So, we are come to the start of a new year. I did my wrap for 2011 with a run down of what I thought were the five best games although, sadly, I wasn’t able to play two of the big-name contenders Eclipse and Mage Knight that were released right at the end of the year and which might have altered my list somewhat. But I thought it might still be interesting to have a quick look at some numbers regarding the games I’ve played this last year, and what I hope to have lined up for 2012.

It's a holiday here in the states, so we are taking the day off and republishing an old favorite here on the front page (originally published 04/14/2008).

Back in the days when my husband Al and I were newlyweds, we rented the second floor of our house to three guys. Al was the only one with a regular job, and he only worked school hours. The rest of us were often "between jobs" and when we were working, it typically wasn't normal hours. So at our house you could pretty much find someone to play with at any time of the day or night.

Magical F:Athelete (a PnP board game)

Today we have a boring, serious question from Jeb.

If you caught my Mansions of Madness reviewthe other week, you'll have gathered I was both impressed and disappointed by the game. The experience of playing is unique, but it feels overpriced especially given limited replay value out of the box. All that, however, has the potential to change given where the game goes in the future.

On that basis I asked for, and got, the opportunity to chat to the designer Nikki Valens and Keith Hurley, VP of Media and Interactive at Fantasy Flight. I wanted to explore the game design, the motivation for pushing the app envelope and how it might be supported going forward.

The result was interesting enough to build a feature out of for GamesRadar, which was pretty cool. It's always nice to get the opportunity to talk about tabletop on more mainstream gaming sites. But there was enough interview material left over to make a worthwhile Q&A feature out of for more dedicated board gamers like you lovely people. So here it is, in a slightly edited format to make up for the stuff I cut for the feature.

Q: What gave you the idea to use an app to control Mansions of Madness Second Edition?

Nikki: The idea to use a companion application for Mansions of Madness Second Edition came about because we wanted to create a more immersive narrative experience than could be achieved with decks of cards alone. Another driving force, was to convert the system to one that could be played entirely cooperatively, in contrast to the one versus many gameplay of the first edition.

Q: What do you think the app does that a traditional board game could not do?

Nikki: The app integration allows us a handful of advantages over traditional analogue options—streamlined gameplay, narrative depth, and cooperative/solo play to name a few. From the first moments of setup, the companion app works to make Mansions of Madness Second Edition easier to play than most comparable games on the market. 

A similar system could function in analogue but the companion app is able to manage all of the necessary factors instantaneously and without any intrusive card flipping. It all lends itself to creating a more immersive narrative experience for the players.  

Plus, Mansions of Madness Second Edition is a fully cooperative game, something that was not possible with the purely analogue first edition. The companion app will naturally alter the timing and difficulty of many aspects of the game based on the number of players. In this way, the challenge a scenario presents will be appropriate for any number of players. 

Keith: There are many advantages that an app can bring to a tabletop gaming experience. Each time players load a scenario, one its different variants is loaded and provides a different experience from what they likely played before. Additionally, a companion app allows us to add a sense of exploration to a purely cooperative play experience, rather than spoiling the entire layout of a scenario during setup.

Also, with a digital app we’re no longer required to have a physical component to provide additional content. In Road to Legend, for example, we were able to push out a completely free campaign to our players, which included a ton of story and side quest content, with a simple app update. It’s a really powerful way to get fantastic scenario content from our development team directly to players.

Q: Do you feel multimedia aspects of the app add much to the game?

Keith:  Absolutely. When you launch a scenario in Mansions of Madness or Road to Legend, we try hard to set the stage, whether you’re investigating a rash of disappearances in a sleepy coastal town or tracking down a mage in the depths of some long-forgotten dungeon. 

Nikki: Aside from the companion app processing the more crunchy aspects of the game design, which would put off most players, the app allows for a much improved atmosphere. Beyond that, one aspect of the game has been removed entirely from the analogue and transplanted into the digital: puzzles. Similar puzzles existed in the previous edition, but the companion app streamlines this process by instantaneously preparing the puzzles for the player and detecting when a puzzle has been solved.

