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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Jaipur in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
Finding a time when the entire group can get together to game can be rare – there always seems to be at least one person who cannot come. But fear not! Low attendance at any given game night does not automatically make it a dud! There are many excellent games for only two players, and that brings us to Jaipur!
Congratulations! You have become one of the most powerful traders in the Indian city of Jaipur – nobody can strike a deal quite like you! Only the best merchant will have the privilege of trading directly with the Maharajah (the city leader), and that is definitely you! Or at least, it was until a new competitor showed up and started swiping your customers… Will you give up your position willingly? Of course not! Through cunning strategy, you can prove that you are still the best trader the city has to offer – so let the competition begin!
In Jaipur, you and your opponent take turns buying, trading, and selling goods and camels for money. Out-sell your opponent in two out of three rounds to become the greatest tradesperson! Collect sets of the same goods to maximize your earnings, and use your camels wisely in trades as you try to anticipate the market trends. On your turn, you can take one of four actions: 1. Take a single good from the market, 2. Take all of the camels from the market, 3. Exchange goods/camels from your hand for multiple goods in the market, or 4. Sell goods. What will your strategy be? Monopolize the market in a specific good, or dabble in all goods? Try to anticipate your opponent’s strategy and throw a wrench in their plans, or mind your own business? No matter what you choose, strategy is the key to success in Jaipur, so make it count!
Jaipur is probably my favorite two-player game to date. The rules are simple enough, the mechanics (card drafting and set collection) are straight-forward, and it requires enough strategy to make it a fun challenge! Since it is a specifically two-player game, everything you do directly impacts your opponent. On your turn, not only are you trying to think of the best move for you to make, but you must also be thinking of what your opponent is trying to accomplish. If a couple of rounds pass and I see my opponent picking up silver goods, I can probably guess they’re hoping to make bank by selling a complete set. So do I pick up the next silver I see on my turn? Or do I cash in the set of diamonds that I’ve been secretly picking up each round? My strategy is constantly changing based on what cards appear in the market at any given time, and that is what elevates this technically simple game for me!
The only grievance for me with Jaipur has to do with the market distribution. The market cards are re-shuffled at the end of each round, and sometimes the shuffling is not balanced. I have lost many rounds because I am forced to take low-scoring goods or camels from a saturated market, only to reveal high-scoring goods for my opponent to take on their turn. Ultimately, that is not an issue with the game, but an issue with my poor card-shuffling ability. If anything, I try to see it as a strategic challenge – how can I best use these lowly goods to balance out the better cards my opponent has picked up? Nothing is a given in this game, and the market can completely change in a single turn!
If you want a quick but engaging game, look no further than Jaipur. It’s a solid two-player game that deserves more love! Purple Phoenix Games gives it a 16 / 18 (Bryan hasn’t played it yet).
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/jaipur-review/
Congratulations! You have become one of the most powerful traders in the Indian city of Jaipur – nobody can strike a deal quite like you! Only the best merchant will have the privilege of trading directly with the Maharajah (the city leader), and that is definitely you! Or at least, it was until a new competitor showed up and started swiping your customers… Will you give up your position willingly? Of course not! Through cunning strategy, you can prove that you are still the best trader the city has to offer – so let the competition begin!
In Jaipur, you and your opponent take turns buying, trading, and selling goods and camels for money. Out-sell your opponent in two out of three rounds to become the greatest tradesperson! Collect sets of the same goods to maximize your earnings, and use your camels wisely in trades as you try to anticipate the market trends. On your turn, you can take one of four actions: 1. Take a single good from the market, 2. Take all of the camels from the market, 3. Exchange goods/camels from your hand for multiple goods in the market, or 4. Sell goods. What will your strategy be? Monopolize the market in a specific good, or dabble in all goods? Try to anticipate your opponent’s strategy and throw a wrench in their plans, or mind your own business? No matter what you choose, strategy is the key to success in Jaipur, so make it count!
