In our last article, we shed light on many of the great people with whom we hung out at GenCon. This time, we'll be taking a look at the games we played with those people: some highly anticipated and some under-the radar, and some not-yet-published or released to the public.
The Obligatory and Ubiquitous:
 |
| Tricksters + Aliens = Someone is rage quitting this game |
Smash Up
- AEG's highly anticipated game, Smash Up, was the first thing we picked up at GenCon this year. The vast majority of people to whom I talked said they enjoyed the game, and many estimated that it was the most played game at the convention. To my knowledge, Smash Up did not sell out on Day 1, but it was unfortunately not available on Saturday afternoon when I went to pickup a copy for an out of state friend. Though Scott will be doing a more in depth review--and we'll be coupling it with a live report of the Gen Con tournament from J. Singerland, my initial impressions after ~20 games are that Smash Up is primed to be a really popular, light game. I'd like to play more to see if Zombies are as powerful as they seem (i.e. winning 80% of the games in which I've seen them played), though I'll continue to gravitate toward the Trickster/Wizard or Tickster/Ninja combination. I also applaud AEG for supporting this game from the get-go, as excitement only built throughout the convention (and before) with rumors of more expansions. From what I know, the next 4 factions will be Ghosts, Plants, Apes, and either Bears or some type of Steampunk goodness. Mr. Rowland... if you're reading this... I'd like to see Sharks as a faction.
 |
| Kairn the Destroyer. If you play me in Seasons, there's a 90% chance you'll see this card. |
Seasons
- I got a chance to demo this game from Libellud/Asmodee at Origins and immediately knew it would be a hit. It had amazing art coupled with an amalgam of popular mechanics. It would seem, by the line that wrapped around Asmodee's booth almost immediately after the doors opened on Thursday, that many people shared my sentiment. Within 90 minutes, Seasons was sold out. Fortunately, I got one of the last 5 copies available. Second (probably) only to Smash Up in total number of plays at GenCon, Seasons is easily in my top 5 games played in 2012. No, it doesn't go anything incredibly innovative, but what it does do is take a number of different things and handle them very well.
Android: Netrunner
- Selling out even more quickly than Seasons (an estimated 70 minutes), neither Scott nor I were able to get their hands on a copy of this game. To be honest though, it wasn't really high on my list of things to purchase. I played the crap out of this game in High School, but the lack of involvement from Richard Garfield and the money sink that comes with an LCG turned me off. I was also disappointed that FFG allowed VIGs and Retailers who got into the hall before the general public to purchase multiple copies (upwards of 10 a piece). I know that they got more copies in almost every day, and still sold out, but it seems like they're setting a bad precedent this way. I'd be interested to know the prevalence of this game and its asking price--if any--on eBay.
(other highly anticipated games we will be reviewing in the future -- Dominion: Dark Ages, Mage Wars)
The Sleepers:
Evil Baby Orphanage
- I don't know how much of a sleeper a game that raised $100,000+ on Kickstarter can be, but nonetheless... I had to explain the premise of this game to a lot of people. Essentially, you are a Time Traveling Nanny who must go back in history to "pre-habilitate" the infant versions of some of History's most notorious dictators, despots, and terrorists. Through various methods such as adoption, toys, and time outs, you'll attempt to keep these evil tykes occupied, because if you don't, they'll start trying to reenact the terrible acts that made them infamous. Admittedly, I haven't gotten in many plays of this game, and it is a VERY light gateway/filler card game. However, it's chock full o' theme, and will provide a boatload of laughs if played in the right company. Oh, and if you were fortunate enough to purchase it at GenCon, you got a free Baby Heinrich Himmler promo card. That in itself, should tell you where this game is coming from.
Legacy: Gears of Time
- Had a chance to play this on Tuesday with Larry and the guys from Tasty Minstrel and really enjoyed it. I wouldn't call it a "brain burner" so much as a "brain bender." Once you grasp the way the game wants you to play, you'll be in the clear. However, getting acclimated to that way of thinking is much easier said than done. Essentially, you're a time traveler (where have we seen that before?!); this time, however, time is used for more than just a thematic element. Throughout the game, you'll have the opportunity to travel back in time in order to invent different things. Some things, such as writing/electricity/wheels will be fundamental; other inventions (such as the printing press) will require 1 or more of these fundamental inventions (The aforementioned press, for example, will require electricity and writing. There are also some major catches to take into account while playing: First and foremost, you can ONLY travel backwards during the round, meaning, if you go all the way back to Age 5 early, you can't reneg and travel back to Ages 1-4. Secondly, if someone invents something in an earlier age than you, your invention becomes null and void. Lastly, the game includes influence cubes with which to gain control of particular inventions when they score (it should also be noted that, if you control a fundamental invention, you get points if an invention that requires it scores as well). In the game I played, I ran out to an early lead, then stalled in the mid game while Michael Mindes ramped up to what we thought was a nigh-insurmountable lead. In the end, I wound up eeking out a 5 point win by heading back to the beginning early and dropping all my influence on fundamental inventions.
Yet to-be-released/Kickstarter Darlings:
 |
| Part of me hopes a giant metal board is one of the stretch goals. |
Mars Needs Mechanics
- We'll be doing a session report on Ben Rosset's set collecting game on Friday, so I don't want to spoil anything. I'll simply say that Mars Needs Mechanics is an elegant, streamlined game that will draw you in with its accessibility and theme, and keep you coming back with its depth of strategy. You hear the rules, grasp the mechanics early on, and then return for repeated plays to try new strategies, get higher scores, build new devices, and introduce new players. Look for the campaign to hit Kickstarter on August 31st and consider backing this great game
Jungle Ascent
- on Thursday, Larry had told me about this great game he had played that was, in his words, "Like Donkey King on crack." I was a little skeptical, but figured, what the heck. I'm aiming to play 100 games this week so I might as well look at this one too. Truth be told, Larry's description was pretty spot-on. I'd put it more as a mash up between Donkey Kong and Pitfall, but there are barrels to avoid and a perilous climb to the top of the map. The game I saw had a really good skeleton to it, but still needed some kinks worked out. In a 4P game, and especially a 4P game played with hardcore gamers, there was a definite "gang up on the leader" flaw that caused the game to last about 2-3x longer than it should have. Despite this, the game has a ton of flavor and potential, and I look forward to seeing how it progresses.
100 Game Challenge:
- Finally, for those wondering how I did with my 100 game challenge: Unfortunately, I didn't make it to 100 this time around. The sheer number of people at GenCon kept me waiting in line for a lot of demos, and I stepped out of the gaming hall more than expected to just have some down time away from crowds to rejuvenate the batteries. By my count, I did make it into the low 70s, and I think that's pretty commendable if I do say so myself.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar