EDWIN WONG: My 2007 Spiel: PART 2 - The games I tried.

After 3 years, I still can’t find enough time to play more games at Spiel!

This year, despite keeping most of my meetings to the weekends (when the crowds are largest), I still only managed to try a handful of new games during the quieter Thursday-Friday period! I must be doing something wrong!

Reflecting back on those days, I think its because I spent too much time chatting away with familiar faces and new friends… not a bad thing really! In fact, my Spiel is becoming more of a time to catch up with old friends, make new ones, and of course, try new games - in that order! After all, the games will be there to play for a long time after; but friends, you only get to meet once a year (or less, if they miss Essen for whatever reason).

And now, onto the few games I did try…

1. Laborigines (CBG). Its really quite hard to find a quick, fun, party-type game for 6 or more players, so I was happy to find this! First, you get to “create” your own lab creature out of clay/plasticine, and then watch it go through life in the lab trying its best to stay alive! Nice, bright graphics on the modular board ala Chicken Cha Cha Cha, I enjoyed this one, as I did Santy Anno last year (though Anno is a considerably louder party game!).

2. MotoGP (Nexus). I’ve not seen a motorbike game for a long time, so I was naturally attracted to this prototype by Nexus. With bits of tracks that you can assemble into any track in the world, I’m told that the superbike figures are in fact replica Ducati models, though copyright issues would mean that you only get them in the standard red, blue, green, etc, colors in the game. However, they are currently in discussions with a few suprebike makers, and if everything turns out well, they will be able to offer actual replica playing pieces in optional packs. I’ll be looking out for their planned early 2008 release!

3. Micro Mutants Evolution (Nexus). Imagine Tiddlywinks on steriods! Never would I have imagined I would be playing Tiddlywinks at Essen this year, but I did! And I enjoyed it tremendously! Essentially, you control an army of micro mutants, whose sole objective is to eliminate the “flag” of all other mutants present. Your army is represented by round and rectangular chips, and character cards, which spell out each mutant’s special abilities (eg. certain mutants can “spit” poison after they move!). From then on, its “Tiddlywinking” your mutants towards your enemy’s “flag”, eliminating enemies along the way if your mutant lands on the top your enemy’s mutants. Not just a game for kids, this one needs a fair measure of skill in addition to tactics. It’s like playing a tactical miniatures game (since mutants come with very different and interesting special abilities), but only where you can’t just move your figure to exactly where you want - you got to flick it there!

4. Stratego Fortress (Jumbo). I’ve always liked Stratego. Its tense and requires a lot of bluffing and deception. This year, Jumbo’s variation gives this classic a very interesting twist. Each player places traps in his/her 3-story fortress, making it as difficult as possible for the opponent to reach the flag. Of course, no matter how difficult a course you set for your opponent, it must still be possible for him/her to reach your flag. Of all the existing variations to this game, my favorite has always been the 4-player version; however, I have a strange feeling I will grow to like this even more!

5. Flames of War (Battlefront). Although its been around for a long time, FoW’s presence in Spiel in previous years have really only been in the form of a couple of boxes being sold by one or two exhibitors. Quite under the radar. This year is the first time I have seen them put up a decent demonstration! A quick chat with the busy staff revealed that FoW had recently been re-energized, with new investment and new management zest hoping to take this game to greater heights. With the huge success of Memoir’44, Tide of Iron, Combat Commander, a true WW2 miniatures game has always been in the stars. Now, with the re-surgence of a great game, more demonstrations and wider availability of stocks, I’m quite sure this game will fly. My play test saw my small German squad, with a Tiger in support, waiting to ambush the 5 on-coming US Shermans. After just 30 minutes of furious action, which saw my Tiger quickly take out 2 Shermans in the opening 10 minuutes, the Germans eventually succumbed to the resilient enemy! Close combat at its visual best! On a separate note, the gorgeous metal/resin tanks, etc, have been made in my own country since August, when Battlefront moved their entire factory/production from New Zeland to Malaysia! As I walked away, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, and the pride I felt for FoW’s “home-made” products!

More in the next article!

© 2007 Edwin Wong

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