Jaipur is probably my favorite two-player game to date. The rules are simple enough, the mechanics (card drafting and set collection) are straight-forward, and it requires enough strategy to make it a fun challenge! Since it is a specifically two-player game, everything you do directly impacts your opponent. On your turn, not only are you trying to think of the best move for you to make, but you must also be thinking of what your opponent is trying to accomplish. If a couple of rounds pass and I see my opponent picking up silver goods, I can probably guess they’re hoping to make bank by selling a complete set. So do I pick up the next silver I see on my turn? Or do I cash in the set of diamonds that I’ve been secretly picking up each round? My strategy is constantly changing based on what cards appear in the market at any given time, and that is what elevates this technically simple game for me!
The only grievance for me with Jaipur has to do with the market distribution. The market cards are re-shuffled at the end of each round, and sometimes the shuffling is not balanced. I have lost many rounds because I am forced to take low-scoring goods or camels from a saturated market, only to reveal high-scoring goods for my opponent to take on their turn. Ultimately, that is not an issue with the game, but an issue with my poor card-shuffling ability. If anything, I try to see it as a strategic challenge – how can I best use these lowly goods to balance out the better cards my opponent has picked up? Nothing is a given in this game, and the market can completely change in a single turn!
If you want a quick but engaging game, look no further than Jaipur. It’s a solid two-player game that deserves more love! Purple Phoenix Games gives it a 16 / 18 (Bryan hasn’t played it yet).
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/jaipur-review/
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Dicetopia in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
As board gamers, we are always looking for cool new games to play! Occasionally, that search takes us to Kickstarter, which is where I found Dicetopia. After reading the campaign page, I was immediately hooked and decided to back it! I enjoyed following Dicetopia through production, and the finished product is everything I hoped it would be! Maybe after reading this review, you’ll want to give it a try too!
Welcome to the Dicetopia – a vast city teeming with opportunity. Some people capitalize on those opportunities for the greater good, but not you. You and your faction have more dubious motivations – you see a city ripe for the taking. Unfortunately for you, other factions in the city see the same thing. Now, you must work quickly and quietly to gain control over the city’s neighborhoods before your opponents! Pick up loot, carry out secret missions, and undermine your opponent in any way possible. The sneakiest and most clever faction will come out on top – will it be yours?
In Dicetopia, you are a member of a faction vying for control of the city. You and your opponents have secret missions to complete, and your strategy will vary depending on those missions. On your turn, you will swap one of the agents from your faction board with a die from any neighborhood. Each neighborhood has an action associated with it, and placing an agent there allows you to take the designated action. Neighborhood actions could be beneficial for you (re-rolling a die on your faction board), or they could be detrimental for your opponent (swapping one of their dice for one from the board). A controlling presence is one key to success, so make sure you have more agents than your opponent in any neighborhood! End-game scoring is in three parts: 1. Die total from your faction board, 2. Points for controlling a neighborhood, and 3. Successful completion of your secret missions. The player with the highest score wins!
Overall, I love Dicetopia. It’s kind of a game of worker placement without the weight that is sometimes associated with that mechanic. As someone who has not played many worker placement games before, I think Dicetopia does a good job introducing players to the mechanic. You place your agent, take the die, perform the corresponding action, and that’s your turn. Easy peasy. And since your secret missions dictate your strategy, the game is really more about dice/set collection than it is about worker placement. Another thing I like about the game is that it is dictated by dice, which means you’ll never play the same game twice. All of the dice are rolled and randomly placed during setup, so your city board will always be different for each game. And depending on your secret missions, the die values could make completing your secret missions easier or harder! That means you have to strategize your use of neighborhood actions even more! There is so much more strategy involved in this game than meets the eye, and I love that.
The one thing I do not like about Dicetopia is that whenever you place an agent in a neighborhood, you must take the corresponding action. Even if you don’t want to, or if it would be against your best interest. That gets a little frustrating as the game goes on, because some actions (later in the game) could essentially undo your entire game, costing you points by altering your success on secret missions. I wish the neighborhood actions were optional, because then it wouldn’t feel like my entire game strategy had been thrown out the window in the last couple of turns.
