Tag Archives: hypermind

Homesteaders AP

February 26, 2011 – 5:26 am

I thought I would report on some Homesteaders play this past Tuesday night. I had posted on the Hypermind Guild at BGG that it would be Tasty Minstrel night from me. I took Homesteaders, Eminent Domain, and Terra Prime. I got at least two “I want in on Homesteaders.” replies. So it looked like a good night coming. And it was. Though I arrived late, a couple of guys were ready to play. So after a game of El Grande we broke out Homesteaders. Both of the other guys had played once previously so rules overview went quickly. Chip really started off well and very obviously went the workers route. Keith was more stealthy and ended up going the railroad route. I had a bad first two rounds and never caught up. In the end Chip won by one point over Keith – 48 to 47 with me a distant 22.
Both of them really like the game and asked me to keep bringing it. I think the depth is apparent once you get one play in. And Adam, who requested a seat, did not show so there is one more who wants to play. And Chris (GamerChris.com) wanted in but someone wanted him to teach them Survive so he bowwed out.

By tomgurg | Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , | Comments Off

Looking Back At 2010 Gaming

February 19, 2011 – 2:33 am

2010 was a great year for gaming for me.   The biggest thing for me was I joined The Hypermind Boardgamers.  This is a fantastic gaming group located in Burlington, NC at Hypermind, my FLGS. Hypermind is made up of some awesome gamers who love games of all types. This group has opened up some many excellent games to me.  I discovered Macao, The Princes of Florence, Ra, Goa, Saboteur, and many others.  But most of all I’ve made some really good friends.  And strengthened others.  Tuesday nights became a highlight of the week and are much looked forward to.  I’ll be glad when I’m able to make the trip on a regular basis again.

Purchase wise I picked up some good games.  Forbidden Island, Notre Dame, Settlers and Seafarers of Catan, Small World, Zooloretto, a couple of the 10 Days games, Saboteur, Terra Prime, Homesteaders are the stand outs.

My kids and I played a lot of games too.  Homesteaders was a big hit with O.  Small World and Saga were Z’s favorite.  And Memoir ’44 continued to be at the top.

Here’s what I played this year.

Aunt Millie’s Millions,  Ablaze!, Hurry Cup!, Ticket To Ride Europe, Saga, Carcassonne,  Ka-Ching, Clue: Secrets & Spies,  Sleeping Queens,  10 Days In Asia,  No Thanks!,  Alhambra,  Zeus On The Loose,  In A Pickle,  Indiana Jones Life,  Three of A Crime,  10 Days In The USA,  Castle Keep,  Ticket To Ride – Nordic Countries,  Settlers of Catan,  Ascension,  Cyclades, Loot, Telestrations, Kingdoms, Seafarers of Catan, Terra Prime, Cutthroat Caverns, Apples To Apples,            Dominion,  Roll Through The Ages, Saboteur, Coloretto, Bohnanza, Endeavor, Macao, Small World, Space Hulk: Death Angel, Masons, Eminent Domain, Memoir ’44, Taluva, Sultan, Metropolys, Mission: Red Planet, Escalation!, Forbidden Island, Nexus Ops, Monopoly Deal, Through The Desert, Notre Dame, Thunderstone, Thurn & Taxis, Cash n’ Guns, Goa, Hive, Traders of Carthage, Tiki Topple, Hey! That’s My Fish!, Ra, Parade, Pandemic + On The Brink, Homesteaders, Cloud 9, Peloponnes, Vegas Showdown, Witch’s Brew, Catacombs, Tigris & Euphrates, Cthulhu Dice, In The Year of The Dragon, China, The Princes of Florence, Tribune, Bang!, Archaeology: The Card Game, Dream Factory, Shogun

That’s it I think.  Total of 78.    Not too bad.

So which ones rose to the top.  These are the top 14.

