Will be down in Cork Tue 14 Aug for a games night with Jimmy and the lads

https://www.facebook.com/groups/946308112049171/

Come say hello before Knavecon 10

Huzzah!

Vic

Pandas are great aren't they?. They're all lovely and cuddly but you know they will eat meat If it's available and in the wild will happily knock the shit out of other pandas. Viticulture looks like a gentle game but under the surface it's quite brutal. Not directly but by the dark gods by some of the most infuriating cock blocking ever to grace a board game

Viticulture is a worker placement game a little like Agricola, a little like Stone Age. It's by the same dudes that made Scythe. You spot that pretty quick when you crack it open. This is a quality game, lovely art work, lovely build quality, cracking meeples.

The game sees up to six players taking he role of a viticulturist growing grapes, harvesting them, making wine, fulfilling wine orders and hopefully outscoring your fellow players. It's pretty straightforward.

Turns are split into seasons. In spring you choose a spot on the wake up list (turn order) go early and you get to play first, a very advantageous thing to do. The later you decide to go the more rewards you get in the form of money, cards and if you're particularly tardy an extra worker. Top marks on the choice of rooster as the meeple for this. In no way did my gaming group make jokes around this Every turn.

Summer opens up a number of options for gathering seedlings, planting vines, building your own infrastructure and getting helpful visitors to come and help out.

You start with three fields each capable of supporting a limited amount of vines. The better quality grapes require things like trestles and irrigation. The cheaper ones will thrive anywhere. Picking the right grape type is important to your overall strategy. All have pluses and minuses.

Visitors come in the form of cards which with a worker on the play card spot lets you execute it. Visitors give you actions sometimes with a cost that allow you to carry out a season related action without having to grab one of the limited worker placement spots. Speaking of which spots are limited on the board and the first ones (depending on numbers) give you a little bonus. Going first is quite important. It's a case of waking late and getting a bonus now or early and getting it later when you place a worker. The essential edition adds the grande worker he can jump on a spot already occupied but you only get one of them so choose carefully.

Fall/Winter sees you harvesting grapes. Making wine and fulfilling wine orders. This is where you make a decent amount of score and the better quality wine gives you more points

Viticulture is one of those games that's more than the sum of its parts. It's really really good. The horror of seeing a spot you need taken and you missing out on a move for a round is like a gut punch. Make sure you're the one dishing it out. The game is so well polished. It oozes class. The artwork is bang on the game's footprint is perfect. Game length is bang on. This is pure entertainment in a box.

I'm going to have my copy at Knavecon and I recommend a look if you haven't tried it. It's sat on my shelf for months now and I'm so glad I took it down to play it. Great game. Go play it

Huzzah!

Vic

More games being added to the Knavcon 10 Raffle Pool.  Knaves I give you something REALLY special for Twilight Struggle fans.  Currently selling second hand for €100 a new and unopened copy of Twilight Struggle Turn Zero AND Promo Packs.  Check out the link for details.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/224686/twilight-struggle-turn-zero-and-promo-packs

Don’t forget

and let’s not forget

MORE TO FOLLOW

SO! how do I get tickets early and beat the rush on the day and benefit from the 2 for 1 offer before the friday before the Knavecon?  Simples just paypal my Swiss bank account at

victorgannon@yahoo.com

Prices are currently

• 2 x raffle tickets for €1
• 20 x raffle tickets for €7
• 50 x raffle tickets for €12

Should you feel inclined, feel free to pre-book your tickets for the event too.  Tickets will be available on the door on the day as usual.  It’s going to be a busy con!

• Adults €18
• Students and unwaged €10
• Accompanied Children Free

Huzzah!

Vic

My favorite type of game is dudes on a map. Have always loved them since Risk and Diplomacy got me into this hobby and I'm always up for a bit of map based conquest. Doesn't mean other game types are bad I like those too but dudes on your border rocks my world.

Enter Mare Nostrum a new ancient empire conquest game set around the med. For me it's the spiritual successor to conquest of the empire but plays out a lot more quickly and demands half the footprint of that venerable old warhorse.

Players take the role of one of the leaders from that era (Cesar, Cliopatra, Hannibal etc) and a fixed starting position of cities, temples, resource routes, markets, legions, forts and ships. The last three are there for conquest and protection the rest are about accumulating resources to build more economy or raise military units to ruin someone else's day. It's a classic formula. We've seen it in Antika and numerous others games. But that's ok because this game does it really well.

Mare Nostrum is both an economic and a combat game (mostly combat when I played it) the game sees you building up your economy by harvesting sets of unique resource types available on different spots on the map. There's 12 different resource types in total plus gold. They all do the same thing. Get three unique ones and you can build stuff or stick control flags on nearby neutral areas. This reminds me a little of Avon Hill Civilization.

There are a number of pretty swift parts to each turn the turn order of each dictated by the strongest player in that discipline. Trading sees you swapping one at a time resources with other players. This is swift and whack a moley.

