In this video, Dave shows some of the premium upgrade components available for Clans of Caledonia: metal coins and premium resource pieces. Visit Top Shelf Gamer
Resource page: Clans of Caledonia Premium Resources
Disclaimer: These products were provided by Top Shelf Gamer for the purpose of review
In this video, Dave and Chris discuss this lower player count version of Ticket to Ride. They share insights and discuss strategies for the game
Well we are now in the week of Gen Con 2018, which is North America’s largest game convention. I have been browsing the Gen Con Preview list on boardgamegeek.com since Origins Game Fair , keeping up to date with games that will be releasing. I have compiled a list of anticipated games that are releasing that I am looking to explore while at Gen Con. I also have some games pre-ordered that I wanted to make sure I was able to get right away. So without further ado…. lets take a look.
First, games that I have pre-ordered:
Anticipated Games List
Here are the games I am most interested in that are releasing or supposed to be releasing at Gen Con.
7 Wonders Armada – Repos Production
I saw a sort of vague post from Repos Productions in regards to this being at Gen Con. It was being demoed at Origins Game Fair and this expansion is ready to be released. 7 Wonders is one of my favorite games and the Armada expansion now allows players to interact with more than just their neighbors. This is a must have for me.
Coimbra – Eggertspiele
I like euro games and the dice drafting mechanic has my interest for this one. The designers also worked on Lorenzo il Magnifico and Egizia. This is my #1 most anticipated game that is releasing at Gen Con.
Catalyst – dV Giochi
I am a fan of engine building games and this one also promises strong card combinations. There is a goal that is revealed at the beginning of the game that can alter strategies from game to game. The one thing that has my interest for this is that you build up a bunch of stuff and then set off a chain of actions.
Piepmatz – Lookout Games
This game was described as being in the same vain as Arboretum mixed with Parade….both games I enjoy quite a bit. I am willing to take a chance on this game despite the fact I am not wild about the designers. But hey maybe they can finally make a game I like. And the artwork is amazing.
Newton – CMON
Newton…Deck Building and Hand Management…YES!!!
I like the setting of the game being during the Age of Discovery. Solid designers with some games like Lorenzo il Magnifico, Tzolk’in, Grand Austria Hotel. Plus Cranio Creations which is the publisher has put out some great games.
Spirits of the Wild – Mattel Games
This one was one of the later announced releases and this 2-player game seems pretty cool with the stone-taking mechanism. Players collect sets of stones and also use animal spirits to help them. The coyote adds some interaction between the players. Plus this has a low cost which is even better.
Carson City: The Card Game – Quined Games
I like trick taking games and this is added to make a shorter version of a western theme game that I am interested in. Plus I like the designer and this one should be a hit.
Other Releases of Note
There are some other games and expansions that are releasing that have my interest in checking out maybe picking up:
I often think about the games I used to play when I was growing up and one of the games I really enjoyed was Pay Day, which was then published by Parker Brothers. The game was designed by Paul J. Gruen from Massachusetts and the year Pay Day released, which was 1975, it outsold Monopoly. Quite an accomplishment I would say! I was born in 1971 so, the game was still pretty new when I got my first copy when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old.
The original version I has as a kid
I remember the game….rolling the die and moving through the days of the month and either getting money or having to spend money. Bills piling up, opportunities to make deals, and then if you got lucky, hitting the jackpot!
Unfortunately, as I grew up and moved on with my life, some of my games and such did not make the move with me. I think they were victims of my parents cleaning out their house many years ago.
Fast forward to about 5 years ago. I happened to be in Target and was in their toy and game section and they happened to have the game Pay Day on the shelf. It said Classic Edition on it and a number of memories about this game filled my head.
I decided to purchase the game so I could share some experiences with my kids, seeing it is a family game. I wasn’t sure what to expect either from myself revisiting this classic game, or what my kids thought of “old” games.
So…. let’s take a look at this new version of Pay Day and get my thoughts along the way. If you are not familiar with this game, here is a brief summary of how it is played:
The game simulates money management, with the game board resembling a calendar month. Pay Day is played on a one-month calendar with 31 days. During the game, players will have to deal with various bills and expenses, but will also have the opportunity to make deals on property and earn money. At the end of each month, players are paid their salary (the same for each player) and must then pay off all outstanding bills, taking out a loan if necessary. Most money (or least debt) wins after a certain number of months decided by the players (3 months usually takes 30 minutes to finish).
One of the things that I vividly remember is the paper money used in the game. And yes… it is still here.
Ahh yes… crisp paper money
Looking at the board, the month has quite a bit of activity going on.
