Tag Archives: dice

1 March 2013 · 13:32

Island in the Sun – Bora Bora review

Bora COVER

Stefan Feld is currently on an insane run of producing excellent games. Today, The Judge steps up to check out his latest release, Bora Bora. Will the streak continue?

In Feld we trust…

Specifically, I am talking about Stefan Feld, the current wunderkind of Eurogames who has quickly developed a reputation for combining established mechanisms and innovative ideas into deep and satisfying ‘Euro’ style board games – with the lightest smattering of theme dusted on top. Now, these games aren’t for everyone – but from Notre Dame, through Macao to Castles of Burgundy and Trajan, Feld has demonstrated a unique talent for creating interesting, memorable and replayable games that stand out in an increasingly dense sea of mediocrity. Even Luna, which I don’t love, is a curious misstep but never less than memorable and worthy of discussion.

That brings us to 2013 and his new opus – Bora Bora! And it’s fantastic.

Let’s kick the elephant out of the room to begin with – yes, this game is set on the island of Bora Bora. Yes, you are building huts on the board and utilising the skills of tribes folk to expand your influence. Yes, you could even say that the priests you send to the temples are providing you with the glory of the gods. All this is, obviously, poppycock (which, as an editorial aside, is the first time I have ever written that word. It is fun and I recommend you all do that same).

Bora Bora is, at its heart, a mechanical exercise in point scoring. Unlike numerous other soulless Euros, though, the game’s tight 6 round structure features clear short, medium and long term goals that force you to tactically adapt to turn-by-turn pressures whilst maintaining a resolute long term strategy for end game scoring.

If that last paragraph left you cold – then move along because this isn’t for you. If there is a glint in your eye like the sun catching the crest of a wave as it lashes the beautiful island shore then please read on… Oh, and seek help. Each round of Bora Bora begins with players rolling three dice which are their ‘workers’. In turn order these are then allocated to action selection spaces – the twist being that you can only take an action if the number on your worker die is LESS than every other die on the space. This allows potential for some blocking and screwage – especially in the last rounds where players need ONE MORE of something to score big bonus points. The flip side is that the HIGHER the number placed, then the better or at least more varied your options are when taking that action.

Feld himself has included dice as a key feature in his games before (think of Burgundy and Macao) but I think Bora Bora perfectly finds the balance between forcing you to adjust your short term strategy mid-stream and having prepared for the possibility of being stuck with a bad roll with the various “Luck Mitigation Mechanisms” (or “God Cards” as the game calls them). Actually, their term is catchier.

With so much going on, you might think that keeping an eye on everything is a struggle...

With so much going on, you might think that keeping an eye on everything is a struggle…

The other genius of Bora Bora is the mission tiles. Each turn you have the opportunity to ‘solve’ one of three personal tiles for points. You then select a new mission from the tableau (which has been open information since the start of the previous round) that you can score in future rounds. Missing an opportunity to complete a mission can be a big deal – no end game bonus for you! – so you have to juggle completing one mission per turn with setting yourself up to be able to meet all of the demands by the end of the game. Very interesting, very cool and very satisfying when it all comes off.

The missions are just part of it though – You need to get all the expensive jewellery don’t you? Each round you can buy ONE victory-point-awarding trinket for Shells (an in-game resource.) This is resolved in turn order – so you need to keep an eye on what other people have got, what they can generate and make sure you are high enough on the turn order track (modified each round) to get what you need.

Oh, and you need priests in the temple! These give you free points every round. And you need to construct your buildings! They score huge if built at the start of the game and progressively less from each round you wait. Not to mention erecting huts… getting resources… recruiting tribesmen…

So, there’s a great deal going on – and you cannot possibly hit ALL of the end game scoring, and that is the beauty of the game. Even though there are a huge amount of different elements to consider, the missions provide a focus and a guide to your strategy (customisable beyond the first three tiles as you are selecting them each round.) The game is very tightly designed. Despite the diversity of strategies, final scores are often only a few points apart and in a game where final four player totals are around 160 points – this is no mean feat.

Any negatives? Well the lack of anything resembling a thematic connection will disappoint some, though not me. The art style is fresh and bright, but unapologetically busy. To someone trying to learn straight from the rulebook, the graphic design and iconography could baffle as much as it delights – though this is 200 times better than Burgundy which really needed a reference sheet just to make it playable. I was generally impressed with the straightforward nature of the rulebook and the summary text in a side-column makes reference much easier. The decision to include an idiot board as the left hand side of the thick cardboard player mats is also a good call – making what could be a dense rules teach far more straightforward.

