What I Played Today: June 7

Scotland Yard, Tzol'kin, Walking Dead Card Game

I got to be Mr. X in Scotland Yard and man is that a heck of a lot of fun. It is SO GREAT to be doing exactly what my opponents are not expecting me to do, and whenever I revealed every five moves the feelings was always "Ah shit, how is he over there?" After my fifth reveal, when I was literally revealed halfway across the map from all the police, they said, "Let's call it, he won." Hehehe. It did require taking some ridiculous risks though, including standing within one move of two of my opponents, but it in a place they weren't expecting me to be. But yeah...Mr. X. Goddamn great.

Then a game of Tzol'kin in which I basically dicked around. I did not do well. I came in dead last and although I did stuff, none of those things were worth any points. The guy who never gained an extra worker scored higher than me, for Christ's sake. Well...at least I had fun. And the group I was playing with played at a great clip, I like that.

I played the Walking Dead Card Game, both versions, and...I like them both! It's a game that mixes skill and luck pretty well, and if the game didn't include a ton of gross zombies, I would totally pick this up immediately! It makes a great case for itself! Numbers!

What I Played Today: March 27

Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar, Infinity Dungeon

I got to play Tzolk'in again, which is good, because I like this game. The wheel! The wheel! Anyway, I decided that I was going to do mainly a buildings based game, and it worked...for a while. I spent a lot of time getting materials that I quickly used, while the other two players concentrated on getting crystal skulls and taking them into the jungle, which...it turns out...is a much better strategy! The guy who did this constantly won, while I spent the entire game being accused of being too smart and clearing winning. I didn't win, guy!

Also a round of Infinity Dungeon. That game sure is wacky. 

What I Played Today: February 13

Zombie Dice, Guillotine, Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar

Some game store hommieing, played a fast and loose game of Zombie Dice. This game is always fast and loose. It is almost impossible to care while you are playing it.

Guillotine is a really easy game where you play a card, and then you take a card, and whoever has the most points wins. There's a bit of a take that element, and you are almost guaranteed not to get the card you want, but hey, it's pretty fun for a gruesome theme. Definitely filler-y.

Then the main event: Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar. It's a worker placement game that uses time as a resource, and it does so with this super sweet set of gears. There are five individual gears that are all attached to a central gear. You place your workers on little slots on each gear. After each round, you turn the central gear and the workers move up to the next space in line. For your turn, instead of placing guys, you can remove guys to take the action of the space you are currently on. It is so damn neat, I just like playing it because the decisions are simple (kinda) and the feel of spinning the wheel each turn is really cool.

I won because I saw right away that the best strategy would be to please the gods, since the other methods of getting points (the jungle wheel and buying monuments) are expensive, while pleasing the gods is less reliable, but only takes time. I botched a couple of rules early on, (you aren't required to beg for more money, for example) but eventually we figured it out. I like it! The game just looks great and plays well enough.