Q: Are you going to add new features to the app, as opposed to just new scenarios, with the upcoming expansions?

Nikki: In the first months after the release of the base game, we are focusing on increasing the amount of content available to players; that is, more scenarios using the existing set of features and mechanics available within the base game. But we are also looking forward. Players can expect to see new feature and mechanics in the not too distant future.

Q: Why might MoM make a good introduction to tabletop gaming for someone who primarily enjoys video games?

Nikki: Mansions of Madness Second Edition carries much of the narrative and mechanical depth that some video game players would expect without the immense amount of preparation or rules learning required for other similar tabletop games. The game and companion app do their best to remain intuitive and unobtrusive. Mansions is quick and easy to learn, probably more so than most modern video games, something that cannot be said for all tabletop games with as much mechanical depth as this one. A major bonus for many players is that the second edition can be played solo in the same way many video games can.

Although the inclusion of a companion app might be daunting to many tabletop game players, video game players are perhaps more accustomed to interfacing with a computer, tablet, or smart phone while playing games. And while the companion app handles much of the technical aspects of the game design, it leaves the interactive elements of a tabletop game in the hands of the players. This could be just what video game players need to get into tabletop gaming. Players are able to focus on playing the game without getting distracted by intrusive component manipulation or referencing rulebooks. 

Video game players who play Mansions of Madness and enjoy it might be more likely to then invest more time learning other tabletop games and expanding their collections.

Q: Do you have any playtest examples or stories about the game creeping players out?

Nikki: The general atmosphere and mood created by the app is quite chilling. Our aim was to have every written detail work toward this unsettling atmosphere that slowly builds over the course of each scenario.

Rising Tide is a more investigative scenario with less action than some of the others, created and written by Kara Centell-Dunk, one of our scenario developers. The story slowly builds this atmosphere of tension and dread as you proceed in your investigation. The more time you spend in the foggy port town of Innsmouth, the more you feel the watchful eye of the watery eyed locals. Each night, you have fitful rest and unsettling dreams. The immersive writing and the atmospheric music provided gave me shivers every time we played through it.

Q: Did any of your favorite horror films/video games influence the design? Which ones and why?

Nikki: While no specific films or games inspired the design, the horror genre as a whole was a big influence. It was a goal from the beginning to create a game that could give players similar sensations of terror and dread as they would experience when watching a horror movie or playing a horror game. Though, that's not to say that we didn't sneak in some subtle homages to various films and games.

Marco Bucci is a freelance artist and his experience includes books, film, animation, and advertising. He has worked for Walt Disney Publishing Worldwide, LEGO, LucasArts, Mattel Toys, Fisher-Price, Hasbro, among many others. He is also a passionate teacher and currently teaches "The Art Of Color & Light" at CGMA.

  “Matching shirts.”

                Years back I spoke those words to the commissioner of softball for my kids’ local youth athletics organization.  The organization had been merging smaller local athletics programs for the previous three or four years, growing in size and complexity because a big organization “is more suitable to building players for the High School teams.”  When I indicated I didn’t really give a damn about the High School teams the commissioner was simply beside himself.  He thought I was either stupid or crazy, and when he finally asked me what level of organization I thought was best for the kids, I answered with the two words above.  Give them a coach maybe, give them a decent field, give them matching shirts.  Play.

       As I thought about the encounter in the following days I realized that “matching shirts” is a solid metaphor for my approach to other things in my life, including hobby gaming.  It came to the surface again this week with Matt’s article on X-Wing Wave 7 and the discussion that followed, where it became very apparent to me how much more complicated X-Wing is than its predecessor, Wings of Glory, a game that I’ve spent in excess of $400 on at this point.  The two games are similar, but one thing X-Wing is not is a “Matching Shirts” kind of game.  X-Wing’s strength comes from its team-build component, the focus on creating a fleet prior to playing with careful combinations of ships, pilots and special abilities in order to excel at the game.  If you don’t prepare ahead of time, you’re not going to do well, because that preparation is part and parcel of the game.  The actual flight is almost a falling action in the plot.  And if you don't buy certain components you'll have trouble competing.  With Wings of Glory you don't HAVE to buy components, you just WANT to.  It's a different vibe to me.

