Upcoming Session Dates

Hi everyone!

You may have noticed that if our sessions continued on the scheduled dates, we'd run into a few conflicts.  First, the fourth Friday of November is the day after Thanksgiving and I suspect many people (myself included) will be travelling.  Second, the fourth Friday of December is Christmas Day - obviously we aren't having it on Christmas.  So, to alleviate these conflicts, I have changed the dates of game nights in November and December.

We will be meeting on the following nights:

November 13th (this is the normal first meeting of November)

November 20th

December 4th

December 18th

These will all be at the normal 6:30 PM time and go to roughly 11:00 PM.  I will be getting a key from the church soon which means that 11:00 PM will become a bit softer of a cap if we want to go later.

For this upcoming session on November 13th, we will be featuring a very unique kind of game:  ASYMMETRICAL games!  Most games are symmetrical, meaning that all of the players have the same options available to them (mostly) and are all trying to achieve the same things.  For example, in Monopoly all players are trying to earn the most dolla billz.  In Settlers of Catan (or Catan as the cool kids call it now) everyone is trying to earn victory points.  In the games I will list here, players not only have unique abilities, but in most cases also are trying to achieve victory in different ways.

So, here are my top 5 favorite asymmetric games!


5.  Eclipse

Eclipse is a very fun space exploration game (4x).  Each players takes control of a unique alien power, each of which has very different special abilities.  While in this game players ultimately have the same victory conditions, the way these different aliens play out is vastly different, particularly when adding in any of the expansion aliens.  It's a great combination of both economic and conflict gaming and can play as many as 9 players with the expansion, which actually isn't as tedious as it initially sounds!  This is a great game and while the buzz has died off a bit it is still excellent.

4.  Letters from Whitechapel

This game is one of the most played games for my wife and I the year we got it - she loves deduction games and I love any game she wants to play.  We played this a lot with a variety of player counts and generally had a great time.  Our only problem is it can definitely get long, particularly if the investigators are methodical and slow, which the game requires to an extent.  In this game one players plays as Jack the Ripper, slowly terrorizing London, and the rest are the police investigators.  Each round Jack commits a murder and must return back to his hideout before the police are able to either surround him or accurately guess which space he is currently on.  It is a very tense game, particularly for Jack, as he races home and tries to avoid the police.  Each round he must return to the same location so the cops can slowly triangulate where exactly he's going.  Great game!

3.  Specter Ops

Since receiving Specter Ops, our famchallenging for the agent and we have a losing win ratio as such. Very fun game and very easy to learn and play.
ily has barely played Letters from Whitechapel.  That's because Specter Ops has all but replaced it for us.  The primary reason for this is it can be played in half the time.  Now, despite a similar sounding game, it really feels pretty different as this is much more fast paced.  In this, one players is an agent sneaking around some facility, trying to complete objectives.  The rest of the players are hunters trying to find and kill the agent before he can escape - think Metal Gear Solid the boardgame.  It's fast paced and tense as the hunter ducks around corners, uses special weapons and abilities, and does his best to outsmart his opponents.

2.  Terra Mystica

Generally I tried to keep games on this list that had variable win conditions, but honestly there's only so many that I own and are reasonably lengthed for this game session (hence Here I Stand not being on this list, nor any of the COIN games).  This is the quinitissential 'special powers' Euro-game.  Players each take on a different (very different) fantasy race, each with very unique powers and player boards, and try to gain the most points by expanding their civilization in this ever changing world.  Throughout the game players will shape and change the terrain features of the world, making it so their race can flourish
.  There is a lot of strategic and tactical thinking and next to no luck present in this game.  This is a heavy game and with four players can run a bit long, but it is a very deep and rewarding experience nonetheless.



1.  Fury of Dracula

Okay so I'm cheating by putting this as number 1 as I actually haven't played it yet, but I expect to before next Friday and I'm 99% sure this will become my favorite asymmetric game (aside from Here I Stand).  It has everything I want - one vs. all mechanics, deduction, a cool creepy theme, a really cool sounding name, lots of powers and narrative events, and plus it looks awesome.  The new third edition by Fantasy Flight just released and it looks amazing.  One player is Dracula, the others are vampire hunters trying to track him down and kill him before he can take over all of Europe with his evil, brooding ways.  These are sparkly vampires with skinny jeans, they're cool, traditional vampires ready to do all sorts of bad things, but be super cool doing them.

