We had a very quiet weekend, just Rachel and I, and Nadine for lunch.
Game 1
Rachel and I played after dinner. Buildings included my usual assortment, as well as Trade School (4/2, pay 1 extra doubloon for a building to be manned when purchasing) and Commodity Merchants (5/2, +1 VP when shipping either indigo or sugar).
Like many games, in Puerto Rico you can sometimes get caught up in fiddling around with the mechanics and lose sight of the fact that you're falling behind in points. As a result, Rachel got a good lead in both shipping and building points. By the time I was ready to start gaining on her, we both kind of expected it to be too late.
My biggest problem was Commodity Merchants; but let me tell you a little something about buildings like this (as well as, for instance, Civil Office (2/1, choose a phase; whenever you take that phase, you gain double the privilege)). The fact that they are limited versions of more general buildings is very interesting, both in assessing their strength and for the game play.
When these buildings come into operation, the other player(s) begin planning how to neutralize them. For the general buildings, you can only generally neutralize another player. For these buildings, you can do more specific damage.
In this case, it meant blocking the ships with slow moving barrels of tobacco and coffee, thus limiting her ability to ship both indigo and sugar.
I had numerous corns going but nowhere to ship them most of the time. However, I was producing money faster than Rachel was. I made a valiant effort to win the game on building points, acquiring three big buildings to her one, but it wasn't enough, and she won 58 to 57.
Game 2
After lunch we played three player, with me first and Rachel third.
Once again I could see that I was losing the shipping point war. Rachel had Commodity Exporters again, and Nadine had Discretionary Hold. but this time I had a coffee monopoly and no trouble trading it five times. Combined with my flexible Large General Workhouse (8/3, 2 circles, each man produces any good along with a corresponding plantation), I could also ship a bit.
I once again pulled in three large buildings, to each of their one, and won the game 62 to 55 to 52.
Yehuda
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
Today's Lesson is How to Avoid Corruption
In Israel, the people who are licensed to check your car to see if it is roadworthy each year get paid extra money if they find faults with the car. You are forced to fix the problems and then bring it back in for a second check. Furthermore, they are licensed to sell you the parts and services that can be used to fix these problems, although, at least, they can't force you to use their service for that. Most people do, of course, because it's way more convenient.
Any guesses on what percentage of people pass the first time through the test?
In Israel, you are required to take driving lessons before getting your driving license. These are very expensive. It is the same driving instructors who then decides at the end of the lessons whether you have passed your test or require more driving lessons.
Any guesses on how many people pass the test without the need for further lessons?
The people in power vote on the salary for the people in power, instead of having their salary, perforce, linked to a national median.
Any idea how high their salaries are compared to the national median?
Answers: Maybe they aren't corrupt, or maybe they are. The point is, is that this is a dumb system that breeds corruption. It is like someone involved in a high-stakes poker tournament ruling on the legality his or her own play.
Don't do that.
Next week's lesson: how not to annoy your customers when there are several better alternatives that provide the same service.
Game News
Paizo is ceasing publication of Dragon and Dungeon magazines. I'm not entirely certain from the press release, but it looks like the paper issues are coming to an end but something similar will be continuing online by Wizards of the Coast, the license holders.
Yehuda
Any guesses on what percentage of people pass the first time through the test?
In Israel, you are required to take driving lessons before getting your driving license. These are very expensive. It is the same driving instructors who then decides at the end of the lessons whether you have passed your test or require more driving lessons.
Any guesses on how many people pass the test without the need for further lessons?
The people in power vote on the salary for the people in power, instead of having their salary, perforce, linked to a national median.
Any idea how high their salaries are compared to the national median?
Answers: Maybe they aren't corrupt, or maybe they are. The point is, is that this is a dumb system that breeds corruption. It is like someone involved in a high-stakes poker tournament ruling on the legality his or her own play.
Don't do that.
Next week's lesson: how not to annoy your customers when there are several better alternatives that provide the same service.
Game News
Paizo is ceasing publication of Dragon and Dungeon magazines. I'm not entirely certain from the press release, but it looks like the paper issues are coming to an end but something similar will be continuing online by Wizards of the Coast, the license holders.
