This is the longest I’ve gone without posting since I started this blog umptimillion years ago, so I thought I’d better pop in, say hello, say sorry, and explain my tardiness.

Basically, life.

Since being made redundant in February I’ve managed to fins some freelance writing work. The pay is awful, and made worse my the weakness of the pound (I’m being paid in USD), but I’m really enjoying it. The writing is a lot of fun, but is taking up a massive amount of my time – and unsurprisingly, when not writing, I don’t want to be writing. A stark contrast to when I was editing, and missed writing.

I’m writing guides for computer games – and if it paid a living wage I’d be all over it. But for now its at least helping eek out my redundancy money. If you have any interest in MMO Lost Ark or mobile game Dislyte you should go check the site out.

Gaming drought

On the flip side, my chances to play board games have been seriously limited. My last local group largely imploded, as these things do sometimes, and ‘Sarah weekends’ have tended to be busy with other things. My plays count is way down and I can’t see it improving much in the short term.

That said, there are reviews on the way for Origins: First Builders (a euro I’ve enjoyed my first few plays of), the recent Paris: La Cité de la Lumière expansion (again, enjoyed my first play), and Iki (a great rondel-based euro). I’m hoping to review at least two of them, but hopefully all three, during July.

Many of the plays I have had were at UK Games Expo. I worked a couple of shifts on the Surprised Stare stand, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. I didn’t have much time to anything other than demo games for them, but on my one free afternoon I did manage to put names to faces in this post-COVID world at Hachette, Kosmos and Coiledspring Games – three supporters of the blog I very much appreciate.

And finally, you may also see my name attached to the occasional article in Tabletop Gaming Magazine. Again, if I could do that full time I’d love to. But this time it is a lack of opportunities, rather than poor pay. If only there was more of a market for paid board game journos!

So again, sorry for the lack of posts – but I’m not going anywhere. Stay tuned!

Trying times.

I was made redundant from my 10+ year job at the end of January. It it was probably best for both parties. But it isn’t a great time to be reunited with the scrap heap. I’m 50+ and don’t want to do what I’ve been doing (managing, editing, coordinating) for the past 20 years. I want to write, or design. Be creative and get paid for it. But with energy and food prices seemingly rising daily, this is hardly the time to be picky.

And where’s my portfolio? You’re looking at it. I’ve been polishing other people’s turds for so long my own writing is largely long gone. And much of it was on paper anyway (remember that?) As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I don’t edit this stuff much. After a day of editing I want to write, not read. Or play games or drink booze or listen to music. Or all three, preferably. Anyway, point being, it’s probably not the best example of what I’m capable of.

Worse still, the stuff I’m into is either niche or hugely popular. Which means there’s more competition for the few jobs that come up. Young people, brimming with enthusiasm rather than anxiety. People willing to work for free, or for the occasional freebie. In the hope of one day being promoted to minimum wage. People willing to move internationally at the drop of a shiny pound coin. How do you compete with that?

I could just go work in a warehouse. I’ve done it before and will probably do it again. I’m not a job snob. But right now, I still feel I’ve got something more to offer. Which is why I’m not applying for jobs writing for fecking bitcoin websites. Especially because it would be completely demoralising not to get those jobs. As so many other solid writers are reduced to having to apply to do that crap too. But will my ‘work coach’ at the Job Centre agree? The one standing between me and my £75 per week? I’ll find out on Wednesday. Can’t wait…

Slumperty slump (board game blog, slight reprise)

Yes, but why does that effect me, the reader, you may well ask? Sure, I still have five games on my ‘to review’ pile. All of which I’m looking forward to. But thanks to life/covid/anxiety I’m finding very few excuses to play them. Last month, I played just 19 games. My lowest tally since November 2019. And this month won’t be much better. It’s hard right now. Which is super weird, as I have more time on my hands than I have in years.

And the numbers here have slumped too. Some days I’m down to 50 or so visits, which is miserable. Each time I see a rise in numbers, for no apparent reason things slip back down again. I’m not expecting the world. I don’t do social media and I’m not a video guy, or a popular game designer. So I’m never going to be ‘big’. But a small, steady increase would be nice. Treading water, or going backwards, is pretty demoralising.

So that’s where I’m at. Slump.

