tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58819045494827272024-03-19T16:15:06.630-04:00The Critical BoardgamerI love board games. But I love picking them apart more. Updates every Monday.CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-61500245980729122402017-03-23T15:26:00.000-04:002017-03-23T15:26:28.236-04:00Zelda and The PathSo I've been utterly engrossed in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I think the last open world game I played was Shadows of Mordor, which left me thoroughly unimpressed. But Zelda is absolutely blowing my mind. And I think a part of that is because it's having a little bit more faith in the player.<br>
<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2017/03/zelda-and-path.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-47009671950843566162016-12-22T00:51:00.001-05:002016-12-22T00:51:27.447-05:00What have I been up to?Not as much gaming as I'd like, that's for damned sure. But I have been doing gaming tangential things. Like painting BattleTech minis! I'm proud of my meager work, and took some progress pics. It's just a Commando, but I've been slowly painting the two lances from Sword & Dragon. Almost done with The Fox's Teeth. Just an Assassin, Enforcer and a Jagermech to go.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJwYdm-BGq3WOzXVbgoNl3Ims2cpmzjXZv5NVMSVjck87zXh_DOr7PL0E-jwcD1GiqIj06sKh-XYkcVtzsuVSPgz3RCPN8rYNARSz6_P1HSue9qITrues9jp350QTS0rDiT-_UORepdY/s1600/2016-12-18+22.37.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJwYdm-BGq3WOzXVbgoNl3Ims2cpmzjXZv5NVMSVjck87zXh_DOr7PL0E-jwcD1GiqIj06sKh-XYkcVtzsuVSPgz3RCPN8rYNARSz6_P1HSue9qITrues9jp350QTS0rDiT-_UORepdY/s320/2016-12-18+22.37.19.jpg" width="180"></a></div>
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<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2016/12/what-have-i-been-up-to.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-21662343807221456212015-05-08T10:01:00.000-04:002015-05-08T10:01:38.297-04:00Why Shut Up & Sit Down's review of Card's Against Humanity was not just wrong, but frightening.So SU&SD recently released a rather scathing review of <a href="http://www.shutupandsitdown.com/blog/post/review-cards-against-humanity/">Cards Against Humanity</a>. You've probably seen it, and if you haven't, I urge you to read it. Because I'm about to vehemently disagree with it, and it's probably best you read it for yourself first before I do, so you can make up your own mind.<br>
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Firstly, I do have to concede, most of their criticisms of the actual game are fair. The mechanics of the game are certainly not why people play it. And it's not always funny. And it's frequently just random.<br>
<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2015/05/why-shut-up-sit-downs-review-of-cards.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-43727942034896142542014-10-24T10:55:00.001-04:002014-10-24T10:56:02.865-04:00Once I played A Victory Denied while reading Rise & Fall of the Third Reich and had a moment.The title really says it all, but if you're still reading, you want more detail. <br>
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So ever since I played my first historical wargame I've been reading history. A lot. So immediately after I finished reading A World Undone I launched myself into Rise & Fall of the Third Reich. After all, in the story of WW1, probably one of the most compelling character is Germany, and WW1 ends on such a cliff hanger.<br>
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To go with my history books, I like a good solo friendly history game. So I'm playing A Victory Denied and I'm reading Rise & Fall of the Third Reich. Suddenly something clicks. Because I'm reading about the concentration camps. I'm reading about all the horror of them. Probably the most vivid and repulsive part was describing the Nazis gassing people with interesting tattoos so they could make lampshades out of their skin.<br>
<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/10/once-i-played-victory-denied-while.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-41776977810897542672014-07-03T22:10:00.001-04:002014-07-03T22:10:57.666-04:00Augustus Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I honestly don't remember how Augustus got my attention. Partially various nominations. Partially it's Roman theme. I am a huge Roman history fan after all. And then lastly, it just looked like a great game to play with my girlfriend. Gaming isn't her hobby, it's mine, but she's kind enough to indulge me. Augustus looked like the sort of game we could get through after she's driven 90 minutes through rush hour traffic back home from a 9 hour work day.<br>
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Augustus was released in 2013 by Hurrican Games, and was designed by Paolo Mori. Disappointingly, I have nothing to say about them. I've never played a game from that designer or publisher before. However, Augustus is a good first impression.<br>
