Horror!

What better place to play an intense and scary board game then miles away from civilization?  I helped my good friend KJ close up camp.  Once the work was done and we were full from Maltese burgers on the BBQ we hunkered down for an epic game of ELDRITCH HORRORS!  MUHAAAHAAHAAA!

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When I say Epic - I mean EPIC.  Setup for this beast is a 7/10 on the difficulty scale - at least for me.  Not for the faint of heart and if you're trying to jam this game into a specific time schedule.  You need to set aside an evening for this whopper.  But it is absolutely worth the wait.

HP Lovecraft inspired, Eldritch Horrors is similar to Elder Signs - however this takes place on a global scale. The actual board game is stunning and puts you into an Indiana Jones sort of feel with the time period it represents and the look of the map itself.

There's a lot going on and it took me a few turns to get into the flow of it.  This is a team game. You and your mates versus the horrors unleashed.  Glowing Turtle does an excellent walk through of this intricate game.

The objective is clear - defeat King Boss before to many portals open up and unleash unspeakable monsters and the DOOM CLOCK runs out.

The time flies playing this game - so be sure to block a good chunk of it.  Our adventure lasted over 2 hours.

Dragonwood

I found the BEST board game for children!  I happen to be passing through a quaint little tourist town on the north shore of Lake Superior - Grand Marais.  There's a great outdoors/hiking/camping store there called the Trading Post which stocks all manner of cottage clothing, fishing, hunting, books, maps and games!

I asked the owner about this game "Dragonwood" that I spotted in the games section.  He had heard some pretty amazing reviews from his customers who had purchased it.  Taking him at his word I purchased it for my kids.

We were on a camping trip weeks later and broke out the game (still in the shrink wrap).  My kids along with some of their cousins took to it like moths to a flame.  It was the best $20.00 I spent towards children's entertainment and the kids as well as myself spent hours playing this gem of a game.

Simply put - it's a form of UNO (finding cards of the same colour or a run of numbers or three of kind) and using that determine how many dice you roll to try and capture a creature from "Dragonwood".   Each card captured has an assigned point(s) to it.  The smaller point cards are easier to capture like the 'fire ants' or 'giggling goblins'.  The more difficult cards like the 'pack of wolves' or 'angry bear' require a more die to conquer. 

The two ultimate beasts - the Dragons - are the most difficult to capture.  Once the two dragons are caught the game is over and players then count their points (based on the creatures captured).

Hours and hours of fun were had with this game.  It is great if you aspire to have your kids get into more difficult games as it provides the foundation of dice mechanics.  10 out 10!

Trying a Different Flavor of RPG

What does one do to combat the winter blues?  Embrace it of course!  What better way than to hunker down at a freind's camp, stoke the flames in the fireplace and burn through hours of adventure in the blink of an eye around a table playing DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS!

Days previous I got to build out a character and have it prepared for the adventure.  I went with a Half-Elf Druid and leveled up on medicinal forest skills.  My colleague went with a Ranger class Human and also leveled up in nature based skills. Lucky for us our quest took us on a wooded terrain path into the mountains.  Our insight was favorable indeed!

This was our GM's first crack at being a GM.  I wouldn't have guessed it was his first attempt. For this round he used his newly aquired D&D 5th Edition.  Adapting to this version based on my previous EotE adventures was almost seemless.  Apparently the new 5th edition is less on dice-math and lends itself more to the game play. 

He guided our characters SavaVor and Warmspring to a haunted canyon by way of a quirky village.  We heard some tales of orcs and treasure from the locals before heading on our way.

Our original journey was to take us to the lands far beyond for some contract work with some Dwarves.  However that would have to wait as we were diverted by strange and unusual forces to visit the canyon on the outskirts of the town.

A thick fog hid the bottom of the crevase.  The only sign of activty was a rope tied off to a post that ran down the rock wall into the abyss.   Being experienced woodsmen, we tied off secondary  climbing gear for safety and scaled down the escarment which ended at the top of a platform.  Stairs carved into the rocks led further down still.

Warmsrping and I discover the top of an ancient castle sticking out of the canyon floor.  It appears to have been burried then swallowed up by the earth.  There's activty a foot as latterns are lit and a path in out of the top of the building has been worn.  Could this be where the treasures are coming from?

To be continued...

Board Games Everywhere

Well it's been an interesting year.  I've been fortuante to know some who have taken their first steps into building their own board games.

Intestinal Fortitude and Summit.

I've also has the pleasure of participating in a number of new games including, Dominion, Dungeon Quest and Elder Signs.

Dominon and Dungeon Quest I've talked about before -here-

What I'd like to talk about is Elder Sign.
What a great game!  The cards and pieces are individual works of art.  I spent a lot of the game in awe of all the components. 

Don't let the amount of card types and dice intimidate you.  This game is actually pretty easy to learn.  It's mechanics allow you to really dive into this adventure and really enjoy it.  The Fantasy Flight folks made this very intuitive.

My first round at Elder Sign was just over three hours.  Some of that was getting up to speed learning, but it truly flew by.  There was never a lull as participants can easily talk over the game - unlike some other games where you need to really focus on what you're doing.   Playing as a team really helped as we were able to discuss some strategy on what to tackle.

