Final Post!
Well after 13ish days of my games and community class, We have finally come to the end of it. I've played all sorts of games with a variety of people, and I think I've learned a bit of how I play games.
First off, I feel like I need a good heads up as to how long a game will actually take. I do not mind sitting down and playing a game for 2, 2 1/2, 3 hours, but I need a "hey btw, this game is going to go really long" sort of thing. I can remember playing Stone Age at one of the game nights, and I was looking at the box and thought, "Okay 60 to 75 minutes, sounds great!" But after 150 minutes, (2 1/2 hours), I was just done playing. Kind of lost my interest in the game and was just ready to leave.
I also Discovered that I love games with a bit more depth to them, besides just a basic strategy you can pick up on your first try. While I like playing Blokus, or even Settlers can be guilty of this, I don't really think I've ever discovered a "Oh, what If i played the game like this instead!" "Oh, wow I hadn't even seen that strategy before, man that seems great." So a game where I can learn new strategies and ways to play the more I play them is something I can really get into, instead of just trying to build the most roads or finding a new way to "blok" off my opponents from getting in my zone.
Finally, I also learned I love games where I feel like something was accomplish! When playing Mystery of the Abbey, we had to figure out who the murderer was, and the game wasn't over until the Murderer was discovered. Not, "well whoever can eliminate 10 suspects off the list wins first wins." I was annoyed playing, "Shadow's Over Camelot," because despite the fact that we had Catapults at our front gate, Excalibur was almost lost to the enemy, and a dragon was rampaging around, we had technically won the game, because we had won 2 battles and we retrieved the holy grail. It didn't leave a feeling of, "Oh yea, we did awesome! It was a "Man we screwed up really bad, glad we just barely won."
So that is what I have learned about myself in this class. I really did enjoy getting to play a variety of games, and I am hoping to maybe work a bit more on my game. Who knows, maybe I'll go pick up a couple of these games we played.
~Brandon
Friday, January 31, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Day #12 - A Skype call and Mob Rules!
Day #12 - Meeting the Maker of Fleet and Playing Werewolf
Games Played: Werewolf
Well we are onto some of the final couple of days for this class! And for today we had the pleasure of getting a Skype call with one of the creators of "Fleet"
While I did enjoy our conversation with this guy, he seemed to say a lot of similar things to the other game design we already talked with. "It's not something you do for the money." "Games go through many phases and revisions."etc etc. He did field some questions as well, which at this point in the class I think people were a lot better prepared to ask them.
After that, we took a 5 minute break and got ready for "werewolf." For those who don't know, Werewolf is a lot like Mafia, just with a few added roles. A fortune teller who can (once per game) can help or hurt people, a torturer who gets the mob rallied up to kill 2 people every round, as well as some others. I enjoyed playing the game, brought me back to old youth group games or going to camp as a kid. What I didn't care for was that it seemed to feel like the old witch trials.
"Tom's A Werewolf! Look at him? How can he not be a werewolf!!."
"Tom's defense: "I'm not a werewolf!"
Town's People: "DIE WEREWOLF"
Card is revealed, Tom's not a werewolf......
Town's People: "Oh well, lets just keep accusing people of being a werewolf, there is always next round"
While I'm exagerating a bit, that was how most of the game went for sometime. Not that there is a really good way to play the game, but there is definatly more strategy than just "HE"S A WEREWOLF, I"M LIKE 5% SURE HE'S A WEREWOLF." So that got on my nerves pretty quick.
Anywho, Next time will be my final day post! (Since class was canceled on monday) GET PSYCHED!!!!
~Brandon
Games Played: Werewolf
Well we are onto some of the final couple of days for this class! And for today we had the pleasure of getting a Skype call with one of the creators of "Fleet"
While I did enjoy our conversation with this guy, he seemed to say a lot of similar things to the other game design we already talked with. "It's not something you do for the money." "Games go through many phases and revisions."etc etc. He did field some questions as well, which at this point in the class I think people were a lot better prepared to ask them.
After that, we took a 5 minute break and got ready for "werewolf." For those who don't know, Werewolf is a lot like Mafia, just with a few added roles. A fortune teller who can (once per game) can help or hurt people, a torturer who gets the mob rallied up to kill 2 people every round, as well as some others. I enjoyed playing the game, brought me back to old youth group games or going to camp as a kid. What I didn't care for was that it seemed to feel like the old witch trials.
