Entry 49: Week 4- Dawn of Peacemakers / Bärenpark

            Again, we started the week off by playing a new game to get a jumpstart on things. As mentioned in a previous post, my sister has enjoyed playing legacy style games and we wanted to get into another one. This led us to picking the campaign game from Snowdale Design that is set in the world of another game series of theirs called Dawn of Peacemakers. 

GAME 1: DAWN OF PEACEMAKERS 

            My wife and I enjoyed playing the Dale of Merchants series by Snowdale Designs and had learned through someone else’s BGG post that they had created a “legacy” game set in the same world which involves a few of the creature factions. Since my sister has grown to love legacy/campaign games we thought this one would be neat to play with her. 

BGG Description 

Dawn of Peacemakers is an evolving board game with a continuing campaign. Players take roles of adventurers attempting to quell the hostilities between two warring sides. You will have to trust and cooperate with your fellow players in order to reach a more peaceful conclusion. 

The game consists of a number of scenarios which form an exciting story driven campaign. There are multiple secrets and surprises in the box to be unveiled in certain points of the story. This way each game is radically different from the last and no two games feel the same. However, none of the game’s components are destroyed or altered so you can replay any scenario as many times as you like. 

Dawn of Peacemakers is set in Daimyria, the same world as both the original Dale of Merchants and Dale of Merchants 2. Although it takes place almost one thousand years before those games, you’ll be able to spot many familiar animalfolks. Are you ready to dive into the exciting world of Daimyria? 

Players use cards to influence different sides of the ongoing war. Armies and player-controlled adventurers are represented with highly detailed plastic miniatures on a beautifully illustrated game board. All scenarios have their unique map which is built using modular terrain tiles. 

Weight 2.93/5 

What we like about the game 

             The first thing we like about the game is that once you play a few scenarios, you can play the alternate mode which is called skirmish. We will know more about this once we try it out in the future. 

            The next thing we like about the game is that you can fully reset the game and play the campaign over and over. None of the cards are thrown out or stickers placed on the board; everything is set up from scratch for each scenario you play. 

            Another part we like is that at the start of each scenario during set-up you add cards the specific cards to the deck based on what each army needs. This means you know exactly what cards and how many are in the decks so you can somewhat predict what cards will be flipped over. 

            The last thing to add is that we do enjoy that it is a co-operative game that really encourages, if not requires, player interaction with each other. 

What we don’t like about the game 

            To be completely honest, the whole setup and introduction of the game for the first campaign was a big turnoff. It took us twice as long to read through everything then it did to play. Even with all the support text it was a bit confusing. My best guess is that as we continue to progress in the game things, will get clearer and maybe easier to play. 

Overall Thoughts 

            Will there be other things to add after we play more, probably, but for now we are still just trying to figure out the best ways to prevent a full on war. If you did like the Dale of Merchants games and you like having a story to follow, then this game is a must-try. 

***Update from when I first wrote this section*** 

            We played the second scenario and felt that we had a better grasp on the game. We were able to better use the card mechanics and work together to get another victory. Set up was a little bit easier. We just wish that there were more of a certain card that would help us adventurers but we still have a long way to go and a lot more cards to go through. 

GAME 2: BÄRENPARK 

            We own a few games that use polyomino tiles and have liked the gameplay of each of them. This game has gotten quite a bit of praise from people on the BGG Facebook page so we thought we would check it out for ourselves. 

BGG Description 

Up to two thousand pounds in weight and over ten feet tall, the bear is considered the biggest and heaviest terrestrial carnivore in the world. Of course, there is not just "one bear;" on the contrary, there are plenty of subspecies that differ from each other in various aspects. For instance, only the Kodiak bear (ursus arctos middendorffi) weighs about 2,000 lbs. The polar bear (ursus maritimus) weighs "only" 1,100 lbs., but gets much bigger than the Kodiak bear, being as much as 11 ft. tall! 

Bärenpark takes you into the world of bears, challenging you to build your own bear park. Would you like another polar bear enclosure or rather a koala* house? The park visitors are sure to get hungry on their tour through the park, so build them places to eat! Whatever your choices are, make sure you get the next building permit and use your land wisely! (* No, koalas aren't bears but they're so cute, we couldn't leave them out of this game!) 

