Time Trial Racing: Game of the (Week?)
May. 1st, 2011 | 02:33 pm
I sat down and made a couple (well 3, but to me 3 is a couple) of games this morning. They were all race to the end games and two of them had time mechanics. I didn't really like the first two when it got down to brass tacks, but I like how the third one turned out.
Playtime: 20-30 minutes
Number of players: 3-?, best with 4-6
Materials:
24 blank cards & a writing utensil. Cardlist appears after rules.
Two tracks to move pieces on (one up to 50, another probably needs no more than 25 or 30).
2 pawns of a matching colour for each player, the two pawns need not match, but one of each colour must stack with pawns of other colours (coloured discs work great).
At least 6 six-sided dice (you can make due with less, but I wouldn't recommend it).
Setup:
Each player places the non-stackable pawn on the 0 or starting space of the Racing Track.
Players each roll a die to determine play order
Shuffle cards and place beside tracks.
Goal of the game:
Rach the end of the Racing Track with the lowest space on the Time Track.
Play:
Player with pawn on lowest number on Timing Track takes current turn. If there are multiple pawns on a space, the player with pawn on top goes first.
A player may choose to Run, Meditate, or Cast on their turn.
Run: Move forward x spaces on the Timing Track (if other pawns are on the ending space, place your pawn atop them). Roll as many dice as you moved your pawn. First discarding any duplicates, add your die results and move that many spaces on the Racing Track.
Hint: You can roll more than 6 dice if you'd like, but your maximum roll will always be 21 so you get diminishing returns very quickly.
Meditate: Move forward x spaces on the Timing Track (if other pawns are on the ending space, place your pawn atop them). Draw a number of cards equal to the number of spaces you moved. Place one of those cards in your hand to use later, return any remaining cards to the bottom of the deck.
Cast: Play a card from your hand and move forward 1 space on the Timing Track. If it is an Action, do as it says on the card then discard the card. If it is an Ability, move forward 1 space on the Timing Track and place the Ability in front of you for other people to see.
Play proceeds to the player who now has the top pawn on the lowest number on the Timing Track.
Additional rules:
Reaction cards may be played at any time and do not move you on the Timing Track.
Any time you roll more than 1 die, you will discard duplicate results no matter why you are rolling or if one or more dice were affected by cards.
Once a player reaches the End space of the Racing Track, they cannot be affected by other players.
( Cards )
Variants:
Instead of discarding used cards, place them on the bottom of the deck. This usually won't matter, but in a game with a lot of players it can make the game more balanced toward the end.
Influences:
The timing mechanic of this is pretty much lifted straight from Red November. I toyed with other mechanics, but decided that I liked how it flowed for this type of racing game.
The flavour of the Actions and Abilities has a lot in common with that of Magical Athletes.
The rolling multiple dice and dropping duplicates is a mechanic I've used in many many games, but don't recall ever seeing in a published game.
Playtime: 20-30 minutes
Number of players: 3-?, best with 4-6
Materials:
24 blank cards & a writing utensil. Cardlist appears after rules.
Two tracks to move pieces on (one up to 50, another probably needs no more than 25 or 30).
2 pawns of a matching colour for each player, the two pawns need not match, but one of each colour must stack with pawns of other colours (coloured discs work great).
At least 6 six-sided dice (you can make due with less, but I wouldn't recommend it).
Setup:
Each player places the non-stackable pawn on the 0 or starting space of the Racing Track.
Players each roll a die to determine play order
Lowest roller places pawn on 0 space of Timing Track
Continue with next lowest placing pawn atop previous pawn on Timing Track until all pawns have been placed.
Break ties by dicing off until no ties exist.
Shuffle cards and place beside tracks.
Goal of the game:
Rach the end of the Racing Track with the lowest space on the Time Track.
Play:
Player with pawn on lowest number on Timing Track takes current turn. If there are multiple pawns on a space, the player with pawn on top goes first.
A player may choose to Run, Meditate, or Cast on their turn.
Run: Move forward x spaces on the Timing Track (if other pawns are on the ending space, place your pawn atop them). Roll as many dice as you moved your pawn. First discarding any duplicates, add your die results and move that many spaces on the Racing Track.
