Board Games 2: Revenge of the Board Games!

Greetings,

Here is my second part of the board game reviews. I don't quite know how many of these I will end up doing, but they are pretty refreshing. The next game was created by Philippe Keyaerts.

EVO (2nd Edition)

By Philippe Keyaerts

Produced by Asmodee (This is the US portal site for Asmodee)

The basic background of the game is that small tribes of humans were alive before a tiny event happened 65 million years ago. These humans had an ability to alter the genetics of the dinosaurs. This obviously takes time, but each turn is over a few thousand years to show climate change. 

Speaking of climate change, there are two main things in the game that force people to alter their dinosaurs. The climate will most likely alter from one turn to the next. The map has 4 different coloured regions, white, yellow, brown and green. Every turn a counter is flipped and a dial is used that will show how the climate alters. These changes to the environment will show which region are fine to inhabit and which will need fur or thermo-regulation adaptions for the dinosaurs to survive. There is also one or two regions that are completely unable to support any life. If you are in here when the climate change occurs then your dino is a kebab....

The way to survive is by using adaptations. You can get extra feet (+1 move), horns (extra attack and defence), fur (one dinosaur can survive in a cold zone for each fur), thermo-regulation (same as fur, but for hot zones), eggs (+1 baby per turn) and special. Ignoring the special for the moment. These evolutions are one of the better parts of the game. It makes people want specific evolutions to survive the current round, but it will also allow them to play for the long game since they have a rough idea of the likely climate changes if they have played it a few times.
How people get these adaptations is by bidding for them. You can bid from 0-6 points. If you bid 6 points you get the evolution automatically. There is always number of (players -1) evolutions on the bidding board. The final slot is taken up by a card which is normally pretty powerful, but it will only work a single time. The fur/thermo-regulation adaptations are always good to have, but eggs and feet work on a more regular basis. Horns are the one that is kind of strange. Unfortunately, you can't build an effective strategy around attacking people with horns. The pay off just isn't there.
There is also a number of special adaptations. These range from extra feet (+2 move), and flying (one dinosaur can move 2 spaces instead of 1 for the cost of one move) to Killer Babies (in the birthing phase you can place a baby in an opponent's space and roll the combat die. You have a 2/3 chance of killing the opponent no matter their horns) and chameleon skin (your dinosaur token isn't removed if you lose a fight, if there is an available empty space to move to).
There is also a regular token that reduces the cost of adaptations during the bidding phase, but we don't use this as it detracts from the game itself and makes it a lot less fun.

Good Points

2-5 players. There are 2 double sided boards in the box one for 2, 3, 4 or 5 players.

Wooden dinosaurs. These are cool, especially if you are used to card or low quality plastic tokens.

Lots of variation due to the different tokens for the adaptations.

The artwork. I know some people would buy the game for the player sheets and frame them. They are that good.

The box fits everything in there without any muss or fuss after you have finished playing. This is an insane boon to anyone who buys games and wonders why they can't fit back in the box after they have opened it.

Bad Points

There are some lethal combos. Killer Babies (see earlier) and Hardened Shell (babies can be placed up to 3 spaces away). Tactical nuclear killer babies was the phrase we coined... This was devastating.

Wooden dinosaurs. How can this be a good point and a bad point, I hear you ask. Well, there are 5 different player sheets showing 5 different dinosaurs. The wooden dinosaurs are all Apatosaurus... It is annoying being the Tyrannosaurus and having your blood curdling dinosaurs being represented as a bleeding herbivore!

Colour choices for the players is.... interesting. Red, blue, black, purple and pink.... Why not yellow or green?

Overall

The game is a lot of fun. There is a chance for huge swings in momentum where one person trying to benefit from one adaptation becomes hampered when another one is, for the moment, more beneficial.

