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- Halma (Stern-Halma, Star-Halma, Chinese Checkers)
Abstract invented in the 1880's Britain was originally played on
a square grid and later adapted to a six-pointed star pattern. As
far as I can determine, there is actually no actual connection
with China, the qualifier being used to denote a "weird"
version of the usual game. Strange, because actually the word
halma means "jump", not in Chinese, but in Greek. Has a
problem in that one player can unilaterally "break" the game by
parking one of his own pieces in someone else's destination. But
it is great fun to plan and execute very long and complicated
jump patterns. First published by E.I. Horsman of New York
in an 1885 version which could only accommodate at most four
players. Milton Bradley claims to have procured rights from the
inventor and was much later granted copyright on that basis. The
Chinese Checkers version was granted a US patent in 1941.
Old versions are collectible mostly depending on the quality
of their marbles. Only the later versions offer the six-pointed
version which could be played by up to six.
A
- Halunken und Spelunken
Fairly quick game about a ship captain haunting taverns in order
to shanghai sailors. The taverns are arranged in a circle and
three would-be sailors are found in each. Players each have an
identical set of cards with which to move their captains and it
is usually obvious to which spot each one wants to move, but the
trouble is that the slowest movers always go first and moreover,
can bump any they land on. Trying to figure out all of the results
in advance can be quite a challenge. In addition, players not
only want to get the higher-numbered sailors, but also to collect
a set of the same color and prevent others from doing same.
An absorbing game with an appropriate look. A variant with a
randomly moving captain called "Black Jack" is not recommended
for the serious as it destroys much of the planning.
- Hamburgum
The latest in the games using the rondel system
(Neuland,
Antike,
Imperial)
returns from the military theme and takes up the topic of
cathedral building. It's surprising, by the way, how popular
this topic has been over the years in games such as
Krieg und Frieden,
Keythedral,
Pillars of the Earth
and others. This time, however, it's not a single cathedral,
but a series of them, each of them comprising five distinct
stages. Each stage requires an increasing number of materials,
which a player must purchase in a non-building round. Very
cleverly, only the last step requires a bell – represented by
an actual small, metal bell – the purchase of which is
the tip-off of a player's intentions. Besides the five
cathedrals there are many other features. Players can take
over pre-printed buildings around the city map which must be
done in an ever-expanding network, at least until a player
completes his first cathedral. A primary function of buildings
is to produce one of three types of products, which are later
sold to earn the money that goes into the wood and brick that
are needed to advance cathedrals. Product price is indicated
by a market whose prices, interestingly, only go down, one
level per building created. Shipping is an important aspect of
selling as a player may only ship units depending on the
number and capacities of the ships he owns. Ships tend to lose
capacity as time goes on since new ships force older ones to
lower capacity positions. Other buildings provide various
special effects and eventually these replace products as a
source of income, but perhaps their most important aspect is
the interaction with cathedral scoring. Completing a fifth of
a cathedral grants a tile which gives a scoring bonus. The
first tile is a flat bonus, but the rest tend to depend on the
player's holdings. The number of ships or a particular type of
building is multiplied by the tile value to score at the time
the player chooses. A player can only hold back one tile of
each type, however, so timing is clearly an important
situation. I see this primarily as an opportunistic evaluative
game. Winning is not really a matter of picking a strategy to
follow, but of looking around for available opportunities and
judging the best one. Maybe a particular action would
generate, say, four victory points, but perhaps by looking
around you can find another that yields five. This is the
sort of decisionmaking that mostly applies. Tactically, by the
way, since after the first cathedral segment a player may
choose from any of the four remaining tiles the second tile is
one of the two best to take: it's cheaper and there are more
options. The other best choice is the fifth tile since there
are considerable bonuses for finishing. The game setting is
medieval Hamburg – its Latin name providing the title
– with the reverse side showing Londinium (London). The
city used does not appear to make a great difference in play.
The artwork is attractively realized, there are components
galore and the communication design is nicely realized as well.
Duration tends to be rather over an hour.
Strategy: Low; Theme: Medium; Tactics: High; Evaluation: High; Personal Rating: 5
Mac Gerdts; 2007; Eggert-Spiele; 2-5
[Buy it at Amazon]
- Hameln
Multi-player game by Fragor, the bits fans who brought us
Shear Panic.
This time the very cute bits are rats, a cat and the Pied
Piper of legend. In the hamlet of Hameln families seem to have
two main interests: making money and breeding. The former they
achieve by choosing a work action where their father figures are,
thus producing goods that are sold during a later action. But
working has side effects. For one, it generates rats, too many of
which eventually loses the house. For the house's mother figure,
working also generates a child, of random gender. When children
of both genders arrive in the town, one of their owners can
have them marry, which is a way for one player to make another
out of pocket as it's the male who pays for the house. Besides
the two main activities there are also side games such as the
chance to buy victory points or to employ the cat or buy the
piper's attention. When it comes to victory points, it seems
like an English school of game design is forming since as in
Richard Breese games, one feels the desire for a spreadsheet
in order to optimize performance over the many categories. But
many of the sub-systems here are quite charming, especially the
way that actions have side effects and the way bringing rats
to one's house affects the neighbors. But somehow the overall
architecture does not feel quite right. Some features such as
the influence wheel and many of the houses can go unused. Often
too the optional actions are not appetizing enough to use. Maybe
the most disturbing of these admittedly minor issues is that
a lot of what a player can do can be determined by the type
of children he happens to draw, particularly if it happens to
get extremely skewed. For example, a player drawing almost all
females can probably win fairly easily by occupying many houses
paid for by others. It's not just the luck that can be a problem,
but also that a player can have too few reasonable choices.
