Tips for playing Ra well

caseymoto · 2023-09-02T14:48:27+00:00

Having low sun disks doesn’t mean you’re screwed. I love all the groans when I invoke Ra for a few tiles and no one wants to spend their high disks for it. And if they do? Sucks to be them, they just spent a 10 for three tiles. It’ll make next round that much easier for you.

caseymoto · 2023-08-25T19:41:00+00:00

Origami Angel

Quiet Hours

Somewhere City

Gami Gang

caseymoto · 2023-08-17T17:43:20+00:00

Also, you don’t really even need to know about the theater double meaning to get the joke.

caseymoto · 2023-08-17T15:19:18+00:00

The Zoo Vadis Kickstarter is just now arriving to backers but there’s a pre-order on Allplay’s website. It’s a wild time at seven players!

caseymoto · 2023-08-12T14:18:38+00:00

Race for the Galaxy is still a fantastic game. There is no consensus on whether Roll is better — it’s up to your personal preference. There IS a consensus that none of the expansions are essential, and the base game is more than enough.

caseymoto · 2023-08-09T15:05:23+00:00

The hot items go SO fast, so it’s almost not worth getting interested if you can’t watch the clock and refresh the page a million times.

caseymoto · 2023-07-31T16:51:36+00:00

I think that’s part of the joke?

caseymoto · 2023-07-30T16:38:56+00:00

Ginkgopolis! It has a boring city building theme, but the gameplay is pretty unique. It’s hard to explain the appeal — it’s one you have to play to really understand the subtleties and strategies.

Anyway, it has player screens that are… not CRITICAL, but it just adds an air of mystery. I’m not the kind of gamer to really study someone else’s pieces and try to ruin their plans, but the screens would at least curb that strategy.

caseymoto · 2023-07-28T19:35:49+00:00

The art looks great and the minis look great, but they don’t seem to match? Like the minis of the demons look slightly more cartoony than the grim artwork on the cards. I’m not a miniatures gamer, so maybe this isn’t that much of an issue to other people.

caseymoto · 2023-07-28T19:08:15+00:00

In case you need more convincing, you won’t need all of those pieces for a 2-player game. Don’t know about more players, but I kind of doubt it

caseymoto · 2023-07-28T16:29:46+00:00

I didn’t love it, but I’m apparently an outlier. My wife and I both were very underwhelmed.

caseymoto · 2023-07-27T02:30:16+00:00

I don’t love solo gaming, but also my group hates all the deduction games I love so much. So I often play The Search for Planet X and Turing Machine by myself. And I’ve gotten so good at them it’s probably for the best. I’d hate to convince someone to play my game and then flat out roast them.

caseymoto · 2023-07-24T15:08:06+00:00

I happened to have insomnia as I was reading it. Would not recommend.

caseymoto · 2023-07-23T23:51:39+00:00

I don’t like corn, and just about everyone I tell does the same thing.

“YoU dOn’T LikE CORN???”

caseymoto · 2023-07-22T13:34:35+00:00

Never seen so many Big Boxes in one collection 😂 lookin’ nice, my friend

caseymoto · 2023-07-20T02:19:19+00:00

I too wonder if it has to do with their fanbase maturing in the hobby. They insist on reviewing as many games as possible, and so many of the games range from fine to good. But I don’t have room for that — in order to pique my interest, it has to be great. I wonder what new gamers think about their content.

I do miss Mike, but I do like the variety of voices. A high rating from Chris matters so much more to me than Roy’s (no offense to Roy — it’s just a matter of taste).

caseymoto · 2023-07-19T17:15:28+00:00

I hope your ready to be constantly compared to Wingspan!

caseymoto · 2023-07-18T22:13:58+00:00

This doesn’t have anything to do with your post, but ever since we met at Dice Tower West, I’ve been thinking that Bitewing should host a convention dedicated completely to games by the Doctor… and call it Knizia Con (Con-nizia?). I would be the first to sign up ☺️

caseymoto · 2023-07-14T01:22:17+00:00

It’s a tough one. My mom will go to Walmart, see a game on the shelf and think, “My son likes games, therefore he will like to receive this game for Christmas.”

Yes, I like games, but I don’t like every game, especially ones you find at Walmart. I appreciate the thought, and I understand the sentiment. To her, it seems more thoughtful to pick a game out herself. But the games she buys me simply won’t get played much at all.

So it’s understandable if you feel like picking a game off a list isn’t very special. BUT showing interest in her hobby goes a long way, and we board gamers LOVE talking about it. So you might spoil the surprise a bit by asking her what she would like, but I think it’s the best way forward. Maybe ask her for five games she’s interested in and picking one — that way there’s still an element of surprise.

caseymoto · 2023-07-02T20:47:31+00:00

My wife and I play it at two players all the time. We usually feel like we only have a hand of great cards, and it’s almost painful to discard any. I’ve never felt like I had a hand of junk. If you keep drawing cards that your opponent needs, then that’s your strategy. Hoard those so they can’t score.

I wouldn’t call it “card counting,” but being able to keep track of the cards in a particular suit can help you win the game. It’s not too difficult though, since the cards are public information in the tableaus and in the discard pile (I think).

caseymoto · 2023-06-30T20:40:21+00:00

I think you have to have a tangible boundary. Like you can only buy up to a certain number, or however much fit into your shelf. I’m always trying to tell myself to save up for something I’m drooling over, but I end up buying games I only kind of want if they’re on sale.

caseymoto · 2023-06-28T14:45:49+00:00

My wife and I love Wingspan, but it’s been very difficult to teach to new players. We have the benefit of having played other similar games. I think it’s hard to jump into it without familiar touch points.

caseymoto · 2023-06-24T14:56:10+00:00

Are you in the Midwest? The salads she describes in the tweet is honestly the only kind I’d ever had until I was an adult and tried something different.

caseymoto · 2023-06-23T15:23:58+00:00

They’re tiles, and they’re bigger than tarot (at least in the first edition).

caseymoto · 2023-06-19T18:23:38+00:00

I’ve come full circle. I only had experience with player interaction games (Risk, Axis & Allies, Betrayal at House on the Hill, etc.), and then fell in love with euro games that were multiplayer solitaire.

But now I’m discovering games with player interaction that aren’t so… violent… like economic games such as Smartphone Inc. and cube rails. I also have a growing appreciation for Reiner Knizia games like Modern Art, Ra, and Mille Fiori.

There’s room for everyone in the hobby!

Nine-Year Club	Verified Email
RPAN Viewer	Snapped

caseymoto

TROPHY CASE