In more detail, each player in Bärenpark builds their own bear park, attempting to make it as beautiful as they can, while also using every square meter possible. The park is created by combining polyomino tiles onto a grid, with players scoring for animal houses, outdoor areas, completed construction, and more. The sooner you build it, the better! Cover icons to get new tiles and park sections. The game ends as soon as one player has finished expanding their park, then players tally their points to see who has won. 

Weight 1.64/5 

What we like about the game 

            As you can see with the weight of this game, it is a light easy game to play. No complicated rules to bog you down and no complicated mechanics. You place a tile on your board and then pick new tiles based on which symbols you cover (and/or draw your next section of park). As you can read from above, the game ends when you fill your park. Need I say more?? 

            Why yes, there is one more thing that we like about the game. If you do not want to or are unable to take a tile from one of the section you can trade down (tiles to the left side of the tile board). This is helpful when a section of tiles run out or if you have no space for the larger tiles. 

What we don’t like about the game 

***crickets chirping*** 

            We can say that for the first time in a long time we find no fault in this game. 

Overall Thoughts 

            We were able to teach my mother the game. She did grasp the game play pretty well so we asked her how much she likes it. Her response was not what we expected; since she has New York Zoo on her 10x10, she compared the games to each other and decided she liked New York Zoo better. 

            My wife and I enjoy both games and feel that besides the polyomino “Tetris” tile placement, each game is different enough and can be played by young and old. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

            This week’s two games were both fun and enjoyable. One was harder to get into because the learning curve is much greater (the second time playing was easier but we still have much more to learn) whereas the other was really easy to learn and play and can be taught to others quickly. 

            We are really enjoying that so far this year all the new games/expansions that were selected have been a nice variety of game mechanics and weights. Some have been easy and short and some have been ones that take longer to learn and play. What will the next few weeks bring? We don’t even know until we grab something off the self. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

Entry 48: Week 3- Galaxy Trucker

            We started our gaming week off at our Sunday family dinner by knocking out a game on our 10x10 and a game on my mother’s 10x10, but when we got home we were still in the mood to play another game so I asked my wife if she wanted a new game or an old one to play. She left it up to me so I decided that Galaxy Trucker by Czech Games Edition (CGE) would be fun to learn to play late at night… you know, when it is pitch black outside and no one can hear you scream (oh wait, is that only when you are out. Of this world??). 

GALAXY TRUCKER 

            When we first picked up this game I learned that there was a digital version of the game so I purchased it to try it out and gain a basic understanding. Well, I played a few games of it when I first got it (back in Sept. 2020) but then forgot about it and went on to other digital games to occupy my time. 

            After playing the physical game this week, I have come to the conclusion that I was an idiot for waiting so long to play. 

BGG Description 

In a galaxy far, far away... they need sewer systems, too. Corporation Incorporated builds them. Everyone knows their drivers -- the brave men and women who fear no danger and would, if the pay was good enough, even fly through Hell. 

Now you can join them. You will gain access to prefabricated spaceship components cleverly made from sewer pipes. Can you build a space ship durable enough to weather storms of meteors? Armed enough to defend against pirates? Big enough to carry a large crew and valuable cargo? Fast enough to get there first? 

Of course you can. Become a Galaxy Trucker. It's loads of fun. 

Galaxy Trucker is a tile laying game that plays out over two phases: building and flying. The goal is to have the most credits at the end of the game. You can earn credits by delivering goods, defeating pirates, building an efficient ship, and being the furthest along the track at the end of the flying phase. 

Building happens in real time and has players build their personal space ships by grabbing tiles from the middle of the table before the timer runs out. Tiles start out facedown so they won't know what they have until they take it, but they may choose to return it faceup if they don't want it. They must place the tiles they keep in a legal manner in their space ship. Usually this just means lining up the connectors appropriately (single to single, double to double, universal to anything) but also includes proper positioning of guns and engines. Tiles represent a variety of things including guns, engines, storage containers, crew cabins, shields, and batteries. They may also peek at the cards they will encounter in phase 2, but they must sacrifice building time to do this. At any time players may call their ships finished and take an order marker from the center. 

