Draco Magi by Robert Burke Games on Kickstarter

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Board Games, Card Games, Club Fantasci, David Lowry, Draco Magi, Kickstarter, Richard Launius, Robert Burke, Robert Burke Games

Final Dragon Card Design

Robert Burke Games launches their game Draco Magi designed by Robert Burke and Richard Launius on Kickstarter. There are only 24 days on this project so don’t hesitate if it interests you.

Draco Magi looks like a pretty good card game that sits exactly in that pocket. No boards or other extraneous things, just cards with several different ways to be played to allow for some strategy.

Check out the kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/478379924/draco-magi

Game Description

Game Play Video

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Tasty Minstrel Games Announces Scoville is now on Kickstarter

Tags

Board Games, Ed Marriott, Kickstarter, Scoville, Tasty Minstrel Games

 

 

 

A “hot” new game from the guys at Tasty Minstrel Games! Check it out and back it if looks good to you.

“This clever new game has been burning your ears for some time now, and we are so excited to release it to the world. Scoville has a unique and elegant mechanism that gives it great depth of play, yet makes it accessible to players new to the board game hobby. Players will be crossbreeding hot peppers to make them hotter, and hotter, so that they can be put together in the recipe’s that will fill the citizens of Scoville’s need for Heat.

With art by Josh Cappel you know the game is going to look amazing!

Now, here is where we are super excited for you. Normally in Kickstarter campaigns where game items have the flexibility to be custom named, backers can pay more money to have that privilege. But, we here at TMG don’t always do things conventionally.

We are going to offer random backers the opportunity to help us name these crazy hot recipe’s throughout the campaign.

Back early, and maybe you can lay claim to coming up with an Outrageously Hot Recipe Name. Are you creative enough to make the Minstrel’s Molten Mouth seem like stuff for a baby’s bottle? We’ll see…

If creativity isn’t your thing that’s fine too, we will still work with the winners to put their name into a recipe title if they wish to do that instead.

Also, stretch goals are in place, and with your help not only will we have some outrageously awesome recipe names, but we will also be able to add a fifth and a sixth player, custom farmer meeples, and of course, with more backers will come even more recipes for us to name.

So, please check out Scoville and back it.” – Tasty Minstrel Games

Check out the Kickstarter here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/michaelmindes/scoville-the-hottest-farming-euro-game-ever?ref=TMGemail

 

Space Junk from Lamp Light Games Review by David Lowry

Tags

Board Games, Club Fantasci, David Lowry, Kickstarter, Lamp Light Games, Lief Steiestol, Michael Friesen, Reality TV, Review, Space Junk

Space…The Reality TV Frontier. The year is 2047 and the new “Green” is cleaning up space. There is tons of clutter littering the space around Earth and the future Jeff Probst has launched a reality TV program that will not only drive up his ratings with a race in space, but also clean up space as well.

In comes the cast of Space Junk. Sgt. Ned “The Hammer” Cole, Manuel Guerrero, Wynonna Fudd, Kitt Vicious, Mr. Smith, Bubba Johnson, Thomas “Tommy” Carmichael, Jimmy Ross and Johnny Tantrix. Join the cast as they race their ships made up and adapted from space junk!

Publisher: Lamp Light Games

Game Designer: Lief Steiestol, Mike Friesen

Players: 2 – 6

Ages: 6 to adult

Playing Time: 60 – 90 Minutes

Game Mechanics: Dice Rolling, Story Telling, Take That

Contents: 1 Game Board, 150+ Junk Cards, 8+ Character Cards, 6 six sided dice, 6 Ship Boards, 18 Translucent Cubes (3 of each color,) 12 Point Trackers (2 of each color,) 6 Space Ship Tokens and 1 First Player Marker.

Suggested Retail Price: N/A Currently in Kickstarter

Parental Advisory: Safe for kids

Overview

In Space Junk players are characters that are featured on a reality TV show while racing each other to get the most point victory points at the end of six rounds of play. While racing the players are ramming, attacking and searching for space junk to attach to their ship in hopes of making it better and increasing their chances of winning.

The race happens within 3 rings around Earth which the players may traverse basically at will. The closer rings score points faster, the farther rings allow for more searching which allows to enhance the players ships as well as score points as most space junk cards have a victory point value. The player board holds six slots (used for ship enhancement) for attaching junk to to each players ship as well as a fuselage slot that can never be damaged. The cargo hold will hold as many junk cards as you wish (points!) and can never be damaged. Only the six slots on your ship can be damaged.

Prototype Components

Sequence of Play

Movement Phase : During the movement phase players may move the amount indicated by their Character Card and any junk cards. They first decide what ring to move in and then move the number of space indicated by their totals. A player may score points this way each time they pass the starting line which is very easy to do if they are in the center ring.

During the movement phase, players may ram another players ship if they land in the same space. This allows players possible to take junk from another players ship and place it on their own.

Attack Phase: During the Attack Phase, players may attack one other player no matter where they are on the board but will suffer a -1 penalty for every space away the defending player is. The attacking player roles a six sided die and add it to their attack total based on their Character Card and junk cards then subtracts any penalty. They score one hit for however many times the total is divisible by five i.e., if the player scores 15 then they hit 3 times and score points for the hit. Then the attacking player rolls one six sided die per hit and the defender move any card hit in a slot number (1-6) rolled by the three die. The damaged space junk cards are turned sideways and discarded after everyone’s turn.

Search Phase: The Search Phase allows each player to pick up space junk to add to their ship or cargo hold. The rings have a “limit” as to how many pieces of junk a player may pick up. The center ring is 3, middle ring is 6 and outer ring is 9. This limit is not altered by a players search total. A player may have a search of 13 but will only be allowed to take as many cards as the ring allows.

After all the players have adjusted their ships totals from junk lost or gained they are now on TV describing their character, ship and round just like any other reality TV episode you have seen. This is actually the most fun part of the game. I put in a house rule that any player that didn’t participate in this would lose 5 points just to make sure no one got to shy.

After six rounds of these three phases, the player with the highest point total wins!

Final Thoughts

Space Junk is a light game that tries very hard but misses on a few levels. It feels more like a party game and this is what are gaming group came away with. Being that the most fun was had during the characters describing themselves, the rest of the game pales in comparison and is a lot of work when you could just pull out Snake Oil or Cards Against Humanity and have no set up or tear down time.

Now to be fair, I reviewed the prototype so I am not sure what the real game will look and be like. The rules we a bit vague especially in the attack phase description. You are supposed to score 3 points when you successfully attack another player but it doesn’t specify if it is 3 points once or for every successful hit.

The scoring track is a major issue with me. It is completely fiddly and more confusing than helpful. I am sure it would not have increased the cost hardly at to print a scoring track around the board to make it easier to score and see immediately vs. having a track on the left in increments of 10 points except where they skip from 100 to 120. What happened to 110? Then to have another track on the right side to track the single points. Is this really necessary? Using two tokens to score instead of one on a board that had plenty of room for a scoring track all the way around it?

