The Neverending Betrayal at House on the Hill

With the release of the Widow's Walk expansion I and my beloved boardgaming (also, you know, proper) friends decided to return to Betrayal at House on the Hill, only to discover we had never really left. We never actually stopped playing this game, and even though we were all busy appreciating what the expansion did for it, and how subtly Widow's Walk managed to integrate itself into the overall experience, I just couldn't help myself. I kept on wondering why on earth we were so happy with what essentially seemed like more of the same.

The obvious answer, of course, is that this was exactly what we all wanted. More of the same, only slightly better. More weird procedural buildings, and more weird stories to play through, even more variety, a few much needed clarifications, new cards, and an extra floor, and we'd be perfectly happy.

Then again, I do for a fact know just how easily I'm bored when it comes to playing the same boardgames over and over again. There are favourites of mine like Space Alert, Carcassone, and Ticket To Ride I haven't touched in ages, and I did notice three years separating my two latest Space Hulk campaigns. So, really, why have I/we stuck with Betrayal at House on the Hill?

Sadly, I haven't managed to come up with an incredibly elegant answer that will solve ancient game design problems and provide invaluable insights, but I have at least come to the realization that this game has a lot going for it, and it all starts with coming in a lovely box:

What's more, and beside those ominous greens, Betrayal is incredibly easy to explain to new players; even to complete boardgaming novices. The fact that it is played in two phases, with the first one being completely co-operative, further helps ease newbies into their first game, and makes sure they've got the game's simple set of rules all figured out before things heat up. When the haunting happens and the slightly more demanding and definitely more interesting second phase begins they are ready to enjoy the game.

Said second phase of the game where one (usually) player becomes the traitor and the rest work together to foil her/his satanic/silly plan is the meat of Betrayal, and sits comfortably at the core of what apparently makes me love it. There are, you see, 50 wildly different scenarios -- every haunting results in one being chosen -- offered in the base game, and another 50 in the expansion, and though not all are equally well designed or outlandish, they all come with their unique mechanics to play with and different stories to tell.

Things never get old. Never get boring or repetitive. The traitor might turn into a huge snake, the investigators might have to stop the mansion from flying away into space in true Rocky Horror fashion, horrible incantations might have to be chanted, a movie director might have to pick a suitable actor, and every scenario is so different on every level the game can never feel stale. Good writing, clear goals, dozens of counters for all sorts of monsters and items, and mechanics that change but remain familiar, certainly do more than merely help support things. They turn the game into a consistent canvas for the dozens of its scenarios to be played out.

Even if/when you get to run into the same scenario twice, chances are the role and condition of each player and the layout of the mansion will be different. Besides, knowing what to expect from the other side will allow Betrayal to become more strategic than usual. Oh, and did I mention how delightfully asymmetric the game is or how cunningly it disguises the goals of each side from the other? Well, it is and it does, and it's all the better for it. 

To the clever mechanics and the constant expectation of fresh stories, add the procedural nature of the game board and the Event and Omen cards that sometimes manage to construct brilliant micro narratives within the main stories. Simply exploring the mansion and expanding the board is a joy in and of itself. And I did once draw a card that had my future self appear and give me some rather handy weapons, only to draw another card 5 turns later that had me giving items back to my past self. 

Frankly, I can't help but enjoy each and every one of those delightful moments Betrayal at House on the Hill has to offer. I can't help but appreciate every weird new idea the game presents me with. And I frankly can't think of anything else to add, but suggest that you try Betrayal out at least once, and that you should feel free to make more games like it for me to enjoy. Oh, and have a look here to get an idea of how the thing plays.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Ticket to Dixit: Tales of Arkham Hill
• On Dreadfleet
• Out of the blue, into the Basilica
• Urban Planning for Lovecraftian Horror

Reminder: I could really use your support via Patreon in order to survive long enough to make more words and, mostly, actual games and things. Thanks so muchly!

Ticket to Dixit: Tales of the Arkham Hill

Erik Zaring may currently be busy preparing the huge and beyond lovely fifth episode of The Dream Machine, but he's also a most generous Patreon supporter of mine and has mentioned he enjoys reading all about board games. Well, here's your patreon-powered feature article dear sir!

2014 has been a hellish year so far and one of the things that did actually help keep spirits up was playing board games with my wife and a selection of close friends. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love board games no matter what, but I just never really expected the enjoyment they provide to be this, well, this therapeutic.

What follows, then, is a piece on the five games we've played the most this year. Not my five favourite ones nor the best ones to be released during this year, just the five we played the most. And, yes, I too wished we gave Space Hulk or Space Alert more time, but was usually voted down. 

