Boardgames, Card Games, Gaming
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/180027/item/3480207#item3480207
First (to the best of my knowledge) Math Trade for boardgames in Ireland. Math trades are something I’ve seen many times but never really understood until now.
Have a look see. I’ve a few bits I’ll be putting up for trade on it
Vic
Oh yeah Huzzah!
After a long absence I’m going to actually make it to Gaelcon this year
Just like confession I couldn’t tell you the last time I was there, certainly a number of years. I seem to recall a pub quiz, some extended refreshment and a fruitless quest for fried food. It was all black and white and there may have been pirates.
I’m looking forward to meeting in Person some of the people whom I’ve only chatted to online and catching up with a few I haven’t gamed with in way too long.
If you are attending make sure to make yourself known and join me for a game or two.
SO… Who’s game?
Huzzah!
Vic
Love letter is a bit of a misnomer, there’s no letter and there’s surely no love when you play this game. I love simple, clever games and Love Letter is certainly one of these. It has sixteen cards and it still manages to deliver like a boss
It’s best played with three to four players (the max) and it plays out in say twenty minutes or so. The first few games take a bit of getting your head around and being told repeatidly draw one, play one eventually gets through your skull.
You start the game with one of seven possible card types some of which have multiples. They are the usual motley crew of medieval archetypes, Priest, Princess, Duchess, King, Guard and so on. Each of them have a special power and each of them can dampen either you or your opponents ardour.
The idea is you need to end the round with a card higher ranked than your opponents or knock them all out of the round before the cards run out.
This can be achieved in a number of ways, the easiest being naming what card an opponent has by playing a guard (yes sometimes it’s pure guess). Forcing them to discard a particular card, punching them in the throat (not sure this is an official rule), Challenging them to have a higher card than you with the Duke. Other cards allow you to swap hands or view another player’s cards. It’s very much Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock and it works very well indeed. It is if you will perfectly formed.
The game is purely reactionary, you have to think on your feet (even when you’re sitting down) and there’s always a way to win. This sounds like a wine buff (there’s hints of blackberry) but there are hints of other games in here but none of them are overpowering nor is the game too similar to anything else. It very much stands on its own.
I’m always amazed how music works, a half dozen notes into a tune you have something unique, the same is true of love letter. It’s unique, it’s fun and it’s criminally cheap. You can pick it up for less than ten euro and you will play it again and again. Of all the essential games to have in your collection, THIS is top of the list
Go now and pick up a copy and if I’m wrong you can punch me in the throat at the next Knavecon
Huzzah!
Vic
Castle of the devil is a game I’ve been after for a while. It’s gotten mixed reviews and a lot of reviewers have said that the resistance is superior. That’s fine. Being not quite as good as the resistance is still pretty good and opinions are like just that.
The first thing that struck me about the game is the size. It’s tiny. A little bigger than a desk of cards (60 cards or so).
The Second thing is the fact that it’s in both German and English just like Irish roadsigns (you know what I mean) but with the foreign language on top. It’s fine btw just takes a little bit of getting used to
The third thing is how long it takes to play. Usually USUALLY a small game takes a small amount of time to play. Not so in this case we rattled on for a full hour with this and it was back and forth to the last.
The game itself is not bad at all. Not out of This world but not bad. The whole game resolves around a coach trip (the horse type) where the passengers are secretly split into two factions the brotherhood of lies and the other lads who hate lies. Probably. One group is trying to secure three keys and the other is trying to secure three goblets for their respective teams. Note the word team. Now the fun bit is you start not knowing whom works for whom and it’s a race to deduce who’s who then a grab for the keys or goblets. Simple.
Each member starts with one random luggage object and a random profession which grants either a one off ability like poisoning someone, breaking up a fight or a not so powerful game long ability like being a good fighter or a bodyguard and so on
Professions are hidden until needed so there’s lots of HA HA! Moments in the game which I liked.
Each turn players swap items of luggage or in our case quite a bit stop the carriage and challenge each other to a duel at which point players in turn declare whom they are siding with and either assist the attacker or defend the victim. The winner in either case gets a sneaky look at who the loser works for or gets to half inch one of their luggage items.
The luggage items apart from the goblets and keys all have special abilities often triggered by trading them to another player. They might help a player in attack or defence. Allow a player to examine who they work for. Cause a player to break out in hives, not be able to drink apple juice and so on. I’m kidding and you get the idea
By a careful study of players actions and a series of judicious beatings you can figure out who’s who and to win all you need do is stand up and in a “I’m Brian and so is my wife” style declare whom you work for, that you have a key/goblet and so have those other guys that work with you…. get that wrong and you lose
It’s an interesting game. I think we over played it on Thur until there was no doubt of whom everyone was and then it was a tug of war to secure the goblets/keys. My team lost. Worst team ever.