Change Up

Well just a quick update as it's been a while.  Haven't organized to play Star Wars in quite some time but I've been playing some other cool board games.   Three to be exact and one is Star Wars related.

First up is Dungeon Quest.   This game is low in difficulty and the fun factor is through the roof.  You really don't have a chance in this adventure.  If the chasms  don't swallow you or the un-dead don't kill you the sun timer will close you in.  Game times aren't long so you can probably get two or three rounds in a few hours once you get the gist of the dice and game flow.


Another fun game I was introduced to is Code Names.  Best described as a combination of Guess Who and $10000 Pyramid.  Three people works really well for this game.  One clue giver and to opposing 'spies'.   The clue giver has to associate words together for the spy to connect.  Watch out for the Assassin!  Game flow is really fast and you can knock out a few rounds quickly.

Last but not least is Star Wars X-Wing.  Clear off your kitchen table, throw down the star field felt cloth and buckle up.   This is a turn based RTS dog fighting game with all your favorite Star Wars ships - Millenium Falcon,  Slave 1, Tie-Advanced, X-Wing Fighters and more.  It will take a few rounds to get the dice mechanics, but after that it's clear sailing.   The models are amazing and you will love strategizing  your ship's next maneuver and attack.


Christmas is just around the corner - do you have any suggestions for board game gifts?  Comment below or hit me up on twitter:  @CardhuPC 

Boy With Apple

We continue off from our last RPG session where the group is still on Cloud City where upon walking the promenade a squid like figure is being chased by Storm Troopers.  Barreling though the crowd he collides with Cardhu. As they both tumble to the ground, the 'Squid' manages to slip a data card into Cardhu's pocket before the Storm Troopers apprehend him.  Being hauled off he yells out 'Viva the Revolution!"

The group now realize they too are under suspicion and escape the scene.  They split up as they evade blaster fire.

Grpyh now on her own has an encounter with an old friend from the Art Dealer World and the possibility of payment of 5000 credits owed her.  She learns that her husband has been arrested and sent to the Ryloth mines for her Art Fraud Scheme.   For his freedom Gryph must repossess one the paintings she sold off as her own and return to its rightful owners.  The catch – she has to bid on it in the upcoming auction with the 5000 credits.

Jorbis and Cardhu meet up with Gryph at the auction and help distract prospective bidders. All is going smoothly until Grpyph is recognized as an impostor  upon accepting the “Boy With Apple” painting.   A commotion erupts and our desperate group makes a break for it shooting out the lights and escape the large chamber with the precious painting in their possession.

The group make their way through the lower levels of Cloud City to their ship. They notice a cloaked figure inspecting the outside of the haul.  He turns in the direction of the group – his red eyes glaring through his steel mask and shouts “Jorbis Kane! – you are the bug squat on the back end of a Bantha! You are also to be – removed!”

For a split second Jorbis is beside himself – it is was phrase his deceased wife used to say to him.  Shock quickly is replaced by rage - Jorbis  whips out his blaster and starts firing upon the masked man.   The cloaked figure makes a daring escape leaping off the landing platform onto his awaiting speeder.

Realizing they must escape themselves, the group run for the ship’s entrance hatch only to trip a booby trap – a rigged thermal detonator.   Split second reactions save the group and they blast off away from Cloud City.

Trail Runs Cold

It was too long, but we finally got the gang together for another RPG session.  Recapping the last episode was easy - this blog.  For those of you just tuning in - we ended a pretty epic two part mission involving the rescue of a bionic woman named Cratala.  

We were rewarded with payment of a promise of information pertaining to Dr. Jorbis Kane's murder mystery.  But before we could obtain the data - we were pursued by yet another Star Destroyer and its Tie-Fighters.  A lot of die rolling and some ACE galactic warfare, we managed to escape and claim the doctor's precious prize.

Cloud City bound - we were on the trail of a possible killer.  His name - Skarr.  The long voyage allowed us to heal our wounds and devise a game plan.  Upon arrival - we were directed to a lower landing bay dock.  This made getting up to the apartment levels very difficult and very expensive.  

The group decided to break into Skarr's pad after their attempts to contact him fell on deaf ears.  Griff kept look out as the Doctor and Cardhu investigated.  A grizzly discovery - Skarr's lifeless body lie in a pool of blood in a all too familiar scene.   The Doctor revealed his wife's body was found in a similar fashion - results of her murder investigation confirmed an execution.

Outside the apartment, Cloud City Guards along with Stormtroopers detained Griff who wasn't able to talk her way out of a bad situation.  To keep her allies safe - she reluctantly was led to the detention center.  Some timely rolls of the die got her out of trouble - but just barely.

This bought the others time to rummage through the apartment for clues.  The only hard find was Skarr's datapad.  Decrypting it and learning its secrets  revealed that Skarr briefly knew the Doctor's father-in-law.  Information about a rare and life threatening disease which the Doctor's wife contracted as well as vague coordinates to the planet Mrlsst were also learned.  Mrlsst according to Skarr's accounts - was visited frequently by the father.