Forbidden Island, Game Review

Time is quickly running out as the land beneath your feet is sinking into the ocean. Your team of stalwart professional adventurers must work quick and smart to recover the treasures of the island and get everyone to the helicopter in time. You have experts on your team that can help in different ways, but even with all of your skill the island is going to be lost and this is the last chance to recover the artifacts of a time gone by.

Forbidden Islandis a cooperative game designed by Matt Leacock, illustrated by C.B. Canga, and distributed by Gamewright for 2 to 4 players where everyone succeeds together, or not. There are six characters that are randomly dealt to the players to determine who is working to recover the four artifacts. While the island is sinking players must work together to shore flooded areas and do the treasure hunting.

On your turn you draw cards from a players' deck. The players' deck consists of treasure, action, and Water Rise!" cards. Each player can only hold five cards in their hand, which creates another level of needing to work together. To recover a treasure you need a set of four of the same treasure card and there are only five of each in the players' deck. You have to decide which cards to save. Then when the opportunity arises you can pass treasure cards to get one player holding a set so they can move to the right tile and collect the treasure. After you complete your action island cards are drawn to see which sections of the island flood.

Drawing cards from the island deck creates the timer for the game and increases the difficulty the longer the game goes on. Similar to other cooperative games the island cards reset during play by the random draw of a Waters Rise! card from the players' deck. When this happens the previously played island cards are shuffled and placed on top of the island deck, putting any tile that have become flooded at risk of sinking out of the game. A water level chart also rises which determines how many island cards are drawn each turn.

Twenty four island tiles are placed in the same pattern to create the shape of the island, but they are placed in random order. Every game the island is different. There are two locations for each treasure and the helicopter pad. If the both treasure tiles for an unclaimed treasure sink or the helicopter pad sinks, the treasure hunters fail in their mission.

Forbidden Islandis for ages 10 and up. We played it several times and found it to have a good balance for older and younger players. The game is designed to last 30 minutes and we found that really close.

If you are a fan of Pandemicand have some younger players who want to join into the game, Forbidden Island is a game you should check into.

Originally published by Utah Geek Magazine.

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Conflicted: Surviving the Apocalypse--Game Review

You've seen the signs and you've prepared for society's collapse. When the time was right, you evacuated and established yourself on the outskirt of civilization. You were ready. You are ready. You will be ready.

Conflicted: Surviving the Apocalypse is a board game with the same theme as Conflicted: The Survival Card Game. Instead of the scenarios being read off the cards to be discussed in a party setting, Surviving the Apocalypse puts you in a more active role of building a camp, adding survivors, and working through conflicts with the government, other groups, and other players.

A friend and I had the opportunity to see the game at Salt Lake Gaming Con, but didn't have a chance to play it there. Instead, arrangements were made with one of the developers to play it at another time.

At the start of the game, each player has enough to build one camp: a place (Asset) to base yourself out of and a Leader. Along with those cards, you also receive Survivors and Equipment. You have to decide who goes into the camp and with what equipment. Each cards show the limitations and benefits they provide. It is important to build a camp strong enough that can defend itself. Since society is collapsing, others are after what you have, be it the Government, Attackers, or other players.

The Mechanics

The game uses different decks of cards to represent the different items mentioned above along with Chance, Death, and Disaster. During Each turn players gain two Chance cards. Other cards are collected by landing on a corresponding marker on the game board by moving around a lap, or by taking out other camps. You can only keep five cards in your hand, so it's important how you build and manage your camps.

The cards have a lot of information on them. For example, Assets can only support so many people, people can only use certain levels of equipment, and some equipment is used better by certain people. You need to keep an eye on what and who you have.

The End Game

There are multiple ways Conflicted: Surviving the Apocalypse can end. We decided we would end if one of three conditions were met: having four leaders in play (building four camps), removing four opposing leaders, or completing a lap on the board. Ours ended with four camps being established.

At the end, three of the four players were close to each other in what they were building. I was the fourth player, who wasn't really a threat to anyone else in the game.

