Look at the Moon

A weblog about cardboard by Eric Robinson.

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Really just a perfect Galaxy Trucker ship. A thing of beauty.

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I LOVE MANNEKEN.

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GIFs on Apple TV

Hey gang..

Been a while, and I haven't had much time for games (although I did break out Kingdom Builder recently and it was as good as ever). But I made a thing and want to share it with everyone. Yayy is an Apple TV app for browsing and watching channels of GIFs. It's part screensaver, part visualization, and totally fun.

GIFs on the big screen. Browse dozens of hand-picked channels of hypnotic visuals, cute animals, topical memes, sports highlights, and more. Search to start a channel about anything else. Save the channels you like and make a playlist of your favorite GIFs.

It's available now on the Apple TV App Store (search for "Yayy"). Check it out!

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...and it shows (in a chaotic fun way).

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The Contender.

Basically political CAH. Cute.

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"Did you come to bring the pain?"

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7 Wonders at The Magical Murder House.

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🚨 New Podcast Alert 🚨

CARDBOARD! with Rich Sommer is hosted by the Mad Men and WHAS:FDoC actor and board game enthusiast. Guests include Ty Burrell, Nate Corddry, and board gaming's own Rodney Smith.

Bonus podcast: Sommer was recently a guest on Comedy Bang Bang with David Wain, Molly Shannon, and Marguerite Moreau discussing the new Wet Hot series and playing a spirited round of Would You Rather?.

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Yay, Shut Up & Sit Down reviews Trajan. They're generally appreciative of it, but in the end decide the game "has no heart" and recommend a load of other euros above it.

I will say I had a totally different experience introducing Trajan to friends than Quintin describes in the second half of the review. The first night with it everyone was very into it, with lots of player interaction and contention in all the mini-systems. The final points tally reveal was as suspensful as the end of a hand of poker that you bet your wedding ring on. We played multiple rounds and a friend ordered their own copy to play when I wasn't around.

Anyways.. watch this review just for Quintin's sexy reading of the turn mechanic rules.

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Roll for the Galaxy is a game that I've been keeping an eye out forever. Happy to report that it threads the needle of satisfying longtime Race for the Galaxy fans while simultaneously being much, much easier to pick up by new players.

Roll shaves down many the rough edges of Race. A few examples.. Military worlds no longer are a special case when it comes to settling. Windfall worlds don't require subtle, easy to miss symbology. Develop/Settle can now be performed over multiple rounds, meaning players can slowly but surely get any development or world built given time. Trade/consume is now a single Ship phase where either action can be performed. Produce/consume now happens in that order, so one could theoretically explore, settle, produce, and ship from a world in a single turn.

Given these simplifications, designers Huang and Lehmann use the breathing room to introduce the fun Reassign mechanic, where some developments allow players to assign rolled dice into different action phases. Every turn becomes a little puzzle of how to turn the random roll into something resembling a balanced, strategic turn.

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The X-Wing Tantive IV expansion, and the accompanying “Epic” ruleset, turns the game into something.. more.

The big ship inevitably becomes the primary focus of the game, drawing attention of enemy ships to give flanking opportunities. It costs a ton tho, so you’ll be outnumbered, and it’s blind spots create pockets for enemies to hide in.

Having the front and back of the ship act as essentially two separate units is extremely fun. Each section has its own weapons and actions. They are even damaged independently (losing your reactor mid-skirmish is crippling). You finally get that chance to yell “divert all engine power to forward shields” and actually mean it.

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MAGFest this weekend. Packing the bare minimum for the tabletop room.

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Seriously, how great are these cards.

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Vintage Cosmic Encounter’s Hyperspace Cone is the greatest component in any game ever.

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This 1986 edition of Cosmic Encounter is very specific about where your coffee cup and munchies go in relation to the play area.

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Reprinting Announced! Tigris & Euphrates

Reprinting Announced! Tigris & Euphrates

Fantasy Flight Games announced Wednesday that it would reprint Tigris & Euphrates, a multi-award-winning game by Reiner Knizia originally published in the U.S. by Mayfair Games.

The new version will keep the gameplay from the original game, while updating the artwork and including a few extra components for expanded play.

From the Fantasy Flight announcement:

This edition of Tigris & Euphratesma…

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It makes me happy that this modern-style reprint still allows people to play as a pot.

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These new X-Wing expansions are getting out of control. Thanks jenndlv!