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 May 15, 2008
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Dale Yu
This section contains the columns of Dale Yu. Dale will be posting his column on Wednesdays.
About Dale Yu:
Dale Yu is an avid gamer who has been heavily involved in the gaming scene since the early 1990s and currently helps coordinate the Cincygamers, his local boardgame group. His initial foray into boardgame playing and collecting came in college when he wisely sold off his Magic: The Gathering cards (all the way back to Alpha) around the Fallen Empires stage. Profits from those cards went towards new games such as: Settlers of Catan, El Grande and Modern Art. Since then, he has been hooked by the "German" games and currently has an ever-expanding collection that threatens to take over his entire basement.
Dale has been an itinerant contributor for Counter Magazine and is still active on many of the online blogs and mailing lists. To his credit, he has realized that he will never be clever enough to invent a game of his own (after multiple failed attempts) and is content with solely being an "end-user" of boardgames. He is, however, still active in playtesting and development of new games, most recently with Mattel, Face2Face, Hasbro, GMT, and Jolly Roger Games.
He lives at home in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and two young boys. Both of the boys love playing games and are often found playing one of the many Haba or Selecta games in the house. Dale's other hobbies include reading historical mysteries (especially those set in the Roman Empire), amateur photography, travel, drinking pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain. When he is not playing games, he works as a physician in the Cincinnati area.
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HeadlinesMay 14, 2008 - Dale Yu: Bits, Bits and more great Bits!May 7, 2008 - Dale Yu: The New and Improved Game Room April 30, 2008 - Dale Yu: Reorganizing the Basement April 23, 2008 - Dale Yu: Two Mini-Reviews (one for the adults and one for the kids) April 16, 2008 - Dale Yu: Games from the Gathering of Friends April 9, 2008 - Dale Yu: Gone Fishing at The Gathering of Friends April 2, 2008 - Dale Yu: On Deck for the Gathering of Friends March 26, 2008 - Dale Yu: Planning a new convention March 19, 2008 - Dale Yu: What Is Love? March 12, 2008 - Dale Yu: Easter Eggs in Boardgames March 5, 2008 - Dale Yu: Games at the Kids’ Birthday Party February 27, 2008 - Dale Yu: Tales from Gulf Games |
Articles
Dale Yu: Bits, Bits and more great Bits!
So, while I’ve been re-organizing my game closet, I’ve been trying to peek inside each game – especially the children’s games! Why? Well, over the years, I’ve maintained a little box of lost-and-found game bits. It currently has about 30 assorted counters, chits, dobbers, meeples and dice.
Dale Yu: The New and Improved Game Room
Well, I was going to write a huge article on the things I love to have in my game room (since I now have a new game room!), but Mary Prasad beat me to it! (If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend taking a gander at her article on game room accessories.)
Instead, I’m going to concentrate on a few things about my new recreational space, and it will take the form of a photo essay… Smaller pics will show up on the screen as you read the column, but you can click on the pictures to see the full-size pics!
Dale Yu: Reorganizing the Basement
Well it’s been a busy week here at the homestead… My basement remodeling is just about complete, and I’m in the process of moving all of the games back inside from the garage where they’ve been stored for the past 8 weeks. It’s a fairly painful process as I’ve lost about 40% of my total storage space due to the renovations… The good news is that my games are now being displayed in a “public” portion of the house as opposed to being crammed into a storage closet in the basement. I’m having to triage each game to decide whether it’s good enough to stay in the collection or not—and I’m likely going to have a firesale at some point to move the extras out!
Dale Yu: Two Mini-Reviews (one for the adults and one for the kids)
This week, I’d like to take the chance to talk about two things that deserve a bit more attention… First is the game Rugby World by Ghenos Games. I will not / can not do a full review at this point as I’ve only played it twice (and neither was a full game), and I really do not to do full-on reviews without at least three full plays of the game. The other is a new book, “The 15 Greatest Board Games in the World”, a new release from Klutz Games.
Dale Yu: Games from the Gathering of Friends
I’m still trying to catch up from being gone for 10 days at the Gathering of Friends, but I thought I’d try to give my short opinions of the games that I managed to play during the event… Before I get there, a few other things to note. First, the Gathering is becoming more about hanging out with friends than playing games. I had a great time going out to dinner with my friends and spending time catching up with them. Second, the Gathering is getting to be so big that it’s hard to hang out with all of my friends eventhough there are 10 days! But, the more the merrier! Finally, I don’t think that any of the Nuremberg games will ever make the Top 10, but there were a number of solid entries – though it took a bit of weeding through to find them! Now, onto the games… Please note that I’m leaving out most of the details/mechanics of the games as I’m sure that you’ve read about that somewhere else (and I really don’t have the time/inclination to regurgitate them here)
Dale Yu: Gone Fishing at The Gathering of Friends
Nothing to see here, please return to your homes.
