Historia by Marco Pranzo, Published by GoldenEggGames, Reviewed by Jason Elliott from PaladinElliott Productions

Historia by Marco Pranzo, Published by GoldenEggGames, 

Reviewed by Jason Elliott from PaladinElliott Productions

What are the recommendations for this game?

Number of players: 1-6 (this is due to having a great CivBot system in place with 3 difficulties (Chieftain, Noble, and King...Easiest to Hardest)

Time of game: 120 minutes, could be longer in teaching new players

Age recommendation: 12 and up

The back story: This is an opportunity through a board game to replay the last 12,000 years of history. As each player builds, nurtures, and develops their own Civilization from the time of Neanderthals to the future with hitting The Singularity. You will develop your Military and Technology, through the use of Trade, Raids, Warfare, Revolutions and more. You will need to work as your Leader wants, you will need to build Wonders, and eventually have the greatest civilization to win!

What comes in the game? (Retail Copy)

One Rules Sheet

One Game Board

54 Power Cubes

48 Wonder Cards

12 Event Cards

18 Leader Cards

16 Territory Tiles

60 Action Cards

35 Advisor Cards

7 Civbot Cards

2 Time Markers

6 Matrix Markers

6 Player Reference Sheets

12 Point/Turn Markers

What is the end game objective? What am I striving for?

You want to have raised your Military and Technology in accordance with your game options and Leader cards to have the highest amount of points at the end of the game.

Special Note: Other ways to score include Wonders Cards along with bonuses that can be achieved by reaching the 16th level of Military and/or Technology advancement. You can then keep scoring for every time you would go over those levels.

How do I set the game up? Where is that leading me to?

You want to get the board set up, so you place the Timeline markers in place, both for the four turn outer ring, and the 3 era inner ring. So each era has 4 turns, which means this game will end at the close of the 12th turn. The Wonder cards come in 3 decks. One for each of the eras. You will draw one each player plus two additional cards These cards will be available to obtain. Once players have a starting civilization they should have their action cards, advisor cards, and power cubes. The action cards need to have War and Tourism taken out at the beginning as they are only available later on. You will have 5 advisor cards, 4 will be face down, and one will be in your hand. You will need 4 power cubes, where 1 goes to the used cube pool. Everyone needs to decide initial turn order. Once you have marked your turn order, then mark your score at zero, and mark the bottom left corner of the development matrix (which is really cool by the way!). Place territory markers out on the regions of the map randomly (you will find this map on the bottom right of the board). You will then separate the Leaders cards into the 3 eras, and going in reverse turn order choose a number of leaders cards for the first age equal to the number of players plus one, pick one and then pass the rest. Extra will be removed from the game after everyone has one. Make sure this card is face up in your area. Finally, in turn order, each player places a cube on a territory  they will start from on the world map. This will cost one of your three cubes, so you will be down to two for now.

Now to play:  

When you are playing your turn, there will be some things to consider. What actions cards do I have available to me? In what order I should I play them? How many cubes do I have/will have along the way? Power cubes will be critical as they represent all of the hours of work and resources accumulated into a very streamlined system of progress acquisition. You will start with these action cards:

Military Upgrade (cannon icon) lets you move up one spot on the development matrix, could gain additional benefit depending on level you reach.

Technology Upgrade (test tubes icon) let you move one spot to the right on the development matrix, could gain additional benefit depending on the level you reach.

Special Note: If there isn't a space to move to, then the move is lost. You can move to a space that has other player(s).

Art -Acquire a Wonder (Mona Lisa icon) lets you choose one Wonder card and put it into your area, immediately in play. If there are no Wonders to draw from, then play with no effect.

Exploit (a person cracking a whip icon) lets you recover up to 2 of your Power cubes. You will recover the cubes from the used cube area, and if you don't have 2 there, then you take 1 or zero.

Expansion (one flag area pointing to another flag area icon) lets you use of your cubes to choose a new area on the map to expand to. You must follow rules for travel (if you don't have the navigation icon in your Technology level, or have passed it, then you must place adjacent to your area(s). If you don't have the cube to spend then the action has no effect.

Trade (bag of coins icon), this is where you can trade with another player you can reach, and they must have a higher Technology level than you. You get to go up one Technology level, and they receive Victory Points.

Raid (mounted knight charging icon), where you attack another player you can reach by being in the same territory or adjacent. You must have a Military level higher than the person you raid to be successful.

