George Clooney donates his Oscar goody bag, including board game, to the United Way
The Oscar gift bag given to all Oscar nominees, totaling over $75,000 worth of goods, contained the CSI: boardgame. I'm sure they don't need the money, but they could probably use more time to play the game.
Next on Board! Game! News!: Earthquake kills 10,000,000 people, and damages six board games! Film at 11.
Yehuda
Monday, April 10, 2006
Hive
No, I haven't yet played Hive, but I was surprised to see it in a store here in Israel. And not a toy store.
Instead, I found it in an upscale business goods store; you know, the type of store that has leather desk sets, fancy paperweights, padded chairs, lots of useless dark wood, chrome, felt, and leather knick-knacks and so on. They also have these pretty chess and backgammon sets as well as poker chips and other gambling stuff. And yesterday, I saw a few copies of Hive, too. Must be the fancy faux-ivory pieces. There were no other non-traditional games in the store. It was selling for about $30, which is retail in the states.
I have recently purchased two games from Germany, piggybacking on an order from one of my fanatic game-group members who seems to be ordering every game ever produced. My additions to the order were Caylus and El Caballero, each for about 30 EUR including shipping. That's well past my budget for the year, but what can I do? I will have to sell some of my other games, I guess. I also have one more game that I may be buying, assuming that I win the auction (I won't tell you which, so as to avoid having the price go up). If I do get it, I will be very pleased and surprised.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games
Instead, I found it in an upscale business goods store; you know, the type of store that has leather desk sets, fancy paperweights, padded chairs, lots of useless dark wood, chrome, felt, and leather knick-knacks and so on. They also have these pretty chess and backgammon sets as well as poker chips and other gambling stuff. And yesterday, I saw a few copies of Hive, too. Must be the fancy faux-ivory pieces. There were no other non-traditional games in the store. It was selling for about $30, which is retail in the states.
I have recently purchased two games from Germany, piggybacking on an order from one of my fanatic game-group members who seems to be ordering every game ever produced. My additions to the order were Caylus and El Caballero, each for about 30 EUR including shipping. That's well past my budget for the year, but what can I do? I will have to sell some of my other games, I guess. I also have one more game that I may be buying, assuming that I win the auction (I won't tell you which, so as to avoid having the price go up). If I do get it, I will be very pleased and surprised.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games
Good Play
The subject of what is "good play" is danced around many times in the course of other discussions.
"Good play" is hard to define, because different people want different things out of games. A person who looks forward to playing Trivial Pursuit is going to have a different idea of what good play is (fast, funny, chosen luckily) from a person who plays nothing but chess (slow, tactical, leaving nothing to chance).
Right?
Well, maybe.
Here are a few things we know about good play:
Good play requires you to make a choice.
Leaving aside the fanatics who believe that you can massage the top of your deck to increase your topdecking skills, there are no good plays in the game War other than correctly following the rules. On the other hand, at least some people will tell you that calling heads or tails correctly is a good play.
Good play often requires experience with the game
You can make some good plays even on your first playing of a game. There are many games where repeated playings won't help you play better. However, in a number of games, you will find that you make more and repeated better plays as your number of plays goes up.
Sometimes this is a progression. There may be several levels of play. You may be able to make "level 1" good plays on your first playing, but have no idea about "level 2" good plays until later on. After achieving a state in which you usually make "level 1" good plays, and occasionally make "level 2" good plays, you may then see the possibility of "level 3" good plays.
Go and Bridge are good examples of games that have these multiple levels.
A whole lot of people seem to get bored of these games way before this happens. For some reason, they are insulted when other people play better then they do, and they get bored of losing, rather than being inspired to do better.
Thinking ahead can often increase your chances of making a good play
When operative, of course. Of course, then you run into that little problem we call analysis paralysis, otherwise known as "thinking a length of time that is longer than the patience of your fellow players".
Is it a good play if it you score better tactically, but take "too long" to do it?
- Only considering tactics, thinking longer will often score better in some games, depending on if you are the type of person who can handle that type of thinking. That is the type of person who can learn from previous experience and not repeat mistakes; who can recognize the overlooked patterns that led to failure the previous time. Even if you are not that type of person, thinking longer can train you to become that type of person.
