Game Night – Hey! That’s My Fish! Deluxe!

by Carol2 Comments
Hey! That's My Fish! Deluxe! Designers: Guenter Cornett, Alvydas Jakeliunas Manufacturers: Phalanx Games, Mayfair Games Artist: Francois Bruel Year: 2008 Players: 2 - 4 Time: 20 minutes Ages: 8 and up Maybe I'm looking ahead to cool weather. Maybe I just want to talk about a fun little game. You're a group a penguins at the pole, jumping from ice floe to ice floe, tile to tile, hunting fish. The setup varies each game, and some tiles have one fish, some two, some three. Your goal is to collect as many fish as possible, by making strategic moves, blocking other players, and staking the best areas for yourself. Most fish wins. I love the penguins. They're adorable 3-D resin figures who actually look like smart alecks. It's a fun family game, easy to learn, but you can plan ahead and with some smart moves ensure that you get a good fishing spot. As the penguins move over the hexes,the player takes away the hex where the penguin...
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Boardgame Quote

by Carol6 Comments
I ran across this quote at Seize Your Turn and had to share it. The Candyland Decree Author Steven Johnson hates the board game Candyland and all board games like it.  I hate them even more than he does. “I realize that games of pure chance have a long history, but that doesn’t make them any less moronic,” he writes.  Here’s how Candyland is played: You pick a card and do what it says.  Repeat. This is early training in agenda following.  Indoctrination in obedience.  We teach our kids that the best way to win is to mindlessly pick cards, follow instructions, and wait for it all to turn out okay. Sheesh.  What a disaster. My decree: If you own a copy, burn it.  Replace it with Cosmic Encounter or chess or a big box filled with wooden blocks.  Please don’t look at school or even board games the same way again.  If they’re teaching your kids or future...
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Game Night – Priests of Ra

by Carol2 Comments
Priests of Ra Designer: Reiner Knizia Manufacturer: Rio Grande Games Artist: Franz Vohwinkel Year: 2009 Players: 2 - 5 Time: 60 minutes Ages: 12 and up A challenging game of Gods, men, and their monuments from Reiner Knizia! The game spans 1500 years of Egyptian history. The priests of Ra seek to extend their power and fame. They do this by directing farmers, warriors, merchants, and scribes. They cause others to build granaries, fortresses, markets, and libraries. And they erect a gigantic pyramid for the glory of the Sun God Ra! The thing that sets this one apart from the games we usually play is it boils down to being an auction game. As a quick overview, each player has three bidding stones with a number on them. The stones are used to bid on groups of tiles that are placed on the auction track. Collecting these tiles are how you earn points. There are people, building, pyramid pieces and plagues.  The...
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Game Night – Treehouse

by Carol3 Comments
Treehouse Designer: Andrew Looney Manufacturer: Looney Labs Year: 2006 Playing time: 20 minutes Ages: 8 and up Players: 2 - 4 Last weekend, as we were on our way out the door to the fireworks, David said to grab a game to take with us, something to play while we waited on the sidewalk the hour or so before the explosions started. So, what game to bring? There were only four of us, set-up had to be easy, it had to be one David could carry in his pocket, and it couldn't be something that would blow away, since it was an outdoor, pretty crowded area. Treehouse was perfect. All the pieces come in a small tube. The game can take up a small area and wind is not an issues, unlike with cards. It consists of of plastic pyramids and a die. In the initial set up, one set of three pyramids is set up as the "House," the black set in...
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Game Night – Castle Panic

by Carol2 Comments
Castle Panic Designer: Justin De Witt Manufacturer: Fireside Games Artist: Justin De Witt Year: 2009 Players: 1 - 6 Time: 60 minutes Ages: 10 and up The forest is filled with all sorts of Monsters. They watched and waited as you built your Castle and trained your soldiers, but now they’ve gathered their army and are marching out of the woods. Can you work with your friends to defend your Castle against the horde, or will the Monsters tear down your Walls and destroy the precious Castle Towers? You will all win or lose together, but in the end only one player will be declared the Master Slayer! We played this last weekend and it's a fun, light cooperative game. All the players work together to save the castle. However, at the end, there can be only one master slayer, so for me at least, there's some conflicting emotions while playing. Yes, I want to help save the castle,...
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Game Night – Looking forward to the Origins Game Fair

by Carol1 Comment
Next weekend we're going to the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. It runs the 23rd thru the 27th, but we'll only make it there on the Sautryday. This'll be our third year and I've been looking forward to it. It's a weekend of friends, fun and games. The list of exhibitors is huge and includes some companies I've mentioned here before, including Mayfair and Rio Grande Games. There are special events, tournaments, open gaming, guests, all of which are listed on their website. And I can't forget to mention the great people-watching. Amber'll be going for the first time this year. I hope she enjoys sampling all the new games and seeing the art show. Hopefully, we'll come back with some new games, some suggestions, some photos and who knows what else....
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