My game review of Hylaria, made by FableSmith and game sessions included.

Hylaria Board Game made by FableSmith, and reviewed by Jason Elliott from PaladinElliott Productions

SPECIAL NOTE: This is all based off of a prototype copy with prototype rules!!!

About this game: The Game Design, Illustrations, and Graphic Design all performed by Joost Das. Joost was kind enough to provide me with the files to build a print and play prototype copy.

The Goal: In this game, players form up into teams of two, and using a secret code they develop right before the game starts, try to communicate to their team members on whether or not the team member should pick up a tile that the player has in front of them. Each tile is one point, and the first team to 22 points wins. There is a story line going in the center area, which starts as two placed tiles, and players take turns adding 1 tile each to the story. When a 3^rd tile of the same picture is laid down, then the tile just placed is taken along with the second matching tile (going backwards) along with any tiles in between.

There are expansions that have you count how many human tiles vs monster tiles there are in play, along with the total count of tiles being odd or even, or the feast or famine where what happens depends on their being 6 or less tiles versus 7 or more tiles. All of this gets played out to determine which team will reach the 22 point goal first and win.

Setup: You will have everyone sit down at the table, and members of teams should alternate in their seats (you don’t play right after one of your teammates). You take the base tiles (and expansion tiles if you have agreed upon using them) and shuffle them up into face down piles. Deal out 2 tiles to each player, and you are able to look at only the two tiles you have been dealt. You then deal out 2 tiles and flip them to the face up position in the center to start the storyline(this is where players will play their tiles to).  To figure out who will start, the players agree upon who most looks like the character in the first tile.

Play the game: You have your teams set up, and you have your secret code set up. Then you have your 2 tiles in front of you, so you need to communicate (and continue to do so through the game) whether or not your teammate should pick up one of your tiles or grab from the other team. This is an ongoing process; because another player may draw from the 2 you have in front of you, and once played (and checked for scoring) you will replace the missing tile and communicate once more to your teammate information concerning the new tile. SPECIAL NOTE: You can only communicate about your tiles during your turn. When playing with our children, we modified this rule due to their ages (7 and 5).  Once a tile is placed, check for scoring (is it the third copy of a picture), if it isn’t then go on in the turn order. If it is then take from the 3^rd copy to the 2^nd copy and all tiles in between (if there are any) and count them. Pull them from the story line and add that number of tiles as points to your score. In the expansions, tiles can add an additional point, or automatically be worth 3 points. If the draw pile runs out, then allow everyone one final round, and the highest point value team wins! In the event of a tie (very unlikely) then the tie stands, and you should play again to see who would truly win!

Final Thoughts: This is a game that makes for a great stress relief filler game. Young ones can get into the game as it promotes memory development along with improving communication skills. Like all games there is a degree of patience, and decision making that must be demonstrated (referring to younger players), but the very fact that you are forced into these things makes for a great team bonding exercise. I would recommend this game for parties, for teaching little ones, and getting them around the table. I would also recommend this game as a warm up to heavier games, or if someone is taking a break or bowing out, then this is a great game to play in between other games.  Please feel free to look at the session reports below.

Origins Game Fair Session 1:

John and Nancy (team one) versus Nathan and Jason (team two). A very close game 22 to 20, and John and Nancy (married couple) sneaked out a victory. I would say their time together gave them the slight edge, and there was some frustration for team two, as one miscommunication looked to cost them the game.  Comments from players included that this game was very different from others they had played. They felt the game would be a great party game, possibly with drinks, and that could change the dynamic of effective communication, and that they all felt it was a game they could play again.

Origins Game Fair Session 2:

Shawn and Danielle (brother and sister) decided to be a team against Sharon and Scott (mother and son). The brother and sister team had a solid 24 to 16 victory, where they seemed to have both gaming experience and that their ages seemed to be both in the early 20’s. The mother I will not speculate on, but the son was 12 years old.  Lots of laughing during this game, and several moments where the mother and son team felt they could have made a better code.

My family Session 1:

I am 38 years old, my wife Stephanie is 42, our son Arnold is 7, and daughter Talia is 5. In this game I was teamed with Arnold, Stephanie with Talia. Arnold and I won 22 to 12. Arnold had some initial problems with the code, but straightened it out, and we were lucky with every expansion tile going our way. Most of the difference in points was based off the expansions.

