Games While Driving - 2nd Gear!

I recently posted about a couple of great podcasts that helped me get my arms around all of these games.  Now they are joining forces as part of the same podcasting network.  Along with that, there are other podcasts in The Dice Tower network that are excellent, if a little more geeky!

Find the news here on BoardGameGeek:

http://boardgamegeek.com/article/6832277

It's Your Move!

Games While Driving to Work!

At the bottom of my web page I list other resources for family and casual gaming.  In general, those are focused on casual and family gaming.  The “Gaming Resources” listed below are places that helped me get my arms around this hobby when I was getting back into gaming.  They have a lot to offer the casual and family gamer too.  A couple of them are podcasts, and are easy to listen to on your daily commute.

There are a lot of game related podcasts out there; I listen to a half dozen pretty regularly.  Many of them are for the hobbyist.  Those provide an in-depth look at one particular game, or take an analytical look at the mechanisms of a game.  A lot of effort goes into them, and the quality of the works shines through.  Personally, I find them informative and entertaining – but then I am a geek about this stuff.

Two of the resources listed at the bottom are podcasts that are very good for those who aren’t as heavily into gaming as a hobby: the family and casual gamer.  They are the two podcasts I first listened to, and they helped me get my bearings.  The two that might be helpful in picking a game to purchase that your family and friends would enjoy are The Dice Tower and On Board Games.

The Dice Tower is hosted by Tom Vasel and Eric Summerer.  Tom and Eric talk about the games they have played recently, news and upcoming events.  There is a lot of playful banter between the two, which keeps it light.  In some sense, this podcast is the gaming equivalent of a magazine show, with several guests and contributors.  Because they receive review copies of games from publishers, they play a lot of games, and they hit on most of them.  Their reviews, which are really more like commentaries, are short overviews of these games.  While they talk about what they like and dislike in a game, it doesn’t get so technical – so geeky – that it would be a mystery to the non-hobbyist.  Their signature feature is also the best feature for the casual gamer: the Top 10 list.  Every other episode Tom and Eric put together a Top 10 list of games in some grouping.  It might be base on a theme (Top 10 economic games), or a publisher (Top 10 games by Fantasy Flight), or some other breakout.  Regardless, the list sets apart the better games to look at for in the vast sea of boardgames and card games out there in the world.

On Board Games is hosted by Scott Nicolson, Erik Dewey and Donald Dennis.  Again, the banter between these three makes it fun to listen to, but this podcast is very different from The Dice Tower.  Game reviews are more structured, and slightly more in-depth, but still short and to the point.  The signature feature is a roundtable discussion, where the three hosts discuss a game related topic.  The topic might be about good practices when teaching a new game.  It could be a discussion on how to deal with people texting during games, or the issue of food at the gaming table.  They discussion is rarely about any one game, but rather how to make the gaming experience better.  This podcast tends to be a bit more focused, and therefore shorter than others.  This is the podcast that consistently leaves me wanting more.

My drive to work is about fifteen minutes.  Generally, I can finish either one of these podcasts in the half hour round trip for the day.  They relax me, and having listened to them for a while now, feel like old friends.  I think you owe it to yourself to listen to at least one episode of each of these podcasts.  They will certainly better your experiences at the gaming table.

It’s Your Move!

Cheat Sheets

I am a big advocate of cheat sheets for games.  No, I am not talking about secret ways to win.  I am talking about rules summaries.  After all, who really likes to wade through rules to a game?  Furthermore, some games have longer rule books.   Pandemic, for instance has an eight page rule book.  One whole page is a setup diagram, one a sample turn, and there are lots of helpful illustrations, so it’s not really an outlandish amount of rules.  However, since they are spread out over eight pages, looking to verify a specific rule during the game, or even just reviewing the rules quickly before teaching the game, isn’t particularly easy.

Enter the game cheat sheet.  Really, there are two kinds.  The first are what are typically called player aids, which prompt the player for the phases of their turn, or provide other useful information.  I will cover these down the road.  The other type is the rules summary, which are attempts to boil the rules down to their essence.  In many ways, a rules summary is the equivalent of highlighting the rules, though highlighting alone has two issues.  First of all, the rulebook is now permanently marked up, which is ugly, and lessens the value of the game should you ever decide to eBay it.  Secondly, it doesn’t alleviate the problem of having to flip pages to find that rule you’re trying to verify.  There are two ways to obtain summaries: make them or download them.