Betrayal At House On The Hill

Picture courtesy of Wired

Betrayal At House On The Hill is probably the most versatile game I have ever played and a rare game that balances cooperation with the chance to be incredibly nasty to other players. But that reads like a review, doesn't it? Well, I frankly wouldn't like to review anything here; merely let you know that despite having explored the halls of the spooky titular house a couple dozen times at least, I'm still nor bored of it.

The game, you see, always begins the same way. Each player chooses a character and goes around exploring the house by randomly revealing tile after tile of rather exotic rooms -- that may include an indoor graveyard and a conservatory--, picking up items, trying to improve their stats, discovering secret doors, gathering omens and running into events. These events usually require you make a skill check or decision and provide the plot bits for the first part of the game. 

Also, they can randomly create some lovely little stories. In one game, for example, my character run into his future self who kindly provided him with a truly handy item, only to eventually run into his past self and return said item.   

As for Omens, uncovering those usually provides with a powerful ally or artifact, but can also lead to a haunting, which signals the beginning of the second, main phase of the game. According to when, how and who ran into the Omen, one player (usually) gets turned into a traitor and a scenario is chosen that will determine whether said traitor or the rest of the investigators win the game. These scenarios also happen to be where Betrayal At House On The Hill truly, brilliantly shines.

They can be about anything from a witch trying to conclude a ritual and beating Death at chess to having the traitor turn into a huge serpent and stopping the whole house from lifting off into outer space. Impressively each scenario comes with drastically different rules and condition and even a well written bit of plot to round things up.

So, yes, that's hours upon hours of fun exploring all kinds of B-movie horrors, scheming and manipulating opponents and comrades.  

Dixit

Image stolen from Shut Up & Sit Down

Dixit is my main board gaming recruiting tool. It is, after all, absolutely beautiful to look at, extremely easy to get into and (with the expansion we grabbed) can easily accommodate up to 12 players. Hell, even my mother tried it and almost enjoyed it, which should probably classify as a miracle.

And it helps break the (non-existent) ice at (small) parties, as people are bound to say ridiculously outrageous thing when playing it. 

Playing, in case you are wondering, consists of picking a card from your hand and describing it to the rest of the players. This description could be anything: a single word, a movie title, a little story, an obscure reference only a few will pick up, anything at all, as long as it ensures that at least one of the others figures out which card you've described. Make the description too blatant for everyone to guess right though and you'll lose. 

Intrigued? Good. Moving on then to...

Arkham Horror

Straight from the now defunct GameSetWatch

Fantasy Flight's definitive classic, Arkham Horror, is as close to a full blown, strategic, narrative heavy RPG as a board game can ever get while still remaining a proper board game and I love it for this and a million other reasons. It may also be a game that tends to last for several hours and one which comes with a brutal, built-in, analog, wise yet bonkers A.I. that controls them roaming monsters and keeps opening inter-dimensional gates at the most inappropriate of places, but still, and despite the initial complexity, everyone seems to, handily, love it too.

I suspect this could either be due to Arkham Horror being a stunning game that captures Lovecraft's desperate style of cosmic horror or to the fact that us humans simply enjoy attempting to banish Nyarlathotep from 1920s New England towns. Or, if we are really lucky, Hastur.

In case you've been wondering how the game actually plays, well, you can always read this little PDF instructions booklet or bare with me for a few more words while keeping in mind this is a game I quite adore. And have been doing so for almost five years now.

Arkham Horror is a collaborative affair in which 1 to 8 investigators run around Arkham trying to close dimensional gates, travel to such places as the Plateau of Leng or the Dreamlands and battle a huge menagerie of lovecraftian beasties. Oh, yes, and have dozens upon dozens of mini encounters while trying to gather clues (the game's most important resource), keep their sanity, learn spells, recruit allies and possibly becoming the town sheriff. Sounds overwhelming? It really isn't. It's quality time in a box.   

Tales Of The Arabian Nights

An image from Stargazer's World

Did you know that I'm working on a CRPG of epic proportions with Kyttaro Games and a team of amazing writers, designers and artists? Well,  I am, and the Tales Of The Arabian Nights game was my initial inspiration for it. A game that's been doing demented storylets for ages and the only board game to ever have me change sex, spend years in jail trying to fast-talk my way to freedom, cajole me into making a powerful djinn enemy and allow me to attempt to enter a camel and drink the rain.