I’m at the Gathering, and I’m busy playing games and not sleeping.
I promise a full report when I get back…
Until your next appointment,
The Gaming Doctor
Dale Yu: On Deck for the Gathering of Friends
Well, it’s about that time of year again when I get to leave the real world for 10 days and go do nothing but play games at the Gathering of Friends. I’ve certainly had a pretty good chance to play the new Essen releases, but there are still a few games that have managed to slip through the cracks. Additionally, there is a whole new crop of games from from Nuremburg that should hopefully make it over the Atlantic for the Gathering… Here’s what’s currently on the list:
Dale Yu: Planning a new convention
The gaming calendar is filled with many different conventions, invitationals and get-togethers – spread out all throughout the year in locations around the country (and the world)! Though the number of these events seems to grow each year, given the regional reach of most of the events, there is still plenty of room for growth as the numbers involved in our hobby also continue to grow.
Dale Yu: What Is Love?
Oh baby, don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me for the cheesy title of my column. And don’t go off bobbing your heads like you’re at the Roxbury…
One of the trends that I’ve noticed in the past few years – but mostly in the past few months – is how quickly the gaming folk can turn on to a game and place it on a pedestal. Within weeks, cults of fanboys (and fangirls) emerge on the ‘Net proclaiming the virtues of the next best thing.
Dale Yu: Easter Eggs in Boardgames
Well, it’s almost Eastertime here… Spring should be in full bloom, but I’m still trying to dig out from the ten to twelve inches of snow that fell here over the weekend! But, thinking about Easter got me thinking about Easter Eggs!
Dale Yu: Games at the Kids’ Birthday Party
Well, the boys are another year older… and the parents have managed to survive the birthday party! This past weekend, we had the family and close friends over for a joint birthday party – as their birthdays are less than two weeks apart!
Dale Yu: Tales from Gulf Games
Well, I’m back from my trip to Huntsville, Alabama for the most recent Gulf Games. It was a great time (as usual), and I had three days of friends, gaming and fairly decent food. The theme was “Hauntsville” – I think it was a good excuse to use up old Halloween decorations and whatnot! There weren’t too many new games there this time around mostly because many of the new releases haven’t made it here from Germany yet. Despite that, I managed a good variety and quantity of games for the three days. On an interesting note, I’m generally not a fan of cooperative games, but this week was full of them for me – I played Garibaldi twice, Pandemic twice and Descent once!
Dale Yu: Playing Games with the Kids
Well, most people make New Year’s Resolutions… In fact, I made my own list of gaming resolutions not more than 2 months ago. However, the time has already come to add something to my list of things to do in 2008. It has been noticed (by my children) that we’re not playing as many boardgames as we used to, and this is a problem that I really need to fix!
Dale Yu: Nuremberg Preview Review (Part Two of Two)
OK, I’ll finish what I started by giving my comments on the new games slated to be seen at the Nuremberg fair. Hopefully some of these games will be available soon… In fact, my brother should be there at the fair as you’re reading this, and hopefully he’ll bring some of these back to American soil!
Dale Yu: Nuremberg Preview Review (Part one of two)
Well, it’s almost time for that other gaming Christmas – the Nuremberg trade show. This is the other major event on the German gaming calendar other than the Spiel Fair at Essen. In the past, Nuremberg seems to get a little less attention perhaps because it is only a trade show. It is not generally open to the public, and most of the new games that are introduced there are not directly available for sale at the show. In fact, many times the new Nuremberg games are not quite yet available – with release dates reaching into April or May at times.
Dale Yu: Super Bowl Dreams
As most of you readers are aware, Super Bowl XLII is rapidly approaching. For those of you who are confused by this, the Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League. (That’s American Football!) It is regularly the most watched television event in the United States, if not worldwide, each year.
