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Sensor Ghosts, Assembly Re-Sequence & Override and how Wren Games are trying to kill me in outer

I don’t want to say anything negative about Janice from Wren Games, I’m the last person to cast aspersions. She seems lovely – kind, warm, smiley. But I get the distinct impression she is trying to kill me.
 
Every time I triumph in Assembly – meticulously locking bays in to place, resolving glitches, fixing malfunctions, outwitting the computer then sailing away to victory in my luxury space ship – she adds new challenges. As if I didn’t have enough to contend with creeping about hoping the computer won’t notice me, first there were glitches and now she has added robots. If you thought Assembly was infinitely replayable before (as I did) it’s even more so now. Which makes it…. I don’t know? What’s bigger than infinite? Really bloody addictive, that’s what.
 
When I reviewed Assembly I had, had only limited success in terms of winning the game but I knew that I loved it. I played Re-Sequence and Override at Airecon and actually won. My elation was soon quashed by seemingly sweet natured Janice who proclaimed ‘It must be too easy – I’ll adjust it’. Any delusions about my own genius have been swiftly disassembled. I keep losing now.
That’s the key word though isn’t it – ‘keep’. I keep playing. Throughout Assembly, its expansions and the new game Sensor Ghosts you feel that success is just at your fingertips. If only you’d turned left, or played that card first or ignored your idiot co-pilot… things could have been so different. And it’s the knowledge that you can eventually succeed that keeps you locked into these brilliant puzzle games. I love the amount of layers that there are. You finish one iteration of the game and there’s another waiting for you, slightly tricksier than the last.
 
There are elements of the expansion which make it appear easier – I can choose which token to deploy (from the two visible stacks). I can play one or more platform hold cards to skip over those bays as though they are locked. And yet… it still has me beaten. It’s like I’ve been lured in with the modifications that give the illusion of choice and control only to remember the power of that dratted computer.
 
The idea of being able to play Assembly with 3 or 4 players is incredibly exciting too. I’m equally happy playing solo or with another player – both versions of the game are well balanced, challenging and fun. I’ll definitely be trying out the higher player count versions at UK Games Expo and I’ll let you know how I get on.
 
Sensor Ghosts
Good news – you do not need to have played Assembly to enjoy dying in a meteor storm. Even though in terms of the story it follows on, the game is unique and definitely a puzzle worth tackling independent of Assembly. Having said that if you like Sensor Ghosts you’ll certainly enjoy Assembly (and vice versa).
 
Sensor Ghosts picks up the story where Assembly left off (assuming you escaped). You settle back to enjoy the luxurious journey back to earth, regretting only not fitting the bum warmers and massage attachments to the seats. But what’s this? A message from Earth – probably a news clip of them celebrating your heroism and letting you know they’ve put the kettle on and ironed the bunting. In fact Earth are refusing to let you land unless you collect a sample of the virus from the middle of a meteor storm so they can work on a vaccine. Ungrateful sods. You pause your immersion in the game – flip over the box – there it is – that logo – that beautiful diminutive song bird the wren – hell bent on your destruction.
 
The board in Sensor Ghosts is ever changing and has a randomised layout. You need to balance keeping your shields charged with peeking ahead to see what’s coming as well as planning how you will navigate. There are so many unseen threats in the meteor storm and of course your sensors are playing up, you start to become convinced that your computer might actually be Hal when all along you had prayed it was Holly – inept but not murderous! I like the fact that you can play three cards and choose an action to complete which simultaneously frees you up and sees the card deck dwindle.
Changing direction offers a neat challenge where if you play cards in a sensible sequence you should be able to change course smoothly but if not you have to spend extra navigation cards to enable you to turn. When you are out of Navigation Cards you are out of luck.
 
Memory cubes are included so that you can choose to mark cards in the field – maybe the best ones or ones to avoid. Either way you must use them wisely as there are only three. Brilliant – enough to give you the illusion that you have help but not enough to let you rely on them. Another example of the perfect balance in this game.
 
Once you have safely navigated the meteor storm, collected a sample (not just one of the bits of rock that are floating out there and look a lot like the samples!) you can try again, adding in the Escape Pod variant and using the disruption deck. I’ll be honest with you – I’ve played many times and not won yet. Once, I got tantalisingly close to earth – I could just make out the outline of the coast of dear old Blighty when bam! A meteroid hit me. And the Escape Pod? In a move that reminded me of the many times I have sacrificed whole countries in Pandemic, I left them to fend for themselves from turn two. Then forgot they had ever existed. Don’t ever let me be in charge in an apocalypse survival situation.
 
Although this is only a preview copy so there may be some adjustments in the final copy ,I really like the colours and the space age art work on the counters, cards and box. Even the font is suitably sci fi! The game features the same chunky counters that you find in Assembly which are pleasingly tactile.
I had waited with baited breath for Sensor Ghosts to arrive. You probably know how much love I have for Assembly so I was concerned I might be underwhelmed. I was not. This is another brilliant game and the fact that it comes with Assembly add ons is a real bonus. It is already a regular on my table both solo and two player.
 
I got some feedback on the game at my most recent event. It was a very positive response but my favourite interaction by far was this:
Me: What impression do you get just by looking at the box?
Him: It looks like you’d die
Me: It’s by Wren Games – they did Assembly.
Him: Oh right we’ll definitely die then. We definitely want to try it!
 
