Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre: The Five Villages
Designed by Chris Handy

Introduction
Multiple games are named after famous or significant places throughout the world. One of my favorite games is actually designed and named after a famous fortified French town, Carcassonne. Other really fun games named after famous locals include but are not limited to: Puerto Rico, San Juan, Hawaii, Pantheon, Jamaica, Alhambra, and Jaipur. Cinque Terre for those who don't know is a rugged portion of coast along the Italian Riviera. "The Five Lands" consists of 5 cities which are close in proximity one to another. If you check out the pictures online, it definitely looks like a nice place to visit. I have visited Italy once seeing Rome, Florence, and Venice. I definitely would like to visit Cinque Terre if there is another trip to Italy. Also, I would like to mention that it is kind of crazy that while reading Dan Brown's newest book Inferno that is based on Dante's The Divine Comedy and which takes place in Italy - I have reviewed both Little Devils and Cinque Terre.

Overview
The goal of this game is to harvest produce to sell in the varying markets completing as many orders as possible. The game is for 2 to 5 players and takes approximately  an hour to play. The game's concepts are easy to understand and I would think that children 8+ could play it fairly well (manufacturer recommendation is 13+). When thinking about the complexity of the game, I would compare it to Ticket to Ride. The competitiveness of the game however may relate better to Thurn and Taxis. You can't physically block paths like in Ticket to Ride, but you can claim available points before someone else. I and the wife really enjoyed this game. Let's take a look at what's in the box...

Components/Instructions/Packaging
 As usual, Rio Grand Games has done a great job with the quality of the components (boards, cards, cubes, etc.). The game includes 128 wooden produce cubes, 80 produce cards, 16 starting produce order cards, 80 regular produce order cards, 16 dice (2 in each color), 1 large game board, 5 personal player game boards with matching scoring marker and produce carts, 5 MPV cardboard tokens, 1 cloth bag, and 1 instruction booklet. I do wish that there was a built in location to store the cards (I store them in the provided cloth bag, or you can use rubber bands to keep them contained within the box). I really like the personal player boards with references to available actions. The wooden cars or carts are a nice player piece, although I have really liked the idea that others have done by using matchbox type trucks as the players pieces so that they can physically carry the produce cubes around in their trucks (in the game, you store these cubes usually on your player board where there is a depiction of your produce cart). Very cool idea! The instructions are very clear with great illustrations and examples.

Set Up
Setting up the game does not take long and consists of shuffling card decks, placing produce cubes, and rolling and placing a few dice. If you have extra sandwich bags or game bags, I would suggest keeping the 8 different colored produce cubes in their own individual bag. This will help speed up the minimal set up time to
begin with. The cloth bag is provided purely for randomizing the produce cube placement and die placement. The bag will not be needed throughout the rest of the game. To help randomize the placement of the 8 different produce cube fields, place one cube of each color in the bag and draw them out placing them in the next field. You then can place the rest of the corresponding cubes in that field (see instructions for amount of cubes - varies with different amount of players). You do something similar with the die. Place one of each colored die in the bag, draw one out and roll it. Place that die in the top city on the left and continue until full (4 die). Then the next 4 go in the bottom city. Then you place the remaining 8 die in the bag and fill in the 3 other villages with die. The numbers represent how much each produce will be worth or sold in that village (if a die is not present for that village, people will be able to sell any produce still for 1 lire/point. Each player is also dealt a starting produce order card and 4 produce cards. The regular produce order cards are shuffled and a number of cards equal to the amount of players are dealt face up next to this deck. Players then place their cart on one of the 3 different harvesting locations.

Gameplay
The game is played by choosing to perform 3 actions each time it's your turn. You have 4 different options and these actions are listed on each players individual boards. You can perform these actions in any order and can perform each of the different options as many times as you like. The 4 different action options are:

1. Move up to 4 spaces: The player can move his cart up to 4 spaces clockwise around the board. Remember that if you move your cart just 1 space, that will count as one of your actions just the same as if you choose to move 4 spaces. You may, as stated above, perform each of these actions more than once per turn. So, you could move 7 spaces, but that would be 2 of your 3 actions. You could also move 1, perform a different action, and move again.
2. Draw 1 produce card: You may draw/take 1 produce card from the board and add it to your hand. Each produce card you take counts as an action. When you take a face up card, you immediately fill the empty space from the top of the draw deck. You may choose to draw blindly off the top of the produce deck for your action. There is no limit to the amount of produce cards in your hand. We created a house rule that when all 4 of the face up cards are of the same type, you discard all of them and flip over 4 new cards. This seems to have worked well.
3. Harvest produce: The player may harvest up to 4 produce cubes if at one of the three locations to harvest. The player may only harvest the produce cubes available at that location and remember that you can't have more than 4 produce cubes in your cart. To harvest a cube, there must be a cube for you to harvest and you need either 1 matching produce card, or 2 cards of the same type can be used for any produce cube.
4. Sell produce at a village market: The player may sell up to 4 produce at any one village for one action. They must have an available space on their player board for that city for all produce to be sold (this isn't made really clear in the rules, but after assuming and confirming that assumption - each player can only sell 8 produce to each city). You receive lire (or in other words, points) equal to what is shown on that produce's colored die. You can sell any type of produce in any village. If you are selling a particular produce not represented in that city by a die, you get one point.

How to Score

Besides gaining points for selling produce in the villages, the other key way to obtain points is from the
produce order cards (starting and from the table). Produce order cards are available from the table (# of them face up equal to the # of players). Players may score one order card at the end of their turn if they have all the produce sold in each city as described on the card. The player then places that card in front of them and scores those points. Now that player secretly draws the top card of the order deck. Then that player may choose whether or not they would like to keep that card secretly in their secret deck of order cards (with their starting card). Any cards kept this way remain secret until the end of the game scoring positive points if complete, and negative points if not completed. If they choose not to keep the card, it goes down onto the table face up to fill in the empty space. They player then gets one final choice -
draw another order card from the top of the deck or pass. If they choose to draw, they must keep this second card.

The final way to obtain points comes from being popular. The Most Popular Vendor (MPV) tokens are obtained when a player fills in the 8 slots for a city before anyone else. The player scores these points immediately and places the token in front of them with any other MPVs or publicly scored order cards.

Game End
The end of the game is triggered when a player gets a total of 5 point cards/MPV tokens which are laid out in front of them. Any completed order cards in a player's hand are scored at the end of the game, but do not count toward the 5 needed to trigger the end of the game. All players then get one final turn, including the player who triggered the ending.

Closing Remarks
This is a great game! I am giving it 4 fingers up (or 9 out of 10 stars). Cinque Terre is one of those games that provides a nice light (not too competitive) experience. A good "gateway" euro-style game that is easy to learn. I think people who enjoy such games as Ticket to Ride, Thurn and Taxis, and Jambo will enjoy this game. The game has some nice variation built into the set up to make each game a little different. Setting up the game doesn't take long at all and explaining it to new people doesn't either. Some people may not like that the game doesn't have more player interaction with each other (i.e. no trading aspect, markers don't interact or restrict people from spaces, etc.), but everything works well as designed and not having a lot of player interaction keeps the competitive nature more similar to Thurn and Taxis. Some of the hard-core gamer types might find the game a little too simplified, or may find that it doesn't provide enough strategy for them. I would say that this is a great family game where even kids who are 7 or  8 could get a grasp on the game pretty easily. I would recommend this game to everyone and that is How Lou Sees It!

A big SHOUT OUT to Rio Grande Games for making this review possible and for continuing to make great games!

Pinata Offers a Plethora of Fun!

Pinata
Designed by Stephen Glenn





So, whenever I think about Pinatas, I of course think about colorful paper mache or cardboard animals full of candy and the famous scene from The Three Amigos, but now I will also think about the muy bueno game for 2 from Rio Grande Games.



As most of you who follow my blog know, I really like games that you can play with 2 players. If you are like me, there are a lot of times where you don't really want to invite a big group over, but you just want to play a nice game with your best friend. There are many games that scale well to 2 players, but there is just something about games that are purely made for it. Jaipur is one of my all time favorite 2 player dedicated games, but I'm so glad that Pinata provides just as much fun.

If you check out what is being said on boardgamegeek.com you will notice discussion between people regarding a different game called Balloon Cup by the same designer. I personally haven't played Balloon cup before, but the games are basically one in the same (in concept, with many slight differences between them including theme). From my understanding, it sounds like this re-implementation of the game is actually themed the way the designer originally had in mind; which takes me to my first point - the theme.