        The market has spoken – most gamers like the X-Wing kind of thing.  And virtually every big, highly-managed sports league for kids in the United States is wildly successful as well, with parents fighting hard to get their kids extra play-time in the game each week.  Clinics, videos, sports camps are all part and parcel of the sporting experience.

        But that’s not my thing personally.  Along with my 40 new airplanes came both Wings of Glory official rulebooks (I’ve been using my original Wings of War rulebooks until now, as nothing but a few wording clarifications have changed).  With a well-stocked set of Pacific Theater airplanes and a new game store opening four miles away in a major-league Navy town I wanted to be fully versed on the altitude and special rules that are in the back-half of the WofG books, so I sat down for a read.  Ten minutes later I closed the books smiling, fully up to speed on what may be the most straightforward set of advanced rules I’ve ever read.  Intuitively implemented, the altitude, ace and tailing rules are virtually identical in both games, and very simple to understand and play with.  A fine use of the money I’ve spent, it’s an interesting game whose simplicity means it can be picked up on short notice and played with wild abandon.

        Looking at X-Wing I’m almost intimidated by the idea of playing with experienced players, knowing that I’ll be a fifth wheel.  Most players are incredibly nice about it so I have no complaints, but it’s still negative pressure on me playing the game.  My best bet would be to find another group of noobs, players with the two or three sessions worth of experience that I have and learn alongside them together.

        But short of being in a position where X-Wing is the only game in town I’m likely going to roll with my Wings of Glory instead.  I’ll be having a monthly Wings night at “my” new store, and X-Wing will almost assuredly appear in someone else’s bag.  And that will be fine.  I’ll even consider sitting in on a session if it’s a new group.  But for true team gaming there’s nothing quite as easy and as good as pulling out a bunch of planes on short notice, splitting into two teams with old friends or new, and being in the air not five minutes later.  It’s just my kind of gaming.

                   S.

The phone rings, it's the commander of Guards Armoured Division. As my operations officer hands me the receiver, I can hear the agitation on the other side of the line. “You know where I'm calling from?” he shouts, “do you have any bloody idea?” I glance at the map and spot the Guards' HQ flag. “You were supposed to be at Nijmegen by now” I venture.

I'm afraid of what the answer might be. Fighting beyond the airborne bridgehead at Grave has been extremely heavy and despite earlier reports of a breakthrough of the enemy positions there, we have no idea how far the advance might go. The German paras might have set up antitank defences anywhere along the narrow road to Nijmegen, holding up the armoured advance.

We threw a lot in this gamble, hoping to reach Nijmegen and then fight on towards Arnhem. If Guards Armoured don't make it, the British 1st Airborne might not hold out against the furious counter attacks. Where do those bloody panzers keep coming from? Not to mention the fact that we haven't been able to reach 1^st Airborne headquarters since yesterday...

The excited voice from the receiver draws me back towards reality. I didn't get the last sentence. “What did you say? Can you repeat?” There is a slight pitch of anxiety in my voice now as I fear I have lost the line. Explosion in the background blur out the voice. “Can you repeat?”

“As I said, Brian, we're on the bleeding bridge! We made it, old chap! We're in Arnhem! And the paras are still here. We made it in time!” I'm stupefied. By Jove, we made it, we're in Arnhem! I have to get Monty on the line. Now!

This time...Satan is Helping Children!

So I’ve taken a cursory glance at all of the announced titles that are expected to come out in 2017 and whipped up a Top Ten.  These are the games that make me lose sleep at night because I’m obsessing about them like some love struck teenager.  That gentle cooing and deep sighing you hear is me looking lovingly at a Polaroid of the game in the number one spot.  You creeped out?  Wanna turn back?  Too late, OFF WE GO!

Something that consistently surprises me about the tabletop hobby is how divisive miniatures seem to be. Some of the reasons people are opposed to miniatures in a game seem sensible enough; sometimes they lack the inclination to paint them (which I will address later on). Often it is felt that they drive the price of a game up past what is considered reasonable to many people, and it can be difficult to argue with that – especially when we consider how expensive games are becoming. Cost is already a huge barrier to entry for many into the hobby. Tabletop gaming is absolutely a luxury – no getting past that.

