I know that part of the problem has been that a good portion of my creativity has been preoccupied with other projects, like running a Dungeons and Dragons game. While my players get to just show up, roll dice, and say things like, “I attack the zombie to my right,” I spend hours of time thinking about things like why that zombie is there, and how that zombie fits into the story arch that I have in my head. I spend time creating puzzles that may or may not get solved and non-player characters that may be killed before they get a chance to speak. This is the way of the dungeon master, and I do get a kick out of it, but I need to figure out a quicker way to develop encounters.

I’ve also been involved in the longest online game of Friedemann Friese’s Fearsome Floors in the history of online games of Friedemann Friese’s Fearsome Floors.

If you spend any time at all on yucata.de, I advise you to avoid this game at all costs.

For a game that is supposed to represent groups of people running in terror from a horrible monster, it’s moving along at a snail’s pace. I will never play this game again, online or otherwise. Maybe I can get something good for my copy in a math trade.

I did play a great deal of Roll Through the Ages this month, both in person and on the iPhone. It’s a very solid dice game in my opinion, and I’m not sick of it. I just checked my stats on BGG and I’ve played it 33 times. I remember the first time I played it in January of 2009, when Doug Garrett taught me to play, and I’ve played it regularly ever since then. I played it nine times this month, and I wouldn’t turn down a game tonight. Obviously, this game does not suck.

However, I don’t think Roll Through the Ages was a very good pick for Game of the Month. It’s a great game, and I had a nice time playing it this month, but I don’t think my repeated plays lead me to any new thoughts regarding strategy or to a new appreciation for the design. I didn’t learn anything new; I guess is what I’m trying to say.

September will be better, right?

This is one of those games that still sees regular play even though the newness wore off a long time ago. This is just one of those games that is rarely denied if someone feels like bringing it out. There isn’t a lot of player interaction, but nobody seems to care much. You roll the dice. You make some decisions, and then you chat until it’s your turn again. Simple and fun.

Here’s some of what I would like to consider as I play the game this month:

• There is a free expansion, called The Late Bronze Age, that I tried once and forgot about. I would like to give this another try.
• The game travels well, but can I travel with the dice only? Those wooden peg boards are really cool and all, but they do take up space. Is there a paper and dice only version?
• We just got the iPhone app. I will try both solo and multi-player modes.
• What are some essential strategies?

Post some of your thougts and experiences with this game as the month goes by, and we’ll discuss them at the end of the month.

Happy gaming!

I had my first game of Thurn and Taxis online last month in a two-player match with Johnson. He defeated me easily, but I learned a little from that experience and I know that I got better with each subsequent play. I even won a couple of games.

I think what I enjoy the most about Thurn and Taxis is how everything is so well balanced. You can’t just focus on a single aspect of the game and hope to do well. You have to make sure you are drawing good cards for yourself and keeping good cards away from your opponent if possible. You have to maximize your use of an adviser each turn. You need to watch how the bonus chips are going to change the score. It’s a very interesting little game, I think.

I think that’s all I’ve got, and you’re lucky I managed even this. I have no idea why it’s so hard to write right now. If I choose a game of the month for August, it will be something retro, published prior to 2000, like Settlers of Catan or Bohnanza.

Happy gaming!

I’ve played Thurn and Taxis a few times, but I usually get my butt kicked. Maybe with a little practice, I can successfully challenge my buddy Mark Johnson online at yucata.de. We played a game early last month and he crushed me like a bug, so I need to level up a bit before I can take him.

Your goal is to build delivery routes by collecting and playing cards that correspond to major cities. You earn points according the the number of adjacent cities in your route, and you place a certain number of city markers each time you complete a route. You can earn additional points by having markers that cover an entire region or by having markers in all regions. You can also take advantage of one of several advisors that can help you manipulate your card choices, play additional cards, draw additional cards, or increase your route score.

That’s all for now. Play a few games of Thurn and Taxis this month and then report back with your thoughts and strategies.

During the game, the players work together to gather four special artifacts from the island and then escape by helicopter before the island sinks beneath the sea. There is no invididual victory in Forbidden Island. Either everyone escapes with the treasures or everyone dies.

Gameplay is very simple. Players take their actions, draw treasure cards, and then determine which tiles are sinking that turn. Actions include turning in treasure cards to take artifacts, keeping tiles from sinking, and moving around the island. Once a player gathers four treasure cards of a certain type, then that player can journey to a temple tile and get the treasure. Each tile has a card that signals when it needs to be flipped over to the sinking side. If a tile is already sinking and the cards indicate fhat it should be flipped, then the tile is removed from the game.

The game takes about 30 minutes and is recommended for players ages ten and older. My son loves this game and can play it with very little help, so a smart six-year-old will have no trouble.

I think Forbidden Island is a great little game. Go find it somewhere and play it with your family.

I was surprised at just how quickly I got tired of it. It’s not a bad game by any means, but it really wasn’t something that I wanted to play multiple times in a month.

Maybe the whole Game of the Month idea is flawed, I don’t know. I really enjoyed playing Kingsburg and Patrician for a month, and I really like Reef Encounter, even if i didn’t get to play it that much. It just seemed that the more I played Odin’s Ravens, the less I liked it.

I think the hand management is interesting and the magic way scoring factor makes for some difficult choices, but other than that, the game is pretty average.

Am I wrong here? Did my really horrible month just poison my enjoyment of a great game?