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 May 15, 2008
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Rick Thornquist
This section contains the columns of Rick Thornquist.
About Rick Thornquist:
Rick has been gaming ever since he could move a pawn. In his early years he played the usual American mass market games before moving onto wargames, which became an obsession that continued throughout his teenage years. In his early twenties, work took over his life and gaming went on the back burner. A few years ago, Tikal, brought him into the wonderful world of German games, and shortly thereafter he helped organize the Terminal City Gamers in Vancouver - the premiere gaming club in Vancouver.
Rick's first foray into the world of boardgame journalism took place when he assumed the Editor position of the Terminal City Gamers website and transformed it into a center for daily news on the world of gaming. He moved his talents to the GameWire feature of Gamefest and continued to report on the world of games on that site for two years. Rick then created and edited Boardgame News for a year before retiring from the game news business.
Rick lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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HeadlinesApril 20, 2007 - Rick Thornquist: The Gathering of Friends / Nuremberg Games - Part IIIApril 11, 2007 - Rick Thornquist: The Gathering of Friends / Nuremberg Games - Part II April 10, 2007 - Rick Thornquist: The Gathering of Friends / Nuremberg Games - Part I March 5, 2007 - Rick Thornquist: Nuremberg Games / Through the Ages February 13, 2007 - Rick Thornquist: Where have I been? / Caylus Magna Carta November 7, 2006 - Rick Thornquist: Second Impressions / Thurn und Taxis - Der Kurier der Fürstin October 31, 2006 - Rick Thornquist: Back Home October 24, 2006 - Rick Thornquist: In Germany October 17, 2006 - Rick Thornquist: At Essen October 10, 2006 - Rick Thornquist: Even More Essen Games First Impressions / Canal Mania October 3, 2006 - Rick Thornquist: More Essen Games First Impressions September 26, 2006 - Rick Thornquist: Immortal Eyes Games / Shogun |
Articles
Rick Thornquist: The Gathering of Friends / Nuremberg Games - Part III
This is the third and final part of my report on the Nuremberg games from the Gathering of Friends. In this part I also talk about a few other things from the Gathering.
Rick Thornquist: The Gathering of Friends / Nuremberg Games - Part II
Here are my thoughts on some more Nuremberg games that I played during the Gathering of Friends:
Rick Thornquist: The Gathering of Friends / Nuremberg Games - Part I
Sadly, another Gathering of Friends is now over. Happily, I again had fantastic time. I didn’t do daily reports this time so I thought I’d put together a summary of the occasion and the games that I played.
There is usually a slew of new Nuremberg games at the Gathering and this year was no exception, though the pile was way smaller than it was last year. I’m not sure whether that was due to the games being released later or that fact that just fewer of them made it to the Gathering. Here are my thoughts on the ones that I played:
Rick Thornquist: Nuremberg Games / Through the Ages
Last year’s crop of Nuremberg games was a disappointment for me. There were very few standouts and those were lost in a huge morass of average games (fortunately the bumper crop of very good Essen games came to the rescue). This year’s Nuremberg crop, on first glance, is not looking much better, though there are a few possibilities…
Rick Thornquist: Where have I been? / Caylus Magna Carta
I know, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here on BGN. Actually, I haven’t posted much of anything online since I gave up the reins of the site! I have gotten a number of emails asking where the heck I’ve been. Well, for those that are interested, I’m going to tell you! I’m also going to tell you about the upcoming game Caylus Magna Carta, which I’ve had a chance to play.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on February 13, 2007 at 02:45 AM in Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Second Impressions / Thurn und Taxis - Der Kurier der Fürstin
After two months of working on the Essen Preview every day, the convention itself, and another week in Germany, I was exhausted. Since coming back home I’ve spent much of my time resting and and trying to recover (though the time change and a cold that I acquired didn’t help).
Though I was not in the best of shape, this didn’t stop my friends from beating down my door to play some of the new Essen games I brought home. I did get a chance to play a few of them and thought I’d jot down some second impressions.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on November 7, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Back Home
Sorry, but I’m going to take one more week off my column as I just got back home from Germany. I’ll be back next week for sure. See you then!
Posted by Rick Thornquist on October 31, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: In Germany
There’s no column this week as I’m still in Germany. I’ll be back next week. See you then!
Posted by Rick Thornquist on October 24, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: At Essen
There’s no column this week as I’m at the Essen fair in Germany. After the fair I’ll be staying an extra week in Germany so I’ll be back in two weeks. See you then!
Posted by Rick Thornquist on October 17, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Even More Essen Games First Impressions / Canal Mania
It’s time for some more first impressions of some upcoming Essen games. This time I’ll be giving you my first impressions solely from the rules of the some of the games. Some publishers have actually posted the rules for their games on their websites, but I have been sent some rules that are not publicly available. Here we go!
