Deciding On Games To Purchase

If you're like me and don't have unlimited funds for games, often times you must decide which games to buy. Personally I like to play games before purchasing them. If that isn't possible then I use word of mouth, Board Game Geek and/ or vendor recommendations. Although I prefer to buy my games from a physical store/ vendor, the Internet has made it easier to have access to a wider variety of games. The best stores are the independent ones with gaming space, like the Game Parlor in Chantilly, VA. Every year at WBC

At least in my family we get games (or gift certificates for games) as presents for Xmas and birthdays! This does help ease the lack of game funding problem.

World Board Gaming Championship: A Look Back

Last week I attended the World Board Gaming Championship in Lancaster, PA.  If my math is correct, this was my 16^th or 17^th year.  Impressive given I am not even 30 (…nor will I ever be)!  Here’s what I spent my week:

Tournaments

This year I only entered into two tournaments, St. Petersburg and 7 Wonders.  Throughout the years I have entered fewer and fewer tournaments, mostly due to timing and/or I did not want to end a pick up game early.

St. Pete Results: I won my board in the first heat, and then sucked for the next three heats (2 3^rdth).  Despite my rocky start, I was the last person given a semi-final spot. In my semi-final game, I missed 1^st place by two points. Unfortunately, there was some king making at my table.  I was insulated from it, but my BF was not. places and a 4

7 Wonders: The tournament consisted of two games. I honestly don’t remember how well I did in both games, other than to say I did not make the next round.

New Games

I learned the following new games:

Alea Iacta Est:  This made for a good filler game.  This is an interesting dice placement game that reminded me of Castles of Burgundy, but not as good.  It does seem to have some issues in mechanics.  This could have been because my table of 5 had a large number of dice ending up in the Latrina. 

Castle Panic:  I first learned of Castle Panic through Geek and Sundry’s Table Top webseries with Wil Wheaton.   This cooperative game was engaging.  I felt it was true to its portrayal on Table Top.   Much like Pandemic, there is an element of panic… but in a good way. 

D Day Dice:  D Day Dice, a Kickstarter cooperative game, also reflects the element of panic and reality of D Day.  There was a major team feeling throughout the game as we worked our way up the beach fighting the Nazis. Although though we managed to win on our first try, but apparently that is not the norm.  

Dixit:  I previously wrote about hating “Party Games”.  Dixit is a party game, but one I actually like.  Players take turns “telling a story” about one of their cards (their words; I say describe the card) by using a word, sentence, lyrics, movie quotes, etc.  Then other players look in their hand and pick a card they think fits the description.  The Story Teller then mixes all the cards and the other players vote on which card they think is the Story Teller’s.  The artwork on the cards is awesomely weird. Yet at the same time there are some cards I want to frame in my house. Unlike Apples to Apple, you do not necessarily need to know the other players well, although it does help.  It is a great family game that spans the ages. Additionally there are a lot of expansions, so you can expand your horizons.

Le Havre:  I had heard that the iOS app was out, but did not want to purchase it until I actually had played the board game once. It is one of the Uwe Rosenberg’s “Harvest Trilogy” (Agricola, which I hate with a fiery passion, and At the Gates of Loylang, which I like).  I ended up liking the game a lot, although I did not win. Much like Agricola you must feed your people.  It is far less annoying than Agricola’s food requirement and far more forgiving overall.  I just recently played an awesome iOS game winning with ship buying strategy. 

Navegador:  This is a Portuguese themed explorer and discovery game.  I enjoyed exploring the waters, founding colonies, and making money. It had an interesting element of how to determine your actions through movement along an action wheel.  Definitely a game that requires planning ahead. 

Undermining:  Undermining is space mining game that has more than meets the eye.   Mined resources can be turned in for craft upgrades or complete contracts for points.  One annoying and effective technique is to sit upon the transportation portal. 

Ra the Dice Game:  This dice game was less than thrilling.  I think we either played it wrong, or we missed something.  I have never played Ra, but I played Priests of Ra last year.   After my Ra-like experiences, I doubt Ra is my game.

Small World Realms:  Despite wanting to play SW Realms before the tournament, I did not manage to do so.  We ended up playing two games of Realms; 1 of each Scenarios 1 (My Precious World) and 3 (Go East).  I enjoyed that each scenario added a new element without radically altering the game (which is my main complain with the Tales and Legends Expansion).  I would love to play these scenarios, as well as the others more.  I would also like to try my hand at coming up with my own scenarios. Of course this is all contingent on convincing the BF to play more Small World.   

