Calvin's Corner - Rob Daviau Interview Between Seafall’s release, the massive success of Pandemic Legacy, and Legacy itself becoming a super hot mechanic, Rob Daviau is one of the biggest names in gaming right now. I caught up with Rob on Saturday morning just before his nine (NINE!) other scheduled appointments on the day. The author (left) with Rob Daviau (not left) So! How's Seafall doing? Seafall is doing well. Some of the early reviews noted that the first few games were slow, especially with the prologue and game one. I 11/06/2016
Between Seafall’s release, the massive success of Pandemic Legacy, and Legacy itself becoming a super hot mechanic, Rob Daviau is one of the biggest names in gaming right now. I caught up with Rob on Saturday morning just before his nine (NINE!) other scheduled appointments on the day. The author (left) with Rob Daviau (not left) So! How's Seafall doing? Seafall is doing well. Some of the early reviews noted that the first few games were slow, especially with the prologue and game one. I
Calvin's Corner - Scythe I don't like eurogames. Lack of narrative cohesion (Only one worker can go to market? ...seriously?) means consequences often feel abstracted: 'That one time I scored a huge bonus tile' has nothing on 'That time I blew up your entire fleet with a last-ditch superweapon.' There's also that old nugget about player interaction. Simply put: I like when stories happen in games. Eurogames tend to put a lot of layers between me and the narrative. I therefore dislike eurogames. Scythe is a eurogame 07/05/2016
I don't like eurogames. Lack of narrative cohesion (Only one worker can go to market? ...seriously?) means consequences often feel abstracted: 'That one time I scored a huge bonus tile' has nothing on 'That time I blew up your entire fleet with a last-ditch superweapon.' There's also that old nugget about player interaction. Simply put: I like when stories happen in games. Eurogames tend to put a lot of layers between me and the narrative. I therefore dislike eurogames. Scythe is a eurogame
Calvin's Corner - The Magic Circle: how to lie to your friends and kill them. Board games are magical. Nowhere else can we spend an afternoon as a 14th century French noble before turning into astronauts harvesting alien crystals and topping it all off as spies in a science fiction future. Part of this magic is the ability of games to transport us to wonderful places, not just in our imaginations but also emotionally. We can spend entire gaming sessions scheming, lying, and backstabbing our closest friends - then laugh about it together over dinner. At the gaming table, 05/24/2016
Board games are magical. Nowhere else can we spend an afternoon as a 14th century French noble before turning into astronauts harvesting alien crystals and topping it all off as spies in a science fiction future. Part of this magic is the ability of games to transport us to wonderful places, not just in our imaginations but also emotionally. We can spend entire gaming sessions scheming, lying, and backstabbing our closest friends - then laugh about it together over dinner. At the gaming table,
Calvin's Corner - Gateway-keeping: How to introduce people to boardgaming. If you’re reading this, it’s pretty good odds that you think board games are amazing (spoiler alert: they are) and are on a mission to share them with as many people as you can! In the past I have, while introducing muggles to our wonderful hobby, may have accidentally scared some off. So you don’t repeat my mistakes, here are some tips to making sure your gaming introductions get off to a wonderful start. Give them a few options. Emphasis on FEW. Throwing a dozen games at them is a bad idea 04/26/2016
If you’re reading this, it’s pretty good odds that you think board games are amazing (spoiler alert: they are) and are on a mission to share them with as many people as you can! In the past I have, while introducing muggles to our wonderful hobby, may have accidentally scared some off. So you don’t repeat my mistakes, here are some tips to making sure your gaming introductions get off to a wonderful start. Give them a few options. Emphasis on FEW. Throwing a dozen games at them is a bad idea
Calvin's Corner - Level 7 Omega Protocol Every time I introduce Omega Protocol to someone, the pitch I use is ‘James Cameron’s Aliens meets XCOM.’ If that’s got your attention, then boy do I have a treat for you! Welcome to Subterra Bravo. Privateer Press’ 2013 dungeon crawling game replaces the dungeon with an Area 51 style research base, and upgrades the goblins to raygun-toting alien hybrids. Led by Dr. Cronos, the species known as the Ghin are breaking free from their decades long imprisonment. In response, the US government 04/10/2016
Every time I introduce Omega Protocol to someone, the pitch I use is ‘James Cameron’s Aliens meets XCOM.’ If that’s got your attention, then boy do I have a treat for you! Welcome to Subterra Bravo. Privateer Press’ 2013 dungeon crawling game replaces the dungeon with an Area 51 style research base, and upgrades the goblins to raygun-toting alien hybrids. Led by Dr. Cronos, the species known as the Ghin are breaking free from their decades long imprisonment. In response, the US government
Calvin's Corner - Morels My girlfriend and I are standing in the middle of a forest, and we currently both hate each other. ‘You took my fairy ring!’ she accuses me. ‘You took the butter!’ I shout back. ‘You know I needed that butter!’ We’re playing Morels, a whimsical and adorable card game about picking mushrooms and cooking them. And yet, this is one of the most difficult games I’ve ever played. In Morels, both players must pick mushrooms and add them to their hand before playing them to the table as sets in 03/28/2016
My girlfriend and I are standing in the middle of a forest, and we currently both hate each other. ‘You took my fairy ring!’ she accuses me. ‘You took the butter!’ I shout back. ‘You know I needed that butter!’ We’re playing Morels, a whimsical and adorable card game about picking mushrooms and cooking them. And yet, this is one of the most difficult games I’ve ever played. In Morels, both players must pick mushrooms and add them to their hand before playing them to the table as sets in