A fistful of games

Japanese pop culture and K-pop.

Gaming and tournaments

And also board games.

At the A.F.K Party, organized by FriendZone, at the Rio Novo do Príncipe School in Cacia, near Aveiro, Portugal.

With the Boardgamers Group of Aveiro running the board game section, there were over thirty titles available for the day, suiting all tastes, ages and gaming experience.

From the classics of the late twentieth century, such as Catan and Carcassonne, to those published on the first decade of this century, such as Ticket to Ride or Pandemic, and to the most recent ones, just released in 2019, such as The Taverns of Tiefentahl or Century – A New World.

In a dedicated room, outside the action and the main focus of the meeting, the tables were in action all day long. With people looking to discover games, take a break from other activities or repeat family worlds.

The boardgame room was somewhat outside the centre of the event and the main action. Even so, there was intense action on the tables during all day! With people looking to discover some games, or for a break from the other activities, or even to comeback with friends to already well-known worlds.

This was also the opportunity to experience another handful of games.
At four-player count.
Or three.
Or two.

Century: New World is already the third one in the Century series, but the very first one I played. With the scenario set in the exploration of the Americas, it is a resource management game, which is necessary to collect and exchange various resources.

Specific resource combinations allow you to obtain cards, which in turn provide points, enable access to new board spaces and expand the capability of action, in number or in kind.

The interaction between players, as it is the case in many of these games, focuses on competition for available resource and action spaces.

The Game. Cards with numbers from 2 to 99. To place in two ascending series and two descending series. In collaboration with the other players, but not knowing what each one holds in their hand. Trying to place them all, or at least as many as possible.

Being mandatory to place at least two cards per turn, big jumps in the number sequence become inevitable, sooner or later, hindering the ultimate goal.

A quick game, to play anywhere.

Dragon Castle is a 2017 game, which reminds of the digital Mah-Jong solitaire, where you draw pairs from an initial pyramid of tiles.

Inhere, this pair drawing action is, in fact, the only similarity between both games. The taken tiles are then to be place on the player’s board, to form adjacent groups of the same suit. Once completed, these are turned, enabling the construction of the castle to reach one step higher.

To complete the set there are some Chinese roofs to place on top, yielding more points in the final scoring, beyond, of course, the neat aesthetic touch.

7 Wonders Duel is a game pertaining to the 7 Wonders family, but with its own rules, designed for an experience at two players, a duel, as the name well indicates.

It is a game of civilization development, including the construction of some of the wonders of the world, all the features represented by cards.

There are cards that provide resources and resources that allow you to purchase new cards; some cards are visible from the beginning of the game while others must be discoveries as the duel progresses; cards that grouped are more valuable; a tug-of-war representing military strength; and a bunch of scientific discoveries.

With each player starting with different wonders to build, it is natural that both strategies quickly become very different, adding to the challenge. But in no case one may neglect any of the main areas of development, to the risk of an anticipated and decisive defeat.

An excellent impression from this first play.

And to wrap-up, Onitama, an abstract game, which we can include in the wide chess family.

he main originality is on the movement mechanism, based on cards and not on the characteristics of each piece, as it is most often the case. Each card, named after an animal, represents a different movement pattern, which can be used at will for any one of the player pieces. But beware! The card you play will then become one of the opponent’s cards, and may

This card rotation, meaning an ever-changing possibility of movements, demands a fresh new way of thinking during the course of a game. And since there are more cards than the five used for each match, there is a great variability and thus an enhanced replayability.

With:



Nuno Rebelo

Pedro Chuva

Nuno Gonçalo

Jorge Teixeira



Step in and leave your PAW print - Playing Around the World - and follow the PAW tag.
Send a photo of a gaming session, the game title, your name, city, country (and, if you feel like, a short sentence about the game and or a photo of the city) to gamesinbw@gmail.com.

How to play: Backgammon

The series "How to play", began with a game from the Mancala family. This is now the second episode, with Backgammon under the spotlight.

Easy to learn, fast to play, containing a dash of luck, aesthetically beautiful, pleasing to the touch and ear, this game for two truly suits all player profiles, besides being an excellent choice as travel companion.