War (crossed swords icon) you don't start with this as you have to reach Technology level 2 or higher to add this card to your options. You must have a higher Military level than the opponent to win. You can only declare on another opponent in a shared territory.

Tourism (Eiffel Tower icon), this is where you attract tourists to your Wonders for victory points. You will gain this card once you reach or exceed Technology level 12.

Revolution (the female who holds the French flag, Liberte icon) this is where you mark the last action of a round you are currently in. You can't play this until this action would be at least the fourth one. The Resolution action must be played last, if multiple cards have been played. You will take the Revolution card back after being played, along with one other card of your choice. This will push the game along, and be an effective strategy to block people from doing more on a given turn.

Special Note: many of the cards have an advanced action below the basic one, you must meet the requirements to use this option. While the advanced actions are more powerful, they are also more costly.

Things that happen at turn's end (remember there are four turns in an Era):

Depending where you are in the outer circle, you will find that there are actions to taken that affect all the players. The icons could be the following:

A  +1 cube icon - so everyone will add 1 cube from the reserve (not in play) to the used pile section.

A trophy by a planted flag - this is the territory bonus so you score points for any territory that you hold that is not occupied by any other cubes.

A recycling sign by a black card with the number 2 - the recycling symbol indicates bring back, and the black card indicates the oldest and the number tells how many.  So, in this case, bring back the oldest two cards.

A recycling sign with a columned arch - you will get to reactivate your used Wonders.

A recycling sing with a 1 cube per planted flag icon - you will bring back 1 cube per territory that you hold or occupy.

An assembly (think of it how a senate might be seated looking from the top down - or a hand fan) icon - each player will gain a bonus based on their position in the development matrix. It is both marked in the book on page 7, and on the game board on the top left hand corner.

The two pawns icon - this is determining the new turn order. The lowest Victory points player will go first, and the next highest second, and so on. If there is a tie, then whoever went later in the previous turn is given priority.

The gear and columned archway icon - this is where you bring out additional Wonders after removing any that are still sitting out. The number of these will be the number of players + 2. Make sure to draw from the correct Era.

The leader pointing icon - This is where you check to see if you have met either or both conditions of your Leader card. For every condition you have met, score the appropriate amount of points marked on the card. The Leader card will then be removed from the game.

The gear and the leader pointing icon - This is where you bring out new leaders for the players to choose from. The total number brought out will be the number of players +1. The first player in the new turn order will choose 1 and then pass the rest to the player next in the turn order, and so on.

If there is any issue in seeing how this works out, a great turn example is covered on page 6 of the book!

Are there any variations for this game?

There are many things you can do for this game. First, the Civbots, which are Artificial Intelligence robots, that come in three difficulties (easy-Chieftain, medium-Noble, and hard-King) allow for a single player game. You could have these Civbots in a game by yourself, or add some to a game of human players.

Second, there are the Event cards, and they represent major things that have happened during the history of humanity that had major impacts on the world at large. In using these, you would draw one to take effect at the beginning of the game, and then at the beginning of each additional turn. Sometimes a specific action will cause the Event that was drawn to take place. These events can affect things like your Development levels, Wonders, Victory Points, and more. They can truly alter any players plans during the game!

Some game results:

Our games so far have been just amazing. The Civbot on the easiest mode (Chieftain) hung in during most of the game. It wasn't until the late game where it started falling behind. With our human games, it has been tit for tat with every decision being important. Everyone has felt that they don't want to be the one caught by the Revolution card, and have some of their actions and plans stopped. Another example is the game where I ended up behind the King Civbot (was playing against all 3 difficulty levels) and lost by less than 20 points! Players, including myself, feel the game is really well balanced to the aspects of risk versus reward. You could be playing it safe, and you will move at a decent, steady clip, while someone starts taking risks could be well rewarded, or leave themselves open with having cards tied up, or giving opportunities for other players to strike, such as raiding and war.

I like the fact that not only I had many options each turn, but that I was always considering the order to approach them, as, at any point, an opponent could stop the future of that turn outright by playing the revolution card. It seemed like everyone has to consider that each turn, and always try to figure out alternatives if that is played earlier than a player was ready for.

