Showing posts with label Deck Building Game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deck Building Game. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Star Trek Games

Even if you are not a Trekkie, the new releases for Star Trek games have been huge and well worth checking out!  Now if you are a Trekkie... then you really need to see some of the games!

Miniature


Heroclix by Wizkids, created Star Trek: Tactics!  The game is... wait for it... Heroclix!  When you open the starter box you get the Heroclix 2011 Core Rulebook, and Powers and Abilities Card.  The Starter also comes with 4 fully painted miniatures: USS Enterprise -A, USS Rhode Island, IKS Rotarran, and IKS Bortas. 



Each ship comes with a stat card which gives you the Trekkie abilities to correspond with the super hero powers. 



The starter also comes with 2 double sided maps, each one with a very different effect on the battle.

Deck Building Game 


Star Trek The Next Generation deck building game was recently released by Bandai.  In the true deck building craze... which if you don't know what these are, then you need to check out some greats like Dominion and Thunderstone, you start with a basic hand and then acquire cards to build your deck  Back to Star Trek TNG deck build though, the game offers some great diversity right out of the box. 


There are 3 different versions of the game: Exploration: a free for all scenario, Borg Invasion: a cooperative scenario, and Klingon Civil War: a 2 vs 2 team scenario. The game has 300 cards and can be played with 2 to 5 players.  Oh, and if you come in, we do have some really cool promo Jean-Luc Picard cards!


Sean "Striderlotr" Banks






Saturday, September 17, 2011

Summoner Wars Master Set Review

This past Gen Con had a plethora of awesome games, both for purchase and demos! One game that our store actually had the opportunity to purchase early was the Summoner Wars Master Set by Plaid Hat Games.  Not only were the demo runners helpful and pleasant, but the owner allowed us to buy 4 new copies for our store 2 weeks before release.  Kudos to all of them for helping out hobby stores!  The Master Set received an incredible amount of attention by both new and experienced Summoner Wars players, so I thought it might be time to write a review. 


First, let me tell you a little about the previous editions of Summoner Wars. Prior to the Master Set being  released, there were 2 Starter Sets available, which were great for 2-player battles.  They also had Faction Decks and Reinforcement Packs, some of which are pictured below.

All of these decks and packs are fully compatible with the Master Set, and there are even extra slots in its packaging to fit them!  Conversely, any player would be able to set aside the more special, customizable cards for easy use, or another pre-made deck if that was preferred.

OPENING THE BOX

When we first open the box, we see the 21-page rulebook, the 2 sides of the board, a bag of 5 dice, punchable tokens, and 6 separate decks.  All of these are individually shrink-wrapped, sorted according to Faction, and are ready to play right out of the box. Notice the extra empty slots for more decks, both of your creation and future expansions of Plaid Hat Games.  Now that's what I call planning for your company!

PLAYING THE GAME

First, each player must choose a deck, whether pre-made or customized.  The two sides of the board should be lined up like so...

...and the decks should be placed in the proper spaces.  As you can see, there are 3 card sections for each player; Draw Pile, Magic Pile and Discard. Each player picks their Deck, find their Reference Card, and begins the Starting Setup show on the Reference Card.  The remaining cards are shuffled and placed on the Draw Pile.  Roll a die to determine who goes first, and you're ready to go!

TURN SEQUENCE

As board and card games go, Summoner Wars has a few more steps than average.  They are;

1. Draw
2. Summon
3. Play Event Cards
4. Movement
5. Attack
6. Build Magic

After all steps are completed, it's your opponents turn.  Can't remember all of it?  Don't worry, everything you need to know is in the easy-to-understand rulebook, including game terminology, victory conditions, lists of expansions, how to set-up the game for 3-4 players, and helpful tips on creating a more customized deck. 

All in all, the Summoner Wars Master Set is the perfect starting place for gaming newcomers or enthusiasts.  It has many decks already available, a very clearly written rulebook, easy to use cards and simple rules.  On a gamer learning scale (1=extremely new to gaming, 10=gaming professional), I would mark Summoner Wars as a 3.

 But that's just my opinion...why not pick it up and play for yourself? We have a copy ready to go in our Dragon's Den Library, so if you're in the area stop by for a quick game or demo!

