Thursday, November 13, 2003
Subulata
This is a new abstract game from Cwali. Despite it's nominal theme, it is really a very pure abstract. It's fun. It feels like there could be a lot of depth and strategy, but it may take more play than this will get to see it. Certainly a good one for fans of abstracts.
Die Fugger
Last weekend I got to play a couple of games of "Die Fugger", a new game from AdlungSpiele. It's a very nice little market game that plays quickly and requires some interesting decisions. The basic idea is players play cards in sequence, and when the 5th of a particular commodity is played, the round ends. At this point, the top three commodities are raised in price and the remaining two are lowered. The price wheel is circular, and when a commodity becomes too highly priced, it crashes back to the low values. There are naturally other details, but that's the basic idea.
It's fun. It also suceeds at something that is fairly rare: it is a quick game that doesn't feel really light. There are a ton of games out there that play in under half an hour, but most of them feel very light. I'm not saying that Die Fugger is as meaty as something like PrincesOfFlorence or PuertoRico, but it packs a good amount into a short game. There's not a huge amount of strategy, but some strong tactical decisions and overall good tension.
It's fun. It also suceeds at something that is fairly rare: it is a quick game that doesn't feel really light. There are a ton of games out there that play in under half an hour, but most of them feel very light. I'm not saying that Die Fugger is as meaty as something like PrincesOfFlorence or PuertoRico, but it packs a good amount into a short game. There's not a huge amount of strategy, but some strong tactical decisions and overall good tension.
New log system?
I don't like this blog system anymore. I'm trying out a new one.
This one will stick around until I decide I'm happier with the new one
than I am with this one. The new one is both
stuff and other stuff. It even has an RSS feed.
This one will stick around until I decide I'm happier with the new one
than I am with this one. The new one is both
stuff and other stuff. It even has an RSS feed.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Spam Filtering
I get a fair amount of spam. On some of my email addresses, over 100 spam messages per day. I use PopFile for my filtering and have been extremely pleased with its performance, and highly recommend it to anyone with a spam problem. It's straightforward to use and very accurate in my experience.
Additionally, at work, I have installed SpamAssassin on our servers, which does a very good job as well, though not quite as reliable as ~PopFile. They work well together though and the result is an entirely manageable level of spam getting through.
Additionally, at work, I have installed SpamAssassin on our servers, which does a very good job as well, though not quite as reliable as ~PopFile. They work well together though and the result is an entirely manageable level of spam getting through.
Cuchi Cuchi
Yesterday, we ate at "Cuchi Cuchi", an oddly named restaurant in Cambridge with a interesting approach towards their dishes. Basically, they are a Tapas restaurant, but not exclusively (or even primarily) Spanish food. They have a variety of dishes ranging from $8 to $11. We had 6 dishes for the two of us, but 5 would have been plenty.
Overall, the food was very good. The ambiance was nice as well, with a rather funky decorating style. For food, we had Hot Crab Timbale, Brie en Crout, Chicken Kiev, Beef Stroganoff, a fried tomato dish and a delicious Eggplant with roasted peppers and goat cheese. I especially enjoyed the Eggplant and the Brie en Crout. I very much like the idea of having a number of "appetizers" rather than a single main course, and I hope it's an idea some other restaurants take up.
The quality and environment match the price, but it is a little pricy. On a weekday, they were busy, but we did not have to wait without a reservation.
Cuchi Cuchi
95 Main St.
Cambridge, MA
617-864-2929
Overall, the food was very good. The ambiance was nice as well, with a rather funky decorating style. For food, we had Hot Crab Timbale, Brie en Crout, Chicken Kiev, Beef Stroganoff, a fried tomato dish and a delicious Eggplant with roasted peppers and goat cheese. I especially enjoyed the Eggplant and the Brie en Crout. I very much like the idea of having a number of "appetizers" rather than a single main course, and I hope it's an idea some other restaurants take up.
The quality and environment match the price, but it is a little pricy. On a weekday, they were busy, but we did not have to wait without a reservation.
Cuchi Cuchi
95 Main St.
Cambridge, MA
617-864-2929
Thursday, October 30, 2003
Attika, Finstere Flure and Schwarzarbeit
Last night I played these three. I had played Attika once, two
player, at Essen, with the wrong rules. With the correct rules it is
substantially better. It occured to us that given that Hans im Gluck
also published Attila, they'll next need to publish "Attija". Maybe
an oil related game (Abdullah Hamad al-Attija appears to have been an
OPEC president at one point). In any case, Attika is enjoyable and I
look forward to playing it more.