We also played the first game objects only so we haven’t tested the whole game with all of the luggage. All and all it was good but not brilliant but I’ll hold fire until I’ve played it again and in full
Until that day Huzzah and safe home (to the castle of the devil)
Vic
Thanks to all the gamers and gaming groups out there that have been helping me of late to promote this blog. It’s been a pleasure (so far) writing it and I hope anyone who’s read it has not been wealthy enough to afford a decent hitman. more to come
Huzzah!
Vic
you’ve got to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk? BEST LINE EVER (apart from all the other best lines ever)
Cash and guns or more correctly Ca$h and Gun$ is a super little filler game. It’s been reprinted lately having been out of print for a number of years and being stupendously expensive for what is a fairly simple game at heart.
I had a crack at playing this some months back with the group using a set made of playing cards, kids guns and sticky back plastic. It was good but the real McCoy is much nicer.
It caters for four to eight players and it’s a short filler game. About twenty minutes and you’re done. It’s a real goodie to round out an evenings gaming.
The whole sizzle of the game is the guns. It plays as a series of Mexican standoffs with everyone at the count of three pointing their natty foam guns at each other. I can only assume the foam guns are there after playtesters understandably pistol whipped each other with more solid versions.
So having seen whom or more likely multiple whoms are pointing at you on the count of three players get to chicken out or stand their ground.
Those who stand firm find out if their attacker loaded their gun with blanks or live ammo (of which there’s a limited amount) and therefore either wind up full of holes (three wounds and you’re dead dead) or miraculously unscathed
Those remaining brave and un holed get to share a central pile of loot, which gets redrawn each round
Rinse and repeat for eight rounds and whomever has the biggest wad at the end, is the winner.
Throw in a few extra rules and you have different character types that can take more hits, steal more of the stash and you have a recipe for all out fun
It’s a blast (literally). There’s a bit of luck in there, there’s a lot of old rivalries come to the fore when playing. There’s guns, did I mention guns? There’s cash.
I talked about the live version of this some time back, this is a similar animal and it retains the same fun elements from it’s bigger cousin. I lost btw, way too fool hardy and shootable, that said I didn’t lose as bad as the owner of the game who has after a dozen plays NEVER, EVER made it to the end without being killed.
Then again a man’s GOT to know his limitations
Huzzah!
I’ve gone all out and upgraded the site so i now have more control over how it looks. This can only be a bad thing.
I’ve also moved to a proper (debatable) domain name
http://www.victorgannongames.com
Huzzah!
Vic
Knavecon IV begins today
10:00am Castletroy Park Hotel. Let’s game ’til we drop
Huzzah!
Vic
Seven has always been viewed as a special number. A lucky number, a magic number and funny enough it’s also the mostly likely outcome of rolling two dice.
Seven players on the other hand are a different story. There aren’t all that many games (at least in my library) that will entertain seven together for the whole night without dragging the holy hoop out of things with downtime. There are a few alright Battlestar, eclipse (with the add on), seven wonders but the night took it’s own course when two of the gamers drifted off together like teenagers at a disco to play Magic the Gathering
Let’s talk about the first game we played
Resistance
Resistance is a mafia type game (werewolf) but without elimination and untidy ripping out of throats. The game will happily support up to ten
It’s fast it’s simple and it’s great fun. Sometimes it’s really really good other times it’s just really good.
At the start a number of cards with rebels (good guys) or spys (not good guys) are dealt out so no one is quite sure of whom each player is (just like werewolf). In the games we played (resistance is like pastilles it’s impossible to have just one)(game) I wasn’t once a spy but do you think I was believed to be a good empire fearing rebel? NOOOOO. “Typical spy talk”, “Vic’s a spy”, “look at the big spy head on him” no one actually said at any stage.
So the good guys lost every game and the spy’s were failing missions in their sleep. It was a disaster and all because no one believed me, even the new guy. I blame myself insofar as I don’t actually blame myself I just need to change tack and reduce the amount of backstabbing I do so one day people will believe me when I make a deal..,, and I can then quickly backstab them
Definitely a game for ten at Knavecon
Huzzah!
Vic
I’ll also be bringing THIS to Brocon. Don’t be worried. It’s not like it’s an electric shock game where there are no winners just people laughing at you. For no reason I can think of it proved very popular at the last Knavecon and I think it will fit in with the Brocon vibe perfectly 🙂
Huzzah!
Vic
Victor Gannon Games 