Strategy Thoughts

Managing your cards during the building a camp phase determines how well you are defending your camp, and thus your camp's leader. You can also do this through negotiation with other players.

Bargains can be struck to help defend your camps, or attack others. There is no rule though about how you follow through. Conflicted is a game of opportunity, so to survive, and to come out on top, go after the opportunities when they present themselves.

Some of the random events almost have a reset value to the game. We were hit by a super volcano that took out all of the Assets, Survivors, and Equipment. We were left with only our Leaders that were in play.

Re-playability

There are enough cards that every game would be providing a different set of conditions to work with. In our game the developer (Shanna) mentioned it was the first time she was hit by a super volcano.

I wouldn't expect people playing back-to-back games since it takes between 1–2 hours, but you can expect it to be different each time you play.

The Look

Conflicted Games has gone with photographs to decorate the cards. This brings a different, more realistic feel to the game. Along with the pictures, the cards have additional statements that bring some light-heartedness into the game.

Overall

Conflicted: Surviving the Apocalypse is based on a disaster film on steroids. Society is collapsing and natural disasters can strike at any time. Along with the super volcano, our game was hit with a tsunami and a drought. Then, again, because of the randomness of the game, you could go an entire game without a disaster occurring. It is about surviving whatever happens.

We enjoyed the game. The developers are working out a few variations. However, the kinks observed were minor and easily worked out. Conflicted Games is taking their board game to Kickstarter soon and I am sure that by the time it releases, the game will be polished.

Conflicted: Surviving the Apocalypse is developed and distributed by Conflicted Games. It is designed for 2–6 players and no age was yet assigned.

Times are tough. Your crew is tougher. You are part of the few who have survived the apocalypse.

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Eschaton, Cult Strategy Deck Building Game, Game Review

The time of the Dark One's rising is getting closer. As Armageddon looms, the factions are striving to gain the glory of being the true followers. Building the cult by gaining worldly and other worldly followers. Looking for artifacts. Battling other cults. Preparing for the day of reckoning where one cult will be raised above the others to be the chosen of the Dark One.

Eschaton is a deck building game, from Archon Games, pitting the players against each other in a dark fantasy world. Each player starts with a deck of seven cards and play a hand of five cards. Unlike some deck building games Eschaton does not rely on building connections between the cards. Instead, there are four attributes that different cult members represent. The hand is built, the scores for each attribute being played out in order.

Zeal allows the player to add more cards to their hand. No one starts with zeal. And certain cultist inspires more zeal in followers bring them out, in turn, making a player's hand bigger and adding to the scores of the attributes, if more zeal is added in the draw, then more cards are added.

Divination allows draws on the Arcana deck. This additional deck includes artifacts and other worldly followers that can be added to your deck. These build on your attributes, count for victory points, and affect play in other ways. In our game, my friend was able to add a card that every time it came into his hand he was able to curse another player, giving them a penalty.

Me taking some notes at the start of the game

Influence brings in more followers to your cult. The greater your influence the stronger the followers you can attract. This allows you to gain greater ability scores from a single card.

Aggression brings in the game board. The cults share the known world and it is through a player's aggression score that they are able to manipulate events on the board by adding and moving their own forces, or removing another person's markers from play.

Since the cards are score keeping your abilities, we found there is no reason to hide your cards when it becomes your turn. We started drawing the five and turning them over. This allowed for some quicker play because you weren't needing to look at the combinations that could be created. This was a great advantage also for learning the game.

A player can also shrink their deck. Along with building your deck you can sacrifice cultist and remove them from your deck. This is an interesting strategy that allows players to manipulate their deck to bring the stronger cultists into play more often by sacrificing the weaker ones needed earlier in the game. You don't have to sacrifice them and doing so doesn't count for or against any final scoring. It is a strategy move a player has to decide on doing to manage their deck.

The final deck used, the Event Deck, is the time keeper for the game. This is a semi-random deck that is built with Event and Omen cards. At the start of each round a card is turned over. Event cards effect play for that round. These can be random twists causing adjustments in strategy to cope with the event. Omen cards are longer term strategy changes that earns favor with the Dark One, victory points. Those stay in play until the next omen card, or Armageddon. Near the bottom of the deck, the Armageddon card announces the return of the Dark One, at the end of the round points are tallied and main cult is raised to glory while the rest are cast down.

