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watsonsecond | 1 Jul 2006 03:24
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Re: 2005 Meeples Choice Awards

--- In spielfrieks@..., "Mike Chapel" wrote:
>
> > 1. Caylus – 92  (83)
> > 2. Louis XIV – 42  (62)
> > 3. Shadows over Camelot – 38  (51)
> 
> Interesting. The first two were a no brainers, but the third 
> suprised me. "Shadows over Camelot", a game that I had mild 
> interest in and fun playing once, and really have no interest in 
> playing ever again.

I actually didn't consider Louis a no-brainer, Mike, even though it 
was my favorite game from last year.  It's only the fifth highest 
ranked 2005 game on the Geek (Caylus, Twilight Struggle, TtR:E, and 
Railroad Tycoon all have considerably higher ranks) and there was a 
goodly number of folks who complained about the endgame mechanic.  In 
my pre-vote predictions, I did pick it to make the final three, for a 
variety of reasons, but I thought the odds for it were only about 2-1.

My third pick was Shadows, even though the odds now fell to probably 
a little under 50-50.  Shadows' Geek rating is very close to Louis' 
and it made quite a splash when it first came out.  I felt that 
Shadows would probably be in the mix for the third spot and that's 
how it turned out.  That it managed to make the Top Three was gravy, 
but even if it had swapped spots with TtR:E, I would have felt my 
reasoning was justified.

I thought the biggest competition for Shadows would be Twilight 
Struggle (a big X factor, since it lacked coverage, but those that 
like it, like it a LOT), TtR:E (I'm surprised how many folks consider
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Mike Chapel | 1 Jul 2006 04:02
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Re: Re: 2005 Meeples Choice Awards

I expected Caylus to finish first no doubt.

I had a feeling That either RR Tycoon or Louis would have taken the second
and third spot, and maybe a chance Antike.

I "would" have expected Shadows to win a BGG vote, but not a spielfrieks
vote. So it did surprise me. I found it lacking in the replayability arena,
and somewhat too linear to be taken seriously.

I myself picked Caylus, Antike, and Elasund. I didn't think Elasund would
win a top three spot, as there just wasn't enough talk about it. But I loved
it!

My Darkhorse picks in the 10 were "Indonesia, Ars Mystorium and Manifest
Destiny" but didn't expect them to really make it.

Mike C. --

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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W. Eric Martin | 1 Jul 2006 05:44

Eurogames in the news

I was searching Google news for board game mentions, then put in "Rio 
Grande Games" for fun and was surprised to see Thurn & Taxis show up. 
Going to the page, I was even more surprised to find that I wrote the blurb!

In late April, I had handed in a long article on cool new games to the 
New Haven Advocate, then heard from my editor that the mag was going to 
run tiny blurbs from the article in its "Advocations" section about new 
media. Looking through the archives I see:

Thurn & Taxis
http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/Lifestyle/content?oid=oid:159965

Mission: Red Planet
http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/Lifestyle/content.html?oid=oid:159344

Handy
http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/Lifestyle/content.html?oid=oid:158706

You Must Be An Idiot!
http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/Lifestyle/content.html?oid=oid:158066

Caylus
http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/Lifestyle/content.html?oid=oid:157102

Times Square
http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/Lifestyle/content.html?oid=oid:156450

Ticket to Ride: Marklin
http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/Lifestyle/content.html?oid=oid:155522
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Dale | 1 Jul 2006 16:26
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Re: Origins reports

Thanks for the Origins report Chris!

I was interested in your comment about size versus GenCon since I've never
been to Origins but have been to many GenCons. (I briefly met you there two
years back http://www.chrisbrooks.org/2004/08/22/GenCon2004Day2.aspx
halfway down report at your Memoir 44 demo.) How would you compare the two
for raw gaming experience? It seems like I hear more podcast and blog talk
about Origins than GenCon so I've been toying with the idea of substituting
Origins next year.

Dale

>Hi folks,
>
>I'm posting some reports and photos from my short stint at Origins this year.
>
>Photos:
>
>http://www.flickr.com/photos/91603829 <at> N00/sets/72157594181055051/
>
>Postings (so far):
>
>http://www.chrisbrooks.org/2006/06/29/Origins2006Day1.aspx
>http://www.chrisbrooks.org/2006/06/30/Origins2006Day2.aspx
>
>Cheers,
>

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Ted Cheatham | 1 Jul 2006 19:41
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RE: Origins reports

Dale, the convention dealer room is much bigger at Origins.  However, I
think the board gaming area and open gaming is stronger at Origins.  If you
are looking (Like I do) to spend most of your day in the dealer room then
GenCon may be the winner.

Ted Cheatham

tedcheatham <mailto:tedcheatham@...>  <at> gmail.com

304-345-9244

  _____  

From: spielfrieks@...
[mailto:spielfrieks@...] On
Behalf Of Dale
Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 10:26 AM
To: spielfrieks@...
Subject: Re: [spielfrieks] Origins reports

Thanks for the Origins report Chris!