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Augustus is a sort of "Roman Bingo". You have objective cards, and various icons will be called out, which will allow you to check off requirements for those objective cards. This is all themed around conquering Provinces and winning over Senators to please the grand Augustus.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/07/augustus-review.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-57710393632502647222014-04-16T10:17:00.001-04:002014-04-16T10:18:04.878-04:00PAX East: Bl4k Lotus sang this song about Race for the GalaxyI saw this at PAX East and it blew me away. Thankfully someone recorded it. Most of it at least.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6KB8FlmZplk?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-2623138821451027482014-03-24T10:03:00.003-04:002014-03-24T10:03:47.688-04:00Burnout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Burnout is something we've probably all suffered from at some point. Something happens to an activity you really enjoy, and all the fun gets sucked out of it. So much so that we feel compelled to avoid it at all cost. Which can really suck, because suddenly you are short a hobby that may have really been fulfilling. It can also really hurt any aspirations of competitive growth if that's your thing.<br>
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I've found burnout can come from a lot of sources. The one that probably happens the most to people is playing a game to death. I find this to be especially the case when the metagame for your group turns to cement. Bob always opens with the same strategy obnoxious rushing strategy that feels over powered. Sue always gangs up against him with Greg. You know the broad strokes of the game before you even sit down to play it.<br>
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<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/03/burnout.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-9199147342206676242014-03-17T09:50:00.003-04:002014-03-17T09:50:50.385-04:00First Impressions for March<h3>
Hapsburg Eclipse</h3>
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I only got a single game of Hapsburg Eclipse in since I got it, although I'm hoping to get a bunch more in this week. It's another <a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/search/label/States%20of%20Siege">States of Siege</a> game, and first off I have to say I love the National Loyalty minigame much more than previous minigames. The National Loyalty has you constantly rolling to see if your ethnically diverse empire has torn itself apart yet. Ottoman Sunset's forcing of the narrows minigame felt incredibly tacked on, and poorly integrated. The National Loyalty in Hapsburg Eclipse feels much more elegantly unified to the rest of the game design.<br>
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<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/03/first-impressions-for-march.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-91011754297688665142014-03-09T23:15:00.004-04:002014-03-09T23:16:04.385-04:00Agricola Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I first got into board gaming, Agricola was <b>the</b> game. But it looked complicated. I read the rules online, but didn't get much out of them. Then I tried it out at a convention, borrowing it from the library. But you know how library copies of games can be. Whoever played it last just unceremoniously dumped all the pieces back in the box helter skelter. So after an hour of sorting everything back out and setting up the game, I got half an attempt in with it, then we had to quit. I tried again the next day, and this time someone taught us how to play. Then they left us in the dust.<br>
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To put it bluntly, my initial experiences with Agricola did not endear me to the game. However a nugget of affection stuck with me. So much so that years later when I was looking for a heftier worker placement game than <a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/09/lords-of-waterdeep-review.html">Lords of Waterdeep</a> or Stone Age, I came back to Agricola. This time around, my experience has been much better, and it's now one of my favorite games.<br>
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Agricola was released in 2007 by Z-Man Games, and was designed by Uwe Rosenberg. It's a worker placement game that tasks you with building up your farm, and not starving. Players will have to plow fields and plant crops, raise animals, and build additions onto their house in order to grow their family. In the midst of all this, you also need to feed your family at an increasing pace.<br>
