The only slightly evil 6x6x6 quiz

A little light entertainment for the festive break. Answers will be posted on NOBOG facebook page (behind a spoiler screen)  

Round 1. Anagrams – There’s a board game in there, what is it?

Let's start things off relatively easy. All these are board games, some older, some modern (and of the modern ones. all have been played at NOBOG)

1. Nice damp
2. Cooler tot  
3. Pork watch
4. Tito Deck rite
5. Dirty PC
6. Toe or pain

Round 2. Cult of the old – match these dates to the games that were first published in that year

Perhaps a little harder, but easy to have a guess if you don't know

1. 1983
2. 1993
3. 2001
4. 2004
5. 2007
6. 2011

.    

1. Castles of Burgundy
2. Cockroach Poker
3. Escape Rooms (i.e. the date of the 1^st physical escape room)
4. Jenga
5. Magic the Gathering collectable card game
6. Munchkin

Reverse quiz - Here’s the answer, but what is the question?

Now here's the truly evil round, and it covers wider than just board games, extending to cards and hobbies/puzzles. No sneaky use of internet to look these up! It's much more fun to try and work them out. Get more than a couple without cheating and that's impressive.

1. Alison Hansel
2. $12,969,608 
3. 24 Wensum St, 16 Charing Cross, 41 St Andrews St, 17 Tombland
4. 43 252 003 274 489 856 000
5. John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson
6. Cinema City (or Suckling House as it was known at the time)

 

 

Co-operation? What sort of trickery is this?!!!!

 

Forgive me a little ancient history. 

In my original era of gaming, barring D&D / Dungeon-crawlers (neither my thing) I can’t recall other co-operative games. I suppose Escape from Colditz was close, as a 1 vs many, though I had a rude awakening the first time someone showed me it could very much be played semi co-op

 “I’ll have that traitor court-martialled!!”

 

 

So after a rather long break from gaming that started just before the millennium, returning to the hobby a decade and a half later revealed an amazing array of co-operative games, and that richness has continued since. Here are a few examples played at NOBOG over the years. Perhaps you were one of the players?

Pandemic is very well-known, but my favourite ‘Pandemic system’ game is one that doesn’t carry that name, though it was designed by the same person (Matt Leacock). The game is Thunderbirds, originally released via Kickstarter crowdfunding, and followed by a retail release…. but then the IP licence expired, never to be reprinted. Here’s a shot of it being played at NOBOG in Sept 2019. The board may look rather simplified, but it presents a fierce challenge, as it’s not enough to plan for your own turn, but have to consider the player(s) that follow you. Will your move aid them as well, or risk leaving them helpless? Gameplay is pretty easy to learn, though it does present a bit more of a puzzle than Pandemic, despite the use of dice in solving most events. For anyone who grew up on the Gerry Anderson series, there will be plenty of moments where a wry smile develops as you remember an episode from decades before.

Cthulu / Lovecraft has become a popular theme, and especially so for co-operative games. There is something so obviously appealing about ones sanity being tested by unspeakable monsters, though any schoolteachers will I’m sure say that the joy wears off after a while. Recent gaming has seen Mansions of Madness (a very cinematic crescendo with the narrative side to the fore) and Cthulu Death May Die (a more cerebral puzzle, albeit with figurines that may be outgrowing the term ‘mini’), but the game illustrated takes us back to a NOBOG session in the dark and distant June 2017, the game being the “Big book of madness”.

Between two… Games design might sometimes feel a little derivative / repetitious, but there are some cracking original ideas out there. I’d definitely count in this the games Between two cities of Mad King Ludwig, and Between two castles of Mad King Ludwig. The premise is that whilst the games are competitive, this is achieved by playing co-operatively with the players to your left and right. You create a tableau with each of those players, but only the lowest scoring of those two counts as your score, so you’re naturally encouraged to treat them both equally. Such an innovative design, but also a game that must be useful to bring new players into a more experienced group, as they’ll get help from both sides. Here is Between two castles, being played at NOBOG in December 2019.

Escape rooms have become a big thing in the wider public awareness and NOBOG even played one in board game form this month (Adventure Games - November 2022). Have any been played at NOBOG before? I can’t recall any, but they seem like they’d be a good fit.

Just One has been a popular closer to NOBOG evenings for a while now, and we’re most likely to play it as an uber-chilled casual game than actually keeping score. Here’s a more recent photo of a large game of it being played at NOBOG in Sept 2022. Super easy to teach / learn, and it gets some longevity from needing to think about the interests / experiences of your fellow players e.g. a clue based on a Marvel superhero would be wasted on me, but might be perfect for someone else. For me it (and not Monopoly) should be the game that is in every household, and Christmas would be a lot more tolerable were that the case.

 

How about you?

-        Do you enjoy a little co-op play alongside more traditional competitive games?

-        Any favourite co-op games, or ones you’re keen to try out?

-        Did you play in the game illustrated (or any other time)? If so, any thoughts on the game?

 

NOBOG - welcome to Norwich board gamers - what to expect

Firstly, don’t be afraid,

It’s a friendly group who are happy to game with anyone, be they a newcomer to board games, rediscovering their interest in board games, or people who never lost that love of gaming. 

If you still feel nervous or have any specific concerns, contact Ian Sutton or Lewis Walker via facebook and we’ll ensure you are fully supported, or simply mention it on arrival to anyone there and they’ll be happy to make you feel welcome and supported.

How much does it cost and do I have to join?
There is no charge and there is no membership -  you are simply free to turn up whenever it is convenient for you. In buying drinks or food at the bar, it does help ensure the pub get value from providing the room(s) for us. 