"Tom's A Werewolf! Look at him? How can he not be a werewolf!!."
"Tom's defense: "I'm not a werewolf!"
Town's People: "DIE WEREWOLF"
Card is revealed, Tom's not a werewolf......
Town's People: "Oh well, lets just keep accusing people of being a werewolf, there is always next round"
While I'm exagerating a bit, that was how most of the game went for sometime. Not that there is a really good way to play the game, but there is definatly more strategy than just "HE"S A WEREWOLF, I"M LIKE 5% SURE HE'S A WEREWOLF." So that got on my nerves pretty quick.
Anywho, Next time will be my final day post! (Since class was canceled on monday) GET PSYCHED!!!!
~Brandon
Day #11 - I'm taught one more game!
Day #11 - Running for Relics!!
Games Played: Relic Runner
So on our finally teaching day Mr Josh taught us how to play Relic Runners!
Relic Runners is a "exploration" game, where you take an adventurer and explore different ruins to collect victory points and relics! Every action you take costs food, so you'll need to constantly go back to base camp to restock. You also are able to set up and move pathways which allow you to "run" across the board. In our game of 4 players we had to collect nine relics as a whole in order to finish the game.
As for coming up with a strategy for playing the game, it seems somewhat based on what sort of "tiles" you get from your ruins. For instance, I got one that gave me extra points every time i "discovered" victory points. So while, I only collected 2 low scoring relics, I almost won because I had gotten so many victory points from exploration. What I can say is once you have a "set" strategy you need to stick with it. If you are focused on just moving your paths around, then keep doing that. If you are focused on having a ton of food, then keep doing that. But don't try to keep moving paths and have a ton of food, or you won't be able to do much in the game.
After class, Sarah and I talked over a couple points on "Tactician." We made and printed off cards, as well as have a basic board to play on. So it's really starting to come together. I can't wait to demo it off next week!
Until Next Time
~Brandon
Games Played: Relic Runner
So on our finally teaching day Mr Josh taught us how to play Relic Runners!
Relic Runners is a "exploration" game, where you take an adventurer and explore different ruins to collect victory points and relics! Every action you take costs food, so you'll need to constantly go back to base camp to restock. You also are able to set up and move pathways which allow you to "run" across the board. In our game of 4 players we had to collect nine relics as a whole in order to finish the game.
As for coming up with a strategy for playing the game, it seems somewhat based on what sort of "tiles" you get from your ruins. For instance, I got one that gave me extra points every time i "discovered" victory points. So while, I only collected 2 low scoring relics, I almost won because I had gotten so many victory points from exploration. What I can say is once you have a "set" strategy you need to stick with it. If you are focused on just moving your paths around, then keep doing that. If you are focused on having a ton of food, then keep doing that. But don't try to keep moving paths and have a ton of food, or you won't be able to do much in the game.
After class, Sarah and I talked over a couple points on "Tactician." We made and printed off cards, as well as have a basic board to play on. So it's really starting to come together. I can't wait to demo it off next week!
Until Next Time
~Brandon
Day #10 - I'm being taught games again!?!
Day #10 - Learning some new games
Games Played: Mystery of the Abby & Amazonas
So today in C&G, I was taught a pair of games from my classmates.
First, Mr. Abe taught use how to play Mystery of the Abby. It's a game that sounds a lot like "Clue," with elements of "Guess Who" thrown in there. However, after playing for a little bit, the game seemed to take on it's own personality. Between having to move around the board to get different "event" cards, questions other "priests" as we passed on the board, or getting called back to the chapel for mass (Which a little Bell was provided for), It felt like a very unique experience. I really enjoyed that one.
Second, Mr. Sam taught me Amazonas. It's a resource game, where you need to build a site at 4 different cities as well as collect victory points while avoiding the "dangers" of the jungle. Sound kind of exciting yea? Sadly the game was really disappoint it. Every turn and "Event Card" was flipped up from the deck which usually was a money bonus for having a particular type of animal, as well as 8 cards (in the deck of 18) that actually had bad effects. However the bad effects could be countered by playing your "Indian guide" card. Every turn you played a card from your hand to get additional money and decide turn order. Overall, if you paid remotely any attention to what event cards had already been used, and picked the shortest routes between cities it seemed like it was easy to do well in the game.
