The Tao of Gaming

Looking back on the games I played ...

• The dogs that didn't bark in the night ... I turned down chances to play Tribune, Change Horses, The Ticket to Ride Card Game, and countless others. In general, I had my full curmudgeon on for any game I wasn't specifically looking for.
• I pretty much stuck to my "No Prototypes" rule, which continues to serve me well. I did try one game that was described as "like Race for the Galaxy." It's not bad, but I wouldn't suggest it enter a vice-presidential debate, if you know what I mean.
• You know, by not actively trying to play every new game (some of which are fairly old), I had a pretty good time. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind trying Cuba, In the Year of the Dragon, etc etc etc
• I was pretty good at the flea market, getting rid of 10 or so games and only buying one. The prize table? The 10th anniversary edition of El Grande, and some Blue Moon expansion decks.

Individual Game thoughts:

• Brass -- I could play this again, but it's off the purchase list.
• I ordered Wabash Cannonball. Very heavy, for such a fast game.
• I'm tempted to buy Galaxy Trucker ... but my wife doesn't like it. Onto the "Want" list ... we'll see if I can trade for it.
• No other new game even makes it onto the want list (remembering that I've already ordered Agricola). I probably could trade for a few of them, but I'm not desperate.
• Oops. Palastgefluster probably goes on the want list.
• That being said, I'd play almost any game again ... I'd probably beg off Hamburgum, but I just don't like those Rondel games.
• Jamaica was the prettiest (published) game. All of the cards can be laid out to form a diorama. Who knew that all pirates had huge schnozzes? Game play is OK.

I'll review Wabash in a few weeks, after I've gotten my copy and played a few more times.

Back home and with the final totals...

• Race for the Galaxy 12 (Not counting expansion games)
• Agricola 6
• Race for the Galaxy: The Gathering Storm 6
• Glory to Rome 5
• Galaxy Trucker 4
• RattleSnake 3
• Stone Age 3
• Unpublished Prototype 3
• Brass 2
• Celebrities 2
• Jamaica 2
• Liar's Dice 2
• Wabash Cannonball 2
• Airships - The Flying Giants 1

And the games that got a single play ... Breaking Away, Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg, Halali, Hamburgum, Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage, King of Siam, Marrakesh, Oregon, Palastgeflüster, Password, Phoenicia, Poker, Pyramidos, The Hanging Gardens, Titan.

More thoughts about the actual quality of the games later this week.

... while waiting for a lunch group ...

Just tried Airships, yet another new dice game. (Are dice the new hot thing? Are they the old hot thing, like retro? Anyway, Airships was amusing, but it seemed like one or two early busts killed you. To be fair, you rarely win if you get a Jester in Court the King. This has manipulate dice powers (to very the type of dice you roll), but no dice manipulation powers. You just want to roll high. One local vendor sold out (and not many other games), so I guess the buzz is reasonable.

Late night/Kids game -- Rattlesnake. You have to put (reasonably strong) magnets on a small board without having them snap together or roll off. Did I mention they were ovals? Yes? Did I mention powerful? If you try to slowly lower a new magnet in the others start shivering and shimmying, which resembles a pit of snakes...

Played a prototype baseball game. Nice, and had a hell of a game.

Another quick/amusing/fast game was Jamaica.

I think I may pick up Galaxy Trucker ... I keep playing it once a day instead of trying new games. We'll see if Jacqui likes it. Played several more games of Agricola, including several two player games to explore specific issues. Full review post-Gathering.

For now, lunch.

Detailed thoughts later:

Memo to self -- when Ted Alspach's decaying body finally washes ashore on the Olentangy, loudly proclaim that I did not murder him for his nice copy of Wabash Cannonball. Ditto David Fair/Agricola.

I had put a "I'll trade for this" on Wabash, figuring that the reviews were a fast, brutal economic game with the feel (if not the rules) of the more cut-throat 18xx games. It delivers all that and more. Little downtime, important decisions, no luck, auctions, and complex stock valuations. Amazing.

I stopped playing Age of Renaissance even though it's fun. Why play a 5+ hour game when one or two card deals will decide it. This flaw clearly applies to Agricola -- both games saw the person with the better starting hand run away with it. Still, I enjoyed AoR the first dozen times I played it ... and Agricola is only 1/2 as long. I think most of the people who obsesses over this recognize the flaw and I'm not sad about it ... yet. Ask me in another 10 games.

