Star Trek: The Re-Imagined Card Game

2 player "transwarp speed" preconstructed deck(s) with agreed TIME LIMIT (often 45 minutes after set-up)
Distilled from the thousands-card customizable card game (1E) by Decipher, repurposed to focus on speed of play, eased learning curve, theme, reduced confusion, nostalgia, and fun. I have made the play decks a tad bit larger for this version.

Three sentence rules summary: Players agree on time limit conditions, then deal out “Obstacle Deck”, deal out spaceline, both players select their “starting fleet,” then shuffle decks and deal 7 cards to each player. Players then alternate turns of playing 2 cards (plus free cards), taking actions (if any), trying to score points, and then ending turn to draw 2 new cards. It’s a race to have the most points by endgame (or first to 100 points).

WITH COMBINED SEED DECK (and with 1:1 customizable personnel available)
(redesigned "house rules" for time limit)
wanted: Attack Authorization, Gorn Encounter x 2, Borg Sphere x 2, Escape Pods incident, Punishment Box x2, Remodulation, Barclay Transporter Phobia, Rager

current draw (8+22+20+1= 51) + draw #2 (51) + shared seed (55) = 157

updated "house rules"
Game setup: (7 steps)
1) Each player receives his/her Draw Deck (preconstructed and equal) of 51 cards.
2) The shared Seed Deck is brought out, and separated into Missions and Obstacles (Dilemmas/ Enemy Ships/ Q cards, ignoring space/planet issues unless the word "planet" is used).
3) The players now agree to 3 articles that affect how long the game lasts:
One, how many Obstacles? And two, what time limit? And three, how many cards played/drawn each turn? Default is 3 obstacles, 2 cards played/drawn, and 1 hour (began once "starting fleet deployment" and set-up completed).
4) The missions are shuffled, and then laid out into a Spaceline ("Auto-Seeds"), all facing one direction, and all open to all players, ignoring quadrants.
5) Now, Obstacles (dilemmas/ enemy ships/ Q) are also shuffled. A number of Obstacles is agreed upon for every mission (from 1 to 4; 3 preferred; lower number speeds up the game). Obstacles are now seeded: a chosen number under each mission, random and hidden, all equal amounts (skipping Space and Nebula missions).
6) Now, each player selects (from Draw Deck) "Starting Fleet Deployment". Each Player begins with one outpost (placement their choice), one ship (their choice but usually USS Galaxy, at outpost), and 3 Federation (Blue) personnel (one gold staff icon and two silver icons) (again, their choice, and again at the outpost).
7) Note: players need to realize they will eventually have a discard pile, a played card area, and a points-modifier area, to be used if and when they are.

Gameplay:
Each player plays 2 (or agreed upon varient) regular cards during turn, then makes command decisions ("taking actions"), tries to score points, then draws 3 new cards. Alternate player repeats. Simple.
Sorta. Some cards changed how many cards are drawn or played, or "stop" parts of your fleet from taking more actions, or otherwise confuse things. Also, some cards (when played) allow "downloading" specific cards. Even further, all of your allowed end-of-turn card draws, together, may be converted, each turn, at whim, into one (and only one) "download to hand" (aka "recruiting") function of one Federation personnel card. One per turn.
Interrupts may be played at any time and do not require a card play. Tribbles play for free, but only on your turn. Tactic cards play during any ship battle, almost like an interrupt. All other cards (such as events, objectives, and incidents) use a card play on your turn, unless they specify. Personnel and Federation ships can only report/play to your outpost (again, unless they specify). Equipment cards may report to your ship(s).
"Taking actions" includes ship/personnel movement and mission attempts and attacking ship-dilemmas.
Again, thats:
1) Play 2 cards (or skip either, if you choose, or plays-for-free also, or varient)
2) Take actions, such as moving/beaming/docking, attempting missions, and a few others.
3) Announce you end turn, and draw 2 fresh cards (or all together may be converted into a recruit attempt).
4) The alternate player repeats.
No hand limits.
The goal is to have the most points by the time the time limits runs out, points earned mostly by attempting and completing missions, but also by bonus point boxes on various other cards. If any player gains 100 points before their opponent does, the game automatically ends. (A mission is completed once an attempt is made with all requirements satisfied AND no more Obstacles to be faced there. “Stolen” missions are worth ½ points, rounded down.) If neither player can make any effective moves, the game is also over with the highest points winning. (With the many Obstacles option chosen, this is a likely outcome.) If either draw deck runs out, the game is also over when that player cannot draw again. If an outpost is destroyed (extremely unlikely), the other player wins.

