33. 'The Settelers of Catan' reviw. The Cardboard Cartographer issue 8.

Welcome to issue eight of The Cardboard Cartographer here on The science of selling yourself short.'

In this issue we're going to visit a modern board gaming classic; Settlers of Catan.
In addition to the usual review format this issue will see the official launch of the 'Digital spotlight' section.

  Digital spotlight is here to inform you guys that the game being reviewed has a digital version/ companion/app or any other technological gubbins.
These will cover as many platforms as I can find/ reasonably be expected to play/use/buy.
This section will give a quick outline and review of these digital thing.
Who knows? they may get a full blown review in the future.

Back to the main feature of this issue; The Settlers of Catan.

Google FU.

 As usual here is The Cardboard Cartographers's Google fu round up for those who have yet to encounter Settlers of Catan;
Wikipedia:
The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber and first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos) as Die Siedler von Catan. Players assume the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources. Players are rewarded points as their settlements grow; the first to reach a set number of points is the winner.
The Settlers of Catan was one of the first German-style board games to achieve popularity outside of Europe. By 2009, over 15 million games in the Catan series had been sold. The game has been translated into 30 languages.  It is popular in the United States where it has been called "the board game of our time" by The Washington Post. 

For more information, check out the Catan page on Board Game Geek: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/the-settlers-of-catan

Settlers of Catan is one of the board games that helped to redefine the modern day character and image of board games.
It is the perfect game for introducing new people to the world of board games; Simple, elegant, competitive and sociable.
There is very little theme to detract from the came, or to lose players who are not familiar with a specific theme.

As with a lot of games we write reviews for here on The Cardboard Cartographer, there is a TableTop play through on YouTube, which I recommend checking out if you prefer to watch instead of read. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WJTlDa7oo

So, If you're still with us, let's open the box!

First Impressions.

Once you open and unpack the box you are greeted by an array of very simple and colourful pieces and cards.

The cards are your 'small card' variety. Very simple with little writing, if any.
The Board is made up Cardboard composite hex pieces with the same material used to make a 'boarder.'

 
The board and reference sheets are again made from your standard cardboard composite card stock and the player pieces are made of a simple light wood, painted into four different colours.

 

 

  
There is nothing extravagant here. Everything is simple and elegant.
There is no flavour text, no intricate graphics, and no vast array of game pieces.

Honestly it is refreshing. So many games try to add way too many details into their mechanics and game pieces; it makes the game feel very busy.
Catan manages to keep everything clean and visually appealing with little ostentation. While other games crowd their board with added content to fuel their game, Catan doesn't and is equally as fun, if not more so.

One drawback is the usual problem with composite cardstock.
If it gets wet, or tears when punching it out is is pretty much ruined.
usually this isn't too much of a problem, however it is slightly more noticeable here though, as the 'frame' will only fit well if there is no residue left from the frame.
As you can see from the picture, mine jut does not sit right.
This is easily remedied with a little bit of effort though, so it isn't a huge issue.

Gameplay.

Following the simple visuals is simple game play.

There is a set up guide in the rule book.
Essentially you deal out the tiles randomly (or in a set pattern, it is up to you) into a a hexagon with equal sides (3 hex tiles per side).
You then place the number tokens in alphabetical order, starting in one corner and spiralling inwards (missing out the dessert). If you like you can randomise the 'ports,' but this isn't necessary.

Once you're done the board should look something like this.

Once the board is laid out and set up is complete, the next thing to be done is player set up. This only done once and is done as follows;

Players determine who is going first by rolling dice. The highest starts and then passes clockwise.
The first player sets down a Settlement anywhere on the board and then places a road attached to it.

When the last player has placed their settlement, it then happens again, but counter clockwise; the last player places first and the first player places last. This time however the players draw the resources that are in contact with their settlement.

Once you're done the board should look something like this

As the picture shows, you can link your settlements form the off set like Red and Blue have in the picture, or place it in a different location like Green has.

So long as the settlements are 'two road spaces apart,' or rather two corners of a hex tile, they can placed anywhere in the set up phase.
Later on they adhere to different rules; they have to be connected to your existing territory. More on that later.

