Okay, so I buy a lot of games, and even when I don't own the games, often, I seem to be the one who ends up reading the rules. So, on occasion, I've been known to strategize, with full knowledge of all the rules that are coming, so though I really don't mean to use that unfair advantage, it comes up quite a bit.
But what comes up over and over again, even as I'm explaining the rules from the beginning, hoping to make everything clear enough that I don't have an unfair advantage, I try to explain some small point that I think needs clarification, and I find out that some rule that I thought was merely interesting, or curious, or perhaps even clever... I find out from others that in fact, these are "Stupid Rules!"
Some Stupid Rules that people have pointed out to me.
Steam: You can take goods from a city where you have not made a railroad connection. The rules simply state that you have to use your track links greater than or equal to the track links of anyone else. So far as I can tell, this is a perfectly good rule, as long as everyone knows it--but it seems that because I used it *once* before everyone clearly understood it, now it is forever on the "stupid rule" list.
Wealth of Nations: Yes, you're supposed to simply trade one item to the bank at a time, though you can trade as many items with other players as you want. This is so that the bank continually reflects fair market value. But because it slows the game down a little bit, and sometimes, after you've explained it for the umpteenth time, but people still insist on trading three food cubes to the bank and buying two energy and you decide to just let them because you know nobody else is trading energy or food... *sigh*. Later when I bring it up, it's a "stupid rule!"
Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition? AC is better when it's higher? What a "stupid rule!"
Win Place and Show: You add the red and white die to find out which horse gets a bonus, but then you use the white die to determine both the bonus to speed, and the other thing... I can't even remember, but it's not symmetrical. One of the dice is used for three different things, and the other is used for one. Gee, this just infuriated everybody. What a Stupid Rule!
Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition: That part where you pick out roles that you get to use once on your game turn and then everybody else gets to do a related power? Well, that just doesn't make sense at all. What a Stupid Rule!
Pirate's Cove: What!? The Pirate is at Treasure Island on the last turn of the game!? What a Stupid Rule!
Attack!: What?!? The Defender attacks first? I've never heard of a game doing that before! What a Stupid Rule! What?!? They don't say what happens when you leave your countries undefended? (Okay, in that case, they probably should have said what happens when you leave a country empty, or that you're not allowed to do it, but after we house-rule that you lose a random card, and then you leave a country empty, and then you lose a random card--and THEN you complain that it's a stupid rule. SHEESH!)
I feel like I remember a time when we just played the game and looked in the rules to find out what they were. The rules were terse and unyielding... handed down as though from the Gods... Unquestionable. Whether you liked them or not, they were the rules of the game. So I always find myself in this position of defending the rules of the game. Usually, I can even, in my own mind, justify the reason that the rule, as written, is better than it would be otherwise.
In Steam, being able to take goods from cities you haven't built to is something anybody can do, and it makes the game a little more unpredictable and quite a bit more strategic. In Wealth of Nations, if we were a more competitive group, it would make sense to worry about the little bit of difference of trading two or three at a time to the bank. Unfortunately, pestering about it in a more relaxed game makes me seem like a pain. And the dice in Win, Place, and Show, I really can't fathom the way they made it, but I also can't really tell why everybody else thinks its so terrible to use the same die for three different things.
I sometimes wonder if perhaps a second play, where the rule is made clearer from the beginning will fix things. But no. Each time we play the game, the argument becomes more vigorous, so the choices are either to quit playing the game, or to house rule the loss of the "stupid rule."
As luck would have it, here and there, I can find games that don't get too much complaint about the rules. Race For the Galaxy is a game where I have no idea what anybody else is doing, so everybody can probably play by their own rules!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Game Night, Feb 4, Macomb, IL
Event: Game Nite
Start Time: Thursday, February 4 at 7:00pm
End Time: Thursday, February 4 at 10:00pm
Where: 3rd floor Leslie F Malpass Library
The first Game Nite of 2010 will occur on Thursday, February 4th, from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm on the 3rd level of the Leslie F. Malpass Library. Game Nite will feature Wii, Xbox, and LAN gaming as well as traditional board and card games such as Uno, Monopoly, and mancala.
(A lot of people bring their own games to this event. I've seen people playing Magic-the Gathering. I'll also be bringing a few of my games. I think Primordial Soup, Steam, Carcassone and some others would go over well.)