Everything I've ever written about Brass is suspect. I don't know if we got any rules right. More later.

I'd never heard of Palastgefluster, but it's another good little game in a tiny box. Only got to play half a game, but I'll probably pick this up. It's only $6, after all.

I've noticed a nice (and commendable) trend of upgrading games you love with custom components (see -- estate sale of tragic victims, above). I think I'll have to look into this. I'm definitely moving towards fewer, better games.

More later.

Got in three new-ish games.

King of Siam is a partnership abstract with no communication. 'Abstract' means that I'm not likely to play it again, although the 'partnership' part intrigues me. But I'm working on squashing that thought.

Oregon has you placing meeples (w/Cowboy hats) and buildings on a grid. Each 2 rows (and three columns) are grouped by a symbol, and you playing two symbols (one for row, one for column) gives you 12 (or six) potential placements. I didn't particularly care for it, but it wasn't bad. I may play it again.

Stone Age was good enough to play twice, and I think I'd play it another 10+ times, but then I'd be done. It uses a "place your workers" idea, but there's no order to resolving places and you can place one group at at a time. (Six of the spaces allow multiple workers, with most of them capping it at seven).

Anyway, it reminds me (in my reaction, not mechanisms) to St. Petersburg (also by Tummelhoffer, or part of him). I'll explain more later.

I won 3 out of 5 games of Race yesterday, lost a close one and came in second (with 43 points) by over 15 points. Guess which one was a tournament game? Ah well, more cake for me.

If there's a game you'd really like to see me bring, let me know. (Nothing huge, like Starcraft).

Update: And here's a sign of the Apocalypse ... Race is my #2 game played in the last 30 days.

Dead Sunday morning (as always) and an hour before my shuttle, so in no particular order:

• Tried another game of Glory to Rome, and picked it off the prize table. Have to play this a few more times ...
• Played Wikinger twice (basic rules only) ... that's probably worth a few more plays, with the advanced rules.
• You know, Descent still had a large following here. People who normally cap their Euro-games at 2 hours don't mind playing that for 8 hours. And I saw some amazing tackle-boxes to hold & sort the components.
• It turns out that I'm the blurb for the 2nd edition American Megafauna. Who knew? [I didn't, and that's been out 6 years.] I wonder if I'm on the box for 3rd edition.
• I finally played Hossa (informally). I expect I'll be asked to return my curmudgeon reviewing credentials shortly.
• I have some concerns with Caylus Magna Carta (four plays), but I need to think about it.

More in a day or two.

Lots of gaming, and the computers here flake out. Anyway, I'm not up on hot news, as I've mainly been playing long games that have been out for a while. A few more games of Through the Ages, Seven Ages, and Notre Dame.

I also tried a learning game of Pax Romana. (Only the strong may play). Interesting ideas, but long. Given the chaos & time involved, it seems inferior to something like Seven Ages, but I had fun. Another experience game. Who knows, I may get to play again.

I'll probably really organize my thoughts next week, although there's a chance I'll post again before then.

Got to play this twice. The rules are online somewhere (you can probably find them on the geek). I like it (of course), but I think the random element will make it more accessible. My first game was over fast, no prestige buildings. My second game lingered, and changed quickly ... we almost ran out of gold cubes early on, and then they became very precious as all the mines shut down and buildings were bought.

The (little) bit of luck may increase the replayability for those burned out; the shorter play time may entice those who thought Caylus too long.

Is there buzz on Notre Dame? I hadn't heard anything, but as the latest Alea game I imagine others have.

Nice and solid. Resource management at heart; but a fresh feel. Only played one game, but I'll certainly be trying it again, and I suspect this will have lots of fans. My early guess includes me in that group.

Notre Dame reminds me of El Grande, without area majority. You have 9 action cards. Each round you get three at random, then draft. Pick one and pass to the left. Then two rounds of playing action cards (we're in Fairy Tale Territory here). After three rounds you have a special scoring (for the Notre Dame Cathedral) but you have plenty of scoring during the turn (a much higher percentage). After two actions each player can pick one of three people and buy a favor (if they have money). [Six of these people repeat each 3-turn round, the other nine appear once, but are sorted into A, B and C, so you know vaguely when they'll show up].

You manage money, cubes, plague (plage rats), actions, some movement. Lots of simple interlinking systems. Many different ways to score. I think the mild randomness will keep this fresh longer for many people (as well as keeping the game moving).