Example 1: Move 3 spaces on Timing Track, roll 3 dice. Results: 2, 3, 6. Move 11 spaces on Racing Track.
Example 2: Move 2 spaces on Timing Track, roll 2 dice. Results: 1, 1. Move 1 space on Racing Track.
Hint: You can roll more than 6 dice if you'd like, but your maximum roll will always be 21 so you get diminishing returns very quickly.
Meditate: Move forward x spaces on the Timing Track (if other pawns are on the ending space, place your pawn atop them). Draw a number of cards equal to the number of spaces you moved. Place one of those cards in your hand to use later, return any remaining cards to the bottom of the deck.
Cast: Play a card from your hand and move forward 1 space on the Timing Track. If it is an Action, do as it says on the card then discard the card. If it is an Ability, move forward 1 space on the Timing Track and place the Ability in front of you for other people to see.
Play proceeds to the player who now has the top pawn on the lowest number on the Timing Track.
Additional rules:
Reaction cards may be played at any time and do not move you on the Timing Track.
Any time you roll more than 1 die, you will discard duplicate results no matter why you are rolling or if one or more dice were affected by cards.
Once a player reaches the End space of the Racing Track, they cannot be affected by other players.
( Cards )
Variants:
Instead of discarding used cards, place them on the bottom of the deck. This usually won't matter, but in a game with a lot of players it can make the game more balanced toward the end.
Influences:
The timing mechanic of this is pretty much lifted straight from Red November. I toyed with other mechanics, but decided that I liked how it flowed for this type of racing game.
The flavour of the Actions and Abilities has a lot in common with that of Magical Athletes.
The rolling multiple dice and dropping duplicates is a mechanic I've used in many many games, but don't recall ever seeing in a published game.
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Munchkinomicon: The Monstrous Monograph [Review]
Apr. 8th, 2011 | 10:21 am
Munchkinomicon is a booster expansion to the Munchkin series by Steve Jackson games. Including 15 cards, this non-random set has an MSRP of $4.99. This is not a stand-alone game.
Munchkinomicon is designed to be playable with any Munchkin set, from Munchkin Bites! to Star Munchkin to Munchkin Impossible. Due to the flavor of the cards, I would recommend it for fantasy or Cthulhu, but who hasn't wanted to add some eldritch horror to the wild west?
The set includes 1 treasure, The Munchkinomicon, and 14 spells which the tome whispers in your ear. At the beginning of a game including the Munchkinomicon, you shuffle the spell deck and set it alongside the door and treasure decks, then place the Munchkinomicon atop the treasure deck, thus ensuring that whoever gets the first treasure will be under the influence of the libram.
When someone gains the Munchkinomicon, they draw a spell and add it to their hand. If a player starts a turn with the Munchkinomicon, they draw a spell. Once all 14 spells have been drawn, they're (mostly) gone. Don't despair, even with the spells gone, the Munchkinomicon is a +5 item which takes no hands.
The Munchkinomicon itself is a fickle beast and another Munchkin can lure it away from you by dying, playing a curse/ trap/ madness card on another player, sacrificing 3 cards, or sacrificing a level. This can even be done in the middle of combat, ensuring maximum chaos.
Munchkinomicon is a fun set which adds another vector for strife among the players and can cause hilarious effects when one player MUST win the grimoire back from the unworthy opponent who lured it away by their act of resurrection.
Unfortunately, Munchkinomicon has a large amount of power creep. The tome itself is a +5 item, and there are spells which allow huge combat bonuses, ridiculous numbers of additional monsters, and even a spell which doubles cards gained from a combat.
I would not recommend adding Munchkinomicon to quick games of Munchkin, but if you want to mix things up this set will certainly fit the bill. Munchkinomicon seems to be designed specifically to be added to Epic games. The power level and speed lends itself to Epic play perfectly.
If you're a fan of Munchkin and especially if you play Epic Munchkin on a semi-regular basis, I would recommend picking up this set. If you like your games to be less chaotic and never play Epic, you may wish to give this booster a pass.