My family Session 2:

This time I was teamed with Talia, and Stephanie with Arnold.  They won 22 to 14, where all except one expansion tile went for them. They also had a string of turns that things lined up for them nicely, and in this game they were able to make the most of it, as they felt at a certain point the game was going their way. In this session, and the previous one, we felt this is a great family game that we can go back to and play easily as it was about 25 minutes a game.

Thank you so much for reading my review on Hylaria, and 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)

A review of Kitty Paw by Jason Elliott from PaladinElliott Productions

So what is it?

Kitty Paw by Renegade Game Studios is an one to four player game that runs roughly fifteen to thirty minutes for an entire game. It is a fast paced kitty tile and kitty card grabbing game. This is what happens when kitties run into boxes playing hide and seek in board game form.

So what comes in it?

You receive the game in its box, with 28 kitty tiles (4 of each kitty type, and there are 7 kitty types). There are 8 kitty box cards, showing a box on one side, and the other side will have a kitty or a chihuahua (yes you read that right, it makes it a little crazier). There is then 4 box cards that are presenting in different orientations empty. You have 48 Kitty Cards that come in Levels One, Two, and Three. The game rules book, which has the rules in English, and Japanese, comes with it, along with a starting/winning marker.

So what is the goal of the game?

In this game of grabbing fast and grabbing correctly, you try to be the first to correctly build the kitty combination showing on your level card. The kitties face a certain way, and you copy everything you see on the card. The first one to do this receives the victory points on the card (top right value), while the other players flip the card over to receive the kitty penalty. This penalty is minus whatever the level card is, level one is minus one, level two is minus two, and level three is minus three. 

How does the game end?

When one player has scored five level cards positively (count ones that are not flipped for their penalty), or when the kitty card draw pile is empty after a round. You add up your points, positive and negative, and the person with the highest amount wins! In the event of a tie, the tied players play an extra round, by shuffling and using the removed kitty cards, and the winner of this tie round wins the game.

How do I set the game up?

Each player places a set of kitty tiles ( one of each type, there are 7 types) in the center, and mix them up! Next, shuffle the 8 cat box cards with their box side up and place them around the center pile. Make sure all of this is in reach of every player. Each person playing takes one box card and places it in front of them (this is the empty box card for clarification). You will set up your kitty card draw deck. There will be Level 1 cards in blue, there will be Level 2 cards (some are off yellow, some are off green) and you will use one color set only of Level 2. The Level 3 cards are pink. You will shuffle each level of cards then place Level 3 cards on the bottom, then one of the Level 2 sets on top of it, and then the Level 1 on top of it. You will then draw as many cards as their are players from Level 1 cards to the side of the draw deck, You will draw these cards to the side every turn, as they serve as the available pool to try to score from. 

What happens during a game turn?

All the players will place their paws (hands) on top of each other in one pile and shout out "KITTY PAW!" You do not have to do this though :)  Each player from the designated turn order (we used who pet a kitty last goes first) in clockwise fashion chooses a kitty card to attempt to score on. Then it is a free for all, where you are only allowed to grab one tile at a time, and you grab the correct kitty tiles, and kitty in the box card, to duplicate the pattern on your card. When a person believes they have correctly done this, they yell out "MEOW!", and play stops to check to see if the player has correctly done this. All other players must perform the "Lucky Cat" gesture (have your hand up and fingers curved down) and touch the player's paw (the one who called the Meow). If you are the last one to perform the Lucky Cat, you must flip your card to the penalty side. If you incorrectly called Meow then you must flip your card to the penalty side. You sit out while the other players who have not scored or flipped resume play. You play until someone correctly scores their card. If you are the only person left other than the scorer then you must flip to the penalty side (as you are the first and the last Lucky Cat Gesture). Continue to this process until someone has reached the five positive scored cards, or the draw deck runs out. In each new turn, place the kitty tiles back in the center, along with the cat in the box cards as a reset to prepare for the turn. Draw 4 new cards for players to choose from. Once everyone is ready, call go, or start, or meow to start the madness over once more.

Does the game allow for variants?

Yes, you can mix all the cards together, so levels are mixed together. You could also add the additional level 2 cards, or mix the different level 2 sets (though these options are not expressed in the game).

How has it played for us?