Start Time: Thursday, February 4 at 7:00pm
End Time: Thursday, February 4 at 10:00pm
Where: 3rd floor Leslie F Malpass Library
The first Game Nite of 2010 will occur on Thursday, February 4th, from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm on the 3rd level of the Leslie F. Malpass Library. Game Nite will feature Wii, Xbox, and LAN gaming as well as traditional board and card games such as Uno, Monopoly, and mancala.
(A lot of people bring their own games to this event. I've seen people playing Magic-the Gathering. I'll also be bringing a few of my games. I think Primordial Soup, Steam, Carcassone and some others would go over well.)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Open Gaming Session Report
***This post is about our last Open Gaming Meeting. Our next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20 at the Astoria Senior Citizen Center.***
This weekend, we had our Open Gaming event at the Astoria, IL. Senior Citizen's Center. Games played included Arkham Horror (with the Dunwich Horror Expansion), Pirate's Cove, A Game of Thrones, Dominion, and BuzzTime.
Altogether there were twelve people who came in: Me, Bo, Kevin, Devin, Steve, Erica, Jordy, Shelby, Bruce, Esther, Luke and Kyle, though not everyone played games.
Arkham Horror
We started the event with Arkham Horror. Bo, Kevin, Devin, Luke, and I started the game, though later Kevin had to drop out to talk to his friends, Bruce and Esther. Shortly thereafter, Steve joined in. In this game, we must have been identifying with our feminine side, for of the six men who played the game, only three picked male characters. We had Diana Stanley, the redeemed cultist, Carolyn Fern, the psychologist, Kate Winthrop, the scientist, Wilson Richards, the Handyman, Darrell Simmons, the photographer, and Michael McGlen, the Gangster. We were able to win this game as our combined effort sealed six gates before the ancient horror escaped from its bonds. I was very lucky--shopping twice at the curiosity shop and buying two Elder Signs, so I sealed two gates--and I saw a lot of really lucky rolls here and there. There was only one monster surge, and we never even saw movement on the terror track, or the Dunwich Horror Track.
Intermission
Around four to five o'clock, other people were meandering in, and we had the difficulty of too many people for one game, but not quite enough people for two. There seemed to be six people ready to play another game, but the only six player games available were games none of us really wanted to play.
I also realized that I didn't have much in the way of "filler" games. Most of the games I brought were ideally played by five people who were ready to sit down to a minimum of 90 minutes, while others were up to four or five hour games.
I MOST wanted to play "A Game of Thrones" but though I had read the rules, I could only formulate, in my mind, a vague impression of the way the game was played. So I did my second favorite thing to actually playing the game--I settled in to read the rules (again). Erica, Luke, Jordy and Bo played Pirate's Cove, while I reviewed the rules to "A Game of Thrones." Kyle seemed very interested in "A Game of Thrones" and set up the board for us while I read. However, he had to go, and never got to play.
Meanwhile, Kevin was hard at work boiling a gallon of water, cooking spaghetti, burning garlic bread, and learning the in's and out's of fire-alarm functionality. Kevin is absolutely the most hospitable person I have ever met, making sure that everyone is well-fed and entertained.
After eating, Devin and I set up a game of Dominion--this being the closest thing to a "filler" game available. This is a card game where you build your deck from a set of available cards on the table during play. By the time we had taken our third turn, the Pirate's Cove game was over. Since both of us really wanted to play "A Game of Thrones" we immediately began putting Dominion back in it's box again.
A Game Of Thrones
So "A Game of Thrones" began with me, Devin, Bo, and Luke, while those less inclined toward direct confrontation games, Erica, Esther, Bruce, and Kevin managed to find a TV set and played a game called BuzzTime. Sorry, I don't know anything about that game.
(Oh, if you don't know, "A Game of Thrones" is also the first of a series of books by George Martin. I believe I read it in 1999, but everyone else there had read all of them recently. I said I should read those again, but Devin said "DON'T. Because he hasn't written the next book, and everyone is just hanging by a thread wanting to know what happens next. I gather it's been a long wait.")
The game started fairly peacefully--we expanded into unoccupied territories, and when we got closer to one another, we set up our defenses instead of attacking one another. When a card came up saying "bid on the three areas of influence" the entire tenor of the game changed. The problem was, you see, we had been bidding on the areas of influence every turn, while in fact, this was the FIRST turn we should have. Instead, we decided to make it the first turn we DIDN'T bid on the area of influence.
The other rules clarification that came up was that we didn't need to play to turn 10, but as soon as anyone owned seven keeps or cities, they one the game. And thereafter the game became just a WHOLE lot more competitive! As both Luke and Bo realized that they were each just one city short of that lofty goal.