This game fits like a sombrero on a hot desert day. Perfect in my opinion. What is it about pinatas that make us so excited? Yes, being able to whack something really hard is definitely a big reason to like them, but it is usually the anticipation of the pinata breaking open, the pride in actually bursting it, and the excitement to see what was inside all this time and to gather as much of it for yourself as possible before that other kid who no one actually knows takes it all. In Pinata the cards, candies, and mats are just as colorful and playful as a real pinata. Players feel anticipation as new candies are revealed for the taking and the great satisfaction of winning a pile of candy. They also feel defeat when their opponent makes the winning strike and takes the very candy you would have given any number of pesos for because it would have fulfilled your lifetime dream of obtaining a gold medal in pinata-ing.

The components of the game are top notch (being from Rio Grande, not a surprise). In the game, you get 59 playing cards, 45 little wooden shaped candies, 4 playing mats, 1 drawstring bag, and rule booklet. Everything is well made and fit in the box very nicely. There have been some complaints with regards to the color choices made for the candies/cards. The pink and red candies for instance are sometimes difficult to differentiate (this usually is only a problem when playing in a lower lit area or when playing with someone who is partially color blind) and I personally would have much rather enjoyed having blue candies in lieu of the pink. That being said, the candies again are well made and are consistent in their given color. The rules are short and sweet, but do a good job in explaining the game. I did have to revisit them once or so during the first game since I wasn't at all familiar with the game previously. The rules also provide an alternative way to play the game, and it sounds like you can modify it even more too if you would like by trying to play without the wild cards. Great options.

The game set up and game play are both really simple and before you know it you will be pulling in candy like it were Halloween night! There being 4 playing mats numbered 1 - 4 with a high side and a low side, these mats are randomly or chosen by players to be on one side or the other. Candies are then drawn from the drawstring bag to fill up the mats according to the number on the mat. Cards are shuffled and 8 are dealt to each player. The goal of the game is to be the first player to obtain 3 of the 5 medal cards. There is a medal card for each color of candy and they are obtained by being the first player to gain the number of candies on that medal card. Not all candies are created equal and some are a little more scarce than others. Since the candies are drawn randomly, players will need to evaluate which candies to go for first and which ones can they skip over for now.

The cards consist of different numerical ranged cards in each color and some wild cards too. On their turn, a player places a card next to a mat and then draws a replacement card. To win the candies on the mat, one needs to either have the highest value or the lowest when compared to your opponent (again, the mat will show if the winner needs a high or low value). In the original game, you can only play cards on your side of the mat until your side is full, then you can play cards on your opponents side as well (the variant allows you to play cards on your opponents side anytime creating a more interactive game.). Each side of the mat must have a number of cards played equal to the number of candies, and the cards must match the color of the candies (example; 2 red candies and 1 green are on the "3" mat. Each side of the mat will have 2 cards in red and 1 in green, or 4 red cards and 2 green cards total. Or any number of wild cards acting for any desired color). Mats are "scored" when both sides match the number of cards needed. The winner gets all of the candies on that mat. The player would take any medal cards that he/she would be eligible for and the mat is then flipped to the other side and new candies drawn an placed on the mat. The medal cards can't be taken after obtained and the first to 3 wins.

I really do love this game. The discussion above doesn't include all of the rules, but is there to give you a general idea of how the game flows and is played. It is really simple and can easily be learned by kids too. You have to choose if you want to keep a high card for later to secure candies on a high value mat, or if you will play it on your opponents side on a low value mat to throw them over so you can walk away with those candies. There is a lot of great decision making that takes place and yet the game is really light and provides a good amount of luck too to make it great for a simple children's game, to a lighter game for "gamers" to play while some one sets up the next game of Power Grid, Hawaii, or Agricola. Everything really meshes together well in this game. The game only takes 30 minutes to set up, play, and put away leaving your night or day open for another round of Pinata, or time for you to strap on a sombrero and host a Pinata tournament party. Up to you really. You can spend about 15 to 20 dollars on a real Pinata (by the way, I remember the first time I purchased a Pinata from the store and couldn't believe that it didn't come with candy already filled inside - yeah, you usually have to buy that separate and fill it yourself), or you could purchase this amazing game for the retail price of 30 dollars (usually around 24 on Amazon). Below is also a video review of the game to allow you to see the components.


