Game Reviews: Scategories & The Settlers of Catan

                Today’s games are a mix of old and new.  Ok, the new isn’t that new as it has been around for a while, I just wasn’t introduced to it until earlier this year.  The games are Scategories™ and Settlers of Catan™.  These are games that are definitely for the older crowd due to their nuances.  So let’s get started.

                Scategories™ is a game of creative thinking.  The rules are simple, straight forward, and easily followed.  The game itself is anything but.  The components of the game are a 20 sided die, a timer, a mat (with rules on the back), and six identical cardboard sleeves with pencils, paper, and lists.  The lists are the boundaries of the game.  The problem is they are specific enough to make you think, but broad enough to leave you room for a ton of possible answers.  The game comes with 12 different lists of 12 items ranging from heroes to vehicles, to books, movies, locations, etc.  It is a hodgepodge of items.  The first task then is to select a list to use.  Personally, I use a twelve sided die to select the list to use, but how you chose the list is up to you.  Once everyone has that list ready you roll the 20 sided die (which has letters of the alphabet on it minus some of the tougher ones), to determine the letter.  This is where creativity and the game rules collide.  You have to come up with a word or phrase that begins with the rolled letter that matches each item on the list before the timer runs out.  You get one point for each answer you have at the end of the turn and one point for each word in each answer that begins with that letter.  Did I mention that if your answer matches what someone else wrote, you both lose that point?  This is where creativity is important.  For instance, for the category heroes and the letter B, you could put Bob the Builder, Barney Fife, Barry Bonds, or Bologna.  Wait, bologna?  Yup, Bologna hero is a sandwich.  The category just said heroes; it didn’t say it had to be able to talk.  That is what I mean by creative.  The downside is you have to convince a majority of those playing that your answer fits the category.  That is just how it works.  After 3 turns the player with the highest score wins.  Overall, this is a great game that can lead to some weird answers and some hilarious moments.  Just don’t take it too seriously or you may find that you spend more time arguing about every answer than you do having fun playing the game.

                The Settlers of Catan™ is just the opposite of Scategories™.  Where Scategories™ is broad, creative and sometimes hilarious; Catan is rigid, straightforward, and serious.   In Catan, you are the leader of a group of settlers.  The goal is to build settlements, cities, and roads to have the greatest civilization on the board.  This is accomplished by getting resources.  Resources are gathered based on what tiles your settlements are next to.  Each tile has a number between 2 and 12 assigned to it.  Whenever this number is rolled that tile produces its resource.  The resources are ore, wool, clay, wood, and wheat.  These resources are then used to build roads, settlements or cities.  Or you could buy development cards.  Development cards give the user victory points, added resources, knights, or added events.  This added dynamic gives players another means of winning the game.  Speaking of, how do you win the game?  The answer: by attaining 10 victory points.  You receive 1 victory point per settlement, 2 points per city, 2 points for the longest road (minimum 5 road pieces long), and 2 points for largest army (minimum 3 knights).  Sounds simple enough right?  Not so fast.  There is a hitch in all this.  Should you roll a seven when rolling for resources, bad things happen.  First, no tile produces resources.  Second, if you have more than seven resource cards in your hand, you have to discard half of your hand.  Finally, the thief must be moved into play.  Wait, there’s a thief?  Yup, the thief is moved by the person who rolled the seven.  Whatever tile the thief is moved to never produces resources as long as the thief is present.  Also, the person moving the thief gets to take one card from one player that is adjacent to it.  This is where it gets fun.  The thief is only moved if a seven is rolled or if a person who has a settlement or city on that tile plays a knight card.  This means that if you are winning; expect the thief to visit your most productive tiles.  There is a lot more to this game than I have time or inclination to type.  There are strategies galore and several expansions that add and change rules to make the game more detailed.  This game can be complicated and a little hard to learn, but it is detailed enough to drag you in and keep you coming back for more.  The rule book is thought out in such a way that finding the answer to your questions is relatively simple.  In all, it is a great game if you like a mixture of strategy and luck.

                Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Game Reviews: Castle keep and Picteureka

                It’s Tuesday and that means that it is another game review day.  Today, I will be reviewing two games that we like to play with our children.  It should be noted here that our youngest is 4 and our oldest is 11.  That means that for a game to be enjoyed by all, it must be simple, so the four year old can play, but challenging, so our eleven year old doesn’t get bored.  Needless to say, this narrows the list quite significantly.  I have already reviewed two games that fall into this category.  They are Tsuro™ and Uno™.  The two games I am talking about this week are Castle Keep™ and Picteureka™.  I am sure you heard of the second, but the first is a little more obscure so we will discuss that one first.

                It is rare that a game comes along that is so simple in its design and, at the same time, offers a dynamic game that all can enjoy.  The object of Castle Keep™ is to build your castle before the other players build theirs.  Each castle is made of nine castle tiles and consists of four corner tiles, four wall tiles, and one keep.  Sounds simple enough, but, as they say on TV, there’s more.  You see the walls come in three different colors and three different shapes.  This means you have to match either shape or color to the adjoining piece in order to continue to build your wall.  Still too easy?  There is a fix for that.  You see, if your opponents can’t play or just want to be mean, they can destroy a section of your wall by matching wall pieces exactly.  When they match those pieces all connected pieces of the same color are also destroyed.  This means that the wall you have painstakingly built for the last three turns is now rubble and you have to start over.  By the way, this is a favorite tactic of my 4 year old.  Hands usually last 10-20 minutes and you usually can’t stop at one. 

