Disney Villainous

Disney Villainous is a board game in which each player takes control of one of six Disney villains, each from a different Disney movie.  The quality and production value of this game is very good, and I was excited to try it out.  One thing I was looking forward to was the various and unique win conditions that each player is given.

Unfortunately, I have played this twice with various family members and and each time the game was not enjoyed by all other players.  I have enjoyed it, but others said the game felt tedious, unfocused, and inane, even after they knew the rules and had played for more than a few turns.

I'm excited to try it out with a larger group of my friends, who as experienced gamers may have a different take on what I felt was a strategic and involved game....

Stratego Waterloo

My dad and I are always trying out new games in our father-son weekends that occur every few months.  In our last one, we decided to unwrap and play Stratego Waterloo, which recreates the Battle of Waterloo, fought way back on Sunday, 18 June 1815.  On that day, the French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by a British-led allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army under the command of Field Marshal Blücher.

Playing the original Stratego against my dad is one of my first memories of playing boardgames, and I was excited to try this version and refight the Battle of Waterloo. I played Emperor Napoleon, and my dad took the Duke of Wellington.  The winner in this version of the game is the first player that succeeds in severing the lines of retreat of the opposite player (occupying the flank of the opponent).  The game is also lost if a player loses his commander and commander in chief.

The French took a heavy toll on the British early game, but once the Prussians entered the fray, the artillery of the French was quickly destroyed in flanking maneuvers.  Cavalry succeeded on both sides winnowing down opposing forces.  In the end, Napoleon was hunted down and defeated by an elite English infantry unit, and the battle was lost for the French.

Stratego Waterloo is a light wargame, but more heavy than the original Stratego.  You definitely experience the give and take feel of the lines of battle and your use of cavalry to make thrusts into the enemy lines is a key factor in success.  The French made good use of its cavalry early game, but once the Prussians entered the battle, it turned the tide of battle.  Vive La France!

Blitz Bowl - Five Player Dungeon Bowl

After successfully trying out a four player 'Crossroads' game for Blitz Bowl a few months back, we decided next to use some old Warhammer Quest tiles and some Frostgrave chests to play a five player Dungeon Bowl game.

Dungeon Bowl is a variant of Blood Bowl that uses chests which either explode or contain a ball.  There are also twelve teleporters that can be used to randomly teleport players around the dungeon (using a roll of a D12).  As you can imagine, Dungeon Bowl using Blitz Bowl rules is even more chaotic and random than a normal game of Blitz Bowl....

The first part of the game was each team searching for the ball hidden in one of the trapped chests scattered throughout the dungeon.  Unfortunately, we quickly realized that the game wasn't working well.  The high number of players we had selected and the small width of the corridors made movement difficult, even with the teleporters.

So Dungeon Bowl using Blitz Bowl rules was a bust, but I'm still glad we tried it out.  It makes me more excited for future regular games of Blitz Bowl, as well as curious to try out other multiplayer variants.  I'm considering making a custom three player mat in the near future.

Blitz Bowl - Four Player Crossroads

I completed a custom four player "Crossroads" pitch for Blitz Bowl games before the holidays.  It was made from some felt from JOANN Fabrics and Crafts and a black Sharpie pen, (I tried to use a white fabric marker, but it went dry much too easily and had to switch to the Sharpie early on).

Over the holidays we played a few four-player games on it and have had a great time each time we have played.

The rules are a little different - the first team to score ten points wins....  You get five points for a touchdown and one point for causing an injury.  We use two balls at all times and the only rule we changed (in addition to no cards) is that if a player starts your turn prone, you can attempt to injure that player by using a Block action; if you roll a result that forces an armor roll, there is a -2 penalty to the armor roll. It is a benefit to crunchy teams....

In the center, we placed a single statue of Nuffle, which also throws out the balls at the start of the game (and whenever a touchdown is scored).

Our first game was Skaven vs. Chaos vs. Orcs vs. Dwarfs. The Skaven scored on the second turn (due to their 9 Move), but in the end the Chaos pulled off two touchdowns with some smash and grabs.  Scoring is hard, but if you are opportunistic, can happen fast, just like in the standard game.  All teams scored at least one TD, except for the Orcs, (they were too busy smashing, and rolled terribly most of the game).

