Wednesday 3 July 2013

Playing games at The Missing Geek games night!

So having just discovered my new games store I ventured down to crack open my new copy of Smash Up in the hope there would be an opportunity to get a game in. So was it worth the trip, were there other people to play and if so was the game any good?

Quick answer to all those questions was yes! Despite the size of the store it was actually a really nice experience and I managed to squeeze in four different games! As I got to the store three gamers were just setting up a table and looking for something to play so I volunteered my new copy of Smash Up and objective one for the night was complete. As it was a four player game all the decks were used and begin a generous lad I let the other choose their decks, leaving me with Zombie Aliens! Result, anything Zombie was good by me. The aim of the game is to be the first to score 15 victory points by putting your minions on to bases on the table and having the highest strength of forces when the total for the base is reached. Each player combines two different decks (which function in different ways) and tries to get them to function together. It turns out that Zombies and Aliens are very similar as they are both a horde like deck that wants to bounce cards around from either the table (Aliens) or the discard (Zombies) to players hands. 

Things I liked:
- It ramped up really quickly and it didn't take long for the players to be eyeing up how to avoid overloading a base to give another player the win.
- The themes work really well for each deck (the ninjas are super sneaky!).
- It can be super quick once you get into it and understand how your cards work.

Things that made me go hmm:
- Some of the decks don't combo as well which can leave some players to fall behind a little, especially in a four player game.
- As some decks rely on cards triggering a cascade like effect some players can become prone to Analysis Paralysis (though this can apply to most games with the right/wrong player).
- The game will leave you feeling as though some one stole half of the box contents as it feels a bit over priced for a half empty vacuum formed tray and a few packs of cards (they created a box to hold future expansions). 

4/5 Daves 

I also got to play games of Munchkin, Chez Goff and Zombie Fluxx. Having played both Muchkin and Fluxx previously I had no real problem with them beyond my previous criticisms (Need to be played fast and non-competitively or they bog down a lot). Chez Goff allowed for a bit of silly roleplay fun as my Slacker model attempted to prove she was the laziest flatmate as she avoided doing as much work as possible (mainly buying shiny things, clothes and having Nookie in a coffee house). It's a Steve Jackson game so think Munchkin with a deadbeat American Teenager theme and you're not far off. Despite failing to win (or even come close) in any game I had a great time and will be taking Smash Up back next week for another go (I'm thinking Zombie Pirates this time!) along with a few other games I haven't played in a while.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds cool, glad to hear they do genuinely get people turning up to play.
    Smash up sounds like something i may need to have a go of too :)

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