Monthly Archives: April 2012

The Dice Tower Gaming Awards 2011

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(NOTE: Awards now announced here)

While there are quite a few different annual gaming awards, The Dice Tower Awards could (and I would argue should) become one of the most prominent ones in the industry. So what makes them stand out?

Now in their fifth year, the previous ‘Game of the Year’ award winners have been 7 Wonders, Small Worlds, Dominion and Race for the Galaxy. If you know anything about board games, this represents four games that are very much considered classics already, showing that the main award has gone to a very worthy winner every year so far.

Three are in the Board Game Geek Top 20 list of all time games, while Small World is a very creditable 58th right now (to give it some perspective, there are more than 50,000 games listed on Board Game Geek (BGG)). They may not to be to everyone’s tastes (what is?), but they certainly represent the cream of the crop from recent years in a way many other awards fail to do.

I think the list of categories is good too. Alongside best game there are categories for family games, new designers, theme and production values. I’d like to see an accolade for best new gateway game, as the awards are meant to, “Promote board and card games to a larger audience”, but it’s a minor quibble.

All the nominees are listed below. Sorry, I’m not going to make them all links (life’s too short!) - instead, simply head over to The Dice Tower Awards page for links galore. I’m also not going to ramble on about all of the categories; there are a hell of a lot of games I haven’t played on the list and many I have no personal interest in either. But there are a couple of categories I’d like to make a few comments on (see below). I’ll put up a short extra post when the winners are announced.

Just before we continue, here are my top three games that didn’t make any of the lists that really probably should have:

  • Ora et Labora: In the BGG Top 20, but nowhere here
  • Airlines Europe: The great gateway game of the year
  • Friday: A highly rated and original solo deck building game

Best Game of the Year 2011

Listening to the latest Dice Tower podcast, it was said that this category was extended to games this year because of blah blah blah. Frankly it really wasn’t needed, as if this award follows form the winner will (and certainly should) come from a much shorter list of real contenders: Eclipse, Mage Knight The Board Game and Die Burgen von Burgund.

These three are all already right up in the BGG Top 50 (6th, 22nd and 38th respectively), while A Few Acres of Snow and The Lord of the Rings card game are also in the top 100 but perhaps a little too niche to take the top award. The others, while good games in their own rights, really aren’t ‘game of the year’ material.

Unfortunately I’m yet to have a chance to play Die Burgen, but I’d happily get behind a win for either Eclipse or Mage Knight. I’ve played them several times and while they’re both pretty long games, they’re wonderfully produced, thematic, streamlined and, most importantly, fun. I’d give it to Mage Knight, but I expect Eclipse will take the award.

Of the others, I really didn’t like A Few Acres (essentially a dry, dull and limited war game dressed in deck builder’s clothing), while I had fun with both Star Trek and Tokyo without being compelled to buy them. Both good games, but ones that wouldn’t replace something else in my collection. Here’s the full list:

  • Eclipse
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
  • Quarriors!
  • Risk Legacy
  • Star Trek: Fleet Captains
  • King of Tokyo
  • Die Burgen von Burgund
  • Mage Knight Board Game
  • A Few Acres of Snow
  • The Ares Project

Best Family Game Nominees

  • Flash Point: Fire Rescue
  • Kingdom Builder
  • King of Tokyo
  • Quarriors!
  • Say Anything Family Edition

Best New Game Designer Nominees

It’s great to see this award on the list, especially with funding sites such as Kickstarter giving a lot of new designers a viable route to market. Quite how good a thing that will be in the long run remains to be seen, but it’s nice to see a mix of traditionally published and kick-started games on the list.

All five have had mixed reviews but are ranking very well at BGG. They’re actually all on list of games I’d like to play too, so good luck to one and all.