When set up is complete the game beings!

Dice rolling.
A players turn starts by rolling dice to generate resources. Adding the the numbers together gives you the tile(s) that will generate resources that turn.
All players with a settlement touching that tile get 1 resource per settlement touching that tile, and/or 2 for each city touching that tile (yes, theoretically means 1 tile can generate 6 resources).

In the above picture an 11 has been rolled. This would therefore generate 2 wool resource cards for the Red player, as he has two settlements touching the wool hex tile. The other tile with the #11 is left unclaimed and thus generates nothing.

If a 7 is rolled the player activates the robber.

The robber has several powers.
Firstly, any player with 8 resource cards or more, must discard half of them (rounded down).
Secondly, the current player has to move the robber to a tile of his or her choosing.
This does two things;
1) The player steals 1 random resource from 1 player of their choice who is touching the tile the the robber has been placed on.
2) That tile is now blocked. If a dice roll would have generated resources from this tile, it does not, until the robber is moved. This is shown in the picture bellow.

After generating resources/ moving the robber the players turn begins.

The very first thing a player can do is play a development card, if they you have one.

Development cards.There are a variety of cards that a player might have. these are picture bellow.

 
Red - Army: A player gets to move the robber, thus stealing a resource and blocking a territory. It doesn't make anyone discard cards though.

Yellow -  Victory point: These are not played into open play, but are kept secret. Once you have accumulated enough points to win; combining the points on the board and these cards, you flip them over as you declare your victory.

Green - resource/building: These cards have various power, and they do exactly what the text on the cards says. For example. Road building allows you to build two road for free.

Trade

A player may also trade any of their resources with either other players, a port, or a the 'bank.'
This can happen as often as the player likes.

Player + player trades come down to what each player wants/ demands. For example, you might want to trade 1 Brick for 1 Rock.
Just like trading things in real life you can demand more for your resources, offer counter offers and even just embargo the hell out of other plays. Only the person whose turn it is may initiate trade.

To trade with the bank a player may trade 4 of the same resource (four brick for example) for any 1 resources. This is a costly, but sometime necessary move.

Attentively, a player can trade with a port.

To trade with a port, a player must have a settlement or city touching the port points. These are indicated by the little cove illustration on the game board.
These are similar to the bank, but each one has a unique trading power.
For example, one port may be; Trade in 2 wool for any one resource.
Another may be; trade in three of the same resource for any one resource.

These bays are extremely powerful, especially if you have a monopoly on said resources.

Build.

A player may also build during their turn, as many times as they like so long as they can afford the resources.
The resources cost of each item is on the players card.
For example, a player has the necessary resources, so can build two road, and then a settlement.

There are some rules governing building, so I'll go over them.

Roads - A road must be connected to another friendly road and/or a friendly settlement/ city. Therefore you cannot build a road in the middle of nowhere or on someone else's road. It must 'extend' from your territory.
If you are the first to build 5+ roads in a unbroken line you gain 'The Longest Road,' which is worth 2 victory points. You are allowed to build settlements along this road without breaking it.

A player may 'steal' this from you by build one more road than you have. So if you want longest road, don't stop building.
Settlements -  A settlement must be connected to your own territory. In addition it must be '2 'road spaces'/ tile corners away from any other settlement or city. You can build as many as you like so long as they follow the above rule, or until you run out. Settlements are worth 1 victory point.

City - A city is an upgrade for a settlement. Therefore you have to upgrade an already existing settlement to a city making them quite pricey.
 

A city is worth 2 victory points. In addition, when generating resources you gain 2, instead of the usual 1.

Development cards - A player may build as many development cards as they want/can afford, however, as stated before, may only play one card at the beginning of their turn, after they've rolled the dice and before any other action is taken.
When the pile of cards is depleted, no more development cards may be built.
As stated previously yellow cards are worth 1 victory point, green card exact the text printed on them, and red cards are army cards.
If you are the first player to have played 3+ army cards you gain largest army. This is worth 2 victory points.

Just like roads, if someone wants to take largest army from a player they need to build one more than the current holder has.

