This was the only title I had played previously. My opinion of this game hasn't changed much. I think it plays really nicely with a wide compliment of players. I actually managed to win it somehow. I'm not sure if I like or don't like that about it. I imagine as you get to better know the cards the game can take on a more strategic flavor, because with my knowledge of the decks my decisions are almost purely tactical besides the "chained" improvements at least. Still a very fun game, one that I may even consider owning at one point because of seating so many. I'm also kind of curious how it plays with fewer people. The game I played today had 5 players, which was an improvement over the 7 that were involved during my previous play. I think I might like seeing how the game flows when the chances of receiving your own cards back increases, say maybe with 3-4 players. The group also owned a copy of the Leaders expansion, but they thought it better to teach me the rules to the base game first and give that a go. After we had finished another player joined us and attention got shifted to another game. No worries here, I'm curious if the expansion might push it over the "mediocre line" for me, as of right now it seems a little light for my taste and really hasn't shown me a propensity for tough decisions, but I gather this is because I have no idea what potential hands I may receive, what cards are clearly better than others and obviously a lot of the strategic pacing is missing for me. I might need to play this one a few more times before I'd buy it. It definitely is the best game out of the three I played tonight however.
When I first saw this guy floating around the geek I was rather interested in it. I'm a sucker for all the pretty dice just like... well... everyone else. For those not familiar with the game, it goes something like this... it's a dice collecting game or a dicebuilder if you will. There is a pool of dice available to every player in the middle of the table and a bag in each players hand. The players all start with some basic dice which are weak creatures and some dice which have "money" values on them. I believe you start with 12 dice total. Then you put those in your sack and shake em up! You draw six dice out of the bag per turn, roll them, and then use the results to either put monsters in play or use your money to buy dice with more impacting actions. Upgrade! I only got to play this once, after a few turns I was already aware of some mistakes I had made... or rather different directions I would have went atleast. It was better than I had thought it would be, I just wonder how long the fun would last. I've never really been taken too far back by card games or their offspring but this may seem like one of the more tolerable. One thing I can say for sure, is that after I was done playing it I had the desire to play it again to see if I could improve. That's a good sign. I don't know if it'll make to my collection, but it's very enjoyable.
This one had actually been on my wishlist sometime back. I can't remember what it was that made me reconsider but I remember actually having it lined up in a trade at one point and bailed on it. This game is a deduction game similar to the old classic Scotland Yard, but set in a nunnery for young woman. You will be playing these young women as they attempt to sneak around the premises looking for their desired vice. the humor and art style of this game is one that I identify with. The artist's drawings of the characters remind me of Archie comics for some reason. It was a little tricky for the host to explain this to all the new players because of the way the movements are recorded. (they are written coordinates that you keep on your own personal sheet out of view of all other players) After we got things rolling it played pretty well, there were some moments of tension and what seemed like a game that would go on for a bit ended before I saw it coming. I guess some of the other players had a better handle on it than me. Some things to note about this one that I didn't like: the board was kind of confusing. There was a little chart included in the rule book that went over some of the point-to-point line of sight match-ups, some of which were made very confusing by the busy board. Several of the players actually made mistakes that almost warranted starting the game over. This is sort of different from other games where rule breaking is apparent and almost always correctable, because information regarding where your character was on the map isn't really revealed unless you've been caught. Sure there's the paper trail, where you've recorded your current location and past locations, but that's no fun. Given how simple the game really is, I think given a less rushed presentation of the rules or even another go at it would have resolved any confusion. I thought this game was a lot of fun, although I can't think of many instances where I'd prefer to play this kind of game over some of my other favorites... as of right now I'm fine playing John's copy when I get a chance.
Good gaming everyone!
