As always this has been the Labyrinth! See you on the other side.
-Henry
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Blog Posts Have Moved to Main Site!
As an aside if you're hunting around here and wondering why the blog posts about Minotaur have dried up it's because our main website got a decently large overhaul and blog posts are now continuing there directly! Come check out all the fun stuff happening at Minotaur Games and Gifts or in Downtown Kingston at http://minotaurgifts.com/
As always this has been the Labyrinth! See you on the other side.
-Henry
As always this has been the Labyrinth! See you on the other side.
-Henry
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Labyrinth: The April of Fools
Hey all!
Just doing a blog post to see how everyone's beginning of april went.
Were there plenty of crafty cunning or crude capers pulled on your friends and family?
Things blanaced atop open doorways? Whoopey cushions place on chairseats?
Faked deaths/proposals/breakups/quittings/storming outs etc.
Mine was quite bland did little to no tricking but thankfully didn't get suckered into being fooled either. =3
A wash as they say.
Things have been progressing along steadily at the store as Princess street and bagot got a quick makeover.
The construction has done little to deter the flow of people coming out to events though and so we have more on the way!
Travel Game Sale!!
We are offering 20% off all travel games until the end of April!
So if there's a title you've had your eye on for a while best come in and take advantage of the deal!
5th Group art Show
The'Play' art show is winding down now and next month the next one is scheduled to go up. The theme for the new one is "Labyrinth" which of course I think rocks since the blog shares its name with the theme <{^_^}>
Submissions should be in by the 22nd and the opening soiree is going to be on the 26th here at the store at 6pm. Here's hoping we continue to see a similar amount of awesome art making its way into the store. Get creative people! It can be anything subject matter that fits the theme, it can be any medium, it can be any siiiiiize! (as long as it still fits through the front door)
Cribbage Tourney!
On to the game front and away from the arts.
The last cribbage tournament was a heated as ever but ultimately only one could come out on top!
Below is last tournaments winner and 1st runner up posing for our paparattzi with their well earned gift certificates!
The next cribbage playoff is coming also in May! A busy month to be sure.
For those of you that have been coming to each one you'll know what to expect.
For those that haven't here's the rundown.
-It will be here at the store starting at 7pm.
-It will be a best of 7 games of one on one play in a round robin style format.
-It costs 10 dollars per person to play.
-Depending on the # of people playing there will be a 1st and 2nd place gift certificates whose combined total will equal the amount of money collected.
and last but not least for ANOTHER event happening here in the store in May!
National Youth Arts Week Alternative Art Spaces Workshop
Friday May 4 7:00pm Minotaur Games & Gifts
Back by popular demand, Broken City Lab's Justin Langlois will lead an empowering discussion on how local artists can make more use of non-traditional spaces in Kingston to present and participate in the arts.
here are links to both his site
http://justinlanglois.com/
and to Broken City Labs!
http://www.brokencitylab.org/
That's all for now folks!
This has been the Labyrinth and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Just doing a blog post to see how everyone's beginning of april went.
Were there plenty of crafty cunning or crude capers pulled on your friends and family?
Things blanaced atop open doorways? Whoopey cushions place on chairseats?
Faked deaths/proposals/breakups/quittings/storming outs etc.
Mine was quite bland did little to no tricking but thankfully didn't get suckered into being fooled either. =3
A wash as they say.
Things have been progressing along steadily at the store as Princess street and bagot got a quick makeover.
The construction has done little to deter the flow of people coming out to events though and so we have more on the way!
Travel Game Sale!!
We are offering 20% off all travel games until the end of April!
So if there's a title you've had your eye on for a while best come in and take advantage of the deal!
5th Group art Show
The'Play' art show is winding down now and next month the next one is scheduled to go up. The theme for the new one is "Labyrinth" which of course I think rocks since the blog shares its name with the theme <{^_^}>
Submissions should be in by the 22nd and the opening soiree is going to be on the 26th here at the store at 6pm. Here's hoping we continue to see a similar amount of awesome art making its way into the store. Get creative people! It can be anything subject matter that fits the theme, it can be any medium, it can be any siiiiiize! (as long as it still fits through the front door)
Cribbage Tourney!
On to the game front and away from the arts.
The last cribbage tournament was a heated as ever but ultimately only one could come out on top!
Below is last tournaments winner and 1st runner up posing for our paparattzi with their well earned gift certificates!
The next cribbage playoff is coming also in May! A busy month to be sure.
For those of you that have been coming to each one you'll know what to expect.
For those that haven't here's the rundown.
-It will be here at the store starting at 7pm.
-It will be a best of 7 games of one on one play in a round robin style format.
-It costs 10 dollars per person to play.
-Depending on the # of people playing there will be a 1st and 2nd place gift certificates whose combined total will equal the amount of money collected.
and last but not least for ANOTHER event happening here in the store in May!
National Youth Arts Week Alternative Art Spaces Workshop
Friday May 4 7:00pm Minotaur Games & Gifts
Back by popular demand, Broken City Lab's Justin Langlois will lead an empowering discussion on how local artists can make more use of non-traditional spaces in Kingston to present and participate in the arts.
here are links to both his site
http://justinlanglois.com/
and to Broken City Labs!
http://www.brokencitylab.org/
That's all for now folks!
This has been the Labyrinth and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The Labyrinth: We are the Champions!
So the games have come and gone...
Tis sad but true.
But the events themselves brought smiles to the faces of all involved!
Well at least I was smiling because it turned out to be an action packed day of 'work'.
The board game blitz was four rounds of intense game play.
Players warmed up with a brusque 5k run around the Kingston city limits and a quick swim to race the Kingston ferry across to Wolf Island. Once we had dried off we para glided from 10,000 feet down to city hall where the 2012 ceremonial torch was set ablaze. Streaking through the streets (some minus a few articles of clothing) we fought off scores of dozens of thousands of dangerous ninja in order to at last enter the store's battle arena. Once safely there the gamers changed into their tournament uniforms. The super heroes of the gaming community all gathered in one location...the stage was set for a clash between titans.
We had visitors from both Toronto and Ottawa as well as many of the most famous Kingston locals.
The fighting was fierce, taunts and gaming insults were hurled about and then in short order the games began. Two Minotaur staff slipped in to trade punches with the other gamers, Gaming Guru Michael White and yours truly. After a few savage exchanges from round one and two the lunch break settled upon Minotaur...like the eye of a hurricane.
The gamers stalked off to hunt their hamburgers and sandwiches before returning revitalized to do battle once more!
There was no flashy score board to let players know what had transpired in the first half but the reality was that after the first two round there were still many people vying for the leadership position. BUT! There was already a pair of leaders to catch up to.
The scores after the break stood with Esther Guttman at 14 Points tied with...well me. =D
Next came Jeffrey right on our heels at 13 with Shawn and Patrick tailing close behind at 12.
Marc was behind the pair at 11 squeaking ahead of the tie between Calvin and Adam B who sat comfortably at 10.
Randy was at 9, Robert at 8 with our 2nd place sitter Michael tied at 7 with Katrina.
Dallas held onto a one point advantage at 5 over the 3way tie at the rear of the pack Awesome Abi, David, and Stephen all sitting at 4 points.
Everyone knew that it was still any ones match despite the 10 point spread from 1st to last. The final 2hour game was worth 10 points and would be a crucial moment to decide the ultimate champion.
Round 3 started with a vengeance and as the dust settled I found myself sitting facing Esther across a board of Ticket to Ride Europe. The two leaders locked in an epic stare-off! We both knew what it meant... (Subconsciously anyways)
Only one of us would be the victor in this round and the other would slip back amongst the pack to jostle for position.
I watched her like a hawk... carefully analyzing her seasoned calls of 'I'll take those two cards' or 'I'll claim this route.' It became obvious that she was one serious TtoR player!!
Helen Baumander, who had not entered the blitz but observed the round, commented from ringside that "Esther never loses at Ticket to Ride...not ever." It proved to hold true as she just crushed the table. Dismayed by the defeat I did not even manage to secure 2nd place.
Going into the final round it was a spread out pack now.
Esther sat at 19 points.
Shawn 17 Patrick 17
Jeffrey 16 Henry 16
Calvin 13 Marc 13
Randy 11 Michael 11 Katrina 11
Robert 9 David 9 Stephen 9
Dallas 6
Abi 5
For those sitting at 13 they would have to win their match and Esther would need to place last in whatever table she played at. Esther settled in for a game of Peurto Rico and Patrick chose to confront her head to head. Shawn and Jeffrey, both within striking distance of 1st place chose their battle arena of Power Grid and I opted for Princes of Florence.
Hopes remained high that someone, or preferably a couple of people, might place ahead of Esther to give that chance for a tournament win but the game was over 1st out of the 4 games with Esther quickly having secured first place. Since her final score was a 29 it was announced then and there that the winner and ultimate champion of the Blitz was incontestable. Everyone now was simply playing for runner up positions.
Overall Esther placed 1st in 3 of her matches and the round she didn't win she placed second.
A mere one point shy of a perfect score of 30!!
Well done Esther, you deserve a round of applause for your cunning wins and with the support of your friends you have secured a spot to Fan Expo in Toronto!
Here's hoping you have similar results against another crowd of gamers in the big T-dot.
Included here are two photos, one of the majority of the players involved (some had to leave early) and the final 4 winners holding their gift certificates or showcasing their championship crown.
Here are the final scores.
Tis sad but true.
But the events themselves brought smiles to the faces of all involved!
Well at least I was smiling because it turned out to be an action packed day of 'work'.
The board game blitz was four rounds of intense game play.
Players warmed up with a brusque 5k run around the Kingston city limits and a quick swim to race the Kingston ferry across to Wolf Island. Once we had dried off we para glided from 10,000 feet down to city hall where the 2012 ceremonial torch was set ablaze. Streaking through the streets (some minus a few articles of clothing) we fought off scores of dozens of thousands of dangerous ninja in order to at last enter the store's battle arena. Once safely there the gamers changed into their tournament uniforms. The super heroes of the gaming community all gathered in one location...the stage was set for a clash between titans.