(I suspect that community ratings on this one will have a higher
standard deviation than most simply depending on how much luck has
happened to enter into the various playings.) My surmise is that
the game might not have had enough development and playtesting
time; otherwise there would be some measures to try to keep
matters in tighter control. Still, it's not overly long and
the pieces are truly wonderful. The board could be a bit less
garish and cluttered, perhaps sporting a more rustic look instead.
Strategy: Low; Theme: High; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: Medium; Personal Rating: 6
- Hanafuda
Card game somewhat reminiscent of Casino though much
simpler feels like it is mostly random. The challenge of
remembering which card goes with which is greater than any
strategic consideration. The card sets look wonderful,
however. Translation: "Flower Cards".
- Hand and Foot
Traditional card game of the Canasta family
does not really add anything to this type of game, but lessens
the experience by forcing players to deal with a nightmare five
decks and unendingly numerous points.
- Händler, Die
Trade and negotiation game has some interesting features such as
individual player powers and dilemmas about what actions to take,
but in the end appears to be a carousel ride. Very
physically attractive and all of the things happening on the board
are very interesting to watch, but the player feels very little
control of his horse. Particularly problematic are the blind
bidding and draw of the free "status upgrade" cards. Beware some
translations into English which introduce errors.
- Händler von Genua, Die (Traders of Genoa)
In the German Baroque era was invented the Wunderkammer
(chamber of wonders), a collection of, say, a unicorn's horn,
a Greek statue, singing roosters of precious metal, clocks with a
procession of little figures that paraded at noon and much, much
more. With this title one can now play the board game equivalent
of such a marvel. Here is a game of collecting cards linking board
spaces, another of using wares to fulfill contracts, another of
placing tokens to connect two spaces and yet another of owning
properties and earning rents, all running at the same time.
And it is all negotiable! Nor is this all. Poking in here and
there are special tiles which permit players to "break" the
usual rules à la
Cosmic Encounter.
It's not surprising with so many mechanisms that any feeling
of Renaissance trading companies has been lost. The player is
clearly to take comfort in the many strategic options. But how
well pursuit of a strategy can work is an open question. The
player turn begins with a dice roll to determine the placement
of a token stack. Then the player extends this stack up to five
squares, direction being based on the concessions he can wrangle
from his fellows. As the space that a player needs may not even
be reachable, he tends to find that often he either does nothing
or becomes involved in the other types of strategies to the
distraction of his original goal. In addition, the opportunity
to concentrate on some paths is made more difficult by the fact
that building ownerships can only come from the Cathedral (why
is the bishop in charge of title deeds?) which itself is owned
by a player. It would have seemed that strategy would have been
reinforced had ownership been tied more to the place of benefit
rather than all stemming from one place. This would permit
the player to use, for example, the post office, even when no
token landed there. Instead, the owner of the Cathedral tends
to monopolize all properties. The overall effect is to make
skillful play more opportunistic than long-term. Players wary
of negotiation games should know that there is a lot of it.
Every player turn includes a negotiation with every other
player as a rule. Many of these are rather perfunctory –
"I'll pay you 5 ducats to use the post office" – opening the
question of whether the wide openness of the negotiation system
is truly worth all of the trouble and extra time it requires.
With players who want to carve up intricate deals, matters could
conceivably take a long time to conclude, although the built-in
geographical nature of things tends to reduce this. Overall,
should be appealing to players with a sharp eye for the value of
everything, like negotiation and enjoy lots of little buttons
and whistles to play with. Invented by Rüdiger Dorn,
unexpectedly also the creator of
Zauberberg by Ravensburger.
- Hangman
Traditional word game in which one player must guess letters of a word
one by one without missing too often. It helps both players to know the
relative frequence rates of letters, which varies depending on how one
tabulates it, but in English is something like ETAONRISH...
- Hansa (Hanse)
Michael Schacht game of late-medieval merchants trading in the
Baltic Sea, a topic previously visited by
Die Hanse
and
Kogge.
This isn't really a merchant game as there is only one ship
which players take turns moving almost wholly to their own
benefit. When the ship stops in a port, only the active player may
buy a good, trade one in for a depot or consume a depot to make
a sale. Moreover, the ship's movement is restricted by one-way
paths, including one over land. Since a lot of points come from
depot presence in every port, this plus healthy sales can be
a path to victory. Another may be to make a few big sales and
trying to end play quickly. But really, decisions are mostly
tactical. Almost all of the game state is board state and that
changes so dramatically when it is not your turn that there's
little point in planning, making downtime a bit prosaic. This even
applies to three-player outings, so make sure all your opponents
are speedy ones. The graphics remind of Die Hanse and
are very attractive, but the publishers have opted for beauty
over clarity. The details of the options and scoring are not so
simple that they don't deserve to be printed somewhere on the
game materials. One of our players forgot them several times
in his first game. The publishers' choice is puzzling because
this will really only appeal to the audience for lighter games,
just the group who can use some play aids. After all, just
because the help guide isn't given doesn't mean it isn't needed.
Symbolic language could have been used to support the multiple
languages of
the release.
- Hanse, Die
Gorgeously-illustrated game about sea trading in northern Europe.
The unique feature of the game is also the source of many players'
dislike of it. Each player owns a whole ship, but he gives half of
it to the player on his left and the player on his right gives half
a ship to him. On his turn, the player moves both of the ships in
which he has an interest. The trouble is that the two players may not
agree on the direction the ship should go. It does not rear its ugly
head early, but later if a player looks like a winner, this can be
quite frustrating and even result in a ship essentially spinning in
a circle and not get anywhere. Important to play with reasonable players
who can remain calm in the face of disappointment.
