Day 10: Roleplaying Games

     October is flying by! I can't believe we are on day 10 already! I hope you are enjoying TheNester's 31 day series or if you have joined us from Rolling Dice & Taking Names I hope you're finding some information helpful. My goal is for families to get involved in gaming together. I know there are some families where maybe one person games and the other doesn't. That is how it was for years with Marty and me. He would have his friends over and they would play the Lord of the Rings card game. Our family would play party games then we played gateway games for a few years. After going to GenCon (gaming convention held in Indianapolis) in 2010 that is when we started gaming together as a hobby. One type of game that hooked me was Roleplaying Games.

     Roleplaying Games (RPG) are somewhat similar to cooperative games because players are working together for a common goal, HOWEVER, in RPG's the game is run by a player who is the Game Master or Dungeon Master if playing Dungeons & Dragons. Yes, I said Dungeons & Dragons! It is not the horrible game that the 80's made it out to be. It was written by a Christian, Gary Gygax (I will discuss Gaming and Christianity during our Sunday chit chat).

GenCon 2010

     RPGs use a game master to tell the story of the game. Players choose characters and work together to explore, look for treasure, solve clues, gain knowledge, and fight an antagonist! In RPG's the game master (GM) will guide the players through the game telling the story as it unfolds. They also play the role of the antagonist when in combat. For instance a player may ask, "Can I look inside this crate?" The GM would (or would not) grant permission and then when looking inside a dice roll would determine if the player kept what was inside! (assuming it was something good!) In a combat both the players and the antagonist will roll dice to determine who wins and the amount of damage. In RPG's you have to have an imagination and try to see what is happening. Often a GM will have props to use during the game. A  RPG is also different from co-op because it takes several sessions to complete the story. Think of it as a play. In a RPG instead of play it is called a campaign. A campaign is a set storyline that has an ending. A play is divided into scenes. A RPG is called a session. Each session can last up to four hours! Of course not all campaigns are that long! Remember when I said that some games have rule books? That is role playing games. Each game or system has it's own set of rules. Systems will come with pre-written stories that you can purchase, but the most popular is when the GM creates the story!

     There are different systems to use when playing a RPG. Dungeons & Dragons is perhaps the most well known. My 13 year old plays Pathfinder. Both of these are fantasy based so they have a definite theme. We have played Savage Worlds several times. Savage Worlds does not have a theme so the GM can create any storyline.  It is a time for sometime to become a writer and story teller! One RPG we have enjoyed as a family is when our friend Heath comes over and he is a GM using Savage World rules. He has created several Lego RPG's! We could play for hours using Legos! His story's or campaigns are always fun!

     Roleplaying Games are very imaginative! It really is like writing a play and then "directing" the actors! They are also very rules oriented. For someone who likes detail and telling a story RPG's are a great game! My family has both been players and GM's. I have not branched into being a GM but I do love playing with them!

Day 9: Co-op Games

     Welcome to Day 9! Has anyone played a new game yet? I need to go back to Day 7 for a minute. My youngest son came home from school today energized to play Pokemon again! Apparently on inside recess days the students can bring their Pokemon cards. They trade and give away cards. He spent the afternoon putting his cards in protectors and we will put them in a binder for him to take to school. Ahhh....collectible cards.

     Today I am going to talk about one of my favorite types of games, Cooperative  or Co-Op games. I mentioned co-op games in Day 4: Gateway Games. Cooperative games are when the players work together to beat the game. We talked about Pandemic and Flashpoint. Cooperative games are one of my favorites because I do not have a competitive spirit (another reason I wasn't good at basketball !). I like playing together with my family and friends. It is exciting to play and get to the end of the game and bite your nails wondering if you will win!

