In 2007, the gaming world was taken by storm by a little game called Agricola (#51, if you're interested). Buzz started almost immediately by the next game in the series from the same designer, and so far, the game has lived up to the hype. Agricola shot to number one at BGG, and our next game currently sits at number 6. Without further ado, here is Le Havre.


(BGG image by user Werbaer)

Le Havre is a 2008 game for 1-5 players that was designed by Uwe Rosenberg. It was published by Lookout Games, a German company that also published Agricola in Europe. In fact, Agricola and Le Havre are considered to be part of the Lookout series, which also includes 2009's At the Gates of Loyang (also designed by Roseberg) and 1853, a reprint of one of the games in the 18xx series.

In Le Havre, you'll be attempting to build up wealth in the French town of (you guessed it) Le Havre. You'll be doing this by collecting resources, building ships and buildings, and trying to build your empire.


(BGG image by user foofire)

As with Agricola, Le Havre comes with a lot of stuff. There are three game boards that are laid side by side. There are five player discs, five wooden ships, and five game turn overview cards in five different colors. Obviously, each player gets one of each. In addition, the game comes with a ton of cardboard - 7 round supply tiles, 16 food production tokens, 1 round starting player tile, and 420 goods/money tokens. This includes 48 1 Franc coins, 30 5 Franc coins, 60 cattle tokens (with meat on the reverse), 60 grain tokens (with bread on the reverse), 30 iron tokens (with steel on the reverse), 42 clay tokens (with brick on the reverse), 48 wood tokens (with charcoal on the reverse), 42 fish tokens (with smoked fish on the reverse), 30 coal tokens (with coke on the reverse), and 30 hide tokens (with leather on the reverse).

110 cards round out the components in this game. This includes the 5 game turn overview cards I mentioned earlier, as well as 33 standard building cards, 36 special building cards, 20 cards representing the rounds (with ships on the reverse), 11 loan cards, and five round overview cards (one each for 1-2-3-4-5 players).

The game has been divided up in a set number of rounds, depending on how many players you have. In a one player game, you'll play 7 rounds. For two, 14 rounds. For three, 18 rounds. For four or five, 20 rounds. It is not recommended that you play with five players your first time. There is also a shorter version of the game, with 4-8-12-12-15 rounds (and it's STILL not recommended that you play with five players your first time).


(BGG images by user manowarplayer)

I will be giving the full game set-up here. When I'm done, I'll tell you the differences in the shorter game.

1. First, lay out the three boards as above.
2. Each player takes one person marker, one ship marker, and one turn overview card. On the back of the turn overview card is a buttery (food storehouse) where you can store food that you need for the end of each round. It's not strictly necessary, but it helps with organization. Each player also starts with 5 Francs and 1 coal.
3. Place your ships next to the board, specifically next to the start of the supply lane (the waterway).
4. Shuffle the supply tiles and put one face down on each round space in the supply lane. You'll know what they all are after the first round, but they will never move.
5. Place good and food tokens in their appropriate supply places on the board (above the supply lane). You don't need to lay out all of them, you can always restock from the box.
6. Place 2 Francs, 2 fish, 2 wood, and 1 clay in the appropriate offer spaces (below the supply lane).
7. Shuffle the special building cards and place 6 in the appropriate box on the board. The rest are unneeded for the game.
8. Remove the green construction firm and the two building firms from the deck of standard buildings and set them next to the board. These buildings are owned by the town.
9. Check the back of each card to make sure you'll be using it in your game. It will have a dark check mark next to the number of players you have if you're using it. Discard any unused cards.
10. Shuffle the remaining standard buildings, then deal them out into three piles. Sort each pile by order number (top right of the card), with the lowest numbers at the top. Fan the cards out so everyone can see the bottom of each card and know what's coming later. These are the building proposals.
11. Sort the round cards by number of players. Each round card has five rows representing how many players are in the game. If the row for your player count is blank, discard the round card. Next, check the dark circle on the row. It will tell you which round the card will be used in. The lowest round should be on top, and the cards are face up.
12. Place the loan cards and food production tokens next to the board. Also, make the round overview card visible so all players know what's coming later.

In the shortened game, 3 Francs, 3 fish, 3 wood, 2 clay, 1 iron, 1 grain, and 1 cattle are placed in the corresponding offer spaces. This means all offer spaces have something in them, and starts you out ahead. Each player also receives 5 Francs, and 2 of every other resource (except cattle - you only get one of those). You'll be looking at the light colored check marks and circles on the round cards to see if the card is used in a round, as well as to see which round the cards represent. No special buildings are used.

In either case, play starts with the player who lives closest to water. They get the starting token.

(BGG images by users bluef0x and Bohnanzar)

There are seven turns in a game round, and players will take their turns in clockwise order from the first player. On each turn, there are two mandatory actions - a supply action and a main action. You can also buy or sell at any point during your turn.

SUPPLY ACTION: Place your ship token on the first available supply tile, heading in the direction of the arrows. If it's the first round, flip it over. You see that each supply tile shows two goods tokens. Put those tokens in the corresponding offer space at the bottom of the board. That's pretty much it for this action.

A note about the goods tokens. Each token has two sides. To start with, all should be on their standard side, which has side markings on the borders. The upgraded side has corner markings. Just to clarify. (Also, the tiles shown here are in German...the pictures are the same in English).

You'll also notice that one of the supply tiles has the word "interest" on it. When a player lands on this tile, anyone who has a loan card must pay 1 Franc. Loan cards can be taken at any time, and will get you 4 Francs. Loan cards can be paid off at any time during the game for 5 Francs. If you fail to pay off a loan card by the end of the game, it will cost you 7 points from your final score. You can always replace Francs with food at a 1:1 exchange rate (though you can never replace food with Francs).


It's also possible to build a ship during this action, but someone will have to build a wharf first. Building ships costs 3 energy and a number of other resources. I'll tell you how ships come into the game later, but know that they are important in helping you pay less food at the end of the round.

ADDITIONAL ACTIONS: At any time during your turn, even before the supply or main actions, you can buy or sell your buildings or ships. You can buy a building that is owned by the town or that is on top of one of the building proposal decks for Francs. A building will say what the cost is in a box below the title if the cost is different than the value shown next to the title. Remember the difference between buying and building - building is a main action that costs resources, while buying is an additional action that costs money.

In the same way, you can buy a ship from the top of a ship pile. Ships always have a separate cost.

The other thing you might want to do is sell a building or ship. The town will buy either at half of its value (not cost). Sold buildings go to the town with the others, while sold ships go to the top of their piles. You can't sell a building during an action, you can't sell something and buy it back in the same turn, and you can't sell something to another player.


(BGG images by users mcfer and PaulGrogan)

Once a player has finished their turn, the next player places a ship on the next supply space. If this means that they have to take it off a previous supply space, fine. Once the seventh turn has happened, it's time to resolve some stuff. Take the round card for that round and take its effects. Let's say it's round 14 in a four player game. First, we have a harvest (as indicated at the top of the card). This means that anyone with at least one grain gets another grain, and anyone with at least two cattle gets one more. We look at the fourth row down, and see that it is indeed round 14 (the dark circle). We then see that everyone must consume 8 food. Look back for a second at the Steel ship picture above. We see that this ship reduces food consumption by 5 in a four-player game, so now we have to pay three food. If you do not have any food, remember that you can replace food with Francs at a 1:1 exchange rate. If you have no money, you could sell buildings or take out loans.

The next symbol tells us that the town is going to build a special building, indicated by the anchor. Flip over the top card of the special building deck and place it with the other town buildings. The town may also build a standard building (same symbol without an anchor) by taking the lowest order number off the top of the proposal decks. In the 2 or 3 player games, you see no symbol, which means that no building gets built.

The next thing you do is flip the round card over. There will be a ship on the back, and this ship is now available to be bought or built. Ships should go together in like piles.

Once the end of the round is resolved, the next player in turn order moves their ship back to the start of the supply lane and the game continues.


(BGG image by user garyjames)

Once you have finished the final round, the players (starting with the one with the start token) all take one more main action. No buying or selling can occur here. Multiple people can occupy the same building. A player may not reenter a building they already occupied.

Once that is done, everyone calculates their wealth. You get points for the value of each building or ship, additional value of certain buildings that have a plus sign, and your cash (each Franc is worth one point). Each loan that is left unpaid costs you 7 Francs (or 7 points, if you want to look at it that way). The winner is the player with the most points, and in case of a tie, multiple people win.

That's Le Havre. Read more at BGG, and expect to pay $70 in an FLGS. That does it for the boat series, and that also wraps up this mini-exploration of transportation. There just aren't enough good plane or car games out there that I haven't covered already or don't plan to cover at another time. The next series will delve into a specific mechanic. Happy gaming!
-Jesse

So. You and all of your gnome buddies fancy yourselves to be pretty good sailors, so you go and enlist in the navy. Coincidentally, you all get assigned to the same submarine. You're very excited, and stockpile on copious amounts of grog to keep yourselves entertained on the long voyage. Unfortunately, you haven't gotten very far when everything...EVERYTHING...starts to go wrong. The engine room has flooded. Missiles are about to launch inside the sub. Two of your friends are drunk and passed out. Outside looms the kraken. And the room that contains all the grog has just caught fire. Welcome to another day aboard the Red November.


(BGG image by user faidutti)

Red November is a game for 3-8 players that was designed by Bruno Faidutti, with art by Christophe Madura. It was originally released in 2008, and is published by Fantasy Flight as part of its Silver Line series. In the game...well, you're a group of gnomes piloting a submarine. Did you think I was making that up? Red November is a mostly cooperative game, with one opportunity for someone to get a solo victory. Let's take a look.


(BGG image by user Hininsul)

The Silver Line series is designed to be small, compact, and affordable. Red November probably upsets most people because there is a lot of stuff, but it's TINY! The board is tiny, the 56 event cards are tiny, the 8 gnome cards are tiny, the 54 item tiles are tiny (the five shown above are NOT to scale), the 4 destruction tokens are tiny, the 35 hazard tokens (fire, water, and blocked hatch) are tiny, the 9 time keepers are tiny, the 8 gnomes are tiny...I suppose that's sort of thematic, seeing as they ARE gnomes, but the box (which is also tiny) does need to be slightly bigger. It's not uncommon to pull out your gnomes for the first time to find that they've gotten bent from being stuffed in the box. The game also comes with three colored disaster cubes, which are cube sized, and one 10-sided die, which is standard size.

At the start of the game, each player will choose a color and take the corresponding gnome and gnome card. The time keeper markers for each player color, which look like tiny domes, will be randomly placed in a tower, then set next to the start of the time track. You will determine the starting point according to the number of players in the game. In a 3-5 player game, you start at 60; with 6, you start at 55; with 7, you start at 49; with 8, you start at 46. This is how many "minutes" you have to survive in the game. The white time marker is a ghost marker, which you will place next to the player markers. It will keep track of how much time you spend in a turn. Remove the kraken card from the event card deck, then shuffle the rest into an event deck. Six grog tiles are placed next to the captain's quarters at the front of the ship (#10), then the rest of the tiles are shuffled, face down. Place these into piles, and each player will get two at random. The disaster cubes go at the start of their respective disaster tracks (shown above the back of the sub). You're ready to go.


(BGG image by user ColtsFan76)

Each player will roll the die to determine their starting position. Each room has a number from 1-10, so you'll start in the room you roll. Next, starting with the player who is on top of the tower, start your turns.

The object of the game is to survive until the end. If one of you makes it successfully without the ship being destroyed, you win. If none of you make it, you lose. As I mentioned, there is one opportunity for a solo victory, but I'll tell you about that later.

The order of play is this:

1. Move
2. Action
3. Faint check
4. Update

MOVE - You can move as far as you want to on a turn, or not at all. For every room you enter, it takes one minute to open the hatch (which swings closed behind you so the next gnome will also have to take a minute to open it). If you walk through the door, that takes no time, unless the room on the other side is at low water. For each minute you spend, advance the ghost marker one space on the time track.

There are a few other rules for movement. You may not enter a room that is on fire unless you have a fire extinguisher or consume some grog (which gives you a burst of strength, but also makes you stupid enough to enter a room that is on fire). You may not enter a room that is at high water, but you can reflow the water by opening the door. The water will flow out, causing the room you are in to go to low water, and the room that went down to also be at low water. You may not reflow water from a room at high water into a room that is already at low water. Water levels and fires are indicated by tokens that will be added throughout the game.

(BGG images by user Hex_Enduction_Hour)

ACTION - Once you've finished moving, you can perform an action. You have a number of options here. You can fix something, you can take an item (in special rooms only), you can trade with a gnome in the same room, or you could just do nothing. You can only do an action in a turn, and each action takes time. Yes, even doing nothing costs you a minute.

So, let's take a look at your possible actions. Fix-it actions are actions in which you will attempt to fix one of the myriad of things going wrong on your sub. The fixes will be attempted by performing checks. This is done by choosing how much time you want to dedicate to the task, advancing the ghost marker that number on the time track, then rolling the die. If you roll the number you chose or lower, you are successful and the appropriate action is taken. If you roll higher, then you fail. So, if you dedicate seven minutes, you need to roll a 7 or less to pass. Rolling an 8, 9, or 10 causes you to fail the check. You may be able to use tiles while trying to fix the problems. I'll mention the specific tiles as I go on, but do know that you can drink some grog before any fix-it action to add three to your attempt. This means that you take the minutes you chose to use, add three, and that's the target number your roll needs to beat. However, drinking grog has consequences, as you will see in the next phase.

To unblock a hatch, you may be on either side of the hatch in question. The crowbar tile adds 3 to your attempt.

To put out a fire, you must be in a room that is on fire. You may only enter a room that is on fire if you have a fire extinguisher or grog. If you were in a room when it caught fire, you don't need those things, but you still have to attempt to put out the fire. The fire extinguisher adds three to your attempt. If you fail to put out the fire, you must spend a minute to leave the room. If you are unable to leave the room, you die. I'll talk about death later.

In a room at low water, you can attempt to pump the water out. A water pump adds three to this attempt. Note that you cannot pump a room that is at high water. If you find yourself in a room at high water when it is your turn, you drown.