Posted by Rick Thornquist on October 10, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: More Essen Games First Impressions
This week I’d like to give you my first impressions on three more upcoming Essen games - Tara - Seat of Kings from Surprised Stare Games, Take it to the Limit! from Burley Games Limited, and Ruse and Bruise / Kabale und Hiebe from Hans im Glück / Rio Grande Games.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on October 3, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Immortal Eyes Games / Shogun
This week I thought I’d take a look at the games of Immortal Eyes Games, who are relatively new on the game scene. Now, Immortal Eyes isn’t exactly a publisher in of themselves, they are actually an imprint of Winning Moves. So why not just publish the games under the Winning Moves label? Well, in North America, the Winning Moves name is pretty much associated with mass market games - Monopoly: The Card Game, Super Scrabble, Super Duper Scrabble, Super Duper Duper Scrabble - and other games that make me shudder. The Immortal Eyes name was created to differentiate a new line of games that are specifically geared to the hobby game market. These games will be found at your local game store, as opposed to your local Wal-Mart.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on September 26, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Essen Games First Impressions
’Essen Game First Impressions’? How can I be giving my first impressions of Essen games when the fair is still a month away? Well, fortunate guy that I am, I have been able to get copies of some of the games in advance of the fair which gives me a chance to play them and give you my first impressions. I’ve already posted my first impressions of some games in the Essen Preview - here are a few more for your consideration.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on September 19, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Hard-to-Rate Games / Battles of the Third Age
Last week I finally got a chance to play Battles of the Third Age - the War of the Ring expansion. As you’ll see in my description below, I had many problems with the game, but ended up liking it. Games like this I find very hard to rate - I’m usually pretty hard on games that have problems, but in certain cases the game is so good I’m willing to overlook the problems and rate the game highly.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on September 12, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Games I Would Never Give Up / Jenseits von Theben
I’ve amassed quite a large game collection by now and it’s getting to the point where I have to bite the bullet and get rid of some. I have both walls of my office on either side of my desk completely lined with bookshelves, and they are filled to the brim. My recent trips to Origins and Gencon have yielded more games than I have shelf space for and they have started piling up on the floor. As I receive even more games, the piles on the floor are getting bigger and are actually starting to close in on me. Remember the ‘garbage masher on the detention level’ in Star Wars? That’s what my office is starting to feel like. Unfortunately, I can’t call on C-3PO or R2-D2 to stop the games from closing in.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on September 5, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: My Favorite Pics of 2006 - So Far / Start Player and Emira
Being a game reporter that reports from many conventions, I take lots of pictures. No, make that LOTS and LOTS of pictures. I think I’ve gotten pretty decent at it, especially considering that I’m hardly a professional photographer - and also considering that at conventions I’m constantly in a hurry and don’t have the luxury of spending much time taking perfect pictures - I have to grab the pictures when I can.
Three things have made my pictures better over the years. First and foremost is experience - even with a crappy camera you can take pretty good pictures when you have been doing it enough. Secondly, I have to credit my current camera - a Canon Digital Rebel XT (with a 17-85mm Image Stabilized Lens). A very nice camera. Third is the software that I use for image processing - Paint Shop Pro X. I know Photoshop may be what the pros use, but it’s out of my price range and I’ve found Paint Shop Pro has more than enough features for me. It works great.
That being said, there is still much room for me to improve and with each convention I try to get better.
I’d like to share with you some of my favorite pictures that I’ve taken so far in 2006, in chronological order (as usual, click the picture for larger version).
Posted by Rick Thornquist on August 29, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: My History with Eagle Games / Iliad
As you have no doubt have heard, Eagle Games is no more. The brand itself may be resurrected at some point, but the company itself has ceased operations. There’s been much speculation as to what caused their collapse, plus one official reason from Eagle head honcho Glenn Drover - “Due to a sudden and severe downturn last year in the demand for poker products, Eagle Games, Inc. became insolvent and finally ceased operations on May 31, 2006.”.
My relationship with Eagle Games started when I saw an ad for their first two games - The American Civil War and War! Age of Imperialism. Though I was playing mostly German games at the time, I was a wargamer from way back and I was interested in light wargames, especially those that had beautiful art and pieces. I was also interested in supporting a new game company, so I pre-ordered the games and sent them my dollars.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on August 22, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: What to Cover
As the editor of Boardgame News, one of the hardest decisions I have to make on an almost daily basis is which games to cover and which games not to cover. There are a ton of boardgames out there and it’s simply impossible to cover them all. Obviously the site concentrates on German-style games but there are many games that are on the line between German-style games and other genres. There are also certain games that are not German-style games at all, but I think are of enough interest to the readership that I do cover them. Trying to figure out which games to cover and which ones to leave out can drive me to distraction.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on August 15, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Gencon / Yspahan
This week yet another game convention is upon us. Gencon is taking place from August 10th to 13th at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
I’ve gone to Gencon twice before, and I’ve always been on the fence whether I should go or not. This year was no exception. The convention mostly caters to roleplaying and trading card games and while there is a fair sized boardgaming contingent, Gencon has always insisted on scheduling their games instead of having an open gaming area. Scheduling is fine for RPGs and TCGs, but I much prefer (as does practically every boardgamer I know) open gaming where you can grab a game, grab some opponents, and just play. Gencon is just not set up very well for this kind of gaming.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on August 8, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: You Never Get a Second Chance…
... to make a first impression, or so the saying goes. When it comes to games, many people’s first impressions come from the bits. With me, it comes from the rules. If I start reading a set of rules and they aren’t any good, I’ll often just toss the game aside and move onto something else. If I don’t have the game yet and someone tells me the rules are crummy, I won’t even bother with it. There are just too many good games with good rules to bother with the ones with bad rules. Also, if the publisher didn’t take the time to put together decent rules, why would I waste my time with their game?
