WhaDiYoB? - Fearsome Floors (2003)

🕑 8 min read

Welcome once again, to our 'What Did You Bring?' segment!

For the purposes of this post, player names have been changed to protect the innocent and the murdered.

In Fearsome Floors we have been kidnapped by a wicked scientist and fed to their monsters! Our entire party has been dumped at the entrance to dingy dungeon hallway filled with stone blocks and slippery pools of blood (fresh from the last party of guests?). The only hope of escape is a thin slither of day-light in the distance and the fact that we have protection in numbers. So, I don't need to run faster than the monster... just faster than that weakened old man or the defenceless child. HA-hahahaha! 

As we all enter the hallways and apprehensively advance towards the exit, we hear a horrifying howl in the darkness... and just like in the Squid Games, the race is on to survive!!

This game was designed by Friedemann Friese, and was originally meant to incorporate his 'friends' escaping from him on a dance floor. I have 2 problems with this. 1. Why were they running away from a green/blue haired games designer on a darkened dance floor? And 2. Where has all this congealed blood come from!!?

Joking aside, apparently Friedemann landed upon the revised theme of escaping a horrific basement monster, more than 5 years after his original idea had landed on the play-test table. I for one am glad he did; because the new theme is so enjoyable and engaging. Let's talk about the game play and why you might want to try this game should you get the opportunity. 

Firstly the game screams family fun, even if the theme is horror, it's not really gruesome. It's more like Scooby-doo and the Mystery Inc. gang being chased through a haunted house, full of teleporting portals that only the vile villain can use. Before I speak more directly about movement and mechanics, please take a moment with me to bask in the glory of the wonderful monster token in this game. Rio Grande Games has given to us a multitude of printed card-board arms, legs, bodies and heads to assemble as we see fit. Slotting them together to create the strange standee is really easy and satisfying. 

At the start, we are all given several counters of our chosen colour. Depending on how many players there are you will either have 4 coloured counters (1-4 players) or 3 counters (5-7 players). Turn order is very simple, each player gets to move one of their escaping 'party member' counters in turn until all players have moved their entire party. The maximum number of spaces a counter (party member) may move is shown on the top of each one. This number ranges from 1-6. Once a counter has been moved, you flip it over to the opposite side, which does 2 things. It shows us which player counters have been moved this turn, and it reveals a new number for the next turn. Because in a brilliant turn of events, each party member has 2 different speeds! Remember that, as it will haunt you and possibly trip you up when you least expect it later.

Once we have moved all our party members, then the fun can truly begin when the monster activates and starts shambling towards us all. To move the monster, all you do is shuffle the monster's 'tombstone tokens' and randomly pick one off of the top. This will tell you how far it will move, usually between 5 and 10 spaces. The cruel creature will continue to proceed forwards until it finishes all of it's move, capturing victims as it proceeds. HOWEVER, as it callously creeps towards us, it will also take a look down intersecting corridors, and as soon as it perceives a prey, it will immediately change direction and head towards them for the remainder of it's moves. The monster cannot see behind itself, around corners, or past stone walls. It will keep moving, only changing direction as it catches a glimpse of a party member. 

From a safe distance you may want to run one of your party into the line of sight of the gruesome giant, just so that it changes direction and eventually captures one of your opponents! A risky move... as they can hide around corners just as the monster reaches their corridor, leaving the murderous monster to eat one of your very own family instead. 

This game does not overstay it's welcome, and is full of extra little details which make the game worth your time. For example, if the monster is forced to simply walk into a side wall, it teleports to another area of the basement and continues it's ravenous rampage. Plus this sadistic savage can push stone blocks into players pieces and even crush them against walls! Perhaps that's where all the blood came from? If one of your party members is captured (eaten), then it is sent back to the start, where it's race begins again. The game ends when a player manages to escape 3 of their counters (1-4 players), or 2 of their counters (5-7 players). 

Why do I like this game? Maybe I should have started with this, so here goes. 

Even though Fearsome Floors is 23 years old, and the mechanics come from a different board gaming era all together, they are still incredibly engaging. As players you have the option to simply run your party members as far away as you like, hoping to escape the gaze of the monster, or perhaps goad it into doing your dirty work for you. It's hilarious. Sorry, did I not say that enough already?