Our game in progress

Two of us were able to sit down with one of the developers, Adam, to play Eschaton at Salt Lake Gaming Con this year (2017). The game was quick to learn and we were quickly into the full swing in the first round. Our event deck hit Armageddon on the seventh round, with two Omens going into play earlier. Our Seven round game went a few minutes over one hour. Our final scores were within seven points from high to low. And my friend came out on top of the developer.

Strategies

In our initial game three different strategies were being used. I was building world forces (aggression), my friend was building on divination, and the developer started out with zeal. As the game progressed I could tell there are other strategies that could be used. Strategies would also work differently with the number of players.

We had three players and there was limited contact on the game board. Eschaton is designed for up to 6 players, and the more there are the great the contact, and therefore, the aggression level. Strategy must take into consideration the number of people in the game.

Replay-ability

The variation in the artifacts deck and the event deck means that every game is going to have something different players have to deal with. Competition for the scoring from the Omen Cards will increase with more players. Personal decks will vary as different cards are added to reflect different strategies.

By changing the size of the Event Deck the length of the game can be varied, which will also impact strategy choices. We played 7 rounds, and the game definitely would have played out differently if we played with a deck that allowed for twice that number of turns.

Artwork

Some of the cards

The majority of art is done to match the theme of evil cultists. Most everything is done in black and white. However, the stronger cultists are done with more color, making it easier for them to be identified and advancing the feel of the theme presented. The art on the cards provides eye appeal during game play.

Overall

Eschaton is a good strategy game. It provides replay-ability and variations to the strategies used and how those strategies develop.

The setup and cleanup of Eschatonwas easy. The only constructed decks are the Event Deck and player decks. Cultist and markers are set out and the Divination Deck is shuffled.

The game is designed for ages 14+. I am sure this is because of the theme of the game. The rules were easy to learn and because you can play with an open hand on your turn, younger players can be helped without worry of over influencing their choices.

Eschaton is designed and produced by Archon Games (Web Page) (Facebook page)for 2–6 players, ages 14+. A game is designed to last 1–3 hours (and this is in controlled by how big you make the Event Deck).

Armageddon has arrived. Each cult bares themselves to the Dark One to see which one will be raised up. Fire blazes out consuming those judged unworthy while you and your fellow followers look on.

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Isle of Monsters, Game Review

The island is a peaceful place and the inhabitants like to keep it that way. They get few visitors because of the monsters that live on the island. Others wonder why the inhabitants stay on the island with such fearful monsters. But, they do, and, they don't seem to have any problems living with the horrid creatures.

Isle of Monsters, designed by Joshua DeBonis and Nikola Ristestki has artwork by Kwanchai Moriya and produced by Mayday Games, is about capturing monsters and caring for them so you can compete against the others players in scare contests.

Each player is working to become the Island Protector. This is done by catching and feeding the creatures on the island. Though the creatures look fierce and frightening, they are not. It is in how they are fed and presented that makes them look so ferocious.

Mechanics

There are several game mechanics taking place during the game. The first part of a round is spent gathering monsters and the food to feed them. Not all the monsters and food available on the game board are available to everyone, just those on the nearest outer islands and the center island. You need to keep an eye on what monsters your neighbor is feeding to see if there is the right food, and enough of it, for the monsters you have or want to capture.

After everyone passes from that phase the monsters that have eaten enough are matured and included into a deck used for the scoring phases of the round.

My hand early on

Scoring takes place in two levels. The first level is to present a single, or grouping of monsters of the same type (earth, fire, or water) to compete against the other players' monster(s) to scare the crowd in attendance at the Scare Festival. Individual monsters have scores from 1 to 9 and their scores are added together when they are played together. The card(s) are hidden so you don't know what others have chosen until everyone reveals at the same time. The person with the highest score on their cards wins the scare contest.