Posted by Rick Thornquist on August 1, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: The Essen Preview
Wow, are my typing fingers tired.
Much of last week was spent adding new games to the Essen Preview and today was yet another marathon day of typing. Since last week I’ve added more than 40 new entries to the preview and right now I’m at 118 entries (not all of these are distinct games, though, some of them are different language versions of the same game). Yikes!
Posted by Rick Thornquist on July 25, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Miscellaneous Thoughts
It’s time once again for some miscellaneous thoughts…
Posted by Rick Thornquist on July 18, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: There’s Got to be Some Changes Made / Winner’s Circle
In the olden days (that’s just a few years ago), if you wanted to play a German game you likely got the original German version of the game and had to scrounge up an English translation. Companies such as Mayfair and Rio Grande Games then took up the mantle and started producing English versions of the games. Many of the games were pretty much identical to their German counterparts (except for the language, of course), but some games underwent some changes on their way to the English market. Some of the reasons for these changes are obvious, others are a bit more mysterious....
Posted by Rick Thornquist on July 11, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Back Next Week
I just got back from Origins yesterday and I’ve just been too busy to write up a column for this week. I’ll be back next week - see you then!
Posted by Rick Thornquist on July 4, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: The Name of the Games / Various Games
As I’m writing this, I’m in Atlanta having just finished up four days of gaming at the Oasis of Fun - a gaming get-together organized by Stven Carlberg. I now have a few days to relax before another four days of gaming at the Origins game convention starting this Thursday.
While traveling here last week I had to go through U.S. customs. My jaunts to the U.S. are invariably gaming related and I always end up having a difficult time explaining to the customs guy what I’m doing. The conversation usually goes like this:
Posted by Rick Thornquist on June 27, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: The New Die Macher / Mykerinos
As many of you probably know, a new game company, Valley Games, has taken it upon themselves to publish a new version of one of the all-time classic German games - Die Macher. No doubt many a critical eye will be cast on this new version - Die Macher is just too good to be given the short shrift. Valley Games recently posted the rules for the game on their website and I’m happy to say, at least from what I’ve gleaned from the rules, things are looking good.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on June 20, 2006 at 03:00 PM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Bad Games and Game Reviews / Times Square
Let’s face it - there are some games out there that are just bad. Fortunately, I avoid many of them by restricting myself to games from reputable publishers and / or designers, and by relying on the buzz from other gamers. In the end, the vast majority of games I play range from just below average to great. Because of this, my reviews tend to be on the positive side. I am critical of elements in games that I think deserve the criticism, but most, if not all of my reviews will end with at least a semi-positive conclusion.
Am I doing the gaming community a disservice by avoiding the bad games and not reviewing them? Perhaps. For me, though, it’s a matter of time - if I’m at a convention and have a ton of games to get through, I’m not going to waste my time on something that is generally considered to be bad. If I had the time I’d try the bad ones, but I usually don’t have the time (I have had the time, on occasion, and always regretted it!).
Posted by Rick Thornquist on June 13, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Would you buy this game? / Du Balai and Prophecy
I was paging through the current issue of Games Quarterly magazine (Spring 2006 - Issue #9) when an ad caught my eye. The ad is for a game called The Elements of the Scienauts. Now, normally an ad is supposed to entice you to buy the game. In this case, the ad had exactly the opposite effect. Actually, it made me want to run away screaming! I’ll tell you why - see if you agree with me.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on June 6, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: A Day Off
As I already posted my comments about the Spiel des Jahres awards on Sunday, I’ll spare you from any further ramblings until next week. See you then!
Posted by Rick Thornquist on May 30, 2006 at 03:00 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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Rick Thornquist: Spiel des Jahres Nominees - Commentary
The nominees for the Spiel des Jahres have been announced and, as usual, it’s a mixed bag of the expected, the unexpected, and the just plain strange.
Posted by Rick Thornquist on May 28, 2006 at 09:17 AM in Columnists > Rick Thornquist
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