I finally finished updating my game plays of 2015 the other day, it took a rather long time as I had to log plays from December 2014 to June 2015. Yes, I have been very bad at logging plays...but I promise I will keep on top of it this year. After logging them all meticulously onto Boardgamegeek I checked the final count and I was thrilled to learn that I played 1,992 games in 2015! That is not too shabby for a relatively new gamer. Those games were an eclectic mixture of brief filler games, medium card, dice and strategy games, more robust boardgames and larger meatier games.  

It is funny to think that I was totally oblivious to this expansive and wondrous world of gaming just over a year ago, and it is interesting to see how I dove head first into the throngs of tabletop games. I was seduced by the shiny dice, the beautifully crafted boards and components but, most especially, by the unity and interaction that comes when playing a game with another person. 

To immerse oneself in a game, for me, is much like getting lost in a good book or trying out a new move in your skates - the same kind of thrill is released. You are using brain power; strategy, dexterity or even just counting your lucky stars. It is strange to say it, but being introduced to tabletop games has affected my life in a positive way. It has made me gain more confidence, given me the inspiration and the platform to start writing again, it has taken me on some great road trips around the country in pursuit of new games and experiences and has led me to make new and welcoming friends. 

So, that was my mushy little ramble! I look forward to writing a lot more, and gaming a lot more. I have lots of gaming adventures planned this year already, including more trips to new board games cafes. Quite a few fresh ones need to be checked out, and their cakes need sampling too.

Thanks for reading

Marisa xx     

Food, Glorious Food!

I like to eat, I like to eat a lot. I also like to cook and spend hours looking through recipe books for the perfect dish. Finding games with a food theme always gets me excited, before I became rather obsessed with table top games I played Nintendo's Cooking Mama and Cake Mania to death. The Food Network channel would be on constantly, and whether it was Nigella Lawson cooking up a calorific treat or Adam Richman taking on insane food challenges, I would be consumed by it for a spell. So I was pleased to find many games that tantalise the taste buds and allow you to get creative without making a mess in the kitchen or ruining your appetite. Here is my list of food themed games that I have enjoyed.

1. Fish Cook

This is a Euro-style game about top chefs in Paris competing to have the best recipes by earning the most money and prestige. It is a game of strategy and dice rolling. The dice rolls determine the amount of ingredients available in the markets and players must choose which items to buy in order to make their desired dishes. You must choose wisely, as once an ingredient is out of stock then that round is over and you must cook up your dishes to earn money. There are three rounds, you may cook up as many of your recipes as you can after the market phase is over, and perhaps even steal a recipe from an opponent in the process. This is a really fun game, the dice rolls gave the luck element but you can use your initiative to make sure you gather the vital ingredients.

2. Sushi Dice

I have already gone into detail about the excellent game of Sushi Dice here. Frantic dice rolling to match the ingredients on the cards and frenzied bell ringing which alerts the neighbours that you either have a very unresponsive servant or you are, in fact, just playing Sushi Dice.

3. Fungi/Morels   

This beautifully illustrated card game is all about gathering delectable mushrooms and frying them in the woods by moonlight. As a set collecting game for two players, you must forage the forest for mushrooms using tools or aides that you acquire though the deck. The mushrooms have two values; what they sell for and what they are worth if you cook them. You may cook three or more of the same kind at a time, and the rarer the mushroom, the more value it has. Adding butter or cider to the sizzling pan of mushrooms increases your points, and adds to the flavour. Whoever has the highest points at the end of the game is the champion forager.

4. Just Desserts

Now this card game just makes me hungry for desserts, I have a real sweet tooth anyway so it is hard to play this without raiding the kitchen afterwards. Players must serve customers at a cafe, they must be the best waiter there by serving up what the customers crave. You can combine card symbols in your hand to win over customers, unless you have their favourite dish in your hand which not only gets you their card but you get a tip (which is drawing an extra dessert card, very handy). To win, you must have three customers in a matching colour or five customers in different colours. This set collecting game is delicious to look at, and each card is unique. I need more dessert games!

5. Sushi Go!

Another sushi game. Sushi is tasty and aesthetically pleasing, and these sushi morsels are as cute as buttons! The setting for this card drafting game is a fast food sushi restaurant, where dishes zoom by on a conveyor belt and you have to grab the best combination that you can. Players choose a card from their hand and pass the cards over to another player, collecting sets that will win them the most points. Combining wasabi with nigiri triples the value of the nigiri, so wasabi is a sough-after card. Also, keep an eye out for pudding, as whoever finishes the game with the most pudding gets bonus points and whoever has the least gets penalised. Sushi Go is very enjoyable and simple to play. There are three rounds of the game, and I am sure you will want to go again and again. 

6. Elevenses

Such an elegant looking game! But beware; elegant socialites hosting morning tea can be highly conniving. In Elevenses, you are creating the perfect spread of sandwiches, biscuits, cakes and tea. Each player starts with eleven morning tea cards, and each card has a point value and special action. For instance, the Tea card has a value of 1 (the teaspoon icon in the right is the value) and the special action states 'Choose a player, flip one of tablecloth cards valued 2 - 9 face-down' Ouch! The special actions on the cards make things interesting as cards are passed back and forth, flipped over, peeked at and stolen. The round ends when a player plays the Elevenses card. Whoever has the most points is rewarded two sugar cubes and the others get one, rounds then continue until someone wins by getting seven sugar cubes. That is a lot of sugar! 

