The Game That “Settles” In, Never To Leave - Yeah!

Promotional image from Mayfair Games

One of the great family games of all time has to be Settlers of Catan.  Not only did it win the Spiel des Jahres in 1995, but it is the game that really brought German style games to the American market.  It has broken ground again in being one of the first German styles games to move into the mass market; Settlers is available at Target stores.

In Settlers, players are on a resource rich island, attempting to build their colony the fastest.  Players collect resources (wood, sheep, wheat, ore or brick) based upon the location of settlements they own, and then use those resources to build more settlements, roads which connect them, or upgrade the settlements to cities.  These, in turn, produce more resources.  Cities and settlements count towards victory points (as do a few other things), and the first player to ten victory points wins.  Negotiation is a big part of the game, since the trading of resources is allowed.  These negotiations are full of worries about helping the other players more than yourself, particularly if you are negotiating with the point leader.

A game being played with a Third Edition copy. (Image by Mikko Saari)

 The first reason this is such a great game is how reachable it is.  With some help, a child down to about age eight could play this.  After a time or two they could play on their own, though they won’t play particularly well.  Once the boy or girl hits double digits, however, this game will take off.  I have successfully taught this game to a lot of people.  Keep in mind, it isn’t the first game I teach people, unless they have had some prior gaming experience.  It is a great second game.  I can’t stress that enough.  This game is a classic.

The second reason this is such a great game is that it has both dice and cards in it.  Most people are used to the idea of cards and dice in a game, but not necessarily together, and not used in this way.  These are not “roll-and-move” dice.  We are not thinking “draw a card, play a card”.  Dice are used to generate resources, and the resources are represented by cards.  This is a great game to break those notions of how dice and cards are used, and lay some groundwork for other games that use traditional game elements in non-traditional ways.

This game also has a modular board, which is a concept that is also life-altering when you first see it.  The “board” is made up of hexagons which are shuffled and set out, so the board configuration is always changing.  This means that your strategy and tactics need tweaking with every play, and Settlers stays fresh longer than many other games.

This game has some serious fans! (Image by Matthew M Monin)

Lastly, this game is fun.  I have played it somewhere around 25 times.  It’s not often the first game I pull out, but that’s mainly because I tend to play new games as often as I can.  It comes out every few months, and we enjoy it immensely.  In fact, most of our “Do you remember the time…” gaming moments come from Settlers games.

Settlers of Catan is a available at many game stores and online.  In my neck of the woods, it is also at Target and a Barnes and Nobles.  I highly recommend this game for your collection if you don’t have it already.  This game is a “must-have”.

Risk (Revised)

                Ages:                    8 and up

                Time:                     90 minutes

                Players:                 3-4

Related posts:

•  Spiel des Jahres

Zooloretto Mini-Expansions

I purchased min-expansions shortly after I received the game as a gift.  Since I finally played the base game this weekend, I thought I would punch out those expansions.  Some of them look interesting and shouldn't really add much in the way of rules.  This is a good thing for a lighter game used to introduce games to new people (a "gateway" game).  It keeps the game fresh for those who have played it a lot without complicating the game for new folks.

I also discovered we missed a rule in Zooloretto this weekend that would have put more money in the gameplay.  We will have to play again.

It's Your Move!

A Game for the Whole Herd - Zooloretto

This weekend our gaming group met, and we featured the Spiel des Jahres winning games I own.  I have owned Zooloretto for several years, but had never managed to get it to the table.  Our group has recently (and suddenly!) grown to over ten players, some of whom are not familiar with hobby games.  I had heard Zooloretto worked well as an introductory game, so it was time to give it a try.  The game is thematically fun, has good components and has simple and elegant gameplay.

Image by tiggerix

In Zooloretto, each player is attempting to build the most complete zoo; the zoo that would attract the most visitors.  (No visitors were harmed in the playing of this game.)  Players are rewarded for filling their animal pens, building vending stalls, and expanding their zoo for more.  However, having too many animals and vending stalls is costly; they are stored in the barn and reduce your chance at winning. 

This game has solid, quality components.  Coins are wooden disks painted gray.  The animals, stalls and random coins are represented by tiles.  Coins on tiles are worth the same as the disks.  Each player has their own board to play on, which represents their zoo.  These are not the full thickness of a normal game board, but they are certainly sufficient.  There are wooden tile racks, referred to as “delivery trucks”, which are also included.  Each rack holds three tiles.  There is no real “awesomeness factor”, but the art is certainly of good quality.  If there was one drawback, it was that some of the players had trouble telling which animals were which on opposing zoo boards.  While the instructions discuss setting out three draw piles for the tiles, a draw bag is included so that is handled.

The game is played over a series of rounds.  The end is determined by how long the tiles last, which is impacted by how many players are in the game, and how full the trucks are upon delivery.  On their turn, each player chooses to perform one (not all) of three actions:

·         Draws a tile from the bag, reveals it to be an animal, coin or vending stall, and places it on a delivery truck;

·         Picks up a delivery truck, which may or may not be full.

·         Performs one of several money actions, which are primarily about expanding your zoo and moving animals around.

The catch is that once you have taken a truck, you get no more turns this round!  That’s where the biggest decision point is:  do I wait to receive a full truck, or do I take a truck with tiles I want early to make sure I get those tiles.  (Hmmm, or do I take the truck early to make sure you don’t get the tiles you want!)

Image by Chris Norwood

After everyone has taken a truck, everyone simultaneously places their tiles: animals in their pens, vending stalls on vending sites, and coins in with the money they already have.  If you have a male and a female, they immediately produce a baby – a free animal!  If you don’t have space for any animals or stalls they go in the barn.  Of course, you can only have one animal type in each pen, which is what drives the truck decision I mentioned above.  Now the next round begins.

After the game is over, points are scored.  Points are given for how well you have filled your pens and built vending stalls.  Points are taken away for animals and vending stalls stuck in your barn. 

As you can see from the theme and the overview of the rules, this is a game well suited for children and those who dislike direct confrontation.  As a result, it makes a good casual game, but it makes a superb family game.  I completely understand why this game won the Spiel des Jahres.  It is definitely a game that I will be pulling out for certain friends of ours for whom building a zoo would make a fun game. 

There are expansions, quite a few of which I own but haven’t played.  When I get a chance I will review them.

Vital Statistics:

Zooloretto

                Ages:                     8 and up (little ones will want in; they may need Mom or Dad)

                Time:                     45 minutes

                Players:                 3-5

It’s Your Move!

Qwirkle wins Spiel des Jahres; 7 Wonders Kennerspiel!

Recently I wrote about the Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres awards.  This is just a quick nod to the winners:

Spiel des Jahres: Qwirkle
I have to say I am really happy about this, although I didn't expect it.  I certainly believe this is a great game; I was pulling for this one.  I reviewed it a few weeks ago - check it out.

Promotional Image by Asmodee

Kennerspiel des Jahres: 7 Wonders
I expected this from the buzz this game created.  It was very hard to get a copy; my order took a couple of months to arrive.  I still need to get it to the table though!

Congratulations to the winners!








It's Your Move!

Kinderspiel and Kennerspiel des Jahres

Recently I wrote about the Spiel des Jahres, which is the German game of the year award for family games.  This annual award focuses on the types of game I write about in this blog, but is not the only award handed out.  The group that hands out the Spiel des Jahres also awards the Kinderspiel des Jahres and the Kennerspiel des Jahres.

The Kinderspiel des Jahres is the children’s game of the year, and spotlights those games with the 4- to 6-year old child in mind.  Many of the games under consideration never make it “across the pond”, so we in the States never see them.  I would like to see more of them available; I am pretty certain there are a few that bridge the gap between children’s and family games.

The Kennerspiel des Jahres will be far more interesting.  I am not sure how the term directly translates to English, but the purpose of the award is to spotlight games of interest to hobby gamers.  This year is the first year for this award, which was created (at least as I understand it) to avoid giving away “special” awards year after year, which has been happening of late.  These games will be available in the US, though only through specialty stores.  This year’s games include 7 Wonders, Lancaster and Strasbourg.  Many people thought 7 Wonders would be a Spiel des Jahres nominee, since it is very much a family game.  From reading the rules, it does look like the first game would be tough; there are a lot of icons on the cards.  That fact may have pushed it up to the next category.

