Blinded by Science

Well, our latest Tuesday night session was all about science!  We got in another play of The New Science, but before that, we tried out an eagerly anticipated arrival....

Earlier this year, I finally jumped on board the Kickstarter wagon, backing a number of projects.  One of them was the latest iteration of Alien Frontiers...so I wasn't exactly going out on a limb with that one.  However, one that I backed sight unseen was Compounded, from Dice Hate Me Games, by designer Darrell Louder.  Now, I decided to back this for a number of reasons.  First, I've gotten to know the folks at Dice Hate Me a little bit, and I've enjoyed the games they've been putting out - and I'm always happy to help a small independent publisher.  In fact, I met Darrell at this year's Prezcon - and marveled at how he restrained from throttling some younger players during a game of Pitch Car.  Second, I loved the theme, I'm a science guy - though I'm more comfortable with orbit mechanics than chemistry - and I loved the idea of a game based on science.  Third, the game got a thumbs up from my buddy Paul Owen, who had played a prototype at one of the UnPub events.

Well, as fortune would have it, Compounded arrived on my doorstep this past Monday.  I punched the pieces, and put on the stickers that night, but falling victim to an oncoming cold, I didn't get a chance to read the rules.  Not wanting to miss game night, I went to work snuffling and sneezing, and I threw Compounded in the game box, "just in case".  After medicating myself, and buying some hand sanitizer in an attempt to not spread my disease to my fellow gamers, I showed up at the Game Parlor, and since Paul was also joining us, and knew the rules, we quickly decided to give Compounded a try.  Setup was fairly quick, as I had each players components sorted into the test tubes (centrifuge tubes, really) that came as part of the Kickstarter campaign.  Paul quickly dealt the various chemical cards that would initially be up for play. 

My initial start with in 1 hydrogen, 1 carbon and 2 oxygens

The game consists of four phases per turn - "Discovery", in which you draw "elements" (i.e. plastic colored "jewels") from a bag - and importantly, make deals with other players; "Study", where you lay claim to chemicals that are in play; "Research", where you play your elements onto chemicals; and "Lab" where you can score for completed chemical compounds, and perform some actions to set you up for the next turn.  As you complete chemical compounds, not only do you score points, but you can increase your prowess in the various phases of the game, and also collect tools that will be useful.  But beware - hidden in the deck are Lab Fire cards, which will cause certain compounds to catch on fire, possibly exploding, scattering their elements to other compounds.  In such cases, it is always handy to have completed your fire extinguisher (needing carbon and oxygen).

Completing my extinguisher early in the game

So how would I rate my first Kickstarter "blind purchase"?  In short - a resounding success!  Everyone at our table enjoyed the game - there were several quotes along the lines of "this is a lot funner than I thought it would be!"  As for my part, I really enjoyed the game.  The game components are, for the most part, top notch.  The artwork and graphic design is fabulous, as one would expect from Dice Hate Me - using the Periodic Table as the score track is brilliant! The wheeling and dealing that happens during the Discovery phase is chaotic fun - more chaotic, than Settlers of Catan for example, since it's a free for all - and I see the chance of the game getting bogged down a bit there...but I think it's critical for player interaction.

If I had a couple of nitpicks, it would be that I found a few things to be on the small side.  The game is nice and compact - I was expecting a Ticket To Ride sized box, instead it measures a hair under 9" square - which is in itself fine, it just necessitates that everything else be a little smaller.  Specifically, the text on the player boards is tiny - although after a few plays, I doubt you'd be relying on that text.  The flame tokens to place on compounds after a Lab Fire are very tiny - make sure you don't lose them.  The centrifuge tubes that came as a Kickstarter bonus are a little overkill - they take up too much room in the box for the amount they store.  However, that's the nittiest of nitpicks, considering they were a bonus, and the folks at Dice Hate Me went through quite an ordeal to find something that they promised during the Kickstarter campaign.  In fact, from fragile materials, to size issues, the test tube issue seemed to cause the most headaches, and they very well could have just canned the idea, but they stuck with it and delivered on their promise - and I can't help but respect that.  In fact, for my first Kickstarter experience, I can't help but feel this is the way it should be done - constant updates, explanations for hiccups (i.e. the test tubes) - I never once worried that my "investment" was in trouble.  Now...bring on Brew Crafters!