At higher player counts, the game play becomes intensely chaotic, and conveys the same sense of dread you get when driving to an airport, and you convince yourself that you left the oven on. Maybe that doesn't sound so fun after all... THEN an opponent does something even more moronic, letting you off the hook. Let's all laugh at them now. Forget about me, I intended to leave my oven on all along!! 

Since this game only lasts between 30-45mins (player number dependant) you can easily play through it twice, or drag out another board game to quench your appetite for crunchiness. Your choice. 

If you'd like to know more about this game then you can find the Board Game Geek link here!

See you all at NoBoG later!

King Charles III and I walked into a pub...

🕑 4 min read

For the purposes of this post, peoples names have been changed to protect the innocent and treasures of both national and local importance.

So, every now and again (couple of times a month) I get
drinking and discussing board games, designers and gaming groups with King Charles III. What will probably surprise you more than the fact that our monarch enjoys a board game or 10, is that he wears his crown at the pub! He says it gets him a greater number of drink offers, but more importantly, way more interesting chats with random strangers. It works for me; so I buy him whiskey and we chat about his heritage, and of course board games. Lots and lots of board games.

I don't know about you, but random jibber-jabber of this ilk, both inside and outside my regular gaming groups are where I learn the most about new games I've never heard of, or have yet to play. The wealth of board gaming knowledge out there - especially in our very own Norfolk, is kind of exciting right now. 

So I'd like to dedicate this post to a small slice of the conversations and serendipitous ramblings I've had with the King down the boozer. Enjoy.

I've not long come back to gaming after a 15 year hiatus and struggle to recognise or remember prominent designers and publishers. Charles doesn't make me feel silly when I'm caught blathering though. He simply glosses over it and waxes lyrical about his own favourites instead. With that in mind, let's chat about one designer in particular - the good doctor, Reiner Knizia. 

This prolific designer has managed to publish over 700 games, spanning a 25 year career. If you haven't already played any of his games, you will probably have played a game inspired by one of them. Both High Society and The Quest for El Dorado (published by Ravensburger) regularly make an appearance at NoBoG gaming nights each week. I personally have added 2 highly acclaimed titles, Ra and Babylonia, to my board game collections on the personal recommendation of our reigning monarch.

What's all the fuss about though? Why is it that one person can be this talented and so successful at board game design? Well, apart from the sheer amount of time he has spent working on and receiving earnest feedback for his great ideas - Dr Knizia appears to have developed a very particular set of design skills focussed on the human condition. Charles and I discussed this at great length and drew some conclusions. 

As a designer myself, my focus is mostly on fun. Obviously this can be highly subjective and genre specific, but our man Knizia has found ways to mine it, or to be more accurate, allow players to 'unearth' the fun themselves. Most of this 'fun' comes from clever player interactions and well-balanced multi-layered strategies. For example, in Babylonia, placing your tiles and surrounding locations of interest earn victory points and will deny them from your opponents. Basic. However, if you are imaginative, you can simply instead; rock up to those areas, let other players go to war over them and claim the spoils after the dust settles. Thus, collecting small rewards at regular intervals, which multiply up as your network grows and snakes its way into everyone's territory. Reiner's scoring mechanisms can sometimes be complicated, but boy are they rewarding for those players who just wanna explore, and spend some quality time with like minded folk. King Charles agreed with me, that there's something quite amazing about uniting players in a shared scoring mechanism. Dr Reiner Knizia signs off several of his most precious works with this approach, for example Tigris & Euphrates and Samurai. He does this so well, that I'm convinced he understands us better than we understand ourselves. 

Whilst I sit here and write this post I am hopeful that we ALL may eventually find a love for certain genres, mechanics, publishers and/or designers, as I think this matures us as aficionados for our chosen pastime. If you are anything like King Charles and I, then please raise a mug of ale or wee dram of whiskey to that thought. Just like the whiskey, it warms the heart. 

Do you have any favourites? Tell us about them. Even better, bring them along to a game night and entice us all with their majesty. 

Watch out for Ra and Babylonia on NoBoG nights - both games only last for about an hour. Plenty of time for chewing the fat, and playing other games. 