It won't be out for a month, so I have time to mull it over -- but I'm probably buying Notre Dame,

I played some games yesterday; mainly interested in Through the Ages. To be specific -- We played a 4-player, 2-era game (the full game is three eras), using the advanced rules (of basic, advanced, full).

Our game took about four hours, plus forty minutes or so for rules. Interesting, if not completely absorbing. It really does seem like many of the basic ideas (if not mechanisms) map to the Sid Meier computer game Civ. The main idea, a Showmanager-esque track where you buy advances, works well. The resource management seems to work.

In broad brush-strokes, there's something here. If the full game consistently takes six hours, that's a serious obstacle. We could shave it down with a play or two. I missed the chance to purchase this when Funagain got fifty copies earlier (in that I could have, but decided to sleep on it). I keep hearing it will be out next year. Now that I've played it, I still feel a small twinge at not buying it, but no overwhelming anguish. I look forward to trying it again once or twice during the week.

Others have expressed concern on balance. Given 300 (more?) cards, with probably 150 different effects, I won't speculate. Others have fallen out of love with this after 3-5 plays (but not many). I could be one of those. I'm flaky that way.

I also tried Glory to Rome, which is in the San Juan / Race for the Galaxy family. Given how I feel about the other two, its tough to claim an opinion. There are many more 'moving parts' in Glory to Rome (something like a eight roles, and cards can be in hand, on the table, in the stockpile, clientele, being built, built, or in the vault. Given the bewildering array of options, take the opinion of anyone who has played once with enough salt to keep deer through the winter.

That being said, my impression of "Too many notes" feels right. The complexity feels needless, and out of place in this genre. If you have 30 (San Juan) to 95 (Race) cards that break the rules, simple rules help. I'll play again, and likely several more times, but I suspect I'll be sticking with the other two. I'm also prejudiced against the artwork. It lacks San Juan's simplicity, or Race's stunning clarity. This is more cartoony and Groo-like. It distracted. [I may find Race's art distracting once it's published ... I'm used to the simple interface].

Interestingly, J feels quite favorable towards Glory to Rome, so we may pick up a copy anyway. [I'm told there will be a newer edition that fixes quite a few things, and clarifies other points, so I can wait].

Mainly a travel day, and catching up with old friends. I did get in a game of Struggle of Rome. It reminds me of Settlers of the Stone Age. Struggle didn't particularly grab me; I was mainly chatting with people.

And I played Race for the Galaxy. Big Surprise. However, the real news is that the artwork is stunning. I'm not the type to buy original game art, but this would be tempting.

Sleep now, game later. And yes, I only played two games.

After getting off the plane and settling in, J and I wandered to the convention hall. She mainly caught up with people (she missed last year), and after some introductions I got in a few games.

Taluva looks great, sort of a mix between Java and Attika. But I'm not too fond of the action point system, so I think I'll just stick with Attika. On the plus side, this was much faster than Java.

I briefly taught Yspahan to a few people. Still a great game. Sadly, as I was doing this I got to witness some people playing Through the Ages. I think I'll be able to get up a game later tonight or tomorrow.

Lots of people were playing Die Saulen von Erde (the english edition), but my experiences with BSW made that an easy pass. Instead I got in two games of Medici vs. Strozzi. Might be worth a purchase.

It's always nice seeing old faces and new people (I think I met Ted Alspach, but I can't remember). More later.

Update: OK, this was a joke (the real Gathering starts tomorrow), but the comments are worth following. Real posting later this weekend, assuming no more plagues!

I've entered my games played into the geek (and initial ratings). But here's the list:

Unpublished Prototype	23
Roma	                12
Maus nach Haus	        5
Um Krone und Kragen	5
Caylus	                4
Times Square	        4
Twilight Struggle	3
Ca$h'n Gun$	        2
California	        2
Geschenkt	        2
Thurn und Taxis	        2
TTR - Märklin Edition	2
7 Ages	                1
Ark	                1
Ausburg 1502            1
Blue Moon City	        1
Bolide	                1
Crokinole	        1
Diamant	                1
Hacienda	        1
Here I Stand	        1
Indonesia	        1
Masons (Mauer Bauer)    1
Nexus Ops	        1
Poker	                1
Target	                1
Time's Up	        1
Up Front	        1
War of the Ring	        1

I can't tell you the prototypes, but the vast bulk should come as no surprise to most people.