(BGG image by user hahnarama)

Throughout the game, the three destruction tracks will advance. Every time a fire starts, the asphyxiation (top) track will advance. Also, cards will cause the heat (center) and pressure (bottom) tracks to advance. To fix these, you need to be in the appropriate room - 2 for the asphyxiation track, 4 for the heat track, and 1 for the pressure track. You need to keep an eye on these - if any of these get to the end, you lose. Perform a check as you would with the other fixes, and if successful, move the cube back to the nearest star. Each room has a manual tile that will add 4 to your check. So if you are on or to the left of the center star, you move the track back to the beginning. If the marker has passed the center star, it only goes back to that star. So be careful.

You will also encounter destruction tokens throughout the game. Cards will instruct you to place a particular token 10 or 15 minutes ahead of the person furthest ahead on the time track. If all players pass this token without fixing the problem, the players lose. The tokens affect the engine and oxygen, as well as missile launch and the kraken. A missile fix must be done in the missile room (7), but is done just like the other checks. The kraken is different, so let me take a moment to explain.

As I mentioned in the set up, the kraken card is initially removed from the deck. However, once you've gone through the deck once, the kraken card gets added, so it may show up before the end of the game. If it does, a player that has an aqualung tile and a harpoon gun tile may go fight it. The gnome must open a hatch that leads outside the sub (1 minute), leave the sub (1 minute), then perform a check to defeat the kraken (1-10 minutes). You can reenter the sub on your next turn, but the aqualung only has air for one action, so if you fail to defeat the kraken, you can't try again. If you can't get back in the sub, you die.

OK, so those are the fixing actions. If you don't want to, or need to, do any of those, you may want to trade with a gnome in the same room as you. This takes one minute, and you can trade as many as you want.

If you are in room 8, you could draw some new tiles from the supply. It takes one minute per tile you draw, and you can only draw four. You may not do this on two consecutive turns. If you ever run out of tiles, shuffle up any that have been spent and make new piles

Likewise, if you are in room 10, you can draw up to two grog tiles (if there are any left) for one minute each.

One more thing - if you are in a room that is low water, any action you take (other than pumping water and taking no action) cost you two extra minutes.


(BGG image by user hahnarama)

FAINT CHECK - After the action, you make a faint check. At the start of the game, each player has their card sober side up. The first time they use grog, they flip the card so the 1 is facing them. Each subsequent time they use grog, the card gets rotated. If you used grog this turn (and this turn only), you must perform a faint check by drawing the top event card and looking at the number in the lower right corner. If there is a dash, you pass. If there is a number, compare it to the number on your sobriety card. If the number on the event card is higher than your sobriety level, you pass. However, if it is equal or lower than your sobriety level, you pass out. Lay down your gnome where it stands and advance the ghost marker 10 spaces. You must now wait until your next turn. If the room where you passed out catches fire or floods, you die immediately. This is in contrast to a player that is conscious - if a room they are in floods or catches fire, they wait until their next turn to resolve it.

Now is as good a time as any to talk about death. If you die, your gnome is out of the game. Your time marker is removed, your tiles are discarded, you're dead. If you are the active player, your turn ends immediately without updates. You can have this be it, or, if you don't like player elimination, you can bring a new gnome into the game, drawing two new tiles and rolling a die to determine a starting room. Thematically, this is a gnome stumbling out of a closet somewhere.


(BGG image by user hahnarama)

UPDATES - OK, this is where the problems happen. You know how to deal with problems, but now you get to see how they happen. In this phase, you catch your time marker up with the ghost marker. For every star on the time track that you pass, you must draw a card and do what it says. These are never good. Occasionally, you will get a respite card, which means that nothing happens. However, more often than not, fires or floods will start in random rooms (determined by the roll of a die), destruction tracks will advance, crises will occur, and items will be lost. By the way, water trumps fire - if a room that is on fire floods, the fire is put out. If a room that is flooded catches on fire, the fire is put out.

There is one good thing that may happen during the update phase - if you pass a red space (every ten minutes), you can draw a new tile.


(BGG image by user bjornagain)

Play continues, with the player who is in last place on the time track going next. If there is a tower of markers at the back of the pack, the player who is on top goes next.

If all surviving players make it to that 0 spot at the end of the track, and all events are resolved so that the ship is still intact, the players win, even the dead ones. Now, I did say that there's an opportunity for a solo victory, and here it is. If you have an aqualung and access to a hatch that leads off the sub, you may want to jump ship. You can only do this if one player is within 10 minutes of the end. Spend two minutes to exit the sub, then swim for the surface, abandoning your comrades. If the sub is destroyed, you get a solo victory. If the sub survives, everyone BUT you wins, and then they hunt you down and beat the crap out of you.

That's Red November. Read more at BGG, and expect to pay only $25 at an FLGS. Affordable, yes. Involved, yes. Tiny, yes.

One more boat game to go, and this one is a little involved. It may be a few weeks - I have several final papers to write before the semester is over. So, until next time, happy gaming!
-Jesse

Let's head out to sea and a series based on nautical transport. These won't necessarily be your traditional boats, but they'll keep you afloat. The first one I'll discuss is Lifeboats.


(BGG image by user Geosmores)

Lifeboats is a game for 3-6 players. The German version was originally published in 1993, designed by Ronald Wettering. Art is by Matthias Catrein, and the current US version is published by Z-Man. In the game, you run a group of sailors that are on the Santa Timea when it hits a reef. Everyone jumps in a lifeboat and sails for shore. Unfortunately, the lifeboats keep springing leaks, and people keep going overboard. Can you make it to land in time? Or will your opponents help send you to a watery grave?


(BGG image by user giochiusati - components from German version)

The game comes with a board that shows the route from the Santa Timea to one of three islands. There are seven wooden lifeboats included in the game, as well as five small pawns and one large pawn for each color (except black). There are 15 blue discs, representing leaks in the boars. A black disc is used as a first player marker. In addition, there are 60 cards - six sets of seven color cards, and six sets of three captain cards.


(BGG image by user giochiusati)

At the start of the game, each player will take one set of seven color cards and one set of three captain cards. Each color corresponds to one of the lifeboats, while the captain cards will help you overrule other players during the game.


(BGG image by user Firepigeon)

Each player will choose a color and take the corresponding sailor (small) and officer (large) pawns. You'll only be using four sailor pawns in a three or four player game, and five in a five or six player game. Starting with the start player (the one with the black disc), each player will place their boat on one of the seven starting spaces at the base of the board. Each player will place one boat in turn. Once all player boats have been placed, the start player places the black boat. Any unused boats are removed from the game.

Next, the start player will put one of his pawns in one of the lifeboats. In order, each player will place one pawn in a boat. Your pawn does not have to go in a matching boat - in fact, boat color will only be important as a tiebreaker. The placement continues until all of your people are in a boat. You're ready to begin.



(BGG images by user kevintlee - the board is not actually split, this is just the board image I could find)

The object of the game is to get as many people as possible from the shipwreck to the islands at the other side of the board. Each island is worth points for each of your pawns that makes it - 6-8 points for an officer, and 4-6 points for a sailor.

Each round goes in three phases: spring a leak, move a boat, panic.


(BGG image by user )

SPRING A LEAK - One of the boats springs a leak. Each player will vote on the boat they think should spring a leak. You may metagame the heck out of this part, and do whatever negotiating and allying you need to. When the vote finally happens, whichever boat gets the most votes springs a leak. The start player breaks any ties. One blue disc is placed in an empty space for the boat that sprung a leak.

If there are no empty spaces, the players on that boat must vote someone off. Each sailor on the boat gets one vote, while each officer gets two votes. Only the players on the boat are involved. If Alfred has two sailors on the boat, Billy has one sailor and one officer, Carl has one sailor, and Donny has one officer, then Alfred has two votes, Billy has three, Carl has one, and Donny has two. More negotiating ensues, and the vote is taken. If Alfred, Carl, and Donny all vote for Billy, he must remove one of his pawns from the game. Sailors are always elminated before officers. In case of a tie, the start player would break it, even if he wasn't involved in the original vote.

Note: if, at the end of a phase, there are ever more leaks than pawns on a boat (say, three leaks and two sailors), the boat sinks and everyone on board DIES.

MOVE A BOAT - Players vote to advance one lifeboat one space closer to the islands. Same rules apply as for the leak...sailors and officers only get counted separately when voting for their lives.

PANIC - One pawn belonging to each player will now panic and dive into the ocean, sure that their boat will be the next to sink. Beginning with the start player, take one pawn out of one lifeboat and place it behind that boat. No other pawn can abandon that ship now. Go until each player has removed one pawn from one ship - if you are unable to remove a pawn from any ship because other pawns have already jumped ship, you don't do anything.

Now, in REVERSE order, each player puts one pawn back in a different ship from the one they abandoned. If a pawn is unable to enter any ship, they drown and are removed from the game.

Once this phase is over, pass the start player marker and do it again.

I should mention Captain's Hat cards. If, during any vote, you play a Captain's Hat card, you get to decide the outcome of the vote. If more than one player played a Captain's Hat card, they cancel each other out.


(BGG image by user Geosmores)

When a boat arrives at an island, all pawns disembark and remain on that island until the end of the game. The boat then gets moved to the track on the side of the board to indicate which position it was in when it got to an island.

Once all pawns have reached safety (or died), the game ends. Count up points. The winner is the one with the most. Ties are broken by the order of boats - if your boat reached an island before another player's boat, you win ties over them. If all tied players have sunken boats, they all win.

Read more at BGG, and expect to pay $50 in an FLGS. Join me next time for more nautical adventures. Happy gaming!
-Jesse

There are gamers out there called "Puffing Billys", after the locomotive. These gamers will only play, or primarily play, train games. It's an interesting focus - much like wargamers only want to play wargames, or RPGers only want to play RPGs, Puffing Billys just want to focus on the economics of rail games. Fortunately, there are tons of games out there to feed that need. In this expansion, I'm going to talk about a few of the games in the 18xx series.


(BGG images by users Kevin C and mentis)

In 1974, Francis Tresham designed a train game called 1829, which was to become the first game in the 18xx series. In 1986, Tresham also designed a game called 1830: The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons. The games laid the foundation for the series, which focuses on railroads in the 19th century (hence the 18xx label for the series), and notably concentrates on the economics, particularly the stock market. Both are out of print now, but 1830 is the highest rated game on BGG, currently at #85.



(BGG images by users Werbaer and MArcMagus)

Another popular game in the 18xx system is 1995's 1856, designed by Bill Dixon. You can see the board above, which will give you an idea of the type of game we're looking at. The game is set in Canada.


(BGG images by users Werbaer and scottmc94)

1861: Railroads of the Russian Empire was released in 2006, designed by Ian D. Wilson. This game took the 18xx system to Russia, though it was originally supposed to be set in Middle Earth and entitle 18ME.




(BGG images by users marioaguila and gary5032)

Some 18xx games do not refer to a year at all, such as 18FL. These are typically set in a particular location, and others that do this include 18AL, 18TX, and 18GA.



(BGG images by user Aldaron)

Some 18xx games aren't even set in the 19th century, such as 2038, designed in 1995 by James Hlavaty and Thomas Lehmann (of Race for the Galaxy fame). This futuristic mining game doesn't even use railroads, but the system is similar, so it is considered to be part of the system.



(BGG images by user drewdane)

In 2009, Drew Dane and Clay Murry produced 18EZ, a game designed to introduce new players to the 18xx system. It features a series of modules to teach the game from the ground up. By the time you learn this game, you should be ready to dive into other games in the series.

I would highly recommend that you check out Scott Nicholson's overview of the series on BGWS. At the very least, the opening will leave you in stitches.

Next up on THIS blog, however, is an exploration of an entirely different form of transportation. See you then, and happy gaming!
-Jesse

In the first post of this series, I referenced Ticket to Ride as one of the classics in the train genre, particularly in its role as a gateway game.  Its designer, Alan R. Moon, was no stranger to the train genre - earlier train games he designed included Santa Fe (1992), Freight Train (1993), and 1830 - The Coalfields (1995).  That last one was an expansion to one of the games in the 18xx series, 1830: The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons, designed by Francis Tresham.  However, one of Moon's games has been come to be known as Alan R. Moon's Other Train Game, and that is Union Pacific.


(BGG image by user TVis)

Union Pacific is a game for 2-6 players that was designed by Alan R. Moon, with art by Franz Vohwinkel.  It was first released in 1999, and the US version is published by Rio Grande.  Whereas the train games I've been talking about thus far have been route building games, Union Pacific is more of a stock game where you will be trying to collect shares in the most profitable companies.

    
(BGG images by users rober and bazik123)

The game comes with a familiar map of the United States, with tracks that connect various cities to one another.  The game also comes with 131 plastic locomotives in 10 different colors.  Each color represents a different railroad company - United Mexican Railways (white), Empire State Line (Yellow), Kansas City Central (orange), Marquette Rocky Road (sky blue), Wyoming & Western (gray), El Paso & Rio Grande (green), Billings Northern Light (red), Miami Southern (yellow), Denver Midland (black), and Sioux Falls Royal Blue (royal blue).  Unlike Ticket to Ride, you will not be controlling one of these colors.  Rather, you will be working with them all to increase your own profit.  There are 98 share cards, 6-18 for each of these ten companies.  In addition, there are 20 share cards for the Union Pacific line, which has no trains.  40 track cards will help you in building the companies, while 4 dividend cards will get you paid.  There is paper money in this game, which I've railed against before, so I won't go into that.  There are also 6 reference cards, one for each player.

The board has eleven spaces that are colored - a matching locomotive of each color goes on those spaces at the start of the game (one of each color and two of green).  Each colored space is next to a city, and that city is considered to be the company's main station.  The track cards should be shuffled, and three are dealt to each player.  Each player gets one share in the Union Pacific, and that goes in their hand.  Next, each player is dealt four random share cards, which go in their hand.  Each player chooses one share and reveals it simultaneously.  This is your initial investment.

Four shares are placed face up next to the board, and then the share deck is split.  Six cards go in one pile, eighteen go in another, and the remaining cards make up the third pile.  Three dividend cards get shuffled into this third pile, and it goes on the bottom of the deck.  The last dividend card goes into the pile of 18, and it goes on top of the big pile.  The six cards go on top of that, and you're ready to play.

    
(BGG images by users Rokkr and matthew.marquand)

On your turn, you will first draw a track card into your hand.  Next, you have a choice - you can either build track, or you can invest.

BUILD TRACK - Choose one of your track cards and play it.  There are four types of track, as you see on the track cards above.  These tracks correspond to various types of track on the board, and the card you play will determine the track you can play on. 