Big SHOUT OUT to Rio Grande Games for making this review possible, and a big OLE to all of you! I say that the game Pinata offers a plethora of fun and that is just How Lou Sees It!

Horchata
Kroger Brand Yogurt

This post seemed like a prime opportunity to announce to you all that Yoplait's Light Fat Free Orange Creme yogurt is no longer my favorite yogurt. My new favorite yogurt is none other than Kroger brand's Blended Grade A Low Fat Horchata yogurt! Salud!

Thurn and Taxis: All Roads Lead to Rome

Thurn and Taxis: All Roads Lead to Rome
Designed by Andreas and Karen Seyfarth

This is another great expansion for the game Thurn and Taxis and this review will complete my 3 part review of Thurn and Taxis and its expansions. If you haven't heard of Thurn and Taxis, check out my review on the base game first - and yes, you will definitely want an opportunity to play or own this game.

This expansion offers a couple of different things you can play with the original base game. You can play them together or you can choose to play with one or the other. The first one is actually where the title for this expansion comes from, "All Roads Lead to Rome." This expansion includes a board that is placed off to the side and consists of different pathways that lead to Rome. Each player secretly at the beginning of the game chooses to place certain religious characters with different valued points attached to each face down in each carriage. The carriages (5 total) are moved when a player decides not to place a post office in a town of that same color. If you get to Rome too soon, another players character of the same type would keep you from scoring those points, but if you don't arrive at all, no luck either. It is an interesting idea and is pretty interesting, but not my favorite addition.

The other expansion provided is basically some tokens which are taken when you choose a specific action. You are rewarded by diversifying your action choices and you get to turn these in for bonuses (get an additional card, victory points, or place a post office in a city of your choice). I really like this aspect of the game and it really can help you snag some of those bonus tiles a little bit easier.

Overall, the expansion is a good one, but if you were to choose, I would say go with the Power and Glory expansion. Again, a big SHOUT OUT to Rio Grande Games for making this review possible, and for making such great games and that is How Lou Sees It!

Thurn and Taxis: Power and Glory

Thurn and Taxis: Power and Glory
Designed by Andreas and Karen Seyfarth

Power and Glory is the first expansion to Thurn and Taxis and it does not disappoint. For those familiar with Thurn and Taxis read on, and for those who are not as familiar with the original or base game I suggest reading about it here first.

Now, Power and Glory is not an expansion in the sense that it adds components to the original board, but it provides a different map and a different way to play with the houses used from the base game. And I have to say, I'm not sure which one I like the best (I think The Wife actually enjoys the Power and Glory board and variation better than the original) which is definitely saying something for this expansion.

I'll break my review up into the two main differences between this expansion and the base game starting with the new board. The new board has color coated regions just as the first but they are arranged a bit differently. The largest color region is actually split into to areas of the board (which I like) and there are a few "free cities." The free cities are independent cities (not belonging to any region) and even though they are all represented by a gold color, they are not considered to be a region or color category for means of placing houses (you can only build in one of these cities when scoring a route). The first player to place a house in the free city obtains 1 point. The free cities do not contribute in any way to the diversity bonus (in which a player has a house in each region). I like the new map, and it helps provide more replay to the game as a whole (I even wish they would have provided a double sided board like Power Grid, but it would have been a bit more difficult with additional cards needed). The good news is you can also play with all the same original rules and just play with the new board as well, but the variation provided in this game might actually be preferred to the original. Let's take a look.

In the Power and Glory variation, there are no carriage cards obtained for building routes 4, 5, 6, and 7 long.  The game therefore doesn't end until someone's houses are all gone (they still obtain a bonus point and tie-breaker tile for ending the game). Players will still want to build longer routes, because this game has bonus tiles for length once again (on up to 8 long). You can obtain these tiles at a first played, first gained basis. Basically, this opens the game up a bit and gets rid of the time component of the carriages - not allowing players to speed or slow the game by the carriage cards (they can still do this by choosing how they play their houses). The main change to go along with this change is the horses. Each of the cities has 3 cards just like the original, but the back of the cards have either 1, 2, or 3 horses on the back. Each player starts with a carriage card with 2 horses (each card on the front also has a representation of the horses by horseshoes 1, 2, or, 3) and while playing a card down into their playing area, a player may choose to play a card as horses to his carriage instead of adding to the route. The player must have at least as many horses as the player does cities before the player can close and score his route.

