Greg J. Schloesser:  New to me

Sorry for my absence last week.  I had just returned from Gulf Games and had to catch-up on a week’s worth of work.  I’ve finally uncovered myself from the mountain of phone calls and paper work, so its time to start re-focusing on games!

Gulf Games was once again AWESOME.  They are all spectacular (we’ve held 17 so far!), and it has become virtually impossible to say which one has been the best.  The most recent one usually wins the contest, as it is freshest in my mind!  I will say that I really, really needed this one.  2005 and the early part of 2006 has been extremely busy, chaotic and emotional for me.  Not only did we move—twice—from our life-long home in New Orleans, but less than three months later Hurricane Katrina devastated our home town and much of the Gulf Coast.  Our families and business is still located in New Orleans, causing much emotional trauma for us.  Since I am an insurance agent / broker, you can only imagine how busy we have been dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane.  Every day was non-stop busy talking with clients, adjustors and insurance companies.  Plus, we had the persistent worries concerning the future of our business.  We feared that many people and insurance companies would depart the area, causing irrepairable harm to our business and livelihood.  We received a lot of emotional support from family, friends, and our faith.  Prayers were answered, as our business has actually been thriving.  There is much to be done in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, but like the legendary Phoenix, they will rise again.

So, with all of this occuring, I really, really needed Gulf Games.  I needed the relaxation, the friendship, the games, and the escape.  The Lord once again knew what I needed, as this Gulf Games was perhaps the smoothest, trouble-free one we’ve yet conducted.  Everything seemed to go pretty much as planned, and it was like sailing on calm, beautiful waters.  I seemed not to have a care in the world, and was surrounded by a sense of relaxation, peace, love and contentment.  It was truly awesome. 

I was also surrounded by games!  I won’t discuss all of the games I played—I’ll be publishing my full report soon on the East Tennessee Gamers website—but will instead concentrate on the games that were new to me.  These are games I hadn’t played previously, but finally had the opportunity to do so in the past few weeks. 

DRAGONS OF KIR:  Every now and then a game comes along that blows me away.  Usually, it is a game about which I am completely unfamiliar.  As such, my expectations are generally low.  This has just happened to me again with Dragons of Kir (formerly Darter), an excellent 2-player game from Future Magic Games.

James Miller and I played four times in succession, and then taught to numerous other folks during Gulf Games.  The game is a test of skills, foresight, logic, planning and strategy.  There is a dash of luck in drawing tiles, but the challenge is optimally using these tiles to achieve victory.  It is a true test of mental abilities, but it isn’t wearisome.  It is great fun, and it has me enraptured.  It is one of those rare gems that I desire to play over-and-over again in succession. 

TRIANGULAR: Another fast-playing, 2-player abstract game.  This one is being distributed by Temple Games, the folks bringing us ChiZo Rising. I didn’t expect much from reading the rules, but game play is quite intriguing and addicting.  Players try to form triangles with their pieces in the corners.  My mind has difficulty spotting the triangles in the ever changing board pattern, but I still have fun trying!  Triangular is one of those games that immediately upon completion, you demand to play again.  You always feel that you can do better the next time.  The time investment is short, so there is little disincentive to not play it again and again in succession.  That is most certainly the mark of a good game, and one that I am pleased to have in my collection.  Now, I just have to get those triangle shapes out of my head when I’m trying to sleep at night!

CHIZO RISING: Kevin Bender, one of my good friends and co-host of the East Tennessee Gamers, is a volunteer demonstrater for this tile-laying and set-collecting game.  Even though he has taught it to numerous folks in our group, I was always involved in another game, so never learned it.  I rectified that during Gulf Games, and much to my surprise, quite enjoyed the game.  I found it quite challenging to use your tiles in the proper sequence to create the outcome you desire.  The game was easy to learn and challenging, and seems to offer numerous strategies and opportunities for clever moves.  I’m looking forward to playing this one more.

NATURE OF THE BEAST: I didn’t have high hopes for this card game which appeared to be an adaptation of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games.  One fear was soothed, however, when I learned that this was NOT collectible, but rather could be played “as is”.  I’ve never played Magic or ANY other collectible card game, so I honestly didn’t know what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Like ChiZo, the game offers many opportunities for clever card play, and arranging proper combinations is important.  It is more fiddly than ChiZo, but it is still quite enjoyable.

KAIVAI: Dale Yu and Josh Miller taught this to Valerie Putman and I during Gulf Games.  I had purchased it in Essen, read the rules several times, but just didn’t feel comfortable enough to try to teach it.  While not as enamored with it as both Dale and Josh, I did find the game enjoyable.  Future plays are necessary to help me understand the various strategies to employ, but I’m looking forward to that exploration.  The main drawback is that it handles a maximum of four players, and I have a difficult time getting games requiring that number to the table. 

CELTIC TRADER (CELTIC QUEST):  Uggh.  For me, this is the BIG bomb of Gulf Games and Essen.  Dale Yu warned me, but I just had to try.  We played the easier Celtic Trader version, and it was horrible.  Romans appeared WAY too quickly, causing city after city to be closed.  This eliminated nearly all options players had during their turn.  The game was truly bad.  I’m tempted to part with the game immediately, but feel I must at least try the more advanced Celtic Quest version.

