First of all, many thanks to Matt Taylor of the Westford board gaming group for coming over on Sept 17th to play some board games. Without him, it would have been just Richard and myself. It seems that this September the stars and moon were aligned as such that our local members couldn't make it. With Matt attending, we were able to play Cyclades and Civilization.
Our next board game night will be held October 15th at 6 PM at the Derby Line Village Hall. To honor Halloween, we will make it our special Halloween edition of Border Board Games. That means we will bring along our horror/monster themed games like Betrayal at House on the Hill, Fury of Dracula, Last Night on Earth and whatever else in our collection fits the theme. I'm sure that there will also be some Halloween goodies available to eat as well.
If board gaming isn't your thing and you'd rather play RPGs, then consider joining our RPG group. We typically meet every 4th Saturday in Derby Line for our mega RPG day. We get together right after noontime and play for about 8 hours. For half the time we play D&D 3.5 and the other half we play the Song of Ice and Fire. If you are interested in only playing one RPG, that can be arranged. Our next RPG date is Sept 24th and, for October we will aim for Oct 22nd.
Showing posts with label boardgames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boardgames. Show all posts
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Border Board Games June 11th
Border Board Games met on a new night in June, June 11th, so as not to conflict with the Green Mountain gamers Game'n Grill event on the following weekend. BBG welcomed a new face to the group as Jeff popped by to enjoy some games with us.
We started the night with a light and easy game of Ave Caesar. Homer remained almost completely baffled throughout the two races as he was always caught in corners and trapped in bottle necks. Following a couple of circuits of the chariot racing game we then moved on to a few rounds of 7 Wonders.
Though it has become a favorite among the group for its easy to grasp mechanics, quick game play and minimal downtime, it was actuality Shannon and Jeff's first time playing. While guild points boosted me (Richard) into a solid first place finish, Jeff finished strong in his own right taking second place on the strength of a balanced Military, Wonders and VP card system.
Shannon brought along a new game for the group to try. The theme and name of the game was Werewolf (forgive me if I muffed the name S.) The game involves minimal equipment as it simply involves passing out role cards and assigning a mayor or moderator. It is basically a variation of Russian Sledge whereby during the day the villagers (and the hidden werewolves) vote to eliminate the person they believe to be plaguing their town. The game then proceeds to a night phase whereby players close their eyes and the Seer awakens to peek at any other players card. That completed, the Werewolves then awaken and choose their victim. In order for the victim to die the vote must be unanimous.
The game progresses until only villagers (including special villagers like the Hunter or the Witch) or werewolves are left standing. What we learned was that while leery of claims the game could accommodate 8 to 18 people, it probably does play better with a larger group. This would create more tension on part of the werewolves and the villagers as each tries to seek the others out.
Following Werewolf we then tried a co-op game Pandemic. It's one of those games that we haven't busted out in a while so it was a chance to refresh ourselves with the game and introduce Jeff to Euro co-op games. It was a hit or miss affair with the team managing to cure the diseases before the world dissolved into chaos and death. Things certainly started out poorly with the Swine Flu sweeping through Asia until Homer the gallant Medic charged in to clean up the mess. Meanwhile Beth the research station builder guy (can't recall the actual name) and Shannon the dispatcher helped move Jeff the scientist and Homer to the latest hot spots to execute cures and construct critical new research facilities outside of Atlanta.
It was one of those peculiar games where some areas continued to be hammered mercilessly but others occurred with such infrequency as to present little challenge at all. Certainly the Swine Flu hit most areas in Asia prior to its control but the dengue fever in Africa and South America did little more than trouble Lagos, Miami and Mexico City. The Black Plague made an appearance in the Middle East and SARS swept through the northern latitudes to create more tension later on. With the deck perilously close to expiring, the team executed the final cure for the win.
We started the night with a light and easy game of Ave Caesar. Homer remained almost completely baffled throughout the two races as he was always caught in corners and trapped in bottle necks. Following a couple of circuits of the chariot racing game we then moved on to a few rounds of 7 Wonders.
Though it has become a favorite among the group for its easy to grasp mechanics, quick game play and minimal downtime, it was actuality Shannon and Jeff's first time playing. While guild points boosted me (Richard) into a solid first place finish, Jeff finished strong in his own right taking second place on the strength of a balanced Military, Wonders and VP card system.