Once a player is done with all the above actions they pass their turn, hand the dice to next player and this continues until someone reaches 10 victory points.

That is actually it.

Personal Opinion.

Out of all the games that started reinvigoration of board games; the modern classics, this is my favourite.
 The words elegant and simple have been thrown at you in a relentless barrage since the beginning of this issue, but there are no better words for it.

The game is casual, and unassuming. One would be forgiven for thinking that it would generate complacency and disinterest, but once you start playing you can tell it demands your attention. not only that, it rewards it.
Knowing exactly what resources players are gunning for, or in possession of, gives you the edge. The twist here is that due to the secret nature of the resources in a players hand, you'll never really know what they have for sure. This allows players to bluff, or switch tactics at will.
But that is exactly what makes it so elegant; the simplicity of the game design and rules mean that the true focus here is on player interaction. A game that can draw the focus away for the mechanics of the game and push the social aspect is usually on to a winner.

The mechanics themselves are so simple it is hard to pick a fault with them.
In fact the most noticeable problem in the game engineers itself to be an awesome mechanic. Sometimes someone is able to monopolise a resource, or the random resource generation element means that one resource is in extremely limited supply.
  This can be a pain for the have not's, but on the flip side those that control this resource will have limited supply of the other resources available.
 The game constructs a miniature version of a naturally evolving, barter based market economy. One where 'wood' is suddenly worth three other resource cards.
That is the power of simplicity; relying on human nature to fuel how the game will evolve.

It is in this regard that I have to say Catan is simply genius.

Digital Spotlight.

 As Catan has a such an expansive following it is not surprising that is has a handful of digital versions. The easiest way to find these is to head over to Catan.com and check out the Electronic Games section.
I have only had chance to play the App version (Andriod/iOS versions are identical).

To be fair, it isn't that bad. You can play against the computer, or hot seat. This allows you to play with 1-4 human players instead and the game makes up the number with computer controlled opponents. This is handy if you don't have the 3 minimum players required by the board game
The latest update saw the ability to play others over the internet. However, this is currently extremely buggy, so I wouldn't invest too much time in it as of yet.

Overall the App is a really good buy. It is very handy if you want to learn the set up rules, and if you are on the move/ don't have three players to play a game.
My main issues with it are that it is on your phone. it is a bit fiddly sometimes (though there is always the option of playing it on tablet), also the computer could do with variable difficulty settings; after a while it gets a bit too easy.

If you don't want to commit to the app, or the board game for that matter you can play some beginner scenarios for free online (its does cost money to play actual games though) - http://game.playcatan.com/en/

You really have no excuse not to not give this one a go!


That is all for this issue of the Cardboard Cartographer.

What do you think of the Settlers of Catan?
Have you played the App/Electronic versions?
What do you think of the vast amount of expansions?

Please feel free to comment, of hit me up on twitter @DarKHaZZl3.

Also, subscribe/follow and never miss an update again!
Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out previous issue if you have not already.
Stay tuned for the next issue where we will be un-boxing Pandanté; a Panda based poker type game.

See you soon.
-DH-

32. 'Firefly: Pirates and Bounty Hunters,' unboxing. The Cardboard Catographer issue 7.

Welcome to issue seven of 'The Cardboard Cartographer,' here on 'The science of selling yourself short.'

In this issue we are going to be doing something a little different.
Yet another new feature.
Some foreshadowing;

Here at The Cardboard Cartographer we accept that any review needs to be based on real life experience of playing the game being reviewed.
Due to life happening most of the reviews posted here will feature games that are good few months old at least. Not only does this allow for games to be played alongside real life issues, but it also allows for more research to be done on the games and their accompanying material.

This issue throws those rules out of the window.
This issue features a product that is a couple of weeks old at best (at time of posting). It is new enough for a fair amount of people to have not even noticed it was out at all.
This is not a review.

This is the un-boxing of 'Firefly: Pirates and Bounty Hunters;' an expansion for the Firefly board game.

To have something this up to date is a fairly exciting prospect here for 'The Cardboard Cartographer,' and is certainly something we'll try to do more of in the future.

I digress!

Google Fu.