Once building is completed, and ships have been checked for errors, the flight begins. The flight cards are shuffled and player markers are placed on the flight board according to the order markers taken. Cards are revealed one at a time and players interact with them in order. They may include things such as pirates, abandoned vessels, disease outbreaks, meteor showers, worlds with goods to pick up, player-on-player combat zones, and other various things. 

Most of the cards will cause players to move back on the flight track and they must decide if the delay is worth their efforts. When all the cards are encountered players sell any goods they have collected, collect their rewards for finishing in first, second, or third place or having the most intact ship, and then lose some credits for damaged components. Space can be a very dangerous place and it is not uncommon to see your ship break into smaller and smaller pieces or lose some very valuable cargo off the side. If your ship gets damaged too much you can get knocked out of the race, so be careful! 

3 rounds of this are done, and in each round players get a bigger board to build a ship that can hold more components. After the 3rd round the player with the most credits wins! 

Weight 2.33/5 

What we like about the game 

            The description above says it all regarding game play and what to do. During the build phase, you are making a customized ship to include the amount of specific components that you want; no two ships will ever be exactly the same. 

            Trying to find the right balance between all the parts for your ship can be the hard part though. To aid with that, you can look at most of the upcoming flight cards (some are keep a secret) which is wonderful, however, because all players can look at the cards you are still fighting over getting the tile you may want for your ship. 

            Once the build phase is over, time to take flight on your galactic mission. Based on who completed the build first and continuing down the order is where you start out on the time track. Sometimes being in the lead is great and sometimes it is not because if you can’t complete the task the penalties can be harsh. Your position can change throughout the mission which also effects end of the round bonuses. 

            After the last card is fulfilled, you earn credits based on your position on the time track, a bonus if you have the least amount of damage to your ship (exposed joints), and then you earn the credits for all the good you have left in your ship minus the number of damaged tiles from the mission. After the third round, the player with the most credits is the victory. 

What we don’t like about the game 

            Playing the game with my wife and sister this past week, we played the game without using the timer for the build portion of the game. The reason is because my wife has neuro issues and the stress from trying to process drawing and placing tiles rapidly is not healthy for her. 

            So we all agreed that the timer, though could be fun for a “normal” person, is not really needed. The downside to that is the game will drastically increase in time because the build phase takes a lot longer especially when the size of the ships increase from round to round. The flight phase is just a quick as the normal game. 

EXPANSIONS 

            We own a few of the expansions (bolded) but have not played them as of yet. I will list the expansions and the year it was released and if you want to learn more about them you can look them up on BGG. 

Galaxy Trucker: Rough Road Ahead (2007)* 

Galaxy Trucker: Bonus Cards (2007) * 

Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion (2008) 

Galaxy Trucker: Even-Steven Cards (2012)** 

Galaxy Trucker: Another Big Expansion (2012) 

Galaxy Trucker: Latest Models (2013) 

Galaxy Trucker: Missions (2015) 

*Included in The Big Expansion 

** To be used with the Another Big Expansion 

GALAXY TRUCKER ANNIVERSARY EDITION (2012)

        

    

            This release (per description) included the base game and all the expansions to date.

GALAXY TRUCKER 2nd EDITION (2021) 

             Last year CGE reprinted the game with some changes to it. I couldn’t tell you much more then what is written below about it. For now, we will stick with the first edition and the expansions that we have (until I am able to find the rest of the 1st edition expansions). 

BGG Description 

            Here is the last paragraph that talks about some of the differences: 

This version of Galaxy Trucker is a relaunch of the original 2007 release by Vlaada Chvátil that features new art, more ship tiles, tweaked card effects, and streamlined gameplay that consists of only a single flight through space. That said, should you want a longer, more challenging experience, you can play a three-flight game known as the "Transgalactic Trek". 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

            This is a fun game to play but not necessarily the easiest if you have trouble trying to put together a “puzzle” quickly. I can agree with my wife and sister that using the timer could be a huge turn-off for most people, especially those with neuro issues and/or anxiety. 