Yes, it's all about crafting wonderful, absolutely weird and brilliantly written stories in the world of Sinbad and Sheherazade; the world of One Thousand And One Nights.

Tales Of The Arabian Nights comes with a huge book sporting literally thousands of stories and variations. Every round you will draw an encounter card, say a lion or a princess or even a storm, and then you'll have a set of action-verbs (determined each time) to chose from: pray, drink, enter, hide, fight etc. Your response will lead to a bit of story and you losing or gaining something and, quite frequently, to increasingly surreal other stories. Much hilarity ensues, though, admittedly, what with each character having skills, you could also attempt to play sensibly; tactically even.

Am I making sense? No? Okay, then do please have a look at this and all shall be clear. 

Ticket To Ride

Image slightly borrowed from Blog, She Wrote 

This one I stopped playing. Yes, I did and I know it's considered to be a masterpiece of elegant design, but I think it simply overstayed its welcome especially after I won 10 or so games in three days; in a row.  

Still, Ticket To Ride, even though slightly on the more casual side of gaming, is a beautiful game played on a beautiful board with tons of plastic little train wagons. It can get quite tactical too and is not as random as it looks, but it's definitely not something to be played each and every day. And, yes, I do know that the satisfaction of connecting Madrid with Kiev can be immense.

Besides, building your railroad empire will definitely help you get European geography if you are in need of a reminder. Should also work on children if you are training them to be travel agents. 

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Analog Investigations in Arkham
• Dreadfleet: Not A Review
• Glorious, glorious Space Hulk
• An intro to RPG gaming

Crowdfunding the sad and brutal story of Oleg

It might be missing a political prisoners group, but that doesn't really matter when we are talking about board games, does it? Well, I frankly do not know. Also, I digress already.

What matters is that The Oleg Story is looking like an incredibly ambitious board game, in which players will get to control rival prison gangs, forge unsteady alliances, pummel inmates to death, strategize, invade cell blocks, manage contacts, plot and hopefully survive in a hellish prison. Also, it needs you to help it reach its kickstarter goal and here's a video to hopefully convince you:

The game, a miniatures-sporting tabletop affair, will come with its own, free The Oleg Story: Survival app for all mobile/tablet platforms, an interesting back-story and a PDF guide book you can already read and see what it's all really about. Yes, this is exciting!

Analog Investigations in Arkham

Deduction, despite what Sherlock Holmes would have you believe, is not a science. It's a method. A method that could arguably make the life of all fictional investigators much easier and can definitely be applied to board-games as the classic Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective so effortlessly proved over 30 years ago. What's more, deduction is what you'll be using when playing the freshly released and rather excellent Arkham Investigator.

Designed by Hal Eccles, Arkham Investigator is a board game you can download, print and play for free, either solo or with up to 9 more people (preferably friends or at the very least attractive members of whichever sex/sexes you find attractive). Heavily inspired by the Sherlock Holmes game, Arkham Investigator is all about gathering clues and piecing together what happened in each of its cases; a process that requires quite a bit of thought, patience and no luck whatsoever. 

You'll get to explore Lovecraft's Arkham, read newspapers, contact allies, dive into directories and try to prove yourself to Dr. Armitage by solving cases and figuring out mysteries, all the while trying to avoid shanity-shattering dangers and limiting the resources used.

The first (and currently only) case released, A Grain of Evil, is a fine and engrossing showcase of what Arkham Investigator is all about. It comes with an investigation book and an edition of fictional newspaper Arkham Advertiser and managed to provide me and a couple of friends with roughly two hours of excellent gaming time.

Oh, and the closest thing to an official website I managed to come across was the Arkham Investigator facebook page, which is where news and whatnot get posted.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Not a review of Dreadfleet
• GW's Space Hulk
• Maziacs: The Boardgame
• Steal Away Jordan

Dreadfleet: Not a Review

I was actually thinking of writing a review of Dreadfleet, the latest limited edition (was that really necessary?) board game by Games Workshop, but, thing is, I really can't. It's not a board game; it's a miniature wargame that comes in a box, and miniature wargames cannot be judged after one game. Nor after two for that matter. They really should be deeply explored and played to exhaustion till a concrete conclusion can be reached, and that, dear reader, is why I will not review Dreadfleet. I'm out of time and by the time I've fully made up my mind, chances are, the game will already have sold out. That's why I'll simply write down my impressions on the thing instead.