Further notes and rules clarifications:
Non-federation “enemy” ships are considered as dilemmas/Obstacles (acting like the original Borg Ship dilemma). Like all dilemmas/Obstacles, they are hidden under a mission (if randomly dealt out) and encountered in the same fashion, i.e. randomly during a mission attempt. They immediately auto-attack (and stop) the encountering ship, and then enter play. Once in play, during the “In-Between Phase” (in-between each players’ turns), the enemy ship moves. It travels automatically one spaceline location towards farthest end of spaceline. It auto-attacks any ships or outposts encountered (no choice - weakest shields selected, random if tie; ONLY attacks/moves once, results treated as though at beginning of a turn, unless Borg Cube, which automatically attacks ANY ship at ANY time, including multiples). Any ship attacked in this way is “stopped” along with its crew, even if it wins decidedly (thus, the player cannot use that ship or crew the following player turn). If a player's ship has a personnel matching attacking dilemma-ship affiliation, it is usually immune (i.e. Dejar makes a ship immune from Cardassian vessels) (Exceptions to immunity: Non-Aligned and Klingon attack others of same; there are no Borg personnel thus no immunities). Enemy ships can and do auto-attack other enemy ships, following immunity guidelines, and calculated normally. Enemy ships only attack once during each “In-between phase.”

A recruit attempt is when a player chooses to "convert" their end-of-turn card draws. Once announced, the player may search the his or her draw deck and "download to hand" of one Federation personnel card. It is entirely optional, may be used once per turn only, may be used with no conditions except that the download be a personnel card of the Federation affiliation (of any type, any command level). The player announces the recruit attempt, searches his or her draw deck for a valid card, must reveal it to the opponent, and place in hand, and then shuffle draw deck. Cards drawn this way play normally on a later turn, just as if drawn nornally. A player making such a conversion may choose to discontinue at any time before choosing a card, retract their attempt, and regain their option for their regular end-of-turn card draws.

Ships with no staffing icons “lifeboats” (i.e. shuttles and runabouts) have a capacity/personnel limit of 6. Larger ships have none. These ships (no icons; shuttlecraft) may be docked or undocked/launched using 1 range, carried aboard your ships with (tractor beam and ENGINEER), or land/launch, also using 1 range. These small ships are rather useful, giving versatility with RANGE, but also because they (might) "rescue" all your personnel if your ship is being destroyed in many cases. They can also land to "hide" from larger enemy ships. They can also use the Magnetic North card to “hide” if applicable.

All affiliations may mix and cooperate, except ship-dilemmas. Quadrant restrictions and alternate universe restrictions ignored.

Mission attempts require your ship at that location, and all personnel on said ship are a part of the mission. To attempt a mission you must have mission requirements met in order to attempt. Yes, key personnel are put at risk: that's the point. Once you begin the attempt, you then face the remaining dilemmas/ obstacles/ enemy ships randomly hidden there, one at a time.
Once a mission is completed (all Obstacles cleared and attempt successful with conditions all met), score points, and as a visual reminder place one discarded dilemma face up under the mission, upside down, so only the Dilemma logo peaks out from underneath. Thus, little tablespace is used up and yet it is a distinct reminder. This mission cannot be attempted again by any player.

Stolen missions are worth ½ points, rounded down. These are missions in which all the dilemma/Obstacles have already been encountered and removed by one player but then scored by the other player. Often a given player is not able to score a mission on the same turn he or she overcomes all the Obstacles. To earn full points, a player must have encountered at least one Obstacle from the mission.

Missions may not be scored more than once, and only one player may do so. A mission is not removed from play (or the spaceline), and it may still be interacted with as a spaceline location (such as beamed to or landed upon, if a planet).

Transporter Skill allows escape from a ship being destroyed, either to a planet or a friendly neighboring ship, as well as a skill for dilemma resolution.

Miracle Worker: Scotty's special skill includes one extra skill chosen from three choices. You choose Transporter Skill, or Physics, or an extra Astrophysics. Starts as Transporter skill when reporting, and then may change once per turn at any time, even during a dilemma/Obstacle, and lasting the rest of the turn at least. For the needs of emergency beaming during ship destruction, Scotty always counts as having Transporter Skill.

'Hopscotch' among your many ships has been deemed unbalanced play, and is no longer allowed. Thus, once you move a ship, you may add personnel, but personnel may move any more (however, these personnel are not “stopped” and may take actions such as attempting missions). For rationale, your personnel have used up all their available man-hours flying the ship.

Ship battle and damage: Damage to a ship is normally received from battle with other ships, but also from some dilemmas. If a ship is damaged once, it receives penalties. If a ship is damaged a 2nd time, or if a ship is attacked by a much more powerful ship (attack is over twice shield value), it is instantly destroyed, and all personnel die (unless five exceptions listed below).

Escape exceptions: if you have a carried “lifeboat” ship aboard your larger ship it may launch with survivors aboard [if you have ENGINEER or Navigation], or
if at a planet [or alongside an opponent’s ship or a friendly Obstacle ship] all personnel may beam to safety to be rescued later [if you have a transporter-skill personnel], or
you may play an Escape Pod interrupt, or you may play Temporal Rift on the attacking ship, or you may “hide” your ship if you can play Magnetic North).
A friendly Obstacle ship is an Obstacle ship you have matching crew member of, such as Dejar for Cardassian or K’nera for Klingon. Opponent’s ships are also friendly.

