Two weekends ago, I went with a friend
to Boston FIG,
an indie board game and video game festival at MIT. I can't seem to
remember, or discover, what FIG stands for, but it's a single day
event where, for a fifteen dollar fee, one can play games from ten in
the morning to six at night.
The exhibits are in every possible
stage of development, ranging for cardboard pieces, to about to begin
its first printing. Between noon and six, we were able to try ten
games, and I found the experience to be enjoyable, even if some of
the individual games were not. Here they are ranked from least to
greatest.
The worst game of all was a 3-4 player
rock-paper-scissors game with hints of Magic the Gathering, called
Life
Siphon. In this construction, players summon demons to attack
their rival. A player's rival is always the player to the left, and
the goal is to drain their life from 20 to 0, before any other player
succeeds at the same task. While the board exhibited an engaging art
style and contained interestingly illustrated cards, the options
available to the player are too limited, with only three types of
demons, and only able to attack with three at one time. My time
playing it may have only been twenty or thirty minutes, but it felt
like an hour in hell.
Other games inflicted less of an
impression on me.
There was Hibernation,
a deck building game about being a bear, and while this is one of my
least favorite game types, even so, it seemed too simple for any
strategy.
Of similar relevance was Leaf
Me Alone, a dexterity game, which seemed more useful for
teaching types of leaves, rather than inducing any enjoyment.
Continental
Drift, while relatively boring and fast, at least used a
unique mechanic. The board was a piece of paper, and the players cut
it with scissors to separate Pangaea into continents to score points.
The next two games were more enjoyable.
Lost
Knowledge combined elements of Settlers of Catan (Spaces that
Produce Resources and Settlements) and Magic the Gathering (Using
Resources to Cast Spells and Summon Monsters using Cards). Both
myself and my friend agreed that the major issue with Lost Knowledge
was it had too many complex systems, which didn't feel integrated
with one another.
A unique two player game was In
The Time of Dragons. Both players had a deck of fifty cards
(Five colors, ten of each, with one through ten) and they must play
them to either damage the other dragon, or earn points. If one
player reduces the other's health to zero, the remaining player wins.
But if one player exhausts their deck, the player with the most
points wins. It includes a timer, which forces the players to play
quickly and react swiftly.
The last four were high quality games,
with three of them ready (or nearly ready for sale).
In fourth place is Fire
Tower, a game about setting a forest on fire, and
making sure it burns down the opponents towers before your own?
The game looks good and well balanced, for two to four players, but
two features bother me. One, how can you have a game about being in
a fire tower, which encourages invoking an inferno? Two, it seems
(and I admit to only having played it once) like it encourages
piggy-backing. It's too easy to for three players to focus on the
fourth, and there is nothing they can do to save themselves.
In third place, is the super-powered
card game, All
Part of the Master Plan. Each player is assigned a random
science-fiction object they need to create and the parts required for
its construction. Three locations are dealt a random assortment of
parts. With a combination of six heroes and villains in a players
hand, they must battle to secure the necessary parts for their
machine.
Yards:
A Game of Inches, reminded me of a simple Blood Bowl. It's a
football game, where the player has to score on the first down. When
tackled, the two players reset the game at the tackle location, but
now the tackling player has the ball. There are cards to perform
simple maneuvers, and eventually one player will either score a
touchdown or kick a field goal to win this sudden death game.
Finally, in first place is a game which
seemed so polished that I would certainly consider purchasing it for
Christmas. In FAZA,
the earth has been overrun by an alien invasion, and rebels must
fight back to destroy the invading motherships. It's a coop game
which requires maneuvering rebel forces to outnumber the enemy drones
and save the planet. The only disappointment? The developer only
allowed us to play one round, and we weren't allowed to finish the
game.
In conclusion, Boston FIG was a well
produced event, with a variety of games worth considering. I
certainly recommend attending, and plan to return next year for a
second session.
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