Overall I thought many of the new games were fine, but felt no strong urge to play them again, although I'd play them if others wanted to. I'd try Hacienda again. I'll probably get Roma and Um Krone und Kragen (by sometimes co-blogger Tom Lehmann) good fillers. I'm tempted to spring for Indonesia, since it's a long, relatively luckless business game (like 18xx).

The funny game above is Target. Jeff suggested it as a nice filler and I looked at the box and thought "I own this." Sure enough, I do. Had never played, though.

Overall, most of the new games were inoffensive. Play and forget. Only a few were not to my tastes. Lots of 5s and 6s according to the BGG scale.

The games that I thought stood out were: Roma, Times Square, TTR: Marklin, Cash 'n Guns (if you like the blustering theme), Krone und Kragen. There could be more to Hacienda or California or especially Indonesia, but they need more plays. Marklin is Ticket to Ride with more meat. So many of the games depend on your tastes, I suppose. Ausburg I only played once, with a rule wrong. I wasn't taken by the theme, but it may be good.

So there you have it.

Over on spielfrieks, the yearly discussion appears. "Am I Jaded?"

People play games for a variety of reasons:

• Hanging out & socializing — In this case, the game doesn't matter, although good beats bad. Lighter works better. Nobody considers Die Macher a party game.
• System Analysis — "What if I go here?" "What if I do that?" Lots of Euros have an interesting system; but often it's a small variant. Tbe Puerto Ricos and Caylii of the world get praised to high heaven for having an interesting system that feels fresh. Or at least fresher.
• Telling a story

Over the last week, I've realized that story matters much more to me than I'd credited. I've always known that my tastes don't run to pure abstracts, but my internal monologue matters more than I thought.

And the new batch of Euros? There are some interesting systems. And the themes aren't just tacked on. I think Thurm und Taxis feels like setting up routes in Europe, etc etc. But when I'm playing a game, I don't say "Ooh, I just set up Bavaria!" Mechanics? Fine (if a bit shopworn). Theme? Yes. Story? No. There's no growth, no arc. I'm just winning or losing.

A few examples from last week.

I played War of the Ring (with the Will of the West Variant). The fellowship tap-danced to Mordor. The game neded up closer than I imagined (since I slowed down to play it safe), but in looking back at the game, I can say "Frodo and the fellowship went through Moria while Isengard went after the Grey Havens (!!!). Bypassing Lorien, Gandalf sacrificed himself to keep the fellowship safe and then the Witch King showed up to finish of the Havens and then Rivendell...." I can discuss the game without reference to the mechanics, although people who have played can fill in the blanks.

I also played 7 Ages. A long, chaotic game (with lots of take that) is a recipe for disaster, and I forgive all. One player founded the Romans and I promptly started the Saxons and the Goths, only to have the Goths switch from barbarians to housekeepers. Then my Persians got evicted by the Babylonians. The right play would be to end their empire and start another. The fun play? Vow vengence and destroy Babylon. After a few turns of buildup, I caught the Babylonians napping (I switched them from a production to another turn, perhaps destiny). I got to proclaim "You forgot you are scheduled to be conqured." and then took their homeland, when a volcano wiped them out of Persia. Thus vindicated by the gods themselves, I returned home.

This, by the way, took five hours. I enjoyed it. And I enjoy retelling the story.

I enjoy Twilight Struggle even though it has flaws (and boy did they show up in spades last week). Here I Stand gave me 3 decisions per hour and I still want to try it again because of theme. [I think 3-player would work nicely for face-to-face].

My two "I really want this from the prize table" picks were a very mechanic heavy game (Indonesia), and a good story/party game (Cash 'N Guns). [I got the latter].

I'm not going to play a greatly themed game with a system I actively dislike. But a good story with mediocre gameplay trumps a good game with no story. Mechanics certainly matter, but I've played hundreds of games with reasonably good mechanics.

Does this make me an "American" style gamer? I don't know. Right now I've been more fond of games that avoid the 60-90 range. The shorter games have more bang for the buck, and the longer games have better stories. Mechanics are also easier to get right. Story is a taste.

I'll try to do a final summary later tonight or tomorrow, and then I'll review some games.

Update: Welcome people sent by Alfred. When groveling under his gentle dictatorship, consider how best to correct his minor mistake. I did not get a copy of Indonesia. I wish.

... since I don't have time for a full review.