I really enjoy the variation in play. I believe it actually makes it easier in some ways, especially in regards to having to discard a route. If a player doesn't have the city he needs to continue his route, he can play horses to his carriage instead (max of 6 cards to the carriage) and wait and see if the city comes up next time. I have not concluded which I prefer more yet (the original or the P&G horses variation), but I believe the horses to be a great variation. Definitely worth getting this expansion for Thurn and Taxis and that is How Lou Sees It.

Thurn and Taxis

Thurn and Taxis
Designed by Andreas and Karen Seyfarth

I absolutely love this game and it is definitely joining my top 10 (bumping out Slide 5) and making 5 out of my top 10 games now Rio Grande Games. A big SHOUT OUT to Rio Grande Games for making this review possible. This is actually going to be part 1 of a 3 part series. I will also be reviewing the 2 expansions to Thurn and Taxis as well: 1) Power and Glory. 2) All Roads Lead to Rome. Look for these reviews in the coming weeks.

Thurn and Taxis actually came out in 2006, 2 years after the successful game Ticket to Ride. While there are some similarities between the two games (one being that they both received the great Spiel des Jahres award for their release year), Thurn and Taxis is by far the more enjoyable game in my opinion and some have even nicknamed Thurn and Taxis the "Ticket to Ride Killer." The game is for 2 to 4 players and it takes about an hour or a bit less to play. The only reason I don't think that this has become as popular as Ticket to Ride in the U.S. is because the map is not of America and people just haven't heard about it.

In Thurn and Taxis, players are building postal systems by building different postal routes, post offices, and by collecting carriages. The game play is learned quickly and is very easy grasp. A player draws one card and then has to play one card.  There are six face up city cards available to choose from along with the draw stack (you can choose to take the top card if you wish). The player then has the option to close and score their current route (if at least three cities long) or keep it for the next turn.

The player also has the ability to use some help from postal officials. The player has the option of using one of the four special abilities each turn. The player can: 1) draw two cards instead of just one, 2) play two cards instead of just one, 3) discard the current six face up cards and replace them with new ones, or 4) obtain some help with getting carriages (I'll explain this a little bit later).

Each turn you are playing city cards down in front of you in a continuous fashion. If you are unable to play a city that is adjacent to what your route is currently, you have to discard your route and start all over. So, there is a lot of strategy in choosing the right cities and being able to play a card each turn. As you build longer routes, you can obtain higher valued carriages. The game ends when someone runs out of their cities (everyone has 20) or someone obtains a 7 carriage. I like this element of the game, because the pace of the game is dictated by the players. One player can advance the game more quickly by upgrading his carriage faster or by playing more of his cities. Players get certain bonuses throughout the game for building in certain areas first (there are runner up bonuses for those who get there second etc.).

The scoring for each player comes from their highest valued carriage card and any of the bonus tiles received throughout the game. Players also subtract from their score for each unused city remaining in their supply. I don't want to get into the rules in greater detail, but you can for yourself here.

The game components are really great quality and the illustrations and everything is great. The game has little cards (similar to the size in Ticket to Ride) which isn't my favorite, but they shuffle great and seem to me that they will hold up very well. The game as I said is very easy to learn and play, but has a nice depth of strategy to it as well. The game is not overly interactive (you can't block routes or anything like that, but you can take a face up card that you know your opponent would like etc.), but you are trying to work the board so that you can obtain the best bonus tiles before everyone else. I like the fact everyone really has the same objective and same bonuses available, nothing is really secret. A lot less luck factor than Ticket to Ride with the ticket cards etc. One thing that I think could have been better is the color differences. I think playing the game might be a bit tricky for a color blind player with the subtle change in colors.

I played the game with The Wife, just the two of us, and it played very well with just two players. The game is a good length allowing for a quick rematch, or if you just need a shorter and not so complex game. I highly recommend this game to everyone and I can't wait to try out the expansions as well (stay tuned for Power and Glory and All Roads Lead to Rome)!

