Monday 23 January 2017
A short break in the normal direction
Unfortunately, due to personal commitments (a.k.a the school play) I cannot continue with my normal practice of putting up blogs, as the time I normally spend in the weekend doing this, I have to do my homework. I think the teachers find it funny seeing me suffer... But anyway, I should be back to the normal schedule in a few weeks, and I recommend reading some of the older posts in the meantime.
Sunday 15 January 2017
Rhino Hero
In Rhino Hero, you have to help Rhino Hero scale a tower, helping people and saving the day before the whole thing comes tumbling down. But the question is, who will topple the tower?
Rhino Hero is a dexterity game where you have to stack cards on top of each other to create a tower, with the person who knocks the teetering construction you have made losing. To do this, on your turn, you play one of five cards you start of with (this is for a four player game). You put the card on top of the the tower and place bent wall cards on the guidelines shown. The cards do not always follow the conventional wall pattern, and some will only require one wall (in my opinion, one of the hardest configurations). As everyone takes their turn, the tower will get taller, until eventually someone knocks it over. The winner is the the person with the least cards left when that happens.
This basic concept is made more interesting by some of the cards having symbols on them which make you do certain things, for example a card with an exclamation mark on it makes the next person miss a go. However, if you have the Rhino Hero symbol on the card, you must pick up the small wooden Rhino from wherever it was placed last -which could have been lower down on the tower- and place it on the symbol. This is trickier than it sounds, and can mean the difference between a pristine construction and a wobbling mess.
First thing to say is that this game is fun. Not just fun for little kids; fun for everyone. The heights you can get to is quite spectacular, and even adults will find themselves struggling towards the end. Although it does not have the complexity of any of the heavier style games, this works brilliantly to pass the time and the quick turns means you never get bored.
Having said that, one of the things that I did wish the game had more cards and wall bits. If you are playing with younger kids this will never matter, but I nearly used them all up when I was playing it by myself (a thing that is quite pleasurable). Also, more cards would mean you could play it with more people, as the player count only goes up to five, and if you wanted to play it at a party for example, you would have to leave some people out.
Final thing to mention, is that this game also tests your luck, as well as skill. If you have a hand of awkward Rhino Hero cards, your hopes of success would be beaten up, chucked out of a window and left in a gutter to cry it's silent tears, unless of course you are a master (not unlike myself). But overall, I would rate this game 8/10, and I think it is well worth the money for anyone.
Rhino Hero is a dexterity game where you have to stack cards on top of each other to create a tower, with the person who knocks the teetering construction you have made losing. To do this, on your turn, you play one of five cards you start of with (this is for a four player game). You put the card on top of the the tower and place bent wall cards on the guidelines shown. The cards do not always follow the conventional wall pattern, and some will only require one wall (in my opinion, one of the hardest configurations). As everyone takes their turn, the tower will get taller, until eventually someone knocks it over. The winner is the the person with the least cards left when that happens.
This basic concept is made more interesting by some of the cards having symbols on them which make you do certain things, for example a card with an exclamation mark on it makes the next person miss a go. However, if you have the Rhino Hero symbol on the card, you must pick up the small wooden Rhino from wherever it was placed last -which could have been lower down on the tower- and place it on the symbol. This is trickier than it sounds, and can mean the difference between a pristine construction and a wobbling mess.
First thing to say is that this game is fun. Not just fun for little kids; fun for everyone. The heights you can get to is quite spectacular, and even adults will find themselves struggling towards the end. Although it does not have the complexity of any of the heavier style games, this works brilliantly to pass the time and the quick turns means you never get bored.
Having said that, one of the things that I did wish the game had more cards and wall bits. If you are playing with younger kids this will never matter, but I nearly used them all up when I was playing it by myself (a thing that is quite pleasurable). Also, more cards would mean you could play it with more people, as the player count only goes up to five, and if you wanted to play it at a party for example, you would have to leave some people out.
Final thing to mention, is that this game also tests your luck, as well as skill. If you have a hand of awkward Rhino Hero cards, your hopes of success would be beaten up, chucked out of a window and left in a gutter to cry it's silent tears, unless of course you are a master (not unlike myself). But overall, I would rate this game 8/10, and I think it is well worth the money for anyone.
Sunday 8 January 2017
King of Tokyo
In King of Tokyo you are a monster laying waste to the city of Tokyo, but there is not just one of you, instead their are many more monsters with the exact same intentions. Soon everyone turns from the city to each other as everybody knows… there can be only one king!
