The Staff
SUPER friendly and
helpful the entire time. I haven't had a bad experience at a board game
convention yet! Really amazed at how consistent this is in the hobby!
The Vendors
Not many, but for a con
this size, I'm surprised they had any at all. I enjoyed seeing Eagle Gryphon
Games there, but since I'd already ordered things through their website a few
weeks earlier I had nothing else of interest to buy. Not many vendors but if
this Game Fair grows I'm sure more vendors will arrive over time.
The Library
Not bad for a its size. I
didn't like how they had games missing from their library that were stated to
be in there online. Though a limited selection, I was able to find nine games
to play. I'll talk more about them later in my breakdown.
The Events
Limited only to board
game groups and not much else. This doesn't bother me since "events"
are something I rarely attend. I come to chew bubble gum and play board
games....and I'm all out of bubble gum.
Gaming
Since it's a smaller Con
that means it's a little harder to get games going with a group. I saw many
failed attempts by people wanting to play games or even have someone teach them
the game but failed to get the players. I myself experienced this too.
Smaller crowds is mainly
to blame. With smaller attendees, it lead to gamers arriving with their friends
or family to play with and therefore needing no extra players. It also led to a
less diverse taste in board games. I'll admit, there were some groups I didn't
join because I had no desire to play the game they had set up and I'm sure the
same was true for me!
It's an issue that can be
solved with growth, but right now it's one of the few negative things about the
Game Fair.
The People
I can't speak too much on this one because I rarely had a chance to play with a group. When I did, good times were had. Most people were part of their own "click" so I didn't get much of a chance to make new friends. Something rare for such a social light as myself!
I did get to meet the Game Boy Geek (Dan) which was pretty cool!
Overall
I would go again if I'm in town for
it. Though only if I can establish my own gaming group to come with me. By
myself it was tough but I still had a good time. Now to get on with my Games
Played Review!!!
Games Played
Burgertime
My #1 game I was super excited to play when I saw they had it listed online to be in their library...and it wasn't. BIG thumbs down on this. I'll have to wait and play it in May at BGG Spring Con now.
Another bummer from the Fair. Just like Manila they claimed to have it online but ended up only carrying the expansion....that you need the base set to play. Now they had the expansion listed online as well but without the base it was useless to play. Really sucks because this was my #2 game to play as well and it wasn't there. Another one I'm adding to the list in May.
The only game on my list that I didn't get a chance to play because no one was interested. I get why, it's not a popular game but I wanted to try it anyway. I don't know if I'll play it at BGG Spring Con, it really is going to depend on the gaming group I bring with me.
Now let's get to the games I did play and the order I enjoyed them. We start off with this one from Rio Grande Games. I company I love but who makes games I rarely enjoy. I thought this one about lumberjacks log riding down a river was a GREAT idea for a children's game....and it sucked. A step above Candyland, with a horrible rule book and disappointing game play. Worst game I played the whole weekend.
I bounced back and forth on whether I wanted to back this one on Kickstarter when it came out. When I saw it in the Library I was extremely excited to get it to the table. I had no problem finding others who wanted to play too! This real time game is done with timers as "worker placement" yet once you place them down you must wait until their sand to run down before you can put them towards the next action.
This creates the theme of being rushed in the kitchen to get out as many orders in a timely manner as possible and (depending on the objectives for each game) established capital and prestige to win! You're moving across the entire board, grabbing food, spices, washing dishes, shopping, waiting tables, taking orders, getting kitchen upgrades and cooking meals. Space is limited so the more spaces the harder it gets!
And sadly this is where the game falls apart. You barely survive by the skin of your teeth through every round. Some rounds we lost pitifully that even though we won at the end we had ZERO cash or prestige. Thankfully the goal had been to put out X amount of orders or we would've died. This game is unfairly rough and adds more punishments than rewards, which makes the game cumbersome and unenjoyable.
This game can burn in Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen for all I care.
I see this on a lot of folks Top 100 boardgames as all time so I just had to try it out for myself and see if it was any good. I missed my chance at last years BGG Spring Con and didn't want to repeat history again so I tried it out.
You're essentially flicking/bouncing/sliding dice off the top level to see how far down you can get it to go without falling completely off the board. Whichever side it lands up on also determines how you score the round.
And...that's it. I don't know why I expected more but this game is 99% luck with a 1% skill ratio (if you can call it that) of how well you flick dice. I don't know why this game is so popular, for it's price tag I'm surprised it still sells.
Not for me.
This is a hard one for me.
I loved the pieces. I loved the theme....but the game play was bland. You get the same choices and the same actions each round with only the luck of the deck being the sole thing that changes from game to game. I REALLY tried to like this one. I LOVED the look but it just wasn't "in the cards" to generate much excitement from me.
Pass!
Sagrada
This is where things start turning around. I proclaimed this game to be a fad last year and that people would lose interest in it once a year had passed. It's been a year now...and this was the #1 game that was checked out of the library this year.
When the opportunity came to play it I gave it a shot.
In the game you're building a stain glass window with coloring 6-sided dice that can't match color or number when right next to each other. Sounds easy? It's not. The game takes a lot of strategy and thought. And with different objectives (public and private) as well as end game goals, this game surprised me very much!
This is where things start turning around. I proclaimed this game to be a fad last year and that people would lose interest in it once a year had passed. It's been a year now...and this was the #1 game that was checked out of the library this year.
When the opportunity came to play it I gave it a shot.
I'd forgotten my interest in this game a while back but when I saw it on the shelf I decided to give it a try. This was the last game I would play at the Game Fair and I'm glad I played it. This game is about (in a way) getting building permits and laying out the best city structure guaranteed to give you the biggest points at the end of the game. There's a LOT of strategy that goes into this game and after looking around online, I found one for a decent enough deal to pull the trigger one.
Score one for the good guys!
The only reason I played this game was because I love Dice Town so much. Though billed as the "prequel" to Dice Town there's nothing remotely similar between the two games that it revolving around dice with a western theme.
The dice are different as is the game play and goal of the game. It takes 30 seconds to learn how to play.....and it's fantastic. Not as good as Dice Town but enjoyable enough for me to add it to my collection. Super great filler game I'm happy to own!
I added this game to the list not thinking much about it. I called it a Christian ripoff of Catan at first but realized after playing it that it rips off Pandemic instead.
That being said....this was the most amazing game I played at the Convention.
In this game you're trying to stop sinners (black cubes) from popping up all over Jerusalem. You're a great of Prophets from the Old Testament, try to disciple the nation. If too many sinners reside in one city, they'll build a golden calf, making matters worse all around!
The game has SO MUCH more added to it than Pandemic. It may even beat "Commissioned" out as far as Christian themed games go. I loved it so much, I played it twice! What a gem!!
There are Blessing and Sin cards you play as the track goes down the list of Kings of Israel. The theme is incredible and the gameplay, amazing!
I'm adding this game to my collection the first chance I get! I want to play with the Thief and False Prophet variants too. BEST game I played this weekend!
Ok folks, that's all for now. See you later!
2 comments:
socialite*
LOL, hardly! I wish I had more people with me! Hopefully if I'm around next year I will!
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