<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/03/agricola-review.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-22290680399741138412014-02-23T22:28:00.001-05:002014-02-23T22:28:37.232-05:00The 10x10x12 ChallengeSo I signed up for the <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/166160/item/2978496#item2978496">10x10x12 Challenge for 2014</a> on BoardGameGeek. The basis of the challenge is that you pick 10 games, and you try to play them 10 times in 2014. There is a strong emphasis on playing games you feel you've neglected. I picked 10 games I thought would be a piece of cake to play 10 times. I thought I'd love to play them ASAP. However January went by and I didn't touch a single one of them. I just got too many games for Christmas and from Kickstarter that I wanted to get in. Trying to play these 10 games I was chomping at the bit to play in December 2013 has been an insightful experience, almost 2 months into the challenge.<br>
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<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-10x10x12-challenge.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-11728522164966634892014-02-17T00:16:00.001-05:002014-02-17T00:19:05.181-05:00No Retreat: The Russian Front Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't quite remember how No Retreat: The Russian Front got my attention. It was just one of those games that I saw mentioned here and there. By the time it got my attention enough for me to investigate further, the deluxe GMT edition was already out of print. There was the Victory Point Games edition, but I really wanted the mounted board and high quality counters that came with the GMT version. Now the situation is even worse, with VPG no longer offering an edition, and GMT's version still out of print. Regardless, one day I was looking for No Retreat: The Russian Front on eBay, and was lucky enough to win a copy for only $40! I was the only person who even bid on it. Truly a singular occurrence.<br>
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No Retreat is an operational level wargame taking place on the front between Germany and Russia in World War II. It was designed by Carl Paradis, released by VPG in 2008, and re-released by GMT in 2011. It's a wargame in the classic hex and counter style, with an emphasis on enemy zones of control, supply, and combat result tables. It also introduces an engaging modern element with it's masterful use of event cards, which simultaneously represent special abilities, reinforcements, rail capacity and combat initiative on your opponent's turn. Each individual scenario plays in about 2 hours for me, and the campaign would likely take me all day.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/02/no-retreat-russian-front.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-59665639534749666022014-02-09T23:03:00.000-05:002014-02-09T23:03:45.859-05:00First Impressions for FebruaryThe last month has been very busy for me. So most of my gaming happened after hours with some amazing solitaire designs. I discovered John H Butterfield, and his amazing games D-Day at Omaha Beach and RAF: The Battle of Britain 1940. I also finally tried my first Leader series game with Hornet Leader. Plus along with all that, I managed to grab a copy of The Hunters pretty much the day before it was announced that it was out of stock. Aside from those, the only other game which was new to me was <a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/02/guts-of-glory.html">Guts of Glory</a>, which I already reviewed.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/02/first-impressions-for-february.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-26956149940336149922014-02-02T23:25:00.000-05:002014-02-17T00:19:17.011-05:00Guts of Glory Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Guts of Glory was another Kickstarter I supported back when I first got into Kickstarting projects. I probably Kickstarted way too many games in a row back then, as evidenced by the glut of Kickstarters I received over the holidays. However, Guts of Glory stood out with interesting artwork and novel gameplay. It also looked like it had a substantial amount of development already. Lastly, the guy who designed it, Zach Gage, also designed an iOS game I enjoyed called SpellTower.<br>
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Well, Guts of Glory shipped towards the end of of December 2013, although I got my copy early in January 2014. I've played it a good amount since, and so far I've really enjoyed it. It's a drafting game, themed around a post apocalyptic eating contest. Everyone is a mutant, and you are eating everything left in the world. It's quite charming actually.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/02/guts-of-glory.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-82058636212400149742014-01-26T21:55:00.001-05:002014-01-27T09:44:10.682-05:00Paper Time Machines.A recent Victory Point Games <a href="http://victorypointgames.com/articleDetail.php?article_ID=341&page=1">newsletter</a> referred to their games as "Paper Time Machines". I don't know who first uttered those words, but they are brilliant. They really got me thinking. Those three words perfectly encapsulate what historical wargaming is to me. I play them to be transported back in time, and be put in a position where I can see why history unfolded the way it did. Where I can experience what commanders had to deal with, and why they made the choices they did.<br>