                The second game to detail here is Picteureka™.  This game is so simple in its rules and game play that the complexity of the design almost escapes you.  This is a game that has the added appeal that it can be played individually, in teams, or a combination thereof.  This means that it can be set up so that everyone has a chance to win regardless of their age or skill level.  Now for the complex part.  The game is made up of three decks of cards, two dice (one normal six sided die, and one six sided die with three colors corresponding with the three decks), a one minute timer, and nine square tiles.  The tiles are covered with drawings ranging from little flies to entire scenes.  These pictures are on both sides of the tiles.  The game is set up with the nine tiles forming a square in the center of the playing area with the decks alongside the square.  The first player or team rolls the colored dice to determine which deck they are playing from.  Guess I should mention the decks at this point.  The first deck is blue.  This is the all play deck.  When the blue deck is rolled the team/player that rolled it takes the top card and turns it over and everyone playing looks for the item on the card.  The item on the card is an actual drawing and there is only one of that particular drawing on all of the tiles (it is on both sides of the same tile, just in a different location).  The first team/person to spot the matching item points it out and the card is theirs.  I should mention that the first person/team to collect 6 cards wins.  The second color of the cards is green.  When green is rolled, the team that rolled it then rolls the other 6 sided die.  They then have to find that many of the item on the green card before the timer runs out.  The green card has words or phrases, such as “things that fly”, “Things that need electricity,” “Men with beards,” or “numbers”.   If they find the required number before the time runs out, they keep the card, otherwise it is discarded.  The final card color is red.  When this color is rolled, the card is bid for.  Without knowing what is on the card, the players/teams take turns bidding on how many of the item they think they can find.  The  team that bids the highest gets the chance to win the card by finding their bid before the timer runs out.  Sometimes this is easy since a single flower may have ten petals and there are at least seven flowers on the tiles and one of the cards say petals.  This could also be a near impossible task as it could be as specific as men with beards.  You never know until you get to read the card and start searching.  If your kids like the” I spy” books and searching games, they will love this game.  Even if they don’t, this game can provide hours of fun.  I know it keeps our family on its toes. 

                I guess the key to what makes these games so much fun is the family interaction.  The idea that, even when you are behind, you still have a way to come out on top.  This alone keeps you in the game. 

                Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Tuesday Game reviews. Social Staples.

                So I believe that I will start my regular game reviews on Tuesday.  This is due to a variety of reasons, but I think Tuesdays work for the best.  This week I am going to review two games that are family friendly and have been around for a while.  At least long enough that they have several spin offs.

                The first is “Apples to Apples”.  The specific version I am reviewing is “Apples to Apples Jr”.  There are a multitude of spin offs ranging from the original to specific versions for specific audiences.  I have only played the original and Jr.  “Apples to Apples” is easy to learn, easy to play, and a great social game.  This game is elegant in its simplicity and an overall good time.  The number of players allowed to play is only limited by the space at the table and how long you want to spend playing.  The game play is very subjective and house rules are a must.  The idea of the game is to collect a certain number of green apple cards based on the number of players.  The fewer players the fewer green apple cards needed.  You obtain these cards by having one of your red apple cards chosen by the judge.  I am getting ahead of myself though.  To start the game, 7 red apple cards are dealt to each player.  Then, one player is chosen as the first judge.  Don’t worry; everyone gets a chance to be a judge.  The judge then draws one green card and reads the adjective on it.  The rest of the players then pick a red apple card from their hand that best matches the adjective read by the judge (the judge doesn’t get to give in a red apple card).  These cards are submitted face down so the judge doesn’t know who submitted which card.  The players then draw new red cards so that their hands have seven cards.  The red apple cards contain people, places, things, events, etc.  So the answers you get may be outrageous, which is half the fun.  You may also find yourself in the position where none of the seven cards in your hand match the adjective.  That is when I go for the laugh and just toss in the card I think is the worst card in my hand.  The Judge then reads aloud all of the red apple cards and chooses the one he/she thinks best matches the green apple card.  This is where house rules may be appropriate.  If you have a very argumentative group, you may want a house rule that you cannot lobby for your card.  Or you may want to encourage the interesting explanation of how concrete is fluffy (it happens).  After the judge chooses the card he/she thinks is best, the player that submitted the card is revealed and that player gets the green card.  The person to the left is the new judge and draws a green card and play continues until one player has the required amount of green cards.

                “Apples to Apples” is extremely social and can be a hilarious addition to your game nights.  It can get loud and boisterous, but it definitely makes for a lot of good conversations.  I recommend this game to any family or group of friends.  The only downside is that this game is not much fun with less than 5 players.  You can play with four people, but it loses a little of its social dynamic.  Over all, it is a great game.

