IVE Tong (rT Coen Log eee PL) CRESS B 12247 Pam} Par)gy ene Foran Racky 2 well-known ™ thor, and the novice Florian Biege treated caring illustrations. id venture to say that der Abendsonne fas Sh the potential of woul Drei Hasen in landed a game wit ‘becoming 2 classic»! (Benjamin Bestier, AIRPLAY, Nr 126) her! proce le angespiet, 12/2018) shes, Drei Hasen > Jer Abendsonne, has produced 1 real hit. The game has all it takes fo become a classic ~ similar to KUHHANDEL (Ravensburger) in the same kind gy eve The publi time, to stick w of animalseee (Edwin Ruschitzk, spielbox, 3/2018) Ot asen in der Abend Spiectbucer «Manet 10 bestaae Uentlé Velana@ostosehase de dressedJepitoriat ‘tmightnotbe the roundest of al ann: versaries, but 40 also is an impressive number; therefore, in several paces in this issue (among others, p. 4 and p. 8), we focus on the work of the “Spiel des Jahres" jury. The journalists who con: vened for the frst time in 1979 in order to choose a Game ofthe Year have always been the children oftheir time, and have often defined the style. Although the German jury occasionally seemed to have a hard time keeping up with the jury of the French As dOy, it nevertheless gener ated fesh playing impetus a least in Ger ‘many, yet also leaving a mark beyond its bores, SETTLERS OF CATAN, TAL, TORRES, and EL GraNoe would probably also have made their way without the award; but without these four games, the genre of the so-called eurogames would hardly exist This might have opened a Pandora's box that now condemns usall toa perpet tual hunt for points. However, this didn't go unnoticed by those who bore at least part of the blame, o they adopted a dit ferent course time and again and set new trends ‘At resent, the Golden Calf everybody is dancing around is emotions. A game is rho good without the human touch. The longer all of us cultivate our hobby, the more of those who don't have toconsider professional necessity at the same time have switched their focus from the material to the human side of gaming. Even though what is lying on the table is not completely irelevant, what matters the most is whois sitting at that table, since the playing exper ence i only right with the right group of players. To give a game, in the pos itive as well as in the negative sense, credit for this or to hold this against it as a reviewer would be close to med cal malpractice, But this doesn't mean that personal experiences should not be mentioned. A reviewers primary task is to examine and rate a game regardless of the situational context, Just think of Loopine Loute: In some cases, a player has to chug a schnapps whenever he drops a chip, while in other cases, he doesn't have to, The judgments about that game probably vary greatly accord ing to the context. New spielbox booth at Hall 1 F101 In our profession, objectivity i impos: ble. Even f we wanted to, we couldn't write an expertise. Before every possible constel lation of young and old and of beginners and connoisseurs could be tested, even successful title would probably have aleady disappeared from the market. And even the most comprehensive series of tests would neither establish comparabil ity nr allow for reliable conclusions. To be on the safe side, you also need to be able to mail order the games with your fellow players. In that case, the only uncertainty factor left would just be ~ us. 1, myself, experienced that you can laugh your: self to tears with junk like Money (Sala, 1987), but the chances of reproducing such an experience are virtually zero. In other cases, they get close to 100 percent ‘Acting as tffle pigs, especialy in cases like this, isthe reviewers task, and after all the jury consists of reviewers Although people nowadays “communicate” more than ever, there is also more need than ever for the kind of emotional personal communication we encounter when play ing games. Te right games, that is Matthias Hardel/sbw DECKTECTIVE pacar a i bis IeKofoYe bi eabat=toNpael=t=1ia Apocket mystery crime with a 3D crime scene... all in a Deck of ran Release: October 2019 - Preview at Spiel19 (Hall 3- booth E108) Essen = & spielbox ;CONTENTS spielbox ' &® spielbox (41 2019 1 CURRENT 4! The Dam Is Still Holding Spiel and Kennerspiel {es Jahres 2019 8 | Successful Act of ‘Self-Creation ‘Aloak back on four decades of "Spiel des Jahres" 14 | Expanding the Base of the Pyramid ‘Tom Weineck I REVIEW 6 | Appealing to a Wide Audience Wingspan 10 | Overtime Detective 16 | Smooth as Ice Hadara 18 | Some Kind of Secret Magic ‘The Taverns of Tiefenthal 24 | Basically Simple Underwater Cities 32 | Living Pyramids Castell 38 | Don't be Fooled by Its Cuteness Root 43 | Lavish Celebrations with Paper Clips Raiatea 1 REGULARS 20 | Alea jacta est Modern Game Elements 42 | Struggle in the Woods Is Nothing New Oldie: Tiere im Wald 1 FEATURE 26 | Yahtzee? As If... Roll & Write Games 1 LATECOMER 34 | Greed, Fear, Trust Dead Last 1TO BE CONTINUED 0 |. Root: The Riverflk Expansion 1 BOOKS 46 | Out of the Ordinary Tortured Cardboard 1 FOR KIDS 47 | Junior Pharao 48 | Affenstarke Zahlen-Bande 48 | Zablenmaurer 49 | Banditt TAT A GLANCE 50 | Symphony No.9 I | Cartography 52 | Tick'n Trouble ‘53 | Tippi Toppi I STANDARDS 584 | Short Notes ‘56 | Tweaks and Variations 56 | Contact= Si ] | ce aH : : — — € :CURRENT {| spiel and Kennerspiel des Jahres 2019 The Dam Is Still Holding In some respects, science-fction series of the 1960s created new styles. In ‘others, they were extremely bizarre when looking back, for example when they showed the fusion of telephone and camera, two devices that have nothing in ‘common whatsoever. The same basically applies to the combination of board games and computers. neg ths es nonin a A two that only realy wo ath nnop geet saneas fo eee sete meer ae Se asl ene ches acannon of app, Detective (see p. 10) would retain ere ecu LE eaiiasetaman maces sec ft rd atid tty in the wrong place. Both would work equally wel if not better, asa standalone ‘app. But publishers are more than happy to take potential board game buyers on board, Although today, more than eves, ‘we need time to recover fom those smart tyrants that accompany us almost from the cradle to the grave. This timeout is explicity offered by (purely!) analog games, Sill, Wereworos and Detective are out there, and they are not the only hybrids. A {uty that has taken up the cause of sound: ing out the boundaries of their trade rot only has to consider app-supported ‘games, it almost has the duty to do so, | for my part quite welcome the fact that they have not been placed on top in the fend. Maybe the dam against the digital flood here still holds fora while. ‘The winners of the main prize once again sent a signal, but not necessarily for Germany as the cradle of gaming culture, ee Cee cerry ere arsed eee \When Bruno Sautter and Ludovic Roudy had almost completed their ambitious ro} faniet rear ect Tae 71H Conmnenr, they wanted to create something “lighter” in their leisure time, something that would please not only enthusiastic gamers, but ideally also their wives, children and friends. Which quickly le to We ane rae Wono, self pub- lished by the designers under the company name Fun Consortium, with Asmodee France as disti- bution partner. Despite agood response over the summer 2017, sales figures were dropping just ‘three months later, ultimately for lack of adver. ‘ising and word of mouth By sheer luck they had ‘the opportunity to describe their problem in a report on Radio des Jeux an internet podcast) in autumn 2017. The “message” not only reached gamers, but also publishers like Repos Produc tion, whose professional sills to make the most cut of a game and present it accordingly was highly appreciated bythe designers. After only a few weeks of negotiations, they handed over the license, in the (now confirmed) certainty that they had approached the right people, Although concept and sales partners remained the same, ‘the name, design and components underwent small, yt significant changes. Players might be interested to know if the rules were changed, and there is indeed a slight difference: In the edited version, hints using phonetic similarities (such as Rome for rum) are no longer permitted. But surely the happy designers can live with that Christwart Conrad/cs & & spielboxeS des as hich itis not