That artwork was good, the flavor text was sometimes funny although it didn’t always have something to do with the card it was printed on. I think the final product will be an attractive one. The cards and board I won’t comment on as I don’t know what the final product will be.

Space Junk is a decent first effort from Lamp Light Games and might fill a spot for people who love party games and space themes. I did enjoy the “TV time” portion of the game as did the rest of our group but the rest fell a bit flat and felt like just going through the motions with out any real need for much strategy. The dice are completely random and many times when scoring 3 hits, no damage was done to the other players ship.

Due to the amount of cards given in this game, it has some re-playability and I suppose expansion could be made I am just not sure it would be worth it. This is definitely a game that should be played with at least 4 – 6 players to have enough chance to ram or attack anybody with out penalties and to have enough “character stories” to have fun with.

Due to the lack of any real “game” and the best part being the “stories” I am giving this a 5.5 out of 10 stars. For what it is, it plays to long, is to much work and you can get the best of Space Junk in simpler cards games that aren’t as fiddly.

I was provided a review copy of this game.

Dungeon Roll Review by David Lowry

Tags

Board Games, Chris Darden, Club Fantasci, David Lowry, Dice Games, Dungeon Roll, Fantasy, Review, Tasty Minstrel Games

 

Dungeon Roll Box

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Two giant stone doors tower before you, covered in moss, vines and deep battle scars from ages gone by. Upon further inspection, a dank smell permeates the air as you approach the doors. The smell of death, decay and something not quite right makes your parties skin crawl. With a word, your wizard opens the doors to complete darkness and the unknown is tugging at your senses. The wizards staff lights up, the warrior moves in first, one member after another. What will you find in the Dungeon? Why is the hair standing up on the back of your neck? Why is there a giant red scale on the ground before you? Do you have the metal to brave Dungeon Roll?”

Publisher: Tasty Minstrel Games

 

Game Designer: Chris Darden

Players: 1-4

Ages: 8 to adult

Playing Time: 15 minutes

Contents: 1 rulebook, 7 white party dice, 7 black dungeon dice, 1 10-sided level die, 36 treasure tokens, 24 experience tokens, 8 hero cards, 4 player aid cards, 1 hero book.

Suggested Retail Price: $15.99

Parental Advisory: Safe for kids

Necromancer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Dungeon Roll each player receives a Hero Card either at random or the player can choose from the following characters: Bard, Battlemage, Beguiler, Chieftain, Commander, Dragon Slayer, Necromancer and Paladin. Each Hero also has a Special Ability that can be used anytime and and Ultimate Ability that can only be used once per delve into the Dungeon. Hero can level up once after gaining enough experience points to help their special abilities.

The game is played in the rounds or each playing delving into the dungeon three times each. The first player then rolls the 7 white dice to determine their party that may include Champions, Fighters, Wizards, Thieves and Clerics. The person to the Players left is the Dungeon Lord and rolls the Dungeon Dice as well as tracks the current players lever with the Level Die.

Bard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The players turn consists of four different phases:

The Monster Phase: The active player uses his companions (Champions, Fighters, Mages, Thieves and Clerics) to battle the Monster Dice (Skeleton, Goblins and Oozes.) Any Dragon dice rolled are set off to the side to be faced later if three or more Dragons are rolled. Once a companion is used to battle a monster is put in the graveyard and cannot be used again unless brought back with a potion later in the turn sequence. Dungeon Dice are returned to the Dungeon Pool to be reused again. The current player can press their luck and go deeper into the dungeon increasing the level on the Level Die and gaining more experience points. Level 1, one Dungeon Die is rolled, Level 2, two Dungeon Dice are rolled etc. If a player fails to defeat the current level, they must flee the Dungeon and their delve is over with out gaining any experience.

The Loot Phase: The player can choose to do these in any order.

Open Chests: One Thief or Champion may open any number of chests and all other companions can open a single chest.

Quaff Potions: Any companion (including scroll die) can be used to quaff any number of potion dice. One potion equals on companion resurrected from the graveyard.

Dragon Phase: If there have been 3 Dragon Dice rolled then the current adventurer must battle the Dragon! The adventurer can only defeat the Dragon if they have 3 different companions to battle it with. If there are not 3 Dragon Dice, skip this phase.

Regroup Phase: Here the adventurer retires to the tavern. They collect experience points equal to the level they achieved on the Level Die. If the adventurer was brave enough and somehow made it all the way to Level 10 on this delve, they must retire and collect 10 experience points. The adventurer can keep seeking glory by going deeper into the Dungeon if they have not achieved Level 10 yet. Remember if the adventurer cannot defeat all the Monster Die, they must flee the Dungeon and no experience points are gained.

Once the delve is over, the adventurer passes the dice to the left and play begins again with that player.

Once all the adventurers have completed all three delves the game is over and the players count up their experience points. The one with the most wins!

Dungeon Roll Dice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Treasure: When a chest is opened during the Monster Phase, the current player gets to retrieve treasure from the Dungeon. These can be used during a players turn if applicable like a fighter token or a mage token which acts as an additional companion die. Once the toke is used it is returned to the box. All unused treasure tokens count as experience points at the end for the player that has them.

The components for Dungeon Roll are very good. The artwork is very nice, the dice are high quality with cool graphics and the tokens are small but serviceable and sturdy. The box is a cool treasure chest look for the packaging but I can see the lip on the inside getting damaged fairly easy so take care when closing the box. The Hero Cards are very attractive and of decent quality. As much room as in on the card, the text could have been bigger for people with eyesight issues but that is a super small quibble.

Dungeon Roll is an very fun, quick romp through the dungeon and in some ways the theme really comes through. This is a great filler game or travel game as it all fits in the small treasure box and is playable anywhere anytime as it really only lasts about 15 minutes each game. Designer Chris Darden did a great job of finding a way to mix the luck of dice rolling with strategy and the feel of a dungeon crawl in such a small, compact quick game. This is a winning design and game. Great job Chris and Tasty Minstrel Games.

I am giving this game 7 out 10 stars as it is very fun, quick and thematic at its core with just the right amount of luck and strategy for a filler game that keeps everyone engaged and is going to be great fun for kids and adults.

A Fool’s Fortune Review by David Lowry

Tags

A Fool's Fortune, Board Games, Card Games, Club Fantasci, David Lowry, Jason D. Pilla Cannoncro, Justin A. Pilla, Review, Rio Grande Games, Rummy Style

 

A Fool’s Fortune Box Top

“Come play a game of mischief, magic, mirth, and lore. Delve into the Book of Fate to reveal mysterious fortunes: realms near and far, resources wondrous and wild. Cast your lot with a crew of assorted (and sordid) characters. If you pay your dues and play your hand right, you may just win a fool’s fortune.” – Rio Grande Games

Publisher: Rio Grande Games

Game Designer: Jason D. Pilla Cannoncro, Justin A. Pilla

Players: 2-3

Ages: 13 to adult

 

Playing Time: 45 minutes

Contents: 1 rulebook, 77 unique cards.