Of course any games are welcome, particularly if they match theme!  Bring some games, bring some friends, and be ready to game on November 13th!

8/14 Session - It's Convention Season!

Greetings friends!

This time of year is one of the most exciting for gamers - it is convention season!  The two biggest American conventions occur during the summer months with Origins in Columbus, Ohio and Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Thousands of gamers go to these events and play new games, see events, meet designers, and generally spend a lot of cash on the latest games.  It is also worth noting that going on right now in Lancaster, PA is the World Boardgaming Championships - a great little convention that gets a lot of help from members of GCOM, the Games Club of Maryland (to which we are proud members).  If you're ever free in August and want a closer, less populated convention this is a great one.

Whether you've gone to these conventions or not, we're going to be treating this as a chance to bring the newest games you've picked up to game night!  You're of course welcome to do this anyways (and probably already do if you're a regular), but this week in particular I think it'd be great to bust out some of the latest games of 2015!

As a preview for some of the available games, here are some of the new additions to the Nicholas Family game collection....

Specter Ops

Specter Ops is a fantastically exciting game!  One player plays the "Agent" and the rest play the "Hunters."  The Agent runs around secretly trying to complete objectives and escape while the hunters are trying to kill the Agent.  The Agent does not appear on the board but the Hunters do and can only see him if the Agent is within line of sight.  This game is everything we hoped it would be - it is action packed, there are special player abilities, and the components are very well done!

Forbidden Stars

Forbidden Stars is one of the highest rated games released this year!  Published by Fantasy Flight Games, it is an epic space conquest game.  This game is very much the spiritual successor to the classic Starcraft Board game.  It features smaller army and fleet counts and a very interesting, deck-building based combat system.  Players can upgrade their actions available to them and each faction is completely different in its units, combat cards, and special abilities.  The miniatures are also different for each faction and look fantastic.  This game can be long - 2-3 hours with three players, 4 hours or so with four, but very much worth it.


Just as a final reminder, this upcoming game night is on August 14th, not August 7th.  Remember, we meet on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month - not every other Friday.

What games did you get this summer?  Post them in the comment and bring 'em to Game Night!

7/24 Game Night!

Hi everyone!

I hope this finds you having a delightful summer and that you've enjoyed the past couple of sessions!  I have been absent for a little while due to my summer travel schedule (I'm a teacher and take full advantage) however that time has now passed and will be at game night for the foreseeable future, including this upcoming session!  As such, we will be having a theme and showcasing some featured games!

Now, this theme is going to seem a bit self-serving and that's fair - it absolutely is.  However, if you're married you understand that you take every opportunity to add some brownie points to the bank.  This upcoming session just happens to be on me and my wife, Beth's, anniversary - our fifth year!  Don't worry, we plan on finding a different day to celebrate so I'm not blowing her off to play games (otherwise I'd have to live at the church).  However, since that is the day, our theme for this upcoming Friday will be my wife's favorite games (they're mostly good).

So, without further adieu, here are Beth's Top 10 Favorite Games:

10.  Dutch Blitz

I'm not going to lie to you, I do not like this game.  It's kind of a weird, cultural thing from my wife's PA Dutch-ish heritage.  It's kind of like solitaire, but with more people, and really fast.  You are trying to clear your stack of cards out before anyone else does.  You then get points for the different cards you've played and (the people who don't finish point lose points for cards still in their stack).  After several rounds whoever has the most points wins (or you play to a set limit).  It's fast and if you're into light card games (I'm not) you'll probably enjoy it.


9.  Defenders of the Realm

This is the only cooperative game on Beth's list of her favorite games, probably due to her tendency to be ridiculously competitive.  This game gets some flak for being 'too similar' to Pandemic, but I don't think that's fair.  This game has players taking control of typical fantasy-esque classes (mage, paladin, knight) to defend the realm (go figure) from baddies.  Orcs, demons, zombies, and dragons are all besieging Monarch City (at the same time, no less!) and their leaders must be killed.  This game can be challenging, especially when using the Dragons expansion, and it is quite fun.  It also plays up to 6 which is pretty high for a cooperative game.

