A Slew of First Impressions

So this week I got older.  Apparently that entitles me to lots of free things from people.  And as luck would have it, I have a lot of great people in my life who knew just what I wanted.  Board games!  I was even lucky enough to have them around me to try out all the new games.  So to make up for not having a full review of anything, here are a bunch of first impressions.

Rambling about single player games

As it gets harder and harder to play games as often as I'd like with people, I find myself more and more attracted to solitaire games.  Especially games that are specifically designed as solitaire games, as opposed to multiplayer games with a solitaire scenario.  At first I was incredibly resistant to the idea of playing a board game alone.  It seemed like it crossed a very shameful line.  Plus, why play a solitaire boardgame when you have video games?

Well, it's been a few months now that I've explored various single player games, mostly the Field Commander series, and the States of Siege series.  And this is what I've learned about the solitaire boardgame experience.

Innovation Review

I first played Innovation at Gencon in 2011.  A guy I had met at the previous Gencon, I was lucky enough to run into again, and he taught us how to play.  I won't lie, that first 3 player game of Innovation was miserable:  the noise of the hall, the analysis paralysis of one player, the open collusion of both my opponents.  After 2 hours I just wanted the game to be over, and I didn't care how.  Meanwhile, out of spite, one of the players was trying to use Fission to reset the board, and just agitate me further.

Despite the fact that we very nearly wanted nothing to do with each other after that first game, we couldn't help but recognize that Innovation was pretty amazing.  So despite that miserable first experience, we both ended up getting our own copies once we got home from Gencon.  We've just never actually played it with each other since.

Innovation is a civilization themed tableau building game.  It was published in 2010 by Asmadi, and was designed by Carl Chudyk.  There is also an Iello edition in the US now, which has better artwork than the Asmadi edition.  I'm not 100% sure how two publishers can be releasing the same game in the same region.

Commands & Colors: Ancients - Greece & Eastern Kingdoms Review

I'm wrapping up my second play through of all the scenarios for the first expansion to Commands & Colors: Ancients.  There is also a reprint of this expansion due any day now!  So I figured it would be a great time for a review.  I won't lie, I may have some rose tinted glasses for this game.  I'm quite open that Commands & Colors: Ancients is nothing short of my favorite game ever.  From the moment I first played it, I absolutely fell in love with it, and every game I play just brings me new appreciation for the system.

Greece & Eastern Kingdoms is published by GMT Games, and was originally released in 2006.  It adds 2 new armies, the titular Greece and the Eastern Kingdoms.  It also includes 21 scenarios, covering a span of time from roughly 500 BC to 200 BC.