A Game A Day In Review

A Game A Day

70 straight days of playing a different board game each night and writing a review. From Day 1 I wasn't really sure how many days that this project would last; I was hoping that I could make it past 40 days. Thanks to the support of friends and family letting me borrow some of their games, the support of Rio Grande Games, Minion Games, and MindWare for their game donations, and especially the amazing support from The Wife who put up with me blogging every night and playing a game when the day didn't even have time for it. A big SHOUT OUT and THANK YOU!

I am still amazed that I made it this long. And yet, there are many more games out there to be played. I will definitely continue to review the games that I own and have played for you all. You will be able to find a list of all of my game reviews which I will organize alphabetically. I love board games. Sometimes I will just find myself reading reviews and rules to board games just for fun. This has really been a really fun project and I have enjoyed it immensely and I hope that you have as well.

If you didn't notice, most of my reviews were 3 fingers up (equivalent to an 8 out of 10 or better. This is because most of the games I played are games that I actually own...and why would I buy a game that I don't love? So, there are a lot of 4 fingers up (or 9/10) which are all amazing games, but the top games that all received a thumbs up (10/10) are listed below (Chess and Scrabble are not included in this list just because they are so well known already, but they also received the full 10/10 thumbs up):

Top 10 (listed alphabetically)

Agricola

Carcassonne

Citadels

Dominion

Forbidden Island

Hive

Nile DeLuxor

Power Grid

Slide 5

Zooloretto

Now on to the Scoreboard results. The Wife and I were pretty much neck and neck throughout the project although The Wife had a winning streak of like 13 games in a row I believe. In the end, I came out on top (even with my losing record, I had the most victories):

                            W-L-T

Lou                      32-35-3

The Wife              28-39-3

Nicole                  3-2-0

Nathan                 2-4-0

T.B.I.L.                1-0-0

Sauron                 1-0-0

F. I.                      1-0-0

Jackie                   0-1-0

Spencer                0-1-0

Bryan                   0-2-0

I did not get to play all of the games that I would have liked to, but that is one of the great joys of board games. There are so many fun games out there that all offer something a little bit different. Some of the games that I did not get a chance to play or review include (consider it my watch/wish list in no particular order; I have played a lot of these games, but I do not own or have easy access to them):

Tsuro, The Resistance, Black Friday, Friday, Crows, Flash Point Fire Rescue, Ricochet Robots, Fearsome Floors, 7 Wonders, 221 B Baker Street, Nuns on the Run, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride Europe, Alhambra, Le Havre, Blokus, and the list goes on and on.

Thank you again for supporting this project by checking out my blog. I may be taking a break from the Game Reviews for a while, but don't fret everyone. I have a new project on the horizon. Everyone prepare for (drum roll please) .... A Yoga Pose A Day. Now, it may be a little while before I start this project. I have to start some research and find a killer Yoga outfit, but I plan on at least attempting a different Yoga Pose every day and posting a picture to prove it! If only they had a Yoga themed board game. Get excited folks and that is How Lou Sees It! 

Power Hungry

Day 60 - Power Grid
Designed by Friedemann Friese

Power Grid is seriously one of the best board games out there. If you are unacquainted with the game, then it is about time that you do. I would like to meet the German game designer Friedemann because he sounds like a character and a half. He is well known for liking the color green (all of his game covers have green on them and he has died his hair green before) and all of his games (at least in German) begin with the letter "F." He owns his own game company called 2F.

In Power Grid, 2 to 6 players compete to power the most cities. This is done by bidding on more advanced power plants, buying the required resources to power your plants, and by spreading your power grid to more cities. The game includes a game board that has Germany on on one side and the U.S.A. on the other. This is nice because it provides a different city set up and dynamic during each game. Each map is also divided into regions and only a certain number of regions are played with each game providing even more variability. There are multiple kinds of power plants available (plants that run on coal, oil, garbage, uranium, or wind) and one must upgrade their plants to be able to power more cities. There is a set number of resources and the game has a great way of simulating resource availability (supply and demand) which increases the price of the resource as it becomes more scarce (resources are limited, and you may not even have the resource you need available when you need it). The turn order is determined at the end of each round which helps benefit the players who are behind (or those who strategize to be placed in a certain spot). The game is just chalk full of great game play and the game components are fantastic as well.