Building. Again straight forward. There's no upkeep on units or cities.

Conquest. Here you move ships and men then kick off a fight and loot or occupy regions and trade routes. Fighting is dice based with some nations having various bonuses. Fighting is very interesting since the strongest nation calls the order of player turns. It's all too possible to have someone sweep in as the last player and put paid to a hard one victory.

What's particular interesting in this game is the different paths to victory. Control 4 capitals, build the pyramids, be ahead in all three categories (culture, construction and military might). Swapping strategy mid game is quite possible. It's also fast. You could conceivably win in an hour (our game lasted three).

The issue I have with a lot of map conquest games can be turtling and lack of expansion. I've played some games where you don't get far from your capital and encounter maybe only one or two players. When I play a game with four, five or six players I want them all to have an impact. I want to be threatened and threaten all of them potentially. The short hop by boat opens the map out nicely. You're never too far from any enemy. At the same time it's possible to dig in and defend yourself but it's not unassailable and tying up resources like this will cost you the game. The balance here is well done.

Something I haven't felt in the last few games I've played is the urge to play again and quickly. I thought about this game the next day. How I could have played differently. Effective strategies. Mechanics. Wether I should get my own copy. This is a fun game well worth looking at.

The game looks good. It's a busy map but not overpowering and all very clear after a round or two. Build quality is good with a number of deluxe add one and replacement pieces. There's a number of additional optional rules which I didn't play but all look interesting and I will investigate in time.

There should be a few copies at Knavecon on the 2nd September. Once again this is one I'd Pencil in on your dance card if map conquest be your pleasure

Huzzah!

Vic

More games being added to the Knavcon 10 Raffle Pool.  Knaves I give you

and let’s not forget

MORE TO FOLLOW

SO! how do I get tickets early and beat the rush on the day and benefit from the 2 for 1 offer before the friday before the Knavecon?  Simples just paypal my Swiss bank account at

victorgannon@yahoo.com

Prices are currently

• 2 x raffle tickets for €1
• 20 x raffle tickets for €7
• 50 x raffle tickets for €12

Should you feel inclined, feel free to pre-book your tickets for the event too.  Tickets will be available on the door on the day as usual.  It’s going to be a busy con!

• Adults €18
• Students and unwaged €10
• Accompanied Children Free

Huzzah!

Vic

I got to play Terraforming Mars finally only 8 months after it was released. I'd had mixed feelings towards this game not least of which was the reported build quality. After all the hype. The reprints. The debates I played my first game on a buddy's copy. He'd paid €80 for it in a not so local FLGS… that's €80 I'm glad I didn't spend myself…..

First and foremost this is my first game of TM and I do plan to play it again. Bets firmly hedged let's continue

For my first game I was very much underwhelmed.

The theme is strong. You and up to three other players play a corporation with a special ability competing to get the highest score by helping to terraforming mars. You this by raising the temperature, oxygen levels and placing all the sea tiles. So these are the three levels Scotty slides to beam up a win. To affect these you plant forests, build cities, install microbes and a variety of other sciencey stuff.

Rounds start by drafting four cards from a massive stack and picking and paying which to keep. Each has a cost to play and a set of restrictions such as min or max temperature or oxygen levels. Usually these cards allow you to carry out an action or setup a future action at a lesser cost than the standard actions. Like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne you can buy some of your actions more expensively if you have the cash. Well a lot of the actions.

Everything costs money which luckily you get at the start of the turn. You also get a variety of amounts added to energy, heat, plant life, iron and titanium. Each of these feed a very expensive slowly terraforming maw. Things like iron and titanium along with certain cards reduce the cost of building. Other levels allow you to build cities, forest and ok I'm going to stop there. We've been here before. You need to adjust a number of levels through a set of mechanics that vary in cost and effect as they're drawn from the deck, a very big deck it must be said. You can invest in cards that will increase score or improve your economy and ability to buy further cards and you're racing to get to the highest score. As always it's knowing when to build up your economy and when to go for broke and concentrate on scoring.

There is nothing wrong with the mechanics. It's all fine it's just so similar to every other games. What does annoy me about the game is as follows

It's a solo game practically. Everyone works away practically in their own bubble with very little interaction racing to the finish. I can't be doing with that

The build quality is poor. Not Monopoly money poor but it won't last. The board is basic unlike myself it will not age well. The money is easily chipped. The cards are fine but scream do be sleeved and there's just too many of them.

The artwork is fine and the color scheme fine. I want more for my buck, fine doesn't cut it. It doesn't wow accept maybe the money pieces.

The real problem I found with TM was there's better out there. There's too many games to play them all and I refuse to waste time on the mundane and after one game were still in the mundane zone. Sure it might improve as you play more but you're card is marked TM you'd better pull your socks up or it's expulsion for you.

Huzzah!