8.  War of the Ring

This game is so high because my wife and I are big Tolkien fans.  It'd probably be higher if we actually played it more often.  Nonetheless, it is a great game and one we both love.  This game technically plays 2-4, though it's really a two-player game that they allow you to break into teams.  One side plays the Shadow, the other the Free Peoples.  The Shadow wins by either conquering the world or corrupting the Ring-bearer, the Free Peoples win by either defeating the Shadow in military victory or destroying the Ring (more likely).  It's a beautiful game that genuinely captures the spirit of Tolkien - an impressive feat!

7.  The Resistance: Avalon

The Resistance: Avalon is a fast social-deduction game in which players are attempting to complete missions for King Arthur.  Unfortunately, some of the players are secretly evil and are working to thwart the missions.  This game is pretty quick and does not involve player-elimination (unlike its counterpart, Ultimate Werewolf).    There are also some interesting roles that come with the game, including that of Merlin - who knows everyone's allegiance but has to remain hidden himself from the evil players.

6.  Carcassonne

This is a light tile-placing game.  It has been a fixture in the gaming community for over a decade.  There are dozens of expansions and variants and rightfully so - it is very fun.  Each turn you lay a piece down, try to complete 'features' on a map, and score points.  It sounds kind of boring but it's really very fun.

5.  Splendor

Splendor is one of the most popular games of 2014!  Many people thought it should have won the Spiel des Jahres in 2014, however Camel Up took the prize instead.  This is an incredibly basic card game in which players are buying cards with cool jewels.  The cards make buying further cards easier, wit the goal of buying more expensive cards asnd collecting sets.  Easy, fun, and fast.

4.  Trajan

After a series of shorter, more simple game, we get Trajan - a heavy Euro!  Trajan is a game that is supposedly about the Roman empire, but honestly the theme is pretty pasted-on.  By Stefan Feld, this game involves a very interesting mechanic that is similar to the classic game mancala.  Players manipulate beads to determine what actions they take by moving them around a wheel.  It's very interesting and thinky!    This isn't her favorite Feld game, nor is it mine, but it is a very good one.

3.  Ticket to Ride: 10th Anniversary Edition

And here we have Beth's favorite gateway game!  You probably know what Ticket to Ride is.  There are trains.  There are cards.  We have the 10th Anniversary
Edition.  Good times.

2.  The Castles of Burgundy

The Castles of Burgundy is Beth's favorite Stefan Feld game (who is her favorite designer).  This game, like his others, is a bit light in the theme department, but makes up for it with extremely strong mechanics.  In this game, you are developing a 15th century estate in France.  You're building farms, buildings, developing science, and shipping goods.  It might sound a bit boring, but this is a great game.  There is dice-rolling, tension, and some very interesting scoring mechanics.


1.  Five Tribes

And finally we have Beth's favorite game - Five Tribes!  This won many 'strategy game of the year' awards this past year and rightfully so.  It was my personal favorite game of the year as well.  This is a fantastic and beautiful game by Bruno Cthala in which players manipulate meeples in (another) mancala-esque way to earn the most points.  The strategies are varied, there are unique powers that can be bought, and the components are gorgeous.  Its hard to describe this game in a way that actually communicates how much fun it is!   If you haven't tried it, you absolutely should!

Well there you have them!  Beth's top 10 favorite games!  She has pretty good tastes.  As always, you are more than welcome to bring and play your own stuff - especially since she might not even make it!  Nonetheless, if you seem some games here you've been hankering to learn or play, we'll definitely have them available for you.

Invite your friends and family and hopefully we'll see you on Friday!

-Lee

6/12 Session Preview

Hello!

This upcoming Friday, 6/12, is our regularly schedule session at 6:30 PM.  Remember, our game night does not meet every other Friday, but rather specifically the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month.

