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Off the Grid reviews Ghoulash
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Last time on Off the Grid, we looked at the über-complicated Universal Fighting System. Attempting to ward off a headache, this week I've decided to look at Ghoulash, a dungeon-crawling 2-player paper game that doesn't do much in the strategy department, but makes up for it with easy-to-learn gameplay, and a stylish means of publication.Ghoulash is best described as a pared down version of Dungeons and Dragons, where both players are DMing for each other. Game boards are sold in Ghoulash "Scenario Pack" magazines, each featuring three unique scenarios, with four copies each. Each scenario features a map of the 2D terrain, and special instructions on top of the basic rules. Both players use copies of the same map at the same time, making the game a race to see who can complete the objectives first.
Off the Grid reviews Universal Fighting System
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Chun Li versus Seung Mina; Nightmare versus Morrigan; Akuma versus Tycho Brahe: Ultimate showdowns we're likely never to see outside of crudely-written fan-fiction and our own fevered dreamings. Luckily for us, Sabertooth Games has devised the Universal Fighting System, a collectible card game that allows players to mix and match licensed decks to create legendary one-on-one battles.There's one problem, or maybe I should call it a caveat: UFS isn't going to be for everybody. Beyond the gorgeous illustrations, and clear appeal to video game fans, this is most definitely a gamer's game; cards are littered with special icons, point values, and ancillary functions that dwarf the relative simplicity of CCGs like Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon. Of course, the reward for this technical complexity is depth, with an incredibly strategic experience waiting to be unlocked by the hardiest of players. Not to deter you, but let this be a warning: A casual card game this is not.
Off the Grid reviews Horse Fair Card Game
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.We're not supposed to judge books by their covers, and the same can logically be applied to games. We are, however, supposed to judge books by their content -- the story, the writing, and everything else that falls between the first and last pages -- and here is where games are slightly different. While sharp writing, or a good story can often strengthen a non-digital game, ultimately it's the design that determines whether it's any good.So yes, Custom Game Co's Horse Fair Card Game has a pretty bland cover. And yes, the story is pretty much explained by the title. And yes, it does come with plastic horsies. But the only thing that really matters is the gameplay, and there Horse Fair Card Game proves that it's a lot more than just a game for little girls.
Off the Grid: Long-distance gaming
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital."Non-digital games are awesome" is the line I usually insist upon in this column. But even awesome analog games have their faults: namely, if you don't have anyone to play with, you can't really play.So, as an end-of-year treat, let's look back at the last year+ of games reviewed, and find some ways to play those suckers against some internet folk:Settlers of CatanI still haven't gotten around to reviewing Settlers, but I did chat with Brian Reynolds about the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game, which is probably the best bet for consistent, high-volume net play.For those who don't have an Xbox 360 (like, well, me), Aso Brain Games hosts an unofficial, Java-based version of the game called Xplorers. After a free registration, the site allows users to player ranked and un-ranked versions against other users and bots, and features a number of expansion and additions to the base rules, which can be toggled on or off. Don't let the low-fi look of the site dissuade you; Xplorers is a well-put-together Settlers clone, with a solid interface and a consistent number of users online at any time.
Off the Grid reviews It's Alive!
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Oddly enough, it's a very appropriate time to review designer Yehuda Berlinger's debut game. In its original incarnation, It's Alive! was a Chanukah-themed title known as The Menorah Game. Upon being picked up by publisher Reiver Games, however, the theme was changed to something a bit more universal: building monsters from the remains of the dead.Aside from the bizarre re-skinning, It's Alive! remains mechanically identical to its holiday-oriented ancestor. Two to five players compete to be the first to assemble their monster by collecting the eight different types of body parts required. It used to be candles, and now it's body parts. A simple transition.More than just a monster game, It's Alive! is hand-published by Reiver Games, with care and attention given to the game's presentation. From the stellar illustrations, to the individually-numbered editions, It's Alive! embodies the indie aesthetic of non-digital games, and that alone is most definitely worth something.