Bora Bora is my favourite game of 2013 thus far. Having played several times, I am still really excited about the next opportunity to get it to the table and the many new strategies to explore and exploit. So get hold of a copy (perhaps from those excellent folks at Gameslore where I bought mine) and enjoy my prediction for this year’s Kennerspiel des Jahres.

So, pretty positive then…! Bora Bora is indeed available from Gameslore and will set you back £32.99. Released in 2013 by Ravensburger, between two and four can play, with games taking around 90 to 120 minutes. Don’t forget to follow Stuart on Twitter – you can find him there as @Judge1979!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Reviews

Tagged as , , , , ,

13 November 2012 · 14:11

I’m With Stupid – Gauntlet of Fools review

You know, it must be a bit weird being Donald X. Vaccarino. The guy’s first published game was the stuff that designers can only dream of: basically starting an entirely new genre, winning the Spiel des Jahres and having one of the most successful games of all time under his belt. However, while Dominion is still massive, it casts something of a shadow over pretty much everything else he’s put out since. I can’t help but think something like Nefarious would’ve been more successful if it’d been by someone else, you know?

His latest release, this time from Indie Boards and Cards, is called Gauntlet of Fools. Again, while it’s nothing groundbreaking it’s certainly disposable fun, especially when you have a larger group sitting around your table. Gameplay is split into two separate sections and can be best described as quick and dirty, with players vying for the best hero in the first instance, then sending them to their doom against a never ending series of monsters in a dungeon. The characters will die, that’s assured, but whichever of them has the most gold at the end of the game is the winner.

A hero laden with a bunch of boasts. Taking on a dungeon full of monsters while juggling with one hand behind their back, AND without breakfast? This’ll go well…

The first part of the game is the bit I find the most entertaining. A combination of Class and Weapon cards are put out on the table, one for each player, and what follows can only be described as an anti-auction. You take a character you like the look of and may add ‘boasts’ to it if you wish. These boasts will knock down your hero’s abilities; stuff like Not Having Breakfast will mean you begin the round with a wound, while others will see you throwing less combat dice or having a lowered defence stat. You’re allowed to steal a character from another player, but in that case you must add a boast. Once every player has a character before them, it’s time to move onto part two of the game – adventuring!

This part is basically a dicefest. An encounter card is drawn, most of which are monsters that you will face. Players attack simultaneously, rolling the amount of dice shown on their weapon card. If this total is equal to or higher than the monster’s defence stat, it’s ‘beaten’ and you collect your gold as a reward; fail to beat the number and… well, nothing happens, really. The monster then fights back – or in other words, you compare its attack stat to your defence and possibly lose a wound. Get to four wounds and you’re out of the game (maybe – there are certain cards that may extend your life). And it’s here where it kind of falls down a bit.

Well, this one will be fun… It’s certainly possible with five dice but it’ll be a tall order.

The first section where you’re all clamouring to get the character you want is great gaming – lots of interaction between players, plenty of stitching up other people when you try and work out which one they’re really after then loading them up with negatives… then realising they didn’t actually want it after all and you’re stuck with utter crap. That bit’s fun! Then the adventuring bit begins and everything turns solitaire; it’s still entertaining enough as you’re chucking loads of dice around, but there’s not really that much meat to this second section of the game. Sure, there’s a bit of decision in there where you need to decide when it’s the optimal time to use your ability tokens that you start with, but really there’s not much else to do.

Gauntlet of Fools might feel a bit schizophrenic, but it’s perfect filler material. Doesn’t require much in the way of thought, plays quickly, good for up to six people… but I can’t help but feel that it’s not going to do as well as it could. I’m sure that many will pick it up on the strength of Vaccarino’s name alone but then they’ll realise that it’s essentially a piece of disposable fluff. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, but there are plenty of folks already whining over on BGG that it’s not what they expected.

Go into it dreaming of the huge amount of possibilities you get from a decent Dominion collection and you’ll be sorely disappointed. However, if you’re looking for a game that will pass a short while between heavier efforts, Gauntlet of Fools will see you right.

