Games People Play

jopm

This is a list of games played by South Dublin Boardgamers last week with some short commentary. I hope it might be of interest to some members of the forum.

Shadowhunters

A light ice breaker/filler that plays in 1 hour with up to 8 people. Players are secretly allocated a character from one of 3 factions Hunter Shadow or Neutral and attempt to achieve their specific win condition (usually killing other factions). Players move around locations trying to find clues as to who are friends and enemies and gathering items to help them eg equipment which they can use to attack other players.

Game View
Always good fun with plenty of laughs and accusations.

Complexity

Light


Senji

Strategy game played in Medieval Japan. Players take the role of Clan Chiefs vying for prestige with the Emperor. There are three ways of gaining prestige -winning battles, economic activity and diplomatic dealings.Each Chief begins with a no of armies a Samurai and a deck of cards which are used for all 3 activities.Players secretly place orders on areas they control in Spring these are resolved in Summer and in Autumn additional prestige can be gained through completing economic and diplomatic actions.

The game plays 6 and takes about 3 hours or slightly less.

Game View

Enjoyable romp with options for the war mongerers and the doves. Needs the 6 for the full board to be in play but can be played with 4-5.

Complexity

Medium


Lords of Waterdeep


No 1 game on the BGG hotness list. It is a worker placement game set in the Forgottem Realms Universe. You take the role of a Lord and send your minions out on quests to earn you rewards and increase your influence in the city.During your turn you take actions with your minions to gain the necessary resources to fulfill the quests. There is also some ability to screw with other players plans if you are so inclined!

It currently plays 5 and takes probably up to 2 hours to play depending on the AP of the group. It is structured to accomodate future expansions including additional players.

Game View

Broadly typical worker placement game with a no of choices to be made each turn. It will certainly get a good lot of plays in the Group.

Complexity

Light


A Game of Thrones LCG



Murder and intrigue in George R Martin's Westeros. Playing one of the 6 Great Houses you will attempt to gain power for your House by initiating and then winning military intrigue and political challenges against your opponents. This is done through your House deck of cards which will include characters, locations, attachments and events to assist you. You also have a plot deck with represents you short term strategies. Each turn you select a plot which generates gold plus initative and claim values.You then marshall your characters into play and initiate challenges. The round ends with a dominance phase which can also give you additional power.If playing with 3-4 you also get the use of a title each turn eg Hand of the King which will further enhance your capabilities.

Game View

This is all out war from the start kill or be killed. Apart from the base set there have been a large no of expansions which means that there are lots of options for deck building but at a cost. If you like a Game of Thrones then you will certainly like the theme and the various Houses and characters. It is the writers opinion that a couple of the decks in the starter box are weaker than others and probably need cards from the expansions to improve them -that of course is just an opinion.

The game plays 2-4 and with 4 can easily play 3 hours+.


Complexity

High


I hope you found the above of some interest.

South Dublin Boardgamers can be found at http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/SouthDublinBoardgamers/

Paddy Samurai

Where did you buy Lords of Waterdeep" ,and how much did it cost?.

jopm

The game was purchased by one of the other Group members but as i recall he said that it cost him €49. He bought it in Gamers World Jervis Street. I was in there myself late in the week but dont recall seeing any other copies.To save you a journey I suggest you check with them first. They will order it for you if it is not in stock.

Hope that is of help.