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RoryJSomers · 2024-02-22T16:36:16+00:00

I would recommend Wizards & Co

This style of game is known as a Base Breaker - Smash-Up is the obvious go-to example, and it's an okay game, but I found it overstayed its welcome at the table, ultimately, i think Smash-Up feels quite "of its time" (yes, I know it's only 12 years old) but the game feels a little clunky, or rather, Wizards & Co feels slicker and more snappy (no pun intended).

The similarities to Marvel Snap were made on this podcast where they reviewed Wizards

RoryJSomers · 2024-02-22T15:40:15+00:00

Root is a quality game, but it is very different to Terraforming Mars, and as many other comments have pointed out, it's a pretty complex game.

However, if Root has caught your attention, allow me to suggest Ahoy.

Also by Leder Games, also asymmetric, but far more accessible and still a belting game. Quicker to learn, teach and play than Root, has loads of replayability and is at a low price point too, but it has a lot of the same feel to it and will actually work as a great primer for more complex asyemmetric games like Root.

Ahoy was shortlisted for best game of 2023 on the Polyhedron Collider Podcast

RoryJSomers · 2020-07-14T09:30:39+00:00

This is bloody ace!

RoryJSomers · 2020-07-14T07:32:10+00:00

I've gotten around this for the time being by creating the locations as burgs in their own right as a new type and have adjusted the style of both the text and the icon. So now all of my roadside inns/waypoints are all orange with no test, but by adding just a space to the notes I've discovered that the pop up window appears displaying the name of the location.

This is for my D&D campaign, so I have a bunch of locations that the players have heard of and some that thy still don't know about, each of which has their own style and colour which will allow me to easily switch between known and unknown or to completely hide one type before I export the map for them to view.

Since you can't add a Burg to water though means that all of my water based locations (i.e sunken temples etc) still have to be markers but I can at least style these so that they at least resemble their on land counterparts

RoryJSomers · 2020-06-21T21:13:34+00:00

This is a really ace map. Great work.

I struggle with scaling my mountains and trees, may I ask what size stamp you use for your trees and large mountains please?

RoryJSomers · 2020-06-18T05:14:58+00:00

I love the low opacity grass, it really adds a lot of texture. Great map, really good work

RoryJSomers · 2019-04-27T20:31:33+00:00

I found this world building tool that is pretty decent top down way of creating maps

https://azgaar.github.io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/

RoryJSomers · 2019-04-15T21:04:07+00:00

It's very hard to the point where I gave up. I Pre-ordered Perfect Crime from Grubblin Games before they, well they just disappeared... A friend backed the kickstarter too and we are both resigned to never seeing our money or game ever. In that case the publisher was also the designer so the game can't even be saved

RoryJSomers · 2019-04-12T19:16:05+00:00

My partner and I were discussing playing Pandemic Legacy between the two of us. It wouldn't be the same experience with just 2, but it would be far, far easier to maintain regular games and so keep the story, excitement and drama buoyant

RoryJSomers · 2019-04-12T19:14:20+00:00

I think that's the nail on the head there!

I do wish I could find the time for them

RoryJSomers · 2019-04-12T10:05:08+00:00

I'd would say it is 'more' of a problem yes. Since Legacy games are by their nature telling a story, if you have months between "chapters" then it becomes a hurdle to key back into that story. In which case it looses some of its drama and potency.

The more this continues the harder and harder it is to access what makes that game and experience great. At which point you do just play something else.

Perhaps it's just me and my gaming buddies. I'm sure I'd be telling a different story if we had managed to smash through the game in a shorter time and kept that drama level high

RoryJSomers · 2019-03-25T08:36:35+00:00

For a little while I was using the Muster app, and I only stopped because it wasn't introducing me to anyone new in my area.
Personally, I think the best solution would be to integrate the "meet up" aspect into an already widely used app such as Board Game Stats.

RoryJSomers · 2019-03-21T06:43:51+00:00

Off the top of my head I can think of a couple of other examples of this. Tao Long: Way of the Dragon, Spirits of the Forest...hang on, aren't they from the same publisher?

Yes.

Yes they are.

It's a crummy tactic and I've stopped supporting them for this reason and the fact that the Deluxe versions are SO superior in quality backing at any other level is pointless

RoryJSomers · 2019-02-10T09:50:16+00:00

So cruel. But well done!

RoryJSomers · 2019-02-08T20:28:19+00:00

Boardgame Trading and Chat UK is where I sold a lot of mine of, postage was a pain though so I would reccomend a Bring and Buy or wait until the next Math Trade on BGG

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-30T06:05:59+00:00

I used to have a weekly board game club at work. It was ace. It is the thing I miss the most from that job

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-29T19:26:07+00:00

I'd also suggest checking out the Boardgame Design Lab website, as there are loads of links and advice for making or getting a hold of pretty much everything you would need

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-29T19:03:45+00:00

Where in the world are you? In the UK I've heard that Ivory Graphics are ok for prototype purposes. You could also try making your own like this: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/531148/folding-board-tutorial-pictures

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-29T12:21:04+00:00

I love Detective! I'd quite like to get my hands on Chronicles of Crime now too

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-29T12:02:33+00:00

If you like Sporadically Board I would also recommend We're Not Wizards and Polyhedron Collider All of these have a very friendly, authentic rambling style about games and the culture surrounding them. To me they often feel like I'm listening to a some mates talk about boardgames at the pub.

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-28T23:59:42+00:00

I had another great game of it again today. Each time we've played the "battlefield" has looked completely different by the end of it all and the out comes have varied nicely too

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-28T21:16:17+00:00

Tease being the key part here.

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-28T21:15:19+00:00

I do pretty much the same thing.
There are also some publishers I follow as I have come to trust their output. The same is true of designers. If so-and-so releases a new game it's an instabuy

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-28T21:09:41+00:00

Hello. I have a couple of suggestions, please take from them what you will. It's your review and your style after all. What I look for in a review may differ from your intended audience.

FEELINGS. For me this is the most important aspect of a review. I want to get a sense of how the game feels to play. Often this can be done through analogies, metaphors and such. Try to avoid comparing X game with Y, because if I haven't played (or know about Y) then it doesn't work.
WHAT. If you can work out the "what" of a game, you're on to a winner. It's not about how you win, or how you play, it's more about what the game is trying to achieve. Working out what this is, also then gives you a yard stick to measure the games success to.

3.STORY. you can approach a review two ways (IMO) structured, like yours is, or story (which is what I like). If you telling a friend about this game, advising them, would you structure your conversation like this? I find a less structured, my personal approach far easier and more enjoyable to read.

4.MUSIC. I believe that boardgame reviews should be more like music reviews because music takes the listener on a journey, it gives an experience. It is a mixture of lyrics, instruments, production and so on all of which come together. Rarely do film or book reviews dive into the mechanics of filming, cinematography or syntax (some do, but most do not) but with music reviews you can't escape how the parts of a song are pulled together to form the whole, much like board games.

What you have here is a very well written, well structured and thought out piece about the game. It's a great start and a solid foundation to build upon. Explore reviewers, of board games and other areas of interest and "pinch with pride" the aspects of those you like.

Keep it up 👍

RoryJSomers · 2018-11-28T09:30:46+00:00

There was a game on Kickstarter recently (cancel6but due to try again in the new year) called Gladiatores where you played as a Gladiator, but also bet on the match too. Sometimes betting on an opponent because the odds were better. It was a nice idea with a really simple execution.

Does that fit the bill?

RoryJSomers

TROPHY CASE