            As I stated above, not sure why we waited so long to actually get this one to the table because I really enjoyed that you design your ship and then you take your ship cruising on a galactic mission. 

            With the randomness of the cards you draw, no two games will ever be the same so you can play this game “to infinity and beyond.”

Entry 47: Week 2- Happy Little Dinosaurs Expansions

         This week we decided to stick with one game and its two expansions. Mind you one of the expansions is a 5-6 player expansion and one is a “true” expansion to the base game. So without further fluff talk, let’s look at Happy Little Dinosaurs by Unstable Games. 

HAPPY LITTLE DINOSAURS 

        My wife and I got introduced to this game right before Christmas and immediately we decided that “we got to have this.” It is a quick game that is super easy to learn and is full of little sayings that will make you laugh and smile. 

        The base game is for 2-4 players and contains 97 cards (disaster & point) with four dinosaur player boards and dinosaur meeples to match, plus the rule book. The box says that it takes 30-60 minutes to play but once you learn the game, even a higher player count game can finish even quicker than that. 

        We were able to teach both my mother and sister the game in separate back to back games and each game took about 15 minutes to complete. 

BGG Description 

Lately, it feels like we’re all just dinosaurs trying to avoid the falling meteors. In this game, you’ll try to dodge all of life’s little disasters. You might fall into a pit of hot lava or get ghosted by your dino date, but the dino who survives it all wins the game! 

In Happy Little Dinosaurs, the first person to reach 50 points, or be the last Dinosaur standing, wins the game! During each round, you’ll flip a Disaster card featuring a Natural, Predatory, or Emotional disaster. Each player will play a Point card in hopes of collecting points and avoiding the disaster. 

You will work to avoid all of life’s little disasters and laugh as they happen to your friends. If you collect 3 Disaster cards of the same type OR 3 different types of Disaster cards, you will be out of the game. Point cards feature weapons, trinkets, and good luck charms that you use to collect points and avoid disasters. Each card has a point value between 0 and 9 that you will use when scoring a round. You can use Instant cards at different points during the game to tip the odds in your favor or save your Dinosaur from certain death. 

Player boards include your Dinosaur's traits, an Escape Route you use to track your score, and a Disaster Area where you will collect Disaster cards. You'll move your Dinosaur meeple along the Escape Route on your player board to track your score. Will you successfully dodge the disasters or get eaten by a prehistoric whale? Only the cards can decide. 

Weight 1.83/5 

What we like about the game 

        We like that each player’s dinosaur character has different traits that will either boost or subtract one point from their point card scores based on what type of disaster card is played on top of the different point card and instant card effects. We also like that only the top scoring player of the round gets to score the winning point card total (the lowest point total gets the disaster card) and that each player also receives points for each disaster card they have. 

        The 2 player modification of removing certain sets of cards from the point card deck does indeed keep it more balanced and the number of disaster cards needed to “send you to the tar pits” is fine as well. 

        The simple cartoony artwork on each card also adds to the “happy” effect of the game. 

1st EXPANSION: PERILS OF PUBERTY 

        This expansion adds 54 additional cards to the base game. 16 disaster cards and 38 point cards and not every card is new, there are repeated cards from the base game. 

BGG Description 

        This expansion adds 54 new cards to the base game, all themed around dinosaur puberty. Your dinosaurs can now face all kinds of new and terrifying problems, including hormones, peer pressure, acne, and worse! Meteors, tar pits, and predators were bad enough—will you survive puberty on top of it all?

The base game is required to play. 

No weight is given for this expansion 

What we like about the expansion 

        The artwork for this set follows the base game, three of the disaster cards add a new twist in which they count as 2 disasters instead of one, and the new effects on the point cards a fun to use. 

What we don’t like about the expansion 

        There is not rules guidance for this so the assumption is that we just add the cards to the two decks. Also, there is not special marking on the cards to distinguish them from the base game cards. 