Off the Grid reviews Ticket to Ride
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Alan R. Moon's Ticket to Ride is widely considered to be one of the greatest board games of the last decade, but the reason for this may elude players at first. After all, Ticket to Ride is deceptively simplistic, with a weak fiction to justify a gameplay mechanic that's little more than connecting dots on a board. Players who invest in the experience, however, can quickly find that Moon's award-winning game is greater than the sum of its parts.The original version of Ticket to Ride takes place in North America at the turn of the 20th century. Players compete to travel around the U.S. (and parts of Canada), claiming various train routes between cities in order to earn points. The game would like you to believe that it's a grand race across the country; even the back of the box states that the objective is to travel to the most cities by train in just 7 days. Unfortunately, the rules and gameplay don't really justify this grandiose storyline.
Off the Grid reviews Zombie Fluxx
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital. I'm a little late for Halloween, but that shouldn't mean I have to miss out on all the spooky fun. Luckily, Looney Labs have sent along Zombie Fluxx, a standalone expansion to their ever-popular card game with the ever-changing rules.Zombie Fluxx isn't just a clever re-skinning of the original, but rather a new set of rules and cards built on to the existing mechanics. The base game remains the same: 2-6 players amend and append the game's starting rules, while attempting to win by collecting Keepers to meet the conditions of the goal, which is constantly in a state of, well, you know.This time around, Looney Labs have included some new mechanics to spice up the gameplay. Zombies enter the fray as "Creeper" cards. Unlike the helpful Keepers the Creepers can actually prevent players from winning, as some goals dictate that a player needs to be zombie-free to claim victory. Unlike all other cards, Creepers go immediately into play once drawn, rather than into the player's hand, making every draw from the deck a possible immediate zombie encounter.
Off the Grid: Out of country (part two)
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column normally about gaming away from the television screen or monitor. I got a lot of interesting comments in response to last week's piece on gaming while abroad. More people empathized with my situation than I had originally expected, and had their own unique solutions to the problem.Overwhelmingly, most expat gamers seem to rely on portables to keep playing games internationally. Some gamers took the full dive and purchased new consoles for their new region. Still others suggested using VGA cables and computer monitors, or reminded me that most modern televisions sold in Europe support NTSC signals, nullifying the problem entirely.But I'm not going to buy a television, because they're bulky and I don't feel like it. Instead, I invested in a tiny, tiny piece of hardware that lets me play my console games on my laptop. It's called the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid and, irony of ironies, it's for Macs only.
Off the Grid: Out of country
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column normally about gaming away from the television screen or monitor. I'm breaking from tradition to answer a nagging question: What happens to a gamer when he moves to another country?And I'm not talking about board and card games here. I'm talking about the console and portable gamers. In the face of voltage conversions, video signals, and region-locking, how does an invested gamer stay on the grid?I ask the question because I went through this same problem very recently. Two weeks ago, I made the move from the east coast of the United States to the south of France. Being invested in games not only casually, but professionally, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to bring along my consoles, and therefore be out of the gaming loop for the entirety of my European residency.Luckily, however, I was able to devise a feasible solution, and my American-born consoles have been operating overseas without any problems. So, waving a temporary bye-bye to the non-digital gaming focus of this column, I'd like to share my recipe for international gaming success.
Off the Grid: Travel edition
Returning from hiatus, Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column on gaming away from the television screen or monitor. What happens to a gamer when he moves out of the country? Well, for one, he loses his group of gamer buddies -- the people he could call up to come over and play a cool new card game or board game with him. He also loses a lot of his games; those hefty Carcassonne and RoboRally boxes are a bit too big to fit in his already-stuffed luggage.But before he arrives in his new country of residence, our traveling gamer first has to get on a plane, prepared for many, many hours of recycled air and the same crappy film over and over again. What's our gamer to do?Well, if he's smart, pull out his DS or PSP. But if our gamer is trying to keep it off the grid, or if he forgot his portable, then it might be time for some travel-sized game choices. It's a good thing he reads Off the Grid, huh?