Credit Frank Gerwin for wonderful period-feel graphics –
his work is more often seen in role-playing games.
[Traveling Merchant Games]
[variant]
[rules translation]
[Pirate Games]
- Haps
Two-player card game with each player taking three sharks trying to find
a square meal. The light, innovative topic is enhanced by
attractive artwork. A little bit reminiscent of
Halali! (Tally Ho!),
but here most of the card locations are pre-programmed face down by
the players. This gives more control, but does introduce an unwelcome
memory element. Overall very tactical and the scoring system would seem
to need more development, but not unpleasant. Also possible are
a few weird stalemates which can prevent the game from ending.
Title is a slangy reference meaning something like "mouthful"
or "big bite".
[Krimsus]
- Hare and Tortoise (Hase und Igel, Haas en Schildpad)
David Parlett game in which players are all ostensibly hares, but may
behave like tortoises. Tends to be a tactical race in which group think
is important, but different strategies, e.g. go fast, go slow, rely on
chance cards, are possible. (Chance cards are likely to hurt as much as
help so should be used sparingly and usually only when needing a
miracle.) Can be played at more than one level of sophistication
and thus should appeal to a wide audience, although some find
it overly mathematical.
Hase und Igel and Haas en Schildpad are German and Dutch
titles respectively.
- Hart an der Grenze
"Hard by the Border" makes smugglers out of the players, but
all take turns as the opposing customs official each round. The
latter's job is to make sure nobody is bringing any contraband
items into the country via their suitcases, i.e. putting the
wrong cards into real metal boxes. Players acquire the stuff
via random card draws each turn, only some of it is illegal –
the valuable stuff, tequila and such – the rest much less
so – sombreros, caracas, and so on. There are actually
three levels of lying players can choose in their declarations.
Besides not lying at all, there is carrying contraband –
always illegal – and also the smaller lie of of carrying
things they don't declare, a good idea simply due to the rule
prohibiting carriage of more than one item type. Regardless, it's
the official's job to determine who is getting away with the worst
lie and attempt to throw the book at them. Now begins the bribery
phase. as the accused may be willing to give up some profit in
exchange for not losing everything. But the official has to be
careful as it's counter-productive to accuse an innocent. There
are two rounds of this and at the end of each players may secrete
away some of their cards for an end of game majority control
contest, removing, however, their value as items. The metal boxes
are attractively decorated in appropriately garish designs and the
cards clear and descriptive. The more that players can role-play
this, and laugh, and joke around, the better and more fun it is.
Still, there is ample room for
Poker-style
skills here. Many players
have these of course, but 'tis strange how often the innocent
seem to get accused and amazing to find that so much has crossed
the border totally unseen. While there's little science to this,
it is just a tiny bit more than the usual party game and should
be a good bridge between those who don't care for the lighter
stuff and those who do.
André Zatz & Sérgeo Halaban; Kosmos; 2006; 3-6
Strategy: Low; Theme: High; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: Medium; Personal Rating: 6
- Hattrick
Trick-taking card game with a baseball theme and a title
which usually refers to hockey. The trick is divided
by two players. Players must try to collect some kinds of
cards and not others. Defensive play can be quite important.
While interesting, players often seem
at the mercy of the luck of the draw in this one.
David & Goliath
seems to work better for a game of this type. It might be improved
if there were a card passing rule added before play begins.
- Hatz Fatz
Some games, even if intended only for children, just don't
seem to make any sense at any level. This one is a card game
vaguely similar to
King's Breakfast.
Here the cards are illustrations of various animals including
the ostrich, mouse, buffalo, cat, donkey, turtle and frog, all
quite cute actually. These are distributed face down on the table
except for five in each player's hand. On a turn a player either
turns up a table card or throws a hand card into the box top. In
the latter case there ensues a mad scramble in which they try to
be the first to slap as many up cards matching the discard as
possible. Ties are broken by the player who can make the sound
most closely resembling that made by the animal. At the end a
player's score is the sum of all the products of cards he has
gained with cards of the same type in the box. The thing is,
there is no decision making at all about when to play a card,
unless it be to save all cards until the very end, in which case
why are any cards face down in the first place? The system might
have made sense if only the current player could claim cards or
if the game were played following the King's Breakfast.
rules, but as they are there's really very little interest. Get
this one only if you like pretty pictures and want to invent
your own game.
Strategy: Low; Theme: Low; Tactics: Low; Evaluation: Low; Personal Rating: 3
Anselm & Malte Ostertag;
Pfifficus-Spiele; 2004; 3-7
- Havoc
Card game for 2-6 subtitled "The Hundred Years War". Players
represent unnamed mercenary captains who during their turns either
draft crads or compete in "battles" by adding cards to their face
up displays. Displays are ranked according to a modified form of
the rules of
Poker
– extended to handle combinations of up to six cards.
The winner(s) of each battle receive point cards which vary
depending on which of the pre-programed eight is being contested.
Battles are given historical names and dates, but otherwise lack
thematic significance, as does the combat itself, as no one really
inflicts any casualties – virtually all committed forces are
simply lost. Note too that even though mercenaries were rife in the
era, this was still basically a war between England and France, yet
the game takes no notice of the binary nature of this. As I happen
to know that inventor K.C. Humphrey is a
Tichu
fan, maybe we'll eventually see a partnership variant? Comparison
with Tichu seems apt because both games share the fun
possibility that a collection of small cards in the right
combination can overpower a few larger ones. This game adds timing
and sensitivity to other player statuses to the mix as it's often
possible to win a battle with mere meager offerings if it comes at
a time when others are mostly depleted. The mechanisms are not
particularly original – Poker-like contests are in
Sindbad,
programmed events in
The Merchants of Amsterdam,
and drafting in many games – but this combination of all three is
innovative. Impressive too is the card artwork and quality from
small press
SunRiver Games.