Schwarzarbeit seemed to have one of the common deduction game
problems: everyone figures everything out at the same time. We played
with allowing note-taking, which wasn't clear whether or not if it was
intended, but like most deduction games, eliminating note taking would
probably make it unreasonably hard. Maybe that's how it's supposed to
be played though. Unfortunately, as a result, it was a lot of luck at
the end when everyone had figured things out. I'll still give it
another try.
Finstere Flure continues to be very enjoyable. In addition to being a
very fun game, the components are beautiful and the rules are easy to
explain.
I also updated my 10s and 20s list.
player, at Essen, with the wrong rules. With the correct rules it is
substantially better. It occured to us that given that Hans im Gluck
also published Attila, they'll next need to publish "Attija". Maybe
an oil related game (Abdullah Hamad al-Attija appears to have been an
OPEC president at one point). In any case, Attika is enjoyable and I
look forward to playing it more.
Schwarzarbeit seemed to have one of the common deduction game
problems: everyone figures everything out at the same time. We played
with allowing note-taking, which wasn't clear whether or not if it was
intended, but like most deduction games, eliminating note taking would
probably make it unreasonably hard. Maybe that's how it's supposed to
be played though. Unfortunately, as a result, it was a lot of luck at
the end when everyone had figured things out. I'll still give it
another try.
Finstere Flure continues to be very enjoyable. In addition to being a
very fun game, the components are beautiful and the rules are easy to
explain.
I also updated my 10s and 20s list.
Monday, October 27, 2003
Finstere Flure, Google AdSense, this weblog, etc.
I got back yesterday from Spiel in Essen yesterday. It was very
good. This evening, I played Finstere Flure, the new one from
Friedemann Friese and was very impressed. It's a nice balance of
theme and mechanics and was a lot of fun.
I've added some Google AdSense ads to the bottoms of a few of my
pages. I'll see how it goes for a few days and decide if I'm keeping
them there. (eg, boardgamestuff
and game store database)
I'm going to see what I can do to update this page a bit more often,
as it's been almost abandoned.
good. This evening, I played Finstere Flure, the new one from
Friedemann Friese and was very impressed. It's a nice balance of
theme and mechanics and was a lot of fun.
I've added some Google AdSense ads to the bottoms of a few of my
pages. I'll see how it goes for a few days and decide if I'm keeping
them there. (eg, boardgamestuff
and game store database)
I'm going to see what I can do to update this page a bit more often,
as it's been almost abandoned.
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Top 10 games for April
#10: Puerto Rico (1 play)
I played what may have been my closest game of this ever. Five
players, only 3 or 4 point spread between first and last, very high
scores (all around 50), and the game ended by running out of victory
points and colonists. I continue to worry about factory strategy
dominance, but not too much.
#9: Zirkus Flohcati (3 plays)
Rapidly ascending as one of my favorite fillers. To me, this is a bit
of a surprise because I don't usually like Rummy games and this
certainly has some Rummy flavor.
#8: Princes of Florence (1 play)
Luke, Alison and I played an AMAZING game of Princes at the Gathering.
Luke had the "G8 game timer" and we played with it all agreeing to
play as fast as we could. We didn't time the auctions, but we did
time player turns. The whole game, setup and play included came in
under 30 minutes. Wow. What a rush. We all made mistakes, but the
game was very close in the end. It was a very different experience
from "normal" princes, but I highly recommend trying it some time.
#7: Gulo Gulo (3 plays)
This is a new dexterity game from Zoch. It probably won't appear on
the top 10 again, but it's cute, clever, and deserves mention for
having adorable plastic wolverines.
#6: King Lui (4 plays)
A great new filler. I think this may prove to have more depth after
people have played it a few times than people are realizing. The
reluctance to take large piles for fear of going over is justified,
but often by not taking them you grant someone else a huge windfall.
Some interesting possibilities.
#5: Europa Tour (4 plays)
I'm looking forward to the African and US version of this as well. It
works well with 2 too. A nice "heavy" filler, or "light" main course.
#4: Coloretto (6 plays)
If "It's Mine" is "speed Ra", then this must be Ra, but it's not. I
find this very much like "It's Mine" with some interesting tactical
choices, especially when played with fewer players.
#3: Paris Paris (4 plays)
On my first play, I wasn't that impressed, but during my second game
something "clicked" and I really like this. The "untwisted" map on
BGG is a useful tool and counting tile usage is critical, but the
player impact on what is scored and what isn't is clearly where this
game shines.
#2: Balloon Cup (6 plays)
Clearly, I'm a sucker for card games where players compete on several
"flags" (Battle Line, Lost Cities, Tabula Rasa, etc.). I'm beginning
to speculate the luck factor here may be higher than I thought at
first, but it's a lot of fun all the same. I've found a strategy of
hording gray cards to be very effective at forcing opponents into
sub-optimal play.
