Never Underestimate the Awesomeness Factor

I learned something this weekend about the need for Awesomeness; it is still incredibly important to my 13 year old boy.  It may very well be the difference between giving a game a chance or not.

 Battle Cry and it's great visual appeal - Awesomeness! (Photo by Joe Keller)

We have been playing Battle Cry, a game with a modular board that lets players set up various battles from the American Civil War.  The game has various miniature plastic pieces which represent infantry, cavalry, artillery and leaders. The play is very quick and very fun, but a little light (at least as far as wargames go).  Daniel loves it when we play, and I thought another Civil War game with a little more depth and complexity might work well. I asked, and he looked over the titles of my other Civil War games and picked one.

Friday night I was in front of the TV with the family punching out the little cardboard squares that represent units, leaders, political influence and game markers and bagging them as I do.

For the People has more interesting game play, but isn't as cool (Nick Avtges)

My son says, "Dad, are those the pieces to the game?"

"Yes Daniel, though it's not just the units.  This game also incorporates the events and politics of the war, so there are markers for those, too."

"Oh.  Dad, it looks kind of, well, boring."

"Is that because it doesn't have miniatures?"

 "Um, yeah.  I am more interested in a game that has something that at least stands up and looks like the soldiers."

Oh well, I guess I will see if I can trade my copy of Combat Commander: Europe for Memoir '44 , which is in the same game series as Battle Cry.  That way WWII is still a possibility...

It's Your Move!

I am asking too much...

I have been listening to the Ludology Podcast to and from work.  There are several podcasts that I listen to regularly; this particular one is more of a once-in-a-while type of thing.  The topic was family games, and it ventured into a discussion on the developmental stages of children and what games work well at those stages.  I came to realize something in this podcast -- I am asking too much from my chess club kids.  Simply put, chess offers too many decisions with too many options that impact too many moves down the road for these kids, particularly the younger ones, to grasp.  I thought starting at 4th grade would allow for more cognitive ability, but I was wrong.  Some of the junior high kids should start to get it, but the younger ones, no.

I guess that really means I am a chess teacher, and not a chess coach.

It's Your Move!

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!

Good Camping Game ≠ Good Scout Game

I spent the first half of this week at Boy Scout Summer Camp with our troop.  It was a great experience, despite the rain.  There is no better way to see how the future of our society will react to adversity than watching patient, yet determined young men (or women, your mileage may vary) work through mud, wet gear and soaked wood to build a fire in the pouring rain.  It makes me proud to think maybe I have some slight influence for good there.

Yet, all is not perfect.  One of the things I learned in the course of this week is that games that are good for camping, which I have discussed before, are not necessarily good for Scouts.  I had a deck of cards and several games with me at camp, three of which came out: Hive, Bandits, and one of my travel chess sets.  All were put to good use; putting them away was the issue.

Image by David Detwiler

Looking around the table, it was easy to see that playing cards were not given much respect.  In fact, the deck of playing cards that I brought had a few bent cards after just an hour.  I don’t particularly care about that; standard playing cards are cheap and easy to replace.  However, Bandits is a card game that uses its own cards, not standard cards, and would not be as easy to replace.  The game never really caught on in the gaming world, since it is a little simplistic and without a whole lot of choices.  Those facts make it great for young Scouts with little gaming experience; however, it also makes it a game that didn’t stay in print.  If I want it for future events, I need to keep it safe.  It went to bed when I did.

A took a bit more of a chance with my chess set.  Some of the boys were still up when I retired, and chess, unlike Bandits, is a well known game.  One of the new boys was playing, but with an older Scout, so I figured it would probably be okay.  I was wrong.  One knight was lost in the mud.  Since the pieces are less than a half inch tall, and the knight was maroon in color, it was never found.  The new Scout felt pretty badly, but disappointingly the older Scout was pretty cavalier about it.  I knew it was a risk, and I chose to take it, so I am not horribly upset.  I guess for each of those determined and patient Scout there is one who still needs work.  Well, they are boys after all.

Hive is always a huge hit! (Image by Richard van Vugt)

With Hive, I am taking an even bigger risk.  I left it at camp to be returned to me at next week’s troop meeting.  This game was once again a huge hit, and several more boys were introduced to it and loved it.  I left it with a new Scout, and left an older Scout to follow behind him.  The pieces are big and few in number, so I am confident I will get it all back.  Honestly, it was too good an opportunity to teach responsibility to one and leadership to another, so I couldn’t pass it up.  The senior Scout loves games, so I think he will place a little more value on the game coming back whole.

What makes a good Scout game?  First of all, it really needs to be fairly durable (or disposable), just as any other camping game.  Secondly, it really needs to have fairly simple rules.  Some of these boys find Egyptian Ratscrew, a variant of Slapjack, to be a good game, and that (along with Pokemon cards) may be the limit of their gaming experience.  A game like Pandemic may be asking too much, even if it is a good teamwork game.