I especially enjoy reading the short bits on medieval weaponry when
someone is taking too long at their turn. Having seen prototypes of
other SunRiver games, I expect even more than this worthy first
effort in the future.
Strategy: Medium; Theme: Low; Tactics: High; Evaluation: Medium; Personal Rating: 6
- Hazard
Re-creation of a game described as played by the pilgrims in
Geoffrey Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales.
The nicely-made board looks medieval
and depicts twenty-three characters from the story. The
game is a race around the circle, but curiously movement
depends on the amount that players gamble on whether the
player will make his roll. Interesting ideas, but they do
not seem fully developed and it is far too easy to give
the game away to another player, accidentally or otherwise.
The package is probably only of value as a way of introducing
the literature.
- Hazienda (Hacienda)
Multi-player game of establishing rancheros on the Argentine
pampas. This Wolfgang Kramer design feels similar to the
series he has created with Michael Kiesling – the most recent
being
Australia
– but Kiesling is absent from the credits this time. On the
other hand, as the publisher is Hans-im-Glück, we can be sure
that active editor Bernd Brunnhofer has played a significant role.
Fundamentally a matter of claiming (and presumably taming) map
hexagons which correspond to drafted cards, the game is one of
placing long tentacles of animal pieces, also one per card.
Activities cost money which is earned by reaching cities – the
larger the connected group, the more it pays. But money is not the
ultimate object, points are. These are primarily derived from
connecting to the most cities with the largest group, although
there are also lesser ways to earn both points and money. In sum
then, this is a very territorial situation driven by card drafting
and sometimes restricted by money bottlenecks. As the map is wide
open, its nature can vary widely from playing to playing, mostly
depending on how strenuously players try to cut one another off. I
suspect that good play involves finding situations where one can
both cut off and at the same time do something profitable. Or it
can be played entirely in friendly fashion, as a pure race, in which
case the winner is probably the one luckiest at drafting. That is
one area where there can be some imbalance, especially with
fewer than four players and with the animals, as some of the
latter are randomly removed before play and may skew
chances for the player(s) unlucky enough to start that type of
group. (This can be exacerbated by opponent hoarding.) But the best
strategy of all is "Let's you and him tussle" – as in
Euphrat & Tigris,
newbies may wind up winning a lot of those games in which the older
hands mostly pick on one another. One thing that's done quite well
here is timing the exit as it neither overstays its welcome nor
finishes before the situation has been able to sufficiently
develop. The feeling is conceptually easier and lighter than
Australia,
but without anything really new or fancy; it's plainer. This is a
solid effort that just works without calling attention to itself.
It's not a war game, but I shouldn't be surprised if fans of that
genre didn't appreciate the territorial nature of this. For those
who enjoy really studying a game to learn the best ways to win,
there is plenty of scope here for multiple plays and evolving
strategy and tactics – what's the ideal shape of an animal group
that runs between a city and a lake? This replayability is
generously enhanced by the printing of a second board on the reverse
side. Probably best for four as five is rather crowded and three
not sufficiently so.
Strategy: Medium; Theme: Medium; Tactics: High; Evaluation: Medium
[Buy it at Amazon]
- Hearts
Traditional trick-taking card game comes in many forms.
Players attempt to either avoid taking the Queen of Spades and
all hearts or, conversely, to attempt to take all of them.
Much of this game is in the initial diagnosis of the hand.
By the way, the apparent original meaning of the English term
"shoot the moon" means to remove furniture in the night without
paying the landlord.
- Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck (Pickomino)
Reiner Knizia dice roller for 2-7 is in the same family as his
Easy Come, Easy Go.
Here the goal tokens for which players roll 8 dice resemble
Dominoes
tiles, each of which features a dice total to equal or exceed plus
a victory points value. The clever bit is that upon each roll only
dice of a single, previously not reserved rank may be reserved.
Tiles may also be stolen from opponents, but only if the dice total
is an exact match. Failure to take any tile removes an unowned one
from play, hastening the finish. While all would seem to be well,
practice is somewhat disappointing. The as-yet-unmentioned ability
of a player who has taken several tiles to cover and thus protect
all earlier collections often leads to the situation of the decision
being basically settled quite a while before the obvious have been
proven. This appears especially true when the number of players is
low. If you habitually play in a large group, this may work for you
as a light outing, however. The dispensable theme of chickens
barbecuing worms is a take off from the more successful
Hick Hack in Gackelwack.
One can see how Bratwurst has been altered to
Bratwurm while eck means corner.
Actually a more basic version of this earlier had an earlier life as
Octo
in Knizia's book
Dice Games Properly Explained
([Amazon UK]
[Amazon Deutschland]).
The book's very detailed discussion of the best move for every situation
is fascinating material for analytical types.
Strategy: Low; Theme: Low; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: Medium
[Buy it at Amazon]
- Heimlich & Co. (Under Cover, Top Secret Spies)
Game of bluff and secret victory conditions has a spy theme.
Light and serviceable. Serious players will prefer
the more challenging advanced rules. Reminiscent of
The Great Balloon Race,
Halunken und Spelunken
and even
Citadelles,
although here stripped way back to the bare minimum and mostly
devoid of theme. The 2001 edition adds cards which perform
"special effects", probably intended to add more interest for the
hardcore gamer crowd, but really they don't add anything except
a lot more time and randomness. [Holiday List 2002]
- Hellas
This two-player game of ancient combat among the Aegean isles
has a close and instructive relationship with its undeclared
sister game,
Fjords,
but more about that anon. In this one, each turn a player
faces three possibilities: (1) place a new tile and try to
claim it; (2) supplement armies, fleets and cards;
or (3) attack. Tiles are hexagonal and show either a slice of
coast or an island. They must be placed so that all seas
eventually connect (in Fjords all lands must be contiguous).