both winners are licensed editions, but very well made, and that is what matters While Frank Heeren’s con tribution as a publisher may have basi cally been nat to say “no” at the right ‘moment, one should remember why he was asked in the frst place, ince 2012, Theme leading to success: Elizabeth Hargrave when Heeten started off with Tenna Ms ‘Tc, his original publications have earned him an excellent reputation. That and his instinct ultimately secured him the local ization rights for Wincsean (as well as for Gtoomnaven, by the way, The same goes for the Belgians from Repos Productions, for Just one would hardly have become Game of the Year without that instinct {see box), However, the signal is a different one. Both Just ‘One and WincsPan have an extremely low entry thresh: (ld, The latter of course contains many more rules, but is stil very accessible, for an expert game. While some hard-core gamers may not feel challenged enough, itis far more important that people with only a slight affinity for games can imme: diately start to play. And nobody can escape the enor ‘mous appeal of the game's charming design, A bird house serves as dice tower ‘wooden tokens or cardboard markers have been replaced by miniature eggs, not to mention the fantastic drawings. In terms of content, the almost organic combina tion of mechanics and theme is captivat ing, and winning o losing become almost inelevant when the bird population is prospering, Just ONE is not the fist communica tion game of its kind, but in @ way the essence of them all. Like the nominee LAMA, it is characterized by a cutback to the absolute minimum, During the award ceremony, Reiner Knizia viv idly described this tedious and laborious process. Even more than LAMA, Just ‘One focuses on emotions (see also p. 1) that even manage to grab bystand rs, a5 gameplay is virtually self-explanatory As alas, there were titles in 2019 that should not have been ignored, but in the end all award winners are per Fectly suited for those custom: 1 looking forthe pawn sy bols before buying a game, ‘of which there are thousands ‘and thousands over here ‘Matthias Hardel/cs uw & spielboxAppealing to a \3 Wide Audience Games from Stonemaier games often have a degree of innovation to them. For example, in Scrrue the uncovering of actions as the wooden pieces are placed on the board combined with the different faction boards presents many different options and creates variation in the ‘game. Their games also have high quality components, so ‘when | fist came across Wincsran through be ft ng you ote T setts ope bo a he co paced pay -TN ETE eee ee aoe eee eee zteray cans xh og a Neth In bee reeset ral ot nomaton at bund og ou te ganesh emai oat cab elds te aby cayeey nee Seve eee ce oe ee thegone cy abut pss oe eee pacar {atthe a te Caled habits Exh has one action * downtime as there Be ‘an email update | was immediately intrigued. are limited choices. Players’ decision of what to do each turn will be based on their curent situation, when the round will end, what is being offered a the bird feeder, and the display of birds. At the beginning of the game each player has eight cubes and one is used each round to take an action. Initially each ofthe three habitats on a players board will be empty, so you need to add a bird. This isan action and each bird card shows the food it needs (which the players will need to add to the board) and the habitat that it lives in. Some birds live in multiple habi tats, so this provides a choice for placement while other bird cards have a choice of food costs, 50 you often have several options to consider. Each habitat also provides specific benefits ~ gaining food from the bird feeder (the dice tower of food dic), laying eggs, or drawing more bird cards from the dis- play. Once a bird card has been added to a habitat, when the habitat action is taken again, the main innovation in the game reveals itself which is that each bird in the selected habitat reactivates its special power. This provides a signif cant planning element to the game as the sequence of activations right (newest) to left, and each bird power can have widely diferent effects. Some powers are very simple but helpful, such as adding more bird food (one of five different types) Others may involve adding an egg to the bird selected which wil score additional Victory points at the end of the game While others may have a one-off effect. | Bird food is an important resource ‘The top habitat is how you can gather ‘more food. The greater the number of birds in this habitat the more additional food dice you can take from the bird feeder, There ate five types of food, but the dic restrict the options that you have; although if you are short ofthe correct food you can spend two for one to provide the right food for paying a bird toa hab- itt. ir food is an important resource so you cannot ignore ths f you want to add ‘more birds tothe habitats and you will.The middle habitat is where eggs ate added to the birds. The greater the ‘numberof birds in this habitat the more eggs that are added to the bird cards, subject toa limit which is shown on each card. Eggs are additional victory points at the end of the game, but are also used to pay the cost of adding birds to habitats beyond the fist bird in each habitat. They also might be one of the scaring options fora round, so you need plenty of eggs! The last habitat is used to add bird cards toa player's hand with more cards being able to be drawn for greater num: bers of birds inthis habitat, similar to the previous two habitats. Ths provides more choice for the birds that you will add, the ways in which you might use your exiting food, as well as the special power that each bird adds, some of which might be with regards to placement and one-off or, alternatively, might help to score more points for end of round goals ‘A ound concludes when each person D_testeen ihre acon hn a scar ing occurs. Points are awarded for the Value onthe bird cards, as well as mach ing the citeria for that round, such as the number of birds in a spe cific habitatorthe number of eggs ona speci nest type ~ each bird card has a nest type as wel, providing another way to score birds. | lke the fact \ that the end of round © soring options are known at the beginning of the game, which allows you to plan your actions — with these aspects in mind, Cleverly, one of the action cubes is used to mark your core in each round, so in the following round there will only be seven actions then six then five, making 26 action cube placements over the whole game. This makes the game con- ‘lude ina suitable amount of time and it does not outsty its welcome, | Not have enough depth for my personal tastes The charm ofthe game is thatthe birds are well drawn and interesting to read about ~ there's a fatoid about the bird ‘on each card, The appeal ofthe game is that the decisions are not complicated and the rules are easy to assimilate, Then there are the compo- nents which make a significant enhance ment to bath the charm and appeal. The dice tower is presented as a bird feeder, the eggs look good enough to eat, and the bird cards are really superb in presen tation and content. tis easy to see what is on each card and also easy to know what everything means even though there are many icons. These three Factors make the game extra appealing to a wide audience, as well as to regular gamers. The latter set will enjoy the variety in the ‘game, the way to add birds to different habitats and the way the bird activations work. Non-teqular gamers buy into the game's presentation and everything fits well so that the game is not difficult to understand. Ifyou puta these factors together you have a major success, and the game has had to be reprinted many times, receiv ing the plaudits it deserves for the overall impact of the game, As a gamer, Winc Paw is satisfying when everything comes together, but it does not have enough depth for my personal tastes. In the Stonemaier line | think Vincutrune and Sere are more to my tastes. Nonethe less | expect to enjoy this game for years to-come and appreciate the cre that was taken to create a game that has such vide appeal. Now | can't waitfr the next ‘game from Stonemaier Games ‘Alon How ara cd eon Poo Cesena Sobel re aero about 40 about 50 € en aed Playing appeal 7 Udo Bartsch... CChrstwart Conrad** LU. Dikus***. Stefan Ducksch Oliver Grimm**** Wieland Herold........ Harald Schrapers=**** * The Presentation deseo rating of 10 +A bidfeeder as adie tower with dice that generate fod ~ that's atu aly an extraordinary wel done real zation. The caring presentation ond the diligent esearch on 170 ciferent bids ‘makes it en fogve that the supply ‘management doesnt ft equaly wel * Prety appealing in tems of he ‘theme and the ame mechanisms but cso. bit demanding becouse it requires continuous) studying the cards Vary strong engine builder with an umasual theme, fantastic materials, and ‘avery compact paying te. So much playing fun at such a high stondard is + intresting bids (albeit ony ‘orth American ones) make for ‘wel-balonced and also thematically Canvincing course ofthe game Tactics, Some stroteay and alot of chance go ‘nel together n this game wth relatively Ile interaction, best ployed by tvee “68© & spielbox CURRENT Ja look back on four decades of “Spiel des Jahres" Successful Act of Self-Creation In 2019, Eugen Oker would have celebrated his 100th birthday. Although Oker ‘was never a member of the association discussed here, he picked up on a trend from the Anglo-Saxon countries regarding board games the 1960s. In 1964, he started to present reviews in the weekly newspaper Die Zeit. For the fist time, the idea that games could be more than an occupation for children was promi- rently promoted in Germany. be zest and Os acts Tice tes finde wen lesan esa the par ls deny nt aed atch In 1973 Ober ended fs wk a gam mim tin tne 2 unter of minions had begun oem Shue hs wrk 1978 a sal ideo thee pele dewtpel te es of 8 gaming Oa Tonk wholeyearincetea pac concep and 1573 he hs Sp des Tae (ame ofthe yen) vs avr Inobed wer Jchen Carts Haat Water tac Hess, Deter Hest Jigen te, ibe Obema, era The an fom Wet“ 3 ers ab 2 hats ay eat te ers Een os ye jest the pomapgares cttw wen Thee fot eght ed nt have ay auto al feet, ot Ske sd on} atm! byt om dhexton th jy as manage som ‘estan aber ve sn. Toe Mo were ne renin thee thse i wanted etn needed e er sem of ths aad ellesabished fd tse who om the ys ps of view did not fit, had done something \wrong or worked with the “wrong” people could forget to ever become a member, no matter their competence in board gaming The jury was lucky with its fist prize winner, HARE & ToRTISE ~ innovative game mechanics, beautiful graphics, an appealing theme, a manufacturer with a strong sales presence: What more could you want? So the premiere was aleady a commercial sucess, and nothing estab lshes a prize as quickly and stronly as the fatthat it also pays off economical ‘The shortlists of the time show that the jury had problems to find worthy laureates. The special prize for “Schénes Spiel" (beautiful game), established as cally 35 1979, often led to discussion, because beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. And consumers often con fused the award withthe actual Game of te Year, which was helped along by the ‘manufacturers concerned The ist decade was marked by a pre: erence forthe abstract game and forthe small publishing house Edition Pelhubn. Electronics also found favor in the eyes of the jury, at 2 time when computers hhad not yet established themselves as a {gaming medium. Apart from ENCHANTED Fonesr, children's games were only rarely included in the shortlist or in the beaut: ful games section. While publishers were perhaps still skeptical in the beginning, they soon recognized the huge marketing potential of the award, Without any effort on their side, it catapulted the prizewinner’s print ‘un inta the siedigit range. Journalists also found life easier after 1979: They no longer had to sift through a mountain of {games to find suggestions for the Christ- ‘mas gift page in their publications, and Gladly accepted the jury's recommenda tions, which soon became omnipresent in the media, | Ordering pallets without th Retail buyers, especially those from outside the trade, aso joined in, They could order pallets of games without even thinking and place them as an attractive offer among their other merchandise ‘Almost inevitably the Games ofthe Year became Chistmas bargains. This caused misconceptions on the part of the con- sumers about whata game typically costs and made lf harder for good games that received no prizes Of course, opinions about the chosen titles often difered, Especially in the frst fen years, fierce industry-wide discussions usually started atthe Nuremberg Interna tional Toy Fair and reached their climax after the publication of te shorts. After all there were not only 30 milion hobby national soccer team coaches in Ger: many, but also thousands of hobby jury members For its tenth anniversary, the jury introduced a licensing system to finance its work, namely forthe use of the lau- rel-rested pawn, Basis forthe calculation is the factory sales price, the turnover that a manufacturer achieves with the game, The main prize pawn witha share of approx. 5 9s the mast expensive, the others with approx. 2 96 ae cheaper to get As with many other things, the jury assumes a low profile about all these mates.Since there was soon to be a multitude of games with prited.on pawns, a poor association became a rich one, How rich, no one really knows. In any cas, there i ‘more money available than the associa tion needs for its actual work, and so it also acts as a sponsor— which filled many a games archives shelves, promoted var ious book projects and financed the Gat tingen game designer scholarship. Since 2012, the money allocation has become ‘more organized: Each year, applications can be submitted on a specific topic, in order to receive funding from the pot, which last contained 88,000 Euros. In the second decade, the games became more sophisticated. Horry Torry (1990) was followed by Serens oF Caray in 1995, Et Grane in 1996 and Tika in 1999. The shortlists in some years held eight to ten good titles. Designer card games were found there in great: num bers, but neither 6 winner nor BOHNANZA ever received the main prize. Abstract games had also lost all chances by then, ‘The favorite author of the decade was clearly Klaus Teuber, with three wins (1990, 1991 and 1995). Hans im Glick was the first small publisher to receive the red pawn in 1991 and was able to repeat this featin 1994 and 1996. Aspe al prize forthe children’s game was now awarded evety year, while the "beautiful game" disappeared in 1998. The market grew in size and demand, which gave the |uty more scope, but also more evaluation work, Naturally, after 20 years, the person nel had changed. Some founding mem bers such as Welter Luc Haas and Gilbert Obermair reed after only two years, others like Jochen Corts, Bermward Thole and Tom Wemeck remained active for more than a quarter of a century. There was never any communication about why ‘a member left or a new member joined This secrecy worthy of a papal election hhas been a recurrent theme with the red pawn association, ‘At the beginning of the third decade, the jury got rid of the shortlists. since 1999 there have now been several nom: nated titles as well asa recommendation list. Which of the nominees will receive the main prize inthe end is only decided by a secret ballot on the evening before the publication. The "Kinderspie! (chit dren's game of the year) has grown up in 2001. It now features its vin jury, its oF nominations and recommendations and Colored pawn, and the ceremony is one month earlier than the others), in order ‘to increase overall media impact. This ew target or age group-specific award ‘quickly became successful, and the blue awn achieved the same importance in its sector asits red brother, ‘The third decade also brought a notice able increase in the range of content. ‘Vita PaueTn (2002) as a simple dexter ity game was just as lauded as Dominion (2009), @ comparatively complex deck building game. Meanuile, the time of ‘great upheavals was over, and this also applied to the great excitement about the jury's decisions. Somehow everyone had become accustomed to the proce dure. Whoever received a main prize was happy; whoever missed out remained hopeful forthe future. I Striking lucky once agai The fourth decade began with the last imajr change sofa, the introduction of the “Kennerspiel” (expert game of the yea, a further differentiation acco ing to target group. Just lke with Hane & Torvos in 1979, the jury struck lucky tight from the getgo and voted for a ‘worthy and undisputed title: 7 WoNDexs With Hao, a card game was chosen for the frst time in 2013, and in 2016, after almost 30 years, another communication ‘game, Cooenaues, was awarded After four decades it can be stated that for the ovenshelming majority of the main prize winners the effect of the award was profound and lasting, For most of the runners-up: not so. much Many games have disappeared, and fom today’s point of view, even geeks would find some of them bizare. Just lke every thing else, board games ae subject to the taste of the time, In my opinion, the jury has never been totally wong. There have always been equally good, slightly better or more sult able games for specific target groups in one year or the othe, but outright wash cuts never received any pawn. {s far as the international impact of the Game of the Year is concerned, it can be observed that authors, editors and publishers in non-German speaking coun ‘ties ate guided by the jury's decisions. This isnot necessafly an advantage, as it makes them lose sight oftheir own cour: trys gaming tracitions In the end, one question almost ine itably arises: Do we stil need the Game of the Year? And there isa definite "Yes" from mel In the future, consumers will need more rather than less guidance, Shops offering competent customer sup port are disappearing fast, and more and more games are sold by mail order instead of over the counter. There are a mmytiad of blogs and forums on the inter net, but it is usually not obvious how independent they are. A pane! ike this, which has proven trustworthy forthe last 40 years, is certainly very helpful in these times. However, the association could till ‘work on its transparency ~ let's see how things turn out after 50 years In any case, Eugen Oker would be pleased with the way the gaming scene has developed, and the jury for the Game ofthe Year undoubtedly had its fair share inthis. Claus Voigt /es © ® spielboxWHAT IS BERG Laeen ee cd providing you various content: LC Coe a a ae ee ee ee CCS eM Co [ooo Unlimited satisfaction one low price Cheap constant access to piping hot media Protect your downloadings from Big brother Safer, than torrent-trackers 18 years of seamless operation and our users' satisfaction PRE to Brand new content elt et) AvaxHome - Your End Place We have everything for all of your needs. Just open https://avxlive.icuEEO eras eater Pere eee Pe en Way, provides very bad coffee - and Cee Ree La ‘and particularly my gaming experience. Ree eect ease See Doe aa mean collecting card series or progress ing along some track. Here, investigative ees Dee ea) PTET (Pe PrP PrP Cee Ty Power gamers don't read flavor texts because the small print is useless and only _ifyou getstuckin a traficjam, ifthe lab is slows them down. It doesn’t matter how this bird builds its nest. t's important understaffed, or if the evidence to exam Pee use ee ee ete ring, Now can the piece be sold? Nobody really cares how the coffee tastes at many houts the action costs after you've the police station. But who's the murderer? Cee eed Breer rors Because there is only a limited amount Cee eas ‘investigator will avoid constantly running back and forth and will group several Core a eee location. The card texts, however, seem to Cee ins that sharp. If you're already at the court Bee a gene Ma Ce sy Cee et ht) eee eng ‘to get to the relevant information ight Eee seen ae acterized) by. the fact that the group always has to detide what information erence ea esetel a Dogon eas eR sae ees Cee erg ee eee a Raia eRe eee ee ne cs tat has been dead for a longtime, his sionally repeat themselves (mord Pe eee eee ee er, a doday politician. How are they all clichés The texts are a strength, Ce De a oc re rst prints, reports files, witness statements... a sense of movement within the perenne eee eee F De ec eu dee ae een ee a ‘moving blocks on the game board. Your Creme eee Ra Cra d places, entering buildings, and meet Cee eee re always have several leads, but you canit_ to close the case by the evening. Every Pr eee Rennie eee ee se cs eae eee eae Cee RC ee Se eae Dae ee Se ee een Ce are beeen ttt for example, invari acter choice, you stat the case witha dif ably leads you to the ferent set of tokens. And you ae repeat eee a ee Ce ee eRe caer oc ee rrian psy Pu WI. 6 uly ‘sana 02estes Wolk in the footsteps of the great explorer ‘Alexander von Humboldt. Collect artefacts ‘and start spreading your newly gained knowledge.’ J : ca om pe LA as sia > Omer lam 260) Fight epic battles Assemble your Experience 12 heroes fantastic legends Pee Rt ay 4 rae KUB® spielbox CURRENT {] on the occasion of Tom Werneck's 80th birthday Expanding the Base of the Pyramid Africa expedition participant, speed reading trainer, hobby plot, manager, book author .. How does someone like that get involved with board games, and for more than half his life at that? Basically, by chance, which seems typical fr this person, what with one thing leading to another, finally resulting in an impres- sive series of oles, and eventually including game reviewer and designer as well as trade fair organizer and jury member. his domicile and workplace, you are he knows how to win over local polit amazed by the eneigetic manner cians, without ever appearing to be a of the now 80,earold. Although he loudmouth retuned his pilot’ licenses at the young age of 77, thee is no doubt about it 1 Enclosed my bank details | f you meet Tom Weineck in Haar, open manner, full of wit and selfirony, Whoever does not want this man to make When Tam Wemeck started his career itto 100 years in ft condition - will have as a board game journalist in the early 10 shoot him, 1970s, he was one of the fist of a very Werneck takes the first-time visitor to small guild in Germany. And the job was the town hall, where the "Bayersches basically born out of necessity. “I had Spielearchiv’ (Bavarian games archive) developed a game and sent it to Ravens hosts a permanent exhibition about the burger. In my awful naive innocence, | Games of the Year. Although he has wrote to them, If you copy this game, | ceased to be @ member ofthe jury years will shower you with lawsuits. n addition, ‘ago and is not even its inventor, Wemeck | expressly reserve the right to graphical feels deeply for the Game of the Year, as design of game. Enclosed are my bank if the award was his baby: "In my eyes, details” the idea has only one flaw: isnot mine", The aspiring designer asked for a con the founding member of the jury feely tract and a down payment. The answer ‘admits. But he certainly played a major came promptly, but the envelope was too part in making it a success. thin to contain the expected extensive In the cellar of the town hall, the paperwork. As Werneck recalls, Ravens- archive has storage space for games of burger editor Erwin Glonnegger (see also the archive. A few minutes avay are the sb 3/201) wrote to him: In the history actual premises, on the site of a former sanatorium, in the base mento a large, renovated dorm tory. This is where Tom Werneck pursues his teal vocation, as (game archivist. Its no coincidence that he is provided many hundred square meters free of charge, spread in Haar over several sites. After all, the Bavarian games archive land the annual “Intemationale SpieleerfinderMesse” (game inventors fait) have put the community close to Munich fon the map, if only for experts The lawyer by education has it in his blood to cultivate strong relationships. With his cheeky, ‘of mankind there have always been coin cidences. Your game already exists. I's been published by publisher X. Its called Y and casts 9.60 DM, Should you ever come up with a really good game, fee! fee to contact us again.” It took while for Favtasmscae Ba Lowreise (fantastic balloon journey) to bbe published, and meanwhile some of Wemeck’s games appeared elsewhere as Well, Actually, a crucial remark had been dropped by the editor at Heyne, as an excuse forthe late submission of a man uscript about dynamic reading, The fact that Werneck claimed to be busy design jing games then led to a whole series of {games inthe format of a paperback book and