We had visitors from both Toronto and Ottawa as well as many of the most famous Kingston locals.
The fighting was fierce, taunts and gaming insults were hurled about and then in short order the games began. Two Minotaur staff slipped in to trade punches with the other gamers, Gaming Guru Michael White and yours truly. After a few savage exchanges from round one and two the lunch break settled upon Minotaur...like the eye of a hurricane.
The gamers stalked off to hunt their hamburgers and sandwiches before returning revitalized to do battle once more!
There was no flashy score board to let players know what had transpired in the first half but the reality was that after the first two round there were still many people vying for the leadership position. BUT! There was already a pair of leaders to catch up to.
The scores after the break stood with Esther Guttman at 14 Points tied with...well me. =D
Next came Jeffrey right on our heels at 13 with Shawn and Patrick tailing close behind at 12.
Marc was behind the pair at 11 squeaking ahead of the tie between Calvin and Adam B who sat comfortably at 10.
Randy was at 9, Robert at 8 with our 2nd place sitter Michael tied at 7 with Katrina.
Dallas held onto a one point advantage at 5 over the 3way tie at the rear of the pack Awesome Abi, David, and Stephen all sitting at 4 points.
Everyone knew that it was still any ones match despite the 10 point spread from 1st to last. The final 2hour game was worth 10 points and would be a crucial moment to decide the ultimate champion.
Round 3 started with a vengeance and as the dust settled I found myself sitting facing Esther across a board of Ticket to Ride Europe. The two leaders locked in an epic stare-off! We both knew what it meant... (Subconsciously anyways)
Only one of us would be the victor in this round and the other would slip back amongst the pack to jostle for position.
I watched her like a hawk... carefully analyzing her seasoned calls of 'I'll take those two cards' or 'I'll claim this route.' It became obvious that she was one serious TtoR player!!
Helen Baumander, who had not entered the blitz but observed the round, commented from ringside that "Esther never loses at Ticket to Ride...not ever." It proved to hold true as she just crushed the table. Dismayed by the defeat I did not even manage to secure 2nd place.
Going into the final round it was a spread out pack now.
Esther sat at 19 points.
Shawn 17 Patrick 17
Jeffrey 16 Henry 16
Calvin 13 Marc 13
Randy 11 Michael 11 Katrina 11
Robert 9 David 9 Stephen 9
Dallas 6
Abi 5
For those sitting at 13 they would have to win their match and Esther would need to place last in whatever table she played at. Esther settled in for a game of Peurto Rico and Patrick chose to confront her head to head. Shawn and Jeffrey, both within striking distance of 1st place chose their battle arena of Power Grid and I opted for Princes of Florence.
Hopes remained high that someone, or preferably a couple of people, might place ahead of Esther to give that chance for a tournament win but the game was over 1st out of the 4 games with Esther quickly having secured first place. Since her final score was a 29 it was announced then and there that the winner and ultimate champion of the Blitz was incontestable. Everyone now was simply playing for runner up positions.
Overall Esther placed 1st in 3 of her matches and the round she didn't win she placed second.
A mere one point shy of a perfect score of 30!!
Well done Esther, you deserve a round of applause for your cunning wins and with the support of your friends you have secured a spot to Fan Expo in Toronto!
Here's hoping you have similar results against another crowd of gamers in the big T-dot.
Included here are two photos, one of the majority of the players involved (some had to leave early) and the final 4 winners holding their gift certificates or showcasing their championship crown.
Here are the final scores.
(PS. I've probably misspelt a ton of your last names. Which I'll say in my defense is due to everyone's scribbly handwriting on their player sheets. But secretly it's so you'll post all outraged to the blog which will make me feel like folks are reading this =P )
Esther Guttman: 29 (winner)
Patrick McInalle: 25 (1st runner up)
Jeffrey McCarthy: 24 (2nd runner up)
Calvin Chan: 23 (3rd runner up)
Marc Lanctot: 21
Henry McCulloch: 20
David Edwards: 19
Shawn Keown: 19
Adam B. : 19
Stephen Hamel: 19
Randy Scott: 15
Michael White: 15
Katrina Sauve: 13
Robert Armstrong: 11
Abi The Awesome “A”: 9
Dallas Dyck: 8
But enough of the blitz!
On to cribbage!!
We had a great turnout again for our February cribbage tournament and I never posted the pics of the winners as promised.
I case my wily readers thought I'd forgotten.
Really though my reader base consists of a large number of cats checking to see if their lawl pictures made it to the blog -_-
The winner was Kyle and the 1st runner up was Tim seen below holding their winnings!
With continued turnouts of a dozen or more players you will need to get signed up fast if you intend to play. I know the sign up sheet last time was completely full and we have about a dozen spots left for the next coming cribbage tournament at the end of this month on March 31st.
As always it will be 10 dollars to enter and you will gather at the store at 7pm!
7 matches will determine the winner and the money entered by the players will be pooled towards gift certificates for the top players.
Here's hoping to see you out here on the 31st and as always I'll keep everyone updated on new and exciting things to come at the store. That's all for now play safe everyone and as always...
I'm Henry McCulloch and this has been the Labyrinth. Game On!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The Labyrinth: The Blitz Extended + The Game Exchange
So you're hunting high and low for clues to the blitz...
It's been months since it was announced in store...
A whole DAY (two now) since a blog post was made about it...
And you still need to know more about every possible aspect of the tournament!
The phones have been ringing off the hook and our crack crew of Blitz experts cant keep up with the flow of questions coming in.
The blitz outline is as follows.
16 Games have been selected and are going to be in pools or rounds. During the first round players will be randomly assigned to one of 6games.Those 6 initial games are:
Condottiere
Dominion Intrigue
Quarriors
Race for the Galaxy
San Juan
Seven Wonders
These games are slated to run for an hour and based off player's results will determine who gets to pick what for the subsequent round. Round 2 is a 2hour slot and the first place finishers will all roll off to see who gets first pick.
In order they will assign themselves to a game one by one and once all of them has picked the process will be repeated with all the 2nd place finishers from round one.
In this way players will be more likely to get a chance to pick a game they are familiar with.
Round 2 will feature:
Endeavor
Tikal
Cities and Knights
Pillars of Earth
Small World Underground
Tempus
There will then be a one hour break for lunch before the 3rd round starts up.
The games featured in this round are 1 hour games and are:
Samurai
Through the Desert
Thurn+Taxis
Ticket to Ride Europe
Saint Petersburg
Kingdom Builder
The 4th and final round will contain the most challenging games all of which are slated for 2hours long. Once all the 4th round matches are done the total combined scores from each game will determine who the winner of the blitz is!
4th Round games are:
AgricolaCaylus
Power Grid
Puerto Rico
Princes of Florence
Factory Manager
Game Exchange
In addition to the blitz we will also have a game table for selling and buying games that will run from Friday, March 23rd to Sunday, March 25th.Bring in and sell off your used games. Buy games brought in by others. Three days only!Consignment terms will apply but you will set your own price. Minotaur will take 10% commission, you get the other 90%. Please bring in a price list with any games that submitted.People can start bringing in games anytime between now and the end of the event, but will not be put out for sale until March 23rd. Any and all games and game accessories are welcome!
This has been the Labyrinth and I`m Henry McCulloch. Game on!
It's been months since it was announced in store...
A whole DAY (two now) since a blog post was made about it...
And you still need to know more about every possible aspect of the tournament!
The phones have been ringing off the hook and our crack crew of Blitz experts cant keep up with the flow of questions coming in.
The blitz outline is as follows.
16 Games have been selected and are going to be in pools or rounds. During the first round players will be randomly assigned to one of 6games.Those 6 initial games are:
Condottiere
Dominion Intrigue
Quarriors
Race for the Galaxy
San Juan
Seven Wonders
These games are slated to run for an hour and based off player's results will determine who gets to pick what for the subsequent round. Round 2 is a 2hour slot and the first place finishers will all roll off to see who gets first pick.
In order they will assign themselves to a game one by one and once all of them has picked the process will be repeated with all the 2nd place finishers from round one.
In this way players will be more likely to get a chance to pick a game they are familiar with.
Round 2 will feature:
Endeavor
Tikal
Cities and Knights
Pillars of Earth
Small World Underground
Tempus
There will then be a one hour break for lunch before the 3rd round starts up.
The games featured in this round are 1 hour games and are:
Samurai
Through the Desert
Thurn+Taxis
Ticket to Ride Europe
Saint Petersburg
Kingdom Builder
The 4th and final round will contain the most challenging games all of which are slated for 2hours long. Once all the 4th round matches are done the total combined scores from each game will determine who the winner of the blitz is!
4th Round games are:
AgricolaCaylus
Power Grid
Puerto Rico
Princes of Florence
Factory Manager
Game Exchange
In addition to the blitz we will also have a game table for selling and buying games that will run from Friday, March 23rd to Sunday, March 25th.Bring in and sell off your used games. Buy games brought in by others. Three days only!Consignment terms will apply but you will set your own price. Minotaur will take 10% commission, you get the other 90%. Please bring in a price list with any games that submitted.People can start bringing in games anytime between now and the end of the event, but will not be put out for sale until March 23rd. Any and all games and game accessories are welcome!
This has been the Labyrinth and I`m Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The Labyrinth: Holy Badass Blitz Batman!
So February kinda just flew by like a 747!
*makes vwooshing sounds as he runs around the store pretending to be a big jumbo jet*
And now March is well underway!
There's a lot happening over the next few weeks so lets try to cover it all asap to make up for lost time!
First of all the biggest breaking news at the store is the upcoming Board Game Blitz!!
In the past the blitz has taken place at King Con but this year it will be happening right at Minotaur on Saturday the 24th of March. We have a sign-up sheet at the store as well as a list of the games that will featured in the different rounds.
Now if you've competed in some of the previous blitz's then you're a hardened gaming vet and you know what to expect but some of you newcomers must be thinking...
"Wait what exactly is this blitz you speak of and why do I want to play in it??"
Here's the breakdown for you!
I'm no math wiz by any means... but if e=mc² then the blitz is proven, through raw science, to be ridiculously fun on a rising scale of infinite awesomeness.
Picture the store as a gladiatorial arena if you will....Where gladiators (IE: you the players) are pitted against all sorts of diabolical challenges (aka: different types of games) In order to play everyone must put in a share of pure gold coins to enter themselves as an official challenger! (lets call that 10 bucks in current day cash) It pays for your exciting chance to dual to the death* all day long.
*please note we most likely WILL NOT force customers to actually play until they die from mental or physical exhaustion but we also cannot 100% rule it out as a possible outcome. After all shit sometimes gets pretty real at the blitz!
So really what's on the line, more than anything else... is gamer pride.
The winner of this tournament gets to unequivocally claim the title of 'The bestest gamer of alllll time in Kingston for the year 2012'.
In addition to being able to brag and boast their impressive title to all fellow gamers it means they will receive a shiny crown to mark their status as an elite tournament champion.
We encourage that this deluxe plastic crown should be worn at all times until the next blitz the following year to alert viewers of your immense gaming prowess.
The winner will also receive a free ticket and a fully expense paid trip to FanExpo in Toronto to play in the Championship Tournament of the Great Canadian Board Game Blitz.
*makes vwooshing sounds as he runs around the store pretending to be a big jumbo jet*
And now March is well underway!
There's a lot happening over the next few weeks so lets try to cover it all asap to make up for lost time!
First of all the biggest breaking news at the store is the upcoming Board Game Blitz!!
In the past the blitz has taken place at King Con but this year it will be happening right at Minotaur on Saturday the 24th of March. We have a sign-up sheet at the store as well as a list of the games that will featured in the different rounds.
Now if you've competed in some of the previous blitz's then you're a hardened gaming vet and you know what to expect but some of you newcomers must be thinking...
"Wait what exactly is this blitz you speak of and why do I want to play in it??"
Here's the breakdown for you!
I'm no math wiz by any means... but if e=mc² then the blitz is proven, through raw science, to be ridiculously fun on a rising scale of infinite awesomeness.
Picture the store as a gladiatorial arena if you will....Where gladiators (IE: you the players) are pitted against all sorts of diabolical challenges (aka: different types of games) In order to play everyone must put in a share of pure gold coins to enter themselves as an official challenger! (lets call that 10 bucks in current day cash) It pays for your exciting chance to dual to the death* all day long.
*please note we most likely WILL NOT force customers to actually play until they die from mental or physical exhaustion but we also cannot 100% rule it out as a possible outcome. After all shit sometimes gets pretty real at the blitz!
So really what's on the line, more than anything else... is gamer pride.
The winner of this tournament gets to unequivocally claim the title of 'The bestest gamer of alllll time in Kingston for the year 2012'.
In addition to being able to brag and boast their impressive title to all fellow gamers it means they will receive a shiny crown to mark their status as an elite tournament champion.
We encourage that this deluxe plastic crown should be worn at all times until the next blitz the following year to alert viewers of your immense gaming prowess.
The winner will also receive a free ticket and a fully expense paid trip to FanExpo in Toronto to play in the Championship Tournament of the Great Canadian Board Game Blitz.
I feel that this main prize for the tournament winner, while impressive, pales before the social status as a gaming guru that the individual will hold.
The Where: At the store! 165 Princess St.
The When: Saturday March 24th
The Cost: 10$ per person!
The Time: 10am-6pm
The ROUNDS: In total there will be four rounds making up the blitz.
1st round 1hour:
Games - Condottiere, Dominion Intrigue, Quarriors, Race for The Galaxy, San Juan, Seven Wonders.
2nd round 2hours:
Games- Cities and Knights, Endeavor, Tikal, Pillars of the Earth, Small World Underground, Tempus
1hour Lunch Break
3rd round 1hour:
Games- Kingdom Builder, Saint Petersburg, Samurai, Through the Desert, Thurn & Taxis, Ticket to Ride Europe.
4th round 2hours:
Games- Agricola, Caylus, Factory Manager, Power Grid, Princes of Florence, Puerto Rico
For more details on the tournament breakdown, rules, payment, proper attire, training regimes, arrival plans, and power point scenarios hunt for the elusive Justine Scala. =P
Well in other news...Did i have anything major other than the blitz to report?
Umm Cribbage tourney!!
It'll be on the 31st of March.
Same format as the last three still 10$ entry fee 7games long from 7pm till late.
Sign-up sheet for that will also be at the store.
Ummm anything else?
...
Think that's all folks!
As always,
This has been the Labyrinth and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Labyrinth: Ye Olde quiet January
So, is January the month that all of YOU get to clearing out old things?
You call the shots Kingston!
Seeing what is buried beneath the everyday piles of debris =O
I know that I have personally been on an epic quest...
Doing battle with the dustbunny monsters in my room and finding ancient relics from the past!
But the quest is long and tedious so I figure a break from cleaning to blog about it is only natural.
But new things are on the rise!
That is what January is allllll about!
Besides it's the last year on earth, after all, being the year 2012.
Things are meant to come to a crashing end very soon...*nods sagely*
Though I wont be terribly surprised if 2013 sneaks up on us silently and swiftly minus any global tidal waves, fiery chasms, or alien invasions.
Wait personal ramblings?
Right, the store!
What's new at the store?!
Well, the cribbage tournament in January did very well indeed with over 18 attendees. Below I figured we could showcase the two winners Derek and Tony along with Pete who is organizing the events at the store! Is it just me or does the red eye in this picture make the trio of them look all sinister? o.O
*cowers in the face of their cribbagey might*
If you missed out on this last tourney or just want to play again the sign up sheet for the next one February is here at the store if you want to get registered early. Spots went fast last go and it would be a shame to miss out! Other than that, congrats to both winners and a hearty cheer for all those that came out and gave it their all!
Future Myyystery Tournament!:
What with the board game blitz coming up, regular group art shows, cribbage tourneys, and D&D encounters every Thursday there is a lot going on. But why not have more? :O
I figured a poll might be in order to see what tournaments YOU the customers and readers want to have at Minotaur in the near future.
Wait personal ramblings?
Right, the store!
What's new at the store?!
Well, the cribbage tournament in January did very well indeed with over 18 attendees. Below I figured we could showcase the two winners Derek and Tony along with Pete who is organizing the events at the store! Is it just me or does the red eye in this picture make the trio of them look all sinister? o.O
*cowers in the face of their cribbagey might*
If you missed out on this last tourney or just want to play again the sign up sheet for the next one February is here at the store if you want to get registered early. Spots went fast last go and it would be a shame to miss out! Other than that, congrats to both winners and a hearty cheer for all those that came out and gave it their all!
Future Myyystery Tournament!:
What with the board game blitz coming up, regular group art shows, cribbage tourneys, and D&D encounters every Thursday there is a lot going on. But why not have more? :O
I figured a poll might be in order to see what tournaments YOU the customers and readers want to have at Minotaur in the near future.
It would be a tournament that I'd run myself ASAP but now all that's holding me back is what something would be to pique everyone's interests. Now this hasn't worked in the past... but mayyyybe just maybe folks might weigh in for a change and hollah back about what they think I should run as an event. If not on the blog then at least on the Minotaur Games and Gifts facebook group so that we can decide what cool stuff to organize.
Munchkin? Settlers? A Card Game? a COLLECTABLE card game? Maybe something GMT/Military strat related or a good old fashion hasbro round robin monopoly editions tourney? *snickers*
You call the shots Kingston!
Lets get some feedback about what gaming arena you want to clash in next and I will make it so!
Also we need a new window display... *muses*
Something valentinish I'm guessin will appear sooner or later...but I'm rather clueless when it comes to windows that don't involve dragons and spells XD
Creative Corner:
Alright back to me!
Story writing?
Story writing?
I did nanowrimo back in November but never ended up pulling it together and proofreading it in December for obvious reasons like...oh how crazy busy we are with Christmas.
I kind of feel like i should be editing my piles of loose pages and pulling together a story from it to make a quasi finished work.
But I keep finding myself addicted to starting something new...it's those first few thousand words XD
But I keep finding myself addicted to starting something new...it's those first few thousand words XD
Knowing that it's a new path that has yet to fully flush itself out that could develop into anything is a very exciting feeling when writing!
Well either I'll finally put the nail in the coffin and polish up that story or instead I'll finish the work I had already started back in the summer that still beckons to me...
Well either I'll finally put the nail in the coffin and polish up that story or instead I'll finish the work I had already started back in the summer that still beckons to me...
We shall see...maybe another chapter or so will pop its way up onto the blog as personal encouragement.
But that's all for now folks.
This has been the Labyrinth and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
But that's all for now folks.
This has been the Labyrinth and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Labyrinth: 2012! So it has begun...
So the new year has come and gone.
Drifting by like a fluffy drifty thing... that swiftly and silently slips past us...
= /
Look it's the time of year where we ALL reflect on a year gone by, things we accomplished, things we never got a chance to do, and most important of all new years resolutions!
Whether its a promise to ourselves to shave a few pounds, read a few new books, or do something nice for someone else every day it's important to do!
Reflection is an important part of life and it's all too easy to lose ourselves in the day to day without focusing on the year as a whole.
Annual scrapbooks anyone? :D
Cribbage Tournaments!
But with the start of the year already a week old it's time to start telling everybody about what is coming up in the near future at the store!
Cribbage tourneys are being run in store by Peter DuChemin and have been happening on an almost monthly basis. The one for January is already completely full but if you are a cribbage fan it's worth keeping an eye out for the next one on Saturday February the 18th!
Sign up sheets will be available at the front cash.
For tournaments with 12-24 participants prizes are being awarded to the winner and runner up in the form of gift certificates! Under 12 players and the winner takes all.
