Images for other blogs, since the formatting at this place is awful.

Piratissimo

My wife and I just finished playing Piratissmo, a two-to-four player game for ages six and up, by Rio Grande Games, designed by Manfred Ludwig. There are three things that drew me to the game: the theme, the quality of play materials, and the simple game mechanics. I will say at the outset, that this game completely failed at two of the preceding items.

But before I review, let me explain the game.

Basically, each player sails a ship around a board in an attempt to gather ten treasures. If the player gathers too much treasure, they capsize and have to start gathering treasure again. This goal is further complicated by having some treasure forced upon you by another player or by being "overcome with greed" when landing on certain spaces. As an added wrinkle, each time the player rolls to move, they have a chance to control an ocean-going "tornado" [sic]. Apparently, six year-olds don't need to be terrorized by hurricanes. Anyway, this tornado can do a number of things, such as sending players back to home port, bumping them along on the board, or forcing them to lose treasure.

That's the long and short of it, described on three tiny pages of a fat booklet with seven other languages in it.

The Review

The Presentation

The games pieces for this game are well-produced, beautifully illustrated, and all around top-quality. Of particular note is the game board, which incorporates a self-assembled spinner for the "tornado" and little depressions within which each player can horde their treasure-- like those booklets for collecting commemorative coins. Far beyond that, however, are the ship pieces which act as player pawns. They are pre-assembled, wooden, and have three nifty little masts on them which are used as posts for carrying the ring-like treasure tokens. The ships and coins look so Asian, I'm suprised they didn't go with an Asian Spice Trader theme. Regardless, all the illustrations on the board build story are fun for everyone, even the grown-ups.

The Game Mechanics

Being a game for ages six and up, my wife and I were fairly skeptical that the game had much depth. In many ways, the game is based on pure chance. The only real decisions to make are whether or not to use the tornado (whose results are completely random) and how much gold to pick up when it is available.

For a two-player game, the mechanic by which one can steal coins from or pile coins onto an enemy ship to sink it (???) occur so infrequently as to be a complete non-issue. I would imagine that impact of this mechanic only becomes truly apparent in a three- or four-player game.

The Game Play

The game plays very quickly and a single match is likely to last only 5-10 minutes for a two player game, with an extra five minutes added for additional players. The box, however, suggests that the game can take anywhere from 25-45 minutes. Even a turn-whore would have a hard time making this superficial game last that long as there are very few decisions to stew over.

But as I said, the game plays quickly, fast-and-furious. The downside is that it is hard to become emotionally attached with gameplay this light, especially when elements of the gameplay cannot be supported by the storyline, making certain things break the suspension of disbelief. At some point, moving the "tornado" around becomes a drag because it comes up 33% of the time. It often feels as though everyone is just moving the tornado around.

If you find yourself pointing out "Yeah, but this game is for kids...," I encourage you to pick up Sea Monsters, which I reviewed previously. It's a lot more fun at any age and the game mechanics all make sense within the context of the theme.

Final Notes

Piratissimo is a gorgeous-looking game with an appealing theme. As a two player game, however, Piratissimo falls flat; it becomes a series of pointless die rolls with little player interaction. In a game with more players, the problem would be lessened, but no entirely solved.

The effects of the "tornado" are so unbalanced as to make it an unappealing option for a controlling player to use. The idea of over-loading an opponent's ship by using your own treasure? While the crux of the game, the concept itself isn't supportable by the storyline. What self-respecting pirate would load his or her own treasure onto an enemy ship? It's unthinkable!

I don't recommend buying this game for anyone interested in playing with only two players... but, if you must, buy it from CardHaus. It's far cheaper than any retailer, even with the shipping costs.

How to: Playing Cards

In the same way I recently demonstrated how to create a variety of dice to improve upon your existing prototypes and/or augment existing games with new mechanics, I'm about to show you a very clever trick-- something that you're just not going to find anywhere else. How do I know that? Because I discovered the trick myself, after scouring the internet, looking for ways to print up some good, quality playing cards for use in a game my wife and I recently designed. It's really quite amazing how many sites there are looking to screw people who just want to print up some playing cards. It should be a crime!

