A Snow Chair

We had the last snow of the year yesterday, at least I hope so, because I'm ready to go fishing. Normally March is my thinkin' 'bout fishin' month. Not so much this year. Anyways, Kaylee and I went out and played in the snow. It was perfect for making snowballs, snowmen, and Kaylee's favorite thing, Snow Chairs.

She insisted, before making a snowman, we make a snow chair. I told her I'd make her a Snow Throne, but she didn't like that idea, so snow chair is what we ended up making (I still think it turned out more like a throne). We had a really good time, played in the snow for about an hour, and even shoveled the driveway. Though that seemed pointless as it has almost melted off today anyways.

Our snowman, didn't have a hat, so Kaylee was satisfied with ears instead. That is about it. This blog is about theology, board games, and life. Most of the time, after writing for a year, theology and board games bleed into life (especially theology), but this post is simply about life. Playing in the snow with a three year old. Good and fun times.

Every 100 Games Series - The Hobbit Card Game

My 3,900th game played was the latest in a long line of LotR themed games, The Hobbit Card Game. This one is designed by Martin Wallace, known for his deep and thinky games, that tend to have more historical and industrial themes. It was published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2012. I played it at IndyCon last week as a filler between a couple other games.

Game Play
The Hobbit is at its heart a partnership trick-taking game. Players either play for the good guys or the bad guys, play through the deck, and try to win the game. For example, in a four player game, one player plays Smaug and the other three players are Bilbo, Thorin, and Gandalf. Some of the cards have star symbols and some have orc symbols, which if you win the trick, you can hand out in various ways. If you are Smaug and get a star symbol it is a wound. If you are the Free Peoples and get an orc symbol it is a wound. Too many wounds and you die, which means the opponents win. Purple is always trump, the cards are numbered, and the game plays just like any other trick-taking game you might've played.

Components
The game is just cards, nothing else. They seem a bit smaller than your average sized playing card, but not much. The art on the cards is good, though I don't think it really matches the art on the game box. The box isn't very big and there aren't that many cards, so this game won't take up a whole lot of space on your game shelf. The orc and star symbols do their job and the numbers and the colors of the cards are easily distinguishable.

Strategy
Each player has a special ability that they get to do when they win a trick. Thorin, for example, has to deal all the cards out in a trick randomly to players, thus he could end up damaging his team or helping the other team. Bilbo must give one card to himself and one card to another player. Gandalf gets to hand his cards out to everyone, so he is much more powerful. So sometimes, you don't care if Thorin wins the trick, because the cards can only help, but other times as the free peoples player you want to be sure if you do win that it is Gandalf that wins. This makes for some nice teamwork between the players, but isn't so deep to bog the game down at all.

My Thoughts
I tend to like trick taking games. The Bottle Imp, Euchre, and Tichu are probably my top three favorites and though I'm not sure this game beats those out, I still liked it. It plays so very quickly. Maybe 15 minutes for the 4 player game we played, so it can fit in just about anywhere. It also attempts to fit the theme, not as well as Bottle Imp, but still pretty well for a card game. Thorin for example is somewhat crazy and unhinged, just like he is in the Hobbit. So I give it good marks for that. It probably isn't one I'd buy specifically, but I can see myself adding it to an order to get the free shipping price.

Recommendations
Tolkien Fans - I'm a Hobbit fan and a LotR fan. This game is on the upper end of Tolkien themed games I've played, but it still ultimately is a trick-taking game, so if you are a collector of Tolkien then you still might want to get it for that.
Trick-Taking Card Game Players - I'd say this is one worth picking up for you hard core trick taking fans. It has a neat 1 vs. all mechanic, which you don't often see in trick-taking games. The game play is very fast, unlike some trick taking games like Tichu, which can last over an hour.
Deep Card Game Players - This is way too light for you all. Those of you who expect to find something like Race for the Galaxy, 7 Wonders, or San Juan in this can look elsewhere. It is just very light, you only play through the deck once, maybe twice if a victory isn't obtained the first play through, so don't get this hoping to have your brain burned.

*Every 100 Games Series - Back in March of 2006 I began tracking each session of the various board and card games I play. I soon got the idea to write a review on every 100th game I played, one because I like writing reviews, and two because it is interesting to see what game I review next. You can find a list of all of them here: Every 100 Games Series Reviews.

