Between July 2003 and March 2004 I wrote games reviews for the Cambridge City Explorer. Although the reviews were partly advertisments and of our best games, I tried to give balanced accounts.
The text of reviews can be found below, there were accompanying photographs, but I will have to get them off the explorer itself. The reviews here may not match the reivews in the explorer precisely as the text is from my own records rather than transcribed from each edition.
The menu on the right will help you navigate the reviews.
The game's premise is that, Catan, an island rich in resources, has been discovered and is ripe for colonisation. Thus various hardy settlers set out to claim it for themselves.
The playing area is built at the start of each game by shuffling and then dealing hexagonal tiles which each represent an area of resource: grain, brick, rock, clay and sheep. These resources are used to build things such as roads or settlements, which go towards gaining 10 victory points and winning the game.
Settlers’ appeal comes from its relatively simple rules and constantly moving game play. As you send your settlers out across the island you attempt to gain control of critical resources by building settlements near them which requires careful use of the resources you already have. You can trade with other players and cut off their resources with the thief. Although this game involves no combat it can be as competitive as, say, Risk. Occasionally you can end up with situations in which the early positioning launching one player into a dramatic lead, or the last placed player tipping the balance for the winner. These however are infrequent occurrences and don’t detract much from the game play.
Settlers of Catan has won every prestigious award available for board games and has developed a huge following all over the world. It has had several expansions available that add new factors to the game play such as seafaring or large city development.
It’s our opinion that this is the perfect, nay, necessary alternative to monopoly. A child can play it and it significantly reduces the likelihood of long-term feuds as trading is genteel and the game inspires a more peaceful approach to real estate acquisition.
Known as "Tetris: the board game" round the shop, this innovative game
uses 4 different-coloured sets (blue, yellow, red, green) of 21 pieces. Each of the pieces in each set is a different shape, composed of adjoining squares reminiscent of the shapes in Tetris, but going up to 5 squares. The game is played on a 20x20 board and the goal is fairly simple: place as many of your pieces on the board as you can. Each player takes turns placing one piece on the board; the trick is that pieces of the same colour may only touch at their corners and indeed, must touch at their corners: you can't place pieces just anywhere!
From such a simple premise an intensely engaging and fun game springs. Blokus becomes a race to place your most awkward pieces while attempting to block your opponents from placing theirs; also players can use their pieces to block in areas of territory, excluding their opponents, that they can use to place their own pieces in later. As each player plays their pieces the available territory on the board shrinks and each piece requires more and more careful thought before it is finally placed. The game is over when all players can no longer place any pieces. You receive 15 points for placing all your pieces and 20 for playing the smallest last. For each square left in any remaining pieces you score -1. The player with the most points wins. Of all the games we have in the shop, this is the most universally loved. It is a simple and quick game to play that requires no lengthy setting-up or complex rules to explain. As play progresses the game becomes more intense until serious concentration is required to last out the endgame. Ironically the intensity at the end often will make you let slip a move you spotted that your opponent could make. Besides anything else the game is pretty: the pieces themselves are an attractive translucent colour which make pleasing patterns on the board as the game is played out, finally leaving a collaborative pattern which is an achievement in itself.
Both a puzzle and a game this is something that just about anyone of any age can play and enjoy. Blokus' rulebook also contains variants for 1, 2 and 3 players, all of which are almost as much fun as the 4-player game.
The object of this card game is pretty well summed up in the tag line, kill monsters, steal their treasure and backstab, betray and generally harass your opponents as much as possible, while attempting to get to level 10 of course.
As you kill monsters you go up levels. However you "buddies" can make things difficult by imbuing the monsters with extra powers or sending extra monsters into the fray. If you are beaten by a monster Bad Stuff happens and you may lose a card or die outright.
The true charm of the game lies in the moments when you topple your friend back to first level just as he's about to win by, for instance, turning the innocent looking school girl into a demonic innocent looking schoolgirl who has been trained by a master and is aided by evil minions. The look on their face is something you will treasure until he plays "bad feng shui" stealing your level twelve mook and winning the game after all.
Munchkin is a fun; irreverent game much loved in the role-playing community and has filled many an evening for both of us in the store.
Icehouse was concocted by Andrew Looney who first wrote about the game in his book, "The Empty City". Apparently his friends who read the book were more interested in the game than the story. So he finally created the game itself. Icehouse is the name of both a game and the pieces that form a gaming aid, much as a pack of cards is a gaming aid. Icehouse is only one of at least 115 different games that
can be played with the Icehouse pieces or "stashes". A stash consists of five nests of identically coloured pyramids, a nest being one small, one medium and one large. Each stash also comes with a set of cards detailing the rules of various games such as Tic-To-Do, Icetowers, Volcano and Martian Chess. The pieces themselves are gorgeous in 9 translucent colours and look lovely simply sitting around on the coffee table!
Icehouse itself is described as an "Abstract real-time game of attack and defence". What makes the game unique to play is its turnless nature. You may play as many pieces as you like, when you like. How you orient the pyramids affects their status: the game is over once the last piece has been played or an agreed time limit has been
reached. Points are then scored for each piece participating in a successful attack or defending without being overwhelmed by attacking pieces. The player with the most points wins.
This is a short and inadequate description of only one of the many wonderful games you can play with Icehouse pieces. The others are detailed on the website www.looneylabs.com and some are in the book "Playing with Pyramids". The games often require more than one stash so if you can't convince many of your friends to join you, you may be stuck for some of the larger games such as Volcano. To be honest, if you get someone to play once they'll probably want some of their own!