Suggested Retail Price: $19.95

Parental Advisory: Safe for kids

A Fool’s Fortune is a two player Rummy style game in which both players are attempting to make sets as fast as possible. It isn’t that easy however as the game provides plenty of twists based on the 5 suits of Fortunes and Characters with special talents that either player may employ against each other. The first player to achieve 3 sets wins the game and A Fool’s Fortune!

There are 3 Acts which are basically 3 different levels of play. Each Act can be played as a stand alone game or all together. Each Act has it’s own strategies that are different as each Act has a different purpose.

Of the 77 cards in the game, 55 are Fortune cards. Each Fortune contains a Realm and a Resource. Realms are represented by 5 different colors.

Mountain – Grey

Forest – Green

Coastal – Blue

Desert – Red

City – Purple

The Resources found within the Realms are distinguished by symbols.

Folk – Theater Masks

Location – Castle

Nature – Animal Paw

Treasure – Gem

Supernatural – Air symbol

You can have Aligned Fortunes that either match by Realm or Resource type. There are Charmed-Pairs that are identical in Realm and Resource type. Sets are groups of Aligned Fortunes that are in play. Each Realm also includes 1 wild card each.

There are 22 Character cards. These Characters can be recruited into service by paying a fee to put them into play by paying 2 Aligned Fortunes underneath the Character as the Characters Fee’s.

Like many card games, Characters or Engaged (exhausted) and Readied. To use the Characters abilities you have to engage your character.

You may also Fetch a Character from the Faire to be brought into your camp.

So you can see there is some thought in this game, unfortunately, it just isn’t worth the work of learning it.

While learning A Fool’s Fortune, I had a really hard time getting into this game. The rules are badly laid out and explained which is not something I find with most Rio Grande Games. The need to learn a ton of new terminology makes this game difficult and to be honest it just isn’t worth the time for a game this style. Not for a variation of Rummy anyway. The need to constantly used new verbiage to create a theme for what should be such a simple game completely destroys anyone wanting to really sit down and learn the game. With certain games like Android: Netrunner I can see this as the game play makes it completely worth it. With this one, it was unnecessary and kills the fun factor.

The idea behind the game was good. The fact that I can see a fair amount of deep strategy potential makes it sad that trying to understand this game is more difficult than it should be. Even after watching the vides, which are horrible, didn’t help. The music choice and cheap filming actually distract you from the learning. Hint: As a video producer and music professional, publishers and designers need to be very careful in how they make their videos or hire a professional to do it for them. This was just bad period.

Unfortunately this is the first bad review I have had to write, but honestly, I just can’t find anything about this game that makes me want to play it. I usually outline the game play in my reviews but trying to do that with this game is wouldn’t be fair to the readers. I love the theme and I can see the potential, but for $20, it is way more work than learning many other games. If you know someone that has learned this game and can explain it to you through a few rounds of play, then maybe you will enjoy this game, but I wouldn’t spend your money on this game. It just falls flat from the opening of the box.

This is a time sink one of the very few games I just have no desire to play. This is the only game I have played from Rio Grande Games I haven’t pretty much loved. Don’t be a fool with this one.

I am giving this four out of 10 stars as it just is way to fiddly to learn and poorly laid out to learn.

Cinque Terre Board Game Review by David Lowry

Tags

Board Games, Chris Handy, Cinque Terre, Club Fantasci, David Lowry, Euro Games, Review, Rio Grande Games

Cinque Terre Box Top

Life in Cinque Terre is a beautiful sight to behold. A rugged coastal land on the Italian Riviera with five villages close to each other to do business in. Each Player is a farmers vying to harvest and sell produce in each village and become the most popular by fulfilling the most Produce Orders.

Publisher: Rio Grande Games

Game Designer: Chris Handy

Players: 2-5

Ages: 13 to adult

Playing Time: 60 minutes

Contents: 1 Rulebook, 1 Game Board, 16 Dice, 5 Player Cart Tokens, 5 Scoring Markers, 128 Produce Pieces, 1 Dice Bag, 5 Most Popular Vendor cards, 5 Fulfillment Cards, 80 Produce Cards, 80 Produce Orders, 16 Starting Orders.

Suggested Retail Price: $54.95

Parental Advisory: Safe for kids

In Cinque Terre, each players plays a farmer that operate carts and harvest and deliver produce to sell in the 5 local villages. Players will also compete for Produce Order cards, which will give the player Lire for each successfully filled order in specific villages. The player with the most Lire, most popularity and most fulfilled Produce Orders at the end of the game wins.

The object of the game is to earn the highest total amount of Lire. This is scored by a scoring track around the edge of the board. Lire can be aquired by:

• Selling produce at a village for its value in that village

• Fulfilling Produce Orders, this can either be from the players hard or next to the board.

• Selling the most produce at a village to become the Most Popular Vendor.

Cinque Terre Set Up

During a players turn that player may take up 3 of the following 4 actions in any order they choose.

• Move up to 4 spaces in a clockwise direction.

• Draw 1 Produce card.

• Harvest Produce – They player may harvest up to 4 Produce pieces at any 1 of the 3 Harvest spaces. A player may not have more than 4 Produce pieces at any one time.

• Sell Produce at a Village Market – A player my sell up to 4 Produce pieces at any one of the 5 villages they are currently occupying.

Players may perform the same action more than once per turn.

Move up to 4 spaces – There are 8 spaces a player’s cart may land on. There are 3 Harvest locations and 5 villages. A player may move up to 4 spaces in a clockwise direction only. Players may occupy the same space.

Draw 1 Produce card – A player may draw 1 Produce card. Of course as stated earlier a player can take an action more than once. There are 8 types of Produce cards and 10 of each of those. The cards are colored coded to match the Produce pieces and 8 colored dice.

• Black – Olive

• Grey – Funghi (Mushroom)

• White – Agli (Garlic)

• Purple – Uva (Grapes)

• Green – Zucchine (Zucchini)

• Yellow – Limoni (Lemon)

• Orange – Arance ( Oranges)

• Red – Pomodori (Tomatoes)

If a player choses to draw a Produce card, they can draw from either of the 4 face up cards on the board or from the Produce draw pile.

If a card is taken from the game board, it is immediately refilled from the draw pile.

There is no hand limit and if the draw pile runs out, the players reshuffle the discard pile in to a new draw pile.

Cinque Terre Components

Harvest Produce – The players must harvest Produce in order to sell it. There are 3 Harvest spaces on the board from which the players may harvest. The players may only harvest the Produce attached to that particular harvest space. The first and third space has 3 types of Produce attached to it while the second space has only 2 attached to it.