The first thing you need to do is quite obvious: you need to compose the graphics themselves. You're best off doing this using a digital paint program such as Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator-- but those are professional applications that'll cost you a lot of money. You can also download a public domain copy of GIMP. It has a lot of same features as Photoshop and will probably be just fine for most folks. The end result of your work would need to be in a digital format anyway, so why not leverage that mediums strength to begin with.

However, you'll want to keep in mind that you're designing to a specific constraint, the size of a typical playing card. It's silly not to use the traditional dimensions, since you'll reap all the benefits of all the card-related contraptions that've come before you: automatic card shufflers, dealers, and cases. That being said, the dimensions you're looking for are 2.5" across by 3.5" down.

And here's where my clever trick begins: when creating your digital canvas, set the size of the image not in pixel units, but in inches. Remember to crank up the resolution before you're done, as you'll want plenty of pixels per inch. Wait! Before you go setting the image size to 2.5" x 3.5", set it to 5" x 3.5". You're going to be drawing the front and back of the card, side by side, and then folding it on that edge when it has been printed.

Printing the card? There's the rub-- that's where everything can go to Hell in a hand-basket really fast. You need nice-looking, durable card stock as well as hardware that can print to this odd-sized, high-quality stock. That's where RitzPix comes in. They're a Godsend to game designers everywhere.

You see, RitzPix has these specials that happen every Tuesday and Wednesday. It's the only day they'll allow people to order 3.5"x5" prints! But it gets better: each print is only 6 cents and comes standard with a glossy finish! They probably don't realize that, in making this offer, they've become the absolute go-to place for printing custom playing cards. They even say "only glossy" like it's a bad thing!

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So, as you can see from the image above, I'm not kidding around. It really is that easy to get your cards printed up to look 100% professional. No more sloppy prototypes being shlepped to your publisher's meetings. No more half-assed custom "expansion" cards for your game of Dominion. Your work will be hard to tell from that of a professionals... unless you have zero art and design skills. In which case, snatch images right off of Bing Image Search, modify them if you feel up to it, and paste them into your canvas. It's not stealing unless you plan to sell the cards, though be sure to mention to your publishers which images are originals, public domain, or co-opted from others for demonstratory purposes only.

Now, you'll still have to fold the photos over and glue them down. Use a spray glue or some form of felixble rubber cement, nothing too wet as this would warp the cards. Also, use a firm object to really, really make that fold's crease as "edgey" as possible. You'll also want to round of the corners for a I-can't-believe-I-made-these-myself moment.

Finally, stack up your new cards and leave a heavy weight on them overnight. They may remain sticky for a few days, so go easy on them. That glossy finish can be stick for a few days beyond that as well. Play with them enough and they'll be working just dandy in no time. Still, be delicate when handling your babies-- use an automatic shuffler with them whenever possible. I have had very good luck with this particular shuffler.

Now you may throw roses at my feet and sing jaunty tunes about my cleverness. You're welcome!

Dominion

Alright, conquest fans... before you get too excited about moving your troops and fortifications all over a rolling landscape filled with rocky moors and dark fens, it is important to point out that Dominion is a card game. All that other stuff? Well, you'll just have to imagine it all as you flip cards, build your deck, and rile your opponents.

The good news is that Dominion, when played properly, can be an absolute joy. The cards support the milieu and the rules are fairly straightforward.

But let me dial back your enthusiasm once more: this is one of those "expandable" card games-- not a collecting game, but a game that has given rise to expansion sets. Whenever I see that, I imagine that either the game mechancics are broken in some way, are incomplete, or that the creators are just trying to capitalize on a past glory (i.e. it's more of the same.) Thankfully, this game is published by a company with exceedingly high standards.

The basic set comes with quite a large number of decks to draw from, each deck being of the same power card with the same rules associated with it. To play a game, the players all agree on a subset of these decks. Rio Grande Games suggests a number of different deck sets to simulate different situations (war, trade, historical, fantasy) and those all have a very consistent "story" to them. I tried a several of these compositions and they all felt as though I was "playing" my hand-- in one, which I enjoyed immensely, I played as something akin to a miserly bank manager... with an assassin in tow!

Once you deviate much from the suggested deck sets, the entire surface story starts to break down. You can't simply through together different decks randomly and hope to have a truly emergent game experience. Some cards just don't work well with others, while others just feel odd because they don't feel right within the context of the other cards.

