Author: ctrlalttabby@comcast.net

No soups, no salads, no entrees… Just Desserts!

There is a wonderful game called Just Desserts. It is a Looney Labs game and I first played it with none other than the wonderful Kristin Looney. The Looneys were the gaming guests of honor at Windycon (see my previous post). I also played Seven Dragons and Looney Pyramids, but that’s a different tale.Just Desserts

In Just Desserts you are trying to match desserts to what your customers do and do not want. You start with 3 desserts and 3 guests. On your turn, you draw another dessert and flip a guest card to walk into the restaurant. The first step is to try and match a favorite. The card says what their favorite dessert is. If you succeed in giving them their favorite, the guest card becomes yours and you draw a card as their tip.

If you don’t have a guest’s favorite, you can look at the components, for example, vegetables, fruits, and spices to complete Nature Girl. Nature Girl doesn’t actually have a favorite. Let’s pretend your hand had Baklava (pastries and nuts), Pineapple Upside Down Cake (cake and fruit), and Rhubarb Crumble (pastries and vegetables). For convenience, let’s pretend you drew Cinnamon Rolls (pastries and spices). You could combine Pineapple Upside Down Cake (fruit), Rhubarb Crumble (vegetables), and Cinnamon Rolls (spices) to win Nature Girl.

Now let’s pretend that instead of drawing Cinnamon Rolls, you drew Ambrosia Salad (fruit and marshmallows). You could not get any of the guests in front of you. In this turn of events, you would draw another dessert and play would pass. You may satisfy up to 2 guests per turn.

In this game there are 7 different families, illustrated by the color of the guest card. You win the game by winning either 3 of one family or 5 members of different families.

I like this game because it is some strategy, some luck and all fun.  I would play this game with my family and friends.

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Master the Codes

There is a game called Code Master in which you attempt to reach the portal from your starting point while collecting all the crystals and following only paths of certain colors. You have a certain amount of paths of each colors that you are allowed to take, depending on the level. You create your code by placing your assigned color tokens on the designated guide scroll for that level, then follow it and see if it works.Code Master

This game is available exclusively at Target. The assigned places for the crystals, portal and avatar are on the level map, as well as what colors you may use. Each map has all levels who’s final digit is their map number, such as Map 1, which has levels 1, 11, 21, and so forth. There are a total of 60 levels. To keep track of the crystals you have acquired, you put them on the avatar’s sword when you land on them.

In the level pictured, I am allowed exactly 4 greens, 1 red and 1 blue routes.  It uses Guide Scroll 3 and Map 2, and there are 2 crystals I have to acquire before exiting the level. If you look at the code in the Guide Scroll and then trace it on the Map, you will see how I used the color paths to clear level 22.

I would recommend this game for anyone who loves logic puzzles.

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Crates of Tinkering

There’s something called a Tinker Crate. You subscribe, and every month they send you a kit with certain supplies you assemble into the month’s December's Tinker Crate projectscience project using the included instructions. Some of the crafts are drip irrigation kits, bottle rockets, and homemade flashlights.

Though this is a blog for games, Tinker Crates are fun and I couldn’t resist doing a post about it. The box also comes with a few extra supplies and a booklet to explain the science behind the craft as well as a few other experiments. It is a really fun way to learn about engineering, science and history, and when you’re done you can actually use the creation! I highly recommend it for most kids, though I know many adults who would be equally interested.

My most recent crate was a “Draw-bot”. When you turn it on, it vibrates and colors your piece of paper. It included a motor, a battery case, two batteries, a gear, and much more.

Again, I recommend this item for most kids and many adults because it teaches, is a craft, and has many alterations you can make to customize it.

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Portable games

Need a game that you can play on the go, that doesn’t take much time, and is easy to play? Here are some of our personal favorites.