In fact, Luke (The Lannisters) at one time had eight keeps/cities! But then two were taken back from him before the turn. I should go check boardgamegeek.com and see whether he technically won at that point.
But at the end of the game when turn 10 came around, it was the Bo (the Starks) who won the game. Luke felt like he had just lost because everybody was picking on him because the Lannisters were bad guys. "I didn't even pick them!" he protested. But Bo explained, "Yes you did, It was completely your choice. You picked the token randomly right out of the box!"
Closing Time
Though our stated times were 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM we only finally swept up, and turned out the lights at midnight. I had fun, and I look forward to it again next month.
This weekend, we had our Open Gaming event at the Astoria, IL. Senior Citizen's Center. Games played included Arkham Horror (with the Dunwich Horror Expansion), Pirate's Cove, A Game of Thrones, Dominion, and BuzzTime.
Altogether there were twelve people who came in: Me, Bo, Kevin, Devin, Steve, Erica, Jordy, Shelby, Bruce, Esther, Luke and Kyle, though not everyone played games.
Arkham Horror
We started the event with Arkham Horror. Bo, Kevin, Devin, Luke, and I started the game, though later Kevin had to drop out to talk to his friends, Bruce and Esther. Shortly thereafter, Steve joined in. In this game, we must have been identifying with our feminine side, for of the six men who played the game, only three picked male characters. We had Diana Stanley, the redeemed cultist, Carolyn Fern, the psychologist, Kate Winthrop, the scientist, Wilson Richards, the Handyman, Darrell Simmons, the photographer, and Michael McGlen, the Gangster. We were able to win this game as our combined effort sealed six gates before the ancient horror escaped from its bonds. I was very lucky--shopping twice at the curiosity shop and buying two Elder Signs, so I sealed two gates--and I saw a lot of really lucky rolls here and there. There was only one monster surge, and we never even saw movement on the terror track, or the Dunwich Horror Track.
Intermission
Around four to five o'clock, other people were meandering in, and we had the difficulty of too many people for one game, but not quite enough people for two. There seemed to be six people ready to play another game, but the only six player games available were games none of us really wanted to play.
I also realized that I didn't have much in the way of "filler" games. Most of the games I brought were ideally played by five people who were ready to sit down to a minimum of 90 minutes, while others were up to four or five hour games.
I MOST wanted to play "A Game of Thrones" but though I had read the rules, I could only formulate, in my mind, a vague impression of the way the game was played. So I did my second favorite thing to actually playing the game--I settled in to read the rules (again). Erica, Luke, Jordy and Bo played Pirate's Cove, while I reviewed the rules to "A Game of Thrones." Kyle seemed very interested in "A Game of Thrones" and set up the board for us while I read. However, he had to go, and never got to play.
Meanwhile, Kevin was hard at work boiling a gallon of water, cooking spaghetti, burning garlic bread, and learning the in's and out's of fire-alarm functionality. Kevin is absolutely the most hospitable person I have ever met, making sure that everyone is well-fed and entertained.
After eating, Devin and I set up a game of Dominion--this being the closest thing to a "filler" game available. This is a card game where you build your deck from a set of available cards on the table during play. By the time we had taken our third turn, the Pirate's Cove game was over. Since both of us really wanted to play "A Game of Thrones" we immediately began putting Dominion back in it's box again.
A Game Of Thrones
So "A Game of Thrones" began with me, Devin, Bo, and Luke, while those less inclined toward direct confrontation games, Erica, Esther, Bruce, and Kevin managed to find a TV set and played a game called BuzzTime. Sorry, I don't know anything about that game.
(Oh, if you don't know, "A Game of Thrones" is also the first of a series of books by George Martin. I believe I read it in 1999, but everyone else there had read all of them recently. I said I should read those again, but Devin said "DON'T. Because he hasn't written the next book, and everyone is just hanging by a thread wanting to know what happens next. I gather it's been a long wait.")
The game started fairly peacefully--we expanded into unoccupied territories, and when we got closer to one another, we set up our defenses instead of attacking one another. When a card came up saying "bid on the three areas of influence" the entire tenor of the game changed. The problem was, you see, we had been bidding on the areas of influence every turn, while in fact, this was the FIRST turn we should have. Instead, we decided to make it the first turn we DIDN'T bid on the area of influence.
The other rules clarification that came up was that we didn't need to play to turn 10, but as soon as anyone owned seven keeps or cities, they one the game. And thereafter the game became just a WHOLE lot more competitive! As both Luke and Bo realized that they were each just one city short of that lofty goal.