Backgammon is an abstract game where dice are used to define the movement of pieces around the board, thus making it more appealing for those fancying some unpredictability and not as keen to dive into the "pure" confrontation, typical of complete information games, such as Chess or Go. This does not mean, by far, that it relies on luck or that there is no place for calculations and probability analysis, if you feel inclined to do so!

I can't find better words than those in "Alfonso X's Book of games", about one of the predecessors of the current version of backgammon: “The third who said that it was best to draw from both brought the tables board with its pieces counted and placed orderly in their spaces and with its dice which move them in order to play, as is shown in this book which speaks separately about this and which teaches that through their play, he that knows how to play them well, even though the luck of the dice be against him, that because of his prudence he will be able to play his pieces in such a manner as to avoid the harm that may come to him through the rolls of the dice."

Material

• a playing board composed of 24 spaces, represented by arrows of alternating colors or shades, in order to facilitate the counting of movements, grouped into four sets of 6 arrows (that we shall designate “inner” for the first one in the path, and “outer” for the last one, just before the exit);
• 15 pieces (also known as "men") per player;
• 2 dice per player (or 2 dice shared by both);
• 1 doubling die, with values 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 on the six faces.

Setup

• place the board between the two players;
• chose or draw colours;
• each player receives 2 dice;
• the doubling die (if used) is placed on the central bar or next to the board;
• all pieces are placed according to the layout of the following image, also showing the direction of movement for the pieces of each color.

Objective
Be the first to remove all your pieces from the board. But beware, it is only possible to start removing pieces upon placing them all in your outer table (last 6 arrows).

Sequence of play

• each player rolls a die;
• the starting player is the one who obtained the highest result (repeat in case of equality);
• the starting player uses the results of the two dice to move their pieces;
• after making all the moves, or when no more moves can be made, the turn ends;
• from here on, and until the end of the game, each player rolls two dice and moves their pieces.

Movement basics

• each player uses the result of two dice to move their pieces;
• each player's pieces move forward along the direction indicated above, and may never retreat;
• each die is used individually to make a movement, which consists of advancing a single piece the total number of arrows indicated;
• the moving piece can jump over other pieces, of any colour, still counting those arrows as movement points;
• arrows can only contain pieces of one color (see occupied arrows and hitting);
• there is no limit to the number of pieces each arrow may contain;

• a single piece can be moved twice, by sequentially using both dice, or two pieces can be moved once, by allocating one die to each;
• the dice results may not be added up into a single movement value, nor a die result can be split among multiple pieces;
• it is mandatory to use a selection of movements that enables the use of both dice, whenever possible;
• if it is not possible to use both dice, the highest value shall be used.

Doubles

• If the dice roll outcome is a double, such as 2-2, the number of moves is doubled, meaning the player shall make, in this example, 4 movements of 2 arrows each. 

Occupied arrows

• when an arrow contains two or more pieces, it is occupied by that player;
• a piece movement may not end on an arrow occupied by the opponent;
• whenever all possible moves end in arrows occupied by the opponent, then the player in turn cannot make any move and must pass, ending their turn.

Hitting

• it is only possible to hit isolated pieces;
• an isolated piece is hit when an opposing piece finishes its movement on that same arrow;
• the piece which was hit is placed on the center bar.

Reentry

• pieces that were hit must re-enter into play through the inner table of the player, by using a die value, as normal;
• a player whose pieces have been hit must re-enter them all, in their turn, before moving any other piece;

• if it is not possible to complete the re-entry, no further moves are allowed and the player must pass, ending their turn.

Bearing off

• after all the pieces of the same color are in the outer table (the last 6 arrows), bearing off may begin;
• as a rule, a piece is borne off using a die with the exact value of the number of remaining arrows to the board exit;
• doubling rule also applies during bearing off;
• if a piece is captured while in the outer table, it will re-enter through the inner table, as usual, and bearing off is suspended until it reaches again the final 6 arrows;

it is not mandatory to borne off pieces, one being allowed to make moves within the outer table;

• the player must spend all the points of both dice whenever possible;
• whenever that is not possible, the die is used to borne off the piece furthest away from the exit point.

End of the game

• when a player removes their last piece from the game board, the game immediately ends, and that player is the winner.