For our second game, we played Elves vs. Orcs vs. Chaos vs. Goblins.  This game was fast - just 30 minutes. The Goblins won this time, and again, all teams but one scored at least one touchdown.

We are looking forward to additional games, and perhaps using some Warhammer Quest tiles to play a version of Dungeon Bowl using the Blitz Bowl mechanics.

Games Workshop's Blitz Bowl - A Review

Over the last few weeks we have been been painting up models for Blitz Bowl, while also getting more than a few plays of it in.  We have all found Blitz Bowl to be a great two-player game - very different from Blood Bowl, but enjoyable in a very unique way.

It is fast to play, provides a ton of strategy and choices, and the game provides additional team cards (apart from the Humans and Orcs) that allow you to use additional teams.  This was a great choice by Games Workshop and makes the game extensible with additional models, providing much more variety in match-ups.

The Challenge Cards are what make the game shine; they provide randomness and enhance the flavor of the game by taking some of the focus off of just scoring touchdowns.

We have models for most of the teams now and it seems that they are all mostly balanced for our style of play.  If we had to pick a weaker team, it would appear to be the Elves.  Although good at passing, they have a really poor armor stat and are not as fast as the Skaven.  This could just be our own experience because we haven't seen a lot of passing in our games.  All of the other teams seem to have useful benefits that make them more or less competitive.

I've only fully painted up one full team so far (my female Dwarfs), but I'm hoping to paint up the Humans soon.  We are also hoping to get a few more games in, (including some four-player games using a custom pitch I created).

If you are interested, there is additional information about the game on the Warhammer Community website, including a Watch It Played video explaining the rules.

Blitz Bowl is available only from Barnes and Noble and is well worth its price of $44.95.

Quartermaster General: Victory or Death – The Peloponnesian War

This weekend I played Quartermaster General: Victory or Death – The Peloponnesian War with my dad.  We found it to be a great two-player game and a good break from the original version of Quartermaster General (which is themed around World War 2).  This version is themed around the Peloponnesian War, where one side plays Athens and the Delian League - "the Demos", while the other side plays Sparta and Corinth - "the Oligarchs".  Each of the four has different strengths and weaknesses, and each gets a different number of cards and game pieces, which gives each a unique flavor.

Our first game was a learning game and we adjusted to the rules fairly well, being veterans of the original World War 2 version.  Victory or Death is similar to the original version in game mechanics, but allows for a little more variety in strategy.  We also found it a little more forgiving around a bad initial drawing of cards.  The more relaxed restrictions around supply were welcomed and allowed for more expansion without constant fear of losing supply lines to your units.  The addition of bribery tokens as a means to fix a broken supply line also was welcome, while also feeling thematic.

Each side won one of the first two games.  The components were of good quality and I learned more about the Peloponnesian War.  We also became more familiar with the geography of Ancient Greece after just two games.  I highly recommend it as a good, thematic two-player game that explores a time period often overlooked in wargames.

Star Wars: Destiny - A Great Card and Dice Game for Two Players

We have all now played Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars: Destiny more than a number of times over the last few weeks. We have played our games using Google Hangouts, which has worked great.

Destiny is a a collectible dice and card game for two players. A game lasts about 20 or 25 minutes, and the game offers risk-mitigation, tough decisions, and nice randomness with the dice rolls. I started with a pair of each of the following to get into the game:

• Two-Player Game (now available at a steep discount at Target, Amazon, and Best Buy)

• Luke Skywalker Starter Set

• Boba Fett Starter Set 

• Rivals Draft Set

I've supplemented the above with a few singles from Cool Stuff Inc., and that has provided more than enough variety to play a number of different decks and employ a few different strategies.  With the Two-Player Game on deep clearance, it is a no-brainer to pick up two copies of it to try the game out.  Two copies provides you with two full decks, with a slight amount of extra cards for deckbuilding.

Admiral Ackbar - Hero of the Rebellion (Star Wars: Rebellion Session Report)

The Rebels has just moved their base from Dantooine to Yavin. Then disaster. Preventing any retreat with their Interdictor, the Rebel Fleet (with two Mon Calamari Cruisers) was entirely destroyed over the planet Ord Mantell.  Then worse, Admiral Ackbar was captured (after that same battle) and held prisoner on Ord Mantell.  Luckily, just before his interrogation started, Han Solo mounted a rescue mission using the Millennium Falcon, preventing the location of the Rebel Base from being revealed....