So, let's get the basic and pretty obvious stuff out of the way first. Dreadfleet is a fantasy, naval wargame set in the world of Warhammer that has been designed for two players, but can apparently be played by up to ten. It pits the Dreadfleet, five monstrous ships crewed by a variety undead captains and their minions, against the Grand Alliance, a five pirate ships fleet of men, elves and dwarfs. Everything comes in a lavish box, that you can grab over at the Games Workshop site for the not so modest price of £70.

Then again said box is indeed filled to the brim with 10 extremely detailed and downright stunning miniature ships, a selection of smaller vessels and sea monsters, dice, some beautiful islands and shipwrecks, a full-colour 98-pages long manual, rulers, quite a few extras and a truly stunning seascape - the board of sorts on which the two fleets get to battle it out.

Besides the obvious quality of the miniatures and seascape and the fact that the box contains everything you need to play -it really is a wargame in a box, and that does suit us time- and money-poor, former  Warhammer gamers- the setting is also very well written and thoroughly presented. It's a battle between all sorts of undead characters (and, yes, that does include both Skaven and an almost chaotic, but not Chaos, dwarf) under the command of a powerful Tomb King against a vengeful pirate and his unstable alliance, taking place on the waters of a turbulent, extra-dimensional, aquatic graveyard where everything that dies in the ocean ends up in. Each ship and captain are thoroughly detailed, and even the twelve available scenarios and the rules are compatible with the overall plot.

This does of course lead to some problems; the chaotic nature of the graveyard's winds for example makes for an overtly randomized wind direction, that definitely doesn't help with strategic planning. Then again the rules are incredibly easy to grasp and almost intuitive, especially for those that have already had some experience with either naval or miniature wargames. Also, and not unlike Warhammer, it's a game that's based on movement and -despite its strong random elements- ultimately relies on each player's tactical and strategic decisions.

Oh, and assembling the ships and islands is a pretty straightforward and relatively fast procedure. Properly painting and gluing them together is -as is customary- another matter entirely. 

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Space Hulk: a Games Workshop board game review
• Guillotine - off with their heads!
• Warhammer 40000: Fire Warrior
• The Battles of the Three Plains

Space Hulk and the joys of murdering Tyranids

I have been forming a pretty wild theory (which belongs to me and is mine) recently and it more or less goes a bit like this: The deepening of the economic crisis will lead to increased socialization, that will in turn lead to an increase in the popularity of board gaming; even more so if the required board games have already been bought. And, uhm, that's about it I suppose. Besides, that was the theorem I went on and empirically (successfully too) tested last night with the help of Space Hulk.

Interestingly it wasn't the second edition of the game I cracked open and hauled over to a friend's place; it was the third and latest version of Space Hulk. The one Games Workshop cunningly released in limited numbers. The same game I hadn't played since 2009 even though I most definitely enjoyed it. Actually, I was most impressed by it, but apparently was the only one in the Lair that appreciated it. The kind lady was mostly indifferent to its many charms and exquisite production values.

Now, as I was emphatically reminded yesterday, Space Hulk comes in a particularly impressive, big, heavy and beautiful box, that's filled to the brim with miniatures, dice, tiles, rulebooks, counters, an hourglass and everything one might need to play. And though I did remember that them Space Marines and Tyranids (nasty Alien-like nasties) were some of the best Warhammer 40,000 miniatures ever, I had completely forgotten just how fantastic the game tiles were in all their embossed, beautifully painted, dark glory. Well, apparently, they still are and everything looks excellent to the point that the table we set up to play, impressively made the good ladies present take notice. I mean, really, who could have the willpower to resist the evolved aesthetics of everyone's favourite totalitarian sci-fi army?

Not that the bugs look much worse of course...

Anyway. That's enough with the fanboy drooling and gawking at tiny plastic skulls. Time to completely ignore the quality of the rule- and mission books too, and briefly describe how the thing plays. Well, Space Hulk is a two-players only game in which one player controls the Space Marine and the other the Genestealers side, each taking turns to move on the board and performing actions like opening doors, shooting, attacking the close combat way, moving artifacts, burning rooms, reloading weapons and further things of the sort, while trying to achieve each mission's objectives. Interestingly the game does come with 12 built-in  missions - every single one of them featuring new objectives, weapons, miniatures, special rules, board layouts and even a bit of backstory (fluff, I believe some would call it) to help with the atmosphere. Every game usually takes around 60 minutes.

Gameplay-wise though, what really stands out are the action-points mechanics (they should be familiar to people who have enjoyed turn-based strategic games like X-Com or Laser Squad) and the fact that Space Marines only see the aliens as blips on a radar, up to the point they come face-to-face with them and their true numbers are revealed. As each of these blips could conceal up to three Genestealers, things can get both strategic and very tense indeed. Oh, and good poker players will definitely be at an advantage here...