     After playing Pandemic the next co-op game I played was Castle Ravenloft. Ravenloft is a fantasy theme. The Castle Ravenloft is full of evil monsters, villains, and traps. The players are heroes and must work together to fight monsters, solve the mysteries, and uncover treasure! This is a fun game to play during October. It is recommended for ages 12 and up.  The players or heroes in Castle Ravenloft were my first introduction to characters such as cleric (priest), rouge (thief), wizard, and warriors. It was fun playing with my family because everyone liked the character they chose. We dressed up as a group that Halloween. There are 12 different scenerios to play through before the game is finished. Each scenerio lasts about 60 minutes. Matter of fact, I don't think we finished it. We got sidetracked with other games!

Circa 2010

     Another cooperative game I like is Elder Sign. Elder Sign is a game that is part of the Cthulhu Mythos. Cthulhu is a creature from literature written by H.P. Lovecraft.  H. P. Lovecraft was an author in the early 1900's. His short stories and poems and have spawned a sub-culture of games, art, literature, and merchandise. The games are SO MUCH FUN! In Elder Sign the year is 1926 and players are investigators working to close portals between our world and other dimensions. This is another fun Halloween game. It also is recommended for ages 13 and up and playing time is 90 minutes.

     My favorite co-op game is another one from Cthulhlu Mythos. It is Arkham Horror. Here is a picture from the set-up! Playing time is 3-4 hours! What a game! Just as in Elder Sign the year is 1926 and players are investigators. The characters are the same between Cthulhu Mythos games. If there is a character you like you can play as that character in multiple games. In Arkham Horror investigators are exploring a city and trying to prevent portals from opening and fighting otherworld monsters.

     Halloween is a great time to try some of these games. You can find other co-op games online. Ummm....what will we play this weekend?

Episode 24: Stay on Target!

Ever since Origins 2012, Marty and I have been looking at games that involve some type of dog fighting mechanic. At Origins, we tried Leviathans by Catalyst Game Labs and we enjoyed the game, but held off on getting it because, well the cost was just a little much for us. Then came X-Wing and now Star Trek Attack Wing. How do you decide? I even got a chance to play Star Trek at Gen Con 2013, but I am still on the fence, unsure of which game would I enjoy more. So, Marty and I sat down at YLGS and played X-Wing and then had a discussion in the Episode to compare the three systems. And at the end, we still haven't decided which to purchase.

Also in this Episode, Marty discusses his family's adventures in Pathfinder Adventure Card Game and Lords of Waterdeep Expansion. Finally, we close out with our discussion on the upcoming MACE convention in Charlotte, NC on November 15-17.

Intro	3:00
Kickstarter - Bones II	4:20
Lords of Waterdeep Expansion	17:40
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game	22:30
Interview: Scott D'Agostino Wizkid Games	35:25
Star Trek Attack Wing, X-Wing	45:00
Eldritch Horror Announcement	1:07:00

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Game Review: Star Trek Attack Wing

The (War)bird is on the wing…

By Scott Baughman

Space…The final Frontier – with those now immortal words Capt. James T. Kirk launched a franchise, nay a legend, into the collective pop culture consciousness some 40 years ago. Star Trek isn’t just a TV show or a movie, it’s a part of mankind’s existence now, inspiring everything from cellphones to medical technology.

But there’s one area in which Trek has never excelled – gaming. There are very few good Star Trek video games (a match-up that seems it should be made in heaven) and a good Star Trek RPG or board game is even rarer. But thanks to a little help from the mad scientist game designers over at Fantasy Flight Games the masters of models at WizKids/NECA have decided to try and change that with their latest offering, Star Trek Attack Wing.

One sci-fi-themed miniatures game has been tearing up the hyperspace lanes this year, and that is FFG’s Star Wars X-wing. With a great intellectual property license like Star Wars behind it, X-wing would’ve likely sold well on name – and starship – recognition alone. But it’s got a great, ruleset going for it. And WizKids knows a great ruleset when they see one. The company that has the license for Star Trek miniatures in their HeroClix line, WizKids decided to license the X-wing FlightPath game engine and put capital starships into the system.