If you wish to learn some more about Dr Reiner Knizia's best to worst board games, then please click HERE for a more extensive look at his works of art.

See you soon!

Norwich Games Convention - a brief preview

Norwich games expo – What’s taking your fancy?

This Saturday sees the *first of what hopefully will be a regular games convention in Norwich

So in this **unpaid preview, what exciting things are on offer?

Doors open at 10am and for those dropping off games in the Bring and buy, this may well be a first port of call. Hopefully not the mile-long queue of the UK games expo....

Will you be dropping games off to make space for other games to replace them, or browsing what’s on offer to find the grail game you’ve always wanted, or a bargain or three?

 

There are stalls open from 10am – 6pm, covering a range of interests. Quite a lot of focus on Role playing games (RPGs) and accessories, with more dice than a mad chef on speed. Art, T-shirts and even a tattoo artist also on offer. Norwich businesses are strongly out in support, including Norwich VR, The Games table, Slice and Dice, Zatu and Black Tower Games, along with others from nearby such as Crit It and the wonderful couple who run Badgers games from Kings Lynn.  Quirkiest stall perhaps the Lazy bug rugs stall – go get your knitted dinosaurs…!

Also starting at 10am, are roleplaying games in the historic ***crypt, but note these do require pre-booking, so find a topic that appeals and get signed up. There’s good variety, showing the hobby is much broader than mere dungeon-crawls, and there’s even a ‘Miss Marple’ style murder mystery RPG.

 

Throughout the day there will be live auctions, and even if not bidding, it’s a chance to see/experience a big variety of auction styles…. And no, don’t worry about scratching your nose or touching your ear counting as a bid.

 

There’s also charity gaming for the Benjamin Foundation in Blackfriars hall at 2pm – 6pm

 

The event listing is here https://www.norwichgames.uk/whats-on, with additional info on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NorwichGamesCon

 

Perhaps if biggest appeal is the opportunity for all-day gaming, with the gaming area expanding significantly at 6pm when the market stalls pack up, and the gaming takes that space over as well. Will you stay for this and if so, are you aiming to grab that opportunity to dust off a copy of Game of Thrones or Twilight Imperium and settle in for the evening? Maybe a chance to game with friends or with strangers?

 

There’s going to be food and drink available for the majority of the day, so no need to leave the building and risk sunburn, drowning or mixing with the happy shoppers in the city.

 

Finally, if you do see John Anthony or Stacey (Staceface) Sanderson, give them a smile of encouragement, as they’ll probably be rushed off their feet all day, and indeed that goes for the other organisers.

 

Hope to see you there? If so, what's most exciting for you?

*whilst we’ve had Diceni for years, that does have a more tabletop gaming focus, albeit with a board game and cosplay element.

** However if there were any gold bullion available, it would as ever be appreciated.

*** I’m assuming a similar vibe to downstairs in the Louis Marchesi, possibly with more reliable electricity

**** or orctions as they call it. Not sure if there’s more teef involved.

WhaDiYoB? - Last Will (2011)

🕑 5 min read

Welcome once again, to our 'What Did You Bring?' segment!

For the purposes of this (review) post, player names have been changed to protect the innocent and the extravagant.

Someone died! "There's been a murrrder!" No wait, wrong game sorry. Our beloved uncle has died of boredom and left us all a small fortune - HOORAY! So, I guess we're all siblings? Or maybe cousins? The game doesn't stipulate who we are exactly, but it promises to reward us for being really, really stupid with money. Double HOORAY!!

Our uncle was a bit of hermit and an outrageously thrifty (boring) millionaire. In his last will and testament, he confided, that for all his fortune and privilege he found little enjoyment in life. So his grand lesson in death, his swan song, is to challenge his nieces and nephews to spend his inheritance as fast and as extravagantly as possible. Enjoy life! Queue a 'Brewster's Millions' like comedy of events. 

Those gamers of a certain age will recognise this theme as the same one used by family game 'Go for broke', but rest assured, the gameplay here is firmly in the modern school of gaming.

The first player to go bankrupt (lose all their share of the inheritance) is the winner. Then, they inherit the REAL fortune!... and I guess become sad and depressed like our cursed uncle was. Cheers unc...??