Final score

• Simple, 1 point, the defeated player managed to borne off at least one piece;
• Double, Gammon, 2 points, the defeated player failed to borne off any pieces;
• Triple, Backgammon, 3 points, the defeated player failed to borne off any pieces and still has at least one piece in their inner table.

Doubling die (optional)

• the game has a starting value of 1;
• the doubling die may be used by any player;
• on a game turn, before rolling the dice, a player may attempt to double the game value, by taking the doubling die and offering it to the opponent, with the face 2 visible;
• if the opponent refuses to take the die, then he immediately forfeits the match, and a single point is awarded to the winner;
• if the opponent accepts, taking the die, then the base value of the match becomes 2;
• only the player in possession of the die can double again the match value;
• if the game comes to the normal end, with one player bearing off all the 15 pieces, the points awarded to the winner are obtained multiplying the corresponding final score by the value on the doubling die.

Example: A player bornes off all their pieces; the opponent does not borne off any but has some in advanced positions; the doubling die shows the value 4, as each player doubled once during the course of the game. The winner gets 2 [final score, gammon] x 4 [die value] = 8 points.

Backgammon will be back, featuring some notes on strategy and calculations: symmetry and asymmetry, walls and builders, to capture or not to capture, fight or run, accelerate or slow down, risk management.

Until then, let’s roll the dice and give it a try!

Thumbs Up

I recently acquired Sagrada, at a promotional price at FNAC, beating those at some of the usual online shopping sites. When checking the components, two nonconformities were noted: 91 dice, instead of 90, with an additional red die; and the bag for dice drafting was missing. I contacted MEBO and the answer could not be more efficient: a simple exchange of messages and the missing bag arrived on the subsequent post delivery. As for the red die, it was kept as a surplus.

Last year I had a first experience of this kind, with the game Solenia, acquired by then through Gameplay. It came with five “stones” missing. The problem solution was equally fast, after an exchange of messages with Asmodee. A short time later the envelope arrived, completing the world of Solenia.

Two markets, two publishers, two games, the same level of customer service, equal satisfaction for this client.

Thumbs up!

Sketching

The idea came to life sometime around the century transition, but there are no accurate records to accurately date it. The notebook, one of several where I deposit ideas, notes, drafts and sketches, contained no dates.

Then it stayed around, not ripe enough, half forgotten, hovering, competing with other ideas across time, seeing some light again whenever browsing through the pages or rearranging books and games.

It recently resurfaced during a conversation with Pedro Gordalina, about ongoing and still to be projects, at Invicta Con, Portugal, last November.

And a few weeks later it regained a place of its own in a notebook, now with dated entries.  The first one read: "27/11/2019" together with a provisional name.


On the first page notes on the theme, the objective or objectives, the locations for the action to take place, the underlying concepts for the experience of the game, the sensations around the theme. A remission to the notes of the past, some to build upon, others to be added, still others to keep on hold.

Then a first exploration. Notes for the core version, for possible advanced versions, or even expansions. Visions for the board or the boards. Goals, mechanisms, materials. Just dumping them, to then analyze, filter, rank..

Underline: start with the basics, develop progressively, avoid over complicating (an ever-present trend, dragging me into a simulation-like approach).

From the idea to the notebook. From the notebook to the table.
Paper and cardboard, pencil and rulers, a pawn.
To experiment, move around, feel, evaluate.

Early stages, with increasing regularity.

Sketching, in 2020.

A Quest for Knowledge: List of Episodes

For those wishing to (re)read this journey, riding with Newton, a game of Nestore Mangone and Simone Luciani, Ediciones Mas que Oca (2018) under license of Cranio Creations.

Episode    1: The dream
Episode    2: All set to go
Episode    3: Et voilá, Paris!
Episode    4: Working long hours
Episode    5: On Newton's chair
Episode    6: Part of a growing tree
Episode    7: Lessons
Episode    8: At the desk
Episode    9: In the presence of masters
Episode  10: Home again

Globetrotting

“Do you have a flag? No flag, no country!”, Eddie Izzard.

The box had been stored in the garage for many years. Maybe decade and a half.

It displayed some traces of moisture, but nothing too serious, nothing that could not be removed with a dose of sunlight, vacuum the dust and an additional cleaning. The board and the cards inside were in surprisingly good condition.

