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Monthly Archives: January 2017

Pathfinder Rise of the Runelords

Professor and I recently finished playing Pathfinder Rise of the Runelords (the Adventure Card Game, based on the RPG Campaign of the same name). Before we started playing, we had to each pick a character. For me, it was tricky because I didn’t really know what to expect. I think I mostly chose based on the character’s story instead of stats.

There were many, many times the dice tried to kill me, and sometimes we forgot about special abilities or conditions of a particular location or scenario. We failed a few times (amusingly we failed the Local Heroes scenario), but thankfully we didn’t die.

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Story War Super and Deluxe Round 4 Play by Play

This is the play by play of the previously posted story mode.
Judge: Shutter

Clumsy Ninja and Chubby Unicorn vs President Gamer and Professor

Arena: Maelstrom

Initial cards: Clumsy Ninja and Chubby Unicorn played Midas and Vito. President Gamer and Professor play Bear Shark and Yeti

Special cards played: Force Field and Towel

Arguments: Midas turned the Bear Shark to gold. Midas and Vito were protected by the force field, bouncing the Yeti’s freeze power back at him. The Towel couldn’t help the Bear Shark or Yeti.

Winners: Clumsy Ninja and Chubby Unicorn

Round 4

Story War Super and Deluxe Round 4

No one thought anything could survive inside the Maelstrom, but somehow Midas and Vito battled Bear Shark and Yeti within the turbulent waters.

Recognizing the Bear Shark as the more problematic opponent in their current location, Midas’s first move was simply to touch a fin. Before he could turn to chomp off Midas’s hand, the almost feathery tap instantly turned Bear Shark to gold, and he sank out of sight.

In an effort to get revenge, Yeti shot freezing blasts at Midas and Vito, but they were protected by a powerful Force Field. The blasts bounced back at Yeti, but since he was a creature of ice and snow, he remained unharmed.

Then Yeti pulled out his trusty Towel, but it just wasn’t enough to save him or recover Bear Shark. It also couldn’t do much to dry off his soaked fur.

Ticket To Ride with Asia Map Expansion #1

Ticket to Ride plus Asia Map Expansion #1

Teams:

  • Yellow: President Gamer and Shutter
  • Blue: Clumsy Ninja and Space Cat
  • Green: Chubby Unicorn and The Professor

This Ticket to Ride expansion adds an interesting new element of game play: teams. Each team is given two card holders, and each team member receives 27 trains, 4 train cards, and 5 destination tickets. The card holder is for the cards the team members will share. All other cards are to be kept secret, and players are instructed to not talk strategy during the game. Each team member begins by choosing at least three of the five destination tickets, and places just one on a card holder. As in the original rules, players can either place trains or draw train cards, but a third option is now available. Players can share their other two destination cards with their team by placing them on the card holder. This takes up the player’s entire turn. When a player draws train cards, she draws them one at a time (unless she takes two of the same color from the visible cards). She has to decide if the first card will go in her hand, or on the card holder. Seems simple enough.

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Story War Super and Deluxe Round 3 Play by Play

This is the play by play of the previously posted story mode.
Judge: Clumsy Ninja

Shutter and President Gamer vs Chubby Unicorn and Professor

Arena: Lunar Colony

Initial cards: Chubby Unicorn and Professor played the Mad Scientist and Nyan Cat. Shutter and President Gamer played Ninja and Medusa

Special Cards played: Taser and Insane Glue

Arguments: Nyan Cat mesmerized Medusa so she couldn’t turn anyone to stone. Nyan Cat also distracted the Ninja, allowing the Mad Scientist to tase him. The Ninja threw Insane Glue on Nyan Cat, but the Mad Scientist easily dissolved it.

Winners: Chubby Unicorn and Professor

Round 3

Story War Super and Deluxe Round 3

Things had been peaceful on the Lunar Colony. The colonists were seeing steady progress in their endeavors and were a generally happy bunch. Considering they were living in space, things were pretty normal.

And then it got weird.

Several reports came in of Nyan Cat flying around Medusa, which seemed to mesmerize her and render her incapable of turning anyone to stone. Bystanders were relieved, but still puzzled over where these creatures came from and why they were fighting.

The rainbow trail of the Nyan Cat was also reported to distract the Ninja (who obviously wasn’t a very good ninja if people saw him). The Mad Scientist used this lapse in concentration and tased the Ninja, who recovered with amazing speed and bombarded Nyan Cat with Insane Glue.

Before Medusa could come to her senses, the Mad Scientist pulled a beaker from his lab coat and splashed some sort of concoction on Nyan Cat, dissolving the glue.

Medusa and the Ninja then fled the scene. The Mad Scientist and Nyan Cat have refused to shed any light on this strange encounter.

7 Wonders just the base game

7 Wonders is a big favorite in our gaming group. Whenever an expansion comes out, we have to buy it. This means the game has gotten more and more complex as time has gone by. It’s been what seems like ages since we played just the base game of 7 Wonders (it seemed so small!), but we were at a gaming event with a friend who had never played, so we decided to give it a go.

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Story War Super and Deluxe Round 2 Play by Play

This is the play by play of the previously posted story mode.
Judge: Chubby Unicorn

Shutter and Clumsy Ninja vs President Gamer and Professor

Arena: Court Room

Initial cards: Shutter and Clumsy Ninja played the Politician and the Pirate. President Gamer and Professor played the Barista and Police Dog

Special cards played: Tempest in a Teapot and Mithril Tux

Arguments: The Barista was just trying to help the Police Dog apprehend criminals. The Politician and Pirate were set up by the Barista and Police Dog. They used their Tempest in a Teapot out of self-defense. And what Barista can afford a Mithril Tux?

Winners: Shutter and Clumsy Ninja

Round 2

 

Story War Super and Deluxe Round 2

Things began simple enough in the nearly empty courtroom. The Politician and the Pirate took their seats as did the Barista and the Police Dog. But things didn’t stay civil for long.

“I was just trying to help the Police Dog apprehend criminals,” the Barista was explaining to the judge.

The Politician leapt to his feet. “We were set up!”

“Tha’s right,” the Pirate agreed also rising. “Arrre business be a legit’mat one.”

The Police Dog growled at the implication that he was corrupt.

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StarCraft Risk

While Risk isn’t really my game, it was my husband’s birthday and his brother and cousin were visiting, so we spent an evening playing StarCraft Risk. I’m not terribly good at strategy games like this. Something like checkers, no problem. There are only so many moves you and your opponent can make. In a game like Risk with four people… I don’t even want to think about the number of possible moves. I’m also not terribly good when it comes to rolling dice. I know that’s all about probability, but I really think sometimes the dice just hate me.

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