As soon as I feel the cold hard armature of the underlying game mechanics, you've lost me; my eyes just glaze over. I'm like one of Harlow's monkeys clinging to the terry cloth.

In much the same way a Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master takes the time to compose their dungeons and characters, so to should a host take the time to fashion and interesting set of decks to simulate a particular situation or challenge. Over time, such a deck might evolve and remain interesting for a long time to come.

The Review

The Game Mechanics

In short, Dominion allows a player to compose their own probability curves on how often they'll draw particular cards in their deck-- this is the fundament of the game: very simple, very elegant. If you can get a friend to struggle through a few hands, they'll pick up the rules quickly. You might be able to get this going as a party game, but the milieu isn't likely to appeal to mainstream folks. One could imagine these same mechanics supporting other milieus, however, such as sports or some sort of dramatic story.

Aside from the individual cards, of which there are very many, the only thing you'll find within a Dominion box is air. That being said, the cards are quite beautiful, consistent in their graphic design, and fairly easy to read and understand. Almost all the rules for the game are printed on the cards and, as tedious as this may sound, the game mechanics rely very heavily on managing a lot of shifting rules in your head. The game also relies on shuffling your hand almost constantly, which can be very difficult for people unaccustomed to such things. Personally, I found it to be a big distraction and, when shuffling, I missed out on enjoying the turns of the other players.

The Play

As I noted previously, the play feels quite slick and sensible when the individual decks chosen for the game seem to be consistent in tone and story with all the others. As soon as the story breaks down (such as in a poorly chosen set of decks), the suspension of disbelief is lost and the players quickly realize their playing probability curves rather than attacking one another's forts, casting spells, or hiring mercenaries.

Final Notes

I strongly encourage people to heed the rule book's advice and play with professionally-designed deck compositions that support a meta-game or story-- especially if they're introducing newbies to the game. Once everyone's got a handle on that, play-testing home-grown deck compositions can be fun in and of itself. Buy this game!

Small World

A few days ago, I had an opportunity to play Small World, a game that has gotten a lot of good press in the blogosphere. I had seen a few video reviews of it and, knowing that it was published by Days of Wonder, I expected the quality of the game pieces to be very high. I wasn't disappointed. Not only did everything look great in videos and images, but the heft and rigidity of tokens and such were really satisfying from a visceral perspective. Pretty and rugged are terms that are rarely used together-- except when women wax poetic of Mel Gibson or Pierce Brosnan-- but Days of Wonder has nailed this duality to a tee.

The most obvious "hook" to this game is that each player has powers unique to themselves, but that those powers are randomly generated by pairing a race (trolls, amazons, etc.) with a profession, ethic, or ability (alchemist, pillaging, or flying.) Moreover, this mechanic is beautifully reinforced through the game pieces.

The next thing that makes the game unique (and helps balance the game) is that these individual races are short lived. Once a player has played a few turns with them, the player can put that group into "decline." This allows the players to start a new one when their current races fortunes have basically played out. Not only does the player get to leverage all the territories they acquired with their declining race, but they get to build on them with new race. In this manner, all players get to watch the "elf era", for example, pass and give rise to that of the trolls. Races rise and decline over the course of this game, which is limited to nine turns. This may sound short, but it keeps the game fast-paced and quick. This allows new players to ramp up quickly, learning from the previous games.

All that being said, this is a pretty deep game with lots of tokens to track. Whenever I see a game like this, I long for the day when surface computers (note the little "s") will simplify all the data tracking. Until then, I am going to try to find simpler games that cater more to families who don't have the luxury of long set-up times and players taking five minutes to debate the finer points of their moves. I just don't have the patience-- especially when I know in my heart of hearts that once a game reaches a certain complexity threshold, it really needs to have a computer moderating.

The Review

The Game Mechanics

There are a lot of interesting hooks to this game that, when taken as a single game system, will surprise and delight almost any player. I have spoken about the two primary ones above, but there are interesting mechanics as well, when it comes to how a player chooses their race. There is basically a new roster of possibilities set for every game, ensuring that each game is different. Also, the game comes with multiple game boards, to accomodate different numbers of players, from two to five. It's very well-thought-out, grief-resistant, and the mechanics are supported with good story-- you never feel like you're playing the mechanics.

