Game Review: Elder Sign – Omens

Elder Sign – Omens is the mobile device game based on Elder Sign. I have the Android version, and it costs £2.50 in the UK. It is also available for the iPad and iPhone.

I have played Elder Sign a few times, and will be picking it up when I get the chance. I prefer Arkham Horror, but it just takes too long compared to the 45 mins of Elder Sign.

The Android version is very good. It is faithful to the board game, with just a few tweaks. It is set in a museum, all the events happening here. There are two Old ones to go up against, with a third, Cthulu himself, being a unlockable.

You have to go around completing encounters, some which give you items, some which advance the story and more difficult ones where you can get the Elder Signs used to seal the Old one, allowing you to win. There is still a time limit, and monsters appear as usual, usually right where you want to go next.

Encounters are resolved like in the board game, using glyphs that you conjure. You must match these to what the encounter requires, then you lose these for the other encounters in that part. You can get two extra glyphs, a red and a yellow if you have the correct items. Glyphs can also be locked to be used later on. It all sounds complicated, and is difficult to explain, but when you see it in action it becomes very easy.

This game however is hard. Very hard, but I feel this makes the game. There are lots of characters to choose from, and each plays differently with their abilities, so its a challenge just to find the best group for your play style. Being so hard as well, there is great re-playability. It is easy to get frustrated, but you must see where you are going wrong to improve at this game.

If you like the Arkham Horror series, or are a fan on H P Lovecraft, then I say this game is a must. Even if you have Elder Sign, then this will be great, as you will know how to play and can carry it around with you to play wherever you are.

A great mobile game, which surprised me somewhat. It is actually put out by Fantasy Flight, and I hope to see some more of their games come out on the mobile platform (multi player mobile Talisman?) For the small price, this is a great buy.

Worst movie death scene ever.. or is it?

There come a time when you see something so funny.. you have to share it. Don't worry, nothing graphic in this, would be a PG here in the UK. From the Turkish movie 'Kareteci Kız 1973', YouTube presents:

Board Game Review: Zombies!!!

I had been wanting to play this game for a good long time, so you can imagine my joy when someone took this to the last Thursday Night Gaming, I mean, what cooler than a board game with zombies?

Ill tell you. A good board game with zombies in it, and this is one of them. Weighing in with 14 expansions, this is a big game series, but you only need the first box to get slaying, and I would add the expansions in number order.

Lets get to the game. We played the first game with the full 6 people. The rules are simple, draw map tile and place, draw cards, play cards, move and fight, and then move the zombies. Some map tiles are empty streets, some have lots of zombies and health on them.

Everything is done with just a d6. To fight, you must roll a 4+. That’s it. If you don’t, you can spend a life to re roll the die, or spend a bullet to improve the score by one. This is actually quite strategic, do you spend all the bullets you have, or use a life and hope you roll better? If you lose all your lives, you lose half the zombies you have killed, and go back to the start.

The goal of the game is to be the one who gets to the center square of the helipad tile (somewhere in the bottom half of the deck) or be the first to kill 25 zombies. Both are no mean feat, but going for the 25 kills is the most fun (and deadly!)

Lets say this as well, this is not a co op game. You can help each other, but alliances are formed and shattered rapidly. In the game I played, one player said to me “lets work together!”, so I agreed and helped, only to be left in the middle of a zombie horde after he speeds off in a car. Nice.

The cards add a nice touch to the game, being cards that can help yourself, or severely hinder other peoples ability to survive. Such as a car card which allows you to move ten spaces, to the Zombie Master! card, that lets you place 5 zombies anywhere on the board, usually surrounding a hapless individual.

The game we played lasted around an hour and forty five minutes, and that was with 6 people, only one of which had played before. This is a great game, there is some strategy, but mainly this is a free for all romp through a zombie apocalypse where there can be only one. Get this, grab your mates, and see who can get to that helicopter first.