CELTICA: Another disappointment, especially considering it comes from Wolfgang Kramer, one of my favorite designers.  Move along a path, hoping to collect enough gems to complete amulets.  Card play determines how far one moves, but often one has little choice.  This was VERY light and not exciting at all.  A big pass for me.

OSTIA: I actually played this as a pre-production model in Essen.  I wasn’t too enamored, but attributed that to the fact that I was exhausted from four straight days at the convention.  I’ve played two more times during the course of Gulf Games, and my initial reaction was confirmed.  There are simply WAY to many auctions, too much guesswork, and it is FAR too repetitive.  A big disappointment.

NACHT DER MAGIER: Frank Branham was touting this as a possible Spiel des Jahre contender.  I must admit, that it is quite attractive, with lots of wood bits that glow in the dark.  And, it is an amusing dexterity game.  However, for me, it isn’t much more than that:  amusing.  I’ll gladly play, but see no need to add it to my collection.

CALIFORNIA, JERICHO, NOTTINGHAM: Craig Berg had just received a package containing three new Nürnberg releases:  California, Jericho and Nottingham.  I managed to play all three.  California felt somewhat like Volle Hutte, with players attempting to acquire flooring and furniture to outfit their home.  It was light, pleasant, and harmless—definintely a family game.  Jericho concerned building walls, only to see them knocked down by the WAY TOO FREQUENT destruction cards.  I didn’t care for this one.  Nottingham was more to my liking, as players tried to form sets with cards, but could opt to use the special power of a card instead of taking it into their hand.  Nothing terribly deep here, but still fun.

GEMBLO: This is eerily similar to Blokus.  There are slight differences, but the BIG advantage is that it can be played with up to six players.  I’m not a huge Blokus fan, but actually enjoyed Gemblo a bit better as it seems to offer more placement options and chances for clever play. 

DAS ENDE DES TRIUMVERATES: Another Essen purchase I had not yet played.  John Palagyi taught Valerie Putman and me, and I enjoyed the game.  It is a light wargame that requires conflict and territorial conquest.  The system does seem a bit confined, and I’m not sure if the strategy options will play-out too quickly over just a few playings.  It does seem to play well with 3-players, which is a big plus.

CONQUEST OF THE FALLEN LANDS: This home-made design presents quite the professional appearance, and the game play is fair.  Players conquer territory, but not from each other.  Cards played to conquer a territory are played directly onto the hex, and can be used by ALL players on future conquests of neighboring areas.  Interesting ideas, but the luck-of-the-draw can be HUGE. 

HOLLYWOOD CARD GAME: Ted Cheatham can always be counted on to have some wacky games in tow.  This is a VERY light filler that requires a few minor decisions.  Choices are few, and the game is clearly meant to be nothing more than a very light filler.  Fair, but nothing I need to own.

1876 - TRINIDAD: Previous to this, I had never played an 18xx game.  Jim McDanold was intent on rectifying that situation.  He warned me that 1876 was not the ideal choice to introduce me to the system, but its main benefit was that it was short—2 hours or so.  I had absolutely NO clue as to what I was doing during the game, or even what I was SUPPOSED to be doing.  I know the genre has its legions of fans, but nothing in the game grabbed my attention or even slightly interested me.  Jim won, and I have no idea how. 

Over the past week, nearly a dozen new games have arrived.  Geez ... more games to play!  Time to get at it!

© 2006 Greg Schloesser

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Comments:

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After reading Tom Vasel’s review I checked out their website and was confused over the whole Darter vs Dragons of Kir thing.  So is it really just a name change from Darter to Dragons of Kir.  Definitely interested in this one. Posted by Jonathan Greisz on Mar 17, 2006 at 10:29 AM | #

I’ve never played the game as “Darter”, but I understand there have been some minor changes in the new Dragons of Kir edition.  The original version is en route to me, so I’ll be able to decipher the differences once I have chance to read the rules on the original version. Posted by Greg Schloesser on Mar 17, 2006 at 10:41 AM | #

From my understanding, Darter is the first version of the game with no theme and straightforward icons; Dragons of Kir appears to be a themed version of Darter, with identical game play and more attractive and evocative images. Posted by W. Eric Martin on Mar 17, 2006 at 10:47 AM | #

Nottingham is also my (and my group’s) favorite of the new lighter games from Nuremburg.  One notable advantage to the game is that it accomodates up to 7 players--especially good for a filler at the beginning of an evening before more people arrive and the group breaks up into smaller groups of 3-5 players. Posted by Jeff Allers on Mar 18, 2006 at 02:08 AM | #

Greg I’ve found Kaivai to be much more enjoyable as a 3 player (I’m very fond of it) vs 4 player one(I’m not very fond of it). So beware when you are getting it to the table next. Posted by Marc Magnera on Mar 21, 2006 at 05:16 PM | #

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