This game sounds fun right? Spoiler alert. It is. 

In our game we had 4 NOBOGlins* playing, however 'Last Will' can be played with between 2-5 players. The game is medium weight in complexity and can be finished in 60-120 minutes, including setup and explanation time. We did it in about 2 hours. I think you will need most of that 2 hours in your game too, as the whole idea of it - to lose money - is counter intuitive, plus refreshing. Your brain will continue to fart and contort for most of the game; trying to convince you to amass money rather than wantonly spend every last farthing. 

Spending money in this game is easy though! Buy that farm you've always dreamed of. Cha-ching! Go on a boating holiday with a horse and dog! Pay them to teach you how to swim (not in the game - sorry). Have lavish, wild parties in manor houses, and invite your neighbour's spouse! Ooh-la-la now we're talking. Yes, there are many ways in this game to spend your inheritance, but the trick is do it faster than your opponents, and in such a manner that what you purchase doesn't become an asset in the future. Because, just like in 'Brewster's Millions' the hilarious 80's comedy film, any assets (properties, houses/farms) are counted against you in the final act (after round 7). 

So let's talk about the game mechanics and how we can achieve bankruptcy from the comfort of a pub table. Each of the 7 rounds are broken down into 4 fleeting phases. First of all, may I say that this game has one of my favourite mechanisms for turn/phase order. After you have chosen which player is to go first, they get to place their round token on 1 of the 6 possible 'planning spaces'. The further left you place your marker, the further up the action turn order you will go... however, the rub is the further right you place your marker, the more actions and options you will have during that round. Mwah! Chef's kiss. More about chefs later...

From the planning area, each player will decide when they take their actions, how many different action spaces they will utilise, how many actions they are able to take, and how many new cards they will draw into their hand to help achieve their goals this round. 

The 4 phases quickly flow into one another, only stopping every now and again when a player amusingly forgets that they are supposed to be burning through their inheritance. Ha-ha losers. I mean, ha-ha... accumulators?

In the central card marketplace, each player can either pick up new properties each round to purchase, enlist the help of some rather wasteful or incompetent associates (pals, estate agents, gardeners, chefs etc.), or take advantage of a one-off event card to whittle down that fortune; like an expensive carriage ride to no-where, a 'hectic day' shopping or even a dinner reservation you don't attend. Of course the players may also choose to invite (and pay for) companions to join them on their adventures. 

There is an abundance of choices available to slowly but surely whittle down your fortune, however there will be a massive temptation to spend a huge slice of your inheritance on properties, and why not. Properties are expensive, they also deteriorate when not maintained, used as a flop houses or partied in like it's 1899. Unfortunately though, their value never really fully disappears, and being stuck with an asset when the game comes to the end is potentially disastrous to the bank account... no wait. Assets are good! I'm doing great right?! Hahahaha you've fallen into that trap again! Winners are losers excluding when losing is winning. Losing (winning) is fun. Except when you are winning, of course. So confusing.

Finally, as per usual, this well balanced and fun game has a naughty little skid mark. I've played it twice and both times the same(ish) strategy won. Avoiding properties will allow you to build an engine within the game which will survive the test of time. Reacquainting yourself with helpful (mooching) pals or associates, and increasing your card drawing capacity will eventually become a very powerful end-game play. Therefore, you have been duly warned, attempting a property strategy means that you must pick a good time to exit the market with your ill-gotten losses(?) FAST, and then rely upon a new set of situations to off-load your moolah late in the game. It is my opinion that buying and selling property/farms is indeed hard mode. On my first game I managed to get within a few English pounds of the winner with the help of 3 very incompetent estate agents, and by manipulating the property market almost every round. So... it is possible, I guess. Consider the property challenge set!

If you'd like to know more about this game then you can find Board Game Geek link here!

It's a good game. I wholeheartedly recommend it. 

WhaDiYoB? - Ra (2023)

🕑 6 min read

Welcome once again, to our 'What Did You Bring?' segment!

For the purposes of this (review) post, player names have been changed to protect the innocent and the mummified.