I will be keeping a separate game bag for my Scout games.  What about you?  After all,

It’s Your Move!

P.S. - Yes, I know that right now Brandubh is also showing as a game I played recently.  I played it with one of the camp councilors.  Afterward I gave it to him, since they can never have too many games and they may need something to do on a rainy evening too.  It's an ancient game that can be made from a board printed on cardstock and aquarium stones.  Let me know if you are interested, and I can shoot you a copy.

Invest your most precious commodity - Time

For the first part of this week I am at Scout Camp.   In my absence, I have asked follow game blogger Trent Howell to post his thoughts as a guest.  A little about Trent...


Trent Howell and family believe that every family should spend more time together playing games. Like most families, Trent and his wife try to find balance among all the activities pulling family members in different directions. By making it a priority to sit down and play games together, they’re able to reconnect with one another in a fun way that strengthens everyone involved. And to encourage other families around the world to enjoy the benefits of spending more face-to-face time with their families, they created The Board Game Family.

Through The Board Game Family, the 6 members of the Howell family share their love of games by publishing video reviews of fun family board games and card games as well as writing articles related to the benefits of family game time. But unlike other reviewers, The Board Game Family reviews come mostly from the children. It’s the kids that describe in the video reviews why they like to play the game.

Trent hopes that by sharing their enjoyment of games with others, more families will be encouraged to strengthen their own family relationships - and will have fun along the way. So check out www.TheBoardGameFamily.com to see what games might be good for your family’s game table.

If you were asked about any recent investments you’ve made, your mind might immediately turn to stocks, bonds, businesses, real estate, precious metals or some other large monetary purchase. Most likely no one would be surprised by that type of answer because that’s what we’re conditioned to think of.

Yet when asked at the end of one’s life what they wished they had done more of, most people don’t typically say money. What they wish is that they had spent more time with their family members.

But is it really "spending" time at all?
When we think about money, "spend" typically means we’ve passed our money on to someone else - we no longer have it. But when we "spend" time with those we love, we aren’t losing it at all. Instead we seem to be filled even more.

And that sounds a lot more like "investing" than "spending".

Time = Money?
You may have heard the phrase "time is money." However one of the biggest differences between money and time is that we can find ways to get more money. But no matter how talented we are, we just can’t find ways to increase the amount of time we have each day.

In a very real sense, our time is much more valuable than money. Yet we frequently hear stories of parents who buy things for their kids to make up for the lack of time they spend with them. They spend money because it’s easier than spending time.

But what if we can find a way to make the most of both our money and time?

Board games = great investment of Money and Time
Board games are a great way to invest both your money and your time. First, they don’t cost a lot of money. You can find a ton of great board games or card games for less than $30. Second, they don’t take a lot of time. But most important of all, they provide a fantastic return that keeps giving more and more every time you use it.

Sure we can spend $50-60 taking our family to the latest blockbuster movie. And we can have a great time and enjoy the experience together. But after those couple hours of staring at a screen are over, they’re over. But with a board game - we get to spend the time together over and over again. And in the process we’re talking to each other, seeing each other smile, and teaching values along the way.

Board games can provide a truly rich environment for investing time with your family.

Our time really is our most precious commodity.
The great thing about investing time in our family relationships is that our time spent with family can also generate our most precious memories.

Thanks to Trent for filling in for me.  Next time I (Frank), will be back, but until then

It's Your Move!

Kids Games – Yes!; Movies – No!

It would make perfect sense to think a blog on casual and family gaming would include children’s games.  So, why haven’t I reviewed any?  Simply put, my son who is going on 14 years old has outgrown them, so I am really unfamiliar with any of the current crop of kid’s (under 10 years old) games.  I have reviewed Hey! That’s My Fish, but primarily because it works so well as an adult game too.  I may eventually do others, but it probably will never be a prominent feature.  My apologies.

It's a simple logo, but has lots of good info.

There are places to find out about this stuff, though.  The guys over at FatherGeek frequently cover children’s games on their blog.  However, if you are looking for a review site, rather than a blog, I would recommend KidGameRatings.  Here you can find games by age group, by name or search in various ways.  Like BoardGameGeek (BGG), it relies on user ratings, so these are real parents rating them.

Right on the front page is a short list of games that are appropriate for 2-3 year-olds, 4-5 year-olds, 6-7 year-olds, 8-9 year-olds, and kids aged 10 or more or 12 or more.  Just these lists of seven games in each age bracket make a quick birthday or Christmas list.  The last three lists are great games that really aren’t “kids” games, but also for adults.  (This is somewhat true of the 6-7 year-old list too.)  In fact, I own quite a few of them and trot them out for my game group. 

Clicking on “more” at the bottom of any of those lists brings up the search page.  In each case, it shows the same thing: all games sorted by minimum player age.  However, that’s also where it gets fun.  On this page, the viewer can put in a minimum age, a minimum rating, and a minimum number of ratings and get a more customized report.  There are headers that can be clicked for sorting, and a link is provided to each game’s BGG page. 

