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Set A Watch From Rock Manor Games

9/25/2020

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Board Game Spotlight where we take a brief look at games that have come across our table. Today we're taking a look at Set a watch from Rock Manor Games.

Set A Watch

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Players: 1-4 players | Play Time: 45-80 min | Age: 13+
Designers: Mike Gnade, Todd Walsh
Artists: Andreas Rocha, Robert P. Schneider

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Set A Watch is a cooperative game where players are trying to get through nine locations to stop evil. Once players make it through 9 rounds the players have won. It is very possible to lose the game before that. Players will visit a new location each round. They pick an adventurer to rest while the rest of the adventuring party takes watch and battle monsters through the night.
Players will manipulate creature lines, use the adventurers dice and special abilities in order to fight their way to victory.
This is a super fun board game. The game components for this one are really well done including the game box which unfolds and becomes part of the actual game board. The artwork for this one is dark but it fits the theme of the monsters coming into the light of the campfire.



Game or Developer Games - http://rockmanorgames.com
Board Game Geek - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/228855/set-watch

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Kickstarter Alert!!! 

Set a Watch: Swords of the Coin is a 60-90 minute, cooperative adventure puzzle game for 1-4 players. Swords of the Coin is a stand-alone expansion featuring the same critically-acclaimed gameplay along with some new twists centered around collecting coin and buying items from the merchant.  The expansion is fully compatible with the original game; creatures, locations and characters can all be mixed and matched together with the original Set a Watch. ​​

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Storytelling and Role Playing Games

9/23/2020

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 Long before such things as books, radio, television, or movies, Storytelling was used for entertainment, communication, and education.
People from all walks of life would gather around the fire pit, or huddle in their shelters and dwellings sharing stories. Some of these were of their culture, some were from their
Our ancestors gathered around the open fire or hearth in the darkest depths of their dwellings and used stories to pass on their culture to the next generation. The stories would help explain abstract concepts like religion or the ways of nature, or the stories would tell the tribe or the village the latest news from faraway lands.
At its root, storytelling is about sharing experiences. We use storytelling every day. When we come home from work, we have plenty of anecdotes from the office to share with family members. When we talk with friends down at the local bar or over a restaurant dinner, we trade experiences in the form of stories.
Storytelling is an art form, though. Everyone can do it; few can do it well.
Today’s stories come in many different forms. Most stories are written down in books or presented in movies. It’s mostly a one-person experience. But over the last several years, the art of storytelling is experiencing a revival through role-playing games.

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Storytelling and Role-Playing Games

One of the elements I enjoy most about the Sixcess, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, and other role playing games is the freedom it offers. Storytellers can take a set of rules and source material and then weave that into a fantastic game for players.
A good storyteller uses everything available at his or her disposal. In a tabletop or live-action role-playing game, props are key to a good game. There is mood music, handouts and other aspects of the sessions that make a story come to life with items the players can see and feel.
In a play-by-post creative roleplaying game like Escaping Reality, your written words have to paint a vivid picture able to interest players, draw them in and keep them coming back for more.
“Show, don’t tell” is more applicable to creative writing gaming than in any other situation.

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Some tips to be a good story teller

You need a strong sense of timing and rhythm, like a musician, to sense when changes occur. You need a quick mind to catch the little clues a player might leave. These have the potential to turn into a longer chronicle and more enjoyment. At the same time, you leave clues of your own for others to collect, like a trail of breadcrumbs.
One of the most difficult elements of creative rpgs is leaving these hints behind without beating the player or the reader over the head with them. You may desperately want to show readers to notice this or that, but you can only drop in subtle hints here and there to create an effective story. You have to learn how to set the right mood and keep everyone on track.
Realize that it’s okay if the story get off track. There’s nothing wrong with sacrificing your plot, your ideas or your plans if something better presents itself spontaneously. Just roll with it and see where the story goes.
Storytelling is an intricate dance of give and take. Once you learn a little about the steps and understand where to place your feet, you’ll be dancing your story in no time.
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Flip City from Tasty Minstrel Games

9/22/2020

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​Board Game Spotlight where we take a brief look at games that have come across our table. Today we're taking a look at Flip City from Tasty Minstrel Games.