7. Lord of the Fries

This game looks quite different from the last eatery-based game. Welcome to Friedeys, a fast-food establishment where your server is a decaying zombie, but at least he is wearing the appropriate diner attire complete with the classic cap. One can only hope that he has gained the basic food hygiene certificate. This game is really simple to play and extremely fun. Players choose orders from the menu, either through dice rolls or by picking something they think their opponent will struggle to make, and try to make the order with cards from their hand. When one player plays their last card then the round is over, points are totalled and any leftover cards in hand are worth minus points. There are four rounds of menu madness, and you may still feel peckish at the end. 

8. Fishfry

This is one of my favourite filler games, it is very quick to play but it has lots of replayability. Fishfry is a dice rolling game that consists of five custom dice. Players may roll the dice up to three times, trying to catch the largest fish to fry. You must roll a head and a tail to score points, and various sized fishy body bits to add to the score. If you roll a small panfish then you may not re-roll that and it counts as one point. If you roll five panfish then you shout 'FISHFRY!', you have fried up all your fish and instantly win. Mini Fishfry tournaments happen at my place regularly, usually before Dino Hunt Dice, whenever the mood for constant rolling and re-rolling hits.

So that is my list of foodie games. Are there any food themed games that you enjoy playing? I would love to hear about them.

Thanks for reading!

Marisa xx

                           

Kickstarter Feature - Sandwich Masters by Big Punch Studios

In the realm of table top games there is a vast choice to choose from and it appears that the list keeps growing and growing! Kickstarter is a useful platform for game designers to release their creations, and Big Punch Studios are unleashing their first game through it in their new campaign. Big Punch Studios is a collective of four creatives; Nich Angell, Lucy Brown, Jon Lock and Alice White. All four imbue the talents and diverse skills needed to make their company a stonking success, they are responsible for the popular comic series of Afterlife Inc. as well as working with Titan and the BBC, and I had the pleasure of interviewing them recently about their new venture into table top territory with their game Sandwich Masters. You all know that I cannot resist a game with a food theme!

Sandwich Masters has gone live on Kickstarter recently, can you tell us a little bit about it?

Sandwich Masters is the first game that Big Punch Studios has produced. Normally, we make comics (we're the creators of Afterlife Inc., 7STRING, Cat & Meringue and Big Punch Magazine), so it's nice to exercise our love of games for a change!

Sandwich Masters is a game about sandwiches. And strategy. Oh, and sabotage. Players compete to build sandwiches, complete orders and earn noshbucks. But in the race to earn money, standards are easily forgotten. Each good ingredient has an evil counterpart. Customers won't notice the distance (is that beef or a live cow, bacon or facon?) but if someone plays a Health Inspector card, expect a hefty fine! You can also play Attack Condiments (a sneeze, broken glass) to ruin your opponents' perfectly good sandwiches.

 How long did it take you to perfect Sandwich Masters?

The original concept for Sandwich Masters came to us while stuck in a traffic jam well over a year ago. For a while afterwards we toyed with the idea on and off, coming up with random gameplay mechanics that were either adapted, adopted or discarded in later days, before dedicating a solid week where the four of us would seal ourselves away from the outside world and finalise the game. Most of the development was done in that intense session. After that, we progressed to test copies and demoing it with our local gaming community, before finally arriving at the product we have today.

 Have you always been into table top games?

For as long as we can remember! Like most people we started with family favourites such as Monopoly and Cludo, before discovering, in later life, the wealth of modern day games out there. While comics are our first love, we've all harboured dreams of making games of our own for a long time.

 What kind of games do you favour? And what are your favourites?

Games that are easy to learn but difficult to master. Games with a real visual appeal, be it a great design or something as pleasing as many, many intricate and beautiful pieces. Also, we've recently discovered and gotten into cooperative games, games where players must unite against the board.

How did the concept of Sandwich Masters come around? 

Sandwich Masters began life in that fateful traffic jam. I don't think anyone set out to create a sandwich-themed game. We were all just very hungry at the time, which I think helped. Perhaps in that delirious state of hunger we were all a little unhinged, because talk of sabotaging sandwiches seemed to make perfect sense at the time! 

Have you ever found anything untoward in a sandwich? My worst find was goatee hair.

One of the worst things we've ever found in a sandwich was probably the time Jon accidentally swallowed half a cocktail stick, which was hiding inside a particularly devilish club sandwich. It was not the best of sandwiches. 

What would be the worst thing for you to find in a sandwich?

A time paradox. Your death certificate. A black hole. Monday morning. Or possibly just too much salt. 

How long have you been a part of Big Punch Studios?

Big Punch Studios, as a company, has existed since 1 BP (otherwise known as January 2015). Before that, we operated as a collective of sorts, making comics together and exhibiting at shows. We still do that. It's just a bit more official now, what with Sandwich Masters, our business and our quarterly magazine publication, Big Punch Magazine.

Do Big Punch Studios have any more games in the pipelines?

Definitely! And maybe even some related to our comic book properties. Hint hint.

You have had a number of successful Kickstarters now, what advice would you give to newcomers?

Plan, plan and plan in advance. Consider all extra costs, such as postage and Kickstarter's administrative fees, before launching. Hit the ground running. Promote your Kickstarter well before it starts. Finally, enage with your backers. Back sure you reward them for their support and pledges any way you can. Make them feel a part of the project from Day 1.

Thank you, Big Punch Studios! You can check out the Kickstarter for Sandwich Masters here.

Thanks for reading!

Marisa xx