Do Not Pass Go
I suppose some sort of introduction is in order. I mean, I could launch into a rant about Monopoly right off the bat, but you are going to want some context first. Who is this guy, why is he here and what in God's name does he think he's doing trashing my beloved Monopoly?
Well, my name, as far as this internet thing is concerned, is Fiddleback. It has been other things, but this is certainly the most recent and most persistent of them. Out in this thing called the Real World I get called a bunch of things as well, but mostly they call me Brian and I sometimes answer to it.
Some of you may know me from the d20Radio Network. I used to run a board game podcast over there, as well as a number of other shows all while contributing segments to even more shows. Podcasting is where I first got the crazy idea that people might have an interest in hearing what I thought about things related to tabletop gaming in general and board gaming in particular. With a collection of games hovering around 3-400 in number it doesn't appear that I'll be shutting up about it any time soon, either.
One thing lead to another and I've been writing about table top gaming, and helping others do the same, for a little while now over on my own site. That is where we can properly begin my relationship with EN World. Russ wants to talk board games and I am certainly all about that. Moreover, he wants me to talk about board games with you folks.
I don't do reviews. That is, and should be, MichaelFox's realm. You are in good hands with him. Instead, I get to tell you about things that are coming to, or have arrived on, the Board Game Scene and why they may, or may not, be interesting to try or buy. On an almost daily basis I've been responsible for many of those links you've been seeing recently in the daily news digest under the Board Game News header (or Boardgaming News, or whatever Russ has decided to call it this time around).
That's the function of this article as well: To really jump out and highlight a few of the more worthy bits of news or board game releases over the past few weeks and talk about what makes them interesting or good, or in some cases not like that at all. Every couple of Wednesdays you'll get a new article from me on something that has caught my eye and should probably be catching yours, too.
I won't be focusing on just one sort of game or just one publisher or designer. You'll find me talking about card games, both CCGs and LCGs and others, just as often as I might mention a new set of Miniatures coming out or the latest design on the boards from Friedemann Friese. Admittedly, this depends on how much actual news a company puts out at any given time. If, like Fantasy Flight Games, they can manage a daily press release of some sort, so much the better. If not, I'll try to make a point of mentioning them when they DO put one out.
I'm opinionated and not shy about sharing it. If I don't like a game, I say so. If I do, I'll say that, too. You can agree or disagree with me as you see fit. There is a whole comment and discussion feature right here on EN World for just such a purpose. Make use of it. We'll get to talk about some pretty cool stuff if you participate.
FEATURED
And so, we begin with Monopoly. For those of you who haven't heard by now, Monopoly is trying to kill off a few of it's more iconic game pieces. It seems that not enough people are playing Monopoly, or at least, buying new sets of the “Fast Dealing Property Trading Game”. Part of the current advertising campaign is to vote off 4 of the current batch of game pieces and vote in 4 new ones. Oh, and, run out and buy a new set now while all the classic pieces are still in it. Hurry! We'll wait before we carry on with the voting.
Got your new set?
Good. Now then, it looks like the Shoe and the Iron are almost certain to go, with the Wheelbarrow and Thimble being the next most likely. If you are keeping score at home, that leaves the Race Car, the Little Scottie Dog, maybe the Battleship and maybe the Top Hat to continue their interminable existence marching around the board. And, what, you may rightly ask, are the choices for replacement? Well, let's take a look, shall we?
A 1930's style Robot. A Cat. A Diamond Ring. A Helicopter. A Guitar.
And one of the many problems with Monopoly is this: The tokens you play with have never made much sense. Not really. Sure, in some of the themed Monopoly games, you get themed tokens and thus it all sort of hangs together. In Vanilla Monopoly though, well, it can hardly be said to have made much sense in it's initial incarnation, let alone 80 years later. Especially once you consider that the initial set of Monopoly tokens did without the Dog, the Man on the Horse and the Wheelbarrow in favor of the...Oh, look... Who cares?
The point is, the tokens over the years have been all over the place. Pick any eight things (12 in deluxe versions!) and make a token out of them. This contest and this Facebook voting and these choices aren't about selecting new iconic tokens for the next generation of Monopoly Players. With any luck at all, there won't be a next generation of Monopoly Players. (Because, please, find something better to play with your kids.)
This is all about selling more Monopoly sets. You know it. I know it. Hasbro knows it. The only people who don't seem to know it are the folks hitting the Facebook vote like a ton of hammers. Each and every one of them gets the reminder: Don't forget to buy the Current Edition before we change the tokens! Also, make sure you buy the New Edition once we do change the tokens! That way you'll have both and can tell all your friends that not only did you get the last of the Old Edition but the first of the New Edition, as well. And we can sell two games with one marketing campaign.
The problem really begins to creep in when you realize you don't really need either edition of Monopoly. Why not? Because, you have twelve versions of the exact same game already sitting in your closet. If you play Monopoly at all, you do. Seriously, go look. Right now!