To harvest Produce, the players must discard the appropriate card type for each produce they harvest i.e., 1 Olive card for 1 Olive produce piece. A player may never have more than 4 unfulfilled Produce pieces at one time on their cart, however a player may harvest up to 4 Produce pieces for one action.

Yield – A player may discard 2 resource of the same type to harvest any 1 other type of Produce piece they are currently sitting on.

Sell Produce at a Village Market – This is how the players make a profit and move their counter along the victory point track around the edge of the board mainly. A player may sell any type of Produce at any village but some types of produce will be more valuable in certain villages based on what the appropriate colored die says for that village. If a player sells an “Uva” at a village that has a purple die with the 5 showing, that Produce is worth 5 Lire each. Players may only sell the village they are currently occupying as well.

Each village will have dice to the right of it with a particular number showing, which was rolled before the start of the game and place in the appropriate space next to each village. If there is no die associated with a particular Produce color than that Produce is worth 1 Lire only.

To show that a Produce piece is sold, a player must move the piece to the corresponding cube space in the appropriate village row on their fulfillment card. Then the players adjust the scoring track to reflect the sale as well. A player may sell as much or as little at this market as they wish.

Cinque Terre Fulfillment Board

Produce Orders/Starting Orders – These are pretty much the same thing. Every player starts with a starting order to fulfill and will also fulfill more Produce Orders from the side of the game board. Each Order has Produce symbols next to each village. The player must sell on Produce for each symbol type shown to the corresponding village on the card. Once a player has sold a certain type of Produce in a village, they are now eligible to claim future orders requiring the same type of Produce in the same village. The player may sell several of the same type of Produce to the same village as it may be more profitable but not necessary.

Claiming Fulfilled Produce Orders – A player may only claim a Produce Order card from the side of the board at the end of their turn and only if their Fulfillment Card meets the requirements shown on the Produce Order. A player may only claim 1 Produce Order per turn. When a player draws a new Fulfillment Order, they look at it secretly and make keep it or refill the empty space on the side of the board. If they choose to refill the space, they must take the next card drawn.

Claiming Most Popular Vender Cards – Players ending their turn with all 8 spaces filled on their fulfillment card may take the MPV Card at the end of their turn. That card is worth a certain amount of Lire and the player then adjusts the scoring track accordingly to the Lire amount on the card. Any forgotten MPV Card to be claimed MAY be claimed by another player. Only one MPV Card may be claimed per turn.

Starting Orders are hidden throughout the game and are scored at the game end. Unfulfilled Starting Orders will result in a victory point loss at the end of the game.

The game end is triggered in one of these two ways:

– After the turn in which a player claims a fifth Produce Order card or MPV Card (any combination), each player then gets one final turn including the trigger player. Orders in the player’s hand at game end do not count against them.

– After the turn in which 2 different Produce types have been depleted, all players get one final turn including the trigger player.

Players then total up their final scores to determine the winner.

The components in Cinque Terre are high quality in every respect. My only complaint is the scoring track around the board couple be a bit better. That is a very minor complaint though.

Cinque Terre is a very good euro-style game that gives you plenty of strategy in a short, manageable game that plays a time frame to make almost anyone happy. This fits so well into so many different situations that it solves what most people complain about. While it isn’t innovative so to speak, it is deep enough, short enough, and the quality is solid.

This game is easy to learn and play almost immediately so it makes it a great choice as a gateway game for first time gamers not used to a euro-style game. Designer Chris Handy did a great job here and I know it wasn’t easy for him. This game took awhile to get out and I am sure that it went through lots of revisions before doing so.

I will give this game about a 7.5 out of 10 stars as even the theme comes across well here which can be unusual for a euro-style game. For those players that love cube pushers but don’t always have time for games like Caylus, this could very well scratch your itch.

Vampire: Prince of the City Review by David Lowry

Tags

Board Games, Club Fantasci, David Lowry, Mike Nudd, Prince of the City, Vampire, Vampire The Masquerade, White Wolf Publishing

Vampire: Prince of the City

The Prince is dead by unknown and mysterious means! The Primogen of the five vampire clans vie for the throne of Prince of the City by outmaneuvering each other through controlling city zones, using their humans, using social stature, physical combat and mental abilities. Who will outwit each other, physically dominate or use politics and intrigue to claim the title? Which one will persevere and take the throne? Do you have what it takes to lead not only your clan but also all five-vampire clans?

Publisher: White Wolf Publishing, Inc.

Game Designer: Mike Nudd

Players: 3-5

Ages: 15 to adult

Playing Time: 90 – 120 minutes

Contents: 1 rulebook, 1 folding city board, 1 deck of 100 playing cards, 5 character cards, 5 unique character miniatures, 5 10-sided die and 3 sheets of counters and tokens.

Suggested Retail Price: $45.00

Parental Advisory: Safe for kids

Vampire: Prince of the City is based on the popular role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade and I think effectively captures its essence. Set in the aftermath of a great tragedy, the former Prince has met with the Final Death by some unknown means and now the Primogen of the five vampire clans the Daeva, Gangrel, Mekhet, Nosferatu and Ventrue are on the move to claim the throne of Prince of the City.

Each player takes the role of one of the Primogen in this effort to out maneuver his or her opponents to claim the title. Whichever player holds the most Prestige (victory points) at the end of the game wins. A set length of rounds between 6 and 12 determines each game and this of course affects the length of the game. Prestige comes in two forms in this game, Personal Prestige and City Prestige. Both are equally important for players to focus on. Personal Prestige is gained primarily though the event cards and City Prestige is game through city zone (area) control. At the end of the game, the players add up both their Personal Prestige and City Prestige to see who has become the new Prince of the city!

Primogen Miniature

The clans have different attributes that may give advantages in the different challenges from both event cards and other players.

Daeva – Sensuous, artistic and hedonistic. They posses supernatural physical power but are most feared for their majestic social presence.

Gangrel – Animalistic, instinctive and shamanic. The hunters and mystics of the Kindred world, physical power is legendary as are their abilities to transform undead flesh in to beasts.

Mekhet – Ideological, intellectual and philosophical. They are the spies and prophets of the Kindred world. They are supreme strategists and always one step ahead of the Danse Macabre.

Nosferatu – Monsters, outcasts and freaks. The brutes and terrors of the Kindred world. Known for hoarding its darkest secrets, physical power, mental cunning and nightmarish control of fear itself.

Ventrue – Royalty, generals and autocrats. The Ventrue are leaders and champions and take command of any man or best as suits their whim.

Each of the five clans have attributes on the player cards that represent their ability to perform mental, physical and social challenges The higher the score, the stronger the ability. Each of the five clans also have Disciplines listed on their cards that are super powers so to speak and may only be used once per turn. Disciplines cost one Vitae (blood) to use each time.

Vampire: Prince of the City Game Board

The game board is broken out into different city zones that are distinguished by color.