Exception to exceptions: Borg Cubes attack any ship at any time, including small craft, including multiples. Personnel escaping to a planet are safe. Escape Pod and Temporal Rift and Magnetic North all play normally.
In ship battles, weapons of the attacker are compared with shields of the defender. If weapons are greater, even by 1, the attacker wins (unless modifiers in play) and opposing ship is damaged. If weapons are over twice that of the defender's shields, the win is total, defender is destroyed, and all personnel die (if no exceptions present).

Damage is defined as follows: a damaged ship has all attributes reduced by 50% (round down), but not less than 5. Damage may be repaired on a later turn by being docked at Outpost at start of turn, announcing repair, and spending the whole turn docked.

If you wish, you may make an attack on an opposing ship not restricted by immunities (you cannot attack your opponent, nor a Cardassian ship if Dejar is present). An attack by your ship requires at least any of Leadership skill OR Officer classification OR gold staffing (star) icon.
A ship gains lots of protection from your outpost, 50% of the shields. It may be docked, or simply "at". You may dock/undock as often as you like.

“Stopped” ships and personnel may take no further actions until your next turn. All ships and personnel become no longer “stopped” at the start of your turn, except if auto-attacked by an enemy ship during the “in-between phase.”

Specific card clarifications:
Temporal Rifts apply to the other player OR to obstacle ships/enemy ships/ship dilemmas. In fact, a Temporal Rift is pretty much the ONLY way to not be "stopped" by an enemy ship, because even if you win a battle decisively, you have battled, and are thus "stopped" for that turn. Or if you use Magnetic North to "hide" you thereby abandon the attempt.

Tactic card (Photon Torpedo): played the same as an interrupt, except only during a ship battle, involving any players, including obstacle ships/enemy ships/ship dilemmas. It can be played on (or against) any ship, yours, your opponent, or an Obstacle ship. The card's action is two-fold. First, the attack and defense bonuses of +2 are added to both weapons and shields of the chosen ship. After the battle, the Tactic card is played on an opposing ship from the battle, with penalties of -1 applied as stated, plus random death if applicable.

Horta: If no planet, no effect and simply discard. Have planet, have problem.

Chrystalline Entity: are you attempting at a planet? all missions include ‘space’ so complete the first part for all missions and all attempts. Then, if you are at a planet, complete the second half. If not, disregard that section of the dilemma's text.

Don't Call Me Ahab!: The starfleet symbol is here interpreted to mean all uniformed Feds (judging by photo) are stopped, but the rest can and must continue. Scotty is not in uniform.

Oops!: You need leadership to not receive negative effects, even if other needs met.

Assassin’s Blade: this is not discarded until passed. Note is does not say “discard”. It is what used to be termed a “wall”

Vulcan Death Grip: this card should require a Vulcan as per the original rules, but in this version of the game does not.

Borg Cube: see above ‘exceptions to exceptions’ under ship battle.

Quantum fissure: Obstacle “enemy” ships count.

Mortal Q: this personnel plays as normal. His "deactivated Q Contiuum" has no effect except player morale. His cunning value of Q is undefined, and is either 1 or 10, both at the same time, chosen as either when needed. His special ability to "discard the Q dilemma" here refers to any Q-related Obstacle.

Optional Read: Background and Explanation: My "transwarp speed" concept intends to develop, using the original STCCG cards, a streamlined design for a game playable within an hour and a half, with new or seasoned players. The "house rules" have been codified and streamlined, but also the game tries to incorporate the thematic fun of Star Trek, or gaming appeal generally.
This "speeded" play is made largely possible by the Combined Seed Deck. One, by only using one seed deck, and making it random, I have eliminated a HUGE time-eater. Missions and dilemmas are just dealt out. And two, an agreed upon "time limit" with the highest points winning (much like the original “official tournaments”), rather than 100 points. And three, the game can be shortened or lengthened as desired, within limits, with simple mechanisms of how many Obstacles are dealt or how many cards are drawn/played. Even further, "recruiting" (the introduced game mechanic of one free "download to hand" function during card drawing (as opposed to only under certain conditions) reduces the hazard of "getting stuck."
Drawing/playing 2 (or 3) cards per turn (rather than 1) also speeds play. These card draws may be converted into one "download Federation personnel to hand" recruit attempt, once each turn. The conversion cost for dowloading (a high cost indeed!) prevents too much downloading. Some downloading in necessary, though, for game balance and the "fun factor." Too much downloading, on the other hand, would lead easily into "analysis paralysis."
Removing quadrant-restrictions, AU restrictions, and self-seeds has eliminated much confusion. Don't misunderstand, this is still a very complicated game to play.
The inclusion of tribbles, temporal distortions, and photon torpedos are attempts at thematic accuracy.