After the monsters have scared the crowd they can scare each other (fire scares earth, earth scares water, and water scares fire). This isn't worth as many points, but it is possible with a larger game that the person scaring other players earns more points than the person who won the contest.

The monsters used in that round of scaring are set aside and the next round starts with the players who have remaining cards. The scaring rounds continue until only one person, or none, has cards left in their hand. Additional scare points are earned for having extra monsters.

The monsters used in the scaring during the round do not leave the game, they just can only be used once a scare round. After the round they are returned to the deck the player is building. It is added to during the next maturing phase.

Strategy

Since each player is limited to the two piles of monsters on the outer islands to either side of them, strategy is limited to what is available. However, a player needs to be aware of the strength of the monster, higher points takes more food to mature, and what they eat. You also have to decide if you want to be able to combine monsters, therefore, they need to be the same type. You can also work at creating bigger or smaller monsters. (Early in the game there is not enough food to mature the bigger monsters.) Bigger monsters are better for winning the scare contests, but maturing more smaller monsters allows you to compete in more rounds.

Appearance

Some of the cards

During our play-testing it was the artwork that drew the attention of two of our players. The artwork is done by Kwanchai Moriya and one player mentioned that it reminded them of Pokemon cards. The artwork is fun and each of the monsters shows a different level of maturity for its type as it goes up in score.

The materials in the game are of good quality. The components are sturdy enough to withstand being played.

Re-playability

We were able to play a couple of games back to back without a problem. Younger players, or those who are not as adept at strategy, should be able to play this multiple times in a row without problems. It is also a game that could sit for a little while and be easily brought back to the table for another session.

Overall

Isle of Monsterswas easy to learn, and easy to teach. Set up and clean up was also quick. Although more experienced players have a slight advantage the advantage wasn't so much as to take away from the game.

Isle of Monstersis designed for 2–5 players. I played it with three players and it went well. There is a 2-player variation and I think the fun would increase as you add a fourth or fifth player.

Isle of Monstersis designed to last 20–45 minutes. Our games, even while learning took about 30 minutes. The time is controlled by the deck of monsters and the number of players doesn't vary the time much. The variable is more in deciding what you want to do.

Isle of Monstersis designed for ages 10+. Experienced younger players may be able to play this game. They may not catch all of the strategy nuances, but the artwork art is a draw for them.

A new Island Protector has been named. The others who vied for the title did well, it was a close competition. There is already talk of who is going to go for the title the next time the competition is held.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Castle Panic, Game Review

Picture from Fireside Games

The castle stands and we as the defenders stand ready to defend it. There are hordes of monsters coming from all around us. We can work together to keep them from tearing down the walls and invading our home.

Castle Panic pits the defenders of the castle against the invading monsters. Players build a hand and play the cards allowing them to strike at the monsters in different zones. The goal is to keep them from getting to the castle walls. If they reach the walls, they can tear down them down and invade inside the wall.

I had the opportunity of playing Castle Panic at SaltCon in the room hosted by Double Exposure Inc./Envoy games. Three of us sat down and played the basic game with no expansions. The base game is a good for beginners and younger players. The expansions might also work, but I haven't played the game with expansions. The three of us were able to start quickly because the rules were straight forward and easy to understand. For two of us this was the first time we had played Castle Panic.

The board

We played a cooperative game. The instructor told us there were several ways to play, which included the cooperative style, team play of one side playing the monsters, solitaire, and one with players collect trophies for a high score. We went with the pure cooperative game, which I also found out was the first time one of our players had played a cooperative game.

The rules are easy to understand. Players start with a hand of cards that are used and traded to other players. Monsters are randomly drawn and placed on a zone of the board and they move forward to attack the castle. The cards give the player the opportunity of seeing which area they can defend and at what distance from the castle wall. There is some planning of seeing when an invader is within range and giving the right cards to that player who can make the defense.

Playing the cooperative game gave us an advantage of helping each other with advice on how to pass cards. Even the less experienced gamer at the table soon understood the basics and was picking up on the options they could do on their turn.