Other marks, however, were more profound: adhesive tape, thick and black, joining the corners and edges, struggling to maintain the rectangular shape; rough blue ribbon, trying unsuccessfully to keep the board in one single piece; cards with folds and worn surface.

Wear marks coming from the century before. Evidence of much use.

This is another map-based game, with a board full of names, places, locations that do really exist. I count over 350. Some have always been familiar, in stories told, books, films and documentaries, history and geography classes. Other were strange ones, with exotic names, those I happen to memorise faster. With almost no first-hand experience, by then, of all those cities and their streets. Traveling in the wings of imagination, as I also used to do with globes and maps.

The goal is simple: to be the first player to visit a destination on each of the five continents and return to the departing city, marked by its flag, sticked in the map. I remember trying to use the holes from previous matches, thus trying to avoid turning the world into a perforated plan and preventing the pin holes to become so big that flags would not stand.

To win the race around the world you must carefully choose the best route, making use of the red air links, the green railway lines, and the white-dashed sea crossings.

In each turn it is only possible to use a single means of transport, which implies stops to change to another one, either by strategic option or even because there are no alternatives, since there are places only accessible in a single way. A dice roll determines the maximum number of moves between cities, exception made to boat connections, always limited to a single step per turn.

But where to start from and what to visit? The choice will not be ours!

Five colors.
Five sets of cards.
Five continents.
Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania.

Each traveler departs from a different continent, by drawing a card that determines their city of departure and arrival. Next, they all receive a set of five cards, one from each continent stack. These will be the locations to visit, determined by chance.

A basis for other variants, home-made to fill afternoons, in group or solo play. Such as drawing more cards to extend the game duration, using the map, the pawns, and the dice for other races, modifying rules at will.

Some destinations are more feared than others, such as Reykjavik in Iceland. You need three turns to reach it by sea, from Gothenburg, and as many others to make the way back.

Journeys may also face some unforeseen events, represented here in the form of news arriving by cable, a sign of those times. Plans must be adapted, and the new instructions should be immediately followed. That's what will happen to those moving fast, as soon as they roll a six for the third time.

This game did come with some production issues, with repeated cards and cities missing their corresponding card. With some work, checking the pairing one by one, it was possible to manually rectify those failures, by then, at that B.P. age (Before the Printers).

Names of cities and countries. Yesterday and today. In the same place but being part of different realities. The world has changed. One more time. Political geography is now another one.

Belgrade remains Belgrade, but was then part of Yugoslavia and today it is the capital of Serbia. Lourenço Marques became Maputo, after the independence of Mozambique, in 1975. And such examples are manifold, because many were the boundaries that changed.

This edition is a witness of its time: the Cold War era. When there were still two Germanys, the Czechoslovakia, the Yugoslavia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and in which the changes in many African countries were still to happen.

Then there are also a couple of strange options, like in case of the Azores, inhere only associated with the Atlantic Ocean, and not with Portugal.

A part of the history of games and the gaming industry. The version shown here was edited by the Portuguese label Majora. The box and the rule sheet have no mention whatsoever to authorship or to the year of release, as was frequent at the time.

As for the year, taking designations into consideration, we are most probably looking at something from the early 1970s, or late 1960s. This will also hit right in terms of my own age by then.

As for the origins, it was necessary to follow the lead of a tiny detail of the box. At the front, the copyright mark: Otto Maier Verlag, Ravensburg. With a few searches in the digital world, it quickly  became possible to know a little more. First, thanks to Google and some online sales sites, I identified the original title, Weltreise, and some covers of different editions around the 1950s and 1960s.

With the title in hand, it was then possible to find the game in BoardGameGeek, where game design is credited to Johann Wilhelm Stündt and Jochen Zeiss, and the creation date of the original game is set in 1930.

Otto Maier Verlag was founded by Otto Maier in 1883(!), in the city of Ravensburg. Otto's vision was to bring together entertainment and education, and the company developed over successive family generations. The first game, quite different from the current one, was already called "A Journey around the World", a recurring theme so it seems. Today we know this mark as Ravensburger, with its games and puzzles, and the blue triangle-shaped logo in a corner of the box.

And so this travel note ends here, after a journey across geography, politics, time, and memories.