RAAAAA!! The Sun God Ra is the bringer of life, light and an immensely fun auction game. As a devoted worshipper of Ra, it is our job to enrich ancient Egyptian civilisation through Art, Religion, Astronomy, Writing, Agriculture and the construction of epoch spanning Monuments, all in his name. 

Don't worry though, you don't have to do all that in a single hour at the pub. Just shout 'Ra' a lot during the game and hold... hold.... NOW! Bid NOW!!  

I like my games simple, and this is as simple as they come - let's not talk about the end game scoring yet. At the heart of this game is a (closed) auction system. So please allow me (a serial hater of auction games) to try to convince you (a non-believer of Ra) to give this game a try if you ever get the opportunity. 

RAAAA!!!

Winning, as mentioned previously is easy. All you have to do is bid the highest, and collect as many tiles as you can, which have been picked out of a colourful bag. If you did well, your collection (or set) will be the most valuable and beat the scores of every other player. Boom! Ra loves you, and only you. Go on... give that big Ra statue a kiss. It's beautiful. Kiss it. 

At the start of the game, depending on how many players there are, each player is given 4 rather chunky Sun Disks numbered between 2 and 16. The Sun Disk with the 1 on it, is placed centrally on the communal tableaux. Ooo.. I've never written that word before... tableaux. Sounds lush. 

Anyway, each player uses their Sun Disks to bid in the upcoming auctions, but you only get to bid once in each auction! So if you really want those tiles for your collection of Monuments, Rivers, Civilizations, or Gods etc. then you had better pay up son!! The higher the number the higher the bid.

This game is broken into 3 Epochs - which are essentially rounds. During each round, players have 1 of 2 simple decisions to make during their turn. 1. Do you draw another tile from the sack and add it to a burgeoning public display of gifts to Ra? Or 2. Do you just call RAAA!! Thus beginning an auction and prematurely ending the 'Generation Game'* style conveyor belt of victory points amassing. Pro-tip: If you do call Ra! Then you will get a distinct advantage in the bidding process, as you will bid last. This turns out to be a delicious game of chicken with your opponents. Do they use their high numbers to secure the auction win? Or do they let you take all the tiles for a measly '3 Sun Disk'? 

When you eventually do win an auction, then you will swap your winning Sun Disk with the central one left over from previous bids - and keep it for future rounds.....yep that happened. Congratulations, you just played yourself. Or did you....? ::sly smile::

During the game lots of other bad stuff can and will happen too. There are Disaster tiles! Of course there are, this is ancient Egypt. These tiles are like a fly in the ointment of your offerings to Ra, they force players who collect them to lose some of their collection's value. Some tiles only score when accompanied by other tiles; other tiles only score if you have the most of them, and one tile even penalises you for having none of them. Plus, just in case you weren't having enough fun yet, several tiles that are drawn from the bag are Ra tokens! This token artificially begins an auction, which can be both horrible and sublime at the same time. They also act as the Epoch (round) countdown timer.  

If you have been paying attention, you will have noticed that every new conveyor belt of offerings to Ra has value, however, that value is different for each player. Therefore every auction is exciting, fast and mouth-watering (in it's own way). Between the screams of "RAA!!" and "Stop them! They are going to WIN!", you will be trying to count the value of your offerings - hoping that you can predict the outcome. Do not do this. You are wasting your time, and you could easily miss the opportunity to gain massive rewards, or even prevent another player from doing the same thing.

After the 3rd Epoch has finished, and the count-up begins - this is where the game lags a bit. Yes, it can be exciting announcing your totals in turn order, but very frequently I have found this stage to drag a small amount and can become technical. Losing by 2 points can feel horrible, but not as horrible as realising that you just lost by 20 points and was probably playing a different game all along. Ra hates you. But don't be sad though, the game doesn't last very long, and you may even be able to get an additional play out of it during the evening, if everyone is on board. 

All jokes aside, this game is kind of genius. Maybe it won't be to everyone's taste, since crunchiness only pops up during the set collection and the count-up at the end. However the interpersonal challenges, the pushing of ones luck and the schadenfreude as you announce "RA!" to the screams of delight from all your new friends... then watch in horror as one by one, they all 'pass' on bidding for the tiles, and you're now stuck with them... cue the giggles. 