My wife, myself, and our children (Arnold 7 and Talia 5) played the game, and found that as parents we would hold back on our speed and reach to compensate for our two little ones. We found that the game promotes pattern recognition, and very quick decision making for the children. With these things being taken into account it was a very unique experience (as the only other game I could think of like this was Pit), and shines more as people of higher ages with higher dexterity, and greater development can take greater advantage of what the game has to offer. I would stress that more patience and more explanation are needed as the players ages are lower in the recommended range. 

This being said, we see the game being played more in the future, We based this off of our son winning the game, and our daughter fuming, wanting another chance to beat her brother at this game. We will continue to use our personal methods of holding back and slowing down the game to allow our children the time to prepare, and have a couple extra seconds to assist in what avenue they shall take in completing their cards. The nice thing is that the game allows for parents to make modifications at their own discretion to help create a friendlier environment for the kids to play.

Final Thoughts:

The game takes a unique turn away from many other games that are available to families and players out there. As I mentioned I could only think of Pit as the only game similar to this. The kitty theme is very strong, and the kids really enjoyed that. If you want a game that brings a little bit of chaos mixed in recognizing and fulfilling pattern recognition, teaching how to make not only quick decisions, but trying to physically position yourself into grabbing the correct pieces to complete your puzzle if you will, then this is a game for you. It plays quick, you learn quick, and its size lends to easy clean up and storage!

Thank you so much for reading my review on Kitty Paw, and 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)

The latest after a Ten Day Trip

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your patience as my family and I are now back from seeing family and spending time out on the West Coast.  I can't say that the gaming was plentiful, but I managed to get some in. Most of it came in the form of ios games and the Nintendo 3DS, but I did manage to teach my son and my nephew-in-law two games (Junior Labyrinth and Welcome To The Dungeon). I managed to play Tanto Cuore, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Splendor, Ticket To Ride, Lost Cities, and Pathfinder all on my Ipad.

At Disneyland it was mostly about rides, even though Arnold and I got to ride on the Toy Story Midway Mania where it is an all-out shooting competition where you pull back a ball on a string to fire type of cannon. Arnold had finished with 59,900 points to my 129,900, but it was only on the last two events that I was no longer losing to him. He performed amazingly well for a seven year old!

I found that I made some new connections in the way of gaming out there, as I now am part of Team Artana for the Origins Game Fair this month, and I can't express how truly excited I am to be working with them! I hope if any of you reading this can go, then please be sure to visit all of Artana's Booths as I will be demoing Tesla vs Edison: The War of Currents along with its new expansion Powering Up!

So, here it is a lazy Sunday back in Ohio, it has been raining on and off, but wonderful none the less. It is nice to be home after ten days, along with resting from roughly 5,280 miles of air travel alone. All of you should expect several game reports this week as I get back into the swing of things. I have a lot to catch up on.

Hopefully, I can get to everything very quickly and bring all of you much more in the way of gaming.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned,

I am always Ready To Game.

RET. SSG Jason L. Elliott

My review and playthrough of Santorini The Board Game (My Homemade Edition)

Hello and welcome to another PaladinElliott Review,

First let us cover what Santorini is about:

PLEASE NOTE: This is a review of a homemade version based off of that created by Gavin Brown and Roxley Games, which is displayed in their successful Kickstarter. I tried to follow their claim of creating a "A highly thematic pure strategy experience featuring beautiful miniatures, game-altering player powers and 3D board."

Santorini (Thera) refers to the Greek Island and the Municipality on said Island in the Southern Aegean Sea. This strategy game is where you get to play as a Greek God/Goddess/Hero/Monster from the Mythos and compete to best help the inhabitants of the Island build their village into something magnificent!

The Kickstarter promises the game to be highly thematic, highly accessible, with beautiful miniatures and high quality production. The game can be played within twenty minutes (our games ranged from ten to fifteen) and you get to draw your character from roughly 54 different cards (which is subject to change via the production versus retail versions) and use them against each other in the efforts of moving one of your builders up to the game winning level three.

The game will support 2 to 4 players, but the best experience I believe will be that of the two player session. In this you have a move, and build game turn. You move one of your two builders (the number of builders can change depending on your character card) into a neighboring space. You then have the option with this move to have your builder step up one level (three levels of buildings not counting the dome to close off a building) or down as many levels as you want (that is allowed by the buildings in that area). The build is what follows, where you can place a building (level 1, 2, or 3) adjacent to the builder. Example you move up to a level 2, and you are beside a level 2, you can build level 3 on the level 2 you are standing beside. The dome can be built on a level 3 as a means of blocking someone who is about to ascend to victory. Once a dome is on a level 3 building, the building is locked for the remainder of the game.