There's Spongebob Monopoly because the kids like Spongebob. Next to it is your Klingon Edition, because you or your significant other is a Trekker/Trekkie, which sits uncomfortably close to any one of seven or eight different Star Wars Monopoly on top of which is the College-opoly you got from your elderly Aunt because you went to that college and she heard you like board games and then there's the Monopoly set you used to play when you were a kid with half the money missing and the Candlestick from Clue substituting in as the Iron because the Iron got used in your little sister's dollhouse when she was 4 and was subsequently either lost down a vent or swallowed. Not to mention the 2 sets you have that reflect whatever career it is you have, the sets representing your favorite movie, book and TV franchises, etc. At the last count anyone cared to take there were over 2300 versions just in English alone.
You've already got Monopoly. You don't need another one. Especially if you can't play right.Which is a whole other discussion.
So if, in spite of all that, you still want to have a say in what tokens get into the next set of Monopoly, go right ahead and vote. Maybe, just for the fun of it, you can try skewing the results. I say we vote in the Robot and keep the wheel barrow around for hauling dead bodies away the next time someone asks me to play.
FEATURED:
Speaking of dead bodies; the Circus is in town! Or at least it is on Kickstarter. Drum Roll has a couple of things going for it that cause me to take notice.
First,it is already a successful game. It's been running around Europe for at least a year and, as such, has a proven track record of quality before it even gets out of the proverbial Kickstarter gate. In fact, this Kickstarter is just to fund Drum Roll's release into the North American market. It's hard to argue with success.
Second, and I want people who both start and pledge to Kickstarter Campaigns to take note of this especially as it regards Board Games, the Video pitch for Drum Roll actually gives me an excellent idea of how the game looks AND how it plays. This is important, kids!
You can tell me all day long about how wonderful your concept is for your Zombie-Dinosaur Riding, Molotov Cocktail-Throwing, Monkey Cheese-Maker game is, but if you don't show me the bits and some of the game play, I'm not buying. Most board game Kickstarters don't even bother to show ANY game play. How am I supposed to know how the game plays, what it is like on the table, whether my friends and I might enjoy it, if you don't show me at least a little of how it plays?
Fortunately,Drum Roll looks as if it takes you through a pretty good portion of a turn, and it looks fun and the art is good and who doesn't want to play a circus owner managing the High Wire act and the Lion Tamer and selling tickets to the eager crowd all while rolling around in huge piles of cash.
I'm just going to quote BoradGameGeek for our description of the game:
What about that doesn't sound like a good time? And, if that isn't enough for you, there are already expansions for the game running around out there. You may even be able to see some of them as stretch goals,which, at the current rate of funding, we ought to be getting into any day now.
OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE:
Fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels will be pleased to note that Martin Wallace has announced the next in his series of Discworld themed games. The Witches is scheduled for a September 2013 release and will feature more gentle, family friendly game play than Wallace's previous, though very popular offering, Ankh-Morpork. You can expect to see all the fan favorite witches in the game, from Tiffany Aching right on through to Granny Weatherwax. Where Ankh-Morpork was an Area-influence/Control game set in the various sections of the City itself, The Witches sounds as if it will go in an entirely different direction and be set in an area of Discworld known as Lancre which will be familiar to the fans of the books as the place where the Disc's Best Witches come from. According to what little information is available at this stage, the game can be played Solo or with up to 4 players and Cooperatively or Competitively. Definitely worth keeping an eye on. The turtle moves.
As we mentioned last week, Privateer Press gave a Keynote Address that covers some of their new miniatures and game lines coming out. Among the many things discussed was a look at their new board game, Level 7[Omega Protocol]. It is a follow on to Level7 [Escape] This time you'll be playing not escapees, but the people sent in to clean up the situation. The game appears to be a hybridminiature/boardgame/RPG along the lines of, for example, Descent: Journeys in the Dark. Players play on a modular board that can be laid out differently depending on the scenario you are playing. Each character has a series of abilities, skills and equipment that are unique to them. I'd say follow along with this one and see if it is something you'll ultimately be interested in as more information comes out.
That wraps it up for this weeks installment. I hope you enjoyed it and found something of interest to you. Feel free to comment below and discuss what you've read or mention something that caught your eye. Heck, you can even pop in just to say 'hi'. We'll see you in two weeks for the next installment of Do Not Pass Go.
I suppose some sort of introduction is in order. I mean, I could launch into a rant about Monopoly right off the bat, but you are going to want some context first. Who is this guy, why is he here and what in God's name does he think he's doing trashing my beloved Monopoly?
Well, my name, as far as this internet thing is concerned, is Fiddleback. It has been other things, but this is certainly the most recent and most persistent of them. Out in this thing called the Real World I get called a bunch of things as well, but mostly they call me Brian and I sometimes answer to it.