Making a rules summary is much the same as any summary, but I do have two particular ways of going about it.  The first way is to photocopy or download a copy of the rules.  (Rules can typically be found at the publisher’s website.)  Highlight that copy, and then gather all of the highlights into one page.  Pretty simple.  In fact, I am sure I didn’t tell you anything new there.

The second way creates what I refer to as a turn sequence, and is a hybrid of the player aid and rules summary.  These are particularly useful in solitaire or two player games with more involved turns, like wargames.  Often these rulebooks are 10+ pages long.  For many of these games there is a section in the rules that gives a high level turn sequence.  I copy that and then add more levels of detail in an outline form, with references to the relevant rules section.  As an example, the one I created for Silent War, a solitaire WWII submarine warfare game, can be found here.

Before I go to that trouble, though, I will typically check for summaries online, for instance on BoardGameGeek (BGG).  (I talked about BGG a few posts ago.)  On the page for that game, there is a section called files.  There will be lots of stuff that fans of the game have created to support game play, including game summaries.

Often you will find summaries by an individual I only know by his/her penname: Universal Head.  This person makes great summaries using artwork from the game, so the summaries are aesthetically pleasing too.  Not only are these summaries on BGG, but Universal Head maintains a website that lists them all at Headless Hollow.  Check them out!

The level of effort required to print, or even make and print a rules summary pays off over a brief amount of time.  I love them; they are just so handy.  Next game you purchase, find or create a game summary.  Then please share with me what game you purchased and how you obtained your summary.  Until then,

It’s your move!

Gaming Resources – BoardGameGeek: the Doorway to my Demise

When I turned back to gaming at the beginning of 2008, I had played Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan.  I had so much fun with these games, and I had never experienced anything like them.  I wanted to find out more about these types of games.  After a quick Google search I found myself at the Wikipedia entry for Ticket to Ride.  At the bottom was an external link to the Ticket to Ride page at some place called BoardGameGeek.  Just the name made me curious.  Little did I know my life would change forever as I gained a new addiction.  This one website helped me find great games, will quickly and easily lead you to great games too!

image by BoardGameGeek

BoardGameGeek, or BGG as it is known, is both a huge and authoritative database of board and card games as well as the largest online community for these types of games.  As of today, BGG has 50,874 games in its database, including Ticket to Ride and Tic-Tac-Toe.  Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world are part of the community, including the publishers and designers of many of the games.  The content is mostly user contributed.  The breadth of information and the number of people involved makes this a huge resource for the entire gaming world.  Much of the content really is, well, geeky.   However, there is great information there for the casual and family gamer too, including ratings, synopses, and more.  Membership is free, though just viewing content doesn’t require a membership.

Each game on BGG has its own webpage, and right at the very top will be the average rating for the game.  BGG members may rate a game in the database, if they choose, and this generates the average.  The scale is 1 – 10, with 10 being the highest rating.  Additionally, there is a Bayesian averaging routine which is used to rank the games.  Currently, the highest ranked game is Twilight Struggle, a game in which two players relive (or re-write) the history of the Cold War as the United States and the Soviet Union.  (I haven’t played this game, though I would love to play it.  I do know it’s a pretty involved game.)  It has an average rating of 8.31, which shows there isn’t any one game that everyone loves.  My general rule is that any game with a rating above 7.0 is a pretty safe bet, and anything below 6.0 probably isn’t worth checking out.

Below that is a synopsis of each game, which gives a little information and generally includes the theme of the game.  This is very important; your family and friends may love a game about building a zoo, but may be turned off by a game called Nuns on the Run.  This section lets you know of the game “sounds interesting”, like the inside of a book jacket.

There are other features that are also useful, particularly the forum on each game.  The forum will give answers to common rule questions, often answered by the game’s designer.  There are also strategy hints and news.  There is a huge amount of information, and it can be a bit overwhelming.  So, I will tell you the best way to quickly and easily find games for your family and friends!