Religious – Orange

Government – Blue

Business – Purple

Arts and Entertainment – Pink

Research – Green

Industry – Red

Transportation – Yellow

Community – Dark Blue

The game comes with 100 playing cards of five different types.

Activation – Special game effects that may be used if the player controls the zone the card represents.

Event – These represent a number of different events that would occur in a city full of vampires. Any Primogen who expects to command the respect due a Prince needs to be able to resolve these events.

Retainer & Equipment – These cards represent people and items that give bonuses or other effects to the controlling player.

Strategy – The cards represent the different ways a Primogen may employ to garner more prestige or resources.

This game is a turn based game set up in five different phases as follows:

Resource phase –During this phase the player marshals the tools at their disposal. The player may take two actions from the following list.

Draw a card from the deck – A player may never hold more than three card in their hand at one time unless a card play dictates otherwise. Also a player may not have more than five cards in play in front of them again a card in play dictates otherwise

Hunt to gain one Vitae – Gain one Vitae (blood) to heal

Consume a retainer to gain two Vitae – Gain two Vitae to heal at the cost of one retainer card removed from play.

Recover from or rescue another Primogen from torpor (coma) – A player may come back in to play or help another player come back into play after loosing all their Vitae in a challenge. If a player looses all their Vitae, they are moved to the center of the board in the Elysium zone and they loose a turn as they are in torpor (coma)

Perform an alternative resource action (card text) – play a card from your hand or activate a card in front of the player in play.

Gifting or trading card is a possibility with another player in range of each other, this meaning in the same city zone or one away. A player may gift or trade as many cards in any combination with another player that is within range.

Starting Position

Movement phase – Each player may move their miniature to any spot on the board even if already occupied by another player or token (unless a game effect dictates otherwise such as torpor.) A play is not forced to move if they choose not to. Once a player moves a piece and places it, it may not be moved again until the next movement phase (unless dictated by a game effect.)

Ventrue Clan Sheet

Challenge Phase – During the challenge phase each player may make one challenge in turn order against another player in range of each other. Both the acting player and the target roll one 10 sided die and add their challenge score from their character card and any other bonuses from cards or other players helping and the high score wins. The challenges are as follows:

Mental Challenge Effects – The winning player may steal one face-up Strategy card in play of their choice from the loser, or steal one influence token from the loser in the next Influence Phase.

Physical Challenge Effects – The winning player may steal on Equipment card of their choice controlled by the loser, or steal up to three Vitea counter form the loser.

Social Challenge Effects – The winning player may steal one Retainer card of their choice controlled by the loser, or steal up to two Personal Prestige counters from the loser.

The winning player may also decline any winning effect if they so chose.

Event Challenges – These challenges are handled in a similar fashion but the event card dictates the type of challenge. The current player must score equal or higher than the given difficulty number on the event card. If they do, they event is solved and the player collects the Personal Prestige points awarded. If they fail, the event is left in play and other players may attempt to resolved this challenge during their turn.

Assisting a Challenge – Other players may assist both in player and event challenges. This must be declared before any dice are rolled or Discipline or card effects are used.

Influence Phase – This phase is where the players “bid” for influence in certain city zones. Each player will take three influence tokens from the bank plus one for ever zone in which they control all of that color. Influence tokens are not kept past this phase. Once this phase is complete, everyone discards his or her tokens and it begins again the next round. Once bidding begins, players try and get their influence tokens on the board in zones to control it. If a player wins that bid, those tokens stay on the board, if a player loses, the tokens bid this round are discarded. Players can only bid in zones they are currently in, colors they have tokens in or zones that in range of the players miniature. When a player controls a zone, their tokes are placed in the circle on the right side of the zone to show dominance.

Resolution Phase – During this phase all the players count up both their Personal Prestige and City Prestige and adjust their Prestige track on the outer edge of the board. Prestige is no cumulative, so it is entirely possible that a player will lose ground on the track. The person with the most Prestige per turn becomes the Regent (first player) and the next round starts unless of course it was the last round of play.

The components for Vampire Prince of the city are pretty well done. The board is thick and lays flat. The city zones could be outlined a bit better and the circles in the zones as well, but that is a minor issues. The miniatures are very nicely done; the tokens are thick and will last a long time. Using dark purple on a black background wasn’t a great idea for one of the tokens as it makes it very hard to see.

The box art on the other hand is really pretty poor. It’s very non-descript and doesn’t convey anything of the game and the back isn’t much better. There is information left off that would help sell the game to casual buyers.

That being said, Vampire: Prince of the City is a good, solid game. It plays much better with at least four people and best with five. Anything less and it takes for every for anyone to really challenge each other as the board is large and it’s easy to avoid other players.

There is a nice amount of strategy in this game. The player interaction makes it very fun and the theme carries through a bit. The cards add a great feel to the game and provide for some interesting strategy choices based on what you draw out of the pile. Bidding for influence is a great feature and provides a lot of great interaction and choices on top of the area control mechanic. Being in the lead will definitely lead to people attacking you so beware!

I recommend not using event challenges the first round or two as many of the challenges are much to strong to beat with out having cards laid down in front of the players to use.

All in all this is a much better game than may let on about in other reviews. I have a feeling, they didn’t really dig into it or have enough players to fill out the board more.

If you can find a copy of this out of print game, I recommend it. It’s worth the money and definitely has a good amount of replay value with all the different cards and types of characters you get to choose from.

I will give this game about a 7 out of 10 stars just because you need at least four players to really get the game effects really banging but it is certainly worth the price and wins in the strategy department.

Hot Rod Creeps Board Game by Cryptozoic Entertainment Review by David Lowry

Tags

Board Games, Children's Games, Club Fantasci, Cryptozoic Entertainment, David Lowry, Family games, Hot Rod Creeps, Kid's Games, Racing Games

Hot Rod Creeps Box Top

Start your engines! On your mark! Get set! Go! The latest race in the PUSCAR (Psychotic Union of Severely Crazed Racers) Cup is on! Team Monsters, Rockabilly, Underworld, Aliens, Food Fight and Battle Wizards rip it up on the track to see who is the best of the best. Watch out for hazards, curves and dirty play as each team tries to take you out and capture the checkered flag!

Publisher: Cryptozoic Entertainment

Game Creator: Cory Jones

Game Designer: Matt Hyra

Players: 2-6

Ages: 15 to adult

Playing Time: 30- 45 minutes

Contents: 6 Team Decks, 1 Nitro Deck, 4 Upgrade Decks, 6 Plastic Hot Rods, 6 Hot Record Sheets, 50 Double-Sided Track Tiles and Extras, 1 3-D hot Rod Creeps Motor Speedway Standee and Others, 1 Rulebook

Suggested Retail Price: $45.00

Parental Advisory: Safe for kids

In Hot Rod Creeps Customizable Racing Game the ultimate goal is to be the first across the finish line. Players can race 1 lap or a whole circuit and climb the leader board to see who comes out on top. Each player can pick from 6 different teams that each have certain strength you try to exploit against the other opponents.

