Game Review: Palm Island by Portal Dragon

Palm Island designed by Jon Mietling and published by Portal Dragon

Palm Island came from an idea that was profound in its paradoxical promise--what if there were a table-top game that didn't need a table? Not even an airplane tray-table or a car dashboard? This game is a small deck of cards (17) that the player holds in their hand. As play proceeds, cards are turned to the side, flipped upside down, or flipped over to show the player's progress. Thematically, the player is developing their tropical island from primitive conditions to a higher state of development. Don't expect skyscrapers here, but do look forward to developing nicer homes and houses of worship.

The game play is remarkable simple. Cards are oriented in their starting position, with a little sun symbol in the top left corner that also includes the card number. 

Canoe cards, the second one is in the wrong orientation!

The round tracking card

Then they are shuffled and the round tracking card is placed at the back. The player looks at the first two cards and has the choice of activating either card and moving it to the back OR of moving the first card to the back in an upright position. There are three possible activations (though some cards have zero, one, or two options):

1. Store--a green arrow pointing left indicates the card should be rotates 90 degrees clockwise and put in the back of the deck. The resource or resources listed on the top of the card can now be used to pay for activations.
2. Rotate--a yellow upside down U arrow indicates the card should be rotated 180 degrees and put in the back of the deck. The card now has a better power or is worth more victory points (or maybe both!).
3. Flip--a blue circular arrow indicates the card should be flipped over and put in the back of the deck. Again, the card has an upgraded power or victory points or both.

Activations typically have a cost printed next to the arrow symbol (unless it says "Free" of course). 

A Canoe House that used its Store activation

The game proceeds as the player generates resources and upgrades the various cards, like the Canoe House (to get more fish) or the Quarry (to get Stone) or the Temple (to get more victory points). If a resource card (i.e. one at a 90 degree angle) ever is the top card of the deck, that resource has to be used immediately or it is lost--the card goes to the back of the deck straight up. So it's important to spend those resources! Also, the player is only allowed to have four resource cards at a time, forcing occasional tactical decisions. 

By the end of eight rounds (which is going through the deck eight times), the island is in much better shape than when the player started. Victory points (listed in the middle of the card next to a yellow star) are counted up.

In my first game, I scored 38 points, which seems like a lot for a first time. That's Exceptional according to the rule book chart, two points below Astounding, which is 40+ points. Maybe I was doing something wrong? Or I just had a preternatural grasp of the game? I double checked the rules and think I might have not been putting rotated or flipped cards in the back of the deck. Playing again, I scored 33 points, so still a very good score. Things evened off after that, scoring in the high twenties.

The game includes special feat cards that can be added to the original deck to make the game different. One cards lists all the feats and different criteria for each feat. The feats add new goals and powers to the solo game and provide a little extra variety. The first listed is "Statue of Trust" and is earned with a score of 30 or higher.

Feat index and a couple of the cards (click to enlarge)

The game includes a second deck of 17 cards to play cooperatively or competitively. In cooperative mode, the players select a disaster card (Famine, Eruption, or Hurricane) and must collect resources to defeat those cards. They also have the option of adding Cooperative Ability cards to make things more interesting. In competitive mode, one player randomizer their deck and then the other player matches the randomization, using the card numbers in the top left corner. The players add some Outpost cards and optionally some Villagers that can be bought at the end of rounds, if they have the resources. I did not try any of the two-player modes, so I can't comment on them.

The game also includes a nice, sturdy wallet to carry the game around, like on vacation or running errands. There's even a "Plastic Card" edition for extra durability.

I have enjoyed my plays of this game solo and look forward to trying out the feats, when I start earning them.

Recommended.

Game Review: Unsurmountable by Button Shy Games

Unsurmountable: A Scott Almes Solo Game published by Button Shy Games

Unsurmountable challenges the player to build a continuous path up a mountain. The game only has eighteen cards, so resources are limited (one of the cards is a rescue helicopter). Play starts with a "base camp" which is a row of five face-up cards. The rules are simple. The player can either place the leftmost card of the base camp on the mountain or use an ability listed on the other cards (the card with the ability gets discarded, so use wisely). The mountain is built up as a triangle--cards can only go on higher levels if there are two adjacent cards beneath it. The bottom row has a limit of four cards, the next a limit of three, the next a limit of two, and only one on the top.

A completed mountain with base camp

As the cards are put down, the paths don't have to connect. It's okay to have dead ends or cards that are not part of the ascent. The path has to start from the bottom edge of the mountain and go all the way up to the middle of the top card (the top card does not need the path exiting on the very top). The helicopter is set aside as a one-use ability--the player can take a base camp card and put it on the bottom of the draw deck. The challenge of the game is to plan ahead in using the cards to build the path or switch things around with the abilities.

Once a player is more familiar with the cards (both the types of paths and the various abilities), the game offers higher levels of difficulty, e.g. starting with a four-card base camp or having no repeating features on each level or each edge. The cards have a feature icon at the top of the ability, an image of either a yeti, a mountain, a lake, a camp, or a tree. See the samples below.

Click to enlarge

When I bought the game, I also purchased two expansions: Big Climb and Dual Peaks.

Expansions!

Big Climb adds six cards with new symbols (flags and seracs, which are icy crags). The player has to build a mountain with a five-card mountain base, adding an extra level and thus more challenge.

Finished, even with a four-card base camp!

Dual Peaks provides two extra cards and a different challenge, starting with a five-card mountain base but finishing with trails connecting to two different peaks. The trails can overlap but don't have to. The solution below has both trails ending unnecessarily off the top of the peaks. Also, each trail could start at the same point and use the second-row, third-from-the-left card to connect both mountain tops. It's okay to go down and then back up to get around!

A Dual Peak solution

The game plays quickly (in about ten minutes) and is a lot of fun, especially trying to plan ahead with the cards. Making a trail isn't too hard until you start using the other limitations (like only one type of card per level or per side), adding more things to plan ahead for. I found myself not using the helicopter. It's nice thematically but the base camp would have to have be a bad combination to make it feel necessary.

Recommended for some solo gaming fun!

Game Review: Unlock! Series

After playing The House on the Hill as part of our twelve games of Christmas, we tried another Unlock! game. This one, called The Island of Doctor Goorse, has players divided into two teams as they parachute onto the eponymous island and land in two different areas.

Excited to try it!

The first several puzzles are separate but the groups eventually come together. We enjoyed that a lot, though one group was a lot slower than the other. On our first play, we missolved a puzzle halfway through and wound up out of order. We realized the problem pretty quickly and put the game away to play the next day. On the next try we swapped the two teams and proceeded in a much more orderly fashion. We needed hints on one puzzle that turned out to be something we felt we should have figured out on our own. Then we got to the final puzzle with about ten minutes to spare. We thought we solved it and tried one code which didn't work. After two more codes we ran out of time. We kept working it hoping to get the puzzle solved. Eventually, we went through the hints and got a code that was no where near what we came up with. Doing some research on Board Game Geek, others have had similar problems. After everyone went to bed, I was finally able to figure out how we were supposed to solve the puzzle. I didn't think it was at all obvious, especially given the instructions on the card, which are poorly worded for what players are actually supposed to do. Oh well! We got enough stuff right to garner two stars.

Island of Doctor Goorse results

We didn't give up on the series, especially when I saw that a lot of people on BGG said this was the worst of the games (and one of the original three, so they were probably working out kinks still).

Our next Unlock! game was the Wizard of Oz-based game called The Adventurers of Oz. The game generally follows the story of Dorothy visiting Oz from Kansas. Players take on the roles of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin-Man, and the Cowardly Lion. They travel from Dorothy's crashed house to the city of Oz and on to the Wicked Witch of the West's castle. The art is lighthearted and fun. The game includes a map and a special mirror that is used to solve puzzles and figure out how to move on. Our game play had some tense moments debating solutions to puzzles.

The puzzles were a little tricky but a lot more intuitive than our previous experience. The game is longer, starting at 90 minutes (as opposed to other games that give you 60 minutes), so our results weren't as bad as they look. We had one puzzle that was four of our six missed codes.

The Adventurers of Oz results

In the interest of trying something different, we printed out one of the print and play versions of the game--The Elite. I saw the demo tab at the bottom of the app screen and found out there are six adventures (as of this writing) that players can print at home. I downloaded the file from the publisher's website (click on the Download the Unlock! demonstration kit) and had a little trial-and-error printing session. I bought a ream of card-stock paper a long time ago and used that for printing so the cards are sturdier. The deck is twenty cards, so shorter than the sixty cards in a regular Unlock! deck.

In this game, players are investigators in Las Vegas trying to find evidence of a patron cheating in the casino. We go into the hotel room and start searching for clues. It was a fun adventure. We were surprised that it was sixty minutes at the start but soon enough something dropped us to thirty minutes.

We worked our way through the clues patiently and managed to solve it with several minutes to spare. And a full five stars!