2nd EXPANSION: 5-6 PLAYER EXPANSION 

        If you want to play with additional players and/or you want two new dinosaurs to select from, look no further than this expansion. Adding 50 additional cards to the base game. 14 disaster cards and 36 point cards and, just like with Perils of Puberty, not every card is new, there are repeated cards from the base game. 

BGG Description 

This pack expands Happy Little Dinosaurs to six players by adding two dinosaur player boards and the corresponding meeples, as well as fifty cards. 

What we like about the expansion 

        

        The first thing to mention is that all the cards are marked with a symbol (the heads of the two new characters) so that when you put the game away you can separate the card quickly. Speaking of the cards, the new disaster cards are amusing but do not any more double disasters like in the Perils of Puberty expansion and the new point card effects are awesome. The new effects I feel would be too powerful to use in a lower player count game (maybe four player but no less than that). 

        The new characters, Pterry Dactyl & Raging Raptor, each have the three disaster symbols to either boost or subtract from your point card scoring. One symbol on each card gives either a plus/minus 2 and the other two symbols are plus/minus 1. The meeples that go with each character looks great as well. 

What we are not sure about the expansion 

        Since we have not actually played with the higher player count (we have used the characters though), what we are not sure about is the new rule that states the top two point earners score or more if the second highest had two or more people that tied. If only one player scores the most and everyone else tied, the sudden death tiebreaker rules apply to everyone else to see who gets the disaster card. 

        We are going to assume this rule change is so game will still play in the 30 to 60 minute time. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

        Overall, we really love this game and how quick it plays. Hence the reason why it is on our 10 x10 Challenge for this year. It is a nice family friendly game that young and old can truly enjoy. The big question is will your dinosaur be able to escape the pending fate of the other dinosaurs or will you be joinging them for a “spa day at the pits?”

                            

Entry 46: 2022 Challenge’s / Week 1

        After having a pretty successful 2021 regarding to our 10x10 Challenge, the Boardgametable.com’s weekly challenges from their calendar, and our daily game play we decided to do some of the same things. 

10x10 Challenge 

        This year’s 10x10 Challenge we decided to step it up a bit more and include games that are more challenging and time consuming. Some are games we have played before and some are new to us and one on the list has not even shipped yet that we Kickstarted a few years ago. 

        To break it down for you more, Fields of Arle, City Builder: Ancient World, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Lupos, Tapestry, and a couple of Tiny Epic games we have played before multiple times and love them. Happy Little Dinosaurs we recently got introduced to and ordered a copy just so we have it on the list.

        Merchants Cove, Alhambra, and Namiji (soon as this one finally ships) are all new games to us that we want to make sure we table. This will also help us with the 52 Week Challenge as well, which I will get right into. 

52 Week Challenge 

        This year we are doing a challenge that will help us table games and expansions that we haven’t played yet since over the past few years we have acquired hundreds of games but haven’t played. 

        Each week of the year we are going to table something we haven’t played yet. Some of the games from the 10x10 Challenge apply because we haven’t played them yet and/or they have expansions out that we haven’t tabled (Dominion and Tapestry, I am looking at you). Also, we are not limiting ourselves to just one game in this category per week. If we want to table more, we shall. 

365 Day Challenge 

        Again this year we will be doing our daily game play. Last year we only missed a handful (97% completion rate); so this year we are hoping to complete it and get a 100%. 

        We will be doing one change to it which is we will not pick a game like Second Chance as a last-minute game. We will be making a better effort to pick other games that we know we can do well at even if we are dead tired. 

This Year’s Blogs 

        Unless I get inspiration to write about something else, the plan is to write about the new game or expansion that we played during the previous week. I am sure that some entries will be longer and some will be short based on what I want to talk about. So without further ado… 

WEEK 1- TINY EPIC GALAXIES / DIVINITY DERBY 

TINY EPIC GALAXIES 

        We started the year off with completing entries on both lists (10x10 and 52 Week). This week we played Gamelyn Games’ Tiny Epic Galaxies. Last year we had played Tiny Epic Mechs, Tiny Epic Western, Tiny Epic Quest, and Tiny Epic Pirates. At first, I didn’t think too much about these games except it they come in a small box and are probably simple and possibly boring. 

