Orlando, Florida
March 1 – 4, 2001
Well, I am back in town after a week in sunny Florida and did get in some fun gaming. while gone. I want to give you the $5 tour of my opinions of the some of the new stuff I got to try.
STRAND CUP (BEACH VOLLEYBALL )
This was a German card game I think named something like Grand Champion….Mark will have to give us the real name as it was his game. It is beach volley ball played with 2, 4, or 6 players in teams. Once you understand the mechanic, it is very quick and really plays like a volleyball match. One team sends the ball over with a certain speed and difficulty and the other must dig it, set it up and send it back. There are a few event cards like hitting the ball into the sun with a 50/50 chance of the other team getting the sun in their eyes and missing the ball….but on the whole it is just good fun. The rules are clean and crisp and it plays pretty fast once you get the hang of it. You cannot show your team members your cards but you can yell, “set me up” and ” I got it” etc. I think this one was a hit for me…but you need even numbers and it is a filler of 20 minutes.
Not heavy…but a 6-7 for what it is.
DOGE
Basically a bidding placement game. The mechanic works, the decisions are good…there is tension…..I just didn’t enjoy it that much. After the first run….a little repetitive and boring.
5.
SAN MARCO
This one got hiped too much for me before I got a chance to try it. But, still a hit of the show. Very strong at one playing….the game centers around the card split mechanic which is very entertaining. The timing mechanism in the card split puts a nice bit of tension into the game. Still not sure about any long term replay value though but would definitely give it another play.
Put this one at a 7 for me.
EVO
Call this one Ursuppe light. Actually this one is a piece of Tyranno Ex, Quirks and Ursuppe rolled into one hour. That is a plus. This was Emily’s favorite game of the show. So, it goes into a buy status. Everyone seemed favorably impressed with it. I got one comment from someone who played it three times and said the last playing seemed way too long. But, the game timer puts a definite limit and if you keep moving, our game went very well.
At first play another 7-8.
WYATT EARP
Well, I didn’t really play it. I sat through the rules twice and had to be called away both times as the game was starting. But, most people loved it. It is the newest version of Mystery Rummy with many of the same mechanics set into a western theme. I was nice having Richard Borg explain the rules too!
TIMES UP
Frank has done a great job putting the Celebrities game into a box. As usual, a lot of fun if you like that sort of thing and…..I do.
SET
Emily picked this one from the prize table. It is a game of collecting sets of three cards. The cards have four characteristics….color, shape, number and fill. All characteristics of three cards must be exactly the same or completely different……(try having a ten year old try to explain the rules to this one to you by examples!) Anyway after reading the rules….I got it and it gave us about an hours worth of enjoyment on the plane trip home.
JOKER GOLF
Now, I don’t know who put this on the prize table….probably a joke but, as my last pick as picking were slim, was this one. Again, a golf Milles Borne variant….was much pleasure in the airport and on the plane. Another game that is small to add to the backpack for trips. If you are a golfer and need a filler for a trip…this could be it. It is not as good as the Fantasy Flight golf game for sure, but it is much smaller and very easy to explain.
SPANISH MAIN
There has been a lot of hype on this out of print, hard to find, gem. Give it up! Thanks to Brent for showing it to me and saving me many dollars and agony trying to find a copy. There are a few games going on here and none of theme seemed to work well. I was intrigued at the tile and island exploration but it did not make up for having to spend a whole turn taking one gold out of a mine when you needed 35 to win. Sorry, put this one at a 3 for me unless we did something very wrong.
FRESH FISH
Thanks again to Brent.….I owe you a game of Barons of Fyn….we have been trying to play this game together for about 3 years and finally got to it. Yes, it is a brain burner tile placement game, but I find it fasinating.
This was another hit of the show at a rating of 7-8.
DRAGON’S GOLD
Bruno’s new game is beautiful and on the tentative buy list. Much like Castle, it is in the light faire bracket. For its price though, it will be a keeper. The mechanic centers around dividing treasure as set collecting……I thought I was doing pretty well, but, when we scored, I was last…….Neat event cards to drive magic powers and a big negotiation piece set to a timer! The timer pressure makes the game work in my mind….only one deal fell through…..my fault, I wanted a blue by God! If you like Castle and lighter games with strong negotiation, consider this one……most everyone gave this one good reviews.
Rating at a 6 after one play.
SALUDOS AMIGOS
My comments as I rounded up 7 players….”nuclear waste, 7 players, 30 minutes…..it has to be good!” I apparently lied. It got dubbed KK&K light. I would call it KK&K light fiddly. You are rolling dice and adding numbers of cards to get negotiation strength and then trying to form a winning coalition with the most strength. After that the losers can attempt to call a council meeting to overturn the vote….by card play. And, such it goes …..there are also press agents…..and when they come out….you subtract the number of cards you have from the person with the least number of cards and loose that many victory points…….lucky for Ty you could not go negative. We abandoned the game after a few rounds…..time was running out and there were other games to play.
Put this one in the 3 category.
ATTILA
Second playing and it improved this time. Close match, tough decisions….the four players makes control a little weak. The theme is so blatantly pasted on that even I can’t believe it…..that aside, it gives good play it is moving up in my mind to a 6-7.
I am sure more will come to me as I begin to see posts on the GG visit and I will add some comments at that point since I really didn’t take any notes. One highlight for me was the acquisition of Princes of Florence finally the English edition off the prize table…..Thanks Jay….I have been waiting patiently.
To the GG group, it was great seeing everyone and meeting a lot of new folks too. It is a highlight for me. The welcome party was awesome (as usual)…..who does that anyway?