Pandemic! (New Board Game)

Last night I was introduced to Pandemic! by Zman games. It was so much crazy fun and unique in the fact that it was a cooperative endeavor between the players against the game itself.

The way it works is that 3-5 players are all assigned various roles and must work together to stop a global pandemic of four diseases.
The roles are:
Medic: Can heal all disease from a city and administer known cures for free
Dispatcher: Can move any player to a city with another player in it.
Researcher: Can trade any data with a player in the city.
Scientist: Can find a cure with 4 color cards instead of 5
Civil Operations: Builds research facilities to allow easier access for scientists and allow faster travel.


In a turn you have four actions: movement, curing, role abilities, ect. After that two player cards are drawn. These are usually color coded cities to move to a cure or special events. The only bad one is the Epidemic card. I think it speaks for itself.

Then, after that is done, you draw two infection cards and infect two new cities. This is where the epidemic card gets bad, because it makes you draw from the bottom of the infection deck, infect the city to maximum and then shuffle up all the previously infected city cards and place them on TOP of the deck, so you will find yourself with rapid reinfection.

Needless to say, we lost more than we won. But it was fun. Crazy fun. This description I have given you is a just the basics, and every game is different. You can find yourself on the easy road to victory only to lose right at the end, or you might struggle the whole way only to win in one round.

I recommend picking up a copy if you have the people to play with.

Dominion

BEST DAMN GAME IN A LONG TIME.

Players who enjoy Settlers of Catan, or Ticket to Ride should enjoy this game.

It is a game of resource management (current economists are welcome to join, I would love an easy win) where players must accrue wealth in order to purchase victory points. Person with the most in the end wins.

It is a game that is simple on the surface, but gets complicated quickly.

Out of a deck of 24 action cards, ten are drawn at random so that each game is unique. The cards range from allowing you to draw more cards into your hand, give you more actions on your turn, or an immediate boost to your wealth.

It is fun for both friends and family, is picked up quickly, and you won't have anyone stop speaking to you unlike Sorry.

So, go pick up a copy at you local games or hobby store.

So lazy.

Sorry about that, laziness on my part is more the rule than the exception. I have a couple of artists that I want to discuss later today, but right now I would like to welcome everyone back from the hangovers, holidays, and helicopter duels (if you were so fortunate to have one.)

Enjoy this video, and the many others over on the TED website. They are (usually) insightful, funny, and many of the speakers have a lot to bring to the table.

Dungeons and/or Dragons

I enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons. A lot. Like most RPGs it allows a chance to tell a small piece of a story inside of a world, whether you are a player telling the story of your character, or the DM guiding players through a world of your design.

What makes DnD particularly interesting though, is that the world is only roughly outlined, so that an infinite number of stories can take place inside of it.

This can be a very daunting set of shoes to step into, especially for a DM. This is the role I enjoy filling, as a writer, but even someone who decides they want to step up has only overcome the first hurdle.

From the get go, you are stuck in the middle between letting your players choose their own path through the world as they play and trying to tell a coherent story. Now, some fix this by leaving everything open ended and just handing their players a map and a couple of hints.

This can be fun for players, but it tends to get rough fast if there is any friction within the party and it means a lot of work in advance for you.

The way I tend to try and work it is by striking a balance between the story and the freedom of open world questing. I use the story as an overall frame that, instead of putting the players on a railroad into what I demand they enjoy, it just nudges them in various directions.

One good way of doing this is by having a lot of minor quests for players to accept or decline as they see fit. If the story sends them to a town that also happens to be the center for some strange occult activity, then they can decide to investigate. Along the way they may find a dispute to try and settle, or maybe a criminal on the loose that needs catching.

All the while, tie it back into the main story, by perhaps giving up a little information that will help them as a reward. Also, I try and make these the quests that reward them with the monetary types of treasure, while the magic items come in through the story.