It was also nice to have mechanisms easily recognizable, such as having the cards tap, or be turned when used (referring to using a Wonder power). You have many different fronts to worry about, your Military level, your Technology level, someone else moving into one of your territories, trying to have first in a given category, or trying to meet Leader adjectives for bonus Victory points. Your game will be rewarding, and not dull!

Final Thoughts:

I would say first that this game stands alone in the Civilization building games for two reasons. One is the notion that all of your Civilization's resources have been accumulated into these Power Cubes, and I really liked that. Don't get me wrong, I love tracking all kinds of things in a game, in building my Empire up to be the very best in the game, but this was refreshing, and made it feel like I learned the game a little faster. Two is the Development Matrix, where not only were you worried about the X-axis (Technology Level, but moving along the Y-Axis (Military Level). So when one player went one way, you could go the other, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing!

These aspects lend to a unique game experience where you are always considering the aspect of a race. A race to get to a certain level to allow yourself to use advanced powers on your cards. A race to meet the requirements on your Leader card to get bonus points. A race to perform all of your plans before another player calls the revolution, or will you do it to throw others off? Maybe you performed everything on your turn and then call the revolution, being very satisfied at a turn of well executed orders?

This is a game where timing matters, where strategy matters, where every turn matters, to stay in the race! With that knowledge I can say those who enjoy building Civilizations, who love streamlined empire building, who love playing cards (whether or not you get to follow through with the action), and who love a game where options are everywhere, but which one is the right one, will enjoy this game!

Thank you so much for reading this report on Historia by Marco Pranzo, published by GoldenEggGames!

I hope you will check out my PaladinElliott Blog at:

https://paladinelliott.blogspot.com/

check out some of my videos at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58qYf_vaCaCnu6qvd-WpKw

and check out my Ready To Game Podcast at Soundcloud and/or Itunes:

https://soundcloud.com/jason-elliott-641636807/ready-to-game-podcast-three-may-25-2016

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-to-game-podcast-episode/id1111793358?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

and remember I am always....READY TO GAME!!!

RET. SSG Jason L. Elliott (PaladinElliott)

Dump The Ump, Created by Al Barnes, Reviewed by Jason Elliott from PaladinElliott Productions

Dump The Ump, Kickstarter by Al Barnes, Reviewed by Jason Elliott from PaladinElliott Productions

What are the recommendations for this game?

Number of players: 2+

Time of game: Not listed (from my experiences it can average 30 minutes and this includes learning and teaching)

Age recommendation: 8 and up

The back story: It is time to go play Baseball, but for whatever reason you can't, it's too hot, it's too far, not enough people getting together and so on. Well, with this little streamlined version you can play whenever you want, and you can take it with you easily, as it all fits in a cup (with lid)!

What comes in the game? (Note: Basing this off the prototype copy)

Rules Sheet

One fabric board (makes it take up less space)

1 Plastic Cup ( 1 lid for it as well)

1 six sided die

5 plastic pawns in five different colors (red, green, purple, yellow, and blue- these represent 5 types of batters: The Power Hitter, The Stealer, The Contact Hitter, The Extra Baser, and The Bunter)

6 red plastic chips

1 black batting chip (one side is Swing, one side is Take)

1 white pitching chip (one side is Strike, one side is Ball)

What is the end game objective? What am I striving for?

You want to have the most runs by the time the 3rd Inning is over. Another way to win is to be the first to hit 10 runs.

Special Note: If the players are tied at the end of the 3rd Inning then continue play by adding one more inning, and if the tie persists, then again add one more inning.

How do I set the game up?

Each person takes their position to the left or to the right of the board so that everyone playing has a good view. You will use the six red plastic chips to track the inning (broken into the top and the bottom), score for each team, balls, strikes, and outs. You will need to determine who is visiting team (going first) and home team (which closes each inning). The game rules have the player who rolls the highest on the die will have the choice of visitors or home team. Through each half of an inning, players will switch their tokens as one team goes on the offensive and the other goes to defensive (and continuing to switch).  In this switch you will also trade the five types of batters. The current pitcher will control the scoreboard.

Now to play:  

When you are the team that is up to bat, you will select a batter from your active pool and place it on home plate to denote which one is the active batter. These batters have different advantages if they get to roll the die. Each player is going to secretly choose how they are going to display their chip on the game table. This is known as the Pitch, and must be revealed by each player at the same time. You are not allowed to alter the placement of the chip, if you do as a Batter it automatically defaults to Strike, and if the Pitcher does it will automatically default to Ball. This would be in circumstances of the chip being knocked off or changed by accident.

