Here's What I've Been Playing This (Last) Week: PART TWO
Fury Of Dracula: I finally got this to the table and it was worth the wait! It's quite a lengthy game but we managed to squeeze two games in. The first game I naturally was going to be Dracula, as the only one who knew the rules (and host privilege), but we all went into the first game a little blind not knowing exactly how things would pan out. I started in Spain, one location space away from a hunter. It was a gamble but I was against the coast and figured the hunter would head inland. My instincts were correct and within three turns I felt safe to roam around Spain as I pleased leaving Vampires and traps wherever I went. Unfortunately the hunters caught a news break that led to my whereabouts and a few train rides later and I was worried I'd be found. I set off some fog that had matured on two coastal locations, masking the actual port I departed for sea from. It worked flawlessly and the hunters then counted distance I travelled at sea and spoke loudly of exactly where they thought I would be and where I was headed (Castle Dracula via Athens). They all took the bait and stormed towards Castle Dracula to prevent me from recovering my shipwrecked damage, but little did they know I was headed for the UK. There's exactly 6 spaces in the UK, combined with an ability (feed to give myself something) it took up a week in the game and allowed me to mature a vampire with a rumor token reaching the 13 influence points required. They searched all of eastern europe to no avail and only realized where I was when it was already too late to reach me. First game, one point to me. The second game I decided to go a hunter and as a group we managed to take Dracula down in combat. He put up a decent fight but once we had him trapped with no way to return to sea, all he could do was delay the inevitable. After two plays, I'm happy with my purchase. Fury of Dracula is a bit too long, but it's hard to notice how long it's taking when your playing. You need a committed group of 5 with a good three hours to spend on the one game which unfortunately makes it a bit tough in our playing groups so I'm not sure when FOD will make a return to the table. Until then I will be eagerly anticipating it's return. Worth buying if you have the time and people to play it with.
Camel Up: The last time I played this was when travelling in Canada about a year ago. This much talked about and awarded game is easy to play and a bit of fun, but I wouldn't call it spectacular. We played it four times this past week as two people kept wanting to play, and while I enjoyed all four games I was always ready to move onto something with a bit more meat in it. With the right group on the right night, a casual relaxed evening with some new to gaming, Camel Up is a good choice. Easy, random, fun, quick, looks good, accessible.. lots of good gaming qualities. It's very luck based but done in a fun way so it doesn't matter too much and features some good components. If you like some lighter gambling fun, this will be a hit. If your looking for anything with substance, then I'd suggest you pass over Camel Up or expect just to play it once before the main event.
Jamaica: Only the third time I've been able to play Jamaica. I love the extra touches in the artwork like the chest of treasure box, the connecting artwork on the cards and just the rule book/map in general. A lot of effort has gone on here. The game itself - It's ok. I quite enjoyed it the first two times I played it, but on this play it seemed to drag on. A lot of fighting, a lot of being sent back 10 spaces, and a lot of nothing turns contributed to the long play time. It says an hour but in this six player game I think we were bordering two hours. It was still enjoyable, but I won't be rushing to bring it back out for a bit.
Saboteur: We had a six player game of Saboteur right after Jamaica as we wanted something quick to learn and play. I decided for this game to use all the role cards, meaning we could have had all miners or possibly even all saboteurs (which I thought would make for an interesting game until we realized). As it turns out, there were only two miners and four saboteurs in our first game. Me and the other miner somehow managed to get only one card away from the gold but couldn't withstand the onslaught once the saboteurs realized how many of them there actually was. Still, it made for a fun round of this simple classic that I'm generally happy to play anytime we have at least 5 players.
Mansions Of Madness: Second Edition: I've only recently taken the journey into the world of Lovecraft and Mansions was the first game I purchased, purely on whim. After playing with the pieces, reading the rules, looking through the app, setting everything up a couple times and a month or so of having the game.. I finally got to try it! Four of us set out on the first quest which I won't spoil at all, and well three of us had a great time and the last guy was most likely just too tired (was dozing off at the table!). To be fair it was about 2am.. MoM is a cool game. I love the world, the eeriness, the story, the puzzles. It's a lot of fun and while its as long as Dracula (if not longer in some of the scenario's?), it's perfectly playable with two or three people which gives me a bit more hope that It'll find it's way onto the table again sooner rather then later. And yes we beat the first scenario but I'm pretty sure we missed a few rules along the way. It didn't matter too much as we were having fun and thats the main point of a game, but it's us vs the computer so while I'd rather play properly, a few missed rules isn't going to give anyone an advantage per se. I need to try this a couple more times before claiming this a favourite, but the first experience was very positive!
Board Games Purchased This Week:
Lords Of Waterdeep: Scoundrels Of Skullport - Another expansion to another game I haven't played enough of yet! I really enjoy Lords of Waterdeep and everything I've read about Skullport seems to suggest it is a must have and adds some complexity to the game. I was already hooked just because it was an expansion to a game I like, but all the positive buzz didn't hurt. Not sure why another expansion has never been released, but after looking through the box and reading the rules I kinda wish there was more too buy! Oh and again, props to Wizards of the Coasts for making another excellent insert for all the pieces. Wish everyone could copy their style!
http://disse86.deviantart.com/art/Cthulhu-594128034