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<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/01/paper-time-machines.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-74822610482571917472014-01-19T23:18:00.000-05:002014-02-17T00:19:24.717-05:00Zulus on the Ramparts Review<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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Zulus on the Ramparts has been on my wishlist for a long time. I love the <a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/search/label/States%20of%20Siege">States of Siege</a> series, and Zulus' has gotten great reviews. But it looked like it strayed quite far from the formula, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I got Zulus for Christmas however, and I've played it nonstop since then. It's not as easy to get 6 games played in a row, like <a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/09/soviet-dawn-review.html">Soviet Dawn</a>. But if I play one game, I'm incredibly likely to at least play a second.<br>
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Zulus on the Ramparts was released in 2009 by Victory Point Games, and was designed by Joseph Miranda. It's a single player wargame, based on a battle at a mission station in Africa. It's 1879, and an enormous hoard of Zulus is descending on the British troops there, who are hopelessly outnumbered, 4000 to 140! Your goal is to hold out through the night until help gets there.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/01/zulus-on-ramparts_19.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-55584871184177914542014-01-12T21:46:00.001-05:002014-01-12T21:46:35.077-05:00First Impressions for JanuaryI've been branching out into a few more games over the past month or so. Games which I haven't had the opportunity to work on a full review for, and may not for some time. But I really wanted to say something about them, so here are my first impressions. I'm expecting to have a full review again next week, and am aspiring to an every other week schedule on full reviews this year.<br>
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Red Winter</h3>
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I got this wargame mostly because of it's solitaire potential. What I found was a game that easily ranks up there with No Retreat in terms of simplicity, and relatively reduced counter clutter. It is a far more deterministic game however, with slightly less of a resource management aspect. It is tactical after all.<br>
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</div><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/01/first-impressions-for-january.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-24115092671775585602014-01-05T23:23:00.000-05:002014-01-15T15:06:46.725-05:00Star Realms Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxyGo0AiLwJacsRyY72IvwvP3kBNx67HfsN-ybVLwtj0rVpEqfMuU2MNJkzsan7NUsy7Fq2GNPNfMB1O2SKF1i2VW72bAdRA9rhyphenhyphenXIW3XXtj6d-zDTMCuOJ9NHQ2iIFvB6zQmuQdrT-I/s1600/Photo+Jan+05,+10+30+07+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxyGo0AiLwJacsRyY72IvwvP3kBNx67HfsN-ybVLwtj0rVpEqfMuU2MNJkzsan7NUsy7Fq2GNPNfMB1O2SKF1i2VW72bAdRA9rhyphenhyphenXIW3XXtj6d-zDTMCuOJ9NHQ2iIFvB6zQmuQdrT-I/s1600/Photo+Jan+05,+10+30+07+PM.jpg" height="200" width="145"></a></div>
Star Realms is a Kickstarter project that ran in October, and went out to backers in December. Personally, I almost didn't back it because that just seemed to wildly impossible. But it arrived the day after Christmas, and I've played it constantly since it got here.<br>
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Star Realms is a sci-fi themed deck building game, most closely related to Ascension. It was designed by Robert Dougherty and Darwin Kastle and published by White Wizard Games. Robert Dougherty in specific put a lot of work into the Ascension series, which explains how closely related the two games feel.<br>
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<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2014/01/star-realms-review.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-65888853465409930012013-12-24T00:13:00.000-05:002013-12-24T00:13:22.822-05:00Taking a Break for the HolidaysHey everybody. There's no updates this week or next. I'm going to be taking until January off to spend time with friends and family, and hopefully get lots of games played.<br />
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I'm hoping to get a few more plays of Sekigahara in, so I can finalize my review of that. I'm also expecting a few Kickstarters, including Star Realms and The Agents. With any luck they'll show up soon. I especially want to play Star Realms, and hopefully start a review for that as well.<br />
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2013 was a good year for this blog I think. It was my New Years Resolution for 2013 to begin blogging about games, and I think it's gone well. The positive feedback I've gotten has let me know I'm on the right track. But over the break, I'm going to be thinking a lot about what my goals will be for 2014.<br />