- On the other hand, thinking longer doesn't guarantee that you will score better. Many people trip up for various reasons. They may be thinking in a hill-climbing pattern, which may be practically useless. Or they may not correctly understand the current position, in which case all of their thinking is based on a false premise. Or there may be enough variables that thinking beyond a certain point is simply useless, or involves diminishing returns.
- Each game or group has their idea as to what "too long" is. Beyond that point, thinking too long is rude. Groups have to agree on what this point is before starting the game. Usually someone is going to have to compromise, and usually it's the long thinker.
For my part, for most games, I usually find that two turns worth of information is about the right balance between enough thinking to make a better move without breaking the game. With certain exceptions, of course.
Good plays involve playing your opponents well
There is no formula for success in Settlers of Catan like trading well, and no better formula for good trading than knowing how to convince your fellow players. Getting the better end of a deal, so long as the other person is not made to feel humiliated at the same time, is usually a good play; especially if your opponents don't realize this until it is too late.
Even if you don't get the better end of a deal, negotiating effectively and promiscuously is usually good play. So is playing to an opponent's weaknesses - again, assuming they will not be embarrassed by this.
All this sounds a little negative, actually, and I don't mean to stress that. There are plenty of examples of good play that involve simply cooperating with your opponents, whether to succeed in a cooperative game, or to band together against one of your other opponents.
Managing resources
Every game has resources to manage. In Bridge, you have to avoid squandering your high cards and hand communication. In Acquire, you have to preserve your money for the right hotel chains. And so on. Getting more "bang-for-the-buck" out of your resources is not always dramatic, but it is good play.
Playing the theme
In many games, good play revolves around playing the game in a certain style. Good play in a party game usually means making the game funny; in a pirate game, it might mean talking like a pirate while moving your piece. That is also "good play", because it makes the game more enjoyable, which is, after all, the point of the game.
The dramatic turnaround
Sometimes by inspiration, other times by carefully laying plans, you can make a sudden move that turns the course of the game in your favor. Many people would agree that that is a classical example of a good play.
Succeeding
Finally, there is no argument with success. While some people (such as myself) would argue that playing poor odds is poor play, whether you win or lose, others feel that a successful move is a good play. It is certainly dramatic, at the very least.
Some games that are not so much fun are ones that don't correctly reward good play.
For instance when a game has a runaway leader problem, players in losing positions can play as well as they like without any hope of winning the game. And on the contrary, in games without a runaway leader position, players who played well early in the game may not be rewarded for their good play if someone who played poorer than they did can still easily win on the last round. Resolving these conflicting demands can be a hard balance.
Another example are so-called "family-friendly" games. If your definitions of good play include better analysis for greater rewards, you will be disappointed by a family friendly game with a large luck element. On the other hand, if you think good play involves quick and dramatic turnarounds, a deep thinking game wherein you have no hope of winning without having played the game several times will be as much of a disappointment.
Overall, good play for me means good manners. Don't think so long as to annoy other players, nor so short as to make yourself an unworthy adversary. Don't take seriously a game with lots of luck, nor frivolously a game with thinking. And if a game has numerous levels of strategy, don't complain about those who devote themselves to getting better at it, and don't recklessly trounce those who haven't.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games, good play, game, games
"Good play" is hard to define, because different people want different things out of games. A person who looks forward to playing Trivial Pursuit is going to have a different idea of what good play is (fast, funny, chosen luckily) from a person who plays nothing but chess (slow, tactical, leaving nothing to chance).
Right?
Well, maybe.
Here are a few things we know about good play:
Good play requires you to make a choice.
Leaving aside the fanatics who believe that you can massage the top of your deck to increase your topdecking skills, there are no good plays in the game War other than correctly following the rules. On the other hand, at least some people will tell you that calling heads or tails correctly is a good play.
Good play often requires experience with the game
You can make some good plays even on your first playing of a game. There are many games where repeated playings won't help you play better. However, in a number of games, you will find that you make more and repeated better plays as your number of plays goes up.