(BGG image by user Rokkr)

The next thing you do is choose a company.  Looking on the reference card, you see which companies can use which tracks.  Each company uses 1-4 tracks (El Paso & Rio Grande can use any type of track).  Once you've chosen a company, place the train, following certain rules:

• The company must be able to use the track type.
• The train must go on an empty neutral colored space.  There are no more than four spaces between each city, so if the link is full, you're out of luck.
• The company you select must have no trains on the selected portion of track.  Unlike TTR, you aren't completing links between cities.  Only one train of a color goes in a link between two cities.
• The track must be connected to the company's main station via links that are occupied by that company's trains.
• There must be a train of that color available.  When the train runs out, that's it.

Once you've done this, you may draw a share card.  You can draw one of the face up shares (replacing it immediately from the face down deck), draw directly from the face down deck, or draw one of the Union Pacific cards.  If the four face up cards are all identical, discard them all and draw four new face up cards.

Once you draw a share card, you can exchange any share card from your hand with a UP share card.  The exchanged share goes face down in the box - the other players need not know what was removed from the game.


(BGG images by user Rokkr)

INVEST - After drawing a track card, you may want to invest.  Do this by simply placing one or more shares from one company face up on the table, or place one share each of two different companies on the table.  You can add to shares that have already been played, or you can start new companies you have investments in.  Each share card indicates the track associated with that company, and also how many shares there are total for that company.

Next, you've got to get rid of a track card.  You will always start your turn with three track cards, and will always end with three track cards (no hoarding).  Pick one of your four and discard it.  When the track pile is empty, reshuffle.


(BGG image by user BaSL)

When a dividend card comes out of the share deck, it's time to get paid.  Immediately draw the next card.  The top shareholder in each company gets $1 (technically, it's $1,000,000, but we'll shorthand it) for every locomotive of that company that is on the board, plus $1 for the main station.  The secondary shareholder (the person in second place of shares) gets half, rounded down.  In case of a tie for the top shareholder, add the primary and secondary payments together and divide them equally among the tied players.  If there's a tie for secondary, the tied players divide the secondary payment equally.  If a player has all shares for a company, they get both payments.

For the Union Pacific dividends, up to five players will get paid.  In the first dividend, no one gets paid.  For the second, third, and fourth dividends, refer to the following chart:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1st shareholder	$0	$10	$15	$20
2nd shareholder	$0	$8	$12	$16
3rd shareholder	$0	$6	$9	$12
4th sharholder	$0	$4	$6	$8
5th shareholder	$0	$2	$3	$4

Unused positions do not get divided up among shareholders.


(BGG image by user GeoMan)

After the fourth dividend comes out and payments are distributed, the game ends.  The player with the most cash wins.  Read more at BGG, and expect to pay THROUGH THE NOSE if you want it.  Currently, you can find a German edition for $105, but the English version is out of print.  If you're interested, you can probably find it somewhere, and there's always the possibility of a reprint.

Well, I haven't done an expansion in awhile, and the train genre is just BEGGING for one.  See you then, and happy gaming!
-Jesse

I don't claim to be well versed in the facts, but here's how I understand it. In 2002, designer Martin Wallace and publishers Winsome Games came out with a game called Age of Steam, which remains one of the first games people think about when they think of train games. In 2004, a second edition was released that changed some of the rules. However, in 2007, Martin Wallace wanted to release a third edition with Mayfair, and Winsome took him to court, asserting that they owned the name. A very tense battle ensued, and Winsome won the rights to the name Age of Steam. A third edition of Age of Steam was then produced without Wallace's blessing and released by FRED Distribution. Wallace and Mayfair went on with their game, which got renamed to the game I'll be talking about here - Steam: Rails to Riches.


(BGG images by users AlexYeager and l10n0fjudah)

Steam was produced in 2009, designed by Martin Wallace with art by Jared Blando and John Austin. It is a game for 3-6 players, and is published by Mayfair. 350 copies were produced with the cover on the right, calling it "Martin Wallace's Totally Renamed Train Game". This is a reference to "James Ernest's Totally Renamed Spy Game" that was forced to change from "Before I Kill You, Mr. Bond". The Age of Steam system has been used in many games, including Railroad Tycoon, but this seems to be one of the most streamlined incarnations, so this is the one I'll be talking about. In the game, you'll be transporting goods from city to city in the US or Germany.

I need to note that Mayfair is one of those companies that won't publish their rules. So, I'm going to be cobbling this overview together out of what I can find on BGG. I apologize in advance for anything that is missing or inaccurate.


(BGG image by user domus_ludorum)

The game comes with a number of cardboard counters - 136 hexagonal railroad track tiles, 10 city growth markers, 8 new city tiles, 68 money tokens (in denominations of 1, 5, and 10), and 7 action tiles. The game also comes with 144 players tokens, 24 in each of six colors. There are 96 goods cubes, and a cloth bag to hold them. The game comes with a wooden locomotive that will be used as a turn marker. In addition, there is a double sided board.


(BGG images by user Uncle G)

Each side of the board shows a different layout - on the left, we have the US, which is a setup better for 3-4 players. On the right, we have Germany, which is a better setup for 5-6 players. Each side has an identical set of tracks. Going around two sides of the board is the VP track where you'll keep track of your score. Next to that is an income track, ranging from 10 to -10. Next, we have the goods supply spaces. Next is the locomotive track, which tells you how far you can move goods in one turn. At the top of the board is a place that summarizes the 7 action tiles and a track that indicates turn order for the turn. Above the 6 space turn order track is a turn track where you will keep track of how much game you have left. In a 5-6 player game, there will only be 7 turns in the game. For four players, there will be 8 turns, and for three players, there will be 10. This is where the locomotive piece will go. On the map itself, you'll see lots of terrain, and several town and city spaces. The cities are the colored spaces, and towns are just places with no color. You'll be moving goods to the cities throughout the game.


(BGG image by user jimb)

At the start of the game, each city gets seeded with as many cubes as the city space indicates. For example, Syracuse has a 3, which means that it gets three random cubes from the bag. Albany has a 2, so it gets two. (In a three player game, each city gets one less than indicated.) Each goods supply space also gets three cubes that are randomly drawn from the bag. Each player takes one of their markers and places it on the 0 spot on the VP track, and another on the 0 spot of the income track. Another marker will go to the turn order track, and another goes on the 1 space of the locomotive track. You're ready to go.

Determine the starting player by auction. The winner of the first bid goes first, then each subsequent space is also auctioned off. If you pass, you're out for that space. You'll pay for your space based on your bid. But, wait a second! You have no money! No problem, just issue a share in your company by moving your income marker down one space for every $5 you need. If you won the bid with $3, move your income marker down one space and take $2 from the bank. If you won with $6, move it down two spaces and take $4. This is the way you'll raise money in the game, by bumping down your income. So, yes, you'll be starting the game in debt. You'll need to climb out of debt, or you're going to have a bad time. If you need money but are already at -10, you can spend 2 VPs for $5. If you can't spend any more VPs, you are bankrupt and out of the game. So be careful out there, alright?


(BGG image by user helioa)

There are six phases of each round:

1. Select action tiles
2. Build track
3. Move goods
4. Collect income and pay expenses
5. Determine turn order
6. Set up the next round

PHASE ONE - SELECT ACTION TILES: At the beginning of each round, you will select your action tiles for the round. This will be done in turn order. Each tile has a special action associated with it, and each has a number for easy reference:

1. Turn Order - By choosing this tile, you will be the first player in the next round. The first turn order is done by auction, but all future turn orders are determined by which tile you chose.
2. First Move - You will be first to move goods in phase three, regardless of the turn order.
3. Engineer - You may build up to four tracks in phase two.
4. First Build - You will be the first to build track in phase two, regardless of the turn order.
5. City Growth - You may add cubes from the goods supply to a city during phase two. This action costs $2 to complete.
6. Locomotive - This allows you to improve your locomotive immediately (generally, this may be done in phase three). This action costs $4 to complete.
7. Urbanization - You may convert a town space into a city during phase two. Take one of the city growth markers and place it on one of the town spaces and add cubes from the cube supply. This action costs $6 to complete.

PHASE TWO - BUILD TRACK: Each player now gets the opportunity to build up to three tracks extending from any city or from one of your preexisting tracks. Each track costs $1 for each edge of the hex that track exits. This is a fancy way of saying that tiles will usually cost $2, or more if there are extra links on the tile. You must pay an additional $1 to cross a river, $1 for crossing a town space, and $2 for crossing a hill space. Once you have placed your track, place one of your markers on the track to claim it, even if it is incomplete.

In this phase, the player who chose tile #4 goes first, then play proceeds in turn order. Engineers get to build an extra track; city growth and urbanization also take place in this phase.


(BGG image by user henk.rolleman)

PHASE THREE: MOVE GOODS - Each player will get an opportunity in this phase to perform two actions one at a time, going in turn order (if someone chose tile #2, they go first). One action you may take is to improve your locomotive by moving your locomotive marker one space ahead. You get two actions in this turn, but this one may only be done once.

The other action you may do is move goods. You may take a cube from a city and move it to another city that matches that cube's color. You may not move along more links than your locomotive number. If you are on one, you may only move the cube one space. On two, you may go two. You'll score one point for each link used. You may use opponent links to deliver, but your opponents will also score one for the links you used. You can use those points as VPs, or you can advance your income track. It's your choice.

PHASE FOUR: COLLECT INCOME AND PAY EXPENSES - If you have a positive number on the income track, you collect that much money. If you have a negative number, you pay that much money. So again - don't let your debt snowball.

PHASE FIVE: DETERMINE TURN ORDER - Based on the order of your action tiles, arrange your pieces on the turn track (1 is first, 7 is last).

PHASE SIX: SET UP THE NEXT ROUND - Return action tiles to the side of the board, and advance the turn marker.

Repeat for as many rounds as there are.  At the end of the game, you get one VP for every two positive points on the income track.  For every negative point on the income track, you lose two VPs.  So, +2 only gets you one VP, but -2 loses 4 VPs.  +1 gains you nothing, -1 loses two VPs.  Every completed link you have on the board then scores you another VP.  The player with the most VPs wins.


(BGG image by user Rob in Richmond)

I have just described to you the basic game of Steam.  There is a standard game which is a bit more complex, but I'm not going into at this time.  Read more at BGG, and expect to pay $55 in an FLGS.  One more train game to go, and I'm kind of on the fence about what to cover.  We'll find out next time.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

The next couple of series will be dedicated to different forms of transportation, and we'll start with a genra that is very big in the game world, train games. I've covered two in the history of this blog - Ticket to Ride (#3) and Ticket to Ride: Europe (#37). Now, if you've played those, you know they're fairly easy to play, and the original in particular is considered to be one of the most classic gateway games for new gamers. Well, the game I'm going to talk about today is even easier. Let's dive into TransAmerica.


(BGG image by user Werbaer)

TransAmerica is a game for 2-6 players first published in 2001. The designer was Franz-Benno Delonge, and the art was done by Marcel-André Casasola Merkle. It is published in the US by Rio Grande. The game is all about trying to connect US cities by laying track. Sound familiar? This game preceded Ticket to Ride by 3 years, and despite the inherent similarities, the games are different, especially in mechanics.


(BGG image by user rober)

The game comes with a map of the US that has lines forming a number of triangles. There are 85 black wooden sticks that represent the tracks, and 35 city cards in 5 different colors. There are 6 start markers that mark your track networks, and 6 locomotives that will be used to keep track of score. There is also a starting player card.


(BGG image by user TabbySunLion)

At the start of the game, one track goes on the scoring track at the top of the board. There's a red line to mark where it goes, and it serves as a barrier for the end of the game. Each player takes a colored start marker, and places the corresponding locomotive at the start of the score track. Each player then draws five city cards, one of each color. Your task is to connect those five cities before any other player connects theirs. You do not reveal this information.

On your first turn, place your start marker at any junction on the board that you like. This can be a city. This is the start of your track network, and all tracks you place must be connected to that marker.


(BGG image by user IronMoss)

On subsequent turns, each player places one or two pieces of track on single lines, or one piece of track on double lines. The single lines are over flat lands, while the double lines cross rivers and mountains. Tracks can be placed together or on different parts of the network. You may connect to tracks that other players have placed and use that network as your own. So, unlike TTR, all track on the board can be used by you to achieve your goal.

Once you have connected all five cities, reveal your cards, then each player loses points according to how many tracks they were not able to use to connect their cities. For each single track, lose one point; for each double track, lose two points (everyone starts with 13). Then, play another round. After the second round, the barrier moves to be two spaces away from the lowest score. As soon as someone passes the barrier, the player with the most points wins.


(BGG images by users fractaloon and Carotteer)

TransEuropa is the exact same game, except in Europe. I only mention it because there is virtually no difference. Read more about TransAmerica at BGG, and expect to spend $30 in an FLGS. Be sure to read about the Vexation expansion in Supplement #2 because it really changes the game.  Join me next time for a train game that is quite a bit more complex.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

Lately, there has been a push in the gaming industry to recognize the people who did the art as well as designed the game. BGG has added artists to their game pages, and some podcasts have started crediting artists as well. Well, I'm jumping on the bandwagon. From now on, I'll be crediting the artists within my posts, but I'm also going to use this as an ongoing database. I won't be going back to retroactively add them to the posts, and I won't be tagging them, so this will be your location to compare and contrast. First, you get the games alphabetically with their artists, then I'll do a new list for all the artists so you can see which games each one has been involved with.

To give a bit of an argument for this, I thought I'd use one of my beloved movie analogies. Typically, we don't think about a lot of the people behind the scenes in movies. We think of actors, directors, occasionally screenwriters. We don't think of the art directors, musicians, makeup artists, costume designers, and especially the cinematographers that create the look of a movie. Think of game artists as the guys behind the scenes that really take the designer's vision and put it onto a board. To illustrate, take a look at these prototypes, then the final version:

KINGSBURG

(BGG images by users tanis and DukeOfEarl)

METROPOLYS

(BGG images by users Sonja and GeoMan)

PANDEMIC

(BGG images by users mleacock and basilmichael)

Three very clear examples of how the artist can change the designer's ideas. The Pandemic example is a bit extreme - this is the original concept as scribbled on the back of a napkin, and the game went through a few prototypes after that. However, Matt Leacock was not responsible for the final look of the game, just the layout. With that said, let's give credit where it's due: the artists. If you don't see a game credited, that means I can't find the artist.