Anywho, so that was my joy of being taught games today, and it was fun to an extent!
~Brandon
Games Played: Mystery of the Abby & Amazonas
So today in C&G, I was taught a pair of games from my classmates.
First, Mr. Abe taught use how to play Mystery of the Abby. It's a game that sounds a lot like "Clue," with elements of "Guess Who" thrown in there. However, after playing for a little bit, the game seemed to take on it's own personality. Between having to move around the board to get different "event" cards, questions other "priests" as we passed on the board, or getting called back to the chapel for mass (Which a little Bell was provided for), It felt like a very unique experience. I really enjoyed that one.
Second, Mr. Sam taught me Amazonas. It's a resource game, where you need to build a site at 4 different cities as well as collect victory points while avoiding the "dangers" of the jungle. Sound kind of exciting yea? Sadly the game was really disappoint it. Every turn and "Event Card" was flipped up from the deck which usually was a money bonus for having a particular type of animal, as well as 8 cards (in the deck of 18) that actually had bad effects. However the bad effects could be countered by playing your "Indian guide" card. Every turn you played a card from your hand to get additional money and decide turn order. Overall, if you paid remotely any attention to what event cards had already been used, and picked the shortest routes between cities it seemed like it was easy to do well in the game.
Anywho, so that was my joy of being taught games today, and it was fun to an extent!
~Brandon
Day #9 - The Day I tried to Teach again
Day #9 - Teaching San Jaun
Games Played: San Jaun
Well On this last Tuesday I was asked to teach a game that I learned in this class, or had never played before. So out of the games I had played so far, I was really looking forward to replaying and reteaching that game.
As far as teaching the game, it was kind of odd. I couldn't decide on the first couple of turns if everybody was really getting how the game worked. No one was out right complaining, but no one seemed to really be "planning" they were just playing. So i tried jazzing it up a little bit, by joking with the guys I was playing with, and that worked to an extent but not amazingly. After say 15 minutes of playing, I was starting to see a bit of strategy emerge from everybody, so it seemed like everybody got the hang of the game. At the end everyone seemed to say they enjoyed it, but no one really gave me any "real" advice on playing, so that was disappointing.
Anywho, I'm done teaching games now, so tomorrow I get to go back to being the learner. Hooray!!
~Brandon
Games Played: San Jaun
Well On this last Tuesday I was asked to teach a game that I learned in this class, or had never played before. So out of the games I had played so far, I was really looking forward to replaying and reteaching that game.
As far as teaching the game, it was kind of odd. I couldn't decide on the first couple of turns if everybody was really getting how the game worked. No one was out right complaining, but no one seemed to really be "planning" they were just playing. So i tried jazzing it up a little bit, by joking with the guys I was playing with, and that worked to an extent but not amazingly. After say 15 minutes of playing, I was starting to see a bit of strategy emerge from everybody, so it seemed like everybody got the hang of the game. At the end everyone seemed to say they enjoyed it, but no one really gave me any "real" advice on playing, so that was disappointing.
Anywho, I'm done teaching games now, so tomorrow I get to go back to being the learner. Hooray!!
~Brandon
Day #8 - The Day I tried to Co-op
Day #8 - Co-op Games!
Games Played: Shadows Over Camelot
Welcome back to our excited (and occasionally updated) G&C blog, Hooray! As it's the start of a new class week, our class will be playing Cooperative games today.
My group ended up playing "Shadows Over Camelot" where you take the role of one of the knights of the round table and attempt to keep various Evil forces at bay, while completed quests to earn, "The Holy Grail," "Excaliber" and other items! However it's not quite so simple, because half the time, one of the knights is a traitor! (Ohhh ahhh gahh Scary!!!)
Anywho, our game was a little scatterbrained......We started off trying to do everything we possibly could, Our fearless leader attempted to get excailaber, our Lord Tom attempted to get the holy grail back, and I was busy fighting off a random Saxon invasion. However, after we all almost got killed, we decided it may be best to rethink our strategy, as we were all losing pretty badly... So after regrouping, we all went out, after one quest, beat it pretty easily, and then won the game because of it. Hooray!
As a note on the game itself, even thou we had won the game, It felt unsatisfying as a win because there was so much left we had too do. I mean we beat the Saxons and the Picts, twice, but then we lost to the black knight as well as almost losing Excalibur and we just barely won by getting the Holy Grail. What annoyed me was that doing all the quests wasn't necessary at all to winning the game, so it didn't feel like we really accomplished anything when we won.
