Illuminating Games

Mostly games. Occasionally some clarinet and other music.

[illuminatinggames]

So, I’ve been trying to ramp down my acquisition of new games for years, and the recent troubles have finally really but the brakes on. Which is good overall. But I still have a few coming in. I love Spirit Island and was on the Jagged Earth Kickstarter in the before-times, and look forward to trying a crazy 5 or 6 player game sometime. Teotihuacan proved such a surprisingly durable game after a bunch of nice-but-not-quite games from Tascani & Turczi, that I’ve been looking forward to Tekhanu. But again, I have no idea when I’ll actually get to play them - mid-2021 maybe? These will keep though, I’m sure. And when they show up on Tabletop Simulator I can play them honestly 😄. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEdaVEchOk2/?igshid=yzfu3maxhjr

[illuminatinggames]

My somewhat improbable winning tableau in Phoenicia on #tabletopsimulator. It was crazy, I basically lived without storage for almost the whole game - I was constantly throwing away money, which felt really bad, but I was able to relentlessly rack up victory points, building up a big enough lead to eke out a win. I’m not sure how I feel about this game now that it’s almost 15 years old and comes out pretty rarely. It’s cool and plays pretty quickly, but it’s also opaque and really, really unforgiving. Which isn’t great. While it does have a similar engine-building, fast-accelerating feel as Race for the Galaxy or The City, the feel and texture is definitely quite different with its mix of auctions, infrastructure-building, and cash management; the closest analog might actually be Power Grid, but those games aren’t that similar either. I just wish it wasn’t quite so unforgiving. #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #virtualgamephotography #virtualgamenight #tabletopgames https://www.instagram.com/p/CEdZIUPB1jG/?igshid=1ak30cqfpkgm0

[illuminatinggames]

Trick of the Rails, on #tabletopsimulator - a module a friend is developing. This is by Hisashi Hayashi, designer of Yokohama, Trains, Metro X, and a large number of other games; I don’t watch the Japanese game design scene that closely, so I hadn’t realized he had become so prolific. I love Yokohama, but otherwise find his games a bit hit and miss; usually clever but often the ideas feel underdeveloped to me. This is another game that feels both intriguing and deeply weird; it’s basically one hand of 15 no-trump tricks, but each trick indirectly results in track, trains, and railway shares being bought in a way that’s almost completely opaque. It’s mostly a game of timing; winning a trick gives you a little bit more control over development, and where the big trains end up is super-high stakes, so you want to time it so you can win those tricks; but no-trump is always chaotic. I think if you’re a hard-core fan of trick-taking games and also like train games this is worth checking out; otherwise it’s probably too weird to get much play. #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #virtualgamenight #tabletopgames #virtualtabletopgaming https://www.instagram.com/p/CEYmXeeBBTw/?igshid=aot6i7kprm18

[illuminatinggames]

Another game of #GIPF on #tabletopsimulator. This was epic, a 90-minute brain-burning slugfest which I ended up winning when my brother could not make a move - the final position is the last photo (I’m black). Although I’ve seen the win-by-outlasting in the other games in the series where it’s an option, I don’t think I’ve seen this endgame condition in GIPF itself. I may not be the best thinker, but I can generally stay focussed for a long time and outlast people. The original GIPF is actually one if the games in this series I’ve played the least, just because it is a 90-minute super-intense brain-burner, and the constituency for that in hobbyist gaming is not large. And honestly, I wouldn’t want to do it that often and neither are there very many people I’d want to play it with. But it is a spectacular game. Although all the GIPF games are on Tabletop Simulator (for better or worse), I couldn’t find any of the various linking “potential” pieces. Anyone know if they’re our there? #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #j2s #brettspiel #brettspiele #gipfgames #gipfproject #abstractgames #strategygames https://www.instagram.com/p/CEYlDh_BSyv/?igshid=11u4qxnror24c

[illuminatinggames]