Munchkinomicon is designed to be playable with any Munchkin set, from Munchkin Bites! to Star Munchkin to Munchkin Impossible. Due to the flavor of the cards, I would recommend it for fantasy or Cthulhu, but who hasn't wanted to add some eldritch horror to the wild west?
The set includes 1 treasure, The Munchkinomicon, and 14 spells which the tome whispers in your ear. At the beginning of a game including the Munchkinomicon, you shuffle the spell deck and set it alongside the door and treasure decks, then place the Munchkinomicon atop the treasure deck, thus ensuring that whoever gets the first treasure will be under the influence of the libram.
When someone gains the Munchkinomicon, they draw a spell and add it to their hand. If a player starts a turn with the Munchkinomicon, they draw a spell. Once all 14 spells have been drawn, they're (mostly) gone. Don't despair, even with the spells gone, the Munchkinomicon is a +5 item which takes no hands.
The Munchkinomicon itself is a fickle beast and another Munchkin can lure it away from you by dying, playing a curse/ trap/ madness card on another player, sacrificing 3 cards, or sacrificing a level. This can even be done in the middle of combat, ensuring maximum chaos.
Munchkinomicon is a fun set which adds another vector for strife among the players and can cause hilarious effects when one player MUST win the grimoire back from the unworthy opponent who lured it away by their act of resurrection.
Unfortunately, Munchkinomicon has a large amount of power creep. The tome itself is a +5 item, and there are spells which allow huge combat bonuses, ridiculous numbers of additional monsters, and even a spell which doubles cards gained from a combat.
I would not recommend adding Munchkinomicon to quick games of Munchkin, but if you want to mix things up this set will certainly fit the bill. Munchkinomicon seems to be designed specifically to be added to Epic games. The power level and speed lends itself to Epic play perfectly.
If you're a fan of Munchkin and especially if you play Epic Munchkin on a semi-regular basis, I would recommend picking up this set. If you like your games to be less chaotic and never play Epic, you may wish to give this booster a pass.
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Pirate Fluxx: It's a Plunderful Life [Review]
Mar. 28th, 2011 | 11:21 am
Pirate Fluxx is the latest Fluxx release by Looney Labs with an MSRP of $16. As with all Fluxx games, it is recommended for 2-6 players ages 8 and up and takes 10-40 minutes to play.
Fluxx is a game of ever-changing rules and goals and Pirate Fluxx has several new wrinkles to add to the series.
Gameplay has a strong focus on stabbing your friends in the back, stealing from them, and gathering as much loot as possible.
The biggest addition is the new card type: Surprise. Surprise allows players to play out of turn for the first time, canceling cards or actions as other players make them, possibly preventing them from winning. Pirate Fluxx comes with a Surprise for each basic card type, and each Surprise has a related effect if played on your own turn.
The set has a lot of strongly interactive cards or variable usages depending upon what other cards are in play. For instance many cards having special rules if the Captain's Hat is in play that its controller is unaffected or gets a bonus.
The set also features two Creepers, cards which prevent you from winning if you have them in play but which can be given to other players or discarded under certain circumstances. These cards are a fun surprise due to the low number of them in the deck. This is a nice change after Zombie Fluxx and Martian Fluxx, each of which had a large number of Creepers.
Pirate Fluxx is probably the best balanced of the series for two-player games while remaining extremely fun for multiple players. It is easily picked up by new players and tends to play very quickly. It's a great game for introducing new players or warming up for meatier games. But, as with all short, chaotic games, a regular diet will burn you out fairly quickly.
Trivia: the coins on the Pieces of Eight have the letters "FLXX" for Fluxx and "MCMXCVI" for 1996, the year Fluxx 1.0 was first released.
Fluxx is a game of ever-changing rules and goals and Pirate Fluxx has several new wrinkles to add to the series.
Gameplay has a strong focus on stabbing your friends in the back, stealing from them, and gathering as much loot as possible.
The biggest addition is the new card type: Surprise. Surprise allows players to play out of turn for the first time, canceling cards or actions as other players make them, possibly preventing them from winning. Pirate Fluxx comes with a Surprise for each basic card type, and each Surprise has a related effect if played on your own turn.