Yehuda
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Session Report, in which we play around with the cards from the American Jewish edition of Apples to Apples
The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up here. Games played: Cosmic Encounter, Power Grid, San Juan, Tichu, Bridge.
Jewish Educational Toys was kind enough to send me an evaluation copy of Apples to Apples Jewish Edition. I asked them for a list of cards, and they send me the game; sweet.
I haven't played it yet, so I can't give a review. But we did look at the cards.
Obviously, when you are producing a game like this, you have a number of fine lines to walk: between being funny and being offensive, between being ethnic and being stereotyping, between including content for different levels of knowledge and observance.
And of course, we had our opinions as to when they crossed over the wrong sides of these lines in either direction. Before I get to that in a future post (and after communicating with JET first), let me only note:
- The cards are American cultural Jewish. All personalities are American Jews.
- Many of the cards are yiddishisms that would be familiar to New York Jews, or followers of stereotypical portrayals of ethnic Jewish characters from television. E.g. a green card "Meshuganeh", or a red card "B'shert".
- About a third of the cards are not specifically Jewish in nature, but simply filler cards.
- The production is good quality and the rules still dirt simple.
David took the game home to test with his family.
Yehuda
Jewish Educational Toys was kind enough to send me an evaluation copy of Apples to Apples Jewish Edition. I asked them for a list of cards, and they send me the game; sweet.
I haven't played it yet, so I can't give a review. But we did look at the cards.
Obviously, when you are producing a game like this, you have a number of fine lines to walk: between being funny and being offensive, between being ethnic and being stereotyping, between including content for different levels of knowledge and observance.
And of course, we had our opinions as to when they crossed over the wrong sides of these lines in either direction. Before I get to that in a future post (and after communicating with JET first), let me only note:
- The cards are American cultural Jewish. All personalities are American Jews.
- Many of the cards are yiddishisms that would be familiar to New York Jews, or followers of stereotypical portrayals of ethnic Jewish characters from television. E.g. a green card "Meshuganeh", or a red card "B'shert".
- About a third of the cards are not specifically Jewish in nature, but simply filler cards.
- The production is good quality and the rules still dirt simple.
David took the game home to test with his family.
Yehuda
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Using Games to Educate and Enrich
High Content Games has released a freely-downloadable How-To Guide (PDF) for using games in education:
In other news:
The Gaming Report, among others, point to the second board game cruise, ConQuest CuiseCon, which looks entirely awesome. Ahem. I am available for guest speaker position on this cruise, in case anyone is interested.
I previously reported on this summer's sponsored game activity in Chicago. More information was sent to me in a press release by Joyce Rowe, Manager of Public Relations, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs:
And if you're near Portland, Oregon next week, Chris Brooks points to a Day of Family Games sponsored by the city of Gresham. It's part of next week's national TV Turn-Off Week.
Yehuda
This guide examines the many educational benefits of non-electronic board and card games and summarizes the wide variety of game types available today. Written for educators and parents, this guide presents specific suggestions for fully integrating games into an educational curriculum. Special needs and differentiations are also addressed.I contributed an intro to the guide.
In other news:
The Gaming Report, among others, point to the second board game cruise, ConQuest CuiseCon, which looks entirely awesome. Ahem. I am available for guest speaker position on this cruise, in case anyone is interested.
I previously reported on this summer's sponsored game activity in Chicago. More information was sent to me in a press release by Joyce Rowe, Manager of Public Relations, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs:
"Art of Play is international in scope with fun, interactive games that Chicagoans and visitors of all ages can play together, indoors and outdoors," said Lois Weisberg, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. "Even the sculpture exhibition, Niki in the Garden, is participatory. Many of these colossal pieces, which represent the theme of play so beautifully, are perfect for touching, climbing and exploration."Of particular interest is the event called the "World of Games". More information can be found at Art of Play Chicago or call 1-877-CHICAGO.
And if you're near Portland, Oregon next week, Chris Brooks points to a Day of Family Games sponsored by the city of Gresham. It's part of next week's national TV Turn-Off Week.
