Last Game Played of 2005

Sword of Rome was the last boardgame I played in 2005. I played the Greek player in a 3-player game. I managed to get out to an early lead that I was able to hold onto even though I ran out of steam in the 2nd half of the game.

The Gaul player is not played in the three player. Instead a roll is made each turn on the "Gaulish Ding Table" (as we named it) and one the three remaining players loses a CU or PC level. The table is based on 2D6 and the bulk of the rolls (that 5 - 9 range) will effect the Roman or Etruscan/Samnite player. In this game, the rolls tended to cluster around a particular player for a number of turns in a row. So the Greek player got hit early (with end of the bell curve rolls) and then the rolls started falling in the middle of the curve but always seeming to hit the same player for a few turns in row. Weird.

I would not recommend the 3-player version of Sword of Rome. Better to play 2-player than 3-player. 4-player, of course, is the best option.

The Roman player starts off the game in a tough position, but has the potential to grow strong as the game progresses. Charlie (playing Rome) didn't seem to see the potential of the Roman situation and got depressed early, going as far as to say that he won't be playing the game again... I think that's an over-reaction for a single play of the game and in fact his position was growing strong. I think he would have been able to challenge for the win, had we not called the game early due to time constraints.

This was my first play of Sword of Rome and I was favorably impressed. I may have been lucky in that the Greek position might be the best position to play when everyone is new to the game. The Gallic position might be another good position to play with inexperienced players.

I hope I can talk Charlie (and two other players) to give this game another chance.

I won! I won!

Well I'll be... I just won a copy of Empire of the Sun from The Dice Tower podcast and GMT Games. I'd like to take this opportunity to simply say "Thanks!" to The Dice Tower (Tom Vasel and Joe Steadman) and GMT Games. This is neat!

Empire of the Sun is a "card-driven" wargame covering the War in the Pacific during WW2. I've heard some very good things about this game. I'm looking forward to playing it.

Mall of Horror

Mall of Horror is the latest addition to my game collection (now at 812 if you're counting). I got the chance to play this game at BGG.CON and enjoyed the game (if not a couple of the other players) very much. Mall of Horror is a game with Zombies, but it is not about Zombies. It's all about survival and how you manipulate and back-stab the other players in the game to come out the winner. Make no mistake, the real "monsters" in this game are the players!

Other games recently added to my collection include:

• Mesopotamia
• Dungeon Twister - Paladins & Dragons
• Hive

Happy Holidays!

I received a copy of Deflexion from my BGG Secret Santa. Deflexion is a game I've been meaning to add to my collection since the first time I heard about it. It's got lasers! It's an abstract game where each player, using mirrored pieces, tries to eliminate the enemy pieces by hitting them with an unreflected laser beam. I'm not talking about a "make believe" laser here, this is a real "Class 2" laser. The coolness factor for this game is off the chart! The game itself is not bad either, but without the lasers it would just be a run-of-the-mill abstract game. But with the lasers... Wow!

Regarding the BGG Secret Santa Project... This was a great idea. It was great to see so many BGG users respond and participate in the program. Tom Vasel organized the project and I think he was surprised at how many BGG users chose to participate. I expected a big turn out. I didn't have a specific number in mind, but I'm not surprised by the 200+ users that joined the project. I wouldn't have been surprised if twice as many users had participated.

Why was this "Secret Santa" project successful where other similar projects (in other walks of life) fail? Why was I willing to participate in this project and not the many others suggested this time of year? For me, it had everything to do with Gaming. I was giving someone a game they wanted and receiving a game I wanted. There was none of the "what should I get?" and "why did you get me that?" questions. Also, I have more in common with BGG users than I do with most of the people I work with or are acquainted with on a daily basis. For BGG, the success is due, I believe, to the spontaneity of the event. Tom proposed the idea late in the year, in December if fact, and the decision to participate was a "gut" reaction. BGG users just jumped on the bandwagon. If this project had been suggested and organized back in August or September, I don't think it would have been as successful. That would have allowed too much time for thought and too much time for the cynical nature of folks to surface.

There is a general assumption on BGG that there will be another BGG Secret Santa project in 2006. A lot of BGG users are looking forward to next year. I doubt that the 2006 program will be as successful as this year. I believe with a year to plan and organize the event, it will lose all of the spontaneity that made it such a success this year.