First Kanare Kato creation to miss mark with this reviewer

This review needs a significant disclaimer.

It should be understood up front that I have never enjoyed the classic Hex – I find it about as boring and uninteresting as any game I have tried – even after repeated forays into trying to discover why many rave over it.

So I wasn’t expecting too much from Kanare Kato’s Borderland even though several of his games have impressed over time such as Stairs, Lines of Fixation, Meridians, Iago and RosenKreuz.

Now according to the designer Borderland is a game that combines Hex-like connective goals with Go-like territorial goals. The objective is to create a border with pieces by combination of placement and movement so that your territory occupies more than half of the board.

It was also noted Borderland was inspired by Dale Walton’s Make Muster – also published by Kanare Abstract.

So Trevor and I found the game more Hex than Go, and I suppose not surprisingly Make Muster has been our least-liked game among those from Kanare Abstract not created by Kato himself.

That all said Borderland rates well in limited ratings on Board Game Geek.

The game is played on a hexagonal board (91 hexes).

The objective is a border which is an unbroken group of same-colored pieces that connect non-adjacent sides of the board.

When the board is divided into two or more areas by the creation of your border, all but the area containing the most opponent pieces becomes your territory.

The player who has more than half of the board as his/her territory wins.

On a turn a player may perform up to two actions: placing one piece and moving one piece.

However, placement cannot be done twice in one turn. Also, a player cannot move a placed piece or move the same piece twice in the same turn.

When placing a piece, it must be at least one step away from all of your pieces and at least two steps away from all of your opponents' pieces – this makes blocking an opponent’s progress a challenge one we found more frustrating than interesting.

If one player makes a border but fails to achieve the win condition, the game moves to the Emergency Phase. In this phase, players can place their pieces one step away from the opponent's stones and can move the same piece twice in the same turn player. This all seems a tad forced into the game – although it is probably a rare situation for those who want to explore this game more than we will.

Now we have probably 20 games from Kanare Abstract if I were to count, and while Queen’s Guard might be the lowest rank it holds some interest as an historic game, pushing Borderland to the bottom for us. Now there of course has to be a last place if one were quantifying games from Kanare Abstract, and I know many will likely disagree which of course is normal as we all do not like the same thing, but alas Borderland was not for Trevor and I.

Far more fun with this connection game than most

In general connection games – those where you are trying to string a line of something from one side of the board to the other – bore this reviewer.

While many rave for example about Hex – likely the granddaddy of the game mechanic – I have never found the game of any great interest.

That said, an odd connection game climbs about the norm – Tak for example is a top shelf game being among the best abstract strategy games of this millennium, and PUNCT rises about the norm too.

So when Meteor Shower from Queensell ( queensell.com) arrived I was not exactly sure what to expect.

At its core Meteor Shower is a connection game, one that has a ‘mining mars’ theme over laid upon it which at least ticked up interest out of the box.

Inside the box this one is quite nice.

The game board is boldly coloured, and reversible with a smaller grid for quicker games as you try Meteor Showers out and a bigger offering on the other side for longer game play.

In this one players can roll dice to have a meteor fall on the hex matching the roll, or they can roll out neat little toy buggies to gather meteors then transport them back to be dumped as part of their line across the board.

On the small board a few bad die rolls dropping meteors easily within reach of the opponent – this one is a two player offering – is bad news. It happened to me and Trevor stomped me in the game.

The larger board mitigates that a bit by simply needing more pieces collected, but dice rolls do influence Meteor Showers.

The meteors once collected change to your colour – all the pieces being plastic ‘gems’ – functional and bright to match the ‘feel’ of the board.

Now the buggies move according to one of four – three hex – patterns. The patterns are right on the board so that is handy.

However, we still spent more time than was fun trying to determine if we moving correctly.

And, again on the smaller board you can get boxed in and not have a move that is frustrating way to end a game.

In the end Trevor and I have decided to ignore the pattern, allowing you must move three hexes and you cannot cross the same hex twice. It makes movement more naturally free flowing in our minds.

So first thing, ignore the small board for all but a test drive. The more expansive board simply offers more opportunity for an engaging game.

Try the given movement patterns, but if you get frustrated as we did, try our house rule.

In the end this is better than Hex – although most games are for me – but no way is Meteor Shower on the same planet of Tak either. It falls somewhere in between – inching above halfway to the point of being worth a cautious recommendation – or if connection is a mechanic of choice for you.

Such a versatile box of RPG minis

If you follow along with these humble reviews you will know that The Meeple Guild – the little group I game with – like mini game offerings.

And, you will know too we have become eager fans of Helios – a Canadian mini manufacturer which is doing some very cool stuff (check out their entire range at www.heliostabletop.ca)

The coolest of the cool coming from Helios are their Mythic Encounter boxes. The boxes contain a handful of minis around a particular theme which you can paint up and drop into most fantasy RPG games – a situation aided by Helios actually offering up some pre-generated rules for what can be a sweet random encounter in a game session.