Here are the four outcomes based off of the Batting Chip (Swing or Take) and the Pitching Chip (Strike or Ball):

Batter Swing + Pitcher Strike = Roll the die

Batter Take + Pitcher Strike = Strike

Batter Swing + Pitcher Ball = Strike

Batter Take + Pitcher Ball = Ball

So getting four balls means your batter is walked so you will move that batter on base, and move any runners accordingly if they are pushed on the bases. Getting three strikes means the batter is out, so you will add an out. If you get to roll the die the outcome is based on which player is at bat.

The Power Hitter Die Results

Die Roll 1 = Triple Play, so up to 3 outs, depending on number of runners with the batter. If this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 2 = Double Play, so up to 2 outs, depending on number of runners with the batter. If this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 3 = Out, remove the batter, and add one out. If this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 4 = Home Run, move any runners to home, and score appropriately.

Die Roll 5 = Home Run, move any runners to home, and score appropriately.

Die Roll 6 = Home Run, move any runners to home, and score appropriately.

The Stealer Die Results

Die Roll 1= Out, remove the batter, and add one out. If this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 2 = Out, remove the batter, and add one out. If this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 3 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 4 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 5 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 6 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Special Note: The Stealer is the only batter than can steal bases. This pawn must make it on base to attempt this special power. You must declare before a pitch, and then you are attempting to steal the next base (2nd, 3rd, or Home). You roll against the pitcher. If your roll is higher you take the next base. If the pitcher has the higher roll, then the Stealer is out, remove the runner from the board, and add an out.

The Contact Hitter Die Results

Die Roll 1= Foul Ball, add one strike unless you are already at two ( you can't foul out).

Die Roll 2 = Foul Ball, add one strike unless you are already at two ( you can't foul out).

Die Roll 3 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 4 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 5 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 6 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

The Extra Baser  Die Results

Die Roll 1 = Out, remove the batter, and add one out. If this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 2 = Out, remove the batter, and add one out. If this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 3 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 4 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 5 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 6 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

The Bunter Die Results

Die Roll 1= Sacrifice Bunt Out, this is an out, but it advances the runners one base further, if this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 2 = Sacrifice Bunt Out, this is an out, but it advances the runners one base further, if this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 3 = Sacrifice Bunt Out, this is an out, but it advances the runners one base further, if this is the third out, then change sides.

Die Roll 4 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 5 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Die Roll 6 = Single, move to first base, push runners if necessary.

Special Note: You cannot use a certain type of batter until it has returned to the available pool. So in other words, you can't switch out who is on base, and must wait until that batter scores or is out to use them again.

Special Note: Other than what has been mentioned above this, you are allowed to bat in any order, as long as the batters are part of the available pool.

Are there any variations for this game?

You could add more than two players, where you start to assign batting roles to different players. You could also alternate between innings, switching in and out players as needed. You can also allow players to create teams, and create brackets to allow for tournaments and play offs. You could even go as far and create your own types of batters and pitchers, because the rule set is in good order, allowing for creativity to flourish and add to the game.

Some game results:

Our games so far have been easy to play, quick to jump into, and easy to move around. This is a game that can be in a collection, or easily classified as a travel game. Heck, you could have a tray set up in the back seats as you are taking the family to a ball game, and playing this on the way there! With this being said, one game was a 5 to 0 shutout. The game had been quiet through two innings, and then the visitors opened up with a double, and then a single. The Power Hitter was up and belted a three run homer, and then The Contact Hitter got on, and the Power Hitter again hit another homer to make it 5 runs in the top of the third. Three outs followed in a row, and then the home team was quiet in the bottom of the third, and that ended the game. The later game had Team Ladies winning 5 to 3 over Team Gents. The game experienced stolen bases, walks, and a 2 run homerun!

Final Thoughts:

I would  first score this in terms of family playing with kids. If you take this into account then I score it a 10 (using a metric such as BoardGameGeek.com) for ease of play, the bluffing mechanism teaches kids a whole new aspect of game play, and that there is strategy in not only trying to figure out what the other player is going to do with their chip, but how you want to play your own chip. The game is deceptively easy to teach, easy to play, and yet allows for older players to add whatever they want in terms of homebrew rules and add-ons.  Our kids really enjoyed playing the game and are already asking to play again tomorrow.

