Tom Vasel…Thoughts on some recent games

Because of summer vacation, I’ve had a lot of time to play games over the past weeks.  Here are some quick opinions of the games I’ve played, many of them new from Origins.

Caylus - This game is as amazing as everyone makes it out to be.  As long as I can avoid the analysis that people have done on the ‘net, and avoid playing with those folks, I think that I will gladly play this game anytime.  Five players seems to be the most fun when playing, although it takes a little longer than I normally would want.

Pecking Order - Hmmm, I’m not seeing the draw for this game.  It’s more than a simplified Lost Cities - it’s almost too simple for me.  Maybe the game would be better with more cards?

Nexus Ops - I’m very impressed with this game - a sort of Risk variant that encourages quick combat, and ends in about an hour.  The great-looking components certainly help, as well as the fact that it’s a good two player game.

Around the World in 80 Days - I still think this game should have won the Spiel des Jahres last year - it’s a hit with every non-gamer that I play it with.  And it does a tremendous job of maintaining the theme of the great book by Mr. Verne.

Voltage - Mattel gives us a game that looks and feels like it’s one of the Kosmos two-player series.  The game itself feels like a mix of Balloon Cup and Caesar and Cleopatra.  While perhaps not as good as either of those games - it’s still a fun two-player game, and a tremendous first offering by Mattel.

Dungeonville - The “secret” aspect of this game doesn’t seem to matter, and some of the mechanics (fighting) aren’t as interesting as others (drafting).  But the art is great and it plays fairly funny.  I’m thinking this is a solid “6”.

Carcassonne: the Discovery - I really didn’t think I would enjoy this version, but the choice of whether to score or place a meeple was rather good.  Nice artwork make this yet another good “gateway” game.

Carcassonne: the Tower - This expansion is just as mean, if not meaner, than the Princess and the Dragon.  Bundle these two expansions with the Count of Carcassonne, and the game is most decidedly unfriendly nowadays - although a lot of fun.  The cardboard tower for the tiles holds all the tiles from all the sets - so I’m very pleased with that - almost worth the price of the expansion itself.

Cosmic Cows - This game plays off the concept of Yahtzee, and sounded rather fun.  But the game see-saws too long, and I was sitting there, almost ready to throw the game to my opponent because it seemed like it was never going to end.  Nice cute cows, though - by the same manufacturer that made the cool pigs from Pig’s Pile.

Knights of Charlemagne - Deep down, I think this game might have too much luck in it.  And I’m not too fond of the four-player game.  But for two or three players, this Knizia offering is a lot of fun - and just might be a big hit.

Vegas Showdown - This game is really growing on me, although I felt that a three-player game was entirely too easy.  I’ve seen some call it an auction game - which is true.  But for some reason, it feels more like a building game, almost a “civilization” feel.

Gobblet - A fascinating abstract game that lets you “gobble” the opponent’s pieces, in a game that’s basically Tic-Tac-Toe.  I enjoy it, and not simply for the absolutely gorgeous pieces.

Dead Man’s Treasure - A fun game of area control (basically).  There might be too much luck, and too much promise of strategy - but I’ll have to try it a few more times - I suspect that three players may be the best number for this game.

Poison - I KNOW this game is too lucky, and that the cauldrons are unnecessary components.  But it’s still fun - although I noticed that not all I game with share that view.

And that’s it for this week.  I did want to post one email I got from Wolfgang Kunz, who gave me permission to put it here.  He agreed with my posting from last week, and wanted to expand on it a bit. 

“1) Native language – as some commentators said. English is not my native language and even if I think I’m very fluent in it there is a chance when I’m distracted or simply “dead – tired” or trying to use a German symbolism that DOESN’T translate well in English that takes me off the track (so to say). Regarding the experience of Americans (or other nationalities regarding their ability to speak German) I think everyone of us should stop and think about it. Yes, help me if I’m using something wrong but not after beating me up for it. 

2) The biggest problem on the Geek and other boards are the User-IDs. Even if I use a pseudonym at the Geek (Alphawolf) my real name is there. You can call me by my cool pseudonym or by my real name. There is no hiding behind a shield where I can be rude because no one knows me. When
I read some postings about “how do I hide my real name / how do I change my pseudonym” I am doubtful that this happens because of “higher motives” Sometimes it is to hide my identity (so I can be rude or pretend being a 18 year old blonde Pamela Anderson – kinda type (ups, wrong board J ); sometime it is because even my pseudonym get a “bad stench”. Why has someone to hide his name on the Geek or other boards at all?

