dat@hpcnof.UUCP (09/09/85)
Hi! I got this rather glossy mailer from "GAMES" magazine
that advertises a bunch of new (and not so new) games for sale...
The prices are a tad high (+shipping!) but there are a few games
that might be worth further inquiry into ...
I'd like to hear from anyone who has played, seen, or heard
of any of the following games as at $25-$35 a game I'd rather not buy
stuff blind!
1. Tales of the Arabian Nights - this is billed as both an FRP game and
a board game too (pick your poison, I guess)...(actually, to be
totally honest, this one isn't in the flyer - I saw it down in
Boulder last time I was there and want to hear about it before
I buy it...)
2. Mhing - a ? Chinese ? card game similar to Mah Jhong, this one looks
somewhat interesting...(I know - Mah Jhong isn't a card game!)
3. Gumshoe - "The hard boiled detective game of 1930s San Francisco" this
looks really cool, but at $30.00 I'd rather not invest in a nice
photograph in a flyer (if y'know what I mean!)
4. Grass - a card game based on the premise that everyone playing is growing
a certain not-to-legal substance and trying to avoid the cops and
the theiving neighbors (Don't laugh - this happens!) (not that I'd
know...). This looks like it could be a pretty hilarious party game.
5. Scotland Yard - this looks like it's in the same vein as #3, and the
excellent (but too damn expensive) "Consulting Detective" game
but perhaps a bit less "intense" and complex.
6. Orient Express - another detective game (one might even assume that this
is a bit of a trend!) this time taking place on the train of the
same name...
-----------------
What I'd really like to know about the games are such things as;
o Can you play them infinite times (for example, cases in the game
Consulting Detective can't be played more than once, so $30.00
gets you 20 cases and that's it) or is it limited to a set number
of predefined 'scenarios'?
o Is it fun?
o Does it make any sense?
o Is it worth the exorbitant sum that I'd inevitably have to spend
to get it?
o Finally, is it challenging enough that I wouldn't finish the
game in five minutes and go on to something else? (In fact,
how long DOES a typical game take??)
Perhaps when net.games.board gets going we could alleviate this sort of
stuff by having people post 'reviews' of games that they've either always
had or just bought...
I'd be willing to do it, how about everyone else out there???
Poor, but still willing to buy a decent game for fun...
--- Dave Taylor
..hplabs!hpcnof!d_taylor
Usenet:
..ihnp4!hpfcla!d_taylor
Arpa: hpcnof!dat@HPLABSD.ARPA
ps: Does anyone HAVE net.games.board yet? Our machine doesn't know about
it and Gene Spafford @ Gatech posted a note about the creation of the
group a few WEEKS ago!!! jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner) (09/13/85)
[...] Quickie review of Tales of the Arabian Nights: (Warning: I have yet to play this game, but I have bought it and read over the rules, not to mention experimenting a bit solitaire.) This is a relative of those "make-your-own-story" books that are coming onto the market in such force these days. Everyone plays a character who starts off poor, with a few simple skills (skills are picked at the beginning of the game, things like "Navigation", "Courtier", "Storytelling", etc.). Every turn you have an encounter with a person, place or thing. You are given about five choices of action in response. For example, if you meet a merman, you can run, attack, converse, bargain, etc. You choose an action, sort through a couple of tables, thumb through a book, and finally find a paragraph describing the results of the action. Results can give you new skills, financial reward, Destiny points (plusses in the eyes of fate, I suppose), or just a good story. (No deaths in this game.) Results often depend on what skills you have, so there is a lot of variation from one game to another. The winner is the person who accumulates enough money, destiny points, and stories, then gets back to Bagdad in one piece. The rules for the basic game fit on four pages, and are easy to understand. Advanced rules give a few different character classes with different victory conditions (for example, the Merchant class has to make a lot more money or establish a particular type of trade route). One of the most interesting aspects of the game is the "story-teller" option. If you choose to use it, it works like this. You have a minute to look at the paragraph describing the results of your encounter. You then tell the others about your encounter, adding as many embellishments as you see fit. These embellishments should explain why you deserve an additional reward over and above the one assigned in the paragraph. If the group votes your story as Exceptional, you will get the additional reward; if it is just good, you get an extra Destiny or Story-telling point; and if it's nothing much, you get the reward as specified. The game sounds like it has a lot going for it. I can't say how long an average game would be, but it doesn't look like the basic game is much more than three hours. The book of "paragraphs" is long enough and varied enough that there should be a lot of replay value...and of course the story-telling option gives even more variety. I have high hopes for it. Jim Gardner, University of Waterloo
acy@milo.UUCP (Adnan Yaqub) (09/14/85)
> 5. Scotland Yard - this looks like it's in the same vein as #3, and the > excellent (but too damn expensive) "Consulting Detective" game > but perhaps a bit less "intense" and complex. This game is great although I've heard that you can get tired of it after awhile. It is very easy to learn yet exciting to play. As for the cost, one can get it for around $13 in Cleveland. At least that's the way I see it, Adnan Yaqub @ Allen-Bradley Co. ...decvax!cwruecmp!milo