I only have 7 Wonders, and it hasn’t made it to the gaming table yet.  (Almost, but not quite!)  Of the games either nominated for this year’s awards or recommended (those not quite good enough to get a nomination), I have three:  7 Wonders, Qwirkle (which I reviewed) and Blockers.  I will ask someone to bring Forbidden Island, rounding the month’s game session to plays of four different games.  At that point, I can review 7 Wonders properly and let you know what I think.

My monthly game session will occur about the time the awards are announced, and I will post the winners.  Until then…

It’s Your Move

Interesting article in the Atlantic -- Settlers of Catan: How a German Board Game Went Mainstream - Scott Keyes - Entertainment - The Atlantic

A friend of mine posted this to Facebook, and I think it is fits in well here:

Settlers of Catan: How a German Board Game Went Mainstream - Scott Keyes - Entertainment - The Atlantic

I haven't reviewed Settlers of Catan; it's on my radar. For now, I will just say that it is not only a great game, but a definitive game, for families and friends.

It's Your Move

Qwirkle - Matt's Opinion

Fellow blogger Matt Stevenson wrote another, more in depth review of Qwirkle.  You can find it at:

http://boardgamebackroom.blogspot.com/2011/06/fresh-baked-qwirkle-by-susan-mckinley.html

It's Your Move!

Mass Market Marvel – Qwirkle

What in the world is a Qwirkle?  You know the old saying: “He’s a psycho, you’re eccentric and I just have a little Qwirkle!”  No, can’t say I’ve heard it either…

Promotional image from Mindware

Qwirkle is a game for two to four players that has been described as Scrabble with shapes and colors.  Not exactly how I would phrase it, but nonetheless it gives a mental picture of what each player is doing.  It has been available at Target for quite some time, and has made its way to K-mart in my area, which is fantastic.  Why?  Because it is a great game that won the 2007 Mensa Select award and is now up for the 2011 Spiel des Jahres.  It is fun, accessible for all ages, and develops pattern recognition skills.  However, do not mistake this for an “educational game”; this game is quite a bit of fun!  What follows is a look at the pieces, an overview of game play, and a bit on accessibility.

The components to Qwirkle consist of black blocks with six shapes painted in six colors on the “face” side.  The combination of color and shape gives thirty six individual blocks, each of which is repeated three times for a total of 108 pieces.  There is no board; the only other component is the draw bag.  The heft of all of these blocks means this game is a great game to play outdoors.  Nothing will blow away in the wind.  I probably wouldn’t take it camping (and certainly not backpacking!) due to the size and weight of the game, but my wife and I have played at the football field during our son’s practice with just a little folding game table and some chairs.  Playing this on the porch on a cool summer evening would be great!

Game play is equally simple.  On a players turn, they choose from one or more tiles in their “hand” and play them together to the table.  The goal is to create lines of one color with all six shapes, or lines of one shape with all six colors in a crossword style pattern.  One point is awarded for each tile (including already placed tiles) in the newly enlarged line.  If two tiles are added to a line of two existing tiles, the player will receive four points.  If they manage to add to more than one line, points are awarded for all of them.  If the play completes a line so that all six colors or shapes are present (called a Qwirkle!) the player receives an additional six points.  Then, tiles a drawn from the draw bag to replenish the “hand”.  The player with the highest score when blocks run out is the winner.  It’s easy to see where the comparisons to Scrabble come to mind.

Promotional image from Mindware

The game box says that children down to six years old can play, and that sounds about right.  Getting a typical 6-year-old to sit for 45 minutes at one game might be a trick though.  Nonetheless, Qwirkle is a game that we have taught lots of people to play, some of whom had never played games even as kids.  Occasionally, there will be a misplay by a new player, but I still sometimes make an illegal move by mistake, so I can’t complain there.  Those moves are normally caught by someone, before it becomes an issue.

This is a great game that I highly recommend.  It is priced very reasonably; great for a game on a budget. Particularly for family play, this game is fantastic.  

Vital Statistics:

Qwirkle

                Ages:                     6 and up

                Time:                     45 minutes

                Players:                 2-4 (but we have pushed this to six players!)

It’s Your Move!

Spiel des Jahres

Recently, the Spiel des Jahres nominees were announced.  What is the Spiel des Jahres, and why do we care?  I am glad you asked.