14.  Coloretto

13.  Tigris & Euphrates

12. Ra

11.  Traders of Carthage

10.  Eminent Domain

9.  Shogun

8.  Homesteaders

7.  Hey! That’s My Fish!

6.  Alhambra

5.  Forbidden Island

4.  Goa

3. Princes of Florence

2.  Pandemic


1.  Macao

Macao really stood out for me.  It was the only game that haunted me.  I could not get it out of my mind.  I thought up strategies, drew out the rondel, worked on dice/turn combos.  And I’m still not that good at it.  I really enjoy the game a whole lot and want to play it all the time.  That’s why it is number one.   Pandemic is #2 because it is such a great gaming experience.  The tension it builds and the high-five moments are awesome.  The rest are all very good and fun games and are on the Buy List for this year.

What do you think?  How about your thoughts on these games or your favorites from last year?  Comment below.

There are a bunch of games that didn’t get played and ones that are coming out this year.  But that’s another post.

So that’s 2010 in brief.  It was a good year for gaming.  The best parts were definitely finding Hypermind and my kids getting deeper into gaming.

By tomgurg | Posted in Gaming | Also tagged , , , , | Comments Off

What I Played Last Night

December 16, 2010 – 3:50 am

I got to game night late (8pm) for various reasons.  Most everyone was in a game of 7 Wonders except Kenny.  He was setting up Command & Colors: Napoleonics for he and Chris.  Once he got it set up we played a game of Parade.  He beat me pretty handily.  Around then the 7 Wonders game finished.  Adam, Shawn, Keith, and I started a game of Homesteaders.  I’m not sure I did a good job of explaining the game but my fears were alayed soon enough as Adam jumped out to what seemed to be a substantial lead.  He and Shawn went back and forth for the first several auctions.  Shawn picked up some good properties early and got a $ engine working well.  He was taking in 5-7 silver each turn at first then 9-12 by game end.  Adam picked up 5 debt tokens by the fifth round but had some good properties for it.  Then he built the bank and those debt tokens began to disappear.  Meanwhile Keith and I were struggling to keep up.  Keith picked up a couple of workers to get some income coming in.  He started gaining some victory points with the meatpacking plant.  Early on I realized that I was not going to do well competing for properties as I could not get any $ or trade tokens coming in.  So I decided to go strictly for victory points.  I worked up the railroad development track and also was able to get the church.  That earned me 10 vp and generated 2 vp per turn.  That seemed to be pretty weak to me, especially since I only had 2 workers on my gold mine.  So I was getting some gold each turn and was able to buy some resources once in a while.  The last auction was a battle with Adam for the 6 vp charity token.  He had the lawyer and was upping each time.  He finally bowed out at $12.  I had to take a debt token to pay but I got it.  That enabled me to take the lead.  The final scores were 41, 37 – Adam, 32 – Shawn, 28(?)-Keith.  My second win at Hypermind!

Next up was Hansa Teutonica.  Chris has been raving about this one so I was eager to play.  He set it up for Keith, Adam, himself, and me and explained it to Keith and I.   It took a minute or two but I got a control of a couple of important cities and kept scoring from them.  I also started putting a chain together.  Keith was really working his cube bag, enabling him to replenish his supply each turn.  Adam was having some trouble getting a strategy going.  But Chris was eating the special tokens up.  This enabled him to take extra actions at key times or wide a threatening opponent (usually me) from my strategy of getting a long chain of controlled cities.  In the end, Chris’ accumulation of the special tokens did us in.  I did not realize that they were worth points at the end so I didn’t pay them much attention.  Keith was able to get control of the central chain of cities for 7 vp.  And he activated his key to get a multiplier on these to get second place.  I came in a respectable third.

It was a good if short night.  Parade is fun and one I will be picking up.  I was very glad to get Homesteaders to the table again and introduce it to some new people.  Everyone rated it an 8 and want me to continue bringing it.  I enjoyed Hansa Teutonica.  I didn’t think I would but I was surprised.  It is going on the buy list.  Only downside is that I did not get to play Eminent Domain.