at that standard price. Among them was the curiosity Arracke (attack) ‘And the game realy deserves this att toute, because neither before nor after the revision (for the Dutch edition) did both sides have nearly the same chance of winning, as the author not the least ashamed admits 46 years later. “I made every mistake imaginable. He continues, “but unlike everyone else, | noted down every single one of them.” From this most likely impressive collection evolved the Ravensburger book Leitfaden fir Speleer finder (guide to game designers, 1993), which stil, after 25 years, contains some interesting facts Erwin Glonnegger had also mentioned in his reply that a good game designer always knew the matket. No sooner said than done, Werneck started to buy games, “I went to Obletter [toy store]Peon perro eae eed eet ere or te curious game ATTACKE and bought one copy of each game. That continued until my wife looked at me and said harshly: ‘Okay, this meanwhile takes up a lot of space, and also cost a lot of money,” The latter was easy to fx. Werneck attended the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 1970, approached some booths, explained that he was writing about board games and needed some copies, No problem. His request was granted, and again in the following year, but it came with a question: “Did you actually get our games?" In the thitd year the same question was repeated, with an added request to submit the reviews again, because they seemed to have gotten last in the office, No there was a problem ~ especially ince it was the same at every publisher. Some thing had to be done. "Next Monday | went to the editor in charge of the weekend journal of the Numberger Nachrichten, | intduced myself with "Hello, Mr. Kalasch, lam your new games reviewer’ ‘No, you are not, was his answer, and by the way, what Isa games reviewer?" Referring to films, records, theater plays and books, Wemeck argued that games were a cultural asset ~ with kind of success. "Write what you want, just go, and leave me alone’. “I considered that an assignment. | sat down, wrote, and lo and behold, next Saturday my article appeared.” Werneck had published his fist review, three years after receiving his first review copy. And he got away with it, | I could do it better Ff course, the new-born game journal ist not only immediately started review ing games of as many of the formerly neglected publishers as possible, but also promptly sent them evidence: “Here's an ‘example of my reviews..Ashorttime ater he was even invited toa press conference in Disseldor, at 3M, and thought: “Oh, they are taking me seriously!" Among the barely ten people there, Wermeck started conversation with his neighbor, about a column in the weekly newspaper Die Zeit ‘Werneck: ‘Now, that's interesting; some ‘one who knows as much about games as a cow about dancing is witing these articles" The neighbor replied: “My name is Fite Gebhard; | write under the pseud nym Eugen Oker for die Zeit, and if you can do it better, then why don't You do ‘the games corner?” Werneck: "I could do it better. | delivered my article the very next day and remained the weekly game reviewer of Die Zeit forthe next five years, ‘And Fritz Gebhard just put up with it" ‘tthe time, there were no more than a dozen people writing about games, and they all knew each other, because the industry was small. As Glonnegger later revealed, all publishers knew from day ‘one that Werneck was a scrounger, one of those that popped up in droves at every fair. But one of them would make his way. ‘Among those who already had was Bernward Thole [editors note: later also cofounder of the jury Spiel des Jahres). When the two ‘of them were introduced, Wermeck offered to share his game file cards with Thole ~ who was surprised, as he regarded all journalists as natural rvals. Werneck saw it dif forently, for everyone had theit ‘own media, "and when we share ‘our knowledge, we ate stronger four eyes see more than two." And Wereck wanted more: If there ere more than 12 journalists who wrote about games all the better: “The two of us are the top of the pyramid anyway, because we write the most; the more we broaden the base, the higher the top will ris. ‘Atthattime Tom Werneck lived in Erlan- gen, not far from the toy fair at Nurem berg. In the course of broadening the base, he invited more and more journal: ists toa fireside chat at his home during trade fair times. But despite the fireplace, the apartment was not larg, and at some point, it became too cramped and the journalist’ meeting place in Nuremberg's Bocksbeutelkeller was. established. In addition to the reviewers, he invited the cultural editors of their newspapers and magazines, as well as spokespeople for ‘the game publishers and the occasional author. In the Bocksbeutelkeller, the born networker Wemneck was in his element, at the center of attention, just lke the top of a pyramid. The journalist meeting is long gone. But the original idea that competing individuals can actually achieve more tagether than on their own has survived in the games sector, not least in the jury Spiel des Jahres of which Werneck was a member once. The fact that he is no longer a part of it and that he let some of his companions by the wayside, may be down to his character. With rough edges, goal-oriented and assertive up to the point where it hurts, he is someone ‘who still knows how to combine these traits with charm, if he chooses to. This is haw Tom Wemeck became and is an exceptional figure in the board gaming industry. ‘Matthias Hardel/cs & @spielboxDAD a ® spielbox ‘Some games are so smooth that you glide along them from beginning to end, caried along in a concept which has stemmed from the designer and been honed marvelously by the publishers, and Habana is one such game. From the moment you walkthrough the brief game explanation to the point where you complete the scoring, it feels like you'e floating down a river or rllerskating down a smooth tarmacked road, carried downhill by the quality of the concept. A SS Soa» card that they keep is either sold for coins ~ money is very enjamin Schwer has alteady _tightin Habana, more commonly, it wowed me last year with Crown is kept in their play area by placing it in cf Ewana, a game that appeared a column corresponding to its color and to have nothing particularly original adjusting the four resource tracks on their about it but which was a real pleasure player board to reflect the new resources 10 play, Hapata’s theme is slightly dis- gained from the card, appointing, with some vague references The resources inthe game are: income, to multiple cultures across the world; but which provides gold in the game to buy the game really evokes the feel of alight cards; food, which is necessary to use as ciullzation-bulding game, and of course upkeep foreach card you have purchased; the components, rulebook, and execution military strength, which is used to colo: are ofthe high quality you would expect nize; and culture which is used to build from an esteemed publisher like Hans im statues which give you a one-off ben- Gluck efit. Before they adjust the resource ‘The main element of HanaRa is the tracks according to the indications on five decks of differentcolored cards, and the cards, players must fist pay the cost within each deck the cards are divided of the card with their gold; and one neat into three epochs. During each epoch feature is that the cost is reduced by one players will go through two phases. In coin for each ather colored card already the fst phase they each simultaneously in the same column (like in the game draw two cards from each of the decks, Saint PetersBurc). Cards will also give Moving between the dets sequently you pons atthe nd ofthe game, both so that each player will end up having from the points indicated on the card cdawn from all ive decks; and after draw- itself, and also optionally from the co: ing ftom a deck they wil discard one of lection of sets of five different. colored the two cards drawn to a discard pile cards ~ an option which, of course, \which is used in the second phase. The pushes you in the opposite direction of =) Cai) ‘the ||. ‘accumulating cards of one color in order to increase the discount you get from the Saunt Pererseunc-lke mechanism, Managing production Inthe