  • Jason Little (Blood Bowl: Team Manager - The Card Game)
  • Kevin Lanzing (Flash Point: Fire Rescue)
  • Brian & Geoff Engelstein (Ares Project)
  • Christopher Badell, Paul Bender (Sentinels of the Multiverse)
  • David Gregg (Nightfall)

Best Game Reprint Nominees

  • Can’t Stop
  • Confusion: Espionage and Deception in the Cold War
  • Evo
  • A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition)
  • Puerto Rico: Anniversary Edition

Best Production Values Nominees

  • Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Board Game
  • Mansions of Madness
  • Risk Legacy
  • Super Dungeon Explore
  • Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon Board Game

Best Small Publisher Nominees

  • Flash Point: Fire Rescue
  • Dungeon Run
  • Rallyman
  • Sentinels of the Multiverse
  • Bears!

Best Party Game Nominees

  • Crappy Birthday
  • Dixit Odyssey
  • Reverse Charades Junior Edition
  • Faux•Cabulary
  • Train of Thought

Best Game Expansion Nominees

For me, this should be an absolute walk over for Ticket to Ride. If it doesn’t win the award, it’ll be a travesty!

While it’s very popular, I don’t think 7 Wonders is much of a game and this expansion doesn’t change that. SW Underground and SW Master Set are little more than re-themes, while Dragonspire is simply putting a playable version of a poor game out (the original Thunderstone was so crap it was practically a beta test).

In comparison, Team Asia adds an extra player and co-operative team play to one of the most popular and highly regarded board games in existence. Legendary Asia also adds a new way to think about carriage use, making this a fantastic expansion for Ticket to Ride. Seriously, how is this even a competition?

  • Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 1 - Team Asia & Legendary Asia
  • Thunderstone: Dragonspire
  • Small World Underground
  • 7 Wonders: Leaders
  • Summoner Wars: Master Set

Most Innovative Game Nominees

Again, this is a category that I can only see one winner in. No matter what you think of the original game, or the company that makes it, Hasbro has really come up with something original with Risk Legacy.

While for the most part you’re buying Risk, you’ll play a series of games (preferably with the same players each time) and the outcome of each game will have direct - and permanent - outcome on the board. You’ll be putting stickers actually onto the board, as well as writing on it, giving you unique board with a different set of rules.

While it’s not an idea that appeals to everyone, and some see it simply as a great marketing ploy to shift more units, either way it’s an ingenious and original game design mechanism. It appeals to me - but it’s still Risk…

  • The Ares Project
  • Ascending Empires
  • Paperclip Railways
  • Quarriors!
  • Risk Legacy

Best Game Artwork Nominees

  • Dixit Odyssey
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
  • Mansions of Madness
  • Flash Point: Fire Rescue
  • A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition)

Best War Games Nominees

  • Sekigahara: Unification of Japan
  • Band of Brothers
  • A Few Acres of Snow
  • Julius Caesar
  • Sergeants Miniatures Game

Best Game Theme Nominees

  • Dungeon Petz
  • Flash Point: Fire Rescue
  • Last Will
  • Yggdrasil
  • Takenoko

Best Digital Boardgame Nominees

This is a slightly odd list of titles, but I guess that’s the nature of the app market. Ticket to Ride is the stand-out game on the list and has a very good app, but it all depends on what is really being judged. Unfortunately the Dice Tower Awards page doesn’t list the criteria for how this one will be judged.

I thought Ascension was a pretty poor deck building game, while reviews of Elder Sign were very mixed. However, I’ve heard good reports of both apps, which is interesting. Ghost Stories and Forbidden Island are pretty highly rated co-operative games that I haven’t played, but if these apps give a good solo experience I can see them being very popular. So what will be judged here? Improving on the original, a successful port, types of play available? It would be interesting to know.

  • Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer
  • Ticket to Ride
  • Forbidden Island
  • Ghost Stories
  • Elder Sign

Cast?! Per-lease: 10 bands who should reform instead

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In truth, I’ve been pretty spoilt in recent times when it comes to bands I used to love reforming. In recent years I’ve had a blast seeing the likes of Pop Will Eat Itself, Sunny Day Real Estate, EMF, Cud, The Seers, ABC, Carter USM, Blancmange, The Woodentops, Th’ Faith Healers, The Specials, Swervedriver - the list goes on and on.