Stasi "Dengirl" King

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Quarriors the Dice Game by Wizkids

While out at Gen Con this year, I had the chance to try a new DICE building game so similar to all the great DECK building games called Quarriors by Wizkids! So let's open the box... or in this case the tin, and see what's inside.



Inside the box:

The first thing you notice with the collector's tin is that it is shaped like a die and has the markings on each side corresponding to the Dragon die in the game.  It is a very nice look, and I think will appeal to many players and collectors.  Once you open it up, you find 4 dice bags of different colors (Black, Blue, Green, and Red).  The dice bags are the same color as the tokens used per player to track victory points.  The next item is the rule book.  The rules are very straight forward and easy to understand, so easy in fact that my 8 year old was playing in no time!  Further down is the tracking card used for keeping track of victory points.  The victory points vary depending on the number of players; 12 for a 4 player game, 15 for a 3 play game, and 20 for a 2 player game. The tray below the rule book and tracking sheet contains the ability cards for the dice. There are 3 different types of cards; Basic, Spell, and Creature.  The cards represent different levels for the dice, so that they can make promo cards that will change the way the dice results are seen.  There is also a small area for the tracking cubes, again in matching colors to the dice bag.  The final thing in the tin are the dice! There 130 dice in 15 different varieties.  The dice correspond to the cards, and the cards represent different levels of the dice.

Playing the game:

So now that we have pulled apart the box, lets look at the game.  If you have played any of the deck building games, then you have an idea of how to play Quarriors... just think dice instead of cards.  You start the game with the 3 basic resource cards, 3 different spell cards, and 7 different creature cards.  Remember to shuffle the groups of cards separately so you can draw from each group.  Next have each player chose a color for their dice bag and victory point token.  Give each player 8 Quiddity Dice (the basic die), and 4 Assistant Dice.  This is your starting allocation of dice.  Each players turn will follow the same steps, so I'll detail one player from the beginning:
  1. Score Creatures
  2. Draw and Roll Dice (Remember to shuffle... shake the dice bag) (Draw 6 without looking)
  3. Ready Spells and Summon Creatures (Optional)
  4. Attack Your Rivals
  5. Capture 1 Quarry Die from the Wilds (Optional)
  6. Move Dice to Your Used Pile

    So then all you have to do is pass your turn to the player on the left and repeat! One key rule, just like with the deck building games, you don't gather and reshuffle your dice until you need to draw a die and you can't.  You just wait until then and then pick them all up and put them back in the dice bag.  Continue playing until you reach the correct number of victory points.

    So I've had a lot of fun playing this game so far, and I can't wait for it to become available... or is it??? We are hoping to get this great game in at the store, we are just waiting to learn about availability.  As it looks like they will have an expansion out this fall, I'd like to see both in the store soon.



    I'd like to thank my little group of play testers... also know as Alex, Aiden, and Emily.  They were great, and really enjoyed the game! With and age range from 8 to 16, they picked up the rules and concept quickly, and ask to play the game frequently.

    Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

    Monday, March 21, 2011

    Nightfall by AEG



    So Dave and I just completed our first game of Nightfall by AEG.  The game is real cool with plenty of interaction between the players.  Nightfall is the newest Deck Building game to come out and as this genre of games continues to grow, it is fantastic to see a new game concept!  Here are a few highlights that we saw as we played, and a few questions that maybe we missed as we played. 

    First, the cards look spectacular! The art is dark and really gives you the feel of a world full of Vampires, Werewolves, Ghouls, and Hunters. There appear to be more vampires in the starter set, and I hope to see some more of the rest as expansions come out. Oh wait... and I did not see a single sparkle on any of the vampires!

