Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Today, our writers share what they’ve been playing over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been playing, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get this post kicked off with what I’ve been playing over the past month.
Kyra’s Board Games
Nuke-Con was last month, so several of my board games will be ones I played at that convention. If you’re ever in the Omaha area in early October, stop on by. I attend Nuke-Con most years. Valencia is a reworking of Stefan Feld’s Strasborg. Like Kokopelli (which I love), Valencia is one of those rare Feld games that take little time to play but packs plenty of game (strategy) into its short runtime. Seriously, we played Valencia with a full compliment of players (5) and finished in less than an hour. Add another twenty minutes or so for the teach. Valencia may also be the auction game for players who don’t care for auction games. It uses the mechanism in an odd way.
Each player has identical decks of cards (numbered 1-6) for their bids. Before the auction phase (of which there will be around ten; I’m a little fuzzy on the details), players draw as many cards as they want from their deck, keeping in mind that once you draw a bid card, you cannot use it in a future auction phase. Secretly, players group their bid cards into separate stacks. You could put all of your cards into a single, massive bid, but you’ll only be able to participate in as many auctions as you have bid piles. These bids are placed facedown, so you can bluff your way to victory. Once you get going, Valencia takes no time at all to play. The teacher for my playthrough (the incomparable Ann Journey) suggested drawing between four and six bid cards each round, so you end up with plenty of bid cards for the final auction. I may have to track down a copy of Valencia. It’s so good.
Ann Journey runs a Feld Friday marathon every Nuke-Con, so another of Feld’s City Collection makes this list: Chichén Itzá. Honestly, I didn’t play this one so much as watched it being played, helping out with round upkeep and things of that nature, but Chichén Itzá looks amazing. The production value is through the roof. I love the vibrant acrylic standees. I used to swear by miniatures in games (as a means to upgrade a game), but you have to paint the minis to make them look amazing. Chichén Itzá‘s standees look amazing right out of the box. No painting required. Chichén Itzá‘s gameplay is just as amazing. It’s a Feld game with combat. Feld is known as a point salad style game designer. Do a combination of things to gain the most points and win the game. Most of Feld’s games lean toward abstract. Chichén Itzá has plenty of theme. Yes! I added Chichén Itzá to my Christmas list.
The Lamont Brothers are known for taking one audacious gaming set piece to center a game around. A Game of Gnomes features a massive mountain that you can hang on your wall and show off your little gnome game pieces that look vaguely like Hummels. I can tell you right now, Season will want A Game of Gnomes. Too bad it’s out of print. Eek! At its core, A Game of Gnomes is a pick-up and deliver game. Players gather mushrooms from one space and deliver them to another, gaining crystals (points) for doing so. A Game of Gnomes uses a variant of Tokaido’s time management system. Only this time, you’re going through seasons. Seasons as in the time of year, and not the Geekly writer Season. The game’s use of time leads to variable lengths of each season. Everdell would use a similar system years later. Does A Game of Gnomes need a massive mountain you can hang on your wall? No, but also yes. It totally does. This game is adorable.
Kyra’s Video Game
I didn’t include Die in the Dungeon in last month’s Whatcha Playing, but it’s another roguelike video game, compatible with board gaming. I know. I know. Slay the Spire began as a video game and then got reimplemented as a tabletop game. Die in the Dungeon has followed that same path. Honestly, while I like the Slay the Spire as a board game, it’s better as a video game, especially with the recent sequel that adds the one thing the board game offered: coop multiplayer. But I think I’d prefer Die in the Dungeon as a board game. The concept of rolling a pool of dice and placing them on a player board appeals to me more than building a deck. Die in the Dungeon shares plenty of similarities with Slay the Spire. It’s essentially Slay the Spire but with dice. Despite its similarities with Slay the Spire, Die in the Dungeon remains a great play.
Those are all the board games and video games I’ve played this past month. Let’s see what Season and Skye have been playing.
Season’s Board Game
I love spooky stuff year-round, but Halloween is definitely the time of year I like to go nuts. Spooktacular is set in a movie theater where movie monsters come to life and eat guests. Oh, no! You don’t have to worry about getting eaten. You’re the monsters. 😛
I played Doombox and Chortlin Charles in two different games. Chortlin Charles can spook (move to a different space) other monsters. I suppose even the spookiest of us are afraid of clowns. Doombox has five different tracks (one for each color of guest) that triggers different effects based on which guest Doombox eats. Doombox also has a soundtrack on YouTube.
Season’s Video Game
A friend of mine asked me to download Torn a month ago. I downloaded it, but didn’t start playing until last week. The mobile version looks a bit like an image board, so it’s easy to fool people into thinking you’re scrolling social media. Torn is a large city with multiple factions (similar to guilds or gangs) that commit crimes and go to war with each other. You’re trying to gain reputation by doing crime and attacking other players. There are many ways to play Torn, but none of them are clean.
I’ve already joined a faction, committed several small crimes, and gotten hospitalized from losing fights. One person I lost to took pity on me and sent me morphine (reduces your time in the hospital) to get me out. My faction is going to war this weekend. Wish us luck!
If you’re interested in Torn, Kyra covered it earlier this year in “Another 5 Video Games to Secretly Play at Work.”
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. Those are all the games our writers have been playing this past month. What’ve you been playing? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
