Building Outposts, Tales & Cities - Monday Gaming Recap

Last night at the Atomic Empire, I played a trio of 4-player games with Daniel, Jeremy & Terry. We started with Soulfall which Terry had recently acquired. The art in this game is gorgeous, and the game was pretty enjoyable - some neat decisions and interesting card effects. But it seems clear that the bulk of the budget went into the art, and not into production costs. It was quick, easy to pick up and I'd definitely play again ... but I won't be bothering to search out a copy. Plus the box design made it impossible to read the freaking title which annoys me enough to make me lower my opinion of the game.

Next we broke out Daniel's copy of The Princess Bride: As You Wish, a game he'd designed years ago that just showed up recently, having traversed the long road to publication. The game is one of a series of games using the Princess Bride license. The game is a quick drafting game that builds upon the 2-player rules found in The Little Prince: Make Me a Planet in which one player chooses last, but gets to arrange the choice of tiles (or in Daniel's game, cards) with some face-up & some face-down before anyone else makes their choice.

The game was neat & appeared to make good use of the IP, but I think my unfamiliarity with the film possibly lessened the experience for me (The Princess Bride was not a film I grew up with & I don't have the same apparently visceral response to it that my American friends tend to). I'd definitely recommend trying it out - the decision of whether to take a known choice or gamble that the dealer has hidden something good tends to be fraught thanks to the danger of taking poisoned cards, which definitely keeps you engaged, & the short play time means it doesn't outstay its welcome. Plus, if you know the movie, quoting scenes as they appear (especially if you have a beer) only adds to the fun.

Finally, we played a game of Machi Koro with the Harbour Expansion. I'd only ever played the base game (but using the expansion set-up) so it was my first time seeing many of the cards. It's an enjoyable little game when you're not looking for any meaty decisions, but man does the expansion drag it out. It's a game I'd pull out every now & again with my non-gamer family members or while eating dinner after work, but its definitely not a game I'd plan an evening for.

After that, it was time for me to continue getting ready to leave for Origins. After a brief stop to observe a 5-player game of Wombat Rescue, I paid off my bar tab & headed out.

Games Played: Soulfall, As You Wish, and Machi Koro with the Harbour expansion
New to Me Games: Soulfall, As You Wish and the Harbour expansion to MK.