Flip City

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Players: 1-4 players | Play Time: 30-50 min | Age: 8+
Designer Chih-Fan Chen
Artists Chih-Fan Chen and Adam P. Mclver

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Flip City is a deck builder with unique hand and deck shuffling mechanics built into gameplay. Players play cards from the top of their deck in a press your luck style. If you have 3 cry face icons in play then you must stop. Each card has coins or abilities on them that trigger when played. Using the coins players buy new cards or upgrade a card in their discard pile. Upgrading a card simply means flipping that card over to it’s other side. When you play cards that have 8 VP stars during a single playing phase that player wins immediately.



http://playtmg.com/
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/168679/flip-city

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Firefly The Game from Gale Force Nine

9/17/2020

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Board Game Spotlight where we take a brief look at games that have come across our table. Today we're taking a look at Firefly The Board Game from Gale Force Nine.

Firefly The Game 

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1-4 players | Play Time: 120-140 minutes | Age: 13+
Designer: Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski, Sean Sweigart
Artist: Charles Woods
Publisher Gale Force Nine

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In firefly the board game players pick a ship, pick a captain and set out into the big black verse. Players will get a crew, upgrade their ship, buy equipment in order to find jobs to get paid. The game is completed when a player completes the final goal on the story card picked at the beginning of the game. 

This is one of my favorite games in my collection. I will often lose myself just flying around the galaxy instead of accomplishing the story goals. The game does take up a LOT of space on the table. Our little table at home can’t fit more than the base game. This is one that could definitely use a “Tiny Epic Makeover”. At least for the map.
The game components are very solid and gameplay is smooth as drifting through space. 

The game has several expansions available that add the greatness of this game. 


Game or Developer Games - https://firefly.gf9games.com/
Board Game Geek - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/138161/firefly-game

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Facility 07 - Never Engine Games - Kickstarter Day!

9/15/2020

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Facility 07 from Never Engine Games

It is September 15th, the official launch of the Kickstarter for Facility 07 is drawing near. 11:00AM CST to be exact. This game is a super fun spy vs spy game. Players will somewhat work together to explore a facility, use room abilities, fight clone guards, gather data while looking for the computer mainframe. Once the mainframe is hacked the facility self destruct sequence is activated. The game shifts to a battle royal where players will fight each other and maneuver their way out of the facility. 
The player who gets out of the facility with the most data is the winner. 
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2-6 Players |  Play Time: 45-180 min | Age: 14+
Designers are: Trevor Scott and Alyssa Scott
Publisher: Never Engine Games

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Facility 07 is a semi cooperative facility exploration game that turns spy vs spy once the mainframe is discovered and hacked. Players are competing to gather the most data, hack the mainframe, and get out before the facility self destructs and goes boom. Game Over!
Facility 07 has a card driven facility layout that makes the game very unique every time it’s played. The ops cards that players use throughout the game to further their agenda or thwart the other players' agendas offer a fun little twist to the game. This one will be fun for gamers who enjoy a light go after your opponent game. 


website - https://www.neverenginegames.com/facility07
Board Game Geek - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/295128/facility-07


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​https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/neverenginegames/facility-07

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The Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring Deck-Building Game from Cryptozoic

9/11/2020

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Board Game Spotlight where we take a brief look at games that have come across our table. Today we're taking a look at The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Deck-Building Game  from Cryptozoic Entertainment

Lord of The Rings The Fellowship of the Ring Deck-Building Game

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Players: 2-5 players | Play Time: 30-45 min | Age: 15+
Designer: Ben Stoll, Patrick Sullivan (II)
​Publisher Cryptozoic Entertainment.