Moster tokens

Castle Panic is a good family game. It is rated for ages 10+, but younger players, especially those who have played some other games, can easily join in on their own. Inexperienced younger players may need a little help. The game also has a quick pace so the game keeps moving and keeps the interest of younger players. A friend with children told me this has become one of their staples on family game night. To add a more excitement, they use miniatures to represent the monsters attacking the castle.

Castle Panic is designed by Justin De Witt and distributed by Fireside Games. It is designed for 1–6 players to be played in less than an hour (our game took about 45 minutes).

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Flash Point: Fire Rescue, Game Review

Alarm! A home is on fire and there are people trapped inside. Your team is at the scene and now it is up to you to fight the fire and rescue those inside. There is no time to lose, the fire is going strong. You have to hurry. Be careful, because the fire is not in control and explosions could happen at any moment.

Flash Point: Fire Rescue, designed by Kevin Lanzing and marketed by Indie Boards & Cards, is a cooperative game for 2–6 player (you can also so solo play) where you are the fire crew. There are eight specialists to choose from and the group can also decide to have more characters help, but only up to six active characters at any time.

When the game starts the fire has already broken out. You know where the first three victims might be located—these points of interest might also be false alarms. There are also places in the house where hazardous materials have been stored that will explode if the fire gets to them. You have to decide if you leave them or get rid of them.

Players decide where their characters start outside the building and in what order they are going to go. It is a race against time to get the survivors out before too many of them are killed by the fire or the building collapses.

Flash Point requires teamwork. Cooperative games always require teamwork, but some of them allow for players to take their own actions without concern of others. This is true for this one also, however, unless the group talks it out and works together as a firefighting team, your chances of winning are slim. You have to combine fighting the fire back and getting the victims out. Too much emphasis on one without working on the other doesn't work well.  The cooperation goes right back to the beginning after setting up the board.

The fire is the timer for the length of the game. I don't think you are capable of putting the fire completely, it keeps flaring up. We played multiple games and were never able to save the building from destruction. There isn't a win situation for putting the fire out either. You have to keep the fire in a controlled state and rescue the victims.

There are four levels of play. The introductory, or family, level works well for learning the basics of the game and for those who want a better chance of winning. With younger players (maybe even below the listing of 10+) these rules provide a lot of fun. There are also three levels of advanced play.

Advance play use the same rules. The difference between recruit, veteran, and heroic is how advanced the fire is when the game starts and additional places to spawn flare ups and additional hazards. These additional levels allow the game to remain challenging as you get better.

The fire is raging and we have to get back in there.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Originally published with Utah Geek Magazine.

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The Forgotten Planet, Game Review

Throughout history mining has always been an important part of building civilizations. The ores and minerals have provided the material for developing new a greater things. As we have expanded throughout the galaxy, mining has become no less important. And now, the energy crystals are more important than just about anything else ever mined. A new source of the minerals has been discovered, and the race is on.

The Forgotten Planetpits 2–4 players in developing a mining operation on a distant world on the edge of known space. The environment is harsh and the planet is unstable so you have to use robots, which creates its own concerns.

Players start with one each solar collector, robot, and each energy crystal resource. There is a limited area available for mining, which eventually puts you and the other miners in conflict. Your strategy needs to include collecting power to run your robots; mine; and build more robots, bases, or walls; which in turn allow you find new mining sites where you can collect the crystals you need to sale to the merchant guild or use to build. There are options open to you, and the other miners, so you have to plan ahead for success.

Three of us sat down with The Forgotten Planet, without looking at the rules beforehand. At first, the rulebook looks imposing. However, the rules are presented in four languages, so they are easy to get through. As one person started reading the rules the other two of us started sorting the pieces. In a short time we had the basic concept of the rules and were starting our first turns.

The rules are easy to understand and the game is recommended for ages 12+. During the first game of the two we played, we referred to the rulebook a few times. For the second game we only used the book to choose a different layout for the board. We had the concepts and were willing to give our strategies a second chance.

The game is well balanced. The first game was decided by a tie breakers based on the number of crystals players had. The second would have probably ended with a different winner if there had been one or two more turns, the rules allow a way to push to an end game, which I did. Both games we played completed in the time frame presented of 75 minutes.