Shannon brought along a new game for the group to try. The theme and name of the game was Werewolf (forgive me if I muffed the name S.) The game involves minimal equipment as it simply involves passing out role cards and assigning a mayor or moderator. It is basically a variation of Russian Sledge whereby during the day the villagers (and the hidden werewolves) vote to eliminate the person they believe to be plaguing their town. The game then proceeds to a night phase whereby players close their eyes and the Seer awakens to peek at any other players card. That completed, the Werewolves then awaken and choose their victim. In order for the victim to die the vote must be unanimous.
The game progresses until only villagers (including special villagers like the Hunter or the Witch) or werewolves are left standing. What we learned was that while leery of claims the game could accommodate 8 to 18 people, it probably does play better with a larger group. This would create more tension on part of the werewolves and the villagers as each tries to seek the others out.
Following Werewolf we then tried a co-op game Pandemic. It's one of those games that we haven't busted out in a while so it was a chance to refresh ourselves with the game and introduce Jeff to Euro co-op games. It was a hit or miss affair with the team managing to cure the diseases before the world dissolved into chaos and death. Things certainly started out poorly with the Swine Flu sweeping through Asia until Homer the gallant Medic charged in to clean up the mess. Meanwhile Beth the research station builder guy (can't recall the actual name) and Shannon the dispatcher helped move Jeff the scientist and Homer to the latest hot spots to execute cures and construct critical new research facilities outside of Atlanta.
It was one of those peculiar games where some areas continued to be hammered mercilessly but others occurred with such infrequency as to present little challenge at all. Certainly the Swine Flu hit most areas in Asia prior to its control but the dengue fever in Africa and South America did little more than trouble Lagos, Miami and Mexico City. The Black Plague made an appearance in the Middle East and SARS swept through the northern latitudes to create more tension later on. With the deck perilously close to expiring, the team executed the final cure for the win.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Fall-oha Game Day
For September's Border Board Game session, we will move further south of the border and join forces with Green Mountain Gamers game day, Fall-oha, in Lyndonville, VT on Sept 18th. The game day is goes from 10 am to 10 pm at the Grange Hall. It's an all out game day fest full of open gaming and a Small World tournament. For more information, please visit the Green Mountain Gamers website.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Next game night
The next D&D session had to be cancelled due to a sick DM but the next Border Board Games will proceed as scheduled on August 21st at the Village Hall at 6 PM. During our last game night, there was interest in playing Last Night on Earth at the next night. Last Night on Earth is known as the zombie game in our group. It's a game that mimics the B-rated zombie movie. It has characters such as the high school jock, the town sheriff, the drifter, or the high school sweetheart. Just like in the movies, with Last Night on Earth, it's humans vs. zombies and the humans have to beat the zombies before dawn arrives. It's a fun, interactive game that's easy to learn. Besides the Zombies, we're not sure what else we're bringing along. As always, if you have any requests, please let us know.
Sat. July 17th Session Report Part 2
Before the Spanish Civil war began, a couple groups decided to get in a quick game. One group made up of Kim, Homer and Alexis, played a game of Dominion. I'm uncertain as to the outcome of this game.
The other group, consisting of myself, Richard, and Josh played a game of Race for the Galaxy. This was Josh's first time playing this game. Race for the Galaxy is a card game where the winner is the one with the most victory points at the end of the game. It's a quick playing and very fun and possibly a bit addicting game. It seems difficult on the surface but once you get playing, the game will click into place. While playing, Amos dropped by.
After those two games wrapped up, part of the group split off and joined Ken with his Spanish Civil war minis scenario while myself, Kim, Alexis, and Amos began a game of Time's Up!
Time's Up! is a party game that Amos described as being probably the best party game. You play in teams (for us I paired up with Amos and Kim and Alexis paired up) and are dealt a certain number of cards. On these cards are names of fictional and non-fictional 'celebrities' such as Paul Simon, Rocky Balboa, Winnie the Pooh or Ross Perot. Each person chooses 10 cards to keep and all cards are pooled together, read aloud, and then shuffled.
The game then proceeds in 3 rounds where each team tries to get their partner to guess the celebrity named on the card. When the cards are passed to a team, the clue giver only has, I think, 30 seconds to get his partner to guess as many cards as possible. After the time is up, the remaining cards in the deck is passed along to the other team and they then proceed with their 30 seconds and so on until all cards in the deck have been guessed.