Lord of the Rings (LotR) RISK

I need to blog about 2 or 3 games that I have played recently, including Star Trek Catan and Mage Knight. I only have a few minutes, however. Well, mini-MACE 2013 is not open for business yet (scheduling my gamemaster games) so I thought I'd post. I'm planning to teach LotR RISK, a variant of RISK that came out along with the LotR movies. It is vaguely similar to other versions of RISK I have tried, and I enjoy it. However, it is not quickly understood (in my experience) as the rules stand. After thinking on it, I have decided to suggest my Rules Suppliment, which actually is nothing more that a suggested change in terminology and additional rules explanation. "Each Leader token (as described in the original rules) is easier understood as a Wizard, and each Site of Power further described as a Wizard site. Henceforth, please use these terms, understanding the rules, gameboard, and cards in that light. The rules are not changed for Wizards or their Sites of Power. Every player has two Wizard tokens, each represented as a shield in that player's color. Sites of Power (also known as Wizard sites) are identified on the gameboard, and correspond to a given region. If you are at one, you are at the other. As per the rules, Wizards do not participate directly in battle (as a fighting unit) but do enhance your "luck" in battle, when present. During gameplay, your wizards may either be used to enhance battles, or to seek out the "Sites of Power", or Wizard sites. These sites, when found, provide bonuses (as follows)..."

Happy Tiw's Day

I learned today that Tuesday comes from the Old English version of Tiw's Day, where Tiw is a Saxon war god. (Maybe THE Saxon war god? I dunno). Apparently, he is better known as the Norse god Tyr. Speaking of Tyr, have you seen this?: http://boardgamegeek.com/image/953922/yggdrasil Sorry, I've been reading a bit about the historical background of the Druids. Oh, that reminds me, don't forget, the festival of Samhain is November 1st I have thought for a while of adding obscure holidays and celebrations to my calender. Well, obscure for my neck of the woods, anyway. Bastille Day on July 14, 1789 (also commemorating F. Scott Fitzgerald) The Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773 (grab a Sam Adams) First Contact Day on April 5, 2063 (the Vulcans land and meet humans) Talk Like a Pirate Day on Sept 19 Do you nominate a poorly appreciated date?

my gaming profile (my reference)

The meetup.com website keeps changing, and my gaming profile keeps getting deleted, so I thought I'd re-post the matter here, and also embellish a bit.

Gamer from Tulsa Oklahoma. Well, backup, I am born 'n raised Triad but moved to Oklahoma, now back since '09. I was looking for you guys for a while. I now go to MACE and SCARAB. I have been a GM at MACE (NC) and Conestoga (OK).

I was looking for a gaming group like I had known in Oklahoma, which knew and played Carcassone and Catan and such games, and I found it here. I have been very pleased.

I have a collection of games now (not especially big, but quite decent) which includes Carcassone, the Catan Dice Game, Hey That's My Fish, Classic RISK, RISK 2210, TransAmerica, Doctor Lucky, Anachronism, Martian Fluxx, Havoc, my repurposed 2-Player Star Trek Card Game, my repurposed Havoc on Parade, Citadels, The Great Dalmuti, chess, Pit, In a Pickle, Bang!, Alien Abduction, Guillotine, and Jishaku magnets. Wow, I have more games than I had thought!

Anyone who has met and played with me probably knows I lean towards the so-called "abstract strategy," more chaotic games.

The Catan Dice Game was my first modern purchase, after chess and classic RISK and a large Star Trek collection. I began my hobby interest in the 90s with the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, played tournament-sytle not unlike Magic. There was a long break with intermittant chess, RISK games, and video games until I found a Eurogames group out in Tulsa. It has snowballed from there. Unlike most gamers of our type, I have never played D&D. I have joked with my girlfriend, in high school I just wasn't cool enough to play D&D. Ha ha!

Looking to someday buy Blokus, The Stars Are Right, Nuclear War, and maybe Forbidden Island

Timeline limited to my gaming background:
1997-2002 Star Trek Customizable Card Game, video games, RISK, chess
2002-2007 almost nothing
2008 awakened to Catan, Carcassone, Citadels, Fluxx, RISK: Godstorm, RISK: LotR, Nuclear War, and others
bought Catan Dice Game, Guillotine, The Great Dalmuti, Abduction
attended my first gaming convention, Conestoga, in Tulsa, OK
first attempt to preconstruct a Star Trek 2-Player repurposing
2009 less but some
2010 played many new games, first played Pit, In a Pickle,
found and joined a a few games groups on meetup.com, esp. Camel City
Gamers and Games That Make You Laugh
bought Martian Fluxx, gift of Bang!
2011 bought Kill Doctor Lucky, In a Pickle, Pit, Carcassone, Blokus Trigon
First played Settlers of America, Anachronism, Star Fleet Battles,
The Stars Are Right
First visit to SCARAB (Jan) in S.C. and MACE (Nov) in High Point
2012 It's a new year! Gift of Anachronism, bought TransAmerica
played/pleased with Forbidden Island, Twilight Imperium
Also attended Mini-MACE

epic gaming: Twilight Imperium

Last Saturday, for my New Year's afternoon I was talked into joining a game that I had seen around but hadn't played, Twilight Imperium. I say "talked into it" because, although I did want to play, I wasn't very confident about the time committment the game suggested. I was told we might play until 7pm. It was 2 pm. I expected it might run longer, which it did. Finally, I just had to leave, and I am very glad I did because otherwise it would have disappointed my girlfriend. Although I may have oversimplified, I described the game as "only half over."

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12493/twilight-imperium-third-edition

Anyway, now I've added a new game to the class of epicly long games I've tried, such as 7 Ages and Twilight Struggle.