In terms of scoring for adults only, I would give this a 7. It is a great filler, it could easily be treated as a beer and pretzels game, and I know people that as soon as they see this game are going to build brackets and have playoffs. It is not a heavy game, though, if a tie persists it could become a long game. It is after all possible.

In conclusion: If you like games with a strong Baseball theme, like short filler games, like games with great play mats, like easily accessible travel games, like bluffing games, and games that can be played with kids, then I recommend this game to you. I for one say I have enjoyed playing this game with my wife and kids (7 and 5, son and daughter) and I love the fact they could easily jump into the game action!

Thank you so much for reading this report on Dump The Ump!

Currently on Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/416640034/dump-the-ump

Make sure you show them love and support by backing this great kickstarter!

Also, follow the latest information on the game through Twitter at:

https://twitter.com/dumptheumpgame

I hope you will check out my PaladinElliott Blog at:

https://paladinelliott.blogspot.com/

check out some of my videos at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58qYf_vaCaCnu6qvd-WpKw

and check out my Ready To Game Podcast at Soundcloud and/or Itunes:

https://soundcloud.com/jason-elliott-641636807/ready-to-game-podcast-three-may-25-2016

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-to-game-podcast-episode/id1111793358?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

and remember I am always....READY TO GAME!!!

RET. SSG Jason L. Elliott (PaladinElliott)

Unfair, the board game, Written and Designed by Joel Finch, Produced by Good Games Publishing - Reviewed by Jason Elliott from PaladinElliott Productions

Unfair, Written and Designed by Joel Finch, Illustrated by Mr. Cuddington, Produced by Good Games Publishing

Reviewed by Jason Elliott from PaladinElliott Productions

Throughout this review, I will have Special Notes and some will say "From Kim", referring to the wonderful Kim Brebach. It is because of him that I have a review copy, to give all of you wonderful players insight into why this is going to be a great game to add to your collection. These notes will be noting changes as this game makes its way through Kickstarter. Through your support it will become a better version with the upgrades and additions that Kim and the Good Games Publishing Team seek.

What are the recommendations for this game?

Number of players: 2-4

Time of game: 25 minutes per player (this will be longer for new players, and shorter with experienced players)

Age recommendation: 12 years and up

The back story: 

Each player is the head of a theme park in this city. Only one theme park can reign supreme. You will need to build the greatest one, no matter what. The time frame for this building will be over 8 turns (it is recommended that first time players use the Game Changer "First Date" to make the game 6 turns). The first 4 turns the city will seek to help you and be known as the Funfair. Then, the city planning office will close down, as the city will turn against you, and the remaining 4 turns will be Unfair. You will need to be very effective in using money to purchase and upgrade the attractions that lie beyond your front gate. You will need to consider how much money you have left at the end (every two coins is one point). You will need to consider building a Showcase attraction and upgrading it. You will need to consider hiring Staff to assist you. You will need to consider drawing events for special abilities to favor your building. You will need to consider drawing blueprints which are bonus point conditions; failure results in a loss of ten points but accomplishing them means a higher end game score. You might need to take an unfair loan for a boost of money, but in doing so, you will have to pay it back at the end of the game in victory points. Finally, you will have to leverage all of this with your opponents being unfair to you (you to them) as you will all have the opportunity to undermine other players amusement parks. This game will be, in many ways, (speaking from experience) UNFAIR!

What comes in the game? (Note: Basing this off the prototype copy)

Rules Booklet

1 game board

4 themed packs of cards, which are Jungle, Robots, Pirates, and Vampires

            In each of these themes you will find:

            1 Theme overview card

            1 Main Gate card

            1 Loan Marker card

            3 "Funfair" City Event cards

            3 "Unfair" City Event cards

            5 Blueprint cards

            13 Event cards

            27 Park cards

            2 Showcase cards

4 Player Reference Sheets

30x "1 coin" tokens

26x "5 coin" tokens

20x "25 coin" tokens

6x "125 coin" tokens

1 Starting Player Marker

1 Current Step Marker

1 City Planning Closure reminder card

3 Game Changer Cards

1 Scorepad

1 Game Box

Special Note from Kim: 

We will be adding a molded plastic insert (tray) with room for each deck. For those of you who are familiar with the game Smash Up, it would be similar to the one in that game. It will have room for sleeved and unsleeved cards. There will be a pencil for scoring. There will be a plastic base to hold the Admit One (starting player) token. Other upgrades that will be likely or definite include: better card stock, thicker reference boards, and thicker tokens. So remember, the copy for review is a pre-production print copy.