With the location safe for now, the Imperials launched small scout parties across the galaxy. One such party was led by Tarkin and found the base on Yavin. Tarkin's small band was easily eliminated, but the with just two turns left for the massive Imperial fleet to travel two spaces and attack, the Rebel once again had to move it's base - this time to Hoth.

With having built-up loyalty across the galaxy, the Rebels reduced the game length one last time (those loyalty markers finally did come in handy). On the last turn of the game, the Rebels first action was to attack the only small Imperial fleet that could land on Hoth before game end. The first turn of combat was a disaster, but with Admiral Ackbar's leadership (and re-rolls), the Rebels escaped with a victory. With that victory, the galaxy was made safe for freedom.

So the Rebel base ended up being on Dantooine, then Yavin, then Hoth. Just like the movies.... But in this game Star Wars was the story of Admiral Ackbar - not Luke Skywalker. Admiral Ackbar's recruitment, capture, rescue, and ultimate victory explained the story arc, and also demonstrated the cinematic feel of the game.

USS Missouri (BB-63) - Axis and Allies Game Piece

A few years ago I painted up a small model of the USS Missouri - the model itself is an old game piece from an Axis and Allies boardgame.  It is based on a Games Workshop cavalry base.   I quickly painted it one evening to test out water techniques for Dreadfleet. Being an Axis and Allies game piece means that most details are missing (especially the height of the turrets), but it was still fun to paint.

The USS Missouri (BB-63) is an Iowa-class battleship and was the last battleship to be commissioned by the US.  It hosted the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II.

The "Mighty Mo" is now a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  A few years back, I got to tour the ship with my dad, father-in-law, and daughter, which was one of the inspirations.  If you visit Oahu, I highly recommend taking a day to visit Pearl Harbor and take the tour.

Mice and Mystics - Three (Not-Blind) Mice

I painted these up a year or two ago, for the Mice and Mystics game by Plaid Hat Games.  I painted them up simply, and then dipped them per my usual method.  Although the models are fun, the game was unfortunately not a hit in our household.  I decided to keep the miniatures however.

JeffCon 2017 Recap

Last week was our (fifth annual) JeffCon up at Jeff's cabin at Lake Kachess.  Again we brought a mix of old classics and new games to try out. Here are some of the games we played this year

• Kingdomino - This latest Bruno Cathala game was my top new game.  This Spiel des Jahres winner is fun, fast, and provides good choices for players to make.  It is a simple take on dominos, with players each building a 5x5 grid which scores points based on the number of crowns in a connected area, times the number of similar types in that connected area.
• Machi Koro: Bright Lights, Big City - This was my prior day's purchase, as it was on sale at Target.  We had played the original game with expansions a few days before.  It is a fun, simple game, but the red and purple stealing cards seemed to drag on the end-game a little further than needed.
• Cyclades - This is an old favorite, but this was the first time playing on the six-player map, with three teams of two.  I found that it changed the game by adding more conflict and more combat-focused, which I didn't enjoy.  The expansion added Kronos, and another way to initiate a battle.  The proximity of land-based neighbors made the game feel more like a wargame than a balanced builder.
• Star Trek: Ascendancy - We played this for a second time, which provided a similar fun experience to the first game we played.  I'm looking forward to the long-delayed expansions.
• Star Wars: X-Wing - We played a six-player deathmatch, with pre-defined squads of 30 points each (each player using only one ship).  The table was two mats long and we played to 10 points, (with 3 points for a kill and 1 point for a hit).  It was a fun way to experience the game, as it has been awhile since I have played it.
• Risk: Legacy - We are now three games into our campaign and we just opened our first card pack.  As it is a Risk game, it has some drawbacks in mechanics and the payoff has been lacking.  Although the first few games have been fairly dull, we are hoping the legacy aspects bring some variety and fun to future games.  
• Stockpile - This was the highlight of Jeffcon gaming last year. This stock trading game is still fun with its great bidding mechanism, but I'm starting to tire of it the more games I play.  There appear to be few choices to make other than during bidding and the price movement of stocks are very random and unpredictable.

