Dear Gang of Gamers,
Come to the land of beer and pretzels where the themes are strong and the gaming is sweet.
This month features games that focus more on fun themes and "chrome" than on subtle European game mechanics. Be a superhero! Be a pirate! Be an alien! Be Jack the bloody Ripper! It's Halloween in Gameland so dress the hell up if you feel so inclined!
Game day is this coming Sunday, the 29th, at Plenty and will run from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM as per usual. Plenty is across the street from Danger Room Comics, on the corner of 4th and Columbia in downtown Olympia.
Game day should be relatively cool temperature-wise (high of 71* is predicted) so you won't be going to the lake anyway. Let's stay inside and play with toys instead.
Please see below for sign-up protocol's and belower for our schedule of games.
How to Sign Up For Games:
Everyone is encouraged to email me their choices at anytime after receiving this email, but you must CONFIRM ON THE DAY OF PLAY. In other words, no reservation is sacred without confirmation from you on Sunday by 2:30 pm.
I still would really like people to reserve in advance. That way we get an idea of how popular a game is going to be, or if we need to add more total games for the day. It also gets you first in line to play the game(s) you want. If you are relatively sure you will make it this Sunday, please reserve in advance. To reserve, just email me your choices.
Of course, even if you haven't reserved that doesn't mean you can't show up and see if there's a seat available.
Typically, our game days are scheduled in two separate two hour sessions (roughly 3pm - 5:15pm and 5:15pm - 7:30pm).
To Confirm: You cannot confirm your seat until the day of play, in this case, July 29th. You can confirm by email on that day (olympiagamers@gmail.com) up until 1:00 pm. You should get an email confirmation back from me if you do so. You can call Danger Room (705-3050) or stop by between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm where Connor will add you to the sign-up list. Note that if you have reserved a seat, your reservation is only good until 2:30 pm -- you must confirm by that time to keep your reservation.
Even if confirmed, please do not expect the game start time to be held more than five minutes if you are late. If you are running behind, you can call Plenty and have them page me. It's okay, don't feel bad.
Please do not try to contact me about the games at any other email address other than the one noted above. I won't be offended, I just might not see the emails in time.
There you have it. Sorry to get all "rulesy" on you but I promise it's for the greatest good to the greatest number in accordance with solid enlightenment era thought.
Send me an email to sign up:
"Hey Frank, please sign me up for whatever you are running because you are awesome. If that's full though, then it really doesn't matter so sign me up for whatever is available. Thanks, and by the way, you are very attractive."
Then send an email (or call DR after 1 pm) to confirm on the day of play:
"Hey Frank, I'm writing again on Sunday morning to confirm I will attend game day today. Also I'd like to confirm that you are still a handsome fellow. Are charm and good looks your secret alien power?"
The Game Schedule for Sunday, July 29th:
1st Session, 3:00 pm:
Robert will use his powers to thwart up to Three (3) other teams of Marvel Heroes!
WARNING: THIS GAME WILL LAST AT LEAST PARTWAY THROUGH THE SECOND SESSION!
The game might only last three hours, but it is expected to run too long for players to play in a second game.
It's Clobberin' Time!
" Marvel Heroes is a game set in the Marvel Universe for 2 to 4 players, with plenty of opportunities for cooperation and competition between the Super Heroes controlled by the players. Players take control of a group of Super Heroes (X-Men, Fantastic Four, Marvel Knights or the Avengers) as well as the Nemesis of one of the other player's group (Magneto, Dr. Doom, Kingpin or Red Skull). During the game, each player finds allies, enemies and power-ups, and face the menacing Super Villains controlled by the other players.
High-quality plastic figures of many of the major Marvel Super Heroes, including Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four and The X-Men, as well as of the Nemesis characters, are included in the game. Each character featured in the game is represented by a detailed 40 mm plastic figure and an accompanying character card describing the character's special abilities. Power-ups can be added with special effects, which are different depending on who is acquiring these bonus items, so that all the different incarnations of the character can be played."
By the way, this was not designed to be a kid's game and is actually fairly complex. Several people have compared to other heavily themed and moderately complex games like Fury of Dracula and Arkham Horror.
