Cardiff Board Game Group Recap - 23.08.18

This week at Fanagram Cardiff Boardgaming Group we had ups, we had downs, we had laughter and we cardboard. Mostly cardboard – but hey, you can’t spell Fanagram Cardiff Boardgaming Group without ‘card’.

We welcomed a new member, said goodbye to another and wished happy birthday to one more. Between all of this excitement we were able to get in some glorious gaming goodness, which was..... fantastic!

A couple of lengthier games were played – namely This War of Mine and Root. As you may now, This War of Mine is based on the computer game of the same name released in Nov 2014 by Polish developer 11 Bit Studios, and “inspired by the 1992–96 Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War, differs from most war-themed video games by focusing on the civilian experience of war rather than frontline combat” (Wikipedia). Shortly after release pirated copies of the game became available online – the publishes responded by releasing Steam Keys for people to get the game for free but asking if people could purchase the game if this became financially viable. Nice move.

The boardgame is a cooperative affair (includes solo play) for up to 6 players. Survivors build and craft and generally try to survive during the day and then protect the base, rest and scout other areas for loot and stuff during the night. The group playing this made through most of the first chapter and will continue next week.

I was one of six players playing Root. I was blown away by how pretty this game is and intrigued by the concept. Very recently released following a successful Kickstarter campaign the game sports a gorgeous box, beautiful game boards, great art, high quality cards and actual wooden pieces. A real treat. The game takes place in a section of woodland where competing factions tussle it out for control. The twist though is that each faction has its own rules and win conditions, and they all slot together nicely. For me I felt that six players was a little too many, especially being the inaugural game for most of us, as down time between turns was a tad excessive – but I can absolutely see this being much less of a problem following repeated plays. To find out more about this game be sure to keep an eye on Kit Myers, as he will be reviewing this game in the near future.

Other games played included Robo Rally, King of Tokyo and I even got to showcase Netrunner to a couple of people (which is objectively and undeniably the best boardgame ever).

From all at Fanagram Cardiff Boardgame Group we say a big goodbye to you Dan, you will be missed and all the best of luck in your new endeavours. We might actually get to win some games with you gone though, so you know – silver linings and all..

Join us each and every Thursday from 6pm at Firestorm Games Cardiff for glorious gaming goodness – we are a friendly bunch and would love to play some games with you.