Further details at 11 ...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Games of the board variety...
Well, I figured it’s time for me to contribute by giving a list of a few of the board games in my collection, and a brief description of each of them. I'll also lists the pros & cons of each, as is relevant to our group (and my opinion).
Arkham Horror
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15987
Set in the small(ish) town of Arkham in the 1920’s, this is pretty much Call of Cthulhu roleplaying converted to a board game. Investigators need to gather clues as to what is happening, explore and close/seal gates to alternate worlds that have opened, kill any monsters that have emerged from said gates, and ultimately either prevent the Great Old One from awakening, or fight him if he does.
Pros:
* About as close as you can get to roleplaying within the confines of a board game
* Can have from 1-8 players
* Co-operative. All players are on the same side
* With 40+ characters, 20+ Great Old Ones and a few other setup parameters such as various heralds and guardians, there is a lot of replayability to the game.
Cons:
* The game takes up a lot of space. A total of 4 boards, 50+ (no, that is not a misprint) different decks of cards, plus character sheets, tokens, counters, etc.
* Game takes a long time; 30 minutes to set up, 3+ hours to play. If we play this, it’ll need to be something we plan to play; we can’t just spontaneously play a game because we’ve got a spare hour or so.
* Arguably not overly faithful to the spirit of H.P Lovecraft's stories. I have the suspicion that a black female athlete taking out an awakening Cthulhu with a shotgun would cause Lovecraft to turn in his grave.
Last Night on Earth
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29368
This game plonks the players down in your standard Zombie type movie (think Dawn of the Dead). Players have a specific mission to perform to win the game. This is played in a 4 vs. 1 format, 4 human characters, versus 1 person controlling the Zombies. Interestingly, it is also the only board game I've ever purchased that came with its own CD soundtrack in thebox.
Pros:
* Very easy to play. Move or search, shoot, and then fight. You’ll pick it up within 3 minutes.
* 8 different characters, 5 different missions, plus a variable board made out of random tiles means the game is very replayable.
* Quick to play. This is a game that can be thrown in if we’ve got a spare hour.
Cons:
* Only up to 5 players.
Fury of Dracula
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20963
Set about 10 years after the events of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Dracula has arisen once more, and the 4 hunters must find and pursue him across Europe. This is also played in a 4 vs. 1 format.
Pros:
* Good teamwork and strategy required.
* The game result seems to nearly always finish on a knife-edge.
* Very atmospheric.
Cons:
* Only up to 5 players.
* Although they are still involved in team discussions, a player who is on the wrong side of Europe when Dracula’s location is revealed can seem to spend most of the game travelling across Europe to catch up with their fellow hunters.
* Not sure if this is really a 'con', but the game title is misleading. More than “Fury” of Dracula, it’s more like the “Running and Hiding” of Dracula.
Risk 2210AD
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1829
I’ll assume you’ve seen/played standard Risk. This version is set in the future and the board has changed to include undersea cities, as well as allowing territories on the moon to be fought over. Players have energy (money) they can spend to buy new commanders (Army, Navy, Space, Nuclear and Diplomatic) as well as cards relevant to those commanders.
Pros:
* Unlike standard Risk, this is limited to 5 rounds, so the game does not drag on for several hours of tedious dice-rolling as my 60 armies in Egypt attack your 55 armies in the Middle East.
* There are a lot of various strategies with the commanders. Do you buy them all, or just focus on 1 or 2 and buy a lot of cards for those commanders? Do you focus on your earth bound armies, or do you spend the energy in landing on the moon?
Cons:
* Only up to 5 players.
* Well, this is about as far from roleplaying as you can get while still sitting around a table with a pile of dice in front of you.
Talisman
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5336
The classic board game. Characters explore the land searching for treasure, fighting monsters and building up their stats until they are strong enough to fight the Dragon King to win the game. NB: This is 3rd edition Talisman.
Pros:
* Can have up to 10 players
* Game is very tweakable based on how long we want to play. We can change the win condition to be “the first character to get 6 gold is the winner” for a quick game, or “the first character to take a total of 3 lives off their opponents” for a quick and more interactive game.
Cons:
* Very simplistic game. Roll dice, move, draw a card to see what happens. Don't expect to do any roleplaying.
* Unless we tweak the rules as mentioned above, the players don’t tend to interact much.
Lord of the Rings
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/823
Based on the books/movies. Up to 5 characters need to take the ring to Mount Doom and destroy it there. This is definitely a co-operative game, where 1 character may wind up sacrificing themselves so that the party may continue.
Pros:
* Absolutely stunning artwork on the boards.
* Team work is a must in this game. Players may need to sacrifice their character to help the party continue.
* The storyline is faithful to the books.
* Can be played in about an hour.
Cons:
* Only up to 5 players.
* The game is extremely abstract. The party progresses thru the scenarios by “spending” cards that represent Friendship, Travelling, Combat and Hiding. So as the party moves through Moria, for example, it’s not a case of “let’s turn left at the next junction”, rather it’s a case of “I’ll pay 2 travelling cards to advance us towards the end of the scenario”.