It is also pretty easy to make small changes to suit the players. I have played a slightly watered down version with some of my students in Korea (no cost reducing vial and 3 of the more complex cards were removed from the deck), which was really blood thirsty. The other was with some of my friends. The wife of one is totally freaked out be frogs. One of the tokens looked like a frog and it was hurled across the room we were playing in. That token was removed in future games....

I hope that you liked this review. Comments, as always, are welcome.

Regards,

English Pillock

And now for something completely different.....

Greetings,

This is my 100th post. A rather significant milestone, but I had wished to have reached it about 18 months sooner.
I have been doing a lot of painting and gaming recently, but not a lot of posting due to the horrible heat in Korea at the moment (mid to low 30's Celsius during the day and no colder than 24 Celsius for the past month or so at night) and the insane humidity (80%+ everyday) which makes the temperature feel 5 to 10 degrees hotter. This coupled with a new boss at work, new responsibilities, picking up an extra 10 hours teaching and doing a project with a friend , etc... All of these things make my brain go wibble.

What I have been doing recently is playing a number of board and card games. This is mainly because they take up a lot less time to set up and pack away than a 2000pts Fantasy army.
I have been playing (in no particular order), Smash Up, Small World, EVO, Shadows Over Camelot, Blood Bowl: Team Manager and Pandemic. Links to each game's web page and the company producing the game (if any) will be placed on the game or company name at the start of the review.

I will start with two games in this post and follow up with more in later posts.

Blood Bowl: Team Manager

By Jay Little
Produced by Fantasy Flight

Blood Bowl is a passion of mine. The miniature game is one of the most enjoyable games that Games Workshop have EVER produced. The mechanics are complex on appearance and the number of skill have the appearance of being broken in the extreme. Multiple platforms to play the basic game or minor variants allow the game to be played at a dizzying array of levels.
Blood Bowl: Team Manager allows Players to play through a season in a much shorter amount of time. Typically 4 to 6 rounds, each round consisting of 2-3 games per player (2 games normally, 3 games potentially if there is a tournament being played that round).

There are 6 teams in the basic set (Humans, Dwarfs, Wood Elves, Skaven, Chaos and Orcs), along with a multitude of cards and tokens. This was my second game from Fantasy Flight, so I was well aware of the high level of quality of the components in the box. The tokens are thick cardstock. The cards come in two different sizes, basic playing card size for the game cards and half sized for the upgrade cards. There is also a pair of custom dice that represent the block dice in the board game.

The game is primarily a card game. Each player either randomly selects a team or chooses one to be for the entire game. Orcs and Chaos are more damage output orientated, Dwarfs are more into defensive plays and denial, Wood Elves and Skaven are more into running or passing, while the humans can do a bit of running or hitting. the teams as the cards go are pretty balanced and they are like their tabletop compatriots.
As soon as they upgrade cards are added the game starts to work in a number of different ways.

the game can be played with 2-4 players and I have had fun with all of the different number of players, but the best fun is really with 4 players. I have played this with gamers and with people who didn't think that they were gamers.

Good points.

Lots of humour in the cards. It is similar to the actual board game with the insanity of the universe.

It is pretty easy to pick up and play. Normally after one round players are understanding the mechanics of the game pretty well.

Banter... This game brings out the best/worst in you. The banter my gaming group uses isn't as bad as some as other groups I know of, but the taunting and abuse hurled between the players has made the game run a little longer than normal, but it had been more enjoyable because of it.

Bad Points

For my own preferences there would be no Humans or Wood Elves in there. Humans appear to be very bland, although I do win with them lots, and Wood Elves are tree-hugging-hippies. 

Skaven upgrades can be an issue. The Skaven team gets a lot of thematic upgrades that makes any loss almost as good as a win. It means that they will always get points even if they lose. It may even be better for them to lose instead of win depending upon the available matches.

Cheating tokens. You will need more. Due to some of the cards and events that are available we almost ran out of tokens.

You need the FAQ. The rulebook is a little unclear on some of the interactions between the cards.

Other points.