Things will pick up, I expect. And this kind of self indulgence will be a one-off (until next time). So please forgive me. Normal service should be resumed next week. Until then, then.

The 1923 Cotton Club board game is a small box worker placement game for 2-4 players. Although if you’re predominantly a two-player gamer, I’d potentially steer clear (see ‘key observations’ below). The game takes about an hour to play. It is quite a basic euro game, so while the box says 12+ I’d say gamer kids around 10-years-old should be fine. Most information is public, so it is easy to ask questions where required. And the small amount of hidden info has clear reference notes in the rulebook. The theme, if anything, is more likely to be an issue for some parents (guns, illegal alcohol etc).

Talking of theme, it doesn’t do much heavy lifting here. But it does help make what you’re doing make sense. You’re each building up your own club from which you’ll be selling illegal booze in the US during 1920s prohibition. Cards represent gangsters, alcohol, club improvements, artists and celebrities. Using your workers (and currency, in the shape of money and influence) you claim them to earn victory points. It’s very much a euro game.

As always with Looping Games’ small box line (see also 1906 and 1987), you get an incredible amount packed into a small box. There are two thick main boards, four thin player boards, 32 wooden pieces, four cardboard chits and 110 cards packed into a 7x4x1-inch box. At the time of writing, comparison site Board Game Prices has it at several (non-UK) retailers for less than £30 delivered, which still seems good value for money.

Teaching 1923 Cotton Club

1923 Cotton Club will feel instantly familiar to anyone with worker placement experience. Each four-card row (replenished at the start of each of the six rounds) has three worker spots. And getting into a row early usually gives a small extra benefit. The main boards help record initiative (for turn order), influence (spent to attract celebrities), criminality (which can hurt you late game) and victory points. Plus an ‘eep, I’ve screwed up’ action space any number of workers can go into for some quick cash.

The decreasing cards and action spaces can make initiative important. It is redone at the end of each round, and won’t necessarily be in clockwise order (which I know some people hate). You’ll also gain income at the end of the round, and complete any event cards. There’s one event guaranteed each round. But each player can also add one from their hand into each round. You each start with five, and can play all to none throughout the game. They do various things, usually rewarding/penalising players for having/not certain requirements – from criminality to alcohol/entertainment types.

The cards

There are five card rows: Gangsters, smuggling, artists, celebrities and Improvements. Gangsters give you muscle and income, but usually at the expense of criminality. Smuggling (read: alcohol, usually needing gangsters) will help attract guests and gain income, but increase criminality. Artists (singers, musicians) will increase income and reputation. This in turn allows you to attract celebrities (politicians and movie stars) who’ll earn the majority of your victory points. Improvements do a bit of everything, from reducing criminality to gaining reputation, influence or weapons. But are usually one-and-done ‘instant’ cards.

Just before the game ends, players can spend leftover money to bribe their regulars (if they have political influence) to reduce their criminality. This can be crucial, as the doitiest player will take a victory point hit. Final scoring will see bonuses for leftover cash, influence and the highest initiative added to your score. But most points will come from the celebrities you’ve attracted and events you’ve managed to prosper from.

The four sides

These are me, plus three fictitious players drawn from observing my friends and their respective quirks and play styles.

• The writer: I do like it when a publisher goes the extra mile with the theme. Especially when the game has such a small footprint. Here, at the end of the rules, you get four pages of history covering all the characters on the cards. From ’empress of the blues’ Bessie Smith to famed bootlegger and gangster Lack ‘legs’ Diamond. It talks to the care and attention paid, as well as a love of the art of making games and a respect for the fans that buy them.
• The thinker: While certainly a solid euro game, 1923 Cotton Club is very much tactical over strategic. Even with two players, the random draw of the cards will limit your choices each round. So long term strategies are very much limited to your event cards. And even those are situational, depending on what your opponents do. So there’s not much here for me.
• The trasher: I enjoyed this one with three and four players. If you pay attention you’ll know what others are looking for, which can definitely guide the order of your choices. The events can be key too. There’s an additional worker space where you can defer your action until last, but get to look at that round’s even cards. This can really swing things too, as it gives you a chance to dig out of a hole you didn’t know was coming. Or throw someone into one! Euro games aren’t really my thing. But when I’m in the mod, this is my kind of euro game.
• The dabbler: I really liked the artwork in 1923 Cotton Club. While the rules all made sense, and the flow of the game was helped by the theme. The characters do encourage a bit of table talk too, as your club starts to take shape. Maybe its all singers, or dancers. Or perhaps you’re attracting some big movie stars, like Charlie Chaplin. And who doesn’t want to hire Al ‘scarface’ Capone just to do the comedy accents?! As for gameplay, everything fits. But I’m not sure it’s anything special. But it is for the size of the box it comes in.