It's 10$ per player to enter and game play is solo pairings in a round robin format with winners advancing to face other winners and losers well... you get the idea.
Each player will play 7 matches in total, so win or lose everybody gets a lotta crib in!
The tournaments are typically in the evenings around 7pm.
2012 Kingston Board Game BlitZZZzzzz!!
That's right folks.
The silly crown of hardcore gaming is once again up for grabs and with it ultimate bragging rights and the title of the best Euro-gamer in Kingston for 2012!
It's a title that has been fought over by dozens of gaming pros in the Kingston circle of gaming from year to year but no matter the level of intensity, dedication, and pure LEET gaming skillz there can be only one...
Highlander style.
Players will face rounds of play in which different predetermined Euro games are handed out to different groups based off a list of potential picks.
This will ensure a wide variety of styles amongst the games to test competitor's skill levels with a wide host of popular titles.
Many shall come but only one shall stand at the end!
The King or Queen of the blitz shall win a free trip to Fan Expo to play in the Championship Tournament of the Great Canadian Board Game Blitz.
The WHAT: Mixed Eurogame Tournament
The WHERE: At the Minotaur's Den! (aka the store)
The COST: 10$ Per person.
The WHEN: Saturday March 24th 2012 10am-7pm
The WHY: Because it's going to be bad ass?
Marc Lanctot should be in attendance at the Blitz and is the man responsible for making this style of Euro-gaming tournament into a Canada wide series of events.
But of equal importance, to those entering the tourney, is another man's potential attendance...
Hailing from the wild western land of Toronto...
An absolute gaming TITAN, who's name is whispered in shady underground gaming groups worldwide...
Game master Patrick McInally may also be coming for a shot at the title!
But...
In the mystical east of Quebec another gaming BEHEMOTH stirs!!
Surely the infamous Dr. J. Dupont craves the title for himself.
There shall surely be a clash unlike any other should these two terrors arrive.
You have been...OFFICIALLY warned.
There is no games list as of yet but one will be announced as soon as the final games are determined.
(The games will definitely be some of the ones in this picture XD)
Settlers of Catan Tournament!
Though we probably wont be hosting the Eastern Canadian Championships this year we will still most likely be hosting a feeder tourney of some sort sometime in April.
Michael White will have more details on when and how much the event will cost as we finalize what this is all actually about XD
Catan shrouded in mystery!
Just know that it is out there and 'looming'
*inserts spooky music*
Paizo Minis!
That's right the new Pathfinder Battles minis from the Heroes and Monsters set are pretty much out.
Jan 10th is the official release date and so you can expect to see these gorgeous new sculpts hit the floor first thing that Wednesday!
I have a few case boxes set aside for myself and the set looks promising indeed.
There are 40 minis in total to collect in both small and large sculpts that are aimed at giving new Dungeon Masters an awesome selection of iconic and everyday baddies.
Here are a few examples of the new sculpts!
Play! Art Show
The flight art show has lingered a little bit longer than originally planned just because many of our local Kingston artists were too busy during December to work on any new projects and let us know that they might miss the deadline.
But the date is now fixed in stone and with an extra month for preparing we are eager to see what the new theme shall bring.
The submission deadline for the new show will be Monday Feb. 20th and the opening night soiree will be two days later on Wed. February 22nd. from 6pm-9pm.
The theme, like the last one, is open to interpretation and anything that is deemed suitable with the word 'play' is welcome in the exhibition!
Artists may chose to sell or to simply display their work.
Book Launch!
While we are on the topic of art I think it's worth mentioning that Nick Csernak is having a book launch for his new work: Essential Dream Jobs For Girls Who Can!
Let's hope to see everyone from the art show and more out at his event a few days later!
The show will be hosted here at Minotaur Games and Gifts on February 25th from 2-4pm.
It shall not only be a great chance to showcase the new coloring book but there will also be plenty of crayons standing by for kids to come out and have a coloring session!
As always...
This has been the Labyrinth, and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Drifting by like a fluffy drifty thing... that swiftly and silently slips past us...
= /
Look it's the time of year where we ALL reflect on a year gone by, things we accomplished, things we never got a chance to do, and most important of all new years resolutions!
Whether its a promise to ourselves to shave a few pounds, read a few new books, or do something nice for someone else every day it's important to do!
Reflection is an important part of life and it's all too easy to lose ourselves in the day to day without focusing on the year as a whole.
Annual scrapbooks anyone? :D
Cribbage Tournaments!
But with the start of the year already a week old it's time to start telling everybody about what is coming up in the near future at the store!
Cribbage tourneys are being run in store by Peter DuChemin and have been happening on an almost monthly basis. The one for January is already completely full but if you are a cribbage fan it's worth keeping an eye out for the next one on Saturday February the 18th!
Sign up sheets will be available at the front cash.
For tournaments with 12-24 participants prizes are being awarded to the winner and runner up in the form of gift certificates! Under 12 players and the winner takes all.
It's 10$ per player to enter and game play is solo pairings in a round robin format with winners advancing to face other winners and losers well... you get the idea.
Each player will play 7 matches in total, so win or lose everybody gets a lotta crib in!
The tournaments are typically in the evenings around 7pm.
2012 Kingston Board Game BlitZZZzzzz!!
That's right folks.
The silly crown of hardcore gaming is once again up for grabs and with it ultimate bragging rights and the title of the best Euro-gamer in Kingston for 2012!
It's a title that has been fought over by dozens of gaming pros in the Kingston circle of gaming from year to year but no matter the level of intensity, dedication, and pure LEET gaming skillz there can be only one...
Highlander style.
Players will face rounds of play in which different predetermined Euro games are handed out to different groups based off a list of potential picks.
This will ensure a wide variety of styles amongst the games to test competitor's skill levels with a wide host of popular titles.
Many shall come but only one shall stand at the end!
The King or Queen of the blitz shall win a free trip to Fan Expo to play in the Championship Tournament of the Great Canadian Board Game Blitz.
The WHAT: Mixed Eurogame Tournament
The WHERE: At the Minotaur's Den! (aka the store)
The COST: 10$ Per person.
The WHEN: Saturday March 24th 2012 10am-7pm
The WHY: Because it's going to be bad ass?
Marc Lanctot should be in attendance at the Blitz and is the man responsible for making this style of Euro-gaming tournament into a Canada wide series of events.
But of equal importance, to those entering the tourney, is another man's potential attendance...
Hailing from the wild western land of Toronto...
An absolute gaming TITAN, who's name is whispered in shady underground gaming groups worldwide...
Game master Patrick McInally may also be coming for a shot at the title!
But...
In the mystical east of Quebec another gaming BEHEMOTH stirs!!
Surely the infamous Dr. J. Dupont craves the title for himself.
There shall surely be a clash unlike any other should these two terrors arrive.
You have been...OFFICIALLY warned.
There is no games list as of yet but one will be announced as soon as the final games are determined.
(The games will definitely be some of the ones in this picture XD)
Settlers of Catan Tournament!
Though we probably wont be hosting the Eastern Canadian Championships this year we will still most likely be hosting a feeder tourney of some sort sometime in April.
Michael White will have more details on when and how much the event will cost as we finalize what this is all actually about XD
Catan shrouded in mystery!
Just know that it is out there and 'looming'
*inserts spooky music*
Paizo Minis!
That's right the new Pathfinder Battles minis from the Heroes and Monsters set are pretty much out.
Jan 10th is the official release date and so you can expect to see these gorgeous new sculpts hit the floor first thing that Wednesday!
I have a few case boxes set aside for myself and the set looks promising indeed.
There are 40 minis in total to collect in both small and large sculpts that are aimed at giving new Dungeon Masters an awesome selection of iconic and everyday baddies.
Here are a few examples of the new sculpts!
Play! Art Show
The flight art show has lingered a little bit longer than originally planned just because many of our local Kingston artists were too busy during December to work on any new projects and let us know that they might miss the deadline.
But the date is now fixed in stone and with an extra month for preparing we are eager to see what the new theme shall bring.
The submission deadline for the new show will be Monday Feb. 20th and the opening night soiree will be two days later on Wed. February 22nd. from 6pm-9pm.
The theme, like the last one, is open to interpretation and anything that is deemed suitable with the word 'play' is welcome in the exhibition!
Artists may chose to sell or to simply display their work.
Book Launch!
While we are on the topic of art I think it's worth mentioning that Nick Csernak is having a book launch for his new work: Essential Dream Jobs For Girls Who Can!
Let's hope to see everyone from the art show and more out at his event a few days later!
The show will be hosted here at Minotaur Games and Gifts on February 25th from 2-4pm.
It shall not only be a great chance to showcase the new coloring book but there will also be plenty of crayons standing by for kids to come out and have a coloring session!
As always...
This has been the Labyrinth, and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The Labyrinth: BLACK FRIDAY / apologies
Hello game fans!
I've fallen far behind in my previous standard of 3ish blogs per month.
During October I managed to produce but a single meager blog update and to be honest it's just because I've been nice and busy with the build up towards Christmas.
The first real sprinkling of snow and freezing rain came today to remind us...hey you %@&*@! we're in Canada so prepare to freeze your butts off!
The cold is settling in and THE Friday is fast approaching.
What's so fancy about it? What's different about it being Friday? And why is it black?!?
Black Friday in the traditional sense is the day after American Thanksgiving and the 'official' start to the Christmas shopping season. Across most towns in Canada and the States there will bemass numbers of shoppers heading towards downtown areas to make good of the sales and deals that are going to be offered in some form or another at most retail outlets.
Wikipedia describes Black Friday as the following:
'The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1966 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black"
Here you can see a graph above demonstrating the increasing number of tall silver bars that SUDDENLY become a much bigger golden bar! Hence illustrating why this Friday is by far the blackest...
*nods sagely*
It makes perfect sense. You just need to read between the lines and it alllll becomes clear.