For those of you who have yet to encounter 'Firefly: the board game,' or indeed the television show it is based upon, I suggest you Google it.
Failing that you can read issue one of 'The Cardboard Cartographer.' It was our very first review!
Check it out - Firefly Review

Caught up? Good.
On to the contents.

This picture contains everything in the new expansion.
as you can see there are new ships, cards, tokens and missions.

Before we continue I would like to point out that there are some new rules. These will not be covered in this issue, but will be explained in a future issue where we review the expansion. So stay tuned!

In the mean time we'll get acquainted with the new stuff; starting with the new ships.

This ship is the SS Walden. The ship is the salvage vessel from the episode 'Out of gas.'
as you can see it has a huge amount of storage space, something which *spoiler* will be invaluable in some of the new missions!

The other new ship is the Interceptor.

This is the bounty hunter; Jubal Early's ship from the episode 'Objects in Space.'
This ship has minimal storage space, crew compartments and upgrade space.
The plus side? It re-roll failed boarding tests.
In addition it is super fast!
Almost the exact opposite of the SS Walden.

While we're on the subject of speed, it should be noted that both the new ships have unique drive cores.

The SS Walden has a small range, but does not suffer heavy load penalties (another new feature), while the interceptor is outrageously fast, and requires no fuel.

New ships mean new captains.
Meet Jubal Early and Sash.

Again, their card text features modifiers based on the new rules.
We'll have to wait and see how effective they prove to be

Speaking of new rules, pretty much everything from here on in concentrates heavily on them.

The new missions for example;

'Jailbreak,' 'The choices we make' and 'Another man's treasure,' are missions specifically for the expansion. 'Choices,' and 'Treasure' are PvP based. Nice.

There is extra loot to be had. Five new cards for each trading post

The biggest addition to these cards is the new class of crew; The Lawman.
A Lawman is an alliance operative. They work for free but will not participate in illegal activity.

Each contact also has five new cards.

These are mad up entirely of jobs that involve piracy and bounties.
Oh wait, what?

Yes, an entirely new card type called 'Bounty.'
While the specifics of this new card will not be known until we've played the game, it is safe to assume that you can obtain or abduct certain people and trade them in for cash.

I picked out a few that caught my eye.

I almost lost it at Two Fry's 'unlicensed haberdashery.'

Finally we come to the new tokens.

As well as some extra tokens for already existing items such as parts, fuel, warrants and so on, there are some new ones.
Seven to be exact.

These seven have numbers printed on one side; these are destinations, whilst the other side are Havens.

So there you have it!

First impression.This is the first 'first impression,' written at the time of my first impression.
I pretty much summed everything up in issue one. Pieces wise nothing has changed.

The tweaked game mechanics are where this will get really interesting. I love the concept of player verse player and I also live the new ships.
I am also curious to see how piracy, boarding, stand off's and bounty's work
I don't know about you guys, but I am looking forward to playing this expansion.
In issue one I stated that I thought the game could do with some player verses player interaction to lend some urgency to play, and here it might well be.


That is all for this issue.

If you have any questions about 'The Cardboard Cartographer', this or past issues, and/or anything else, feel free to drop me a line.
Also, if you fancy leaving some feedback you can do that too.

Comment bellow, or hit me up on Twitter @DarKHaZZl3 - Use the hash tag #TCC.
I'd love to hear from you, especially if you've managed to play Pirates and Bounty Hunters yet!

Thanks for reading

-DH-

31. 'Betrayal at House on the Hill' review. The Cardboard Cartographer issue 6.

 
Welcome to issue six of 'The Cardboard Cartographer,' here on The science of selling yourself short.

Before we begin I'd like to take a moment to apologise for the delay in the second round of issues.

After the rapid succession of the first five issues, my will to write dried up.
As I have previously said on The science of selling yourself short, if I do not want to write, for whatever reason, I will not write.
I feel that forcing myself to write is counter productive. Not only does it make my hobby a chore, but it also makes me resent it. This will be conveyed in my writing, which unless you watch people suffering (and hey, who doesn't every now and then?...wait...what?), wont be enjoyable for you guys reading along.

The urge to write is coming back, in fits and starts.

