Dude! Take Your Turn!
A Gaming Life
Boardgame Geek Top 300 – Play or Played – #290-281
I such a timely guy, aren’t I? The first post in this series came out what seems like months ago (it was over a month ago, on February 15).
What’s taken so long for the second post?
Would you believe I fell asleep?
All those other posts since then…they were scheduled back in February.
Even the news posts.
Yeah, that’s it.
Oh, all right. Yes, I’m just lame.
Hopefully the next one won’t take as long to get to.
It’s time for a look at the next 10 games in BGG’s Top 300 games. This list was recorded on February 8, 2021, so there will be some movement. I’ve noted that where applicable.
Let’s get this started.
I see bears on the horizon!
Read MorePost-COVID Gaming
It has definitely been a long year.
As mentioned in my 4-year anniversary post on Monday, this year has been especially hard for me, personally but also as a gamer (this is not to diminish how hard it’s been to so many people, especially those who have lost family members…my heart aches for you).
We’ve all gone through anxiety this year, even if we haven’t been personally affected by this disease.
As a social person, even though I don’t always demonstrate it, this year of isolation has been hard. I went from having a weekly game day plus fairly regular conventions to being at home all of the time. My wife willingly played some games with me and that did help (and I love her for it), but it’s still not quite the same.
However, things appear to be looking up, as long as you’re willing to look into the future a bit.
Here in British Columbia, they have now approved public gatherings outside as long as they are ten people or less and they are socially distanced. The ten people should really be part of your bubble.
Vaccinations are going very fast and may even ramp up faster. We’re still not out of the woods yet (new COVID cases in BC have plateaued but at a fairly high level) but we can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Maybe we’ll actually be able to get together for games by September! Or even July!
Or maybe not. We’ll have to see.
(they are talking about us probably going back to work in the office by September, which would be 18 months after we first started working from home).
Read More4 Years and Counting
I sometimes lose track of when I started this blog. Over the weekend, I realized that Saturday was the 4-year anniversary, with my first post going out on March 13, 2017.
It was a review of a wonderful little game called World’s Fair 1893, a game I still really like (though I haven’t played it in a while).
This will be my 446th post and I have to say that it’s been an up and down four years.
There have been times where I’ve posted like crazy and there have been times where I’ve taken almost a month off.
This past year has been hard due to COVID, but after a couple of false starts, things have actually picked up.
The number of times I’ve thought about packing it all in are more numerous than I would like to admit sometimes. I have not always been in the best mental place while doing this blog.
Overall, though, I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m proud of what I’ve done with it.
Read MoreC&C Europe – introduction continuation – #2 Hedgroves and Hand Grenades
This was an amazing scenario of Combat Commander. Once again I truly have to thank Michal for leading me through Combat Commander. He’s a very good opponent, patient with me and it’s always fun to exchange our files back and forth.
The write-up for the 3rd scenario will not be as good because I totally borked the set-up. But I’m sure Michal will make it entertaining!
In the meantime, read his excellent write-up of our second scenario below.
I am continuing our Combat Commander Europe games with Dave. We had such a blast with the first scenario (see here: Once again introducing Combat Commander Europe – #1 FatLipki) that is was a no-brainier that we will play further scenarios. The pandemic situation is not getting any better so it is really great that we can play in digital format.
Again, we will be using Discord for files exchange as well as for any interruptions – like opportunity fire or hidden mines/wire. It proved to be working quite well and game is really flawless. So let me invite you to as usually picture-rich session report from our second game!
Other Combat Commander related articles:CCE REVIEW#1 Fat Lipki#3 A Midnight Clear#4 Closed for renovation#6 One Steppe Beyond#8 Breakout Dance#10 Barbarossa Unleashed#11 Hold the Line#6 Paralyzed from the West Down
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Clank In Space Adventures: Pulsearcade Coming in July
If you’re a fan of this blog (and I can see you, Randy…), you know that I love me some Clank!In!Space! (and once again, that will be the last time I use the exclamation marks as the key on my keyboard is getting worn out).
So imagine my glee when I get an email from Renegade Studios yesterday stating that another expansion is coming in July!
Clank in Space Adventures: Pulsearcade, designed by Paul Dennen and Evan Lorentz, will be hitting game stores this July, adding to all of the Clank in Space fun.
I reviewed the game, along with the Apocalypse expansion, already. A review of the Cyber Station 11 expansion will be coming in the next little while (damn you, COVID!)
What’s this expansion about?
Let’s take a look at the extremely limited information from the web page.
