Board Games - Part 1

Hey guys!

For those board/card gamers out there like me, here's a post for you! These are some games that I own and/or have played before and I can't wait to share my experience! You can try them the next time you visit a game cafe and I hope these reviews can help you out when you're considering to purchase a game! I tend to go for games that are easy to learn and have minimal rules; so the following games should be easy for beginners. Extensions, variations and tips can be explored on your own.

Resistance

No. of players: 5-10
Est play time: 30 min
Genre: Strategy, party

How to play: Each player will draw a character card - Resistance (indicated as blue/fist, aka good guys) or Spy (indicated as red/targetboard, aka bad guys).

The ratio of Resistance to Spy is dependent on the number of players, as seen on the left of the image below.

After everyone has chosen his/her character card, randomly select a Leader. The Leader will instruct everyone, including him/herself, to close eyes. The Spies will then be ordered to open their eyes to acknowledge each other. After which, the Leader will order the Spies to close their eyes before getting everyone to open eyes again.

The game consists of maximum 5 rounds, each round includes a team building phase and a mission phase. The Leader position will be passed to the next person on the right after each round. At the start of the round, the Leader will select players, including or excluding him/herself, to participate in the mission. The number of members in the team is dependent on the total number of players and the round number, as seen on the right of the image above. After the Leader has made his/her decision, everyone will vote to approve/reject the team (by majority). If the team is rejected, the next player becomes the Leader and build his/her new team.

For the mission phase, the members will have a success and fail card each. They have to decide and pass one of the two cards to the Leader to shuffle. The Leader will open up the played cards to determine the success of the mission. The mission fails if one (or more) fail card has been played.

Spies win when:
- 5 mission teams are rejected in a single round (5 consecutive failed votes)
- 3 failed missions

Resistance wins when:
- 3 successful missions


Taboo

No. of players: 4+
Est play time: as long as you want
Genre: Family, creativity

How to play: This game has many versions and variations; there is Singaporean version; you can play in teams or individual. Generally, the idea of the game is to describe a particular word without mentioning the taboo words at the bottom of the card. Eg. describe "car" but cannot mention the words "car", "driver", "ride", "transport", "fast", "travel". The player on the left or right acts as the "police" to catch any taboo words used. The next player will take over the description role after the time limit. The objective of the game is to guess correctly as many words as possible.

Uglydoll

No. of players: 2-6
Est play time: 15 min
Genre: Speed, family

How to play: All uglydoll cards are shuffled and scattered face down on a tabletop. Turn by turn, each player flips over one random card. Whenever 3 of the same uglydoll appears, be the fastest to shout "ugly, ugly, ugly" and snatch as many of the 3 cards as possible. The player with the most cards on hand at the end is the winner.


Saboteur

No. of players: 3-10
Est play time: 30 min
Genre: Strategy, family

How to play: Each player will draw a character card - Miner or Saboteur. The ratio of Miner to Saboteur is dependent on the number of players. The character roles should be kept secret from one another.

• 3 players: 1 saboteur and 3 gold miners
• 4 players: 1 saboteur and 4 gold miners
• 5 players: 2 saboteurs and 4 gold miners
• 6 players: 2 saboteurs and 5 gold miners
• 7 players: 3 saboteurs and 5 gold miners
• 8 players: 3 saboteurs and 6 gold miners
• 9 players: 3 saboteurs and 7 gold miners
• 10 players: all dwarf cards

Set up the game area with the ladder card and the 3 end cards placed horizontally. The space between the ladder card and the 3 end cards is 7 cards long and the space between each of the 3 end cards is 1 card wide, as seen below.

For 3 to 5 players: Each player is dealt 6 cards.
For 6 to 7 players: Each player is dealt 5 cards.
For 8 to 10 players: Each player is dealt 4 cards.

Each turn, a player can choose to discard a card or play a path or action card. All path cards should be placed in the same orientation as the ladder card. The path card played should also connect all existing paths surrounding the played card. Upon carrying out an action, draw a new card from the draw pile.

When action cards with a red circle are placed in front of a player, it implies that the player is unable to play path cards from then on. The red cards can be neutralised with cards that have the corresponding symbol in green.

The map action card allows the player to take a peek at one of the 3 end cards.
The demolish card allows the player to remove one path card in the game area.

The objective of Miners is to get to the Gold card amongst the 3 end cards.
The Saboteur will win the game if the Miners fail to do so when the cards run out.



More reviews are on the way, including The Forbidden Island, Dixit, Sushi Go and Khet 2.0 Laser Game.

So sorry for not posting anything for quite some time. I have been very busy with my new academic course - Master of Science (Audiology). I will write a post on it in the near future as well.

LOL (lots of love),
Jensylee