GAMES:
10 DAYS SERIES: John Kovalic, Cathleen Quinn-Kinney
1960: THE MAKING OF THE PRESIDENT: Josh Cappel
ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER: Rodger B. MacGowan
AGRICOLA: Klemens Franz
ANTIKE: Alexander Jung, Steffi Krage
APPLES TO APPLES: John Kovalic
ARKHAM HORROR: Anders Finer, Brian Schomburg, Kurt Miller, Scott Nicely
BALLOON CUP: Jurgen Zimmerman
BANG!: Alessandro Pierangelini
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: Kevin Childress, Andrew Navaro, Zoe Robinson, Brian Schomburg, WiL Springer
BLUE MOON CITY: Daren Bader, Scott Fischer, Lars Grant-West, Todd Lockwood, John Matson, James Nelson, Michael Phillippi, Franz Vohwinkel
BONNIE AND CLYDE: Martin Hoffman, Claus Stephan
CARCASSONNE: Doris Matthäus
CARCASSONNE: HUNTERS AND GATHERERS: Johann Rüttinger
CATEGORY 5: Franz Vohwinkel
CITADELS: Cyrille Daujean, Julien Delval, Jesper Ejsing, Bjarne Hansen, Florence Magnin, Jean-Louis Mourier
CLEOPATRA AND THE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTS: Julien Delval
COLORETTO: Michael Schacht
COSMIC ENCOUNTER: Ryan Barger, Felicia Cano, Sabe Lewellen, Andrew Navaro, Brian Schomburg, WiL Springer
DIE MACHER: Marcus Gschwendtner
DOMINION: Matthias Catrein, Julien Delval, Ryan Laukat, Harold Lieske, Michael Menzel, Marcel-André Casasola Merkle, Claus Stephan, Christof Tisch
THE DOWNFALL OF POMPEII: Oliver Freudenreich, Guido Hoffman
FAIRY TALE: Yoko Nachigami
FIJI: Lars-Arne "Maura" Kalusky
FLUXX: Andrew Looney
FOR SALE: Alvin Madden, Klaus Wilinski
FORMULA D: Nicolas Caniaux, Stéphane Poinsot, Arnaud Simon-Laforet
GALAXY TRUCKER: Radim Pech
GHOST STORIES: Pierre Lechevalier (Pierô)
GIFTTRAP: Scott Davis
GLORY TO ROME: Ed Carter
GULO GULO: Victor Boden
THE HANGING GARDENS: Haraldo Lieske
HEY! THAT'S MY FISH!: François Bruel
HIVE: John Yianni
ICE FLOW: RH Aidley
INCAN GOLD: Matthias Catrein
INGENIOUS: Michaela Schelk
JAMAICA: Mathieu Leyssenne
KINGSBURG: Mad4GameStyle
KRAKOW 1325 AD: Melchior van Rijn
LIMITS: Oliver Freudenreich
LORD OF THE RINGS: Bluguy, John How
LOST CITIES: Claus Stephan
LOST CITIES: THE BOARD GAME: Annette Kara
MEMOIR '44: Julien Delval, Don Perrin, Claude Rica
METROPOLYS: Mathieu Leyssenne
MR. JACK: Pierre Lechevalier (Pierô)
MYSTERY OF THE ABBEY: Cyrille Daujean, Julien Delval, Emmanuel Roudier
MYSTERY RUMMY SERIES: Virginius Poshkus
NO THANKS!: Oliver Freudenreich
NOTRE DAME: Harald Lieske
PANDEMIC: Josh Cappel, Régis Moulun
THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH: Michael Menzel
POWER GRID: Harald Lieske, Lars-Arne "Maura" Kalusky
PUERTO RICO: Franz Vohwinkel
RACE FOR THE GALAXY: Martin Hoffman, Claus Stephan, Mirko Suzuki
REEF ENCOUNTER: Juliet Breese, Mariano Iannelli
ROBORALLY: Peter Bergting, Bob Carasca, Phil Foglio, Jennifer Lathrop, Paul Sottosanti, Franz Vohwinkel, Peter Whitley
ROLL THROUGH THE AGES: Monte Moore, Paul Niemeyer
THE SETTLERS OF CATAN: Tanja Donner, Franz Vohwinkel
SHADOWS OVER CAMELOT: Julien Delval
SHEAR PANIC: Gabriela Silveira
SMALL WORLD: Miguel Coimbra
STEAM: John Austin, Jared Blando
STICHELN: Franz Vohwinkel
THEBES: Michael Menzel
THROUGH THE AGES: A STORY OF CIVILIZATION: Richard Cortes, Paul Niemeyer
THROUGH THE DESERT: Scott Nicely, Brian Schomburg, Claus Stephan
TICHU: Res Brandenberger, François Bruel, Valerie Vekemans, Franz Vohwinkel
TICKET TO RIDE: Julien Delval
TICKET TO RIDE: EUROPE: Julien Delval
TIKAL: Franz Vohwinkel
TRANSAMERICA: Marcel-André Casasola Merkle
TWILIGHT IMPERIUM 3RD EDITION: Brian Schomburg, Scott Schomburg, Tyler Walpole
TWILIGHT STRUGGLE: Rodger B. MacGowan, Mark Simonitch
UBONGO: Nicolas Neubauer
UNION PACIFIC: Franz Vohwinkel
WYATT EARP: Franz Vohwinkel
YSPAHAN: Arnaud Demaegd, Mike Doyle
ZENDO: Alexander Bradley
ZOOLORETTO: Design/Main

ARTISTS:
ALESSANDRO PIERANGELINI: Bang!
ALEXANDER BRADLEY: Zendo
ALEXANDER JUNG: Atnike
ALVIN MADDEN: For Sale
ANDERS FINER: Arkham Horror
ANDREW LOONEY: Fluxx
ANDREW NAVARO: Battlestar Galactica, Cosmic Encounter
ANNETTE KARA: Lost Cities: The Board Game
ARNAUD DEMAEGD: Yspahan
ARNAUD SIMON-LAFORET: Formula D
BJARNE HANSEN: Citadels
BLUGUY: Lord of the Rings
BOB CARASCA: RoboRally
BRIAN SCHOMBURG: Arkham Horror, Battlestar Galactica, Cosmic Encounter, Through the Desert, Twilight Imperium 3^rd Edition
CATHLEEN QUINN-KINNEY: 10 Days Series
CHRISTOF TISCH: Dominion
CLAUDE RICA: Memoir '44
CLAUS STEPHAN: Bonnie and Clyde, Dominion, Lost Cities, Race for the Galaxy, Through the Desert
CYRILLE DAUJEAN: Citadels, Mystery of the Abbey
DAREN BADER: Blue Moon City
DESIGN/MAIN: Zooloretto
DON PERRIN: Memoir '44
DORIS MATTHÄUS: Carcassonne
ED CARTER: Glory to Rome
EMMANUEL ROUDIER: Mystery of the Abbey
FELICIA CANO: Cosmic Encounter
FLORENCE MAGNIN: Citadels
FRANÇOIS BRUEL: Hey! That's My Fish!, Tichu
FRANZ VOHWINKEL: Blue Moon City, Category 5, Puerto Rico, RoboRally, The Settlers of Catan, Sticheln, Tichu, Tikal, Union Pacific, Wyatt Earp
GABRIELA SILVEIRA: Shear Panic
GUIDO HOFFMAN: The Downfall of Pompeii
HARALD LIESKE: Dominion, The Hanging Gardens, Notre Dame, Power Grid
JAMES NELSON: Blue Moon City
JARED BLANDO: Steam
JEAN-LOUIS MOURIER: Citadels
JENNIFER LATHROP: RoboRally
JESPER EJSING: Citadels
JOHANN RÜTTINGER: Carcassone: Hunters and Gatherers
JOHN AUSTIN: Steam
JOHN HOW: Lord of the Rings
JOHN KOVALIC: 10 Days Series, Apples to Apples
JOHN MATSON: Blue Moon City
JOHN YIANNI: Hive
JOSH CAPPEL: 1960: The Making of the President, Pandemic
JULIEN DELVAL: Citadels, Cleopatra and the Society of Architects, Dominion, Memoir '44, Mystery of the Abbey, Shadows over Camelot, Ticket to Ride, Ticket to Ride: Europe
JULIET BREESE: Reef Encounter
JURGEN ZIMMERMAN: Balloon Cup
KEVIN CHILDRESS: Battlestar Galactica
KLAUS WILINSKI: For Sale
KLEMENS FRANZ: Agricola
KURT MILLER: Arkham Horror
LARS-ARNE “MAURA” KALUSKY: Fiji, Power Grid
LARS GRANT-WEST: Blue Moon City
MAD4GAMESTYLE: Kingsburg
MARCEL-ANDRÉ CASASOLA MERKLE: Dominion, TransAmerica
MARCUS GSCHWENDTNER: Die Macher
MARIANO IANNELLI: Reef Encounter
MARK SIMONITCH: Twilight Struggle
MARTIN HOFFMAN: Bonnie and Clyde, Race for the Galaxy
MATHIEU LEYSSENNE: Jamaica, Metropolys
MATTHIAS CATREIN: Dominion, Incan Gold
MELCHIOR VAN RIJN: Krakow 1325 AD
MICHAEL MENZEL: Dominion, The Pillars of the Earth, Thebes
MICHAEL PHILLIPPI: Blue Moon City
MICHAEL SCHACHT: Coloretto
MICHAELA SCHELK: Ingenious
MIGUEL COIMBRA: Small World
MIKE DOYLE: Yspahan
MIRKO SUZUKI: Race for the Galaxy
MONTE MOORE: Roll Through the Ages
NICOLAS CANIAUX: Formula D
NICOLAS NEUBAUER: Ubongo
OLIVER FREUDENREICH: The Downfall of Pompeii, Limits, No Thanks!
PAUL NIEMEYER: Roll Through the Ages, Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
PAUL SOTTOSANTI: RoboRally
PETER BERGTING: RoboRally
PETER WHITLEY: RoboRally
PHIL FOGLIO: RoboRally
PIERRE LECHEVALIER (PIERÔ): Ghost Stories, Mr. Jack
RADIM PECH: Galaxy Trucker
RÉGIS MOULUN: Pandemic
RES BRANDENBERGER: Tichu
RH AIDLEY: Ice Flow
RICHARD CORTES: Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
RODGER B. MACGOWAN: Advanced Squad Leader, Twilight Struggle
RYAN BERGER: Cosmic Encounter
RYAN LAUKAT: Dominion
SABE LEWELLEN: Cosmic Encounter
SCOTT DAVIS: GiftTrap
SCOTT FISCHER: Blue Moon City
SCOTT NICELY: Arkham Horror, Through the Desert
SCOTT SCHOMBURG: Twilight Imperium 3^rd Edition
STEFFI KRAGE: Antike
STÉPHANE POINSOT: Formula D
TANJA DONNER: The Settlers of Catan
TODD LOCKWOOD: Blue Moon City
TYLER WALPOLE: Twilight Imperium 3^rd Edition
VALERIE VEKEMANS: Tichu
VICTOR BODEN: Gulo Gulo
VIRGINIUS POSHKUS: Mystery Rummy series
WiL SPRINGER: Battlestar Galactica, Cosmic Encounter
YOKO NACHIGAMI: Fairy Tale
ZOE ROBINSON: Battlestar Galactica

The final 3D game I'll be talking about is probably the best example I could find for the entire category.  It's a game about hiking in the mountains, and it features 3D components as well as a 3D board.  That's right, the mountainous terrain is raised.  Let's take a look at Timber Tom.


(BGG image by user MarcoBing69)

Timber Tom is a game by designer Marco Bing that was published in 2008 by his company PYXI.  The game is for 2-4 players.  In the game, you will be hiking up various peaks and attempting to collect treasure.  The main draw of this game is the components, so let's take a look at those.


(BGG image by user Haffner)

There are four plastic hikers in the game, one for each player.  There are 80 plastic trees that will get planted all around the board.  There are 12 supply packs, little gray barrels that will be used by the players.  There are 16 plastic gold pouches, and collecting these is the goal of the game.  There is one d6 which only shows number 3, 4, and 5.  There are also 48 hiker cards and a number of punch-out tokens that show your items.


(BGG image by user MarcoBing69)

Each player has a tray in their color that will hold their materials.  As you see, each player starts with three axe tokens, one chainsaw, two heli-flight tokens, two heli-radio tokens, and three supply barrels.  There are four empty spaces where your gold will be stored as you collect it.

     
(BGG images by users tasajara and MarcoBing69)

And, oh yeah, there is an awesome board.  As you can see (on the left), it is 3D.  The image on the right is a birds-eye view.  The holes are places where pegs will go - your hikers are pegs, and the trees can be planted in these areas as well.  As you can see, there are four mountain peaks on the corners of the board, with the land sloping up to meet it.  The game could easily have been 2 dimensionally rendered with color coding for the various levels, but by going the extra mile, this game really stands out.


(BGG image by user Toynan)

At the start, each player takes their tray with the items shown earlier, and then places their hiker in the base camp in the center of the board.  It doesn't matter where you are in the base camp since you can move out in any direction.  The hiking cards should be shuffled and set to the side, and the trees should be ready to go as well.  The rules state that the oldest player goes first and has the designation of the Chief Hiker for the game, but you can choose whoever you want to be the Chief Hiker.

To move, first check to see the number of moves on the board for the area you are in.  While in Base Camp, your movement is 6.  It is the same for the plains, meadows and fields - basically for all the low lying areas.  As you move up in elevation, the movement goes down.  The number of spaces you move is determined by the terrain you start in.  If you cross into a new terrain with a lower movement number, you can finish your move.  You don't have to move the whole number if you don't want to.  Hikers can only move straight or at right angles - no diagonal moves are allowed.

There are a few spots on the board where there looks like there should be a hole, but there aren't.  These are called "tailwind" spaces.  Basically, these spots give you a little extra boost.  You can move from one hole to the next across the void with just one move, instead of the two it would take to cross had there been a hole there.  You can also jump over another hiker as if they were a void - it gives you an extra space on your move.

Also, you'll find some places on the board where you can cross a river by canoe rather than a bridge.  To do this, discard a supply pack.

If you finish your turn in a floodplain, you are in a danger zone and must immediately draw a card.  Ending your turn on a snow peak means that you have the option of drawing a card, but you don't have to.  When entering a snow peak, you must immediately lose a supply pack.  In either instance, your next move must be done using the die, remembering that your move will only be 3, 4, or 5.