What is the end game objective? What am I striving for?

The end game objective is to have the best Amusement Park in the city.  This will be determined by the number of attractions, their upgrades and your staff.  You will build your park by bringing in guests, which will bring in money to purchase upgrades.  Each card that brings in guests will have a star on it, this indicates the number of guests that are brought in as a result of playing that card, which in turn indicates the amount of money the attraction (or staff member or event will bring in). You are allowed a maximum of 5 attractions (this includes one Showcase attraction), so you will need to upgrade these attractions to make them more profitable. Each card you can use for an attraction or upgrade has an icon(s) in the upper left corner, for every icon in your attraction at the end of the game, you earn more victory points. For example, if I play the attraction Swinging Ship + Lockers & Coat check + Superior Quality + Flag Pole, then this attraction and upgrades is worth 20 victory points (see page 11 for the chart in the review copy). You will total all of these points up, and add points for Staff members, add a point for every two coins, and add or take away for blue prints to achieve your final score. The one with the highest score wins.

How do I set the game up?

SETUP: 

First-  select an appropriate number of themes  based on the number of players (consult book), then set aside any cards not needed

Second- Each player gets 1 Main Gate (face up), 1 Loan card (face down) 1 double sided player reference sheet, and 20 starting money.

Third-place the rest of money in easy reach of players, separate cards by type and set up decks on their spot on the board.

Fourth- count out 4 Unfair city cards to be used, place the City Planning Closure on top of these four cards, count out 4 Funfair city cards to go on top of the closure and Unfair cards.

Fifth-deal 5 Park cards to each player (reveal if a player has no attractions to redraw), deal 2 Showcase cards to each player, reveal 6 cards from Park deck to fill the 6 spaces.

Sixth- starting player is determined, choose and play game changers now.

So, can you give me some more card info?

Unfair Game Changers: You could choose one before the game starts, right after setup is complete, and have that affect the game completely.

Unfair Blue Prints: These cards are similar to Ticket To Ride's Destination Tickets. The top half will have a condition to be met and if you do so you will receive the points dictated. If you fail to do so, you will suffer a points penalty. Some cards will have an additional challenge that can only be attempted if you complete the above. You will not be penalized for failing a lower challenge. The difficulty of these cards can be easy, medium, difficult, and insane.

Unfair City cards: These cards will affect the entire table for a given turn. An example is A Health Scare: Inspection, Close all Food Outlets. This will affect everyone's Food Outlets. These will be negative to the table.

Funfair City cards: These cards will affect the entire table for a given turn. An example is A Trade Show: Draw two Blueprint cards. You may keep one or none.

Unfair Theme cards: These come in four themes, Vampire, Robots, Pirates, and Jungle. These cards help you determine your deck and setup based on the number of players in a game. An example is that in a four player game, you use all four decks.

Unfair Gate: Each player will receive one of these cards. With this card starting the game, you will know the Park Limits and Capacity, along with it being able to receive one guest (1 star).

Unfair Loan cards: You may be hard up for money, and here is a way to take a loan of 5 coins. Every time you do this though you will have to pay back 10 victory points (not money) at the end of the game. You will flip the card when you take the first loan (if you do), and then turn the card appropriately based on the number of loans you have taken. The maximum number of times you can take this loan is 4 (which means you will have to pay back 40 victory points at the end of the game).

Unfair Showcase cards: These are the super attractions. You can only have one built at a time, and by doing so  you cannot exceed the 5 total attraction limit. These cards will have more than one icon, will be able to receive more guests, and have a special ability. The cost to build these cards are much higher, because they are more powerful!

Unfair Event cards: These cards will have two abilities, one at the top, one at the bottom. The top one will be a benefit to your park, and the bottom will negatively impact someone else's park. Use these at the best possible moment!

Unfair Park cards: This deck will have Attractions, Upgrades, and Staff members. The attractions are your bases if you will, that allow you to place upgrades upon them. This is your core of gaining money when guests arrive (star values), and then the core for obtaining victory points at the end (counting the icons on these cards). The staff members are cards that have victory points on them, and special abilities that can be used by the player who played them. You have to watch out through the game though as other players will be trying to get rid of these cards to hurt your amusement park!

