Numbsters

Not all Button Shy little games are hits for me. But I found Numbsters to be an enjoyable surprise. I think this one works well because it is that little bit of a puzzle of a game. It seems easy at the start (though at the start of the video I was playing it wrong), but each game as you get closer and closer to the end, there is always a complicating factor. And I appreciate that it is part of the game.

The stress curve of the game is right. When you play with a ton of options, you just pick one more so. And as you get closer to the end, there is more planning that goes into it. I am sure as I get better at Numbsters I will strategize better. And to win you likely need to pay attention a bit more earlier. But the game is that right balance of simplicity and thinky.

The game is also really fast. In my video I get through one partial wrong play and three right plays in the video. And it is not a long stream. Nor is it a game that takes up a lot of space. That is another good thing for a small solo game. I don’t need to have a whole table. And this one is easily playable on an airplane tray at most space. Obviously I lay it out for the stream, but that isn’t needed.

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I play small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well. And I might do more deck construction with Star Wars Unlimited on Mondays as well or pack openings.

On Wednesdays I will be starting my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition. That’ll be starting a week from today. I think I said today, but my schedule doesn’t allow for it today. So join me for that coming up. And then I plan on getting back to gaming.

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

Also checkout this article for upcoming changes to the channel.

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A Gentle Rain

This is a very simple game and one that I got recently. In fact I mentioned that some people might consider this more of an activity. But as you can see in my TableTopTakes Review, that is one thing that I look for in solo games. There are two types of solo games I look for, the big story games and the small easy to sit down and play games. A Gentle Rain falls into that last category.

Normally, I am someone who loves the experience you get from a game. How does something as small as A Gentle Rain give me an experience? It doesn’t give me that big experience, but it gives me a calming experience. I use a small, simple game like A Gentle Rain as a kind of mental palette cleanser. Games allow me to reset mentally and look at problems and things from a different direction. Getting a big solo game to the table to do that is a lot of work, so something small like A Gentle Rain works really well.

Do you use board games as a mental reset or what do you use? I know a lot of people use video games or other things like that, but for me I find that board games work the best. Especially something like A Gentle Rain with it’s calming packaging and theme.

The Beer

Last night my beer was from a long way away. I drove it all the way back from Syracuse, NY and it is a local brewery based out of Utica, NY. I was traveling over Memorial Day weekend out to NY, and while I normally love to try and stop at a brewery, I didn’t have the time to do that. But I was able to bring back a few beers from Saranac Brewing out of Utica. Last nights was their Summertime Pils, and while it wasn’t anything special, it wasn’t bad either. The taste was very clean and simple which makes it a good beer for summer days.

Do you go to breweries or try local beers when you travel? That is something that I try hard to do when I visit a new city or town. Whether I go to the brewery or a restaurant, I try and find a beer to sample. And sometimes I come home with some cans or a growler.

Malts and Meeples Next Week

So two streams again next week. Firstly on Monday I am going to do my Top 10 Cooperative Board Games. That was a request when I did my Top 10 Small Games. So join me for that discussion about games.

Then on Wednesday, I think I will be getting back to the base box of Arkham Horror The Card Game. Let’s see how Wendy is able to do in this second scenario of the base game. And I think I have some leveling up of her character to do.

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Pros:
– I like action selection
– Cheap price point
– Variability in game play depending on actions available
– Solo Play
– Interesting theme

Cons:
– Aesthetically only okay
– Previously failed
– Limited rules description

Thoughts on the Campaign Page:
They’ve only sent it out to one or two people to preview for what basically is a card game. they should have been able to prototype a few more copies and it into more hands. I understand that they probably don’t want to pay for more previews for the game, but that would help.

I also think that it looks okay, but not great aesthetically. It’s more that it’s not just my style, though.

But the big thing for me is the rules. Yes, it has a solo variant and that’s cool. I feel like their description is a little bit simple, I would love to see examples of more cards than they’ve provided, because I think that the concept of the game and the mechanics combined with theme could be really cool, but while I have a general idea of how to play, I don’t have a full picture of some of the mechanics of the game or how some of the different rotating abilities will work.

Verdict:
I hope that this game funds, and I hope that it makes it to retail. I want to get my hands on this game and see how it plays, because the idea for it is cool. If it was a company that I knew more about, I think that I’d be more interested in backing it.

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In Age of War, you are rolling dice trying to match symbols are Japanese fortresses. To do this, you have to be able to place a dice each roll or you lose a die. But you’re completing sections, not just placing a single die each time. So some sections it might be, get four swords, the highest sword count is 3, so you’d have to use at least two dice to get that. When you complete one, if you can on your turn, it goes in front of you and is going to give you points. However, it’ll give you more points if you complete a set of like colored fortresses because they flip over and it’s a higher point total. Once someone has claimed a fortress, they aren’t safe though because for a slightly higher cost, it can be stolen from you. So players might fight over a fortress trying to complete their color set, or to stop a player who is getting close to locking in a color set. Because once they are locked in with a full set, they can’t be stolen anymore. In the end, once all fortresses have been claimed, the player with the most points wins.

This game does a lot of things that people are familiar with, rolling a die, saving it to match symbols. It has a feel like Yahtzee or King of Tokyo, though those games have more of a set limit on number of times you can roll. But the mechanic remains that familiar dice rolling. One thing that I like about this dice rolling that’s different than the games that I mentioned is that you are locking in or tossing out a die each turn. You can’t pick up discarded or locked dice to reroll, and once you decide which fortress you’re going for, you are locked in. So it can be tempting to push for a big once, but that is going to take more luck with your rolls. Also, with the dice rolling, I talked about the swords, there are more sword sides than other symbols, there are three other symbols, but you need to use your swords smartly. In my example, I was looking to get up to four swords, so using two dice is what you want to do, if I have to use three and then I’m looking for specific symbols later, I’ve lowered the number of dice that I’m going to be rolling.