In conclusion, I do recommend giving Ra a try if you get the opportunity.

If you want to know more about this game, then you can find the Board Game Geek link here! Plus if you have any suggestions on which games to review in WhaDiYoB? then pop a comment down below for us. 

Enjoy your screaming. I mean evening!! Enjoy your evening. 

WhaDiYoB? - First Rat (2022)

 🕑 6 min read

Welcome to the first 'What Did You Bring?' segment. 

For the purposes of this (review) post, player names have been changed to protect the innocent and the furry.

Legend has it that the mesmerising yellow moon which hangs in the night sky above the junkyard is actually made from cheese! Many a rat child has dreamed of making their heroic journey and staking a claim to the heavenly globe of gouda. Then when all had given up on reaching it, a fellow junkyard rat scavenged an ancient manuscript amongst the discarded rubbish. A comic book! Not just any old comic though, no. This book illuminated the very first moon landing in full and precious detail. 

Ever since then the race was on to train 'rattronauts' and build a rocket ship capable of reaching the moon. One small step for rat, one tantalising leap for rat-kind. 

This delightful backstory sets you off on a board gaming experience which is likely to have you constantly grinning, and hatching new plans as the game readily shifts gears and powers towards a manic race - to become First Rat. 

On game night we played with 4 players which (after playing a few games myself) seemed to be a nice sweet spot. However, First Rat will play well with 1-5 players. 

Each player starts with 2 colour matched 'rattronaut' playing pieces, and the simple instruction to move your rat pack up a pile of junk towards victory. During your journey you will be collecting resources like baking soda and vinegar (rocket fuel); or calculators and tin cans (components), then spending them to construct your rocket ships which will ultimately catapult you to the cheesy moon. At the heart of this very easy to learn game, is the synchronisation and efficiency of your rat movements. Plus, as you gradually ready your rockets for launching, many other opportunities will present themselves to generate special rewards and essential bonus powers to help you to first place. For example; 'light bulbs' will light your way forward, score victory points, and allow you to pick up additional resources in well lit areas. Also you can collect 'mini cheeses' which are in-game currency that allow you to purchase additional powers at shops and help you share in the wealth of the scrapyard with your opponents. Finally you can scavenge 'apple cores' which move your burrowing rat around at speed, collecting unique powers, unlocking more rats to send into space and scoring valuable victory points. 

First Rat is turn based and your turn comprises of a very simple choice. Firstly, do you move one of your rats up to 5 spaces OR do you move any number of your rats up to 3 spaces each. If you move one rat, then you simply collect the resource that you land on. If you move more than 1 rat, then you may collect all the resources upon which they land - so long as your rat pack land on spaces of an identical colour! This little rule confronts you with a delicious, thought provoking riddle each turn, where you must weigh up the need to slowly increase the quantity of the resources you scavenge, with where to position yourself in readiness for that killer move next turn. Simple, yet incredibly fun. 

The game feels like you have a multitude of possibilities to follow through on to outwit your junkyardian opponents, and you never really feel 'out' of the space race either. There is always something to look forward to, manipulate, and help you onwards towards your final destination. 

You can win in only one way - be the player with the highest victory points at the end of the game. However, you are confronted and teased with many ways to earn those points. Ideally, being the First Rat to each victory point condition is the tried and tested route to success. Ending the game is also simple; the game ends when one player has placed the last of their (8) scoring cubes at victory point locations dotted all over the game board OR when one player has sent all 4 of their rattronauts into space! 

In our game, everyone seemed to enjoy the experience and ultimately the player who eventually won, was definitely 'First Rat' to several high scoring victory point locations.

All in all, if you enjoy a fun, fast paced, easy to learn game with medium complexity, then you MUST give First Rat a go if you are able to. With 4 players who are paying attention, plus a bit of chilling at the same time, expect to spend about 2 hours (including the rules explanation). 

There is a lot of replay-ability in this game through optional rule sets and bespoke (reverse the board) setups. However, I don't see any need for them right now, as the actual game reacts well to different players and their quirky strategies.

If you want to know more about this game then you can find Board Game Geek link here!

I love this game and hope to show it to more players in the future.