The Play

By and large, sitting down to a game of Small World feels like play. That's not true of all games, where the wrong move can screw you for the remainder of the game. A casual player can skim along the surface of the milieu, get into character, and just go crazy. A more strategic and perhaps more clever opponent has enough variables to contend with that even the best laid plans can fail on a single roll of the dice. It is these random touches that make the game scale to a wide audience, but may frustrate rule nerds.

The Parts

Days of Wonder puts out products at a level of quality that is very hard to match-- even the box composition is well thought out-- I swear, they must have some Apple user-experience alumni working for them. The interlocking race/power tokens are clever and beautiful, as well as the boards and victory point tokens. A casual gamer might wonder why the game coins are octogons rather than circles. The answer is simple and smart: so they do roll all over the place!

Final Notes

Small World isn't necessarily a game you'll break out for mixed groups of guys and gals-- it's no "party game." The number of pemutations available in the rule set are just to large for that-- too much concentration is involved. However, it's certainly a fun and interesting game for people who enjoy dealing with novel situations, enjoy complexity, and love a dynamic fantasy milieu.

The Six-Sided Die

The average six-sided die has different symbols or numbers of each side in order to denote six equally probable outcomes. This is a wonderful mechanic for introducing one of a variety of events into a game. This gives a very random feeling to the outcome, since a specific outcome seems rather unlikely. Hoping for a specific result rarely results in satisfaction but, when it does, a sense of “good luck” is palpable.

If numerals denote at least some of die’s results, a modifier such as +1 or -1 can skew the results to one end of the scale or the other. This is useful for introducing bonuses or penalties on a roll due to other game conditions. Should the die land face-up on a symbol, the modifier can be discarded or have a meaning unique to that symbol—a potentially confusing situation that should be avoided.

If production costs are low, a single die can be custom-made to produce a wider range of results, as seen in the Figure 1, below. Before describing custom dice in detail, it is also worth pointing out that when customizing dice to yield non-standard results, one can also take this production process as an opportunity to skin the die to match the milieu better. More to the point, dots and numbers are not very evocative and make a game easier for a hobbyist to reproduce with spare parts from other games!

Note all the different ways a die can be used to generate different probability scenarios. Let's discuss each in excrutiating detail! Each color in the four graphs below denotes one row of the table to the left.

The “2 Result” Scenario

This scenario can deeply favor one of the results, greatly favor one of the results, or make the chance of either one exactly equal.

The “3 Result” Scenario

This scenario can create a situation where two of the results are equally likely while the third is considerably more likely. A situation can also be arranged where each of the three outcomes is considerably more likely, with one of the outcomes still being considered unlikely. Finally, it is possible to configure the outcomes such that each of the three results is equally likely.

The “4 Result” Scenario

This scenario cannot simulate a scenario where all outcomes are equally probably. However, it can simulate situations where three of the outcomes are equally likely but with a fourth being most probable. Perhaps most important is the configuration where there are two equally likely results that are exactly half the likelihood of the other two. In effect, this last configuration closely mirrors a “bell curve.”

The “5 Result” Scenario

This scenario can only be used to simulate a situation where four results are equally likely, with the third being more likely than any of the individual results, but still less than the chance of getting one of the other outcomes as a group.

 

Putting It All Into Practice (Trade Secrets!)

All this theory is well and good, but if you can't put these new probability curves into practice, the discussion is purely academic. Now, you could simple have "look up tables" which, after the die is rolled, the resulting number is looked up on table specific to the probability curve you are simulating. This can work very well, in fact, provided the table is easy to read, immediately available, and there aren't to many of them. This can also be more cost effective than producing the customized dice.

To the right is an example of a look-up table. It is an exceeding simple graphic treatment, but it illustates how a traditional die can be used to simulate different probability curves and different result sets. One can imagine, however, different treatments that conform more closely to a particular milieu or artistic direction. However, a look-up table has a very basic flaw that is unavoidable: a level of indirection. Forcing a player to look up a true result each time they roll a day puts that game mechanic at the forefront of the game experience. Game mechanics should support or celebrate the milieu being simulated, not overshadow it. That's a cardinal rule.

That being said, having customized dice does add value to the game-- it is crazy to think otherwise. So, what's the best way to feel the satisfaction of these customized dice at little cost to you, the prototyper or game designer? Cheap solutions can be found at places like The Dollar Store, Michael's, or Ben Franklin. Honestly, I have made out like a bandit at The Dollar Store.