It was a very good game, though, even though we didn't even get to the true competitive parts. I want and plan to play again, although I don't know when that can be. I didn't get to play long enough to see any mistakes (or successes) I made in strategy.

Oh, and I saw Risk Legacy for the first time. That will be another epicly long game.

Anachronism and TransAmerica

For Christmas, I got two quality games. Anachromis was a gift, and TransAmerica was a gift to myself.

I have spent the last few weeks preparing and organizing my new Anachronism collection (my gift was a collection of boosters, and I had to print the rules, etc., off the appreciated Internet. I also have been playtesting my new set of TransAmerica, learning and considering the optional Vexation expansion.

TransAmerica is a very good "best of both worlds" type of game. The game appeals to strategy thinkers but it also extremely simple (when ignoring Vexation, as I have learned to do with beginners). And I am not especially good at explaining games, or rather I suspect I am but I am inevitably scapegoated by malcontents.

Anachronism is a very good game, and well thought out, and I suspect easy to explain but hard to master. I haven't enough experience to properly say. However, so far I have seen that the sheer number of variables is over-whelming at times. But the challenge of the game might merely make it especially rewarding. I think so, and plan to find out.

It is considered a colletible card game, but that pigeon hole is not a very accurate one. The collectibility comes from diversity, not randomness. And the cards themselves are often (but not always) used more like miniatures than cards, but have the ease of handling a card affords.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/887682/anachronism
http://dystemporalia.org/encyclopaedia/
http://dystemporalia.org/rulebook7.pdf
http://dystemporalia.org/playmat/
http://dystemporalia.org/demo/

Discription via boardgamegeek.com:
A non-random collectible combat game presented by The History Channel and TriKing Games, Anachronism allows you to take control of some of the greatest warriors in history and pit them against each other in a one-on-one battle to the death.

Anachronism began with a 2-player starter set pitting Japanese warrior Musashi against the Norse legend Beowulf. The game now includes cards featuring such notables as Julius Caesar, Sun Tzu, Spartacus, Alexander the Great, Blackbeard and Genghis Khan, as well as weapons and armor from various eras.

Decks can be added-to with various booster packs, each of which include a set selection of cards initially focusing on Greek, Japanese, Norse, and Roman heroes, with other periods of history, including the eras of Genghis Khan and Richard the Lionheart,now in the mix. And of course, historical accuracy within the cards is sure to be high, as the game does bear the seal of approval from The History Channel.

Variant formats exist for more than 2 players, and some cards in the game are geared toward multi-player games.



http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/10499/anachronism-board-warrior-pieces-v1-doc?
http://www.robotviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/anach.jpg

and get an (up)load of this: http://www.zazzle.com/anachronism_playmat_tshirt-235993902721058498
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12493/twilight-imperium-third-edition

buying boardgames

I have had much success with eBay and Amazon over the years, but some other sites have come to my attention.

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/and
http://boardgamegeek.com/

I heard that on Black Friday a game I like was being sold for $1 plus shipping on miniaturemarket.

Then, sometimes other gamers (especially at convention "swaps" or "flea markets") will offer you a great deal. I got Carcassone: Hunters and Gatherers that way for $3 and two sticks of beef jerky.

And, of course, with local sellers you support your local gaming community!

I will have to keep everyone updated.


http://www.miniaturemarket.com/clearance/board-games.html


http://www.miniaturemarket.com/clearance/collectible-card-games.html


http://www.miniaturemarket.com/collectible-card-games/anachronism.html


http://www.miniaturemarket.com/collectible-card-games/star-trek.html


http://boardgamegeek.com/metasell/thing/19363

http://boardgamegeek.com/metasell/thing/2842

http://boardgamegeek.com/metasell/thing/37696

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/rgg201.html

http://boardgamegeek.com/metasell/thing/713

Conquest of the Empire: board game

This game was brought to our local gaming meetup last week, and I was enthusiastic to give it a try. It looked a bit like Risk, which I have a childhood affinity for. It plays differently, though, and some aspects are decidedly improved upon the Risk model.

The most striking positive change (to me, anyways) was sea battles and invasions from over the sea. These sorties were not patterned upon dotted lines, like in Risk, but were limited only by how many turns a player wanted to invest in their roamings.

Another big change is that a player is not eliminated necessarily by having all armies beaten, but rather by having their "Ceasar" or King taken. That might involve fighting to to the last military unit, or it might not.

Further change: If any military units survive your assault on the opposing Ceasar, they are now your troops. This makes sense considering the Roman civil war theme of the game.

I did not have fun during this game, overall. It wasn't the game. It was another player with a bad attitude. Even when I was winning, I stopped enjoying the game. (I'd like to think I lost the game mostly because I didn't have my heart in it anymore) I hate it when things like that happen. I only finished the game (6 hours!) because I wanted to be a good sport to others still playing. I am willing to grant that the player may have been having a bad day. I have done some soul-searching about how to react in the future, and I am as uncertain as before.

Kill Doctor Lucky rules observations

I have been "tweaking" my house rules for Kill Doctor Lucky for some time, in fact even before I owned the game. I have some new additions to my ongoing tweaking.