By tomgurg | Posted in Gaming | Also tagged , , | Comments (4)

A Conversation With…Ken Coble

August 28, 2010 – 12:21 am

Today I am joined by Ken Coble, super gamer. Ken is a friend from the Hypermind Boardgamers. He is also a fantastic role player and a great guy all around.

Tomg: What is your gamer cred?

Ken: Not sure I’ve got any – if I do, it’s that I’ve been doing this
since I was 11 or so; however the huge chunk of time between undergrad
and a few years ago where I didn’t get to play has to cut into that
somewhat.
Boardgames? even less – I only started seriously playing them about 2
years ago, and that was almost entirely due to Steve Wallace hounding
me to go to game night (and I’m glad he did!)
Tomg: Do you prefer to GM or be a player?  Why?

Ken: Probably being a GM barely edges out player, since I really like
fiddling around with world/campaign design.  However, with the newer
games that put some (or lots) of narrative control back in the
player’s hands, player might be pulling ahead!
Tomg: What makes a good player?

Ken: Wow, I’m not sure.  I might be better at saying what makes a bad
player!  One thing that goes a long way towards making a good player
is someone who’s engaged with the game – ideally with the world, the
other players, and maybe even the game system itself.
Tomg: What makes a good game?

Ken: RPGS: Once upon a time I’d have said a great background/setting and
then as long as the system wasn’t obtrusively bad I wouldn’t care.  I
still think that good background is important, but I’m growing to like
games where there’s some real thought going into making a system that
works both as a game and as a framework for RP.

Boardgames: as much as I love heavy theme, I’m rapidly starting to get
impatient with overly bloated, hyperdetailed rules in games.  Am I
turning into a Eurogamer?
Tomg: Tell us about your favorite character so far.

Ken: Hmm… maybe the Dwarven Battlerager I had in that AD&D (2ed, I think)
campaign Chris ran for us in high school where I specifically made him
all unreliable and nuts so I wouldn’t wind up being the party leader
by default, as tended to happen back then.  I wound up having to be
the party leader anyway, so I wrote out an oracle the character could
consult by flipping 5 coppers and used it to make every decision I got
forced to make for the party.  Good times (and of course, no one in
the play group ‘learned their lesson’ from this, so I went back to
being the voice of reason in our next group like always).
Tomg: What is(are) your current hot games?

Ken: RPGs? Diaspora for sure, and I’d really love to play some Rogue Trader
(a much more traditional style RPG, but I love the 40k setting and I
think RT is one of the best ways to explore it)

Wargames? well, I’ve stalled out on our 40k league at the store due to
a variety of reasons (not least of which is differing expectations
from many of the players), so the nod has to go to Flames of War.
Britt and I are planning a big campaign based on the Eastern Front in
the winter of 43, and I also snuck and ordered enough stuff to make
two small 600pt armies for North Africa/Tunisia, which I intend to use
for some games with Chris N (since he mentioned some interest in FoW
earlier) as well as anyone else at Hypermind who wants to learn!

Boardgames? That might be a tougher call, just since there’s so much
stuff to play and so many things we don’t manage to get to the table
on Tuesday nights!  I certainly want to play some more Tribune,
especially now that I have my own copy!  I also really liked the one
game of Thurn und Taxis I got to play with Chris I and a few other
people back at the beginning of the summer.  I’m thinking pretty
heavily about getting Denise to order me a copy.  Otherwise, I’m still
wanting to play Macao and Agricola every game night; only problem is
the time/player commitment, as well as my desire to try something new
all the time as well.

Tomg: Thanks for the interview Ken. The Diaspora game is uber awesome.  Thanks for getting it started.  It is always fun to talk to you. See you on Tuesday night for some gaming.

By tomgurg | Posted in Interviews | Comments (2)

A Reivew of No Thanks!