But first, let's look at what you can get at Michael's, so grab your 50%-off coupons and get down there!

To the left, you'll see something called a "Value Pack!" Don't let it fool you, it is actually pretty expensive for what it is. Nonetheless, it is still a good place to start. All you really need is a marker to put the different array of numbers or symbols on it. But wait, you are going to run into a problem. Since all the dice are the same color, it will be difficult for you (or anyone playing your prototype) to grab the right die at the right time. Bum rolls can be a major distraction for both the roller and the people he or she is playing with. So, pick up some paint or die and do a color wash to disguish your dice from one another.

Applying washes or paints can be a little problematic and they add cost to the manufacturing of your prototypes. Which is why ever self-respecting game enthusiast needs to look high and low for materials to further your craft. Observe.

To the right, we see a collection of pre-washed wooden cubes. I am not entirely sure what The Dollar Store was thinking when it decided to stock these little babies, but I want to specifically tell them that they are my heroes for doing so. These may look a little familiar; if you play a lot of complicated board games, it is very likely that you've seen game pieces just like these. It is important to point out, however, that The Dollar Store carries randomly-composed bags with about six colors in each. You will have to buy multiple bags to compose a red collection like the one pictured here, but once you do, you will have a similar bag in each of the other colors, too : orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Whether you are a game designer or a bower bird, having so many brightly-colored things around is good for the soul.

Speaking of good for the soul, let us not forget the basic, simple, unassuming traditional six-sided die that has given us joy for thousands of years. A lot of game shops would like to exploit the love we have for our little buddy, but we are not going to let them pimp their over-priced dice any longer-- especially when we want a whole mess of them.

To the rescue, is Shipwreck Beads, the largest bead-seller around. You can visit their warehouse in Lacey, Washington (on the way, don't forget to hit the Super Buffet for $12.95 at Exit 118) or just order from them on-line. If you go in person, you'll see a lot of other things to inspire your creativity, so bring some cash!

Here, take a close look at the image to the right. It is pile of tiny six-sided dice-- without a stringing hole! I bought a bunch of them and it is quite likely that I will never need to buy another one, ever again. If you want, you can probably order them on-line in other colors, but I was fine with good old-fashioned white dice.

And with that, dear readers and fellow enthusiasts, I have nothing more to say about the six-sided die and all its various incarnations.

Perhaps you have some thoughts about dice that you wish to share?

Dungeon!

Dungeon! has to be one of the first games that, as a child, really captured my imagination. I was still too young to really play full-blown Dungeons & Dragons, so this was the closest I could come. It was something of a gateway drug to me because, after getting a taste of being a dungeon-delving hero, I somehow pulled myself up by my boot-straps and started reading all the big words in the Player's Handbook!





Years (and many D&D sessions) later, I found myself coming back to Dungeon! I don't really mean to seem so enthusiastic but, as you'll note on the box cover, the exclamation pointis di rigeur. Yes, being a grown-up with my play time at a serious premium, I can still get lost in a quick, light game of Dungeon!

As you can also see from the box cover, the graphic design of the game is quite excellent. I like stuff that is more stylized because it leaves more to the player's imagination-- something important in board games, I assert. This attention to art carries itself through the entire game, from the cards to the pawns, to the game board itself. Everything is so evocative that the visuals bleed smoothly into your imagination, essentially existing in two places at once. Clearly, I have a problem staying away from this game.

To summarize, each player (four is probably best) chooses a hero. Each hero employs different strengths and weaknesses as they attempt to slay monsters and take their treasures. They've got the classics: Warriors, Elves, Dwarfs, Wizards, Thieves, and Palladins-- all of whose powers and failings are as you might except from such professions. There is a chance your hero might die, especially since he or she only has three states to track his or her health: Healthy, Wounded, and Dead.

Dead, by the way, is the worst.

Players can move their pawns throughout the dungeon, from areas where monsters are easy and the treasures are less interesting to areas where the monsters are tougher and tougher, which equally compelling treasures. As you go from chamber to chamber, the monsters are revealed. Different hero types are more or less successful at tackling the various monsters, while others may be completely out of a particular hero's league.