The Forgotten Planetfrom giochix.it, and designed by Michele Quondam, is a good strategy game. I come to this conclusion based on two aspects. First, how close both games were to determine a winner, Second, I, and the other two players, were discussing strategy options the next day. When a strategy game doesn't get you thinking about the strategy, it isn't intriguing enough to play again. This is one game that is not going to be collecting dust in our group.

Thanks to giochix.it for a copy of The Forgotten Planet.

This article was first published in Utah Geek MagazineSept/Oct 2016.

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The Cult of The New—Game

Our culture relies on the desires of people to have the latest, greatest, next best thing—the cult of the new. We like to have the next thing available to share (and to show off) to our friends and family. It's an ego stroke helping us show we are achieving our goals, moving forward, and doing something with our lives.

These don't have to be big things.  And, as gamers we do this. We share a new board game, and role-playing game (RPG) source book, the new card we found to flesh out our deck, or even a new set of dice. We come together in the sharing of the new. We create competition for finding the new so we can be the first to show it off. We also do this in finding out information, "Have you heard about..."

Conventions are great places for finding the new. Here is a place that the developers, companies and independents, are sharing their latest and greatest releases. They are pumping up interest in the games they have. They are willing to teach games so you can take them home to your friends and family and share them further. There are also suppliers of supporting material like dice, boxes, and art. All of these creating a new experience at the convention. A new experience for you to bring new people with you the next time.

Having the new is a great drive for innovation. If no one went looking for the new, nothing new would be created. We would still be playing what? Mancala? Hounds and Jackals? But, they were even new at some point in the past. As gamers we push our developers to come up with new ideas, new twists, new stuff. Those of us who are developers of games, writing, art—to me these are all different art forms—respond with enthusiasm for coming up with something new and unique.

Every year there are so many new things being created there is no way for a single person to keep up with it. How many new games can we gather onto our shelves, then spread out on the table. I know I would like to spend a lot more time playing the games I want to play, and writing about what I would like to write about. However, I have my job, my family, and my other responsibilities. I can't take the time out to do all of that (yet). I also can't afford to buy all of those games. Then there is learning the new games.

I have a great gaming group that likes to play all types of games. We introduce new games to the table on a regular basis. Even then, there are games we have that have been purchased and not yet played. There is the time needed to learn the games. And, some games take a long time to play. Choices have to be made of what we are going to play and when because there are times when we know we can't break out the game that sounds most interesting for the session. We have even talked about setting aside a specified session just for playing new games.

Learning a new game requires a different level of attention. There are new rules to digest. They might be like something else, but they are new to this game, this setting, this strategy. If they weren't, it wasn't a new game and we might as well go back to the one we were playing before that we enjoy.

Which brings me to the flip side of the new, the old. Having a set of games you can go back to has a comforting level of enjoyment. Recently a couple of my gaming group and I got together for a short evening of entertainment. It was a Friday night after a long week for all of us. We were going to play a game, but we were really there in providing a level of social support and relaxation. We decided instead of jumping into a new game we would play something we were all familiar with.

Older games provide a level of familiarity that allows for more social interaction. After a long week devoted to the day jobs we wanted to slip into something comfortable. The game everyone is familiar with allows that comfort in not needing to think about if the rule is being applied right, or what does that emblem mean. It means everyone can help set up because everyone knows where everything goes to start. It means that a break in the game for socializing doesn't intrude (as much) into the game play because everyone knows what needs to happen next. Older games are comfortable.

Mix it up. Bring out the new game you are interested in, ones you know the rest of your group might like if they would try it. Or, break out something you have really no knowledge in and give it a go. Then at another time break out the familiar, where people have their desired strategies, shared knowledge of the rules (and house rules). Both can provide a level of intensity if you are looking for competition. Both provide for socializing and having fun.

The cult of the new runs deep. It's not going away and I'm glad of that. There are always new things to discover, learn, and share. There will be experiences to be had, even when experiencing something old anew.

Break out a game and invite over some friends.