Thankfully, neither me nor the friend I played Space Hulk with are terribly good at card games, yet I must admit we really enjoyed the game in its initial simplicity, apparent balance and revealed depth. After finishing the first mission we were both craving for more and coming up with strategic principles and tactical responses. Yes, it was this good.

Closing bit: This article might have felt like a review, which it partly is, but sadly it's a review of something you can't easily buy unless you head off to places like eBay. On the other hand you can get a very good idea of how Space Hulk plays and what it looks like over at the Games Workshop and Board Game Geek sites. And you can always play the excellent and freeware Alien Assault on your PC; it's the closest you will ever get to a digital version of the game and a fantastic strategic offering in its own right.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Off with their heads: A Guillotine review
• Maziacs - the boardgame
• Class Struggle!
• A RPG session of Chill 

The War on Terror: The Auctions

I'll be honest and say I've never played The War on Terror board-game and haven't really been following TerrorBull Games. Apparently that's been quite a mistake of mine as a) The War on Terror seems like a truly great and impressively illustrated satirical game, and b) as TerrorBull definitely has a taste for the weird, the humorous, the political and the downright odd. In a nutshell? Well, I'll have to do my research or most probably grab a new board game and let you know what the fuss is all about.

After all, the second edition of The War on Terror will soon be released. And -according to its publishers- it will be great. Spectacularly so. Oh, and yes, you can also get your cute little faces on the game's money via one, two, three, four, five, six outrageous auctions. It's all part of the aptly (let alone, cunningly) named Get Your Face on Money craze funded by the ever-popular World Bank of Capitalism. Or -of course- not.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Maziacs: The Boardgame
• Chronicles from the Warzone
• Open Rpg: a virtual tabletop
• It's Alive interview

Maziacs: The Boardgame

First, there was Mazogs on the Sinclair ZX81. It was a dungeon crawler and it was great. Then, there was Maziacs for the ZX Spectrum. It was a dungeon crawler and it was great. Now, there is Maziacs: The Boardgame. It is a dungeon crawler and it is great. It also is absolutely free, provided of course you have a printer and some dice, and can be played with purely analog means.

The question though is whether Maziacs: The Boardgame, a boardgame based on a rather ancient and definitely simple CRPG, is worth your time, effort and paper. Well, I'm pretty sure it is. The rules are incredibly simple, smart, fun and versatile, and the game can be played both in its standard single-player mode and cooperatively. I'm actually pretty sure it could be run with a Game Master too. As for its aesthetics, simple as they are, they remain true to the original source and evoke a certain retro feel. Definitely worth a try. Download your PDF copies here.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Play Brikwars!
• Proletariat: The Uprising
• An intro to RPGs
• It's Alive! The interview

2009 and a happy Game of Thrones

Well, happy 2009 everyone and lets all hope this one turns out better than the previous one. Not that the mass murder of the Palestinian people leaves much room for actual hope, mind, but still. Things can always change for the best.

Anyway, it's obvious I digress. Let's -for now- talk about things sillier and happier. Like The Game of Thrones for example; a luxuriant board game based on G.R.R. Martin's fantasy epic and a brilliant gift I very recently received. Now, I may well be past my obsession with all things fantasy, but I really love the still unfinished literary work of Mr. Martin and I'd even go as far as saying that, despite lacking professor Tolkien's prose, imaginary languages and incredibly detailed setting, The Game of Thrones is storywise the better book . It's brutal, gripping, unexpected, at times brilliantly smart, often sarcastic and features interesting characters (with excellent dialog) that are way more complex and realistic than genre stereotypes. Also it has apparently got itself the afforementioned board game. By Fantasy Flight no less.

Truth be said, I haven't played the Game of Thrones game just yet, but judging by what I've read in its rulebook, I'm pretty sure this will definitely turn out to be a deep and highly enjoyable strategic offering. Seems like an expanded version of Risk with added strategic and tactical elements, a bit of Diplomacy (yes!), a bidding part, some cards and no dice. It also -quite impressively- looks like this when posing in its full glory:

Look at all those tokens... Wonderful aren't they? And have I mentioned the pieces are actually made of wood? No? Well, I will do so in the forthcoming review. Cheers!


Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Warhammer Mighty Empires for free
• Off with their heads!
• Vintage Board Game Dwarfs
• Zombies!!! 2: A review.