I really think those that enjoy the Ticket to Ride games would also enjoy this game. Power Grid is a bit more complex in strategy and game play, but it really is not too overly complex. Power Grid does take about 2 hours to play (maybe a bit less), so those that don't like longer games may have a bit of an issue with the length. Power Grid is a very innovative game that I like to recommend to pretty much everyone (including my thermodynamics teacher - random) and that is How Lou Sees It.

Flamingos, Felines, and Fifty Days

Day 50 - Zooloretto
Designed by Michael Schacht

Tonight is Day 50 of my A Game A Day (AGAD) project! Wow, I can't believe I have played a different game each day for 50 days straight. I owe a giant SHOUT OUT to The Wife for sticking with me in this endeavor. She deserves a great big prize at the end of this thing, that's for sure. I told her tonight that there is an end in sight to this project since I am running out of games to play. I still have a few games up my sleeve, but those will run out quickly. Don't worry fans, I have not played all of the best games leaving you with a lackluster finish. Games that you can look forward to include Power Grid, Forbidden Island, Limits, Go, Citadels, Killer Bunnies, Kill Doctor Lucky, and Dominion. So, I think we are going to be able to make it to 60, but we will see how much longer I can last after that. Once I run out of games to play, I will continue to review games and add them to the list as they become available. I think that it is fitting that on Day 50 The Wife and I share our second tie of the series. Thank you everyone for your support and now onward to tonight's game review.

For fans of Michael Schacht's Coloretto, this is a no brainer. Zooloretto uses the same concept from Coloretto to acquire animals for your zoo. In your zoo, you have multiple areas where you can show off your animals, but keep in mind that you still only have limited room to keep the animals. If you find yourself with too many animals of one kind, or you see yourself with a little flamingo with no where to go, these animals stay in your barn (where for each kind of animal in the barn, you get -2 points). The game has vendor stalls to help you get points at the end of the game where you may not be able to otherwise, and they give you a +2 points for each different type in your zoo. Some animals are in the mood for love and will supply you with a little baby if you are ready for one or not! Zooloretto mixes the best elements from Coloretto and presents the same concept in a fun theme for all ages. Zooloretto is made for 2 to 5 players and takes about 40 minutes to play. There are a lot of expansions for Zooloretto as well as a stand alone/expansion called Aquaretto (look for the game with the dolphin on the front). You can't go wrong with any of these games from Michael Schacht and that is just How Lou Sees It.

Free Trip to Hawaii with Board Game Purchase

Day 38 - Hawaii
Designed by Creg Daigle

Are you in need of a serious vacation? I know that I am. One place that I desperately would like to go is Hawaii. Lucky for me, Rio Grande Games provides a chance for everyone to experience a bit of Hawaii without breaking the bank to get there. When playing Hawaii, one experiences traveling to the main island as well as seeing the smaller islands by boat, watching hula dancers and surfers, you go fishing and see the different statues to different gods, and you can taste the sweetness of fruit and trade goods using clams as currency. Tikis are essential and kahunas are very nice to have on one's own little paradise island as well. This trip only has a limited number of seats though! The game is made for 2 to 5 players and the trip will last about an hour or hour and a half.

Each player is tasked with providing for their island. As chieftain, you have the responsibility to go to the main island and retrieve certain buildings, plants, and people etc. to keep your villages happy and flourishing. Hawaii has a lot of great components to the game including many wooden and cardboard pieces. The theme is fun and the artwork is perfect for the game. The game also includes some nice little huts that players can put together to keep their supplies secret from the other players. Players score points throughout the game, at the end of each of the 5 rounds, and of course at the end of the game there is a final scoring as well. While I played Hawaii, I caught myself finding similarities between Hawaii and a few other games such as Agricola (to be played soon) Pantheon, and even Royal Palace.

During each round, you are limited by your resources and by what the other players choose as well (each round, there are only a certain amount of each item that can be purchased or obtained). The game might seem a bit overwhelming at first, and I thought the rules were a bit confusing in some areas, but once you have played through a round it becomes pretty clear (and after one game, the scoring makes a bit more sense). One thing I really do appreciate about the rule book is the fact that they have multiple examples given of turn taking and scoring (this helps out significantly in my opinion and I wish some game rules had more of this). Hawaii is definitely a high quality game in its pieces and in its gameplay. Worked well with 2 players and Lou finally takes the lead on the big scoreboard.