College teams compete for eco-dominance in the Solar Decathlon
This summer, teams of college students have amassed on their school campuses to create solar-only, off-the-grid, self-powered homes, which will eventually compete in Washington D.C. for the Department of Energy's 2007 Solar Decathlon. To build the houses, students are limited to currently available, off-the-shelf technologies, and must also focus on design, comfort, and market viability. The groups will move their eco-friendly homes to the National Mall in D.C., where the "solar village" of houses will be open for touring by the general public, and will be scored by judges for architecture, engineering, and energy balance, amongst others. The whole shebang is sponsored by heavy-hitters like Sprint and BP, but it's unclear whether the winning team receives prizes beyond the knowledge that their solar home crushed the others in head-to-head combat.[Via CNET]
Rumor: Puerto Rico coming to XBLA
It looks like board game lovers are going to be getting even more Euro gaming goodness. At least, that's what the signs are pointing to. We already know that Xbox Live Arcade will be getting games like Settlers of Catan, Alhambra, and our personal favorite Carcassonne, but according to some rumors at GameStooge it looks like another Rio Grande Games classic will be coming down the pipeline ... Puerto Rico.Apparently in the threads over at BoardGameGeek.com (which is a fantastic site for board games and such, along with the equally as fantastic FunAgain.com) the German gaming site BrettSpielWelt has taken down their online version of Puerto Rico, and replaced it with a message that another company has purchased the rights for "online exploitation." And c'mon, no one is better at exploiting things than Microsoft, right?Puerto Rico is a fun game that takes about an hour to play, and is all about shipping goods and building cities. It's been critically hailed as one of the best games of the past twenty years, already has a PC version out, and it's continually voted the number one game at board game sites, and it sure would be nice to see it on XBLA.
Joystiq interviews BHG, Catan in March
In Joystiq's Off the Grid feature, Scott Jon Siegel recently interviewed Brian Reynolds of Big Huge Games. Big Huge Games, as 360 Fanboy readers know, is the developer of the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title, Catan. The interview focuses on the challenges of bringing the classic board game to Xbox Live Arcade (and the process of computerizing it in general). Reynolds speaks about creating challenging AI and streamlining the interface so that players aren't drowning in information. The last tidbit, probably the one most of you will be looking for, is that Big Huge Games recently sent what they hope to be the final build of Catan to Microsoft. Assuming it makes it through the Dreaded Certification Process®, we could be playing Catan in mid-to-late March. Hit the "read" link for the full interview (including lots of development photos).
Off the Grid: Thanksgiving edition (or industry favorites)
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column on gaming away from the television screen or monitor. Between the launches of the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii, we're just about up to our ears in digital game coverage. So I've taken it upon myself to balance things out a bit with some analog lovin'. Fail to secure the hottest consoles on their launch dates? Looking for something a little less expensive to get you through the week? Or are you just jonesing for something other than Zelda? No need to worry; Off the Grid's got you covered.This week, in honor of Thanksgiving in the States (ok, not really), I've asked a few developers and industry personalities what their favorite non-digital games are. Like a great big turkey dinner with your relatives, let's dispense with the formalities and just dive right in.At present, it's probably Alan Moon's TICKET TO RIDE, a railroad game. Multiplayer, simple rules set but with surprising strategic complexity, playable in less than an hour, and sufficient randomness that games are not monotonously similar, but not so much that luck overwhelms the better players. I first played it in a wood-stove-heated country house in the depths of a Finnish winter night, but these days play it more often with my kids.-- Greg Costikyan, Manifesto GamesMy GO anecdote is actually stolen from Mahk LeBlanc, ex-Looking Glass guy. Mahk said that when the aliens finally land, and we learn to communicate with them, and then we describe Go, they'll reply, "oh yeah, we have that game". It's the uber game. Most complexity and subtlety and beauty from fewest rules. It will never be bested. After that, it's a long way down, but maybe Sid Sackson's DOMINATION?-- Chris Hecker, EA/Maxis
Off the Grid: Digital killed the analog star
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column on gaming away from the television screen or monitor. It is an awesome time to be a gamer! We're already being wowed by the Xbox 360's impressive online integration, as we (im)patiently await the coming of the powerhouse PS3, and the très chic, über-unique Wii. Our PC's constantly need upgrades to handle the latest and greatest titles, but we happily oblige. It's worth it when we see the footage online, promising us the fully immersive experience we've come to feel we deserve. And when we're tired of being grounded by our consoles and computers, we can go anywhere with our PSPs or DSs. Even our mobile phones are slowly proving themselves to be viable platforms for our playing pleasures. As gamers, we are drowning in new technology, and we are loving every minute of it.And why shouldn't we? In a little over a decade, the video game industry has defined itself as an international influencer. Its games are constantly pushing the envelope, inspiring technological innovation and sparking paradigm shifts in this plugged-in, net-ready culture.For the latest generations of gamers, it's no longer even a question: To be a gamer is to stare at a screen; Board games are laughable, and passé at best; When we think of our roots, we think of a joystick. But why did this happen?Why did digital kill the analog star?