The other thing to do is have multiple ways in mind that they can complete a given objective. If there is a mad leprechaun on the loose, perhaps they can pay him off, negotiate with him, or simply divert his energies elsewhere. Not everything has to end on the point of a sword. (Unless your players want that, which is cool.)

Now, I mentioned rewards a moment ago, which brings me to another point I hadn't thought of.
Players want to feel that their actions are noticed, so it is deathly important for you to pay attention to small things they do. Reward them for clever sayings by tossing a little bit of extra gold their way, or perhaps an action point for fast thinking. These small rewards go a long way to encourage players to think on their feet, and really helps with their immersion into the game if they feel like their actions have real consequence.

Now, this goes the other way also. The hardest part of the job is punishing player behavior, because you don't want to feel like a nanny that has to tsk their players. The problem is, if they decide to derail the game, especially if the whole party is not in on it, then it is time for you to step in and handle it. This can be done in or out of game.

For example, if the party has been dealing with the King of Wagonville, and one player decides that the king's blood pressure is too high and stabs him a few times to alleviate the problem, then that puts you in a rather tight spot. Do you allow the player's action to stand? Or do you tell them that their psychotic behavior causes him to turn into a weevil?

The best answer is to let the players decide, since to be honest they were the ones wronged, not you. (No matter how pissed you are that they derailed the work you put into a game.)

Remember, the game is about the players in the end. Without them, you are just left as a writer with a loose idea. (This has its own merits, but we all know how I feel about writing.) Make sure that they understand from the get go what you expect, and keep checking to make sure they are having fun, and things should go smoothly.

Good luck DMs!

The Fallout

So, one of the problems with being home with a sickness is that you are really unlikely to get jack shit done that is productive. I keep saying 'oh, I am sick, I can write a lot more than normal!' but this is a dirty lie. It is difficult to stay focused or be on top of your game, and since I feel dismal anyway, it doesn't help to make myself feel worse by writing badly. (end of terrible excuses here)

So I play games. The most recent is one that has been on my wish list for TEN DAMNED YEARS.
Fallout 3.

I must say, it is great. Maybe not well worth the wait, but since I had to wait it at least did not disappoint. The characters are amusing, the situations range from gritty to hilarious, and most of all the game is FUN to play.

It is difficult for me to say that, since normally I am so hard on games, but it is. It is just plain fun to play. Whether I am out harvesting Super Mutants or trying to fix a leaky pipe, the game delivers.

Now, before you go 'but but but! the problems!' let me just say, I know. The game is buggy, I hate SecureROM with every fiber of my being, and it is so hard to be evil, that staying neutral in the game makes cracking walnuts with your ass cheeks look like a breeze.

Sure, you can just run around shooting everyone, but where the hell is the fun in that? Who is left to extort, take advantage of, or annoy? Where is the mastermind? Or the brigand? Our Mephisto of the Wastes?

These are things that can be fixed later though, so pick up a copy and play. Now then, I am going to go and pretend to get back to work while I relive the joy of ten years ago.

My kingdom for a....

By now I am sure everyone has heard of, been exposed to, or had inflicted upon them the browser game Kingdom of Loathing.

I don't care if you have or not, I am still going to talk about it.

There have been two instances of me playing this game. Once a year or so ago, and then again currently. I must say, things do change fast in the kingdom.

This adventure compared to the first time I played through is about as far apart as the first Mario game and the third.

These developers so an almost obsessive dedication to their game experience, whether it be a constant influx of pop culture jokes, new dungeons, or writing more haikus about bugbears than anyone else on earth.

There is not a single character class that is boring to play, and each one has its uses so no matter who you play, you can always befriend someone else and gain the benefit of their buffs, skills, or meat. (That is the currency of the realm, NOT their... engorged weapon.)

Now, that is not to say that some classes aren't better than others. The best class by a wide margin is the Disco Bandit. Everyone else falls some where behind and in some order, but who really cares when you are sitting at the finish line sipping a gin and tonic while waiting for everyone else to catch up?

Not me.

So go and play. King Ralph might appreciate it... or he might not.