Star Trek: Ascendancy

A few weeks back, Juice, Strom and I played our first game of Star Trek: Ascendancy, a three-player game of space exploration, expansion, research, and combat by Gale Force Nine.

The game provides many different paths to victory, and one aspect we all enjoyed is that each faction plays differently and has unique benefits and drawbacks.  Juice played the Romulans and focused on technological advances.  Strom played the Klingons and built large fleets for expansion.  I played the peaceful Federation and drove hard toward a cultural victory through careful exploration and colonization.

I started with a lead in cultural points, which also act as victory points to end the game.  However, I ignored technological and military advances which eventually sealed my doom.  Just before what would have been the turn when I would have claimed victory, Juice used his warp technology to warp all the way across the universe to the Federation home spaces, which he conquered.  The Klingons soon followed suite and I ended up simply being the king-maker in deciding a Klingon/Romulan tie.

Overall, the game has good pacing and offers choices in how to build your empire.  I think the end game came a little too quickly, as advancements build exponentially upon prior advancements in culture and technology. It does have a strong Star Trek theme and the overall game mechanics work well.  It is one of the best three-player games I have played and I highly recommend it for that reason.  It appears that Gale Force Nine's additional player factions are soon being released as game expansions, after a long delay in production.

Star Wars: Risk

I have played Star Wars: Risk a number of times now with my Dad - it's a great two-player game, and not like Risk at all. It's based on the old "Star Wars: Queen's Gambit" board game, but the theme is the attack on Death Star 2 from ROTJ. The designers also designed the classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer Boardgame (another great game) and like that game this is also a very fun and fast (30 minute play time) game with a great theme.

Our first game was much like the movie. Shield Generator came down, Death Star took out a few capital ships, Luke turned Vader, but the snub fighters (Y-Wings) destroyed the Death Star in the end. Rebels win. Second game was different - Luke was killed by Vader, Falcon blew up, and the Executor engaged the Rebel fleet head on. Rebels were delayed taking out the Shield Generator with simply terrible die-rolling, but finally did it -- just as the last Rebel Capital ship was destroyed. Still a mass of X-Wings and B-Wings still had a chance to take out the Death Star, but were annihilated before they could initiate the final attack run. Close, but Imperials win.

In the plays since, the Rebels have often won, but many of the games have been close.  At the end, when the Rebels need a "6" to blow up the Death Star, there are a number of fun "stand-up and pay attention" dice rolls being made.  It appears that the Rebels are favored balance-wise, but a run of bad die-rolls for the Rebels can balance things out quickly. A few simple rule modifications can also help balance things out.
 
Components could be better (thin cardboard and cards). There is a "Black" edition that upgrades some of the components from cardboard to models.  Its about $25 and sold at the big-box stores and Amazon too.  I highly recommend it as a good, fast two-player game.

Pay Dirt

We've played Pay Dirt a few times over the last few months.  Pay Dirt is a worker placement game for up to five players and we've enjoyed it each time we've played.  There are three items to bid on each turn - claims to mine, equipment to process the claims, and workers to man the equipment.  I've been told that the characters in the game are from the TV show Gold Rush.

Each turn, you typically get one of the items to build your engine.  The objective is to produce gold pieces (which act as the victory points for the game, but can also be sold for cash to increase your ability to bid in the bidding phase).  The game has a great mechanic called the "Hardship Phase" to help prevent someone from running away if they are winning.

In all, I've enjoyed the game each time we've played. It is a good length game, with a well-paced middle and end game.  It has great components, although some of the smaller pieces are a bit fiddly.  I recommend it if you like engine-building and worker placement games.

Quartermaster General

Quartermaster General is a 2-6 player World War 2 strategy game that uses a card-driven mechanic.  Unlike most World War 2 games, it focuses on the logistics and importance of supply in warfare.  There are no dice, and battles (if you initiate them) are always victories (unless your opponent has planned for it by spending a card on a turn before the battle).  It is the newest addition to our twice-yearly father-son weekends.