According to BoardGameGeek, the Spiel des Jahres (SdJ) is the “most prestigious award for board and card games, is awarded annually by a jury of German game critics.”  To be honest, sales statistics would definitely support this, since winning the SdJ will easily boost sales by a factor of 50!  There are other awards, such as the Mensa Award, but the SdJ is the one I look to see on a game box.   In order to qualify, the game must be published in Germany in the year it is nominated.  That’s specifically interesting here because this year’s nominees include a game that has been in the United States for several years, but only now published in Germany.

This year, the nominees are:

·         Forbidden Island – which I briefly reviewed a couple of months ago.

·         Asara – of which I have no personal knowledge.

·         Qwirkle – which I own and my wife and I both really enjoy.

Qwirkle has been available in the United States for some time, and at Target stores for at least a year.  I plan to review it in the next few posts.  I would be happy with either Forbidden Island or Qwirkle as the winner.

For casual and family gamers, this award is the mark of a game that’s an excellent choice.   I own several of these games, and all of the awardees I have played are truly fun games with meaningful choices.  At the same time, they are games that are accessible to nearly everyone.  I have reviewed one already, Ticket to Ride (2004), and we love it enough to have three versions and three expansions!  Other winners we own include Dominion (2009), Zooloretto (2007), Carcassonne (2001), The Settlers of Catan (1995), and Rummikub (1980).  Of these, I can personally and heartily recommend all but Zooloretto (only because I haven’t played it yet!) and Rummikub (which is good, but which can’t compete against so many other games). 

When the winner is announced, I will let everyone know.  In the meantime, it’s a pretty safe bet that any of the three nominees are great games to enjoy with your friends and family.  So pick one up from your favorite gaming source, and then…

It’s Your Move!

Getting on Board with Ticket to Ride

Last month I said I would review Ticket to Ride, which is one of my go-to games for casual gaming. No one has ever told me they dislike it, and we often have people ask to play “the train game”. With it being recommended for ages 8 and up, which is accurate, it is accessible to many children. At the same time, it is definitely a game that will appeal to adults. The publisher, Days of Wonder, produces quality games that are solidly made with artistic components, making them a joy to play.

Welcome aboard! Ticket to Ride is the cross country adventure game set in Victorian America. You are travelling the United States, attempting to become the most travelled person in the country. You will be taking trains from city to city to claim the honor, trying to get to all of your given destinations before time runs out!

Photo by Manuel Pombeiro

The artwork in Ticket to Ride is reminiscent of the novel Around the World in 80 Days. In fact, the game play has some of that feel to it. Players play sets of cards attempting to “claim routes”, placing little passenger train cars on the routes between nearby cities. These claims score points, which will determine the winner. Additionally, each player has a few cards, called “destination tickets”, which give secret goals of connecting two cities that are not near each other; Los Angeles to Miami might be one destination ticket a player might have. The end of the game occurs when one player has essentially run out of little passenger cars to place. At the end of the game, those secret goals which have been completed add to the score; those goals which failed subtract. The person with the most points at the end of the final scoring is the winner!

Since only one person can claim each route between nearby cities, there are strategic opportunities to block, giving this game a little spice. That said, we have nearly always played Ticket to Ride as a “friendly” game, with confrontation happening incidentally as a result of trying to complete destination tickets, rather than overt attempts to block someone. It’s just as fun as a friendly game. The game is not complicated (though it’s not tic-tac-toe, either) and the strategy is not so complex that you are exhausted after play. I will say again that I have never met anyone that doesn’t like the game: kids and adults alike.

Ticket to Ride belongs to the genre of “Eurogames”, a style of gaming that originated in Germany. Unlike American designed games, Eurogames do not eliminate players. Everyone is in the game until the end. Typically, there is scoring during the course of the game, with a big set of points being awarded at the end of the game to finally determine the winner. The person leading up to the end isn’t safe; someone can certainly come from behind in the endgame scoring.

Be aware there are several versions of Ticket to Ride, including Ticket to Ride: Europe, Ticket to Ride: Märklin, and Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries. I will recommend the original Ticket to Ride, with the United States map, since it is slightly simpler. However, any of them would be a great purchase. They are all loved by both casual gamers and the hobby gaming community.

Ticket to Ride: ages 8 and up, 45 minutes, 2-5 players.