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Breaker
In Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Deck Building Game players choose one of the characters from the Lord of the Rings film series. The goal of the game is to defeat a stack of randomly selected archenemy cards. 
Each player has a similar opening hand except for one card that goes with the character they select. Through the course of the game players will play cards from their hands and purchase new cards from the line up to expand their deck further. Players will purchase new maneuvers, artifacts, allies, locations, and enemies. Each new card comes with it’s own abilities that may mesh or conflict with abilities players already have in their deck. The strategy is to find the right combination to make your deck work together.
When new cards are added to the lineup sometimes you will run across enemies with ambush abilities. When they first appear the active player gets hit with the ambush effect. When a player buys that card and puts it into their deck the ambush ability no longer applies when it is played. 
Some ambush or attack abilities cards may have will give players corruption. Corruption are worth negative points at the end of the game.
There is a stack of archenemy cards that players must get through. When a player has enough power through cards they have played they can take on the current archenemy. This is just like buying a card from the lineup. The archenemy card goes into the players discard pile. When a new archenemy is revealed any ambush or group ambush abilities are triggered. 
When the final archenemy is defeated the end of the game is triggered. Each card gained through the game has a point value. The point values are added up and the player with the most points in their deck win.

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This is the first in a trilogy of games from Cryptozoic that follow the Lord of the Rings movies. It also features Cryptozoic’s Cerberus Game Engine. The style of deck builder found in many of their deck building games including DC Deck-Building Game, Attack on Titan Deck-Building Game, Street Fighter Deck-Building Game, and others. Many of which we’ll get to on the podcast soon.
Gameplay is pretty simple to pick up. You start with simple cards and your deck grows depending on your strategy and play desire. Will you go after all the enemies and try to attack your way to victory? Perhaps having a lot of allies will help you gather enough power to go after the arch enemy?
One of the great parts of this game is that you can go after victory with the arch enemies, as they have the most points attached to them but that’s not the only way to gain victory points. 
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Game or Developer Games -https://www.cryptozoic.com
Board Game Geek - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/127127/lord-rings-fellowship-ring-deck-building-game
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Dice Wall - Our House Games Monroe Michigan
https://www.facebook.com/OurHouseGames/
http://ourhousegames.com/


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Overland Gamer The Podcast - Board Game Spotlight - The Mind from Pandasaurus Games

9/8/2020

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Board Game Spotlight where we take a brief look at games that have come across our table. Today we're taking a look at The Mind from Pandasaurus Games. 

The Mind

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Players: 2-4 players | Play Time: 20 min | Age: 8+
Designer: Wolfgang Warsch
Artist: Oliver Feudenreich
​ Publisher Pandasaurus Games

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Players work together to play cards into a single pile of cards in an ascending order. The trick is you cannot communicate what cards are in your hands. In fact you can’t communicate at all with other players. Can the players clear their hands out in eight levels of play? Ten? Twelve? 
The players start with a number of lives equal to the number of players. Each player receives a number of cards based on the level of the game. Round 1 one cards each, round 2 two cards each. Each player tries to play a card in ascending order to the previously played cards. If no one holds a card lower than the one just played the game continues. If someone does all players discard all face up cards lower than what you played and players lose a life. Lose all your lives and it’s game over. When everyone empties their hand successfully the round has been won. Players have an opportunity to earn Shuriken cards. When played Shurikens allow players to discard their lowest card face up. Opening up options for play to continue. 

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This game is tricky and fun. Not being able to speak to each other is super difficult. It takes a bit of finesse with the card playing to know when to play your cards. Early on it’s not so bad. Starting off you have one card each so it can be easier. 
This is definitely a fun game in our collection and it is simple enough for a variety of folks to play from seasoned gamers to beginner gamers. 


Game or Developer Games - https://pandasaurusgames.com/products/the-mind
Board Game Geek - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244992/mind

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Overland Gamer The Podcast - New Monday Series - Mechanic Monday! - 4x/3x games

9/7/2020

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Mechanic Monday - Episode 1 - 4x/3x games

Mechanic Mondays will be a series where we take a look at a game mechanic. We'll talk about the mechanic and share some games that include this mechanic as part of their game-play. 
Today's episode is all about 4x/3x games. We will Exterminate, Expand, Exploit, and Explore our way through this. 
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Listen to the episode here! 