Of course, some bands would’ve made this list if it was remotely possible; sadly sometimes mortality gets in the way and it’s too crucial for it to be worth bothering: Thin Lizzy, Mega City 4 (with the exception of the fantastic Four4Wiz shows), Nirvana, Gwei-lo, The Clash and many more. In all these kinds of cases, I’ve left them off the list.

So here we go - the 10 bands I most want to see back together and gigging (in your own time people):

  • 10: The Fatima Mansions (1988-1995)
    This is one of those bands you like a bit at the time, but only really quite how much after they’ve gone - and I never saw them live, damnit. Headed by former Microdisney frontman Cathal Coughlan they mixed poppy keyboards and amazing lyrics with just enough crazy to keep you interested. And they got bottled off when supporting U2 - a clear sign of greatness.
  • 9: New Fast Automatic Daffodils (also weirdly 1988-1995)
    These guys I did see live and boy were they good - funky like a lot of the indie around at the time, but darker and brooding too, again with great lyrics. Albums ‘Pigeonhole’ and ‘Body Exit Mind’ are still favourites. In fact, while researching (ahem) this blog post, I found out they did a third one and I’ve ordered it from Amazon.
  • 8: The Senseless Things (1986-1995 - what was it about 1995?)
    While I always preferred Snuff and Mega City 4, I still miss the The Senseless Things. And, just as importantly, most of my old friends do too. If these got back together, it would be one hell of a party so for that reason more than any other, I’d like to see them back and playing.
  • 7: Gunshot/Hijack (1990-2000/1988-1991)
    Either one, or both, I’m not fussy. Gangster rap was at its peak around the late 80s/early 90s and these bands proved you didn’t have to be from some shit hole in America to do it right - a shit hole in London did just the same job. From Leyton and Brixton respectively, these were both brilliant live acts . Gunshot would probably just edge it for me, thanks to their collaboration with Napalm Death.
  • 6: Catherine Wheel (1990-2000)
    Winners of my ‘Nicest band I Ever Interviewed’ Award (Fountains of Wayne were runners up), Catherine Wheel are another band from that period that I still listen to a lot now. Awesome live, they mixed a massive wall of sound with a truly great lead singer in Rob Dickinson. Black Metallic at Reading will always stay with me, while their Rock City show in the mid-90s was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.
  • 5: Talk Talk (1981-1991)
    Sadly these guys will be remembered for some pop hits that largely haven’t aged well, but anyone who has been lucky enough to kick back on a sofa and enjoy albums such as Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock will know there was a lot more too them than that. They’re the second band on the list that I didn’t see live back in the day, which again I sorely regret now.
  • 4: Th’ Faith Healers (1990-1994)
    Since they split in 1994 I’ve been lucky enough to catch Th’ Faith Healers live a couple of times for occasional shows. They’ve been awe inspiring each time and it pisses me off that I can’t go see them every week, instead of once in a blue moon. One of the few bands I know I’m going to dance (or should I say lurch) to, their infectious noise grabs me by the soul; as does singer Roxanne, my one and only indie front bird crush. There can be only one!
  • 3: Hofman/The Broken Family Band (199?-2000/2002-2009)
    By far the best things to come out of Cambridge while I’ve lived here, and probably ever, these two Steven Adams/Jay Williams bands comfortably transcended from ‘local’ to ‘favourite’ bands. while Steve’s lyrics were always a big part of it, what made both bands so special was the complete lack of passengers; Jay’s guitar alongside drummers Bugs and Mick and bass players Chad and Gav all player their parts in making music that was complex, fun, beautiful and/or deafening. Wonderful stuff.
  • 2: Crazyhead (1986-2000)
    Crazyhead’s Desert Orchid is still one of my favourite albums, while in the late 80s they were one of my favourite live bands. In researching this, Wikipedia claims they’re back together in some form but I can’t find any concrete evidence beyond a super-shit MySpace page. If anyone knows any more please let me know - if there’s any truth in it, I want to get them a gig NOW! Scuzzy, dirty grebo rock has never sounded better than this.
  • 1: Gaye Bykers on Acid (1984-1990)
    As great as it is to listen to Robber’s ramblings on Facebook and to see Mary up on stage with the Poppies, it just makes me crave one of the most shambolic, entertaining, rough-as-fuck and downright danceable indie bands of their generation. With sleeze, punk and techno all rolled into one dirty live show, they’d go down a storm now - make it happen! If they did the PFX album in its entirety, with an encore of ‘hits’, that would keep me going for a good long while.