Eminent Domain on Boardgame Arena. I wanted to give this one last chance for ... reasons? I’m not sure why? Because I thought a mashup of Race for the Galaxy and Glory to Rome really shouldn’t be *that* bad? But it is. Weird thing #26 about this game: the 5 player game seems, from the standpoint of internal balance and range, better than 3 or 4 generally. It encourages a little more range of action and (at least in theory) rewards flexibility slightly more (in theory - I did win this game by a lot with a basically-ignore-the-other-players strategy, but ... ?). But with 5 the downtime is just so. incredibly. painful. and the game’s pulse completely flatlines. So that’s not great. It’s just such a bad game. I have a review on BGG from when this was new in which I pretty much panned it, and I was not wrong, but I actually felt compelled to further downrate it now I’ve revisited it. Still, it’ll probably be back in a 10th Anniversary edition next year. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEV7yE8hCQA/?igshid=1oec878014swp

[illuminatinggames]

Mystic Vale on Yucata. Not a bad implementation. I have always enjoyed Mystic Vale, and like a lot of John D Clair’s games I feel like there is more depth to it than you might think on first or second look. I also feel like the game really hit its stride with the third expansion (Mana Storm), so it’s unfortunate that Yucata has only the first expansion (iOS does have the first three - but it’s missing async play, sigh). But the base game plus Vale of Magic is good! 3 players is also a nice spot, pacing-wise. This is a game that might be just a bit too far in the direction of not enough player interaction for me normally, but the interesting and unique card crafting thing combined with the very nice theming really appeals. Like almost all the games I like, it would be better in person, and I look forward to the day when I can stop taking these boring pictures of screens. The tactile feel and the physical thing-y-ness of games is such an important part of gaming for me, especially for some of the recent games I’ve been playing that have nice physical design, like this, Crusader Rex, all the GIPF games, Bios: Origins, Dune, and others. But we take what we can get I guess. #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #bgg #boardgamegeek #virtualgamephotography #virtualgamenight #tabletopgames #mysticvale https://www.instagram.com/p/CEV6bblBZiP/?igshid=k1s58hm83q1b

[illuminatinggames]

Play two of City of the Big Shoulders on #boardgamearena. Enjoyed and would play again, but my enthusiasm softened a little bit. and I’ll hold off on moving to acquire a copy 🙂. The main thing I’m unsure about is the resource market; there are some echoes of the original Power Grid, where luck or the other players can conspire to totally screw you by denying you what you need. I do not like this, and it’s why I only play Power Grid with the expansion power plant deck or in its deluxe version, where these really unsatisfying gamey tactics have been flushed out. Now, it’s actually not totally objectionable here - there are a number of ways to source your factories’ inputs, so you take a risk if you don’t secure them in advance - but it’s not great. There are a number of ways where the game just feels undercooked and inelegant: the model for demand seems clearly underdeveloped and too coarse, while building, infrastructure, and appeal (the last apparently lifted from Arkwright) seem somewhat over-modeled. I also feel like there aren’t a huge number of paths through the system; the large questions will get resolved pretty quickly, leaving most of the game in smaller tactical nuance. Anyway, I think it’s an interesting game, and I’ll play it again. If you’re an 18xx fan who now mostly plays euros, definitely check it out. But I think at the end of the day if I want a euro stock game, I’ll probably be more satisfied by Power Grid: The Stock Companies or the 504 Stocks module; if I want a company development game, I’d take Tin Goose or Food Chain Magnate; and if I want something seriously overchromed in these categories I’d take Empyreal or Pax Transhumanity. There are a lot of good games out there, is what I’m saying I guess 😄. #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #virtualgameday #tabletopgames https://www.instagram.com/p/CEFtFi7BtQk/?igshid=1bbn6l77stkxc

[illuminatinggames]

Saracens start making serious inroads against the Franks in Crusader Rex. Of all the games that followed up on Hammer of the Scots, this is the one I like. The much wider, more open theater gives both players flexibility and room for maneuver. The game is also long enough to allow the game to develop and go back and forth a bit and for the vagaries of chance to even out. Plus, it works reasonably well on Vassal (although the map isn’t as nice as the one in 2nd edition, even though the rest of the art looks like 2nd?). The game is definitely hard on the Franks; they need to hang tough and and play defense and hope the crusaders can bail them out late in the game, but that’s easier said than done. There are now a ton of games that use this underlying system, but I haven’t played many that I really like - just this and Julius Caesar really, but I’m starting to have some balance concerns even about Julius Caesar. It seems like a simple, clean rules system, but it’s actually (apparently) quite hard to get it to really work. #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #columbiagames #virtualgameday #crusaderrex https://www.instagram.com/p/CEDN_bCB-e7/?igshid=uzp5xrnv2n74