What components does the Kickstarter version, and the version you made have?

The Produced version will have 18 domes, 14 level 3, 18 level 2, 22 level 1, 1 pedestal to hold the board game on, 2 tan builders, 2 grey builders, 2 purple builders, 1 game board (the island), 1 ocean board as scenery below the pedestal, and 1 golden fleece. They will also be producing the character cards (3 bonus cards in the production version that will not be in the retail version.

My version has 18 domes, 18 level 3, 18 level 2 and 22 level 1, and all of this was printed on cardstock and taped with packing tape. The images were of modern day Santorini. The pedestal (made out of dark hard foam)
holds up a cardstock island board that is taped together by packing tape. Underneath is the larger ocean board again out of cardstock taped the same way. I used card stock to print out the character cards, and sleeved them. I also used materials I had on hand (tokens) to make or fulfill the Imagination, Arrow, Wind and Ambrosia needed for some of the characters. I also printed out two Compass Roses and used plastic Easter Eggs for the domes. The pawns were printed out on adhesive printing paper, attached to cardboard, and super glued onto plastic caps. This included the Golden Fleece pawn (if a character is adjacent to the Golden Fleece then that player may use the character power assigned to the Golden Fleece-which is randomly predetermined at the beginning of the game). The process took ten days, and the results can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SknmU3rPtfs

We had 3 games played in one sitting, and here is the summary:

-On May 22nd, 2016

Game One
-Arnold (my son) draws Demeter and ends up winning the game
-I had Hestia and lost
-We each had 2 builders, and there was 9 level 1, 6 level 2, 3 level 3, and 1 dome used. Game lasted 15 minutes.

Game Two
-Talia (my daughter) has Hephaestus and loses
-I have Artemis and I win.
-We each had 2 builders
-5 level 1, 4 level 2, 2 level 3, and 0 domes used
-Game lasted 10 minutes

Game Three
-Talia has Charybdis and wins
-I have Nemesis and lost
-We each had 2 builders
-5 level 1, 4 level 2, 1 level 3, and 0 domes used
-Game was almost 10 minutes

The summary:

This is a great game for many ages, and in our case it was 5, 7, and my 38 years old. This game is very upfront in players trying very quickly to setup and secure their way to level 3 while having to make the decision on how and went they can (if they can) hinder the opponent from doing the same thing. The game is very spatial, along with solid decision making, and teaching the players how to see moves ahead in their mind while playing in the real time of the game. I found that every game both of my children, and myself, felt like it was a great experience, win or lose. This is a game where you can play with the Golden Fleece or not, you can choose or randomly draw characters (depending on what the players agree on). You can play without the characters if you want. There is many ways to augment this experience and by doing so create different difficulties in which to play.

I completely recommend playing this game, whether you make your own homemade version, buy an earlier version of the game and add to it in your own way, or choose to buy the upcoming version from Roxley Games. It will be well worth it, and see much play in many gaming circles.

Thank you so much for reading my PaladinElliott review, so if you want more then check out the following:

Please check out some of my videos at youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58qYf_vaCaCnu6qvd-WpKw

Please check out my Ready To Game Podcast at Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/jason-elliott-641636807/ready-to-game...

Please check out my PaladinElliott BlogPost at:
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2596843948040927501...

or at Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-to-game-podcast-ep.........

Remember To Keep Gaming On!

A Session Report on Tesla vs Edison: The Powering Up Expansion by PaladinElliott

Hello again everyone, 

This is PaladinElliott from Ready To Game bringing you a playtest session between my wife Stephanie and myself. I will first start with the details of the game and then a summary to follow.

