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Gaming & Writing
Aug. 4th, 2005 10:17 amThe Gaming Bit:
Went to EndGame last night. Caught a ride from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
christophera_ there and back, which means that I got in three hours of gaming, and was still home a bit after 10pm. (Yes, I was weak. And tired after babysitting machines all day.)
First game of the night was For Sale, a double auction game. As usual I tried hard and lost terribly. I don't know why that game's strategy doesn't click in my head, but the fact that I lose so consistently tells me that there is real strategy there.
I brought a couple of my review games to EndGame, a real rarity for me, but I wanted to at least try and move on them before GenCon (whether I'll actually get to write reviews or not is an open question, because time is otherwise quite pressed). In any case, we played Go West!, a new Leo Colovini game that just arrived a couple of days ago, and I even took notes and everything.
Go West! is what I call a per-capita majority control game: every piece scores a set number of points (1) but in cases of shortages the majority scores first. There's also another token (a stagecoach) which determines how many majority control tokens score. Finally there's a unique element where only the most recent 7 tokens in each area score; older ones are tossed out. Layer that on with a card play system and you have a majority control system that both is like some of the old standards and also is very new and unique.
On the one hand I was reminded of Mammoth Hunters, which has a similar per capita system, and on the other I was reminded of Fifth Avenue, where you similarly have to set it up so that other people help you score. Unlike the first, however, this was much faster and better suited for its time, and unlike the second, this one worked. The game is *highly* analytical, and you really have to think (and count) sometimes to figure out whether a score will be valuable for you or not. However, the game has a lot going for it if you like that sort of thing.
Last up was another new game, or at least new by some definitions, TransEuropa. Dave G. had just bought it and really wanted to play, so we were game. As a very casual TransAmerica player I felt like this one was entirely identical. Constant players of TA might be thrilled to have different locations and different board dynamics, but for me it was more of the same: a fine, though not great, casual game. I made a killing on this game, possibly because of the string of games of TransSib I played the other week. I even put someone else out on my last turn, just to make sure a few people would hit the barrier and end the game (else they would have gotten another turn before he completed).
The Writing Bit:
Despite machine babysitting & gaming, I also got some writing done yesterday.
I now have a complete draft script of Castle Marrach: Awakenings #2, my next comic. I really hope we can figure out a way to produce these as I've been enjoying writing CMA. At GenCon we're going to see if we can get any comics companies to pick it up. I think it's good stuff.
Continued work on my CCG, and I now have 55 of the 100 cards necessary for my new playtest decks. I won't be doing anything tonight, but if I can finish up another 20 or so Friday night, then I get to go to gaming on Saturday because I'll be able to finish the decks Saturday night. We'll see. I might decide not to go anyway, just to have more time to clean up all my language and make it somewhat consistent.
No progress on ElfBook, the other thing sitting on my plate right now, but thinking I was going to put some time into it amidst the very busy CCG work was a pipe dream.
Went to EndGame last night. Caught a ride from
christophera_ there and back, which means that I got in three hours of gaming, and was still home a bit after 10pm. (Yes, I was weak. And tired after babysitting machines all day.)First game of the night was For Sale, a double auction game. As usual I tried hard and lost terribly. I don't know why that game's strategy doesn't click in my head, but the fact that I lose so consistently tells me that there is real strategy there.
I brought a couple of my review games to EndGame, a real rarity for me, but I wanted to at least try and move on them before GenCon (whether I'll actually get to write reviews or not is an open question, because time is otherwise quite pressed). In any case, we played Go West!, a new Leo Colovini game that just arrived a couple of days ago, and I even took notes and everything.
Go West! is what I call a per-capita majority control game: every piece scores a set number of points (1) but in cases of shortages the majority scores first. There's also another token (a stagecoach) which determines how many majority control tokens score. Finally there's a unique element where only the most recent 7 tokens in each area score; older ones are tossed out. Layer that on with a card play system and you have a majority control system that both is like some of the old standards and also is very new and unique.
On the one hand I was reminded of Mammoth Hunters, which has a similar per capita system, and on the other I was reminded of Fifth Avenue, where you similarly have to set it up so that other people help you score. Unlike the first, however, this was much faster and better suited for its time, and unlike the second, this one worked. The game is *highly* analytical, and you really have to think (and count) sometimes to figure out whether a score will be valuable for you or not. However, the game has a lot going for it if you like that sort of thing.
Last up was another new game, or at least new by some definitions, TransEuropa. Dave G. had just bought it and really wanted to play, so we were game. As a very casual TransAmerica player I felt like this one was entirely identical. Constant players of TA might be thrilled to have different locations and different board dynamics, but for me it was more of the same: a fine, though not great, casual game. I made a killing on this game, possibly because of the string of games of TransSib I played the other week. I even put someone else out on my last turn, just to make sure a few people would hit the barrier and end the game (else they would have gotten another turn before he completed).
The Writing Bit:
Despite machine babysitting & gaming, I also got some writing done yesterday.
I now have a complete draft script of Castle Marrach: Awakenings #2, my next comic. I really hope we can figure out a way to produce these as I've been enjoying writing CMA. At GenCon we're going to see if we can get any comics companies to pick it up. I think it's good stuff.
Continued work on my CCG, and I now have 55 of the 100 cards necessary for my new playtest decks. I won't be doing anything tonight, but if I can finish up another 20 or so Friday night, then I get to go to gaming on Saturday because I'll be able to finish the decks Saturday night. We'll see. I might decide not to go anyway, just to have more time to clean up all my language and make it somewhat consistent.
No progress on ElfBook, the other thing sitting on my plate right now, but thinking I was going to put some time into it amidst the very busy CCG work was a pipe dream.