#1: Amun-Re (4 plays)
I am really not sure why I like this game so much. Usually, I can
identify a particular new/clever mechanism, a thematic element, a
particular decision tension, nice bits, or *something* that makes me
like a game. Here, I can't put my finger on it, but I really enjoy
it. The mechanisms are good ones, but nothing especially new. I
suppose they simply fit together in a pleasing way. Plus, the gloss
of using a pyramid pricing scheme in a game about building pyramids is
just great.
I played what may have been my closest game of this ever. Five
players, only 3 or 4 point spread between first and last, very high
scores (all around 50), and the game ended by running out of victory
points and colonists. I continue to worry about factory strategy
dominance, but not too much.
#9: Zirkus Flohcati (3 plays)
Rapidly ascending as one of my favorite fillers. To me, this is a bit
of a surprise because I don't usually like Rummy games and this
certainly has some Rummy flavor.
#8: Princes of Florence (1 play)
Luke, Alison and I played an AMAZING game of Princes at the Gathering.
Luke had the "G8 game timer" and we played with it all agreeing to
play as fast as we could. We didn't time the auctions, but we did
time player turns. The whole game, setup and play included came in
under 30 minutes. Wow. What a rush. We all made mistakes, but the
game was very close in the end. It was a very different experience
from "normal" princes, but I highly recommend trying it some time.
#7: Gulo Gulo (3 plays)
This is a new dexterity game from Zoch. It probably won't appear on
the top 10 again, but it's cute, clever, and deserves mention for
having adorable plastic wolverines.
#6: King Lui (4 plays)
A great new filler. I think this may prove to have more depth after
people have played it a few times than people are realizing. The
reluctance to take large piles for fear of going over is justified,
but often by not taking them you grant someone else a huge windfall.
Some interesting possibilities.
#5: Europa Tour (4 plays)
I'm looking forward to the African and US version of this as well. It
works well with 2 too. A nice "heavy" filler, or "light" main course.
#4: Coloretto (6 plays)
If "It's Mine" is "speed Ra", then this must be Ra, but it's not. I
find this very much like "It's Mine" with some interesting tactical
choices, especially when played with fewer players.
#3: Paris Paris (4 plays)
On my first play, I wasn't that impressed, but during my second game
something "clicked" and I really like this. The "untwisted" map on
BGG is a useful tool and counting tile usage is critical, but the
player impact on what is scored and what isn't is clearly where this
game shines.
#2: Balloon Cup (6 plays)
Clearly, I'm a sucker for card games where players compete on several
"flags" (Battle Line, Lost Cities, Tabula Rasa, etc.). I'm beginning
to speculate the luck factor here may be higher than I thought at
first, but it's a lot of fun all the same. I've found a strategy of
hording gray cards to be very effective at forcing opponents into
sub-optimal play.
#1: Amun-Re (4 plays)
I am really not sure why I like this game so much. Usually, I can
identify a particular new/clever mechanism, a thematic element, a
particular decision tension, nice bits, or *something* that makes me
like a game. Here, I can't put my finger on it, but I really enjoy
it. The mechanisms are good ones, but nothing especially new. I
suppose they simply fit together in a pleasing way. Plus, the gloss
of using a pyramid pricing scheme in a game about building pyramids is
just great.
Monday, March 10, 2003
Crosswords
A crossword puzzle all about board games I wrote has been published in
this month's edition of The
Games Journal:
This is actually my second effort at crossword writing. My first
version was probably too hard to do without extensive Internet
searching, but feel free to try it out.
this month's edition of The
Games Journal:
This is actually my second effort at crossword writing. My first
version was probably too hard to do without extensive Internet
searching, but feel free to try it out.
Thursday, February 20, 2003
Cathedral "Polystone" edition
I recently got Cathedral from Gamescape in Palo Alto while visiting
there. I picked up the "polystone" version which means the pieces are
made of a hard resin material and the picture on the box made them
look very nice. Unfortunately, upon opening it I found that the two
different colors of pieces were very hard to distinguish in low light
and even in good light were quite similar. Fortunately, the folks at
Gamescape were very nice and allowed me to exchange it for the wooden
version, but I thought it was worth warning others that the Polystone
version has some serious issues.
there. I picked up the "polystone" version which means the pieces are
made of a hard resin material and the picture on the box made them
look very nice. Unfortunately, upon opening it I found that the two
different colors of pieces were very hard to distinguish in low light
and even in good light were quite similar. Fortunately, the folks at
Gamescape were very nice and allowed me to exchange it for the wooden
version, but I thought it was worth warning others that the Polystone
version has some serious issues.
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