Hot Rod Creeps Martian Menace Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Teams are:

Team Aliens – Collect upgrgades as quickly as possible.

Team Battle Wizards – Have one card in hand to access the nitro deck.

Team Food Fight – Play cards in a sequence.

Team Monsters – Play cards quickly out of their Tank (draw pile) and maintain between empty and half full.

Team Rockabilly – Play or flip the top card of their Tank whenever possible as they have more flip cards than any other team.

Team Underworld – Track cards in their Tank and hand to avoid getting burned.

During the set-up phase a player can build any design of track they can think up. Start with the starting grid and complete it with the finish line. Each player then places their car on the starting grid by drawing them from a cup randomly. There is a rule for whomever has the closest birthday to go first if you chose to do that.

Hot Rod Creeps Track

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A number will be on the starting grid under the players Hot Rod, this is the number of cards that each player draws of their Tank to star your hand. They closer to the front, the fewer amounts of cards are drawn of the Tank.

The cards themselves are very simple to read and understand. In the upper left corner is the move value in other words how many spaces a Hot Rod may move when played. Down the left side is the card name and on the bottom is the game text. If it says “Flip Only,” than this card text is only in effect when flipped of the top of the Tank or a deck.

As you would assume the pole position goes first and then turn order is clockwise for the rest of the game. Each player may then choose one of the 4 actions for that one action that turn.

Play a Move card from your hand. This option allows a player to move their Hot Rod forward the number of spaces of the Move value. This always for planning a bit easier so the player can land in Pit Stops, avoid hazards and take the corners more safely avoiding damage. Any card played this way with “Flip Only” in the text is ignored.

Flip the top card from the players Tank. This option is of course random and the player must announce it before revealing it to other players. This is where “flipping” comes in so a “Flip Only” text card will be activated here. The Move value of the card still applies here as well.

Flip the top card from the Nitro deck. The Nitro deck is a shared deck between all players and most of the Move values on this deck are between 6 to 9 making it a risky option. These cards can have some nasty effects so play with caution. This may cause you to burn cards off your tank, hit a wall turning a corner taking additional damage. To take this option, the player must have at least one card in their hand.

Hot Rod Creeps Nitro Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Draw 4 cards from the players Tank. This won’t allow the players Hot Rod to move and it is a more strategic action. If the players tank is almost empty and doesn’t have 4 cards left, then they just draw what is left with no reshuffle.

The order of events is resolved by playing the card text first, then the Move value. This is because the game text may alter the actual movement of the Hot Rod. After the Hot Rod has moved then any Upgrade cards a player may have such as weapons or engines upgrades are resolved. These effects could further still affect the Hot Rods movement. Lastly any effects from the track such as hazards, corner damage or Pit Stops are resolved.

Pit Stops are spaces that a player must land in directly on the end of their FULL movement turn. The Move value of a card may not be shortened to effect where a player may land. When a player effectively Pit Stops, they then have the option of either Gassing Up or drawing an Upgrade card. A player may not attempt an additional Pit Stop by not moving a second time and drawing 4 cards. If a player chooses this option, then that player on draws 4 cards and their turn is over.

Gas Up allows a player to shuffle their discard pile into the remainder of their tank. The players Tank does not have to be empty to do this however, it may be more efficient to draw an Upgrade card if the players is not in danger of running out of gas.

Draw and Upgrade card allows a player to draw from 1 of 4 different types of Upgrade cards: Weapons, Engines, Wheels and Pit Crews. This card is put in the appropriate slot on the players Hot Rod Sheet. You can only have one of each upgrade at a time in the appropriate slot. If a player draws Weapons upgrade but already has that slot filled with another Weapons Upgrade then the player chose to replace the current Upgrade or discard it. These Upgrades improve a player Hot Rod and often allow that player to hurt another player.

Hot Rod Creeps Team Rockabilly Mat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weapons Upgrades will typically trigger when a Move value of 4 or 5 is played. This affect triggers whether the Move value was played from a hand or off the top of the Tank. This is obviously to harm a fellow opponent.

Hot Rod Creeps Weapons Upgrade Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Engine Upgrades again usually trigger when a Move value of 4 or 5 is played either from a players hard or their Tank.

Hot Rod Creeps Engine Upgrade Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wheels Upgrades come into player when one player Drafts one or more other players. The number of Hot Rods Drafted does not increase the Upgrades effect, but it may affect multiple opponents at once.

Hot Rod Creeps Wheel Upgrade Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pit Crew Upgrades trigger when a player Pit Stops. A player who runs out of gas is forced to Pit Stop and this cards text is triggered.

Hot Rod Creeps Pit Crew Upgrade Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a only one Hot Rod per space allowed so if an opponents turn would end in an already occupied space then, that opponent then “Drafts” the Hot Rod already occupying that space. Drafting allows that player to end in the space directly ahead of the occupied space and is trigged by any card or affecting moving a Hot Rod. You can also draft backward as well if a card text forces a Hot Rod backwards. This puts the moving Hot Rod in the space directly behind the occupied space.

If a card moves past a Hot Rod, Passing may be in effect. Passing triggers some certain card text and Drafting is considered Passing in this instance as well.

Running out of gas occurs when a players Tank (draw deck) is empty and as long as the player has cards left in their hand they are safe. If a player ever has no cards in their hand or tank, they then must move their Hot Rod backwards to the nearest Pit Stop. This is not a movement action, so no Passing, Drafting or other effect takes place. After reshuffling a Tank, then the player draws 2 cards to their hand.

A player can take damage called Burn. This effect removes cards from the top of a Tank. Burn can come from cards, hazards, Upgrades etc. When Burn takes effect, the player takes that many cards from the top of their Tank and places them in their discard pile.

Damage is an effect that removes cards from a players hand and can happen from card text, corners, hazards and so on. Damage forces a player to discard cards from their hand but if they do not satisfy the damage amount, then that player must Burn the additional cards from their Tank to satisfy the Damage amount.

When a players Hot Rod comes screaming around Corners, there could be trouble! A bold red line that has a difficulty maker assigned to it distinguishes a Corner. If a players Hot Rod is going faster than the assigned number than that Hot Rod will take damage.

There a few Hazard and Bonus spaces to be aware of as well. These can be added to the track to bring additional mayhem to the gaming experience. You have Banana Peel, Fan Frenzy, Oil, Potholes, Varmint Crossing and Rain Slick hazards while only to bonuses, those being The Spotlight and Sponsor’s Row bonuses.