Sometimes this is a progression. There may be several levels of play. You may be able to make "level 1" good plays on your first playing, but have no idea about "level 2" good plays until later on. After achieving a state in which you usually make "level 1" good plays, and occasionally make "level 2" good plays, you may then see the possibility of "level 3" good plays.
Go and Bridge are good examples of games that have these multiple levels.
A whole lot of people seem to get bored of these games way before this happens. For some reason, they are insulted when other people play better then they do, and they get bored of losing, rather than being inspired to do better.
Thinking ahead can often increase your chances of making a good play
When operative, of course. Of course, then you run into that little problem we call analysis paralysis, otherwise known as "thinking a length of time that is longer than the patience of your fellow players".
Is it a good play if it you score better tactically, but take "too long" to do it?
- Only considering tactics, thinking longer will often score better in some games, depending on if you are the type of person who can handle that type of thinking. That is the type of person who can learn from previous experience and not repeat mistakes; who can recognize the overlooked patterns that led to failure the previous time. Even if you are not that type of person, thinking longer can train you to become that type of person.
- On the other hand, thinking longer doesn't guarantee that you will score better. Many people trip up for various reasons. They may be thinking in a hill-climbing pattern, which may be practically useless. Or they may not correctly understand the current position, in which case all of their thinking is based on a false premise. Or there may be enough variables that thinking beyond a certain point is simply useless, or involves diminishing returns.
- Each game or group has their idea as to what "too long" is. Beyond that point, thinking too long is rude. Groups have to agree on what this point is before starting the game. Usually someone is going to have to compromise, and usually it's the long thinker.
For my part, for most games, I usually find that two turns worth of information is about the right balance between enough thinking to make a better move without breaking the game. With certain exceptions, of course.
Good plays involve playing your opponents well
There is no formula for success in Settlers of Catan like trading well, and no better formula for good trading than knowing how to convince your fellow players. Getting the better end of a deal, so long as the other person is not made to feel humiliated at the same time, is usually a good play; especially if your opponents don't realize this until it is too late.
Even if you don't get the better end of a deal, negotiating effectively and promiscuously is usually good play. So is playing to an opponent's weaknesses - again, assuming they will not be embarrassed by this.
All this sounds a little negative, actually, and I don't mean to stress that. There are plenty of examples of good play that involve simply cooperating with your opponents, whether to succeed in a cooperative game, or to band together against one of your other opponents.
Managing resources
Every game has resources to manage. In Bridge, you have to avoid squandering your high cards and hand communication. In Acquire, you have to preserve your money for the right hotel chains. And so on. Getting more "bang-for-the-buck" out of your resources is not always dramatic, but it is good play.
Playing the theme
In many games, good play revolves around playing the game in a certain style. Good play in a party game usually means making the game funny; in a pirate game, it might mean talking like a pirate while moving your piece. That is also "good play", because it makes the game more enjoyable, which is, after all, the point of the game.
The dramatic turnaround
Sometimes by inspiration, other times by carefully laying plans, you can make a sudden move that turns the course of the game in your favor. Many people would agree that that is a classical example of a good play.
Succeeding
Finally, there is no argument with success. While some people (such as myself) would argue that playing poor odds is poor play, whether you win or lose, others feel that a successful move is a good play. It is certainly dramatic, at the very least.
Some games that are not so much fun are ones that don't correctly reward good play.
For instance when a game has a runaway leader problem, players in losing positions can play as well as they like without any hope of winning the game. And on the contrary, in games without a runaway leader position, players who played well early in the game may not be rewarded for their good play if someone who played poorer than they did can still easily win on the last round. Resolving these conflicting demands can be a hard balance.
Another example are so-called "family-friendly" games. If your definitions of good play include better analysis for greater rewards, you will be disappointed by a family friendly game with a large luck element. On the other hand, if you think good play involves quick and dramatic turnarounds, a deep thinking game wherein you have no hope of winning without having played the game several times will be as much of a disappointment.
Overall, good play for me means good manners. Don't think so long as to annoy other players, nor so short as to make yourself an unworthy adversary. Don't take seriously a game with lots of luck, nor frivolously a game with thinking. And if a game has numerous levels of strategy, don't complain about those who devote themselves to getting better at it, and don't recklessly trounce those who haven't.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games, good play, game, games
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Weekend Gaming
Pesach, Pesach, Pesach is on the way.
