Thou shalt blog each week is the mantra of the SEO age. Does it make sense? Infinite Content I stare at the queue of articles I have saved to Pocket. As push my thumb up the page I begin to realise there are more than a thousand articles sitting there, waiting for me to read. I resist the next thought: There are a thousand articles sitting here I will *never* read. I’m not the first person to notice we’re drowning in content. The over abundance of information is perhaps one of the great cliches of our age. I’m not even the first person to notice that read-it-later tools like Pocket or Instapaper have just moved the problem of losing track...
This week, Jaya writes a functional review co-operative ‘boss fight’ deckbuilder Aeon’s end, exploring the subtle ways it plays with deckbuilding conventions to deliver on its thematic premise. Player activity summary Aeon’s end is best summarised as a video game ‘boss fight’ in cardboard form. Players work together as a group of desperate ‘breach mages’ trying to protect their own from a variety of horrifying nemeses; using new and unfamiliar magic that appeared alongside these monsters to defeat them. Players will buy new cards and skills to improve their deck, invest in opening their ‘breaches’ (the conduits they require in order to cast multiple spells at a time) and keep an eye on the health totals, not just for each...
Today Jaya writes his first ever functional review – an often overlooked gateway title ‘Jamaica’: One of the first tabletop games he ever purchased, and still one he regularly takes out with new friends. Player activity summary Jamaica is a competitive, pirate-themed racing game in which players have to complete a lap of an island, managing their resources of food, doubloons and gunpowder. They will score points based on how far round the island they manage to get by the end and the amount of doubloons they have in their holds. They can gain or lose further points based on the treasure cards they’ve picked up on the way. Each turn the captain (first player) will roll two six-sided dice...
Last week I started my first look at Flashpoint; considering how it builds game arc and the nature of the puzzles it presents. This week I look at the critical role of theme in the game. A thorough smelting of mechanics and theme As I have previously written, the execution of theme is a sizeable element of Flashpoint's appeal. Its everywhere in the game: not just in the specific business of the advance fire roll, or its representational rather than symbolic art style. Rather the theme is completely intertwined with the vast majority of the game's mechanics. The fire itself is one of the most perfectly thematic co-op opponents we could hope for. It expands exponentially and somewhat erratically, just...
In my second adventure into forging designer-focused reviews, I start my look at the well-loved co-op Flashpoint: Fire Rescue and go for the world record number of colons in a blog post title. If you haven’t played this game, please read the BGG link for a description. While this review will cover a broad outline of some game mechanisms, it will assume some prior knowledge. Player activity summary Flashpoint is a co-operative game very much in the 'traditional' mode popularised chiefly by Pandemic: players are pitted against a random jeopardy creation mechanic which - if left unchecked - will result in them being overwhelmed; in this case, by fire in a house. They attain victory by reaching a given score...
