or some money or food.
Build in the temple? Unless you are the least pious person ever working in the temple, you’re going to get something else as well as the points.
The only time this doesn’t happen is when you place your scribes, and the future benefits you get from that are so great that getting anything else would be overpowered (and even then, you might get some food or even a point).
As with most games designed by this illustrious duo, there are three areas in the game were you can spread your actions, or concentrate on one or two and totally ignore the third.
The most basic one is rebuilding the city walls and gates, and this is where you are going to be getting a large portion of the resources you need to do other things.
It’s reasonably cheap, not costing any money and the resources it costs were probably obtained from your previous excavations anyway.
Read MoreHappy Birthday, Board Game Stats!
It recently came to my attention that one of my go-to apps for my phone, not to mention my whole boardgaming experience, turned 10 this year!
Yes, the wonderful Board Game Stats app created and Eerko and Suzan, just celebrated its 10th anniversary a couple of weeks ago, and I just have to stop and give thanks to them as well as wishing them a happy anniversary.
I began using the app in 2016 or 2015, I believe, so for most of its existence!
I’m not sure exactly when I started. I’m just going by the fact that I have quite a few less games played in 2015, which means to me that this year is a year of mostly me backfilling my plays by importing from Boardgame Geek (which I didn’t record religiously at that time).
I’m not sure what made me start recording the games that I play, but I do remember starting it on BGG and then somebody posting in the forums there about this great app for recording your stats.
They give you so much information, and it’s very customizable.
Read MoreCombat Commander – After Action Report – Scenario 22 – A Veritable Bloodbath
Going into Monday’s game of the monthly Combat Commander tournament, I was on a 4-game win streak, and I was Number 5 on the ladder!
The pressure was on, not only to maintain the streak, but perhaps to be playing for almost the top spot in August.
Would I be able to do it?
Let’s start at the beginning.
The Combat Commander ladder is the monthly tournament of one of my favourite games. Created and run by the distinctive Patrick Pence of Patrick’s Tactics & Tutorials fame (really! I’ve never seen anybody like him!), this gives us all a chance to play the game at least once a month, if not more.
Because really, Tony will play you any time, even while asleep!
It’s time for another adventure from the ladder where I demonstrate my prowess!
Or maybe demonstrate how badly I can play.
You be the judge.
This month’s opponent was John A, the first time I’ve ever played him. You get to play some new people when you’re near the top.
This month’s scenario is from the Mediterranean expansion, featuring a massive British attack against a small force of German conscripts and Volksgrenadiers, both very poor quality troops.
(Don’t forget that you can click on an image to blow it up)
The British (tan – me) set up first on the left side of the board, 3 hexes deep.
The Germans (grey – John) set up second up to 12 hexes deep from the right side of the board.
There are a couple of interesting twists, though.
The Germans have to set up their trenches and wire before the British set up, and they can be 15 hexes deep (so basically anywhere on the map).
Secondly, the British squads (NOT teams and leaders) start out suppressed from the surprise firing of the German heavy machine gun.
The only other special rule is that each hex has a “dusk” hindrance equal to the time marker. So it’s getting darker as time goes on.
Sudden Death is at Time 6, so it could be a short scenario, or a long one.
That is a lot of open ground with just a little bit of hindrance for the British to run though.
Thankfully they have a mortar with smoke!
Let’s get started.
Read MoreStealin’ & Robbin’ & Rollin’ Dice
What happens when you find a game that emulates some of the mechanics of one of your favourite games and then adds a bunch to it?
Sometimes you look at it and say “nice try, but you’ll never be as good as my old girlfriend Lindsay” (or whatever her name was).
Other times, you look at it and say “you know, this is pretty cool. You’ll never replace Lindsay, but you’re definitely worth looking at too!”
For me, that’s how I felt when playing Bad Company and comparing it to one of my favourite games, Space Base.
Bad Company was designed by Kenneth Minde, Kristian Amundsen Østby and Eilif Svensson with artwork by Gjermund Bohne. It was published by Aporta Games in 2021.
The game is a dice-rolling and contract-fulfilling game for 1-6 players (which makes it a godsend for those game days where you have 6 but nobody wants to play their own game).
The dice-rolling is where the Space Base (and Machi Koro, though Space Base pretty much killed that one already) comparisons come in at.
What do I mean?
Am I being criminally obscure?
Let’s take a look.
Read MoreFriday Night Shots – Should You Learn a Game Before Trying to Teach It?
Two bar visits in a row? That’s a rarity in 2024!
But I’m happy to have you come in to have a drink and talk about some obscure boardgame topic that my mind has come up with.
I appreciate you indulging me, and I hope you find it of some interest. I hope it’s not the drink that’s bringing you in here!
Have a seat and let me get you something. Non-alcoholic for Brian, of course, but anything you want!
I have some of the best bourbon behind the bar.
Well, yeah…I don’t know bourbon, so maybe not?
It does come well-recommended, though.
Anyway, let’s talk about the teaching of games and how you should go about doing it.
Read More
Dude! Take Your Turn! 