Every 100 Games Series - Daytona 500

My 3,800th game played was Daytona 500, which was pretty nice timing since the Big Race is coming up here shortly. An interesting note on this game, it was designed by Wolfgang Kramer, who is one of my favorite designers of all time and has title such as El Grande, Tikal, and Mexica to his name. However, they didn't give him credit on the box or in the rules for this one.

Game Play
In Daytona 500 players will purchase 1-2 cars via auction that they will attempt to help finish better in the final standings in order to get a bigger payout and thus have the most money and win the game. Each player gets a small deck of cards dealt to them. These cars have numbers on them, often more than one, that are in colors that match the 6 cars in the game. Players will play a card on their turn, move the cars associated with that card, starting with the top number, and then play passes to the next person. To incorporate the NASCAR theme more, if a car is directly behind a car that just moved, it gets to move forward one space on the board because it was "drafting". Once all the cars have made it around the board, you give payouts for places, auction cars off again, and then race again. The person with the most money after races is the winner.

Components
The game was made in 1991. It does okay for components. The board does it's job. The little plastic cars do their job. The paper money does its job. Nothing flashy here at all. As will all paper money, except those rare situations, I prefer to use nice poker chips.

Strategy & Tactics
There is a lot of tactics in this game and not so much strategy. Because many of the cards have multiple numbers on them representing several of the cars in the game, you often find yourself doing everything you can to play a card that allows your car to get its full movement, but making your opponent's car lose it's movement because it is being blocked by having two cars in front of it or is in one of the turns where in order to pass you have to go twice as far so you can end up in the inside lane. Also, each car comes with a single 9 movement card that is just their color on it, so trying to use that at the most opportune time is very important.

My Thoughts
Daytona 500 is a good game, however it isn't a great game. The NASCAR theme fits very well, but having only one track and playing that 3 times in a row can be a bit boring. It plays relatively fast though and does a very good job of feeling like a race. It is very possible to come back if you get a bad start, as other players also have cards with your car's movement on it. The game I played for my 3,800th one of the races both cars owned by a player were in first and second 1/3 of the way through the race. They ended up finishing 2nd and 6th, so there is variation as the race goes on.

My Recommendations
Those Wanting a Race Car Game - If you are only going to buy one race car game, of the ones I've played, there are really only three options. Daytona 500, Formula D, and Detroit/Cleveland Grand Prix. I'd go with D/C Prix. It is also designed by Kramer, has basically the exact same mechanics as Daytona 500 (except for the drafting), but has a two-sided board with non-oval tracks that make for a lot more blocking and excitement. Which means sometimes cars don't even finish the race. However, if you are like my buddy and see Daytona 500 for $2 at Goodwill, by all means, buy it!

NASCAR Fans - This is an auto-purchase...yep, I just did that. You will not be sorry you purchased this game should you find it. It will be played way more than NASCAR Monopoly, it is way better than that game or probably any other NASCAR game out there, and it will be played quickly by just about anyone.

Deep Strategy Gamer - If you would rather not play something that is lighter, something that doesn't reward extreme strategy, and something that doesn't make your brain melt from your ears, then you'll want to look elsewhere. This one is just a light game. Not so light as Uno, Yahtzee, or No Thanks, but still it is pretty light.

Boys Who Like Cars - I feel like I played this game when I was 8 or 9 with some neighbor kids. It might've been a different one, but I remember the small cars, because my brother and I had a whole collection of Hotwheels and Matchbox cars and we loved the game that let us play with similar cars. If your son (or daughter) is all about micro-machines (I hear they don't make those anymore) or matchbox cars, then this is a game they'd probably enjoy and should be one you find for them.

Podcasts

So over the past few years I've taken to listening to some podcasts. Mostly they are gaming podcasts, but I do have a couple non-gaming ones thrown in there. I thought I'd write about the ones that I keep on a regular rotation now, as I've given some up as well.

The Dice Tower - When it comes to board game podcasts, this is the grand-daddy of them all. I think they've been going for something like 9 years now. They make a fun podcast, have lots of different contributors, and provide some good insight on various board games. Mostly though, I listen for their Top 10 lists. Every other week they do a Top 10 list of games for a specific category, such as games from 1998 or games you'd play with your mom. These are entertaining and also give you some good ideas for possible purchases and trades.

