A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

dice

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!

Board Game Review: Blueprints

For those of you who know me, you know over the past year and a half or so I’ve gotten into board gaming. It’s a really fun activity and it’s not the games I played as a kid — such as Monopoly etc.

Most of the games we play now are a bit deeper and quite a bit more in-depth. Not all are hard or confusing, but there’s definite strategy. Many of these games are born of the “Euro” style, and it’s something I would highly recommend to others.

Blueprints is a fun and quick game.

Blueprints is a fun and quick game.

With that being said, I’m going to start reviewing games here and there. Now, one thing to take note of — I’m not an expert in any way. I enjoy the games and like playing with a game night group I am part of on Saturday nights. But, I also am not as in-depth about mechanics and things like that. I like what I like, whether it’s a mechanic, or a theme, or something else. I likely won’t be writing about games I didn’t like as I see no point of it, at least here. And these reviews aren’t going to be like some you might be able to find on the Internet (such as at the website boardgamegeek.com), it’s more from the point of view of a newer gamer exploring the games he likes. It’s definitely not going to be too in-depth.

Keep all of that in mind as I go through games.

With all of that out of the way, I’m going to start off with the game Blueprints.

About the game

Published in 2013 by Z-Man Games (which, for the record, is one of my favorite publishers), Blueprints is a game for 2-4 players and takes about 30 minutes to play.

The idea of the game is simple, finish with the most points at the end of the game. To earn points, you complete tasks, such as building your building or extra tasks. There are three rounds, all of which are scored seperate. At the end of each round, the person with the most points get the gold card, the second gets the silver and so forth. In a four-player game, the person who comes in last won’t get one of those cards.

The special task cards are the same for each round, but there are only four and once one is taken, it’s gone for that round. So if three people o for the same task, only one will walk away with it.

At the end of the game, you add up the points on those cards and the person with the most points win.

It’s a simple game, with a lot of strategies. And the best part is that there are many ways to go about the game to win. If you have three players, it’s possible all of you will have a different way of attempting to win the game.

Game play

One of the best parts of the game is that it’s easy to learn and it’s a quick game. It shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes or so.

Blueprints has an easy and quick setup.

Blueprints has an easy and quick setup.

Each player gets a shield to hide their “building” from. You get a new one randomly, each round. There’s a bag of dice and several (depending on number of players) come out to start. The first player takes one and then places it on his or her card. They then take out one die and place it with the others. This goes until each player has had the chance to get six dice.

One thing of note — equal or higher numbers can be placed on other numbers. So if you grabbed sixes right off the bat and put them in the wrong spot, you are hosed as, once you place your dice, you aren’t supposed to change them.

Blueprints is broken up into three rounds, and the rounds go pretty quickly. At the end of each round, you add up points (based on the color of dice and what you did with each of them). The top scorer gets victory points, then second place and so forth. This is also where you see who got the special points, if any.

After three rounds, add up your victory points and the person with the highest wins.

Verdict

I’m a fan.

Because I’m relatively new to this aspect of board gaming, my collection is rather small. But this is one I was happy to add. When I got it, the game was at about $24. I’ve seen it in the $30 range in recent days on Amazon, but I still wouldn’t shy away from it. It’s small and compact and has good pieces.

With the idea that it is a quick 2-4 player game, it’s also a nice filler in between two bigger and deeper games. There’s strategy and a little bit of luck with Blueprints, which made me enjoy it even more. I’d definitely recommend it.

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

Photo Blogging Challenge (January 2015): Games

(Note: There is no Snapshot Saturday this week because it falls on the final day of the month, so the day for the Photo Blogging Challenge. Snapshot Saturday will return next week!)

I had a lot of fun with this month’s theme.

Originally, my plan had been to showcase a bigger project I am working on about board games, but though I love a lot of the photos I’ve taken for that, I think five board game images for this challenge wouldn’t be what I was hoping for.

So, I’ve gone in a mixed bag direction. Some were taken with a rented lens (a 100mm macro, which was awesome), and others with my own lenses.

I have some board game items and a few other things I think work within the theme. I’m also, thankfully, sticking to my guns to do this challenge mostly with my main camera in 2015, and trying to avoid the phone unless necessary or if a theme dictates.

I also look forward to seeing what people came up with for this theme!

Without further ado, here are my five for the month.

1. Roll the dice

As part of my board game project, this was an image I knew I wanted to capture. I love how this one came out. I probably could have done this post fully on dice images I took, but I wanted to be diverse!

Roll 'em!

Roll ’em!

2. Pieces

Many board games have items like this – small blocks, Meeples, or different pieces that are usually colorful. The newer board games have some amazing pieces to them.

Colorful pieces.

Colorful pieces.

3. New toy

I got this new toy for my nephew. It’s kind of a game because it shakes and the mini pieces inside go back and forth. He seemed to enjoy the rattle part, as well as the mirror. I loved how this image came out, despite being a little soft.

Small hands.

Small hands.

4. Geocaching

This is one my favorite game/hobbies. I don’t believe it to be a sport as many people call it, rather it’s a game and one I truly enjoy. This is actually a cache I have hidden that I took some snaps of when I had a rented lens.

Finding the cache.

Finding the cache.

5. Pop ‘em out

One thing about many board games is all of the items you have to pop out. This is one I got for Christmas, Le Havre, before I started punching out everything.

Punch out time!

Punch out time!

That’s my five and now it’s your turn!

If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below. And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!). Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too!

Also, don’t forget to get back here tomorrow, February 1, to see the theme for February! Remember, in March, we celebrate our second anniversary! Is there anybody (besides me) who hasn’t missed a month?

NOTE: I set up a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

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