Kickstarter

So, here's my obligatory Kickstarter post.  Like many others, I was pretty hesitant to jump in the Kickstarter waters, because of the usual reasons - should I really trust a brand new designer who's game hasn't been vetted by a proven company, will the quality be up to standards, etc etc.   Well, eventually I caved and jumped into the Kickstarter pool.  I mean...they sure do make it tempting, what with various "stretch goals" and Kickstarter-only swag you can get.

So, what have I "Kickstarted" so far, and why?

Compounded

This game by Darrel Louder was my first foray into Kickstarter.  At WBC 2011, I had met Chris Kirkman (aka Dice Hate Me), his wife Cherilyn (aka Monkey238) and designer TC Petty III.  They were demoing VivaJava, which would eventually be Kickstarted as one of Dice Hate Me Games first published works.  I really enjoyed the game, but I didn't take the Kickstarter plunge (I eventually picked up a copy at Prezcon 2013).  In any case, I started following the DHM gang, on twitter and via the podcast, and when they started talking about Compounded, my interest was piqued.  I'm not a chemist, but I am an engineer who managed to struggle his way through freshman chemistry back in the day.  As we all know, Euro games can take on any theme under the sun, but here was one based in science.  Cool!  The campaign mentioned that Compounded was a veteran of the Unpub process, which my friend Paul Owen had experienced.  When I asked Paul about it, he relayed that he had played Compounded and enjoyed it very much, and I believe he was already a backer at that point.  Well, that was enough for me...I created my Kickstarter account and backed my very first project.  It was amazing to watch Compounded reach stretch goal after stretch goal - I am very much looking forward to opening this up when it arrives in a few months!

Alien Frontiers

So, backing the 4th edition of Alien Frontiers was not particularly a stretch.  This was the original Kickstarter boardgame darling, becoming a runaway hit when first published in 2010.  My friend Brian picked up a copy somewhere along the way, and I enjoy playing it quite a bit.  When I saw them Kickstarting the 4th edition, I knew I wanted to get in on the action.  With the true enthusiasm of a convert, I shelled out for all the extra bling, including the various expansions and "rocket dice". 

VivaJava Dice

 This one was a bit of a no-brainer, as I enjoy VivaJava, and knowing the guys putting this game out, I"m relying on another quality game from DHMG.  Looking forward to rolling the dice on this one.  My only comment on the Kickstarter campaign...they need to lighten up and have some fun...a little too serious in the video ;)

 City Hall

 So this is an interesting one...this is my first Kickstarter project I'm backing with little to no background on the game.  I'm basing my support of City Hall based solely on a number of glowing reviews I've seen from people I respect on web.  I was not completely inspired by the video on the Kickstarter site, but again...I've seen enough people praising the game that I'm taking a chance on it.  Apparently this game had an unsuccessful first run on Kickstarter, but got picked up by Tasty Minstrel Games, who is running this Kickstarter.     Unfortunately, with a little over 24 hours to go, they're slightly less than halfway to their $30K goal.  For some reason, they went with a shortened 9 day Kickstarter run instead of the normal 30 days.  Not sure on the rationale behind that decision.

Brew Crafters

 Well, I haven't actually backed this one yet because the campaign hasn't started...but you can bet I will as soon as it debuts on Kickstarter.  I had a lengthy blog post about this game after I got to try it at Prezcon this year (it was going by the name "Brewmasters" back then).  I'm REALLY looking forward to this one, and think this game by Ben Rossett could quickly become one of my favorites.

Small World 2 (for Android)

I realized as I was about to wrap this blog entry up that there is one more thing I've kickstarted...and it's not a boardgame...technically.  As an Android user, I've been a bit jealous of the sheer amount of board games that have been ported to iOS.  There's been a few on Android (Carcassonne, Settlers), but nothing like the sheer amount on iOS.  So when Days of Wonder announced that they were re-doing their Small World app and would create an Android version if they met a certain goal, I was all in.  Curiously, after all the fanfare of the Small World Kickstarter campaign, Days of Wonder quietly released Ticket to Ride on Android.  Not really sure of the different approaches there...maybe TtR is so much more popular that they knew it would be a hit?

Well, I think that sums up my Kickstartering...I don't expect I will jump willy nilly at every thing that looks remotely interesting.  I'll likely continue to back only projects by people/companies that I'm comfortable with - as it is, the one campaign that I've backed with little to no personal knowledge of seems that it's likely to fail.  And I didn't even mention The Emperor's New Clothes controversy....