Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Eminent Domain: Microcosm

Product– Eminent Domain: Microcosm

Producer-Tasty Minstrel Games

Price– $7 here http://www.miniaturemarket.com/ttt3003.html/?utm_source=boardgamegeek.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=BGG_Text_Ongoing&utm_content=Text_SKU-TTT3003_Ttl-4_Dsc-2_MMUrl-Yes

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 5 minutes (2 players)

Type-Euro

Depth-Light

TL; DR– Bad rules hurt a great game. 83%

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Basics-Vie for galactic dominance!  Eminent Domain: Microcosm is the two player microgame version of the popular Eminent Domain game.  The game is set up by separating the types of planet cards based on how many colonize/warfare it will take to get that planet.  These cards are placed face down.  Then, the main deck of action cards is shuffled and three are placed face up in a row to be selection.  Finally, the five different technology cards are placed face up for all the players to buy.  After set up, players take turn drawing a face-up or top of the draw pile card, refreshing the visible row, and then playing a card or drawing as may cards as the player wishes from his or her discard pile.  The cards have an action on them, a symbol for other actions, and a way to score end game points.  The main actions on the cards are research, warfare, and colonization.  When a player plays a warfare or colonization card for its action, he or she chooses a planet pile.  These planet cards have different values of both colonize and attack needed to take the planet, but these values are hidden to the player when he or she chooses.  Players can show, not play, other cards from the player’s hand to meet these values.  If the colonization is successful, then the planet is placed face down in front of the player.  Planets have a symbol that can be revealed to add to other played action cards.  If a player plays a warfare card and has the needed symbols, then the planet goes to the spoils pile.  Planets in the spoils are only worth end game points and cannot be revealed for their symbols.  But, warfare has an added bonus.  A player can declare warfare on an opponent’s colonized planets, stealing them, and making the game much more combat focused. The last major card type is research.  Research allows you to take a technology card from the center row OR move an opponent’s technology row to the center row.  If a player can shows three more research symbols on other cards, the player can take the research action again moving the same or other research cards around.  The technology cards provide extra symbols for research, colonization, warfare, or other actions.  Play continues until every card from the selection row is taken, and then the players score points based on the cards they have: one point per colonized or planet in spoils, one point per political symbol they have, and then they get extra points based on the extra point conditions on all the cards they selected.  Winner of the game has conquered the (micro)cosmos!

Mechanics– Quick, lean, and deep are not words you hear together too often, but this game has that.  It plays in less than five minutes.  It’s not full of clutter as every card in the deck could be the difference between a win or defeat.  And, deep as playing what and when are the hardest choices you have to make in a game.  Honestly, once you know how to play, you won’t put this one down. 4.5/5

 

Theme-This game feels like a contest between two players over planets.  It’s not perfect as the random nature can really limit what strategies you can employ.  But, the addition of conquering colonized planets really adds a new depth to the game.  As you scorched-earth conquered planets, that really add to the strategy AND the theme.  Are you a galactic empire bent of destruction or are you peaceful colonists who will co-exist with the planet and use its resources? 4.5/5

Instructions-Tasty Minstrel….. where do I begin.  These rules are just bad!  You have some nuggets of gold here, but a lot of that is fool’s gold.  This isn’t a game where scores are 3 to 90.  This is a game where scores will be 30 to 31.  Knowing how to score is the most important part of this game, and you don’t really teach players how to do it.  If you go to Board Game Geek, there are no less than four different explanations to the rules.  This is a microgame!  I shouldn’t need to use my Ph.D. to score the game!  I love that you added cards to your other games, but honestly, I’d like one extra sheet over cards to the base Eminent Domain game.  I’ve played several times, and I still don’t think I’ve scored properly.  Also, you don’t really teach me how to play.  The cards give the basics, but the rules sheet doesn’t do a good job of that.  If I don’t think I’m playing properly, and I’m not sure I’m losing or winning properly, I can’t enjoy your game! 1.5/5

Execution-Tasty Minstrel Games knows how to make a card game.  NO STICKERS!  That right there makes me love this game.  I kid, I kid (kind of), but what is in this box is top notch.  The cards are good quality, the art is great, and the extra cards are icing on that cake.  It’s a simple game that a ton of fun.  5/5

Summary– This is the lowest rated Tasty Minstrel Game’s product, and it all has to do with the rules.  Honestly, on game play alone, I love this more than Eminent Domain.  It feels more right in this game to mess with the other player than it does in Eminent Domain, even with the expansion.  On theme, this is better to as now I think I’m really fighting over planets, and fighting has costs.  Colonizing is quick, but a gamble as you can really lose some points if your opponent swings planets away from you with warfare.  The game itself is well put together, but it should be for a card game that is less than 35 cards.  What hurts is the rule sheet.  There isn’t enough there.  I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s no fun if I don’t know how to play and score.  I can more easily score Seven Wonders than this game as that rulebook walks me through it!  If you rewrite the rules on two sheets instead of one, I will love this game more than any other two player microgame I have and bring it with me everywhere like Coin Age.  Altogether, this is a spectacular game with bad rules.  83%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Shadows in Focus Sioux Nation