3) Favorite game: Some people only accept a review about a game they love if this game is praised in the highest. Any critic that is not favorable is trashed and the writer with it. But there are games I don’t like – that I even wouldn’t touch with a 10 – feet – pole (Return of the Heroes is one of my all – time – baddies). Reviews are helpful – I look at the reviewer and the games he owns, what he wrote about a game and even if there are some minor spelling / grammatical errors I appreciate 5 reviews more than one perfect review that is praising the game.

4) Elitism – especially if you are a long time user. One of the mayor problems IMHO. How dare you to write a review about that game – you’re only online for 3 month… Some of the reviews have lesser content than others – so what? I have the freedom to click “Next” and they don’t catch up a lot of my time.

5) Using “German names” of English games show that you “are” somebody – something like a hidden handshake – you know, wink, wink, gobbeldidoo… I see this happening (more in my field of gaming) with wargamers and the endless discussions about the historicity of this-and-that game. I really don’t care if the artillery was placed historically north or south of this valley / wood / whatever but what concerns me is: Do I have a real chance of winning a scenario / is this game playable? Since more and more people are coming into the “Gaming Hobby” these “old players from way back past when everything was so more difficult and better” seem to have at least the edge of “allowed to write exorbitant good reviews with the final saying about game xyz” and knowing about the “real name of it and therefore are having power over it”. Sounds religiously (cultist) familiar – doesn’t it?

To sum it up: The problem lies in the anonymity of the Internet (I would never be rude (hopefully) to say this face-to-face) and the lack of allowing another opinion of the game with the expectation that “everybody has to be so perfect as I am”.

Amazingly enough those that are crying the most are those who seldom place a review on their own. They seldom are able to speak another language fluently or even writing in such a language.

I pity these people: They show a high level of frustration that comes out in bashing others – If my day is miserable I will at least make your day miserable too.

Yes, help me if my wording or grammar in my non-native language is wrong (but don’t expect me to trust MS – spell / grammar checking), help me even when I misunderstood or misinterpreted a rule. But give me the freedom to gain experience in learning to write a review and, if voicing critic, do it in a polite manner that builds me up and encourages me to try again (maybe even edit my review) than to make sure that I will never again write a review.

Boards like the Geek or RPG.net live thru the effort normal users WITH DIFFERENT OPINIONS put into it – not by eloquent snobs that are able to surf the wave of extraordinary stupidity.

I would more likely read a review by someone with typos and grammar – problems (as long as the sentence is understandable) than to read a review where I need a dictionary to at least get a glimpse of what it means. Don’t forget, even Einstein started small. “

Thanks for your thoughts, Wolfgang!

See you all next week,

Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games”
www.tomvasel.com

© 2006 Tom Vasel

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Just a comment on the Wolfgang’s thoughts on anonyminity---it is indeed a strong factor in the sometimes-craziness on various sites.  Forums that force a real name seem to be under more control.  Enforcing such a rule is not just making it a requirement for registration, it’s also making a real name a social standard across the board---the latter leads to less lying, though requiring a real name at all does result in less lying (just not as much). As for the reasons behind trying to stay anonymous---I can understand this in certain situations, like stalking. There is a prevalent amount of fear, because stalkers mean you physical harm---the torture and death variety in some cases.  The thought of staying anonymous---anywhere and everywhere---is very strong when you are a victim of such things.  Whether this is truly a reason to be anonymous is up to the individual. Posted by Ava Jarvis on Jul 24, 2006 at 09:23 AM | #

Tom, I’m a big fan of Knights of Charlemagne (well, of its predecessor, Tabula Rasa).  It’s another one of those games that seem so strikingly simple that you can’t imagine they’ll work, but I’ve always enjoyed it with two. Wolfgang:  You have no reason to be concerned about your English--it’s very good (particularly your use of slang, which is often very tough for non-natives speakers).  Frankly, I’m not sure the Geek nicknames make users more likely to be rude.  Most Geeks prefer to be identified by their user ID’s and become known by them.  So if my Geek identity is Fluxxsuxx instead of Larry Levy, there’s really no difference; either way, there’s no real anonymity, as people know who I am. I think the major problem is that many folks are more likely to be rude when they don’t have to deal with the consequences of face-to-face interaction.  There’s nothing much that can be done about this except to treat the rudeness appropriately (either by ignoring them or scolding them) and to try to behave well oneself when communicating online. Posted by Larry Levy on Jul 24, 2006 at 01:14 PM | #

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