And because no blog would be complete without at least one photo on the chintzy table cloth – here it is….
I’ll be working with Wren Games (providing she hasn’t actually killed me) next weekend at UK Games Expo. Come and see what all the fuss is about at Stand 2-624.
As always you can try any of the games in my blog at my events. Subscribe to the newsletter below so that you don’t miss a thing.
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Kitty Cataclysm, Wibbell++ and why it’s good to get a parcel from Bez.

If you’re familiar with the just a card campaign you’ll have heard that every time someone supports an independent business the owner does a happy dance. I imagine that when the last copies of Wibbell Plus Plus and Kitty Cataclysm were posted that Bez of Stuff By Bez did at least one happy dance. If you’ve ever received a package from Bez you’ll know that it’s a thing of joy and if you haven’t, what are you waiting for? Treat yourself.
My most recent parcel arrived in a trademark envelope festooned with fabulous red drawings, a little comic and a cat which I have enjoyed colouring in. It is now on the wall in my study reminding me to take it easy sometimes.
But it’s not just about the packaging. Inside there was a copy of Kitty Cataclysm and a copy of Wibbell Plus Plus – two small box card games which both offer something unique. In fact Wibbell Plus Plus is a whole system of games while Kitty Cataclysm is a punny chaotic cat game!
 
Kitty Cataclysm
 
Plays: 2-5
Age: 10+
Duration: 2-10 minutes.
 
In Kitty Cataclysm players compete for meowney. In fact, the game is littered with cat puns. I’m here all week…The game ends when a player is ready to start their turn but has no cards in their paws. At that point you count up your meowney and determine who is the fattest cat.
 
It’s fast paced and fun. Each card has clear instructions which makes the game quick and easy to access. When you play the card into your kitty you simply do whatever the card says. You can make others get rid of cards, lose cards deliberately yourself, steal cards, donate cards, give cards away, draw extra and various combinations of those actions. So you can prolong the game and try to amass more meowney or you can try to end the game if you think you are ahead. You can look through your own kitty but you can’t touch anyone else’s. So this decision is always a bit risky plus you might try to end the game while someone else is hell bent on prolonging it! I like that element of it.
 
I also really like the sudden ending. There is no playing on until you get a winner. Everyone plays then everyone stops. No-one is aimlessly twiddling their thumbs waiting for it to be over. For me that’s a winning mechanic.
 
The inventive puns are paired with fabulous drawings. The cats’ facial expressions are brilliant – accurately encapsulating all cat emotions from irritation, through slyness to smugness. I think that’s all of them isn’t it?
 
Quick to learn, fun and portable. It’s a perfect addition to your bag. As always if you fancy trying before you buy you can play it at any Cards or Die event.
Wibbell Plus Plus
 
Plays: 1+
Age: 8+
Duration: 5 to 45 minutes
Wibbell Plus Plus isn’t a game – it’s a whole games system. To date there are more than 20 brilliant and diverse games listed on the website that you play with these cards. The games are in different stages of completeness – some are established core games (the instructions for 6 core games come in the box) others are more experimental. The whole purpose of the games system is to encourage this experimental approach. Every 1st August Bez will announce a new featured ‘core’ game. We, the players, are encouraged to submit game ideas in whatever stage they are at.
 
The existing games are fun and varied. Grabell is a fast paced pattern or letter matching game which requires no spelling or word based ability. Faybell is a storytelling game where you work together to craft a tale, using the cards to determine elements you should include. Helpfully the instructions come with a list of useful words for awkward letters. Phrasell is a game which uses the cards as prompts for phrases about a predetermined topic – this can be as silly as you want and often is! Coupell requires you to make words with the cards, swapping them around to make sure that everyone’s scores are perfectly balanced by the end. In Wibbell players compete to be the first to shout out a word which uses all the required cards, the more you win, the more cards you have to include.
 
One of my favourites from the many games listed on the website is Many a Mickel Makes a Muckel. The rules for this solo game are not included in the box. You are trying to create high scoring words by trying to place each new card you turn over in one of the three words you are working on. Discarded cards count as negatives and reduce your overall score. The card list included in the box and the numbers on the cards which indicate how many of that letter are in the deck are invaluable aids in this game.
 
By far the most exciting element of this games system is the organic element of it. One of the things which I think gaming allows is for adults to access that free and creative part of them which is so often locked away sometime during adolescence when we begin to feel we should pursue ‘worthwhile’, ‘serious’ things in our free time. Here is a box of beautifully lettered cards with a gorgeous finish -you can play existing games or you can just play around with them. You have not only permission but in fact an invitation to play without rules and make your own up. The creation of games is intrinsically playful. When children open games they just play with a joyful disregard for rules. Someone recently told me that her children used to love Carcassonne – they just made pictures with the tiles and played with the meeples. As adults it’s hard not to intervene – ‘you’re doing that wrong’ ‘it’s not meant to be used like that’. It’s a game. They are playing with it. That’s it’s use right there.
 
One of the great things about the retro games in my collection is that it takes you back to a time when you just enjoyed stuff, when the floor really was lava and you had to negotiate the living room without touching it. As we get older we get caught up in doing things the right way, in getting it right, in following the rules. Wibbell plus plus is so exciting because it offers a route straight back to limitless play and experimentation. Use the cards as a springboard for your own freedom and creativity. So play the games, get creative or just spell out your name… you know… whichever!
 
Try out some of Bez’s games at one of Cards or Die’s events.