A+ (Review of Gloomhaven)

For those of you (if there are any?) who read this blog, I apologize for the lack of posts lately.  This has been report card week for this teacher and thus a very busy week.  Due to all the comment writing I've had to do, writing for a blog post was not much of a break for me.  So, instead, any spare time was spent delving into dungeons.

I've completed four scenarios in Gloomhaven now (one took three attempts and I've failed on my most recent play) and unlocked about a dozen others.  I've already gone through about 6 city and road events.  I have a level 3, a level 2, and a level 1 character (I started using three characters two scenarios ago).  I've fought probably 20 different enemies.  I've opened five treasure chests and looted lots of gold.  So far I have a pretty good reputation, but it's still early.

I am addicted to Gloomhaven, thinking about it and playing it every spare second I have, but it's not making for a very fun blogging game.  Since it is such a big, diverse, non-linear game, I'm scared to spoil anything for anyone.  I know that some people don't want to see or hear about the characters, scenarios, choices, enemies, etc.  So I apologize for the lack of pictures.  I will post one picture to show my table set up, and if you choose to zoom in and see the (starting) character's hand of cards, that's on you.

Treasure Hog

Well, I guess I got what I deserved.  

My friends always told me I was a treasure hog (although they may have used a different phrase) and last night it bit me in the butt.

Last night night I had two of my best friends (since kindergarten, actually) come over to try out Gloomhaven with me.  We took on the second scenario, me using a previously created character and they each creating new characters.  It took a good 45 minutes to name the characters, purchase starting equipment, choose life goals, and get everything set up.  But it was worth it.  My friends tag teamed to get the best name award - Stabastian (Stabby for short) loves putting his knives to work.

Things were going really well.  The pace was a little slower as we are all still getting used to our characters and their decks and learning the rules.  But, all in all, we were handling things pretty well.  We cleared out some basic bad guys and quickly encountered a boss character.  His special ability was to open some locked doors and let in more bad guys.  One of these rooms just so happened to have a treasure chest in it as well.  And I wanted it.  Badly.

Get Lost! (Review of The Lost Expedition)

Total Plays: 5 solo, 5 cooperative

COMPONENTS
I think this is one of the most beautiful games I've played. I love the style of the artwork and the vibrant colours and pictures. They seem pretty good quality as well, although I'm not an expert on card thickness and types. I'm a crappy shuffler (my wife is embarrassed of me) and I find it extra hard to shuffle these giant cards, but it's worth it to have more space to show off the beauty. 5/5

RULES
Really easy to read and follow along. It's not a long or complicated game which definitely simplifies it. I found it pretty easy to learn on my own and to teach to others. 5/5

GAMEPLAY
I often find it difficult to really "get into" a card game because you don't have much in terms of pieces and a board to move things around and interact with. But having a little meeple and path to move along really helps. Plus the art is amazing and draws you in. I think of this game as a much more puzzly Friday and I'm not sure I've figure out how to best solve the puzzle so far. I think I need some more practice, but I'm enjoying figuring it out. 4/5

REPLAYABILITY
This is a tough one to gauge after just 10 plays, but I know that I have not seen all of the cards yet. This is not usually the type of game that I play and isn't my favourite type, so I'm not sure how much I will get it to the table solo. I feel like the type of gameplay will get a little old for me. 3/5

FUN
I enjoy this game. It's fun to try to figure out how the heck to survive. It's really fun looking at the cards. The game is a little more puzzly than I usually enjoy, but it's probably the best of the those type of games for me. 5/10

TOTAL SCORE - 22/30

Yes, It's That Good

My plan was to be done my list of top solo games for 2017 and that Gloomhaven would just have to make it on next year.  It got here too late to play it enough to know how good it is.

I was wrong.  I know how good it is.  I'm addicted.

The game has everything.  A million pieces.  Card-based movement and attack actions (this is why I love Gears of War as well).  Legacy style elements.  Leveling up.  Big decisions.  Money.  Loot.  Terrifying creatures.  This game is SO big but SO fun.  I highly recommend picking it up if you have any interest in (1) dungeon crawlers, (2) role playing games, (3) board games, and/or (4) fun of any kind.

I'm very hesitant to post much because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.  Here's my spoiler free first scenario playthrough:
(1) I used two characters.  One was more of an attacker and the other was more of a support.  These are the boxes they came in.

(2) They killed a lot of enemies, although they both came near to death in the second of three rooms.
(3) Both achieved their battle goals - one involved activating a trap and the other involving gaining a certain amount of experience.
(4) My attacker exhausted before the end of the scenario, but he did some crazy damage with his last two cards.
(5) Left to himself, my support character ignited several enemies on fire to win the game.