Gauntlet of Fools by Donald X. Vaccarino is available now through Indie Boards and Cards. Between two and six can play, and games will take half an hour at the very most. If you fancy your own copy, get in touch with the folks at Gameslore and they’ll do their best to order one up for you!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Reviews

Tagged as , , , ,

10 September 2012 · 15:06

A Kind of Magic – Seasons review

Stuart Platt, the only games reviewer out there who’s as at home with a figure four leglock as he is with a d20, returns to pass judgement on the new hotness from Libellud and Asmodee, Seasons… is it up to his most exacting of standards?

Now, I like Seasons.  I have played it extensively at BoardGameArena.com  (an excellent portal for online boardgaming by the way) and was thrilled when my shiny new copy landed on the doorstep.  This intro sounds like a massive BUT is forthcoming (which it is); first though, let’s focus on the good stuff.

The game is glossy and shiny to the n’th degree.  The art and excellent iconography of the cards, dice and central play board capture a sense of light fun – wizards and spells, summoning familiars and artefacts.  It’s all thoroughly lovely! This would, of course, be for nought if the game mechanisms weren’t up to scratch.  Thankfully, there’s a load of interesting stuff going on.  Firstly, players draft a set of nine cards – a la 7 Wonders for instance, and then separate those into three sets of three.  These will be released to players’ hands as the game clock ticks through the seasons into years one, two and three.

Seriously, it’s a beautiful game to look at, as you’d expect from the folks who originally brought you Dixit.

The cards are the meat of the game – providing victory points (referred to as crystals throughout), special abilities and some ‘take that’ powers which hurt your opponents.  From the selections you draft, the aim is to create an array of cards that combo together and empower each other. How do we cast these spells and summon these familiars? Well, each turn players select a resource die from a pool rolled each turn. It would be remiss of me not to shower these beautiful creatures with special praise.   Large, chunky, satisfying beasts – despite the pretty colours, these are MEN’s dice! There is no squinting at miniscule icons like you have to with Quarriors.  Here, everyone at the table can easily read what each dice provides – be that resources (Wind, Water, Earth and Fire), Crystal VPs or a Summoning point that increases the number of cards you can have in play at any time.  Some dice even offer an ability to directly trade in resources for Crystals – very useful as there are strict limits on the number of resources you can store at any one time.

Each round, the seasons clock ticks onwards (with some resources scarcer and more valuable at various times) as players make the best of what is available – including the hands of cards they set up at the beginning of the game.  At the end of year 3, points are totalled – any cards NOT played are worth negative points – and the winner is the person with the most crystals.

Close up on one of the player boards. That is one terrifying looking rabbit.

Sounds great right? Well it is…BUT! [I was waiting for that - Michael] it all falls apart with more than 2 players – but why?

First of all, the game length extends greatly. Players have some control as to the pace of the game – an icon on the remaining die indicates how far the seasonal clock ticks round – but with three and certainly with four, this medium weight game goes that little bit too long.  I like the flow.  I like how the cards are released over the three years.  However, that final year REALLY drags with the full contingent of players sat around the table.

Secondly, there’s a lot of admin to deal with. “Each new season I get a resource… OK…  and I get a crystal… Ok… and so do I… but then I take 4 crystals off all of you.  Ok…  oh, but it’s also the end of the year, so I need 3 more resources… I’ll just work out what I need… [LOUD SNORING NOISE]…”  The cube shuffling and admin that the online implementation handles so well is such a ball-ache on the tabletop.  With two it’s tolerable.  With four it’s thoroughly unpleasant.

Finally, there’s the “take that” element.  The pendulum effect of cards that directly hurt your opponent and help you work well in a 2 player environment – like Magic the Gathering, it works very well as a duelling card game.  With four, not only is the admin a pain, but the swing it causes almost makes the rest of the game seem redundant.  Taking ‘4 crystals’ from every opponent every turn, for instance, just grinds things to a halt.

