We’d only played this game once before, and Space Cat gained a reputation as an egg stealer as a result. It had been a while, though, so we did a refresher on the rules. Since the three cards we drew were all high level predators, we decided to give the deck another shuffle before actually starting.
This is the overview of the previously posted story mode.
During this game things we started to get a bit smarter. Most of us realized we needed to make more noise in general (so as not to be so easily identified).
Having both the Robber and the Troublemaker made things a bit interesting as it resulted in one of the original Werewolves being turned into a Villager.
Once again we pointed at random and The Professor and Space Cat tied which meant they both died. Since neither one was a Werewolf (they were a Villager and Troublemaker, respectively) the Werewolf team won.
This is an overview of the previously posted story mode.
This was our first time playing the game. As such it didn’t involve much discussion. We looked at our tiles, followed the announcer’s instructions, and then during the discussion phase we all just looked at each other wondering what to do. So The Professor skipped ahead on the timer, and we randomly pointed at each other. President Gamer ended up with 3 votes, so he died. He was a Werewolf (as was I), so the Werewolf team lost.
This is a super quick, easy, and fun game. It’s a little like Avalon, but our group had way more fun with this game. I think part of that was due to my husband getting the free app (available for Android and iTunes) that goes along with the game. There are different options for the announcer’s voice and background sounds (Shutter didn’t like the wolves).
The first game we played didn’t involve much discussion. We looked at our tiles, followed the announcer’s instructions, and then during the discussion phase we all just looked at each other wondering what to do. So The Professor skipped ahead on the timer, and we randomly pointed at each other.
This was another game we learned about from TableTop, but we kept getting it confused with Takenoko because the names are so similar. We finally had an opportunity to play this at a convention we went to. There was a little confusion when we were organizing the pieces because the person who owned it also had some sort of expansion for it. We had extra character cards and pieces that were not explained in the rules. We set those aside and focused on what was in the rules.
Game play is fairly simple. Whoever is last on the road moves even if this means they take several turns in a row, so one strategy is to always try to be behind the other players on the road. You choose the space you want to move to and take the appropriate action (drawing a card, taking money, donating money, etc). There are a lot of ways to get points and different achievements to focus on. It can be easy either to spread yourself too thin by trying to get everything, or to be too focused on one goal. The key is balance and flexibility. For example, I may want to collect all the panorama cards, but I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to go to the hot spring. At the same time, it might be unrealistic to buy items from the village, donate to the temple, and buy food, especially if someone else is on that farm space, and you can’t replenish your money supply.
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The Professor and I have had Walk the Plank for some time (we backed it on Kickstarter), but we’ve never had the opportunity to play it.
We were at a gaming event and wanted a quick game we could play before we had to leave, so it seemed like a good opportunity to try this one out.
Game play is pretty simple. You select three cards and lay them face down in order in front of you. The idea is to try to anticipate what the other players are going to do and choose your cards based on that. This means that there’s an element of unpredictability to the game.
This is a play by play of the previously posted story mode.
I remember playing Scotland Yard a lot when I was younger. It was probably one of the first games I played that had a cooperative aspect. I like being able to talk out my moves and get advice. Mister X is very similar to Scotland Yard – one player is the criminal while the rest are detectives trying to catch him, and tokens are used to make moves. When we first started playing Mister X, President Gamer volunteered to be Mister X. This meant his wife was one of the detectives. Other than the one time The Professor has been Mister X, this is how we played the game, probably because President Gamer was determined to outsmart his wife and win the game!
Technically you aren’t supposed to play Smash Up with more than four people, but if you have expansions you can make it work. We recently acquired the Pretty Pretty Smash Up expansion; we felt it had groups that members of our gaming group would like (Space Cat – Kittens, Chubby Unicorn – Mythic Horses, Shutter – Princesses, etc.). Unfortunately Space Cat’s calendar had a catastrophic failure and didn’t tell her it was game night, so she missed out on this game.
Groups Chosen:
Ticket to Ride is another game we saw on Tabletop, and one we reference a lot (nerd rage!). Professor and I have this game on our tablets, and we have played it a couple times. I think I prefer the physical game. One of the times we were playing on the tablet, it had a little glitch and placed my trains in a completely random place.
Chubby Unicorn
Space Cat
Professor
We’d heard about this game and had the opportunity to try it out at a convention.
Small World is a strategy game that might be more approachable than Risk. Game play is similar to Risk, but not as much relies on the rolling of dice. For the most part, you just use your strength to steal land from other players.
Chubby Unicorn: Diplomatic Amazons, Commando Trolls, and Dragon Master Tritons
Professor: Pillaging Halflings, Mounted Ghouls, and Flying Humans
Space Cat: Stout Elves, Seafaring Dwarves, and Spirit Giants