Product– Shadowrun: Shadows in Focus: Sioux Nation

System– Shadowrun 5e

Producer– Catalyst Game Labs

Price– $ 8 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/142521/Shadowrun-Shadows-in-Focus-Sioux-Nation

TL; DR– A little pricey, but a great read 92%

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Basics– Time to step out onto the range and head into the NAN!  As you can tell by the title, this is a guide book to the Sioux Nation in 2075, a land constantly preparing for war against a much larger aggressor that doesn’t really care about them.  The book is written in the same Shadowslands BBS style that is always a fan favorite covering the geography, magic, government, people, and underworld of the Sioux Nation.  At the end of the book, there are a few small sections on how to great a Sioux Nation shadowrunner giving quick skill guides as well as roleplaying tips.

Mechanics or Crunch– For a splat book that usually doesn’t have anything at all for mechanics, this one is pretty decent.  The last several pages are character creation.  Now, there isn’t anything that specially makes you need to buy this book like say an amazing quality or spell, but the authors took time to write something and even provided skill break downs for quick character generation.  Not bad, but much more than I honestly expected. 4/5

Theme or Fluff-   Plan to run anywhere need the NAN?  Then you need this book.  Want to learn a ton of Shadowrun world history focusing on the Western US?  Then you need this book.  Want a great Shadowrun history book for cheap?  Then you should get this book.  It’s well done with lots of mission hooks and entire campaign hooks built in.  Honestly, you could run a several months game based on the history in this book alone. 5/5

 

Execution– I’ve been pretty hard on Catalysts bigger books lately.  But, like most of their smaller splat books, this is a well done piece of work.  It flows well, reads quickly, and is fun to get through.  And the price, while a little high, isn’t bad at all for some quality world building. 4.75/5

Summary– This is an amazing nation book.  You get all the information you need with good layout, art, and text.  While there is mechanics and crunch here, my only complaint is I’d like something more mechanically.  Throw in a mentor spirit, some custom gun mod, and maybe a Sioux specific spell, and I’d be on cloud nine.  But as it is, this is a good world book with loots of fluff to start a Shadowrun game or to have on hand when you players decide to knock over a Stuffer Shack in the NAN. 92%

Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Oddball Aeronauts

Product– Oddball Aeronauts

Producer-Maverick Muse Ltd.

Price– $18 here http://www.amazon.com/ToyMarket-obA-1-oddball-Aeronauts/dp/B00LHXITWA/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432780263&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=oddball+aeronaughts

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 10 minutes (2 players)

Type-American

Depth-Light

TL; DR– A simple two player Munchkin. 78%

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Basics-Hard to starboard for an airship battle!  In Oddball Aeronauts, each player takes the role of one of two airship captains trying to destroy the others ship.  Each player starts with a deck of cards that is specifically created for each ship.  There are two types of cards in the deck: events and characters.  Events are one time occurrences that will randomly change the flow of the game as they are drawn to the top of the deck.  Characters have two major sections to them: statistics and tricks.  The statistics are broken down into three distinct areas: sailing, guns, and boards with a major skill number and a skill bonus (more on this in a bit).  The trick on each character is another ability the card might be able to add to a fight.  Players set up after shuffling their decks by taking three cards and placing them face-down in their hands.  Next, players then place the remaining cards from their deck face-up in their hands.  Players will then look at the top three cards in their hands.  The first card’s skill has to be used in the upcoming battle while one of the next two cards’ skill bonuses can be used and the trick from one of these cards can be used as well.  However, the trick and the skill bonus can’t be from the next card.  After looking over their three cards, each player starting with the lead (first player), announces how they will attack the other player via sailing, guns, or boarding, and the other player then announces how they will attack as well.  Both players need not say the same method of attack.  Then player will, after the count of three, announce how many of their top three cards they will use in the upcoming battle.  The cards are compared with the highest skill + skill bonus from the second or third card + trick ability from the second or third card winning the hand.  If the non-lead player won, then they become the lead.  All players then discard the cards that were used in the battle by placing them face down in the deck under the other face down cards already in the players hand.  Then, the method that the winning player used affects the decks.  If the players won by sailing, two faces down cards are flipped into the face up part of that player’s deck making them available cards now.  If the player won via guns, then the losing player discards face down two additional cards under their deck.  If the player won via boarding, then the winner gains one card to their deck, and the loser loses one card.  Play continues like this until one player has only face down cards in their hand and their air ship has crash!