Purple Pawn Tabletop News

Yehuda, the gamer, blogger, tabletop aficionado and board game designer of It's Alive fame, has finally presented us with the latest in tabletop gaming web love: Purple Pawn. Visit it, bookmark it, add it to your feed reader, pet it, read it, hug it and you'll be sure you'll be getting all the tabletop gaming news you've always wanted. Purple Pawn is apparently covering everything from board games and RPGs to wargames and CCGs.

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Mighty Empires free PDF, Classic Video Game Monopoly, Guillotine review, Zombie Plague

Proletariat: The Uprising: an appropriately free RPG/board gaming thingy

We've already enjoyed Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, Mage: The Awakening, Something: The Something Else, but now the time has come to rise, raise our left fist and salute Proletariat: The Uprising. It's a vaguely satirical, not particularly funny, yet quite interesting RPG-ish board game. Grab it here. It's free. Obviously.

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Warhammer Mighty Empires pdf, It's Alive interview, Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition

Mighty Empires free Warhammer rules (PDF)

As any GW slave should be able to tell you, legendary Mighty Empires WHFB expansion (learn more) has been sort of re-released. Really, have a look. Problem is the new ME is no longer the Warhammer board-game/campaign rule set it used to be, but more of a lovingly and admittedly skillfully sculpted tile-based map system, that sort of heavily focuses on the tile bits. Actually it's just a collection of plastic hex-tiles accompanied by a ridiculous shallow and rather pointless rules booklet. My guess is you're supposed to either use your own campaign system or the pretty amazing one and more professional one from the General's Compendium.

Then again, the older version of Mighty Empires would be a mightily -tehe- serious alternative too. Happily, Games Workshop US have been kind enough to release the original 1990 Mighty Empires rulesbook in downloadable PDF format. For free! Simply follow this link and grab all 64 pages of it. Then hop over to GW's UK servers, click and grab some of the original tiles, print them on something sturdy and play away. It's absolutely worth it.

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Nemesis Crown PDFs, Battle for Skull Pass review, Chaos stunties, the Blood Bowl novel

Free, wacky and ready to print board games

The aptly named Cheapass Games, legendary creators of Kill Dr. Lucky and grand slashers of prices, are offering over a dozen free board games for you (and me) to print and enjoy. Where? Over at their double-secret website of course. Games offered include the OOP Huzzah!, Brain Baseball (playable with a standard deck of cards), Bogart, Renfield and the utterly brilliant Roll Out the (Gun) Barrels wargame.

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Classic video game Monopoly, It's Alive! interview, free Dwarfstar board games

Classic Video Game Monopoly

Complete with Console Fever chance cards, Sonic, Guybrush and Mario iconography, C64 railroad stations, ? blocks and Zork properties, the Classic Video Game Monopoly is a retro-gaming board gamer's fantasy come true. Well, not necessarily really, but it definitely is an inspired custom-made Monopoly and you 'd rather look into it a bit more. Chop-chop.

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Mutant Chronicles Monopoly, Puttanopoly, Yehuda Berlinger It's Alive interview

Related Tags: Monopoly, Classic Video Games, Retro gaming, Board Games, Sonic, Mario, Zork, Games, game

ten gnomish questions/Yehuda Berlinger It's Alive

Yehuda Berlinger a blogger, avid gamer, all-around artist and game designer, is also the creative mind responsible for the forthcoming and frankly brilliant looking It's Alive board game by Reiver Games. What follows is an interview Yehuda was kind enough to offer to the rowdy lot that inhabits Gnomes Lair. Enjoy it.

1. Let's start with something personal, shall we? Nice. How did you get into game design?

The same way that artists get into art: it's something that I must do.

I can't help but tinker with any game I have, while, at the same time, trying to figure out the reasons that the designer or publisher came up with the final rules as they are.

After some experimenting, I began to realize that there is nothing holy in the end results of a game. Often as not, they are just that way because the designer or publisher had to choose something. Often, it was the first number they came up with, or whatever matched the type of game that they liked to play.

Since different people like different things, it seems obvious to me that games should be played differently by different people. There is no "right" way to play the game, despite what the rules say. There are better and worse rule sets, but even then, if people like playing the worse one, why stop them?

After tinkering with other games, the next natural step was to take different game ideas and try putting them together into new games.

2. Is it only board games you're interested in designing or are you looking to expand into video gaming and/or RPG territory?

Definitely not video games; they're not my thing, even though I've programmed for many years.

RPGs: if someone wants to hire me, I'd take a stab at it. Naturally, whenever I play RPGs, I'm always making up new classes, weapons, spells, and so on.