• Time's Square -- Fun tug-of-war where you sometimes push the rope. Part of the Kosmos 2-player line, by Knizia. Suprisingly strong theme, at least for me. Review later.
• Jumpin Monkeys -- Fling things. Leaping Monkey Style! Something to cleanse the palate before ...
• Thurm und Taxis -- Played again, won handily with the 'play five routes and end the game'. Inoffensive game, but I suspect that strategy executed efficiently will dominate. Others have had the same thought, tested it, and found otherwise.
• Um Krone und Kragen -- I like Tom's new dice game (which I had saw several years ago) and have played ~10 times. Not with the right rules, mind you.
• Guns 'N Cash -- Another palate cleanser, oozing theme. And styrofoam guns.
• Blue Moon City -- We hit an endgame problem, which seems odd for a Knizia. Perhaps it works if everyone's at the same level. On the other hand, I have no strong urge to play again.

More later? Probably not. I'll start writing full reviews after I get home and recover. (I'll also look over my notes, which I don't have with me).

• Times Square, the latest 2 player game in the Kosmos line (I believe), is a weird two-player tug-of-war card game where you are tugging five people (towards your bar), but the people are all special. I only got to play once, but it was intriguing. Have to try again.
• The Architects of Cleopatra -- looks stunning, plays average. Now, we had played with five players and I've heard that four is best. I personally think three would be better. It's not quite a fixed-fun game, but it's probably better with fewer players.
• California played well, but we only played with three, which I think helped. I hadn't heard of this, and not sure how to describe it. But it has a novel theme. You furnish your houses to impress your guests & neighbors. Apparently California has a higher class of guests and neighbors.
• We got in a teaching game of Here I Stand. Despite the clean looking rulebook, we did get a few questions that we had to just shrug and move on. My opinion of the game is dropping, but I'd like to try again (possibly the shorter 3-turn game that starts with people in a more advanced position) to see if my suspicions about this are confirmed.

In any case, this is all single playings. I'd play all again and I'd consider buying any of them (for different reasons).

Since Doug asked, the Roma house rules (from Mark Delano & Mike Fitzgerald, although I don't know if they developed them).

1. The second player gets an extra VP at start (to compensate for attacks they may suffer on the first turn).
2. No player may place more earn more than $6 or draw more than 6 cards per turn.

I've played ten games (and watched several more) and we usually see losses from lack of VPs, instead of running out (via the Forum). The forum is certainly powerful, but there are 6 of them out of 52 cards.

As for yesterday's games, I forgot to mention Mauer Bauer, described as "A Colovini game you won't hate." And what do you know, I don't hate it! [I find most of his games cold and dry]. Players take turns dividing a triangular grid by placing walls, then rolling dice to indicate what color tower you place, and what two colors of buildings you place. But if you have two open tower spots (at the intersection between walls) you pick which space the obligatory tower goes, and can pick the other space. You also get to decide which side of the wall to place each building (they must be on seperate sides). When the walls form a city (via a closed loop), each player scores.

The trick here is that each player has a hand of cards that indicate how you score. These run the gamut, for example:

• Score two points for each white tower in the recently completed city,
• Score 6 points if the city is only one triangle big,
• Score based on the number of colors in the city,
• Score for each [wall/ white tower /etc] that is not part of a city,
• Score houses [of a certain color/in a certain region] not in cities

And, each time there is scoring, you can play one or two cards, but you only draw one, decreasing your hand size for the game. Or you can decline to score, and discard a card to draw two. When a city finishes, before scoring the player who closed it can merge it with an adjacent city, too.

And there are a few other complications, but that's it.

Overall, Mauer Bauer has enough randomness (via dice, and scoring cards) to keep it from registering as an abstract. And it fills the 'mid-length' niche fairly well (I think our game took 45-60 minutes, but it was everyone's first game). I played with four, and I think it would be better with three. Is it a great game? No, but I'd certainly play it again. Of his thirty odd games (listed on the geek), I've played exactly one game multiple times (Europa 1945-2030, two or three plays). I doubt I'll play it again. No other game got a repeat play. It's safe to say that I'm not Colovini's biggest fan. After one play, I consider Mauer Bauer a cute 45 minute game. Not mindless, but not too heavy.

Nothing new today (other than TTR: Marklin, which I already discussed). However, I have cast stones, read the stars, and generally asked around. And I see Here I Stand in the future.