Mechanics– To me this is a much quicker, much more two player friendly version of Munchkin.  It’s quick, plays fast, and is a fun way to spend 10 minutes with a friend.  However, it’s also pretty simple, so don’t expect a ton of thinking in this one.  And, the game adds some strange corner cases like magic.  Magic is a trick on very few cards, but some other cards have a shadow emblem.  You can’t use magic in a battle with the shadow emblem.  I don’t think that really helps the game’s flow as it adds some deeper rules for a simple game that I don’t think are really needed.  The game is overall quick, easy, and fun however.  4/5

 

Theme– This game has a theme, but it doesn’t hit you over the head.  It’s very subtle, and I think it needs a bit more.  It’s fun while feeling like an air ship battle, but I wanted more stories to this one.  The cards have some great art, and the manual has some added information on the ships, but it need more to build the world of this game. 4/5

Instructions-Hands down the worst part of the game.  That cards facing up/cards facing down part of the game that makes it so quick and easy to play, but that isn’t explained very well at all in the rules.  When I saw a YouTube video about it, then the game became crystal clear.  The rules leave lots out, and that makes the game somewhat frustrating as it’s a game that will take you longer to find on your game shelf than to actually play! Honestly, look up a let’s play or rules tutorial online to learn these rules!   2.5/5

Execution– A card game my wife and I can play while we wait in line at McDonalds?  Beautiful!  The box is compact, doesn’t have any unnecessary pieces, and the cards are of decent quality.  The art is good, the layout is eye catching and easily accessible, and something that you could quickly explain and play.  It’s just a well done small box game. 5/5

Summary-If you want a game you can play while in a bar standing around a high table, this is an excellent game.  If you want 12 hours+ of in-depth strategy, then this isn’t the game you want.  You want some quick steampunk while you’re waiting for you tea to cool?  Well worth your time.  If this game would rewrite the rules, I’d love this game so much more.  As it stands now, the rule book is what really kills this game.  The mechanics are good, not great as it’s a simple game, the theme is decent, and the execution is solid.  I hate when I have to go online to learn to play a game, and doubly hate when I need YouTube to teach me to play a game that’s uses less than 60 total cards!  But, if you can get past the rules, you will find an amazing little gem of a steampunk two player card game.  78%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Street Grimoire

Product– Street Grimoire

System– Shadowrun 5e

Producer– Catalyst

Price– $25 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/131832/Shadowrun-Street-Grimoire

TL; DR– Even with my favorite spell, a few problems hurt the book. 87%

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Basics– There is a lot more magic than what you see on the trids, chummer.  Street Grimoire is a large hardcover book covering magic in the Shadowrun 5e world.  The book spends a long time discussing how magic works (or how it might work), the world and magic, different types of magic, and other canon pieces of Shadowrun before diving into adding hard, crunchy bits to the setting.  It covers all types of magic from mages to adepts and everybody in between like spirits with each type of magic (spell casting, enchanting, summoning, et al) getting their own chapter.

Mechanics or Crunch– Overall, I like what’s in Street Grimoire.  The book adds a ton of spells even adding my favorite spell euphoria (which used to be called Orgasm) as well as adding a large variety of new spirit options, adept powers, and magic traditions.  What makes me less than amazed is the lack of qualities and the types of spells.  There are a few, but most can’t be PC qualities.  Also, as a magic Decker, I was kind of less amazed by the new adept powers.  Some are awesome, but I felt the techno-mages kind of were left in the cold.  The spells in the book are good, but nothing sticks out besides my special favorite to really make me take any at character generation.  They are a little to specific and that kind of keeps me away when I only get 10 spells to start.  What’s in the book is good, but I’d like a bit more. 4.25/5

Theme or Fluff- Here is where the Shadowrun books always shine.  The book is written as a conversation on the Shadowrunner BBS as a character writes a long post, and all the other Shadowrunners tare into the poster with comments.  It’s well done and entertaining.  I just read a 200+ page anthropology book about a world that doesn’t exist, but I wasn’t bored and was pretty enthralled.  Good job! 5/5

 

Execution-While the theme is really helped by the addition of the Shadowrunner BBS conversation, some of the important parts of the book get mixed into the conversation.  Sometimes concessions for organization are made to keep the BBS format going.  Those concessions can hurt the understanding of the reader.  One example is the chapter on magic groups as several examples discussed, but after all the groups are mentioned the book adds a page about group organization.  That would be excellent information, but the section wasn’t front loaded in a way I could follow, so I was reading about something else, then a small, in-text section describes how the groups are organized.  So, I was a bit lost.  That happed a few other places as well.  You can find your way, but it does distract from the flow of the book. 3.75/5

Summary– Overall, this is a good book.  I’m a relatively new convert to Shadowrun, so the world story side of the book is really helpful.  However, this book isn’t the home run I would have hoped for.  Mechanically, I want more.  As a starting wizard, the book doesn’t have a ton of spells you’ll want to pick up and use.  The spells here are great, but you’ll more than likely stick to the spells out of the base book.  And that’s kind of a running theme for the mechanics throughout this book.  Good stuff, but nothing that will make you build a starter character based on.  UNLESS YOU COULD SHANTE THE WORLD SEXIEST TROLL!  Just because the book brings back my favorite fourth edition spells as euphoria, it gets a higher grade simply for that.  But, this book also suffers from a serious problem with organization.  Sure the book “works” as I can read it fine, but as a reader, I felt lost a few times.  That hurts the overall presentation.  This is a good book, but it needs some work to really make this the slam dunk it could be.   87%

Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Dead of Winter

Product– Dead of Winter

Producer-Plaid Hat Games

Price– $75 here http://www.amazon.com/Dead-of-Winter-Crossroads-Game/dp/B00HFKITJC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432091044&sr=8-1&keywords=dead+of+winter

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 45-120 minutes (2-6 players)

Type-American

Depth-Medium

TL; DR– Battlestar Galactica meets Zombicide.  89%

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Basics-Can you survive the winter with the dead outside?  Dead of Winter is a simple American style game where player take the role of a group of survivors of the zombie apocalypse.  At the start players choose a scenario with a victory condition as well as each player receiving a secret goal that can range from getting enough of one item to a traitor card who has to undermine each other player!  Next, players receive starting items and choose two characters out of four possible options.