At any rate here at Minotaur were going to be open for our normal hours from 10am to 9pm but everything in the store is going to be 15% off!
This deal excludes consignment items and the few red tagged items that are already marked down but if you've been debating starting your Christmas shopping but just haven't gotten around to it yet, then Black Friday is going to be the day for you! Not only can you find great deals at Minotaur but dozens of your other favorite downtown stores will be offering similar promotions.
In addition every person who spends a minimum of 50 dollars before taxes is going to have their name entered into a draw for a 500$ gift certificate. So grab your friends, bundle up if it's chilly out, and then head on down to Minotaur to find something for your friends and loved ones!
For those who enjoyed my writers corner and more constant updates to the blog my main excuse was Nanowrimo. A fun November event that has channeled most of my writing energies into writing a book! Soon as this month is up I'll start churning out some more fun things to peruse.
This has been the Labyrinth, and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
I've fallen far behind in my previous standard of 3ish blogs per month.
During October I managed to produce but a single meager blog update and to be honest it's just because I've been nice and busy with the build up towards Christmas.
The first real sprinkling of snow and freezing rain came today to remind us...hey you %@&*@! we're in Canada so prepare to freeze your butts off!
The cold is settling in and THE Friday is fast approaching.
What's so fancy about it? What's different about it being Friday? And why is it black?!?
Black Friday in the traditional sense is the day after American Thanksgiving and the 'official' start to the Christmas shopping season. Across most towns in Canada and the States there will bemass numbers of shoppers heading towards downtown areas to make good of the sales and deals that are going to be offered in some form or another at most retail outlets.
Wikipedia describes Black Friday as the following:
'The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1966 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black"
Here you can see a graph above demonstrating the increasing number of tall silver bars that SUDDENLY become a much bigger golden bar! Hence illustrating why this Friday is by far the blackest...
*nods sagely*
It makes perfect sense. You just need to read between the lines and it alllll becomes clear.
At any rate here at Minotaur were going to be open for our normal hours from 10am to 9pm but everything in the store is going to be 15% off!
This deal excludes consignment items and the few red tagged items that are already marked down but if you've been debating starting your Christmas shopping but just haven't gotten around to it yet, then Black Friday is going to be the day for you! Not only can you find great deals at Minotaur but dozens of your other favorite downtown stores will be offering similar promotions.
In addition every person who spends a minimum of 50 dollars before taxes is going to have their name entered into a draw for a 500$ gift certificate. So grab your friends, bundle up if it's chilly out, and then head on down to Minotaur to find something for your friends and loved ones!
For those who enjoyed my writers corner and more constant updates to the blog my main excuse was Nanowrimo. A fun November event that has channeled most of my writing energies into writing a book! Soon as this month is up I'll start churning out some more fun things to peruse.
This has been the Labyrinth, and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Labyrinth: The Coming Of Drizzt!
Oh ... my... gods!
*begins praying to goodly, unaligned, and the evil gods of the forgotten realms*
Salvatore Fans Unite!!
For those of you who know or care about Salvatore and who he is and the work that he does then you'll understand alllll of the glorious 'geeking out' I'm about to do.
While his new books have all been coming out in rapid succession to keep us eager readers happy there is now...a board game dedicated to some of the most iconic fights of Drizzt and his bad of friends.
*Faints*
When I first heard about the line of D&D board games my overall response was somewhere above Meh! and not quite as bad as Arrrggh!
But with the newest upcoming game box being a set all about Salvatore's most famous character Drizzit Do'urden AND his arch nemesis Artemis Entreri my heart rate definitely quickened.
This game includes the following components:
So while all that SOUNDS good on paper a bunch of you might be saying.. "what does that actually mean though about how the game played?"
For those of you that play 4th ed D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) this game should be VERY straight forward to pick up and learn.
You will be playing with your allies each playing one of the famous characters from the novels.
Just like in 4e you'll get a move a standard and a minor action.
You will use minis and tiles to set the scenario that you are playing out and there is an interesting fog of war effect that means that tiles only get flipped when players end on an adjacent unexplored edge. Enemies and terrain features are revealed like this tile by tile adding a great deal of suspense about what lays ahead.
Players have hp (hitpoints) for their characters and whenever they are struck in combat they lose appropriate hp equal to the damage done by monsters. Players hava certain amount of healing surge tokens that they start with based off which character they are playing and to restore hp they must
In short I've toyed around with the game as a single player and i think any gamer will enjoy the fantasy themes running through this d&d based game BUT if you're a Salvatore fan you'll be tickled pink. It's also worth mentioning that if you are a model hobbiest and enjoy painting minis you can spend many hours/day painting up the full sec of plastic figurines that come inside the box. Overall I'm giving the Drizzt D&D ADventure board game asolid 8/10 but I'll also openly admit I'm horribly bias. This drow has forever caught and earned a place in my imagination and heart. Here's hoping the new books continue to be as awesome as the last!
This has been the Labyrinth, and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
*begins praying to goodly, unaligned, and the evil gods of the forgotten realms*
Salvatore Fans Unite!!
For those of you who know or care about Salvatore and who he is and the work that he does then you'll understand alllll of the glorious 'geeking out' I'm about to do.
If you don't then follow along as best you can ^_^
While his new books have all been coming out in rapid succession to keep us eager readers happy there is now...a board game dedicated to some of the most iconic fights of Drizzt and his bad of friends.
*Faints*
When I first heard about the line of D&D board games my overall response was somewhere above Meh! and not quite as bad as Arrrggh!
But with the newest upcoming game box being a set all about Salvatore's most famous character Drizzit Do'urden AND his arch nemesis Artemis Entreri my heart rate definitely quickened.
If you go online to any of the many sources that tells you the general run down of the game it will say-
A cooperative game for 1–5 players based on the New York Times best-selling adventures of Drizzt Do’Urden.
The adventures of Drizzt Do’Urden, as told in the New York Times best-selling Forgotten Realms novels by R.A. Salvatore, come to life in this thrilling board game. Take on the role of the legendary drow ranger or one of his famous adventuring companions, battle fearsome foes, and win treasure and glory.
Designed for 1–5 players, this board game features multiple scenarios, challenging quests, and cooperative game play. The contents of this game can also be combined with other D&D Adventure System Cooperative Play board games, including Castle Ravenloft and Wrath of Ashardalon, to create an even more exciting experience.
This game includes the following components:
- 42 plastic heroes and monsters
- 13 sheets of interlocking cardstock dungeon tiles
- 200 encounter cards and treasure cards
- Rulebook
- Scenario book
- 20-sided die
So while all that SOUNDS good on paper a bunch of you might be saying.. "what does that actually mean though about how the game played?"
For those of you that play 4th ed D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) this game should be VERY straight forward to pick up and learn.
You will be playing with your allies each playing one of the famous characters from the novels.
Just like in 4e you'll get a move a standard and a minor action.
You will use minis and tiles to set the scenario that you are playing out and there is an interesting fog of war effect that means that tiles only get flipped when players end on an adjacent unexplored edge. Enemies and terrain features are revealed like this tile by tile adding a great deal of suspense about what lays ahead.
Players have hp (hitpoints) for their characters and whenever they are struck in combat they lose appropriate hp equal to the damage done by monsters. Players hava certain amount of healing surge tokens that they start with based off which character they are playing and to restore hp they must
In short I've toyed around with the game as a single player and i think any gamer will enjoy the fantasy themes running through this d&d based game BUT if you're a Salvatore fan you'll be tickled pink. It's also worth mentioning that if you are a model hobbiest and enjoy painting minis you can spend many hours/day painting up the full sec of plastic figurines that come inside the box. Overall I'm giving the Drizzt D&D ADventure board game asolid 8/10 but I'll also openly admit I'm horribly bias. This drow has forever caught and earned a place in my imagination and heart. Here's hoping the new books continue to be as awesome as the last!
This has been the Labyrinth, and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Friday, September 30, 2011
The Labyrinth: A Mansion filled with flights of Madness!
Flight.
Creepy bats swooping through the darkness.
Leaves drifting to the dirt around a creepy cemetery.
Ghosts drifting between the clouds on a starry night.
Flight is the theme ladies and gentlefolk!
But creepy is the coming month...why not combine them I say?
It's a dual post today as there is an upcoming event in the store as well as a gameeeee revieeeewww!
It's a good game and an interesting event so read both!
I double dog dare you.
The event coming up is our 3rd group art show!
I already mentioned it briefly in a previous blog but we've had a few new people not involved with the last show come into the store and mention that they hadn't seen anything on the blog yet about the upcoming art show.
This, to be frank,...SHOCKED me!
Not because they hadn't noticed the post but that people read this blog ?!? :P
What's up with that?!
But no in all seriousness
- ART SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT-
The theme is Flight!
The first two I'm pleased to say were smashing successes each with larger #'s of submitted pieces than the last and a range of mediums and themes that all fell within the last themes of robots and under the sea.
This coming month in Oct. it will be Flight.
This can be literally the act of flying around amongst the sky or stars but ALSO it could be something creative concerning the word like flights of haunted stairs or flights of fancy.
The sky is actually the limit here so go wild!
We of course reserve the right to pick which submissions actually fall within the criteria of the show but so far we haven't turned anyone aside that has a creative idea or twist.
The under the sea stuff is coming down as we speak so get your submissions in fast!
All submissions should be in as of the 15th of October.
The art show opening night shall be on the 19th!
Dress to impress or just come looking cheekily casual it makes little difference as it shall be a fun evening to be sure with snacks and beverages to meet and greet the artists and sign the guest canvas with a doodle or your signature.
Now on to the game!!
As mentioned in the previous post today's pick is-
Mansions of Madness
It's a game I've played once or twice so while I've had some exposure to some of the scenarios I'm by no means an expert on the game yet and am still hungry to play it a few more times outside the store or on a games night.
But some of you who have been staring at it on the shelf or asking a buddy of yours to bring it in might want a bit of a rundown on what to expect. So here we go.
House on Haunted Hill fan? Good start!