The game board of the 2011 Winning Moves Classic Edition
Each day there is something that is happening that has the players doing something. There is only 1 space on the board where players get to take a breath and that is on the 7th day…..It is a day of rest. Interesting… a subtle Biblical reference in the game taken from the Ten Commandments.
Sunday the 7th… A day of rest
As I was playing the game, I realized that I was pretty much along for the ride. 95% of the game is based upon the luck of the die rolling. Movement is based on the die roll, so players have no control over what spaces they move to and have to endure whatever bonus or penalty is associated with that space. And based upon the roll of the die, my opponents can have a better or worse opportunity on the very same space that I occupy.
You can either have a good day or a bad day
The game leaves players with only a few decisions to make: buy a deal, take a loan out, and making payments on a loan. As I have been playing more of the modern board games that put players more in control of their destiny during the game, I felt a bit restricted in what I could do to make optimal moves. The main decision to make was how I was managing my money.
Is this a good deal or not?
In making deals, I really need to think about how I am managing my money. Do I need to take a loan out to pay for this deal? Will I get lucky and land on a space that allows me to sell that deal? If I take out loans, they are tabulated on a loan pad and on Pay Day, I have to pay interest on those loans, much like in real life. But, I do get an opportunity to pay down these loans so that is a good thing. Other aspects of the game that remind me of real life is the mail call.
Mail call…..do people still get postcards today?
Bills piling up, junk mail, etc. fill our mailboxes every day and during the game, every piece of mail we receive is a mystery. The bills that arrive are completely unplanned and so we are again at the mercy of the luck of the draw.
One last thing that has to do with luck: Rolling a 6. If I roll a 6 when I am rolling for movement, I hit the jackpot! and take all the money on the jackpot! space in the lower right corner of the board. Sometimes it can be a lot of cash, other times not one red cent.
Hopefully, there is money to win when you hit the jackpot
Well… There are certain things that Pay Day does that is a good thing and that is challenges players to manage their money. Nothing is guaranteed in this game except the monthly salary. So you need to be prepared for anything. This is a good life lesson for today because it is always important to have a handle on finances.
Being able to adjust the length of the game is a good thing as well. It makes the game adaptable to different situations in which players a playing. Do I want something quick or do I want to play for 6 to 12 months? Length of play is a very big issue when it comes to being able to bring a game to the table to play it, and bringing a game to the table to play it is just a tool for being able to spend time with others in their physical presence.
I had fond memories of Pay Day when I was a kid, and in a way I am glad the game has gotten back into my collection. Looking at the game in today’s gaming standards… is Pay Day a good game? Well, it is still for sale and I just saw a retro edition of the game at Target recently. So the game is still being played 40+ years after it’s release. I would say overall, yeah the game is good. It has survived this long in a market where games come and go all the time. For me, do I think Pay Day is a good game? The short answer is no. It is more of an activity where I am rolling a die each turn and moving to a space and doing what it says. In fact the rules state, your turn ends when you are finished doing what you are told to do. For most of the game I am not involved in making a decision. I land on a space and roll the die. The die result determines the outcome of what happens, or the amount of money that will be affected. Since the game is played in 1 month increments, the same board is used repetitively and so it gets boring rather quickly. Maybe now our brains are constantly looking for more and this game doesn’t have that “more” to offer.
Will Pay Day stay in my collection? The answer is yes. There are only a few of the classic games that I have that have a permanent place in my collection because they are part of who I am, because they were a part of my past, and still part of my present. More than anything there is a sentimental value attached to the game. Plus, some of these classic board games have laid some initial foundation work for the games we enjoy today. We need to see where we have been before we can see where we are now. Mostly, this game doesn’t take up much space so it can easily be stashed somewhere. Unless the kids want to play it, I don’t see the game returning to the table any time soon. However, I would not refuse to play it despite it being a game that I would not seek out today.
Some things seemed better in the past, and for me Pay Day is one of those things. Decades later what I once thought was a fun game to play, translated into an activity that sort of felt flat. I still have those memories of Pay Day being fun as a kid, so I will hold on to those.
In this video, Dave and Chris discuss the English release Ticket to Ride: Germany, previously released as Zug um Zug: Deutschland with the 1902 expansion. Ticket to Ride: Germany is a reimplementation of Ticket to Ride: Märklin but uses passengers is a different way. Hear their impressions and thoughts on this version of the game in the Ticket to Ride series.
In this video, Dave and Chris discuss the Märklin Collector’s Edition of Ticket to Ride. They give an overview of the new mechanics added to the Ticket to Ride system, specifically the passengers and merchandise tokens, the long and short destination tickets, and also the Wild +4 train cards. They share experiences and impressions of this map.
In this series of videos, Dave and Chris are going to go in depth covering this wonderful game system and all of the maps available to date. Check out this first episode where they talk the original Ticket to Ride.
