All this month, Hypermind is open on Sundays leading up to the Christmas holiday, but Denise has decided to make these days a little extra special by introducing a charity event each week.  This week was aimed at our boardgame group, and the charity involved is Toys for Tots.  Lots of us showed up with (or bought) toys and games to donate, enjoyed refreshments provided by the store, and then delved into all sorts of games.  The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation sponsors the program, and they even brought their little train to ride children around the parking lot.  It was pretty cool, and I think that they got a decent number of donations throughout the day.  

Personally, my immediate family (Mom & Dad, brothers and our families) decided last year to stop giving presents among the adults, and instead make a donation to a charity of our choice.  Then at our Christmas get-together, we all share something about our charity with each other.  So anyway, Gwen and I decided to make Toys for Tots our "official" charity this year, which I thought was pretty appropriate since we are currently the parents of a wee Tot that will probably end up with far more toys than she needs this Christmas.

But eventually, we did get around to playing some games...

We were all sort of milling around like drooling idiots for awhile, unable to decide what to play or who to play it with.  Eventually, two games were put forward as possibilities, and after everything was said and done, I think that both of them were received as pretty bad ideas.  The game I didn't play was Deadlands: TheBattle for Slaughter Gulch, and from what I heard, it might be a decent game if someone would redesign it and write a somewhat comprehensible rulebook.  But with that said, I still think that I made a mistake in not choosing it, because at least it finished up an hour or so before the game I got involved in...    

Wealth of Nations 

Britt had picked up Wealth of Nations in a trade recently, and when he mentioned it, I was pretty ambivalent.  It's actually been on and off of my wishlist several times, because I like the overall idea of complex economic/engine-building games.  But I knew that it was pretty long, and I had also heard some mixed reviews of it from a few places.  But anyway, Jim and I joined Britt as he explained the rules and we got to it.

From the very beginning, I could see that the game was going to be very slow and detailed.  The beginning of each turn consists of a trade phase, where you all, in turn, choose to buy or sell one resource cube to the market or to make a trade with another player.  This happens over and over again until all players pass in succession.  And as I see it, this phase is responsible for both the nugget of brilliance in the game as well as its total downfall. 

You see, there are actually 5 different resources in the game (in addition to cash), each with their own market that is similar to the one in Power Grid, but on steroids or something.  And while you can focus on the generation and use of a few of the resources, you will, at some point or another, need pretty much all of them.  The game is incredibly interdependent, and the decisions and actions are very realistic in how they work together.  The problem is that to do well, you have to plan out your entire turn at the beginning, and make sure that you acquire or trade for all the resources you need in the trade phase.  So you've got planning, buying, selling, and a series of negotiated deals between players that seem to go on forever.  It's really cool in theory, but in practice it's akin to Chinese water torture than to anything I'd really describe as fun.

And on top of that, even when our 3-player game finally ended some 2 and a half hours later, I actually felt like I didn't have enough time to really see my plans come to fruition.  Obviously, there's a matter of efficiency (or lack thereof) in my first play, but so many actions are dependent on the results of other actions, and they will therefore always going to require multiple turns to pull off.  In another turn or two, my holdings would have looked significantly different.

Time: 140 minutes
Score: Britt 76, Jim 64, Me 62
Ratings: Britt 6, Jim 6, Me 5

So in summary, while I had the most cash at the end of the game, Britt won handily because he controlled the most spaces on the board.  Jim also edged me out because he had more spaces as well, and I won the booby prize.  I still feel oddly ambivalent about Wealth of Nations, though.  As it is, I don't have much desire to ever play it again, but I definitely see a kernel of something there that could be a really great game.  In the end, it's just a little too ambitious, with too much micromanagement of resources and a bloated trade phase, and the whole thing is just screaming for some serious refinement.

Space Hulk

I was planning to leave at 6pm to pick up some supper for my family, and after Wealth of Nations went so long, it was already nearing 5:30.  Kenny has been bringing Space Hulk for weeks and trying to get me to play, so I thought that it would be a good chance to get my feet wet with this hype-o-licious game.  I actually ended up playing against Britt, though, with Kenny being sort of a referee or moderator or whatever.  I chose to play the Genestealers (since they are easier overall), while Britt (who has played a few times before) took the Space Marines.

We were playing the first scenario, where all the Space Maries have to do is to make their way through a couple of corridors and flame one room.  Unfortunately for Britt, he barely made it out of the first room!  I think that I did a pretty decent job with strategy and picking up on some of the tactical tricks for my first game, but the dice were also with me pretty heavily.

Time: 35 minutes
Score: Me - WIN, Britt - LOSE
Ratings: Me 7.5, Britt 7

While playing the relatively simple alien faction, I was also able to watch what Britt was doing and ask some questions of Kenny, so I think that I have a pretty good handle on how the Marines run as well now.  Space Hulk is absolutely gorgeous, wonderfully thematic, and play itself is boiled down just enough to make it quick and simple while still rewarding solid tactical play.  Of course, it's still a dice-based, combat free-for-all and must be judged on that level. 

That all being said, I really liked my first foray into the world of Space Hulk.  This is another case of "how did I miss that?" amongst all of the hobby games that played and was exposed to in high school and college (along with Titan, Talisman, Diplomacy, Axis & Allies, and a few others).  Again, I guess that my focus was always so much on RPG's that I just didn't pursue these boardgames at the time, and unlike some of the others (which have sort of been eclipsed by newer and better games), it looks like this one may actually be worth the investment of time to give it several more plays.  I don't know that I'm so convinced right now to try and track down my own copy at 50% or so over retail price, but it's definitely on my wishlist for when Games Workshop (the most accursed and hated game company for all BGG patrons at the moment) inevitably reverses their position once again and releases another print run.   


First contact between my Genestealers and the Space Marines.  Neither of the humans survived!


The remaining Space Marines form up in the first room, desperately trying to survive...


My Genestealers poured from the floors, walls, and ceilings once they smelled the blood of the tender humans...


Eventually, the room was breached and the Space Maries fell to the savage advance of my alien horde!
Other Games Played

Well, I don't know anything about what happened later, because I was already late for going home and barely looked back as I was running out the door.  In addition to Deadlands: TheBattle for Slaughter Gulch, I know for sure that the following were played: PitchCar, Small World, Castle Panic, Tier auf Tier, Race for the Galaxy, and Tumblin Dice.  Chip's kids were there for the first hour or two, and he played several of his cool Haba children's games with them.  Denise was supposed to run a "Take it Easy Challenge" as well.  Other than that, I'll have to rely on those who stayed longer to fill in this report. 

So, guys... what else happened?