Yehuda
Repetitive Mechanics
There are two types of games with repetitive mechanisms:
1 - Games where, at the end of the game, you want to play again.
2 - Games where, at the end of the game, you hope never to see that mechanism again.
Why does one game with repetition succeed while the other fails?
The answer is what changes happen within the game as these repetitions occur.
'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.' - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
With the exception of a few oddballs such as RPGs, most games have a decisive beginning and end, with a progressive feel in the middle, at points which may feel 'close to the beginning' or 'close to the end'.
The length of time required for each repetition, as well as the number of times it occurs, and the knowledge of where you are in the game, all play a role in how the user experiences the repetition of the game mechanics. If something happens four times at the beginning of the game, four times at the end of the game, and four times in the middle of the game, the repetition will not be overly felt. On the other hand, if something happens twelve times in the middle of the game, it will feel repetitious.
A few examples.
Bridge
If you play a twelve hand game of Bridge, switching partners after every four hands, you are essentially playing one-hundred and fifty-six card tricks; that's a lot of repetitious card play. Yet the play never feel repetitious. Why?
Firstly, not counting the thought that goes behind a play, each card play is very fast. Secondly, the plays at the opening of a hand are very different from the ones at the end of a hand. Your choices are often constrained, or you have new information. Thirdly, the number of plays is exactly prescribed and its end point is well-known. Therefore, your exact progress through the hand is keenly felt.
By Hook Or By Crook
Each turn you choose a card to play, and then another card to play, and you then gain or not as a result of the cards others have played. Repeat until the game is over.
In this game, your pieces sometimes move a bit along the board after each play. Some card factors change as the game goes on: you lose available checks, unless you gain them back with a thief; you lose available thieves, unless you gain them back from the jail; and you gain or lose works of art.
This type of up and down results in very slow changes, compared to the very real changes that occur in Bridge. There's no guarantee when the game will end or whether one person's relative position to the end of the track signifies that the game will end soon.
Essentially, from round to round, not much changes. As a result, the mechanics feel repetitious to me, depending on how the game actually plays out.
Monopoly
The game's state changes as properties are bought up and developed.
But even using the official rules, where money is not added to Free Parking, the game has quite a lot of repetition owing to the continuous influx of money every time someone passes "Go", as well as the back-and-forth nature of the dice rolls.
The game is, as I like to say, not guaranteed to terminate (at least, not nicely). As a result, you have no way of knowing when you are in the middle or the end of a game that may take several hours.
Geschenkt
This game is also highly repetitious: each time it is your turn, you either take a card or put a stone on the card.
However, the number of rounds is strictly prescribed, the value of the cards changes as the game progresses, and the game takes an entire ten minutes to play, generally. As a result, the game does not make you feel bored.
Settlers of Catan
In this game, you roll the dice, collect resources, trade, and build, again and again.
Here is a game that is not guaranteed to terminate, yet it doesn't feel repetitious for a few reasons. Firstly, the repetitious part of rolling the dice is interspersed with other activities. Secondly, the die rolls may be the same, but the rewards for the same rolls change as the game goes on.
Ye Standard Video Game
By which I mean most video games that I have played. These games aren't guaranteed to terminate, and they sure can feel repetitious. What's the deal?
One of the factors that reduces repetition is breaking the game into levels, where there appears to be an end point at each level. That gives the user a feel of beginning / middle / end while playing. However, if the game just continues with level after level, the repetitious feeling will return, as there is not enough perceived difference between each level (one more bad guy, or slightly faster monsters is not enough).
Another factor is changing the results of the action, by having the player achieve better weapons or skills, and so on.
Surprise
So why do some people like games that can feel repetitious, such as By Hook or By Crook, Monopoly, or Citadels?
Because games can succeed in other ways. Many people like "surprise", the seemingly unusual events that occurs during gambling-like mechanics, such as card picking during Citadels or dice-rolling during Monopoly. In general, this surprise is enjoyed most when it is a result of player actions (choosing a card or rolling a die), even if the player had no real control over the outcome of the actions.
Other alluring features that can carry a repetitive game include a good theme or good company.