Wow!  The scenario was way more awesome than this write up!  If you want me to post with more spoilers, just comment and I will!  The game is so beautiful it's hard not to take pictures!

Anyway, I'll post what I can!  Would love to hear about your Gloomhaven experiences as well!

Gloomhaven is Here!

Hello Gloomhaven.

Goodbye everything else in my life.

Top 20 Solo Games of 2017

I've spent the last few months playing through all of my owned solo games and ranking them. This has been to help me prep for the People's Choice Top 100 Solo games, but it was also a way to enjoy all of my games again.

Here's the list that I've come up with so far:

THREEPOINTTHED'S SOLO RANKINGS

1. Gears of War (28/30)

2. Zombicide: Black Plague (27/30)

3. Star Realms (27/30)

4. Xenoshyft: Dreadmire (26/30)

5. Baseball Highlights: 2045 (24/30)

6. Friday (24/30)

7. Flash Point: Fire Rescue (24/30)

8. Aeon's End (24/30)

9. Castle Panic (22/30)

10. Lord of the Rings: The Card Game (22/30)

11. Burgle Bros (22/30)

12. The Big Book of Madness (22/30)

13. The Lost Expedition (22/30)

14. The Grizzled (22/30)

15. One Deck Dungeon (20/30)

16. FUSE (19/30)

You can find my reviews for these games in earlier posts, although I haven't posted them all yet.

King of Domino!

Logan and his wife came over on Sunday night to play some games.  They've been spot on with some games that they thought my wife would enjoy (she's not a gaming nerd like the rest of us, although she's always willing to try something new).

First we tried out my brand new pick up, 5-Minute Dungeon.  This is a real time cooperative game where you are battling your way through a dungeon to fight an end boss.  You battle the obstacles and monsters of the dungeon by matching symbols on their card with symbols on the cards from your hand.  As a team, you furiously put your cards down to defeat an obstacle as fast as possible - you only have 5 minutes to get through a dungeon!  Frantic, light, and easy to learn - the perfect game to kick off our night!

From there we went a little bit heavier and tackled The Pursuit of Happiness.  You've seen me post on this before and, truth be told, I was having so much fun I forgot to take pictures.  The highlight of the game for me was that I managed to take two of the life goals: die first (9 long term happiness points) and own the most items (5 points).  This launched me into second place, but I just couldn't catch Jenn - she's too happy!

Logan seems to think that he's turning me into a Euro gamer and he's using my wife to do it.  The last game we played was Kingdomino.  This is a tile drafting, domino-style kingdom building game.

Here's my game one kingdom: a 48 point victory!  I rarely win at these games, I especially never beat Logan, Jenn, and Sharayah, and never at the same time!

Thank Goodness it's Friday! (Review of Friday: A Solo Adventure)

Total Plays: 50 solo (ha)

In Friday, you take on the role of Friday, trying to help Robinson Crusoe survive on the island.  It is a solo deckbuilder and you start with a deck of really awful cards that you need to replace with new and better ones.  Cards have an attack value that you need to use to overcome the obstacles you'll encounter.  If you defeat a card, you flip it upside down and it becomes a card in your deck, ready to help you with the next encounter.  Once you've gone through the hazard deck three times (each time more difficult than the last), you take on two different pirates.  If you defeat them with your improved deck, you win!

COMPONENTS
I know the art in Friday is not for everyone, but I like it. It's quirky and satirical and makes me laugh. I know not everyone loves the card size as well, but I never sleeve anything so it doesn't bother me much. I like how the cards have a top and bottom that represent different aspects of the game. The cards seem pretty good quality to me. 4/5

RULES
I found the rules pretty easy, although actually figuring out how to win at the game was not. It's not a very complex/big game so it's easy to reference the book to find an answer to a question. 4/5

Brothers and Boards

Last night we had a Peters' brothers board game night.  We had my older brother Nate, my sister's husband Sam, and my younger brother Zach.  Unfortunately, the baby of the family (Matt) couldn't make it.

But, the night must go on.  First we tackled the office job in Burgle Bros, stealing and thieving on two stories.

The highlight of the game (and the only good thing I did all game - I was a detriment to my team) was when I rolled a 6 on my first roll entering a keypad room with a guard coming my way.

Hotshots Full Review

Hotshots from Fireside Games

  Ah, Fall. The change of season from sunshine, beaches, sunscreen, and BBQs to a multitude of colours, fall jackets, crunchy leaves, crisp morning air and cozy fires (unless you're Canadian in which case there is only winter and second winter). Still even with our fierce Canadian winters, there is nothing more comforting than curling up with a warm fuzzy blanket next to a roaring fire. Wonderful fire... tantalizing, soul piercing, devouring, destructive, engulfing - where was I? Oh yes, fire. Fire has been around for just a few years (sarcasm), and as we learnt to harness it's power, there has been a need for brave individuals to fight the flames of it's more unruly siblings.

