by Coltrane

Title:  Lost Cities

Game Type:  Risk management card game. 

Number of Players:  2

Complexity of Rules:  Low

Time to Play:  20-30 minutes, tops.

The concept:  Both players work on their own expeditions — the object is to have the more profitable expeditions at the end of the game.  Players must use caution — initiating an expedition has a steep price, and a “money-sink”  venture can end the chances of winning.

Further explanation:  There are five colors of “suits” (yellow, blue, white, black, and red).  Each color represents a possible expedition for each player.  The suits are numbered 1-10, and there are three “investment” (multiplier) cards in each suit. 

Each player starts with 8 cards.  The first player must either play a card onto an expedition, or opt to discard a card.  Whether the player chooses to “play” or “discard”, the color of the card must match the color of the expedition.  (In other words, a “red” card must be placed onto a “red” expedition.)  The player’s turn concludes with drawing a card either from the top of the deck or from the top of one of the discard stacks.  The Twist:  Each card “played” to an expedition must be higher in number than the last one laid down.  Also, “investment” (multiplier) cards may be played at the outset of an expedition — before any numbered cards are added.  This dramatically increases the payout/loss potential of that expedition.

Why I like it:  Lost Cities is a fast, breezy game that’s portable and goes well with beverages.  It has a good amount of strategy for a game that can be learned in minutes.

BoardGameGeek link here.  More reviews are in the forums, about 2/3 of the way down the page.

Available at Gary’s Games in Seattle or at Amazon.com.

by Coltrane

Title:  Ticket to Ride – Europe

Game Type:  Set Collection – Acquire multiple cards of one color to build train routes in Europe.

Number of Players:  2-5

Complexity of Rules:  Low

Time to Play:  About an hour with 3 people, longer with more.

The concept:   The board is a map of Europe.  Each destination is connected to others by train routes of different lengths and colors.  For example, two destinations might have 4 red “tracks” in between them.  To connect them you would need to play 4 red cards from your hand, which would allow you to play your trains to claim that “track”.  The object of the game is to collect the correct cards to complete routes between selected destinations on the map, seen below (the grey routes are “wild”, any color can be played onto those).  The “strategy part” is managing your hand, the board, and the pace of the game.

Why I like it:  Ticket to Ride – Europe is a “gateway game” for non-gamers.  People who have only played old-school games like Monopoly will like it, and it’s a good introduction to the European-style games that don’t feature a “finish line.”  It’s simple enough that anyone can play but good strategy and game management still get rewarded.   Finally, the crowd doesn’t have to be super focused to play, though it does help the game go faster.

Available at Gary’s Games in Seattle and Amazon.com.  Note that there are many flavors in the Ticket to Ride series of games  — you want the just plain “Europe” version.  (Not “Europa”, not “1912”…)

The BoardGameGeek page.   Reviews are about 2/3 of the way down the page.

by Coltrane

Title:  Betrayal at House on the Hill

Game Type:  “Horror” Strategy Game

Number of Players:  3-6

Complexity of Rules:  Low-Medium

Time to Play:  About an hour

The Concept:  Players explore a haunted house.  As the players explore they trigger Events and Omens.  As more and more Omens occur it becomes increasingly likely that the endgame starts, which is called the Haunt.  The player that triggered the Haunt becomes the Traitor.  The Traitor then receives his Win Condition for that game, which is known only to him.  The Heroes are all of the other remaining players.  The Heroes learn (in secret) what they need to do to stop the Traitor.  The Traitor’s Win Condition might be something like killing all of the Heroes.  It could be something stranger like going to the cemetary and digging up an object.  There are fifty possible scenarios in all.

Why I like this game: 

1.  Exploring the haunted house is fun.  The house never has the same layout from game to game, as the players explore they draw tiles to determine what room they just walked into.

2.  Each player is playing as an Explorer.  The Explorers are all well-known horror film cliches, such as Professor Longfellow, Madame Zostra, the athletic (and stupid) Darren “Flash” Williams, and the cheerleader-type Heather Granville.  Each Explorer has his or her own unique attributes —  Speed, Might (strength), Knowledge (smarts), and Sanity.  Many Events and actions require a check (dice roll) against an attribute to determine success or failure (such as avoiding falling down broken stairs).

3.  The Event cards have some well-written “color” text.  They’re best read aloud with the proper “B-movie horror film dramatic voice.”   For example:  “FOOTSTEPS — The floorboards slowly creak.  Dust rises.  Footprints appear on the dirty floor.  And then, as they reach you, they are gone.”

4.  The game doesn’t require too much brainwork.  It’s good for groups where people are relatively more focused on being socal and eating chips.

Here’s the BoardGameGeek page.  There are other reviews accessible about 2/3 of the way down the page.

Available at Gary’s Games or Amazon.com.  (For some reason the Amazon price is $189.95, so I’m not going to link it.  It should be about a $40-45 game.)

by Coltrane

Title: Fluxx

Game Type: Chaotic Card Game

Number of Players: 2-6

Complexity of Rules: Low. Time to learn is about 5 minutes.

Time to Play: Short, usually under 20 minutes.

The Concept: Players start by Drawing one card and Playing one card. Then, the Rules and win condition (Goal) continually change throughout the course of each game.

There are four types of cards in Fluxx:

Keepers: Players can play Keepers onto the table. These are things like Television, Cookies, Milk, Dreams, Time, Love, War, and many others. Having a combination of Keepers on the table that matches the Goal is one way to win the game.

Goal cards: In the course of the game players will receive Goal cards into their hand. A player may opt to replace the Goal card currently in play with a different, new, Goal. The “old” Goal is then discarded. For example, the current Goal might be “Milk and Cookies”. A player wins if they have Milk and Cookies (Keepers) on the table at the same time that the Goal is “Milk and Cookies”. (The player might accomplish this by playing the Goal card, or he might accomplish this by playing the Keeper cards, or possibly both on the same turn.) Another Goal could be to have 10 or more cards in hand. There are many possible Goals, although most of them involve having some combination of Keepers on the table.

New Rule cards: At the start of the game there is a Basic Rules card that states that players must draw one card and play one card. Players will receive new Rule cards into their hand which they may then choose to play onto the table. For example, the New Rule card might say “Draw 3 cards”, if the player chooses to play it onto the table then everyone has to draw 3 cards going forward, at least until *that* New Rule gets replaced. There are also New Rules that limit hand size, or the change the number of allowable Keepers or Goals in play.

Action cards: These are cards like “Trade 3 cards with your neighbor” or “Mix up the Keepers and hand them back out randomly”.

As of the 2008 edition there are now four Creeper cards in the deck. Creeper cards usually prevent the player that owns them from winning. The version of Fluxx that I play is older than 2008, so I can’t speak to these cards. I *have* played Zombie Fluxx, which has Creepers. I didn’t feel like they added anything to the game.

Clear as mud? I’ve taken Fluxx to Adult Beverage Events, car camping, and a bunch of other places. It’s a fun and lightweight game that’s been pretty universally well received.

Here’s the BoardGameGeek page. Note that there are many reviews part of the way down the page under Forums -> Reviews.

And here it is on Amazon.com.

If you’re in Seattle I’d urge you to buy it at Gary’s Games.