Each round the players uncovers a new problem that they must face.  These problems require players to spend a number of cards to solve or more enemies will be added and the players will lose moral, a general survivability of the colony that when it reaches zero the players lose.  Then, all players roll dice equal to the number of characters they control.  These dice can be spent to do actions with no limit to the number of actions each individual character you control can do.  Next, each player takes their individual turns, but here’s the catch- before a player starts his/her turn, another player draws a crossroad card.  A crossroad card is a random event that may happen that turn depending on what characters are in play, actions the player does, and even the number of cards in the discard/garbage pile!  The current player spends dice to take actions that range from attacking zombies, searching, building barricades, and some character specific abilities.  The number rolled on the die really only count for combat and searching.  Each character has a search value and a combat value.  If you spend a dice for either of those actions with a value equal to or higher than the characters search or combat result for search or combat, you succeed on your search or combat and get to draw a searched card or kill a zombie.  Thus, you know you will be successful before you even attempt your turn.

What makes this more interesting is the exposure die for combat and moving.  The exposure die is a 12-sided die with over half he faces being no result, a few are damage, less are frostbite, and one is a tooth.  The damage icons do one damage.  All characters have three hit points.  Frostbite does damage each turn which can quickly kill a character, and the tooth means a character is bitten.  Bitten characters instantly die, and then another character could become bitten.  Each character also has an influence value, and after a character is bitten, the lowest influence value in the bitten characters location becomes the target of the bite giving that character’s controller two options: kill the character and end the bite OR roll the exposure die.  Roll anything besides no result, and the new bitten character dies and the process repeats.  Also, when players move between locations, players roll the exposure die to see if the traveling goes smoothly.  Traveling between the different locations doesn’t cost an action, BUT does risk damage from the exposure die.  Barricades provide a temporary buffer against zombies.  If a zombie would be placed on a barrier, you remove the barrier and that zombie.  Players can also spend cards to do the action on the card or spend them face down to try to solve the problem for this round.  Each chard has a symbol, and enough cards must be spent or the negative effect of the rounds card event occurs.  Traitors can also spend cards with different symbols that count AGAINST the other player’s cards.  After the player has spent all his/her dice, play progresses around the table until its back to the first player.  Then the round’s problem card is resolved, for good or ill!  Next, zombies are placed at all the different locations; one per character at outer locations and one for every two characters at the central location.  If a zombie would be placed and there is not a zombie space available, then the character with the lowest influence at that spot is instantly killed!  A new problem for the round is revealed, the first player marker passes, and the turn starts anew.

What makes this game novel is the hidden goals each player has.  Not only do you have to meet the major goal for each game, but you have to complete your own goal.  In this co-operative game, you can lose while everyone else wins!  Players win by completing their goal, and can lose if the game goes too many rounds or if moral drops to zero.  Moral decreases whenever a character dies, through the crossroads cards, or a failing a round problem card.  While all of this is going on a traitor could be in your midst spending the wrong cards to cause events to fail and has his/her own goal where they succeed if everybody else fails AND they have the proper items or characters to win.  Even the traitor can lose if they don’t have their gear ready when everybody else loses!

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Mechanics– I was serious before, this game feels like a mix of two great tastes making something better.  You have the card use of Battlestar Galactica for hidden card resolution and turn events with the simplistic combat of Zombicide.  Those two things work amazingly well together.  This game is MUCH more swingy then Zombicide as dice dictate actions and combat results, but once you know your dice for a turn, you pretty can plan out your turn.  It’s quick, easy to play, and not any more complicated than it needs to be.  The crossroads cards are fun, but they might have been a bit over sold.  You do have random events happen, but I expected something a bit more intricate.  What does happen is about one out of every four turns, something unexpected will happen.  It does add something interested, but don’t expect the moon.  4.5/5

 

Theme– Here is where things are a bit off.  The majority of the theme is great.  Players fight zombies, struggle for items, and in general are the proper amount of miserable as the fun from this game comes from a hard co-op experience.  But, some things don’t quite fit.  Players lose moral for the number of cards in the discard pile.  You can spend a die to clean some, but honestly that’s kind of such a weird concept.  “Yep, zombies are killing my friends, but I’m sad that Steve didn’t take out the garbage!”  One game I chose the school janitor as one of my characters so I could clean garbage.  That’s not as much fun (or exactly as much fun) as you’d think it would be in the zombie apocalypse.  The game uses a few abstractions to bring things in like how combat is instantly resolved as its part of survival, but not the whole part.  Overall, its fun, feels like zombies in winter, but isn’t perfect as a few minor things keep it from being a slam dunk.  4.25/5