King of Tokyo is a dice rolling game where you have to try and be the first monster to collect twenty victory points, or be the last one standing. Your turn begins when you roll the six beautifully chunky dice for the first time, then you decided which dice you want to keep (based on the symbols that come up on them) and then do that again two more times so that you have a pool that you -hopefully- should like.
If you get a punch symbol then you hit everyone who is in Tokyo city if you are out or everyone outside Tokyo if you are in for one health with each other punch adding one more (you have ten health to begin with). You can get health back by rolling hearts, victory points by rolling three of one kind of number and cubes that look a lot like jelly - there not, just don't even try-- by rolling lighting bolts. These jelly cubes can be used later to purchase cool upgrades for your monster, which can be anything from getting more dice or being allowed to roll the dice you have an extra time.
Finally, I am just going to explain a few rules about Tokyo, firstly if there is no one in Tokyo, you go in and you get one victory point. For every turn you are still in their, you get another two points, meaning you want to stay in for as long as possible. However all the punches that everyone rolls will hit you, and you can't heal in Tokyo, giving you a reason to go out. Each time some punches you, you can swap positions with them and get out.
That is it, and as you can see the rules are pretty easy and you can teach them to basically anyone whether or not they have played games before. The small number of rules means that turns go by really quickly and you are never drifting of into space as you wait for your counterparts to finish their actions.
Remember when I said that you could teach this to basically everyone, well you can, but I'm not sure you would want to. Small children could not like the aggressiveness of the game and get really upset when their person dies (my monster gets killed a lot, I blame it on the dice) which will happen.
Also, this game is basically, if you peel everything of, a game of luck. Even if you select the right upgrades and choose the best possible time to go out of Tokyo, if the dice aren't kind, you don't stand a chance at winning. Personally I am fine with this, but some people hate it and hate the game because of it.
On the brighter side, the artwork and components are amazing. The dice make a lovely handful as you pick them all up and throw them down in a cascade of randomness. The artwork on the upgrade cards is really good and thematic and the character boards are really nicely done to.
If everyone in your group you are playing with are fine with the violence and confrontation in this game then it will make a really funny half an hour as people realise that they have just widely miscalculated and died. However, if anyone is more of a pacifist (including my sister) then it will kill that atmosphere as an integral part of the game is beating each other up. Kindness, is not an option.
Overall I really enjoy this game and am fine with all the minor qualms that I have spoken about before, but you do need to pick your group carefully. It is funny and I would say that it was definitely worth it, giving it a 7 out of 10.
King of Tokyo is a dice rolling game where you have to try and be the first monster to collect twenty victory points, or be the last one standing. Your turn begins when you roll the six beautifully chunky dice for the first time, then you decided which dice you want to keep (based on the symbols that come up on them) and then do that again two more times so that you have a pool that you -hopefully- should like.If you get a punch symbol then you hit everyone who is in Tokyo city if you are out or everyone outside Tokyo if you are in for one health with each other punch adding one more (you have ten health to begin with). You can get health back by rolling hearts, victory points by rolling three of one kind of number and cubes that look a lot like jelly - there not, just don't even try-- by rolling lighting bolts. These jelly cubes can be used later to purchase cool upgrades for your monster, which can be anything from getting more dice or being allowed to roll the dice you have an extra time.
Finally, I am just going to explain a few rules about Tokyo, firstly if there is no one in Tokyo, you go in and you get one victory point. For every turn you are still in their, you get another two points, meaning you want to stay in for as long as possible. However all the punches that everyone rolls will hit you, and you can't heal in Tokyo, giving you a reason to go out. Each time some punches you, you can swap positions with them and get out.
Remember when I said that you could teach this to basically everyone, well you can, but I'm not sure you would want to. Small children could not like the aggressiveness of the game and get really upset when their person dies (my monster gets killed a lot, I blame it on the dice) which will happen.
Also, this game is basically, if you peel everything of, a game of luck. Even if you select the right upgrades and choose the best possible time to go out of Tokyo, if the dice aren't kind, you don't stand a chance at winning. Personally I am fine with this, but some people hate it and hate the game because of it.
If everyone in your group you are playing with are fine with the violence and confrontation in this game then it will make a really funny half an hour as people realise that they have just widely miscalculated and died. However, if anyone is more of a pacifist (including my sister) then it will kill that atmosphere as an integral part of the game is beating each other up. Kindness, is not an option.
Overall I really enjoy this game and am fine with all the minor qualms that I have spoken about before, but you do need to pick your group carefully. It is funny and I would say that it was definitely worth it, giving it a 7 out of 10.
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