The original rules for Kill Doctor Lucky are very very good, but I simply realize that accomodation needs to be made for speed of understanding with new players AND for adjustments needed due to player numbers.
That was the original games' rules' short-coming: too few rules variations for larger numbers of players.

A game that can easily accomodate 7 players is a prize, and for good reason. It is difficult to manage a game with that many players that keeps everyone's interest. The original game designers did very well in that regard.

Specifically, allowing a "witness" to "see" through up to six rooms in a row makes the game last forever, unless players become extra crafty. Experienced players would possibly prefer the original rules, but even then I think my ideas have merit.

The game goes endlessly unless accomodations are made for large groups of players, but also for small groups. Each set needs their own rules variants.
So, I have begun to think of this, and my earlier experiments were actually too cautious.

Thus (besides my "free swipe" rules variation):
For 2 or 3 players, standard rules apply (unlimited sight-lines within doorways).
For 4 or 5 players, "witnesses" only see up to two rooms away
For 6 or 7 players, "witnesses" only see one room away, i.e. only rooms adjacent

My "pissed off" token explanation worked very well. Everyone "got it" rather easily. A character gets more and more pissed off each time they fail.

And my idea for the Good Doctor winning at the end on the draw stack was a nice twist, which timed the game, also. It releived anyone who wondered.

This time I tried to add a possibile free card draw to the "free swipe" action, triggered by Doctor Lucky moving into a player's room, but that was too confusing in this game. I have reconsidered the card draw, and revert again to merely a "free swipe at the old man". The original rules' "free turn" interrupting regular turn order took confusion a degree past my free draw experiment, so it was worth a try.

This whole blog is partially (if not wholly) for my benefit, and as a journal of my "tweaks" to the game.
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/257/kill-doctor-lucky

Havoc on Parade: The Parade continues...

Three quick interjections: I received an e-mail rejection from Target following my (flawless) interview, I just placed an order on eBay for HADON OF ANCIENT OPAR, and my other seasonal job and volunteer position are both going swimmingly.

Now, back to gaming:

I have developed a better way of explaining Havoc on Parade (my adopted title for my own experimental modification of the poker-style game Havoc with the linear game Parade) which I would like to share. It has worked quite well in play-testing.

I am currently signed up to GM (teach and lead games) at MACE, a gaming convention. I plan to show off my modifications there.






To wit:

This is a thoughtful combination of the game Havoc and the game
Parade. Well, Havoc cards with Parade rules meshed with Rich game
logic (oh, dear). Anyone mildly familiar with either might be curious
to see this unique (as far as I know) modification. All welcome. Each
player represents a general for the advancing French army during the
Hundred Years War. Each player sends troops (card plays) to face the
English, and any troops (cards) beaten under your leadership are
counted as negative points.


Each player represents a general for the advancing French army during
the Hundred Years War. Each general (player) sends troops (card plays)
to face the English, and any troops (cards) beaten under your
leadership are counted as negative honor (points). Cards are
eliminated (score negative Honor points) if they are weaker (not a
higher number than card played) AND if any cards are in the same
regiment (same color). Usually "strong" troops "protect" weaker ones,
although troops of the same color all are eliminated regardless. Each
soldier (card) eliminated under your leadership (on your turn) is
counted as negative honor (points) equal to their rank (printed
number), unless their regiment (color) becomes heroes. Whichever
general (player) has the most of any regiment (color) eliminted under
his leadership (in his/her points area) converts those troops to
"Heroes," which are not as dishonorable (not as negative). Heroes are
counted negatively as follows: -1 for 4 or more players, -2 for 3
players, and -3 for 2 players. New troops (the one card played during
your turn) are fresh to battle (immune from elimination themselves)
and simply affect the course of the battle for existing troops
(provide the benchmark for what is elimated that turn). Once new
troops are unavailable (draw deck exhausted), there is one more sally
(one more round, which each player playing his/her last card to reach
a hand of 4). Now, we tally honor (points), with each player adding 2 out of 4 cards in hand to negative score pile, while the remaining two are removed from the game. This allows a final element of unpredicatability.

Each player is dealt 5 cards to begin the game. Their hand limit can
never be modified and should never change (except in the last round).
If it does (thru player forgettfulness) they may, at any time, simply
explain themselves and draw up to 5. The complete deck of all cards is
casually divided into a part to enter play and a half to set aside.
The size depends on the patience of the players, and game length
desired. At least half of the deck should be used, but never the full
deck (missing numbers/colors add to the unpredictability of the game).
Choose a player to go first. Their card is fresh to battle (immune
from elimination the turn played), battle losses are counted (none in
early play), current player draws a card to refresh to 5, and play
moves to the next player.

Games: Expedition ***must see***

http://www.history.com/interactives/expedition-game

This game plays for FREE online, and it really suprisingly fun!

It's a dice game, basically, but played on the computer with fun graphics. There is quite a story element to this, which is an improvement over most dice games I know.

The story is set in colonial Africa. Another way in which this game excels is the fun "flavor text" included along the way. "I am plagued with worry" "I can't find my sewing needle."