I first saw this game back in 2014 when Ian Brody, the game's designer was showing it off at Gencon.  After its release, I bought it.  I brought it out for a gamenight for six-player session a few years back, but it seemed to bog down with that many players (probably due to it being its first play).  I enjoyed it and wanted to give it another try, this time with my dad as a two-player game.  I think the game really shines at two players - there is little downtime, and the action is fast and decisive.  There are options, and each game felt different based on the initial card draws and back-and-forth gameplay.

The only drawback was the score track, which if you forget a turn of scoring can have a significant effect on the end game.  I created a score track using Google Docs, which easily and quickly records the score each turn. The great thing is that it also acts as a record for each game played.  So far, we've played three games with the score trackers - two Allied victories and one Axis victory.

I look forward to playing it in the future, and recommend it for a great two-player experience.  If you are looking for a light-to-medium weight wargame that plays in about an hour, I suggest you pick it up.

1960: The Making of the President

1960: The Making of the President is my dad and my go-to game for our twice-yearly father-son weekends. It combines a few things we like - politics, history, and interesting game mechanics - all in a fun strategy game. The game uses the 1960 Presidential election between JFK and Nixon as its topic.  If you are familiar with Twilight Struggle, 1960 is a similar card-driven area control game.

This is the one game that we have probably had the most plays of, having played it well over twenty-times. We have had a few run-away winners over that time, but most games are close, with the last turn or two deciding the game.  I usually play Kennedy, with his strength in the Mid-Atlantic and South, with my dad taking Nixon and his strength in the West.  Your goal is to reach 270 electoral votes across the 50 states. Last game was the first time we had a 269-269 electoral college tie - the vote went to the House, and Nixon became the 35th President of the United States.

Each card represents an event that happened in that historic campaign, and provides some history to the 1960 election and the candidates.  If you enjoy history and are looking for a mid-length two player game, I highly recommend it.

Five Tribes

Five Tribes is a multiplayer, Mancala-like worker-placement game (designed by Bruno Cathala) that we have played on more than a few occasions.  It was the 2014 Golden Geek Best Strategy Board Game winner and has received high praise from a number of boardgamers.  

Each turn you select a square and pickup the meeples on it, placing them one at a time on adjacent squares (making a path orthogonally around the board).  When you place the last meeple in a square, you get to take an action based on the color of that last meeple (and others matching that color in that square).

There are two aspects that I like about the game.  First, the bidding mechanic allows you to spend an amount of victory points to increase your chances of going first (in case you see a great combination or move to start the next turn). Second, I enjoy the brain-burning aspect of the game, in terms of the vast number of options and plays you can make each turn.

In general, it seems that there are different paths to victory and it is enjoyable to make a high-scoring play that others may have overlooked.  I recommend trying it out if you are looking for a mid-length four player game.

Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower

A few weekends ago we tried out the new Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower.  Back in 1995, we played the original Warhammer Quest a number of times over the summer break.  We wondered if this new version would live up to the fond memories of that time.  We used some custom character templates I made to allow us to use original Warhammer Fantasy characters and models, (as we wanted to limit the new Age of Sigmar models).

In all, the game was fun, although very different from the classic.  There are good decisions and the turns can go by fairly fast.  Each character seemed unique and was fun to play.  The narrative structure of the game was appreciated, and help create a cinematic experience.  As for level of fun, most wanted to try the next scenario in future gaming sessions, so I declare that as success.

She-Ra: Princess of Power Card Game

About nine months ago, I started work on a custom card game for my daughter who loves She-Ra: The Princess of Power.  After creating a template in Excel, using screen captures of She-Ra episodes from Hulu, and using my rudimentary Photoshop skills, the card images were complete last month.  Thankfully, Artscow had a sale on custom card decks a few weeks ago.  The three custom decks arrived from China earlier last week and we played for the first time a few nights ago.  The game is based loosely on the Star Wars CCG from the late 1990s.  We used just the basic rules, but each card has attributes for a more complicated game.  My daughters loved it, and we are looking forward to playing again soon.

Frostgrave - Elsa and Anna from Frozen

Last weekend I sat down to paint two miniatures I ordered from North Star Military Figures for Frostgrave.  The description is for Fire Elementalists to avoid potential legal action, (else Mickey Mouse "gonna' sue somebody").  Although they will work well for Frostgrave, I could use them for Warhammer Quest:  Silver Tower or Age of Sigmar....  I'm happy with how the snow bases turned out.