The components are a good quality. This stock for the track, fire hoop, crowd stands etc. However the ramps for the fire hoop could have been much better done as my copy it’s worthless. The cards are of nice quality and the player sheets are ok. The art work is amazing especially if you enjoy Rat Fink style art. Some of the track parts don’t quite fit together perfect but that is to be expected and doesn’t detract from the game experience. My copy came with a Monsters Team sheet missing while I got 2 Underworld Team Sheets. There was a slight bit of damage on a couple of track pieces and to the manual, but I did receive a review copy not a retail copy.

Hot Rod Creeps is a very little but very fun stick it to your opponent game. Playing once is a bit of a let down as the game goes quick and the set up and take down time is more than most games so I recommend running a circuit to really get the feel and effect. Running a leader board definitely adds to the game experience. This game has a ton of replay ability to it as the track never has to be the same and the randomness of peoples decisions, Upgrade cards and effects. This is a great game for kids or people who aren’t into heavy strategy. It’s got a comical feel to it and provides for great social gaming and jokes. There is definitely some strategy to this so please don’t think I am saying their isn’t, but it’s light and fun as opposed to anything causing analysis paralysis. If any player suffers from that in this game, don’t play with them again lol.

I am giving this game 7 out of 10 stars for fun, replay ability and social gaming.

Star Trek Catan from Mayfair Games Review by David Lowry

Tags

Board Games, Catan, Club Fantasci, David Lowry, Euro Games, Family games, Klas Tueber, Mayfair Games, Star Trek Catan

Space…The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprisess Their one game mission: to explore strange new worlds. Seek out new resource cards, block resource production from other opponents and boldly win by gaining 10 or more victory points before anyone else.

Publisher: Mayfair Games

Game Designer: Klaus Teuber

Players: 3 – 4

Ages: 10 to adult

Playing Time: 75 + minutes

Contents: 2 Dice, 19 Sector Tiles, 6 Frame Pieces, 95 Resource Cards, 25 Development Cards, 10 Support Cards, 4 Building Costs Cards, 2 Special Cards and the game pieces in 4 different colors contain 4 Starbase Expansions, 7 Outposts, 15 Starships and finally 1 Klingon Battle Cruiser

Suggested Retail Price: $55.00

Parental Advisory: Safe for kids

In Star Trek Catan the players scour the universe looking for resources on new planets to build Outposts, Starbases, creating the “Longest Supply Route” and having the “Largest Starfleet.” Players can trade, block, and meet up with the dangerous Klingons while facing having to build in locations that may be plentiful in resource production or very minimal.

Each player is trying to build Outposts (worth one Victory Point each) that eventually upgrade in to Starbases (worth 2 Victory Points each) in orbit of the Federation Territories (planets.) Each planet has a random number 1-12 on it, this allows a player to gather the type of resource that planet produces if that number is rolled by a player.

Star Trek Catan Components

Red Planet produces Tritanium

Yellow Planet produces Food

White Gas Planet produces Oxygen

Green Planet produces Dilithium

Blue Planet produces Water

Asteroid Field produces nothing

Each player starts with 2 Outposts and 2 Starships and 1 Support card chosen at random. Because of this, each player automatically starts the game with 2 Victory Points. Players pick where to put their first Outpost by starting with the oldest player first. The first player then places one of their Outposts and an adjoining Starship on any Federation territory junction and this continues clockwise till the last player places 2 Outposts and then it moves counter clockwise until the players have placed both of their Outposts and Starships on the game board.

The Turn Overview looks like this:

The player must roll the dice for resource production. This result gives all players with an Outpost or Starbase on that number a resource from that planet. A player may get more than one resource depending on how many Outposts or Starbases are located there. Each Outpost produces 1 resources and each Starbase produces 2 resources.

The player whose turn it is may trade resources with any other player during their turn. That player may listen to offers and any counteroffers. A player may not trade if it is not their turn unless it is only with the current players turn. The current player may also trade with the Border (bank) by trading any 4 of one type of resource for 1 of any other type of resource. If the player has an Outpost/Starbase that borders trading post, then they may be able to trade at a 3:1 or 2:1 rate.

The player may build as many Outposts, Starships or Starbases as their resource cards allow.

The player may also play 1 of their Support and/or 1 Development card any time during their turn.

Building allows a player to increase their resource production as well as giving them more Victory Points. To be able to build, a player may not build closer than 2 space intersections from another player.

Star Trek Catan Dilithium Card

To build requires the following:

Starship – I Dilithium and 1 Tritanium resource card. These are built along the space intersection connecting their Outposts/Starbases together. They may not be built of any other player’s routes or Outposts/Starbases. Once a player has built a route of 5 or more Starships that do not branch off, they may receive the “Longest Supply Route Card” worth 2 Victory Points. This card may change hands many times during the game. If there is a tie for the longest route, no one holds the card.

Outposts – 1 Food, 1Dilithium, 1 Oxygen and 1 Tritanium are required to build 1 Outpost. The player must build the Outpost adjacent to one of their Starships and the player must make sure they are 2 space intersections away from any other (including their own) Outpost or Starbase before building. When building a new Outpost, that player now has the possibility to increase their resource production if that planet number is rolled.

Starbases – 3 Water and 2 Oxygen are required to build the Starbase upgrade to the current Outpost. This attachment goes on top of the current Outpost and doubles the resource production of the current Starbase. The Starbase must be built on a current Outpost and cannot bypass the Outpost building stage.

Resource Cards – 1 Water, 1 Food and 1 oxygen are required to buy 1 Resource Card. This card is drawn from the top of the stack and held in secret until the player chooses to reveal it. Most Resource Cards may not be played until after the turn in which it was purchased.

Victory Point Cards – The players must keep their Victory Point Cards hidden until they have 10 Victory Points or more and then reveal them. These cards may be played on the turn they were purchased to win the game.

Starfleet Intervenes cards – If a player plays this card, they must move the Klingon Battle Cruiser (more on how this works below.) Once this card is played, it will remain face up in front of the player that played it adding to their Starfleet size. Once a player has 3 Starfleet Intervenes cards face up in front of them, they may claim the “Largest Starfleet” card worth 2 Victory Points. This of may change hands many times during the game. In case of a tie, no one holds the “Largest Starfleet” Card.

Progress Cards – These cards have text on them that the player may then activate to receive its bonuses. Once played, these cards go out of the game.

Star Trek Catan Components

Support Cards are Star Trek: TOS characters with special text on them to help the players who holds it. They have both an A and B side to them. Once a player uses side A, they have the option to either flip it over to side B and use it again later or they may return it to the Support Card display and choose another that is available. If the player chooses to keep the Support Card after using side A, once they use side B, they must return it to the Support Card display and choose another card. A Support Card may not be used the turn that it was acquired.

Star Trek Catan Support Cards

The Klingon Battle Cruiser is activated once a “7” is rolled by a player or if a “Starfleet Intervenes” Card is played. The following is what happens when a “7” is rolled or a “Starfleet Intervenes” card is played.

If a “7” is rolled on a players turn, no player will receive any resources that turn from production.

