Where to jump in on board games, anime, books, and movies as a Nerd
Over the years, I have played a wide variety of board games and have a lot in my collection. I have pure Euro games and bit dice chucking Amerithrash games. This got me thinking about the different types of gamers that people are and which …
So this is a new series of posts that is going to happen when I sell off a game, or get rid of a game. It is hard to get rid of games, if a game has stuck on my shelf to now, that means …
Can you lead the robots in this cooperative game as they try and take back control of their programming from their human overlords?
Pros
Cons
The Page
Chip Theory Games are definitely a well established company at this point with hits like Too Many Bones and Cloudspire under their belt. Their offices are also within a 2 minute drive of where I work. That said, I think that the page is laid out fine, generally.
I think that the receipt/print out idea with everything you get is cute, but that came before anything game play related. The game play idea gives you an idea of how the game works, and I like that they explain everything while having videos scattered throughout it. In my opinion, you need the printed explanation.
The Game
This game has a lot going on in it. A lot of the Chip Theory Games do, Too Many Bones gives you a lot of interesting choices and little battles to face before you go and face off against the big bad. So many choices.
To me, this game looks a bit like the “everything and the kitchen sink” to get this game working. There are so many things on the board that you have to choose, how you modify your robot for that round, where you are in the burncycle, spending action points, moving around the main board, hacking the system, dealing with threat. This seems like a lot to keep track of. I don’t know that their other games have that much less to keep track of, though when I demoed Too Many Bones at GenCon last year, it did seem like less going on, or fewer things at least to be thinking about. It also seems like a lot with basically mechanics that are similar to roll and move.
Back or Brick
Now, first I will say I accidentally read the title as buncycle with how it is written/font used the first time. I was very interested in a game about rabbit robots fighting against evil corporations, that is not what this game is about. Had I read it right, would I be more interested, possibly? For me this is a brick right now. It’s one that I’d be interested in demoing and seeing how it plays, but there’s just so much stuff in the game and I know from Chip Theory Games the production will be amazing, but I’m trying to figure out how and when I’d play the game, and I just don’t quite see this as a game that’d hit my table all that often or be the easiest sell because of everything that is going on it.
How about for you, is this game a Back or a Brick?
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You’ve been taken to the lands of the fae, will you be able to find a portal and escape in this narrative and exploration game by Greenbrier Games? Pros Solo game play Theme Not a campaign Story elements Price for Retail Established Company Cons Shipping …
You’re a prisoner and labor at the 7th Citadel when something happens and you are able to escape, will you and what will you find in the world outside of the Citadel? Pros Theme World Adventure and Story Game Unique Characters Campaign Game Cons Campaign …
Can you get the most treasure to your ship or will the octopus get you in this dexterity flicking game?
Pros
Cons
The Page
This is a well laid out Kickstarter page. What I really like about it is that it highlights the pieces and aesthetic, but also highlights the game and game play. Now, it doesn’t have minis so they don’t have to do all the glamour shots of the minis, but it does a good job of highlighting and getting right to the point of how the game works.
I also like when you can get previous games as well, that helps them keep this game affordable and not need an insanely high number of backers to reach the stretch goals. Add in that Itten isn’t highly distributed in the US that I’ve seen, it means that these games which I have mainly seen at cons are available to a US audience again.
The Game
The game itself seems like a lot of fun. I like dexterity and flicking games generally because they’re good for a light and fun time. And I feel like flicking with the flags and just how the game works, it seems like it is going to have some interesting and different feeling things to it.
I also like that it doesn’t seem too simple or too complicated. With a flicking or dexterity game, I want more going on than just playing Jenga, but I don’t want a lot of convoluted rules about where things can go, and how I have to do everything, because that’s no fun. This looks to hit that balance of a fun game you can play while drinking but also one that you need to think about a little bit.
Back or Brick
So is this game a back or a brick for me? For me this was an easy back. The price is great, I know the company and I know that they make amazing products, I have Tokyo Highway, that are almost art pieces, so I expect the same from this game. I also just love the goofiness of the theme. Plus, the price point and shipping are really good. Compared to a CMON Kickstarter or one with minis, the value is there and the game play looks to be there as well. Now, I like dexterity games a lot, so that colors it a bit for me as well, but a good selling point for me.
So how about for you, is this game a Back or a Brick?
Share questions, ideas for articles, or comments with us!
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We’re back for a special edition of Back or Brick as I look at the expansion for the superhero fighting cooperative game based off of the Brandon Sanderson series, The Reckoners. Pros Amazing Theme Amazing Components Cooperative Game Can get Base Game as well as …
So, this second post for today comes from a thread over on Board Game Geek called “The 7 Sins of Boardgaming” and I thought while reading through it, I should do that. I should write up some of my “rules” for board gaming. Obviously, each …
This standalone expansion for the game Nemesis takes you back as you face off against more aliens and fight for your survival. This time, instead of a spaceship, you’re fight for survival will take place on a secret Mars base.
Pros
Cons
Page Thoughts
Awaken Realms is the current “King of Kickstarter” having taken that crown, in my opinion, from CMON. And even though they don’t hold the top spot for a board game, that’d be Frosthaven, they just do consistently good work throughout and the quality of their games is very high.
I don’t actually love that you get so much in terms of components and minis to start, I want some game play information higher up, and in particular, how does this different from something like Nemesis, the base game. However, even with that, I’m glad to see that the core concept of the game seems to have said the same.
Back or Brick
For me, this was one that I had missed before I was really checking out kickstarter, that is the base game for Nemesis. So when I heard a standalone expansion was coming for it, I thought that might be a good jumping off point, and then it came out that you can actually get the base game as part of it as well. So for me, this was an easy Back but not for the standalone expansion. If that hits retail I’ll get it later, but more because I wanted to get the base game. So I am backing for that, to get the original game and it’s expansions, even though that’s a bit more expensive. For me, the theme just sounds great, and while it can be played and is made to be played semi-cooperatively, it seems like one that is going to be tough enough that you can probably just play fully cooperative. But, yeah, I love the alien theme, I like the horror element to the game, this is the type of game for me.
How about you, is this a back or a brick?
Share questions, ideas for articles, or comments with us!
Email us at nerdologists@gmail.com
Message me directly on Twitter at @TheScando
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There are a lot of videos and thoughts on how to teach a board game well as it can be a hard thing to do. Especially for bigger games, it can take a long time or it can be a lot of information dumped on …