Old Games

I also played a number of games that I had previously played before. These include Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer; Kingdom Builder; London; Alhambra; Castles of Burgundy; Galaxy Trucker and Lost Cities: The Board Game.

New Purchases

This year I only purchased two games! Shocking… I know.  

First is Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries.  I bought this one because it is a 2-3-player game. Since I do not have a regular gaming group, I am always looking for 2 player games that I can play with the BF.  Although the Original and Europe Ticket to Ride are good with 2 players, but the board always seems a little too big. 

Second is Trollhalla.  This troll pirate game focuses on collecting the most valuable plunder.  I got it mostly because it looked interesting.  I know you can’t judge a game by its box, but still.  When I punched out the bits, I discovered it has lady trolls. Girl Power!

Why I hate “party games”

Hi. My name is Lady of Carcassonne and I hate “party games”. They are not really games. There is no real strategic aspect to them. They are fluff. Not even filler games, but pure fluff. I think they are a waste of the title of game. Most of them are silly, forced interactions with people.  I am fine with people not being as into strategic and Euro games as I am, but please don’t pretend these are real games.

Examples.

Apples to Apples. I use to like this game. I never loved it. I would never offer to play it, but it did not turn me off as much as it does now. Now whenever anyone wants to play it I want to run the other way.  Unless you play with people you know well, it’s hard to “play to the person”.  I don’t get the point in just throwing something out there just to see if they like it the best (no really Helen Keller isn’t as funny as you think it is). Also this is a game people want to play FOREVER. No please stop this game after you get 10 cards or whatever it says in the rule. This game is so intellectually boring to me, I often play total random card draw unless I really know the people. Even among hardcore gamers, there is a thought of “Hey, I know you aren’t a gamer, but you’ll love Apples to Apples.” Do not fall into this trap. No. No. NO. If your friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and/or whomevers are not gamers try to start them off with Carcassonne or Settlers. Or just accept they are not gamers.

Trivial Pursuit. I consider myself a smart person, but just straight answering trivia questions is not fun for me. Yes it isn’t fun even if I know the answer.  Seriously there is not strategy here. You just answer the questions. No betting on the answers or anything. I guess that’s why I never really got into Jeopardy.  Yes this game is more intellectual. But really what is the point?!

Honestly I’d rather play Candy Land or Monopoly with a little kid than a party game. Why? I can use it as a teaching experience. That’s what the intellectual part of those games are for me. Yes the games might not be hard for a twenty something year old who loves strategic games, but I can teach the kids the importance of counting, thinking ahead, etc. If I can’t play a real strategic or Euro game, I consider teaching kids about games a better use of my time than some silly party game with a bunch of adults.

Gaming Websites & Forums

Some of you may be wondering why I don’t post these posts somewhere on Board Game Geek.  It is mainly due to I find BGG hard to use.  I only have my game collection on there because the iPhone app makes that easy. I forget (and are not super excited) about recording every game play on there, since that seems too tedious. It would be a nice statistic to have all the games I play if I had the patience that to keep up with it.  The rest of the website is just too busy and overwhelming. I wish the app and website were more user (ie ME) friendly because I would like to engage with gamers on BGG more.

I did, however, just join the GeekandSundry community (as LadyofCarcassonne, who else?!)! I am a big Table Top Fan, so it seemed like a good place to check out. Plus maybe Wil Wheaton will read my suggestions and stop by the World Board Gaming Championship in a few weeks! One can only hope, right?

The Lady, The Myth, The Legend

The Lady: I have been board gaming every since I was born. Well I'm pretty sure that is not quite the case, but ever since I could roll dice. I have attended a board gaming convention every year since I was young. My father and my uncles are the ones who got me into board gaming.  I have already requested to have my father's games willed to me when he dies. (Morbid... I know). Board Gamer for Life... and Death!

The Myth: There are many gaming myths in my family.  My favorite is the story that I am a board gamer because when I was a baby my father would read my the rules to games (new and loved) while I sat in the crook of his knee. It's a cute story. And it's probably true. (I only say probably because I don't remember it.)

The Legend: As with family gaming myths, there are also many family gaming legends. I like the one where my first year of attending the board gaming convention I came in second to the designer of the game in the tournament. That's pretty damn good for a kid.

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