Pass the Pigs; Chupacabra; Easy Come, Easy Go

Easy Come, Easy Go is a fun math and logic game that requires you to be paying close attention. You roll dice to try to get certain number combinations so you can claim a goal, like Exactly 7. The game ends when someone has 3 goals. Plus, John Kovalic drew it!
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Chupacabra is a very appetizing game where you roll and eat dice with other dice. Chupacabras can eat cows, chickens and goats. (When you eat dice you acquire them.) For every chupacabra, you can eat 1 goat or 2 chickens. It takes 2 chupacabras to eat a cow. The goal is to have all of the dice.
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Pass The Pigs is a “dice” game where you use pigs instead of dice. Depending on the position they land in (like razorback, which is when the pig lands on his back), you get points. The goal is to be the first to reach 100 points.
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Would you like a role in Deadwood Studios?

Deadwood Studios is a brilliant acting game where you can do some minor acting. On your turn you move to another room, or, if you have already taken a role, you can act. If you move into a room you may flip the scene and then chose whether or not you want a role in it.

Deadwood StudiosOnce you have a role, you may rehearse, where you earn a token that will remind you of the rehearsal bonus (+1 to your roll for each token), or you could act. When you act, you roll a die. If you roll the number of the scene’s budget or higher (indicated in the upper right of the card), the movie progresses a scene. Otherwise, you receive money (unless you have an “On card” role) and the scene doesn’t continue.

In the end, the person with the highest collection of rank, fame and money wins the game.

I would play this game with my parents and convention friends.

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Hexxagon

Hexxagon is an online game where you may either play the computer or another person. There are rubies and pearls. Each turn, you may either multiply by moving onto a space adjacent to your current position, or you may jump, where you do not multiply unless you land adjacent to any of your opponent’s pieces. If you do, these pieces become yours.

Hexxagon
The goal of the game is to do one of three things: you could turn all their pieces into yours, you could block any legal movement for your opponent, or you could fill the board and have more pieces than the other players. If you want to know how many pieces there are for each person, there is a little counter in the bottom right corner.

I actually learned this game at school. Because it is about logic, when we have spare time our teacher lets us play. We even had a Hexxagon tournament once! It took a couple days because it was double elimination.

I would play this game with my family and friends.

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Windycon 42: a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Windycon

Over last weekend I went to Windycon 42, a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Windycon. On our way there we went to lunch at a wonderful cheese place with my godmother, Marinda, and my cousin, Jesi. I ordered a wonderful cilantro edamame hummus. While we were there, Marinda gave me a Pikachu hat.

Then we went to the actual convention. We had to attend the opening ceremonies because my mother received an honorable mention in the short stories contest. Afterwards, we went to Game Room… for most of the weekend.

At Game Room, I learned how to play Are You A Werewolf. On Saturday, I played a game of Munchkin that took four hours. We were about to play another game of Are You A Werewolf, but we needed more players, so I walked around asking people, “Would you like to play Are You A Werewolf?” Most people were too busy to play. So when I noticed someone standing in the doorway of the Game Room, I walked over and asked him if he would like to play just like I had asked everyone else. It was only after he had accepted the invitation and started walking towards the table where we were setting up when I realized that he was indeed Christopher Moore, the Author Guest of Honor.

Are you a werewolf?

After playing a couple rounds of Are You A Werewolf, Chris went off to eat and we went to the Art Auction. I think this is the first time in ages where I haven’t walked out of a convention carrying at least one Cheryl Storm dragon. 🙁

So, to sum up Saturday, I played a four hour game of Munchkin, I accidentally invited the guest author of honor to a game of Are You A Werewolf, and then went to an Art Auction where I failed to buy anything.

On Sunday I went to the Critter Crunch while my mother went to her panel on storytelling. I drove the Spider, the bot I drive every year, and Rat Patrol, which is a tiny little tank that zooms around and is tough to catch. I won one round and got second place in the free for all, both with the Spider. After the Critter Crunch was over, the scorekeeper told me that that was the best she had ever seen the Spider do. I just shrugged and said I had a lot of practice, then asked them to keep the Spider safe until Capricon before leaving the room.

While I waited for my mother to finish her panel, I went to the Looney Labs room and played Color Wheel, Seven Dragons, and Just Desserts. I actually got to play Just Desserts and Seven Dragons with Kristin Looney, one of the creators of Looney Labs.