If the tile matches up to a tile where a player has a ship,
possession can be taken of it. Some tiles contain temples
which become points of contention since a player holding a
majority of them gets to do four things rather than three when
supplementing. Cards received at this time can be in any of
three varieties: advantaging sea activities (card backs show
Poseidon), military (Ares) or miscellaneous (Zeus). Apart from
optional cardplay, attacks are entirely deterministic. If the
invaders come overland and at least match the number of
defenders, they destroy them and win. Over seas one extra army
is required. Any tile can station at most three armies so
there are limits to massing as well. There are no supply
requirements though a successful attack often admits the
possibility of new targets. Modulo cards, only one attack is
permitted per turn as well. The goal is a race to control 10
tiles. Sometimes, if players are not careful, this can occur
simply by exploration with not shot ever being fired, as it
were. More frequently, players build up to around eight via
exploration and then conflict develops, particularly since at
least one Poseidon cards permits an extra exploration which
could then win the game. Cards in general here are rather
problematic as the decks are so unbalanced. It's easy for a
single card to be a game winner, yet on the other hand
sometimes a player wastes actions collecting several cards
only to find them all useless. This is the most troubling
feature and one of course that Fjords entirely lacks.
Otherwise the two games provide a window into the design
process. Here is a basic mechanism, turning over hexagonal
tiles and placing them advantageously to grow a world. Now
given this, what can the players do with the setting?
Fjords stays with a German-style game, providing more
placement, that of farmers and farms, becoming a game of
putting down stakes and cutting off the opponent. In this one,
players become more active, employing their armies to destroy
one another, but without going as far as the chaos of a true war
game. That would be a third possibility, but this is more a
hybrid of the two. It should of course appeal to those who enjoy
war games – the plastic soldiers and ships may help in
this regard – and can be a bridge between those who do and
those who prefer otherwise.
Strategy: Medium; Theme: High; Tactics: High; Evaluation: Medium; Personal Rating: 6
Franz-Benno Delonge; Kosmos/Rio Grande/Tilsit; 2002; 2
- HellRail: 2nd Perdition
Essentially a train game, but with unusual topic of carrying souls
deeper into the nine levels of hell, all accomplished via a deck
of square cards. Cards are nicely and amusingly illustrated and
placement resembles something of a pipe-connection game à
la Linie 1/Streetcar,
but one in which the trains are running as the tiles are still
being laid down (and picked up).
Four pewter engines are nice, though small.
A bit random due to the vagaries of luck of the draw and dice.
Four player games seem to work much better than three as more track
tends to get on the board sooner. Strategically, one should consider
that there are more deliveries starting at the lower numbers than the higher.
It never made as much sense as when uttered in this game, "Where in the
hell do you think you're going?"
This game is a follow-on to the original HellRail.
[Traveling Merchant Games]
GalloGlass
- Heroes Incorporated
Multi-player game of comic book super heroes, using characters invented
for the game – no doubt to avoid licensing fees – who tend to
resemble the most popular ones found in the comic books.
Randomly-distributed tiles form a city grid on which the heroes
operate. Crimes are generic in nature and hop to an adjacent location
each round. The difficulty of a crime (and also its victory point
value) are curiously not an attribute of the crime, but of its
location. Heroes need to travel to that location and simply roll a die
higher than its value. At the end of the round the player having
rolled the highest gets the credit on a victory point track. Adding
flavor and variability are special powers for each hero as well as
special cards. While the special powers seem both balanced and
sensible thematically, the cards are much less so, some being
particularly useless depending on which heroes are in play or
the stage of the game. Each hero is described by a large card and
represented on the "board" by a matching cardboard standup figure.
The artwork feels average and has some unfortunate typeface choices –
that of the character PYRE looks like it reads DYKE. The game was
probably never blind-tested as there are pretty serious holes in the
instructions. (A post-publication on-line version appears to address
all of these.) Surprisingly, play is fairly smooth otherwise, except
that with all the luck and also the lack of a catch-up mechanism, may
make the last round or two may be too much of a foregone conclusion.
Compared to
Marvel Heroes,
this is a better game for more than two – in fact for just two it's
not at its best as there is too little competition – but still is
probably for comics fans only. After all they can get into the
role-playing possibilities and make the game more than it is.
[Quest Machine]
Strategy: Low; Theme: High; Tactics: High; Evaluation: Low; Personal Rating: 5
- Herr der Ringe, Der (The Lord of the Rings)
Reiner Knizia-invented game about travails of hobbits in the
Tolkien novel of the same name. Not really a game in the
usual sense as the title character does not appear as a player
and the player-hobbits do not compete against one another, but
only versus the game and their previous scores. Thus it becomes
much like a solitaire card game with several kibitzers. Worse,
it is almost always quite obvious what should be done while the
challenge of trying to figure out one's opponents is wholly
lacking. On the positive side, is quite nicely presented and
probably represents the best of what the German games industry
could do with such a topic as it would certainly never do to
have any player represent Sauron's evil. Indeed, although in
later editions Professor Tolkien's prefaces expressed disdain
for the idea that his stories could be allegorical, he wrote
the dramatic battle with the Balrog demon at the height of the
Battle of the Britain and one doesn't need to think too hard to
guess which German the Sauron character might represent. Perhaps
there was one once, but at this moment it is still hard to
recall any game made as a movie tie-in being good enough on
its own terms. Even being a big fan of the novels does not
help one to appreciate the game in my opinion. I read the
novel five or more times during my teen years and have read
several of the later books as well. Update: there have been
two expansions, the second of which now adds Sauron as a player
working against the team. This plus a variant which permits team
members to compete may succeed in rescuing the game for me.