second phase, players repeat the same idea but using the cis carded pile of cards. if you have an amazing memory, you may think it would be pos sible to plan your moves by memorizing all cards discarded in the fist phase: Personally, | don't think this was the designe’ inten tion, but either way luck will determine whether you get to draw one ofthe cards you want, and your challenge is more to make the best of the cards you draw withthe decisions you male In between phase 1 and 2, and between phase 2 ard the next epoch, payers will use ther resources to buy interest ing things. In this game, payers do not spend down* resources and go back down a ac; they simply show tha they have exceeded a certain required amount of resources. In this way the tracks of resources should be thought of a5 p10: duction capac (cs)ity rather than resources owned. So, for example, food is used when players must show they have two food available for each card in their collection. If they do not, then they must discard down to the ‘numberof cards that they can afford (half oftheir food capacity) Players wl also use thei military might to conquer separate city tiles (randomized in every game) which show a required mil itary stength and a reward. Should you meet the requirement you may choose to (1) plunder the city tie or (2 flip it over, paying some gold to integrate itinto your civilization, in which case it scores more Victory points at the end of the game, Its, always advisable to integrate if you have enough gold to afford it ~ but, as | said, money is tight. Culture is used to build statues, which give points immediately and additionally allow you to select two options: to either {Get guaranteed extra points or to boost lip one of your resource tracks instead. ‘The way tis is implemented is very nice, using little windows cut into the player boards into which you plug in your choice of option Choosing scoring options At the end of the second phase play- ers have the opportunity to buy scoring ‘option "medals" which wil be used atthe end of the game, The scoring options ae either the siver medal, when you choose a tack and score halfits valu at the end ofthe game ~ in which case the appro: priate color token is again plugged into a neat litle window in the player board ta indicate the color you intend to score ~ or you may buy te gold medal, which allows you to score each set of five ait ferent-oloed cards for seven points each at the end ofthe game. These are good ‘options and the fact that the medals get more expensive each epoch will cause some pain as you debate with youself Whether you should buy medals early and lose cards that you can't afford to buy, or buy them later and hope you can afford them, Haoanais quick and tothe point. Soon you wil have een enough of the cards to decide what to focus on through to the game end when you wll then score all your cards and any medals you have man- aged to purchase. Some cards score more than others; some of the purple cards are quite quirky and lead you down all kinds of dif ferent tactical directions, making purple cards the most interesting in terms of game-to-game variability. There is room in the beautiful designed box insert for ‘mare expansions, so presumably Hans im Glick have some ideas up ther sleeves. Havas short, interesting, beautifully developed, and extremely enjoyable to play if you don't mind its lack of interac- tion between players, as it does tend to feel like you are sharing an experience rather than competing with your oppo: ents, Some may find it tough in a first playthrough, especially against experi- enced players, 35 tactics are not imme diately obvious; but most players will want to play it again and ty different techniques to score more points next time round. ‘Simon Weinberg Reviewer Playing appeal ‘Simon Weinberg 7 Udo Bartsch CChrstwart Conrad” LU. Dikus?* Stefan Ducksch. Wieland Herold. Roman Pelek*** Edwin Ruschitzka**** Harald Schrapers Holger Traczinski***** * Vary decent, but doesnt quite each ‘the evel of Crown or Euana ** Works impeccably, but thefottery ‘components somewhat out of place ‘and without ony charm. *** The game board could have Been bitless olor to alow fr more con. **** Certainly nota high-aliber game {or frequent players, buta nice ueder ‘aking with the incentive of tying out new vegies time and again. e+e Straightforward with simple ules ond good balance Systematicaly Collecting one color wks equally well (as geting many diferent color Sts for song. < © spielboxREVIEW The Taverns of Tiefenthal Pockets empty, head heavy, memories faded. The morning after a visit to the pub is full of regrets and remorse. What was | expecting? Enjoyment, fun, carefree entertainment? In the end it’s all deception and one can consider themselves lucky when the unpleasant staggering doesn't have a deeper meaning and one wakes up in their own four walls instead of shanghaied on a hulk in the wide ‘ocean, And in the evening ~ off we go again! Jf expressing these feelings of contra diction and inner conflict in a game Baas itended, then Wolfgang Warsch hit the nail on the head, But his inte: tion was probably a diferent one: enjoy ment, fun, carefree entertainment, In that regard, the fist impression is sobering, But let's stat from the beginning with a beer of two. In THe Taverns oF TeeNTHAL, players run taverns deep in the valley. Everybody leads a different pub. au Everybody wants to attract guess, especially nobles, as they count the most points, Guests. show Uup when the beer flows abundantly, therefore, the pro duction of beer is worthwhile But without staff you can't run a store. And because the staff want to be paid in cash, ‘making money is important You charge your custom fers money. Each bartender starts with a few regulars, loyal souls, but chronically broke. In each of the eight rounds of the game, you draw cards from your deck and put them on the designated spots in your pub until all tables ‘are full. This can happen after three card draws if one only {gets guests and no new tables orstaff members. After that, players roll the dice, four per person, one you can keep. The other three are used for a pub crawl or, in ‘other words, for dice draft ing. You push them on a coaster toward your neighbor who can choose one and then pass them around until all dice are chosen, And at the end, you place the dice, | Bad luck multiplies Where do you place them? The board shows spaces with specific die faces, as well s, revealed quests. The dice pr marily generate money on quest spaces which is invested in tables, sence per: sonnel, beer vendors or suppl es, Beer, onthe other hand, i served by the suppliers. One of them is printed on the board, and therefore pat ofthe inven tory, which means that you receive one beet per die used. At least, Every revealed supplier card increases the beer-e talo by one, And revealed serves? They allow for thre extra dice ta be used, which aren’ drafted but stay inhouse Therefore you reed luck nat only when you draw and reveal cards, but also when you roll the dice. Drawing many suppliers is ‘of no use when you get no ones or sixes to equip the coachmen. The neighbors rather, keeps ther six to themselves and ‘passes on only the dice that are unpop ular inthe pub. Tht’ seriously bad luck, ‘And bad luck multiplies, All open cards are discarded after usage and, like in every good deck builder, only come back into play when the deck s empty. The beer source may rot only fall, but can also dry up for along time after it has been cleared off the table Newly acquired cards are placed directly on your deck, unlike most deck builders, which can provide a lite bit of certainty in your planning, You can also repeat the card draw three times per game by discarding all cards and starting over~ tis sounds like something that could bring a lot of bal ance, but it does not always succeed in doing so. Ifyou weren't able to acquire anything {good in this round, you won't be able to draw anything good in the next one. And ifyour draw is so terrible that you discard all cards, ths aso includes your just pur chased ones. Things can go sideways already in round one. To draw only three loyal guests is not ‘even that unlikely, and if you are lucky, you end up with the three best cards of the starting deck ~ the wait ress, table, and