The set has a lot of strongly interactive cards or variable usages depending upon what other cards are in play. For instance many cards having special rules if the Captain's Hat is in play that its controller is unaffected or gets a bonus.
The set also features two Creepers, cards which prevent you from winning if you have them in play but which can be given to other players or discarded under certain circumstances. These cards are a fun surprise due to the low number of them in the deck. This is a nice change after Zombie Fluxx and Martian Fluxx, each of which had a large number of Creepers.
Pirate Fluxx is probably the best balanced of the series for two-player games while remaining extremely fun for multiple players. It is easily picked up by new players and tends to play very quickly. It's a great game for introducing new players or warming up for meatier games. But, as with all short, chaotic games, a regular diet will burn you out fairly quickly.
Trivia: the coins on the Pieces of Eight have the letters "FLXX" for Fluxx and "MCMXCVI" for 1996, the year Fluxx 1.0 was first released.
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Munchkin Zombies: the more in-depth review
Mar. 19th, 2011 | 04:36 pm
When thinking about Munchkin Zombies, I was torn on how to review it. Munchkin is a huge franchise with multiple main sets and dozens of expansions, boosters, and promo items. I decided to write a short review for those unfamiliar with Munchkin and another for people who know the series.
If you've played Munchkin before, you know the formula: you kick down a door, fight the monster, and gain levels and treasure. Munchkin Zombies holds few surprises, but it is a fun addition to the Munchkin line.
The twist in Munchkin Zombies is that instead of being the intrepid adventurers heading into the dungeon/ spaceship/ saloon/ etc, you're a zombie breaking into houses/ apartments/ malls/ etc looking for people whose brains you can eat. So, most of the 'monsters' are normal human beings. Except for the Girl Sprouts, there's nothing normal about them.
Unlike most Munchkin sets, Zombies has no Class(es). Instead, you have Mojo: Atomic, Plague, and Voodoo. The Mojo are decidedly underpowered when compared with Classes, Styles, or even Accents. This may be an attempt to tone down the power creep in combining sets or it may be a style choice to keep within genre that zombies generally aren't that powerful.
Along with Mojo, Zombies has Powers, which work the same as they did in Supers and Bites. There isn't much variety, as there are only 6 Powers and multiple copies of each. This seems to be a stylistic choice that there just isn't that much variety in zombies.
The humour is spot-in with references to all of the major zombie franchises as well as at least a few obscure ones. It is extremely genre savvy and it's easy to get into the game, moaning and om-nomming when you catch a Babysitter or saying "Shotgun bad!" while running away from the Action Hero. A seasoned Munchkin player is also likely to get a few chuckles from such in-jokes as the "3,872 Dorks."
The art is fun and silly, exactly what we've come to expect from John Kovalic. No big surprises, but we don't come to Munchkin expecting to be blown away by the amazing card art.
I haven't yet tried to combine it with other sets. I'm a little worried how it might play and that the Zombie cards might simply be underpowered in comparison, not to mention problems with the genre clash of "big damned heroes" turned into "slow hungry zombies." But, if you're playing Munchkin, then you're not looking for a game which is supposed to make all that much sense.
I heartily recommend this to people who enjoy Munchkin or who just enjoy a good zombie game where you get to chase down Soccer Moms and hope that they don't flatten you with their SUVs.
If you've played Munchkin before, you know the formula: you kick down a door, fight the monster, and gain levels and treasure. Munchkin Zombies holds few surprises, but it is a fun addition to the Munchkin line.
The twist in Munchkin Zombies is that instead of being the intrepid adventurers heading into the dungeon/ spaceship/ saloon/ etc, you're a zombie breaking into houses/ apartments/ malls/ etc looking for people whose brains you can eat. So, most of the 'monsters' are normal human beings. Except for the Girl Sprouts, there's nothing normal about them.
Unlike most Munchkin sets, Zombies has no Class(es). Instead, you have Mojo: Atomic, Plague, and Voodoo. The Mojo are decidedly underpowered when compared with Classes, Styles, or even Accents. This may be an attempt to tone down the power creep in combining sets or it may be a style choice to keep within genre that zombies generally aren't that powerful.