The Elite results

We printed and played 5th Avenue, another early version of the game that was clearly a promo for the first set of games. In the story, players do a favor for Al Capone by committing a little industrial espionage. Sneaking in to a New York office building, players work to unlock a safe with a revolutionary new product inside.

We had one minor snag that slowed us down, otherwise the caper went like clockwork. We played with our four-year old, who insisted on getting several clues to help us out. I think that's what tanked our star rating in the results below. Plus one penalty for using the wrong tool on the wrong item. Whoops!

Fifth Avenue results

Tombstone Express is a store-bought game where players race to foil a train robbery. We play as a sheriff on the train, starting at the engine and working our way back, trying to find who stole a valuable gem that will settle a dispute with the local natives. A few random events pop up during the game, challenging players to do more than just solve the puzzles on the cards.

We enjoyed the game, though one or two puzzles were a little more complicated than they needed to be, at least for us. The game is rated two-lock difficulty (out of three). We did take a couple of hints but the final puzzle (identifying the train robber) we got right, which probably explains our five-star rating below.

Tombstone Express results

A Noside Story is a sequel to a previous Unlock! game that we hadn't played. The sequel was rated one lock and has cartoony art, so we didn't think it would be a problem. In this story, some foul smoke is plaguing the town and the local authorities call the players to investigate. That means going to the home of Noside, local villain/scientist/clown. At least, that's what you find out after you start the app on your device. The typical intro text on the first card is actually an audio recording in the app, an interesting twist.

Most of the puzzles were fun but we had three or four that were very difficult and much further outside our expectations for what we'd need to do. We used a bunch of hints and had quite a few wrong guesses at codes. Once or twice we did a puzzle too fast but two puzzles in particular were too poorly crafted for us to even guess at the right answer (especially the clock puzzle). I did enjoy the cartoony logic of many of the puzzles.

A Noside Story results

The Temple of Ra print and play has the players infiltrating the recently-discovered temple of Ra in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. An amazing fortune awaits those who can decipher the clues to the tomb of Ra. The theme is a very fun idea.

Unfortunately, that's where the fun ends. A lot of the puzzles are fourth-wall breaking and in an especially bad way. The family worked on this scenario for about half an hour before giving up. I came back to it several days later with some new, kooky ideas that happened to work. It has the sort of logic I'd expect from the Noside game. At one point in the tomb, there's a fancy bit of tiling that is clearly based on Arabic non-pictorial art, so completely anachronistic in an ancient Egyptian pyramid. The game also includes a completely useless red herring card that does nothing for the game and adds a lot of frustration for the players.

This was easily the worst game of Unlock! I have played--it was too hard in the worst sort of way. When I played it the second time, I did have a huge time advantage (that first half hour of playing wasn't registered with the app), but I used two hints, even though the final score shows only one hint used. I am totally confounded that I had a three-star rating for this game.

Temple of Ra results

Overall, I have to say I'm underwhelmed by the Unlock! games. Some were fun but others were just not entertaining. I like the idea that they can be replayed by other people (or if you wait long enough and are forgetful) but the format of using only cards may be too limiting for their puzzle design. Interestingly, both Oz and Tombstone include non-card components that open up some new possibilities. We might just stick with the Exit the Game series from here on out.

Dual/Duel Review: Uno Roboto vs. Uno: Doctor Who

Dual/Duel reviews are an online smackdown between two books, movies, games, podcasts, etc. etc. that I think are interesting to compare, contrast, and comment on. For a list of other dual/duel reviews, go here.

Uno is such a popular game that has come out in many different variations, hoping to increase sales. Two variants are the subjects of our smackdown today: Uno Roboto and Uno: Doctor Who. In addition to sharing a sci-fi vibe, they definitely look like two robots ready to battle it out:

The contenders

Let's clear up one issue first--yes, I know that Daleks are not robots. In fact, this particular Dalek is just a stylish carrying case for the deck of cards. The cards also have a Doctor Who theme, with visuals borrowed from the rebooted version of the show. Otherwise the deck is mostly the same as a regular Uno deck--four colors of cards with numbers and some specialty cards.

Sample cards

The various Wild Cards (and the back of all the cards)

The one difference is the "EXTERMINATE" Wild Card. When played, the player with the fewest cards in hand has to draw four cards. The regular Wild Draw 4 makes the next player (who may not be the one with the fewest cards) draw four. So the game plays mostly like a regular Uno game.

Uno Roboto comes with a standard Uno deck along with the fun plastic pal who makes the game different.

Fun plastic pal

He's not entirely plastic--he does require some batteries. When turned on, each player can record a name into the microphone (those five dots where his belly button should be). The players can also add a "house rule" which will randomly occur during the game. Cards are dealt as normal but the discard pile is the top of the robot's head, which has a button that makes a pleasant beep when a card is put in. Except when it doesn't make a pleasant beep. The robot occasionally gives random instructions, like telling a player to draw or discard cards, or two players to trade hands, or whatever the house rule is. So the random element of the game is ramped up. Oh and I should mention that the robot typically speeds up any recorded name or house rule, so it sounds like the person sucked some helium before speaking into the microphone. I think it's meant to be cute, but your mileage may vary. When someone wins, that player pushes the blue button and a trumpet fanfare sounds.

I see these two games contending in various fields:

• Sci-Fi credentials--Doctor Who clearly wins out here
• Cute factor--Uno Roboto is very cute (maybe too much); the Doctor Who monsters are fairly scary looking and may be disturbing to little kids (if not, something is wrong with your little kid!). Uno Roboto wins out here.
• Making Uno more fun--The Doctor Who version is almost the same as the base game, though the EXTERMINATE card can make a game go longer. Uno Roboto is cute and the extra randomness just makes the game more random and thereby frustrating for strategic players. If you are playing Uno to demonstrate your strategic and tactical superiority, you need to find another game. Uno Roboto wins here.
• Packaging--Uno Roboto comes with a deck box for the cards that doesn't quite fit into the tray on top of his head, making storage a little awkward. The Doctor Who Dalek doesn't easily store in with other card games but it looks very nice on a shelf. Doctor Who wins here.
• Availability--Uno Roboto is in print and available world-wide. Doctor Who is only available in the UK and even there it is out of print, making it tough to find (we bought it at a church sale when we lived in the UK). Uno Roboto wins here.

By a three-to-two count, the winner is Uno Roboto! (Though the Dalek does look a lot better on the shelf).

Euro Quest 2015

Euro Quest is a Euro-game conference sponsored by the Games Club of Maryland. They've held the con for thirteen years and draw 300 to 400 attendees. The convention is a mixture of tournaments and open play opportunities. Some of the organizers go to the Spiel at Essen, the major board game expo held in Germany, and pick up the latest (and hottest) releases. Some of the games are even given away as door prizes. I didn't win any but I had fun playing all sorts of games.

Euro Quest 2015

The first thing I did was go to the UnPub Game Demo room. These games are still under development. Designers playtest their games to get feedback. I tried out Empire, an auction and trading game from Stephenson Brothers Games. Players vie for dominance in a time of colonial expansion. But dominance is a tricky thing to manage. Populations grow but need both goods to keep them happy (thereby amassing support) and industry to keep them busy (thereby amassing more goods). Goods can also be sold for money, which players need to fund their exploration. Exploration brings new people, goods, industry, and wealth, but often in different proportions (and usually not all four at once). If populations are idle or the empire can't pay for its bonds (yeah, there's debt too), revolt cards are earned. The game is tense and quick. Players can either start out with the same resources in the basic game or bid to be one of the great empires of the 16th and 17th century (e.g. Great Britain, France, Prussia). Those empires all have different starting resources and have special powers. Players can also trade whatever they have. At the end of the game, whoever has the most support after subtracting any revolt cards is the winner.

Empire set up

I enjoyed the game even though I didn't do very well in it.

One Euro game I tried was really Euro. By that I mean it was from Italy. Given the content of the game, it will probably never be published in the United States. The game is The Producer: 1940-1944. In it, players are studio heads in 1940s Hollywood. They want to make movies, which means recruiting actors and directors, buying scripts, building the studio lot, and maybe even dealing with the Mafia. The game features actual movies (like Casablanca or The Philadelphia Story) and real actors and directors (like Cary Grant, Bela Lugosi, Orson Welles, Katherine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, etc.) with art and photos that probably are under license to somebody in America. So the game probably couldn't get published here without a lot of legal permissions (which is probably impossible) or making it totally generic (which would take a lot of the fun). The game is a worker-placement style game where the studio execs can hire new people or building new buildings (like extra sets or a make-up department or an orchestra) or try to garner Academy influence through CBS Radio (another copyright violation!). Or, of course, they can make a moving picture once all the resources are in place. After making a picture, they get a certain amount of money based on the audience they can draw. A picture with more stars can get more money. At the end of each round (i.e. each year), the Academy Awards are held and each studio puts forward candidates for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor/Actress. Victory points are given for these awards (as well as for building up the studio). At the end of the game, additional points are given for the variety of genres for all the pictures made. The game is a lot of fun just from mixing up directors and actors in pictures. It also has lots of flavorful bits, e.g. one spot to put a worker is the "cocktail party" where the player can hire an available person at half price; another spot is the "casting director" where the player can hire up to three people but at full price. The game does run a bit long.

The Producer: 1940-1944

I tried out Too Many Cinderellas, a light card game where each player tries to convince the prince that one of the people in their hand is the true Cinderella. Each card has a person with a variety of attributes (like hair color, personal likes, and age) and a rumor which says that the true Cinderella doesn't have a certain attribute. Players are dealt four cards and they play two of them as rumors, keeping the other two as possible candidates. Each player can put a "No" token on a rumor when it is played to make it untrue, though each player has only one such token so they can only dispel one rumor. After all the card are played, players check their remaining two to see if they are still possible (i.e. any of the attributes on that card have not been rumored wrong). If more than one player has a viable candidate, the card with the lowest number wins. The game looks interesting, but I just read through the rules while I was waiting to play in a competition.

Many different games had tournaments running. I thought I'd try out Splendor, which is a new game about trading gems to gain victory points. I played with three other people. In a tense game, I managed to purchase a five point value card that was the last card I needed to get one of the nobles who gave me three additional points. That eight point swing brought me to fourteen points, just shy of the fifteen needed to end the game. Other players gathered resources for one more round but I was able to buy a two point card, which gave me the win with sixteen points! The victory meant I had a chance to move on to the semi-finals the next day since I was tied with nine other people for thirteenth place. Only sixteen people compete in the semifinals, so something would have to go my way.

The rankings after the final heat

Me in the middle

The next day, it did work out--not everyone showed up (maybe they were sleeping in or stuck in another competition) so I was a semi-finalist. I played okay but came in fourth (out of four), so I did not advance to the final round. Maybe next year.

I played Castles of Mad King Ludwig with three random strangers. Players are builders in the kingdom of Mad King Ludwig, who wants to have many splendid castles in his kingdom. But he also wants some odd attributes for those castles, represented by some randomly drawn objectives. Players also draw some personal, secret objectives that will give them bonus points at game end. During the game, players take turns building rooms onto their castle from a set. The cost of each room is assigned by the player who is, for that turn, the Master Builder. Each other player gets to buy rooms before the Master Builder, so the MB can't just make a favorite room the cheapest. Once everyone has bought rooms, the Master Builder token moves clockwise and new rooms are drawn to replace the ones built. The game is a little chaotic, though the anarchy looks less random with more experience playing the game. Even if a player doesn't win, there is the satisfaction of making a castle. It has a whimsical charm, if only because it's your own creation.

The Voyages of Marco Polo is a worker placement game where players build trade centers on the route from Venice to Beijing. trade various resources to fulfill contracts, get other resources, and gain victory points. The game was supposed to be under two hours but with a bunch of new people (me included) it was closer to three hours. I enjoyed it (except at the end when one or two players had analysis paralysis for their last few moves) and would play it again. But I am not going to buy it since I already own a couple of games that are similar weight and time length.

The convention had one store selling new games and a used game store where attendees could sell their old, unwanted games. I didn't put anything up for sale, but snagged the expansion for Castellan (so now we can play with four players) and one of the Mystery Rummy series games, Jekyll and Hyde.

Might have been a store selling Castellan

The convention was a lot of fun and I may bring my oldest son next year.

Game Review: Timeline Historical Events

Timeline Historical Events published by Asmodee

Timeline is a simple card game with a deck of 110 cards. Each card depicts a historical event, such as the invention of the elevator, the first step on the moon, or Julius Caesar saying "Alea iacta est!" (which is "the die is cast!"--a totally appropriate quote for any game). One side of the card has just a picture and the event name, the other side includes the year it happened. Players are dealt a hand of cards face down and aren't allowed to see the year side of their cards. Then one card is played face up from the draw deck to the middle of the table, say "The Founding of Constantinople (324)." Play starts with the youngest player, who plays a card to the left or right of that card, depending on whether the event on the card happened before or after 324. If the card is correct, it stays on the table. The next player has to play one of their cards either on one of the ends or inbetween the two cards if the event falls in that period of time. If incorrect, it's discarded and the player has to draw a new card face down. Play continues with a longer and longer time line, making it more challenging to place cards accurately. The first player to play all their cards wins.

This game is a lot of fun and a sneaky way to teach dates of events to children (and adults!). It also inspires some research on events or places you have not heard of (like, what are the Dolmens?). The game is so popular that it spawned six or seven other themed decks (like American History, Discoveries, Music & Cinema, etc.--the original is Inventions) that can be combined to make an even larger, more challenging game.

Highly recommended!