Beware Brawny Black Bears (Playthrough of Shadows of Malice)

The shadowy forces of Xulthûl were amassing again. Although the evil had been banished from the land of Aethos, there were signs that it was escaping it's prison. Strange creatures began roaming the land: trees that walked and sprayed acid, gigantic mushrooms that created illusions in the minds of those who encounter their spores, and bloodthirsty black bears with six legs and three eyes. The world had been safe from this type of wrongness for centuries, but the guardians of the dark wells lost their edge and Xulthûl was once again able to spread his poison through Aethos.

In response, the forces of light, celestial beings with no physical bodies, used their power to form shells on earth to inhabit. 

Scenario One is Done (Donisi)

Last night Aaron came over and we played through a full game of our first scenario and I think it's done! Everything seems pretty balanced - the layout, the placement of objectives, the enemy spawn points and spawning numbers. Obviously we'll tweak whatever needs to be done after playtesters get onto it, but I think I'm ready to move onto scenario two and get it built and tested.

To celebrate, Aaron is letting me post some of his artwork for the game. He is an extremely creative guy, but this is first time doing anything like this and I am so thoroughly impressed with him! We're not exactly sure what direction the artwork will take, if it'll all be done by him or by someone else, but I love what he's done so far. Since the theme of the game is all about manipulating the threads of memories in the world around you, his art style reflects that. Everything is shadowy, in motion, and ethereal. So, without further ado!

An impaler (one of the first enemies you face) overlooking the city.

Perfect in Our Imperfection (Donisi)

Just because I haven't posted much about my own board game lately does not mean that nothing has been going on. I did a "third printing" of my game with all the card updates we've made over the last few months (and am cutting out a mini "fourth print" for about 10 cards). Aaron is coming over tomorrow night and we're going to play and brainstorm. My mother-in-law (who is a writer) is going to go through our story with me over Christmas break to tighten up the plot and clarify any confusing parts.

The vast majority of my time, however, has been spent on playtesting. You can see the text here between Aaron and I the other day. This game is my baby. I've been working on it in some semblance for the last two years. If this we're going to make a run at this game and produce it, I want it to be the best that it can be. If there is a second printing in six months that fixes a bunch of errata and errors, that's a problem to me. Obviously the game won't be perfect and if there are mistakes that we can fix later on with a second edition, I want to do that. It is not my desire, though, to just push this game out as soon as it is just about ready. I want it to really be ready when it hits Kickstarter or gets picked up by a publisher or however it gets out there. 

The Best Game with the Stupidest Name (Review of Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure)

It was kind of surprising to me that it's taken so long for me to write a review for this one. It is, after all, my number one solo game (according to BGG's 2019 version of the People's Choice Top Solo Games, I am the only one who ranks it this high) and I am currently enjoying a foray into the legacy version (and, perhaps, am addicted to it). 

"Why, oh wise and enlightened Theo, is this your favourite solo game?" This is probably what you're asking yourself right now. Well, let me tell you.

First of all, what IS Clank!? It is a deckbuilding adventure. Period. Ok, if that's not enough, it's a deckbuilder (a mechanic that has you starting with a weak deck of cards that you build up and customize as the game goes on) that also has you moving around the board (more rare for a deckbuilder). Your mission is to thieve as much loot as possible from a dragon's den (or spider or ape lord or mummy, depending on the expansion) before they kill you. You are also competing against other adventurers, trying to secure the most loot and survive. 

Take a Walk With Me (Walking in Burano)

I'm always up for a new game and last night we got the chance to play on with our best gaming buds. Sharayah and I went over to Logan and Jenn's for a delicious supper and delightful chat. Actually, we had a small disagreement to work through, but we're all grown ups who an express our feelings and see things from others' points of view, so we dealt with that pretty quickly. After all the serious stuff was out of the way, we busted out some popcorn and a new game: Walking in Burano.

You can see my waterfront coming to life.

This comes from the same makers as Cat Lady (which I love) and shares some similarities, but I think it is more easily compared to Dream Home (which I like). If you boil it down, it's really just a slightly more complex version of Dream Home. In Walking in Burano, you have been tasked with designing and constructing a street of waterfront buildings. As you construct you need to pay attention to colour (buildings need to be all the same colour and you can't have two buildings of the same colour beside each other), cats, streetlights, flowers, plants, shops, people, chimneys, and a host of things that you score points for depending on which tourists or inhabitants visit your building. For example, if Santa Claus comes to your waterfront, you'll score points for every chimney you have across all of your buildings. Certain visitors give you points for all the plants you have vertically (in a building) or horizontally (across a few buildings). The police officer gives you points for non-adjacent street lamps. There are a whole bunch to pick and Logan and Jenn even had a mini expansion that came with more.

0-2 (Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated)

Two games into Clank! Legacy, two different strategies, the same outcome. In game one, Brennan and I both died, although I managed to score points still. This time, all three of us made it out alive. Stirling ended up with 70 points, only 2 less than during his win last game (he wins the Mr. Consistency Award), I had 96 points (I was a greedy little money grabber) and Brennan had...100! Dang. So close. So two games in and I'm already 0-2. Hopefully there are other ways to win the big game besides winning each scenario. Obviously I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I still want to give some impressions of the game.

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

Just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive, just in hiding! The last two weeks have been packed with teaching (my student teacher has left me!), tutoring, parenting, and political activism. There has been been much time for board games lately, but I'm hoping to get a review of Clank! up pretty soon.