I was interested in your comment about size versus GenCon since I've never
been to Origins but have been to many GenCons. (I briefly met you there two
years back http://www.chrisbro
<http://www.chrisbrooks.org/2004/08/22/GenCon2004Day2.aspx>
oks.org/2004/08/22/GenCon2004Day2.aspx
halfway down report at your Memoir 44 demo.) How would you compare the two
for raw gaming experience? It seems like I hear more podcast and blog talk
about Origins than GenCon so I've been toying with the idea of substituting
(Continue reading)

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Chris Brooks | 1 Jul 2006 19:48
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Re: Origins reports

On 7/1/06, Ted Cheatham <ted_cheatham@...> wrote:
>
> Dale, the convention dealer room is much bigger at Origins.  However, I
>  think the board gaming area and open gaming is stronger at Origins.  If you
>  are looking (Like I do) to spend most of your day in the dealer room then
>  GenCon may be the winner.
>

(Good to hear from you Dale!  I definitely remember meeting you.)

I agree with Ted.  The exhibit hall is much smaller than GenCon - it
felt about a third the size of GenCon.  Plus, without WOTC there it
was missing some of the dramatic flair like full-size replica tanks.

The open gaming, though, is much better.  GenCon would do well to
adopt a War/Board Room model like Origins.  I've always had a hard
time finding open board gaming at GenCon - there isn't the same sense
of community.

-Chris

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Dave Eisen | 1 Jul 2006 21:12
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Re: 2005 Meeples Choice Awards

--- In spielfrieks@..., "Mike Chapel" <spielfriek <at> ...> wrote:
>
> I expected Caylus to finish first no doubt.
> 
> I had a feeling That either RR Tycoon or Louis would have taken the
second
> and third spot, and maybe a chance Antike.
> 
> I "would" have expected Shadows to win a BGG vote, but not a spielfrieks
> vote. So it did surprise me. I found it lacking in the replayability
arena,
> and somewhat too linear to be taken seriously.
> 

Shadows surprised me as well. A lot of gamers, myself included, wanted
to like it. But it just didn't work for a lot of us and now rarely
hits the table. Maybe the fact that every one of us on the list has
played it at one point or another helped its ratings.

Caylus and Louis XIV were no-brainers, even if I didn't vote for Louis
myself. It is clear a lot of people like that one.

And yes, Antike does have endgame issues. I still like it a lot and
still voted for it.

Dave.

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Dale | 1 Jul 2006 22:33
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Re: Origins reports

Hi Guys,

>(Good to hear from you Dale!  I definitely remember meeting you.)

Must be seeing a young guy with grey hair (<- 1 point...Identify the lie
here). :)

>I've always had a hard time finding open board gaming at GenCon

I've had the same feeling. While there is ton's to do (dealer room, Hong
Kong & Anime flics, miniatures, CCGs (not my cup of tea), etc.) I've had
problems just walking up and finding someone to just play something. I just
don't like to plan out my playing time via the schedule. A pocket full of
generic tickets will only get someone so far. The best thing I've found to
do is hang out at the Rio Grande booth in the dealer's room but that's only
good for the daytime.

> missing some of the dramatic flair like full-size replica tanks.

That *was* pretty cool. I didn't really care for the A&A game though.

>> Dale, the convention dealer room is much bigger at Origins.

Ted, I'm going to take this to mean bigger at GenCon?

Thanks for your feedback guys! Maybe bump into you at GenCon.

Dale

>On 7/1/06, Ted Cheatham <ted_cheatham@...> wrote:
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Mark Jackson | 1 Jul 2006 23:55
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Re: Re: 2005 Meeples Choice Awards

I knew Caylus would win... but I haven't played it yet, so I didn't care.

I played Louis XIV once and while there was nothing wrong with the
game (the endgame stuff didn't bother me), there was nothing
particularly overwhelmingly good in it, either. It was a sophisticated
version of Alladin's Dragons.

Shadows I enjoyed the first five times, but I fully expect it to drop
off the radar in the next two years.

I, OTOH, thought that Elasund, Ark & Vegas Showdown all deserved
notice - but I was pretty sure that none of them would make the top
three. (I thought MAYBE Elasund might get it, but no such luck.)

--

-- 
mark
aka fluff daddy
http://www.theswitchingyard.com
http://akapastorguy.blogspot.com

I've hired you to help me start a war. It's an prestigious line of
work, with a long and glorious tradition..
    -- The Princess Bride --

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Ted Cheatham | 2 Jul 2006 00:21
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RE: Origins reports

Ooops...sorry yes...the dealer room is much bigger at GenCon....sorry about
that.

Ted Cheatham

tedcheatham <mailto:tedcheatham@...>  <at> gmail.com

304-345-9244

  _____  

From: spielfrieks@...
[mailto:spielfrieks@...] On
Behalf Of Dale
Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 4:34 PM
To: spielfrieks@...
Subject: Re: [spielfrieks] Origins reports

Hi Guys,

>(Good to hear from you Dale! I definitely remember meeting you.)

Must be seeing a young guy with grey hair (<- 1 point...Identify the lie
here). :)

>I've always had a hard time finding open board gaming at GenCon

I've had the same feeling. While there is ton's to do (dealer room, Hong
Kong & Anime flics, miniatures, CCGs (not my cup of tea), etc.) I've had
problems just walking up and finding someone to just play something. I just
(Continue reading)

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Gmane