This would actually make quite a good "stone-and-mortar" dice game (aside from the fact some of the apparently 6-sided dice have 7 faces! haha!)

It reminds me a lot of my Catan Dice Game, but like I said the "immersion" and story factor are greatly improved upon.

I HIGHLY recommend you try it. No downloading involved. I don't know how long this game will be on the website, but I hope it lasts awhile! Beware: addiction.

Havoc!

This is a game I played a few months ago, but I just got a copy recently. (Thanks, John!)

I liked the way it played enough that John decided to find a cheap used copy for me.

This morning, I realized Havoc could ALSO be played very effectively and themeatically true with the rules from another game I liked, Parade. The original rules are fun, but getting a second game out of the same deck? Awesome!

To modify my Havoc deck, all I really needed to do was remove the cards that were not approriate, espeially the named-battle cards and tokens and most high numbers.

You see, I originally thought about using regular playing cards (I have a GI Joe poker deck) but archery seems to fit better. Moreover, these are great cards with a theme I rarely see (the 100 Years' War). Even more moreover, it just didn't work as well. A Parade deck has 6 suits, while poker decks have only the four. However, I realized Havoc has 6, and also the numbered cards that are needed.

Parade uses the numbers 0-10. For the Havoc adaptation, I used the number 0-12. Twelve being the archer just made it make thematic sense to me. But 18 (Havoc's Battle King) was just overkill (pun for a wargame! haha)

I feel badly for the makers of Parade. I suppose this is poor behavior on my part, but I just didn't feel the Alice and Wonderland theme!

http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/53921/parade-rules-english



A New Zealand merchant who explains it in only one page: (recommended printable)
http://www.allaboard.co.nz/pages/games/product.phtml?s=42F943561302343578790&product=PIX457067

house rules for Kill Doctor Lucky, etc

I taught my copy of Kill Doctor Lucky for only the second or third time yesterday, and I am pleased to say it went VERY well. I am learning better how to explain the rules, but also which rules I should ruthlessly rip from the game design.

First, a few of the game items (cards, tokens) need a better description for visualization and understanding of game logic. One, "Spite tokens" should be described as "Pissed-Off Tokens" (or for PG audiences maybe Frustration Tokens). The idea is that after each failure you accumulate frustration, becoming more and more pissed off. Second, the Failure cards can be described as "Trip" cards, or used to trip up your opponent.

http://boardgamegeek.com/image/403263/kill-doctor-lucky

Most importantly, the by-the-rules game mechanic of auto extra terms if the Doctor moves into a character's space is just way too confusing. I simply it to merely "you get an extra swipe at the old man". No cards, except weapons, and no moves. Just murder attempt, or not. The game proceeds pretty smoothly without this. I tried taking out the "extra" event upon Doctor Lucky walking in on you, but that made the game drag on forever and was much more irritating. That was an error I fixed for further games.

Further, in the by-the-rules version, when the draw deck (which is large) is exhausted, you re-shuffle most of the cards and keep going. The concensus yesterday was that when we run out of cards, the Doctor wins, and we all lose. The night is over, so to speak. I was pleased with this suggestion.

Another suggestion which I liked was that the various character images on the Failure cards be used, somehow, via a house rule. It seems reasonable that if the character matches the one attempting, the Failure is +1 or perhaps even doubled. All characters are represented, I think.

On another gaming topic, I played "Parade" a month ago or so, and I loved the gameplay itself but the theme bothered me a lot. I also realized the game could be played fairly easily using regular poker playing cards. A military "Cover Me!" theme seemed to me a very good idea. Whether archers or machine guns. I have a deck of GI Joe poker cards, and maybe I will adapt it. Face cards do need to be removed before play, but otherwise I think it works.



This is interesting.

http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/53921/parade-rules-english



A New Zealand merchant who explains it in only one page: (recommended printable)
http://www.allaboard.co.nz/pages/games/product.phtml?s=42F943561302343578790&product=PIX457067

Martian nipples

http://www.buy-live-coral-frags.com/images/Chalice-Martian-Nipples-Mother3.jpg

It's CORAL...chill

http://shop.neptunescove.net/Martain-nipples-bulb-tip-anemone-md-martain-nip-BTA-md.htm

But, while I'm speaking of things Martian, I have realized it'd be good to add a "house rule" to my Martian Fluxx card game. Well, two. I am adding these mostly for my own reference, lest we forget. The Mothership should be able to destroy, once per turn, either a City or a Pyramid. I mean, it just makes sense. The other Martian Tech Keepers usually have special abilities. And perhaps the Space Modulator should allow the owner to "modulate" their hand at some point, but I haven't decided. Okay, #2, the Traitor (fully compatable but from a convention giveaway, not this game) should be considered a human and also wearing a hat (for all intents and purposes).



is this what you were expecting?

Games: A brief report

I played a great game yesterday, The Stars are Right
Chthulu and cultists and astrology and a rubic cube of madness.