   Indie Boards and Cards brought us Creator Kevin Lanzing's Flash Point: Fire Rescue in 2011, which received several boxed expansions (around six if BGG and my counting abilities are accurate). In Flash Point: Fire Rescue you take on the role of a Firefighter (or Paramedic), who heroically rushes into a burning building to fight the blaze, and rescue as many people (and their pets) as you can before the building collapses, killing all remaining individuals trapped in the inferno. While that may sound 'heavy', which it certainly is, Flash Point presents itself in such an elegant way that it balances it's heavy subject matter by it's soft presentation that you end up experiencing a humble respectful enjoyment during it's hour plus play time. My brother in-law Theo, wrote a wonderful post about this and I highly suggest you check it out if you have the time, which I will link at the bottom of this review. Since my first game of Flashpoint: Fire Rescue, I have not experienced a 'Firefighting' game that matches it's balance between heavy subject matter and fun.

  This year Fireside released Hotshots. In Hotshots you will once again be taking on the role of one of those brave individuals who fight perhaps the most destructive of blazes, forest fires! Now follow me through this journey as we discover if this game is as... Hot ... as it sounds... (PUNS!)

Live to Spend (Playthrough of Pursuit of Happiness)

As a boy I often dreamed about what I would be when I grew up.  I didn't worry so much about what my career would be, a job was just a source of income.  My goals in life had nothing to do with specific career aspirations.  No, I wanted to live a long, long life; long enough that I could do all the things and own all the stuff that I really wanted!  Being a natural born haggler (thanks mom and dad), I could get those things for less as well.

Welcome to Elemental College (Playthrough of Big Book of Madness)

The young man sat down easily in the small, plastic chair.  He had been here before, many times in fact, and was no longer fearful of the giant oak desk in front of him nor the balding man sitting behind it.  The man looked like he was in his late 50s, although he was probably closer to 500.  Professor Henry Spark had been the headmaster at Elemental College for well over a hundred years, but that fact didn't intimidate Phil.  Sometimes it felt like his entire school career had been spent in the school office.  That probably wasn't much of an exaggeration.

"Do you know why you're here, Philip?" Professor Spark asked.  Adults were always trying to use Phil's full name to let him know he was in trouble.  He already knew he was in trouble and didn't really care.

"Did you find those princes that I turned into frogs?" Phil replied with a smirk on his face.

"Yes, yes Philip, you've been as busy at this school as you have at your other schools and it has nothing to do with schoolwork.  You think you're pretty smart, pulling pranks on your peers and staff members.  It's fun for now, but eventually you're going to regret your actions and wish you had put more effort into your studies."  Blah blah blah.  He had heard it all before.  He found magic exciting but school boring.  He wished the teachers would stop treating him like a child and really experiment with his powers.  Maybe his childish pranks were counter intuitive to be treated more like an adult, but at least it increased the entertainment level of being in a magic school.

"This isn't about your childish pranks, however,"  Spark went on.  "This is about the enormous mistake you almost made yesterday, putting your own life and the lives of everyone at this school in danger."  This statement didn't make him afraid, but it did pique his interest.  He hadn't heard a professor or headmaster speak this seriously before.  Usually it was all about wasting his life turning his classmates' pants invisible or changing the water in the toilets into jello.

"Ok, you've got me.  What is this about?"

Professor Spark almost smiled at the fact that for the first time in his tenure here, Philip seemed to be interested in something.  Unfortunately, this matter was too serious to smile about.  Instead he frowned.  "If it weren't for one of your classmates informing us about your actions, you would have opened the Big Book of Madness in the library!"  

Phil relaxed.  "Oh, is that all this is about?  Some ancient text that we're all supposed to tiptoe around?  I'm here to learn to use magic, Spark, and so far you and your faculty haven't taught me anything.  Maybe that book will."

The professor leaned back in his chair, sighing.  "If I hadn't been here as long as I have, I might be inclined to agree with you.  However, you are not the first child who's been foolish enough to try and open that book.  Let me tell you a story."  Phil rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"60 years ago, a very promising young earth bender fell in love with a girl.  Her specialty was manipulating the wind, as well as manipulating his heart.  As I'm sure you're aware, boys will do stupid things for the girl they love.  They were studying in the library and the boy wanted to show her that he was fearless.    He walked to the pedestal that the book sat on.  She told him not to open, that she didn't want to get in trouble.  He said he wasn't afraid and threw the book open.

"The boy was thrown across the room as magic energy shot out of the book.  Mists swirled around in a frenzy as a giant, crab-like creature with many eyes began to emerge from the book.  The girl screamed and fired a wall of pure air to push the creature back from whence it game.  Her magic was not practiced enough, however, and he shattered the wall and knocked her against a bookcase.

Mad World (Review of Big Book of Madness)

Total Plays: 2 cooperative, 10 solo

The Big Book of Madness is a cooperative deckbuilder, but not your average one.  You are students of magic at Elemental College.  You, foolishly, open The Big Book of Madness and all sorts of evil denizens escape.  You will encounter 6 mad creatures and you have 5 turns (shared between all players) to combat them.  At your disposal are the four elements of air, earth, water, and fire.  These are what make up your personal deck and what you will do to perform your many actions.  These elements come in values of 1, 2, or 3.  Each of the 8 different characters has a different starting deck of elements as well as special powers.

What will you use these elements for?  I'm glad you asked.  The main use of the cards is to take down the 3-5 curses that the monsters bring with them.  To cancel a curse you will need either 4 of a kind (e.g. 4 fires) or 1 of each 4 kinds (e.g. 1 fire, 1 water, 1 air, and 1 earth), depending on what curses have come out.  If you defeat a creature's curses before the 5 rounds are up, you have defeated him and gain a bonus.  If you don't cancel all his curses, do not fear, you will suffer a consequence and live to fight another day.  The only creature you MUST defeat is the last one.  Lose against him, and you lose.

Mission to Genesis VII (Playthrough of Xenoshyft: Dreadmire)

Earth Command to Genesis VII Command.  
This is General Hammond.  Do you read?  
Over.

Roger that Earth Command, we read you loud

and clear.  This is Captain Parker.  Over.

Glad to hear that a stable connection has been 
established, Captain Parker.  Have you 
received your mission instructions?  Is everything 
clear?  Over.

Wasn't This a Movie? (Review of Xenoshyft: Dreadimire)

Total Plays: 5 cooperative, 5 solo

I want to apologize for the strong language used in my playthrough.  I was going for the realism of being in the middle of such a terrifying battle, but I may have gone overboard.  Please forgive me.  

Xenoshyft: Dreadmire is a deckbuilding game based on the movie Avatar.  Ok, not true.  But the premise is the same.  You have taken up residence on an alien planet in search of a valuable resource (xenosathem, in this case).  Instead of dealing with half naked blue people, you are attacked by giant bug-like and animal-like creatures that tear you limb from limb.  Before releasing Dreadmire in 2017, Cool Mini or Not released Xenoshyft: Onslaught in 2015.  There are also several expansions.

Collecting xenosathem allows you to buy new troops, weapons, armor, and items.  After the buying phase of your turn, you're going to place your troops, equipped with weapons and armor if possible, in your lane.  You can have up to four troops in the lane.  Then, you'll battle 3 or 4 of The Brood (the baddies in this game).  They start face down so you don't know what you're facing until they're right in front of you.

Special Delivery!

HALLELUJAH!

What's better than getting a giant package in the mail? 

Reverse Settlers of Catan (Spirit Island)

Have you ever played Settlers of Catan and wondered, "Who was here before the settlers came?  Whatever happened to the aboriginal people of Catan?  Did they see us coming and move elsewhere?  Or did we push them off, much like the history of North America?  Did they fight back?  What is THEIR story?"

Well, now we get a chance to hear, or better yet, play, their story.  In Spirit Island, a cooperative area control game, you play as the spirits of the island, working to rid the island of pesky settlers/invaders and protecting the land's aboriginal people.  You can choose between such spirits as Lightning's Swift Strike and River Surges in Sunlight and help defend the Dahan, natives of Spirit Island, from the European settlers who strive to raid and pillage the land.

Last month I visited Table Top Cafe twice with the sole purpose of playing this game.  One session was with two players and the other was with three.  Both experiences were awesome.  So awesome, in fact, that I didn't take any pictures!  Sorry...  Anyway, I don't feel like it's fair to do a full review after so few plays (you really have no idea about replayability at that point), but I wanted to tell you about this great game that I am saving up money to buy (it's sold out now, but a reprint is coming mid-December).

King of Board N Brew

Just a week after our last foray to Board N Brew, we were back!  This time we brought Logan and his wife.  We started with a game of Dream Home (which I forgot to take pictures of...), a card drafting and set collection game where you are trying to make you, well, dream home.  It was fun and had cute art, but probably wasn't my favourite type of game.


Then, we took on Tokyo.  I know that I am way behind, but I have never played King of Tokyo.  I really wanted to try it out because I'm looking for games to use with the grade 4-6 games club that I'm starting at school.  I thought I good dice chucking game was a must.