That being said, each hero type has different victory conditions. Weaker character types, like the thief or elf, must subsist on lower-level loot, whereas wizards and warrior would be wasting their time with such paltry loot. Imagine a wizard fighting goblins-- it would be an abomination! That doesn't mean the "weaker" characters are less exciting to play. The thief, for example, can very profitably steal from other players... but could eke out a living killing lower-level creatures.

Of course, the dungeon has some treasure that can not only add to the player's coffers, but also increase their powers-- help them use secret doors, see the contents of a room before they enter, or even help fight monsters. The +2 sword is the item to get-- though wizards can't use swords.

The Review
The Game Mechanics
For a game so many variables, you'd imagine that one or more of the game mechanics would be somehow unbalanced or broken... but everything seems to work together very nicely. I've played games with a wide variety of classes and they've all come out feeling pretty balanced. If you're still wondering "How do I win?" the answer is quite simple: get back to the starting location first, with enough gold to meet your class requirement.

The Play
This is a fun game to play with others, because all the hidden information becomes common knowledge as soon as a card is flipped. Everyone can laugh at the sad little rats just before they're pummeled and cringe when someone steps into a room with the Bone Dragon. Don't let it be you! There are also rules and instances where players can collaborate, such as helping to take down a difficult monster.

The Parts
As I stated earlier, the artistic direction on the game is good enough to stir your imagination without presenting the full picture-- generally the best spot to be in! The cards and board are well laid-out, colorful, and in the spirit of the milieu. In my version of the game, there were just plain pawns-- which I quickly replaced with plastic figurines from some other game. The rule book is well thought out and, most importantly, appears to cover all the situations you'll need to resolve.

Final Notes
If you can get them past the geeky milieu, your friends are sure to have a good time. There is enough depth and variety to satisfy almost anyone-- and allow them to live out their fantasy. He or she might even develop a taste for troll blood! Of all the games I've ever played, this is the one I always try to have close at hand. Sadly, it is out-of-print-- but, as with most things, you'll generally be able to find it on eBay.

Props go out to Gary Gygax, recently deceased, who helped design it and usher in the era of role-playing games.

Sea Monsters

My wife and I are always on the lookout for new and interesting games, regardless of their theme or their target market. Sometimes, we actually find something!

Sea Monsters, from BriarPatch, is one such game. The packaging is delightfully whimsical and it caught my eye immediately-- just the sort of thing that would have caught my eye thirty years ago. Flipping the box over revealled a pretty map, nicely done cards, and some interesting-looking dice. In short order, we had it home and laid out on the family room rug.

I should warn you, dear reader, that there will be a number of puns in the upcoming review. None of them are intentional; I normally try to avoid that sort of thing. The problem is that many of our colloquialisms and idioms have nautical origins. So with that, let me begin....

On the surface, Sea Monsters only appears to be a child's game with little to offer mature, calculating minds.

In short, the players attempt to sail their three ships from one side of the map to another, through a perilous sea of monsters. The first person to have all three ships succeed wins the game. This seeming lack of depth dissipates quickly, however, once you've played the game a couple of times. That being said, I'll call out the most interesting aspect of this game: the sea monsters.

Sea monsters rest peacefully in the sea until one of the players wakes one up-- which occurs randomly during a player's turn, around 20% of the time. Once awakened, the player must move the monster (as opposed to one of their ships) a randomly-determined number of spaces-- though they can't move into a space that has any land on it (they prefer the deep ocean, like Leviathan!) If the sea monster moves into a square that has a ship in it, the ship is sent willy-nilly back to its starting port. Ships, I might add, can move onto a square that has some land in it, such as an island.

This small set of rules absolutely explodes with emergence, creating a lot of eureka moments and delight as it happens. For example, when a player gets a chance to move a monster, they can either move it further from their own ships or they can move it toward the enemy. Or they can do both. Or neither. It is a political and strategic choice that has no single answer.

To our shame, it took my wife and I until the third game to realize that we could protect our ships better by landing at islands-- where they are safe from sea monsters-- even if it means not taking our full move. One can always split one's move points among your ships, anyway. It took us until the third match to realize all of this because we only realized that monsters could only move in deep ocean during the second game!

Now that we know the rules, we may not get the same thrill as we did when we were first learning them, but the end result is that the game model is fun, interesting, deep, political, and strategic. It's a very satisfying game to play while not being so abstruse as to not be able to teach some of the finer points to a child.