Instructions– Here is the worst part of the game.  It’s pretty simple rules that read relatively quick, but they bury a lot of the leads.  There are very intricate rules that should be followed that are not expressed as importantly as they should be.  Sure, you can play in about five minutes, but you WILL miss something important.  The game comes with some nice player boards, but they leave out important information that would really help a new player like when and how many zombies to add to each location.  The rules are not bad, but they are not as well layout out or emphasized as I’d like.  4/5

Execution– I really like how Plaid Hat puts their games together.  It’s a well done game with lots of parts, tons of standees with great detail, and lots of small things like intro paragraphs to each game, and epilogues for each victory and traitor win.  This is a theme game (don’t play this if you want a Euro experience!), and Plaid Hat delivers on that.  Even the first player marker is a big knife cardboard token!  Well done.  Also if you want to see my unboxing of the game check this like out: https://youtu.be/nOgN3v8OiqY 5/5

Summary-If you want a great game that has absolute kick in the teeth difficulty, then this is your game.  If you want a co-op with lots of story built in, this is your game.  If you want deep mechanics that are completely new and different, then this is NOT your game.  This is a quicker version of both Zombicide and Battlestar Galactica.  It’s got the high points of both, but does lose a few elements of both as well.  That’s not bad is what comes out of the Plaid Hat kitchen is its own tasty entree, but it is a new, simpler, quicker thing.  Instead of the weekend killer that is Battlestar, this is less than two hours to get a game in-great for a weekday game night.  I think the crossroads mechanic was a bit oversold as the end all/be all new interaction mechanic, but that doesn’t ruin this game.  The instructions are a bit rough, but the videos online will teach you to play quicker then reading them.  Overall, this is a solid game that that’s fun if you want an amazing American-style gaming night with zombies, possible traitors, and some team work picking up some garbage around the barricaded house.  89%

Ring Side Report-Video Game Review of Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown

Product– Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown

Producer– Cliffhanger Productions

Price– $25 here http://www.shadowrun.com/shadowrun-online/

TL; DR– An ok game, but overshadowed.  80%

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Basics-It’s never just a milk run…. In Boston Lockdown, you take the roll of a shadowrunner who wakes up on a metal slab.  How did you get there?  Why did a dragon destroy the Red Sox playoff hopes?  Take the roll of any kind of shadowrunner you want, hit the matrix, shoot straight, and never, ever, deal with a dragon.

Mechanics– There isn’t much here in the game, but it works decently. Players get to choose a race and select how they want to build their character.  But, there isn’t a whole lot there.  The races give a bit of a difference at character start, but don’t really change the game all that much.  You get a couple of powers that you will use through your archetype all the way through the game.  You increase the powers by training up a simple skill tree.  That’s fine, but you don’t really get a ton of depth from that.  Once you have your powers, that’s in!  Don’t expect a ton of difference between a start character and a character that finishes the game.  You’re numbers a bigger, but that’s really it.  In terms of game play, the game is a simple tactical game.  You’re team of characters takes their turn moving and shooting/using powers, then the bad guys go.  That is every single mission.  You might get a mission to defend a location for a bit or touch X number of switches on the map, but overall it’s the same mission over and over again.  Again, not bad, but you won’t spend 10 hours playing this game.  It’s fun for a short burst, but then you’ll put it down and do something else.  It’s a semi-solid B effort. 4/5

Theme– Here is the saving grace of the game-This is Shadowrun 2075!  You’re playing modern Shadowrun set in the same universe as all the current books.  Wiz!  If you want to see how the world story is changing, then you’re going to play this game.  The story is fun and fresh.  It does have the standard “milk run to major plot” cliché we know and love, but it does get its foot in the door.  4.5/5

Execution– If the theme is good, and the mechanics are ok, then the execution is the bad.  This game is lag-tastic.  I have a laptop and a desktop that can both run some pretty hardcore, taxing games, but this game lags on both.  There aren’t even that many people on screen, and the game lags.  Forgiving lag, the game feels kind of half done.  It’s a working finished product, but some characters get a voice, and some don’t.  Why?  Stick to all voice or all text, as it feels like the budget run out halfway through this part.  The controls are semi-intuitive, so that’s ok, but the learning curve can cost you some money in the beginning.  The fact you only really get two powers for the whole game doesn’t really make me think leveling up the character is important.  It’s not a horrible game by any means; it just feels like it’s not completely finished.  3.5/5