Dale Yu: Games for 6 Players (Exactly)
Well, last week I looked at games for seven players or more, and it seems easiest to just keep going down the line… But before I get too involved in my discussion of six-player games, I’d like to point out that I’m a TV star now. OK, so it was only one-and-a-half minutes… And it’s old news since Valerie already talked about it on Sunday. But in case you missed it, or you can’t get enough of me on YouTube – here’s my segment:
Dale Yu: Games for Seven Players or More
Over the next few weeks (well, maybe months), I’ll be going over games that I think are good for certain numbers of players. I think that most of us have a mental list of games that we like to fall back on when there are X people left at a game night. My lists are certainly not universal, but they work for me! I’ll be interested to see which games are on other people’s lists as well! I’ll try to winnow the list to the five games that I prefer most for a specific number. I’ll also likely be able to include an Age of Steam variant (my all-time #1 or #1A game) which I like for that number…
Dale Yu: Tracking My Games and My Five and Dime List
Well, apparently, other than coming up with a New Year’s Resolution list, one other common time-honored tradition of gaming is the yearly recap of games played. I’ve been enjoying the end-of-year reviews on many of the mailing lists that I belong to. The most common post has been a “Woolworth” or “Five and Dime List” where people recap which games they played more than 5 or 10 times in the previous year.
Dale Yu: 2008 New Year Resolutions
Well, it’s that time of year again—where I make a list of things that I want to accomplish in the coming year:
1. I want to play more games
2007 was a tough year for gaming for me. It was hard to find the time to get in any sort of regular gaming between work, family and other non-gaming (gasp!) hobbies. Within my close circle of local friends, I know that I’m not the only one who has been struggling to find a good regular time slot for gaming. The local group which I help organize met very sporadically, and the number of gamers in its inner circle has also shrunk making it harder to get a regular schedule going. Also, due to working crazy hours, I missed almost every Liberty Gamers meeting (another local group) as I was in the dang hospital all the time. In fact, I think that I have made almost as many regular meetings of CABS (the Columbus, OH game group) as I have made regular meetings of local game groups here in Cincinnati.
Dale Yu: Sweet Sixteen List for 2007
What better way to end the year than with a list of what I consider to be the best games of 2007 for me! I’ve enjoyed being able to share my thoughts with the world on this blog, and I hope that you readers have enjoyed it as well! The main eligibility criteria for this list are: 1) the game was new TO ME in 2007 and 2) I have played the game enough to make a decision about it. I alone am responsible for all nominations for the awards, and I serve as the only judge. You, of course, are welcome to make your comments below!
Dale Yu: Boardgaming in the American Mainstream Media
As I’ve surfed the Net in the past few weeks, I’ve been struck by the number of boardgame references that I’ve come across in the media. Is this a sign that our niche hobby is getting larger and more recognized? There seems to be a growing number of articles written about our hobby than compared to the past. I’d like to point out a few of these articles in this week’s column. Also note that many of these articles have also been featured in the Game News here on BGN (under the heading Media Watch). Some of these articles may have coincided with National Games Week—which I’m sure you all knew was November 18 to 24!
Dale Yu: Almost Through With The Essen Crop
Well, a lot of gaming has gone on since October, and I’m happy to say that I’ve almost played all of the new Essen games that I brought home! I recently had a business trip to West Virginia, and I was able to sneak in a few days of gaming with the friendly folks in Charleston. Many thanks to Charlie Davis and Ted Cheatham for arranging the gaming. While I have been concentrating on a few games since Essen (bet you can’t guess which ones!), there were also some games in the past few weeks that were new to me that I’d like to cover here quickly:
Dale Yu: Agricola Review: the Family Game, the Full Game, and the Solo Game (Agrisolo)
Publisher: Lookout Games (with foreign licensing to follow)
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Players: 1-5
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: The box states approx. 30 minutes per player but with experience, I’d say it’s quicker than this
Rules/Component Language: German (but English pasteups are available)
You can play any way you want at Agricola’s Restaurant…
Agricola is the 2007 Essen release from Lookout Games by Uwe Rosenberg. Of note, an English version has been announced by Z-Man Games, which will have a new set of 24 cards - one of which may have been inspired by Arthur Murray’s profession. Rosenberg is most famous for his Bohnanza series of games though his résumé is filled with other inventive ideas (Bali, Klunker, Schnäppchen Jagd, and Nottingham to name a few). I will admit that I was a bit skeptical that Rosenberg would be able to develop a good meaty and complex game given his previous track record of lighter card games. Happily, I was quite wrong to have any fears as the full version of Agricola has enough depth to please the most diehard gamer, yet the basic game can still be approached by a novice.