Events of the Game:

Grosvenor P. Lowery Phase 1
Electorlier Phase 1 to me
Allan Pinkerton Phase 2
Gerlach Hotel Phase 2 to Steph
Panic of 1893 Phase 3
Pullman Strike Phase 3 to me

Propaganda of the Game:

James Garfield Phase 1 to me
First Electric Christmas Tree Lights Phase 1 to Steph
Sarah Bervhardt Phase 1 to Steph
Dash Phase 2
Whoever Cries First Loses! Phase 2
Chester Arthur Phase 2
Benjamin Harrison Phase 3 to me
Westinghoused Phase 3 to Steph
The First Of A Race Of Robots Phase 3 to Steph

I had:

Score: 35+6+10+4=55
I was Thomas A. Edison
1-Sarah E. Goodie
2-Josephine Cochrane
2-Mary Anderson

I had all of these built:
Laboratory-Menlo Park, Works-West Orange, Office-Jay Gould, Studio-Medico-Legal Society

I had my Preferred Stock + 3 Edison Stock

Steph had:

Points 36+5+5+6+6= 58

She was Madam CJ Walker

She had:
1-Edmonia Lewis
1-Fannie Farmer
2-Thomas W. Lawson

She had built these three:
Laboratory-Royalties Contract, Works-640 North West St., Office-Glen Eyre

I had knocked out her fourth build:
Studio-Franklin Institute

She had her preferred stock + 2 Walker stock + 1 Edison stock

The Company Fame and AC/DC Fame ended like this:
Steph at 4 for Present and Future
myself at 5 for Present and Future
AC-1 stock, DC +2 Stock

my stock value on the board was 34, and hers was 52

My Technologies were: AC II + Patent, III + Patent, Bulb 3 + Patent, DC II

Her Technologies were: AC I , Bulb II + Patent, Bulb III, DC II + Patent, III + Patent

My projects were: Lynn (1), Providence (2), Worcester (2), and Montreal (2)

Steph has these projects: Albany (1), Rochester (3), Scranton (2), Menlo Park (1), New York City (3), and Newark (3)

The summary:

Steph struck first on Projects, which set the tempo of the game. I found she was moving constantly one step ahead of me, as I was moving methodically and she was capitalizing on that. She also push stock values up, so she was drawing in more through profits. She surprised me with her unexpected quiet skill in this session. She should be very proud of herself in her first playtest of this game with the expansion! I found that I was always in a position of her action, and my reaction, and it got me in the end, even being able to knock out one part of her headquarters!

I will not underestimate her again.

Thanks for reading about what happened in this playtest session!

Please look at my work with the Ready To Game Podcasts at Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/jason-elliott-641636807

or Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-to-game-podcast-ep...

and my PaladinElliott BlogPost on Gaming and Life at:
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2596843948040927501...

Have a good one and keep gaming!

This is my Master Video List Document that will be updated regularly...

Game Tokens from Hobby Lobby (using them as such):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDTTJWNI8tY


Watchmen Of Destiny Playthrough:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjCNK_3AWOk


Marshmallow Fight Playthrough:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rUwVyAMn8o


My homemade Santorini Board Game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SknmU3rPtfs

Chasing Your Dreams, and the cost...

So hello to all of you wonderful people out there,

I thought I would share some of the costs of chasing my dream about being a Game Consultant. I shall indulge you if you allow me.

First, the money involved can add up. I use my Canon Pixma MG5220 a lot, and seven days ago the cyan stopped printing. I went through all the trouble shooting, light head cleaning, deep head cleaning, pulling out the print head and cleaning the whole thing (minus the electronic chips) with distilled water. Nothing. I went through all the different procedures, and all of the troubleshooting printouts, and again nothing. I broke down and ordered a new printhead straight from Canon, and they waved my shipping fee when I explained that we have their product only, and for years. I also explained that I was aware of the class action lawsuit that ended against them in December of last year, and that my model was on the list of faulty models concerning print heads. The piece arrived today, and is working fine (so far). Total damage, lost 1 week of productivity, and $97.00 USD.

Second, taking advice from my Therapist, to "invest in the relationships that invest in you", I found that I quickly became aware of the people who do versus those who don't. I found that three people over the last 6 weeks fell into the category of not investing in me. These three, as time went on seemed more resistant, apathetic, or in the case of one of them immediately referred that I treat my friends as a play test group and nothing more.

My biggest mistake, wasn't thinking that I could be great at something, but that it is was possible to bring my gaming friends along. I assure you I have paid dearly for that mistake, because I will warn all of you that there are people you know that will not (whether directly or indirectly) want to be around you or support you in succeeding. It is almost as if some will want you to stay at your level and not move up.

So, tonight please chase your dreams, chase the games you want to play, chase down the time to spend with people, and be warned that some will not help you in pursuit. Don't be angry with them, though you will be upset, just invest in those who will support you chasing your dreams.

Until next time,
-Jason