    Second, the game flows in a very straight forward manner. To give a very simplified quick review: Combat Phase, Chain Phase, Claim Phase, and Cleanup Phase. Combat is very easy at first glace... all minions must attack other players. The Chain Phase is the most interesting as it allows you to play multiple cards, and to allow other players to play cards as well. The Chain Phase allows for players to also access a "kicker" effect, this allows players to really look/think about what cards they have in their deck as well as what other players have.  The Chain Phase mechanic really increases the interaction between players as they play cards not only on their turn but also on your opponents turn as well.  Additionally, most card games that involve playing cards when it is not your turn focus on prevent or blocking what your opponent does.  Nightfall instead allows you to benefit from playing the right cards during the Chain Phase, be it your turn or not!  Claim Phase lets you acquire more cards for your deck.  The last phase is Cleanup. This phase a chance to draw more cards, up to 5, and to take care of wounds.

    One point to think about, and this goes for all Deck Building games, sleeve your cards! As you continue to play the game and shuffle the cards, you will begin to wear they out.  There are many different companies that make sleeves, but Mayday Games and Fantasy Flight Games make a clear back sleeve that is less expensive then most of the other companies.  The basic box that Nightfall comes in has several different foam spacers as well as indexed dividers with plenty of room left over for many future expansions.

    Questions:

    Well the game designer, David Gregg, got back to us on Twitter. He was able to answer some of our questions... which was so COOL that he read the blog and gave us an answer. He created a great game and we are having some fun trying it out in the store.

    1. What happens when you need to draw more wounds then there are left in the wound pile?

    Answer: As per game designer David Gregg: The wound stack should have all 60 wounds. Once face up run out, use face down. After that, exiled then pen/paper.

    2.  When you discard a starting minion after the end of the Combat Phase, are they exiled?

    Answer: As per game designer David Gregg:  YES!

    3. How do we get the promo cards for our players?

    4. Will AEG be running events, or organized play?

    5. Are the Starter Minions Exiled if you discard them to gain additional influence?

    Answer: As per game designer David Gregg: no, the starters are only exiled if discarded or destroyed while in play.

    Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

    Friday, February 25, 2011

    Deck Building Games:

    Deck Building games are one of the newer genres for gaming. The concept of a deck building game is not that you have to go out and purchase additional product to build and play, but you buy the game and during the game you acquire more cards to build a deck. Now, almost every one of the games has an expansion or two, but you do not have to purchase them unless you really want to.

    Several different companies have now made their own Deck Building game, and each one has a slightly different twist and allows players to enjoy different options. Here is a brief list if you are interested in checking out a new game:

    Dominion: Rio Grande Games
         Intrigue
         Alchemy
         Seaside
         Prosperity
    Thunderstone: AEG
         Wrath of the Elements
         Doomgate Legion
         Dragonspire
    Ascension: Gary Games
    Goblin Supremacy (GOSU): Moonster Games
    Resident Evil: Ban Dai
         New Expansion Coming Soon
    Nightfall: AEG (Releasing Soon)

    We are hoping that one day we will get some advanced copies of release so we can test them out and post some more information, but for now we will post what we can and hopefully get some more players excited to try a new game!

    Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

    Monday, November 8, 2010

    Resident Evil [Deck Building Game]

    Resident Evil [Deck Building Game]
    Release Date: November 19th, 2010
    MSRP: $29.99
    Promos: Pre-orders can get Alternate Foil Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine

    The latest addition, sort of, to the deck building game genre! I say sort of because the game has not released just yet, and has been pushed back... BUT we got an advance copy to do some demos and help promote the game! Thank you Bandai! It is always nice when a company works with the stores to make sure promo items are available.  Players really like to get promo items when a game comes out, or during special events!

    Here is a list of all the characters you can play as in Resident Evil:
    Albert Wesker
    Leon S. Kennedy
    Claire Redfield
    Sheva Alomar
    Barry Burton
    Ada Wong
    Jack Krauser
    Chris Redfield
    Jill Valentine
    Rebecca Chambers

    Ok, now for the game and some of the cool ways to play...

    Bandai offers 3 different ways to play the game right out of the box; Story Mode, Mercenary Mode, and Versus Mode. Each offers a different way to play and different ways to win! I personally find that games that offer a variety of ways to play tend to be played more, as it is hard to get bored with the game that quickly.

    We have run several games of Story Mode using the First Timers set up.  Each game went for a good amount of time with interaction between the players, not just between the decks. We will be running some demos of the other versions soon, but we wanted players to be able to read about the game at it stands.

    Sean "Striderlotr" Banks