Similar to Arkhem Horror you say? It isn't without its similarities!
In fact the characters (to my knowledge) are the same in both games.
The tile style board game leans more towards the HoHH setup as shown below.
Co-operative too you hear? Sort of... players must all cooperate to solve the challenge and fight off dreaded monsters, minus the dreaded overlord who will attempt to foil you at every turn!
Mansions of madness draws upon new and old game elements to keep the creepy cthulu and moldy mansion theme fresh and new.
Similar to both Arkhem and Haunted Hill this game sports several characters with unique stats for players to choose from before the game starts.
Each of these characters will have benefits and weaknesses.
The game has plastic detailed (yet unpainted) figures both to represent you and the monsters on the game board. Some players will be ideally suited to fighting off the beasties while other characters like the old professor or the gorgeous starlet might be better suited to collecting items or solving complex puzzles.
The fighting mechanic is nothing to marvel at as it's been used many a time before but at least it's well balanced!
You have X amount of hit points to begin with, typically ranging from about 3-8 and each time you are struck by a monster in combat you take wounds appropriately. If you reach zero you die. Items can be found that heal you or give your stats bonuses and weapons can be found to increase your combat lethality.
Scattered through the house are clues that will lead to other sections of the mansion or unlock new wings. All the while monsters of varying difficulties will spawn to impede the characters. That or senses of dread, shifting walls, or sudden power outages also can occur at the game masters discretion or through the drawing of cards that will act as interesting plot points.
Ultimately each scenario will have the party fleeing from the mansion or needing to reach a boss monster in time. I recall in our group we needed only to flee and bring every party member with us before the house sank forever into the earth. We managed to all get out save one party member which left us ending in a stalemate.
The most interesting thing for me was that many of the key clues and the in game mechanic to get past locked doors, to unseal a crypt, or to get water circulating / the power back on. Based off your characters intelligence statistic you will be presented with a physical puzzle. Perhaps a series of tiles to arrange and twist about or coloured rings to be assembled. If your intelligence stat is lets say... 4. Then on your turn you can move the tiles about 4 times. This limits how fast you solve the puzzle but since they are still brain teasers there is your OWN intelligence that comes into play because you might not immediately see the solution and no one can help you solve it.
I found it a refreshing adventure game since so many others of late have left me feeling unsatisfied. I'd rank it a 7.5 out of 10 with my vote increasing to an 8/10 if all the other scenarios are as engaging as the 1s one I played.
This has been the labyrinth, and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game on!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
The Labyrinth: The Hallow is nearly upon us!
Halloween!
That wonderful time of the year every Oct. 31st when children, youths, and sometimes deranged and sugar-deprived adults dress up and roam the streets in search of candy!!
Or brains...brains that taste like candy are the best IMO.
MmmmMMhhh brainnnnns!
For the most part the costumes are meant to be scary...but from time to time we do see the odd fairy, princess, or purple lovable huggable dinosaur costume.
It remains our solemn duty, to this day as a timeheld tradition, to beat those pink and fluffy critters black and blue with our true monstrous appendages and dastardly weaponry.
Know your enemy...
Study it's movements and behaviour patterns carefully.
Sometimes they travel in packs, aim your strikes on straglers or sickly specimens.
Pick the perfect time to strike when it's most vulnerable.
Always approach from the shadows and make sure to aim for their green underbellies or flowery wings...only when you are certain of the kill can we all breath a little easier.
If we manage to cull enough of these 'adorable' critters then we can reinforce our scary superiority and remind them that the POINT of the holiday is to scare off the real demons and monsters that lurk in the dark.
Well...or to get ridiculously drunk and forget everything associated with the holiday.
On that note, avoid downtown princess street on the weekend beforehand. The 29th and 30th are most likely going to the herald the arrival of armies of wannabe-strippers, playboy bunny girls, and drunken cheer things. Covorting about until theyre just sort of lounging about and hurling on everything in sight...
I personally feel we should all be on high alert this time of year!
Not drinking ourselves into oblivion.
Halloween is the one time of year that we are most likely to get caught off guard by an authentic zombie apocalypse and for what?
Nowadays when you run around and get candy it's almost always crap candy anyways...erm. Least that's what i hear...not like I still go door to door at my age.
Or rough up purple dinosaurs and take their candy...
In my neighbourhood they strove each year to put the junk in junkfood.
(Such a handy graph! :P and oh so true.)
But enough...those that are crafty will make it to November and those that aren't well...they shall bolster the undead's numbers for the following year. We'll just have to go Shaun of the Dead on them and chose our very worst vinyls to hurl at them! Best scene...EVER.
Shaun: NO! That's the second album i ever bought!! Some of these are limited... AHH what was that??
Ed: Blue Monday...
Shaun: That was an original pressing!!
Ed: For FUCK SAKE!
Ed: Purple Rain?
Shaun: No.
Ed: Sign O' The Times?
Shaun: Definitely Not...
Ed: The Batman Suondtrack?
Shaun: Throw it!
Because any crisis should be handled as such...with a very british sort of air of calm and collected no-nonsense logic!
:)
Now the question of the day!
HOW DOES ANY OF THIS RELATE TO MINOTAUR?
A valid question indeed...
One that I'd be overjoyed to answer if it wasn't for the fact that zombies are assaulting the front AS WE SPEAK!
I shit you not...luckily we have an extensive costume section in the back these days!
I'll just run back throw on one of our creepy capes snatch myself one of our sharp swords and
equip an eypatch and viola I have a perfectly piratey outfit!
...
Which, as we all know, is one of zombie's true weaknesses. Acts of piracy!
OR i could use the mountain of makeup in the back and blood packets to dress up like an undead zombie or vampire and mingle right in and save myself!
Our halloween section ALSO has catalogues so...if i can baracade myself in and spend a few weeks waiting for a delivery i could order in anything my heart desires costume wise!
This all also ties in with next weeks game review of Mansion of Madnessssss!
Since tis the season we decided it would be appropriate to talk up the creepy crawly game.
Till then stay safe and keep a wary eye peeled!
This has been the Labyrinth and I'm HenryMcCulloch. Game on!
That wonderful time of the year every Oct. 31st when children, youths, and sometimes deranged and sugar-deprived adults dress up and roam the streets in search of candy!!
Or brains...brains that taste like candy are the best IMO.
MmmmMMhhh brainnnnns!
For the most part the costumes are meant to be scary...but from time to time we do see the odd fairy, princess, or purple lovable huggable dinosaur costume.
It remains our solemn duty, to this day as a timeheld tradition, to beat those pink and fluffy critters black and blue with our true monstrous appendages and dastardly weaponry.
Know your enemy...
Study it's movements and behaviour patterns carefully.
Sometimes they travel in packs, aim your strikes on straglers or sickly specimens.
Pick the perfect time to strike when it's most vulnerable.
Always approach from the shadows and make sure to aim for their green underbellies or flowery wings...only when you are certain of the kill can we all breath a little easier.
If we manage to cull enough of these 'adorable' critters then we can reinforce our scary superiority and remind them that the POINT of the holiday is to scare off the real demons and monsters that lurk in the dark.
Well...or to get ridiculously drunk and forget everything associated with the holiday.
On that note, avoid downtown princess street on the weekend beforehand. The 29th and 30th are most likely going to the herald the arrival of armies of wannabe-strippers, playboy bunny girls, and drunken cheer things. Covorting about until theyre just sort of lounging about and hurling on everything in sight...
I personally feel we should all be on high alert this time of year!
Not drinking ourselves into oblivion.
Halloween is the one time of year that we are most likely to get caught off guard by an authentic zombie apocalypse and for what?
Nowadays when you run around and get candy it's almost always crap candy anyways...erm. Least that's what i hear...not like I still go door to door at my age.
Or rough up purple dinosaurs and take their candy...
In my neighbourhood they strove each year to put the junk in junkfood.
(Such a handy graph! :P and oh so true.)
But enough...those that are crafty will make it to November and those that aren't well...they shall bolster the undead's numbers for the following year. We'll just have to go Shaun of the Dead on them and chose our very worst vinyls to hurl at them! Best scene...EVER.
Shaun: NO! That's the second album i ever bought!! Some of these are limited... AHH what was that??
Ed: Blue Monday...
Shaun: That was an original pressing!!
Ed: For FUCK SAKE!
Ed: Purple Rain?
Shaun: No.
Ed: Sign O' The Times?
Shaun: Definitely Not...
Ed: The Batman Suondtrack?
Shaun: Throw it!
Because any crisis should be handled as such...with a very british sort of air of calm and collected no-nonsense logic!
:)
Now the question of the day!
HOW DOES ANY OF THIS RELATE TO MINOTAUR?
A valid question indeed...
One that I'd be overjoyed to answer if it wasn't for the fact that zombies are assaulting the front AS WE SPEAK!
I shit you not...luckily we have an extensive costume section in the back these days!
I'll just run back throw on one of our creepy capes snatch myself one of our sharp swords and
equip an eypatch and viola I have a perfectly piratey outfit!
...
Which, as we all know, is one of zombie's true weaknesses. Acts of piracy!
OR i could use the mountain of makeup in the back and blood packets to dress up like an undead zombie or vampire and mingle right in and save myself!
Our halloween section ALSO has catalogues so...if i can baracade myself in and spend a few weeks waiting for a delivery i could order in anything my heart desires costume wise!
This all also ties in with next weeks game review of Mansion of Madnessssss!
Since tis the season we decided it would be appropriate to talk up the creepy crawly game.
Till then stay safe and keep a wary eye peeled!
This has been the Labyrinth and I'm HenryMcCulloch. Game on!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The Labyrinth: Blogs? Yersh! Brogz!
So another week, another few days in the life...
It's Sept. Now...crazyness how the time flies.
Gaming is a lifestyle that some of us eat drink breath and sleep with clutched near to our hearts.
It doesn't matter where our lives take us or what's going on in them as we will always find a way to game wherever we are!