This upcoming session will be on the same evening of the premier of JURASSIC WORLD.  Now, I'm super excited about this movie and as such I thought we should theme are games around it.  Unfortunately there aren't a lot of specifically dinosaur games (in fact the best one, Dominant Species (which ironically doesn't have actual dinosaurs), I don't own) so I thought I'd expand it to games that involve animals.

As with all of our other sessions, this is a great time to bring friends and invite new folk, so get the word out that we're having a fun game night!

Below are some of the games we'll be playing, presented in the form of my top ten favorite animal-related games.

10.  Hey! That's My Fish

Okay I'm not going to lie, there were only about ten games I own that directly involve animals.  This is a fine little game, but normally one so light wouldn't make any top ten list of mine.  That being said, this is a cute little fifteen-minute filler game that has players taking control of adorable penguins who want to eat the most fish.

9.  Zooloretto

This is a very popular gateway game - in fact, it won the Spiel de Jahres.  Players take control of a zoo and fill it with various animals, receiving points for the different combinations of animals in their pens.  It's cute and great with kids.  It's also very easy!

8.  Takenoko

If any one of these games is going to be described as 'adorable,' this is it.  It has gorgeous artwork, complete with a little painted panda miniature.  In the game you are trying to earn the most points by moving the panda, moving the gardener, and creating a beautiful farm of bamboo.  The game is very simple and does not take particularly long - the real draw here is the gorgeous components.


7.  Evolution

This game was put out on Kickstarter last year by North Star Games who famously produce party games.  Their first foray into strategy games was very successful.  While Evolution wasn't a smash hit, I thought it was a great little card game - particularly since I got the kickstarter rewards which include very cool dinosaur boards and a brontasaurus miniature as a start player token (see, dinosaurs!).  The game play is very fun - you create species of animals and give them various traits in order to be the one that ends up on top.

6.  Agricola

Agricola spent some time as #1 on BGG's ranking and has been in the top 10 for as long as I've been into gaming.  It is Uwe Rosenburg's breakout hit that launched several similar-ish games (one of which is on this list).  In this game you take control of a 14th century farm (15th? 13th?  It's old).  You're trying to create the best farming operation via having active livestock, developed structures, and viable crops.  It is challenging game that can be somewhat puzzly.  It's a superb game and is very worthy of playing!


5.  Camel Up

We have featured Camel Up before as it is a fantastic game.  It won the Spiel de Jahres last year and I think it was very worthy of that.  If you're into gambling at all, then this will be a fun experience for you - in this game you're betting on a camel race!  It's basically as exciting as American Pharaoh winning the Triple Crown.  It's crazy and silly and the camels on occasion
are known to jump on each other.


4.  Dungeon Petz

Dungeon Petz belongs in a category of games called "games I love but never play."  It is a tragic group.  I really enjoy Dungeon Petz.  My wife got it for me for my birthday last summer.  We played it three times in a week.  We haven't played it since, which is a shame.  Despite its cutesy theme - each player runs a pet store that sells monsters to the evil villains who own dungeons - it is actually a relatively intense Euro-game.  It can be very thinky but I think it's wonderful.

3.  Ultimate Werewolf


I'm not going to lie - I look for any excuse to put Ultimate Werewolf on this list.  I love moderating it.  I enjoy putting together interesting character combos and watching everything unfold from an omniscient eye.  In werewolf, players secretly are either villagers or werewolves.  Villagers want to find and lynch all of the wolves - the wolves want to systematically eat all of the villagers.  It is very similar to games like Mafia and does involve player elimination, which is why I like to save it for the end as it gives players a chance to pack up and leave when they've been eliminated.  We'll try and get a game or two of this going around 10:00 PM.

2.  Robinson Crusoe

This is our only cooperative game on our list and it is my absolute favorite of that genre.  Robinson Crusoe is loosely themed on the novels but really it takes simply the 'stranded on a deserted island' format and applies to many scenarios.  Different scenarios include spin-offs of King Kong, Indiana Jones, Swiss Family Robinson, and of course Robinson Crusoe.  On the island the survivors are constantly harassed by calamities, including the wildlife.  Often they will also go hunting the wildlife (see how it's connected to the theme?) in hopes of survival.  It's a challenging game that is just dripping with theme.