The Magic Number
What's the magic number for "too repetitious"? Off the top of my head, I will suggest that the number is around 7.
When I play, I feel that doing the same equal thing 6 times is not overly repetitious. Doing the same equal thing 8 times is repetitious. 7 is a nice, dangerous number in the middle.
To sum up
- Give players a sense of how long the game will go on.
- Make the number and length of repetitions commensurate with the length of the game.
- Interrupt the repetitions with other things.
- Include layers of subgoals, such that each series of steps to a subgoal is not too long, and each series of subgoals to a goal is not too long.
- Make the effects of repeated plays change as the game goes on.
- Make the choices for repeated actions change as the game goes on.
- Add other alluring features to the game.
- Don't repeat the exact same sequence of choices more than 7 times in a game.
Yehuda
1 - Games where, at the end of the game, you want to play again.
2 - Games where, at the end of the game, you hope never to see that mechanism again.
Why does one game with repetition succeed while the other fails?
The answer is what changes happen within the game as these repetitions occur.
'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.' - Lewis Carroll, Alice in WonderlandWith the exception of a few oddballs such as RPGs, most games have a decisive beginning and end, with a progressive feel in the middle, at points which may feel 'close to the beginning' or 'close to the end'.
The length of time required for each repetition, as well as the number of times it occurs, and the knowledge of where you are in the game, all play a role in how the user experiences the repetition of the game mechanics. If something happens four times at the beginning of the game, four times at the end of the game, and four times in the middle of the game, the repetition will not be overly felt. On the other hand, if something happens twelve times in the middle of the game, it will feel repetitious.
A few examples.
Bridge
If you play a twelve hand game of Bridge, switching partners after every four hands, you are essentially playing one-hundred and fifty-six card tricks; that's a lot of repetitious card play. Yet the play never feel repetitious. Why?
Firstly, not counting the thought that goes behind a play, each card play is very fast. Secondly, the plays at the opening of a hand are very different from the ones at the end of a hand. Your choices are often constrained, or you have new information. Thirdly, the number of plays is exactly prescribed and its end point is well-known. Therefore, your exact progress through the hand is keenly felt.
By Hook Or By Crook
Each turn you choose a card to play, and then another card to play, and you then gain or not as a result of the cards others have played. Repeat until the game is over.
In this game, your pieces sometimes move a bit along the board after each play. Some card factors change as the game goes on: you lose available checks, unless you gain them back with a thief; you lose available thieves, unless you gain them back from the jail; and you gain or lose works of art.
This type of up and down results in very slow changes, compared to the very real changes that occur in Bridge. There's no guarantee when the game will end or whether one person's relative position to the end of the track signifies that the game will end soon.
Essentially, from round to round, not much changes. As a result, the mechanics feel repetitious to me, depending on how the game actually plays out.
Monopoly
The game's state changes as properties are bought up and developed.
But even using the official rules, where money is not added to Free Parking, the game has quite a lot of repetition owing to the continuous influx of money every time someone passes "Go", as well as the back-and-forth nature of the dice rolls.
The game is, as I like to say, not guaranteed to terminate (at least, not nicely). As a result, you have no way of knowing when you are in the middle or the end of a game that may take several hours.
Geschenkt
This game is also highly repetitious: each time it is your turn, you either take a card or put a stone on the card.
However, the number of rounds is strictly prescribed, the value of the cards changes as the game progresses, and the game takes an entire ten minutes to play, generally. As a result, the game does not make you feel bored.
Settlers of Catan
In this game, you roll the dice, collect resources, trade, and build, again and again.
Here is a game that is not guaranteed to terminate, yet it doesn't feel repetitious for a few reasons. Firstly, the repetitious part of rolling the dice is interspersed with other activities. Secondly, the die rolls may be the same, but the rewards for the same rolls change as the game goes on.
Ye Standard Video Game
By which I mean most video games that I have played. These games aren't guaranteed to terminate, and they sure can feel repetitious. What's the deal?
One of the factors that reduces repetition is breaking the game into levels, where there appears to be an end point at each level. That gives the user a feel of beginning / middle / end while playing. However, if the game just continues with level after level, the repetitious feeling will return, as there is not enough perceived difference between each level (one more bad guy, or slightly faster monsters is not enough).
