Origins 2015 - Games Played (Friday & Saturday)

Hopefully I can move a little faster & combine more than 1 day into the one post in order to finally finish this series...

Friday

Trambahn (2P): Chris Copac & I sat down to try this 2-player game about building & running tram routes. I really enjoyed it (even though I got absolutely destroyed!) & would like to grab a copy eventually. It's a little Lost Cities-ish but with some more options on your turn.

2x Shoot Your Friends (4-5P): This is one of those games with a great "toy factor" that is fabulous for a convention but probably not for your regular game group. Play cards in front of yourself or your opponents until you get a combo in front of someone that lets you all grab for the single plastic gun in the middle of the table in an attempt to successfully shoot someone and knock them out of the running. Fun and quick, though at times painful if you catch the gun wrong, this was perfect filler before settling down to something meatier.

Broom Service (5P): I was super excited to play this KedJ nominee and it definitely didn't disappoint (at least, it didn't disappoint me). Not everyone at our table enjoyed it which did cast a pall over the game session, but in the end, for me, my enjoyment of the game was enough to counteract the black mood. I loved the art & the terribly punny names of all the characters, adored the components, and really enjoyed the tension in choosing cards hoping someone else didn't mess up your plans by forcing you to play them in a different order than you were hoping. In a few rounds I got completely screwed but that shifted my focus to having a back-up plan in mind, and I actually then found it very satisfying when I was able to recover from my Plan A being foiled by pulling off something equally useful. We played the basic set-up and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy so that I can try out the more advanced options.

Prohis (partial game - 5P): We played a partial round of this game while waiting for our food to come. It was okay, a very well-done, streamlined Sherriff of Nottingham, but as a bluffing game, not one I'd be searching out.

Cacao (4P): I played another game of Cacao to start the post-dinner gaming as some others wanted to learn it. Still enjoyed it, and was happy I'd purchased it. Note: I personally played the game twice during the con - my copy however, was played something like 6 or 7 times as people kept borrowing it to teach others. So in terms of cost per play, this one has more than proven its worth already.

Walled City (4P): I got to sit down & learn this game from Daryl Andrews himself. I really enjoyed jostling for majorities while having to keep in mind how I was setting up things for the future, and I found the gameplay intuitive that I could focus on strategy and on manipulating the board rather than making sure I was remembering the rules properly. The game provides a satisfying, surprisingly quick game, that I certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity to play again. We did have one poor casualty (pictured at left) when Jeremiah ripped on of the meeples in half - you can see the moment in Tiffany's con round-up over at her Youtube channel here at around 12:50.

Red7 (4P): We played what seemed to be the longest game of Red7 ever, taking about an hour and a half. But I hadn't managed to play this one before the con, despite owning it, and so I'm glad to finally check it off the list. I'll definitely pull it out again when looking for a quick filler (assuming it doesn't usually run so long, that is).

Saturday

Loop Inc (4P): The first of two prototypes I got to play on Saturday, this time-travel game from Scott Almes was fantastic! The twist that you have to replay your previous day(s) actions in the same order but can interweave newly acquired cards into them is really fun & forces you to consider the likelihood of actions being usable in future turns instead of just considering your current goal & playing it out before determining the next thing you want to work towards. The art is wonderful & the flavour text on the cards is hilarious (and each individual card of a type has different text from the others which had me wanting to read each new card as it was revealed every single time). Honestly, as I said on Twitter at the time, "If you at all like time travel & you don't back Loop Inc. when it hits Kickstarter, you're NUTS. This is awesome". The Kickstarter campaign ends on July 9th so if you haven't checked it out already, go now and do so.

Voyages of Marco Polo (3P): A second play, this time three-player and I enjoyed the game just as much on the second play. We had discovered that a rule had been misinterpreted on our first play anyway, so this gave me a chance to play correctly (ah, con rules). I managed to win this one by an extremely large margin (I lapped one of my opponents on the score track and almost lapped the other), but all involved still seemed to really enjoy the game which is always a good sign.

Angry Dice (2P): While waiting for our food at Double Comfort, we pulled out a set of Angry Dice with all of the expansion dice. Various matches were played with the new challenger choosing their set of dice first. I personally took on Stephanie using the Lucky Beans dice after she'd defeated Matt, but unfortunately I just couldn't beat her. If I remember correctly, I don't think anyone else could beat her either, so at least I lost to a master.

Colt Express (5P): This was my first time playing this game and will possibly be my last, purely because I don't think any other play could live up to the hilarity. The State of Games Origins recap episode discusses it a little, but basically it was a session full of bad puns, crazy shenanigans, Darryll doing a phenomenal job telling the story of the cards as he flipped them, Doc's infamous "groping hand", and so much more. I frequently had to remove my glasses to wipe away tears due to laughing so hard, and by the end we'd gained spectators who seemed to be having as much fun as we were if not more. One of the best experiences of the con & one I don't think we could ever recreate even if had the exact same people in a similar setting (i.e., pretty fried & loopy from a day at a con).

2 x Flip Hue (5P): This brain-twisting, tiny card game was really interesting even if it took a while to figure out how to approach the cards. I enjoyed it, though others at the table didn't seem to, and would love to try it again now that I have a better idea of how to manipulate everyone's hands.

The Networks (3P): This was the second playtest of the day, this time playing a game from Gil Hova. Centred around running a successful TV network by filling your evening line-up with the best shows, stars and ads while also gaining viewers from re-runs even after you've replaced those shows with better and better options. The game played really smoothly and is nicely complex without being difficult to pick-up and be competitive. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one as Gil finishes polishing the art and gets ready to launch it on Kickstarter.

Doug, Doug, Goose, Caboose (7P): I jumped in for a couple of rounds of this fun little party game of remembering names & racing to recite the line-up before your opponent. Tons of fun in a tiny package, and I actually had a copy sneakily slipped into my bag while playing in the bar on Friday so I have it to pull out at future gatherings.

SpyFall (8P): The night ended with this social deduction game combined with good old Jameson. It's definitely not a game I'd search out, and the pressure of having to come up with a good question was terrifying, but it was a good end to the night. I did bow out around 3 or 4am, but they continued on without me till around 7am which is a testament to how crazy fun this game can be at the end of a long day.