January 31, 2010

I'm working on a trade at Boardgamegeek where I would send an Avalon Hill car racing game from the 1960s called LeMans in exchange for the 2-Player Diplomacy Deck for Here I Stand.

LeMans has sold at Ebay for over $50, but I've only played it once. I own Avalon Hill's Speed Circuit, which is very similar, and Al owns the Descartes Editeur version of Formula De, which is a less technical, but far more attractive open-wheel-racing game. In short LeMans has no real role in my collection, other than as a collector's item.

The 2-Player Here I Stand Deck, on the other hand, would allow Andrew and me to play Here I Stand by ourselves (since putting together a group of six is so difficult). Also, I think that Patrick was really getting a feel for handling the religious roles (and rolls) when we played on January 18th. I think he might enjoy the 2-player game, and, if he practices with the 2-player game, he may be able to take the Protestants the next time we play Here I Stand and need a sixth player.

Before making the trade, I need to double check the components for LeMans (to make sure nothing is missing), and the person on the other end needs to locate his copy of the deck.

January 30, 2010

Back about ten years ago, I picked up an unpunched copy of Avalon Hill's Anzio at a Fantasy Shop auction. As of the summer of 2007, the game was still unpunched, so I decided to trade it. Fortunately, I was able to find a local gamer looking for a copy, and he was trading a new copy of Pizza Box Football. I had heard good things about the game, and thought that it would be at least worth a try. I played a couple of games with Andrew and Patrick (and watched Al and Steven play it once), but then put it on the shelf until this week.

The game is fairly simple, even compared with the basic version of Strat-o-Matic. Even the advanced version of Pizza Box Football only has six offensive plays and six defensive calls. The expansion includes individualized cards for the 31 NFL teams, but there are no cards or ratings for individual players. It's closer in spirit to the favorite of my childhood, Vince Lombardi's Game. I would recommend Pizza Box Football for someone wanting a faster game than Strat-o-Matic or for younger gamers who aren't familiar enough with the strategies of NFL football.

Each January, the game's creator (On the Line Game Company) offers a free download of the preliminary team cards for the two Superbowl teams (reflecting the just-completed regular season). Gamers are urged to play the Superbowl and post their results. I downloaded the cards last week, and Patrick (taking the Indianapolis Colts) and I (taking the New Orleans Saints) played Superbowl XLIV. If our "preview" is any indication, there will be a lot of points put on the board next weekend, as the Saints topped the Colts 42-30. I posted a game summary at Boardgamegeek.

January 29, 2010

No gaming for the last few days -- only work. I have been listening to a (new-to-me) wargaming podcast -- The Noise Before Defeat. Since Point-2-Point has been on an indefinite haitus, I've been looking for another podcast devoted to wargames. Unfortunately, I appear to have the same effect on wargame podcasts that I have on fantasy football players (whereby adding them to my roster causes an injury within one week), since the host of The Noise Before Defeat has now posted that his podcast will be going on haitus.

I did enjoy Episode 8 of The Noise Before Defeat, especially the discussion of Avalon Hill's Republic of Rome. I bought Republic of Rome in the early 1990s, as it was recommended to fans of Avalon Hill's Kingmaker -- sharing its negotiations and political intrigue. It was also groundbreaking in that it was the first title I was aware of where "the game" could defeat the players.

My group only played Republic of Rome once. A gamer (who I believed was named Will) taught Al, Steven and me the game at the first Avaloncon (now World Boardgaming Championships) that we attended (in I believe 1993). In particular, I remember playing the game while Steve was playing in (and almost winning) the Kingmaker finals. I could see Republic of Rome's potential, but it was a little overwhelming in terms of the many options that players have each turn. I also was disappointed in the components. While the map/board was attractive (by wargaming standards of the time) and the cards were functional, the various totals and ratings were marked using cardboard chits with numbers on them (like a cardboard version of a baseball scoreboard from the 1930s).

In recent years the game has sold on Ebay for close to $100, so I often considered selling or trading away my copy. However, I could never pull the trigger on a deal, as I could always imagine playing it again and really enjoying it. As it turns out, Valley Games has published a reprint this month with updated components (that seem very attractive). When I first read about the Valley Games version, I considered selling my old (classic?) version and putting the money towards the more attractive version. But, frankly, that just seemed like a lot of work for a game that I've only played once in almost 20 years.

