Everybody Knows that the Bird is the Word - Codenames Review

I don't like "party games." I don't like yelling (or buzzers), interruptions, timers, or social stuff relying on poor information or hidden teams. That certainly doesn't mean I don't like having a good time in a social situation, and there are still plenty of times where I like things that become those things*, but what it actually comes down to is that I hate when those elements are essential to the game rules or the inevitable outcome, because I don't really like things that are that high energy.

So, when I had Codenames described to me as something along the lines of "There's lots of yelling and guessing who's the spy, and who doesn't like party games?!" I was skeptical, to say the least.  It basically sounded like the least enjoyable parts (most parts) of Taboo, Pictionary, and Bang!, rolled in to one mess, maybe with some Apples to Apples mixed in, where I'd tolerate a few rounds and then beg off.

Fortunately, that turned out to be a poor description of Codenames and, despite any reservations, in a few rounds, it became my favorite light-weight guessing game, which isn't saying a lot, but the fact that I actually bought a copy the next week does.

Given the game's popularity, I expect that party gamers are well aware of the game, but this strays well outside my normal interests and reviews as mostly a fan of strategy games and thematic games/RPGs, so is worth a review from a different perspective.

Going With the Flow (chart) - Glory To Rome Review

My relationship with Glory to Rome is defined by my experiences learning to play it, so my review's going to take a bit of a different form this time.

The Spice of Life - Dominion Expansion Reviews (general and specific)

I've now been playing Dominion for a little over 3 years and have 4 of the expansions and one promo card (and of course the core).

I still very much enjoy Dominion, but have found that it's not nearly as tight as I first felt it was.

The following review builds on my review of the core Dominion set, and assumes having read it, and/or familiarity with the core game.

Marseille Sophistiqué - Tarot Kickstarting, week 1 (part 5)

So, Kickstarter has come to town. As of writing this, my wife's and my kickstarter is about $50 from funded, as we pass the first week mark (I believe it was around 1:00 PM, last Monday, when we launched).

Marseille Sophistiqué is an updated version of the French Tarot (or Tarocchi) deck, which was created in Europe in the 15th century and used for card games well before it was adopted (and adapted) for fortune telling/divination.

For a little detail on how French Tarot is played, it's a point-trick taking game, that can be played in variants of 3-6 players (4 is standard, and the larger family of games can accommodate 2-8 players), that revolves around the idea of intentionally unbalanced hands: The cards are only very lightly randomized, with the goal that one player will have a strong enough hand to take on a team of all of the other players, combined.

Marseille Sophistiqué - Tarot Illustration (part 4)

So, things are getting pretty close to set, with this deck. The image above is a variant on our box art- we're going with a horizontal format- and features a preview of our Trumps/Major Arcana.

Marseille Sophistiqué - Tarot Illustration (part 3)

...And then there were four.

In the Cards - Tarot Illustration (part 2)

I've done quite a few more cards, and fine-tuned the ones I've completed further.

In the Cards - Tarot Illustration (part 1)

So, this is a pretty big shift from most of what I've been doing.

Obtainers of Rare Antiquities - Assault: 19xx Card Game Review (update 9/15)

Assault: 19xx, including the 2nd volume extras

Assault: 19xx summarizes itself perfectly- a Dieselpunk adventure. It's a fun, casual game that's most suited to a party, and definitely not the sort where you agonize over strategy.

It's Like Magic! Except, Well, I Like It - Dominion card game review

So, some few years ago, I heard about this game called Dominion, which was like Magic, the Gathering, which is exactly why it was more than a year before I tried it.

Having played it, the ways it's unlike Magic, however, are exactly why I now like the ways it is like Magic.