There is an expansion pack (Blood Bowl: Team Manager Sudden Death). There are three new teams; Vampires, Dark Elves and Undead. My issue with this pack is that it came and was sold out quicker than I could buy it. The three new teams add a different mechanic during play. Check the link for an idea of it. Since I haven't got the add on I can't really comment about it.

Overall.

The game is really fun, seriously. If you like Blood Bowl, give it a go.

Smash Up

By Paul Peterson
Produced by Alderac Games

I saw Smash Up on TableTop, hosted by Will Wheaton. This game looked AMAZING! It was actually one of the most watched episodes of S2 of TableTop that I have watched. A nice simple concept of multiple different decks of 20 cards.

Choose two of the decks. 

Shuffle them together. 

Play. 

It is that simple.

The box has 8 different decks (Aliens, Dinosaurs, Ninjas, Pirates, Robots, Tricksters, Wizards and Zombies) with the cards being either Minions or Actions. There is also 16 'Bases' which the players fight over. Each base awards a number of points whether you come first, second or third, the winner is the first to 15+ points. The bases sometimes have an attribute that can alter how points are gained for the final victory or they will alter how Minions are moved once the base has scored.

The Rules are simple for the game. Each turn you can play one Minion and one Action. The description of the cards effects may allow more actions accordingly.You can get some ridiculous daisy-chained combinations. A Wizard and Robot deck I had made me put down 9 cards in one turn.

Here is a very basic overview of the different decks.

Aliens- they can move enemy cards back to their owner's hand making them go over the 10 card limit. They can also disintegrate cards putting them at the bottom of the players draw deck.

Dinosaurs- aggression, aggression with a side of outright devastation on the side.

Ninjas- Stealth, last minute points seizing and assassinations.

Pirates- give faction mobility and other smaller movement shenanigans along with the mass slaughter of low power Minions.

Robots- Powerful abilities that boost Minion power and allow extra Minions to be placed as a single action.

Tricksters- Masters of denial. Not overtly powerful, but they can be really f#%@^$* annoying.

Wizards- They can do multiple actions. One of the best companions for Robots. Extra Minions and extra Actions.... YES PLEASE!

Zombies- uuuuuuuuhhhh...... They are Zombies. Their discard pile is their best friend.

I have played the game as 1 on 1 and a 3 player. Both versions of the games were pretty good, but I do want to play a 4 player game.

Good Points

Pretty cards. The art design is very good on the cards.

Simple gameplay rules. The play a Minion and an Action a turn works nicely.

Different decks. Each deck does play very differently from the others, some of them compliment each other very well, some not so much. There are no useless pairings though.

The box holds the basic set and it has enough slots for both of the add-on packs.

Bad Points

The colloquial nature of the rulebook. For people who don't have English as a first language the book is pretty hard going. It uses a lot of colloquial English and it can be hard going if you are unaware of its usage.

The card rules can start HUGE chains of cards and it can be rough for the players to keep track of all of the things going on at the same time. Check the TableTop video to see what happened to Will Wheaton during the Smash Up video.

Other Points

there is one expansion pack out now Awesome Level 9000 which has 4 new factions (Killer Plants, Steampunk, Bear Cavalry and Ghosts) and 8 new Bases. There is another expansion set out in September; The Obligatory Cthulu Set. The second expansion pack includes 4 more factions (Cthulu Cultists, Elder thingsa, Miskatonic University and Innsmouth) and 8 more Bases. These two packs bring the decks to 16 and 32 Base Cards. All oif these decks can be mixed for a much more varied game.

Overall.

This game takes some time to get used to it. It is really fun after you have got a few games under your belt. After you have a bit of experience it is an amazing game.



I hope that you find these reviews helpful for you.

Comments are welcome, as always.

Regards,

English Pillock

Fish and Ships II: Revenge of the Haddock

Greetings,

It has been a long time since my last post as the busy workload that I mentioned about in my previous post has increased (.....yayyy.....).