Summary-There are two major Shadowrun computer games coming out now: the online game and Shadowrun Returns.  This is where it gets hard.  Shadowrun Chronicles isn’t a bad game, but compared to Shadowrun Returns, it’s not the best.  Honestly both games tend to get a little same-y as every level is a tactical encounter with little roleplaying, but Returns beats Chronicles on that front.  What Chronicles has that Returns doesn’t is the current world/metastory and co-op.  That’s what has its hooks in me.  I’m a sucker for a shared world I can influence, and this one has it in spades.  So the honest summary-if you only have $25 to spend and need a great introduction to Shadowrun-buy the RPG ebook (Didn’t see that one coming did you?!).  However if you need a video game, then you should hands down get Dragonfall and Shadowrun Returns.  If you want an online experience with leveling and co-op with friends with some current Shadowrun story, then Shadowrun Chronicles is a good place to play.  Neither beat the tabletop experience, but Chronicles will at least let you game with some friends.   80%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Shadowrun: London Falling

Product– Shadowrun: London Falling

System– Shadowrun 5e, Shadowrun 4e

Producer– Catalyst

Price– $12 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/140722/Shadowrun-London-Falling

TL; DR– Fun adventures, not by favorite execution. 83%

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Basics– Let’s run in jolly future England!  London Falling is a series of Shadowrun convention specials that have been updated and formatted for public play.  Players get to take part in slightly harder than normal runs that decide the fate of 2070’s England in adventures that are part of the Shadowrun Missions living game.  Can you handle the pressure of these runs and get home for tea time?

Mechanics or Crunch-Get ready for hard mode!  The con Shadowrun Missions are all made with a “big risk, big rewards” mentality, and it shows.  What’s here is hard core Shadowrun.  It’s fun and done well, but you might have to keep this in mind when you run the adventure as newer players might not stand a chance. 5/5

Theme or Fluff- Overall, the adventures are well done.  Seattle is fine, but it’s fun to run in a completely different location for once.  However, I think since this is a different place, I’d like more background for my players and myself as a GM.  Sure, I can hand wave some stuff, but I’d like a small section to help me better understand the world as I present it in game.  One mission has this, but why not the others? Also, some of the descriptions of locations and layouts are not done as well as I’d like.  It leaves a ton up to the GM to decide.  I can work with that, but I’d like there to be a bit more to help me set the scene.  4/5

 

Execution– While I’m overall happy with the crunch and fluff of this product, the execution is semi-lacking.  A major flaw is the lack of contact sheets and adventure summary sheets in the back of the book!  These are already Shadowrun missions adventures, so those sheets exist, so why are they not here?  That knocks of some of the score.  What is interesting is some of the mix between 4e and 5e as the contacts get the full treatment of how each type of contact will give you some information.  But, some of the contacts are all mixed up.  Art, your default Mr. Johnson for several of the missions, isn’t given a full rundown until the second mission.  That’s kind of strange as he’d be really helpful if presented in the first one.  That kind of summarizes the execution as a whole.  What is here isn’t bad, but I’d just need a bit more and a bit better organized.  3.5/5

Summary– If you want some Shadowrun Missions, then you’re going to get this.  If you know your Shadowrun, this is a great resource for more easy to run, quick to prep missions.  However, if you don’t have all the Shadowrun world lore or an encyclopedic knowledge of 2070’s England and London, you’re going to have a tougher time running these adventures.  I did enjoy them, but I need more.  I need my mission sheets.  I need more information as I love Shadowrun, but don’t have the near 30 years of real world background to run these missions as well as a Seattle run.  These are fun missions that are hard core with some hard traps but also some great rewards, so new players may need a bit of extra help to survive and win those rewards.  New GMs may need a bit more background to know all that is going on in the world.  Overall, it’s an ok book that provides some fun missions, but requires lots of extra work from your GM. 83 %

Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Harbour

Product– Harbour

Producer-Tasty Minstrel Games

Price– $20 here http://www.amazon.com/Tasty-Minstrel-Games-TTT3002-Harbour/dp/1938146786

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 30 minutes (2-4 players)

Type-Euro

Depth-Light

TL; DR– This game feels like a pocket Lords of Waterdeep.  90%

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Basics-Let’s do worker placement with only one worker!  Harbor is a worker placement game where you only have one worker while you manipulate the market for fish, meat, stone, and wood to buy property and build your economic empire.  Each player gets a different role from a penny pincher to a pirate.  These cards give each of you a power, a start location, as well as a marker to keep track of your different good.  Between all the players sits the market board as well as a number of location cards.  These building each have a cost, a victory point value, possibly extra ability markers, and a power.  Each turn, players move their one meeple to a new building and do the action on the card.  These actions range from buy a building, gain some of one resource, or lose X of one resource and gain Y of another.  And that’s the entire game!  I’m not being condescending here; I’m impressed by the elegance.  What really cranks this game up to 11 is the market.  On a separate board is a market of good with the current value of meat, fish, wood, and stone.  You must have at minimum the same number of a good as the dollar value of the good.  When you move to a building that allows you to buy a property, you move the good to the sold location on the card, which is below the normal location.  You will most likely sell multiple goods at once, so multiple goods will be on the sold locations at the end of your turn if you buy.  But, the market shifts now.  Goods you didn’t sell move higher in the market, increasing their price.  The sold goods have saturated the market.  They move on the sold track to the last spots.  Since goods you sold a lot of have moved into the last spot in the sold row, good you sold more of enter the market on the lowest value as the market is now flooded.  Play continues until someone has bought their fifth building, then all players get one more turn, and the player with the most points in the harbor master!

