Category: Games

He was one of the first folks to play with us,
On our first visit to Friday Night Game Night,
(Jim and Troung’s place.)

He was a little geeky — me too!
(Two dudes playing board games every week)
I best remember his aura of kindness.

My days in Houston ended in 2013,
Never got around to that 3P game of Konig von Siam.
(He liked heavier games, I’m into lighter games.)

Just found out he passed away this year.

We’ll get that play one day,
(Between rounds of of Tichu)
On that next plane.

䷤䷂

sincerity
arrayed like a king
good fortune in the end

My boy discovered our old mahjong set and pulled it out.

It was from my grandparents.
They didn’t like this set because the engraving was shallow.
You can’t feel the tile’s identity before looking at it.

Mahjong is truly a great rummy game.
Traditional Hong Kong scoring, three points minimum.
Unfortunately the kids aren’t ready.
(I’ve tried.)

But they’re ready for Mahjong Solitaire.

I remember hating this knockoff.
Wishing for the real MJ on the computer.
The only available program on the 386.

Thirty years later, I downloaded a couple clones on the phone to review the rules.
We started playing.

First the classic pyramid,
then some wacky stacks,
ended with a big simple cube.

The iPhone is a lot easier to set up.
Click a button.

The physical set lets us do anything we want.
It makes real sounds.
Direct visuals.
Interacts with gravity!
You can actually feel the tiles.

Even if they weren’t engraved deeply enough.

䷧䷵

My cousin’s grandfather could play the game without sorting the tiles in his hand.
(he was a ship’s captain)
All the history, all that skill, gone as the wind.
What will we leave behind?
The kids in their turn?
Wisps lingering in the ether.

I’ve used Dixit cards to play with my girl many times. We would admire the art and pick out the cutest cards.

However, we’ve never played Dixit as a game.

A few months ago, I searched boardgamegeek.com and found a cooperative variant which deals twelve cards in two rows (six on each side). Each player places a token pairing each of their six cards with the other player’s six cards. We then score a point for every pair that matches what the partner selected.

This is a good game.

It’s a really interesting exercise to pair up the cards and compare your mind with your partner. I suspect this is something that we can play long after the cute wars have ended.

Highly recommended, we went through the entire deck (five packs worth). And we actually scored 6 out of 6 on our last chance!

One night, I went wild playing with Pandemic Hot Zone against myself.

I started with the solo-play variant published on Z-Man’s website and tweaked the difficulty upward by adding additional Epidemics, as suggested in a recent Boardgamegeek thread.

The first game with the solo-play rules as written was as easy as playing the base game.

I added a fourth epidemic for the next two games, both times with six crisis cards in the deck with the seventh crisis card turned face up to signify an Epidemic. I beat both plays easily.

Over the past year, we’ve had plenty of warnings before our various flareups of COVID, so having advance notice of an incoming epidemic isn’t a thematic game-breaker. So I amped it up to five epidemics, with two face-up crisis cards standing in for epidemics with the other five crisis cards in the deck. I barely beat this version.

I then had an epiphany – if I’m playing with face-up cards as Epidemics, then any card will do. I started to use the action reference cards as my extra Epidemic cards.

I played twice more, the first with seven crisis cards and the second with five crisis cards. I lost both games, but to test the concept, I did a couple of critical takebacks that allowed me to play through the end to confirm that there were foreseeable paths to victory if I had played more carefully.

Ultimately, this is a promising way to play the game solo. Z-man’s solo-play version is clearly superior to a setup where one is playing multiple characters. I’ve played 230+ games of Mottainai against myself, so I have some authority on this subject.

The key question to be answered in future sessions is whether I will use seven or five crisis cards. I suspect that the two fewer crisis cards make a harder game since the epidemics hit a little faster. (Keeping five crises cards would also allow me to eliminate the hand limitation and grounded flight crisis cards which constipate the gameplay.)

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Unfortunately, the answer is neither. I haven’t played any solo-play sessions of Pandemic Hot-Zone since I wrote this post. I played with the kids a couple of times, but they didn’t find it too compelling (they may be too young). Fifteen bucks isn’t a bad price for a night’s entertainment, but it didn’t turn out to be a great deal either.

Draw a card. Discard a card. Use the characters, problems, settings, and resolutions to create a very short story.

Rory Story Cubes is simpler with the roll of the dice, but it creates disjointed stories. Nanofictionary adds just enough structure to make coherent stories.

(Random hint, after watching a webinar on writing stories – add a second problem to compound upon the first problem to develop the narrative).

This game is not well rated on boardgamegeek.com, but those users lean towards heavy analytical experiences, not silly story games.

Despite its low rating, this game hits the mark. It has a simple goal and does it well.

I’ve tried many story games over the years. Nanofictionary’s seemingly obvious simplicity is proof of its great design. It finds the right balance between into formless narrative and rules fussiness, hitting the sweet spot.

Like many polished designs, it looks easy (a notion furthered by the crude illustrations on the cards). However, it must have taken an exhaustive exploration to create something that works so well but appears simplistic.

The Looney’s are not good at game development (see my scathing notes on Loonacy), but they managed to pull it off this time. Go check it out if you’re in the mood.

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A few years after college, I had an epiphany that all things around me are designed by another human. It should be an obvious notion, especially for an architect.

I am still awed whenever I ponder this basic fact. Almost everything surrounding us is utterly artificial.

The simpler it is, the more artificial.

Done right, it’s sublime.