Valerie Putman:  Snoopy Dance worthy games!

If there is one word that has been used to describe me more than any other, it would have to be “enthusiastic.â€?  Sometimes I get so giddy that I can’t stay still, and this excited bouncing around was dubbed some time ago by a friend as my “snoopy dance.â€?  So let me give the run down on some new games I’ve played in the last few weeks (including Gen Con) that I am very enthusiastic about.

And the snoopy dances go to…

Canal Mania I’ve been eagerly awaiting this one from Ragnar Brothers for weeks.  I was hoping to play it at Gulf Games in July, but there wasn’t a copy there.  I’ve been hearing very positive reports as others got their copies and my anticipation swelled.  So this Friday when John Palagyi showed up at our game night (CABS) with my copy, I nearly bounced off the ceiling (and we have very tall ceilings in our new space!).  Four of us got right to it.  I was so excited that I interrupted John while he read the rules to us about a bajillion times, but the game play was pretty clear and we didn’t have any trouble jumping right in.  It has a lot of the route building flavor of a train game, but the requirement that your builds fulfill contracts and the rules for shipping goods make it unlike any I’ve played before.  It was tense with quick turns and difficult decisions and I think I burned at least 100 calories as I snoopy danced through the game.

Terra Nova I got to play an early production copy of this at Origins and one of my first stops at Gen Con was the Immortal Eyes booth so that I could pick up a copy.  I have already logged 8 plays, with about half of the games as 2 player games and half with 3 or 4.  I should first say that I love abstracts.  This is an abstract.  Of the players I’ve taught, fellow abstract lovers have enjoyed it as much as I do.  People who want more theme in their game find it a little too analytical and dry.  So while it might not make you snoopy dance, it definitely has that effect on me.

Emira This is another game I’ve had my eye on for a while.  I was very disappointed that I didn’t get a sneak peak at it earlier in the year and I was actually surprised when I stopped at the Mayfair booth and found it for sale.  Now normally I like to try before I buy, but I had an impulse shopper moment and snagged this on the first day of Gen Con.  As Rick already reported, he and Dale and I found a table to try it immediately.  While I didn’t love it with three players, I definitely saw enough there that I liked that I would dance at the chance to play it again soon.  I brought my copy to CABS on Friday and some friends played it while I was playing Canal Mania.  I was thrilled to hear that they quite enjoyed it (with 5 players).

There have been a few other new games that I’ve really been enjoying the past few weeks.  I’ve played Iliade 6 times now and I was really disappointed that the Gen Con stock of the English edition had printing errors that rendered the game unplayable.  (The backs of the cards aren’t on the right decks…so, for example, some of the victory cards have Army backs, some have Victory backs, etc.) I’ve played Desert Bazaar 3 times now and it is now in my “great gateway gamesâ€? collection.  I liked Seismic enough to buy it at Gen Con.  While the earthquakes can be a bit random and can result in some chaotic scoring, it is quick and light enough that I don’t mind.  I also liked the demo I had of Hatu Matu and hope to play a full game soon.  Finally, I got a copy of Metromania shortly before Gen Con and while I still struggle with the babelfished rules a bit, I enjoyed both plays of it so far.

Games that I did not buy at Gen Con after demoing (and did not incite a snoopy dance) include Xig, Wordspot, Monkey Arena, and It’s Good to be the King.

Prose on Cons I didn’t write an article about Gen Con before going because I had only attended once before and missed most of the con because I was there for a short time.  Funny thing, I still feel like I don’t really have a good sense of the Gen Con experience.  I’ve never tried the Real Dungeon, I didn’t see the live orchestra playing video game music, I didn’t battle with Game Base 7 over table space (we just played in a hotel room), and I didn’t even wander the miniatures hall to ooh and ahh over the terrain.  I spent the whole con hanging out with friends and demoing in the Exhibit Hall.  Maybe next year!

Next on the itinerary….Dragon*Con!  More on that next week!

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