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I definitely want to get into a better rhythm of having reviews twice a month. Weekly reviews just aren't realistic for me. I just don't have enough time in a week to satisfy the level of familiarity I want with games when I write a review.<br />
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So I'm going to be looking at different types of content. More play sessions of solo games. More first impressions or what I've been playing type articles. I'm tempted to stray into strategy articles for games I'm extremely familiar with. Or perhaps just Commands & Colors: Ancients. But if there are any types of content I've done before that you'd like to see more of, let me know.<br />
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So Happy Holidays everybody. And try to get some games in if you can.CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-16812601232348005732013-12-15T18:24:00.001-05:002014-01-15T11:14:16.328-05:00Best and Worst of 2013With 2013 coming to a close, it's as good a time as ever to look back over the games I've played, and decide on the ones I loved the most. These won't necessarily be games that came out in 2013. Just games that occupied the greatest mindshare over the year. The games I was most excited about getting to play, or puzzling out new strategies for.<br>
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Of course, there are also the games that were most of a let down. Games I got extremely excited for, that almost immediately flopped. I've played them once or twice, and they've since sat in a drawer, unlikely to ever emerge again. Or I was very excited to try them at a convention, and immediately hated them.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-and-worst-of-2013.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-43051212667262014792013-12-08T22:31:00.000-05:002016-05-02T14:49:41.298-04:00Forbidden Desert Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVUEpN5TfK91tNOUzkD1g2YY5_KSPZJ5OBF_EZxTfadEM3oTOZvDAGJCdJNDPYK9Yq43VsYuJ3rjKVtD1ssPn_YZ1P0-M6wpbPMS2veFDHkee4nx7viB9wUsJSQxoKr6HoB5V-i1afbs/s1600/Photo+Dec+08%252C+9+54+28+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVUEpN5TfK91tNOUzkD1g2YY5_KSPZJ5OBF_EZxTfadEM3oTOZvDAGJCdJNDPYK9Yq43VsYuJ3rjKVtD1ssPn_YZ1P0-M6wpbPMS2veFDHkee4nx7viB9wUsJSQxoKr6HoB5V-i1afbs/s1600/Photo+Dec+08%252C+9+54+28+PM.jpg" height="195" width="200"></a></div>
I had just gotten <a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/07/forbidden-island-review.html">Forbidden Island</a> right when Forbidden Desert came out. So despite the fact that Forbidden Desert was the new hotness, I knew I couldn't justify getting it for a while. Well a while passed, and a friend of mine gifted it to me for my birthday. Man did I get a lot of games played <a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-slew-of-first-impressions.html">that day</a>.<br>
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Now I love Forbidden Island, but it is not without it's problems. It was a slimmed down, streamlined version of Pandemic. But in the process of shedding excess rules and mechanics, it's quarterbacking problem became more pronounced. Quarterbacking referring of course to one player instructing all the others what to do with their cold, ruthlessly correct logic.<br>
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So Forbidden Desert is Matt Leacock's third cooperative game, published by Gamewright in 2013. It's another iteration of the same fundamental design he's been molding since Pandemic. After escaping from the Forbidden Island by helicopter, you crashed straight into the Forbidden Desert. You must reassemble an ancient Flying Machine who's parts are scattered, buried in the sands. Only once you've done this can you escape before you die of thirst, or are buried in the sands yourself. Today I'm going to look at how it's changed from previous iterations, and how well it handles the quarterbacking problem.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/12/fobidden-desert.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-79071569930025096182013-12-01T23:38:00.000-05:002013-12-01T23:38:04.470-05:00Getting the most out of eBayOne of the hardest parts of historical wargaming, is that so many good games are out of print. Sometimes as soon as you hear that a game is truly worth owning, or is a breakout hit, it's already sold out. Many times it can be years and years between printings. Paths of Glory went from 2004 to 2010 before being printed again, and the 2010 printing sold out in around 2 years. This is a game considered one of the greatest wargames of all time. The number 2 ranked wargame on BoardGameGeek, behind only Twilight Struggle!<br>
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All this necessitates a strong secondary market for wargames. BGG's trades and sales areas are ok. But eBay is where I find most of my games. Over the years, I've learned a few good tricks to avoid overpaying. So here they are.<br>
