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Game Day September 2010: Overview

  By Jacob Wood • September 20, 2010 ,
This entry is part 1 of 5 in the seriesSeptember Game Day

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series September Game Day

September 18th, 2010.  My girlfriend and I missed our opportunity to attend the annual Portland Pirate Festival (http://www.portlandpiratevestival.com ) and our group’s bi-weekly movie night fell through, but the day wasn’t a loss.  Instead of movie night, some friends threw together an impromptu board game night, so we packed a bag full of games and headed downtown for a night of entertainment.

We were told to bring as many as we could, since everyone was dying to try something new and they knew our library of board games was starting to get quite large.  I remember that we brought Ivanhoe, Grand Tribunal, Knights of Camelot, Middle Kingdom, Settlers of Catan: Germany, Cleopatra, and Dork Tower.  There may have been one or two more, but it ended up almost being irrelevant.  We had … Continue reading →

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Game Day September 2010: King Me

  By Jacob Wood • September 20, 2010 ,
This entry is part 2 of 5 in the seriesSeptember Game Day

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series September Game Day

King Me Box ArtI hadn’t played King Me before, but ever since my girlfriend played it with the rest of that same group, she’s been interested in getting me to try it.  Everyone thought it would be a great game to try out for someone with a visual impairment, since the game seems simple enough and there isn’t a lot to keep track of.  While I appreciate the simplicity of the game and did have a lot o fun with it, I still had a bit of trouble picking it up and playing immediately.  I can see how a few modifications would make the game more enjoyable for someone who is visually impaired, and I think overall it would be a real … Continue reading →

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Game Day September 2010: A Touch of Evil

  By Jacob Wood • September 20, 2010 ,
This entry is part 3 of 5 in the seriesSeptember Game Day

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series September Game Day

A Touch of Evil Box ArtA Touch of Evil is a huge game that would be difficult to sum up in just a paragraph or five.  Instead of trying to describe it all myself, here is the game’s description:

“Tis’ the dawn of the 19th century; an age of science, superstition, and witchcraft. Howling fills the night as a full moon rises over the small, secluded village of Shadowbrook. Gruesome murders have become a daily occurrence and terror haunts the streets at night. An evil creature has taken up residence here and the countryside is engulfed by a tide of darkness. But all is not lost…not yet.

A small group of heroic … Continue reading →

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Game Day September 2010: Catan Germany

  By Jacob Wood • September 20, 2010 ,
This entry is part 4 of 5 in the seriesSeptember Game Day

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series September Game Day

Catan Germany Box ArtIt was getting pretty late when we finished A Touch of Evil and many folks either went home or went to bed.  Three of us stayed around to start one final board game of the night, though: Catan Geographies: Germany.  This game is very similar to other versions of Settlers of Catan but uses its own unique game board and ahs a number of key differences.

If you’re not familiar with the popular Settlers of Catan game franchise, you might want to look it up.  It is probably one of the most well-known German board games that have been ported to English, and for good reason.  Catan is a … Continue reading →

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Game Day September 2010: Cleopatra

  By Jacob Wood • September 20, 2010 ,
This entry is part 5 of 5 in the seriesSeptember Game Day

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series September Game Day

Cleopatra Box ArtThe next morning we kicked off a game of Cleopatra, a Days of Wonder game, after breakfast.  Cleopatra is another resource management and building game, but varies quite a bit from Catan.  In this game, each player is an architect in Ancient Egypt, trying to build parts of a palace for Cleopatra herself.  During the game, players will collect resource cards, build different structures, and occasionally play special “character” cards to try to help them earn the most Victory Points.  However, some of these building pieces come at a cost: use of sub par resources or interaction with shady characters may help you build faster but will earn you “corruption points” at … Continue reading →