1.  Caverna

Caverna is my favorite Euro-game and is one of my favorite games of all time.  It is the sequel
to the aforementioned Agricola, however in his game rather than being boring people-farmers the players are Dwarfs-far
mers.  They have free reign to build of their cave and their farm as they see fit and score points at the end for the most flourishing.  Unlike Agricola, which is more like a puzzle, Caverna is a sandbox.  All options are always available.  Each game I pick an interesting route and run with it, occasionally allowing for opportunities to mold my plans.  Sometimes I love the puzzle games, but in this case I find the sandbox nature such good fun.

5/8 Featured Games

Greetings everyone!

On May 8th we will be hosting our regularly scheduled game night at 6:30 PM.  There is another event happening at the church that night, however as of right now I have not been told of any location change, so unless you hear otherwise we're going forward assuming we're in the normal spot.  If a change happens, we'll be moved the children's atrium where we were this past session - if you were there, you know this is not a big deal at all.

For this upcoming session, in honor of the ever-important and quickly-approaching holiday of May the Fourth, we will be featuring games that involve space!  (I'd love to do just Star Wars games, but there aren't enough good ones yet!)

First, if you haven't watched the new Star Wars trailer, watch it now - that will definitely get your blood flowing for some good space games!  (I'll decline to share how many times I've watched this trailer, but know that it's in the double-digits.)

Okay, now I think you're ready to hear about the awesome space games we'll be doing.  Again, since I think it's a fun format, I'll list them in the form of my 'Top 10 Favorite Space Games.' Of course that is incredibly subjective and you are more than welcome (in fact, you're highly encouraged) to bring your own space games!  You're also welcome to forget the theme entirely and bring whatever games you want!

So, without further adieu, here we go....

10.  Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game

This game is incredibly popular and while I enjoy it, it's not my favorite game.  Nevertheless, it is a very good and fun game in which players simulate the dogfights of the Star Wars universe.  It can be played as a 2-player game, in teams, or even with three sides with the newly released bounty hunter content.  I will have my personal set which contains only rebel and imperial ships but others are welcome and encouraged to bring theirs.  The miniatures are stunning and Fantasy Flight continues to knock it out of the park with the production quality of this simple miniatures game.

9.  Imperial Assault

This is the only game on this list I don't own and have never played, however I have played (and own) Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, which is essentially the same game with a fantasy feel (and I know at least a couple of people in our group that own Imperial Assault).  Imperial Assault takes characters into the Star Wars universe via tactical ground combat.  Most of the players take on the roles of heroes while one player acts as the Imperial side.  The games excels as a campaign-style game but works quite well in a stand-alone even for the evening.  Yet again, great miniatures and components really help bring this Fantasy Flight production to life.

8.  Among the Stars

I suspect with more plays this game will go higher as it combines two of my favorite things in games - space and drafting.  In this game you are 'drafting' cards, much like in Sushi Go or 7 Wonders, in order to build the most efficient space station. I backed the recent Artepia Games release on Kickstarter so my set has not only the Ambassadors expansion, but all of the promos as well.  There are so many cards and the artwork is awesome.  By the end you have a really need, functioning space station in this relatively simple game.


7.  Alien Frontiers

Speaking of Kickstarter, Alien Frontiers, the next game on this list, is the first game to make it big on Kickstarter.  Circa 2010 this game first hit the aforementioned publishing site to terrific success.  Since then a number of subsequent campaigns have gone up, featuring expansions, better components, and plenty of promos.  In this game you are rolling dice and then using those dice to take actions (the dice are space ships, of course).  Ultimately the goal is to control the bulk of a planet that is being colonized.  If you reach a certain number of victory points, largely through area control, you win the game!  There are a lot of parts that intertwine in this and the expansions really add flavor to the game.

6. Galaxy Trucker

Galaxy Trucker is definitely the silliest game on this list.  In it you are taking on the role of a space trucker who is delivering different types of sewage parts to a foreign planet.  Your company is full cheapskates, though, and your ship is actually made of the parts you're delivering.  This game is broken into two phases - the first is a timed free for all in which players are desperately trying to get pieces for their ship and make sure they actually fit together!  After this, players test their hastily made ships in the rigors of space - a number of event cards are revealed and if your ship survives them all, you can make some serious space bucks!  If not, well... You probably had some laughs along the way!  I do have the Anniversary Edition complete with both expansions!