Railways of the World: The Card Game

It's very rare that I will play a card game that is based on another board game, but this one is different.
Railways of the World is one of my favorite board games of all time. Even so, sometimes it is just to big of a game to get out and play, especially so if you don't have enough time to play a full game. This is where the card game come in.
Played with one deck of cards, some trains and a table, this really gives you a cut down version of the game without losing anything. Players have a hand of cards, that will consist of track cards, city cards and engine cards. Track cards allow you to build between cities, city cards show how many goods are available and engine cards upgrade your engine.
There are different city cards, and the higher cities yield more goods, but less colours go into them. Track cards come in a variety of colours, and you must chain them to get the required number to get into a city. So a brown 3 city requires you to place brown track that equals or exceeds a value of 3, which you then place a control train on.
Deliveries are as normal, with you needing a engine of sufficient power to move along the links. This is where the engine cards come in. Play one, and the level of your train goes up. They can also be used as wild cards for track placement.
You start in a central hub, and build the map as you go. All the usual game rules apply from its bigger brother, and scoring is almost exactly the same.
Cards are drawn from the deck to your hand, but you can also take the top card of the discard pile aswell.
The games is great as a standalone, and if you have played the full version then it is very easy to pick up and play. But I use this game to teach people how to play the full game, and it takes just 45 mins to play, and deals with all the major rules.
All in all fantastic game which can be played multiple times in a session, with enough nuances to actually warrent getting both this and the full game. Again, as with the full game, don't let the theme put you off. Play and you will be hooked.

Card Games: What to buy?

Here's a short run down of card games that we play here at Farlands Games. We recommend all these games, if you see them, give them a go!

A pack of normal cards: Portable, and can be great fun when with a group of friends. The best thing about a pack of cards is that almost everyone knows how to play games with these. Blackjack, Poker, Chase the Ace, Go Fish, and many more. Cheap and easy, and can be played when you are waiting for people to show up for the main game. Also, there are quite a few solo games out there that use a pack of cards.

Dominion: Of course, no list of card games would be complete without a mention of this game. Simple to understand, difficult to master, and expanded with so much content, there really is something for everyone. Kids can enjoy this as much as adults, and play as hard aswell. The thing I really like about this game is how much actual strategy that there is in this, and the deeper you look into it, the better the game becomes.

Elder Sign: Ok, not technically a card game, and does use dice, but uses less table space than most card games use, and is played predominately on and with cards. The younger brother of Arkham Horror, this game plays fast, and can be played solo of with a group of friends. Plays just like Arkam Horror, with all the juicy stories and theme, but with simplified rules, plays in around 30 mins. Still cannot beat the full Arkham, but with that having a playing time of 4 hours plus, this is a fantastic alternative.

Fluxx: Simple, good, honest fun with a twisted sense of humor. Two rules start the game, and more are added as you go along. Don't like the victory conditions? Play a card to change them. Want to draw 3 cards? 4? Want to collect everyone's cards together and deal them out again? Well that's exactly what you can do with this great card game from Looney Labs. There are a number of decks available, from standard Fluxx, Pirate Fluxx and Monty Python Fluxx. All the card backs are the same, so you can mix and match between sets and create a custom game. Martian Zombies anyone?

The Island of Dr. Necreaux: James bond type hero's and villain's in a James Bond type adventure. This is a little talked about game, but can be purchased quite cheaply on the internet. Easy to understand, the difficulty in this game really is brutal however. Your mission is to save some scientists from the evil Dr. Necreaux, but he has set his island to self destruct. Battle henchmen, robots and crafty traps, save the scientists and escape, all with a time limit. So good ideas in this game, if you can find it, give it a try.

Paper money in games: What do you think?

I have seen this debated many times over the internet on different forums and sites. Following is what I think, and is my own opinion.

I like paper money in games. Its tactile, and I think it makes it easier to see not only what you have yourself, but also what other people have at their disposal, at a glance. I admit that it can wear out and is prone to drink and food spillage, but that should not be a problem if you excersise a bit of care when you are gaming, after all these games can cost in excess of 40.00 each.

What are the alternatives to paper money? Well I see people arguing poker chips. They say you can buy a set of poker chips, and subtitute them in games where you use paper money. They are easier to stack, and less prone to damage. OK, I can see the benefits of not being easily damaged, especially if you game with excitable people. What I don't see is that for every game you need to give each chip a value, one that I could see people getting confused with how much each chip is valued at.

Along with poker chips, any other marker could be used, stones, beads, glass discs, you name it, it could be substituted.

Another option is what the makers of Monopoly went with, and that was to dispense with all money, and use fake plastic credit cards and a credit card machine. A nice gimmick, it can still be cheated however, and you have to use the card machine to even check how much you have. I found it got tiresome after a few games, and dislike how only one transaction at a time can be made.

Call me old fashioned, but I really like paper money. It been around in games for a long time, and fits themes nicely. I cannot imagine playing Railways of the World with poker chips, it just would not feel right to me. I can see the arguments from the side of practicality and durability, but the people that I play with are careful with games, especially if it is not their game.

What are you thoughts on this topic? Should paper money stay, or should we move with the times? Discuss in the comments below or over at our facebook page.

Choosing the perfect game

This was posted to our Facebook page, and I thought it was worth a post. Many thanks to the guys at Silver Oak Casino for this one.