Brief Overview video #9: Race for the Galaxy

Here it is at last - a brief overview of Race for the Galaxy, as was requested. Yes, there are some details I left out, but I mentioned all of the features that I think are important for deciding if the mechanics are interesting to you. Race for the Galaxy is a difficult game to learn, but once you have played 3-5 games, you'll become comfortable with it, I think.

This is the last brief overview video you'll see for a long time. I just don't have time to keep working on these with my very limited free time. If I do any other such videos in the future, they are likely to be for much simpler games. Thank you for all the positive feedback I've received. I hope this RftG video will give you some idea of what makes this game work.

News: A pile of recent thoughts and issues

Today I am writing for the purpose of recording all of my gaming updates in one shot. My time for writing only continues to diminish as my family requires more of my time and attention. Thank you for continuing to follow Games on the Table when I manage to get something posted.

Stolen penguins!

During the Christmas break, I had accidentally left my copy of Hey! That's My Fish! in the staff break room where my gaming group plays board games every Wednesday at lunch. When I returned from the break, I was pleased to see my game waiting happily for me on the counter where I had forgotten it. I had brought my teapot to the break room to clean it, and so I set my recovered game box on the recycle bin right next to the sink. For some reason I can't remember now, I had set a paper towel on top of the box. After rinsing my teapot, I walked back to my office. Late that afternoon, I realized that I had left my game in the break room once again! I hurried back to retrieve it only to discover that the box was not where I had left it. It wasn't on the vending machines, microwaves, counters, or refrigerator. It was gone. I checked all lost-and-founds, which turned up nothing. I contacted the head of custodial services, who kindly checked with his crew to see if they had seen the game box, which they hadn't. My conclusion: someone swiped my game. Hey! Those were my fish! I had enjoyed 26 plays of that game before the pilfering. It was one of my favorite filler games, but I just can't bring myself to sink the cash on another copy. Goodbye, little penguins. I'll miss you.

Download the Dice Tower Theme

The orchestral theme I composed for Tom Vasel's podcast, The Dice Tower, is now available for download from the Dice Tower website. You'll only hear chunks of this 3-minute piece of music on the actual podcast, so go download the track to listen to it in its entirety! (Look for the March 11 news on the front page of the Dice Tower website).

My new favorite game

A few months ago, I purchased Donald Vaccarino's card game, Dominion. Back when this game was being developed, and was frequently hyped on BoardGameNews.com, I was following it with great interest. Well, the reports were all true - this game is fantastic. I couldn't have imagined any game being more enjoyable than my other favorite games, but once I played Dominion a few times, it jumped right up to the top of my list. After one play, I wasn't sure how I liked it. After two or three plays, I thought I was starting to like it. After several plays, I really liked it. As of 20 in-person plays as of this writing, and many plays on BSW, I love it. Coming this month or next is the expansion for Dominion. If I can get enough people at work to join a game order, I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on Dominion: Intrigue. Vaccarino's design is just brilliant. He can expand Dominion to no end, keeping it greatly customizable, and highly replayable. This game provides much of the pleasure of a CCG, without all the downsides. Thank you, Mr. Vaccarino.

RPGGeek?

I'm still tracking the development of RPGGeek as much as I can. There is very little information about it. The last I read, it looks as if RPGGeek is going to be incorporated into the already-existing BGG as we know it. In this post Scott Alden indicates that "Board Games" and "RPGs" will be selectable menu bar items. This makes one wonder if such a menu bar will eventually include the other proposed "geek" sites, such as Books, Movies, and Video Games.

Brief overview series

I know there are a number of you who are eagerly awaiting my next brief overview video. Thanks again for the encouraging comments you've sent - I appreciate them very much. I am still trying to find a minute here and there to work on the upcoming Race for the Galaxy video. I don't know how much longer it will be. So, the fact that this video is indeed coming is hopefully good news to you. Unfortunately, I think I will put the brief overview series on the backburner after this next video. I recently spent some time calculating my daily schedule, and my free time comes out to almost nothing. Because of the other pursuits and priorities in my life which come before board games (family time, music composition, reading) I am having a hard time fitting in time for other hobbies, including blogging and the brief overview videos. There are so many things I enjoy doing, but currently, I have a list of 3 abandoned hobbies/interests, 14 backburner hobbies/interests, and 10 current and ongoing hobbies/interests. And the one that takes the most time - wife and children - isn't even on the list. It's just reality - a pleasant one, mind you - but it's reality. My family needs me, and as the years go by, I find that I must abandon more and more of my personal pursuits for the sake of others. Thus is life.

The sweet taste of pulp

My background in the pulp genre, as I've explained before, was nil before I played the RPG, Spirit of the Century. Listening to the Red Panda audio drama (which I highly recommend) helped me to understand the genre even more. Then recently, I listened to a free audio book as a podcast from Uvula Audio. The book was The Man of Bronze, by Lester Dent. This is one of the early Doc Savage stories, and from what I've gathered, this actually may have been the first (correct me if I'm wrong). While I don't think the story has enough angst for today's audience, I actually loved the story. Doc Savage is the kind of hero I like - he doesn't seem to ever make mistakes. The guy has no weaknesses. He's better than everyone at everything, and you can always count on him to have a solution. He has a group of other skilled guys helping him, and they spend the whole story adventuring in . . . I don't want to spoil anything for you. So, if you're interested in pulp, Doc Savage, or adventure at all, go listen to this free dramatic reading of The Man of Bronze!