A few new games:

Ticket to Ride Marklin -- Alan Moon has described Ticket to Ride as a game of chicken. 'Everyone wants to keep drawing cards to get to long routes, but wait too long and you get cut off.' I certainly see that with Marklin. Whenever you place a route, you can place a passenger. And you have a fourth turn type ... move a passenger along the board, picking up scoring chits. You also have a card that lets your passenger take one leg on an opponents train. So now you want to build a nice long route with lots of stops (since the tokens are based on stations), but if you wait too long other passengers can swoop in and take the better tokens. Tickets are split into long and short routes, several destinations are foreign countries, that have several stations (but serve as endpoints) that are equivalent from a ticket standpoint. And a very interesting board, with half the map being small grey routes. It's still Ticket to Ride, but didn't add the randomness of Europe. It may not be to everyone's tastes, but my gut feeling says that those who like TTR but thought it was a bit light may like this. I may buy it.

Yesterdays long game was Indonesia, which I loved at the three hour mark and merely liked when it ended at five hours. Our game had a two turn pause that most games won't, so I suspect that it was an oddity. One player has now played roughly a dozen times, and said all the games felt different. An amazing accomplishment, if true. (As with Caylus, all the luck is in setup).

Roma adds another filler to my growing arsenal. After my initial few plays, I think I've played ~8 more times. So it's already on the 10+ list. We do play with house rules, but I'll almost certainly be getting this.

Thurm und Taxis appears very popular. I got to play yesterday and I can respect that opinion. One player compared it to showmanager (with respect to drafting cards), but you pick up locations and have to build a long chain of routes, with lots of different scoring constraints. That's a good description, but here's what I'm thinking -- in showmanager (et al) you don't have much forward planning. But here you have quite a bit of planning ... what routes you want, how you are going to get scoring chits (which you can earn for filling areas with houses, putting at least one house in each area, making long deliveries (which take time but don't necessarily give more houses), and optimally handling the timing of routes. A planning game, but you have the showmanager card drawing mechanic. I think there's a dissonance there, but it was enjoyable enough. I think this will eventually trigger my Tikal reaction and I'll stop playing after my 3rd or 4th game. [Tikal Reaction -- a game that I think has strategy but that doesn't hold my interest when it's not my turn.]

More later ...

And the answer is -- yes, they do have a business center! Anyway, it's hours aren't as convenient as I'd like (closed from 11pm to 6am? What gives?), so I'll keep this brief.

Played my first game of Hacienda, which seemed fine. There are apparently multiple rule-sets (basic, advanced, and it sounds like plenty of options that people can mix and match ... possibly at their peril). Anyway, played the basic game and it seemed fine. I'd like to try it again, but I wonder if this game isn't fundamentally too Tikal-like for my long term tastes. Arguing for Tikal is the three action points per turn, arguing against is card and money management. I think that the cards (and cash) move this game far enough away from Tikal-ness for my tastes. But I liked all of those games well enough after one play, too.

Played two games of Roma (with a variant rule). It's a nice, short- to middlin- game. Players take turns rolling three dice, and have a card (building or character) that they've assigned to each number, some numbers being empty. You spend dice activating those cards, or earning money, or drawing cards, but you can only keep one card per turn.

You lose a VP for each number you don't have covered, but many of the cards force your opponent to remove their cards. You win when either player runs out of VP or the bank breaks (most VP wins). Seemed nice, although I have plenty of short games. One hint for future game designers. When you have the reference section of cards that explain all their semi-obscure symbols: Alphabetical order.

I know, I know, random order seemed like a good idea at the time. But trust me.

Another dice game -- Um Krage or Kronen (that's not exact). Her you start with three dice, and have to roll certain combinations to get you more people. For example, a roll of a pair gets the bauer, a total of 15+ gets the schnitzengruben, etc. These people provide powers (like more dice and dice manipulation). These let you get better people (like the guy you need a five of a kind to get). Eventually someone gets the king (who needs 7 of a kind). Then you enter an elimination round where you are just trying to make the best X-of a kind, and whoever makes it wins.

Krage is a mid-length game. Perhaps 30-45 minutes. Although with fewer players (we played five) it comes down I imagine.

And, of course, I played that game I won't mention. Three times. And Caylus. And even a quick game of Twilight Struggle.

If you want a full report, Rick Thornquist is typing next to me. He was here when I got in. He's still here now that I've finished published. So I guess he has more to say. And pictures!