When you go to the BoardGameGeek home page, you will notice a row of blocks in towards the top that list general groupings of games.  One of the blocks towards the middle is labeled “Family Games”.  Hover your mouse over that, and a short dropdown list appears.  Click on “Games” in that list, and you will be taken to the rankings of those games considered “family games”.  These are games that typically play with 3 – 5 players in two hours or less, and are generally suitable for kids over 10.  Some go as low as 8 and up.  Smaller children might find them too difficult.  Just go down the list until you find a game that sounds like a good thematic fit, and you have a great pick.  There are similar blocks for Children’s Games and Party Games if those better suit your situation.

Be warned!  This website can be addictive, and can lead to uncontrolled game purchasing and room additions.  However, it is guaranteed to show you gaming alternatives that you never even knew existed.  Best of all, it can lead to hours of fun with the people you like to be with the most! 

Keep rolling along!

Game Stores – “Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?”

You’ve been to Wal-Mart and Target, maybe even Toys-R-Us, and you found Blokus, but where does someone buy Hive? Forbidden Island? These so-called hobby (or designer) games will not be found at a toy store or most major outlets, the possible exception being a major book store. There are three general categories of stores that will carry hobby games: local gaming stores, specific major outlets (including book stores), and online game stores. I will give a quick overview of each, and why you might consider buying from them.

Local stores can be tricky to find. If you look in the phone book under “Games”, you will frequently find video game or casino game stores. Often, a board game hobby store didn’t start out as such, but expanded into this style of gaming from video games or comic books. Because of this, it is worth it to call around to those types of stores and ask if they know of a boardgame store. Start with the comic book stores first; they tend to have collectors as patrons. Those collectors are more likely to know of the more obscure shops in town. Video game stores have a lot of kids and young adults as customers, who have none of the money, inclination or transportation to get around as much. The four stores I know of in my neck of the woods are good examples. Two started with comics, one with video games, and the last has always been a boardgaming store to my knowledge. One of them has a good selection. Many of these stores will specialize in one line of games. The good part about a gaming store is that they will have some knowledge of games, though not as much as you may think. Because of their specialization and due to their roots in other products, the staff often has less knowledge than, say, a golf store employee has about golf. Some will demonstrate games or have copies to try in the store. You will also be supporting the local economy. The bad part is that many of them are holes in the wall, and tend to be frequented by those who fall on the nerd end of the geek spectrum. These people are perfectly safe, despite any scary looks, but aren’t always the most helpful.

Barnes and Noble and the Books-a-Million stores carry some games, but the selection is pretty limited. These specialty stores tend to have word games, like Scrabble, or games having a literary tie-in. Around Christmas, the choices broaden and the hit hobby game of the year might well show up. Employees will know nothing of the games offered, but you are supporting the local economy.

I will make special mention of the GO! Games stores that are now being franchised. I have only been in one; it was a combination calendar and game store. The store had a lot of games, but many of them were mass market games and Flavor-of-the-month-opoly. Again, the employees knew nothing of what they were selling.

Finally, there are the online game stores, including Amazon. This is where you will find seemingly unlimited selection and often better pricing, even after shipping. Of course you will want to shop around online for the best price. Since there’s no one there to answer questions, you have to know a little about what you looking to purchase, but that’s why I am writing this blog! (Feel free to email me, too!) I have used both Amazon and Thoughthammer, and have heard nothing but good things about Funagain Games. If you have trouble remembering those, there is www.boardgames.com, but I don’t know their reputation. Of course, one of the biggest advantages is that you can shop in your jammies, though today more and more people do that anyway at Wal-Mart.

I have purchased items from all of these categories of stores. (My next three games will soon ship from Thoughthammer.) I would have to say online stores tend to be my first source due to the convenience and price. (A good number of my games are bought used from eBay and thrift stores, but that’s another topic altogether.) Have fun exploring all of the options; getting your game for the right price can be a game unto itself. On the other hand, the cost of this activity is very reasonable, so no one should lose sleep over it. I will talk about the value of gaming sometime very soon.

Roll On!