A deck of cards is a an abstract strategy game

I’ve been meaning to try out Card Capture for a while. A solitaire deck builder that just uses a regular deck of cards? That’s something that I have to look into. The idea taps into both the possibilities and the limitations of a deck of cards.

(This was going to be a review of Card Capture but the tangent just went to far. I do like to ramble)

A deck of cards is the most amazing tool you can have in your gaming library. It _is_ a game library, one you can fit in your pocket.  It is the most flexible game system you’re going to find and there are hundreds of games for it andit’s something that you can usually get non-gamers to play.

At the same time, a deck of cards is very abstract. Which doesn’t make any difference for traditional games but can make a more ‘modern’ game seem thin and dry, particularly if there is a theme attached to the game. 

Which, quite frankly, doesn’t seem quite fair :D I’ve seen a lot of trick taking games that might have spiffy artwork and a theme but really aren’t that far removed from Whist or other trick taking games. But even that teeny tiny step away from abstraction makes a difference. I love abstracts and even I know that that little bit of flair makes a difference.

(And there is an actual practical reason for this. Theme and specialized cards can make a game more accessible. Easier to process and understand. But that’s a whole other topic and I have already rambled far afield enough)

Which isn’t to say a regular deck of cards can’t work as a ‘modern’ game. Over the years, I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of Lamarckian Poker, even pickup games with strangers. Admittedly, it uses many elements from traditional games but blends them in a way that feels non-traditional. 

On the other hand, even though you can easily play it with a regular deck of cards, I enjoyed The Shooting Party a lot more after I made a themed deck. A big difference between those two games is that Lamarkian Poker is built on mechanics and The Shooting Party is built on theme. 

Fundamentally, while no one lists a regular deck of cards as an abstract strategy game like Chess or Go, it is very much an abstract system and suffers when theme is pushed onto it. (Unless you view it as it’s own theme. Individual cards and poker hands are iconic, after all)

A deck of cards is a door to so many games, ancient and new, but we have to respect its limits.

Board games as comfort food

An old gaming friend recently let me know that Station Master was getting reprinted via Kickstarter. Since I have a copy of the Mayfair edition, I didn’t feel any need to back it but I was glad that it was getting reprinted.

But it got me thinking. Station Master is a game that I consider a good game but not a great game. It isn’t a game that I think gives you one of those amazing, memorable gaming experiences that you bore non-gamers with. But it is a game that I’d always be willing to play.

In fact, even though I have ruthlessly culled my collection over the years (although not so much that it actually frees up a closet), Station Master has never been in the cull pile. Its a game that I very much plan on keeping.

Because there are games that are the kind of games that you plan an entire evening around. There are games that are a kind of special event. Back in my old gaming group, playing Advanced Civilization once or twice a year was one of those games.

And then there are the gaming equivalent of comfort food, games that aren’t big productions but games that are not just easy to get on the table and get in a play or two, they are games that you actually do that with them.

So, honestly, these comfort food games are what I have played more of over the years. And a decent percentage of my collections qualifies as comfort food games. It’s great to eat steak but that’s not what you eat every day.

But they do have to be games that are good enough that you want to play them over and over. And that’s no small thing. It’s a special kind of just good enough that is actually super excellent.

Station Master, you know, it deserves to get reprinted.

A tiny game about creating tiny spaces

2019 9 Card Game Print and Play Design Contest - Condense the Code

As a lazy PnPer, this contest was an enormous boon to me. One sheet of components is pretty reasonable as a project, even when I’m low on time and energy. And the returns I’ve gotten from the entries I’ve played have been a great return for the time and materials I’ve put into them. I will admit that I focus on short solitaire games so I’m sure the be missed some gems. But I keep going back and exploring more ideas from the contest.

Condense the Code consists of nine cards that each have twelve squares on each. The squares come in white and dark flavors and every card has a different pattern.

Shorn of its backstory, Condense the Code is a tile-laying game where you can (and need!) to overlap the cards as long as the squares match. You’re trying to make the nine cards take up as little space as possible. Your score is the longest width by your longest length plus their difference multiplied by three. And you’re going for a low score.

There’s also a three-game legacy variant. After each game, you can rip off two squares from a card, which actually will make the game easier.

The developer openly notes that Condense the Code was designed to be a simpler version of Orchard, the winner of last year’s game. It’s pretty easy to see how Orchard influenced Condense the Code. And it’s a tough comparison for Condense the Code. Orchard is one of the best nine card games I’ve played and I’ve looked at a lot of them.