So, I am both very enthusiastic and bitterly disappointed by Seasons.  It does so many things well.  If I was the cynical sort, I’d suggest that this was designed as a two player game but converted to become more commercially attractive. So do yourself a favour – get yourself a copy and play it with two.  If you must play with more, do it online.  The bits are great though…

Seasons is available now and was designed by Regis Bonnessee, with art by Naiade. Published by Libellud and Asmodee, between two and four can play (though you’ve read Stuart’s views on games with more than two). If you’d like a copy, Gameslore have it in stock for £32.99 – a bargain!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Reviews

Tagged as , , , , ,

23 July 2012 · 11:51

Man Machine – RoboDerby Express review

I was delighted to speak to Clint Herron recently (on episode 42 of the podcast to be specific) and we discussed the history of his new game Pirate Dice: Voyage on the Rolling Seas. Based around Roboderby Express, a print and play inspired by the classic RoboRally by Richard Garfield, one of Clint’s requests was that his original version remain available when Pirate Dice was released and it remains available right now. New contributor James Rowlinson takes a look at one of the best P’n'P games out there that definitely seems worth the ink! 

RoboDerby Express sees players take control of super computers that program robots to race around the board and whichever robot gets to the end first wins. The game started its life as a basic two player game where the board and components would fit on just one sheet – all you would need to do was label up six dice per player, print out the four board section and two player mats. The game ended up being nominated for 2011′s Golden Geek award for Best Print & Play and the BGG community fell in love with it. The game has now had a design overhaul, a three and four player expansion, alternative boards, level changing add ons and now boasts new game modes like Capture The Flag.

Two player action! Amazing how all this fits on one single sheet of A4… or maybe two.

Every player’s robot on the board is represented by a die with a little robot and number representing its health on each face, and each player also has a further five dice that have various movement options displayed. These range from ‘Move forward’ 1,2 or 3 spaces, ‘Turn left’ or ‘Turn right’ combined with a small number in the top corner. Each turn plays out over two phases, the first seeing each player rolling their five movement / instruction dice for their robot. They then place one or more on the player mat, re-rolling any remaining dice and again placing at least one on the mat, continuing until each player has filled up the four instruction slots available to them.

The second phase has you move your robots along your carefully constructed movement route. Each player looks at the die in Slot 1 and declares that previously mentioned small number displayed on the top. Whoever has the highest number executes their move first and this continues until all the dice have been resolved – then it all starts over again.

So far the game sounds simple enough and it really is, however… did I mention there are lasers? And that sometimes as a supercomputer you can find enjoyment in messing with your opponents plans?

On some of the dice faces, there is sometimes a laser symbol as well as movement. If your current move shows the laser sign, your robot will fire straight ahead; should an opponent be in the firing line they lose one health point. Note that all robots also fire at the end of Phase two. When robots lose health things start to get tricky; less health means you have the less command over your robot and your commands will get locked in place, meaning they must be executed every turn until you repair. Sustain too much damage and you’ll constantly be turning left or whatever. This can really throw a spanner in the works. [You really went there? - Michael]

You can also mess with your opponents robot should you roll one of the two special commands on the instruction dice and place them on your mat. One forces them to skip one movement die, the other inverts their well planned instructions – and both are pretty awful.

A bit more printing brings you expansions galore! Three or four players, tricks and traps… it’s a true labour of community-based love.

Overall this is a great title. I would encourage anyone who has been on the fence about the quality or worth of print and play games to take a closer look at RoboDerby Express; just download the rules, have a look at the build requirements and jump in. However, if print and play is not your thing or printing and labelling the dice doesn’t sound like a fun filled evening fear not! The game has been picked up by a publisher! It’s had a re-theme to pirates but still manages to keep the core game mechanics and it looks great. Here’s the Kickstarter page where it’s already smashed through its target.

RoboDerby is a game that will continue to get play time in our house and I suspect I will be jumping on new boards and expansions as and when the community release them. You’ll find a great forum post outlining the different themes and expansion sets available with links right here – check it out! And if you’re after blank dice, there’s no better place than blankdice.co.uk!

RoboDerby Express was designed by Clint Herron in 2011. The initial print and play version only accommodates two players, but expansions are available that bump that up and add different gameplay elements. Pirate Dice runs on Kickstarter until July 27 - have a look and back it today! Thanks to James for his article – follow him on that there Twitter, why don’t you?

1 Comment

Filed under Reviews

Tagged as , , , , , ,

9 July 2012 · 10:00

Angel Interceptor – Ragami review

I find the idea of a guardian angel a bit odd, it must be said. The concept of some ethereal being constantly watching over you to stop you from being hit by a bus weirds me out a bit – if I screw up, I screw up. It happens a lot, mostly when I’m playing Agricola online. Where was that bloody angel when I played all those occupations instead of focusing on building a decent food engine, huh?