Once your movement has finished, you can plant trees.  Look at the number of trees next to the movement in the terrain where you finish your move.  You can then plant these trees anywhere on the board (except for on peaks and in the floodplains).  These trees can be used to block your opponents in their progress...you must always leave a space for them to escape, but you can make life miserable for them.  On peaks, and in floodplains, you don't get the opportunity to plant trees, but if you roll a four during movement, you can remove one tree from the board and replant it anywhere.

During movement, you can use your axes or chainsaw to clear away some trees in your way.  Once you've used a token, it's gone.  This can be done before or during your move.  Axes clear one tree, chainsaws clear two.

It's possible that you'll run out of trees while playing.  In this case, start reusing trees from the highest elevations.

There are several special spaces on the board - helipads, radio hot spots, and cabins.  These spaces must be reached by exact count.  Remember that I said you didn't have to move the entire number listed during the movement.  If you want to take advantage of these spaces, you must end your move there by exact count - meaing that if you have a movement of 6, you must land in that spot on move 6.  If it's only four spaces away, you may have to get creative.  If you need extra moves, you can spend supply packs to get there.

Helipads are marked by circles with the letter H.  From here, you can spend one of your heli-flight tokens to fly to any other helipad on the board.  That can be nice, but you only have two heli-flight tokens.  After taking a heli-flight, you do not plant trees.  A note - the heli-flight tokens can also be traded in for two extra moves on your turn.  If you occupy a helipad, no other player can use helicopter services to or from that point.

Radio hot spots are blank spots on the board that are a slightly different color than the surrounding terrain (there is a hole, however).  If you choose to use a heli-radio token here, you can move to any refuge on your current mountain.  These are the huts that I'm about to talk about.  You could also forego moving and draw a card instead.  If you draw a card, you don't get to plant trees.  If you move to a refuge, you can draw cards.  You could also do nothing.  Trees can be planted in hot spots, so it may be tough to find an available one.

Refuge huts can be found in low and high altitude varieties.  Landing in a low altitude hut will allow you to replenish your axes (only axes, now chainsaws).  High altitude huts allow you to replenish your supply barrels.


(BGG images by user BelgianBoardGamer)

Above, you see some examples of cards you may encounter in the game.  They must be played immediately (unless it says otherwise).

• The light green cards are help or hinder cards.  They are mostly positive, and can help you or your fellow hikers.  These also include a tree planting value that allows you to plant some trees.
• The dark green cards are trouble cards that offer some penalty to you or other hikers.  These also have a tree value.
• The red cards are roll the dice cards which apply a random penalty or reward to you or your fellow hikers.
• The orange wild cards can be used immediately or saved for later, and can add two spaces to your move.  There are only three in the game, and no player can have more than one at a time.

If you get all the way through the deck, reshuffle.


(BGG image by user tasajara)

When you reach a peak, you get to grab a treasure pouch.  Unlike the helipads and refuges, you don't have to reach by exact count.  You get there, grab your treasure, and continue.  Once you've collected as much as you need to, head back for base camp.  You can decide at the beginning how many each player needs to win.  The rules recommend starting out with just two, and working your way up to 3 and 4.

As soon as you get back to base camp, your game is over.  The game then plays out so that everyone had the same number of moves in the game.  This means that when play gets back to the Chief Hiker, the game is over.  So, if Player A was the Chief Hiker and was the first one to make it back, Players B, C, and D have one more chance to make it to base camp.  If Player B got back first, C and D get one more chance, but A missed his chance.  If C gets back first, D has one more chance.  If D gets back first, he wins outright.  If more than one player does make it back to base camp with the appropriate number of treasure pouches, the game ends in a draw.


(BGG image by user MarcoBing69)

Read more at BGG, and expect to pay $40 for this game that can only bought online at TimberTom.eu.  Hope you enjoyed this look at 3D games.  Life is pretty busy these days, but I have more series lined up, and I may come in with supplement #3 before the next one.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

The next game we'll look at is a themed abstract game, much like Hive (#15).  Though both games are about animals, the component presentation is very different (as is gameplay).  Hive has nice bakelite pieces that can be moved around, and this game could have gone the same route.  It could have used flat two-dimensional pieces and not changed the gameplay one bit.  However, by choosing to go with three-dimensional components, this game went from what might have been just another abstract into a noteworthy game - Shear Panic.


(BGG image by user UnknownParkerBrother)

Shear Panic is a game for 2-4 players designed by Fraser and Gordon Lamont in 2005.  The Lamont brothers are Scottish game designers whose design company, Fragor Games, features animals in all of their games.  The US version is published by Mayfair.  In the game, you will be taking certain actions to jockey for position, attempting to score points.  


(BGG image by user Terraliptar)

The game comes with 12 wooden discs in each of 4 colors, called "mutton buttons".  There are also four scoring cylinders, one per color.  Two dice will be used at various points in the game.  There is also a flock marker which will mark the flock's progress.  There is a board that will double as a time track and a score track.  One side is for three players, the other is for four (the two player version is an official variant from Mayfair and will not be discussed here).  Each player will also have a player board to keep track of their actions.  The game comes with eleven sheep, including Roger (on the left above) and the shearer (on the right).  There is one black sheep, and eight other sheep with colored spots on their back.


(BGG image by user Terraliptar)

This is the initial setup of the sheep, and these are the main playing pieces in the game.  In the beginning, the game board is placed so the correct side is face-up - the three-player version has a track that goes to 56, while the four-player version has a track that goes to 74.


(BGG image by user cymric)

  Each player will place their scoring cylinder on the sheep truck, and the flock marker goes there as well.  Each player will take their action board, and we're ready to play.


(BGG image by user cymric)

On your turn, choose one of the 12 actions on your board.  Once you have used the action, it is gone for the game, so use them wisely.  Here are your options:

1. Line Push (yellow squares) - You can push any row or column of sheep in any direction (except diagonally).  You can only push from the edge of the flock.  This action is available twice.
2. Diagonal Push (blue squares) - This is the same as the line push, only diagonal.  This action is available twice.
3. Lamb Slam (yellow bulldozer) - One of your own sheep moves one space in any direction, pushing any sheep that gets in its way.  This differs from the pushes in that you can move any sheep in the flock.  This action is available twice.
4. Wool Rule (gray squares) - Pick an edge of the flock and line it up along the edge of an imaginary ruler.  Push the rest of the flock towards that spot, filling in any gaps in the flock.  This action is available twice.
5. One Small Step (red squares) - Move one of your sheep into adjacent empty space in any direction.  Your sheep must remain orthogonally adjacent to at least one other sheep.  This action is available twice.
6. Booiingggg (blue/green square) - You can jump one of your sheep in a straight line (not diagonally) over as many sheep as there are to the next empty space.  This action is only available once.
7. Ewe Turn (carousel) - The whole flock gets turns 90 degrees to the left or right.  If Roger or the Shearer are present, they move to the front of the new facing of the flock.

Each action has a number on it.  Once your action is completed, move the flock marker forward that number of spaces, then mark your action board with a mutton button so you know which actions are no longer available.  If the flock marker lands exactly on one of the red spaces on the board, you get to perform a bonus lamb slam - roll the colored die, then move one sheep of the color shown (if you roll white, perform a ewe turn instead).
   
(BGG images by user lastalchemist)

After you have performed your action, you must resolve any separations that have occurred as a result of your move.  All sheep must be orthogonally adjacent to at least one other sheep.  If a diagonal separation occurs (as in the first example above), you must move the separated flock one space to rejoin the flock - your choice.  If a complete separation occurs (as in the second example), you must roll the Flock die.  If a plus comes up, move the sheep in a horizontal or vertical straight line until they rejoin the flock.  If an X is rolled, move your sheep in a diagonal line to rejoin the flock.

         
(BGG images by users guru_mod and lastalchemist)

The board is divided into four different fields.  Scoring occurs on your turn, according to the placement of your sheep and the round.  In field one, points are scored at the end of a player's turn based on your sheep's relative position to one another.  If they are orthogonally adjacent, you get 2 points.  If they are diagonally adjacent, you get one point.  If they aren't touching at all, you get nothing.  In the example above, green would get two points, but no one else is eligible for points.  Remember, it has to be green's turn to get those points.

In field two, scoring only occurs when one of the two brown spaces is passed.  Roger is placed in front of the flock, and the sheep are clamoring to get to the front to try to catch his eye.  When a brown space is passed, any sheep in the front row get four points; the second row gets three; and so on.  Beyond the fourth row, sheep get nothing.  In our example, blue would get 5 points (one in the first row and one in the fourth row), while yellow, red, and green would each get four points.  The flock marker will always stop in the second brown space.

In field three, sheep get points for their relative position to the black sheep.  Two points for an orthogonal connection, and one for a diagonal connection.  Again, green is eligible for two points, and red is eligible for one (as long as it is their turn).

In field four, the Shearer appears, and sheep want to get as far away as possible.  When one of the brown spaces is passed, any sheep in the front row are removed from the game, so that would be bye-bye blue in our example.  Then, any sheep in the back row get four points, three for the next row, etc.  So, in our example, blue gets four points, while yellow, red, and green get six points.  Again, the flock marker stops in the second space, and that's when the game ends.  The player with the most points wins. 

Read more at BGG, and expect to pay $30 in an FLGS.  One more 3D game, and this one will have a 3D board.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

We're moving into a new series, this time looking at 3D games. There's been a craze recently with releasing movies IN DIGITAL 3D, which means that you're basically in for getting a lot of stuff thrown at the screen. Most of the time, anyway. So, since I like the movie analogies so much, I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about some 3D games. Let me explain 3D for those of you who don't know. 3D means three dimensions, meaning that it has length, width, and depth. If you look at a picture on a piece of paper, or on a screen, those are typically two dimensional - it has length and width, but that's it. Certain tricks give those images the appearance of depth as well, making them seem as if they are coming out of the screen. The games I'm going to talk about are three dimensional because they don't just exist on a flat board. They have physical depth as well as the standard length and width. The first one I'm going to talk about was originally released as Rumis, but now is retitled as Blokus 3D.


(BGG images by users mwalker and Buzzopolis)

Rumis was first published in 2003 by Educational Insights. I'm not exactly sure when Blokus 3D came out, but it is the same game, "rethemed" to be part of the Blokus brand. The game is for 2-4 players, and was designed by Stefan Kögl. In Rumis, you're building Incan buildings, while Blokus 3D has no theme to speak of.  Again, I'll emphasize that these are the same game with a few slight differences.


(BGG images by user lordzogat and Haffner)

Both games come with 11 blocks in each of four different colors.  Each game also comes with a spinning play area, though you can see the differences there.  The other major difference is that Rumis comes with three double sided cards giving you difference shapes of Incan buildings to construct, while B3D gives you four "masks" to serve as your construct.  I'll tell you the specifics of these shortly, but first let me get to the basic rules of the game.


(BGG image by user Malachi)

At the start of the game, one player takes one piece and places it anywhere within the play area.  The next player then takes one of their own pieces and places it so it is touching the first piece on at least one side.  Each player places their first piece in this manner, so they are touching one other piece.  For the second round of placements, each player must place one of their pieces so that it touches one of their own pieces.  It can touch other player pieces as well, but it must touch your own.  Now, in Blokus, touching is only done on the corners.  However, in this game, touching means that one of the faces is touching another face.  You see that each piece is made up of several cubes.  One of those cubes faces must be touching another cube face of your own pieces for that move to be legal.

Another important placement point - you may never leave an empty space beneath one of your pieces.  You'll be building your buildings upwards, hence the 3D aspect.  Your final score will be based on what can be seen from above at the end of the game, so you may be tempted to balance a piece.  You can't do this.  The bottom of your piece must either be touching the board or another piece.  There are also height requirements for the various setups, so you can't build beyond that.

If at any point you cannot place a piece, you're out.  Even if an opportunity opens up later, you're done.  Once everyone is done playing, count all squares that can be visible from above, and each square gets a point.  Whoever has the most points win.


(BGG images by user DCosby)

The big difference between Rumis and Blokus 3D is the way the constructs are built.  In Blokus 3D (sorry, no pictures, but you can see them in the component picture), you get four shapes.  You'll choose one of those, and your construct has to stay within those borders.  Also, there's a height requirement based on how many players there are.  In Rumis, you have 6 different Incan buildings to build, and you can see two of them above.  Some are shapes that have height requirements as in Blokus 3D.  However, others have shapes associated with them.  Pisac is the stair setup, and each row has a height requirement (you can barely see the number on the right side).  The bottom row can only be one cube high, while the top row can go up to 8.  Coriancha is a pyramid, with the outer row one high and the center going up to four.


(BGG images by users asutbone, Ambrose, and Haffner)

So, those are the games.  Read more at BGG, where Rumis and Blokus 3D are included in the same entry.  Rumis will cost you $30 in an FLGS, while Blokus 3D will cost around $26.  You're more likely to find Blokus 3D in a mass market store like Target.

Join me next time for another 3D game.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

I don't have a lot of flavor to add to the next game I'll be talking about, though I've heard rumblings that the role selection process was a major influence on Puerto Rico (#16).  So, instead of letting me yammer, let's get right into Citadels.


(BGG image by user Bobby4th)

Citadels is a game for 2-7 players that was originally published in 2000.  It was designed by Bruno Faidutti, and is currently published in the US by Fantasy flight as part of its Silver Line of games.  In the game, you're a city planner trying to add new districts to your city.  You'll have to do this by influencing various important people in the realm.


(BGG image by user Shadow Dragon)

Citadels is essentially a card game.  It comes with 66 district cards, 8 character cards, 8 reference cards, 30 gold coins and one wooden crown marker.  The current version includes the Dark City expansion, which was originally published in 2004.  This means that there are an additional 10 characters and 14 purple district cards.  These are marked with a white star, and the rules do not recommend that you play with them for your first game.  So, just set them aside for now, and I'll talk about them at the end.

To set up, take the eight character cards and shuffle them up to make a Character Deck.  Shuffle up the district cards to make a District Deck.  Each player gets dealt four district cards, and takes two gold from the bank.  The oldest player (or whoever you decide should go first) gets the crown.


(BGG image by user EndersGame)

The game will be played over a series of rounds, each following this sequence:

1. Remove characters
2. Choose characters
3. Player turns
4. End of round

REMOVE CHARACTERS - The player with the crown randomly takes one card from the Character Deck and places it face down on the table.  A certain number of cards are then removed and placed face up on the table, based on how many players there are in the game.  If there are 4 players, place 2 face up.  With 5 players, place 1 face up.  With 2, 3, 6 or 7, place none face up.  If the King is placed face up, shuffle it back into the deck and lay out another one.  All face down or face up cards on the table will not be used.