Now to play:  

GAME SEQUENCE:

1.      Beginning of every round,  every player will DRAW ONE EVENT.

2.      Next is a CITY EVENT. The CITY EVENT is GLOBAL RULES for THIS ROUND. First half of the game is FUNFAIR CITY, and the second half of the game is UNFAIR CITY. You will reach a point where BLUEPRINTS will be CLOSED, due to a card from THIS STACK.

3.      Each player in turn order can play ONE EVENT CARD. Continue each player playing ONE EVENT CARD at a time, until EVERY PLAYER PASSES (you can pass and then play when it comes around to you again, as long as the other players have not all passed as well).

4.      During PARK ONE,  in turn order, each player will TAKE ONE ACTION.

5.      During PARK TWO, in turn order, each player will TAKE ONE ACTION.

6.      During PARK THREE, in turn order, each player will TAKE ONE ACTION.

7.      PARK FOUR only happens if a player has unlocked this through an event, and it will happen for that player only.

8.      GUEST STEP, this is where your money is generated! You first look at your capacity because that will be the maximum amount of money you can receive for this step. Then you count stars on OPEN attractions. If an attraction is CLOSED, then everything associated with it doesn't count for this step. You count up your star values, and that is the money you collect.

9.      CLEANUP STEP, discard all cards from market and refill it, discard any event cards still in play, reopen your closed attractions, discard down to 5 cards in your hand (which is hand limit-you count Park and Event-you don't count Blueprints and Showcase, and move the starting player token to the next in clockwise order.

So, I know I can only do one action on a Park Phase, what can I choose from?

DRAW ONE CARD from the FACE UP six cards on the game board (refill when you are done), or

DRAW TWO CARDS from the UNFAIR PARK stack, and KEEP ONE, DISCARD the OTHER, (you can discard both) or

DRAW TWO CARDS from the UNFAIR BLUEPRINTS stack, and KEEP ONE, DISCARD the OTHER, (you can discard both) or

DRAW TWO CARDS from the UNFAIR EVENTS stack, and KEEP ONE, DISCARD the OTHER, (you can discard both) or

DISCARD ANY ONE CARD from your hand to DRAW FIVE cards from ONLY the UNFAIR PARK deck, keep one and discard the rest, or

BUILD FROM HAND or BUILD FROM SIX FACE UP CARDS on game board, you pay the cost in money to do so.

Special Note:

1.      You can't have more than one super attraction.

2.      You can't have more than five total attractions.

3.      You can't repeat upgrades (same name) on the same attraction (with the exception of Quality upgrades).

4.      You can't build a Showcase (super attraction) until you have at least five stars in play.

5.      You may build upgrades on a closed attraction.

TAKE A LOAN, by following the instruction of the UNFAIR LOAN card and turning it to the appropriate side.

DEMOLISH, to remove an attraction, to make way for something better. All upgrades on the chosen Attraction are demolished as well.

TAKE LOOSE CHANGE, you will gain 1 coin per attraction in your area, whether they are open or not.

When does the game end?

Game is over at end of eighth turn. Count attraction plus all of its upgrades to determine your score on the chart. Repeat for all of your attractions. Apply all bonuses that apply, positive and/or negative. Be sure to count your money, as every 2 coins count for one point. Highest score wins!

(How things looked at the end for Rob)

How does the counting icons work for scoring?

At the end of the game, you look at each of your columns. A column will be an attraction at the base, and then upgrades will be stacked on top (above it) for scoring purposes. You will add up all the icons in one column, and then add that score to additional columns.

Special Note: You made need to turn an upgrade card to the side to read a special ability, and you will still be able to stack the icons for counting purposes. An example of this would be the Idol of the Clenched Fist (Upgrade Feature 1 Star) and you could have this turned to the side to have the reminder text "Events cannot force you to discard from your hand".

For  counting all of the icons in a column (we will call these groups)

group of 1 =5 points

group of 2= 8 points

group of 3 = 12 points

group of 4 = 16 points

group of 5 = 20 points

group of 6 = 25 points

group of 7 = 31 points

group of 8 = 38 points

group of 9 = 46 points

group of 10 = 55 points

group of 11 = 65 points

group of 12 = 76 points

group of 13 = 88 points

group of 14 = 101 point

group of 15 = 115 points

group of 16 = 130 points

group of 17 = 146 points

group of 18 = 163 points

group of 19 = 181 points

group of 20 = 200 points

group of 21 = 220 points

group of 22 = 241 points

group of 23 = 263 points

group of 24 = 286 points

group of 25 = 310 points

(My amusement park at the end)

Are there any variations for this game?