Besides my one grievance with the neighborhood actions, I really thoroughly enjoy playing Dicetopia. It was definitely a great find on Kickstarter for me, and I hope you’ll decide to give it a shot too! Purple Phoenix Games gives it a 9 / 12.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2018/12/17/dicetopia-review/
Welcome to the Dicetopia – a vast city teeming with opportunity. Some people capitalize on those opportunities for the greater good, but not you. You and your faction have more dubious motivations – you see a city ripe for the taking. Unfortunately for you, other factions in the city see the same thing. Now, you must work quickly and quietly to gain control over the city’s neighborhoods before your opponents! Pick up loot, carry out secret missions, and undermine your opponent in any way possible. The sneakiest and most clever faction will come out on top – will it be yours?
In Dicetopia, you are a member of a faction vying for control of the city. You and your opponents have secret missions to complete, and your strategy will vary depending on those missions. On your turn, you will swap one of the agents from your faction board with a die from any neighborhood. Each neighborhood has an action associated with it, and placing an agent there allows you to take the designated action. Neighborhood actions could be beneficial for you (re-rolling a die on your faction board), or they could be detrimental for your opponent (swapping one of their dice for one from the board). A controlling presence is one key to success, so make sure you have more agents than your opponent in any neighborhood! End-game scoring is in three parts: 1. Die total from your faction board, 2. Points for controlling a neighborhood, and 3. Successful completion of your secret missions. The player with the highest score wins!
Overall, I love Dicetopia. It’s kind of a game of worker placement without the weight that is sometimes associated with that mechanic. As someone who has not played many worker placement games before, I think Dicetopia does a good job introducing players to the mechanic. You place your agent, take the die, perform the corresponding action, and that’s your turn. Easy peasy. And since your secret missions dictate your strategy, the game is really more about dice/set collection than it is about worker placement. Another thing I like about the game is that it is dictated by dice, which means you’ll never play the same game twice. All of the dice are rolled and randomly placed during setup, so your city board will always be different for each game. And depending on your secret missions, the die values could make completing your secret missions easier or harder! That means you have to strategize your use of neighborhood actions even more! There is so much more strategy involved in this game than meets the eye, and I love that.
The one thing I do not like about Dicetopia is that whenever you place an agent in a neighborhood, you must take the corresponding action. Even if you don’t want to, or if it would be against your best interest. That gets a little frustrating as the game goes on, because some actions (later in the game) could essentially undo your entire game, costing you points by altering your success on secret missions. I wish the neighborhood actions were optional, because then it wouldn’t feel like my entire game strategy had been thrown out the window in the last couple of turns.
Besides my one grievance with the neighborhood actions, I really thoroughly enjoy playing Dicetopia. It was definitely a great find on Kickstarter for me, and I hope you’ll decide to give it a shot too! Purple Phoenix Games gives it a 9 / 12.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2018/12/17/dicetopia-review/
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated the PlayStation 3 version of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
With the World Cup almost upon us it’s time for gamers and soccer fans the world over to hit the pitch with the latest game in the phenomenally popular FIFA series from EA Sports. 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is an improvement over FIFA 14 and will get fans ready for the action with real Brazilian stadiums expertly re-created to capture the fanaticism that will be on display when the games take place in their real-life counterparts. Since this is the World Cup animations bragging rights for the next four years are on the line expect passion to be at an all-time high.
The game offers 203 national teams all of whom will be competing for the ultimate honor and glory. There are over 100 new crowd animation so anybody who thinks this is simply FIFA 14 with World Cup rosters and stadiums is simply not getting it. This is definitely an upgrade over FIFA 14 not just in content but in terms of gameplay and challenge.
Entering into the game and expecting to light up the scoreboard as many have done with previous versions the game is setting yourself up for failure. This is soccer after all and the emphasis is supposed to be on team-based play and low-scoring games where every chance on goal is crucial to the success or failure of a team.
While you may become frustrated with the exceptionally skilled tackling ability of the CPU players or the way they often benefit from lucky bounces and deflections, that is the way the game goes. Your teammates could possibly make better use of the space around them however this could be said of many flesh and blood teams competing in the tournament. The emphasis here is not to have an unstoppable juggernaut that crushes all the teams around it but rather on emphasizing skill and adapting to new and ever-changing gameplay modes.
I spoke to some people who had in their words mastered the 2010 version of the game and have regularly played FIFA games from the start. Many had commented to me on how much more difficulty they had scoring goals this timeout over previous versions of the game. One touted to me that he would often score 5 or more goals in a match whereas with this versionof the game he struggles to get 1 to 2 goals a match.