The real brutal comparison is that Orchard uses double-sided cards while Condense the Code has single-sided cards. You only use half the possible patterns in Orchard while you use the same nine patterns every time in Condense the Code. It got to the point that I started planning ahead, knowing which cards I hadn’t drawn yet.

Condense the Code’s biggest strength for me (and I admit that this is damning it with faint praise) is that it has no additional components. All I have to do is shuffle the nine cards and I’m ready to go. And sadly, there are times when that’s what I’m looking for. A itty bitty mental break that can be over and cleaned up in a few minutes. I don’t lack for fidgeting games but it’s nice to have variety.

But I also have to give credit where credit is due. Condense the Code is an ink-friendly, one-page project. If you wanted to do a legacy copy where you’re ripping off pieces, you could just do it on regular copy paper. It is very much something I’d recommend to someone dabbling in Print and Play, just getting their toes wet.

Condense the Code isn’t brilliant game that shakes up the world of micro games but it is a fun way to fidget. When it comes out, it does lends itself to ‘one more time’ replay. It has flaws and limitations but I do keep pulling it out now and then.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2143489/wip-condense-code-game-9-card-nanogame-contest

Dunsany Dreams 11

Courtesy

The grave digger had paused to eat a green apple when he saw Death in his dusty long coat coming down the lane.

‘Everyone has to have profession,’ said the grave digger, ‘and mine is as good as any and better than most. I’ve served kings and paupers in their time. But your profession comes before mine and it looks like it’s my time.’

But Death said to him ‘Not yet. But, as one professional to another, I wanted to let you know there is a powerful amount of work coming your way.’

A rant about how I hate gateway as a term

One of the terms I hate is Gateway Games. (I also hate the term Filler Games but I also find that one harder to avoid) I understand the concept of the games that are easily to teach and introduce non-gamers into the modern world of gaming but I think Family Games or Casual Games covers the same idea better and without the idea that these are games that you leave behind as you ‘grow up’.

Both the terms Filler and Gateway imply a lower value of a game, which is definitely part of my problem. Ticket to Ride is considered one of the classic Gateway games but is has never been a game I’ve outgrown or grown tired of.  The Gateway label does it a disservice. Well, okay. I think it does any game that gets slapped with it a disservice.

I also may be reacting strongly due to experiences with game snobs. Liking longer and more complicated games doesn’t mean you are better or smarter than everyone else :P

One of the things that really brought me home to the idea that casual  games can be lifestyle games was the Pairs system. It’s not in my top five game systems but it is flexible and easy to introduce to people. It does the job that it was meant to. It is the epitome of a gateway game since you can teach many of its games to drunk people. It is the opposite of so many complex games in many genres.  But it is still good and very replayable.

This actually started out as me writing about Tokaido but things got a little out of control. Labeling games can be dangerous because it can make us look for something in a game other than ‘do I want to play it?’ It’s a useful tool and a necessary tool but it can be a dangerous tool.

My November PnP

Thirty days hath November and those days have gone by. In that time, I made the following Print and Play projects:

Ducks in the Pond (2019 Roll and Write Contest)

Zero Degrees Kelvin (2019 Roll and Write Contest)

Barbarian Vince

Ring Tales (2019 9-Card Contest)

Needless to say, Barbarian Vince was the big project of the month for me. I did do some cutting to make Zero Degrees Kelvin but the two Roll and Writes were basically just laminating the play sheets.

And I am very curious about Barbarian Vince. It looks like an okay game at best but it also looks like it might be a real throwback experience of 80s style adventure gaming  in one deck of cards. I have a felling that I’ll get a surprising amount of enjoyment out of it.

So much of my actual gaming these days is quick little solitaire games, almost all of which are ones that I made as PnP projects. It might sound crazy but with Roll and Writes, the fact that I actually have to get out a dry erase marker and some dice makes them feel like I’m doing a little more, playing a more involved game even if they are very simple and short. 

I know I need to explore more complex Roll and Writes but the two I made in November will be still make me happy.

I have a feeling that December will see a mild uptick in my crafting.

Dunsany Dreams 10

The Poet in the Wilderness

The poet stood on the wilderness, speaking his words to world. Though there was no audience, he knew that the plants and the wild animals still heard his voice, although they could not understand his words.

The sun shone down upon him and warmed him. When the poet felt too warm, the wind came and cooled his brow.

Yet, the clouds came over the sun and wind grew too strong. At last the rain came, chilling and soaking the poet. He ended his words and left the wilderness to go back to his rooms.

Yet, as the poet went in to the fire in his hearth, the gravedigger continued to dig. He couldn’t stop digging graves just on account of the weather.