In fact, Luke (The Lannisters) at one time had eight keeps/cities! But then two were taken back from him before the turn. I should go check boardgamegeek.com and see whether he technically won at that point.
But at the end of the game when turn 10 came around, it was the Bo (the Starks) who won the game. Luke felt like he had just lost because everybody was picking on him because the Lannisters were bad guys. "I didn't even pick them!" he protested. But Bo explained, "Yes you did, It was completely your choice. You picked the token randomly right out of the box!"
Closing Time
Though our stated times were 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM we only finally swept up, and turned out the lights at midnight. I had fun, and I look forward to it again next month.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
A Log of Gaming
NEXT SATURDAY (January 23): We are planning an Open Gaming session from 1:00 to 10:00 PM at the Astoria Senior Citizen Center.
The main attraction at this time seems to be Arkham Horror, but I am bringing many other games as well.
Friday, January 15, 2010:
I was planning my regular Friday trip to Astoria to game with Kevin and Bo. Kevin and I started around 3:30 PM. We couldn't find Bo. I had JUST received an order of several new games, and was eager to try them out even though only one of the three had a two-player option.
We played Primordial Soup--a 3-4 player game, but each of us played two roles. We quit, about halfway through the game--not because we didn't like the game, but because it was awkward to play two competing amoebas. Kevin's best amoeba had "spores, longevity, and division rate," a good combination--breeding fast and everywhere, and living a long time. My best amoeba had "speed, substitution, and frugality" a good combination, mainly because it could find something to eat wherever it went.
I really like the game, and I knew I'd like it when I saw Tom Vasel's review of it (even though it was only like, his 64'th favorite game.) It feels a little like a simulation of life in the primordial soup--when the amoeba was King. And it's got funny little characters on the cards. I'm not sure how it will stand up to the test of many many plays, but I'm really glad I got it.
Next, I spent an hour eating and reading the directions outloud for Race For the Galaxy. (Chomp-chomp-chomp) I tried to pause while I had food in my mouth--really. I liked the game, and I think it would go really fast with players that knew what was going on. But it is a steeep learning curve. With every new card I got, I had to look up the meaning of the symbols on the Player-hand-outs. I ended up with a few more Victory Points than Kevin, but in the end, I didn't really feel like I'd played against him, as much as I played the same solitaire game at the same time he did, and then compared our scores at the end. The sort of game I think I would call "multiplayer solitaire."
I think somewhere, I heard someone mention the role-playing-game term "navel gazing" which means the sort of game where you spend all the time staring at your own belly-button. Particularly, some players were known for getting so much into building their character--they didn't have any time to actually play their character. Race for the Galaxy is a very good navel gazing game, I think. Because you are really putting together the beginning's of a cool galactic civilization. It's just that your civilization never comes across any of the other players' civilizations. (Of course there might be surprises in the deck--we only played once.)
Before I left Kevin's we also opened and looked in the boxes for A Game of Thrones, and Steam. Kevin was surprised that "A Game of Thrones" was made in 2009--he was expecting that it would not be up-to-date with the books. I guess that means, I should get up-to-date on the books, too. I'm sure I only ever read the first two.
At around 9:00, we began to discuss our upcoming weekend of Open Gaming, and we realized that it might be interesting to keep a log of our gaming experiences. Without further Ado--we took a backward trip through memory-land, and produced the following:
Saturday, Jan 9, 2010
Bo, Kevin, and I played Cosmic Encounter, Pirate's Cove, and Stocks and Bonds
Wednesday, Jan 6, 2010
Bo, Kevin, Carol and I saw Avatar! Whoah, cool!
Friday, Jan 1, 2010
Kevin, Bo, and Bo's cousin Tim, and I played Arkham Horror
Dec 26:
I was in Michigan for Christmas--and I played Spore (the video-game), for the first time.
Sat, Dec 19, 2009
Kevin and I played Arkham Horror, while I believe Luke and Bo played Chez Dork with Luke's dad. They probably played Zombies, too.
Fri, Dec 18, 2009
Erica, Kevin, Bo, Luke, and I played Cosmic Encounter, and Citadels.
Fri Dec 11, 2009
Bo, Kevin, and I played Cosmic Encounter, Stone Age, and Citadels.