Read MoreExpansion Review – Shards of Infinity: Relics of the Future
One of my new favourite deckbuilding games is the brilliant Shards of Infinity, a game I reviewed back in January.
The game is published by Stoneblade Entertainment and Ultra-PRO and is Designed by Gary Arant and Justin Gary with artwork by Aaron Nakahara.
One of my criticisms of the base game is that while each player is a character/faction, it makes no difference during the game. It’s all very generic.
Enter the expansion, published in 2019, called Relics of the Future.
The expansion adds a number of things that I found really helpful and interesting.
First, it adds 24 new center deck cards. It also gives you 8 Relics (which I’ll talk about in a minute).
Finally, it has three more ways to play the game.
Since I explained how to play the game in my review, I’ll just get into what the expansion adds and why it’s an incredible expansion for this already great game.
Read MoreApp Review – Pavlov’s House
One genre of games I haven’t really gotten into, mainly because I haven’t had the opportunity, is solo gaming. There are many great-sounding solo wargames out there, but the idea of spending 2-3 hours playing a game on the table by myself just doesn’t suit my current situation.
Yet when I learned that one of the acclaimed solo wargames, Pavlov’s House (especially acclaimed by Grant at the Player’s Aid), was coming to digital, I jumped at the chance (it also helped that developer Bookmark Games provided me with a free Steam *and* iOS code for it) to try this out.
In Pavlov’s House (designed and with artwork by David Thompson and published by Dan Verssen Games in 2018), you are in the middle of the epic battle of Stalingrad as Soviet troops defending a house from an enormous German horde of aircraft bombing, troops and tanks trying to storm the house, and artillery.
Many thanks to Grant for the Action Points posts that helped me understand the game enough to really play it in-depth.
What do I think of the app?
Let’s take a look.
Read MoreFury of Dracula from Nomad Games Comes to Mobile
Nomad Games has been very good to me, giving me review codes for many of their games, from Talisman to Talisman: Origins and then the old-time deduction game, Fury of Dracula.
Last week, Nomad Games brought Fury of Dracula to mobile devices, both iPad and iPhone (as well as Android, but I’m not an Android person, so suck on that).
After trying out the review copy that they sent me, I have to say that my review of the game itself is much the same as my original review of the Steam version.
Not much has changed as far as content goes so I think my review stands. It’s still a game that Nomad Games knocked out of the park as far as digital implementation goes, but a game that I really don’t care for that much. (Also, that review tells you how to play the game a bit, so check it out for that because you won’t get it here).
However, let me talk to you about what’s been added since that review (including the mobile versions).
Read MoreNew to Me – February 2021
It’s now March and the Cult of the New to Me is getting restless.
We’re now close to a year since lockdowns and social distancing became a thing rather than some abstract concept.
This past weekend, a year ago, I was coming home from my first major convention, Dice Tower West in Vegas, which was a blast.
We just nipped it in before everything went to shit.
Now we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re still probably at least months away from normalcy.
What’s the first game that I’m probably going to play at my Sunday Funday board game meetup (assuming it’s still happening)?
Depending on who shows up, very probably Terraforming Mars.
No matter what the Cult thinks of that.
In February, I played new games, both from Boardgame Arena. I’m really liking how they’ve come through during this pandemic with so many games to play, and even more coming!
They were recently bought by Asmodee, which gives me a little pause, but supposedly nothing will change.
We’ll see about that.
In the meantime, my thanks to them for making playing games at home so easy!
So, without further adieu (all of my adieu was buried in the Egyptian sands by some stupid Pharaoh anyway), let’s get this show on the road!
Read Morenew edition of Spartacus from Gale Force 9 releases on April 17
Who can resist a TV show (or game!) that has bloody arena combat between two (or more) fierce gladiators, where death may come quickly or it may come slowly in quick, debilitating cuts here and there that leave your gladiator struggling to survive?
Gale Force 9 can’t! And neither can I.
A game I really enjoyed back in the day, Spartacus: a Game of Blood & Treachery is an intense game of intrigue and bloody fighting, where players are a Dominus, or head of a noble house in ancient Rome. They are vying for influence, fame, and the favor of Rome.
On April 17, Gale Force 9 will be releasing a new edition of the game, which is based on the old STARZ TV series.
The game was designed by Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski, Sean Sweigart. I don’t know who has done the new artwork. It was originally published in 2012 (which I guess means there won’t be a special 10th anniversary edition next year).
The game will have new artwork but the gameplay will be mostly unchanged with just a couple of variants (including one common variant that has now been made an official variant).
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Dude! Take Your Turn! 