[illuminatinggames]

Hah hah! Finally won a game of 7 Wonders. 7 Wonders is far from a great game, but for me it is a lot better online - probably just because plays in about half the time. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEBPZLehFW_/?igshid=1205hxaxjb5c1

[illuminatinggames]

More Pandoria on Yucata! Quirky, but I really like it 😄. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEBKhuLBRJ4/?igshid=1jfz6o8j1ej2x

[illuminatinggames]

6p Dune on #tabletopsimulator: Atriedes, Harkonnen, Emperor, Fremen, Ixians, Bene Tleilaxu. The Ixians pulled off a crazy solo win (!) by holding their hidden stronghold and surgically targeting the Emperor, winning on a traitor call in the last battle (Captain Aramsham handed over they keys to Arakeen). As the Harkonnens I was in an very dominating position on turn 2 after having crushed the Atriedes and Emperor in early battles, but then I lost two big battle on turn 3, both on traitors (!) - Feyd and Beast Rabban both turned on me. The game went 5 turns; I really like the dynamics with 6 players and the Ixians, the extra stronghold really makes a big positive difference - the game rewards aggression again under the standard rules (alliance limit 2 with +1 stronghold). Both the new faction are great in my opinion; a little rules-y but really mix up the game in interesting ways. I wouldn’t play 6 players without Ix at this point, and I personally prefer the Bene Tleilaxu to the Bene Gesserit. The technology tiles I’m less sold on - they might need to be amped up a bit, or we might dump them - they just don’t seem to do a lot? Haven’t tried the new treachery cards yet, some of which seem kind of bonkers. 5 turns took us 4.5 hours on TTS; not great, it’s definitely slower than face to face, and a game that went the distance would be a grind. But what can you do; at least in the US, we don’t have a lot of options. Still a great game. #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #virtualgameday #tabletopgames #duneboardgame #dunegame #thespicemustflow #j2s #brettspiel https://www.instagram.com/p/CD7PPhahR9Y/?igshid=15jo3ne6bxkcc

[illuminatinggames]

Trying out Pax Viking on #tabletopsimulator. This is the new Pax game coming later this year (hopefully!) from Jon Manker, #sierramadregames, and #iongamedesign, and covers Viking traders and adventurers in the 10th-12t centuries (ish). I guess this was aimed to be at a much more euro-y level of complexity than the rest of the Pax series, and I’d say it was pretty successful in that respect - once you get through the very poor rulebook and start pushing pieces around, it actually plays pretty quickly and cleanly. I liked it; it’s definitely a lot lighter than the other Pax games, and the similarities are mostly echoes, but that’s fine. Whether it has enough depth, or is balanced enough, to have much replay value is obviously an open question; but it’s a really interesting and under-explored period and theme. I felt like it’s not a particularly great fit for TTS, although it’s ok. There are two modules - get the scripted one. The unscripted one has major issues, beyond just the lack of scripting. #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #virtualgamenight #tabletopgames #paxviking https://www.instagram.com/p/CD5h69PBnLq/?igshid=1kyp9limgw5gi

[illuminatinggames]

Breaking in the new ALIEN RPG, from the Swedish company Free League. I really only became aware of these folks when they got The One Ring license from Cubicle 7, but it seems like they have some nice stuff - the Tales from the Loop RPG as well as several others, and a Twilight 2000 reboot now on Kickstarter which is a bit of a blast from the past for me. ALIEN uses their Year Zero System, basically a buckets-of-dice system where you roll a lot of dice to get 6s. I was a bit skeptical of the system - I’m suspicious of ornate task resolution systems these days - and I’d still say it isn’t great, something like Fear Itself would be a better vehicle for this kind of investigative horror, but all the supporting detail seems really good: the skill mix, the attention to making the setting evocative, the storytelling sense. I ended up totally enjoying it even though this setting isn’t really in my wheelhouse. We finished Act I, so things really haven’t started to go haywire yet, although you can kinda see where it’s going 😆. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out! https://www.instagram.com/p/CD3AarIBA5D/?igshid=3777q2i679rp