CHOOSE CHARACTERS - Now each player will choose one character, or two if there are only 2-3 players.  I'll talk about 4-7 players first.  The player with the crown will get to go through the character cards and choose one for himself, passing the remainder of the cards to the left.  The next player chooses a card, and so on until the final player has chosen one card.  The final unchosen card is laid face down in the middle of the table.  Theoretically, this means that no one knows what anyone else has.

An exception occurs with seven players.  Here, there will only be one card for the last player, which means he doesn't actually get to choose a role.  In this instance, the seventh player gets to peek at that face down card, then can take it and replace it with the final card, or keep the final card and leave that one face down.

With two players, the first player chooses a character, then passes the rest.  The second player chooses one character for his hand, then places another one face down in the middle of the table.  The first player then gets another character and places yet another in the center of the table.  The second player chooses one more and places the final card face down in the middle of the table.

With three players, the Character Deck simply gets passed until all players have two cards, with the third player laying the final card face down in the center of the table.

So, what does each character do?  I'll tell you in the next section.

   
(BGG images by user EndersGame)

PLAYER TURNS - The player with the crown then calls out each number 1-8 in turn.  Each character has one number between 1-8, so when your number is called, you get to go.  On your turn, you get to take an action, then build a district.  For your action, you either take two gold from the bank, or draw two district cards, keeping one and discarding the other to the bottom of the District Deck.  To build a district, you play a card from your hand to the table, then pay the associate cost in gold (which you can see down the left side of each district card).  You cannot have two identical districts.  The purple districts give you special powers, which you can read about on the cards themselves.

In addition, each character has a special ability they can use ONCE in a turn.  What are they?

1. Assassin - You may murder another character so that they don't get their turn.  When that character's number comes up, the player who has that card (if any) remains silent and does nothing.
2. Thief - Announce a character from whom you wish to steal.  When that character's number comes up, you take all of their gold before they do anything else.  If no one has that card, you get nothing.  You can't steal from the Assassin or the Assassin's target.
3. Magician - You have two options, of which you may only do one during your turn: a) trade your hand with another player, even if you have no cards; b) place any number of cards from your hand at the bottom of the District Deck, and draw that number of cards from the top.
4. King - You get one gold for every noble (yellow) district in your city.  In addition, you get the crown for the next turn.  If no one takes the King in a round, the crown stays with the current King.
5. Bishop - You get one gold for every religious (blue) district in your city.  Your districts are immune to warlord attacks.
6. Merchant - You get one gold for every trade (green) district in your city.  In addition, you get one extra gold after your action.
7. Architect - After taking your action, you can take two cards from the District Deck and keep 'em both.  You get to build up to three districts in one turn.
8. Warlord - You get one gold for every military (red) district in your city.  At the end of your turn, you can destroy one district by paying one less gold than the cost of that district.  You can't destroy any districts of the Bishop, and you can't destroy any districts of a player that has built eight districts.  You can destroy your own if you are so inclined.

END OF ROUND - Once all players have taken their turn, the player with the crown shuffles the Character Deck and we begin again.

The game ends when someone has built eight districts.  Once that happens, the round is played out as normal, then final scoring occurs.  You get one point per gold cost of the buildings in your district.  If you have at least one district in all five colors, you get three points.  If you were the first player to get to eight buildings, you get four points.  Every other player to get to eight buildings gets two points.  Whoever has the most points is the winner.

(BGG image by user EndersGame)

As I mentioned, there are ten bonus characters in this game.  You can use one or two of these instead of the original characters, substituting them for the card of the same color.  Also, there are two cards with the number 9, and you can use either of these.  I'll give you a quick overview of these characters.

1. Witch - After taking an action, announce another character that you're going to bewitch, then end your turn immediately.  When the bewitched player comes up, they show their card, take an action, then you take over.  You can then finish their turn in your city, using their power as you see fit.
2. Tax Collector - All players who build a district this turn have to give you one gold, including the Assassin or Witch.
3. Wizard - You can look at another player's hand and take one card, which you can put in your hand or build.  You can build identical buildings during this turn.
4. Emperor - You get a gold for each noble district you have.  You also get to take the Crown, but you then give it to another player who must pay you one gold or one district card for it.
5. Abbot - You get a gold for each religious district you have.  Also, the player who has the most gold must give you one gold.  If that player is you, or if there's a tie, you don't get that gold.
6. Alchemist - At the end of your turn, you get back whatever gold you spent on districts this turn, but not the gold you spent for other reasons.
7. Navigator - After taking an action, take either four gold or four district cards.  You don't build any district cards.
8. Diplomat - You get one gold for each military district.  At the end of your turn, exchange one district in your city with one district in another player's city, paying them the overage if your district is cheaper.
9. Artist - You get to beautify one or two of your districts by adding a gold to them.  This makes the districts more expensive to destroy or exchange, plus makes the districts that much more valuable at the end of the game.
10. (also #9) Queen - You receive three gold if you are sitting right next to the King or Emperor.  If they were murdered, but were sitting next to you, you get the three gold when that fact becomes known (after your turn is over).  The Queen should not be in play with fewer than five players, and also doesn't get used if the Artist is in play.

So, that's Citadels.  Read more at BGG, and expect to pay $25 in an FLGS.  Enjoy, and I'll see you next time for another variable player power game.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

A popular mechanic that you'll see in a lot of games is that of variable player powers. The basic conceit is that characters are not created equal, and each has their own special ways to break the basic rules of the game. You've seen this in games like Cosmic Encounter (#19), Shadows over Camelot (#23), and Arkham Horror (#62). So, let's dedicate a whole series to it, and we'll start with Small World.


(BGG image by user MarkKaufmann)

Small World was released in 2009, and mentioned in this blog way back in Expansion #3 as an upcoming release from publisher Days of Wonder. I also mentioned it in the Top 51 expansion (#17) where it had already risen to #33 (it's dropped to #36 since then). Now, I'm going to cover it. The game was designed by Philippe Keyaerts, and is for 2-5 players. It is a redesign of Keyaerts' 1999 game Vinci, a game where European civilizations fight for control of the continent. Small World takes those mechanics and adds a fantasy theme...you will control a mythical race and attempt to control your part of a very small world. Unfortunately, other races have the same idea, and you'll have to fight.


(BGG image by user fabricefab)

Days of Wonder is well known for their high quality components, and this game is no exception. There are 14 races in the game, each one coming with its own banner and a number of counters depending on that race's special ability. There are 20 special power tiles in the game, along with tokens that are used for some of those abilities - 10 Troll Lairs, 6 Fortresses, 5 Encampments, 2 Holes-in-the-Ground, 2 Heroes, and 1 Dragon. There are 9 mountain tokens and 18 Lost Tribe tokens, which will be distributed to the board in the beginning. There are money tokens in denominations of 1, 3, 5, and 10. In addition, there is one reinforcement die, one game turn marker, and summary sheets for every player. These all come in a very nice looking tray...I'll get into that later. Oh yes, and there are four boards.



(BGG images by user cnidius)

Technically, there are only two boards, but each on is double-sided. You'll use a board according to the number of players you have in the game. For 2-3 players, use the ones on top (the half board); for 4-5 players, use the ones on the bottom. Each one is slightly different, but gives more players more room to work.

To set up the game, one mountain token goes on each mountain space. Also, one Lost Tribe marker goes on each region of the board that contains a white square. Each player gets 5 coins. The first player is chosen, and the rules say that it should be the player with the pointiest ears. This is funny the first time, but can be kind of a bummer if you don't have pointy ears. Don't be afriad to do something different.


(BGG images by user cj1582)

Mix up the special powers (shown on the left) and the race banners (shown on the right), then lay out five of each so that they are next to each other. This will result in combos that look like this:


(BGG image by user cnidius)

The rest of the banners and powers will be kept in stacks at the bottom of the column formed by the combos, face-up. This means that six combos will be visible at all times.

The first thing you do on your first turn is choose a combination. You may take the first combo (in this case, the Heroic Humans) for free. However, if you want one further down the ladder, pay one coin on each power you skip. If you really want those Underworld Ghouls, leave one coin on the Heroic Humans and one coin on the Flying Wizards, then pick up the Underworld Ghouls. Add up the numbers on each piece (for each example you see, that would be 5+5=10), and take that many counters from the tray.


(BGG image by user cj1582)

Now you can start invading the world. You must start at the edge of the map, or right next to a sea space. Add two counters to any empty region to take it over, plus one for every piece of cardboard in that region. So, if there's a mountain token there, it'll take three to conquer that region. If there's a Lost Tribe, it'll take three for that region (when conquered, Lost Tribe tokens go back in the box - mountains always stay put). Keep going until you're out of tokens. If you find yourself with some leftovers, but not enough to conquer a region, you can use your last move to roll the reinforcement die. Three of the sides are blank, the other three sides have one to three pips on them. With a good roll, you could conquer a region with only one counter.

An example - let's say you really wanted to conquer a mountain, but you only had one counter left. Roll the reinforcement die - if it's a two or three, you've conquered the mountain and can place your counter there. If it's a one or a blank, you do not succeed. However, your counter is not lost - you can just put it in any other region you control.

In fact, after you're done with your move, you can redistribute your counters throughout the regions you control however you want. Just remember to leave at least one in a region, or you lost control there.

Once you've finished, you get one coin for each region you control. That's the end of your turn.

On future turns, you can start by gathering your troops. Remember to leave one in each region you already control. Then, you can storm out and start conquering more regions.

Here's what happens if you attack an area that contains counters that belong to your opponent. Same as before, it will cost you two plus one for every piece of cardboard in that region...if your opponent has 2 counters in a region, it will cost you four to remove them. Your opponent then loses one counter to the box. They will never get it back. If they have more than one in a region, the rest go back in their hand and will be available on their next turn.

Play will proceed in clockwise order. Every time the first player goes, he will advance the game turn track (on the side of the board). Once the marker gets to the final spot, the game is over.  Whoever has the most money is the winner.


(BGG image by user Ploedminka)

One of the important things about this game is knowing when to give up. You heard me right. You can decide at the beginning of your turn to send your race into decline. To do this, flip all of your race tokens on the board to their backside. This is your entire turn - you may not attack during this turn. You get one coin for every marker still on the board. On your next turn, you get to choose a new race, and start conquering with it. You'll continue to get points for every marker you have on the board, including those in decline. This means that you could be earning points for two races at once. You are not allowed to have more than one race in decline at a time, however - this means that if you send your second race into decline, you must remove all tokens from your first race first.

Most rules in this game can be broken by race abilities and special powers. So, here they are:

RACE ABILITIES:

1. Amazons - You can use four extra tokens when attacking. These tokens may not stay on the board, so remove four while you're redeploying your troops.
2. Dwarves - Each mine region (indicated by a mining symbol) that the Dwarves occupy are worth one extra coin during scoring.
3. Elves - Elves do not go back into the box when conquered. They all go back into the player's hand and are available for the next turn.
4. Ghouls - Ghouls all stay on the board and can still attack while in decline. On your turn, attack with the Ghouls, then with your active race. Once your active race goes into decline, the Ghouls are still removed.
5. Giants - Giants may attack any region next to a mountain they occupy for one less token than usual.
6. Halflings - This little guys can start anywhere on the board, rather than on the edge or next to a sea space. A hole-in-the-ground goes on each of the first two regions they conquer, making these regions invulnerable as long as there's an active Halfling there.
7. Humans - Each farmland you Humans occupy is worth one extra coint at the end of the turn.
8. Orcs - Each non-empty region your Orcs conquer this turn is worth one extra coin at the end of the turn.
9. Ratmen - Ratmen have no special ability, but there are more of them than any other race.
10. Skeletons - During the troop redeployment phase, skeletons can take one new counter out of the box for every non-empty region they conquered in this turn, and put it directly on the board in one of the regions they've already conquered.
11. Sorcerers - Once per turn per opponent, a sorcerer can turn a single counter belonging to an opponent that is adjacent to an existing sorcerer counter into another sorcerer. The token is then lost to the box (including Elves).
12. Tritons - Tritons may conquer coastal regions with one less token than normal.
13. Trolls - Each region a troll occupies gets a Troll's Lair, which adds one extra defense to the area. The Lair stays in place when Trolls go into decline, but disappears when the region is conquered or abandoned.
14. Wizards - Each region with the magical symbol is worth one extra coin during scoring.

SPECIAL POWERS:

1. Alchemist - Collect two bonus coins at the end of every turn you have not gone into decline.
2. Berserk - You may roll the reinforcement die before every conquest, not just your last one.
3. Bivouacking - During the troop redeployment phase, add encampments to the regions you occupy. There are five, and you can add as many as you want or can to any region.
4. Commando - You can conquer any region for one token less than normal.
5. Diplomat - At the end of your turn, pick a race you did not attack as your ally. They may not attack you until after your next turn. Tokens in decline are not affected, so you can't ally with Ghouls in decline.
6. Dragon Master - Once per turn, you can attack any region with just one token. Add the dragon token to that region along with your counter. This region is now invulnerable.
7. Flying - You can conquer any region on the map (except seas and lakes), and they do not have to be adjacent.
8. Forest - You get one extra coin for each forest space you occupy at the end of your turn.
9. Fortified - Once per turn, add a fortress to one of your spaces on the map. It adds one to your defense. Each fortress adds one coin at the end of your turn. You can only have one fortress per region. They stay while you are in decline, but you don't earn any extra coins for them.
10. Heroic - At the end of your turn, add the two Heroes to any two regions. These regions are now invulnerable until the Heroes move. The Heroes leave the map when your race goes into decline.
11. Hill - At the end of your turn, every hill region you occupy gets you one extra coin.
12. Merchant - Every region you occupy at the end of your turn earns you an extra coin.
13. Mounted - You can conquer any hill or farmland region with one less token than usual.
14. Pillaging - Each non-empty region that you conquer this turn is worth one extra coin at the end of the turn.
15. Seafaring - You can conquer sea or lake spaces as if they were land spaces (meaning that each one requires two counters).  You continue scoring these spaces when you go into decline.
16. Spirit - This race will remain on the board forever as long as it isn't kicked off by someone else.  This means that you can have two races in decline as long as one of them is the Spirit race.
17. Stout - You may go into decline at the end of your turn, rather than taking an entire turn to go into decline.
18. Swamp - Each swamp space you occupy at the end of your turn is worth one extra coin.
19. Underworld - You can move freely between cavern spaces, even if they aren't adjacent.  Also, these spaces cost one less token to conquer.
20. Wealthy - You get a one-time bonus of seven coins at the end of your first turn with this race.