Please, bear with me. In return you will see better quality content; more pictures, more writing and a wider variety of games and topics.

I have already started preparatory work on the next few issues, which should speed up the process.

Also, on a side note. My mouse is playing up. Editing this issue has been a nightmare (Y).

On with the show!

In this issue we'll be looking at Betrayal at House on the Hill (BaHotH).



If you already are familiar with BaHotH feel free to skip the Google stage (the bit ahead in blue).
For the rest of you who have not heard of this game, well, take it away Wikipedia!

Google Fu.

Betrayal at House on the Hill is a board game published by Avalon Hill. Players all begin as allies, exploring a haunted house filled with dangers, traps, items and Omens. As players explore the mansion, new room tiles are chosen at random; accordingly, the game board is different each session - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betrayal_at_House_on_the_Hill

BaHotH was first published in 2004 by Avalon hill under Hasbro. It was later acquired by Wizards of the Coast and re-released in 2010. It is a game for 3 - 6 players, whom assume the role of the explorers, searching the House for Loot and the like. Partway through the game the 'haunt' begins, where the house's influence starts to take hold and strange and malign happenings begin to occur.
 For more information head to its page on Board Game Geek - http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10547/betrayal-at-house-on-the-hill

I was first introduced to this game Via Wil Wheaton's show TableTop;
(If you would like to watch the Table Top episodes featuring BaHotH check them out:
Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MINNKyE4fjs
Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgbQwxQIhbw)

    Ever since I watched these episodes I have wanted to get my hands on Betrayal at house on the Hill.
However, due to 'the Tabletop factor' this game rapidly went from general board game obscurity to sold out everywhere.
For months it was simply not available anywhere, except eBay at crazy prices (I think the highest I saw it for was around the £500 mark).
Then, about four months ago it comes back in stock.
I managed to get my hands on a copy before it went out of stock again!

Yes, I had essentially been waiting to play this game for 6 months!
So I hoped it would be worth the wait!

First Impressions.



 
When first opening the box you are greeted with a vast array of colourful cardboard composite pieces to punch out, along with some very nice room tiles and nice clear, crisp cards. 



In addition to this you have some dice, and some plastic figures.
At first glance the figures look nice, but...



  What can I say?
They are in fact very poorly painted, and very flimsy.
Much like the Firefly pieces I spoke of in issue 1 (Read issue 1 here - Firefly review ), they are made from a flimsy, rubbery plastic.

So poor were these pieces, that one of them came bent; bent in such a way you know it will break in the future.

I planned on returning it but with the game out of stock again, I think I'll just deal with the damage. (The whole Amazon saga that has lead to this decision will be told in a future edition of The Cardboard Cartographer. Needless to say, I'm bloody annoyed!).

Anyway, moving on.

The character cards are pentagonal, which I thought was a nice touch.


Visually pleasing, but again another problem.
To measure your stats throughout the game you use 'sliders,' attached to these character cards (those little black plastic things attached to the sides).

These are just terrible.

They don't 'grip' the board and as such they slide around during the game, which can be annoying if you happen to knock the card/table.

The dice are a bit bland, but in all fairness they do the job they were made to do. So no real complaints there.

In short. Great visuals, full of character, but just lacking in quality in a few key areas.

Game play.

The game is fairly simple to play.

 Players take it in turns to explore the house. Every time they enter an unexplored door the uncover a new room.



  Rooms are drawn from the pile of room cards and placed accordingly. A room can only be played on the corresponding floor;

Example.
If player A; The Girl in Yellow, explores a new room on the Ground floor, then you must place a tile with 'Ground' illuminated on the back. if the tile on top of the deck is does not have 'Ground' printed on it, draw tiles until one is found.
Note: If more than one floor is illuminated that means you can use it on any of the floor that are highlighted.





Each tile takes up one movement. A player can move up to the number currently show on their speed stat, which can be found on their character card, or until a card is drawn.

In order to explain cards, we'll carry on with the above example game.

Player A has only moved once, so can move again.



Player A has entered a room with a symbol, and some text on it.



Rooms often have special symbols.
These are;
Ravens = Omens
Ram Skull = Items
Swirl = Events.