That statement rings true with me over the last month more so than ever!
These past few weeks I've been gaming a fair bit both on the computer and with a handful of boardgames / card games.
I've been really eager to try a newish title that came out a month or 2 ago called dominant species. I'll admit and after seeing it get played once or twice at the last few games nights it has only served to increase my desire to try it out but it's tough to sneak in a night at the store that I'm not working when the temptation of the inter web beckons from the comfort of home.
(It's come to my attention from a concerned reader that in my blogs of late there has been a SEVERE lack of cats, kitten, or fluffy critters of any kind. Therefore to remedy the situation several extra kittens will be making appearances this week!)
So instead of trying out Dominant Species I did manage to try a game that I had never played called Carson City last week with several of the games night regulars.
It was a fun light strategy game that pitted players against one another in a wild wild west styled shoot out for the burgeoning Carson City.
So my first thought was... "solid name choice..."
The next thing I noted was the familiar colored meeples very akin to many Rio titles.
It made me smile and nod and think about it more as a old favorite rather than a daunting new game to learn.
Finally we played it through.
It was short enough with only 5? ...
I want to say 5rounds of total play and while there are plenty of guns to sling around or hire it was a fun little tricky thing to sit and analyze when it was all done. Three of the 4 players were all within 4 points of one another with any number of ever so slight differences making or breaking the game for them. One of those..."I would have won if he hadn't of beaten me there but because he didn't here so and so is just one point behind here which ties them for points before the points we get from cash" Definitely one that I will explore again in the near future and while it's not one of our games that we keep in the store as model inventory I STRONGLY suggest folks reading this that love westerns to special order it. That or you could always settle for Blackgold which is a similar game but more about the oil rush. OR alternatively yet again you can get your name on a waiting list for Deadwood which outa be another solid shoot em up western.
So that's really it for board gaming for me of late...sad I know but I did watch most of an El Grande game in the store and sit in on a game of Ikusa. Neither thirst is fully sated but dulled while I sit now scratching my head with what to finish the blog about...
But not really...
There's plenty to talk about in store even if it isn't directly gaming related.
The under the sea art show was a smash.
I'm including some photos that were sent to me of some of the folks in attendance for the opening night reveal of all the art pieces.
(Pictures are still on their way but I'm posting this as is. Ill upload pics as they become available)
And while I'm at it I'll mention that the next art show has already been decided!
It is going to be flight.
That's all just the word flight.
So it can be anything in the realm of aviation as most will take the word for that meaning but we can see literal flights of stairs or flights of fancy!
Comon it's artsy fartsy after all we can make things as creative as we like with the topic.
The opening night for that exhibition is going to be October 19th from 6pm to 9pm at the store.
All submissions should be in by the 15th though to ensure yourself a spot!
Same as last time, one entry per artist with any form of medium that tickles your interest.
Hmmm what next...
The promenade I mentioned in a blog right before it happened but someone brought up that we never showed any pictures of the day to show what a success it was again this year.
(Pics will follow soon yet again :P)
Despite torrential rain that put the rain forest deluges to shame and with dozens of stores being flooded or without power just the day before the promenade weekend we downtown businesses still managed to connect and enjoy the sight of thousands of Kingtonians travelling up and down princess / the downtown core to see the street festival.
Included are some pixs for your enjoyment.
Next up D&D!!!
What I haven't talked about it for at least 5minutes...it's only fair to get back 'on topic'
Paizo is putting out a new line of plastic gaming minis soon.
And by soon i mean December...but still for us plastic model addicts Christmas time can't come fast enough with this tantalizing tidbit being announced.
Sadly they ARE going to be randomized instead of in conveniant battlegroup format as many of us hoped they would be.
Still with the mini market running on empty beggars cant be choosers I say.
They are going to retail for $4 for a standard mini or two smalls and $6 for the large minis.
Here are a few samples of what they will look like!
Plasticky for sure...
Monster minis we have already? True enough.
Color jobs on some that look like a colorblind amputee goblin could do better?
Hmmm well I still am reserving judgment for when they arrive because I heard in the rumor mill that these pictures arw computer tailored and NOT the actual paint jobs.
Here's hoping!
(We all feel like that some days...damn will saves)
While we are on the D&D topic / creative writing I figured I'd mention my writer's corner.
I already have the next installment more or less done...just trying to decide whether or not to post it up?
Not sure if those particular posts are getting any reading time but I'll wait to hear back from anyone if they would like to hear more about the adventures of Cale, Feris, Ariel, and Framfrit.
Their ongoing saga can continue as interest reveals itself!! :P
I suspect that's all for now but here's hoping you hear a lot about some new games in the upcoming weeks, I'll promise to do my best to try a few I've been meaning to sink my teeth into.
This has been the Labyrinth and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game On!
It's Sept. Now...crazyness how the time flies.
Gaming is a lifestyle that some of us eat drink breath and sleep with clutched near to our hearts.
It doesn't matter where our lives take us or what's going on in them as we will always find a way to game wherever we are!
That statement rings true with me over the last month more so than ever!
These past few weeks I've been gaming a fair bit both on the computer and with a handful of boardgames / card games.
I've been really eager to try a newish title that came out a month or 2 ago called dominant species. I'll admit and after seeing it get played once or twice at the last few games nights it has only served to increase my desire to try it out but it's tough to sneak in a night at the store that I'm not working when the temptation of the inter web beckons from the comfort of home.
(It's come to my attention from a concerned reader that in my blogs of late there has been a SEVERE lack of cats, kitten, or fluffy critters of any kind. Therefore to remedy the situation several extra kittens will be making appearances this week!)
So instead of trying out Dominant Species I did manage to try a game that I had never played called Carson City last week with several of the games night regulars.
It was a fun light strategy game that pitted players against one another in a wild wild west styled shoot out for the burgeoning Carson City.
So my first thought was... "solid name choice..."
The next thing I noted was the familiar colored meeples very akin to many Rio titles.
It made me smile and nod and think about it more as a old favorite rather than a daunting new game to learn.
Finally we played it through.
It was short enough with only 5? ...
I want to say 5rounds of total play and while there are plenty of guns to sling around or hire it was a fun little tricky thing to sit and analyze when it was all done. Three of the 4 players were all within 4 points of one another with any number of ever so slight differences making or breaking the game for them. One of those..."I would have won if he hadn't of beaten me there but because he didn't here so and so is just one point behind here which ties them for points before the points we get from cash" Definitely one that I will explore again in the near future and while it's not one of our games that we keep in the store as model inventory I STRONGLY suggest folks reading this that love westerns to special order it. That or you could always settle for Blackgold which is a similar game but more about the oil rush. OR alternatively yet again you can get your name on a waiting list for Deadwood which outa be another solid shoot em up western.
So that's really it for board gaming for me of late...sad I know but I did watch most of an El Grande game in the store and sit in on a game of Ikusa. Neither thirst is fully sated but dulled while I sit now scratching my head with what to finish the blog about...
But not really...
There's plenty to talk about in store even if it isn't directly gaming related.
The under the sea art show was a smash.
I'm including some photos that were sent to me of some of the folks in attendance for the opening night reveal of all the art pieces.
(Pictures are still on their way but I'm posting this as is. Ill upload pics as they become available)
And while I'm at it I'll mention that the next art show has already been decided!
It is going to be flight.
That's all just the word flight.
So it can be anything in the realm of aviation as most will take the word for that meaning but we can see literal flights of stairs or flights of fancy!
Comon it's artsy fartsy after all we can make things as creative as we like with the topic.
The opening night for that exhibition is going to be October 19th from 6pm to 9pm at the store.
All submissions should be in by the 15th though to ensure yourself a spot!
Same as last time, one entry per artist with any form of medium that tickles your interest.
Hmmm what next...
The promenade I mentioned in a blog right before it happened but someone brought up that we never showed any pictures of the day to show what a success it was again this year.
(Pics will follow soon yet again :P)
Despite torrential rain that put the rain forest deluges to shame and with dozens of stores being flooded or without power just the day before the promenade weekend we downtown businesses still managed to connect and enjoy the sight of thousands of Kingtonians travelling up and down princess / the downtown core to see the street festival.
Included are some pixs for your enjoyment.
Next up D&D!!!
What I haven't talked about it for at least 5minutes...it's only fair to get back 'on topic'
Paizo is putting out a new line of plastic gaming minis soon.
And by soon i mean December...but still for us plastic model addicts Christmas time can't come fast enough with this tantalizing tidbit being announced.
Sadly they ARE going to be randomized instead of in conveniant battlegroup format as many of us hoped they would be.
Still with the mini market running on empty beggars cant be choosers I say.
They are going to retail for $4 for a standard mini or two smalls and $6 for the large minis.
Here are a few samples of what they will look like!
Plasticky for sure...
Monster minis we have already? True enough.
Color jobs on some that look like a colorblind amputee goblin could do better?
Hmmm well I still am reserving judgment for when they arrive because I heard in the rumor mill that these pictures arw computer tailored and NOT the actual paint jobs.
Here's hoping!
(We all feel like that some days...damn will saves)
While we are on the D&D topic / creative writing I figured I'd mention my writer's corner.
I already have the next installment more or less done...just trying to decide whether or not to post it up?
Not sure if those particular posts are getting any reading time but I'll wait to hear back from anyone if they would like to hear more about the adventures of Cale, Feris, Ariel, and Framfrit.
Their ongoing saga can continue as interest reveals itself!! :P
I suspect that's all for now but here's hoping you hear a lot about some new games in the upcoming weeks, I'll promise to do my best to try a few I've been meaning to sink my teeth into.
This has been the Labyrinth and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game On!
Monday, August 1, 2011
The Labyrinth: Feudal Japan VS Medieval Spain!!
The Time: The 15th - 16th century
The Place: Feudal Japan!
