10/23/2024 – Berkshire Gamers Session Report #24-43
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17 at the UNO Community Center for a request night and seemingly a continuation of the Everything Old is New Again theme from the previous session.
Our 10/30 session will be Halloween themed (monsters, zombies, wizards & witches, potions and spells) For the 2nd straight year, Armando will curate our late October session. Come in a costume if the theme moves you to do so…..or not. Expect to play from among: Quacks of Quedlinburg, Skull, Ghost Stories, SpellBook, Mysterium, Clank: Catacombs, Patchwork: Halloween, Whirling Witchcraft, Skulls of Sedlec, Arkham Horror, Zombicide, Renfield, Good Dog, Bad Zombie….and more. The Armando Horror Show continues.
10/23/2024 @ UNO Community Center
IN: Steve & Sandy, Sean & Wendy, Tony & Rachel, Tim, Matt, Armando, Amy, Chris, Nicole, Reimi, Rob, Zach, Danny, Kelsey
ON OUR TABLES:
LotR: Duel for Middle Earth (led by Matt) 2024 two-player drafting game that re-themes the outstanding 7 Wonders Duel for Lord of the Rings by the same authors. There are multiple win conditions for each side and this version adds area control replacing the military track from the original. Instead of drafting Wonders upfront in the original, this version replaces them with 3 public landmarks on a first come first serve system. There is a tempo control in this game that’s not found in the original, an improvement, as it gives more tactical decisions – taken somewhat from Pantheon expansion. Own one or both – you decide.
Seikatsu: A Pet’s Life/Seikatsu (led by Sandy) 2017’s tile placement game of birds and flowers that was re-themed in 2019 with pets and colored cushions in a living room. Players have a hand of 2 tiles (among 4 pets and wild unicorns in 4 colors) and each turn place one tile onto the board until it is filled. Interim points are earned for groups of the same animal, but the overwhelming majority of the points are from a triangular progression of pillows of the plurality color, but only from that player’s armchair perspective. 20-30 minute adorable opener/closer.
Moonrollers (led by Sean) 2024 push your luck drafting and dice rolling game of risk assessment and strategy that pits players against each other as ship captains competing to gain crewmates. Players begin by rolling 5 dice and must choose to attempt a requirement on an available crew card that matches one of their dice. Players commit any number of the matching dice and must choose whether to stop rolling or continue to roll their remaining dice. If they fail to roll a dice that matches a requirement they are attempting, all progress that turn is lost. If they choose to stop rolling or complete the card, their progress is saved via tokens.
Some parts of each mission are particularly hazardous, awarding players who attempt them with hazard tokens that are worth prestige at the end of the game. However, the player with the most hazard symbols is reprimanded for their chaotic conduct and is awarded no extra end-game prestige.The end of the game is immediately triggered when a player has 3 crew of the same faction or a crew of each faction on their ship. The player with the most points won from completing requirements and from Hazards wins.
River Valley Glassworks (led by K-ban) 2024 drafting and pattern building game. This is a 30 minute family game, where players are collecting glass pieces from the river and lake to fill up their warehouse. VPs are scored at game’s end for both rows (only if unbroken from left) and one’s two highest columns. There are penalties for drafting glass that doesn’t fit in one’s warehouse. Beautifully produced and we’ll explore the 6 mini-expansions that came with the deluxe edition in future sessions.
Panda Panda (led by Sandy) 2024 Japanese mini card game from Allplay’s new line (think boxes about the same size but half the depth as Oink games like SCOUT, Maskmen, None Tiles, Fake Artist, etc.) where players carefully manage their cards to try to make specific hands. On a turn, players can discard a card, draw from the deck, or draw from an opponent’s discard pile. If a player discards an “A” card, everyone has to pass one card to the left. Winning two hands wins the game. The trick here is to figure out what your opponents are going for, and time the “A” cards correctly. The unique aspect here is that players control the size of their hands from 2 to 7 cards.
Cubitos (led by Tony) 2021 release from John D Clair ( Mystic Vale, Space Base, Ecos, Edge of Darkness). Strange combination of push your luck, special dice with abilities….all in a race. The game starts out slowly but increases tempo much like Dominion but with dice combos rather than cards.