Any player that holds more than 7 cards in their hand at that time the “7” was rolled must put half of their hand back into the resource supply rounded down.

The player that rolled the “7” must move the Klingon Battle Cruiser to a planet sector or to the asteroid sector although moving it to the asteroid sector usually doesn’t make much sense.

The player then “steals” 1 resource from 1 opponent who has a Outpost/Starbase currently in orbit of the planet on which you placed the Klingon Battle Cruiser.

This planet no longer produces any resources as long as the Klingon Battle Cruiser is on it.

Play continues as normal.

The game ends as soon as a player reaches 10 Victory points through any combination of Outposts, Starbases, Victory Point Cards and Special Cards such as the “Largest Starfleet” or the “Longest Supply Route”.

The components of Star Trek Catan are exceptional. The photos are taken from the Star Trek: TOS from the “Wrath of Kahn” or after. The tiles and edge pieces are very thick and will last forever; the Starships, Outposts and Starbase pieces are detailed and very cool. The cards stock is thick enough to not bend to easily but they are glossy which does make them slippery and they are all smaller than the original Catan. It would have been better if they were normal size so they could have been sleeved if needed and textured just to be easier to handle. That is my only complaint though. The box art is very cool, and the box insert is nicely done as well.

Star Trek Catan is a remake of the famous “Settlers of Catan” and so much of it is very much the same with the exception of the theme and the Support Cards. I know a lot of people were like “another Catan?” or “Isn’t this just over kill and license gouging” but I say nay! The theme works very well with this game. Star Trek has a huge audience and let’s be honest there have been a plethora of bad Star Trek games through out the years. Attaching Star Trek with the Catan game library was a smart move and it fits very well along side all the others. The addition of the Support Cards adds a whole other dimension to the game no pun intended. It allows people to get back in the game easier as well if they are struggling due to placement. This version of Catan has become my go to version to play and it has completely refreshed it for me. This was a win/win situation for the both Catan and Star Trek.

We already know that this game has a ton of re-playability as the board is never the same and there are so many different variables to chose from. Adding the theme just makes it MORE fun that it already was. Catan being the game the re-energized the board game industry has done a good thing here and made a great game slightly better than it already was. This game belongs on every board gamer’s shelf and most certainly every Star Trek fans.

Due to the theme, added Support Cards built on a game that was already great and revitalizing a game many of us had played out, I am giving this 9 out of 10 stars.

I was not provided a review copy of this game.

Snake Oil by Out of the Box Games Review by David Lowry

Tags

Board Games, Card Games, Children's Games, Club Fantasci, David Lowry, Family games, Jeff Ochs, Out of the Box Games, Out of the Box Publishing, Party Games, Snake Oil

“Snake oil was first introduced to the United States in the 1860s by Chinese laborers working on the Transcontinental Railroad. After hard physical labor, they would rub sore muscles with an ointment made from water snake oil. The laborers shared this ancient Chinese remedy with their American co-workers. Products containing water snake oil are still used today by some herbalists. A recent study found it contained more omega-3 fatty acids than the highest form of fish oil. As snake oil grew in popularity, so did the claims and promised benefits. In 1917, a sample of Clark Stanley’s Snake Oil Liniment was tested by the U.S. government and was found to contain no actual snake oil. As a result of these swindlers’ false product claims and misleading labels, the phrase “Snake Oil Salesman” was born! Today’s Snake Oil Salesmen are more likely to be seen as used cars salesmen and politicians.” – Out of the Box Games

Publisher: Out of the Box Publishing

Designer: Jeff Ochs

Players: 3-10

Ages: 10 to adult

Playing Time: 20-30 minutes per game

Contents: 36 double-sided customer cards (72 Customers), 324 purple word cards

Suggested Retail Price: $19.99

Parental Advisory: Safe for kids

Awards:

Mensa Select

Major Fun Keeper

Dr. Toy’s Best Vacation Winner

Games Online 2013 Traditional Games 100

IG Awards Literacy Bronze Award

Parenting for High Potential Award

EChoice Award

Benefits for children: Creativity and Innovation, Oral Presentation Skills, Empathetic Persuasion Strategies, Comparing, Contrasting and Evaluating Skills, Improvisation Skills, Vocabulary Building, Social Skills, Risk Taking

Snake Oil is a party game/card game from Out of the Box Games that has a history of putting out quality games that are great for families. In Snake Oil, you have one player who is the customer per turn. The customer draws a card that says what kind of customer that player is such as Astronaut or Senior Citizen while the other plays have to use two of the six word cards in their hand to come up with a “product” to sell the customer. Whichever player the customer thinks did the best “pitch” gets the customer card. The game is played in one round until everyone has had the chance to be the customer. Whomever has the most customer cards at the end of the round is the winner.

When I broke this game out, I thought it would not be a hit with my household. Boy was I wrong. My 11 year old daughter LOVED it! We played it the whole afternoon and again for a couple hours the next day. So far everyone I have introduced it to has liked it and would play it again. Snake Oil is based on social interaction so obviously it keeps everyone involved even when not making the pitch. You are so busy listening and laughing at what people are coming up with you are involved the whole time. The pitch is only 30 seconds long at most according to the rules so the game goes very quick. Snake Oil hits with all ages as well which is great for family game nights or holidays.

The benefits of this game are also quite amazing. It helps people who are not good at public speaking, need to work on crafting a sales pitch on the fly (hint: salesmen), learning to identify hot words with people to get to know them better and so on. It’s a great tool for many reasons beyond just the game aspect of it.

Most people would probably compare this with Apples to Apples and it is obvious why. It’s a different game and in my opinion based on the having to come up with a pitch and “sell” it to the customer a better one. It requires more thought yet takes no more time to learn or play. Snake Oil takes the best of “party games” in it’s simplest form and provides a hilarious experience in no time at all.

One of the great things I like about this game is rules all fit on one side of the box, in an attempt by Out of the Box Games to be more green! This is a great idea number one and number two, it means it is a very easy game to learn. That is sometimes very important when trying to teach a new game or having people over and you want something simple to break the ice.

The components for Snake Oil are very simple. A great tray insert for the box that works very well and cards which are decent quality with art that is cute and perfect for kids. A few of the cards did stick together a bit and caused a minor amount of damage upon opening but only a few. The cards aren’t thick and will wear out with a lot of game play so if you are a gamer or family that does lot’s of party type games, card sleeves may be in order here.

In conclusion, Snake Oil is more than worth the $19.99 investment. It will hit the table a lot in my house as my daughter loves it and getting time with her is the most important think I can think of. If you are looking for a GREAT party game that works well with all ages and levels of gamers, Snake Oil is the one for you.

We are giving Snake Oil 8.5 out of 10 stars as it is just about perfect for what it is going for. Well done Out of the Box Games and Jeff Ochs! That is one of the highest ratings if not the highest ratings we have given any type of game.