Some of you may know me from the d20Radio Network. I used to run a board game podcast over there, as well as a number of other shows all while contributing segments to even more shows. Podcasting is where I first got the crazy idea that people might have an interest in hearing what I thought about things related to tabletop gaming in general and board gaming in particular. With a collection of games hovering around 3-400 in number it doesn't appear that I'll be shutting up about it any time soon, either.
One thing lead to another and I've been writing about table top gaming, and helping others do the same, for a little while now over on my own site. That is where we can properly begin my relationship with EN World. Russ wants to talk board games and I am certainly all about that. Moreover, he wants me to talk about board games with you folks.
I don't do reviews. That is, and should be, MichaelFox's realm. You are in good hands with him. Instead, I get to tell you about things that are coming to, or have arrived on, the Board Game Scene and why they may, or may not, be interesting to try or buy. On an almost daily basis I've been responsible for many of those links you've been seeing recently in the daily news digest under the Board Game News header (or Boardgaming News, or whatever Russ has decided to call it this time around).
That's the function of this article as well: To really jump out and highlight a few of the more worthy bits of news or board game releases over the past few weeks and talk about what makes them interesting or good, or in some cases not like that at all. Every couple of Wednesdays you'll get a new article from me on something that has caught my eye and should probably be catching yours, too.
I won't be focusing on just one sort of game or just one publisher or designer. You'll find me talking about card games, both CCGs and LCGs and others, just as often as I might mention a new set of Miniatures coming out or the latest design on the boards from Friedemann Friese. Admittedly, this depends on how much actual news a company puts out at any given time. If, like Fantasy Flight Games, they can manage a daily press release of some sort, so much the better. If not, I'll try to make a point of mentioning them when they DO put one out.
I'm opinionated and not shy about sharing it. If I don't like a game, I say so. If I do, I'll say that, too. You can agree or disagree with me as you see fit. There is a whole comment and discussion feature right here on EN World for just such a purpose. Make use of it. We'll get to talk about some pretty cool stuff if you participate.
FEATURED
And so, we begin with Monopoly. For those of you who haven't heard by now, Monopoly is trying to kill off a few of it's more iconic game pieces. It seems that not enough people are playing Monopoly, or at least, buying new sets of the “Fast Dealing Property Trading Game”. Part of the current advertising campaign is to vote off 4 of the current batch of game pieces and vote in 4 new ones. Oh, and, run out and buy a new set now while all the classic pieces are still in it. Hurry! We'll wait before we carry on with the voting.
Got your new set?
Good. Now then, it looks like the Shoe and the Iron are almost certain to go, with the Wheelbarrow and Thimble being the next most likely. If you are keeping score at home, that leaves the Race Car, the Little Scottie Dog, maybe the Battleship and maybe the Top Hat to continue their interminable existence marching around the board. And, what, you may rightly ask, are the choices for replacement? Well, let's take a look, shall we?
A 1930's style Robot. A Cat. A Diamond Ring. A Helicopter. A Guitar.
And one of the many problems with Monopoly is this: The tokens you play with have never made much sense. Not really. Sure, in some of the themed Monopoly games, you get themed tokens and thus it all sort of hangs together. In Vanilla Monopoly though, well, it can hardly be said to have made much sense in it's initial incarnation, let alone 80 years later. Especially once you consider that the initial set of Monopoly tokens did without the Dog, the Man on the Horse and the Wheelbarrow in favor of the...Oh, look... Who cares?
The point is, the tokens over the years have been all over the place. Pick any eight things (12 in deluxe versions!) and make a token out of them. This contest and this Facebook voting and these choices aren't about selecting new iconic tokens for the next generation of Monopoly Players. With any luck at all, there won't be a next generation of Monopoly Players. (Because, please, find something better to play with your kids.)
This is all about selling more Monopoly sets. You know it. I know it. Hasbro knows it. The only people who don't seem to know it are the folks hitting the Facebook vote like a ton of hammers. Each and every one of them gets the reminder: Don't forget to buy the Current Edition before we change the tokens! Also, make sure you buy the New Edition once we do change the tokens! That way you'll have both and can tell all your friends that not only did you get the last of the Old Edition but the first of the New Edition, as well. And we can sell two games with one marketing campaign.
The problem really begins to creep in when you realize you don't really need either edition of Monopoly. Why not? Because, you have twelve versions of the exact same game already sitting in your closet. If you play Monopoly at all, you do. Seriously, go look. Right now!