To me this was a welcome validation that my lack of prowess in putting the ball in the back of the net was not just my lack of ability but rather a testimonial to the developers desire to keep the game more in keeping with its on the field counterparts. While I did notice some of the commentators comments seemed recycled from earlier games and it was a little frustrating not being able to modify a roster the way that I had hoped, I have to give great praise to the developers for the control system in game.
I was able to pass, shoot, and move with greater precision and pacing then I happen previous versions the game and the visual qualities really helped bring the excitement of the game to life.
While passionate fans will always find something to complain about in game without realizing the difficulty in capturing all the nuances and complexities of the game and virtual environment, I can safely say this is definitely one of the more enjoyable FIFA experiences I have had in quite some time and this game will appeal not only to hard-core fans but casual fans as well as long as you’re willing to accept the game for what it is and not nitpick about what it is not.
Until then, this should more than tide fans over until the real World Cup and FIFA 15 arrive.
http://sknr.net/2014/04/27/2014-fifa-world-cup-brazil/
The game offers 203 national teams all of whom will be competing for the ultimate honor and glory. There are over 100 new crowd animation so anybody who thinks this is simply FIFA 14 with World Cup rosters and stadiums is simply not getting it. This is definitely an upgrade over FIFA 14 not just in content but in terms of gameplay and challenge.
Entering into the game and expecting to light up the scoreboard as many have done with previous versions the game is setting yourself up for failure. This is soccer after all and the emphasis is supposed to be on team-based play and low-scoring games where every chance on goal is crucial to the success or failure of a team.
While you may become frustrated with the exceptionally skilled tackling ability of the CPU players or the way they often benefit from lucky bounces and deflections, that is the way the game goes. Your teammates could possibly make better use of the space around them however this could be said of many flesh and blood teams competing in the tournament. The emphasis here is not to have an unstoppable juggernaut that crushes all the teams around it but rather on emphasizing skill and adapting to new and ever-changing gameplay modes.
I spoke to some people who had in their words mastered the 2010 version of the game and have regularly played FIFA games from the start. Many had commented to me on how much more difficulty they had scoring goals this timeout over previous versions of the game. One touted to me that he would often score 5 or more goals in a match whereas with this versionof the game he struggles to get 1 to 2 goals a match.
To me this was a welcome validation that my lack of prowess in putting the ball in the back of the net was not just my lack of ability but rather a testimonial to the developers desire to keep the game more in keeping with its on the field counterparts. While I did notice some of the commentators comments seemed recycled from earlier games and it was a little frustrating not being able to modify a roster the way that I had hoped, I have to give great praise to the developers for the control system in game.
I was able to pass, shoot, and move with greater precision and pacing then I happen previous versions the game and the visual qualities really helped bring the excitement of the game to life.
While passionate fans will always find something to complain about in game without realizing the difficulty in capturing all the nuances and complexities of the game and virtual environment, I can safely say this is definitely one of the more enjoyable FIFA experiences I have had in quite some time and this game will appeal not only to hard-core fans but casual fans as well as long as you’re willing to accept the game for what it is and not nitpick about what it is not.
Until then, this should more than tide fans over until the real World Cup and FIFA 15 arrive.
http://sknr.net/2014/04/27/2014-fifa-world-cup-brazil/
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Morels in Tabletop Games
Jul 12, 2019
Ahh mushrooms. Such a wonderful foodstuff that I am trying to teach myself to enjoy. I just have never really liked them. Imagine my surprise when several years ago this game about mushrooms was causing some buzz and after some research decided I absolutely had to have it. Back then my wife and I played games together a lot. So 2-player games were our jam. Now we have kids, and we game with more people usually. But, I still never forgot about this little card game, and if you play it, you won’t either.
Imagine yourself hiking in the forest with your loved one or a friend, or straight up mushroom hunting like Josh enjoys. You come across many species of fungus, and that makes you super hungry. Well, why not collect those mushrooms and cook them into a delightful little snack for you and your traveling partner? This is the premise of the game Morels.
