A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

board game review

One Meeple: Criss Cross

There’s a few types of things that attract me to a game – first being the aesthetics. If something looks good, I tend to click and look to see what the game is about. 

Once there, I look deeper. If I am with a game group and such, I don’t mind some deeper games. But when I am playing solo, most of the time I like simple games that don’t take too long, but still have a bit of thinking or strategy to go with it. 

Criss Cross seemed to be most of that. A small game that you could throw easily in a backpack and travel with, it’s designed by Reiner Knizia. The concept is simple – roll two dice and put the symbols on your scoresheet. The catch is they have to be placed next to one another – be it vertically or horizontally. 

The goal is to get as many symbols in a row, which gets you your points. If you have other symbols in between, it makes it harder to get bigger points. The key is not just having many symbols in a row, but they have to be connected with one another. 

Criss Cross game
Criss Cross

The game, playing solo, takes no more than 10 or so minutes. It requires a bit of thinking as you never know the next roll. So do you want to break up this spot or the next one. You can place the symbols wherever – they don’t have to connect with previous ones – but at the same time, you have to think about connecting symbols. 

Reality is this game isn’t one where you will be straining your brain over things. You roll some dice and try and be strategic where you place the symbols on your grid. Before you know it, the game is over. The “advanced” version makes you look at the middle diagonal line (though you still can’t put things diagonally) and you could that up and back for points at the end of the game. That gives you a whole different way of thinking about the game. 

This was a relatively cheap game and it’s footprint, as noted before, is small. I like that aspect. Also, if I want to just chuck some dice and write a few things down, it’s easy to do. 

The replayability probably isn’t to the point where you’d want to play it every night. But with it being so small, it’s easy to keep around and use when you just need a quick game.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

One Meeple: Dice Stars

Solo games take on different levels of complexity and skill. Some are simple games that challenge you to beat your previous best score, while others involve skill and a deeper thought process.

Dice Stars has a lot to like.

  • It’s quick
  • It has a lot of dice
  • There’s some thinking involved

While the bigger view of the game is that there is a lot left to chance (totally true), there’s some thinking involved as you need to know when to push your luck and when to go with what you have.

Dice Stars is a simple game where you draft dice, and roll them. Before you draft the dice, you have to decide how many you are taking out of the bag — from 1 to 3 dice. While you can get gutsy and go for three, it could also come back and hurt you. Any dice you don’t use will be put in the reserve, which can end up hurting you even more.

The goal is to match up colors and numbers to try and maximize your scoring. You don’t want to “X” out too many boxes, though, as it could hurt your points in the end.

The interesting part with the solo variant is the “AI” grid. As you play, you need to cross off grids in the AI’s spot based on what you did. It could hurt quite a bit if your rolls aren’t going your way. If the AI grid fills, that automatically triggers the end of game scenario. I can assure you, it’s not easy to win (I haven’t yet).

Though the box shows a “space” feel to this game, there’s really no theme. You could put the Wild Wild West on the box and it would likely play the same way, with different art. Still, it’s a fun little game that makes you think some and makes you want to go back for more to try and win.

This game isn’t easy to win, as I’ve noted.

It’s small and compact and is easy to travel with. It’s a light game overall — both in physical form and game play. But it’s fun and it challenges you a little. It’s also cheap, which is nice. On Amazon right now, it’s less than $15. My only concern is if you play it a lot — what happens with scorecards. Can one buy more? Of course if you are spending 8-10 bucks on a big pad, why not just buy a new game. So many beautiful dice!

Overall, the game is enjoyable. The speed you can play it in makes it better and that there’s some thinking involved helps as well. Though I don’t think this is a game I could play every single day, it’s one I don’t mind busting out and challenging myself for 15-20 minutes.

I would like to see how this is as a multi-player game, though, as I think it could be rather interesting.

In the end, it’s worth the small investment and is something I’ll definitely keep around for a quick solo game when needed.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

One Meeple: Hostage Negotiator

Multi-player games with solo variants are a lot of fun. But they often can be anti-climactic for the ending.

Not so with Hostage Negotiator, a game specifically made for playing solo. The idea of the game is simple – you are a hostage negotiator, trying to get somebody to release hostages. There are three scenarios that you can use to start, but no game is ever the same with all the different aspects of the game.

I’ve had this game in my collection for a while as I have been tending to do a bit more solo gaming lately. With that in mind, I will usually only add to my collection if there’s a solo variant, but I really love games specifically for solo play.

For whatever reason, I took a while to play this one. I finally got around to setting it up, reading the rules, and watching a play-through video. At that point, I felt I was ready to go.

Things I have read about the game made it sound quite difficult. Early in the first game, I didn’t think I stood a chance. Surely the bad guy was going to wipe me out.

Still, I loved how the game unfolded. And I didn’t even utilize one thing I should have – turning in cards for conversation points, as I forgot all about it.

I really thought I was done for. I had some dice come back bad a few times in key spots and one of my terror cards added two more hostages. Not good. Still, I was enjoying the game and trying to figure when to and when not to use cards. I thought things out the best I could.

And as the game dwindled, I was done for. Alas, one of the terror cards I had drawn earlier was going to allow me to take any card I wanted. Knowing I needed to go for it, I grabbed the final card that would allow me to save four hostages and eliminate the abductor – if all went well.

