See part 1 here
Okay so after having played Lunch Money a couple of times, we were ready for something meatier. So we got out my copy of Settlers of Catan, the classic German game of, well, settling an Island.
What I really like about that game is how fast paced it is. A turn takes a few minutes and we move on.
Well, we didn’t play. As I got my box out, I realized that all the cardboard hexes I had to build the map were actually Sea hexes… All other hexes were in my ‘5-6 player extension box back at home’
Can you say ‘Epic Fail’?
So we settled for a game of Munchkin Booty, one of the endless variation of Steve Jackson Games‘ “Kick the door, kill the monster, take the loot and stab your friends” card game. I’ve played the original, dungeon based game to death and I was hoping that this variation would bring back the coolness I felt when I used to play it.
For those who’ve never played Munchkin, you start as a level 1 character with no class (pun intended) and you need to reach level 10 by killing monsters and getting stronger and stronger loot. Its a very popular game that has had many many expansions and cross-genre adaptations.
Munchkin Booty is the same game, only players are pirates, kicking… gunports ? (The rules mention that the kick the door analogy completly fails in the game, but they rely on some rule or other to pull it off).
Instead of having Classes and Races like the original game, players can have occupations (Pirates, Merchants, Navy) or… accents! (French, English, Spanish and Dutch).
I’m not going to say much more. Of all the games we played that evening, I liked this one the least. Its not a bad game… its just not that different from the original. We chuckled at a few of the jokes and puns, but I realized that I like new games, not re-fluffing of old ones.
Chez GeekAhhh, chez Geek. Another Steve Jackson Games Card game. That one holds a special place in my heart. While I’ve played this game too much and know all the card jokes, I still like playing it. Especially when its been a few months and I forgot some of the jokes .
Chez Geek’s premises is that all players are roomates of a flat. Everyone has an occupation that grants them varying degrees of income and free time. Each turn you can use free time to play activity cards that grant you ‘slack’ points or you can buy stuff that grant you those too. You can also call friends to your room to gain extra slack (or cause grief to your fellow flat mates).
You win the game by hitting your slack point goal.
Its quite a fun game, I recall PM saying ‘I really like this’ within minutes of us playing it. A keeper in our little geekout group.
Movie Break
It was about 5hoo PM when we decided to stop playing some and watch a movie. PM has an enormous DVD collection and one of those 50+ inch Hi-Dev TVs with surround sound. One of the things we like to do PM and I is watch movies we’ve already seen along with people who havent just to check thier reactions and discuss the movie’s tropes as we spot them.
Franky asked us if we could watch Fight Club. He had heard a lot of good things about it, but had never seen it. PM and I happily agreed.
I had forgotten how brilliant, bleak, cool and nihilistic that movie was.
However, the ultimate bonus was to see Franky’s face when the big reveal came at the end. He hadn’t heard the movie’s punchline and was hit really hard by it.
That’s why I love re-watching movies with people!
Mag BlastAfter the movie, while my pals ordered and ate some Chicken Poutine (French Fries, cheese Curds, BBQ Gravy and shredded roast chicken) PM got out a game I had never played called Mag Blast.
Mag Blast can be summed up as ‘The Make weird noise or miss your attack spaceship combat game”.
You build a fleet of ship and pick a random race with a certain power. You then arrange your fleet around your mothership and try to blast away the other Motherships. And you really have to make weird shooting sounds when you shoot. So how different are Laser blasts from Mag Blasts?
Especially since there is no sounds in space… but that would be violating a certain Rule… he he he.
(Damn, I just realized that I spent the day playing games illustrated by John Kovalic)
Regardless, while it was getting late, I really enjoyed playing that little game (especially since I won!).
I’m so going to buy Mag Blast for my son’s 7th birthday.
That’s how my game geekout went. It was a great day and we all agreed to do another one soon.
I do miss RPGs though… my next D&D game is scheduled for the 15th of January, can’t wait!
Sounds like a wonderful day. I’m in a similar place regarding Munchkin, but enjoy a lot of other games. Lunch money sounds like it’s the standard “ganging up” problem– hard to solve with three people. It sounds like it might make a better game for two, with the third person giving over the top color commentary (like a sports announcer).’
If you want a cool twist on quick spaceship games, try Lightspeed by Cheapass Games. It’s very fast and strategic… a lot of fun.
In my office, we play every day one card game at the lunch break (you must only eat your meal in half an hour and play the other half).
The games we play are “Saboteur”, “Chez Geek”, “Mag Blast” and “Bang!”. We have “Citadels” but it’s hard to finish a game in just thirty minutes.
The game we play usually depends on the number of co-workers willing to play that day ;):
– Less than four players: we play “Mag Blast” or “Chez Geek”
– Five to seven players: “Bang!” or “Saboteur”
– Eight or Nine players: “Saboteur”
You can’t play “Mag Blast” with more than four players and finish it in thirty minutes. And playing “Saboteur” with less than five players is too hard for the bad guys.
We have a very geek-friendly job ;).
Best regards,
Carlos
And who do you think talked so highly of Fight Club to Frank, hmm?
Man…. i LOVE that flick 🙂
Too bad you couldn’t be there Mike…
@Scott: I like your proposal for a 2 player + sports commentary game, that would be great description practice.
@Carlos: Nice lunch setup you got there. I used to play Magic during lunch way back when I used to work with Franky. That was fun. I should check at work if people would be interested.
@Mike: You did a great job, especially in not revealing the movie’s punch!