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<a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/12/getting-most-out-of-ebay.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-29696009263459353362013-11-24T22:39:00.000-05:002013-11-24T22:39:51.291-05:00What do you get for the gamer who has everything?With the holiday season rolling around, everyone is trying to come up with gift ideas. But gamers can be hard to shop for. We tend to get so excited about games we preorder them, or buy them ourselves the moment they come out. Plus our tastes can be so specific, it's extremely difficult to confidently buy a game you know we'll like.<br>
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So I would strongly encourage people to look into gaming accessories. Well chosen accessories can greatly enhance a gaming experience. They can make a game easier to set up, improve it's aesthetics, or just satisfy the needs of an especially OCD collector. So with that in mind, here's a list of accessories for games I've greatly appreciated over the year.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-do-you-get-for-gamer-who-has.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-73221387740995446582013-11-23T02:31:00.001-05:002013-11-23T02:32:31.152-05:00Stickering the Austrian Army for Commands & Colors: Napoleonics<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Y_UjNL67eso" width="480"></iframe>
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Such a cathartic evening. Nothing beats applying a few hundred stickers to wooden blocks for an hour or so.CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-84682799787445378752013-11-19T00:26:00.002-05:002013-11-19T00:26:19.402-05:00Guildhall Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-32vMhpWd_RSIxUx4Xq7zDpJXrpqMsUUfyRkAfBlQDIsEYJJvSSxYS6BmfpcD3zL5lnCZSPAXKSwGnMAX7YJYRJeIHl0cM-ZteEwO7c0d5v7S6JWHPWQnuAYjrvZJRKUFDcUodWIykw/s1600/Photo+Nov+18%252C+11+52+27+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-32vMhpWd_RSIxUx4Xq7zDpJXrpqMsUUfyRkAfBlQDIsEYJJvSSxYS6BmfpcD3zL5lnCZSPAXKSwGnMAX7YJYRJeIHl0cM-ZteEwO7c0d5v7S6JWHPWQnuAYjrvZJRKUFDcUodWIykw/s1600/Photo+Nov+18%252C+11+52+27+PM.jpg" height="198" width="200"></a></div>
I first played Guildhall at my FLGS. It was a game I'd heard about for a while. I have a friend a few states away who consistently speaks highly of it. The Dice Tower would sporadically heap praise on it as well. But the look and feel of the game just didn't grab me. Plus, I own a lot of card games already. Seriously, I own a <b>lot</b> of card games. But my FLGS had a demo copy, and I had an hour to kill one evening, so I figured why not? I'm glad I did, because Guildhall lives up to all the fond things said of it.<br>
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Guildhall was published in 2012 by AEG, and was designed by Hope S. Hwang. It's primarily a set collection game, except each set has a special ability you can invoke. There are only 6 sets in the game, and their abilities delicately play off one another. The first player who completes enough sets to earn 20 points is the winner. But for more detail, lets get into the rules summary.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/11/guildhall-review.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-41736525577120905492013-11-11T00:07:00.000-05:002016-05-02T14:48:05.234-04:00Escape: Curse of the Temple Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSU47mCivFZCsUpRzBLivbe-r_BgNNw3FR6tkBmIzKGvrhGM10W0RepwEGiVMJlcGhGAWj2b-O5e7e6-z6S3LbmLbUfWj_eJM-vjEQxYBtymxJjnv75MUTYFQ5dePfnh_9HBr60DpKKGQ/s1600/Photo+Nov+10%252C+11+20+44+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSU47mCivFZCsUpRzBLivbe-r_BgNNw3FR6tkBmIzKGvrhGM10W0RepwEGiVMJlcGhGAWj2b-O5e7e6-z6S3LbmLbUfWj_eJM-vjEQxYBtymxJjnv75MUTYFQ5dePfnh_9HBr60DpKKGQ/s1600/Photo+Nov+10%252C+11+20+44+PM.jpg" height="199" width="200"></a></div>
Escape: Curse of the Temple is one of an increasing number of what I call "experience" games. These are games that usually involve a soundtrack, and are played in real time. Their hook is mostly altering your perception of the game through their music and sound effects. As well as some time dilation caused by the stress they put you under. Escape in particular was published by Queen Games in 2012, and was designed by Kristian Amundsen Østby.<br>
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Escape primarily came to my attention thanks to <a href="http://www.shutupandsitdown.com/videos/v/review-escape/">Shut Up & Sit Down</a>. I bided my time, waited until I got a gift card and then grabbed it. I just wasn't sure if the people I play with would enjoy it. $40-50 also felt like a steep price for a game that lasts only 10 minutes. So using a gift card definitely alleviated my fears of potential buyers remorse. Of course, I also had fears about teaching the game properly, and successfully getting everybody through a game where I don't have the luxury of time to keep people honest about the rules. So lets see how Escape did in those regards.<br>
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</h3><a href="http://criticalboardgamer.blogspot.com/2013/11/escape-curse-of-temple-review.html#more">Read more »</a>CriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.com2