Then I came to the ending. After the final turn, it was time to go all in or go home. I had built my hand for this final conversation, figuring it was going to be the time to do it. As I set things up, I had the two re-roll cards ready to use. I used the “You need to trust me card,” which would hopefully make it so a four would be a success. I got one hit on it, thus meaning only the roll would give me a chance to win with 4, 5, or 6. But I needed two hits.

On the first roll – one hit and one “4,” which gave me the improbable win! I had the two re-roll cards still left that I was ready to use, but I didn’t end up needed to play them!

Such a fun game. I am definitely looking forward to many more plays. I look forward to all the expansions to come from the Kickstarter campaign. Great fun for sure!

Overall thoughts

This game is a lot of fun. It plays pretty quick and there are some good decisions. There’s definitely the luck factor with dice rolls and such, but it’s all part of the game. I love that you either win or lose. It’s not beating your previous score — it’s you won or you lost. End of story.

The graphics are nice and the game play is pretty smooth. This is definitely a keeper for me.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

One Meeple: Pick-A-Polar Bear

When I went to ConnCon in March, I got involved with a few of the auctions. Because of the artwork and the fact that I got it (if I remember right) for $5 or less, I went for a game called Pick-A-Polar Bear.

Honestly, I got it because there was a solo variant. I figured if I could get a few plays out of it, it would be worth the investment.

The game is simple enough – you place a certain amount of cards face up, pick one as your starting card, and then see how many you can get through by taking a bear that has just one difference from the one before. A lot of the bears are similar, so you can go back and forth with the same differences, but eventually you have to break away from that.

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Pick-A-Polar Bear is a fun and quick game in the solo variant.

You do need to think, though, as you have to think several moves ahead. If not, once you get there, you might realize you’ve boxed yourself into a corner. The object in the solo game is to play the three rounds and have as few cards remaining each round as possible.

The game plays pretty quickly, too. I played in less than 20 minutes, including setup. The cards are smaller and square, so it’s going to take a lot of shuffling to really mix them up. I’m not the greatest shuffler as it is, so it might take some time for these cards to split up well.

The card quality seems solid, though. It’s not a game I’ll be playing every night, either, so I’m sure things will last pretty well.

Overall, the game was fun. I liked the idea behind it and, as noted above, the artwork is nice. It’s definitely on the whimsical side. The game itself isn’t going to likely appease to hardcore Euro-style gamers. Though you need to think a little, it’s more of just kind of plotting moves, especially in the solo version. I haven’t played it multi-player (and, honestly, not sure if I will), so I can’t comment there. But for a one-person game, it’s not bad, especially if you can get it for cheap.

I also like that it’s small, which means if I am going away somewhere and know I might have some time where I want to kind of just play a quick game or two, I can throw it in my overnight bag and call it good. I have a few games like this, so it’s nice to know some of them are easy to bring with me.

Again, if you can find this on the cheap and you like simple game to play solo, this might be one for you. It’s fun for a game or two, put on the shelf and pull it back down a month or two later. It’s not a game, however, I’d be looking to play every night. I do think it’s a keeper for my solo playing, though, which is nice.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

One Meeple: Rolling America makes you think

It seems like it should be a simple game.

Rolling America, published by Gamewright, isn’t necessarily so simple, though.The concept might be, but the game itself isn’t easy, based on what happens as the game moves on.

Roll some dice and use them, based on colors, to put the numbers throughout the United States. You use that number in different spots, based on what other numbers are written down. The biggest kicker is neighboring states can’t be more than a difference of once (so if a 3 is in New York, you’d have to put a 2 or a 4 in Pennsylvania).

Basically, when playing with others, it’s a solitaire game played with multiple players as you also write the numbers others roll. I’ve only played it solo and I like that it’s challenging and it makes you think a little. You have to think of everything before you put a number down as it can have consequences on your future choices – or lack thereof. For example, if you put a 3 in a central state, you might have issues if you don’t roll a lot of 3s or 4s in the colors you need.

Rolling America takes a little luck and thinking.

Rolling America takes a little luck and thinking.

That means there is some strategy, but at the same time you are relying on the luck of the roll. Also, there are seven colors in the bag (the six that are in the states, and a clear – which is a wild and can be used for any color). So there’s a chance you don’t pull, say, a green the whole time and if you used the clear for something else.

You must use all the dice in one way or another, unless you have that color already filled. Then you just ignore it, unless you have one of your three “change color” saves, allowing you to make one color another.

There are a couple of ways to save yourself over the course of the game, but if you don’t have any of those left, you have to put an “X” somewhere if you can’t use one of the dice. For a solo game, you are just trying to get as few Xs as possible on the map.

It’s not easy!

This is a quick and pretty light game that plays well solo. I like the idea behind it and it really does make you think a bit. There are times a roll or two after you made a tough decision that you just want to erase what you did and change things. Alas, you can’t.

Without a doubt, it’s a game of chance, especially with the rolling of the dice and only getting six of seven colors drawn each round. On the flip of that, you have to really think things through as you want to try and avoid boxing yourself in to a situation where you might have to write down a lot of Xs. It’s a fun game, for sure, and one I’ll definitely play many more times solo. It’s the type of game that you can get your quench of gaming in without having to dedicate several hours.

If you like solo gaming, this is worth a look. You can get it for less than $10 on Amazon, it doesn’t take long to learn and you can be playing in no time.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook!