However, even I recognized that this was a less than ideal situation, so I thought I’d try to obtain additional data.  Consequently, I posted this Geeklist, asking people to thumb the designer they thought had the best output last year (or to nominate another designer if they wished).  The result was 8 votes for Feld, 4 for Lehmann, and 1 for the FFG team (along with two write in votes for Franz-Benno Delonge and one for Michael Rieneck).  Two of the comments to the original article in BGN strongly supported Tom for DotY, so I threw them into the pot, to make the vote Feld-8, Lehmann-6, and Petesen/Konieczka-1.

Now, 15 votes is hardly a significant number and this was far from a scientific survey.  But a support of less than 7% is pretty poor, particularly on the Geek, where the FFG games are ranked so highly.  Not to mention that they were even outvoted by a write-in candidate.

That’s an oft-seen complaint on certain internet bulletin boards whose readers think that all games should be entirely strategic, with no chance for random elements to intrude upon carefully made plans.  If that’s really the sort of game that you like, then no problem. But, don’t buy blindly into the concept. I think dice games can provide a lot of benefits that you don’t find in a “less” random game, the greatest of which is the visceral and encompassing joy that can fill you when you receive an unlikely, but badly needed roll. Besides that, if you’re wanting to simulate reality in any form, then you need to accept that randomness happens. Just ask Hillary Clinton or Constable Charles d’Albret (of Agincourt).

This isn’t to say that a good dice game is totally random. Instead, it uses additional mechanics to turn that luck into another game element that can be controlled by a good player--which is the topic of this week’s article.

But here we also have a couple of… Made In Spain Games (Part VI)

In this chapter: PatimPatamPatum, Dead End, and Tobynstein (and all of them can be played if you don’t know Spanish).

Michael Barnes is the well-known independent voice and one of the lead writers for Fortress Ameritrash, a great discussion website about games. Michael has a large, boisterous and devoted following and is a leader of the “Ameritrash” movement of games. His opinions have spurred major discussions about how board games should be viewed in the hobbyist community and expanded what had become an increasingly narrower viewpoint. Sometimes Michael’s writings could be described as controversial – which in some quarters would be viewed with mild understatement. But many readers have made it clear: the content of his writings has relevance to more than a few in the boardgame community.

Publisher: Ragnar Brothers
Designers: Steve Kendell, Phil Kendell & Gary Dicken
Players: 2-4
Playing Time: 90 minutes
Release Date: May 31, 2008

After delays due to an artist mishap, the Ragnar Brothers will debut Monastery at the UK Games Expo. Monastery is a tile-laying game, but that pedestrian description conceals a lot, for as Gary Dicken has written in the designer notes online, “As in all Ragnar Brothers games, the theme is of paramount importance.”

So how is the theme realized this time? While monasteries have been established worldwide, this game, writes Dicken, “is more specifically based on the monasteries of Western Europe of the medieval period. They were essentially communities devoted to living out their lives according to a set of rules that helped express their faith. A primary function was to offer prayers to God. The monastic day consisted of periods of manual work (toil), study, personal devotion (prayer) and church services involving the whole community. In order to function, monasteries developed their land and built buildings. This usually took place over several generations.”

It was a stark contrast – from the European metropolis to the Midwestern small town; from the urban life I now live to the roots I left behind, deep in the black Iowa soil. And now I found myself returning home, flying alone, my seat locked in an upright position as I gazed out onto the perfectly square fields below, a view that could easily have been a gameboard.

It is the golden age of colonialism and a beautiful deserted island has just been discovered. Unfortunately, ships from four different countries have arrived at the same time to claim it! The main mechanism of Cannonball Colony is two layered tile-laying. Players construct a network of road tiles, then build forts, cannons and blockades on top of road tiles to which they have access. When different networks of roads merge, new options open up for players. There is strategy in the way you plan to develop the island for your benefit, but also tactical decisions as you react to what and where your opponents build. The game has the ruleset of a light Eurogame, the thought of a somewhat weighty abstract, and plenty of direct conflict as you blow up opponents. The player with the most forts standing at the end of the game wins the island for his country!

The cover shown above is a draft. Cannonball Colony is for 2-4 players, ages 10 and up, with a playing time of 30-60 minutes. Details about price (which will likely be around $40 Australian) and ordering will soon be available on Adventureland Games. Harding says that the game might be available to North American gamers through an online store, as was the case with Archaeology: The Card Game, but the logistics are still being worked out.

Note on May 12: Item bumped to show corrected cover and include prices.

A Game of Games is available for preorder through Fair Play Games and will be released on June 1. This game has been added to Gone Cardboard.

• Jamaica – Jeffrey Henning (March), Timothy S. Higgins (April)
• Kill the Hippies – Joshua Cappel (March)
• Game Ink T-shirt – Steve Hughes (March)
• Slide 5 – Michael Merten, Pat Mitchell (March)
• Galactic Destiny – Jim McDanold (April)
• Word Blur – Giuseppe De Carolis (April)
• Medievalia – Jon Sykes (April)

Publisher: Out of the Box Publishing
Designers: Garrett J. Donner, Brian S. Spence & Michael S. Steer
Players: 4-8
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 40 minutes
Rules Language: English

A bumped review as I’ve played again and revised my take on the game. See below for details.

Ted Cheatham is back for a quick shot at the newly released Party Pooper:

For those of you who skipped Ted’s presentation, here’s a recap of the rules: Try to guess which player the current round’s host will identify as the most/least likely to do some specified task or challenge, whether it’s singing karaoke, taking a dip with the Polar Bear club, or going dancing with your teenage daughter. Guess well, and you’ll score a point; have everyone guess what you’re thinking when you’re host, and you’ll score lots of points.

2. These opportunities happen more frequently if you talk about games every chance you get. I used to be reticent on the topic of games and didn’t bring up the subject around people whom I had just met. Thankfully I’m no longer that person, and I play many more games as a result.