August 8, 2010 – 9:28 pm

Review: No Thanks!
Designed by Thorston Gimmler
Published in English by Z-Man Games

The Basics:
No Thanks! is a card game in which players pay a chip not to take a card from the middle of the play area. Each card has a certain amount of points on it. By taking the cards from the middle players add points to their ‘hand’. The idea of the game is to have the fewest points at the end of the game. So you must pay to keep your point total low.

Components:
The game consists of 33 cards numbered 3 through 35 and 55 playing chips. That’s it.
Oh, and a rules sheet.

Setup:
Deal 11 chips to each player. Shuffle the cards. Deal 24 cards face down to the middle of the play area. The remaining cards are not used this round and are placed back in the box.

So How Do You Play No Thanks!?
The first player turns over the top card of the deck. He has the option to either take that card or pay a chip not to take it. If he chooses not to take it, he places a chip next to the card and play moves to the next player. This player has the same options – take the card AND the chip or pay a chip not to take it. Play continues until someone decides to take the card. This player takes the card and all the accumulated chips. He then flips another card from the deck face up. He now has the same options – take it or pay. Taken cards are placed in front of the player. Taken chips are added to that player’s pool. One twist to play is that consecutive sequences of cards score only the lowest card in the sequence. Also if a player has no chips he must take the card in play. Play continues until all cards are taken. Players then calculate their final score by adding up the points on the single cards and then adding the points from the lowest card in each sequence. Then they subtract a point for each chip they still have.

So How Do I Like No Thanks!
This is a very fun and surprising game. The rules are so simple yet the strategy involved with keeping your point total low, trying to get sequences, and keeping some chips makes for hard decisions. I like this. The fact that you do not use all the cards ensures that you can’t card count as you never know which cards are in the deck and which are in the box out of play. This is a good mechanic. There is a take that element in the game that is fun. You can drive play around to the guy who has no chips left, forcing him to take the card in play. You can take a card to keep it from someone need it for a sequence. You can take a card just to keep the next players from getting needed chips. All of these tactics come into play to add fun.
My group was very surprised by this quick filler. It has unseen strategy and tons of fun. It is a regular filler at Hypermind and one I will be teaching at work soon.

By tomgurg | Posted in Under The Microscope - Reviews | Also tagged , | Comments Off

What I Played This Week

June 19, 2010 – 2:45 am

Tuesday night I got in the following games:
Roll Through The Ages – this one just hasn’t clicked with me yet. I want to like it but it’s just not doing it for me.
Macao – I walked in the store and Adam, who was playing Ghost Stories, says ‘We’ll play Macao when I’m done here.” Macao is so great. Lose constantly but I still love it.
Pandemic – My number two game – it was a short game as the outbreaks broke us. I really like it and need to play it more.
Dream Factory – first time play – it was a pretty good auction game and I did ok. Next time I’ll get started earlier though.
It was a good night.
I’m playing several games online either at Yucata.de or SpielByWeb. On Yucata I’m playing Atta Ants with Eric and losing again. This is another one that just eludes me. I’m also playing Hey! That’s My Fish with Chris. I’m up by one at the moment but he has more penguins. And I’ve started a game of Stone Age. I want to learn this one but boy is it slow online.
Over on SpielByWeb, Chris, Kenny, Steve, and I are playing Wallenstein. And it seems to be gang up on Tom time. I’m down to only 5 provinces. The cube tower is hateful. I was attacked by Steve with 5 armies against my 12 and I lost!! That just ain’t right.
Played a lot of Halo3 with Z too.
That’s it.

By tomgurg | Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , | Comments (2)

What I Played Last Night

May 20, 2010 – 2:19 am

It was Game Night at Hypermind so I played some games.

First was Pandemic with the mutation variant.  There were five of us and we won in a tight game.  This is such a fun game.  Why is it so fun?  It’s intense.  It is ever changing.  It sneaks up on you.  You’re working on one disease then bam! another one outbreaks suddenly and you’re in a crisis.  There is a time limit.  It’s hard.  It is one of the best designed games I’ve played.  Each play is different.  And adding the On The Brink expansion just makes it better.  Everyone should own it.