There has been a great deal of buzz about the game since its Essen release. However, due to the German-only nature of the game and the small number of games available at Essen (only 900 copies), this is not a game commonly found (yet). Agricola is a hard game to get a good feel for without playing it yourself. Thus, I will try to delve enough into the details of gameplay during this review so that the reader can get a good feel for what goes on in the game even without having played it. For those of you who have already been lucky enough to play the game, you may find that much of the first part of the review will be a rehash of your rules explanation; however, please remember that for every English speaking gamer who has been able to play the game, there are likely four or five gamers who have yet to have that chance.
Posted by Dale Yu on December 5, 2007 at 01:00 AM in Reviews > Game Reviews > Columnists > Dale Yu
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Dale Yu: Three-chu, Thanksgiving-con Revue and Tippecanoe too!
It was a fantastic holiday weekend at Chez Yu with family and friends over for lots of good food and a bit of gaming. I got a chance to get through most of the rest of the Essen crop as well as play my new favorite game a few more times. (Betcha can’t guess which game that is!) I managed to get in 25 games during the weekend!
“Three-Chu”
Have you ever been sitting around with three people wishing that you could just find a fourth so you could play Tichu? This has happened to me more times than I care to count. Apparently it had also happened to Valerie Putman and James Miller, and we tried out an idea this weekend: a three-player version of Tichu. The game is similar to Three-Handed Bridge where there is a dummy hand on the board. The rules were still being ironed out while we played the game, but here’s the most recent version of the Three-Chu rules.
Dale Yu: It’s Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas
As I mentioned last week, there’s already a certain holiday feel in the air at my house. The holidays are a big deal around here (as we usually host both Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities), and we’re in the midst of a whirlwind cleaning session to make sure that we’re ready for all the guests. The downside of this is that I’ve had to clear the perpetual Solo Agricola game off the dinner table so we could put plates (of all things!) on the table…
But, as the Christmas season (err, holiday season*) approaches, signs of the change are not evident in just my house. As I was out shopping yesterday, I noticed that there were already a multitude of Christmas trees and holiday lights around the stores and buildings in the area—and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet!
*From this point on, please note that every time I use the word “Christmas”, it can be replaced with “Chanukkah”, “Kwanzaa”, “Festivus”, “Winterval”, “Winter Solstice”, “Yule”, “Christmahanukwanzaka” or whatever other end-of-year holiday terminology you wish to use or believe in. My political correctness stops here (though one might question if it ever truly began…)
Thus, I figured that this time is as good a time as any to start thinking about the holidays. In many ways, the thinking part of the holidays is almost done here! All of the party planning is already done, ingredients for Thanksgiving Dinner have been purchased, and the house is almost clean. In fact, we finished so early this year that we were able to start some Christmas shopping.
Dale Yu: Getting Ready for Thanksgiving or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pasteup
Well, things get busy around the Yu household at this time of year. The holidays are a nice time to have family and friends over for a few days, enjoy a nice meal or two, and get some good gaming in.
I must admit that the end of the year is perhaps the best time for me to get in gaming. During 2007, I was lucky to get regular gaming in more than twice a month. Between my work schedule, the schedule of the kids, and trying to get the local gaming group organized on a day when we were all free, there always seemed to be something that got in the way of me playing games!
The trip to Essen signals the start of the increase in gaming activity at the end of the year. Six days of gaming bliss—though the focus of that trip is more on game acquisition rather than game playing! However, it is a heady week where every waking minute (and many of the sleeping minutes) are filled with nothing but games. Directly following Essen is Great Lakes Games. This is one of the many events that have positioned themselves in the calendar just after Essen. Other similar events would be Euroquest and LobsterTrap. These events provide their attendees with a great opportunity to get together with friends and play a lot of the new Essen releases.
Dale Yu: Essen Games For Sale and What I Played at Great Lakes Games
Well, I just returned from Auburn, Indiana where another rendition of Great Lakes Games was just held. It’s a fun event of four days filled with gaming and laughter. This is an event that I look forward to each year primarily because it gives me a chance to try out the newest games from Essen. A quick note of thanks to Dave Vanderark and Chris Lohroff for putting together another great event!
Dale Yu: 2007 Essen Report Part Two – Notes from the Fair, Reviews and Session Reports
There is just far too much to see and do at Essen each year to make it fit all in one column – this week I’ll concentrate on giving a bit more depth to the information about some games.
Dale Yu: 2007 Essen Report Part One
Well, the whirlwind week in Essen has finally come to an end. I’m safely back in the United States with just over 122 pounds of games. This was the best trip that I’ve had to Essen yet, and I’m already looking forward to going next year!