Here are my latest offerings for the Aquan Sebrutan Fleet.

Tsunami Heavy Cruisers

These vessels are bruisers. They work better in a full shoal of 4 as they can target enemy vessels with silly amounts of firepower and they each have a shield, which can stop some of the incoming fire from becoming too hideous. They can also take a lot of damage as they have 5 hull points instead of the normal 4 for cruisers.

Poseidon Battleship MkI 

The Poseidon is a pretty good workhorse for the fleet. It is fast and has a relatively high damage and critical rating with 2 points of shields in tow. The torpedoes and mines are a nice addition too, but I need more luck with them.

Manta Battle Carrier

This vessel makes the Poseidon look like a girl. Better firepower, more hull points and carrying 9 wings over 3 for 30pts more. The benefit to having both in one list is that the Manta's cost comes out of the Carrier allowance and not the Battleship allowance, so I can have both, whereas other fleets have to choose.

Storm Class Cruiser

These are a joke, and not a good one. You have to get within 8-16" to do any good with your weapon load and that means that if you don' kill something pretty damned fast you will lose some of these to the enemies retaliation. No shields and a low damage and critical rating means that these are only taken if points or numbers are neeeded.

Xelocian Hantari Cruisers

Oh these ships....

I have wanted to get these since I first saw them, years ago. Their stats are not bad for their price of 65pts. Long range torpedoes. close to medium range boresight forward guns, and slightly weaker broadsides. But the caveat to the vessel, 2 shields. These things shrug of damage like no ones business.

Now the only issue that I have with them is their constrction. The engine and main hull is resin. The orange/red energy thingy in the center is plastic, bit the rest of the model is metal. This thing is rather over-balanced. And getting the three metal strips to match up in actuality and not just by eye was a pig.

I would still like two more though.

Comments are welcome, as always.

Regards,

English Pillock

p.s.

This is my 99th post too....

Fish and Ships

Greetings,

Been having a hell of a busy fortnight at work, hence a lask of posts. I have bee painting though.

Here is my current fleet for Firestorm Armada. My fleet is from the Aquan Sebrutan, and they are fish people... well aquatic sentients at any rate (their species includes whales, dolphins, humanoid water breathers, crabs, lobsters, squid-thingys and more. Just don't mention a smorgasbord...).

The paint scheme is more or less sorted out. The hulls are painted in a variety of purples and greys, and are washed with a purple ink. the weapon crystals are the reddish orange blisters and the engines will be a two tone blue, when I get around to finishing them. 

The ships, on the whole, are simple to put together. Unlike most of the other faction fleets, the Aquans are mono-piece. In fact, the only multiple piece vessel that I currently have is Zoidberg.... ahem... the Medusa Class Dreadnought (the big, tentacled monstrosity).

 Fleet overview

 Manta Battle Carrier. This is kind of like the Battlestar Galactica

Medusa Dreadnought. This is like the Battlestar Pegasus

 Poseidon Battleship. Hits similar to the Manta, but with a much reduced strike craft compliment.

The three vessels on the left are called Stingray Class Destroyers, The central three are Storm Class Cruisers. The three on the right are called Tsunami Class Heavy Cruisers and the six minnows at the front are called Piranha Class Frigates.

The Fleet's basic characteristics is a mass of broadside power from close to medium range, backed up with a mess of torpedos and strike craft. The vessels are pretty fast and they do tend to attack like schools of fish. Swarming their opponent and shooting from every angle. 

the only flaw I have with the Aquan ships is that they are rather insubstantial compared to the other races. the Poseidon is 13 and a bit centimeters long, but that pales in comparison to the vessels of the Dindrenzi. The design of the MkI vessels aren't as good as the MkII either. When the starter fleets came out in Orctown all of the other fleets were snapped up quickly, apart from the Aquans. I hope that this will not be a sign of things to come.

Comments are welcome.

Regards,

English Pillock

DreadBall Season 2: Z'zor and Buzzcut

Greetings,

Here is what I have been doing this past week.

