In Space, No-One Can Here You Scream PEW! PEW!

It's been a while since I paid a trip to my FLGS, mostly because times are hard in
the UK and, gaming (well professionally produced board and card games) has and have become a luxury that can't always be easily justified.

Sometimes though you have to treat yourself, and buying new doesn't have to cost you the earth. There are plenty of great games out there that are inexpensive and, nothing I bought yesterday set me back more than £20. Which when you consider the overall cost of gaming in general is more than reasonable.

The first two items that I picked up were the Rebel vs Imperium and The Brink of War expansions for Race For The Galaxy. Whilst it may seem a little lavish to fork out close to £40 on expansions (for which I could have bought a whole new game), I have been playing a lot of Race For The Galaxy solitaire of late, and getting a lot of enjoyment from doing so. The expansions also bring a lot of new bells and whistles to the party (not to mention close to doubling the number of cards in-play), so if I had to make the choice again; the expansions or a new game; I don't think my decision would be any different...

This isn't to say that I didn't buy a new game however, as sitting in the corner of an alcove on a low-shelf a little box caught my eye. Mag Blast.

Without a doubt, the thing that drew me in was the Kovalic art and, upon seeing the price-tag, I was sold. Even if the game was a bust, less than £20 for a game where every card is a full-color Kavolic piece of art is still a win in my book. I think it must be a Munchkin thing. :0).

As it turned out though, the game was actually great and in the few games that we have played so far, we have had a hell of a lot of fun. I'll review the game in more detail in a coming post but suffice to say I think it's well worth owning and if you ever happen to see a copy in a FLGS of your very own, it's well worth checking out.

Race For The Galaxy: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire

I just got through playing my first game of Race For The Galaxy solo, and wow,
it's almost like the real thing! Often you find that when you play a game that was intended for group play solitaire, it just feels "wrong". Like it's lacking something. Which really wasn't the case here.

Furthermore, playing against the robot makes for a great challenge. Even with a considerable number of lucky draws, rolls and, being two cards ahead upon ending the game, I still lost! Only by two VP in fairness but, I had an amazing tableau. A set-up that if I'd achieved in a group game, I would have expected to win with.

Winning isn't everything though and, I do love a good challenge. The cards as they came out also tell an interesting story, detailing both the rise and fall of an empire.

The Cards

The Robot's Tableau: New Sparta, Contact Specialist, Aquatic Uplift World, Pirate World, Investment Credits, Damaged Alien Factory, Colony Ship, Alien Tech Institute, Alien Robot Sentry.

My Tableau: Alpha Centauri, Mining Robots, Runaway Robots, Exploration Force, New Earth, Mining Conglomerate, Imperium Armaments World, Galactic Survey: SETI, Export Duties, Improved Logistics, Gem World, Plague World.

What story do you see?
In the Robot's Tableau I see a world torn apart by war where the scientists fled to the stars to find a better way of life. On some distant ocean world they found a lost alien factory, that with their knowledge turned into a highly profitable venture. They could only gleam the surface technology but, it was more than enough to fund the colonisation of a new world. A world free of military oppression where the alien technology could both be studied and protect them.

In mine I see a group of mining prospectors trying their luck amongst the stars only to have their mining robots go rogue and flee. In order to limit the damage that they may cause as well as obviously trying to recover their expensive merchandise. Not being able to do this alone, they turn to private military contractors (possibly former military specialists from the fallen New Sparta) to aid them in the recovery process (capture the robots if possible, if not, destroy them).

Upon catching up with the robots they discover that far from going rogue, they had actually detected mineral deposits in another star system so rich that in accordance with their programing they had sought to mine them. This new world would become New Earth and would bring them great wealth. This new bounty would need defending however, so in return for the protection of their new mining conglomerate the mining corporation allowed the private security force that they had hired to use this new world as a base of operations, and as a cache for their black market arms. To hide the activities of this group various legitimate scientific projects were established, such as SETI, with which it was claimed many new world with potential mineral deposits could be found. Although the most likely reason for setting up a deep space radio relay station capable of long-distance communication is likely far more dubious.

A Little Experiment On A Monumental Scale

It's taken a lot of re-reads and a fair bit of time but, I am finally in position
where I am not only looking forward to playing Race For The Galaxy solo but, I also feel fairly confident so without constantly referencing the rulebook.

Much of the confusion arose as a result of the sheer mass of symbols that the game uses to denote it's functions. It's like trying to read hieroglyphs without a Rosetta Stone to hand. Not easy. Not by a long shot. I'm past that now though (thankfully). I'll still keep the rulebook to hand but, I now feel that I can muster enough basic vocab to order a coffee in a galaxy far far away and not be served with a rusted tin bucket by mistake. ;0).

So with this new knowledge under my belt, something that I thought might be fun would be to build whole empires from my play reports (which I also plan on sharing). It's something that I have done before when playing Munchkin, creating some weird and wonderful delvers, so why wouldn't it work on a galactic scale?

Will the people favor trade, politics, diplomacy or, military might? Let the cards decide.

The only factor that the cards won't really determine is ownership of the empire in question as Race For The Galaxy doesn't really go anyway towards covering such matters. Still, having an instant power block to throw into games like Starfaring and New Khazan seems like a pretty sweet deal.

Just add alien lifeforms. ;0).

At The Table: Castle Panic / Race For The Galaxy

After realising that for a gamer, with a gaming blog I don't actually write up too much about what I've been playing, I figured that at the table might be a good idea.

The idea being to give a  brief overview of what's being played by our group, how it's been received and, who else might get a kick out of it. I suppose I am thinking of this along the lines of "reviews: fast play edition".

First up, Castle Panic.

Castle Panic

As those of you following the blog will be aware, this is a game that I was virtually bursting at the seams to play and, upon it's introduction to the group it went down like a storm. We have literally not a bad word to say about this game and I can honestly see it remaining popular for months to come. We also have the expansion on order and are eagerly awaiting it's arrival.

Given the simple rules, amount of laughter it has produced and the family friendly art, I would have to say that this game is perfectly suitable for any gamer or group and, I'd happily recommend you all pick up a copy.

Race For The Galaxy

This was a surprise addition to our regular games, despite the fact that I'd had a copy of this game sitting on my shelves for months. Personally I'd found the rulebook to be as clear as mud, so had shelved it but, with another member of the group being shown how to play and in turn showing me, we have found that we have another firm favorite.

Whilst being a good game with a lot of replay value, you may struggle with the rulebook if you don't happen to have an experienced player at hand to break it down for you. That said, it's not a complicated game once you get to grips with it so for groups looking for a strategic game with a difference and some depth, this might be just the ticket.

It's certainly proved popular at our FLGS, selling faster than it can be stocked!

Alchemy Bytes #8: Board Game Arena

One of the greatest resources I have found for the solo gamer in the past year has to be Board Game Arena.

I initially came across them not long after purchasing Race For The Galaxy. I had read through the rules and, I was pretty sure that I had understood them but I figured it doesn't hurt to check and, popped over to Board Game Geek to see if I had made any glaring errors, figuring that if anyone knew, they did.

When reading through the resources however, I came across a link to Board Game Arena, a site that I could apparently play the game on freely against real opponents. No way was I going to pass an invite like that up and, I am so glad that I didn't.

The site was 100% on the level. Not only hosting the game I had been looking for but also Dominion (which is another favorite of mine) and a load more Rio Grande games besides. Best of all, the site is 100% free to join and, free to play!

Definitely worth a look.