Vic

For all of you planning to attend or just happy to support Knavecon I once again give you the Grand Raffle.  for the princely sum of €1 your name will be entered into our now famous draw for a selection of Board Games which will be raffled on the day.  (early supporters will get TWO entries for their buck up until midnight Friday 1st September)

The prize fund will be added to as time progresses and more games will be appended to the list and this post updated.

Since this is the Tenth Knavecon I’m going to start off with something REALLY special. Considered THE grail game and out of print for a number of decades, Knaves I give you our first prize….

Please not this game is NOT new new, it’s a 40 year old game, from the contents it looks like it has never actually been played, the box is a little worn, which is to be expected in this age of game and materials.  The contents are 100% complete and look unused. There’s a video of the game in Knavecon X 

MORE TO FOLLOW

SO! how do I get tickets early and beat the rush on the day and benefit from the 2 for 1 offer before the friday before the Knavecon?  Simples just paypal my Swiss bank account at

victorgannon@yahoo.com

Prices are currently

• 2 x raffle tickets for €1
• 20 x raffle tickets for €7
• 50 x raffle tickets for €12

Should you feel inclined, feel free to pre-book your tickets for the event too.  Tickets will be available on the door on the day as usual.  It’s going to be a busy con!

• Adults €18
• Students and unwaged €10
• Accompanied Children Free

Huzzah!

Vic

As you know, Knavecon 10 (or X if you’re Italian) is coming down the tracks in 5 weeks time or less, 2nd September.  I’ve always been keen to get people to mix up their gaming groups a bit and gamers do tend to be a friendly bunch. Usually.  I’d love to see people float around a bit more and get to know others, network if you will.  One of the Knaves had a cracking idea which I’m putting in place for Knavecon 10.  A set of signs you can write on in chalk to invite other players to join your game if you’re short a player or you just feel like getting some new people involved.  Remember gaming is like the black pudding industry it needs constant fresh blood.

Here’s my challenge to you Knaves coming to the Knavecon 10 and that’s to get involved in a game with a group of people you haven’t played with before.  Better still drag a newbie into a game and explain the rules.  you don’t have to of course, it’s your con, but I think you’ll be surprised how much fun it is to play with a fresh group of people.  Especially since they don’t know you and may trust you when you say you won’t attack them….

Keep the faith

See you on the 2nd

Huzzah!

Vic

Twilight Struggle is a stupendous game. Maybe even the best 2 player game out there. I've played some epic games of it. The best of which kicked off at 11pm at a Knavecon. Sometimes you just don't have the three to four hours it requires to play. Enter 13 days a cut down version that uses a lot of the same mechanics but plays out in maybe 20-30 minutes (or in my case 5 as I kept nuking myself). It's good, it's definitely not As good as TS. more like pitch and putt versus golf.

13 MINUTES is like mini golf without the windmill. it's a cut down version of 13 days and it's not bad at all.

The game uses a lot of the same mechanics as 13 days and a few from bloodbowl team manager. It also tips it's hat to Love Letter insofar as it only consists of a small number of cards. 13 in this case. Also 13 influence cubes.

Both players pick either USSR or USA as their side. Both play a little different but mostly the same.

When the game starts players secretly bid a number of their precious influence cubes to see who goes first. Both sides bid of cubes are removed from the game. One card is randomly picked and placed face down (Cuba) and it's worth two points at the end if you have the most influence cubes on it. Then it all kicks off.

Each turn a player plays one card from their hand of two. The playing field is made up of your side of the table. The neutral middle and the opponents side. When you play a card it goes into either your side or the middle. You then have the option of putting down or taking up, up to the amount of cubes listed on the card onto any card on the table. Putting any cubes on a card (a card on the table is termed a battleground) moves it one step towards your side of the table, taking back cubes moves it one step towards your opponent.

The other option when playing a card is to use the event text instead (if the card is neutral or your sides card). Event text tend to be more powerful with things like place cubes on two battlegrounds. Swap a card from your influence zone to your opponents. The whole your zone my zone thing is to break ties if you have equal influence (including zero each) on a battleground. In grand TS tradition if you play a card with the opponents symbol on it they get to kick off the event before you can spend the influence.

Each turn more and more battlegrounds open up and hard choices have to be made about where to spend your limited influence cubes. Which to let your opponent dominate and which to hold onto. I think Kenny Rogers may have sung about this.

The last sting in the tail is the nuclear symbol at the top of the card in one of three colors. If at the end of the game you have in your Zone three cards with the same color nuclear symbol then Kaboomy! It's game over man for you. Sneaking in a third nuclear symbol into the opponents zone is a sweet way to win (and I've yet to pull it off)

The game is cheap. It's fast and it's portable. It's a very small game just a small stack of cards and a few cubes. It punches above it's weight for what's in the box and because it's so quick you'll want to replay immediately.

I like it. It's good fun maybe not quite as good as 13 days and certainly not as good as Twilight Struggle but it's a quick fix and it fits nicely in that zone. Worth a look. I'll have it at Knavecon which is closer than you think!

Huzzah!

Vic