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Last Spike, Game Review

Those who were willing to take the risks started the railroad expansion across the continent. Rail barons putting forth their money to push the iron horse forward, betting their investment would make a return. They didn’t know if they would come through it rich, or as a pauper. But, they kept pushing until the lines connected and the routes were made.

Last Spike reaches back to the time when the rails were being laid down North America. You are placing the rails, building the routes between the cities, and investing more money in those cities. With a little luck, planning, and daring you could be the one coming out on top when the last rail is nailed down to the tie with the last spike driven.

Each player starts with a number of tiles. They decide which one to place, and when. A tile only fits in one place, so timing the placement of a section of rail is important. Track also costs money, and you have a limited amount supply. But, remember, it is also important to invest in the cities you are building the railroad to.

There are towns along the way as you stretch between St. Louis and Sacramento. You have the opportunity of buying up land in each. The more land you own when a section completes linking your land to another city earns you money—money needed to place more track and buy more land.

This leads to different strategies on how you place track and buy land, creating sets which increase the value, but also cost more to buy. So, you have to balance your expenses between how you extend your track and what property you own.

Play continues until the last spike is driven completing passage between the two endpoints. A bonus is received for completing the final route, which introduces an endgame strategy. Do you go for ending the game to block other players from the bonus, does the bonus give you enough money to move you into the lead, or do you hold onto the tile so you can work on completing other sections to build your bank account?

I played Last Spikeat SaltCon. It was quick to learn. Three new players sat down with an instructor and there was only one question that came up because I was pushing the bartering rule (I was way behind). Set up and clean up were also quick. The components, although simple, were quality made and will last for some time.

Last Spike was designed by Tom Dalgiesh and published by Columbia Games. It is designed for 2–6 players of ages 10+ (I believe you can go a little younger, especially for kids who have played other board games). The game is designed to take 30 minutes, and our game with three new players took about that long.

So the only question is, do you have the steel to take it to the end of the line?

Thanks to Columbia Games and Utah Geek Magazine for introducing me to Last Spike at SaltCon 2016.

If you have any comments, questions, or critiques please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Have You Heard About Extra Life?

I have worked at writing articles about how to make a gaming experience better. Along with articles about tabletop gaming there have been reviews on movies, books, and events associated with the gaming community in one form or another. This year, at SaltConand Salt Lake Gaming Con, I had the opportunity to meet people involved in an organization that works at allowing our gaming to make other people's experience better.

 

You probably know a family a children’s hospital has helped. You might not even realize it. These hospitals have help many families directly and indirectly. Not only do they keep up on the latest pediatric medicine, they help in developing practices and procedures used in hospitals all over the world. The great work they do is supported through different means. One of those helping to provide support is Extra Life.

Extra Life is an organization works with gamers raising money to support hospitals in the Children’s Miracle Hospital Network, which covers North America. For most of us here in Utah, that would probably be Primary Children’s Hospital; however, if you want to support another hospital you can. I bet there are similar activities happening in other countries. If you know of one, please share the information so more people can be involved.

The gaming community is known for being givers, involved as volunteers in many ways. For example, cosplayers who visit children in the hospital. But not all of us are comfortable doing cosplay. For those of us not so outgoing, Extra Life is a way to add our support. As gaming geeks (tabletop, electronic, sports, LARPing, etc.), we can help children, their families, and the hospitals serving them by playing games.

 

Just go online, signup, and choose the hospital you want to support (here is a link to Extra Life). After that, continue doing what you have been doing—play the games you play with the friends you play them with. You can also be involved with National Game Day on November 5^th.

National Game Day is set aside for a 24 hour marathon. There are national events and live streaming. But not everyone can run a 24 hour gaming session. And, you don’t have to. You can spread out your 24 hours of gaming over a period of time, which means for most gamers there is no disruption to what you are already doing. If you are reading this, I’d be surprised if you haven't played games for more than 24 hours over the past year. With my gaming group we easily reach that goal every month and some in the group usually do it every week.