The result is a spectacular wargame with a tasteful amount of Star Trek flavor thrown in for good measure. In Star Trek Attack Wing, players pick some iconic Star Trek starships – like the Galaxy-class U.S.S. Enterprise-D and Nu’Daq’s IKC Vor’Cha Klingon Battlcruiser – and then outfit them with a variety of technologies, extra weapons and other tactics to try and dominate the competition. But the greatest ship in the galaxy is no good without a fine crew and captain, and Attack Wing lets you customize the commander (Picard? Kirk? Riker?) and crew for your vessel giving you access to even more special abilities or benefits.

If you’ve ever played any outer space-based miniatures game, you know that handling the three-dimensional aspect of the final frontier has always been a problem. Attack Wing takes a “simpler is better” approach to handling this. If two vessels ever end up passing through each other, they are assumed to be above or below the other as necessary. This isn’t to say that a cunning commander (or, perhaps a cold one) can’t send his soldiers on a suicide assault if he wants to, he just has to use a special order to do so.

Attack Wing takes all the great aspects of X-wing – ease of maneuvers with the FlightPath system, quick range checks with the weapons bar and specialized 8-sided dice for attack and defense – but adds the strategic depth of outfitting your vessel with crew members. A player is faced with a plethora of options when taking actions, but to keep the game from bogging down each player still typically only gets to execute one action per turn. The turn is split up into movement, action and then attack phases. On the attack, a player rolls a number of 8-sided dice equal to his ships attack stat, along with any relevant modifiers. To see if he was able to successfully dodge the incoming fire, the defender also rolls 8-sided dice along with relevant modifiers. All the trappings of Star Trek are in play for the game – photon torpedoes, cloaking devices, phasers, disruptors and near-omniscient sensors are all options for the canny commander. And several of the various pieces of tech or skilled crew give the veteran wargamer that one thing he knows he needs to find success in the clutch – a timely reroll of the dice.

Give Star Trek Attack Wing a try the next time you crave a fast-paced but strategic sic-fi miniatures combat game. 

Day 8: Deck Building

     Hello Tuesday! I like Tuesday's because Agents of Shield comes on! Good show! But this blog is about good games! Today is deck building games! Let me go back to yesterday's post for a minute. I totally forgot to mention Lord of the Rings collectible card game. That is the first strategy game Marty played. He started playing Lord of the Rings about 12 years ago. He would have a monthly gaming night to play with his friends. We have been having monthly gaming nights since then!

     Deck building games are similar to collectible cards except the cards are within the game you do not collect them. Throughout the game you acquire cards to build your deck and play through the game. I have played three deck building games, Dominion, Thunderstone, and Eminent Domain.

     On Boardgamegeek.com they list Dominion as the #1 deck building game. That happens to be the first deck building game I played about five years ago. In Dominion players start with a basic deck and buy cards to build a more powerful deck. The player with the most victory points wins. The classes of cards are victory, curse, treasure, and action. The game has a medieval theme and playing time of 30-45 minutes. It is recommended for ages 10 and up. This is an easy game to understand and fun to play. It is recommended for 2-4 players or up to 6 players if you have the expansion.

     Thunderstone is another deck building game. Like Dominion, in Thunderstone players start with a weak deck and acquire more powerful cards as the game progresses. Thunderstone is a fantasy based game with the cards being Heroes such as mages, archers, thieves, or warriors. Players use their cards to attempt to defeat monsters from the dungeon deck. It is recommended for ages 12 and up with a playing time of 60 minutes.

     My favorite deck building game is Eminent Domain! I like the components of the game. It comes with little space ships! While Eminent Domain is considered a deck building game the focus isn't building the deck, but using your deck to survey, colonize, trade, and use technology to expand your civilization. Sometimes you use warfare and that is where the super duper space ships come into play! This is just one of many great games for space lovers. It is recommended for ages 12 and up. Playing time is 45-60 minutes and recommended for 2-4 players. Fun game!

      You can find detailed descriptions of these games or any game on Boardgamegeek.com. See Sunday's post for other review resources. Also, Boardgamegeek.com has a list of their top 10 recommended deck building games. These three are on the list and the only ones from the list that I have played. If you like card games and are looking for something different try one of these games!