                The next game I am reviewing simply because I have never personally reviewed it and it has been around so long that people assume that everyone has heard of it, played it, and, at some point, owned it.  The game is “Uno”.  Once again there are a ton of versions of this game.  “Uno”, “Uno H2O” (a water proof version), “Uno Attack” (a motorized version), and the list goes on.  I own the first three.  For this review, I will assume that you have played “Uno” at some point in your life and thus know the basic rules and game mechanics.  Thus I will concentrate on the nontraditional versions and what makes them different and special when compared to the original.  The first is “Uno H20”.  This version was made for outdoor play.  The cards are a waterproof plastic as is the case.  My family uses it for our camping expeditions so we don’t have to worry about spills or rain ruining our game.  As with every “Uno” variation there are some added cards.  All the standard cards are there, but there are 2 new cards.  Wild splash +1 and wild splash +2.  These wild cards have the same rule for play as a wild draw 4.  However, instead of the next player drawing the 1 or 2, everyone except the person who played the card draws the one or two cards.  In other words, you splash the deck.  It is an interesting mechanic that makes it a lot of fun. 

The next version is “Uno Attack”.  This version comes with a motorized deck holder.  The deck is contained inside of it and the deck itself has changed greatly.  There are no more draw two cards or draw four cards because of the motorization.  Instead, you have hit 2, wild hit 1, and wild hit X.  When one of these is played, you hit the button on the machine as prescribed by the card.  Hitting the button is as random as the game itself.  It may just beep at you and give you no cards or it may suddenly spew six or seven cards at you, you just don’t know until you hit the button.  There have been times when we went ten hits with no cards coming out and there have been times when ten times in a row cards were given.  This makes for some large hands.  Thankfully, there are ways of dealing with this.  The first is a new card called swap hands.  There is one of these cards for each color and they allow the person who plays it to swap hands with any other player at the table they choose.  This means that you could have said “Uno” and suddenly Bob across the table swaps hands with you and you now have a dozen cards.  This can be combated with yet another card.  This is the play all card.  Once again, there is one per color.  These cards allow you to discard all cards of that color from your hand in one play.  This is really great when you have seven cards all of the same color and you get to drop all of them at once to win the game.  These new mechanics mean that the game could last less than one round or (in our worst case scenario) over three hours.  The great part is that it never stopped being fun.  People would yell “Uno”, not be able to play, hit the button and suddenly have eight cards they had to get rid of.  It really is random, but oh so fun. 

In summary, “Apples to Apples” is a great social game.  “Uno” keeps expanding and does a good job of keeping it new and fresh.  Try them and enjoy.

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

First Game reviews.

        I came to the realization recently that I have a wide variety of games at my house.  I can't help it.  I see a new game that sounds interesting and I just have to get it.  I love games of all kinds.  Games that are easy to learn, but hard to master tend to be my favorite.  I also tend to enjoy games that require the players to work toward a common goal.  With all this in mind, I have decided to review a game I have every once in a while.  I have two that I would like to review today.
       The first is a game call Tsuro.  I first heard about this game on the web series, Tabletop.  This game calls itself "the game of the path," and that is accurate.  The objective of the game is to be the last player with their game piece on the board.  This is accomplished by playing square tiles with lines or "paths" on them on a 6 by 6 grid.  You may only play to affect your own tile.  In other words, where you end up is up to you...mostly.  Because of the size of the grid, you will eventually end up adjacent to one of your fellow players and thus b at their mercy.  Did I mention that up to eight people can play this game at the same time?  What I really love about this game is its simplicity and speed.  The box says it is for ages 8+, my four year old son has managed to figure out how to play and how to win.  This is most definitely a game that brings luck, strategy, and fun to the gaming table and I highly recommend it.  It can be found at Barnes & Noble for about $30.
         The next game is one that I bought because it sounded fun and interesting.  I have to admit that it was kind of fun the first time I played it.  It is a game called Furt.  While the name is interesting in and of itself, the game is anything but.  The goal of the game is muddled in the mechanics and is more about silliness than about any kind of strategy, skill, or even how well you roll the dice.  It all boils down to how well you convince others that you aren't playing and how silly you are willing to make yourself look.  Allow me to explain.  The game is played on a spiral board.  As you move around the board, you enter zones where you are required to act a certain way as long as you are in that zone.  These actions could range from talking like a pirate to shouting I got it every time some says a certain phrase which guarantees that that phrase will be said repeatedly as long as you are in that zone when you play with younger kids.  The way you advance your tokens is by completing tasks which you get from cards.  These tasks range from drawing a word or phrase to acting silly.  Then there are the challenge cards.  These cards contain challenges that have to be completed before your next turn and this is where the game really fails.  Everyone knows you have this challenge and thus you will be ignored as most of the challenges require that you get the other players to say or do something.  In other words, drawing a challenge card means that you get to do something silly or off the wall for everyone's entertainment and no use to you.  This is one of those games that sounds fun as you read the description, but loses its appeal after the novelty wears off, which was after the first game for me.
             These are just two of the games I have at home and have played.  I obviously recommend Tsuro; I give it 4 out of 4 stars.  Furt gets 1 star based solely on the initial fun with the kids.  It is most definitely not recommended.
           Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.