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What is 3x/4x?
Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate

​4x games stand for Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate. The games with this mechanic in it usually have elements of exploring a map, expanding an empire, exploit the territories or areas, and exterminating other players. The 3x games fall into this category as well. The themes in mechanics are similar with missing one of the Ex’s that make the 4x games.

Games that include this mechanic!

Alien Artifacts from Portal Games

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From Portal Games Alien Artifacts is a card game where players are sending research vessels into uncharted space. They are trying to expand their knowledge of power. They build powerful ships, and upgrade their technology. It’s a combination of 4x and engine building. 
Alien Artifacts plays 2-5 players, playtime is about 60 min, it’s published by Portal Games. 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/181293/alien-artifacts
https://portalgames.pl/en/

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Tiny Epic Kingdoms from Gamelyn Games

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Tiny Epic Kingdoms is a 4x game where players are trying to expand their kingdoms and be the person with the most victory points through conquering territories in a fantasy themed game.  Tiny Epic Kingdoms plays 2-5 players, playtime is about 30-45 minutes and it is published by Gamelyn Games.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/148951/tiny-epic-kingdoms
https://www.gamelyngames.com/

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Tiny Epic Galaxies from Gamelyn Games

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Another one from Gamelyn Games. Tiny Epic Galaxies is a great space game. Players compete to explore the galaxy and follow other players actions to get the most victory points at the end. Tiny Epic Galaxies was featured on Wil Wheaton’s Tabletop. Tiny Epic Galaxies plays 1 - 5 players, play time is about 30 - 45 minutes. Published by Gamelyn Games. 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/163967/tiny-epic-galaxies
https://www.gamelyngames.com/

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Dice Settlers from NSKN Games

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Settle the new world as players expand their people, advance their technologies. Starting off with a small parchment of land, a few families, and a limited resources. Dice Settlers is a civilization dice game which takes the 4x mechanic and includes pool building, resource gathering and area control. Dice Settlers plays 1-4 players with a playtime of 45-60 minutes. Published by NSKN Games. 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230267/dice-settlers

​https://www.nskn.net/

New Dawn from Artipia Games and Stronghold Games

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A sequel to the popular Among The Stars. Players explore the galaxy and advance technology in order to expand their empires. Players are in charge of reviving a galactic sector. The game includes hand management, tile placement, and dice rolling. It plays 2-4 players with a play time of about 90-120 minutes.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/135654/new-dawn
http://strongholdgames.com/​

Dominant Species from GMT Games

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Players play as one of six major animal classes mammal, reptile, bird, amphibian, arachnid, or insect. Beginning the game there is balance. It quickly becomes a survival of the fittest as players strive to become the dominant species. 
This game plays 2-6 players with a play time of about 120-240 minutes. 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/62219/dominant-species
​https://www.gmtgames.com/
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Twilight Imperium from Fantasy Flight Games

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A classic and more well known game on our list is Twilight Imperium. This game is massive with a solid 4x strategy built into it. Players compete to conquer the galaxy. There are seventeen factions available for players to choose from. Players will show their military might, political maneuvering, and economic strategies. This is a hefty game but is a lot of fun. 

Plays 3-6 players run time of about 240-480 minutes. Although I have seen games last overnight. A group of guys were playing this at a friendly local game cafe. They started in the afternoon on saturday, and they finished the game sunday an hour before the store closed. Granted there was a period between about 2am to 11am where the store was closed. Holy smokes can this one take a lot of time. 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233078/twilight-imperium-fourth-edition

​https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/index/​

Heroes of Land Air and Sea from Gamelyn Games

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Another game from Gamelyn Games. This one features a miniature warfare of orcs vs humans, dwarves vs elves and battling kingdoms. Who will shift the war to their favor? Players choose one of these factions and compete to expand their kingdoms. 
This is one that has quite a few expansions to choose from. It plays 1-4 players with a playtime of about 120-180 minutes. 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/198830/heroes-land-air-sea
​https://www.gamelyngames.com/