Anywho, that's my basic rundown of Shaodws over Camelot!
~Brandon
Games Played: Shadows Over Camelot
Welcome back to our excited (and occasionally updated) G&C blog, Hooray! As it's the start of a new class week, our class will be playing Cooperative games today.
My group ended up playing "Shadows Over Camelot" where you take the role of one of the knights of the round table and attempt to keep various Evil forces at bay, while completed quests to earn, "The Holy Grail," "Excaliber" and other items! However it's not quite so simple, because half the time, one of the knights is a traitor! (Ohhh ahhh gahh Scary!!!)
Anywho, our game was a little scatterbrained......We started off trying to do everything we possibly could, Our fearless leader attempted to get excailaber, our Lord Tom attempted to get the holy grail back, and I was busy fighting off a random Saxon invasion. However, after we all almost got killed, we decided it may be best to rethink our strategy, as we were all losing pretty badly... So after regrouping, we all went out, after one quest, beat it pretty easily, and then won the game because of it. Hooray!
As a note on the game itself, even thou we had won the game, It felt unsatisfying as a win because there was so much left we had too do. I mean we beat the Saxons and the Picts, twice, but then we lost to the black knight as well as almost losing Excalibur and we just barely won by getting the Holy Grail. What annoyed me was that doing all the quests wasn't necessary at all to winning the game, so it didn't feel like we really accomplished anything when we won.
Anywho, that's my basic rundown of Shaodws over Camelot!
~Brandon
Friday, January 24, 2014
Day #7 - Let's Have a Tournament!
Day #7 - Cuarenta Tournament
Games Played - Cuarenta
So today, We played a Cuarenta Tournament as well as had a guest speaker come talk to us.
The Cuarenta tourney went as well as you'd think it would. After losing to Sarah and Amy again, me and Abe were finally taught the actual rules to Cuarenta, in the losers bracket....better late than never I guess....but it's still pretty bad.....
Anywho, after that we had a guest speaker come on in and talk about, yup, you guessed it BOARD GAMES!!!! Crazy, eh?
Anywho, he showed off some pieces he's made for games, which is pretty cool, as well as told us about some of his favorite games. However, I don't really remember much of what he said, besides that He bashed Trading Card Games. Having an opinion is one thing, but don't bash on something somewhat unrelated when you are talking about boardgames, cuz all it's going to do is annoy the few fans in your audience. It also didn't help that his facts were off. "It costs about $2000 to build a magic deck!" Ha thats a joke...I built mine for less than $200, and it's fairly competetive. Ya sure, You can spend $2000+ on a magic deck, but that's either for a Legacy format (meaning buying cards that were printed 20 years ago), or Building a foiled out version of one of the mo.st expensive modern decks. Either way, it's a very extreme example, so it torqued me.
Anywho, enough of that for now. Turn in next week to read about more game playing and teaching. HORRAY!!!
~Brandon
Games Played - Cuarenta
So today, We played a Cuarenta Tournament as well as had a guest speaker come talk to us.
The Cuarenta tourney went as well as you'd think it would. After losing to Sarah and Amy again, me and Abe were finally taught the actual rules to Cuarenta, in the losers bracket....better late than never I guess....but it's still pretty bad.....
Anywho, after that we had a guest speaker come on in and talk about, yup, you guessed it BOARD GAMES!!!! Crazy, eh?
Anywho, he showed off some pieces he's made for games, which is pretty cool, as well as told us about some of his favorite games. However, I don't really remember much of what he said, besides that He bashed Trading Card Games. Having an opinion is one thing, but don't bash on something somewhat unrelated when you are talking about boardgames, cuz all it's going to do is annoy the few fans in your audience. It also didn't help that his facts were off. "It costs about $2000 to build a magic deck!" Ha thats a joke...I built mine for less than $200, and it's fairly competetive. Ya sure, You can spend $2000+ on a magic deck, but that's either for a Legacy format (meaning buying cards that were printed 20 years ago), or Building a foiled out version of one of the mo.st expensive modern decks. Either way, it's a very extreme example, so it torqued me.
Anywho, enough of that for now. Turn in next week to read about more game playing and teaching. HORRAY!!!
~Brandon
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