Overall, I had an unforgettable experience at Windycon 42, a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Windycon.

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Everybody hail to the Munchkin song!

Munchkin Nightmare Before ChristmasWatched Nightmare Before Christmas? Played Munchkin? Like both? This game is for you!
I know I’m starting to get a little excessive about Munchkin, but this week I’ve decided to write my post about Munchkin Nightmare Before Christmas.

If you haven’t read my previous Munchkin posts, please do so now.

Like in my other posts (told you you should have read them), the main difference is gear and monsters. However, this edition also adds rides. For example, the Wind-Up Polar Bear. You can only have one ride at a time.

You could fight the Platinum Dragon in regular Munchkin, who, while he does breath fire, is sort of cute, or you can face the Oogie Boogie, which is definitely a tougher monster. You can fool around with that Eleven-Foot Pole you never quite figured out how to use, or you could try something more efficient. How about say, hmm, a Guillotine?

I’ll try to keep this short: I’ll play this with my parents and convention friends.

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Make Your Own Mixels

Before I start, I will clarify: I am effectively advertising the Lego Club Magazine. The most recent issue had a little game that I thought was adorable. You roll a 2×4 Lego piece to see how much you move. Each turn you pick up anywhere from 1 to 5 Lego pieces depending on the square you land on.  On one square you even have to put a Lego piece back, and there are a couple squares where you can lose your turn.  (When you lose your turn, we flip the Lego mover token – a piece picked at the beginning of the game – upside-down to remind us.)Mixels, a game from the Lego Club magazine

When you reach the end square, called the New Year’s Party, you start building your Mixel. The person with the Mixel voted best by the players wins.  Our house rule is that you can’t vote for your own.

Question: Which of the Mixels below do you like best? You can send me your answer by commenting on this post!

Mixels

I would play this with most people I know because it’s all creativity and luck.

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Takenoko

There’s a great game named Takenoko. In Takenoko, the emperor has received a panda. He leaves his panda in his gardener’s care. Your goals are plotting the land in specific patterns, growing certain amounts of bamboo, and having the panda eat certain amounts of different types of bamboo.Takenoko

These actions please different people. The emperor wants the land to be in specific patterns, the gardener needs to grow certain amounts of bamboo, and the cute and cuddly panda (who certainly didn’t eat the bamboo) needs to eat certain amounts of the gardener’s precious bamboo.

On your turn, you start by rolling the weather die. Each side has a illustration representing types of weather. Each type of weather has a certain benefit you can use that turn only. Once you’ve rolled the weather die, you place special tokens on each of the actions you plan to do. You do this so that you cannot change your mind after your first action. You get 2 actions a turn, unless you roll a specific condition on the weather die.

There are 5 actions you can choose from on your turn.  One option is that you can place new land tiles. To do this, you chose 3 face-down land tiles and chose which one you want to play. The other 2 get discarded.

You could also choose to move the gardener. He and the panda can move any direction in a straight line. If the plot of land the gardener moves to is irrigated, it receives one bamboo of the corresponding color. Every irrigated plot of land of the same color next to the one the gardener has just tended also receives a piece of bamboo.

The panda moves similarly. However, when he moves, he only eats from the plot of land he is physically on. The player takes 1 piece of bamboo from the bamboo plant and places it in their personal “stomach”. When the player has a specific amount of certain colors of bamboo in the “stomach”, they achieve 1 of their panda goals.

If you like, you could spend an action to irrigate a plot of land. You do this by taking an irrigation stick and placing it along the edge of any plot of land. The last option is to draw a goal card. You can chose from the 3 different types.

The game ends when someone achieves a certain amount of goals, depending on the amount of players. Once someone hits that certain amount of goals, it initializes the final round. At the end of the final round, the person who initiated it gets the ‘Emperor’ card, which is worth 2 points.

Now everyone counts the victory points in the lower left corner of their goal cards. The person with the most points wins!

I would play this with most of my friends and family due to it’s simplicity and peacefulness (except for the gardener… he’s upset with the panda).

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