5.  Cosmic Encounter

Cosmic Encounter could give Galaxy Trucker a run for its money in terms of 'silliest game' on this list.  In this game players take control of one of a great variety of alien races, then attempt to be the first to take over five total planets controlled by opponents.  The game mechanisms are very simple - you send ships, invite allies, offense and defense pick a card with a number on it, the highest number wins after combining the number on the card with the number of ships on your side.  The thing that makes this game so great is the alien races - each one has a unique way in which you can 'break the rules' and this creates for interesting and often hilarious situations.

4.  Twilight Imperium Third Edition

Okay, so it's really unlikely this will get played at our game night, but I had to put it on the list.  This is the epitome of the epic space game.  It is a long, 5-8 hour slugfest between different alien factions.  You build ships.  You explore.  You conquer.  There's political intrigue.  Trading occurs.  Everything you could possibly want in a space game is in this box.  Why isn't higher?  Because it takes so long that I barely get to play it.  Nonetheless, this game is absolutely terrific and if people really want to try it out, it is possible to get it done in 4 hours, but people will have to be quick!

3.  Eclipse

Eclipse is similar to TI3 in a number of ways - you have unique alien races, you build ship, you research technologies.  However, Eclipse is significantly shorter than TI3, usually coming together in 2-4 hours, rather than 5-8 hours.  In addition, Eclipse is a lot more of an economic game than TI3 is, so just because you like TI3 does not necessarily mean you'll like Eclipse.  That being said, I like Eclipse just a touch better, largely because of the blueprint system with the ships. Not only do you get to research ways to make your ships better, but you get to decide how they fit onto your ships.  Want a ship that has so much hull it's basically invincible?  You can do that.  Wanna light your opponent up with a million missiles before they get a shot off?  You can do that!  Eclipse is a lot of fun and is a beautiful looking space game.

2.  Roll for the Galaxy

This is the newest game on this list by far.  Roll for the Galaxy just game out in the late moments of 2014 but really didn't hit stores until January of 2015.  It is the successor to an immensely popular space card game called Race for the Galaxy (which I'm not a huge fan of, hence it not being on this list).  In this game, players roll a lot of dice in an attempt to be the person with the most points.  It's really a euro-game, unlike many of these other games, and is based around building your economy, trading goods, and building/settling.  It's a little thinky and the rules are not super simple to grasp, however I find this to be a highly rewarding game.  Plus it's fast!  A group that knows what they're doing can knock it out in 45 minutes!

1.  Battlestar Galactica

Finally, we have one of my all-time favorite games: Battlestar Galactica.  I love this game because it combines a cooperative game (which I like), with Battlestar Galactica (which I really like), with a traitor element (which I love).  This is, in my opinion, the premier traitor-game.  Dead of Winter is nice, but it doesn't touch Battlestar Galactica in terms of tension.  This game produces an element of stress and paranoia that no game can rival as everyone works together, except one or two people depending on player count.  There's a lot of lying.  A lot of backstabbing.  A lot of manipulation.  It is incredibly fun and well worth the 3 hours or so it'll take to play.


Conclusion

As in the past, this is a list based on my on subjectivity and personal collection!  There are a lot of great space games on here that I simply don't own!  Race for the Galaxy, Starcraft, Rex, Star Trek: Fleet Captains, Space Alert, Space Cadets, Dune, Xia: Legends of a Drift System, Merchants of Venus, Firefly: The Game, Eminenet Domain, Core Worlds, Starfarers of Catan, and more all come to mind when it comes to terrific space games!  Not to mention other Star Wars titles that I don't own yet - Queen's Gambit, Star Wars the Card Game, Armada, and more.

Again, if you don't like space game, then play whatever you want!  If you're interested in these games, they'll definitely be available and at least a handful of them will be played.

Hopefully we'll see you out!!

Many blessings!