Next up was Princes of Florence.  This is a thinky game.  I like thinky games.  Most of the time I lose but I still like them.  I was doing pretty good.  My initial hand worked well together.  Only the buildings were different.  So I thought I was in good shape.  And I was until the second to the last turn.  I had 4 works in place and was in third place of five.  And I had a 19 point work in my hand ready to go.  I forgot that I couldn’t build buildings next to each other with only one builder!!  So I couldn’t do the work!!!! So What to do??  I lose.  I ended with 2 Prestige Points cards that were worthless.  The last Freedom had been bought out from under me in the previous round.  And because of my forgetful self I lost the Lake which would have given me 8 points, enough to get me into 4th.  Argh!

Next up was a 7 player game of Bang!.  I had played Bang! once and liked it.  And was glad to be able to get in another game.  The first outlaw blew herself up with dynamite.  The second revealed himself soon after and went out several hands later as Vulture Sam began blasting him with his Volcanic.  I was the last outlaw.  Great name for a Western.  We lost.  Vulture Sam had a mean on for me and made it his goal in life to make sure that I died.  I almost got him.  His bigger hand was my undoing as he held back a Beer to give him a life after out duel.  Come to think of it, he played that on my turn.  I had played the Duel card I think.  Can he do that?  Oh well it was a blast.  The cool thing about this game is that people role play and get into character.  Lots of fun.  And Kenny has Ennio Morricone music playing through out.

The last game was just Chris, Kenny, and I.  Chris was itching to play Pandemic with the Bioterrorist so that’s what we did.  It really changes the game.  The BT takes his turns after EACH of the other players take their turn.  So he gets double turns in this case.  And the way he infects a city is different.  He moves in secret too.  This is a very cool twist on the game that we will play again.  Kenny and I lost when we ran out of cards in the draw pile.  It was huge fun though.

All images are from GamerChris and are used with permission.

By tomgurg | Posted in Gaming | Also tagged , | Comments (2)

No Thanks For The Kingdom Fiascos

April 21, 2010 – 2:32 pm

Last night was game night at Hypermind.  I haven’t been able to attend for the last two due to illness in the family so I was stoked. Chris, Kenny, and I had been discussing what to do and decided on Macao and playtesting our Fiasco playset.  Well, Macao didn’t happen but there was still much fun.  I got there about 7:15 and picked up a game of No Thanks! with Mark and David.  This is a really fun game.  Simple but brutal at times.  I don’t remember who won but I happen to put together several runs over three hands.

Next up was Kingdoms.  I own this one but haven’t played much due to the math involved.  The kids haven’t been up to it until recently and I just haven’t taken it out to play.  Anyway, it was a four player game with me, Chris, Graham, and Chip.  Kingdoms is a fun game that appears simple but has some good strategy.  I missed a couple of good moves early on but still managed not to come in last thanks to a good last round. 

We played Through The Desert next .  I had never played this and it took a while for me to realize some things.  I lost but it was fun and I believe the kids would like this.

Kenny was still involved in an epic Agricola game so we hauled out No Thanks! again.  I got a lot of ribbing for taking so many cards but managed to put together 2 runs in the first hand and an eight card run in the last hand for only 7 points.  Chip ended up edging out Keith.  I came in third.

Kenny finally finished his Agricola game so it was time for some Fiasco.  We have been building a playset sparked by an idea from RPG-Or-Die-Con!.  It gelled into Action News 6! – a local newscast.  We had the playset finished and wanted to run it through some real testing.  Keith joined us for the testing.  He was a real asset, having outside eyes on it.  All in all it went well.  It was a blast as Fiasco tends to be.  The playset was pretty solid but we identified some places that needed elimination or tweating.  Chris is updating and we will then need a full blown playtest.

