Nov 24, 2014

Crop Cycle - A Review

Due to my blog focusing on casual gaming and having a Canadian prospective I was approached (through Board Game Geek) with an opportunity to review a new game that is currently on kickstarter.  Although I have never done this before, I jumped at the opportunity to try a new game.

The game is called Crop Cycle and it is a "Take That" style farming game.  It is designed for 2-5 players, but due to a short time with the game (it was needed for further play testing) we only played with 2 (my wife and I).  There are a couple of great reviews out there already that explain the gameplay (including the videos on the kickstarter page) so I am going to focus instead on our experience with the game.


A sampling of the game components

As this was my first time reviewing a game I wanted to make sure that I knew how to play before we ever opened the box, just to try and make sure we played it right.  I downloaded the rulebook, read through that, and then worried even more.  Its too simple.  I must be missing something.  So I watched the video on the kickstarter page, and also watched another preview.  I found that the repetition helped me confirm that I was understanding the rules, but they didn't really add much more.  When we sat down to play I explained the rules to my wife using the rulebook only, and then we started into our first game.  I quickly realized that I was worried for no good reason; the game mechanics really are that simple, and it is the cards and interactions that add the depth.

There are currently no "Take That" style games in our collection, but for no particular reason.  We just seem to have and play a lot of "middle length" games, ones in the 30-90 minutes type range, and we seem to enjoy the more strategic type games.  It took the first couple of games to even get used to the change in pace, and in having limited options to choose from each turn.  That being said, there was definitely opportunities where a choice had to be made, so there was more to it than luck of the cards.  Each round only took us 15-20 minutes and sometimes the 5 harvest point win condition seemed to come too soon, especially because the 5 points for the winner could come in short order even if they were behind up to that point.  I think that is fitting with the game style, but we noted that it would be really easy to simply play to higher point total (we were thinking 7 or 8), but didn't get a chance to try it.


Near the end of the game, where we both have some points and crops in the field

A game where we both have 0 points, but enough in the field to end it very quickly
I really wished that we could of had the opportunity to play more players; from the cards we saw it was evident that it would scale well, and would be even more "take that" type plays, which might also make the 5 harvest point win condition more appropriate.

The farming theme is integrated into the game very well; plant your crops, have them modified by various factors like pests, fertilizer, weather, etc. and then harvest them.  From what little I know of farming (I have worked in the agricultural sector but am not a farmer) the crops seem realistic (in terms of seasons, relative value) and the utility cards seem appropriate in terms of the options and issues a farmer deals with.  The artwork is what I would call stylized photos, and I loved them, though my wife didn't particularly care for it, but we agreed that it was appropriate for the theme.

After a few rounds we agreed that this is a fun, light game that we would play again.  It may not be what we play all night, but could see it being played often as a quick game, or as a prelude to another game.  In addition to being my first review, it led to another first for me; actually backing a kickstarter campaign.  I am not sure if it will succeed, but I definitely encourage you to check it out and back it; this is a great game at a reasonable price.  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1776342422/crop-cycle

Nov 20, 2014

Dominion - Session Report

My wife and I played a couple of games of Dominion last night.  As usual, we used a random set of kingdom cards from all of the sets we have (see list in Boardgame Collection).

Game 1
 
In the first game I planned to go for the treasure maps and use the cartographer to try and get them together.  The name synergy of using the cartographer to find the maps just an added bonus.  The problem I ran into is that by focusing on the maps I didn't have 5 coins to spend until it was too late, so the plan fell apart.  As well, my attempts at using the crossroads was hampered by us using the Dark Ages starting cards in place of the three estates.  My wife ended up using a couple of Goons and Death Carts to walk all over me.  Final score was 47 to 31.
 
 
Game 2
In the second game I used the trader to ditch my Estates and get Silvers instead, which worked rater well.  I then used Shanty Towns and  Spys to build towards Alters.  In the end the province split was 5-3, but I also had a bunch of Duchys gained through the Alters, which allowed me to win the game 42 to 28.

Nov 19, 2014

Weekend Gaming

This past weekend we had two other couples over for games that we play with regularly.

We have played a variety of games over time, but this weekend we played one that we haven't in a while, Settlers of Catan, and two we have play regularly, 7 Wonders and Castle Panic.

Although we have played with this group before, it had been a while since the last game of Settlers.  This is the "original" game that hooked me on boardgames, and it was because both me and my wife had an itch to play that we convinced the others to give it a go.  Despite getting what I thought was a set of great starting locations, I fell behind pretty quickly due to some rolling that didn't go my way.  There was one guy who took the lead pretty early, and although a couple of other people made it close at the end, he just was too far ahead for anyone to catch.  I started to get better rolls near the end, but I was just too far back.  There was a few comments after the game that Settlers can be a long game if you fall behind early, and this is the first time in a long time that I had to agree, and felt out of the game for the majority.  I still would be willing to play any time, but I doubt this group will be playing in the near future.

We then played a round of 7 Wonders, using the Wonders Pack and Leaders expansions.  This is our bread and butter game, and is always enjoyed by all.  I had three military oriented leaders (only two of which I managed to play due to high costs), and focused on that as my strategy.  In the end I think that it focused me too much, and I ended up with more red (military) card than I needed, and lost a bunch of points as a result.

The final hurrah for the night was a round of Castle Panic.  The only time I have lost so far was when we played with this group, our very first time playing it.  We have won a few times since then and we work together well.  We were cruising through until near the end, when we all had empty or near-empty hands, making the trading almost useless, which made for a hairy ending, but managed to squeak out a win.  This is one of the few co-operative games I enjoy; I just find that I have a hard time not pushing my strategies onto the other players, and so I find myself being very careful when we play these types of games.  Thankfully this group includes friends I am close enough with that this is less of an issue.

Castle Panic (Setup and ready to play)


Overall a fun night!

Nov 18, 2014

The Resistance - New Hit?

Despite best intentions, it has been a while since my last post.

Since that time I have had a chance to play The Resistance  with a number of different groups, and it has been a hit every time.

The next time was the one I had reference in the last post, where my wife and I got together with three other couples, and all of the men in those couples had been part of the first group I played with.  Despite my prediction, it was the men who were more socially focused, not the women.  We all ended up really enjoying the evening, and got really into the game.  We played the first few games without the plot cards, but honestly I enjoyed the later games with the plot cards more.  Yes, it adds some randomness to the game, but with eight players I really found that it added more balance.

Just over a week ago now my wife and I got together with another group we hang out with regularly, again with four couples being present.  One of the other guys really wanted to introduce this group to The Resistance, he had been hooked at the guys night as well.  He thought I had owned the game (which I don't), so we didn't actually have a copy to play.  We decided to try playing it using a deck of playing cards (use red/black to show rebel/spy, and as pass/fail a mission) and a rulebook found online.  This worked relatively well, and I am glad we got to play and I think that we got the group hooked.  To be honest, I would definitely say that it is worth getting a copy of the game.  There was some effort needed to make sure that we had enough red/black cards so it wasn't apparent who played the pass fail, especially for people like me who have a habit of tracking cards.  As well, with eight players, we found that it is tilted in favour of the rebels, and I wish we had the plot cards to help balance it some.

The one drawback I have found playing with the various groups is that my wife isn't the greatest bluffer/liar (which has advantages too!), especially with me.  As a result I am usually able to tell what she is, which takes away from the game a bit (one less to figure out).  I think that I have been good about not letting that influence how I interact with other players, but its hard to tell.

I am going to have to add The Resistance to my list of games I want to get, and I can see it becoming the "game of choice" with larger groups.