Brief overview series - what do you want to see?

This time around, I'm giving you the opportunity to send in feedback. I know a lot of people appreciate the brief overview video series I've been doing. What I want to know is - what games would you like to see in my brief overview format?

If you would like to request something, take a look at my stash over at BGG and comment on this post to make your request!

Because of other projects in my life, I've had less time to post here on GotT, but I'd like to know what to work on next, when I get time for another brief overview video. I had been planning on doing Treasures and Traps next, but I'd like to hear from you first!

Brief Overview video #8: Bohnanza

Here you go: episode 8 in my Brief Overview series. This was probably the most difficult game to briefly explain to date. The game is easy to play, easy to teach, and easy for noobs to pick up, but trying to do this video was just more difficult than usual for some reason. I think it worked out well in the end. Enjoy!

Brief Overview Series Ep. 7: Coloretto

It's been a few months, but I finally got around to finishing another episode in my Brief Overview series! This time around, thanks to a request on BGG, we're taking a look at one of my favorite games, Coloretto, by Michael Schacht.


Brief Overview series Ep. 7: Coloretto

You will notice that I've added a little theme music. Let me briefly explain. Long ago, my friend Jack and I were preparing to start a video podcast series called "The New Box" about board games, similar to what the guys at Obsessed With Gaming do now. Only, we were going to have discussion between the two of us regarding the game we were reviewing. We were well into working on the first episode when we were confronted with the difficulty of schedule matching and busy-ness. We decided to bail on the project before we got in too deep. We just couldn't realistically handle the load.

I had already composed and recorded the first part of a musical theme for the show. So, I remembered about this piece of music as I was working on the Coloretto video. I went up to the studio, touched the piece up a bit, cutting it down to one statement of the melody and ending it at that. I mixed the piece and exported it to audio, then I imported it as an opener and closer for the video.

So there you have it - a jazz theme composed by yours truly. This little piece is now the official Brief Overview Series Theme.

What will be the next brief overview video? I am always open for requests. If you would like a brief overview of something from my collection, comment here or email me at the address posted on the right side of this page.

Brief Overview Series Ep. 6: Wyatt Earp

I finally finished the next request on the list: Wyatt Earp.

Brief Overview series Ep. 5: Fairy Tale

Here is the 5th entry in my Brief Overview series. Thanks to everyone on BGG who has commented and added requests.


Brief Overview series Ep. 5: Fairy Tale

Brief Overview Series Ep. 4: Taluva

This is episode 4 in my brief overview series. Thanks to everyone who has sent me comments on BGG and YouTube. You wanted more, so here you go. This time I look at Taluva. Someone recommended I post my videos on Vimeo instead of YouTube, so I'm trying that this time around. Enjoy!


Brief Overview Series Ep. 4: Taluva

Brief Overview Series Ep. 3: Caylus Magna Carta

This is the third entry in my brief overview series in which I attempt to show you the basics of a board game to help you decide if it's worth a purchase. For people like me, images are worth a thousand words - hopefully this benefits you as well.

Brief Overview Series Ep. 2: The Downfall of Pompeii

I'm posting a bit earlier than normal this week.

Today, I posted the second video in my "brief overview" series. In these videos I explain the basic workings and features of the game to give viewers an idea of whether or not they would like to purchase the game, or just to familiarize players with the game before their first play. The first video in the series was for the game Oltre Mare. Watch the video here. People seemed to find this video useful, and a few people asked for more of the same.

So here's a brief overview of The Downfall of Pompeii. Enjoy!

Brief Overview Series Ep. 1: Oltre Mare

A few months ago, I acquired a new boardgame called Oltre Mare. “Oltre Mare” is a term that means something like “over the sea” in Italian. Each player plays a merchant on the Mediterranean sea , buying and trading wares. You will also have to avoid pirates, and carefully manage your inventory.

After learning the game and playing a few times with my wife, I was ready to introduce it to my gaming group at work. Having taught a large number of games to the group, I am always thinking of ways to teach new games as painlessly as possible. Let's face it: sometimes learning a new eurogame can be daunting. They always seem to have more rules than they actually do.

So this time, I created a short video overview for all players to watch before the learning session. My goal was to introduce the components, the theme, the terms, and a brief description of the gameplay. I thought that perhaps they would feel more comfortable learning the game having already seen it and learned how it works.

I figured I might as well share it on the Internet since it wasn't going to do any good just sitting on my hard drive forever. So I posted it to YouTube. Since posting a link on BGG, I have received good feedback. If you are considering purchasing Oltre Mare, or are simply interested in a short video about this game you've never heard of, watch the vid below!