There are the Game Changer cards. These come as three cards that are First Date, Grand Opening, and World Peace.

Special Note from Kim:

For your first play, just like with regular players, we recommend playing with the First Date Game Changer-an introductory rule variant of just 6 turns with Super Attraction and Difficult and Insane Blueprints removed. It will ease players into the full game.

The Grand Opening card takes effect before the game start. "Reveal your Showcase cards to the player on your left. They choose a card for you to start the game with, already built into your park for free.

The  World Peace card states: You cannot use Event Cards or Park card abilities which affect other players.

Using any one of these Game Changers creates a different game experience. Couple that with the number of  players in the game, and the different theme decks to be used (Jungle, Pirates, Robots, and Vampires), and no game will be the same twice.

(Hailey's Park at the end)

Some game results and comments we have collected:

The good:

This information is based on an initial game played by four frequent board gamers. The ratios of strategy and luck make it fun. I averaged the numbers and the ratio looks like this: 34% strategy and 66% luck. We really liked the decision tree that occurs in the game. We also liked that the event cards can help you or hurt someone else (you choose). We think this game is well set up for expansions to come. We think a theme deck that is all about screwage would be fun too. The flavor text on the cards had many, many, many laughs throughout the game. Our overall average (using a metric like BoardGameGeek) was 7.4 out of 10. This game mitigates luck better than a lot of games out there right now. We really liked the art and how the themes were played out through the art. It really felt like you were building an amusement park. Having six cards in the open is a good extension of your  hand throughout the game. The First Date Game Changer is good for not only non-gamers, but for everyone to learn the game. It is nice that the First Date allows for a shorter game.

The bad:

We think the Mayor's Nephew Card (Vice President) might be underpriced (we did take into account that the card would make for an easy target-such as Head Hunting). We felt that the easy and medium blueprints (at least some of them) were harder than expected, or that they were too much of a challenge based on their rating (although that may not be the case in an eight turn game). We thought that the cost of the Quality Cards might warrant having victory points attached to them, or a slighter higher star rating. Some players felt that the game ran very long, especially considering that it was only 6 turns.

                                                        (The final score)

Final Thoughts:

This game has really changed what we all thought of when it came to amusement park games. What Unfair has going for it, is that it makes no apologies for being a "go get em" game! If you play this game then you are willfully saying that you know you could be messed with, that you could be messing with other players, and that the city will go from being your friend to being your enemy!

If you scored a game solely on laughter, then this game scores high. There were moments of take that, or I will get you back, or that card is too powerful so let me do something about it. Yes you could play this game with the World Peace Game Changer, but where is the fun in that? We play games where a common factor is what you can do to the other player, and this game delivers!

We think players who like building their own personal kingdoms will enjoy this. Players who like games where the play is lighter, and easily picked up will enjoy Unfair. We believe younger players will need good instruction on how to play, so the closer you are to the lower end of the age range the more you should invest yourself in teaching the game slowly, methodically, and completely, so that all can enjoy it. This is a game where even if you are ganged up on, you can prevail. We had the situation where my wife was beat on for three turns, and yet won that game!

Unfair is a game, where you will find yourself saying at least once, "that is unfair!"

Unfair's Kickstarter starts Tuesday, August 16th, 2016

Show your love and support the game at:

 http://www.unfair-game.com/ 

Go to facebook and show support at:

https://www.facebook.com/UnfairTheGame/

DON'T MISS OUT!!!

Thank you so much for reading this report on Unfair!

I hope you will check out my PaladinElliott Blog at:

https://paladinelliott.blogspot.com/

check out some of my videos at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58qYf_vaCaCnu6qvd-WpKw

and check out my Ready To Game Podcast at Soundcloud and/or Itunes:

https://soundcloud.com/jason-elliott-641636807/ready-to-game-podcast-three-may-25-2016

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-to-game-podcast-episode/id1111793358?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

and remember I am always....READY TO GAME!!!

RET. SSG Jason L. Elliott (PaladinElliott)