Along with Mojo, Zombies has Powers, which work the same as they did in Supers and Bites. There isn't much variety, as there are only 6 Powers and multiple copies of each. This seems to be a stylistic choice that there just isn't that much variety in zombies.
The humour is spot-in with references to all of the major zombie franchises as well as at least a few obscure ones. It is extremely genre savvy and it's easy to get into the game, moaning and om-nomming when you catch a Babysitter or saying "Shotgun bad!" while running away from the Action Hero. A seasoned Munchkin player is also likely to get a few chuckles from such in-jokes as the "3,872 Dorks."
The art is fun and silly, exactly what we've come to expect from John Kovalic. No big surprises, but we don't come to Munchkin expecting to be blown away by the amazing card art.
I haven't yet tried to combine it with other sets. I'm a little worried how it might play and that the Zombie cards might simply be underpowered in comparison, not to mention problems with the genre clash of "big damned heroes" turned into "slow hungry zombies." But, if you're playing Munchkin, then you're not looking for a game which is supposed to make all that much sense.
I heartily recommend this to people who enjoy Munchkin or who just enjoy a good zombie game where you get to chase down Soccer Moms and hope that they don't flatten you with their SUVs.
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Munckin Zombies: the game with both running gags and shambling hordes
Mar. 19th, 2011 | 01:53 pm
Steve Jackson Games has released the latest game in their best-selling Munchkin line. This game for 3-6 mindless undead has an MSRP of $24.99.
The Zombie Apocalypse has come and you are among the lucky horde partaking in the feast. You start as a level 1 Zombie with no Mojo (it's a game about Zombies, of course the players have no class). Along the way, you may become irradiated, smart, or even gain a voodoo curse. The first Zombie to eat enough brains to reach level 10 wins.
The Zombies shamble around, kicking down doors looking for Girl Sprouts, a Pizza Guy, or other easy prey. If you're unlucky, you might get "SPRAAIIIIIIIINS," be hit by "TRAAIIIIIIIINS," or even fall down "DRAAAAAIIIIIINS."
After chasing down the Babysitter and avoiding her Lawnmower, you get to loot her stuff. You may get a set of flower pots stuck on your feet or pick up a Stop Sign, useful for bashing the Zombie Chihuahua.
If you order now from Warehouse 23, you might be lucky enough to get the promo card "Zombie Santa" who gives all the good Zombie boys and good Zombie girls gifts before attempting to eat their brains.
The art, as ever, is by the inimitable John Kovalic of Dork Tower fame. He is in fine form in his presentation of the undead hordes and their afternoon snacks.
Munchkin Zombies is a rollicking good time for the genre savvy & the uninitiated alike. Your group will be moaning for brains by the end of their Zombie Jamboree.
The Zombie Apocalypse has come and you are among the lucky horde partaking in the feast. You start as a level 1 Zombie with no Mojo (it's a game about Zombies, of course the players have no class). Along the way, you may become irradiated, smart, or even gain a voodoo curse. The first Zombie to eat enough brains to reach level 10 wins.
The Zombies shamble around, kicking down doors looking for Girl Sprouts, a Pizza Guy, or other easy prey. If you're unlucky, you might get "SPRAAIIIIIIIINS," be hit by "TRAAIIIIIIIINS," or even fall down "DRAAAAAIIIIIINS."
After chasing down the Babysitter and avoiding her Lawnmower, you get to loot her stuff. You may get a set of flower pots stuck on your feet or pick up a Stop Sign, useful for bashing the Zombie Chihuahua.
If you order now from Warehouse 23, you might be lucky enough to get the promo card "Zombie Santa" who gives all the good Zombie boys and good Zombie girls gifts before attempting to eat their brains.
The art, as ever, is by the inimitable John Kovalic of Dork Tower fame. He is in fine form in his presentation of the undead hordes and their afternoon snacks.
Munchkin Zombies is a rollicking good time for the genre savvy & the uninitiated alike. Your group will be moaning for brains by the end of their Zombie Jamboree.