Speaking of playing with younger or gentler souls, one can still play this game with a kind heart-- you can go easy on people if they're going easy on you. It doesn't have to be an absolute blood-bath.

The Review

The Mechanics

As I said, the mechanics to this game are great and they unveil themselves slowly and in a digestible manner. One can play casually or one can make the most of each rule and strategy. For a casual game, the mechanics really stand out as having a lot of unseen depth that scales with your mood. Moreover, a clever kid or parent could add a few new rules to spice things up.

The Pieces
The pieces are top-notch, if simply designed. Durable, colorful, and made for small hands. I would have prefered that the ships were die cast or molded out of a single piece of plastic, but for all the fun we had, it is hardly worth mentioning. The board, though lovely, had some spaces were a little confusing at times as far as whether or not they were valid spaces to move onto... but we ironed all that out ourselves with limited argument.

The Play
As an adult, I really enjoy playing this game-- because it genuine felt like play, not work. As a kid, I can imagine the whole thing coming alive as it is played since the game mechanics supported the milieu-- nothing felt out of place or arbitrary. In so doing, it is ultimately an easy game system to model in one's mind.

Final Notes
If you have kids or want to enjoy some light-hearted fun with playful adults, at under $20 (don't forget your Bing cashback!), this is a must-play. Now get out there and sail the seven seas!

Quiddler

My wife and I just got back from a vacation, a vacation which entailed a ferry ride through the San Juan Islands on the coast of Washington state. I was absolutely amazed by the number of people playing card games-- people young and old, big groups and small.

A middle-aged couple sitting next to us were playing a card game called Quiddler, which they highly recommended. They seemed very quiet and engrossed, which is probably a good state of mind to be in on a long ferry ride. As the game sells for under $15 dollars in most places, we decided to pick up a copy.

Now, the packaging itself is lovely, as are the 118 cards that comprise the gameplay pieces. They are printed with large type that is easy to read, along with an "illuminated" (think Book of Kells) letter in very large print in the center, in color. They are very well made from a useability and durability standpoint. My only gripe is that the box sets the buyer up to believe that they are buying an "exciting" and "fun" game.

After being delighted with the cards, both my wife and I were absolutely flummoxed by the rules. Now, clearly, it is a game about spelling words from the letter cards in your hands. Each turn, the player has the option of turning their entire hand into one or more words, finishing the hand, or swapping one of their cards for one on either the discard are draw piles.

Sadly, there was some very odd language in the rules about how to a player finishes a hand. I will spare people the grief and just state that to close out a hand, a player must use all of his or her cards, creating one word or more. After closing out, the remaining players have one last turn to close out as well.

Letters that cannot be formed into words penalize the remaining players. Scoring is done by adding up the numbers printed on each of the cards-- and then subtracting the remaining unused cards in one's hand. As the game progresses, the players get more and more cards to work with. Ultimately, the game ends after an eight-card round.

Review

The Mechanics

My wife and I both found the game mechanics to be very straightforward once we got past our initial confusion and false starts-- it is amazing how a single, poorly-worded sentence can screw up an entire game. That being said, we really didn't detect any emergent properties as we continued to play. It seemed that, once we had grasped the written rules, there didn't seem to be any meta-rules or strategies that arose from that understanding. This game is solely about making words from an essentially random set of letters, quickly, before your opponent can get their act together. Yes, one can gamble with which letters to keep and discard, but the result is still based on pure chance.

The Play 

Frankly, this game feels a lot more like homework or paperwork than it feels like play. Moreover, this game doesn't transcend disparate vocabulary levels one bit; the packaging says "Ages 8+," but an reasonably intelligent adult would leave an eight year-old in tears. However, anyone wanting to "match wits" with their opponents could really enjoy this game, just as they might a game of Scrabble.

Final Words

I'm not entirely sure my wife and I will play this again anytime soon, but we might break it out with friends. Being a card game, it travels very well on trips, sets up quickly, and scales from a solitaire version all the way up to eight players. It certainly seems to play better than the card game version of Scrabble, which I'll give my thoughts on in another post.

Remember, Quiddler is neither fun nor exciting-- it is intellectually challenging and somewhat stressful.