The rules really are the icing on the top with the boxes, reducing the workload on a GM to get the minis to the gaming table.

The Curse of the Eternal Pharaoh Mythic Encounter box is probably the most versatile of the boxes to-date. While the Egyptian-themed ‘baddies’ in this box can slip neatly into a typical D&D-style dungeon crawl, they fit thematically into pulp RPGs, think ‘The Mummy’, or could be dropped into a modern museum heist game setting smoothly too.

The Curse of the Eternal Pharaoh Mythic Encounter was designed with both versatility and compatibility in mind, admitted Nick Di Scipio, owner at Helios via email.

“When we plan these sets, we try to strike a balance between highly unique encounters that deliver a one-of-a-kind experience like our Haemoturgy Lab, (previously reviewed and a set more horror-themed), and more broadly versatile sets that can slot into a wide range of campaigns and settings so DMs with different tastes and styles can all find something that works for them,” he said.

Canadian designer

“The sculpted details in this set lean into that ancient desert civilization aesthetic; you can just as easily drop them into a fantasy tomb-crawl, a pulp desert expedition, or even a modern museum heist where the displays don’t stay as inanimate as they should. That broad usability was intentional, because it lets DMs spin different stories without the minis ever feeling out of place.”

It is this versatility that makes this mythic box an easy first choice from the Helios line.

“As for my personal favourite, it has to be the Pharaoh Lich,” said Di Scipio.” The sculpts intricate detail and commanding presence immediately screamed ‘final boss’ to me. I love how its design combines the regal garbs of a pharaoh with the sinister aura of undeath, making it both awe-inspiring and terrifying on the table.

“On top of that, I’ve always enjoyed the mechanics behind lich-type monsters so this piece felt like the perfect centerpiece to anchor the entire encounter.”

It’s a box which beg the question; ‘when is Helios creating skirmish rules to pit box-versus-box?’

“On the skirmish rules idea, to be honest it's not something we've fully thought through yet, but it’s definitely been floating around in the background among many other ideas we have,” said Di Scipio. We're actually in the midst of releasing our first retail product - Mythic Mystery Hero Minis and so right now the focus is on that as well as working on the latest mythic box 'Crimson Feast' but as we expand, I'm sure this is definitely something we can revisit!”

Well from this reviewers point of view bring skirmish rules to the front burner, turning up the heat to high so ideas for them percolate faster, would be something to be undertaken sooner rather than later.

In the mean time though check out The Curse of the Eternal Pharaoh, it’s a good one.

Crank up the amp and take your best shot at stardom

If you want a game that is super immersive, and heavy on conveying its core theme than check out Famous: Stage 1 from Canadian designer Jared Lutes.

However, be forewarned this is not a light game you pull out for quick play. Famous plays one-to-four and comes with a suggested time to play of one to three hours, and your first game or three with four players is likely to push that upper time limit pretty hard.

There is a lot – and we mean a lot – going on in this one.

Players are musicians with a dream of stardom, but how to get to where the bright lights of success are upon you?

Well you gotta live the life, and in Famous Lutes has tried to make the board game experience mimic real life in as many ways as possible.

Players recruit band members, write songs, promote their band and music hit stages and of course deal with the constraints of time.

What does that all mean – well more than can be covered in a written review actually – but suffice it to say players are having to make choices every turn about where they expend their energy just like real musicians must. You can’t be writing on a new hit song if you are out doing promotion work for example. So which choice will take you closer to the big stage?

Canadian designer

As it turns out Famous is almost autobiographical in nature for designer Lutes.

When asked how the idea came about Lutes via email; “It was one of those idea-in-the-shower moments.

“After my injured voice derailed my music career, I was looking for a way to apply my creative energy. I thought, ‘I know all about modern board games, and what makes them good. I could marry that with my knowledge of music and the business, to produce a super thematic game inspired by mechanisms of my favourites.’”

Ok, so with art by Devin Taylor that while may be a tad of acquired taste, fits well in my mind, Famous is certainly immersive in nature.

“My goal from the beginning was to have the game serve the theme in every way,” noted Lutes. “From the characters, to the events, to the uncertainty of crowds and contacts, I wanted to bring to life the trials of a hometown band, as much as is possible in a tabletop game. . .

“The theme in Famous is absolutely front and center.

“While the game play is engaging and variable, I put endless hours dreaming up the ridiculous homemade merch, dozens of useless ‘junk’ items, punny venues, referential character names, realistic events, absurd reward names, genre-specific outfits, and tons of gear. I didn’t have to come up with 60 individual song titles for those cards, but players really love reading them and laughing out loud when they draw them.

“And I wanted to make Devin’s artwork reflects the both the realism and the zaniness of the realism of the music biz, and he nailed it. This box is a treasure chest of the small-town band life that I experienced so well myself.”

Now the immersive aspect here is one of those good news / bad news situations.