The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast - This is a group of 4 guys that talk about gaming of all kinds. Video gaming, board games, RPGs, miniatures, just about everything you can think they'd discuss. Mostly it is board games, but I like it that they discuss other parts of the gaming hobby that I'm not involved in. The real reason I listen to them though is because as a listener it is like you have just been placed in their game room, after a game, and you hear 4 long time friends just shootin' the breeze. This podcast is what I imagine would be in any game room in any situation with buddies of a long time. I can see myself sitting around talking to my long time gaming buddies like Jonathan, Dave, and Ryan just recording it. This would be the Secret Cabal - just Indiana style.

Ludology - This is more of a gaming thought podcast. Goeff and Ryan, both pretty smart guys, discuss specific game topics or theories or sometimes will even go very indepth on a single game. Most interesting to me though right now is that they are live blogging, I guess that is what you'd call it, where they are doing every other episode on how their design of a game is progressing. Their thoughts, feed back, problems, just about everything about the process. This makes for some really interesting discussion and since I like designing games...ok...one game, I like this podcast.

On Board Games - This is the podcast I was able to be a guest on once. These guys often have a rotating 3rd chair, which makes for a lot of variety in their shows on a lot of gaming related subjects. One thing I have noticed though, is that I usually don't agree with Donald who is one of the co-hosts, which actually is a good thing, because I know if he says he really likes a game then I'll probably not like it as much and vice-versa.

Agenda7 - This is a brand new podcast that is on Andriod: Netrunner, which I talked about the last time I blogged. I've been enjoying listening to it and have been surprised how professional they already are with their content. I tried out a couple other Netrunner podcasts, but this one was by far the best of them. I'll stick with this podcast if I stick with the game itself as a good source for playing strategies and deck building thoughts.

Winvasion - This was my first single-game specific podcast. It only has 3 episodes so far, but it is about Invasion, so it has to be in my rotation. Invasion is probably now in my Top 5 games of all time, so any podcast where they discuss it is great.

This American Life - The first of two non-game related podcasts (where my listening is really lacking I know). This was recommended to me by a friend at work and I have really liked it. It is basically a reposting of a Chicago radio show. It is a very weird show with all kinds of topics. There are stories about people who hear music in all sounds, people who map the cracks of sidewalks in the cities, tele-evangelists, abusive parents, and just about any random subject you can think about.

Mark Driscoll - Sometimes I also try and listen to Driscoll's sermons as well. Though I don't line up with him theologically in everything and I'm also not a big fan of his church model (him preaching via screens to every church), he preaches with passion and he also preaches the truth. His sermons are not only entertaining, but insightful, and give me a something more deep to think about throughout the week than games or whatever random subject This American Life happens to have.

So that is a lot of podcasts, Didn't realize I regularly listen to that many, though I just recently added Agenda7, Winvasion, and This American Life. Anyone got suggestions for another non-gaming podcast to listen to?

On the Cusp

If you've read this blog at all, you know I'm a gamer. If you haven't read this blog at all, assuming you are a halfway intelligent person, you probably figured that out from the title. In follows my ramblings of why I'm on the cusp in a gaming decisions as far as semi-competitive play goes.

A little background. For the last two years, I've been playing and really enjoying, Warhammer: Invasion. It has become my most played game ever, I've put quite a bit of money into it, and also quite a bit of time. The game play itself is great, but the biggest problem with Invasion, is that out of all the Fantasy Flight Living Card Games, it seems to be in the bottom two as far as popularity goes. In the past two years, despite a meetup.com group, announcing tournaments and Invasion nights at two different local game stores, and trying to convince friends to join me in a more competitive environment, only 4 people have actually gone so far as to purchase the cards. Twice (in 2 years), in tournaments I've run we've had 8 people play, but most nights we've only had 3 people show up (not much of a tournament there). This is all my organizing of course, because there are no other Invasion organizers in Indianapolis that I've been able to find. I've drove twice to Louisville to play in tourneys down there.