Buzzcut

Buzzcut is a MVP Guard, someone who hits people into paste. He is of unknown heritage, maybe Orx, maybe some kind of Ogre-esque breed. I like the look of the green better than the official model painting him as an Ogre.

   

Buzzcut and Z'zor

Here is the big green dude with the gribbly critters. Mantic made a packing error with the team for a number of people. Three Guards were in the pack I recieved instead of two and four Jacks instead of five.

The Z'zor are painted with a brown dermis and an orange carapace. The eye colour is different for the position that the model plays. Red for Guard, yellow for Striker and blue for Jack.

Me and my friend have started playing a mini-league on Sundays. Starting with the Sunday just gone. We have both played with every S1 team and I have played with all 4 S2 teams and he has played with the women. The S2 teams do require a bit more thought to play with, especially since, apart from the women, they are so alien to the S1 teams.

The Z'zor has him a bit worried though. We played a Marauders vs Z'zor game (using SP201.b), and the Orx took a hell of a beating. I managed to drag out the score due to hitting things and being incompetent. I finally scored around turn 11, leaving him two rushes to score, which he did. I have never seen the Orx take such a beating from any other team. I didn't cause any deaths, but for about 4 turns he had only a single Orx on the pitch and there were none on the pitch for two turns... 

The Z'zor Guard is insane to start with, but having two in the starting team...

Not that I am really complaining though.

Comments are welcome, as always.

Regards,

English Pillock

Blu'Phin'Tu Na and the Boys.

Greetings,

I had meant to put this up last week, but a hectic teaching schedule and a mess of reports delayed it. Here are all of my current Tau in various stages of painting.

Shas'El Blu'Phin'Tu Na

Squad Sal'Mon

Squad Had'Ok

Riptide Kod

Hammerhead (incl. Longstrike)

The paint scheme is a mix of reds and oranges, using green as a spot colour and purples for the lenses. There is a gold/bronze used for certain areas too. 

Comments are welcome.

Regards,

English Pillock

Shas'La

Greetings,

 I have been meaning to post this for a week and a bit now.... Had a rough few weeks at work.

 Here are my two squads of Fire Warriors. 12 are fully finished (the ones with flock on their bases), 12 just need a bit more work done on them.

Comments are welcome.

Regards,

English Pillock

Shas'El Blu'Phin'Tu Na

Greetings,

Here is my most recent painted miniature. He is one of the new-ish GW multi-part plastic hero models. He went together pretty easily, but I am annoyed that there is only a single pose and no other options for pose or wargear. The actual options in the Codex are similar though, as in not many at all for the entry...

One thing that annoys me is that there are no drones in the pack. They are really the only visible pieces of wargear that he is likely to get.

The colour scheme is similar to the Orks I have. The Tau are going to be used as Allies for my Orks as it allows me to have more Klank...

Comments are welcome.

Regards,

English Pillock

KLANK!

Greetings,

 This post is going  up now instead of tomorrow as I know I am going to have a hell of a week at work. Here are my Killa Kans. They have been working well for me and having 7 walkers in a 1000pts list scares people.

All six of them. There are 2 Rokkits, 2 Grotzookas and 2 Kustom Mega Blastas.

Grotzooka 1

 Rokkit 1

Kustom Mega Blasta 1

Kustom Mega Blasta 2

View of the ultra long KMB

Rokkit 2

Grotzooka 2

Kans in their squads.

I tried them out using a Imperial Armour 8 Ork Dreadmob 1000pts list yesterday. They died to Ghazghull, but they almost killed him. If it wasn't for a 'Lookout Sir!' he would have died. The FW list allows a lot more Deff Dreads and Kans to be used, but it does allow some changes to the way the normal Ork units are made.

I took these photos on Saturday, so they aren't in their final glory.... well, they haven't been flocked and had some other bits done to them.

Comments are welcome.

Regards,

English Pillock