Author: Michele

Do you like to play games and show them to others? Are you a game store or convention that wants people to come do demos? Check out the Double Exposure structured play program at http://www.dexposure.com/envoy/

Double Exposure works with game companies to get games that they offer to individuals in order to have them run and demo the games and game stores and conventions. Many larger companies have “outrider” programs to reward individuals who run their games at these venues, but smaller companies often aren’t able to offer this type of program. Double Exposure’s mission is to offer a group of outriders to these smaller companies, and help facilitate with conventions and game stores to get the word out.

Individuals register with Double Exposure, and have a quick video interview to qualify for the program. Then they can choose the games they would like to run. If you own a copy of the game, you may use yours, or you can request a free game from the company. Either way, you will run a video demo of the game to certify on it. This way the game companies can be assured that they are getting people who really know the game. If you get a free game, you have a required number of appearances that you need to do over the year with that game. If you have your own copy, those requirements are waived. There will be prizes that you can earn with the “points” that you get for your appearances as the program develops more.

I joined the program and have certified on four games: Cutthroat Caverns, Sutakku, Qin and Volt: Robot Battle Arena. I am impressed with the organization and dedication of the folks running the program and highly recommend it to others. They assisted our convention library with support, and made sure that our GM’s were certified on their games before the convention. They also facilitated with the companies that I work with (R&R Games and Smirk and Dagger) to get me T-shirts for those games, a Double Exposure T-shirt, a pin, pen and other swag that I can use to put myself forward as an envoy for my games.

I highly recommend you check them out if you have ever thought of being an outrider for a game company. There are some great games here that aren’t as well known, and could use the PR.

Qin
R&R Games, 2012

Wow, that was a lot longer hiaitus than I originally planned. Miss me? This week, we’ll take a look at Qin from R&R Games by Reiner Knizia. Loosely based on the Qin dynasty over 2000 years ago in China, the players colonize the Chinese hinterlands by founding provinces and absorbing remote villages into their empires. They build pagodas as a sign of their authority. The first person to place all of their pagodas wins.

The large game board has 2 sides. For the initial game it is recommended that you play the slightly easier “bird” board. This board has grassland spaces, where you place tiles, provinces (in red, yellow and blue) that are the start spaces for players to begin expanding their empire and villages that the players will attempt to conquer. The more difficult “lion” board adds in ponds that block tile placement.

Tiles consist of two squares each (variations of red, blue and yellow combinations). Each player will start with a number of pagodas based on number of players and three tiles. The game suggests that the youngest player plays first, but any arbitrary means will suffice. On their turn, each player will place a tile, and place pagodas to claim territory. By placing a tile you can create a province if you have created an unclaimed territory of two or more same colored province spaces (placing one pagoda), or they can expand a province that they already own. If they expand their province to 5 or more of the same color, they can place a 2nd pagoda. If their province lies adjacent to a village, and they have more pagodas adjoining the village than any other player, they may claim that village. Or, if they join two separate provinces of the same color, and their province has more spaces that the one they join, then they can absorb that province into their own. The game ends as soon as one player places their last pagoda. They win! There are a few more fiddly bits to the rules, which you can figure out when you purchase the game.

This is a really nicely balanced game with a fair amount of options and strategy, yet is deceptively simple. If a player happens to get a double color tile (two blue, two red, etc.) often, this can shift the balance in their favor, which is the only complaint that we have. Might have been a little better with fewer doubles, to make it more challenging, but that is nitpicking, as it isn’t a big problem, and can be overcome by smart play. I’ve seen a couple reviews of this, and should note that no province can ever have more than two pagodas, so you have to spread out and work many different areas of the board in order to win. One review stated that you could keep stacking pagodas, which would be a variant you could try, but isn’t in the rules.

The game is well crafted, with nice art and lots of cute little pagodas that are fun to play with. A good helping of strategy without mind-numbing boredom. In most games like this, you have to play tiles next to the same color as the one you are playing. That is NOT the case in Qin, which can trip up seasoned players a little.

Overall, a really nice game. Plays quickly and easily. Recommended.

Time really flies when you are having fun. And I’m having fun running Gamicon! Gamicon is Mindbridge Foundation’s annual game convention. It’s awesome, and you should come. Friday, February 20 through Sunday, February 22 at the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Iowa City. Check it out at www.Gamicon.org. It’s kind of a big thing, and it has been taking all my time, so I haven’t had a chance to write up new reviews. So come to Gamicon and see the cool games you have seen reviewed here, and I’ll be back with new reviews in March.

Kerflip!
Game Salute, 2012

If you are a big fan of Scrabble and other word games, here is another one to check out. In Kerflip, players grab a number (depending on the number of players) of tiles at random, without looking at them from a bag.  Once everyone has their tiles, they hold them over the board and on the signal drop them onto the board. Then there is a slightly awkward time where the players all flip the tiles to their light side. Then everyone quickly shouts out a word that can be made from the letters on the table. We found this awkward because while players are flipping tiles, they can get a good look at them while somewhat shielding the letters from other players, making it easier for them to figure out words faster. Even unintentionally , this isn’t easy to get around. Maybe we should have formed our words, then flipped the tiles before scoring.  I’d recommend this.

Players then score their words . The first person (the one who stated their word first) gets 10 points for every light colored tile. Then they flip the tiles to their orange sides. Those letters now count for only 5 points on successive players turns. On the light side of several of the letters (K, Q, X, Z, J, etc) is a small number. If you use that letter while it is still un-flipped, you get to draw that many cards, which have victory points ranging from 0-20. Then all the orange tiles are removed from the game, and the unused tiles are returned to the bag for the next round. When there isn’t enough tiles for everyone to draw the required amount, the game is over.  At the end of the game, the total of your score from making words, plus the total of the cards you have drawn to make your final score. Highest score wins.

If you can’t come up with words quickly or make combinations that others don’t make, then this game may not be for you. A 15 second timer comes with the game in case you get someone who spends a lot of time trying to find the best possible word, to keep the game moving.  I like trying to make words quickly and enjoy the challenge of trying to make a high scoring words. I didn’t like the dropping and flipping tiles, but as I mentioned above, they wouldn’t have to be flipped until after the players have committed to their word. This plays fast and easy, and if you can make words using the special tiles, and get a lot of cards, it can even out the game, or it can push it toward one person grabbing all the points. It would be interesting if they put a lesser card draw on the orange side of the tiles, so a “Q” might have a 3 card draw if used once, 1 card if you use it after it has been flipped.

There is also a lightning tile. When this tile appears, the first person to shout their word gets a 25 point bonus. This can really give that fast-word-creating player a huge lead. I am not thrilled with that mechanic. Would rather see a tile like that come up, but have it go to the person who made the most points that round or some mechanic that makes it more of a strategic play, rather than a fast one.

In the end, it is a good quality game, with a nice storage tray that makes clean up of a lot of little tiles very easy. They have created a “funnel” within the storage tray. The board sits on top of the tray during play, so you just swipe the used tiles into the open section. At the end of the game, you simply tip up the box and all the tiles fall right into their storage box. Easy peasy.

If you like fast paced word games, pick it up. You’ll enjoy it.