If a player is the first to enter a room with one of these symbols in, that player's movements is over, and they must then draw the corresponding card.

The player reads out the card , and employs whatever action the card states (if any).

A player may also have to do additional actions depending on the text of the room tiles.

In our example, player A will have drawn an event card.
Due to Player A drawing a card their movement ends in this room.
Therefore, once the card is resolved, Player A 'may' gain 1 point of sanity, as per the text on the room tile.

The Haunt.When exploring the house a room tile with an Omen symbol is uncovered, the player would draw an Omen card as usual. However, at the bottom of each Omen card it instructs a player to 'make a Haunt roll now.'
A Haunt roll is made using six of the dice. A player must roll equal to, or over the total amount of Omens drawn in the game so far (there is a bar to measure such things).

If the test is passed the game continues as normal.

If the test is failed the Haunt begins!!

The Haunt is where this game really gets interesting.
Up until this roll is failed, you are all fellow explorers. After this, the ill effects of the House start to take control!



Exactly what Haunt you get is randomly determined by the room the player to fail the roll is currently in, and the Omen that was drawn, so it is different almost every time!

Needless to say however, that someone in your team is more than likely going to betray you.

When this happens the 'Heroes' read the Haunt requirements from the Survivors handbook, while the traitor reads their mission requirments found in the Traitors handbook.

The game then takes on an 'us vs. them' mechanic.
While I'd happily go on talking about how the game pans out, I feel that, in the case of Betrayal at House on the Hill, revealing too much of the game sort of spoils the fun.

It is much more challenging and enjoyable not knowing what is going to happen when the Haunt starts.
Personal Opinion.

After waiting such a ridiculously long time to get my hands on this game I was apprehensive.
It would have truly sucked if the game turned out to be terrible.

  The game is a slow starter as players explore the house, but unlike a lot of games, this slow build up is a good thing.
It allows the players to get comfortable with concept of exploration, and of course, allows you to kit up a bit before everything comes crashing down.

The Haunts I've played so far are all eerily entertaining.

Needless to say there is fighting, self serving attitudes and general horror related panic/fleeing/dramatic last stands.
All of which makes for a fun and slightly cheesy horror themed game!
 
As for the games mechanics, they tend to be fairly well balanced.

While all the various 'skill tests' are based on luck, there is plenty of room for players to use their judgement in such cases.
 For example, items like the Blood Dagger give great benefits (massive damage bonus), but come with a price to use (literally sucking the life out of you).

My one 'balance issue' would be the it is fairly difficult for the traitor player to really punish the heroes.
This might be down to specific haunts, how players are kitted out and where the tiles are drawn and placed. As all the above are randomly generated, it isn't something that is done on purpose, and as such, is hard to plan for.
Obviously there is a flip side to that.
This is the price paid for random generation.

The random generation means that there is quite a bit of replay value to this game.
The houses layout will be different each time, as tiles are drawn randomly.
The Haunt has a similar random quality.

The only issue I have in terms of replay value is that there are not a great deal of cards, especially when it comes to omens.
Due to the limited amount of Omen cards, you will see the same Omens almost every game.
Obviously, having more would have an adverse effect on the Haunt system.
 I still think BaHotH is a game that would be ripe for an expansion in the future, however, I think that is probably an unlikely prospect.
It isn't the newest game, and it hasn't had an expansion as of yet.

I digress!

Overall I think that the wait was worth it.
This is a great game!

Easy going, simple to understand, full of flavour and competitive to a degree.
Something I'd recommend anyone wanting to play an engaging Board Game, but want to have the ability to sit back and relax at the same time.
 It is also great for those who aren't into complex games, whilst retaining enough substance to keep those who crave a bit of difficulty interested.

If you're interested in playing this game (you'll be lucky to find a reasonably priced copy mind), I strongly recommend downloading a 'Betrayal Character Sheet' app on your phone/tablet, or simply using a pen and paper instead of those black clip on sliders.
It will save you a lot of hassle.

I use this one found on the Google play store.




It is a pretty simple and elegant design.
And, it is free!
Can't go wrong really!


That's all for this issue of 'The Cardboard Cartographer.'
I hope you enjoyed this slightly longer than normal issue.

Until next time, if you want to get in touch I'd love to hear from you!

Have you played Betrayal at House on the Hill? What did you think?
What other horror themed games do you like?
Do you have any recommendations to play or avoid?

Feel free to comment on this blog, or Tweet me @DarKHaZZl3

Thanks for reading!

-DH-

30. He bends and he breaks...

'...If he gives they will take away
His passion, his pain, his grace
He exhales,
A thousand black flowers explode
Into butterflies as they're away
Rip them out, take them,
Burn to coals as they crush and leave nothing
That resembles a soul of a man
See him numb, see him crushed...'
So, despite my push for normalcy I've not exactly kept myself on an even keel.
I've suffered some setbacks; some of my own design, some out of my control (family matter and the like).
I am doing better, but I'm a long way from... I don't even know what or where I'm heading towards.
Some form of equilibrium?
I'd settle for something not soul destroying. Every day.

Anyway, 'The Cardboard Cartographer' is set to return soon.
I've been doing some research into a handful of games (by research, I mean playing = P), as well as a couple of topics to talk about.
So expect a return of Table Top glory soon!

The Underhive Hero has been chugging along quite nicely (up until aforementioned family matters).
I don't seem the hobby momentum dying too much any time soon, so I might get something finished!

Other than the vapidity of society I don't really feel like writing anything satirical, and my various 'gaming' projects have all died.
The Village Idiots, M.I.A.

I'd try and resurrect some of them, but I can't really manage this much stuff without being in an optimistic frame of mind.

Hey, it was an update right?
-DH-

29. 'RISK;' remeberance and review. The Cardboard Cartograhpher issue 5.

Welcome back to the Cardboard Cartographer!

My apologies for the brief hiatus, but I find it is better to write when in a fair mood than to force yourself to write when in a foul one. So without further adieu, issue 5!

This issue sees us cover an old classic. RISK

For those of you that have never played, or even heard of RISK; where have you been!?
RISK is very much a mainstream board game.
 It has numerous variants on various different platforms, as well as corporate sell out versions (Lord of the Rings, Halo, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia... the list goes on).

But here we're just going to focus on the core system; the one inherited from the original

RISK Review

'Risk is a strategy board game produced by Parker Brothers (now a division of Hasbro). It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde ("The Conquest of the World") in France' - Wikipedia

RISK is turn based strategy game for two to six player. Players take turns in deploying reinforcements, attacking enemy territories and reorganising their armies in order to achieve specific goals.
There are three different game types in classic risk;
Conquer the world - pretty straightforward,
Capitals -  Players must hold 'x' amount of Capitals; secretly nominated territories, to win,
or
Missions - Players must complete a set mission(s) to win. These can vary from control 'x' amount of territories, to control 'y' continent and 'z' continent at the end of a players turn.

Game Play.

The game itself isn't too difficult, but it does take a while to explain (like all good board games =D).

Players roll off to decide who goes first and the territory cards are dealt out, then take it in turns in placing their remaining troops on locations they own.
Players proceed to go round the table in turn order taking their turn.

A turn consists of the following actions;
Receiving reinforcements.
A player gains reinforcements equal to the amount of territories he/she owns divided by three, to a minimum of three.
Example;
Player A has 15 territories, thus receives 5 reinforcements.
Player B has 4 territories, thus receives 3 reinforcements.

Players also gain extra reinforcements if the control every territory on a continent. Continents are colour coded, so it is easy to track which territories belong to which continent. There is a legend on the board which indicates the value of each continent.
Example;
Player C owns Europe. This grants an extra 5 reinforcements, as well as any gained by the amount of territories owned.