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Mechanics– I wasn’t being glib above.  The rules are that simple, and that’s fantastic.  Also, this game has a semi-realistic economy.  If you sell a ton of something, then the market has a lot of those goods and won’t pay much for it.  I love any game with slick rules and easy grasp concept that plays quickly.  This feels like a pocket Lords of Waterdeep! 5/5

Theme– The theme isn’t bad, but it does need a bit of work.  I like the world this game is in.  It’s in the same world as Belford, and I like the way that place looks and feels.  It’s almost like the Discworld.  Also, the unique player cards do bring some story the game with all the cards have flavor text on them. That’s a good addition to a card game that adds a bit more theme to a semi dry concept of buying property and market manipulation.  Overall, it does feel like I’m a real-estate mogul in a fantasy world, but some of the simplifications does take away a bit from the theme.  This game is good, but it’s not Arkham Horror levels of immersion. 4.25/5

Instructions– The rules are simple, and they read quickly.  However they are a bit cramped and a few of the leads get buried.  On my first game, we made two fatal flaws: we multiplied the goods sold by the price and we didn’t use the center, uncontrolled buildings.  If you dig deeper into the rules, those are central to the game.  I’d like the rules to be a bit expanded and to provide a few more examples.  As it stands the rules are ok if you take the time to really read them, but you can’t just bust this game out and play in four minutes. 4.25/5

Execution– I like what comes in this box.  However, I have to whine about two things.  1-Stickers!  Tasty Minstrel Games loves to add stickers to wood.  It’s not as bad as say Village or Belford, but I hate having to put that on my stuff.  2-The card sleeves are nice, but I can’t fit my game into the game box now.  I’d like the box to be a bit bigger to accommodate the sleeved cards.  Normally, card sleeves wouldn’t be a problem as there something extra I’m adding to the game, but Tasty Minstrel Games gave out card sleeves as part of the kickstarter.  So, these are company provided.  Those things said, I do like how this game is done overall.  I like the art, the iconography, and even the wooden components.  Just give me some premade components as well as a bigger box, and I’d be thrilled! 4.5/5

Summary– This is a great game if you need something between heaver games.  It’s good in its own right, but you won’t get the two hour experience of a deep fantasy world.  That doesn’t make this game bad in any way, but it’s something to consider.  However, if you want to play a game that has about 1 minute of set-up and you’re then you’re in the middle of things, this is an awesome game.  The “realist” economy makes this game a fun puzzle, and the different races and fluff on the cards does bring you into the world of the game.  Even with having to put some stickers on wood, this is a great, quick game. 90%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Dungeon Crawl Classics #84: Perils of the Purple Planet

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Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics #84: Perils of the Purple Planet

System– DCC RPG

Producer– Goodman Games

Price– $50 here for the boxed set http://www.goodman-games.com/5085preview.html

TL; DR– A good hex crawl, but I’d like a bit more guidance as a GM.  97%

Basics– Can you survive a blender of Appendix N other world science fantasy?  On the Purple planets a race of ape men fight under the guidance of strange alien powers for control of a desert world full of timeless technology as well as giant worms.  It’s every single awesome old school fantasy book, movie, and song rolled into one-the way any DCC RPG product should be made. Will you solve the secret of how to survive the world and find a way home or will you die in the dust?

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a great expansion for the DCC RPG.  The kickstarter added a ton of extra content to the adventure box set.  Among the different add-ons are a ton of adventure locals, race and class write ups for the kith (the ape men), new technology, an entire world to play in, and much more.  Overall, it’s all well done.  There are a few issues such as how often encounters happen and other small details I don’t think were as well explained as they could be.  Also, I think encounters happen far too often to keep move the story along.  It’s not going to end the game by any means, but there are some small issues that did keep me from fully enjoying the product.  4.75/5

Theme or Fluff- What is in this box set is very much amazing.  The set comes with a ton of world building.  Honestly, there is more world building than in the base book!  From a full right-up on kith cultures and a kith class, to the different kind of alien masters, this set is full of stories.  My one issue in this book is the players and the GM doesn’t really get an introduction to how to run this thing.  Unlike the other DCCRPG adventures, this is really a free form adventure.  Players can literally go anywhere, but the boxed set didn’t give me enough directions to keep the story moving in a good direction.  It does give a simple base idea of the adventure, but GMs are really on their own to determine what happens on the purple planet and to build a cohesive story there.  4.75/5

 

Execution– This is a gorgeous boxed set full of tons of amazing books.  There are books on crypts from space warriors past, a setting book, the adventure, a player book, a handout book, and even a GM screen.  The base DCC RPG doesn’t even have a GM screen!    I’d like a bit more spacing and art in the adventure, but honestly, that’s the same thing I complain about with the other DCC RPG adventures.  This one makes up for it by sheer volume of well done material.  You will learn an impressive amount about this world from the awesome books in this set. 5/5

