Board Gaming - Paperback, Alhambra, Crossfire

This was the most recent Thursday night board gaming that I did, with the regular event being on break and me being too distracted by other things to organise myself to go to one of the alternatives that I know about.

Paperback

^{Source - PaperbackGame - that would be a pretty decent word to play!}

Like word games? Like deck building games? Then this might be a game for you. All the players start with the a deck that contains the same 10 letter cards, and there is a common letter available for everyone to use. Draw 5 cards, make a word using as many of the letters in your hand and the common letter. Some of the letters you start with increase your purchase power by 1, and so does the common letter. Buy a new card (or cards) with your purchasing power. The cards you can buy all vary in price, what letter(s) they are, and special ability. Some allow you to get rid of a card from your deck making it more streamlined, others allow you to treat a card as a wildcard, and some just add a bonus to your purchasing power that turn. Some hinder your opponents too, by making them draw 1 less card, or not being able to make words over a certain length. Some of the cards are multiple letters that are commonly used together, such as CH or AN, which are helpful at getting longer words, which let you claim the common card for yourself, and reveal the new common letter that needs a longer work to claim.

Lastly there are the wildcards that can be bought, which are the method of ending the game also. They have 4 different costs, 4 different victory point values, and don't add anything to your purchasing power when you use them. Winner is the person who's deck has the most victory points in it.

^{Source - BoardGameReviewsByJosh - The supply of different letters you could buy at this point in the game}

I found this to be quite a good game, and it makes you think reasonably quickly about what words you can make with a handful of letters and possibly wildcards (you start with some that are worth nothing). Make sure you have some vowels in your deck though, as they're kind of essential!

Alhambra

^{Source - Hooded Hawk - End of a 2 player game}

As one of the players, you're going to be building the alhambra. You each are building your own complex, centred around your own fountain. To do this you acquire currencies, purchase buildings, and place them where they fit. You are hoping to have a majority of each of the different colours of buildings, as well as constructing the largest continuous wall around the outside before each of the scoring timings happen. 2 scoring points trigger during the deck (once between 20% and 40% of the way through, and once between 60% and 80%) and the final scoring happens when there are no more building tiles to add to the market after a purchase.

^{Source - He Says, She Says - A pretty good Alhambra with a long wall going most of the way around it}

I've enjoyed this game for a while, including introducing my parents to it and having them enjoy it (though not nearly as much as Ticket to Ride, which I should write about at some point). It requires some planning, and knowledge of how many and which colours to target to score more than your opponents. in the first scoring phase, only the leader of each colour scores, along with everyone's wall. In the second phase, coming second also scores, but first scores more, and in the final scoring, 3rd also scores, but first and second are more again. Targeting the rarer colours means you're more likely to secure the most, but they also are worth the least, so it's a balancing act. In a 4 player game, I like to win 2 colours, and at least place in 2 more. And never neglect your wall. It can be just as good as another best in colour early on, and better than some second places still in the late game.

Crossfire

And again I found myself playing a deception game. This time around we are all operatives for one side or another in a single round deadly assassination attempt. The good guys want to get the VIP through alive, the assassins want them dead. Optional characters: The decoys (if they're in the game) just want to get shot by the opposition, The bomber wants to not get shot so they kill everyone and win at the end. The sniper plays for the good guys, and picks off 3 players after the brief discussion round.

^{Source - Dice Tower News - The basic combatants, as well as a bystander and the bomber}

The interesting part of this game for me is the set up. everyone is dealt a role. After they've looked at it, they pass it left. After they've looked at the new role, groups of 3 players shuffle their cards together and deal them out among themselves. You now have your actual role, and knowledge of 2 other existing roles and some idea of where they could have ended up. I think the timer is 3 minutes, but it could be 2, and once that's done, everyone points at who they want to shoot. Unarmed people put their targets down. then the good guys shoot. then any remaining assassins shoot. If the VIP is alive, the good guys win, otherwise the bad guys do (unless one of the special characters exists and they might have won/won as well).

^{Source - Plaid Hat Games - Some of the other optional characters}

I didn't mind the game too much, as it was very quick for each round, but it's certainly not the sort of game I'll go out of my way to play, except to fill in a few minutes until the next game/end of the evening's session. Others seem to really love the type of game, which is why at least one of them gets played every week or 2.

Previously I covered Concordia and Barenpark.