We had our kinda-monthly Game Day today, with a dozen plus friends and families breaking out games (and eating and drinking and socializing). Here’s what I played:
Runes & Regulations
⚫⚫⚫⚫⚪ – Ease of Play
⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪ – Replayability
⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪ – Fun
Everything about this game should be right. It’s a close cousin to “Unstable Unicorns,” but framed around magical home-owners trying to let their mythical creatures out on the front lawn, and the various objections that neighbors (other players) and the HOA (the game) raise.
The cards are cute in pictures and text, the premise is amusing, and the mechanics all feel good, but, ye gods, this game is wildly unbalanced. Five by-no-means stupid or ungamed players went through this 30-60 minute game for two hours, if not longer, and none of us were able to put more than three creatures on our lawns for more than a partial round. Other players can whack you back to square one far too easily, and if they don’t, the game (through the spinner randomizing element) will.
Quite honestly, as packaged, this game feels broken. We speculated on some straightforward ways to improve it (ditch the spinner, for one), but, honestly, if you want a game that feels like Unstable Unicorns … get that, not this.
Elder Signs
⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪ – Ease of Play
⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪ – Replayability
⚫⚫⚫⚫⚪ – Fun
Another complex, token-and-card-heavy Defeating the Arising Elder Gods game. Cooperative, but could easily also be run solitaire (the assistance other characters can provide you is limited; most of what other players provide is advice on what to do next). Player Characters must engage in and defeat different rooms, rolling specialty dice and trying to match patterns, with various extra abilities provided by items, clues, and innate character abilities, all the while dealing with a ticking clock bringing the group ever-closer to the arrival of the Old One that will eat everything.
Fun times.
The game is full of fiddly bits and special rules, though the basic mechanics aren’t difficult. Lots of random elements (the dice) keep things variable, which is probably good, as it helps cover for the plethora of factors that need to be dealt with.
Not a game I would go out of my way to play again, but certainly one I’d play again given the opportunity.
Tales of the Red Dragon
⚫⚫⚫⚫⚪ – Ease of Play
⚫⚫⚫⚫⚪ – Replayability
⚫⚫⚫⚫⚪ – Fun
Fun up-to-four player game as fantasy adventurers hang out at the tavern after the big dungeon crawl, and try to drink each other under the table — interspersed with fierce gambling games. Run out of money, and you’ll be tossed out. Pass out, and your “friends” will rifle your pockets.
The rules are pretty easy (there are a few nuances that could use a bit more explanation), and the cards for each player character (priestess, wizard, fighter, rogue) provide enough color to make them stand out as separate characters. While it’s possible to be knocked out of play, it’s likely by the time one character falls, others will be close, and the game will be over pretty quickly.
This game has several expansion sets, adding additional characters and rule mechanics, which is good.
We’ve played this before, and I recommend it as a fine Game Day game.