Summary– I do love me some hex crawling.  It’s a great experience to just let the players go and explore the world.  This has even more than normal as the players get to explore a completely alien world.  This whole adventure box set has not only the named adventure but a ton of extra stuff to get players into this world.  It’s all amazingly well done.  If this adventure were just the adventure itself, it would not have rated is as high as I did.  The extra care put into this set really drives this over the top.  My only problems with this set were the lack of guidance as a GM and some minor issues with the mechanics of the set.  However, none of that takes away from how impressive this box is.  If you want to play in a world where Frank Herbert, Robert Howard, and Jack Vance all mixed their ideas in a blender and poured that over a base of old school D&D, then this is the product for you. 97%

Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of King of New York

Product– King of New York

Producer-Iello

Price– $50 here http://www.amazon.com/King-New-York-Board-Game/dp/B00KU9LQUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429421137&sr=8-1&keywords=kings+of+new+york

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 45 minutes (2-6 players)

Type-American

Depth-Light

TL; DR– A much improved second version. 95%

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Basics-Time for a rumble in the Bronx!  King of New York is a standalone game that builds on the popular King of Tokyo line.  This game follows a very similar turn order with some significant differences.  At the start of the game, all players choose which of the five New York boroughs they wish to start in, with the exception of Manhattan.  Like in King of Tokyo, a player rolls six dice, and can reroll some, all, or none of the dice.  Each die has six faces with players gaining different effects based on how many of each die each player rolled.  Lightning gives the player energy cubes for each die result that can be spent on upgrades.  Hearts heal the player one point for each heart result while not in Manhattan. Attack damages the player in Manhattan if the active player isn’t in Manhattan, or damages each other player not in Manhattan if the player is in Manhattan.  If the player in Manhattan takes damage, that player can leave, and you have to enter Manhattan instead!  If you start your turn in Manhattan, you gain energy as well as victory points.  The major differences between this and Kings of Tokyo come from the final three dice faces.  A new result is destruction.  Destruction results are spent to turn over tokens in each borough.  These tokens have two sides: red and blue.  Blue sides are buildings that usually provide points or healing.  Red sides are active military units that provide points or power cubes.  Both sides have a number that must be spent to either flip the token or to remove the unit from the board.  This brings us to the next result of Ouch!  Ouch! causes the units to attack players depending on the number rolled.  A one result causes the active player damage equal to the number of red tokens in the borough; two causes all players in the borough damage, and three causes all red tokens to attack all players!  Rolling three Ouch! results will also earn the player the Statue of Liberty Card worth three points.  This card can be stolen, however, when another player rolls three Ouch! results.  The final result is celebrity.  If you get three celebrity results, you gain the Superstar card, one point, and at the start of each round you gain an extra point.  This can also be stolen.  After all the dice are resolved, if no player is in Manhattan, you must move there.  If there is one monster there, you can move there depending on the number of players, or you can move to another borough.  Manhattan also has three areas that can be moved into over time, with the deepest area of Manhattan giving tons of points and energy at the start of each turn.  Finally, you can buy any cards available before ending your turn.  Play continues until there is only one monster standing or one player has 20 victory points.

Mechanics– Just like King of Tokyo, King of New York is about pushing your luck.  But this game feels a lot less like Yahtzee! and more like rolling for specific results.  The changes to attacking units, gaining celebrity, and damaging non-player characters massively change the results of this game.  Honestly, it’s a much deeper experience and one that I enjoy better than King of Tokyo.  Currently though, the monsters in each game don’t have any differences between each other.  It’s important, but not world ending.  This is just like the original King of Tokyo game, so I expect that an expansion is coming up very soon to fix that.  Overall, this quick, easy to learn, fun game that plays well. 4.75/5

Theme– I feel much more like Godzilla in this game than I did in King of Tokyo.  I don’t feel like I’m playing combat Yahtzee!, but instead I’m a 40 story mantis that is destroying New York.   The addition of buildings to destroy and units to fight really drive this home as well as deciding when to just put a ton of enemy units on a friend’s space and then get out of that part of town!  It’s not perfect though.  I don’t have difference powers between creatures, and the basic mechanic still somewhat takes away from the basic monster feeling that I’m supposed to have.  But, I don’t think that can be helped without a massive overall of the mechanics.  4.75/5

Instructions– Overall, the instructions are done reasonably well.  My main complaint is how packed they are.  I’d like more pages with more examples then the cramped four pages I get. It’s not unreadable by any means, and this game isn’t exactly the deepest game I’ve ever player, so overall the rules do a good job.  I’d just like them to be easier to read. 4.5/5

Execution-This is a great game for how it’s handled.  I love the art and the components.  I love large chunky tokens as well as heavy dice.  The box fits all the components well, and just like King of Tokyo; I think it will hold the expansions pretty well too.  The cards are well done, and the tokens all feel nice.  Overall, it’s a great box and presentation of what it contains. 5/5

Summary– I don’t think I’m going back to King of Tokyo.  I like that game, but I really LOVE this game.  I feel like a monster not a person playing Yahtzee!  Yahtzee! isn’t bad, but this is much better.  It’s got a few minor faults, but overall it’s a top notch game that represents the monster genre well. 95%