Recently, FFG released Android: Netrunner, a redo of a 1996 game made by the same designer as Magic: The Gathering. In the board game world, it has exploded to way higher levels than Invasion ever dreamed of getting to. For example, on boardgamegeek.com where I prefer to go for my gaming news, there is already almost 200 forum pages for Netrunner that just released in August. Invasion has only about 120 and it released in 2009. Obviously that is just people talking about it on a single website, but it also shows the level of interest in it compared to Invasion. If you recall, I wrote a little bit about playing a Netrunner tournament in the World Championship in November, but at that point I was still holding out that Invasion was my game of choice when it came to LCGs and so never got into the game.

So what is this cusp? Well, quite simply do I drop Invasion and play Netrunner? Back in the early 2000s I played the Lord of the Rings: Trading Card Game and really enjoyed it. Partly because it was LotR, partly because the game was good, and partly because of the competition that could be had. Invasion ignited that spark again. I really like the game, the theme is ok, and the competition is great if there is competition. I have a couple friends who I get together with and play one on one, but there just aren't the great weekly or monthly tournaments that I used to enjoy with LotR:TCG and there is hardly anything that I don't have to organize myself. 

Though, at least right now, I don't enjoy Netrunner as a game more than I enjoy Invasion, I think as an organized competition I might, because I'm hoping there will actually be organized competition. The popularity of Netrunner could just be a flash and burn out quickly, but then again it could not. Also, my wife will play Invasion with me, even though it isn't her favorite, because of the short play time of 20 minutes. Netrunner, while I think she will like the theme more, does take a little longer and because of the asymmetrical style is more daunting I believe. So on the wife front, we'll see what happens. 

So what is my decision? Well, right now I've purchased some Netrunner cards and will probably get cards through the first cycle. I'll probably finish out the cycle that we're currently in for Invasion as well. Then I'll have to make up my mind. I don't have the money or time for two such games, which can easily become a hobby by themselves. However, I still want to play them, because I do enjoy them. Regardless of my decision, I'm sure I'll get my money's worth of play from them, but I'm not sure either one may end up giving me that organized competition I hope for.

11:11

In first Thessalonians Paul admonishes them in chapter 5 to do a lot of things, be thankful, don't return evil for evil, to be sober. However, he also throws in "pray without ceasing" and that is what I wanted to talk about today. I've never been what you'd call a "Prayer Warrior". My grandma Pat is for sure, but I'm still lacking in that discipline. However, I have taken up a reminder to myself to pray for my children.

Every time I see a digital clock say 11:11, usually in the morning, since I'm unlikely to be up most night at 11:11, I pray for my girls. I pray that they'll come to know Jesus like I know him and even more so. I pray that they'll listen and obey their momma and I. I pray that Krista and I will in-turn raise them right, be patient with them (something I fail at plenty), and invest in their lives. I pray for their future husbands, that wherever they are, they are growing in their love for Christ. Finally, I might pray for something specific that is happening that day such as Ella's snotty nose (okay, that one is happening every day and has since she was born) or Kaylee's latest hurt.

These prayers don't take any time really, often before 11:12 comes around I'm done. They are silent, they don't bother others, but they help me pray without ceasing. Of course, nobody really prays without ceasing, but the point that Paul was making and the point that I'm making is that prayer should be a part of your life. It, like his other commands, should be how you live and who more important to pray for then the beings God has trusted to you to raise and given you stewardship and responsibility over?

It's funny, since I started doing this, I've noticed how much more I notice it is 11:11. I have begun looking for it, hoping I'll see it. Of course, I can pray whenever (that's what is so awesome about not having to have a priest or sacrifice to intercede for me), but having this reminder to pray in a busy, pre-occupied day is a good thing.

Here is a cool source of potential prayers for your children: https://www.reviveourhearts.com/articles/31-biblical-virtues-to-pray-for-your-children/

Every 100 Games Series - The Resistance: Avalon

My 3,700th game played was The Resistance: Avalon. This game was my first and only successfully funded board game that I've backed on Kickstarter. It is a re-theme of the original Resistance and with all the plays over the holidays made it onto my review series.