DISCLAIMER – The focus of this review is for vanilla base game Morels. Should we add in the “Foray” expansion in the future we will add that information here, or add a link to the expansion material review. -T
I do not intend to paraphrase the entire rulebook here, but will hit on some of important factors so my readers can get a sense of how the game plays. A row of cards will be splayed out in the middle of the table to create the walking path you will traverse. On your turn you may collect one of the cards closest to the draw deck, play a card from your hand, exchange like mushroom cards for walking sticks, cook like mushrooms (adding any butter or cider you may have), or collect all the cards from the decay pile. Only cards that you cook will score at the end of the game, so be mindful to collect enough frying pans and bonus cards to improve your scores. WATCH OUT for the Destroying Angels that temporarily poison you and need to work their way through your camp. If you can make it through the forest with the highest quality snacks being cooked you win!
Components. This game consists of a giant pile of cards that barely fit back in the box when sleeved, and some cardboard chips. Honestly, I have had my copy of the game sleeved for so long I do not remember the quality of the cards, but I am sure they are great. The cardboard chips are fine. I got rid of my insert from my box so that I can use my sleeves and arrange it the way I want – actually, I am thinking of crafting my own foamcore insert for this game too. The art is good. It straddles the line between realistic and quasi-cartoony but I like it all the same. Iconography is clear and the night-time cards are especially fun to inspect.
The game play is simple card drafting, set collection, and hand management, but it’s a light game to be enjoyed by two players with minimal direct interaction. I do love the weight of the game. It is light, but you also have to think and make some very difficult decisions. Do you grab the decay that has two Morels and a Destroying Angel? It could definitely be worth it if you can stomach having that Angel in your camp. Should you bolster up on frying pans or maybe you should sell those other shrooms for walking sticks so you can choose better cards from the path. It’s really a great game that I am very happy to still have in my collection. With that said, Purple Phoenix Games (with an assist from my wife, Kristin), give this one a relaxing, but not really delicious to me yet, rating of 13 / 18.
Imagine yourself hiking in the forest with your loved one or a friend, or straight up mushroom hunting like Josh enjoys. You come across many species of fungus, and that makes you super hungry. Well, why not collect those mushrooms and cook them into a delightful little snack for you and your traveling partner? This is the premise of the game Morels.
DISCLAIMER – The focus of this review is for vanilla base game Morels. Should we add in the “Foray” expansion in the future we will add that information here, or add a link to the expansion material review. -T
I do not intend to paraphrase the entire rulebook here, but will hit on some of important factors so my readers can get a sense of how the game plays. A row of cards will be splayed out in the middle of the table to create the walking path you will traverse. On your turn you may collect one of the cards closest to the draw deck, play a card from your hand, exchange like mushroom cards for walking sticks, cook like mushrooms (adding any butter or cider you may have), or collect all the cards from the decay pile. Only cards that you cook will score at the end of the game, so be mindful to collect enough frying pans and bonus cards to improve your scores. WATCH OUT for the Destroying Angels that temporarily poison you and need to work their way through your camp. If you can make it through the forest with the highest quality snacks being cooked you win!
Components. This game consists of a giant pile of cards that barely fit back in the box when sleeved, and some cardboard chips. Honestly, I have had my copy of the game sleeved for so long I do not remember the quality of the cards, but I am sure they are great. The cardboard chips are fine. I got rid of my insert from my box so that I can use my sleeves and arrange it the way I want – actually, I am thinking of crafting my own foamcore insert for this game too. The art is good. It straddles the line between realistic and quasi-cartoony but I like it all the same. Iconography is clear and the night-time cards are especially fun to inspect.
The game play is simple card drafting, set collection, and hand management, but it’s a light game to be enjoyed by two players with minimal direct interaction. I do love the weight of the game. It is light, but you also have to think and make some very difficult decisions. Do you grab the decay that has two Morels and a Destroying Angel? It could definitely be worth it if you can stomach having that Angel in your camp. Should you bolster up on frying pans or maybe you should sell those other shrooms for walking sticks so you can choose better cards from the path. It’s really a great game that I am very happy to still have in my collection. With that said, Purple Phoenix Games (with an assist from my wife, Kristin), give this one a relaxing, but not really delicious to me yet, rating of 13 / 18.
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