* I haven’t played this for quite a few years and will need to refresh my memory before we play it.
Arkham Horror
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15987
Set in the small(ish) town of Arkham in the 1920’s, this is pretty much Call of Cthulhu roleplaying converted to a board game. Investigators need to gather clues as to what is happening, explore and close/seal gates to alternate worlds that have opened, kill any monsters that have emerged from said gates, and ultimately either prevent the Great Old One from awakening, or fight him if he does.
Pros:
* About as close as you can get to roleplaying within the confines of a board game
* Can have from 1-8 players
* Co-operative. All players are on the same side
* With 40+ characters, 20+ Great Old Ones and a few other setup parameters such as various heralds and guardians, there is a lot of replayability to the game.
Cons:
* The game takes up a lot of space. A total of 4 boards, 50+ (no, that is not a misprint) different decks of cards, plus character sheets, tokens, counters, etc.
* Game takes a long time; 30 minutes to set up, 3+ hours to play. If we play this, it’ll need to be something we plan to play; we can’t just spontaneously play a game because we’ve got a spare hour or so.
* Arguably not overly faithful to the spirit of H.P Lovecraft's stories. I have the suspicion that a black female athlete taking out an awakening Cthulhu with a shotgun would cause Lovecraft to turn in his grave.
Last Night on Earth
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29368
This game plonks the players down in your standard Zombie type movie (think Dawn of the Dead). Players have a specific mission to perform to win the game. This is played in a 4 vs. 1 format, 4 human characters, versus 1 person controlling the Zombies. Interestingly, it is also the only board game I've ever purchased that came with its own CD soundtrack in thebox.
Pros:
* Very easy to play. Move or search, shoot, and then fight. You’ll pick it up within 3 minutes.
* 8 different characters, 5 different missions, plus a variable board made out of random tiles means the game is very replayable.
* Quick to play. This is a game that can be thrown in if we’ve got a spare hour.
Cons:
* Only up to 5 players.
Fury of Dracula
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20963
Set about 10 years after the events of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Dracula has arisen once more, and the 4 hunters must find and pursue him across Europe. This is also played in a 4 vs. 1 format.
Pros:
* Good teamwork and strategy required.
* The game result seems to nearly always finish on a knife-edge.
* Very atmospheric.
Cons:
* Only up to 5 players.
* Although they are still involved in team discussions, a player who is on the wrong side of Europe when Dracula’s location is revealed can seem to spend most of the game travelling across Europe to catch up with their fellow hunters.
* Not sure if this is really a 'con', but the game title is misleading. More than “Fury” of Dracula, it’s more like the “Running and Hiding” of Dracula.
Risk 2210AD
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1829
I’ll assume you’ve seen/played standard Risk. This version is set in the future and the board has changed to include undersea cities, as well as allowing territories on the moon to be fought over. Players have energy (money) they can spend to buy new commanders (Army, Navy, Space, Nuclear and Diplomatic) as well as cards relevant to those commanders.
Pros:
* Unlike standard Risk, this is limited to 5 rounds, so the game does not drag on for several hours of tedious dice-rolling as my 60 armies in Egypt attack your 55 armies in the Middle East.
* There are a lot of various strategies with the commanders. Do you buy them all, or just focus on 1 or 2 and buy a lot of cards for those commanders? Do you focus on your earth bound armies, or do you spend the energy in landing on the moon?
Cons:
* Only up to 5 players.
* Well, this is about as far from roleplaying as you can get while still sitting around a table with a pile of dice in front of you.
Talisman
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5336
The classic board game. Characters explore the land searching for treasure, fighting monsters and building up their stats until they are strong enough to fight the Dragon King to win the game. NB: This is 3rd edition Talisman.
Pros:
* Can have up to 10 players
* Game is very tweakable based on how long we want to play. We can change the win condition to be “the first character to get 6 gold is the winner” for a quick game, or “the first character to take a total of 3 lives off their opponents” for a quick and more interactive game.
Cons:
* Very simplistic game. Roll dice, move, draw a card to see what happens. Don't expect to do any roleplaying.
* Unless we tweak the rules as mentioned above, the players don’t tend to interact much.
Lord of the Rings
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/823
Based on the books/movies. Up to 5 characters need to take the ring to Mount Doom and destroy it there. This is definitely a co-operative game, where 1 character may wind up sacrificing themselves so that the party may continue.
Pros:
* Absolutely stunning artwork on the boards.
* Team work is a must in this game. Players may need to sacrifice their character to help the party continue.
* The storyline is faithful to the books.
* Can be played in about an hour.
Cons:
* Only up to 5 players.
* The game is extremely abstract. The party progresses thru the scenarios by “spending” cards that represent Friendship, Travelling, Combat and Hiding. So as the party moves through Moria, for example, it’s not a case of “let’s turn left at the next junction”, rather it’s a case of “I’ll pay 2 travelling cards to advance us towards the end of the scenario”.
* I haven’t played this for quite a few years and will need to refresh my memory before we play it.
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