What also works in this game is the ability to steal fortresses. I think without that the game would feel stale and players would probably just go for the most expensive fortress first, in terms of how many dice you need to complete it and victory points given, and then just work down. Though, that might not be the best plan all of the time. But being able to steal and trying to get sets creates more player interaction and while it is just one sided because they can’t defend against it being stolen, it adds an interesting piece to the game. That combined with colors locking if you have a complete set adds some strategy to what you’re trying to roll for. But it isn’t just as easy if as getting in the first place. There’s always an additional symbol that you need to roll, so the cost is going to be higher to steal, so is it worth it to push for that if there are still castles of similar prices and points out there? It still is just about pushing your luck, but it gives you more interesting choices to work on.

There are a few final things working for this game for me. First, it’s an easy game, the dice rolling feels familiar and the rules are easy to teach. And with minimal pieces in the game, you can set it up fast and get it to the table. It also plays up to 6, and I think it works well at that number, probably better at a slightly lower number, but with six, sure, it takes longer to get back to your turn, but it doesn’t add additional length to the game. Which is the final thing I wanted to mention, this is a fast game, so that helps, it’s fast to teach, turns are pretty fast, and the game is done quickly. For a game that comes in a small package, that is what I really want to see.

Overall, I like this game. It’s a good easy filler that offers more than some filler games. It gives you a few choices while being easy to get to the table, play, and put away while waiting for more people to show up for a game night. For some people, it’s going to be lacking because it really does come down to the luck of a die roll quite often, but it offers some choices, and that’s what I want in the game. I think that it’s pretty fun for what it is, and it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.

Overall Grade: B-
Gamer Grade: C
Casual Grade: B

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It might be a bad idea to hire a bunch of blind fireworks employees, but that’s the theory behind Hanabi, you, and everyone else you’re playing with, are trying to create the best fireworks show possible, but you can’t see your own hand of cards. In fact, they are facing away from you so that everyone else can see them. On your turn you can do one of three things, you can spend a clue token to give someone a clue about the fireworks that they have, you can either point to all the cards of a certain number of all the cards of a certain color in their hand and let them know what the number or color is. Or you can play down a card onto a firework either start a firework, playing the one card, or to continue a firework, playing the next highest number of that color. Or, finally, you can discard a card to get back a clue token. If there aren’t clue tokens, you can’t give a clue, so hopefully you know what’s safe in your hand to discard or play.

This game has a ton of fun tension to it. Does the person who is coming up know what to do, can you give them a clue that will keep them from discarding the only five of a color and maybe discard a one that has already been played. The mechanics of the game are really simple for the amount of tension that it causes. Sometimes, you think you have the perfect clue, because you want them to know that they have a blue four, but, then you realize that they have more blue cards and they have more fours, so it won’t focus them in on a single card. Or maybe you want to let them know that they can discard a card so you can get another clue back, but is that the best use of your clue to get a clue? But sometimes there might not be a better option.

Hanabi is one of those games that the longer you play it, the better you’re going to get at it, because you’ll know what the better clues are. And, I think that is what really makes Hanabi shine as a game. Mainly because if you can remember where cards are in your hand and previous clues, clues for you can then be built upon. Maybe blue isn’t that useful and four isn’t that useful, but using both will help you get to the blue four, but hopefully will also let people know about other parts of their hand. For example, if they can see the blue five, and the blue fireworks are at a 3, they know that their other blue card isn’t needed. This, however, requires both the clues given to be good and that the person can remember, and while I think that it’s possible to do both, it’s really hard to know since, you don’t know what five cards you have in your own hand perfectly.

For me, this is one of those games that when it gets to the table, because it plays fast, 15-30 minutes depending on number of players and familiarity with the game, it generally gets played a second time, and maybe a third. Now, I can see how this might go over poorly, I’ve played with different groups and it’s gone over well, but especially for a new person into a group of experienced players, they won’t understand the full strategy of giving clues, because of inexperience. If this leads to visible frustration in the more experienced players, I can definitely see that souring the experience for the new player. And if you are a player who would get frustrated, I can understand not wanting to teach it, especially if you are going for the elusive 25 point perfect victory. But generally, this is a game that’ll get played twice and because I haven’t gotten the perfect 25 and no one I’ve played with has, we always want to try and do better the second time.

Piggy backing off of what I just said, I think that is one of the things that makes this a good cooperative game. And while not all cooperative games do this, I think that this game and Letter Jam which uses a number of similar things to Hanabi, do well is create that score that you always want to better. I assume that you could end up getting perfect scores on both and decide that you’re done with them because you can’t get better, but I think that isn’t that likely to happen or happen often that Hanabi is always going to be a challenge. And the fact that the deck is a random shuffle means that all the games are going to be different, though you’ll go through all of the cards.

Overall, you can tell that I really enjoy this game. I really like cooperative games, and I like that this one comes in a small package. Not only that, but it also does something that is different. People understand the idea of playing cards down in ascending order, but Hanabi is a twist upon that they won’t have seen. I’ve had good luck with this in several settings and player counts. I think it’s better at a higher count because you have more options of clues to give, but at two players it was fun as well. It’s been a while since I’ve played this one, but, now I want to play it again. And because of the time frame for it, it is one that I can pull out and get to the table easier.

Overall Grade: B+
Gamer Grade: B
Casual Grade: B+

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