The Complete Lord of the Rings
with Reiner Knizia (video) A
Der Herr der Ringe: Die Feinde
- Herr der Ringe, Der - Die Zwei Türme das
Kartenspiel
Reiner Knizia card game vaguely based on the Tolkien The Two
Towers volume. Cards are employed to represent landmarks on
the route from Amon Hen to Minas Tirith with other cards randomly
interspersed to make the number of turns between each different
every time. These turns are consumed with card drafting, either
from the deck or others' leavings. The goal is to create same
suit, same symbol
combinations that match one of the symbols at the upcoming landmark where three
point awards await those who have amassed the most. This tends to be a quiet
endeavor as each carefully remembers what opponents
are collecting and what has been discarded. So even though luck of the draw plays
a big role, it is not without challenge.
But what we have here is not the fish, but the bait, for if
successful, it will be purchased by the Tolkien movie fan who after
playing it may be encouraged to find more where that came from
and become a Tolkien game fan. Eventually he or she
may thus enter fully into our wonderful hobby. This then
is the nature of the audience. For aficianadoes, we have seen this before
and there is too little which is new and too little variation. It will probably
be more of a gift item than something requested more
than once. On the other hand, the short length makes it
hard to turn down when offered.
Card art showing the heroes of the tale is based on movie stills.
- Herr der Wichtel, Der
"Lord of the Leprechauns" is the translated title of this set-collection
card game. There seems to be a play problem as no player ever
wants or is forced to release any good card, which makes set collection
well nigh impossible. This also can make it difficult to end the game
as no one can achieve a qualifying set. The mechanism by which the
leprechaun cards promenade back and forth during play is quite innovative
however. May possibly be better with only three players or so, which is
so far untried by me.
[Krimsus]
- Hexenstich
Trick-taking card game by Dirk Henn could probably be translated as "Witch Tricks"
or "Magic Tricks". Features suits in three colors, each of which contains cards
marked both with numbers and one of these three symbols: witch, fairy or dwarf.
Players must follow suit by color, but the symbol most often played decides
who wins the trick. Taking fairies scores points while witches lose them.
Instead of dealing all them out at once, cards are replenished during the hand.
Nice illustrations give a pleasant feeling of twilight in a magical forest.
Game play is mainly tactical and somewhat subject to luck of the draw.
- Hextension (Take It Easy, Take It Easy XXL)
Puzzle-like game in which players each work on filling out a private
hexagonal grid in the most pleasing fashion, and for the most points.
The original version forces new tiles to be placed adjacent to the existing
ones while later rules are more free form and allow them to be placed
anywhere. Either way seems to work fine and preference seems to mostly
depend on which version one tried first.
There is little to no interaction, but because of the nature
of the game, works as well for two hundred players as for four.
Graphically I thought it would have been nice had the most valuable
colors been drawn in thicker lines and the less valuable ones in gradually
thinner ones. As it is, the game can even be played by the very young
by just having them try to make nice, continuous lines and then having
someone older do the arithmetic. Overall a nice challenge full of agonizing
decisions that both gamers and non-gamers can enjoy.
- Hi Ho Cherry-O
Game for children up to the age of six invented 1966 is about racing to pick cherries
and drop in one's bucket. As all actions are dictated by a spinner, chiefly of
use in learning counting. Attractively-made.
- Hieroglyphs Game, The
Abstract, uncomplicated
(ages three and up), some strategy, large luck component,
instructional (good way to learn the hieroglyphs).
Components are a board on which is depicted a 9x10 grid.
Many of the boxes have depicted in them a hieroglyph along
with the representation of its sound in English. There
are eight unique double-sided word sheets and during the game
each player will use one. These contain eight numbered words
rendered in hieroglyphs. There are twenty black plastic chips,
a die, rules and a plastic scarab beetle. Players take
turns rolling the die and moving the beetle about the board.
The first player chooses the number of the word each will
work on. Whenever the beetle ends on a square containing
a hieroglyph that matches one in the word, the player covers
it with a chip. On the other hand, if already covered by
a chip, the chip is removed. Rolling a six gives another
turn. First player to finish a word gets two points and
starts a new round. Game to six.
[Ancient Egypt games]
- High Bohn
Could
Bohnanza
be combined with
Puerto Rico;?
Well sort of. The title reference is to the film
High Noon,
the famous Gary Cooper Western. This expansion kit for the
base game adds twenty-two Cognac Bean cards as well as sixty
others in the form of buildings. Each bean type used in the
game has four associated buildings which have costs of 1, 2, 3
or 4 coins derived from sales of that type of bean. A player
may only buy one of each type of building. The cheapest
variety simply provide extra victory points, but the others,
e.g. general stores, banks, jails, etc., also provide special
advantages in the game. This special version enhances the
value of deep bean collections so wise players will be open to
the so-called accelerated trades, i.e. hand to hand trades,
that help make those feasible. Overall the buildings and their
special effects make this a fun and refreshing take on beangriculture.
It may also bring back to the bean table those no longer
interested in the original game. On the other hand, some
purists may object that the new elements travel too far from
the game they have come to love.
Also included in the package are the thirty-six cards that
comprise an expansion to the game
Al Cabohne,
Prohibohn (not reviewed here).
Uwe Rosenberg & Hanno Girke; Lookout Games/Rio Grande/Amigo; 2000; 2-5
Strategy: Medium; Theme: Medium; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: High; Personal Rating: 7
[Buy it at Amazon]
- High Society
Reiner Knizia card game from 1995 sees players bidding from
identical holdings to acquire valuable items as they are turned
up from a deck one by one. However, one must not spend too much
as the winner must not have the least amount of funds remaining
by the end. The ending is determined by the "ticking clock"
mechanism and there are a few wrinkles in the prizes: cards
which double, halve or subtract. Probably too chaotic to be
taken very seriously, but invokes very interesting feelings
in players as they must try to navigate a middle path. In
addition, they must constantly re-evaluate their positions,
re-calculating expected values as each new card is gets sold.
It's also necessary and challenging to figure out how much
something is worth from the moment it's revealed as cards bid
cannot be picked up during the auction except to drop out.
As information is fully trackable open cash holdings may be a
good idea. Update: re-released in English in 2003 by
Überplay in a somewhat
overproduced edition. The box is larger with plastic wells
not deep enough to permit completely closing the box on the
hard-to-shuffle prize cards made from inflexible cardboard.
- High Stakes
The casino-themed game uses all of the mechanisms of Monopoly, but exacerbates its
excessive randomness even further by changing the rent payment to
a forced gambling attempt. The best thing here is the presentation
as the built-up green plastic structure really does evoke a
casino table. The closeable storage areas built into the side
were a good idea too although it doesn't ever seem to stay closed.
- Hispaniola
Trick-taking card game with adjunct board. Before each hand
players each bid a secret hand card to determine trump. The nice
and tricky thing about this is that the highest card wins and yet
is removed from play. There are multiple ways to approach this,
based on one's characterization of the hand. An unbalanced one
may make it worth bidding high, but it could be just as useful
to create a void or dump a low card. The color of the led card
corresponds to an on-board ship illustration which the trick
winner gets to occupy. As they fill up, earlier players are
kicked off onto a penalty track somewhat akin to that of Adel Verpflichtet. On top of this,
taken tricks can be given away – the two players who end with
the most cards suffer penalties. This one is a good illustration
of the danger of appearing to be in the lead as players are
constantly deciding which player to penalize. Normally this is
calculated based on current position plus potential. But as
much of the potential is in hidden hand cards and scores are
only re-calculated at the end of a hand, a high score is often
succeeded by a very low one. It's much better to aim for a
medium score each round instead. Overall, while sometimes a bit
arbitrary, this does feature intriguing decisionmaking – often
tactical – and is a worthwhile lighter entry, even if it won't
steal the wind of its trick-taking forebears. Probably best
with at least four players.
- History's Mysteries Card Game
Mike Fitzgerald Rummy-based
card game created for the History Channel television network.
Players collect up to ten different popular legends such as
crop circles, Big Foot and the Loch Ness monster. The gavel card
feature usual to the Mystery Rummy series is here omitted and the
instructions are simpler. The unique feature revolves around the
ability to declare layoffs as fact or fiction and adjust one of
the original melder's cards as well. These constitute votes that
confer extra points to those backing the right side. The ninety
cards are slick and sturdy with decent artwork. Accompanying text
differs from card to card making it unfortunate that the subject
is more sensational than historical. As large negative scores are
possible, there is less "science" here than in any of those in
the series, but as a passable game that ties in with the network's
program it succeeds in what it set out to do. Experienced players
may find it a good choice when playing with non-gamers, especially
as it accommodates up to six. [6-player
Games] [Holiday
List 2003]
- Hit the Spot
Action game in which players must cause a metal ball to travel
upwards along two parallel rods fixed at one end by continually
opening and closing the gap between them.
- Hive
In this two-player-only free-form game of hexagonal tiles,
a player attempts to surround the other's queen piece. The
intermediate goal should be to place and move so as to keep
the opponent in profound doubt regarding the true plan, not a
difficult task considering the variety of special powers.
(Keeping the play secret from even yourself, as I do, doesn't
count.) While this is definitely different from all but a
handful of pure abstracts (see
Tactic Blue),
it has a feeling reminiscent of
Chess,
though usually requiring much less time. Of course this appeals to
fans of games with few rules and no fiddliness. The variable powers
give it a leg up over other pure abstracts, even if at the end of
the day that's where it remains. The first two
editions featured much desired wooden pieces onto which
stickers were applied, the third, large, sturdy bakelite
pieces.
John Yianni; Smart Zone Games; 2001; 2
Strategy: Medium; Theme: Low; Tactics: High; Evaluation: Low; Personal Rating: 5
- Hoax (Sein oder Nichtsein)
Innovative game in which players continuously adopt different
roles in medieval society and thus gain certain powers. The
fine point is that each player has one true, fixed role which
is secret, but if ever caught out in his hoax, must depart the
game. The general concept is very attractive, but problematic
as the rules are confusing and the in the free-flowing play it
can matter which player says something first. Players may also
be out before the game is over, or the game may end before it
even becomes interesting. Revised and published as Die
Erben von Hoax (The Heirs of Hoax) which is said to be
less free-flowing.
- Höhlengrölen
Satirical card game about popular musicians from the prehistoric
era, or are
they? Mel Z? Bibi Biederspears? Slim Shabby? Some of these sound suspiciously
familiar? Yes, it's those wags over at
Krimsus
poking fun at the pop, rap, folk and metal industries.
Players represent producers creating these musical assemblages,
also boy bands and girl groups.
The mechanics are quite workable: draw two cards (one can come from the discard
pile), possibly create a band and then discard. A producer's bands must always
increase in value so the job gets more difficult as time goes on, but each player
begins with a singing teacher, dance instructor and stylist who can help later on.
The same sex crossover groups are in a competition all their own,
giving points if they are the most valuable.
Players interact mainly in terms of what they discard and by getting their bands
to market first, which reduces by two the value of subsequent bands of the same
type. The thematic idea here is a good one, but does not seem to go far enough
in capturing the essence of the modern musical scene. The truth is still more bizarre
than this reality. Where is the Frank Fontana/Milli-Vanilli episode? Or the recent
Christina Aguilera transformation? Or even East Coast-West Coast rapper wars?
This one was designed by Mark Sienholz, but according to the credits apparently
lacked the contribution of Ralf Sandfuchs. In the past, the company's best
products, e.g.
Strand-Cup,
have been collaborations between these two stalwarts. It seems that perhaps
the former contributes the backbone system and the latter the flavor for that
is what seems to be somewhat lacking here. This, by the way, is not to criticize
the sharp card artwork of Lutz Winter who has done an admirable job.
In a world in which
Showmanager,
a
Vampire
and a
Wyatt Earp
already exist, theme and these caricatures are the best reasons to want this one.
In addition, the small deck of 48 cards seems best for two players lest the
deck and one's options become too quickly exhausted.
There is no practical text reading problem for non-German readers although some of
the jokes may be a bit opaque.
Title can be translated to "Cave Rave".
- Hollywood For Sale
Auction card game about collecting movie memorabilia.
Players take turns drawing the top card from a deck of items,
each of which has a victory point value. Then the item is auctioned
with only the drawer, who also participates in the bidding,
knowing what it is. The winner pays the bank, with the active player
receiving a commission of 100,000 if he managed to sucker someone
into buying a worthless card for over 300,000. There are a few
cards which double a player's score in a particular type of item.
The game ending is always a complete surprise as there is no ticking
clock, just an "end" card shuffled somewhere into the deck.
Reminiscent of
Münchhausen
as the only real talent is the ability to discern to what extent
the auctioneer is lying. Probably state-of-the-art back in the 1970's,
feels very antiquated and dull today. The only redeeming
feature are the amusingly titled and colorfully depicted memorabilia
cards which feature joke items such as the automobile of "James Splean"
(i.e. Dean), etc.
- Homas Tour (Um Reifenbreite)
Team bicycle-racing game whose German title means "by the width of a tire."
Bicycles move by card and/or dice, but may also draft, leading to
interesting situations of mutual dependency and bluff. Definitely
has a mathematical element as possible future positioning means a
lot, especially in relation to the hills which appear to be key to
the game.
Thus a race with at least two hills is probably the best way to play.
Advance planners who can outguess their opponents should do well.
As there are event cards every time one generates a "7",
you'll need some luck too.
The rules look longer than they are — it should not be too difficult
and is more rewarding to start right in on the Advanced
rules, even on the first play. The map and riders are
nicely made and it seems to look very much like a
real race. Players should also note the victory awardings and the high
bonus for having the first cycle over the line, despite the fact that
one wins or loses as a team.
- Honeybears
Small game for children of racing colored bears. Its
inventor, Reiner Knizia, has said that the game was not
necessarily intended for children and was originally about
merchants bribing their way to the Sultan in order to show
their wares. Actual play feels less like either of these
than like a stock or horse racing situation. Each card play
advances a like-colored bear either one or two spaces.
Joker cards permit moving any bear. Each bear has a score
depending on its position when the first crosses the finish
line – the more advancement, the more points, some being
negative. This is multiplied in some fancy ways with the
number of matching cards in each player's hand to determine
the score. There's a certain amount of bluffing going on
as one tries to get others to move the bear matching one's
own hand cards, but this rarely survives the early stages.
After that there is the dilemma of whether to improve one's
positive scores vs. trying to avoid too large negative
scores, at least in three-player outings.
In most games probably most concentration should
be on the former as others will probably address the latter.
With five, probably no bear will remain in negative territory.
Four most likely makes for the best experience.
The ideal hand is one composed only of one suit and jokers
and as that can sometimes actually happen, fairness can be
subject to the luck of the draw. players will also need
to overcome an offputting feeling as they realize that only
about a quarter of one's cards are saveable. Overall the
publisher's assessment of the correct audience seems correct
with interest for adults being more limited.
- Hong Kong
Two-player abstract game of perfect information by Reiner Knizia
is about the building of skyscrapers in Hong Kong, thinly. Actually
it's more a matter of who can build up faster and higher and thus cap
his opponent's buildings. Or try the strategy of trying to cover
territory. This strategic dilemma makes things interesting while the
double move pieces afford difficult tactical decisions. Thus
should appeal even to those who are not normally fans of abstracts.
- Hopfen und Malz
Early Dirk Henn game around an unusual and pleasant topic: brewing beer!
In the first half of this bipartite endeavor, players draft cards from
the tops of the beer, malt and water stacks, spending to buy the best they
can. Then in the second half, contracts ranging from 10 to 100 are flipped
up and players use sets of three hoping to win once-around auctions for them.
Strategic dilemma is to manage to draft enough complete sets while still
maintaining cards of sufficiently high values. Moves quickly, but is not
particularly challenging. Many of the same ideas have been more successfully
realized in their later
Premiere/Showmanager,
particularly the ability to pay to clear the entire drafting field.
As cards are nicely laminated, perhaps a good choice
for an evening of beer and pretzels.
Title translates to "Hops and Malt".
[db-Spiele]
- Hornochsen
Card game similar to 6 Nimmt
using the almost identical specialized deck.
In addition players receive cards labeled "+5" and "x2" which
are used to affect the final point value. The game plays something
like an abstract, with minimal hidden information, and so involves
more analysis than one would expect from such a game.
- Hungry Hungry Hippos
Dexterity game for children invented by Thomas J. McMahon
is only of passing interest.
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