Game Play
This game does so much with so little. You play with 6 to 10 players who are all wanting to go on quests for King Arthur. However, each player has been secretly assigned a role as either a Knight loyal to the good Arthur or as a Minion of Mordred. Each round the leader of the quest chooses a number of people to send out. All players then vote on this quest team, either approving or disapproving the team, trying to be sure that only those that are loyal to Arthur attempt the quest. If a team is not approved, then the person to the left of the leader chooses a new team, and everyone votes again. Once a team is approved, those on the quest secretly choose if it succeeds or fails. All it takes is one fail vote for the quest to come to utter ruin, which is what the Minions of Mordred want. Whichever side is the first to get 3 fails (Mordred) or 3 successes (Arthur) is the winner!

Thus far, everything I've explained is the same as the original game, but now is the wrinkle. Merlin is in this game, he is loyal to Arthur but knows who the Minions of Mordred are without them knowing who he is! This can be extremely powerful for the Arthur side, however one of the minions is an assassin, so Merlin can't be too forthcoming or at the end of the game he will be assassinated and the Minions of Mordred will win anyways.

The game does offer some other roles for players to play as well, but our group thus far hasn't even added them in, because it is that good just from the base game. Maybe eventually we'll get there, but for now with new players I think it is best to stay with the base.

Components
I think the components in this game are top notch. I probably should sleeve my cards, at least the succeed/fails cards, because they get handled a whole lot and even though they are great quality will eventually show signs of differences which would hurt the game. There are multiple game boards that allow you quick reference according to the number of players you are playing with. The only problem and it isn't really a problem, is that the approve/reject tokens players use to decide who is going on a quest have many white spots on them now after about 20 plays. It doesn't really bother the game though, since most of the time we've just held these in our hands anyways. Finally, the art is extremely good in my opinion. There aren't a lot of components that you see during the game, but you can expect great art from them.

Strategy
This game is a pure negotiation and deduction game. It is all about how you can trick those Loyal Servants of Arthur into believing you are one of them and sending you on that quest that you will fail. It is all about, if you are for Arthur, making certain that you send only the right people on the quests to bring glory to his realm. There is strategy in the game, such as not failing a quest, in order to gain someones trust. There is also skill in observing to see how people approve/reject teams and see a pattern. However, the real skill in this game comes into how well you can manipulate the other players to your will.

My Thoughts
This game is just a blast! I'm very glad that I own it and it will be staying in my collection permanently. It doesn't take much time to play or teach and is a game that you immediately want to play again. Avalon's theme is fun for me, but it really doesn't play into it much. We tend to just call them the good guys and the bad guys and go from there. I really like that I've played it quite a bit so far and still haven't felt the need to add in the extra roles, which just gives me something to look forward to in the future. Well, enough gushing from me, on to the recommendations.

Recommendations
Youth Workers - I'm a youth worker at my church. I've got a friend that is a Youth Pastor. Both of us heartily recommend this game to people who will be taking long bus rides with youth, on retreats with youth, or just hanging out with a group of teenagers. We've always played Mafia/Werewolf with them, now this is the one I'll be bringing out.

Werewolf/Mafia Players - This one is for you. the downside to Werewolf is that you have to have a moderator and that if you are eliminated early, then you just have to sit and watch the game. The Resistance lets you keep playing and keep enjoying the game. There isn't player elimination and there isn't moderating. However, it only goes up to 10 players, so for groups 11+ you can stick with Werewolf.

Reserved Group - So far I've only made glowing recommendations. If your group of players is reserved and quiet, this isn't really going to be for you. However, I have seen quiet people turn into a yelling accuser, if people don't talk and accuse and declare shenanigans, then the game loses much of its fun.

Holiday Gatherings - I cannot recommend this game more for these type of events. We played this with both sides of the family and played it a lot. My mother-in-law who is about as far as you can get from a gamer, played this 5 times with us in 2 days. During Thanksgiving my whole family played it 8 times, 5 times in a single sitting! If you want that party game feel, but don't want to play Apples to Apples or Trivial Pursuit, this is a great game to try out.

*Every 100 Games Series - Back in March of 2006 I began tracking each session of the various board and card games I play. I soon got the idea to write a review on every 100th game I played, one because I like writing reviews, and two because it is interesting to see what game I review next. You can find a list of all of them here: Every 100 Games Series Reviews.