Robert really hopes to have every seat filled for this game so all four superhero teams can be fielded. Also, he says the more players there are, the more exciting the villain round is. Bring on the Bad Guys!
Ted turns pirate again (along with up to Four (4) others) and rides the Winds of Plunder!
Ted just got this new game from GMT and is dying to run it. Surprise! It's another pirate game!
"Winds of Plunder is set in the Caribbean at a time when pirates have naught to fear but each other. Winds of Plunder allows 3-5 players to compete for victory by a variety of means: plundering ports, spreading their fierce reputations in the Caribbean isles, finding buried Treasure, and boarding their opponents. Randomly placed Victory Point tiles dictate the value of each port and the location of Treasure Maps, while a unique tile rotation system helps keep game play fresh. Weapons, Crew, and Provisions may also be found in the various ports, each of which confers its own Advantages during the game and translates to VP's in the end. Action cards enhance a player's ability to gain plunder or to forstall his opponents. Wind Cubes permit players to vie over control over the winds that guide movement and the order of play for each game round. But the clock is ticking on the days of easy piracy! The game lasts 9 rounds, or approximately 60-120 minutes."
Zach won't be running a game this time but this is the game he plans to play. I thought maybe his fans would want to know.
David will help up to Five (5) others find a Cosmic Encounter!
This is David's first time running a game for us and I'm really happy he volunteered Cosmic Encounter. It's one of those classic games that we all should try at least once. The bonus here is that David has the Mayfair (good) edition of the game and not the recent (crappy) Hasbro edition. This is the game I'll be playing!
Here's David's description of the game:
Cosmic Encounter is a game wherein 4-6 players get together to try and dominate the galaxy. Wait, it gets better! Using strange combinations of alien powers (Whiner, Hypnotist, Filth, Virus, Berserker, etc (more than 50 total to choose from) to subvert the game's basic rules, the players connive, bluff, coerce and collude to achieve supremacy. Expect constant opportunistic alliances, crazy upsets and the low keening of tokens on their way to the Warp. Basic game rules have each player wielding a single power, but we'll be playing with three apiece for triple the fun! Games usually lasts between 60 and 90 minutes.
2nd Session, (roughly) 5:15 pm:
Frank will compete with up to Three (3) other detectives in Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper!
This is a themed rummy variant that a friend loaned me recently and that I've found really fun. It's a light game, but it clicks right along and still offers plenty of gameplay decisions along the way. This is also a great couple's game as it plays well with just two. My own girlfriend wasn't sure if cared for the game as she played her first hand but by the time she'd kicked my ass she'd become downright fond of it.
Each player attempts to collect sets of evidence, suspect, and alibi cards and play them for points. One of the tricks is that a Victim cards has to be played before any Evidence can be found, and there has to be Evidence played before there can be a Suspect or an Alibi. Logical, no? Of course, what everyone really hopes to pull off is to play the Ripper Escapes card once there are five victims already played and thereby get all the points for the hand.
Ted and up to Four (4) other players sail away in Race the Wind!
Here's Ted's description of the game:
Race the Wind recreates a sailing race, like the America's Cup races recently completed. Boats must maneuver for best position in the run-up to the starting line, then take advantage of wind gusts on the the water, and avoid lulls in the wind as they navigate around the buoys. Meanwhile, each boat must allow for possible shifts in wind direction, and try to force the other boats into penalty situations, or block their wind, while keeping clear of the other boats right of way. This game does a very good job of simulating the wind effects and right of way of a real yacht race, with a relatively simple set of rules. 2 to 5 players
Frank's Pick of the Day: Cosmic Encounter!
Beer & Pretzels Pick: All of them!
Best Game to Play in Character: Marvel Heroes!
I haven't scheduled our next game day yet, but I'm hoping for August 19th.
Ted is probably going to run Wings of War (with his new miniature planes) and I will probably run Shogun.
Even MORE info about the games:
For more info about the games we'll be playing, and on just about every game on the planet, visit boardgamegeek.com . Just enter the game title into their search engine and you'll be presented with reviews, articles, session reports, FAQs and other fun stuff. Some of the quoted material in the game descriptions above came from this website and so did the pictures I sourced.
Now let's hear from ya!
Frank