Passover cleaning is not just dirt cleaning, but hametz cleaning, which means crumbs and food items in all pockets, bags, floors, drawers and so on. Actually, you can leave the dirt, but you never do.
We are reduced to a small place in the kitchen with non-"kosher for Passover" food and the microwave. By tonight, we will have switched over to Passover food, which means we can start eating again.
In the meantime, Rachel and I played a Puerto Rico game in the afternoon. I'll just list two of the buildings:
Wildcat Strikers 1/1: At the beginning of a round, you may declare a phase to be Prospector this round, instead of its usual function. Remove WS from the game and place its colonist onto San Juan.
This is a really neat building which adds a depth of complexity to the game. You are sacrificing the 1 VP to prevent a needed phase from being taken at the end of the game. It also allows you to clear the way for a big building without ending the game. But it sure is hard to use right!
Mine 4/2: Pay 1 less per building.
Why is this better than quarry? You get it during the builder round, for one thing, and you didn't have to take Settler, and you didn't have to sacrifice a plantation. Furthermore, it's worth 2 VP, and it doesn't have a quarry's column limitation. Another good replacement for Hospice.
Anyway, Rachel won by 4 points. We were also playing with Church, which I thought might work well with Mine. But the truth is, I really don't like Church even with Mine in the game. It is a dull building, and not worth the investment.
I had indigo and coffee; really, I did: I had 3 indigos, 4 corns, and 2 coffees. I also had Small Wharf. Rachel had all goods except for coffee and a Factory. Along with Large Business, she managed to just outship me and match my buildings. Without a full play by play, which we can't do on shabbat, I really couldn't tell you how.
Except that round two of a two player game is unfairly advantaged to the corn starting player.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games, Passover
Passover cleaning is not just dirt cleaning, but hametz cleaning, which means crumbs and food items in all pockets, bags, floors, drawers and so on. Actually, you can leave the dirt, but you never do.
We are reduced to a small place in the kitchen with non-"kosher for Passover" food and the microwave. By tonight, we will have switched over to Passover food, which means we can start eating again.
In the meantime, Rachel and I played a Puerto Rico game in the afternoon. I'll just list two of the buildings:
Wildcat Strikers 1/1: At the beginning of a round, you may declare a phase to be Prospector this round, instead of its usual function. Remove WS from the game and place its colonist onto San Juan.
This is a really neat building which adds a depth of complexity to the game. You are sacrificing the 1 VP to prevent a needed phase from being taken at the end of the game. It also allows you to clear the way for a big building without ending the game. But it sure is hard to use right!
Mine 4/2: Pay 1 less per building.
Why is this better than quarry? You get it during the builder round, for one thing, and you didn't have to take Settler, and you didn't have to sacrifice a plantation. Furthermore, it's worth 2 VP, and it doesn't have a quarry's column limitation. Another good replacement for Hospice.
Anyway, Rachel won by 4 points. We were also playing with Church, which I thought might work well with Mine. But the truth is, I really don't like Church even with Mine in the game. It is a dull building, and not worth the investment.
I had indigo and coffee; really, I did: I had 3 indigos, 4 corns, and 2 coffees. I also had Small Wharf. Rachel had all goods except for coffee and a Factory. Along with Large Business, she managed to just outship me and match my buildings. Without a full play by play, which we can't do on shabbat, I really couldn't tell you how.
Except that round two of a two player game is unfairly advantaged to the corn starting player.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games, Passover
Friday, April 07, 2006
As Long As We're Linking 8
See As Long As We're Linking 7 for details.
This is a list of RSS game feeds in the board game world that have come to my attention since my last update, contain generally interesting posts, and which update frequently enough to hit my radar. This list doesn't concern itself with non-board game blogs or with self-promotional blogs by companies.
The new blogs:
Board Game News: From Board Game Central. This site is primarily old school, but is learning about the new games.
Gaming Anecdotes: by Måns Johan Stenström from Finland. Has a primarily Finnish site, but this blog is all in English.
My New Adventures in Boardgaming: K.S. from Vermont. New to Eurogaming.
