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.