Shelf toads...heh...I like that. Steve, that may be your greatest contribution to the hobby since "cube confusion".
Age of Gods is just a total miss. Small World does the same thing but way, way better. I honestly can't see why anyone would play it over Small World.
Senji is weird. The ingredients are there for a great game, but it's like imposing Robert's Rules of Order on a bullshit session. The diplomacy is so rigidly structured and formalized that it never takes on a life of its own, which is what needs to happen in that kind of game. There are other games that pull this off- like Game of Thrones- but Senji misses the mark. I wouldn't rate it a 1 or 2 on an arbitrary scale, probably more of a 4.
As for Crossroads at Darklion Pass, I'm doing that guy a favor by not reviewing it. It's trash. I didn't really want a copy to begin with, then when he wanted to set up a phone call to walk me through the game I knew it was trouble- that's a way to create a level of intimiacy with a reviewer that's intended to circumvent a negative response. There's only been three games I've ever flatly declined to review, the other two were Conquest of the Fallen Lands and World War III (which I wrote up anyway, just not in a full review...more of an explanation as to why I didn't review it)
When I get a game, I am bound to review it. I'm a little surprised you didn't review it. I told him to contact you and Drake, figured you guys would enjoy a look at something way outside the mainstream.
Why didn't you like Conquest of the Fallen lands? I love that little game!
I've grown to accept but still dislike Thurn and Taxis because it's one of those games that the wife loves for whatever reason. It's like spinach dip and pumpernickel that way. I really don't see it as much more than a really fucked up variant of gin. With less interaction.
Maybe she just likes the idea of German men running around Bavaria with stuffed packages vOv
I still think TTR is worth playing. Not amongst gamers, perhaps, but certainly as a family game it can be fun.
I've always suspected that Michael's dislike for this one is more of a reaction to the way it got treated as the second coming by people that ought to have known better than a reaction to the mechanics themselves. Sure, it's dressed-up Rummy, but at least the dressing up adds something to the game.
Personally I prefer TTR:E. But I accept that like Carcassonne the concept is stupidly oversold now and being kept alive by sad, must-have, completest types. Doesn't make the original game bad though.
Bleah. Thurn and Taxis. I hated that game because everyone begged me to play it: "Dave, you GOTTA like that game! It's POSTAL themed! Hehehe!" Bland as hell and the map is confusing as all hell. It seems the era of confusing assed maps being considered unique design may be over. Notre Dame is another one: BLEAH.
I'd give both of these about a 3. Rocketville a 2 and the only games I can really thing of as ones are Cargo and Cafe International the Card Game because they were broken piles of dung.
SuperWeeks TNT wrote: We all have these games right? I call them "Shelf Toads"
I'm not broke, but I'm not wasteful. I only buy stuff I want.
My Shelf Toads have nothing to do with not wanting them, it's about getting other people to want to play them with me. That's why Arkham went in the last math trade.
I went through a phase where Ticket to Ride was my favorite game. I've long since left that behind, but I still have a soft spot in my heart for it. It's in that rare class of games that I can play with just about anyone, including my grandmother, guys at the game store, and even homeless men at the KC Rescue Mission.
Thurn and Taxis was the first post-Settlers Eurogame that I bought. It's one of those games that I played several times, sure that I was missing something. I was wrong. That was honestly all there was to it.
And +1 for the idea of "shelf toads." I try to move them out of the collection quickly, unless they hold some sentimental value for me, or if I love them enough to not mind only playing them occasionally (like Arkham Horror and Fury of Dracula).
Call me a Barnes lackey but that list made me throw up in my mouth a little.
I enjoy Ticket to Ride when I wind up playing it, but it's about #100 on my list of games I actively WANT to play...and I only own about 80 games. (That's including my sell pile that I never get around to.)
daveroswell wrote: Bleah. Thurn and Taxis. I hated that game because everyone begged me to play it: "Dave, you GOTTA like that game! It's POSTAL themed! Hehehe!" Bland as hell and the map is confusing as all hell. It seems the era of confusing assed maps being considered unique design may be over. Notre Dame is another one: BLEAH.
I'd give both of these about a 3. Rocketville a 2 and the only games I can really thing of as ones are Cargo and Cafe International the Card Game because they were broken piles of dung.
So, Dave, should this game be punishment for fuckups in the good ol' UPS???
I'm not upset...you just busted on my competition ...I'm sure you meant USPS...lol
Rliyen wrote:
daveroswell wrote: Bleah. Thurn and Taxis. I hated that game because everyone begged me to play it: "Dave, you GOTTA like that game! It's POSTAL themed! Hehehe!" Bland as hell and the map is confusing as all hell. It seems the era of confusing assed maps being considered unique design may be over. Notre Dame is another one: BLEAH.
I'd give both of these about a 3. Rocketville a 2 and the only games I can really thing of as ones are Cargo and Cafe International the Card Game because they were broken piles of dung.
So, Dave, should this game be punishment for fuckups in the good ol' UPS???
Drat, a good joke and I fecked it up by forgetting a LETTER! Oh, wait... The USPS does that all the time....
*exit stage right*
daveroswell wrote: I'm not upset...you just busted on my competition ...I'm sure you meant USPS...lol
Rliyen wrote:
daveroswell wrote: Bleah. Thurn and Taxis. I hated that game because everyone begged me to play it: "Dave, you GOTTA like that game! It's POSTAL themed! Hehehe!" Bland as hell and the map is confusing as all hell. It seems the era of confusing assed maps being considered unique design may be over. Notre Dame is another one: BLEAH.
I'd give both of these about a 3. Rocketville a 2 and the only games I can really thing of as ones are Cargo and Cafe International the Card Game because they were broken piles of dung.
So, Dave, should this game be punishment for fuckups in the good ol' UPS???
Last night was game night and Barnes was on trial. I felt like that red headed lady that always loses against Matlock. The game in question? AGE OF GODS
What a total disaster! Here is what happened. Before the gamers arrived I smiled to myself as I read the rules to AGE OF GODS. I just knew it would be a hit, the rules made the game sound like great fun. HOW WRONG I WAS!
One third into the game I thought it was all over and we would not even finish but we bravely plunged through to the end. I reeally thought I would enjoy the bluffing in the game but the bluffing aspect doesn't work. For example, one of the races I was hoping to survive as God of the Protectors was the Barbarians. Now I had two options, I could draw attention away from the Barbarians by fortifying another race or fortify the Barbarians as much as I could hoping they would survive. If I ignore the Barbarians they will most likely be attacked by an adjacent race that someone else is supporting and there is nothing I could do.
No defensive roll as its all a single roll for attack. The game is hugely chaotic. I am a big fan of chaos but in order for a chaotic game to work it has to be mitigated with some form of strategic options or if it is pure luck the luck element must be unique and fun. This game has neither.
The same game experience can be had in a much shorter time by simply assigning race cards to each player and dropping the race counters on the map from a height of 6 feet and then add up who wins.
It was a 3 player game. One player said, "Steve, this game is bad"
The other player called the game, "The Diet Coke of Blood" whatever that means. This is the same player that got up during the game to stare at my ceiling fan. So I can say that watching a ceiling fan is more interesting than this game.
I would have liked nothing more than to report here smiling like a Chesire cat that Barnes was wrong. But he was right. The game is a total miss.
I feel like Wiley Coyote and Barnes is the Roadrunner and I am trying to catch him. Excuse me while I contact ACME for my next plan of action.
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...I'm sure you meant USPS...lol