During this time period the island nation of Japan underwent a bloody era known now as the Sengoku period or 'warring states' period. For over 100 years political and military powers vied for control over the island nation. Large Samurai armies led by Daimyos shed their neighbours blood in a deadly conflict to decide who would be the next ruling Shogunate to maintain control over all of Japan. Contact with Europeans had only recently been made and while the sword and the bow were still the mainstay of any Samurai army, gun power in the form of basic arquebuses had begun to take their place amongst the rank and file soldiers.
The Time: The 15th Century! ? ! ?
(Meh...it's probably sometime towards the fall of the Kings of Spain...lets call it around
the death of Henry IV in 1474 since there was a lot of political upheaval.)
The Place: Spain!
During the early 1400's the Muslim forces that held the south of Spain known as the Almohads had almost been entirely forced from the peninsula. The only foothold they retained was the territory of Granada. Each unique territory and region that loosely made up what would over the next century become a more unified Spain held their own political and judicial structures
During the following 100 years known as the Reconquista period one of the most influential Kings Henry IV the ruler of Castile passed away. This highly sought after throne became the aim of several influential rulers of neighbouring regions.
<(O.o)> - huh? wha'bout games?
So, now that the history lesson is done for the day...what do these two time periods have in common?
Yes. You are correct oh savvy reader, they certainly ARE both about countries at the peak of military and political infighting. If you had already guessed that both time periods have been made into games well then you are crafty beyond compare!!
With great pleasure here is an in depth look at both,
IKUSA
(Formerly known as Avalon Hill's 'Samurai Swords) [Formerly Formerly known as Shogun!]
--------------------------- -VS ---------------------------------
El Grande
(Currently known by this guy as omgbbqsauce i wonzzzz!)
Dahhh Winning!
Both are games from my childhood and both are titles worth adding to any gaming collection.
While neither are cheap to come by both easily deliver in terms of game play, artwork/style, re playability and gorgeous manufacturing bitz.
~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~
Starting with Ikusa lets give it a thorough once over shall we?
The Place: Feudal Japan!
During this time period the island nation of Japan underwent a bloody era known now as the Sengoku period or 'warring states' period. For over 100 years political and military powers vied for control over the island nation. Large Samurai armies led by Daimyos shed their neighbours blood in a deadly conflict to decide who would be the next ruling Shogunate to maintain control over all of Japan. Contact with Europeans had only recently been made and while the sword and the bow were still the mainstay of any Samurai army, gun power in the form of basic arquebuses had begun to take their place amongst the rank and file soldiers.
The Time: The 15th Century! ? ! ?
(Meh...it's probably sometime towards the fall of the Kings of Spain...lets call it around
the death of Henry IV in 1474 since there was a lot of political upheaval.)
The Place: Spain!
During the early 1400's the Muslim forces that held the south of Spain known as the Almohads had almost been entirely forced from the peninsula. The only foothold they retained was the territory of Granada. Each unique territory and region that loosely made up what would over the next century become a more unified Spain held their own political and judicial structures
During the following 100 years known as the Reconquista period one of the most influential Kings Henry IV the ruler of Castile passed away. This highly sought after throne became the aim of several influential rulers of neighbouring regions.
<(O.o)> - huh? wha'bout games?
So, now that the history lesson is done for the day...what do these two time periods have in common?
Yes. You are correct oh savvy reader, they certainly ARE both about countries at the peak of military and political infighting. If you had already guessed that both time periods have been made into games well then you are crafty beyond compare!!
With great pleasure here is an in depth look at both,
IKUSA
(Formerly known as Avalon Hill's 'Samurai Swords) [Formerly Formerly known as Shogun!]
--------------------------- -VS ---------------------------------
El Grande
(Currently known by this guy as omgbbqsauce i wonzzzz!)
Dahhh Winning!
Both are games from my childhood and both are titles worth adding to any gaming collection.
While neither are cheap to come by both easily deliver in terms of game play, artwork/style, re playability and gorgeous manufacturing bitz.
~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~[]~~~~
Starting with Ikusa lets give it a thorough once over shall we?
Style of Play: As mentioned above it's an old Avalon Hill title but it plays very much like the classics Risk or Axis and Allies.
FULL STOP!
Alright that right off the bat might turn some folks off but I should reiterate.
It is what Risk and Axis and Allies SHOULD have been if only they had been combined by a loving game designer who thought everything was better once you throw in Samurai and deadly ninjas and giant Japanese castles from which you can bombard your opponents with wave after wave of angry hired Ronin!!!
So...it isn't exactly like either but has some similarities.
The combat uses D12's (cool I know) and the combat is streamlined with easy to follow melee and ranged rounds of fighting that make WAY more sense than the frequent dice fests that are Risk.
Plus they have &#%*ing swords!
Ikusa has dealt with the conundrum of how to display large forces of armies while still retaining the coolness factor of having lots of meeples to fling to their untimely demises. In Risk you need to 'upgrade' single soldiers to horses and those pony riders in turn into field artillery. These pieces have no real importance as they are all just numerical representations that you need to push around in a big clump. In Ikusa each unit is unique with its own strengths and abilities. In Risk you can attack ad nauseam in a mass clutter of units from southern Australia to Eastern America when you go on an attacking binge which makes little to no sense logistically but in Ikusa you can normally only attack a single time against a neighbouring region.
Axis and Allies steps things up a great deal from Risk because the units each are unique with separate battle statistics. Its combat system is much more akin to Ikusa but the en masse feeling of battle can often be lost visually under an ugly stack of white and black combat chips. In Ikusa the battles can still be awesomely epic while keeping the board relatively clutter free without losing the mass battle feel. Each player gets an army card with slots on it for x3 Daimyo's each with it's own unique flag. A single playing piece with the matching flag symbol represents this large force on the game board while still letting you still count out and arrange a massive force just off the edge of the board. You can draft troops turn by turn and swell your armies up or drop off units alternatively as you pass through areas but unlike Risk or Axis and Allies each army caps out at 15 units. This encourages players sitting with full armies of samurai to engage in combat that keeps each turn active! As the game progresses each victory your Daimyo's obtains will in turn increase thier skills in combat as they learn from past experiences. In subsequant turns they begin to be able to attack or move multiple squares on both offense and defense, covering great distances in the span of a single turn.
Truly this is a military classic without compare.
It has few drawbacks but those that it does suffer from may deter certain types of gamers from trying it out.
It's running time is very long easily approaching 4hours or more and like many conflict-based games it does have the drawback of potential player elimination. All in all it's worth it to see one of these Japanese death matches through to the end.
Just have any friends who get eliminated perform an elaborate Sebuku for your amusement as the game carries on without them :D
~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~
El Grande
What a drastic change from Ikusa.
This game is everything that a military game isn't and is one of the best Euro-games currently out there. Here at Minotaur it had a very brief stint where it saw some play but the regulars either overlooked its elegant game mechanics or didn't get a chance to have this unique strategy grow on them.
So that's why I'm bringing it back!!!
El Grande is just too good of a game not to have on the shelf...no two ways about it.
The game is like a precursor to Agricola, Peurto Rico, Tikal and Alhambra all bundled into one. It has very familiar scoring rounds like many Rio Grande games that take place at the end of the 3rd 6th and 9th(final) turn.
The game has very verrrry limited luck in it and most of the events that will shape the outcome of the game are based off the choices players make and the strategies they chose to employ. Certain methods of play that might work well in one game or in a particular situation wont against other strategies or styles of players.
In many ways it is like Puerto Rico.
Often I've heard gamers exclaim that the players are what make or break the game but that seating position is crucial. If you are seated next to a very strong player on your left often you'll find yourself struggling when an inexperienced gamer in the same seat will spell out a drastically different outcome. El Grande also has a selection mechanic where 5 choices will be available each turn to players to chose from but unlike Puerto Rico the order of play changes round by round to keep the competition fierce.
The basics of El Grande is that each player will have small tokens representing caballeros that they will draft each turn into their court that are worth a single point of influence. They shall also have a large cube which represents themselves as a Lord or Lady of future Spain which is worth additional influence (Similar to the worker and head worker from Tikal) Through intruige subterfuge and diplomacy players must use these tokens to vy for control over different territories to eventually become the next King. The tricky part however is the King's Pawn piece which travels about the board. Players may only effect areas adjacent to where the King is and by that same rule can never add or remove units in the location the King is standing in for that particular turn.
To make things a bit trickier again the way with which you acquire more caballeros and pick your turn order is one of the best parts of the game. Each player starts with a deck of numerical cards ranging from 1 to 13 and players will pick one at the start of each round. Similar to the card game 'stupide vulture' when you spend a card it's gone for good so players need to balance saving powerful cards for turns where they'll want to go early in a round, with playing low cards that, while meaning you probably will go last and have an unfavorable action card during that turn, will allow the player a larger # of caballeros to influence regions.
Four of the action cards that crop up each turn will be unique but one that remains from round to round is the option to move the king. Often players will want to play high cards to be the 1st pick because doing so will mean you can strategically place the King's Pawn piece in a way that will limit your opponents from being able to place caballeros in the region that the King's sitting in in addition to any sections of the board that aren't adjacent as well. There are many layers to the strategy beyond this but these few basic elements are what keeps El Grande in the top 15 games on boardgamegeek. It's currently ranked 12th and whenever i reminisce about the imes I played with my Dad and Uncles back when we were all around Ottawa it always makes me grin a lot. Each one of us was pretty particular about what kind of games we enjoyed but El Grande was always our go-to game when we couldn't all agree on what to play because each one of us loved it through and through.
I personally have a copy of Ikusa now and will be searching high and low QUESTING if you will for people who want to sit down on a Sunday games night perhaps or on a different night at my place to slog through it. I also just ordered a El Grande for the store and here's hoping that one of our games night regulars decides to pick it up and bring it in a few times so that the gaming folks can see just how strong a title it is. If no one picks it up within the first week or two I'm thinking I'll buy it and bring it in and make everyone play it!
Don't make me come in and force you all to play under swordpoint!
I'll be dual wielding a rapier and a katana! ;D
This has been the labyrinth and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game On!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