The actual “Search” page allows you to search for a specific game name or publisher name.  This is handy for finding out if you really want to give your child that copy of the Finding Nemo game, or if you will regret it.  Unfortunately, the database is not all-inclusive.  You won’t find Lucky Ducks, or the hint that the game goes off incessantly in the box and will drive everyone insane!

Nonetheless, the site is a wealth of information.  As fast as kids grow older (supposedly it’s at the same rate as parents, but I’m not sure I believe that!), the games they will be interested in will change quickly.  Soon it will be time to start the indoctrination  introduction to our adult gaming world.  They can play the “kid’s” games with their younger siblings or friends.

I only have one word of caution.  It was almost enough to keep me from writing about this site, but in the end, it’s not really about gaming, so I am okay with it.  This site also recommends the movie My Neighbor Totoro, which is AWFUL!  We rented it years ago, and it became a standing joke.  Really.  It ranks at the bottom with Cloverfield, which I saw last week and is easily the worst movie I have seen in the past ten years.

So read KidGameRatings.com for the game reviews, but NOT the movies.

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

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!

Chess and the End of the School Year

We ended this year's incarnation of the chess club this week.  As much as I love the kids and I love chess, I am glad this is over for the year.  It does get tiring to keep these things going.  There are several healthy tensions that cause this, and finding the right course through them is where the effort comes in to play.  These tensions are somewhat about the differences between my expectations for the club and the kid’s expectations.  They are:

• Teaching vs playing
• Basic skills vs more advanced skills
• Motivation vs discouragement
• Accessibility vs focus

I once asked the kids how many of them wanted to read books on chess.  The answer was no one did.  I brought my modest chess library in, and even managed to avoid the word “study”, but nonetheless there were no takers.  In fact, on a day to day basis, the kids would just as soon I never teach.  They would rather play.  It doesn’t matter whether it is something specific – say an opening – or something very general, like being more aggressive.  The boys and girls would rather just play. 

What aggravates this problem are the various levels of knowledge the kids have when they arrive at the beginning of the year.  They either don’t know anything or are an expert player – just ask them!  In reality, there are several different levels of play going on at the same time, and with only two people who are instructing (my wife and me), it just doesn’t work.  At a minimum, you have three levels:

1. Kids who know nothing about chess, but want to learn,
2. Beginners,  who can move the pieces, but have no knowledge of tactics or strategy,
3. Relatively experienced players, who know a little more and need more of a challenge.

It would be easy to think that you could hold off the second group until the first group catches up, but in reality the first group needs to be constantly monitored to be sure they are moving legally.  It takes one adult just to do that.  (I had one girl – I will call her Sally – that said she knew how to play when she came at the beginning of the year, but still was making basic movement mistakes at the end.)

Sally also highlighted the third issue very clearly for me.  Most of the kids want to compete.  Late in the year, we started a chess ladder, which is a method of ranking within a group mathematically too small to use a regular rating system with.  Most of the kids liked it.  It provided motivation to improve, and might have even brought them to the point of being willing to learn lessons to get better.  I started it too late to find out.  Sally, though, was reduced to tears because she never won a game.  I suspect this would have been swept under the rug without the chess ladder.

Lastly, anyone who has read this blog knows I want the club to be accessible.  However, I am starting to feel as though there may need to be pressure to “get in or get out”.  There were too many kids that just showed up a few times.  It sometimes felt like it was dependent on whether or not after-school care was appealing that day or not.  I think being a little less open would concentrate the group to those who, well, want to concentrate!   Maybe a few kids on the fence would be left out, but the total value of the experience would go up for those kids who are in the club.

There are two adjustments my wife and I are planning for next year.  The smaller adjustment will be dues of some type.  This forces a commitment from the kids and their parents.  It will also allow us to purchase some supplies, like a few chess clocks, bags for pieces and boards, and notebooks/score sheets for the kids.  We have to think about the right amount, but there will be some dues nonetheless.

The big adjustment has to do with a chess curriculum bought through our Home and School Association.  (Our private school version of the PTA.)  We picked the Championship Chess program, having met the founder at an educational conference at the beginning of the school year.  I can’t endorse it yet, since we have to plan out next year with it.  I do have some reservations, particularly about the lessons on chess openings.  However, there seems to be far more good than potential bad.  Furthermore, it has DVDs, and two very specific benefits related to them.  Firstly, the program is designed through the DVDs to allow non-chess playing adults to present material.  Secondly, it allows the one or two kids who are older and uniquely experienced to work on their own.

The end result is that I have my homework for the summer.  I need to digest this program and figure out how to present it in a way that fits my kids.  That will give me some ideas on when and how much I want to close the doors, which in turn will help me set dues.  As I move forward I will keep you informed.  Some of you might be curious, and one of two of you readers might have kids in the club next year!

It’s Your Move!

Well, I guess not this time!