supplier. ‘And while your fellow play- es strong cards might end up in the discard ple ealy and, there fore, build the drawing deck later on, the unlucky ones can count on redrawing the same useless cards that they did not want to have early in the game. The strong sense of fate and the emo- tions that come with it remind of War: schs! THe Quacks oF QueDun: func. Here as well one could hhave incredibly bad tuck and fend up pretty lost. But there is one big difference: You can pause the drawing of more ingredients in order to avoid the explosion of your potion. Admittedly, one wouldn't do that very often as without taking a risk yu would even win a flover pot. But you at least have the option. You make ‘choices, its in your hand, In THe TAVERNS ‘oF TieFENTHAL everyone just keeps draw: ing cards, iis solitary execution, I Quacks goes straight to point Twe TAvERNs oF TierNTHAL consists of four modules for those that want mor: more creative freedom on the one hand more resource management onthe other more rules and more time unt final scoring, While in the base game the nn keepers only have to calculate their money and beer production and decide which quests, personal and pub upgrades shouldbe pur chased, the Schnaps still flows, the tveins gain prestige and the customers senbble in the guest book This leads to other ways to dain quests, personal, and pub uparades Viewed sobery, the same happens in Tieewtwat and in Queouneunc, just 2 litle bit more complex and com plicated: In both you ty to maximize what you draw fom the deck ot pull fom the ingred ent bag. In both, your draws decide how mary resources you have in order to buy materials andstrengthen our deck Quacis goes straight 10 the point. To boat it aso con tains a catchup mech anism. In. Toe Teas Of Teena, there are two cutencies, money and beer, and the dice add an addtional uncertainty — factor. The added mecha nisms and drafting do not necessafly create more finesse Inthe beginning phase, all players need the same die values. Variety of interest isn't revealed until later in the game This can make it predictable in regards ta which dice are chosen and which are passed on, But a tavern is the wiong place for sober observations n spite of hangovers, you feel drawn back/One more try? Sure, yu can do one more. And one more after ‘that. There is still room for improvement. With the dice rolling and with your own tactics, too, For example, by buying more tables next time so that you get through yur deck of cards faster. Or to radically ban all your loyal regulars in order to get rid ofall weak cards once and for all Or by increasing beer production in order to eam bonuses through the guest book Or. Or ‘And even the fateful ness is captivating, The longing forthe big coup. The til of not knowing if the next drawn caid wil be a quest and, therefore, end the game, or the hoped for side table which triggers a gigantic chain reaction. Aside from several failures, THe Taveans OF TieFENTHAL always “gives successes, too. At some point the beer and money will start flowing. You get rch and can buy all kinds of stuff, even ift is just for the moment. Tue TaveRNS oF TierenTHAL lives off its immersive theme, atmo- spherically put into place by Dennis tohausen. The game offers the emotions of an evening with a little bit too much to drink: heart break and joy, sorrow and tiumph. No matter what: Cheers, let's drinkto it! The crowdedness at the bar, the variety and the unpredictability all ft perfectly int the settings. Here the party is happening, here it’s going down, there isn't much to worry about. You cannot ‘aleulate and predict everything that will happen ina night at the pub. But you do hope, something will happen and you don't want to missit. Oh, who can explain Why we so eagerly chug ths bitter swll called beer? Thete might be some kind of secret magic behind hops and malt. Probably alcohol. Similarly, i's hard to grasp why exactly THE TAVERNS OF TiereNTHAL fas: cinates. Hidden behind tactic and luck there might be some kind of secret magic, aptly cast by Warsch. Udo Bartsch/dm ean rd Torre Pern te) oy eee are See ty ceed Reviewer Playing appeal Udo Bartsch 7 CChistwart Conrad. LU. Dikus .. Stefan Ducksch..... Matthias Hardel**. Wieland Herold. Harald Schrapers*** 4 Holger Traczinski**** 7 = The physical implementation helps the theme immensely The double uk factor (Cards and dice lets the production engine star unevenly ery. afer that things get more balanced nthe base ‘game this isn't notceble unt the en, ‘but module 3 makes this painful obw fous Module I 's absolutly sufficient the added rules m the other nes dont add any more fur ** Gadly with all modules +7 Fay solitaire and luck diven tke Quack, but signiicandy more fastidous without reaching elegance "789 Notes concem the base game. ‘Aading the modules decease the ‘appeal for meas it waters down the coe feements: deck building and dating [[movern GAME ELEMENTS [Jvexterity dice-rolling Some people love to roll the dice. But if you are obliged to roll them, thisis considerably less wel liked. Even though it is elatively harmless, it's not to everybody's taste to roll the dice as an action in order to survive on the game board or at least make progress. Recently, Lady Luck’ willing helpers have ‘even been used as personnel in the game. And for quite a while, oli Quentin Kansi, born in Man- hattan, can be considered the pioneer of the subgenre of battle dice games. Once a very active book writer and game inventor, he used to call himself “Prince” after marry- ing @ Hawaiian princess. In 1983, he self-published his game KRAKATOA under his label Xanadu Leisure with a print run of 500 copies. A few years ago, Eagle-Gryphon Games made it publicly available again (to the cha- gin of collectors) through a successful Kickstarter campaign, The game comes with three differ: ent-colored sets of three dodecahe- drons, Five sides show blue dots, four have red ones, and three, yellow ones. Contlating with these different fre quencies, a yellow three-of the-same- kind in one of the three dice colors, a socalled Krakatoa, scores ten points whereas a Vesuvius of three times red scores only half as many points, and a blue Mauna Loa not more than three Points. Then the active player may roll four more times and write down these results as well But aftr the fist ol, hes limited to the dice of one color, he has to roll all of them simultaneously in such a way that at least one die in a different color gets struck and thus is tuned over or at least moved a few centimeters. The illustrated instructions even show dif ferent throwing techniques; however, as in biliands, it takes some time to master them. But if somebody is will ing to spend ths time, he may then feel competent enough even to manage the elaborate special rules forthe point scoring Tancers, by Wilfied Fort (Zoch, 2017), however, is aimed at direct confrontation, Each of the two to six players gets three ordi- nary dice that he initially piles up on a base of the same color Now, in turn, everybody tries to flick his top die onto one of the three targets in the middle of the table and, at the same time, to knock other players’ dice off. IF this causes another die to fall off the pile or ifthe die slides instead of rol ing, you lose this die. ftwo of your dice show the same number, you may use ‘one of these for another attempt. Ifa die lands in the center of a target, you score an immediate victory point. The player who has the highest total [translator's note: according to the German rules; the English rules speak of the the highest unique value] there obtains a score dsk that he puts under his base and that might give him ‘one victory point from the end of the next round on ~ which makes other ‘ players envious. If somebody manages to flick a die onto such a disk despite the slightly longer distance, he may immediately place it under his own base, hoping to stil be able to be its proud owner at the end of the round, Things get even rougher in Cuse (Quest, by Gary and Oliver Sibthorpe, a ‘game that was part ofthe product ine (of Kosmos for a short time, under the ‘onomatopoeic ttle Rumust. Because of its size, the three-part area ‘mat would probably have to be rolled out on the floor in many households; but that is something partic Ulaly appealing to chil