In round 1, the clue giver can use as many words as possible to get his teammate to guess the card. You cannot pass the card and the guesser can guess as many times as he'd like.
In round 2, the clue giver can only give one word for a clue and may pass a card.
In round 3, the clue giver cannot say any words, may pass a card and the guesser only gets one guess.
For each correct card guessed, the team gets a point and the team with the most points at the end of round 3 wins.
Shortly after we began playing, Rob and Angela showed up and Angela joined Kim and Alexis. This was a rather fun party game and was a hoot to play. It gets interesting when you can only use one word or no words to desribe the celebrity on the card. I recommend this for a fun, casual play where you are looking for some laughs.
After finishing Time's Up!, we broke out Bohnanza. Bohnanza is a card game where you are a bean farmer. Yes, I said bean farmer. You are dealt a hand of 5 cards which you may not reorder. You have to keep the cards in the order they were dealt. On your turn, you have to plant the first card in your hand and then you may plant the second card in your hand. Since you are only allowed 2 'bean fields' in front of you, you need to try to trade and/or donate cards with the other players so you can harvest your fields for the most profit. Once you are done planting, two cards are drawn face up and then the bargaining begins. These two cards must be planted so bargaining can get intersting. During the bargaining stage, the active player can also trade and/or donate cards with the other players. It can get intersting game to overhear as you may hear something like, "I'll give you two stinks for that blue bean!" The game ends when the supply deck is exhausted for a 3rd time and the person with the most coins at the end of the game wins. Angela was the most successful bean farmer.
After Bohnanza, we broke out Carcasonne:Hunters and Gatherers. H&G is a stand alone game, not an expansion to regular Carcasonne. As Angela described it, it's like regular Carcasonne but not. The Carcasonne games are a tile laying game. There is a stash of tiles where each player draws one and plays it on the board. As each tile is drawn, the board gets bigger. After you play a tile, you may place one of your meeples (wooden 'person' that represents you) on that tile. The meeple can be a hunter (in a field), gatherer (in a forest), fisherman (on a river), or you can place your hut on a river system. Your meeple scores when a forest or field or river is completed and your hunter and huts are scored at the end of the game. The person with the most points, wins. It's a very easy and quick to learn game. Carcasonne is a great intro game to EuroGames. I don't recall who emerged victorious in our game.
The other group, consisting of myself, Richard, and Josh played a game of Race for the Galaxy. This was Josh's first time playing this game. Race for the Galaxy is a card game where the winner is the one with the most victory points at the end of the game. It's a quick playing and very fun and possibly a bit addicting game. It seems difficult on the surface but once you get playing, the game will click into place. While playing, Amos dropped by.
After those two games wrapped up, part of the group split off and joined Ken with his Spanish Civil war minis scenario while myself, Kim, Alexis, and Amos began a game of Time's Up!
Time's Up! is a party game that Amos described as being probably the best party game. You play in teams (for us I paired up with Amos and Kim and Alexis paired up) and are dealt a certain number of cards. On these cards are names of fictional and non-fictional 'celebrities' such as Paul Simon, Rocky Balboa, Winnie the Pooh or Ross Perot. Each person chooses 10 cards to keep and all cards are pooled together, read aloud, and then shuffled.
The game then proceeds in 3 rounds where each team tries to get their partner to guess the celebrity named on the card. When the cards are passed to a team, the clue giver only has, I think, 30 seconds to get his partner to guess as many cards as possible. After the time is up, the remaining cards in the deck is passed along to the other team and they then proceed with their 30 seconds and so on until all cards in the deck have been guessed.
In round 1, the clue giver can use as many words as possible to get his teammate to guess the card. You cannot pass the card and the guesser can guess as many times as he'd like.
In round 2, the clue giver can only give one word for a clue and may pass a card.
In round 3, the clue giver cannot say any words, may pass a card and the guesser only gets one guess.
For each correct card guessed, the team gets a point and the team with the most points at the end of round 3 wins.
Shortly after we began playing, Rob and Angela showed up and Angela joined Kim and Alexis. This was a rather fun party game and was a hoot to play. It gets interesting when you can only use one word or no words to desribe the celebrity on the card. I recommend this for a fun, casual play where you are looking for some laughs.