There's Spongebob Monopoly because the kids like Spongebob. Next to it is your Klingon Edition, because you or your significant other is a Trekker/Trekkie, which sits uncomfortably close to any one of seven or eight different Star Wars Monopoly on top of which is the College-opoly you got from your elderly Aunt because you went to that college and she heard you like board games and then there's the Monopoly set you used to play when you were a kid with half the money missing and the Candlestick from Clue substituting in as the Iron because the Iron got used in your little sister's dollhouse when she was 4 and was subsequently either lost down a vent or swallowed. Not to mention the 2 sets you have that reflect whatever career it is you have, the sets representing your favorite movie, book and TV franchises, etc. At the last count anyone cared to take there were over 2300 versions just in English alone.
You've already got Monopoly. You don't need another one. Especially if you can't play right.Which is a whole other discussion.
So if, in spite of all that, you still want to have a say in what tokens get into the next set of Monopoly, go right ahead and vote. Maybe, just for the fun of it, you can try skewing the results. I say we vote in the Robot and keep the wheel barrow around for hauling dead bodies away the next time someone asks me to play.
FEATURED:
Speaking of dead bodies; the Circus is in town! Or at least it is on Kickstarter. Drum Roll has a couple of things going for it that cause me to take notice.
First,it is already a successful game. It's been running around Europe for at least a year and, as such, has a proven track record of quality before it even gets out of the proverbial Kickstarter gate. In fact, this Kickstarter is just to fund Drum Roll's release into the North American market. It's hard to argue with success.
Second, and I want people who both start and pledge to Kickstarter Campaigns to take note of this especially as it regards Board Games, the Video pitch for Drum Roll actually gives me an excellent idea of how the game looks AND how it plays. This is important, kids!
You can tell me all day long about how wonderful your concept is for your Zombie-Dinosaur Riding, Molotov Cocktail-Throwing, Monkey Cheese-Maker game is, but if you don't show me the bits and some of the game play, I'm not buying. Most board game Kickstarters don't even bother to show ANY game play. How am I supposed to know how the game plays, what it is like on the table, whether my friends and I might enjoy it, if you don't show me at least a little of how it plays?
Fortunately,Drum Roll looks as if it takes you through a pretty good portion of a turn, and it looks fun and the art is good and who doesn't want to play a circus owner managing the High Wire act and the Lion Tamer and selling tickets to the eager crowd all while rolling around in huge piles of cash.
I'm just going to quote BoradGameGeek for our description of the game:
In Drum Roll each player takes over the role of a circus owner in the early 1900s. Each player moves around Europe hiring performers and giving shows.
There are five main categories of performers: the Tamers, the Acrobats, the Bizarre, the Magicians, and the Jugglers. Each of them have different demands the player must fulfill in order to give their best performance.
The requirements, which vary between performers, are Rehearsal, Equipment, Supplies, Costumes, and Promotion. There are three levels of performances that each performer can end up doing in a show: a poor one, a good one, and an outstanding one. The higher the level of performance, the more requirements each performer will have to fulfill in order to achieve it.
The better the performance, the more each player can get out of it. When performers do outstanding performances, the player must choose between getting the maximum amount of benefit out of them, or getting the Prestige Points they are offering. There are also other ways to improve a circus such as trailers, investments, and personnel that will help your performers do their best.
What about that doesn't sound like a good time? And, if that isn't enough for you, there are already expansions for the game running around out there. You may even be able to see some of them as stretch goals,which, at the current rate of funding, we ought to be getting into any day now.
OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE:
Fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels will be pleased to note that Martin Wallace has announced the next in his series of Discworld themed games. The Witches is scheduled for a September 2013 release and will feature more gentle, family friendly game play than Wallace's previous, though very popular offering, Ankh-Morpork. You can expect to see all the fan favorite witches in the game, from Tiffany Aching right on through to Granny Weatherwax. Where Ankh-Morpork was an Area-influence/Control game set in the various sections of the City itself, The Witches sounds as if it will go in an entirely different direction and be set in an area of Discworld known as Lancre which will be familiar to the fans of the books as the place where the Disc's Best Witches come from. According to what little information is available at this stage, the game can be played Solo or with up to 4 players and Cooperatively or Competitively. Definitely worth keeping an eye on. The turtle moves.
As we mentioned last week, Privateer Press gave a Keynote Address that covers some of their new miniatures and game lines coming out. Among the many things discussed was a look at their new board game, Level 7[Omega Protocol]. It is a follow on to Level7 [Escape] This time you'll be playing not escapees, but the people sent in to clean up the situation. The game appears to be a hybridminiature/boardgame/RPG along the lines of, for example, Descent: Journeys in the Dark. Players play on a modular board that can be laid out differently depending on the scenario you are playing. Each character has a series of abilities, skills and equipment that are unique to them. I'd say follow along with this one and see if it is something you'll ultimately be interested in as more information comes out.
That wraps it up for this weeks installment. I hope you enjoyed it and found something of interest to you. Feel free to comment below and discuss what you've read or mention something that caught your eye. Heck, you can even pop in just to say 'hi'. We'll see you in two weeks for the next installment of Do Not Pass Go.