Fri Dec. 4, 2009
It begins to get a little hazy--but I think there was a game of Puerto Rico, then Kevin and I played HeroCard OrcWars and Settlers of Catan--the Card Game
Nov 27 & 28: Wealth of Nations
Nov 21: Dominion and "Win, Place & Show" with Bo, Kevin, Erica and me
Nov 20: Dominion with O.J, Erica, Issy, Bo, and me
So between the two of us, Kevin and I were able to remember back almost two months.
NEXT SATURDAY (January 23): We are planning an Open Gaming session from 1:00 to 10:00 PM at the Astoria Senior Citizen Center.
The main attraction at this time seems to be Arkham Horror, but I am bringing many other games as well.
Friday, January 15, 2010:
I was planning my regular Friday trip to Astoria to game with Kevin and Bo. Kevin and I started around 3:30 PM. We couldn't find Bo. I had JUST received an order of several new games, and was eager to try them out even though only one of the three had a two-player option.
We played Primordial Soup--a 3-4 player game, but each of us played two roles. We quit, about halfway through the game--not because we didn't like the game, but because it was awkward to play two competing amoebas. Kevin's best amoeba had "spores, longevity, and division rate," a good combination--breeding fast and everywhere, and living a long time. My best amoeba had "speed, substitution, and frugality" a good combination, mainly because it could find something to eat wherever it went.
I really like the game, and I knew I'd like it when I saw Tom Vasel's review of it (even though it was only like, his 64'th favorite game.) It feels a little like a simulation of life in the primordial soup--when the amoeba was King. And it's got funny little characters on the cards. I'm not sure how it will stand up to the test of many many plays, but I'm really glad I got it.
Next, I spent an hour eating and reading the directions outloud for Race For the Galaxy. (Chomp-chomp-chomp) I tried to pause while I had food in my mouth--really. I liked the game, and I think it would go really fast with players that knew what was going on. But it is a steeep learning curve. With every new card I got, I had to look up the meaning of the symbols on the Player-hand-outs. I ended up with a few more Victory Points than Kevin, but in the end, I didn't really feel like I'd played against him, as much as I played the same solitaire game at the same time he did, and then compared our scores at the end. The sort of game I think I would call "multiplayer solitaire."
I think somewhere, I heard someone mention the role-playing-game term "navel gazing" which means the sort of game where you spend all the time staring at your own belly-button. Particularly, some players were known for getting so much into building their character--they didn't have any time to actually play their character. Race for the Galaxy is a very good navel gazing game, I think. Because you are really putting together the beginning's of a cool galactic civilization. It's just that your civilization never comes across any of the other players' civilizations. (Of course there might be surprises in the deck--we only played once.)
Before I left Kevin's we also opened and looked in the boxes for A Game of Thrones, and Steam. Kevin was surprised that "A Game of Thrones" was made in 2009--he was expecting that it would not be up-to-date with the books. I guess that means, I should get up-to-date on the books, too. I'm sure I only ever read the first two.
At around 9:00, we began to discuss our upcoming weekend of Open Gaming, and we realized that it might be interesting to keep a log of our gaming experiences. Without further Ado--we took a backward trip through memory-land, and produced the following:
Saturday, Jan 9, 2010
Bo, Kevin, and I played Cosmic Encounter, Pirate's Cove, and Stocks and Bonds
Wednesday, Jan 6, 2010
Bo, Kevin, Carol and I saw Avatar! Whoah, cool!
Friday, Jan 1, 2010
Kevin, Bo, and Bo's cousin Tim, and I played Arkham Horror
Dec 26:
I was in Michigan for Christmas--and I played Spore (the video-game), for the first time.
Sat, Dec 19, 2009
Kevin and I played Arkham Horror, while I believe Luke and Bo played Chez Dork with Luke's dad. They probably played Zombies, too.
Fri, Dec 18, 2009
Erica, Kevin, Bo, Luke, and I played Cosmic Encounter, and Citadels.
Fri Dec 11, 2009
Bo, Kevin, and I played Cosmic Encounter, Stone Age, and Citadels.
Fri Dec. 4, 2009
It begins to get a little hazy--but I think there was a game of Puerto Rico, then Kevin and I played HeroCard OrcWars and Settlers of Catan--the Card Game
Nov 27 & 28: Wealth of Nations
Nov 21: Dominion and "Win, Place & Show" with Bo, Kevin, Erica and me
Nov 20: Dominion with O.J, Erica, Issy, Bo, and me
So between the two of us, Kevin and I were able to remember back almost two months.
NEXT SATURDAY (January 23): We are planning an Open Gaming session from 1:00 to 10:00 PM at the Astoria Senior Citizen Center.
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