Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Essen Experience: Saturday


Saturday was for me the day devoted to the Dungeon Twister European Tournament. Since the tournament start only at 12:00 I had a free morning of playing.

Monty and Viki book also for me a seat at King of Chicago booth to try the new game from Denmark. I was not happy because friends told me that the game was buggy but I would like to give it a chance.

I must admit that graphics and materials are really nice and the theme quite charming. You are the boss of a gangster family trying to develop your buisness and fighting the other families.

At the beginning of every turn you collect money from your buisness and from your gangsters; after there is set-up phase where cards are drawn. You take a card and it could be a special card (and you keep), a resource card (and you refill some resources on the board and draw a new card) or a man (and you have to put it for auction). If you are unlucky you could draw only men while other players acquire important event cards (first big bug in the game, easy to fix I think, but not fixed!).

Now is the action round when you can acquire new men. After that you have to organize your men letting them in defence of your shops or carrying in the car and go around making your business.

The first action round start: you throw the dice, move your car and make your buisness. Then is the turn of the second player and so on for 4 times.

To get resources you have to move your car where resources are. To open a new shop you have to go in the right place and have the right amount of resources. To fight other players you have to move over theyr shop and/or cars. If you finish your move close to an empty building you can place there one tokens (gangster) that will give you extra money in the beginning of the next round.

It easy to see that if you are unlucky and throw a lot of 1s and 2s you are out of the game without any possibility to change it (second bug, also easy to fix but not fixed!).

There is also a special rule concerning the car fights: if you loose a fight you go to the mechanics and wait until the beginning of the next turn before having the possibility to move again: if that happens in the 1st or 2nd action phase you can loose 2-3 action phases ... and be killed again in the beginning of the next round and loose 3-4 action phases again (another bug! terrible bug!).


I really didn't like the game: I think the materials and graphics are good but the rules must be rewritten from the beginning. Monty liked the game very much instead and bought it!

Just finished the game I have time for a quick visit to a new french company, Atomic Mix: the game they show, Ls Hache et le Feu, seems really nice (a sort of Diablo, the told) but it is still all in French and too much language dependent for me to try.



I just passed close to Amigo booth and I took a picture of Walhalla (from Alessandro Zucchini, my countryman).


After this I have to run at the Dungeon Twister Tournament. I was there all the afternoon. My first game was against one of the pro-ludo staff. I was an easy game and I won 7-0.

The second game was against a German player: he was really better than me (I wasn't expert in using Paladins & Dragons new characters) and beat me 5-2.


The 3rd game was against a nice french: it was a really hard game and finally I won 5-4.


The final game was against Sherinford, a Belgian player (the one in the picture below) that I discover was the person in charge of running the DTL. He beat me easily 5-2 but was a good game and it could be ended 5-4 (for him, of course) with a bit more attention!



The premiation ceremony was nice and I got a special character as reward: I was 12 on 28, the first of non-french speaking!


Here the two winners ... pereaphs the next year!



Just the time to a quick look at Khronos, the game with the highest bought/played ratio


and than at a dinner with the Italians.

During the dinner there is time for a quick play-test of a new card game from Walter Obert.

Back at the hotel I joined Mik and other firends for a Bolide race,


than Pyramids (card game) and than, finally, bed!

good play
Liga

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recognise that arm, and the handsome chap it's attached to.

Notice how Andrea is the only one smiling? What he doesn't say is that he joined partway through the lap; the rest of us had to endure the whole race.

I'd like the game more if the board allowed enough space for the movement pawn to swing wide around each corner (as ihnevitably happens), instead of our having to track it's movement by reference to how many cm's over the boartd edge it has gone.

Andrea is a nice chap to game with, so there was something poisitive to come from that evening.

Andrea "Liga" Ligabue said...

Hi Richard.

Was also nice for me to meet you and have the possibility to play together.

I was smiling because joining the race after one lap in last position I was the only with a real good excuse to be beaten so hard by the leader!

good play!

Unknown said...

Khronos -- "the highest bought/played ratio." Good comment, Liga! The description of Khronos was enough for me (and hundreds of others) to buy it untested. I'm glad to hear from others than the game generally measures up. Mine should hit the table soon...

Andrea "Liga" Ligabue said...

So I hope to read soon some nice review of the game. Good play

Ante said...

Hi

the frech game you mention is called
Ls Hache et le Feu
http://www.aargh.info/

cheers

Andrea "Liga" Ligabue said...

Thank you. I'll update my blog with your information.