        As with all the other Tiny Epic’s we have played, Tiny Epic Galaxies did not disappoint in terms of game play. Easy enough to learn the ins and outs of the game in one or two play throughs but may take some time to master. The only reason I say this is that in the few games we played this past week, I lost all of them to my wife after having a good lead early to mid-way through the game. 

BGG Description 

In Tiny Epic Galaxies each player controls a galactic empire, aiming to expand their influence by acquiring highly contested planets and increasing their cosmic armada. The game revolves around an innovative dice-rolling combo mechanic. The number of dice you roll is determined by the strength of your galaxy. Each die is engraved with symbols representing the various actions you can take, such as moving a spaceship, increasing your culture or energy resources, or advancing your political or economic influence over newly discovered planets. 

Through careful planning, you must make the most out of your turn, taking the available actions in whichever order you consider most beneficial. But be careful, as each of your opponents can choose to follow each action you take by expending valuable resources. This means that it can always be your turn, even when it is someone else’s turn! 

Players will colonize new planets throughout the game, thereby earning victory points and accumulating special abilities which they can activate for their galactic empire. Careful spending of resources will ensure the fastest growth of your empire, while allowing you to receive the biggest possible pay-off from the actions you take. 

Will your influence be enough to control the most powerful planets in the galaxy? Will you be able to meet your secret objective along the way? Will your empire stand victorious? 

Weight 2.16/5 

Influence on us 

        An inspiration that helped us really dive into the board game hobby was Wil Wheaton’s TableTop series. He just happen to have an episode in which he played the game with Mayim Bialik (a favorite actress of ours), Tim Schafer, and Andy Weir. Click here for the link to the episode. 

Final Thoughts 

        My wife and I have enjoyed the other Tiny Epic Games that we have in our collection and have backed the two most recent ones on Kickstarter because of how easy it is to get into the games and play them. Tiny Epic Galaxies is no different from the rest in those terms. This game has beautiful artwork, easy gameplay, and of course, the size of the box being small and compact makes it easy to transport.

DIVINITY DERBY 

        We played a second new game this week because, well, we felt like it. If you like Unicorn Fever or Camel Up that has a racing and betting aspect to it and want something easier to understand and play, then Divinity Derby is a game for you. 

        Play as one of the mythological Gods and make smart betting choices based on the two hands of cards that are visible to you. Do what you can to even sabotage another God’s picks. You place your betting card face down so no one knows what you selected until the end of the race and put one of the mythological creature tokens on top of it marking your pick. After everyone makes two bets, the race is on. 

BGG Description 

Zeus has invited a bunch of divine friends, including a couple of new ones, from all around the Multiverse for a little get-together on Mount Olympus…and you are one of them! After a few rounds of ambrosia, soon the racing and betting begins, with the Olympic "All-father" as the ultimate judge. 

Divinity Derby is a fun and fast betting and racing game for 3 to 6 players, with a clever "shared hand" card mechanism. 

Players, as god-like beings betting on the race of six flying creatures, share a cardholder with each neighbor, and every turn they play one card from each shared card holder. Are you able to guess what your neighbor's intentions and secret bets are and make the best use of the shared knowledge to win your bets? 

With beautiful components, colorful art, and simple but engaging gameplay, Divinity Derby is suitable for players of all ages and skill levels. 

Weight 1.89/5 

Why do we own this? 

        

        We picked this game up at a FLGS on sale. The box art drew my attention in right away. As I read the description I felt that it will go well with the racing theme and other mythology based games that we own, such as 7 Fortunes (another un-played game we have). The circular racetrack and the detailed miniatures complete the game. It is nice to not run a “horse” race on a straight track and the miniatures are large enough so that everyone at the table can see where all the creatures stand in the race. We also like that Zeus has a say in the final outcome of each race too. 

Final Thoughts 

        We understand that not everyone likes betting and/or bidding games and may not find this to be their cup of tea. However, if you do like games in which the game outcome is solely based on manipulation from others, then this game will fit right into your collection.