Read more at BGG, and expect to pay about $50 in an FLGS.  And join me next time for another variable player power game.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

After completing a series on Tetris style games, I think we'll spend this expansion talking about some other video/computer games that have inspired board games.  So, from the digital world to the analog world, here we go.


(BGG image by user keith3036)

Railroad Tycoon (2005) was designed by Glenn Drover and Martin Wallace, and is published by Eagle Games.  The game combines Sid Meier's 1990 computer game with Martin Wallace's Age of Steam system, first published in 2002.  In the game, you are trying to earn money by building a rail network across the United States.  The game is enormous - the board is 36x45 inches, so you'll need a lot of space to play.  The license for the name Railroad Tycoon is no longer valid, so the current iteration is called Railways of the World.  It's basically the same thing with a different name.


(BGG image by user keithblume2)

Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery (2007) is another game from Glenn Drover that is based on a computer game, this time on the 2005 hit of the same name.  It's a civilization type game where you're trying to conquer the world through colonization and by developing your economy.  This board game is a rare "sequel" that has no original.  Age of Empires II was made into a collectible card game in 2000, but is not nearly as possible.


(BGG image by user Aarontu)

StarCraft: The Board Game (2007) is a game from designers Christian T. Petersen and Corey Konieczka, published by Fantasy Flight.  It is based on the insanely popular StarCraft video game, a military sci-fi real-time strategy game first produced in 1998.  The board game centers on player attempts to conquer as much of the galaxy as possible.


(BGG image by user Hawk)

Remember Doom?  It was an ultra-violent first person shooter first released in 1993 that allowed for multiplayer network play.  It was very popular, and I remember watching people play in the computer lab during lunch breaks when I was in high school.  In 2004, Doom: The Boardgame was released by Fantasy Flight, designed by Kevin Wilson.  In the game, you are trying to complete missions in a dungeon on Mars while trying to fight off hordes of slavering beasts.  The game has been supplanted in many people's minds by one of Wilson's later games, Descent: Journeys in the Dark.


(BGG images by users zombiegod and Surya)

World of Warcraft is a very popular MMORPG - massively multiplayer online role-playing game.  With legions of followers, it deserves not one board game, but two!  WOW: The Board Game (2005) is yet another Fantasy Flight offering, deisgned by Christian T. Petersen and Eric M. Lang.  Essentially, you'll be taking on a role and joining a team to try and defeat an Overlord.  It's a very long game, so in 2008, WOW: The Adventure Game came out, again from Fantasy Flight, this time designed by Corey Konieczka.  This game was more of a competitive game, pitting the players against each other.


(BGG image by user nocadlee)

In 2006, Vlaada Chvátil produced Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization, based on Sid Meier's Civilization computer game (#49).  In 2009, he's bringing us Dungeon Lords, based on 1997's Dungeon Keeper PC game.  I don't know a whole lot, but the game is coming out at Essen, and since I'm a Vlaada Chvátil fan, I'm looking forward to this one.  In fact, hopefully you'll be seeing a description soon.

That's all I'm covering here.  Find more at BGG.

Announcement time!  This post marked my 25th regular expansion.  As of the next series, I'm discontinuing the expansions.  I'm glad I did them, they provided me a break from the series, but I'm having a hard time coming up with new topics.  So, rather than just produce expansions because I have to, I'll just be releasing them when I feel that I have something to say.  The series will continue as normal, but the expansions will be more sporadic.

Join me next time for a new series.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

My original play, way back when, was to do a Tetris series around posts 46-48. As the time got closer, I was not happy because I was having a difficult time choosing Tetris-like games. So, I changed from a Tetris series to a puzzle series, using Blokus, Ubongo, and The Hanging Gardens. I kept looking because Blokus and Ubongo were just so Tetrisy, it seemed like there had to be another game in that category. In May, the Spiel des Jahres nominations came out, including a game that I had not heard of that was absolutely perfect for a Tetris series, so I pushed Blokus and Ubongo back and substituted Zendo and Ice Flow for the puzzle series. We've now arrived at our third game, and the game that determined that would be a Tetris series, FITS.


(BGG image by user Goodsound)

FITS (an acronym for Fill In The Spaces) is a game for 1-4 players, designed by Reiner Knizia and published in the US and Europe in 2009 by Ravensburger.  The game is more similar to Tetris than any game I've talked about in this series.  Not only does it include Tetris shaped pieces, but also involves sliding them into place on a rectangular board.


(BGG image by user jaugusto72)

With the game you get eight game boards, two per color.  Each board is printed on the front and back, and each player will have the exact same set of boards.  You'll also get four plastic ramps that will hold your board, and four triangular no-skid pads for each ramp that will hold them in place during play.  There are also four transparent covers that will go on top of the board and help guide your pieces down.  There are 16 building cards, each one showing one of the 16 different Tetris pieces that come with the game (there are 64 Tetris pieces in the game, 16 each in four colors).  In addition, there are four starting cards.

The first thing you'll do is assemble the ramp, which I won't describe now.  You get the idea.  Each player takes a color, receiving the same colored ramp, Tetris pieces, and game boards.  You'll also get a cover.  The building cards get shuffled, as do the starting cards.


(BGG image by user hrc333)

The game is played in four rounds, and you'll be playing with a different board each time.  Obviously, you'll be using board one in the first round, and so on.  Above, you see the board for round three.  Take the proper board and put it on your ramp, using the transparent cover on top.  Each player will then draw a starting card, and place the tile shown on their board.  This is done by positioning it in the empty space atop the board, then sliding it down until it reaches the bottom.


(BGG image by user jaugusto72)

After playing the first tile (which will be different for everyone), start drawing building cards and placing those tiles.  These will be played by everyone.  If a building card is drawn that matches your starting tile, skip your turn.  You do the same this in placing these...position them at the top of the board, then slide them down until they can't go down anymore.  It's important to note that this deviates from Tetris in one important respect - once you've started sliding your pieces down the board, you cannot move them from side to side.  So, if a gap is left somewhere with no openings above, it will remain empty.

Keep playing until all building tiles have been drawn.  You don't have to use a tile when it comes up, but just know that you won't be able to use it again that round.  Also, your tiles may go over the top of the shown grid, and that's fine - they just can't go off the sides.


(BGG image by user helioa)

Once all building cards have been drawn, it's time to score.  Every dot that is still visible counts as a penalty point against you.  Other than that, the boards all have special rules.  For board one, every gapless row is worth one point.  For board two, there are some bonus points that if left empty actually add points to your score.  For board three, there are bonus points and penalty points on the baord - you'll want to cover the penalty points and leave the bonus points open.  For board four, there are symbols in pairs on the board.  Leaving a pair of symbols open gets you three points, while only leaving one open costs you three points (covering both does nothing to your score).

The above image shows board three midway through the game.  So far, 12 points are for sure left uncovered, while 5 dots will definitely be exposed at the end.  This means that the player's current score is 7.  Most of the penalty points are covered, but note the -5 at the top right of the grid.  The player will definitely want to get that covered up.


(BGG image by user doojini1004)

Once all four rounds have been played, the game is over.  Add up the scores to find the winner, then fire off a rocket in celebration.  Also included in the rules is a solitaire variation, giving you scores to shoot for.  Read more at BGG, and expect to pay $33 in an FLGS.

Since I've been in such a Tetris mode here lately, expect a digitally themed expansion coming soon.  I'll also be making an announcement about the future of this blog (I'm not going anywhere, just changing things up a bit).  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

One of the really cool things about Tetris, to me, was the real-time puzzle element.  That constantly seems to be a mechanic that appeals to me, even in board games - solving a puzzle against a clock.  The game we're about to talk about is just that, so let's get into Ubongo.


(BGG image by user Lobo)

Ubongo is a game for 2-4 players that was published in 2003, designed by Grzegorz Rejchtman.  It is published in the US by Z-Man.  There's not much of a theme, other than the implied tribal pictures.  I guess you can imagine yourself to be an explorer that must solve puzzles to collect jewels.


(BGG image by user joconel)

The game comes with one large player board, filled with holes.  This board will house the 72 gems you are trying to collect.  There are 36 double-sided puzzle boards, and four sets of twelve Tetris pieces.  You will be using the Tetris pieces to complete your puzzles.  There's also four player pawns, one six-sided die, and one sand timer.

In set-up, randomly place the 72 gems in the holes on the player board.  Each player takes a colored pawn and one set of Tetris pieces.  The pawn goes on the red area at the end of the player board, on any space.  Several pawns can be in the same space.  Next, decide whether to use the easy or hard side of the puzzle cards.  The easy side will use only three pieces, while the hard side will use four.  With two players, 18 boards will be put in the box, while 9 are put back with three players.  All 36 are used with four players.

The start player passes out one board to each player.  He then rolls a die and simultaneously flips over the sand timer.  Each player matches the symbol on the die to one of the six symbols at the side of the board, and takes the corresponding Tetris pieces:


(BGG image by user Noaceyet)

The player's task is then to figure out how to fit the pieces next to that symbol into the puzzle.  Can you figure it out?  I'll wait...dum de dum de dum.  Got it yet?  No?  You may need to rotate and flip some of the pieces.  Got it?  Well, I'm going on anyway.

The first player to finish yells "UBONGO!"  He then may move his pawn up to three red spaces, and then may grab the two closest jewels in that row.  You don't have to move at all, but the big advantage is that you get first pick.

The second player to finish may move up to two spaces and grab two jewels, the third player may move one space and grab two jewels, and the fourth player may not move but still may collect two jewels from his row.  If any player fails to finish before the time runs out, they can't move and they can't collect any jewels.


(BGG image by user greatsage)

After nine rounds, the game is over.  Players then look at their jewels, and the colored jewel that they collected the most of is their final score.  So, if I collected 6 green, 4 red, 2 blue, 2 violet, 2 yellow, and 2 brown, my final score is 6.  If your final score was 5, I win.  If we tied at 6, we'd have to look at the second most.

And that's the game.  Pretty easy, right?  Read more at BGG, and expect to spend $45 (!) at an FLGS.  That seems pretty expensive, I know, especially since the replayability seems pretty low.  But do give it a try.

One more Tetrisy game coming up.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

If you grew up in the late 80s/early 90s, you were there for the first video game revolution.  Nintendo was everywhere.  The Nintendo was popular, but then the Super Nintendo came out and everyone just went gaga.  Game Boys came out, and suddenly people could play video games wherever they were.  Even I, non-video gamer that I am, had a Game Boy.  One of my favorites to play was Tetris.  I guess it fed into my dislike of lots of conflict and love of puzzles, and it probably nurtured those qualities.  I dreamed about the game, and that song is still stuck in my head, lo these many years later.

This series is called the Tetris series because each of the games uses pieces that are reminiscent of those Tetris pieces.  The first one we'll talk about is Blokus.


(BGG image by user IronMoss)

Blokus is a game from 2000, designed by Bernard Tavitian.  The game is for 2-4 players, and is published by Educational Insights.  I pronounce it like "BLOCK-us", but you'll hear many people pronounce it "BLOW-kus".  This is one of those mass-market games that has really caught the imagination of the hobby market.  It's a multi-player abstract game where you will be attempting to place as many of your pieces on the board as possible.


(BGG images by users EndersGame and Susie Derkins)

The game comes with a large 20X20 board, and 21 pieces of varying shapes in each of 4 different colors.  There are trays to store these pieces, which you may or may not use (they're pretty cheap).


(BGG image by user EndersGame)

Above, you see each of the 21 shapes that come in the game.  You'll notice that each has one to five squares involved.  I believe that this is every possible combination of squares within that range.

Before I begin with the rules explanation, let me just let you know that I'll be describing the four-player game.  I'll talk about the two and three player versions later.

 
(BGG images by users Friendless and bkindt)

The rules are pretty easy to explain.  One player begins by placing one of their pieces in one corner.  All other players do the same in different corners.  You must cover the corner square with one of your pieces.  Both of the above images did this properly.

When your turn rolls around again, you must place a piece so that it touches another of your pieces only on the corner.  The first image depicts this very well.  The second image does not - red is correct, but all other players have placed so some pieces are touching on the edge.

Generally, people like to move towards the center immediately.  This gives lots of options when placing further pieces.  However, there are no restrictions as to which direction you move (other than you must stay on the board).

It is worth noting that you may touch other player pieces on the edge.  As long as you are touching one of your own pieces by a corner, you can touch any other image however you want.


(BGG image by user Spelmagazijn)

The above image shows a game where every single piece has been placed according to the rules.  You will never see a game like this.  You will almost always have pieces left over that you are unable to place.  When you are out of moves, your game is over.  The other players continue until they are out of moves.  To score, count up the squares that you have left over.  Whoever has the fewest is the winner.


(BGG image by user jakeoil)

Now, two and three player.  This game says it is for 2-4, but it doesn't work very well with less than four players.  The official recommendation for two players is that each player plays two colors.  It's not a bad solution, but many people have worked on ways to just have two colors going.  In the above example, yellow and green have been used to create a border around a 17X17 grid, which two players will use red and blue to complete.  Also, you may want to try Travel Blokus, which is just for two players and has players start in the middle rather than the corners.

The official three-player version is that each player play one color, then take turns placing the fourth color as a dummy color.  People really dislike this version, and I don't recommend it.

Read more about the game at BGG, and expect to pay $30 in an FLGS.  As I said, it's a mass-market game, so you'll probably be able to find it in Target or other stores where games are sold.  If you want to try it now, play online here.  Join me next time for more Tetrisy goodness.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

This expansion has been a long time coming. It's been planned several times, but I've always pushed it back in favor of something more relevant to the series topic. But, finally, here it is - a discussion of some popular gaming accessories that will enhance your experience.

   
(BGG images by users matthew.marquand, Angry Duck, squash, and Paolo Robino)

First, dice.  I've talked about dice before, and there are people that are completely obsessed with dice...take for example, Kevin Cook, who has the world's largest dice collection at over 28,000 (and you can see every single one of them here...it will take a while to load, so I recommend that you don't even try if you're on dial-up).  Many people extol the virtues of dice and say you should carry your own at all times, but I'm not.  I will talk a little bit about some items to help you with rolling.  Have you ever rolled a die and have it bounce off the table, rendering the result "invalid" (unless it's the number you want)?  The above images show some solutions.  The first image is a dice tower.  You drop your dice in the top, they bounce around inside, and then roll out the bottom.  This is great if you have a lot of dice to roll.  Many people make their own, but a number of companies will make them for yo, such as VixenTor Games.