3. Care to mention some of your favorite games?

I interpret the word "game" fairly liberally. Not only does it include different game genres, but it would have to include different ways to play the games that I have.

For computer games, I'll play board and card games or rogue-like games. In board and card gaming, Go, Bridge, Scrabble, Anagrams, Puerto Rico, El Grande, and a few other top Euro-games. For Puerto Rico, my favorite is playing with random buildings from the sets I created. For CCGs, it's drafting cards, and building decks on the fly.

I also love Frisbee and Soccer. I like word based party games. I like dice-light role-play and biblio-drama. And I like inventing games, as a game.

4. So on to your brand new It's Alive! board game. It's your second one right? Care to describe it a bit?

It's actually a re-theme and slight tweak of the first one. The new theme replaces the Menorah theme which appealed to Jews and probably some religious Christians.

It's gone through several other themes as well.

5. A set-collection and board game it is, then. How do those game mechanics work?

It's a simple set-collection, auction game, where you have to collect eight different items in order to complete the set. Each round, you either buy the item for its value, toss it out for half its value, or auction it off.

That's the heart of the game. In most games, you likely have to do all three in some combination. And the game is naturally balanced so that almost every game is fairly close.

The simplicity and auction ideas are fairly reminiscent of Knizia's design style, I believe.

6. Regarding the weird an wacky game setting/plot. Did you decide on it? Could you briefly describe it?

The new theme is entirely Jack's idea. I merely gave my approval. I think it's a good theme for the market he's aiming at.

It's about a mad scientist trying to collect enough body parts to build a monster. Sometimes you find whole coffins, and sometimes the rampaging villagers try to burn you down. The truth is, I think Jack chose the theme because, when you have your entire body, you get to yell "It's Alive!"

The game won't be able to sit on the same shelf as games like Rummikub and Canasta, and I know that some little old ladies would buy the game if it did. But that's not the first market Jack's looking to approach.

7. Still, should be fine for kids. What's the target group of It's Alive?

Gamers and geeks.

8. Are you happy with the final product and Reiver Games? Why did you decide to go for a limited 300 copies only release?

I haven't seen it yet, and, in fact, it's not actually ready yet. The 300 copies is, again, Jack's way of operating. He hand cuts and assembles each game by himself.

9. Anything planned for the future? Should we be looking forward to more designed by Yehuda games?

Absolutely. I always have a few game ideas buzzing around. Every once in a while I'll make up a prototype and bring it to my game group. If it's good, I'll move forward with it.

10. Improvise, please. Is there anything you 'd like t add. Something related to your blog perhaps?

Game design is just another art, like writing, poetry, and creating literature parodies of famous poems and legal codes. It's what keeps me going.

Thanks for taking the time, best of luck with It's Alive!

Thanks, Gnome.

Related @ Gnome's Lair: a Guillotine review, the strategies of Risk, Monopoly bits, Zombies!!! 2


Related Tags: It's Alive!, Board games, Board-games, Interview, Yehuda, Gaming, Ludology, board game, board-game, Game design, Game, Games

Off with their heads!

'Guillotine', a board/card game review

Ladies and Gentlemen,

King Louis the XVI was neither the worst nor the dumbest of the rulers of France during the 17th and the 18th century. Although one could say that he lacked a certain determination – a fact that may be perceived as an indication of cowardice, he cannot be considered as particularly mean or nasty for his era (let us not forget that the competition in that domain was rather fierce…). On the other hand, the publicity given to some “saucy” details regarding the private life of his wife (the fabled Marie Antoinette), definitely affected Louis’ public image, but then again, no one can sanely claim that the scandals of a queen may be the sole cause of a revolution (unless we’re talking about some amazingly humongous, supergalactic, inter-species-erotic scandals)

This card game is not about the scandals of Marie Antoinette. After all, it is called “Guillotine”, not “Scandals”. On the contrary, it focuses on heads: Initially, as parts of the human anatomy; after a moment in time, as contents of baskets or spike ornaments.

The players (2 to 5) are given the privilege to impersonate for about 30 minutes (the duration of each game) the sensitive souls with the modest hats, those deeply political figures, without the help of which history would not have evolved as rapidly. At last, ‘Guillotine’ pays appropriate homage to the underestimated class of executioners, and portrays them in a time when there services were very much sought after: Revolutionary France.

Gaming purpose focuses on “collecting” the heads of the most famous of nobles, military officials and members of the clergy, or any other rotten supporter of the Ancien Régime. Of course, the value of each collected head is connected to the reputation of the deceased: The executioner who reaps the iconic head of the King is valued much more highly that another, who only manages to behead a puny piss boy, or a court guard.