dren, the primary target‘group. Both players send ‘out an army of cubes into battle; this army consists of a king, some knights, and numerous trols ‘The objective is to break your way through the enemiy lines and finaly cap ture the opposing king by shooting him offthe mat. If such a cubic warrior ends up on his ‘opponents terrain after this finger-lick ing and the cube shows an empty side, the player has to use this cube like a die and roll it for atest. The chances of avoiding such atest or atleast passing it ate considerably bigger for knights (with only one passive side) than for trolls, since these are depicted on only two of their si cube sides. A misthrow leads to captivity, otherwise, the warrior succeeds in escap ing to his home castle. A number ‘of cubes with special abilities enables a player to muster the army as he likes, provided he can pay the costs, ‘At the same time as Tancers, DoPret X (Schmidt Spiele), by Christian Fiore and Knut Happel, came out In this game, each player has only one special die with num: bers from one to three plus an "x" that, along with a neutral die, he throws into the arena (the game box). Dice that do not fall into one of the numerous holes score more or less points, depend: ing om the sector they land on, or even ‘cause a deduction of points. Other play: ‘ars dice that have not been sunkas aside ‘effect are also included in the scoring to the benefit oftheir owners IF in keeping with the title ~ at least ‘two dice show an "X" their owners are rewarded with extra points, whereas all ‘other players go away empty-handed. To sive players who are not curently repre sented in the arena the opportunity to be involved, they can use one of their dice tp place a bet on the outcome of the upcoming throw. In Gavin Bimbaum’s JamSumo (Cubiko Games, 2014) also, a hole in the middle ofthe playing area is ‘of central importance. The game is divided into two parts: In the “Jam phase, you strive to be the first to flick all your dice into the hole in the center ofthe massive hand-made wooden board, so that your opponents get minus points for their remaining dice. In the “sumo” phase, however, all dice start out fn the board and you ty to flick opposing dice into the hole or off the board. As soon as one colors no longer present the players who have dice left score points Srwune, by Dieter NuBle (Ravensburger, 2012) tums into a wild skirmish based on the “last man standing” prin ple, Here, players don't elegantly flick the dice, but generally throw fone after another energetically into the arena that is covered with thin foamed plastic. Last year, the company published another version, revised also in terms of content, lunder the more dashing title Impact Barre oF E.ewents, Each player starts with a handful of special dice, Any dice that show their empty side after the throw are lost imme- diately. The active player may take all dice with identical symbols, and this ends his tur, Only if all the dice show different symbols may he continue throwing dice and maybe collecting more than he has used so far. What's new compared to the original version are the effects that come with the different elements; they can be activated one ata time or all at once. In Heinz Meiste’s Yav! (Novis, 2012), the arena, printed on a sheet of paper, is divided into an 8-by-8-space arid. After the fist roll with al three dice, you enter the total result in any space that one ofthe dice touches. Fram now on, you may reall in order to improve the result. Ifyou fal, you have to cross out one space that you had already occupied. But if you succeed in placing 2 valid result next to adja cent opposing spaces with lower values, you'll have the pleasure of crossing their results out. As soon as one row or column is completed, the game ends. The player ‘who has occupied the most spaces wins; in case of ate, the highest total decides. MoNoniaN - THE Dice GaMe, by Israel Cendrero and Sheila Santos, was released by the Spanish company Tranjis Games. Here the playing area is formed with up to G-by-6 square cards that are designed in the style of the famous painter. Accord ing to the specifications on their color N ® spielboxN ® spielbox palette, players throw, flick or drop their ~ initially two; in the final round, five ~ dice onto the playing area and, in doing 0, hunt for particularly point-potent cards. To pick a card, the number on your die there has to be equal or higher than the value of this card; if need be, sup: plemented by one of your hand cards. IF there is another player's die on the card, you have to expel or outbid him. ‘The player with the fewest cards after four rounds determines how many cards each participant can use for his pictorial composition, Besides y the basic values, majorities in the differ ent colors give you different numbers cof bonus points; therefore, not knowing the opponents’ plans, you need to con sider carefully what colors to use for this that there, unconventional “paint-by-numbers.” coins slide calmly across ‘Tumaun’Dice,byRandyNash,selfpub- an even surface, whereas lished in the USA in 2004, has mean- here, sharp-edged cubes start bouncing hile become available in three sizes; with every change of level and are accord since 2008, it has been in the product ingly difficult to control, But that doesn't line of the French company Fert. Depend mean that everything is put into Lady ing on the number of players, everybody Luck’ hands. Instead, Pallas Athena, the gets four or five Caars dice of one color. goddess of dexterity, also has a sayin the They are launched from a small pedestal matter. With her help, you manage over ‘and then make their way on the terraced time to adjust the impulse when flicking board ~ preferably far down to the most the dice so exacty that, within a certain profitable levels, since the number of the bandwidth, you can anticipate the direc- level multiplied by the number onthe die ton, distance, and spin, will be the score. ‘A good feel forthe exact distance that Thisis reminiscent ofthe procedures on the dice need to cover from one end of a shuffleboard, withthe difference being the table tothe target zone atthe ather end is also required in Dice Denet, by Bryce McNalley (Big Show Creations, 2016). The two players (or teams) can place separate target zones on oppo- site sides, so that they don't get in ‘each other's way. In this game, the score is also determined by the umber on the die multiplied by the value of the zone you have reached. The result can be improved through cards you obtain if adie shows the "Dice Derbi logo. With his KOnic oer Mauuworeet (Zach, 2002), Ginter Burkhardt invites players to a very odd race along a course that they can set up freely, as they lke, Before the game starts, players ‘assemble several com: ponents to create the participants of the race, the socalled dic- mouths; this ensures that no two look the same, Elements that differ are, among others, the angle ofthe ramp, the shape of the die, the range of valid values, and the number of hand cards that let you influence the course of the game. You use your die by letting it oll down the ramp. Ifthe roll is valid, you may advance your dicemouth to the spot where your die has come to rest Stefan Schranz’ game Soiesa (Kosmos, 2017) is reminiscent of Boule; the six snowball sized soft dice are espe- cially intended for outdoor use. In order to score the total of the numbers on the dice, you need to it the target die. And each player takes his five throws immedi ately, one after another. What | haven't ‘been able to figure out, though, is why such a game has to make do with a title made up from an artificial word without any deeper meaning and without any associative potential How severely expectations raised by the ttle can go wrong is proved by Duet nc Dice, Barn Dice, and Dice Wan ~ all these games have nothing at all to do with dexterity regarding the use of the dice. Sometimes, high-speed simul taneous dice-olling by all players is in demand; another time, dice with difer ent numbers of sides are used as combat nits. Or players simply try to get better results in order to snatch the dice away from one another. But this is nothing that should bother dedicated dice artists too much, given the fact that the range of games in this genre is considerable anyway, LU. Dikus/sbw