Sedition Wars: Upping the Strain

I hate to admit it, but the Strain need all the help they can get. Don't get me wrong, i'm still loving the game, but it needs a bit of tweaking.  With the right mix of Vanguard units, it's pretty tough for the Strain to win, in at least campaign scenario 1 and 2.  Here some modifications i've gathered from the forums which i'm going to try out in the next game:

Sedition Wars: First Impressions

Convinced my roommate to play/try-out Sedition Wars on a weeknight! It was fun! Since then I've played it like 6x (mostly scenario 1) and I am pretty happy with the game.  More after the jump:

WIP: Painted Castle Ravenloft figures

Instead of the usual friday night foray into the depths of Castle Ravenloft with my gaming friends, we decided to have a miniature painting party instead! and painted up some of the heroes and monsters from the game!

Homebrew Shurro chess set

Shuuro is this sweet new chess alternative game I wanted to try out but given my poor grad student status I couldn't afford the $80 price tag for the 2-player base + 4-player expansion.  Really, the first thought you get when you see this is why don't people just make it themselves?  So I set out to do just that and saved $40, but that's because i scored a sweet ebay deal for 7 chess sets.  W/ithout Ebay, most likely the cheapest you can possibly build this for is ~$50.  Yeah, that's right, you need 7 chess sets for 4 player set, 5 chess sets for 2 players.  Is it worth saving $30 to spend time making it yourself?  Read on and find out!

Board Game Review: Dominion

"DOMINION" he said with a gleam in his eye

Dominion is basically our new favorite game bypassing Settlers of Catan as the most frequently-played. Yes, it's THAT good.

What makes Settlers of Catan a great game?

In our gaming group, Settlers of Catan is by far one of the games we've played the most, making it one of our favorite games. In my musings to understand what makes a great game, i've come up with a theory i'd like to posit here: Settlers of Catan is a great game because it "gives you the illusion of control, but is actually mostly based on chance." Let me explain.

Luck vs Skill

Most games usually involves luck and skill, which I see as a continuous line from all luck to all skill. Skill-based games give you sense of control and satisfaction that comes from the challenge of learning and playing against other skilled opponents. The classic example of an 100% Skill game is Chess. There is no element of chance and the seasoned player will win pretty much all the time. Every move you make has a direct result on the game outcome giving you a great sense of control. On the other end of the Spectrum is CandyLand which is 100% luck. Everything is dependent on the dice roll and you basically have no decision-making capability. A machine which rolled the dice and moved the pieces could play the game for you. The upside is that these games are very fair for new players. Hence, these games are fun because anyone can win (and they tend to be easier to learn the rules). Most games fall somewhere between of all-luck and all-skill, trading off the benefits of one for the other.

What about Settlers of Catan?

The reason we play Settlers so often is because there are many strategic options to explore, giving it great replay value. It is a very active game and there is very little down-time; you are constantly gathering resources and trading even when it's not your turn. At the same time, the game is very fair for new players and it is quite common that new players win the game over seasoned veterans (given the right initial conditions*). This is why we like to play the game at parties because even new players can have fun.

Because of this fact that new players have a good chance of winning over seasoned players, it gives good evidence that the game is actually mostly based on chance. However it doesn't feel like it because you are constantly doing stuff: drawing cards, trading with other players, and building roads and cities. You feel like you are always in control and allowed to pursue your own strategic agenda. Being a game that "gives you the illusion of control, but is actually mostly based on chance," give you the benefits of both Luck and Skill-based games in one, which I think is why Settlers of Catan is a great game.

*The biggest effect on outcome of the game is probably initial placement of settlements, which directly determines your chance of resource gathering from the dice roll. We found in our games that giving new players guidance on placing their initial settlements (on high pip count, 6 and 8's) makes the game fair for them to win. Also, it means they're very active throughout the game, constantly drawing resource cards, and thus they have fun playing, meaning they'll play again.