Alhambra Dice

 

Alhambra Dice
Company: Queen Games; Type: Eurostyle; Players: 2-5; Time: 60 minutes; Genre: Push Your Luck; Rating: 💥💥 💥 💥 I like it!

This is the dice version of the classic tiled game (which I have only played once and for which it didn't really leave much of an impression on me -- make of that what you will.)

The gameplay is simple. Your goal on your turn is to score as many points on your dice of a given color with the fewest number of dice rolls. On your turn, you roll eight white dice. You score by counting the number of matching results for the color track you have chosen to play for on your turn. You can make up to three such rolls, saving your successful results from each roll.

The wrinkle is how tied results get broken on a given color track. The first die roll is worth more in breaking a tie than the second, the second is better than the third. If you score on a space that is already occupied, you must take the next lowest spot available on that track.

The color tracks are arranged on ascending rows of three for each possible score:

    8 wins: 1st - 2nd - 3rd

    7 wins: 1st - 2nd - 3rd

    6 wins: 1st - 2nd - 3rd

    and so on . . .

Say, you roll a result of four wins on your dice on your first toss. You can roll again to try to add more wins to your total -- at the risk of not achieving any. Or you can stop and maintain your rank within the results for that total.

For instance, if I roll again and fail. I am at 2nd place for 4 wins. Before I could only be beat with a result of five or higher. Now, I can be beat by 4 wins at 1st or still by five wins or better. Note: If your result places you on a result that has already been taken, you must place your token on the next lowest unoccupied rank.)

At the end of the round, each color track is scored in turn. Each turn, the winner for a given color gets to choose between scoring two points OR one point and taking a bonus chip. Second place gets whichever result is left.

The first, third and fifth (final) rounds are scoring rounds in which victory points are also scored for your relative rank for that color. In the first scoring round, only the top player scores. On the second scoring round, the top two score. And on the final round, the top three score.

Back in the day, when we played it, my late father turned out to be the shrewdest as to determining when to push his luck or not. (My mom always took all three rolls on each of her turns,) My dad would often win, my mom turned out almost always to be in last place as a result.

Quick yahtzee-like push-your-luck game always with some interesting choices to be made on each turn and round. Enjoy!

Deify

 

Deify

Company: Dover Publications; Type: RPG; Players: solo; Time: 1+ hours; Genre: Journal; Rating: 💥💥💥💥💥 I love it!

This game is unusual in a few respects. First, it is published by Dover Publications, better known for its reprints of classic, public domain works. Second, more noteworthy than unusual, it is a relatively new game, only published in February of this year. Finally, it is part of a growing number of games that make use of Tarot cards for event / action resolution.

Along with Language Creation, Mythopoesis is one of my ongoing fascinations. This game enables you to create a starting deity, and then through gameplay to evolve their nature, their myths, and their religious practices through the practice of drawing Tarot cards and responding to the associated prompts for whatever the current state of play is.

Every deity has a number of starting Attributes: Domain(s), Epithet(s), Practice(s), and a Champion (one only at a time). 

They also have certain Characteristics: Sacred Places, Symbols, Appearance, and Associated Deities. The difference in their nomenclature is only important in terms of individual prompts.

Over the course of the game, with each draw of major or minor arcana, the player will be prompted to add or subtract attributes or characteristics as a result of the events associated with the card. In many cases, the card will prompt the player to describe the specific circumstances that led to the indicated changes.

Play proceeds by drawing one Major Arcana, then three Minor Arcana, and working through their prompts. There are four major phases to the game, that represent the mythic life cycle of the god: Birth (Fool), Prime (Chariot), Decline (Tower), and the End (World). You start by playing the Fool, and then proceed accordingly from there. You can shape the gameplay to your liking by including Chariot, Tower and World cards in the Major Arcana deck at your discretion.

And voilà! That's the game. Enjoy!

Tsuro

 

Tsuro

Company: WizKids; Type: Eurostyle; Players: 2-8; Time: 15-20 minutes; Genre: Elimination; Rating: 💥💥💥 Meh!

This game is simple and quick to play. An ideal type of game for pick-up play between more serious games.

Each player places a token on the central starting tile. The object of the game is to be the last token left on the board by the end of the game.

Each player is dealt a hand of tiles. Each tile is a braid of possible paths, designed in such a way that they can be played on other tiles in various orientations to create new paths for tokens to follow. If your path leads you to the edge or you collide with another player's token, you are eliminated.

That simple. Ideal for spatially-oriented players, but not for me. And I also feel that gameplay gets stereotyped pretty quickly. But YMMV.