I've come to an important realization, and I wanted to share it:

I am bored with board games.

That's not entirely true, actually. I am bored with NEW games. I don't want to try every newfangled game that gets published by some fifteen-year-old with a Kickstarter account and a copy of Microsoft Word. I don't want to read convoluted 36-page rule books that would give migraines to normal men. I don't want to have to learn every game I've got every time I want to play. I just want to play the games I already have and enjoy them.

I worked in child care for a long time, and kids like playing games, but sometimes the games that they're most excited about playing are the ones that are over their heads. It was part of my job to figure out how to modify activities for kids age K-6, and I like teaching games, so this is something I'd like to work to get better at. Most Euros seem pretty hard to scale back for younger players because they're such tightly controlled systems, but modular games with dice and minis generally seem a bit easier, despite how complicated they can get. I've also got four nephews and a niece, and started the oldest two (now a 13 y.o. nephew and the 11 y.o. niece) at 6 and 4 on Heroscape. My girlfriend's 5-year-old son has watched us playing some games and of course he wants to be involved.

Even at my best I don’t like change very much. Be that as it may, I’ve got a big one around the corner. I’m preparing to move from Kansas City to Dallas, my first out-of-state move in eight years. A lot can happen in eight years. In that time I’ve met my wife and had two kids. I’ve transitioned from a graduate student to an office worker and dad, and now back to a grad student again. And not least of all, I discovered board gaming and got lucky to make an extensive group of friends who enjoy it along with me.

Originally the Mailbag segment was an opportunity to just post about nonsense really, an opportunity for people to post whatever the heck they want. I more or less retired it a while ago, it seems like a redundant segment now that we have forums and member submissions. So I must admit to being somewhat surprised when Franklincob asked me if I’d been checking the mailbag (the answer, of course, was no) as we had gotten something.

This also gives me the opportunity to make a couple of announcements, so here is the first mailbag in next to forever.

Ahh, the Christmas season. Irritating songs, endless social functions with co-workers, and a easy five pounds to round out that girlish figure. For a game blogger/writer, it’s also a time to start making lists. I already did one a couple weeks ago with my favorite games ever, which is an annual tradition I’ve done for four years now. In a couple of weeks I’ll have one with my top games released roughly in 2013.

Steve Weeks interviewed me for the Ultimate Podcast a couple of weeks ago, which is of course a great honour, but limited time didn’t allow me to shoot all my bolts and frankly I find the following more interesting than my opinion on the Holloway case. So here’s a sight into what I didn’t get to say. 

Until this year, I think everyone had played Magic: the Gathering except for me. I moved overseas literally months before it debuted in 1993, and it totally passed me by. I never felt like it was a big gap in my life, but as I got further into the hobby it started to feel like the proverbial elephant in the room, a bizarre oversight considering my obsessive love for Magic’s most obvious ancestor, Cosmic Encounter. My taste in games has grown to embrace games with built-in imbalances and bizarre card interactions.

Of course, a lot of people could give you some very good reasons to NOT get into Magic. The first one that anyone would point out is the financial output. Never forget that it’s a game made of trading cards. You don’t get the good cards without paying for them, unless you luck out and get one in a booster pack. I know many who speak of their time playing Magic like an addict remembering their crack-head days, remembering how much money they whizzed away on booster boxes and second-hand cards. The other big hurdle that’s always stood in my way is the sheer scope of the game, because it’s a hobby unto itself. The number of cards is insane, and the rules are appropriately complex. Now as we’ll get to in a moment, it’s a deceptive complexity. Still, it’s there. Not only that, but there are about ninety hojillion ways to play the game, and starting means you’ll have to be the new guy for a while. That’s never fun.

But after some guidance from more experienced players, I found myself with an opportunity to start what we are calling a “limited constructed” league. That means that we start with six boosters, build a deck on the spot, and play a round robin of best-out-of-three games with each other. Then we keep the cards we got as our pool, meeting once a month and adding one more booster to what we already have. There’s no trading between players, so everyone has the same number of cards, but they’re all different. It keeps both concerns I mentioned above in check, allowing a minimum of financial outlay and a tight pool of cards that shouldn’t be too overwhelming.