So that’s my top 10 and it was hard as hell to narrow down - the nearly list included The Smiths (would’ve easily made the 10 if I wasn’t so convinced they’d be incredibly overpriced and then shit), Green On Red, Saloon, 16 Horsepower (Wovenhand is close enough to push them off the list), Adorable and LCD Soundsystem (it’s already been too long!).

But who would you add to the list? Who did I embarrassingly miss off? Or should I let it lie and go and see you new band who are WAY better than all these old fogies?

PS: All dates stolen from Wikipedia, so probably inaccurate.

Time has taken its toll on me

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What can I say, I’ve been busy.

First there was Barcelona, part 1 of which I’ve already managed to post about. When you read part 2 (soon, with any luck, but don’t hold your breath) you’ll realise that things started going a little awry and it has completely thrown me out of whack in terms of writing.

I know, that sounds terribly mysterious but hey, I like to build suspense.

After my return from Barcelona I almost immediately changed jobs. It was to a different position within the same company, but has involved an awful lot of doing stuff I’m not used to – mainly training someone to do my old job (and babysitting some interns), while trying to work out what my new one is (I’m having to write my own job description – sounds nice at first, but it’s hard as hell).

While trying to do all this, Pop Will Eat Itself went on tour (selfish bastards). This meant two weeks of half working, half running round the country reliving my kit-bagging youth (but in Travelodges instead of bus shelters). Again, more on this soon, but it sucked up lots of time and even more stamina.

Then there’s my annual freelance marathon – writing the artist biogs for the Cambridge Folk Festival. While fun (there’s nothing like getting paid to listen to and write about music) it’s also a really big drain on my time and a bit stressful too, even though this is my tenth year at it. I don’t like to take holiday to work on it, so again it’s valuable ‘me’ time that gets sucked up.

As I said, I’ve been busy.

And of course, when you’re busy, you want your down time to be just that – which, when you write for a living, really can’t include doing more writing. So I’ve been playing board games instead, mostly. And drinking. Oh, and dieting. Lots more to write about there.

What I’m working up to is, well, I haven’t been blogging.

Although that’s not strictly true. The Pop Will Eat Itself tour post is nearly finished and I hope to get it live over the weekend. But by then I would’ve seen Snuff, while Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat were fantastic last week too and well worthy of a bit of a rant. I expect I’ll head into why I can’t be arsed with support bands any more; a tough one to admit, as I’ve spent years berating others for not making the effort to do just that.

Then the whole folk festival line-up thing will probably inspire a post too. By which time I will have seen Jimbob from Carter USM, been to Devon, and will be preparing to head off to the Greek island of Paros.

Not that I’m complaining, of course. Life has been full, fun and thoroughly exhausting, both physically and mentally. All I’m trying to say is that I haven’t got time to write about it.

You could very easily argue that, instead of whiffling on here about nothing for 500 words, I could bloody well get on with it. And you’d have a really good point. But whiffling I can do in my sleep; while my ‘proper’ blog posts take a lot more thought (leave it). So for now, whiffle it is.

In other news, I really miss Crazyhead. Hence the post title. ‘Desert Orchid’ really was a classic album and alongside Gaye Bykers on Acid, they’re one of the bands I’d like to see reform most - even just for one big, smelly show. It’s got to better than Cast, right? Hmm, there’s another post right there…

Anyway, back to the grindstone. I’m busy you know.