Game Review: Bears!

"Sometimes you eat the b'ar, and sometimes the b'ar eats you"

Straight from the campfires, tents, and outhouses of Fireside Games comes a brand-new dice game called Bears! The perhaps inopportunely timed end-of-summer release has a woodsy camping theme that makes me think of s'mores, a crackling fire, and hard-ass feeling of logs and pebbles under my butt. Mmmm. Too bad s'mores weather is almost over. I mean, except for that inevitable dangerous snowy evening when I decide that s'mores can be made in my fireplace because June is just so far away. But earlier this year, it seemed a lot more timely and exciting at Origins when I first heard about the game. Fireside Games had a booth where one little demo set of Bears! was available, preorders were being taken, and people were elbowing to see what all the fuss was about. Okay, that was mostly me elbowing. But that's only because I never did get to demo the game, even on my eighth stop over at the booth. Finally, when my elbowing and glares failed to payoff, I took the plunge and preordered a copy sight-unseen.

This is a review of how that gamble turned out.

Play Scenario:

This review is based on about ten different plays of the game, each being about 15 seconds or less. Some of the plays were with four players, others with two players.

Game Objective:

It's not just you versus your opponents, it's you versus bears...and your opponents. Make fight-or-flight dice pairing decisions in a big hurry in order to escape (or crush) the bear population. You, as a poor camper, have been startled by bears, and must decide, in a big damn hurry, whether to grab yer gun and shoot 'em (hope you don't miss!), or run for your life. Oh yeah, and there's always the chance you'll get caught snoozing in your sleeping bag by the bears, in which case you're about the be shredded into fluffy down ribbons. Dice grabbing determines your fate.

Turn Mechanics & Game Play: 
Twenty dice are rolled in the center of the table, with each player concurrently rolling five personal dice. The moment the dust has settled, all players get grabby trying to pair the community dice, which have either bears or tents on them, with their own personal dice.

 On the personal dice, players will find a gun, running camper, or sleeping bag. Bears can be paired with guns, meaning you're looking to shoot yourself a b'ar. The running man and snoozing sleeping bag can only be paired with tents, meaning you're hoping to avoid the bears.

Each round ends when either all the bear dice OR the tent dice have been snatched, thus prompting an apoplectic shout of BEARS! by one or more panicky players. If the bears are left, and you're caught in your sleeping bag, then you're going to lose points. If everyone chased off the bears with their shotguns and you slept through the attack, then you are going to earn big points. Slacker chicken.

Points are totaled: 1 point for each bear you shot (TENT + BEAR), 2 points for each bear you outran (RUNNER + TENT), 5 points if you slept through a bear attack and the bears fled (SLEEPING BAG + TENT + no bear dice left in community pool), or -2 points if you got eaten in your sleeping  bag (SLEEPING BAG + TENT + only bear dice left in the community pool). People swear. No one likes to be bear trail mix. And then the next round begins. The rounds continue until someone reaches 50 or 100 points, which doesn't take very long at all.

Out of the Box:

This is a sweet little travel-friendly package. The tall, slender box has charming cartoonish artwork, and is made well. The ads for another Fireside Games release, Castle Panic, that have been plastered all over the inner box didn't even bother me much. Inside the box is pretty much just what you'd expect: A whole slew of dice, tiny rules pamphlet, and a couple scoring cards. Simple. Straight-forward. Probably they didn't need such a tall box, but I enjoy it because it can be used as a dice cup for your many rolls. Some thoughtful creativity clearly went into the design, and I really appreciate how portable the box is. Kudos, Fireside Games!

Praise:

+Shazam! What was that? Was that just another round? Man, this is one fast-paced game. Need to fill five or ten minutes while someone's answering a phone call, greeting the pizza dude, or using the bathroom? Break out Bears!

+Portability. True to its theme, this might be one of my top game picks to pack in my camping bag. Or for a picnic, party, long wait in movie theater lines, etc. This game can be played on just about any stationary small surface. Car trips and airplane rides aside, this game will travel really well.

+Cute and humorous theme. The whole funny premise of being eaten by bears, and running from your tent keeps the game light enough so you almost forget that you're getting stupidly railroaded by grabby friends.

+Wide appeal. Serious gamers, party gamers, non-gamers, and everybody in between can easily jump into this game and enjoy it. I could probably play this with my mom. Ugh. But drunk people--and trust me, I have a little insight on this--probably won't do so well, and will just be eaten by bears. I hope bears like tartinis.

+Challenge. For all its silliness, there really is a serious challenge for players to exercise quick-thinking strategy. Just when you think it pays to be the fastest, you realize that sometimes hanging back is the best strategy. Players who care enough to put some thought into strategy will enjoy some creative, if lightly consequential, approaches to play.

+Works with different numbers of players. The game flows well and is equally interesting, I think, with either two or four players. Many will suggest that four players is best since it creates a party atmosphere and gets people laughing and competitive. But, I think with two players, the head-to-head style is still a lot of fun and does not suffer from lack of competition. Somehow, the game is more serious with two players, or at least it is when TGHITW and I play.

Complaints:

-I will start with the obvious: It's a dice game. There's a whole lot of chance involved, even though one can have unlimited rerolls of personal dice. Chance is so strong, there really can be no true mastery of this game, and your success is left to the fates. Mostly.

-Simple strategy. Once players have rolled just a few times, the strategy of stockpiling RUNNING DUDE + TENT becomes an obvious no-lose strategy. You can't win strictly on this combination, but it will get you far. Yes, the strategy can go deeper, but many players won't take it any further than that. And then you risk getting bored. Fast.

-Yes, it's just dice in a box. This isn't exactly Agricola or Twilight Struggle.

-Based on our assessment that the four-player party atmosphere is where this game shines, it's a pity that more than four can't play. Might there be a multi-player expansion idea in the works? Getting six, eight, or more people involved could make this riotous.

-Honestly, I don't think I could get endless hours of enjoyment here.The game will get pulled out now and then for a little peppy infusion of gaming laughs, but this is not solid enough to be the backbone of your evening of gaming fun.

Overall:

This is a light, fun game to tote out for some levity and great summer fun. Snowy weather, hopefully, won't detract from the summery theme, and certainly has a mass appeal. I will, no doubt, get hours of laughs out of this wacky, manic, frenzied game. And I'm grateful for a new portable selection for my tote bag. But its poetic simplicity keeps it from being anything truly brilliant. Don't expect too much from this game, and you won't be disappointed. It's pretty much dice in a box.

Yes, I think the game is a fun addition to any gamer's collection for its quickness, levity, and broad appeal. Not every game can be Diplomacy or Dungeon Lords. There is a place for simple games like this, and I'm glad it fills a certain gaming niche. I'll proudly play Bears! for some time to come, and I am patting myself on the back (whap, whap, whap!) for taking a chance on this game. The reason it doesn't receive a higher grade is only because it's dice in a box. And it's $20. At a lower price, the bargain value may make it even more attractive to a wider audience. Plus, I have to reserve the highest grades for games that have a rich complexity and brilliance to them. Is this game brilliant? Maybe not. But is it fun? Most certainly.

Pimpability:

Not so much. I mean, one could get cutesy with little tents, or bear minis, and such. But really, no one's going to put too much effort into pimping this game. It's just fine and simple on its own.

Game: Bears!
Designer: Anne Marie De Witt
Published by: Fireside Games, 2011
Players: 2-4
Playing Time: 10 minutes
AIBG (that's us!) Age Recommendations: 8+
Average Retail Price: $20

Grade: B-

Crappy Birthday to Me

Pack the kids in the minivan, pa, the world must be coming to an end! The Greatest Husband in the World actually posted on this blog! Aside from his normal greatness, he is not, how shall we say?, always cooperative with my silly little projects. And of course, whenever the topic of board games comes up, he'd rather be playing them than writing about them. Touche, sir. So naturally I was quite flattered when he secretly created an entire blogpost without my knowledge. Thanks, husband.

I have other exciting birthday news to add to the feast. Exciting, no? A couple weeks ago, just as my birthday was feeling really redundant, depressing, and stale, I got a treat in the mail (and apparently started rhyming my thoughts sporadically. Balls.). The peeps at NorthStar games sent me a copy of the newly released Crappy Birthday! I actually won this copy in a BGG contest by quipping about homicidal lawn gnomes. (If you want to read the contest thread, here it is. Look for WonderWitch's comments under item #4.)

Now, getting this Crappy Birthday game is awesome because,

A.) We all really should be afraid of lawn gnomes,
B.) I absolutely love free games, and
C.) This is the first game EVER where my name has been mentioned in the rules booklet!  

 Haahh. That's the sound of me breathing arrogantly on my fingernails and polishing them on my shirt shoulder. 

If you will remember back to February, bdloop, bdloop, bdloop (the sound of my wayback machine) that was when I helped to rate and review the Crappy Birthday cards along with dozens of other geeks from BGG. Hence, the name in the "Special Thanks" section. The free copy was just a happy coincidence due to my gnome paranoia and knowledge of ABBA lyrics.

This is a proud, proud moment for me--the moment where I officially have stepped all the way into the board game box and have entered a new dimension of  board game fanaticism appreciation and interaction. Any moment I expect to see a Jabberwocky book appear on my coffee table, and have a rook shout at me.

Granted, I am excited for a few other games, (many of which are being released very soon), that will also have my name in the credits. But this one, this is the first. So crappy birthday to me, and crappy birthday to all the crappy gamers out there.

Print and Play Birthday

So in honor of this birthday for the best-wife-ever, I have decided to get off my lazy rump and finally post. As you can tell by now we are a little obsessed with gaming. So much so that I decided to craft a game for Katie's birthday. Now let me say this right up front.... Despite the plethora of craftiness on this blog I am not a crafty guy. C+ was the highest my penmanship score ever reach. And just between you and me I need my four-year-old's help with scissors.

My initial plan was some amazing new game involving Dinosaurs, Steampunk and Caylus.

The problem with this was three fold.

1. The only thing 'Amazing' about it was me calling it 'Amazing'

2. Crafting the truncheon wielding raptors was a little out of my wheelhouse.

3. Key actions cards involving anabolic steroids failed to fit my overworked theme.

Back to the drawing board I went. Deciding that actually getting her a game she might enjoy, caused me to just buy her a game. Thanks to a friendly co-worker going to GenCon I was able to secure a copy of ......(Wait that would be spoiling, Katie you will just have to find that gift later). But alas, I was still left with an empty hole where my Grinch-like craft heart should be. I decided to turn to my good old friend Mr.BoardGameGeek. And thankfully he offered up a delicious selection of Print-and-Play games both fun and reasonably buildable.

First I turned to Clint Herron's RoboDerby: Express. As a bonus I had a left over copy of Jurassic Park III that wasn't completely devoured by raptors, and a few other indented dice. This game turned out to be fun to build with lots of fan made extras, a variety of art, and it serves as a nice fast homage to one of my favorite games that takes too long to be fun: Roborally.

Image Courtesy sunshiny via BGG

But again I felt hollow because this is much more of a game for me than for Katie. Then I found it. Artfully detailed in his own blog Matt S. (tasajara) posts about his own Ticket to Ride expansion creation. Northern Egypt. You can read about his creation process here.

This was perfect. It is a game best-wife-ever loves. Most of the parts are from something we already have and the cards were already uploaded to Artscow. Now all I have to do is make the board. I could have just had a poster printed and laminated, but that would have been WAY too easy. I decided my best bet would be to print the game on 8.5 x 11 label sheets and stick them to a thrifted game board. The Jurassic Park board was the right size but it was only 4 fold and wouldn't fit in the Ticket to Ride box, Trivial Pursuit boards were a good option but I would have had to seem two together. Luckily I had a copy of the Ann Arbor Trivia game, and for some crazy reason I wasn't attached to it.

Next step was resizing the image. While it was close to the board size(good for scaling) it would have cut off the edge(bad for keeping score). So I used PosteRazor to resize it into a convenient PDF.

So one night when best-wife-ever was out doing her civic duty disposing of stockpiles of dangerously flammable ethanol, I set up my project. At this point I would like to thank my aforementioned daughter Lily who did her best to help me work the paper cutter. To her I say I did the best I could. After cutting and applying the sticker sheets I came to realize that the toner did not hold up as well as I would have liked. So in an effort to save the project I used a few markers and a couple coats of sealant to patch it up.

All in all it is a fairly impressive creation and I have to take my hat off to the creator who put a tremendous amount of time and fan love into the art and playtesting. If I were to make another one of these I would print on some high quality glossy paper and glue that down rather than use labels. I was pleased with my choice to get the Artscow cards. They may not be perfect but they are far nicer than you would make anywhere, plus cheap is good. For any poor soul that made it this far in this post, I thank you and ask you to join me in wishing best-wife-ever a Happy Birthday.

Game Review: Twilight Struggle

John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural address,

"Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out..."

And because of that one speech, today I am reviewing a game that sounds, to most people born after 1995, like a board game about sparkly vampires. Make no mistake, folks, Twilight Struggle--the number one game on Board Game Geek--is about something far different from vampires. I mean, I assume anyway. There were those rumors about Gorbachev, but I never saw any fangs or anything, so we'll file that away as unconfirmed. I digress. Twilight Struggle is a war game about the struggle for power between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Yes, that's right, a war game. Wait, what? How did a war game get to be number one on BGG.com? And more importantly, how did I end up playing it...and actually liking it? A lot? Read on for my full review and answers to your burning Cold War-themed gaming questions.

Twilight Struggle, WE WILL BURY YOU!

Play Scenario:

This review is based on two initial plays of the game on two separate occasions. Being that this is strictly a two player game, you can guess how many players we had for each game. If not, I'll get the frying pan.

Game Objective:

To BURY! your opponent. Sorry, if you could hear that, it would sound like my Kruschev voice, which is also kind of like my Soup Nazi voice. Be prepared for lots of corny Soviet references. I'm feeling like 20 years on since the end, I think it's finally kosher to make Soviet jokes, right? I mean, no one here wants to be blacklisted or anything. Ha. Right? Ha. Anyway....in this game, one player takes the U.S. side, and the other becomes Muzza Russia (okay, technically, USSR, whatever). You both battle it out for control of countries around the world, compete in a space race, and try to avoid nuclear war.

 Turn Mechanics & Game Play: 
Laid out in front of you is a daunting map of the world. Study it, see where your opponent has carefully placed their control chips (as originally dictated by the rules booklet set-up instructions). Now you will use your turns to mess up their control around the world. Mwa-ha-ha!

To do this, you will play cards in your hand. There are three different decks opponents draw from: Early War, Mid-War, and Late War. Each card has the name of an event/person and text about what the card effects are. I have to tell you, it's pretty straightforward, and not nearly as heavy and dry as I feared a war game could be. Some of the cards are even a bit humorous. Surprise!

 That's right, this card declares that if the U.S. controls more battleground countries, then the U.S. player gets to poke the other person in the chest and gain 2 VP.

Okay, here's how the turn flow works: Each round starts with a "Headline Phase", in which you select one card from your newly dealt hand and both opponents execute the actions on these headline cards. This is usually a biggie, and--if you're lucky--will impair your opponent's abilities to play effectively for the rest of the round.

After that, you and your opponent take turns playing cards, either for their text effect, or for the points on the corner of the card, which can help you manipulate your control of the map--by adding "Influence" to a new territory, attempting a coup, or realigning power. A single D-6 die will help decide a lot of these power struggles.

OR, you can use your card points to move your chits along the Space Race track and attempt to gain a game advantage. Launch that chimp into space first and you will not only make Tom Hanks and Ron Howard cry, but you also get either VPs or a special advantage.

 The round ends when the cards are spent from each player's hand. The game continues like this for a set amount of rounds, with points being constantly won and lost until the end of the game. The whole time there is a constant threat of thermonuclear war, and a Defcon counter at the bottom of the board warns everyone just how close nuclear annihilation is. Duck and cover, kiddies!

Out of the Box:

The game is a bit underwhelming. Frankly, it looks like a pretty typical war game, with tiny little square cardboard counters, a few decks of cards, and a big-ass map.

 The map itself is a bit disappointing because it's made of flimsy cardboard that never really flattens out totally without weights to hold it down. This means that those little cardboard chits slide around easily or can be bounced in a heartbeat by a devious cat paw. Even the box art is mediocre--nothing to complain about, but nothing to get excited about either. Overall, diehard fans will drool for a deluxe edition with nicer pieces.

Praise:

+The game is straightforward enough to make it fully accessible for non-war gamers. I had reservations, but we were smoothly playing a full game within an hour of opening the box.

+Combat! This is a GREAT game to settle in with on a chilly Saturday afternoon or evening. Get some snacks. Put on some good tunes. Get in pajamas. And then get cozy for a long game of strategy, cunning, and all-out war.

+Humor! Normally a game about the perils of the communist threat, thermonuclear war, and struggles for global domination are generally humorless. Pity. While most of the cards in the game are serious and historical, just a few of them have a little bit of humor interjected to lighten up the game. Consider the card mentioned above that requires the US to poke the USSR in the chest. Some of the cards even reference movies, including one thermonuclear war card that asks us "Would-We-Like-To-Play-a-Ga-ame?" Or there's the above card with a cheeky nod to Dr. Strangelove.

+The scoring mechanism works perfectly for this style of combat game. As you can see below, the score counter starts at zero, and a tug of war ensues between the USSR pulling the score into the "red", (Ha. Get it? Somewhere Lenin's laughing) and the U.S. trying to pull the score into the positive.

+No player who's down should ever count themselves out. There's always a reason to fight in this game, as the decks are always changing, and there are always ways to cheese off your opponent.

+There is an end to the madness. Unlike some combat quagmires, like Risk, there is a finite set of rounds to this game--10 total. While the game still takes quite a few hours to play (usually), the game's conclusion does not hinge on one player being utterly and totally crushed or wiped off the map. This gives both players reason to fight through the whole game and never give up.

+The historical context of the game is really interesting and educational. For those of us who remember at least part of the Cold War, reading the headlines on the cards will bring back memories.

Complaints:

-The game quality is straight-up war game all the way. So I hate to rag on a classic style, but the component and board quality really is lacking. A special game like this deserves a little better. The good news for some of you, is that a Deluxe Edition is available. We just don't own it. Sad.

-Chance. Another excellent game with an element of that infuriating beast, CHANCE. In order to decide a lot of contests to invade and area, boot someone out, or advance in the space race, players roll two little dice. It's a strong enough influence that the game outcome can entirely hinge on the sum luck of all the dice rolls.

-Game play length is a slight problem. Because games can take as long as 4-5 hours, potentially, this might not be a game you can play on the average weeknight after dinner.

Overall:

This is an amazing intense, competitive game for two gamers who want a serious head-to-head brawl. Lighter gamers (you know who I'm talking about) will probably not enjoy this game, as it does require focus, stamina, and a cutthroat nature. However, despite all of these scary qualifiers I've attached to the enjoyability of the game, it's actually not too dry! And most importantly, it's not too fidgety. Da, darling! It's true!

By all rights, a war game like this should be complicated, and have all the lightness of running through a swimming pool of molasses. But somehow it flows really smoothly and keeps players on edge and excited for every turn. It's intelligent, but not pretentious and stuffy. And THAT, my friends, is how a war game found its way to the top of the BGG rankings.

I love that just when Europe seems lost to the USSR, those naughty Ruskies pull out some VPs in the Space Race, or over in Asia. And in spite of the fact that the game is intentionally slightly biased in favor of U.S. victory, us comrades can still pull out a victory over the American dogs on the other side of the table. If only the game weren't sooo reliant on chance and dice rolling, I think I'd really love this game even more. Fate is a fickle friend, and does not always smile down upon Soviet Russia, my friends. Oops, I mean, comrades.

The Greatest Husband in the World and I have been pulling out the game about once per weekend, especially if we really feel like locking horns. And aside from the fact that I've been banned from using my Russian accent (which mainly is derived from Boris Badinov and Natasha Fatale), we have been having a really great time. Throughout our plays, we've done some laughing, some shouting, a good amount of swearing, and I have banged my shoes on the table more than a few times. It's just good raucousy fun. But fair warning: This game is not for the tired or cranky. Go into this fresh and full of piss & vinegar to really enjoy the poetic simplicity of war.

We will be keeping this copy in our Board Game Closet of Glory and Doom for quite some time, perhaps only swapping it out if we can get our cheap hands on a nice copy of the deluxe edition. I just wish it wasn't going to collect so much dust, as I sense that its intensity and play length will limit how often we pull it out.

Similar Games:
You'll be hard-pressed to not draw a lot of comparisons to Risk while playing this game. Domination of the map, and dice rolling to determine geographical challenges will have you reminiscing about the last time you fortified Kamchatka in Risk. But fear not, where Risk utterly fails--in its monotony, and shallow gameplay--this game shines. This is a deeper, smoother game than Risk will ever be, with a real historical twist that makes it riveting and disquieting all at once. If you ever wanted to love Risk, but just couldn't get past its tedium, then this is the game for you.

Pimpability:

The board almost demands pimping, as it's so uneven and flimsy. An inventive person may attach the board to some foldable wooden panels, or may print the map on tin paper that can be rolled up. Or you could just shell out a couple more bucks for the deluxe version. Whatever.

I think I might also be inclined to get some little astronaut/cosmonaut player tokens to replace the cardboard chits on the Space Race track. A nice rocket figure would work well on the Defcon track. And wouldn't it be great to have a little mini of vodka for the score track? I'm just sayin'.Okay, barring someone actually making mini vodka tokens, it would make a lot of sense for players to print and assemble tuck boxes for the three main decks of cards (early war, mid-war, and late war). This game is totally pimpable, especially for someone with a sense of humor about communism and nuclear war. Shoes for hitting table optional.

Game: Twilight Struggle
Designer: Ananda Gupta, Jason Matthews
Published by: GMT Games, 2005
Players: 2
Playing Time: 2-5 hours
AIBG (that's us!) Age Recommendations: 14+
Average Retail Price: $40-50 (maybe a little more for the Deluxe version with nicer pieces)

Grade: B+