Game mechanics are wonderfully simple: the noble cards are arranged in a line, each player collecting the head of the noble at the front. Players can alter the arrangement of the line, by playing specific action cards (such as bribing the guards, rescuing a Noble etc.). The player with the most valuable collection of heads wins. It's that easy. It's luck you need in this game, not wits.

Still, this simplicity adds to the overall enjoyment. It is not only the hilarious artwork of Christopher Rush, Quinton Hoover and Mike Raabe; Guillotine exudes an aura of lightness (in a "let's-all-chop-heads-and-sing-till-we-get-tired" kind of way). Chopping and singing. Or to put more eloquently: chopping as entertainment for the masses.

The game keeps a loose connection with historical events. Players can reap the heads of King Louis, Marie Antoinette, Rovespiere (whose decapitation historically marks the end of “la Grande Terreur”, which partially takes place in the game as well), while other action cards make reference to famous punch lines (‘let them eat cake’) or literary figures (the ‘Scarlet Pimpernel’).

Nice game: easy as pie; and funny. "Guaranteed to brake the ice at parties"

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Zombies!!!, Board Games from the SA dimension, free vintage Dwarfstar board games

Related Tags: Games, Card Games, Guillotine, Wizards of the Coast

The Strategies of Risk

Risk (BGG entry), according to sources that prefer to call themselves voices and are not to be taken seriously, is one of the most successful, imitated and thus influential board games ever devised. It also is a particularly enjoyable game, that comes in a variety of flavours ranging from Star Wars to Lord Of The Rings to Classic, with the added bonus of being less prone to shatter friendships than Diplomacy. Also, also, Risk has the dubious honour of being the first truly mainstream wargame.

With wargaming, though, come tactics and strategies. Strategy guides too. Some of the best can apparently be found over at the rather specialized RISK, Strategies Explained... website. It even has a basic beginners guide. An advanced one too, obviously. Try them out in battle (for free), over at netRisk or by downloading the very Risk-esque Dominate Game.

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Talisman is coming back, vintage board games for free, SA games


Related Tags: Risk, Risk tactics, Risk strategy guide, free games, board games, board game, wargame, games, game

The return of Talisman

Games Workshop, even if via the deceptively named Black Industries, seems to be returning to a few beloved games of yore, that don't necessarily fit into the wargames category. It all began (Oh, praise the Dark Gods, cherish the Ruinous Powers, thank LotR!) with the new edition of the excellent Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay RPG, went on to its 40k counterpart and is now maturing with the forthcoming release of Talisman edition 4, bound to happen when the stars are right or sometime during October 2007; whichever comes first, really. Oh, and yes, I did mean Talisman, as in Talisman.

Why not then hop over to the official announcement? Why not indeed. Just click here, or there for a nice press release. Expect to read something along the lines of: "Talisman is a cult fantasy board game for 2 – 6 people. Players control a myriad of characters from a heroic warrior to a powerful sorcerer. In this perilous adventure, play centres around the journey of these gallant heroes to find and claim the Crown of Command, a magical artifact with the power to destroy all rivals and make the bearer the true ruler of the kingdom."

Related @ Gnome's Lair: free vintage board games, Puttanopoly, Space Hulk 2nd edition


Related Tags: Talisman, Games Workshop, Warhammer, Black Industries, Board game, Board games, News, Game, Games, RPG

Vintage Board Game Dwarfs

Dwarfstar Games, a former division of Heritage USA, that was recently (as in 2003) saved from ultimate financial doom by Reaper Miniatures, was quite the board game creator back in the early 80s. They released solo-games, micro-games, epic-games, goblin-games, strategy-games, even 2-player games (!), with such lovely 80s names as Barbarian Prince, Dragon Rage, Goblin, Demonlord or Star Smuggler. Good news is you can download all these games for free, print them out and play them. Or just browse through their PDF manuals, tokens and maps and have a glimpse at gaming history...

Anyway. Just visit this beautiful and cozy corner of the web for you downloads. Ah, don't thank me. Thank Mr. Forbeck instead (who actually thanked Mr. Costikyan for first discovering this little treasure).

[UPDATE]: The excellent Vintage Gamer blog has reviews of both Barbarian Prince and Demonlord. Check them out, you really should...

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Zombie Plague, SA Board Games, Zombies!!! review


Related Tags: Board Games, Dwarfstar games, Board game, Free, Freeware, free board game, Games, Reaper Miniatures, Goblin, Demonlord