Ragami, a new release from Mesaboardgames (the folks who brought you the rather splendid Vintage last year) sees between two and four players take control of these winged protectors who – after a couple of plays – really aren’t as virtuous as you might expect. The story of the game is simple; these angels (known in the game as Ragami, surprisingly enough) patrol a city where dissent is rife on every street and trouble can explode at any moment. Ably assisted by saints, they travel about, quashing conflicts and smushing demons that spring up on a regular basis.

What this really means is that you’re pushing pieces around a board in what’s a pretty solid Euro. At the beginning of each round, a set of black Conflict dice are randomly positioned while those already on the table have their values increased by one. The player who is last in turn order then rolls three Action dice, potentially having the chance to add demons to the situation should they roll a 1. They then allocate the three dice to the available actions – a nice idea which means you get to have an element of control over what your opponents can do, as every time an action is chosen the appropriate dice value is decreased. If that runs down to zero, tough… time for Plan B.

Arty shot is arty.

The actions are as follows:

- move any player’s saint up to four spaces around the board, then move or add a demon into the mix

- take three power cards off the draw deck, keeping only one (up to a maximum hand limit of three) and discard the other two

- have your Ragami deal with a conflict, potentially scoring you some victory points

Each of the action selections can also be used to move your Ragami about, hopefully getting them into position sort out trouble next time play comes round to you. This is done primarily by spending Power Cubes that you collect throughout the game (mostly by pushing saints into conflict zones or having your Ragami in a space when someone tries to sort out some trouble) – match the amount shown on the conflict die and it’s removed from the board, gaining you that amount of Victory Points. The amount of cubes you need to spend can be altered however; another player’s Ragami removes two from the target, while any saint gets rid of a further one. Virtue Dice also help get the number down, but only affect certain areas depending on where you choose to position them. Demons in that space add one to the number, so the game can become something of a masterclass in the manipulation of pieces around the board when you’re trying to stop an opponent from getting a big points haul.

The arena in which we make our scene. Roam the streets looking for bad stuff!

At its heart Ragami is a race for Victory Points, with the game end triggered when some reaches 30 VPs or the location tokens (used to say where conflicts flare up) run out. Bonuses are handed out depending on how many conflicts have been solved, so the tension does actually run all the way to the end of play, and barring disaster I’ve found it to generally be a pretty close run thing as to who takes the crown. Or halo, I suppose.

A four player game takes about 90 minutes, even with a rules explanation, and I reckon it sits firmly in the light to middleweight division. It’s not until you get a few plays under your belt that you realise the possibilities for stomping all over your opponents’ plans (the fact that the same coloured saint and Ragami can’t end up in the same space gives plenty of opportunity for messing up other people’s ideas, for example). It’s definitely a game that rewards multiple plays, and infinitely more accessible than the mildly terrifying Vintage…

I’ve got a couple of gripes with the game but nothing major, both centred around the Ragami pieces themselves: while everything else is lovely and wooden, these bits are cardboard standees that look a bit incongruous. It would have been great to have had some slightly larger meeples to represent the Ragami instead of these out-of-place bits. Something like the megameeples you find in Carcassonne: Inns and Cathedrals, perhaps? The art for the Ragami themselves is also pretty strange, curious besuited, sunglasses-wearing enforcer types with massive wings sprouting out of their backs – it just feels a bit odd, strangely dated, like something out of a heavenly version of The Matrix.

Aside from that, production throughout is of a pretty high standard, with everything from the cards to the board having that built to last feeling. Aside from the Ragami issue, the art is grand with clear iconography and a well laid out map where you will battle against the dark forces. Or wee red meeples and black dice, anyway.

As you can tell, the theme didn’t grab be that much, but looking beyond that I honestly reckon Ragami is a solidly entertaining game that is worth checking out. Saints and angels do nothing for me, but then again, that allowed me to look past the theme and see the game itself in a much clearer fashion. It’s well worth giving it a try, so why not give it a got?

Ragami is published by Mesaboardgames and will be officially released at GenCon in August this year. Designed by Gil d’Orey with art by Pedro Soto and Gil d’Orey. The game plays with between two and four people and will take ninety minutes at most. For more information, check out the Mesaboardgames site.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Reviews

Tagged as , , , , , ,