Two Board Games

I’m not nearly as much of a board game fan as I am of role-playing games, but since the holidays we’ve been playing two fun games: we were introduced to Mice and Mystics by our friend Paul, and to Race for the Galaxy by Erik.

Mice and Mystics: Sorrow and Remembrance (Plaid Hat Games) is a scenario-based cooperative board game which came out in 2012, with expansions downloadable from the publisher’s site that include an additional scenario for 99 cents, a deck of additional items and events, and an MP3 format recording of the “story moments” to be read during the game.  The rules are available for download as a free PDF and there are useful video tutorials as well as rules FAQ.

This game makes a nice bridge between board game and role-playing games for newcomers; the premise is that a handful of retainers loyal to the king who have been turned into mice must race across the castle to save the kingdom from an evil magician’s plans.  The game includes modular board tiles, plastic miniatures representing both player characters and adversaries, counters, equipment cards, event cards, special dice, etc., as well as a booklet of linked scenarios.

A scenario plays in 2 to 3 hours for beginners, and should be a lot faster for experienced players.  Players should realise very quickly that the only way to reliably beat the scenarios is to work together in close cooperation, sharing resources (cheese) and items as will most benefit the entire group.  The encounters are well-balanced to preserve suspense.

Mice characters can advance and gain additional abilities as they progress through the scenarios.  The players have tactical options in choosing their moves and actions, and in selecting characters, powers and equipment for a given scenario.  This, combined with a number of random encounters and optional plots, seems to provide good replay value.

Race for the Galaxy (Rio Grande Games) is a non-collectible card game published in 2007, with four expansion sets released so far.   It pits 2 to 4 players against each other to explore new worlds, annex them, harvest resources, and trade, and accumulate victory points.

The charm of the game is that it balances skill and luck in rapid-play games; if you end up trailing through the entire game, your misery is short and you can get your chance to do better in the next round.

A very cool thing is that the rules are available online as a free PDF, and even better, a computer “practice” version playable on Windows, Mac or Linux is available free as well (here is the PPA for Ubuntu users).  I find it difficult to play only against the computer because I don’t get to see in detail how all the cards play out, but it’s good practice to get ready for that rematch with your friends.  There is also a useful FAQ available for download from BoardGameGeek.

Slow-Cooker Day: Lemon Basil Chicken

Just set six big chicken breasts in the slow-cooker in an adaptation of the whole-chicken recipe Edmund used the other day.  I plan on using the extras from dinner for subsequent meals of chicken pasta and a Greek feta pie.  Here is how it goes:

Ingredients

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, washed and patted dry
• 1 large onion or 2 small ones, finely sliced
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 2 lemons and grated zest of one (I use Meyer lemons, they have a nice sweetness)
• 1/2 tsp (3 mL) Kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tsp (3 mL) dried basil
• 1/3 tsp (2 mL) paprika

Preparation

1. Place the sliced onion in the bottom of the slow-cooker.
2. Mix the olive oil with the herbs and spices, and brush over the chicken breasts.  Place the chicken over the onion in the slow-cooker.
3. Sprinkle the parsley over the chicken, squeeze the lemon juice, and pour the rest of the mix of oil and herbs over everything.
4. Cover and cook on Low for 6-7 edit: 4 to 6 hours or on High for 2 to 3 hours.
5. Pull the chicken out and thicken the sauce on High with the juice of a third lemon and 3 to 4 Tbsp (45-60 mL) flour whisked in.  Serve with pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice.

Edit: Adjusted cooking times, added sauce instructions.

Edit #2: Leftovers were delicious with pasta, in soup and in feta pie.

Heist Jobs in Games and Fiction — Part 3

Having recently talked about mysteries in games and fiction, I now expand on the related genre of spy missions, heists, capers, and con jobs.  In Part 1, I briefly looked at some staples of the genre in books, television and movies, then I examined a handful of game systems that attempt to bring the heist structure to role-playing.  In Part 2, I drew elements from these sources to discuss more generally what game masters can do to prepare this kind of adventure in any system and provided links to online resources for the genre.

In Part 3, I talk about running the adventure per se, and trouble-shooting typical problems.

Running the Game

As discussed in the first two parts of this series, stories in this genre typically unfold in three acts: Planning the Job, Executing the Mission, and Wrap-Up.

Planning Phase

The planning or preparation phase typically include getting the job or the mission, and meeting the client if there is one; investigating to get more information to work with; and planning the operation.  Future complications may be foreshadowed.

Heist Jobs in Games and Fiction — Part 2

Having recently talked about mysteries in games and fiction, I now expand on the related genre of spy missions, heists, capers, and con jobs.  In Part 1, I briefly looked at some staples of the genre in books, television and movies, then I examined a handful of game systems that attempt to bring the heist structure to role-playing.

In Part 2, I draw elements from these sources to discuss more generally what game masters can do to prepare this kind of adventure in any system.  I’ll round this up by providing links to some nifty online resources for the genre.

In Part 3, I will talk about running the adventure per se, and trouble-shooting typical problems.

The Game Master’s Toolbox

Although in Part 1 we looked at five heist-specific games, what if you don’t want to switch to a different system but you want to run a caper or con job to your game?  Here are some tools for the GM, which I gathered from the sources discussed in Part 1 and many more.

Heist Jobs in Games and Fiction — Part 1

Having recently talked about mysteries in games and fiction, I will now expand on the related genre of spy missions, heists, capers, and con jobs.  In Part 1, I’ll briefly look at some staples of the genre in books, television and movies, then examine a handful of game systems that attempt to bring the heist structure to role-playing.

In Part 2 and Part 3, I will draw elements from these sources to discuss more generally what game masters can do to run this kind of adventure in any system.  I’ll round this up by providing links to some nifty online resources for the genre.

Genre Essentials

What I’m talking about here is the kind of fiction — book, movie, television show, or game — where a team of highly skilled pros take on a seemingly impossible job using criminal means (electronic surveillance, breaking-and-entry, theft, swindles, etc.) in full view of the audience or reader.

The genre is characterized by suspense, action, misdirection, the boldness of the plan, the high level of competence of the crew, the relationships and interplay of trust and betrayal between characters, and often a mix of humour and drama.  The crew usually cover distinctive roles, each with their area of expertise such as mastermind, technical whiz, explosives expert, master of disguise, etc.  In addition, the team is often working with limited resources, at least once the plan is under way.

The genre covers an array of gamer favourites.  Surprisingly, it can be found in just about any era or fictional setting  from fantasy to science fiction.  There are several sub-genres (some even classify them as different but related genres):

Mysteries in games and fiction

I was recently reading through a mystery novel and developing a bit of impatience, trying to see how long the author would take to develop the story to a point where I would care about this investigation.  (Answer: looks like page 95, which is definitely too long.)

Since then, I’ve been thinking about this topic in the context of games, as well as fiction.  When do we get interested enough to actually want to go along with a mystery story?  How do I get my players to jump in, rather than feel like rats going through a laboratory maze?  I identified the following components as essential to my own interest.