Also, I tried Cash and Guns the other day using regular playing cards, but with much simplified rules. It worked well.
I ignored pretty much everything, except 3 red bullets, 4 black duds, 3 wounds kills, survivors and non-cowards take "money", and a person can duck. No Band Bang Bang, no sharing (and math and fractions) over the spoils.

Games: [Alien] Abduction

This is one of my favorite games that I own. Produced by Eden Studios. Almost no one but me (and my old store out in Tulsa) seems to know of it.

Real quick: note to self that I need to use some "speed house rules setup" to introduce people, because last night and the other night both sucked as far as having the players having a good time.

If we set up the map before play begins, then the game is a matter of a race to the Exit, which makes sense to most people, and it eliminates half of the confusion.

Yesterday I also played my revised "house rules" Star Trek game (previously Star Trek: The Customizable Card Game) with a new person. It worked beautifully, even though we only played a few hands before the gentleman had to leave. No points were scored, although we came close. Maybe 15 minutes.

Games: Havoc

"Cry Havoc, and Let Slip the Dogs of War!"

Sorry, I just had to. Ha ha.

Well, oddly enough, that actually sums up the game of Havoc decently well, at least in theme. You fight a series of battles against other players, not with weaponry or troops in miniature, but with poker-type combinations of cards. In fact, poker terms are used, such as straight flush and the like. Then the Dogs of War come out, adding another dimension to the game (more stategy rather than simply poker-type luck), allowing you to "loot" the discard pile, retreiving formerly used cards.

The theme is supposedly the Hundred Years War, although that is barely in evidence besides the limited card art and the presence of some cards named for actual battle sites. And, the whole dogs of war thing, for apparently dogs were in actual fact used to "retreive" dropped weaponry from the vacated battlefeild. Could have been done better, though.

Apparently, it is yet another well-designed and yet decidedly out-of-print game. Like Nuclear War. Or Seven Ages.

We also played Ticket to Ride last night. I liked it a lot better this time than earlier games, perhaps because I won handily. I have a renewed sense that it is especially notable as a game for mixed company (gamers and non).

See you next game night!

Games: Kill Doctor Lucky

Oh, before I get to Kill Doctor Lucky, let me quickly add that Carcassone: Hunters and Gatherers is a *great* game and my family loves it. I gave it to my 16 year old sister for a present, and she ran with it, so to speak.

Also, Blokus is a great game, and I have now played the square and trigon varieties. Very appropriate to my thinking with other boardgames mentioned herein and yet quite different.

Okay, a friend brought a game he had just bought, Kill Doctor Lucky and we played it a few nights ago. I was very pleased. It has a bit of dark humor, but nothing grotesque. Part of the dark humor are the goals and winning conditions: be the first to Kill Doctor Lucky. It was early (and aptly) described to me as "reverse Clue." It is a game I intend to buy if I get the chance. It was more fun with all the people playing, although with fewer people playing it becomes perhaps more strategic. WIth many players, there was so much going on (or that could go on) between your turns that stategy was hard to accomplish. "House rules" are very much called for in two point. First, a turn order marker (like the Cheiftain from Stone Age) is called for. We improvised with a salt shaker. Second, with more players, the hallways become too power if a player can see (and thus prevent action) along it's entire length. With fewer players, I doubt it would be an issue in the same manner. Our "gentleman's agreement" to require a player to designate a position when in hallways for line-of-sight worked well.

Apparently, I played a more recent addition of the game, distinguished in part by the illustrated playing peices depicting the characters.

Catan: Settlers of America

Well, although it *is* under the Catan name, it is very much it's own game, simply borrowing many game mechanics. Players of the classic Catan will definately slide right in with many of the vagarieites of the game, such as the "robber" who has a new name but identical funtion.
Also, the dice rolls and recource aquisition is performed via the same game mechanic
A major departure is the that there are NO victory Points. NONE. The game is over when the last player completes all their objectives, which I will explain in a moment.
But the largest departure is the railroads and shipping. These are not new themes in boardgames, but are very new for Catan. That there is a two-step process to acheiving each step towards winning (getting rid of all your wooden blocks, via shipping on railroads) just complicates the matter. But I do not critize the game for being a little complicated! I would even congratulate the game designers for adding another level of strategery to the game, while not making the game tedious. A balancing act, accomplished in part by the removal of score keeping.
That is an amazing accomplishment. If I have any readers, they may have noted I have a large obection to lengthy score totalling and complicated matchematics. I always feel someone may be cheating ahead in the scoring, maybe unintentionally. And I feel lost and helpless, a feeling I abhor.
So, in a manner I am grateful to see, the winner is merely made known and incontrovertably. Either they have a wooden peice still to use up, or they don't.

That's not extremely in depth as reviews go, but those were a few short comments.

Something I have noticed in all Catan-like games: a "land grab" is essential to a well-played game. In some games, taking your time so you don't overextend is vital. In these games, however, there are no attacks, and if you take your time, if you snooze, you loose. Be a sooner, as the Okies would say.

At SCARAB (a convention in SC last month) I played Catan: Struggle for Rome, which was also not at all a Catan remake, but it's own game, despite it also borrowed many of the same game mechaincs, as did Settlers of America. I see a trend, and it's not a bad one.