Dungeons and Dragons miniatures are pre-painted, ready to use miniatures that can be bought in two forms: An entry pack and expansion packs. The entry pack contains 16 random, plastic, hand-painted models, it also has a battle grid 8 terrain tiles, a twenty sided dice, damage counters, cards for each of the models, and a rulebook. The expansion packs contain eight random models and their cards.
The miniatures are intended to be used in two ways: The first is as an aid to the dungeons and dragons role-playing game (which I will probably cover in a different review) showing the positions of your players vs the monsters you are combating cutting on confusion due to peoples minds eyes not being of a kind. The second is a game in itself:
The rulebook I mentioned in the entry pack provides rules for a "skirmish" game in which you pit your models against each other or somebody else’s collection. This game usually takes place either on the provided battle grid, on the terrain tiles or another grided surface of your choosing. Each of the models comes with a double sided card detailing its statistics such as speed, hit point, mount of damaged dealt and any special abilities such as spells it may cast. One you have selected the models you place them on your board and set to. Skeleton will fight monk, Barbarian will engage ghoul, each roll of the die determines whether you have whittled away yet another of your opponents creatures. The fight continues until you or all your foes are vanquished or routed. Then you play again, and again, and again.
You'll find yourself getting attached to your little combatants, rooting for your Kobold as it launches itself in a last ditch attack against your opponents vampire, feeling a pang of loss as the useless little fool dies, yet again.
In short it's a very addictive, very fun diversion that is plenty useful outside the skirmishing. The provided cards give statistics both for skirmishing and dungeons and dragons role-play. The skirmishing rules themselves are cut down versions of D&D combat rules. Certainly a good Christmas present for just about anyone who has an interest in D&D and a good introduction to D&D for people thinking about getting into it.
As Christmas is fast approaching it was suggested that I put together a "five best games of the year". So without further ado, here they are:
1. Settlers of Catan :
Still the best: A simple, engaging game designed around the colonisation of an island called Catan. Acquisition, trade and strategy all take their place in this fantastic game that really should replace monopoly as the family game for Christmas.
2. Fluxx:
One of our all-time favourites: A game that has only two rules until you add more. The cards you play change the rules as you go.
3. Risk 2210:
A futuristic version of Risk; it adds new possibilities to the original games, such as moon and undersea bases, specialised units and action cards.
4. Stormy Seas:
A solid offering from binary arts: Anyone who knows "rush hour" will be familiar with the concept. Slide the waves and boats around to get your ship to port.
5. Magic the gathering:
Of course, the collectable card game which has just made its 10th anniversary should get a look in. Those unfamiliar with the game should drop by the store on Sundays to find out.
The world has gone to war, again. Become the leader of one of the warring factions, nuke your enemy till they glow. Then shoot 'em in the dark.
Seriously, the game follows the same basic concepts as the original Risk. You command a large army in an attempt to take over the world; in fact it's possible to play the original Risk using the pieces in the box. The difference lies in the extra bits:
Firstly the map isn't quite the same, the sea level has lowered leaving more land exposed, the moon is now an accessible territory and at the start of the game you must determine which areas have been devastated by nuclear blasts. Add commander units that add various bonuses and action cards and you have a new game altogether.
The game is also limited to 5 turns after which eve rything is scored up to prevent the war of attrition between the two remaining players that was a feature of the original risk.
In all Risk 2210 feels much more polished than the original and the extra features add excitement to an already intense game. Just have an evening free to play it in.
Fluxx was a surprise seller this christmas. Ok it wasn't much of a surprise, it's £10 and just about the right size for a stocking filler and was probably doing the rounds at pre-christmas parties. Fluxx is a game with only two rules, to begin with. You start with a hand of three cards, the person with the longest hair starts, on your go you pick up one card an play one card. Simple, huh?
Wrong.
The cards you are able to play consist of rules, actions, keepers and goals. Rule cards change the rules, so if you play one you may now be obliged to pick up 3 cards and play one, or it may limit the number of cards in you hand or it may make you have to add 1 to every number in the game. Action cards make you do something, trash a rule, or steal someones hand or reverse play. Keepers are Things bread, toast, freedom, death, taxes to name a few when they are used to attain Goals which is the ever fluctuating method of winning the game. You may have to have death and taxes, or ten keepers or bread and toaster to make toast.
As the name suggests the game is ever in fluxx, it's a relaxed sort of pastime that relys a lot on chance and short term strategy. A serious gamer may find it all a bit frivilous, but as an icebreaker at a party or even just to pass the time with some friends you really can't beat it. It's simple to play and a lot more fun than snap.
Remember the fifteen puzzle? With sliding blocks with a picture on them which you scrambled and then tried to reassemble? Think of that, but bigger, with cars and you have Rush Hour.
Rush hour is a sliding block puzzle with a difference. Instead of being given a four by four grid with one free space and one puzzle you get a six by six grid and forty different puzzles which are printed on cards. The aim is to manuver your car out of the grid by sliding it and the various other vehicles about. The cards start at an easy level that suits small children and progress up to puzzles that will challenge most adults. Solutions are provided on the back of the cards for the terminally frustrated.
The puzzle itself is very attractive coming in a compact unit that contains your playing pieces; a red car representing yourself, eleven other cars of various colours, four trucks, the playing grid, a handy drawer in the bottom to take the cards and a perspex cover to go over the top when its not in use.
Children especially like this game though it's not just for children as many adults will testify. In all it's a cheap entertaining portable puzzle that has a long lifespan which can be extened by purchasing extra packs of cards.