On Entropy and White Night

Entropy is a dangerous thing.  Entropy is the enemy of organization.  Entropy is the enemy of nice, pretty game shelves.  Having nice, pretty, well organized game storage is key is keeping said games in good condition for years to come.

I have always said that I have no expectation of my game collection remaining in as-new condition.  I say this of even the vintage titles that may (some day) hold some value to collectors.  That said, some of the game boxes were showing more than an acceptable level of wear and damage.  I resolved to do something about this, and that something was a re-org.

On off the unfortunate realities of my current living situation is that I do not have space for proper game shelving.  As such, most of the games occupy the hall closet, where one would normally store coats and other warm outerwear.  This is not a problem as cold does not exist in this country.  Another unfortunate reality is that my varied taste in games, along with a lack of consensus among game publishers, has produced a myriad of box sizes and dimensions.  This means that game organization and storage is something that requires careful planning, attention to detail, and years of practice playing Tetris.

To make a long(ish) story short(er),  that is how I spent my Saturday.  The entire contents of the closet were emptied and re-stacked so as to minimize or eliminate box crushing and dishing.  With that task done, I played some games with the kids and took a short nap.  White Night was calling.

This would be the second time I had experienced this event, and I can still safely say that I don't really know how to describe it in anything resembling concise terms.  For twelve hours starting at 7:00 PM on Saturday, the entire central business district of Melbourne shuts down to everything except pedestrian traffic.  This sets up a massive canvas for the expression of various arts and music.  Several large stages have rotations or musicians and dancers, while smaller acts and street performers fill in the space between.  You can see artists actively painting, while in the next glance see an entire building facade being used as a projection screen.

Unfortunately I did not get to see white as much this year as I did the year previous. (Darn those familial responsibilities!) Even so, it was still an amazing sight and I encourage people to look it up. (Google Melbourne White Night) I am sure that pictures and video from this year's event are starting to hit the interwebs.

Game report day 44 - Spot It!

Blue Orange Games has one of those libraries that makes a successful bridge between games exclusively for kids (i.e. parents can't stand playing them) and games for adults (i.e. kids don't get them).  Spot It! is exactly what the title makes it sound like.  It is a game about spotting matching symbols on different cards.  The rulebook contains several variations that can be further modified for the ages participating, but in general, if you see it first, you win.  Pattern recognition games are something that I am typically quite good at.  On this particular evening, my wife was easily holding her own, and I am told that this is another game to add to the list of games my eldest son does not need coaching or assistance.

Game report day 45 - Evolution: Climate

I received the long awaited e-mail from North Star Games that with the beta playtest files for Climate about a week ago.  Initially, I was not going to be in any great hurry to finish the build, as I thought that the weekly Meetup had a big Catan event scheduled.  Upon closer inspection of the calendar, that Catan event was next week.  So, off to the print shop I went.  Later that evening once the build was complete, I sat down with my wife to give it a run.  The results were somewhat less than surprising.  I won the game handily, but as my wife was quick to point out, I was already far more familiar with the new game content then she was.  That and she says that I have a better sense for game combinations and their usefulness.  She is probably right.  My time spent playing Magic had to have had some benefit.  Her other complaint is that there was still not enough climate events being triggered throwing chaos and uncertainty into the game.  Personally, I like that the chaos that the climate track can deliver is manageable.  I think with a few more plays, she will come to recognize and use some of the new strategic possibilities.

Game report day 46 - Evolution: Climate

Meetup time again and this was my chance to get more full table play testing done for Evolution: Climate.  The Meetup was fully booked, so the table filled quickly.  The first game started a little slow, as it always does with new players, but soon everyone settled down in to different combinations and strategies.  Myself and another player started on similar aggressive paths early on, and predictable annihilated each other's chances of victory.  That pretty much left the winner to be the one what could successfully fly under the radar and stay out of everyone's way.  Fun was had by all.  The one complaint in that game was from the one other player that had experience with Evolution before. He did not really care for the new Climate content.  His preference was for the base game, where your only opponent was the other players.  He liked that it was basically like a biology themed poker game.  To each their own, I guess.  He still had fun and that is what is important.