Another factor is changing the results of the action, by having the player achieve better weapons or skills, and so on.
Surprise
So why do some people like games that can feel repetitious, such as By Hook or By Crook, Monopoly, or Citadels?
Because games can succeed in other ways. Many people like "surprise", the seemingly unusual events that occurs during gambling-like mechanics, such as card picking during Citadels or dice-rolling during Monopoly. In general, this surprise is enjoyed most when it is a result of player actions (choosing a card or rolling a die), even if the player had no real control over the outcome of the actions.
Other alluring features that can carry a repetitive game include a good theme or good company.
The Magic Number
What's the magic number for "too repetitious"? Off the top of my head, I will suggest that the number is around 7.
When I play, I feel that doing the same equal thing 6 times is not overly repetitious. Doing the same equal thing 8 times is repetitious. 7 is a nice, dangerous number in the middle.
To sum up
- Give players a sense of how long the game will go on.
- Make the number and length of repetitions commensurate with the length of the game.
- Interrupt the repetitions with other things.
- Include layers of subgoals, such that each series of steps to a subgoal is not too long, and each series of subgoals to a goal is not too long.
- Make the effects of repeated plays change as the game goes on.
- Make the choices for repeated actions change as the game goes on.
- Add other alluring features to the game.
- Don't repeat the exact same sequence of choices more than 7 times in a game.
Yehuda
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Translation Game
Yesterday evening I went with Rachel to the opening sessions of Kisufim, the Jerusalem conference for Jewish writers. Apparently, nobody thought until now about having such a conference, despite numerous Jews having won numerous Pulitzer prizes, several Nobel prizes for literature, and of course having shaped the history of the modern world as we know it through its writings for the last several thousand years.Apparently "it slipped their mind," as the opening speaker so eloquently put it.
Or so I believe, having had to struggle with this little simultaneous translation device you get to wear if you don't understand the language that the speakers are talking. You simply aim your device at the podium, select the desired language, and a woman who sounds like my snarky bank lady hesitatingly translates a few words out of every hundred about twenty-five seconds after they're spoken.
Since simultaneous translation requires you to be able to blather continuously when you should be listening to other people speak, it's a job well suited for Israelis, especially my bank lady.
But I wonder if it wouldn't make a great party game for the bilingual set (obviously this would have to be a European game).
Your game comes with 1000 sound bytes of speeches in five different subjects. Roll the dice and move your piece to the square that says "Move Again", and then roll the dice and move again to the next square that says "Move Again", and then roll the dice and move to your choice of "Politics" or "Entertainment" squares. Since Moshe Shapiro is on your team and knows every single Hebrew movie by heart, you choose entertainment.
Snippet Number 176 of Entertainment is played, and you have to speak an accurate translation, finishing within ten seconds after the tape is finished. You lose points for each error you make.
Hours and hours of riotous entertainment for young and old alike. And it's educational, too.
That's what I came away with from the conference. The conference was about books or something, I think. Ask Rachel.
Yehuda
Modesty is back in fashion
Star Trek IX: Insurrection
Star Trek: Insurrection (imdb)
I must say that I'm amazed that I like the Next Generation movies better than the old ones, considering the fact that I never really liked the Next Generation TV show all that much.
I also never saw any of the other myriad Star Trek TV shows, other than the original, although it's quite obvious that references are being made to these in the movie. Luckily, other than having to know who the major characters are and the basic theme of the universe, prior knowledge of the TV shows is not necessary (and most likely would just confuse things, anyway).
Once again I'm struck by the universally good acting of these actors, which, while not outstanding in any particular way, is certainly sufficient for the task. And once again I am annoyed by some of the personalities they are required to display: an android who probably holds every single written human work in his memory should hardly have to be lectured on what childhood is.
The plot is also praiseworthy, despite the usual kinds of silliness such as the great fallibility and recklessness of people who supposedly are entrusted in important jobs such as piloting expensive spaceships.