Clank: Catacombs (led by Matt) 2022 stand-alone sequel to the original fantasy deck building and tile placement game. It adds dungeon building and a push your luck mechanic, as players need to find an artifact and make it back to the entrance while fighting monsters in an abstract way.
Foundations of Metropolis (led by K-ban) 2024 retheming of Foundations of Rome to build a modern city using thick cardboard polyomino tiles. The game utilizes the same drafting of deeds, erecting various buildings and the system for earning revenue as the original without a $200+ price tag for fantastic 3D plastic buildings. So if you loved the original gameplay but don’t require the table presence this version is for you.
Viticulture: Tuscany (led by Zach) 2016 expansion for 2023’s Viticulture where players find themselves in the roles of people in rustic, pre-modern Tuscany who have inherited meager vineyards. They have a few plots of land, an old crush pad, a tiny cellar, and three workers. The Tuscany Essential edition features the three most popular expansion modules from the original Tuscany expansion:
- Extended Board: New game board featuring four full seasons for worker placement.
- Structure Cards: New cards that players can build to supplement their existing structure figures.
- Special Workers: New workers with their own special abilities, which players can train.
Terraforming Mars (led by Sean) 2016 game set in the 25th Century, as mankind begins to terraform the planet Mars. Giant corporations, sponsored by the World Government on Earth, initiate huge projects to raise the temperature, the oxygen level, and the ocean coverage until the environment is habitable. In Terraforming Mars, you play one of those corporations and work together in the terraforming process, but compete for getting victory points that are awarded not only for your contribution to the terraforming, but also for advancing human infrastructure throughout the solar system, and doing other commendable things.
Keltis: Card Game (led by K-ban) 2009 card game that has Knizia revisiting Lost Cities and making some interesting changes to play. Players have a hand of cards, playing or discarding one card each turn on piles of the same color then drawing one card. Each of the five colors includes two ‘finishing cards’, and these cards can be played on a stack of the matching color at any time, after which no further number cards can be added to that stack; once five finishing cards have been played, or the deck has been exhausted, the game ends. The important changes from Lost Cities are that one’s cards can either be in ascending or descending order and that playing two same numbered cards earn a player wishing stones. Add your points for groups of cards played and for wishing stones for your final total. I personally like this better than Lost Cities as it can expand to 3 or 4 players.
Harmonies (led by Tony) 2024 abstract pattern game, with simple rules, and a beautifully implemented nature theme. Players optimize by synchronizing, but at the same time try to outbalance luck by diversifying their scoring options, while growing a beautiful 3D habitat in front of them. Landscapes are built by placing colored tokens and creating habitats for their animals. To earn the most points and win the game, players must incorporate the habitats in their landscapes wisely and have as many animals as they can settle there.
Splendor (led by Armando) 2014 award winning game of chip-collecting and card development. Players are merchants of the Renaissance trying to buy gem mines, means of transportation, shops—all in order to acquire the most prestige points. If wealthy enough, players might even receive a visit from a noble at some point, which will further increase their prestige. On turn, players may (1) collect chips (gems), or (2) buy and build a card, or (3) reserve one card. If you collect chips, you take either three different kinds of chips or two chips of the same kind. If you buy a card, you pay its price in chips and add it to your playing area. To reserve a card—in order to make sure you get it, or, why not, your opponents don’t get it—you place it in front of you face down for later building; this costs you a round, but you also get gold in the form of a joker chip, which you can use as any gem. All of the cards you buy increase your wealth as they give you a permanent gem bonus for later buys; some of the cards also give you prestige points. In order to win the game, you must reach 15 prestige points before your opponents do. We should explore the Cities of Splendor expansion some day as well as revisiting the 2-player duel.
Steve
17 at the UNO Community Center for a request night and seemingly a continuation of the Everything Old is New Again theme from the previous session. Our 10/30 session will be Halloween themed (monsters, zombies, wizards & witches, potions and spells) For the 2nd straight year, Armando will curate our late October session. Come in…
17 at the UNO Community Center for a request night and seemingly a continuation of the Everything Old is New Again theme from the previous session. Our 10/30 session will be Halloween themed (monsters, zombies, wizards & witches, potions and spells) For the 2nd straight year, Armando will curate our late October session. Come in…