The Indisputably Most Amazingly Best and Awesome Games of 2013 (that I played and can remember)
This is the last of my "Best of 2013" posts. I read a lot of books last year and saw a lot of film, unfortunately I didn't play nearly as many games as I would have liked. I game, I game a lot, but a lot of that gaming time is spent developing the games that I design. Nevertheless, I played enough to make this a two-part post. Your are reading the first part, the second will go up tomorrow.
A couple of words on the words that follow. Perhaps somewhere in the tomb of unwritten laws, it is stated that designers, let alone game publishers, cannot critique other designs. I don't buy into that. I play everyone's games, my own and other people's. If I have an opinion, I voice it. What I won't do is say is something mean or disparaging (with an occasional exception). If I really, really didn't like a design, I just won't mention it. Neither are the comments below intended as reviews. I lack the time for that. They are just a list (more or less) of the games that I played last year, and what I thought of them.
Tannhausser (Fantasy Flight Games): I like the line of sight rules, with their colored circles they made something that is normally complex, simple. The rest of the game sucked. Sucked so badly that Fantasy Flight had to redesign the game, re-release the rules, and then charge people to buy the new rules.
Rebels and Redcoats: A grand tactical game that simulates various battles of the American revolution. I played the volume covering the southern battles. It's an accessible, fun game. There are issues with the artillery rules, but nothing game breaking.
Battle Hymn: Set in the Pacific theater, this is the solitaire version of the famed Ambush game system. John Butterfield and Eric Lee Smith are two of my favorite designers. The stories and events are fantastic. The system has aged well, but feels understandably fiddly compared to today's designs.
Frag: Steve Jackson's board game that replicates a first-person shooter. I like it. It lacks bite, but beats playing the typical Eurogame. Nice one to try with a crowd of folks and a couple of growlers of beer.
Dust Tactics: Although the WWII-gone-crazy idea is as old as fiction (at least post WW2 fiction), the game is still immersive. Walkers, zombies, tanks, soldiers, snipers, it has it all. It is also very, very expensive to play with all these things. Fun? Yes. Real small unit tactics? Not so much.
Legendary: The Marvel Deck Building Game: This is my new favorite deck builder. Gamers build their hand by purchasing (in game, no real money required) from a constantly changing offering of superhero cards. They then use these cards in unique combinations to defeat villains and rescue bystanders. Lots of strategy, wrapped into a game my entire family will play.
King of Tokyo: Designed by Richard Garfield (Magic the Gathering), this is a cross between Godzilla and Yahtzee, with some cards thrown in for good measure. Good fun for a starter, ender, or something to show non-gamers.
Band of Brothers: Designed by Jim Krohn and published by Worthington Games, this is yet another addition to the war game industry's relentless stream of squad-level games. Fortunately, it's a good addition. The game focuses on suppression and discipline and how it relates to a squad's ability to carry out basic combat maneuvers. The firefights are fun, and feel just about right. The artillery rules are also simple, yet effective. The game falls short with the vehicles and the tedious use of Concealment markers. Yet despite these hiccups, Band of Brothers is one of my favorite games of 2013.
That's it for today, tune in tomorrow pert the second part of The Indisputably Most Amazingly Best and Awesome Games of 2013 (that I played and can remember). Yeah, part two has LNLP games, tablet games, and video games.
A couple of words on the words that follow. Perhaps somewhere in the tomb of unwritten laws, it is stated that designers, let alone game publishers, cannot critique other designs. I don't buy into that. I play everyone's games, my own and other people's. If I have an opinion, I voice it. What I won't do is say is something mean or disparaging (with an occasional exception). If I really, really didn't like a design, I just won't mention it. Neither are the comments below intended as reviews. I lack the time for that. They are just a list (more or less) of the games that I played last year, and what I thought of them.
Tannhausser (Fantasy Flight Games): I like the line of sight rules, with their colored circles they made something that is normally complex, simple. The rest of the game sucked. Sucked so badly that Fantasy Flight had to redesign the game, re-release the rules, and then charge people to buy the new rules.
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| Not today, but tomorrow. |
Rebels and Redcoats: A grand tactical game that simulates various battles of the American revolution. I played the volume covering the southern battles. It's an accessible, fun game. There are issues with the artillery rules, but nothing game breaking.
Battle Hymn: Set in the Pacific theater, this is the solitaire version of the famed Ambush game system. John Butterfield and Eric Lee Smith are two of my favorite designers. The stories and events are fantastic. The system has aged well, but feels understandably fiddly compared to today's designs.
Frag: Steve Jackson's board game that replicates a first-person shooter. I like it. It lacks bite, but beats playing the typical Eurogame. Nice one to try with a crowd of folks and a couple of growlers of beer.
Dust Tactics: Although the WWII-gone-crazy idea is as old as fiction (at least post WW2 fiction), the game is still immersive. Walkers, zombies, tanks, soldiers, snipers, it has it all. It is also very, very expensive to play with all these things. Fun? Yes. Real small unit tactics? Not so much.
Legendary: The Marvel Deck Building Game: This is my new favorite deck builder. Gamers build their hand by purchasing (in game, no real money required) from a constantly changing offering of superhero cards. They then use these cards in unique combinations to defeat villains and rescue bystanders. Lots of strategy, wrapped into a game my entire family will play.
King of Tokyo: Designed by Richard Garfield (Magic the Gathering), this is a cross between Godzilla and Yahtzee, with some cards thrown in for good measure. Good fun for a starter, ender, or something to show non-gamers.
Band of Brothers: Designed by Jim Krohn and published by Worthington Games, this is yet another addition to the war game industry's relentless stream of squad-level games. Fortunately, it's a good addition. The game focuses on suppression and discipline and how it relates to a squad's ability to carry out basic combat maneuvers. The firefights are fun, and feel just about right. The artillery rules are also simple, yet effective. The game falls short with the vehicles and the tedious use of Concealment markers. Yet despite these hiccups, Band of Brothers is one of my favorite games of 2013.
That's it for today, tune in tomorrow pert the second part of The Indisputably Most Amazingly Best and Awesome Games of 2013 (that I played and can remember). Yeah, part two has LNLP games, tablet games, and video games.
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