If the theme of being in a band attracts your interest, or you just want a ‘full meal deal’ where your evening is delving deep into a single game full of choices, Famous: Stage 1, is a definite recommendation.

If any of the things mentioned in the previous email have you reticent, well then this one might not be for you. It will demand your full attention for a few hours.

Check it out further at electriclute.com

A surprising charmer

Since card games are generally low cost – at least comparatively – they tend to be great choices to add to the collection.

You can crack a new card game, deal out cards for an evening and have a low cost per entertainment hour which as budgets tighten is important.

And if the game is terrible you have not invested huge dollars.

That card games are generally rather flexible in terms of the number the number of players is an added bonus.

EKKO is a card game that meets the criteria or player flexibility to a ‘T’ playing two-to-eight – quite well for two which is surprising and gratifying, but fun does tend to climb with more.

From designer Xavier Jauneault, artist Allison Machepy and publisher The Flying Games (check ilo3-7.com in Canada), EKKO is incredibly simple to play, yet manages to be fun too.

EKKO is a discard game in which you will have to get rid of your cards before your opponents, which is about as simple as a card game goal can get.

A player lays down a card, and depending what it is, the next player must play a card of a higher or lower value. Don’t have one you can play, you draw one!

Yes the core rules are that simple.

But there are a few twists that help keep EKKO more interesting.

Play a card that is divisible by 11, and you can take an extra turn – in a shedding game that’s big.

And, then there is the ‘mirror’ card play.

The mirror card of a card is the one whose numbers are reversed compared to this card. For example, 73 is the mirror card of the card 37. Playing a mirror card allows you either to make all players draw or to get rid of a card.

Most of the time it will be making others draw.

The mirror mechanic adds some nice spice and comes into play more often as player counts rise – more cards in hands which might be a mirror card to one played. The impact of having opponents pull a card increases with higher player counts too.

Now EKKO won’t win fans on art – it’s OK at best.

And if you are looking for a deep thinking card game – well EKKO isn’t that either.

But for a relaxed group gathering EKKO rates high praise from The Meeple Guild.

Block builder a bit to confined

Few things make me feel happier than getting a new game to the table – one made of wood where you get to move pieces around. There is a tactile joy in the game play that is a hard to put into words – but to put it simply I like it.

So Qubik hit the table with an expectation of enjoying it simply based on the fact the game pieces are all chunky wooden cubes – but well-made cubes at that with rounded corners, and with the varying colours of the pieces it looks very nice.

The rules of Qubik – from designer Preeda Pitianusorn -- are super simple. Players take turns to place a cube into a 3x3x3 space until a player creates a straight line of one colour to win. The player has two cubes pulled from a common bag to chose from, pulling a new one after each placement.

It suggests a typical game of Qubik takes around 5-15 minutes, although it seems to tilt heavily toward the shorter end of the spectrum.

It is interesting Qubik can be played by one-to-seven players. The Meeple Guild only gets higher numbers out for role playing so we have not challenged Qubik with lots of players, but with a maximum cube size of 27, with seven players you are not likely to get many turns, and I’d think games might end before the later players get a second turn. The sweet spot, like many games is likely three or four players.

There are three modes of play casual, competitive, and solo. The first two are rather similar and frankly all games are competitive in general.

As a solo effort Qubik is more ‘puzzly’ in nature, but it is a nice feature in a small package game.

On Board Game Geek it was noted, “Qubik is a combination of the classic Tic-Tac-Toe and the Rubik’s Cube” which is quite an apt description.

Now Qubik is not a game in contention to top a list of great games, but it plays quick and in combination with its compact size is a solid coffee break option that will look good on the table to attract interest.

And of course you do get to stack those nice wooden cubes which is a bonus too.

Check it out at www.facebook.com/LifeDMSgame

 

Chicken game not quite up to scratch

This review is for the small box Gigi Gacker, a sort of sister effort to recently reviewed Das wurmt.

The two games share much, both coming from designer Robert Brouwer, artist Doris Matthäus, and publisher Zoch Verlag.

In Gigi Gacker, players are superficially chicks out to eat worms – yes a silly theme that really adds noting to the game but fits with the cartoony art from Matthäus.

In each game round, the number of numbered worm cards equal to the number of players is laid out, and players essentially bid on them. It’s important to capture high-valued worms as they will count in game-end scoring.

‘Mother hen’ cards add a twist to things, and can be crucial in game play.

There is also a rather unsatisfying tie break mechanism here, that while needed, feels forced onto game play to solve a glitch rather than adding something positive.

There isn’t a lot to this one save it plays quick, but alas without holding the interest of Das wurmt .

Like its sister Gigi Gacker plays two-to-five as well, but for two relies on a ‘dummy hand’ something whist players for sure will be familiar with.

In Gigi Gacker the fill-in for a third player functionally works, but is a patch that seems ill-fitting, detracting from this one for two.

Ultimately, where Das wurmt  was worthy of recommendation Gigi Gacker is the weak sister you likely want to pass on.