I like the fact that it doesn't follow a single straightforward thread from beginning to end, with the conflict at the beginning and the resolution at the end. Instead, first problems are wrapped up and new problems arise as the movie progresses. This kept me on my toes.
Secondly, I think this must have been the least violent of all ST movies I've seen. For goodness sakes, the plot wasn't about a deranged lunatic who plans to kill thousands of people; it was about arguing for or against humanely moving a small group for the benefit of billions of people. The bad guys could have wiped them all out whenever they wanted, and are frustrated at having to avoid killing as much as possible. That is a unique experience in ST. Of course, it unravels just a bit at the end.
Like the other odd-numbered ST movies, this one deals with the "extended life" theme, which is something they just can't get quite right. The previous movie where this was the most tangential, ST III, was the best of this lot, and so is this one, where, while a main plot point, is at least not also the goal of the movie.
Of course, it's by no means a great movie, and has its share of problems.
The hackneyed scene with the kid who goes back into the collapsing cave because he left his dog behind ... excuse me, his slug behind ... is mighty cliche. The "boobs" line is just inexcusable; at the very least they would have said "breasts", not "boobs". And Data's character, as I mentioned, is still no substitute for Spock.
Where the original cast were swaggering American fighters, and this cast in ST 7 was like a bunch of cocktail-drinking actors, in this movie they are moving a little bit toward reclaiming their masculinity, looking more like lightsaber-wielding heroes than ever.
All in all, it ranks number 2 in my list of ST movies: 4, 9, 8, 2, 3, 7, 6, (5 and 1 which are both the same and horrid).
Previous reviews: ST 8, ST 7, ST 4-6, ST 1-3.
Yehuda
I must say that I'm amazed that I like the Next Generation movies better than the old ones, considering the fact that I never really liked the Next Generation TV show all that much.
I also never saw any of the other myriad Star Trek TV shows, other than the original, although it's quite obvious that references are being made to these in the movie. Luckily, other than having to know who the major characters are and the basic theme of the universe, prior knowledge of the TV shows is not necessary (and most likely would just confuse things, anyway).
Once again I'm struck by the universally good acting of these actors, which, while not outstanding in any particular way, is certainly sufficient for the task. And once again I am annoyed by some of the personalities they are required to display: an android who probably holds every single written human work in his memory should hardly have to be lectured on what childhood is.
The plot is also praiseworthy, despite the usual kinds of silliness such as the great fallibility and recklessness of people who supposedly are entrusted in important jobs such as piloting expensive spaceships.
I like the fact that it doesn't follow a single straightforward thread from beginning to end, with the conflict at the beginning and the resolution at the end. Instead, first problems are wrapped up and new problems arise as the movie progresses. This kept me on my toes.
Secondly, I think this must have been the least violent of all ST movies I've seen. For goodness sakes, the plot wasn't about a deranged lunatic who plans to kill thousands of people; it was about arguing for or against humanely moving a small group for the benefit of billions of people. The bad guys could have wiped them all out whenever they wanted, and are frustrated at having to avoid killing as much as possible. That is a unique experience in ST. Of course, it unravels just a bit at the end.
Like the other odd-numbered ST movies, this one deals with the "extended life" theme, which is something they just can't get quite right. The previous movie where this was the most tangential, ST III, was the best of this lot, and so is this one, where, while a main plot point, is at least not also the goal of the movie.
Of course, it's by no means a great movie, and has its share of problems.
The hackneyed scene with the kid who goes back into the collapsing cave because he left his dog behind ... excuse me, his slug behind ... is mighty cliche. The "boobs" line is just inexcusable; at the very least they would have said "breasts", not "boobs". And Data's character, as I mentioned, is still no substitute for Spock.
Where the original cast were swaggering American fighters, and this cast in ST 7 was like a bunch of cocktail-drinking actors, in this movie they are moving a little bit toward reclaiming their masculinity, looking more like lightsaber-wielding heroes than ever.
All in all, it ranks number 2 in my list of ST movies: 4, 9, 8, 2, 3, 7, 6, (5 and 1 which are both the same and horrid).
Previous reviews: ST 8, ST 7, ST 4-6, ST 1-3.
Yehuda
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)