In addition to this, players may also hand in 'Sets' to gain extra reinforcements (this is one of the largest areas in RISK where there have been many different variations).
They all revolve around a system of drawing a face down card at the end of a player turn, but only if that player conquered at least 1 enemy territory.
In this review I'll be going over the classic system of reinforcements;

Players can hand in a set of three cards to gain extra troops. The amount gained is based on the symbols shown on the card
If all 3 cards are Infantry, then the player gains 4 extra troops
If all 3 cards are Cavalry, then the player gains 6 extra troops
If all 3 cards are artillery, then the player gains 8 extra troops
If the player has one of each card, then the player gains 10 extra troops.
Note: There is a 'Joker' card. This may be used instead of any card, as any card. For example; if a Player has a joker, two infantry and a cavalry, then the player may used the joker as either an infantry to complete an infantry set for 4 reinforcements or as artillery to make a set that gains 10 reinforcements.

Once a player has placed all their reinforcements they then may choose to attack a territory.

Players attack a territory by rolling dice and comparing them to their opponents roll. For every dice roll that 'wins' the relevant player looses a troops. In the case of drawn rolls the defender wins the roll.
Example; Player A is attacking and rolls 3 dice. He gets 1, 5, and 6
Player B is defending and rolls 2 dice. He gets a 4 and a 6.
Player B's 6 beats the attacking 6 of player A. Player A losses 1 troops
Player A's 5 beats player B's 4. Player B losses 1 troop.
The third dice is discounted.

The amount of dice that can be rolled is determined by the amount of troops a territory has. If a territory has 1 or 2 troops it can only roll 1 dice, if it has 3 or more it can roll up to 2 dice and if it has 3 or more it can roll up to 3 dice.
Rolling more dice increases the chances of a player winning a roll off, but also increases the risk of taking more casualties.
In addition, when a territory is conquered, the attacking player must move a minimum amount of troops corresponding with the amount of dice rolled; if you rolled three dice and conquered a territory, you must move at least 3 troops.

This goes on until the attacker decides to stop or the territory is taken.
If by taking a territory a player is knocked out of the game, the attacking player takes their cards and discards down to five (max hand size).

This process goes on until a player wins.

First Impressions.

 It is difficult for me to give a honest account of my first impressions of this game. The first version I played was the 80's version:

The pieces were basic, but it was simple, clear and easy to get to grips with. Locating the territories could be a pain, but you do get used to it.

Since then little has changed.
The territories may have had name changes, the pieces may look a little different and the variants add new mechanics and elements, but the visual aesthetic and the overall game play remain the same.

I think as the game has matured it has become more visually appealing, and simpler to understand what exactly is going on. Which can only be a good thing.

Personal Opinion.

 RISK is the game I love to hate to love.

I love it because It is a classic. It has luck, it has strategy and its main mechanic is based on player vs player conflict. This keeps up the intensity and makes sure you're always on edge. The combination is an exciting but stressful gaming experience.

I hate it because it is RISK. It is old as time itself, and thus, inherently flawed.
Firstly, if you fall behind in the game for whatever reason, you probably won't recover. While I like this in the sense that it makes you think through your actions, it can sometimes be a result of sever bad luck on part of one player.

This would be so bad if it wasn't for my second issue...
The game last forever! Even if you have players being super aggressive, there is only so far you can go with limited resources. This doesn't pose a huge problems from Capitals or Missions, but in a conquer the world game it is a nightmare. You will sink hours upon hours into this game. If you went out early, you will probably end up going home (unless you are hosting, where you are screwed).

Third. Tactics, or the lack of variables.
RISK would at first seem to have a wide variety of tactical nuances, but it really doesn't. You either tank you reinforcements, go all out attack, or something in the middle. The last one is the only viable tactic if you ever hope to get anywhere.
So then it becomes a question of placement. To which there are 'terrible' places to be. South America, for example. If you start in South America, you either need to; get out, or give up.
On the flip side, if you manage to take and hold Australasia for a turn or two, you've pretty much won. All you need to do is slowly expand and break other players continents.



This may come across as a very narrow view of RISK in action, but from what I've experienced in over a decade of playing RISK, and from what I've read, this is pretty much the consensus.
 Newer versions of risk, and its variants try and address this issue, with a varying degree of success. In the original version, it just becomes a game of predictability. The only thing that keeps you guessing, is when the other players will stab you in the back.

So what do you guys think?
What is you favourite version of risk?
Do you have a memorable moment?

Let me know in the comments, or hit me up @DarKHaZZl3 on Twitter
Until next time.

-DH-