Non-Waterlogged Blog: Mischa Krilov, formerly of New Orleans, now in Austin, TX. Also contains non-board game material.
Nothing But Games: Scott aka manowarplayer, Modesto, CA.
Playing With Myself: John Farrell, Brisbane, Australia.
YouTube :: Tag // boardgames: This is an example of a tagged feed on board games. In this case, it is videos tagged as board games that are posted to Youtube. You can do this type of thing at other Web 2.0 sites, such as Technorati, Flikr, and so on.
Although it doesn't really do any harm to keep them on RSS, I drop blogs that don't update frequently enough or for long periods of time unless they give notice as to why.
The following blogs have been dropped from my list: Chumpmonkey, CubeZen, Dreifuss Gaming, and netfrantz. A few others will likely be dropped by the next post.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games, blogs, board game blogs
This is a list of RSS game feeds in the board game world that have come to my attention since my last update, contain generally interesting posts, and which update frequently enough to hit my radar. This list doesn't concern itself with non-board game blogs or with self-promotional blogs by companies.
The new blogs:
Board Game News: From Board Game Central. This site is primarily old school, but is learning about the new games.
Gaming Anecdotes: by Måns Johan Stenström from Finland. Has a primarily Finnish site, but this blog is all in English.
My New Adventures in Boardgaming: K.S. from Vermont. New to Eurogaming.
Non-Waterlogged Blog: Mischa Krilov, formerly of New Orleans, now in Austin, TX. Also contains non-board game material.
Nothing But Games: Scott aka manowarplayer, Modesto, CA.
Playing With Myself: John Farrell, Brisbane, Australia.
YouTube :: Tag // boardgames: This is an example of a tagged feed on board games. In this case, it is videos tagged as board games that are posted to Youtube. You can do this type of thing at other Web 2.0 sites, such as Technorati, Flikr, and so on.
Although it doesn't really do any harm to keep them on RSS, I drop blogs that don't update frequently enough or for long periods of time unless they give notice as to why.
The following blogs have been dropped from my list: Chumpmonkey, CubeZen, Dreifuss Gaming, and netfrantz. A few others will likely be dropped by the next post.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games, blogs, board game blogs
Thursday, April 06, 2006
A dearth of traditional board game humor
I could only find four articles about Chess that I found funny enough to link to.
- What if chess were invented today and reviewed by a modern reviewer?
- A quiz to determine if you are really a wargamer playing Chess.
- If Chess had been invented by Bizzard Entertainment, it would need patches.
- A session report by ScarletJester.
Let it also be known, that there are no really funny articles about Go, Candyland, Bridge, Chutes and Ladders, Scrabble, Monopoly, and so on. Oh, yes, a funny anecdote here and there: some insider Go humor, a humorous article about suffering through a Candyland game with your child. But nothing truly funny.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games, game humor
- What if chess were invented today and reviewed by a modern reviewer?
- A quiz to determine if you are really a wargamer playing Chess.
- If Chess had been invented by Bizzard Entertainment, it would need patches.
- A session report by ScarletJester.
Let it also be known, that there are no really funny articles about Go, Candyland, Bridge, Chutes and Ladders, Scrabble, Monopoly, and so on. Oh, yes, a funny anecdote here and there: some insider Go humor, a humorous article about suffering through a Candyland game with your child. But nothing truly funny.
Yehuda
Technorati tags: board game, board games, game humor
Session Report Up
Here.
Games played: Santorini, Lord of the Rings: the Confrontation, The Menorah Game, Power Grid, Primordial Soup, Bridge.
Visitors from America, dept: Chris Brooks is on his way to Israel for a visit again, and I'm hoping he'll have time to stop by for game night.
Georgi LaForge, here we come, dept: new bionics to provide sight directly to the optic nerve.
Yehuda
Games played: Santorini, Lord of the Rings: the Confrontation, The Menorah Game, Power Grid, Primordial Soup, Bridge.
Visitors from America, dept: Chris Brooks is on his way to Israel for a visit again, and I'm hoping he'll have time to stop by for game night.
Georgi LaForge, here we come, dept: new bionics to provide sight directly to the optic nerve.
Yehuda
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