There's a good selection of food if you're hungry, from very light snacks to properly filling meals, and a few of us often arrive a little early to fuel up for the gaming!

They brew their own beers and ciders, but also have plenty of others available, plus a rather decent wine list (Trimbach and Kooyong impressed this wine lover), together with a wide range of soft drinks, plus tea. herbal teas, coffee and even hot chocolate with marshmallow floating on top! 👻

Where to find NOBOG ü

It’s currently hosted *upstairs on the 1st floor of the city centre pub ‘St Andrew’s Brewhouse’ (opposite Cinema City / St Andrews Hall) on Mondays and Tuesdays every week, but we usually have a temporary venue in December.

* Ask the bar staff on Mondays, as we’ll either be upstairs as normal or in the ground floor restaurant area

When to arrive ½

Anytime before the 7:30pm roll call and people often start arriving a little before 7pm, to have a drink and a chat or a bite to eat before the gaming commences.

7:30pm Roll call?!!!

At c. 7:30pm, one of the more gregarious gamers (often Lewis - photo above) will stand up and ask everyone to call out the games they’ve brought, so everyone knows what’s available that night.

At the moment about half the attendees bring games and about half just bring themselves and that works rather well.

If there’s anything that sounds interesting, head over to the person that called it out, to get that game played.

Don’t worry if you don’t know what these games being called out are, as you can also stroll around the room to see what they are. In addition there is always someone coming round the room who will ensure everyone has a game to play. We’ve never yet left anyone without a game to play and don’t intend that to ever happen.

In addition, the person who brings the game will always teach it to those at the table.

What games get played?

There is a very wide range of board games played, from lighter & shorter ‘filler’ games like Just One, Cockroach poker & Codenames, through ‘becoming mainstream’ games like Ticket to Ride, Wingspan & Root. Dexterity games like Junk Art and Men at Work have made recent appearances, as have some social deduction games like Blood on the Clocktower. Then at the ‘bigger’ end of the scale we’ve the full spectrum from a ‘heavy euro’ like On Mars through to a classic thematic game like Zombicide.

If you haven’t heard of any of these games or haven't played many games before - don't worry! The rules for a game are explained at the start and even the longest serving members are regularly learning new games. Everyone is welcome to bring along games they would like to play or think others may enjoy, but don't worry if you can't as there is always a good selection of games to choose from.

Once a game has finished the table may start another game or players are free to break up and join other games that may be starting. Often the second games will be shorter to fit into time constraints, or to play larger more social games.

To get a full sighter of the sort of games that have been played, the Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/groups/nobog  usually lists all the games played of an evening, often with pictures of the games.

What time does it finish? Á

We aim to be all packed up and exiting the pub by closing time (currently 11pm). However it’s also feasible to plan to leave before that, so when choosing a game, it’s very much possible to arrange for a game that’s likely to finish earlier.

For a video of what it looks like upstairs, here's a video from a while back showing games in progress https://www.facebook.com/100008174955627/videos/2842234852725652/

FAQ (and unusually for FAQs, these questions do actually get asked!)

Do I need to bring games?

It’s entirely up to you. Around 50% of people bring games along. Bringing games is fine, as is not bringing games.

What can I bring?

Anything that you’d like to get played and that you’re confident enough in the gameplay / rules to teach them to your fellow gamers. The group’s focus is board games, but we hosted a role playing group for a few years and would be happy to do so again.

I’m new to gaming - is this ok?

Absolutely! The person who brought the game will teach the gameplay / rules at the start of the game and no prior knowledge is assumed. We have a mix of experience in the group, and new gamers keep the group fresh, so you are every bit as important to the group.

What does it cost?

Nothing! We host the group in a pub and there is no charge for gaming and we intend to keep it that way. Although it’s in our interest to ensure the pub gets enough revenue from drinks and food to want us there, there is never any pressure, and we want the group to be as inclusive as possible.

Can young people come along?
Due to licencing conditions, it's not possible for under 16s to join us (the pub would need them to leave by 8pm). However there are a group of parents who are arranging meetups on other days / times, at venues better suited to hosting children. If this interests you, feel free to post on the NOBOG facebook page to co-ordinate with those parents. 

Getting There.

Car

Ad-hoc parking is available around St. Andrews Brew House, parking restrictions are in places dropped after 6.30pm for single yellow lines, but there are also a number of car parks available situated close to the venue. Here is a helpful PDF map of the parking available. Closest car parks are St Andrews Multi Storey car park ( closest and best ) and the smaller, tighter St Giles Multi Storey carp park. £3 for the evening after 6.30pm. The Forum car park has a flat rate after 4.30pm.

Bus

St. Andrews Brew House is located fairly centrally and is within easy walking distance of the main bus hubs available in Castle Meadow. If a bus goes to Norwich then chances are it stops at Castle Meadow, a mere 5 minute walk from St. Andrews Brew House. The bus station is about 10 minutes walk.

Cycling

There are dedicated cycle parking facilities dotted around, here is a useful map of all the cycle racks and lockers, rather awesomely there are some cycle parking facilities right outside the door of St. Andrews !
Latest Cycle Map of Norwich
Older Cycle Map of Norwich

Train

Norwich is served by its rather swanky Victorian era mainline station. A 10 minute walk from the station will get you to St. Andrews Brew House. However depending on your route the last trains from Norwich can leave relatively early - before 11pm. Check your rail timetable for details.

Air

Norwich has it's very own airport - the Norwich International Airport. Arrival here for some gaming is feasible, if impractical for a regular commuting type basis ( unless you are a fabulously wealthy and pampered jet setting type ). Taxi/bus/chauffeured limousine required after flight!