January 24, 2010

I continue to read the book Defenders of the Faith, by James Reston. It's a highly-readable history book that covers the same time period as Here I Stand-- which is to say that it's definitely not a footnote-heavy book that came out of someone's dissertation. There are upsides and downsides to that. On the one hand it means that he's often describing historical events with details that can't possibly be known -- such as a person's facial expressions, or what someone was thinking. Yet, having plowed through many boring books on Medieval England, I appreciate something that reads a little more like an historical novel.

Further down the reality chart, I'm also watching the first season of "The Tudor's" on Netflix. The liberties taken with history are well-documented, and I was worried that they would get in the way of my enjoying the show. But, I've yet to be bothered by anything important. I agree with those who argue that any positives that come out of people learning about the time period outweigh the negatives associated with having to "unlearn" a few facts.

January 24, 2010

Patrick and I played another game of Farkle today after school. Patrick won this time 10,700 - 4,150. Andrew and I have downloaded a Farkle-like app for our iPod Touches called 10,000 Lite.

We also each played the Sands of Time scenario for Delve the Dice Game. The "chemical formula" for Delve is 95% Yahtzee + 5% Heroquest. The game is free (print and play), with the rules and scenarios available at Boardgamegeek.

The game (which is played solo) starts with a scenario sheet illustrating a path, starting with the first encounter of an adventure and ending with the final encounter -- against a "boss" creature. Each encounter has some number of monsters (e.g., six orcs) for the player's party of four adventurers to battle. The player rolls six dice, keeps what he wants and re-rolls the rest -- keeping what he wants from the second roll and re-rolling one last time. Each member of the party can utilize the dice in different ways. For example the fighter scores one hit for each '6,' but is unable to hit more than twice each turn. The rougue hits on a '1,' has no limit to the number of hits, but can only cause damage to one opponent each round. The wizard and cleric can cast various spells on the opponents and the party by using various dice combinations (such as straights, three of a kind or a full house). Each die can only be used for one attack and/or spell. After marking off the damage to the creatures, any surviving creatures are able to counterattack. Each creature's counter-attack is slightly different, but it is always described on the scenario sheet. Subsequent rounds of attack and counterattack continue -- with damage to each side marked on the sheet --until the creatures die (in which case the party continues along the path to the next encounter) or the last member of the party dies. Some encounters allow the party to collect relics which provide special abilities for subsequent encounters. The game plays very quickly, taking about 15 minutes to complete an adventure (or die trying). I rate it a '6' at Boardgamegeek. I recommended the game to Steve, and I know that he and his son were enjoying it a few weeks ago as well.

In today's game, my entire party died in the sandstorm after being hit hard by the scorpions. Patrick was also hit hard by the scorpions, but survived the sandstorm. Immediately after the sandstorm, however, he was hit by bandits in the abandoned fortress. He decided to retreat his party and give up.

January 22, 2010

Teresa won a game of Farkle after dinner tonight at Mom's. Also playing were Andrew, Patrick, Mom and Non (and me).

The game's "chemical formula" is simple enough: Farkle = Dice + Push-Your-Luck.

It's a good family game -- it always seems to be good for a laugh. It's the game the Patrick most wants to play right now, and it's definitely the best $8 game I've ever bought.

Andrew is working through the "odds" by experimenting -- trying to keep track of how often farkles occur under the different dice scenarios. It may be a good math project for us to do the actual calculations.

January 20, 2010

Patrick and I played a quick game of Farkle today after school. I was able to pull off a victory: 10,950 - 7,200.

January 18, 2010

Over the years, Martin Luther King Day has become a sort of gaming tradition in our group, since many of us have the day off of work. Two years ago we were able to play Sword of Rome for the first (and only) time.

This year we were able to play Here I Stand for the second time. Andrew managed to pull out a victory at the end. I posted a session report at Boardgamegeek.

Here I Stand is quickly moving up my list of favorite games. I'm hoping to be able to get a few folks online soon at Wargameroom.