So we sat down this last week for our first league night, built our decks, and ran them against each other. It’s very strange to come to a game literally twenty years after everyone else. It’s not exactly the same culture as board gaming, though there can be a lot of overlap. It has its own language that I followed, but didn’t think I could use for fear of sounding like a poseur. Since such a tournament structure is built up, there are far more conventions that are generally observed, though we played pretty loosey-goosey with them. But the most surprising thing was that I actually didn’t feel like I was drowning. Once I got my feet, I had a pretty terrific time.

This isn’t my first experience with the CCG model, not exactly. As I’ve written I’ve had some experience with Fantasy Flight’s highly successful “living card game” model. I’m a big fan of the Star Wars LCG especially. The “living” part of the game means that there are new cards released, but they aren’t in random packs. They really function more as expansions than anything else. Those who play them some serious card games probably like that more, but I confess that for me it’s overwhelming. The cards are released more often than I can play, and building decks is a challenging experience when you just have everything at your fingers. I think I prefer the random model more, at least for how I play. Since I’m such a fan of Cosmic Encounter, I like imbalance built into a game. And in some ways, it feels a little more like what the game was intended to be. It allows your collection to be unlike anyone else’s, and it allows the game to roll with the randomness instead of struggling against it.

There’s a lot of that “new player” feeling for me. While I mostly understand the rules, the nuances of how to play cards well and when to throw down instants (on the other guy’s turn, dingus) is still not second nature to me. And of course, deck-building eludes me at this point. I’m not a detail-oriented guy by nature, so I’m not naturally given to inspecting every card in my deck, especially when there’s a time limit like we had. I’m generally satisfied to go with my first impulse and call it a day, which will be a good way to lose. I’m not much good at evaluating the value and efficiency of a card yet, so that doesn’t make deck-building any easier. But I’ll get better at both with experience and the gentle guidance of my friends, who have been nothing but supportive and helpful with strategy and deck-building tips.

What do I think of the game itself? I really liked it a lot. The complexity from the card interactions is a factor, but Magic is much faster than almost every game it spawned. The nature of the mana system means that there are far fewer cards to digest in any given hand. A hand of seven cards is much easier to deal with when half of them are basic lands. I loved seeing the cards work together in unexpected ways, and I’m already thinking of how I can better tune what I have. After 8-9 games in one evening, there were a few cards to which I had grown a little attached, and that’s the kind of personal investment that makes games good.

Magic has been compared to Cosmic Encounter so many times (even by Richard Garfield, Magic’s creator) that I couldn’t help but use that as my frame of reference. There’s a lot in common, except Magic takes the idea of imbalance to its logical extreme. Not only are we playing with different player powers, we’re playing with totally different groups of cards. That idea was a revolutionary in 1993, and it struck me while I was playing. It’s not quite as loony as Cosmic Encounter, which actively encourages silliness. That’s more my type of game, but in my context right now, this league can end up being one of my gaming highlights every month.

That casual environment was the best part of our group. We just spent the time shooting the breeze between games, discussing strategies and decks, and generally socializing. It fought against the cliche of the anti-social nerd who cares more about winning then the time he spends with other people. I’ve always been blessed with lots of good friends who will play games with me, and Magic provided a way for me to get to know some of them just a little better. I look forward to the months ahead not just as we get to play more, but as it allows us to hang out more often. A game that helped me connect with people? Imagine that.

As I’ve written previously, this summer some friends and I started a “Magic: The Gathering” league, where we each buy the same number of boosters on a monthly basis and add them to our pool of cards. We then meet on a regular basis to run the decks against each other, and we play a lot on the side as well. The league is now in its third month, and has actually started to grow and become a bigger deal than I anticipated. So far official league play has consisted of two meetups where everyone plays everyone else, a booster draft, and various meetups where we just play casually. What started as a four-player league has grown to six or seven depending on the night, and that’s with one guy needing to drop out because he moved away.