If you just have a few dice to roll and don't really want to get that complex, consider using a Dice Cup.  It's just a cup, you rattle the dice around, then roll them on the table.  This is really good in a game like Liar's Dice, where you want to hide your results.  Again, companies make these, but you could just use an ordinary cup.

If you still want to have the physical sensation of rolling the dice, try a dice tray.  These allow you to roll with your hands, and will keep the dice contained in an area.  They typically have felt bottoms (as do all of these accessories), and definitely save you some stress from searching for your dice on the floor.

None of these are strictly necessary, but they add some quality to your game.


(BGG image by user ScottE)

In my post on Power Grid (#36), I complained about paper money and suggested that you use poker chips instead.  Let me repeat that here.  If you have a game with paper money, replace it with poker chips.  Paper money tears, crumples, gets lost, is hard to deal with.  Get some poker chips.  That's all I've got to say.


(BGG images by users twinfreak and Legomancer)

AP (Analysis Paralysis) is a significant problem with a lot of people.  If you're playing with someone who is especially AP-prone, consider having a timer.  You may even want to use an electronic timer instead of those sand timers, so you don't really have to watch it to find out when time is up.  You may want to print up an "It's Your Turn" card so you can pass it to those people who may not pay attention and are always asking "Whose turn is it?"


(BGG images by users twinfreak and turtleback)

Some games are too big for their boxes.  Agricola is a classic example of a game that just doesn't fit in its box.  Many people like to get some Plano storage containers (or other types) to organize their games.  Above, to the left, you see one organizing various dice.  On the right, you see a tackle box that has been converted to contain Memoir '44 and its expansions.


(BGG image by user Harlequinite)

BAGGIES!  Have you ever opened up a game to find all your pieces in the wrong place?  Bag 'em!  This will keep them together, and keep them in their place.  Another thing you might want to do is get some sleeves for your cards.  This will save them from a lot of wear as they shift around in the box or during play.  You'll find that a lot of people use sleeves for games like Dominion and Race for the Galaxy.

 
(BGG images by users earlystarts and KlydeFrog)

Once you've got a sizable collection, you'll want a game shelf, or even a game cabinet.  If you watch some of the Dice Tower videos, you'll see that Tom Vasel's game collection covers the walls of one room.  There are conversations about how to store your game, whether flat or on their sides.  Flat keeps your pieces in place, but boxes on top could collapse the box on the bottom.  The side protects the box, but causes the pieces to shift.  It's up to you.

There you have it.  This is just a small sample of some things you can do to enhance your gaming.  Read the miscellaneous game accessory listing on BGG for more ideas.  You'll see them pop up on various game pages as well.  I'll see you next time for another series of games.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse

Way back in Expansion #7, I mentioned 4 games that all use the same battle system and were designed by the same person.  This system has come to be known as the Commands & Colors system, after the third game in the series, Commands & Colors: Ancients.  Later, when we got to the Top 51 (Expansion #17).  There, I mentioned that I was planning on covering BattleLore in an upcoming two-player series.  We're here, this is the last entry in this incarnation of the two-player series, and I'm sorry to tell you that BattleLore has been pushed way back to another series.  There are a few reasons, most notably that I've found that it's not the best for teaching the system due to some additions.  I also mentioned a wargame from the C&C system that I may cover if I do a war series.  Well, I still have no plans for a war series, but I'm going to cover this one anyway.  It's been called the simplest to understand, it has legions of fans, and it seems to be a gateway to bigger wargames.  It's also a two-player game, so, despite my unwillingness to get mired in the wargame world, here comes Memoir '44.


(BGG image by user Erich)

Memoir '44 was first published in 2004 from designer Richard Borg.  It's published by Days of Wonder, and can be played by two or in teams of up to three each.  It was the second game to use the particular combat system, following Battle Line (2000).  As the title and cover suggest, the game is about World War II as the Allies invaded France around D-Day, June 6, 1944.  The rules are actually fairly simple to explain, but it's the variability of the scenarios that keep people coming back.


(BGG image by user Solamar)

The game comes with a lot of high quality components, something we come to expect from Days of Wonder.  Each player will get their own set of miniatures, green for the Allied player and blue-gray for the Axis player.  This includes 42 infantry, 24 tanks (armor), 6 cannons (artillery), 18 man-made obstacles, and 3 cardholder sections.  There are 60 cards that will be used during the game, section (movement) and tactic (special) cards.  There are also reference cards about the various types of units and terrains.  Speaking of terrains, there are 44 double-sided terrain hexes, representing the terrain types of forest, hedgerows, hills, rivers, and towns.  There are 10 double-sided victory medals and 14 special forces badges.  You also get four bridge/bunker tiles and eight six-sided Battle dice.  The board is double-sided, with the beach on one side and the countryside on the other.


(BGG images by user EndersGame)

As you see, the boards each are divided into three sections by a red line.  During the game, players will be on opposite sides, and each player will have a left flank, a center, and a right flank.  This will be important when ordering your troops.

Also, on each side of the board is a rack for you to collect victory medals.  Most scenarios have a goal of collecting 4-6 victory medals in order to win.  I'll get into how those are won later.

The set-up for the game will vary depending on which scenario you choose.  I'll give you examples of a couple momentarily, but for now, here's the general rules of set-up.

1. Pick a scenario.
2. Put the board in the center of the table with the appropriate side up.
3. Place hexes according to the scenario.
4. Place any fixed and removable obstacles, if any.
5. Place figures on the board according to the positions on the scenario map.  An artillery unit is usually made up of 2 units, an armor unit of 3, and an infantry unit of 4.
6. Add special unit badges to individual units and victory medals according to specific on-the-map objectives if called for.
7. Place terrain summary cards that correspond to the terrain in the scenario, plus obstacle and unit summary cards, to the side for easy reference.
8. Assemble cardholder segments and place them next to the board.  These will hold your cards, and aren't really necessary, but do provide convenience when working in teams.
9. Pick a side, sit there.  Match play is recommended - two games, each player getting a chance on each side, with the player who collected the most victory medals as the winner.
10. Shuffle the command cards and deal to each side according to the scenario's briefing notes.
11. Place the remainder of the deck nearby, in easy reach.
12. Each side takes four battle dice.
13. The starting player begins.

 
(BGG image by user Con Man)

The rules recommend you start with the Pegasus Bridge scenario, and here's the skinny on that one.  On the night before D-Day, a British special unit landed between two rivers in Normandy, the Caen Canal and the Orne River.  Historically, they caught the Germans by surprise and quickly took the bridges, giving the British the first victory of D-Day.  For the game, we'll see if history repeats itself.

The board is set up with the countryside facing up.  The rivers are set up, with 9 forest hexes in various places, 4 towns on the far side of the Caen Canal bridge, and a pond (made up of four curved river tiles) in the center of the map.  The bridges are also placed on the rivers.  The scenario calls for 4 barbed wire minis and one sandbag to guard the Caen Canal bridge.  9 Allied infantry units are placed, as well as 6 Axis units.  Doesn't that seem unfair?  Well, it's historical...the Germans were caught off-guard, remember?  To further complicate things for the Axis player, their units are pretty spread out.  This is why it is recommended to play two games of a scenario, so each side will get the experience of having the advantage.

There are no special forces for this scenario, but a victory medal gets placed on each bridge.  If the Allies take the bridges, they get that medal, and they keep it as long as they stay on the bridge.  You can see a successfully taken bridge in the image above.

The Axis player starts the game with two cards (shouldn't have been napping), but get to draw two cards instead of one after the first two turns.  The Allied player starts with 6 cards, and gets to move first (element of surprise).  To win, either side needs to collect four medals.  The bridge medals only count for the Allied victory, so how else can you collect medals?  I'll get there, but first, I want to describe another scenario.


(BGG image by user Jeff)

Sword Beach was one of the landings on D-Day, near the mouth of the Orne River.  The idea was for tanks to land first and take out the heavy artillery before the infantry hit.  Unfortunately, the heavy seas caused them to arrive at the same time.  The Allies sustained heavy losses and failed to take Caen, which was their objective at this point.  It was a setback for the war, but the Allies still did OK.

Terrain hexes used for this series include four forests and three towns on the Axis side of the board.  There are also three bunkers, two of which contain a German infantry unit, and one of which includes a German artillery unit.  Barbed wire and hedgehogs (those metals fence thingies) line the beach and slow down the Allies.  In addition to their bunker units, there are four more Axis infantry units (two of which are in towns) and one armored unit (in the Axis corner behind a forest and a town).  The Allied units all start in the ocean, with three armors and four infantry on the front line, and five infantry units bringing up the rear.  Three of the back infantry are Commando units, and do not have the same restrictions as the other infantry.  These get marked with a British special forces badge.

The Axis player gets 4 cards.  The Allied player gets 5 cards, and gets to start.  The objective is to win five medals.  The three towns have a victory medal, so the Allies can get those.  But how to get more?  Patience...


(BGG image by user johncarlton)

On your turn, you have five things to do: play a card, order units, move units, battle, draw a new card.

PLAY A CARD: Pick a card and play it.  Most of them will allow you to move units (top row, section), though a few will give you special attack powers (bottom row, tactic).

ORDER UNITS: According to the card you played, choose and announce what units you will be working with that turn.  Only the units you specify will be available to move or battle with.  The cards on the top row allow you to move two units on your left flank and two on your right flank; three units in the center; or one unit on the right flank.  For each of these, the units you move must be in the area listed on the card.  If a unit straddles a red line, it will count for either section in terms of ordering.  If you don't have enough units in a section to make up the orders, any extra orders are lost.

MOVE UNITS: Each unit you've ordered can move once, finishing their entire move before another one moves.  All units must finish moving before proceeding to the Battle.  Units may not split, nor may they merge.  The restrictions are:

• Infantry can move one space.  If it moves two, that's legal, but it won't be allowed to battle.
• Armor can move up to three spaces, and will be allowed to battle for any distance.
• Artillery may move one space, OR they may battle - they can't do both.

Your units certainly don't HAVE to move, but this is where they do it.  There are a few extra restrictions.  Two units may not occupy the same space, nor may one unit pass through an occupied space on their way to another space.  Also, there are restrictions for various types of terrain.  *NOTE: The following description also tells you combat restrictions.

 
(BGG images by user EndersGame - forest, hedgerows, hills, and river in #1; towns and villages in #2)

• With forests, a unit's turn is over when they enter the hex, and they may not battle that turn.  Attacking infantry must roll one fewer die when attacking a forest unit, and armor uses two fewer.  Artillery is not affected.
• With hedgerows, a unit can only move into a hedgerow if they begin their move from an adjacent space.  Likewise, when the unit leaves, it can only move into an adjacent spot before its turn ends.  The unit may not attack on the turn it moves into a hedgerow.  As with forests, attacking infantry must use one fewer die and attacking armor must use two fewer.
• There are no movement restrictions for hills.  However, when attacking a unit that is atop a hill, a unit at the bottom of the hill must roll one fewer die (armor and infantry only).  If your unit is also at the top of the hill, combat is not affected.
• Rivers are impassable, meaning that you cannot enter the hex or cross the river unless there is a bridge.  Combat from the bridge is unaffected.
• After entering a town, a unit's turn ends.  The unit cannot attack this turn.  Again, attacking infantry use one less die and attacking armor use two less.  Also, armor that is in a town must use two fewer dice when attacking.
• Oceans and beaches are printed on the board, but both limit movement - you cannot move more than one space on an ocean space, and two is your limit on the beach.  Also, a unit on an ocean space may not attack.

Hedgehogs, barbed wire, sandbags, and bunkers also provide limits to your movement.

BATTLE: Battle with one ordered unit at a time, and you can do it in whatever sequence you prefer.  You don't have to attack anyone if you don't want to.  Announce who you'll be attacking before doing anything.  Battling is done by rolling the Battle dice.

The first thing you must do is check the battle range.  Infantry can attack any unit within three hexes of their position, but there are some limits to how many dice you can use.  If you are one hex away from your target, roll three dice.  If two hexes away, roll two dice.  If three hexes away, roll one die.  Armor can also attack someone up to three hexes away, but can always roll three dice.  Artillery can attack someone up to six hexes away, and gets three dice for one or two hexes; two dice for three or four hexes; one die for five or six hexes.

The next thing you'll do is check line of sight.  If there is an obstacle, another unit, or terrain between you and your target, you can't attack them.  Even if there's only a corner in your way, you're blocked.  Hedgehogs, sand bags, barbed wire, and rivers do not block sight.  Forests, hedgerows, towns, and bunkers all block line of sight.  Hills block line of sight unless you're also on a hill.  Do note that artillery does not need line of sight...they can fire over stuff.

Next, check the terrain effects.  If you don't remember, consult the summary cards.  Or, just check the movement section in this post.

Now, you're ready to fight.  Roll the dice.


(BGG image by user Yugblad)

• Every infantry symbol you roll counts as a hit against infantry (if that's what you're attacking).  There are two infantry symbols on each die.  Each hit allows you to remove one figure from a unit.
• Each armor symbol you roll counts as a hit against armor (if that's what you're attacking).  Each hit allows you to remove one figure from that unit.
• Each grenade you roll counts as a hit against whatever you are fighting - infantry, armor, or artillery.  Each hit allows you to remove one figure from that unit.  Note that this is the only way to hit artillery.
• Stars are good for some of the tactical cards.  If you don't have any use for them, they count as a miss.
• Flags are retreat.  For each flag you roll, your opponent must push the attacked unit back one hex.  In other words, they push towards their side of the board.  If they cannot move because they are blocked by other units, impassable terrain, or the edge of the board, the unit loses a figure and does not move.

If your unit is right next to the unit you are targeting, you are considered to be at close assault.  If your infantry forces a retreat or destroys a unit while in close assault, it may gain ground, moving into the vacated hex.  If your armor does this, it may gain ground, and then it may attack again - this can only be done once in a turn.  Artillery does not gain ground.

Every time you completely destroy a unit, you get a victory medal.  After completing the battle phase, draw a new command card.  Keep playing until someone wins.

That's the game.  There are tons of scenarios out there, official and unofficial, and lots of expansions.  Read more at BGG, and expect to spend $50 in an FLGS.

That's the end of the two-player games for now.  Join me soon for a long-awaited expansion, and then we'll go digital (not really) for the next series.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse