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Reading Rules!

Jeff Myers — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:42:06 +0000

This title of this post has nothing to do with promoting literacy. I just wanted to discuss different aspects of reading the rules for boardgames and I’m oddly fond of exclamation points.

I’ve had a lot of trouble reading anything other than magazines and boardgames rules for the last year or so, and that’s something I’m working on changing. There’s nothing wrong with reading magazines or rules, but I really do miss getting involved in a good novel.

I started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
a couple of days ago, which is a bit of a departure for me. I usually read science fiction novels or non-fiction books about science or history. I like it a lot so far, and it feels good to be reading something other than rule booklets.

Reading the rules to a board game without having the game itself in front of you is kind of like reading a cookbook. You can learn the procedure for making flan, but unless you’ve tasted flan, you’re not really going to know what to expect just by reading the recipe. I picked up a copy of a game called Aquadukt last month. I got it from a friend who had never played it, so it was still unpunched. It’s a pretty simple game, so even though I haven’t set the game out, I think I have a good sense of how the game will play, because I’ve played similar games. I think I also see why my friend hadn’t played it and why he sold it to me for so little. I may be wrong about the game. I won’t really know until I play it.

Most games are not that easy to wrap your head around. I think it’s important to first read through the rules and identify some sections that may seem confusing. Then set the game up as if you are going to play, and then work your way through a turn or two paying special attention to those actions that seemed confusing in the rules. You’ll be taking on the role of all of the players, so your goal is not to necessarily make the best moves, but rather to make some interesting moves that might need clarification.

If you’re lucky, the rules will be well written and broken up into easily identified sections. There’s usually a section that explains how to set up the game for your first play, and another section that breaks downs what each player can do on his or her turn. There should be a section that explains the endgame and scoring procedures.

If you’re really lucky, the rules will be filled with plenty of examples. I think that’s one of the things that can make a huge difference. Examples are extremely helpful when you are trying to figure out a new game. I also appreciate it when designers or publishers create a simplified rule set off on the right or left margin of the rules. This allows players who have already played the game a few times easy access to some key information that will give them just a quick reminder, allowing them to get right into the game.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that some designers create some very entertaining rule booklets. Vlaada Chvatil, the designer of Galaxy Trucker and most recently, Dungeon Lords, writes rules that are absolutely hilarious and tell a story while explaining how to play the game.

Enough on that for now, go play!

2009 in Review

Jeff Myers — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:24:20 +0000

According to the data at boardgamegeek.com, I played games 626 times in 2009. I played a game about 52 times each month, which isn’t bad at all considering these are almost all played face-to-face with other gamers. I think I played five games online at BrettspielWelt, maybe less than that. I played 235 different games over the course of the year, and more than half of those games were new to me. I cannot imagine that will be the case in 2010. November was the worst month for gaming at only 25 plays and August was a total game fest at 89 plays. 2009 was my first complete year where I was really involved in the hobby, so I’m curious to see how things change over time.

My friend, Mark Jackson, compiles a list of five and dimes for the gaming community. These are games that have gotten at least five or ten plays throughout the year. This is the first year I’ve participated, so here are my lists.

First the dimes:

[20] Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age
[19] Vs. System
[15] World of Warcraft Trading Card Game
[14] Cheese Snatching
[13] Escalation!
[12] Finito!
[12] Ra: The Dice Game
[11] Duck, Duck, Bruce
[10] Big Points
[10] Crokinole
[10] Harry’s Grand Slam Baseball Game

Now the fives:

[9] For Sale
[9] Monopoly Deal Card Game
[8] Cities
[8] Hop Hop Hurray!
[7] Archaeology: The Card Game
[7] Cheeky Monkey
[7] Mow
[7] Rat-a-Tat Cat
[7] Sushizock im Gockelwok
[6] Battleline
[6] Hive
[6] Power Grid
[6] Race for the Galaxy
[6] Tier auf Tier
[5] Blink
[5] Can’t Stop
[5] Hey! That’s My Fish!
[5] Lord of the Rings – The Confrontation: Deluxe Edition
[5] Make ‘n’ Break
[5] Marrakesh
[5] Sleeping Queens

Looking back on my lists, I think the biggest surprise is just how many games have an exclamation mark in their title. I wonder if that’s normal for board game titles, or if I am somehow drawn to games with an exclamation point. Come to think of it, I have included an exclamation point in the title of the game I’m designing, so maybe I am drawn to them.

If I had to make some predictions as to how this list will change in 2010, I would imagine that Roll Through the Ages and Ra: The Dice Game will be the only games that remain dimes in 2010. Race for the Galaxy will probably move into that list, since I recently taught my wife how to play. My game group usually plays RftG at the end of the evening, often after midnight, which is just too late for this guy to be out on a Tuesday night. Battleline may move into the dime category as well, since that has become a favorite two-player over the last few months.

New additions to the dime list will be Piece o’ Cake and Keltis: Der Weg der Steine, if the last few weeks are any indication of the rest of the year. Both Power Grid and For Sale will stay in the fives, I think. Cheese Snatching and Hop, Hop, Hurray! will also be in the list somewhere. Everything else is anyone’s guess.

2009 was a rough year in many ways, but I really do think that being able to play games regularly helped me get through the tough spots. I plan on playing just as much, or even more in 2010.

Small Steps Back

Jeff Myers — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:22:06 +0000

I believe I am starting to recover from an episode of double depression, which can happen when someone with chronic depression, or dysthymia, dips into what most folks would consider being deeply depressed. Since I choose to deal with this illness without medication, I rely on my own cognitive awareness of where I am and how I’m feeling to take steps to deal with what’s going on with me. I’m not always aware of when things start to go badly, at least when it happens; however, I’m usually able to later say to myself, “Okay, this is where it all started to break down, and this is when it started to get better.” I am starting to do what needs to be done so that I feel better. Yay me.

Playing boardgames is a big part of my enjoyment of life right now, and it is something I’ve been doing very little of for the last few months. Last night, a friend came over and we played Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel! – Kursk 1943, which is a very good war game set during World War 2. Now first off, I am not much of a wargamer. I will almost always choose a Eurogame over a war game. I figure I can play three or four Eurogames in the time it takes to play one scenario in a war game. If you see me playing a war game, I must really like my opponent. While this was certainly the case with Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel! – Kursk 1943, I must admit that it’s a very good game. The game mechanics are clean and pretty simple in comparison to a lot of other war games, so the flow of the game moves quickly enough for even a Eurogamer. The game has some high quality components as well, which always makes a good game even better. We played a pretty simple scenario that used only infantry squads, so I next time I would like to give a tank scenario a try.

My goals for the next couple of weeks are to play more games, get back to the gym, return emails and phone calls, and blow up some tanks.

He’s not dead, Jim.

Jeff Myers — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:58:50 +0000

Lately, I’ve had a very hard time playing or relaxing, so I don’t have much to report. I’m sure that once things calm down a bit around here, I will have the chance to play something.

I’m ready to have another themed game night. We had our annual pirate party, which was a great success, but we skipped having a Halloween party this year. We had a couple of friends over for spooky games and some hot cider, and it ended up being a wonderful evening, but I’m ready to throw another game party.

I would like to have a cowboy party, but I think I’ll wait until May 26 and have it on John Wayne’s birthday. Maybe I will have sci-fi party night?

Looking at Savage Worlds RPG

Jeff Myers — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:37:12 +0000

I’ve been on another role playing game kick. You know, when I get all excited about a RPG and I read it, plan some cool adventure, and then never play it? Woo hoo!

Savage Worlds is my new RPG of interest. I had purchased this some time ago. I’m not sure I even remember why I bought it. Maybe because it’s cheap! $9.99 for a set of core rules is a total bargain. Anyway, I looked at it, got distracted by something else and put it away in a box in the garage.

Then the guys over at Into the Gamescape talked about Savage Worlds in their podcast, and suddenly, I remembered I had it in a box in the garage. I listened to that segment of the podcast a few times, reread the rules, and was totally sold. I have already constructed a world setting, and am working on a short introductory scenario.

The rules are designed to be “fast, furious, and fun” according to the designers, and I think that’s a pretty good description. The detail is light and the rule set is based on just a few concepts that are carried throughout the game. If I actually get some people together to play, I’ll go into a bit more depth with the rules. For right now, I’m excited just to read through them, and think about a possible storyline for the adventure.

September Blows!

Jeff Myers — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:16:14 +0000

I really couldn’t resist this title, all things considered.

August was such a great month of gaming for me, but this month has been just the opposite. I’ve played very few “gamer” games so far, and those that I did get to play, I really didn’t enjoy that much for various reasons.

I’m currently working on pimping out my copy of Ca$h ‘n Gun$ so that it is pirate themed, in anticipation on the upcoming Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th. I’m having trouble finding pirate guns that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Heh, pirate humor. There are some great toy guns, but even those cost around $4.00 each and I need a dozen. That’s just too much for one or two plays once a year.

I think I’m going to make my own foam guns, similar to the guns that come with the game, but shaped like flintlocks. If anyone has some suggestions on how to do this or some useful resources, please let me know.