Scythe from Stonemaier Games

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This steampunk inspired 4x game is rich with artwork and strategy. This one has been one that I enjoy playing because of the depth but it did take me a few plays to get used to it. It’s an engine building game set in an alternate history 1920s. Players will set their engines forward building farms, or building machines in order to advance their territory control over the board. It’s another hefty game that takes up quite a bit of space. 
Scythe plays 1-5 players with a play time of about 90-115 minutes. 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169786/scythe
​https://stonemaiergames.com/games/scythe/
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My Little Scythe from Stonemaier Games

One cannot mention Scythe without mentioning My Little Scythe. My Little Scythe is a lighter version of Scythe with colorful characters and game artwork to match. The gameplay is a little simpler to play than regular scythe. My Little Scythe plays 1-6 players with a play time of about 45-60 minutes. 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/226320/my-little-scythe
​https://stonemaiergames.com/games/scythe/
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Star Trek Ascendancy from Gale Force Nine

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By far one of my favorite games on this list is Star Trek Ascendancy. This is a great game set in the Star Trek universe. Players choose one of the factions available. They explore the galaxy looking for means to gather resources and expand their empires. The great part about this one is the universe is ever changing. When you start out you have the homeworlds and that’s it. When you go into warp and come out depending on the speed you have available you draw a new region of space to explore. This could be a civilized planet or a dangerous nebula. Balancing resources and economics until you can gain the victory conditions to win is key. The base game comes with the Federation, the Romulans, and my favorites the Klingons. Quapla! Expansion factions are available with the Ferengi, Cardassians, Andorians, and Vulcans. The Borg are also available in an expansion to make the game even more challenging. This one is great! This one plays 3 players with a play time of about 180 Minutes. Though with other factions we have played this with 5 players without any issue. 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/193949/star-trek-ascendancy
www.gf9.com/
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What do you think of our list? Have you played any of these titles? What are some 4x/3x games that you have played that we should check out?

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​Be sure to keep your fluids full, check those tire pressures, Always know where your towel is, be kind to one another, and Play More Games!

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Overland Gamer The Podcast - Board Game Spotlight Episode 39 - The Game from Pandasaurus Games

9/1/2020

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Board Game Spotlight where we take a brief look at games that have come across our table. Don't lose The Game as players compete with limited communication in order to put as many cards down into 2 piles of ascending cards and 2 piles of descending cards. Today we're taking a look at The Game from Pandasaurus Games.

The Game

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Players: 1-5 players |Play Time: 20 min | Age: 8+
Designer: Steffen Benndorf
Artist: Oliver Freudenreich, Sandra Freudenreich, Jason D. Kingsley, Kwanchai Moriya
Publisher Pandasaurus Games ​

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Players work together to play cards into one of 4 piles. Two piles are ascending in order, the other two piles are descending in order. On a players turn they play one or two cards. While you can talk about the game you cannot say specific information of what cards payers have. The trick to the game is working together to go through the draw pile and empty their hands.
Starting the game players must play 2 cards on their turn into one of the four card piles. Players can play more if you like but you must place 2 cards. Players can change piles if they wish. When a player has completed their turn they draw the amount of cards until you have a specified number of cards. 
Two piles are in ascending order, two piles are descending order. Players can play cards going against this if they are exactly 10 less or higher than the card played. Example if the card on top of the ascending order was 53 a player could play the card 43 to drop them back 
Once the draw deck is out of cards players have the option of playing 1 or more cards. Players play until someone can’t play anymore. Count up the number of cards in each pile and this is the score for the game. 
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This is another challenging, tricky and fun. It takes a lot of finesse with your other players to play the cards and not screw over your other players hands. The game gets progressively harder the further down the ascending and descending piles you get. 
This is definitely a fun game in our collection and it is simple enough for a variety of folks to play from seasoned gamers to beginner gamers. 


Game or Developer Games - https://pandasaurusgames.com/products/the-game-kwanchai-moriya-edition
Board Game Geek - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244992/mind

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Thanks for listening to todays episode. 

From the Dice Wall - 
Nameless City Games
https://www.facebook.com/NamlessCityGames/
https://namelesscitygames.business.site/

Pandasaurus Games - https://pandasaurusgames.com/
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    Shad0fx

    Joe DeMarco (Shad0fx) is a father, writer, game designer, and podcaster. 

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