THE SIMPSONS NEWS

We managed to finish the new Simpsons’ intro on time this last week.  On Monday, when I got in to work, I was able to pull the finished rough cut of the intro from the server and watch it.  It looks really good.  I got very excited about it after I saw it.

FAMILY

Thank you mom, for asking if we could play a game that night.  It almost never happens when someone bothers to ask.  It was fun. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Samurai designed by Reiner Knizia.

BOARD GAMES

Intro

So I thought I’d write about some games I like (and maybe even some I don’t) and why I like them (or don’t like them).

I’ve come to the conclusion that my taste in board games is heavily influenced by my love of two games or game types:

1. Chess
2. Roleplaying games

Please keep this in mind as you read about some of my favorite board games.
Right now, not counting the games I mentioned above, there are two games that I consider “my favorites” .  I love to play them and I can’t get enough of them.  But I wanted to only choose one of them to write about this week, so I had to make the very difficult decision of choosing one to write about.  The other game, I will write about next week. From then on, I will write about many other games.

I’m going to write about Dreamblade this week (mostly because I’ve been playing a lot of it lately). This is by no means meant to explain everything about how to play the game.  I’m hoping I can just paint a picture of what the game is like.

What’s it about?

Dreamblade is a collectible miniatures game that plays a little like Chess, a little bit like Backgammon and a little bit like Magic: The Gathering CCG.

What is a collectible miniatures game?

A collectible miniatures game is a game that, when you buy a “starter pack”, you get an assortment of random miniatures with rules with which to play a game with, but by no means do you get all the miniatures in the game.

If you want to collect all the miniatures, you would have to buy booster packs (like trading card packs only with miniatures) which come with more random figures.  You can then trade said  miniatures with friends if you wish (again like trading cards).

What similarities does Dreamblade share with Chess?

Well, on the one hand, it’s similar to  Chess because it’s a two player strategic and tactical game about moving your pieces with variable powers on a grid board.  It also shares Chess’ emphasis on controlling the center and thinking a few moves ahead.

How is Dreamblade  NOT like Chess?

Dreamblade is not like Chess in that the pieces all move the same way, which is to say, one space at a time; similar to a King in Chess only they can’t move diagonal (the variable power of each piece is not reflected in how they move).  Also, the pieces don’t start on the board, they must be “Spawned” onto the board by the roll of two six sided dice.  Each figure has a spawn cost that must be payed in order to be able to come into play.  The larger the cost, the more powerful the figure.

The two dice are rolled, one by each player, in order to determine who goes first every new turn (highest roll goes first). The sum of the two dice is then added up and this determines how many “spawn points” each player has in order to bring out figures onto the board.

The game is also not like Chess because the game is won by the player who wins six turns first. Each square of the grid  board is called a Cell. Some Cells have points on them called Conquest points.

If you have your figures on a Cell with Conquest points on them and your opponent doesn’t, at the end of the turn, you win the number of Conquest points on that Cell. You also get Conquest points for each of your opponents miniatures that you destroy. If the number of Conquest points you have, exceeds the number of Conquest point your opponent has at the end of that turn, you win that turn and move your marker up the scoring track. Do this six times and you win.

Dreamblade is also not like Chess, by the very fact that it has dice in it.

What similarities does Dreamblade share with Backgammon?

Like Backgammon, Dreamblade is a game of skill, luck management and calculated risk taking. Dreamblade, like Backgammon, has quite a bit of dice rolling so it has an element of chance. It’s all about trying to position your pieces on the board in such a way that bad dice rolls won’t effect you too badly, while good dice rolls will get you closer to winning the game while setting your opponent back. It’s about making the moves that will give you the best probabilities.

Also, if you so wish, you can ad a Backgammon doubling cube, to the game and add a gambling element to it, just like in Backgammon (haven’t tried doing this yet but I’m thinking about it).

I’m also sure that you can apply Backgammon’s  multiplayer Chouettes rule to Dreamblade and it would work fine.

What similarities does Dreamblade share with Magic: The Gathering CCG?

Besides the fact that it’s collectible like Magic: The Gathering, Dreamblade has a system of rules that can be broken based on the abilities of the 16 figures (Warband) you decide to play with (in the case of Magic, the 60 cards you put in your deck). The abilities the figures have, can be used during the spawn phase of a turn, during a moving phase or during a combat phase of a turn. Each individual miniature tells you what power it has and when it can be used.

This is very similar to Magic cards.

Also, each miniature has an Aspect: Valor, Passion, Madness, or Fear.  This is similar to the five elements in Magic cards.  It’s best to  create Warbands that have the same Aspects or create Warbands that have  two different Aspects.  This helps them work together better and it especially helps when spawning your figures. This is similar to the way Magic suggests you limit your deck to two elements.

How is this Dreamblade NOT like Magic: The Gathering CCG?

Besides not being a card game, when figures battle for control over a contested Cell, you roll dice equal to the sum of the power your attacking miniatures have (this varies from miniature to miniature). The dice you use for battling are special 6 sided dice. They have a side with a 1, a 2, a 3, two diamonds (which count as misses), and a “blade” (which activates the powers of certain miniatures which have “Blade abilities”).

Okay, that’s my convoluted way of explaining the game.  Sorry if I’ve confused everyone.  It’s a lot to explain but the game itself is pretty simple.

To play an online flash demo of the game click here.

Why do I like it?

Besides the fact that it’s fun? I’m a sucker for games that have pieces with variable powers. Chess, being the granddaddy of all the games like that. I like it because it’s all about trying to come up with a great group of pieces that will compliment each other.  A group that will help each other out in unexpected ways.  It’s really creative that way.  Part of the fun of this game happens when you’re NOT playing it.  When you’re just trying to come up with a good combo of minis. It’s also not as rigid as Chess.  It’s as if I was playing Chess but I decided to use different pieces instead of the traditional ones and there where hundreds of them to chose from.  There is just that much variety.   I like the element of chance that gives the game a gambling element, even thought lately I can’t roll ANYTHING good on those darn dice. I like it because it’s a game that is a bit abstract and because it’s not a game about just destroying the other player’s army.  It’s all about maneuvering your pieces so they can best get you the points that will win you the game.  Also, no matter who is winning at the time, it’s never a guaranty that they will win the game in the end.  The game tends to go back and forth a lot.  It’s very well balanced. The game is not shallow in anyway and there is so much potential for each game. It makes me feel very creative when I play it. That part is hard to explain.

The creativity I feel playing this game is only rivaled by my other favorite game, Chase which I will write about next week.

Lately, I’ve been looking around for a game that might play similar to Dreamblade, just because I want to play more games like it.  So far I’ve found two that might fit the bill.  One is World of WarCraft Miniatures Game.

This game, seems close put I won’t be sure until I give it a try.

The other game I found seems a lot more like Dreamblade than World of WarCraft Minis. If fact, it seems like Dreamblade lite to me. This game is, surprisingly enough, Pokémon Trading Figure Game.  Yup, you read right POKEMON.  No one can escape those darn Pocket Monsters.

The game sounds simple and fun though.  I actually want to try it out. Plus I’ve always had a soft spot for the design of those annoying monsters and the sculpts for the game look amazing.

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