[illuminatinggames]

Monty’s Gamble: Market Garden on Vassal. Mike Rinella has a long design career full of ups and downs; most of his games haven’t had much depth or staying power, but this one - his first design! - is one I still enjoy almost 20 years later. Pretty dynamic, fast-playing; too complicated, but not terrible. I picked up the 2nd edition of this not long ago, and had consequently forgotten how much I dislike the graphics from 1st edition. The Vassal module isn’t great, but the game is pretty amenable to the format, so I didn’t hate it (although a Tabletop Simulator module would be great). Anyway, the combination of reasonable length and the existence of Breakout: Normandy may have promoted this to classic status after all these years. #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #multimanpublishing #vassalgameengine #virtualgameday https://www.instagram.com/p/CD2akLRh1Q-/?igshid=1la2klkpw6ksa

[illuminatinggames]

GIPF. The game that started it all way back in 1996, and which I bought at Origins in 1997 - and the game in the series that I’ve played by far the least. But #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 changes everything, so I’ve had a little more time and less resistance to playing online. I love how all these games are so distinct, and yet have all these interesting internal echoes. GIPF, as the “core” game, is definitely the meatiest and longest, with more scope both for longer-term thinking and for more intricate structures to develop. The really clinical, tactical thinking usually required of abstracts isn’t usually my jam, but structure does really interest me, and maybe that’s why the GIPF games appeal to me. Another thing I like about GIPF is how capture moves require removing your own pieces, usually significantly weakening your board position, so it gives the game something of an ebb and flow - a capture move can open up opportunities for your opponent, and can relieve board stress. This sort of Hamlet’s-Hit-Points-esque ebb-and-flow is why I think this is more narratively satisfying. Anyway, always impressed by these games, so great to be playing them again a bit. #gipf #tabletopsimulator #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #virtualgamenight https://www.instagram.com/p/CDz6YzfBXC9/?igshid=nnoggf2zmng3

[illuminatinggames]

Although I’ve been really happy with my simple, colorful Bambu #clarinet string ligature, but I’ve been feeling like maybe I could use a little more help with control on #bassclarinet. So I thought I’d try out their just-released Nova ligature which is a mix of string with a metal plate, Vandoren Optima-style. After putting in most of my time on Bb, working on The Voynich Manuscript and the Sparke Concerto, I’ve been moving back to spending half-ish my time on bass, which is great. https://www.instagram.com/p/CDjqg5OBcRP/?igshid=7kyab7ukfw8k

[illuminatinggames]

Race for the Galaxy: Xeno Invasion on #boardgamearena. I don’t get to play this much, just because the Temple Games iOS race doesn’t have it and that’s where most of my Race gets played, but I do really like it. In classic Race (Gathering Storm, Rebel vs Imperium, Brink of War), I generally prefer multiplayer but 2-player is quite good; in Alien Artifacts I much prefer 2-player; but in Xeno Invasion, I really think you want as many players as you can get (3-5). I just feel like the actual invasion is much more dynamic and interesting with more players, and with 2 it’s too easy to manage. With #gaminginthetimeofcovid19, I’ve been playing quite a bit more Race for the Galaxy, and been reminded just what a great game it still is. The Temple Games version on iOS/Steam is obviously vastly better than BoardgameArena; but it’s great that BGA has all the expansions, and I feel like both Alien Artifacts and Xeno Invasion are underplayed and maybe underappreciated. #raceforthegalaxy #raceforthegalaxyxenoinvasion #boardgamearena #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming #virtualgames #onlineboardgames https://www.instagram.com/p/CDh2gz7hc-z/?igshid=1xib24dfgdkbd