A big SHOUT OUT again to Rio Grande Games for making this review possible as well as 4 other reviews previous to this one! A big SHOUT OUT to everyone following this blog as well and thank you for supporting me in this A Game A Day project. I am now less than 2 weeks away from my 50th straight day of playing a different game each day. Board games are marvelous and that is How Lou Sees It.

Loch Ness Monster Spotted in Rio Grande

Day 30 - Loch Ness
Designed by Ronald Wettering

I love photography, and there is one photograph that would definitely win some prizes - and that is a picture of the Loch Ness Monster. Little Nessie, as the monster is so lovingly nicknamed by some, is a true legend. You hear stories about Big Foot, but I believe that Nessie is the bigger story. There is something special about the idea of an ancient sea animal living in a (apparently not so small) lake. Movies have been made about the creature and its elusiveness. There is even a delightful website that has some interesting facts, first hand accounts, and even live webcams of the lake (if you have a spare moment, try to find Nessie yourself). The lake and surrounding area looks like a beautiful place to visit if you ask me. Well, tonight I had the privilege of taking  many photographs of Nessie as The Wife and I played Loch Ness.

Loch Ness is a fun game that isn't complicated and doesn't take a long time to explain or play. The game is made for 2 to 5 players and only takes about 30 minutes to play. Some games that have a similar feel or game play include Limits and Incan Gold. The object of the game is to obtain the most points by strategically (and with a little/or a lot of luck) placing your cameras in the locations where Nessie decides to show herself. If you have your cameras placed in the right spots, you will walk away with some pretty valuable photos as well which will also help your score.

The game is played with a large board of Loch Ness which has many little stations for cameras to be set up. Nessie moves around the lake while the players are trying to set up their cameras where Nessie will move to that round. Each player has an opportunity to choose a special action that will help them that round. There are multiple actions to choose from, but only one person can utilize each action during that round. Players take turns choosing in a clockwise direction from the starting player for that round. Some examples of actions include receiving an extra camera for that turn, making a 3 point camera worth 9 points, and being able to move Nessie one space right to where you want her for a nice close up! After the actions are chosen, 3 players (the starting player and the next two players clockwise) will choose a movement card from their deck (each player has movement cards 1 through 5). In a 2 player game, there is a neutral movement deck that will be used for the third player. The players then take turns moving their cameras on the board trying to make educated guesses to where Nessie will turn up after she moves. When everyone is ready, the 3 movement cards are flipped up and Nessie moves around the lake the added number of spaces. Players score points for being in the general area where Nessie is (equal to the point value of camera 3,4,5, or 7 points) and they obtain photo cards for being in the exact location where Nessie is. At the end of the game, players score points for collecting sets of pictures (head, body, tail - a full set is 10 points, any combination of the two is 5 points, and any additional single card by itself is another 1 point).

With not knowing exactly what the other movement cards are face down prior to movement, it's a guessing game as to where to place/move your cameras - so there is a bit of luck to the game. The game includes two variants that may be played independently or together with the basic game. To me, both variants are very nice and I think I would end up playing both variants all of the time. When the big Nessie is moved around the lake with the movement cards, there is a little Nessie meeple that runs around the scoring track the same amount of movement as the big Nessie. The game ends when little Nessie makes it all of the way around the board. This keeps the game a good length and you will probably even want to play another quick game. The Wife and I played the game just the 2 of us tonight and I thought it played very nicely with just 2. Now, the game is not really a cut-throat kind of game with just 2 because the board is pretty open for each person to choose a camera location for their cameras, but the game still plays well with 2. I look forward to playing this game with others and would definitely recommend this game to others as a fun, easy to learn and play, quick, luck-of-the-cards type game.

A big SHOUT OUT to Rio Grande Games for their support of my A Game A Day project! Thanks to Rio Grande I was able to play and review Loch Ness tonight and will be able to play and review 4 more games thanks to their donation (upcoming games from Rio Grande include Hawaii, Pantheon, Royal Palace, and Ranking). Rio Grande Games actually publishes most of my absolute favorite games like Carcassonne, Dominion, Bohnanza, Power Grid, Coloretto, and the list goes on and on. Thank you Rio Grande Games for bringing these amazing games (mostly from Germany or other places in Europe) to us in English and making them accessible for the avid gamer and families a like and that is How Lou Sees It.