Key observations

Personally, I haven’t really enjoyed 1923 Cotton Club with two-players. This is a game that needs players taking spots and cards from you to make turn order important and add the tension the game needs to shine. They’ve tried to fudge a two-player workaround where you each place a neutral meeple each round after your second placement. Bit its just fiddly and rarely makes much of a difference. Or if it does, it’s devastating. I won’t play with two again.

Also, there is nothing new here. No clever mechanism or unique element. Sure, the theme is great and well realised. While it’s great to have a genuinely solid competitive worker placement euro in such a small package. But when compared to Looping’s other recent-ish euro 1906 San Francisco, which is in the same size box, I feel this pales in comparison. Purely because that felt fresh and original as well as being remarkably compact.

But the game is simple and smooth and is a nice addition to the ‘get cards to get other cards to get points’ genre. And by its nature things tend to be very tight, with small margins being the difference between grabbing or missing certain cards. Some worry about replayability as you see all the cards each game. But I worry less about that in a tactical game, where its more about reacting than planning. I worry more that, beyond the theme and box size, there isn’t anything making it stand out. But maybe that’s are enough. It didn’t hurt Splendor…

Conclusion: 1923 Cotton Club

While it will never make my Top 50 games, 1923 Cotton Club will be staying in my collection. I love this small box line and I dig the theme. While I do like this kind of tactical competitive euro once in a while. So its staying on its merits, even if they are a bit niche. And, if you like games in this genre. Or ones with unusual theme are nice art. Or in small packages! I definitely advise you to take a closer look.

• Thanks to Looping Games for providing a discounted copy of the game for review.
• Follow this link for 200+ more of my board game reviews.

I just wanted to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to you all for coming to visit my little corner of the internet. Whether you’ve just landed here for the first time by mistake, or if you’re a regular who gets alerts when I post. All the same, seeing the visitor numbers makes the whole endeavour feel worthwhile and I hope you get whatever it is you came here looking for.

GoPlayListen had its 10th anniversary in October. Back in 2011 the title made more sense. I started the blog to be a place for me to write about whatever was on my mind. And back then that was equally likely to be going somewhere, or playing/listening to something cool – and often all three in the same weekend. I even wrote about moving to a new town, running, football and all sorts of things. But over time it became a pure(ish) board gaming blog.

2020 was the blog’s most successful year for visits, after a few wobbly years. I thought it might be a one-off, but this year should roughly equal it (update: beat it!). This is even better because it has been consistent throughout. Where last year, I had a few weirdly strong months making the rest of it look better than it was. It’ll equate to about 50,000 visits for the year. Nothing by interweb standards, but pretty good for a one man band in a niche category. Especially with only a largely ignored Facebook page to back it up on them there socials. But remember – you can help by clicking here before visiting and buying via Board Game Prices 🙂

Gaming in a COVID world

I ducked out of gaming resolutions last year due to COVID. And as nothing has changed, I’m skipping them again. I was hoping to do a 100×1 challenge. The idea is to play 100 different games from your collection, choosing games you’ve neglected – which is loads, due to limited play chances. But I’m struggling to get one meetup a month arranged, let alone one/two per week, so simply can’t commit. Any game time I have is spent on games I’m reviewing from Essen. Thankfully so far they’ve largely been great games.

I guess it should be no surprise my most viewed post this year was my Top 10 games at online board game website Board Game Arena. Where so many of us have had to do a lot of our gaming during the pandemic. I actually wrote the list in June 2020 and its amazing how much they’ve added since. I’d only include a couple of those games in a top 10 now. So should really get around to doing an updated post…

But I’m rambling. Thanks again for visiting. And to any publishers fishing around to find their Essen game reviews – sorry! If you can’t see them, they’ll be coming early next year. Just as long as I can actually get some people round to play them. Have a great festive period, a fun new year – and here’s to a slightly less virusy 2022…