After finishing Time's Up!, we broke out Bohnanza. Bohnanza is a card game where you are a bean farmer. Yes, I said bean farmer. You are dealt a hand of 5 cards which you may not reorder. You have to keep the cards in the order they were dealt. On your turn, you have to plant the first card in your hand and then you may plant the second card in your hand. Since you are only allowed 2 'bean fields' in front of you, you need to try to trade and/or donate cards with the other players so you can harvest your fields for the most profit. Once you are done planting, two cards are drawn face up and then the bargaining begins. These two cards must be planted so bargaining can get intersting. During the bargaining stage, the active player can also trade and/or donate cards with the other players. It can get intersting game to overhear as you may hear something like, "I'll give you two stinks for that blue bean!" The game ends when the supply deck is exhausted for a 3rd time and the person with the most coins at the end of the game wins. Angela was the most successful bean farmer.
After Bohnanza, we broke out Carcasonne:Hunters and Gatherers. H&G is a stand alone game, not an expansion to regular Carcasonne. As Angela described it, it's like regular Carcasonne but not. The Carcasonne games are a tile laying game. There is a stash of tiles where each player draws one and plays it on the board. As each tile is drawn, the board gets bigger. After you play a tile, you may place one of your meeples (wooden 'person' that represents you) on that tile. The meeple can be a hunter (in a field), gatherer (in a forest), fisherman (on a river), or you can place your hut on a river system. Your meeple scores when a forest or field or river is completed and your hunter and huts are scored at the end of the game. The person with the most points, wins. It's a very easy and quick to learn game. Carcasonne is a great intro game to EuroGames. I don't recall who emerged victorious in our game.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Minis on the 17th!
This weekend, Ken will be running a Spanish Civil War wargame using miniatures. The rule set is ”Disposable Heroes/ Coffin for Seven Brothers” and is a easy set of rules for beginners. The action will simulate the end phase of the Ebro Campaign in the Fall of 1938 when the Nationalist Forces (Fascist) drove back and almost destroyed the Republican (Communist) offensive in this area. It will involve trench warfare and armored vehicles such as the ”fearsome” German Panzer 1, an armored tractor with two machine guns.
As far as boardgames, I haven’t thought about what I’ll be bringing along. We now have all the expansions for Race for the Galaxy so I imagine those will be thrown into the Big Frakkin’ bag. If you’d like us to bring along something, please let me know.
As far as boardgames, I haven’t thought about what I’ll be bringing along. We now have all the expansions for Race for the Galaxy so I imagine those will be thrown into the Big Frakkin’ bag. If you’d like us to bring along something, please let me know.
Friday, May 14, 2010
May 15 Border Board Games
On the heels of last month's game day it seems appropriate to break out some favorites and some slightly dusty (haven't been played in a while) games.
Our growing fondness for Dominion, coupled with the fact we can accomodate eight people between two sets, makes this one a no-brainer. Base set and Intrigue.
Looking to get medieval on someone's ass? Try the mostly cooperative Shadows Over Camelot. The Knights of the Round Table are defending a kingdom in peril from marauding dragons, hordes of Picts and Saxons and, can it be? A traitor in their midst?
If anyone is interested I'd love to break out Age of Empires III once again.
A nice, quick introduction to the genre of train games is Trans America. Gather five city cards and lay track to connect your cities. It's really that simple!
Another classic "gateway game" is Settlers of Catan. Pandemic, though difficult to beat, is a madcap race to stem the tide of global pestilence. Will your team of doctors, scientists, engineers and radio operators have what it takes to prevent the spread of this year's flu-du-jour?
Something on the list you'd like to play? Drop us a line or bring along some of your favs.
Our growing fondness for Dominion, coupled with the fact we can accomodate eight people between two sets, makes this one a no-brainer. Base set and Intrigue.
Looking to get medieval on someone's ass? Try the mostly cooperative Shadows Over Camelot. The Knights of the Round Table are defending a kingdom in peril from marauding dragons, hordes of Picts and Saxons and, can it be? A traitor in their midst?
If anyone is interested I'd love to break out Age of Empires III once again.
A nice, quick introduction to the genre of train games is Trans America. Gather five city cards and lay track to connect your cities. It's really that simple!
Another classic "gateway game" is Settlers of Catan. Pandemic, though difficult to beat, is a madcap race to stem the tide of global pestilence. Will your team of doctors, scientists, engineers and radio operators have what it takes to prevent the spread of this year's flu-du-jour?
Something on the list you'd like to play? Drop us a line or bring along some of your favs.
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