Day 7: Collectible Card Games

     Welcome to Day 7 of Tabletop Gaming! In the past week we have covered party and gateway games. Now we start talking about strategy gaming. There are several types of strategy games and I will address one per day. Today we start with collectible card gaming!

    Now I love a good collection. I collect milk glass, nutcrackers, books, old vases, Christmas ornaments, and several other things my husband would like for me to get rid of! My husband has collected baseball cards since college. It is no wonder that our children like to collect also. They collect legos, books, and cards! They don't collect baseball cards. They will inherit Marty's! They collect card games. Some collectible card games are Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Magic.

     Collectible card games are games in which a series of cards are introduced a few times or several times throughout the year. The cards come in starter decks and booster packs. Starter decks are a box of cards with enough to get you, well,  started!  And booster packs are packs of around 10 or so cards.  They will boost your deck. You buy the cards not knowing what you will get and build your deck from those cards. Just like with baseball cards, there are rare cards and special cards. In collectible card gaming half the fun is the anticipation of the cards and then the fun of opening the pack and seeing what you have! It is like a mini Christmas morning throughout the year!

     Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are well known collectible games. In those games you collect creatures and use them to fight your opponent. Some creatures deal damage to your opponent and some are used to heal your damage. These are Japanese games based on the cartoon style called Anime. You have probably seen the TV shows and merchandise. These are very popular franchises and local game stores have tournaments. Two of our children played Pokemon for a few years. They prefer Pokemon for the DS. They are waiting for the new Pokemon to be released this Saturday!

     My family plays the game Magic. It is the same premise as Pokemon except in Magic the cards are creatures, spells, and land. The artwork isn't as cartoonish. My family has been playing Magic for several years. A new set comes out every year with booster packs throughout the year. One of the things they like best about Magic is a draft tournament. That is played at a local gaming store (our's is actually called Your Local Gaming Store). You pay a fee, usually around $20, and you get a set of booster packs. As you open the packs you pass the card to your left until all packs are opened. Then you play a tournament with the cards you received and you keep them! Some stores give prizes such as dice sets or store credit. It is fun to play with other people who enjoy the same game and the fun of opening cards with others.

     If you or someone you know enjoys collecting you may want to give these games a try! If you have a child and they once played Pokemon they may want to try Magic. Look online there may be other collectible games you may want to try! Just be sure to get a container/crate to store everything! Have a great Monday!
   
   

Day 6: Sunday Morning Coffee and Chit Chat

     Do you have your coffee? I have mine so let's go! So far we have discussed Party and Gateway Games. Over the next couple of weeks we will discuss Strategy Games. Before we get down to the nitty gritty I would like to give you some resources to check out. There are several websites, webshows, and podcasts that demonstrate or discuss games in detail. I will give the names of some sites that we like. Of course, you can search any game or game topic and find an endless lists of sites and resources.

     If you would like to watch a game as it is played then Will Wheaton's Tabletop is a great webshow to watch. He has guest and they discuss the game components, rules, and then play through a game together. The show is edited to 30 minutes even though playing time may be longer. The banter between guests is fun and there is a lot of competition! Sometimes the language can be rated PG13 so watch with headphones or when you have time without children.

     If you don't have time to sit and watch a webisode maybe a podcast is for you. There are numerous podcasts which discuss games. The Dice Tower has thousands of video reviews, podcasts and an entire network of other gaming podcasts (including my husband's, Rolling Dice & Taking Names). Sometimes Rolling Dice & Taking Names allows me talk! I just finished a segment with a friend which will air October 22nd.

     Sometimes a website to scan through quickly is the best option. BoardGameGeeks.com is a great go-to site. You can search any game and they will give a detailed description of the mechanics and a synopsis of the game.

     These are great resources for you to use as you find a style or theme of game that you may be interested in (because I know you are going to like these games!).  As you read through the posts involve your children or friends and ask if any of the games interest them. And then check out the game on one of the resources. Tomorrow we will start will collectible card gaming.  If you have a Pokemon fan tell them we are Gonna Catch Em All!