When you sign up you choose the hospital you want to support, then let people know they can go online and support you in fund raising. It is like doing a walk-a-thon without having to walk 25 kilometers, or miles for some of us who did this back in the 70s. This is also on an honor system, so you don’t have someone calling to remind you to update your game time. And, with it being on the internet, you don’t have to go back around and collect the money and get it turned in by a certain date. Extra Life uses their infrastructure to take care of all of the pledges people make.

Extra Life started in 2008 and has raised over $21 million for children’s hospitals across North America. Locally, Primary Children’s Hospital currently has about 600 gamers registered who have raise over $50 thousand as of 2015. The money is mostly used to help families for charity care. Their goal is to make sure the children, and their families, get the care they need.

Check it out. The support you throw their way helps. Spread the word by sharing the idea. You can use this article, one of your own, or just talk about it.

If you have any comments, questions, or critiques please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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Towers of Conquest, Game (in Development) Review

Nearing the end 

As king, you are in charge of building your kingdom by expanding your lands and protecting your people. In the early times of the kingdom this is easy enough. You send out your pathfinders to find resources to help your kingdom and build new settlements. However, there are other kings doing the same as you. So you build protection, and forces to battle against their expansion. Eventually, you are able to erect a tower which allows your wizards to summon forth great creatures of legend to battle for you. Then, there is one high lord, who the rest pay tribute to.

Towers of Conquestis a strategy game for two to four players. I had the opportunity of playing a prototype with three others at the Salt Lake Gaming Con (website) this year (2016) and I look forward to seeing this game make it to market.

The game has three stages of play starting with an emphasis on collecting resources, then expansion, and ending in battle.

At the start of the game each player has a settlement and a couple of pathfinders (scouts). You claim areas where resources are available so you can build more settlements, grow your settlements, and build additional forces. A variety of the five resources is important, but specializing in a particular resource also comes into play later in the game.

As you are able to collect more resources you can start to build your kingdom. You can more pathfinders, but you also need to enhance your settlement. Once a settlement is upgraded you can bring on rangers. Whereas pathfinders scout area and collect resources, rangers are fighters. You need to keep collecting resources to build your tower and bring even greater forces.

With your tower built you are able to summon legendary creatures. Each of these creatures have specific abilities setting them apart from the others, and there is only one of each—so, first come first served.

Starting positions

I sat down with three other people at Salt Lake Gaming Convention (Facebook), with the developers, to learn the Towers of Conquest. One person had played the game before, at earlier stages of its development. And two of us were being introduced to the game.

The rules were explained to us, and the information was easily understood. For me this is a good sign for a good strategy game. The rules were simplified over time instead of being layered with "What if" clauses. I talked with the creators about the rules and they explained that during earlier stages of development they were getting a number of special restrictions coming into play to address "game-breaks." Then, it was decided to go the opposite direction to fix the breaks before they happened instead of a special rule to address the break during play.

Our game took about 90 minutes to play. In actual time it took longer, but we had a number of interruptions being at a convention. We also had experiences strategy players, however, Towers of Conquest is a game a less experienced person could easily pick up. The game has great reference cards so you have the information needed right in front of you. Everything you could buy, and when, were listed on the cards.

The artwork of the game provides a great visual—one of the reasons our game was being interrupted often. The developers took the time to come up with a look that draws players in. I can see gamers using the pieces in other games just so they can use them more often.

A little closer to see the pieces in action

Another nice aspect about the game is replay-ability. Towers of Conquest has a number of variables built in that allow the game to be played back-to-back without having the same expected outcome. They are also working on a number of additional variations players can add to the game without having to change the rules. We played one of their variant rules by placing the board sections instead of using a preset layout.

Towers of Conquest(Facebook) (website) is scheduled to come out on Kickstarter later this year. The developers are working on the rulebook and final layout. From the enthusiastic response at the convention, I think it is a game worth watching for.

Since this is still in development this information is based on my experience.

The game is designed by Troy Banks and Joshua Chinsky (BC Games) for 2-4 players (they are working on variations to up the number) of ages 13+, and a game should last 90 minutes.

If you have any comments, questions, or critiques please leave a comment here, or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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