The second game of the night, with the same players, kicked off very quickly and smoothly.  Everyone was ready with different strategies to try.  Some of those quickly fell flat, and others would have been interesting had the climate not intervened.  This time the climate track was a major factor in the game, initiating two, nearly three events and multiple mass extinctions.  The differing play flavors is precisely why I like this game.

Game report day 47 - Rack-O

This evening I had a request to pick something less strategic.  This is code for "I am tired and don't have the energy to think about anything".  That's okay, I can handle that.  I was tired too.  Fortunately there is not a lot of thought required to put numbers in order.  Serious fans of this classic will say that there is a lot of thought involved since you need to think about probability and arrangement and they are probably right.  It does not change the fact that Rack-O is also just fun to play and a very light, low stress filler.  We played a few hands, not really keeping score.  If memory serves, hand wins were split about 50/50.

Game report day 48 - Zombie Dice, Zombie Dice 2 Double Feature, Zombie Dice 3 School Bus

Thursday was another rough day for both of us, so another light filler came out.  As light as Zombie Dice is, I always find it interesting to see how engaged players always get.  Part of that is just the inherent nature of press-your-luck style games. This game also has enough goofy elements added to make it just that much more interesting.  For example, the expansions add the following.

• The Hero and the Bimbo - White and pink dice respectively.  They each can rescue each other.  The hero can do more damage, while the bimbo is better at running away (all legs, no brains).
• Santa Claus - The holiday feature.  In addition to his tasty brains, Santa can deliver presents, making your zombie tougher or faster.
• The Bus - There is something that I find endlessly amusing about the image of a school bus full of shogun wielding children.

I won the round, but fun had by all.

Game report day 49 - We Didn't Playtest This At All, We Didn't Playtest This Either

Are you seeing a pattern here?

Friday was pretty much like the previous two days, so in celebration I got out the single most unstructured, random game I own.  Once I played this with a group of eight friends.  It took three games just to get all the way around the table.  If you are not familiar with the franchise, this is a card game that is in all things random and crazy.  It is like Flux, only more random.  There is no way to predict how one will win or lose, and that is why, in the right setting, it can be a hell of a lot of fun.

Game report day 51 - Coo Coo The Rocking Clown, Snail's Pace Race

As I mentioned earlier, much of Saturday was spent organizing the game closet.  Once this was done, I wanted to get the kids involved.  First I got out Coo Coo.  This is another Blue Orange title that is all about dexterity and balance.  Players take turns placing pieces on Coo Coo, the Rocking Clown.  First to upset the balance and knock pieces off loses.  Played with both boys.  The younger son is starting to get enough motor control to be able to play the game reliably.  The elder son is starting to figure out that you can place pieces to almost upset the balance thus setting up the next player for defeat.

Not wanting to leave out my youngest, I got out one of the Ravensburger titles that is geared for that age.  As she is soon to be three, she does know how to take turns and roll dice.  In this particular instance, she was more inclined to just place the dice on the color she wanted to move.  No winners in Snail's Pace Race, it is all just a cooperative effort to get the colored snails to the yummy leaves.

Game report day 52 - Between Two Cities, Go Away Monster

Go away Monster has become my nearly three-year-old's standby game.  The game it simple enough.  You pull shapes out of a bag.  If it is a piece of your bedroom, you add it to your card in the appropriate spot.  If it is a monster, you shout "Go Away Monster!" and toss the piece in the box.  As tedious as this may sound to adults, the cuteness of your little girl (in a cold-induced hoarse voice) croak "Go Away Monster" is just something you don't say no to.

Having largely recovered from the work week and White Night, I wanted to get out something that required a little more thought.  Unfortunately it was still a busy day with some critical shopping errands that needed done.  Thus a faster game was called for.  Enter Between Two Cities, the latest product in the Stonemaier Games library.  In this game you are city planners using a tile drafting mechanic to create the best 4x4 city grid.  In a two player game (as we were playing), you have full control over both cities, and score the combination of the two.  With more players, you share each city with your neighbor, with both of you contributing.  Your final score is the lower scoring of the two cities.  The result of this scoring is that each player cannot afford to neglect either of his cities, forcing you to negotiate with both partners in good faith.  I won this round, but my wife declared that this needed to hit the table more often, as she wants to get better at it.

Ask and ye shall receive.