By tomgurg | Posted in Gaming | Also tagged , , | Comments (1)

Hypermind Board Game Night

March 25, 2010 – 1:23 am

At the invitation of GamerChris, I’ve been going to the weekly board game night at Hypermind in Burlington, NC for a couple of months now. I have to say it is one of the highlights of each week. I’ve played a new game every night I’ve been there. Last night it was Princes of Florence and Dominion. Both of them are good but I think Princes is much better. The auction mechanic and that you have to plan ahead are very interesting. First time games are:

Witches’ Brew – 6.5

China – 7, needs more plays to get the scoring
Vegas Showdown – I like it a lot. 8 of 10
Roll Through The Ages – another 8
Endeavor – another 8
Cutthroat Caverns – 7
Thunderstone – 6.5, I need another play.
Descent – 8
Escalation – 7.5
Saboteur – 7.5
And I’ve played 5 games of Pandemic – it’s a 9.
But the real surprise and my new favorite game is Macao.
Boy, do I like this one. Lots of strategy, some luck,  planning, and lots of decisions. I find myself strategizing how to win constantly. This one is at the Top of The Buy List right after Forbidden Island.

Here are some pictures I swiped from GamerChris’s site.  He does a weekly recap of all games played that week.  Check them out here.  Here are the Macao regulars:  clockwise -  Kenny, Chip,  Chris (taking the picture), and me.

It’s a long drive back at 1 a.m. in the morning but worth every minute that I spend there.  I can’t wait for Tuesday.

By tomgurg | Posted in Gaming | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (4)

Bits And Pieces

March 20, 2010 – 2:02 pm

I’m trying to catch up on feedback today so here are a few things that have been going on or that I will expand on later.

Game Design update:

  • Comatose is coming along well.  I solved a major issue that I didn’t even know I had until playtesting and playing Fiasco – Story advancement mechanic.  I think I have a built in solution for this.
  • The Gold Rush – static right now as I concentrate on Comatose
  • The Interman Game – I may have Photoshop back up soon so this one will be  ready playtesting soon.
  • Becky Sharp/Lorna Doone DeLongpre – Lorna comics should be out soon according to Micah so I should jump on this one soon.

Gaming:

I’ve been attending Game Night at Hypermind in Burlington over the last few months.  I’ve played a lot of new games and met some really nice people.  Here are a few of the the games:

  • Tribune – I was surprised that I liked this one.  The theme didn’t grab me but the game play is great.
  • China – This was fun and surprisingly simple to play.  Scoring is complex though.
  • Thunderstone – My first time playing the hot new mechanic of deck building.  It was ok but I see that experience with the game would probably make it more fun.  I want to play Dominion now.
  • Endeavor – This was a fun area control/trading game.
  • Escalation – Lots of fun
  • Cuttthroat Caverns – Fun but a little long.  I need a replay of this with some house rules I think.
  • Witch’s Brew – This one needs another play.  I think I may like it but I don’t know.
  • Roll Through The Ages:  This one is on the Buy List.  It’s fun and challenging.  And you can play solo.
  • Descent – Road To Legend – This one is great.  We started it this past week.  It’s fun and dungeon crawl-y.
  • Pandemic – 3 plays of this so far.  What a fun game!  I’m setting up a solo game today to play during the day.
  • Finally the gem so far – Macao.  Wow!  Do I like this one!  Simple yet challenging.  I could not stop thinking about how I could play differently and about strategies this week.   It is definitely on The Buy List at the top.  I can’t wait to try out my strategy.

Feedback update:

  • lots of feedback pending for Pulp Gamer – you can actually hear me on the show now!
  • two episodes of Cody and John
  • an episode of Fear The Boot
  • The Spiel‘s last two
  • two shows of The Dice Tower – really hitting a groove right now, this is the link to TDT from the Funagain website,  the server was down for the home site when I wrote this.
  • Listened to:

Need to listen to:

That’s it for now.

Go Forth and Game your sock off.  Buy Macao.

By tomgurg | Posted in Feedback Frenzy, Gaming, The Buy List | Also tagged , , , , | Comments Off
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