A Place For All My Books Is Fun & Challenging

 

A Place For All My Books is a fairly light game that is easy to teach but yet challenging.  Each player starts in their apartment and tries to complete little projects that involve resorting their books.  Each action they take, read a book, sort, gather, rest, admire gets allows them to charge up their "social battery" to get enough energy to go to town to get more books and other neat stuff that gives end game points.  Every trip to town brings the game closer to the end.  There are also three major accomplishment projects that all players race to finish first for more points.  Each completed little project is two points and each book in the apartment is worth one point.

So far I have taught 5 people to play this game and all have liked it.  A few even wanted to play it again right away.  This game can be for gamers as well as casual board gamers.  It's theme of being a book nerd is very well done, and the mechanics are fairly simple.  Yet, there is strategy involved such as how can I complete more projects and a time to make my admire action most efficient?  Should I go to town now or wait a bit longer to get more social battery energy?  Should I make that last trip to town to get more books or neat stuff to end the game, or just stay home and do more little projects?  Which project should I do next?  Should I focus on the major accomplishments, or just my little projects?  Can I manage both somehow?  Is the neat stuff card showing worth the cost, or should I just pick one from off the pile sight unseen for less?

This game also has a solo mode that I enjoyed playing.  It's a good way to learn the game and there are 5 levels that each get a bit more difficult.  

I highly recommend this game.  I like the artwork, the ease of learning, the quick set up and the challenge in this game.  I also like the opportunity to collect board games for lots of points and get cats to help get extra end game points as well.

So, who wants to come play this with me?  If you have played it, what did you think of it?  

  

Today Is Parma Pink Day

In honor of Parma Pink day, I am wearing my bright pink shirt and making Ambrosia salad using strawberry Jello instead of the usual pistachio.  What an adventurer I am!  Ha!  I mixed in a whole tub of cool whip, a bunch of marshallows, crushed pineapple and even some cherries.  It's very pink--success.  Am considering adding some almonds to help cut down on the super sweetness.  What do you think?  Add them--yes?  No?

"Through the Desert" Is a Short, Fun, Strategic Game

For those who like games to be done in less than an hour that are easy to learn and play, Through the Desert would be a good one for you.  It plays up to 5 players, is a quick setup, easy to teach, easy to play.  All you have to do is take turns placing two camels on the board wherever you wish as long as they are next to your other camel of that color.  The object of the game is to get the most points by (1) having the longest caravan in a color; (2) Acquiring watering hole points; (3) by sealing off a territory from other players; and (4) getting 5 pts. for putting a different color camel next to a palm tree.  The game ends as soon as all the camels of one color have been placed on the board.

Here are a few tips for winning that I have picked up by playing the game:

1.    Have your caravans break off in different directions to avoid getting blocked in.

2.    Try to block out other players.

3.    Try to get at least one camel next to every tree.

4.    Try to get a few territories blocked off.

5.    Try to get the longest caravan for several colors.

Believe me, this game is harder than it looks!

So Excited!

I always get a thrill when I get a bargain on a new game by winning the auction on Ebay for it!  My latest game acquisition is Great Western Trail and it is on the heavy side.  It's always fun to punch out the pieces and get it set up for the first time.  This is one I heard good things about and appealed to me when watching the reviews of it on YouTube, so I took the plunge and bought it.  It took me two days to get everything punched out, set up and get through the rules.  There's a lot to it but think it will be a great game once me and my friends learn it.  There seems to be lots of ways to get points and lots of options along the way. I am excited to learn how to play it and be able to teach it to others soon!

If you know how to play this, please give me some tips in the comments.  Also, if you would like to play this with me, let me know!

Brass Birmingham Grew on Me

The first time I played Brass Birmingham was with Tim and Brad and Tim was teaching it to us but hadn't played it much himself. I was completely in left field and didn't have a clue what I was doing.  It seemed like work instead of play because of the complexity of taking certain actions.  I even watched the YouTube video that explained how to play but I still felt lost.  The only thing I really understood was that it's good to take loans early.  I think it took us about 4.5 to 5 hours to play.  I lost to Tim won but Brad and I weren't way behind.  Tim focused on selling pottery and was successful at that which made the difference.  Plus the fact he got way more points for his network of boats and trains than I did.  This game was on my mind days later, and I wanted to give it another try knowing I could do better now that I grasped the rules.

There are cards that allow you to place goods in certain cities.  It's one of those games where you have a limited number of turns and you actually get to use other players canals, railways, iron, coal and beer.  It took me the whole first game to understand that concept.  It's to your benefit to be in or near other players cities and I was playing just the opposite along the lines of Ticket to Ride where it's better to be away from everyone else. The goal is to make the most money which translates to victory points.  It's straightforward in that sense because there are only two ways of making money:  either sell your goods and resources, or connect boats and trains to cities where goods and resources were sold.  There is much to remember in this game which at times can be frustrating.   Especially the part where after the first canal era ends (all the cards have been used up), all the boats and level 1 goods/resources are removed from the board and you basically have to start all over for the train era.  Plus, to lay track in the second era, the cost goes up!  After playing it again, I really liked it and bought it.  I liked it so much that I had a tournament among all the different industrialists (player tokens) over several weeks!  Doing that also helped me to learn the game better and try different strategies.

After each round when all players have had a turn, we get money based on our income level which goes up when you sell something and down if you take out a loan.  The best thing about loans is that you never have to pay them back.  It's truly free money to use.  You can't sell anything unless there is a line of boats or trains going from the city your goods are in to the market that will buy what you are selling.  These markets are placed around the edge of the board randomly each game.  The other requirement is that to sell goods (linen, pottery, or manufactured goods) you must also pay a beer (for the workers to enjoy).  On the other hand, resources (iron, coal, beer) are either used by yourself or other players, or if there are open spots in the coal and iron markets on the board, these resources are sold to the market.  Here's another rule that took me awhile to understand:  In order to use player's coal, there must be a line of boats or trains from the coal to the trains you are adding or the city in which you are placing a product.  Plus, you must use the closest coal supply--a player's coal or from the coal market.  On the other hand, iron is available to be used by all players on their turn without them being connected to it.  A player may use their own beer on their turn whether they are connected to it by boats or trains or not.  However, to use someone else's beer, the player must be connected to it.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about this game if you have played it.  My friend, Nan, says she thinks it's easier than Ark Nova but I disagree.  

Watch this short video that explains it in a nutshell and gives you a better idea of how cool it looks: