tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349588036311389382024-03-19T17:26:13.359+08:00Hiew's Boardgame BlogReviews, gameplay impressions, photos, stories, thoughts, and other musings of a boardgamer in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com">BGG</a> username: <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/hecose">hecose</a>.Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.comBlogger1302125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-91865928607248518902024-03-15T19:00:00.001+08:002024-03-15T19:00:00.154+08:00The Search for Planet X
The GameThe Search for Planet X is a deduction game which uses a mobile phone app to handle the mystery you are trying to solve. Scientists have discovered a mysterious Planet X in the solar system. It cannot be detected directly using conventional equipment, but based on the movement of celestial bodies, we know it is out there somewhere. In this game you are the scientists. You do your Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-50659213103845076462024-03-08T19:00:00.001+08:002024-03-08T19:00:00.135+08:00Super-Skill Pinball 4-cade
The Game
Super-Skill Pinball is a roll-and-write game about pinball machines. It is essentially a solo game, just that up to four players can play at the same time, and you compare scores to see who wins. Pinball machines are a relic now. People who have experienced the pinball machine era should be doing regular medical check-ups now. The game is pretty simple. Every turn you roll Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-7865293336082771722024-03-04T22:07:00.000+08:002024-03-04T22:07:50.599+08:00Heat: Pedal to the Metal
The GameHeat: Pedal to the Metal is the major release from Days of Wonder in 2022. It is a game about car racing. I have never been a particular fan of racing games. But this is Days of Wonder. That means quality products. The initial reviews have been positive. So I have been curious to give it a go. I arranged a time to try it on BoardGameArena.com.
I asked Allen and Han to play Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-64491144641106542742024-02-23T19:00:00.001+08:002024-02-23T19:00:00.429+08:00Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory
The GameHegemony is a game about class struggle. It is a heavy Eurogame for 2 to 4 players. If two are playing, one will be the capitalist class, and the other the working class. With three players, the third one will be the middle class. With four, the last player plays the state. The four factions have different ways of scoring and different actions they can perform. This is an Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-80896446856666233962024-02-16T19:00:00.001+08:002024-02-16T19:00:00.149+08:00Why gamers are lousy game makersLet's start by clarifying the definition of a game maker in the context of this discussion. What I mean by game maker is someone who creates games in a financially sustainable manner. The games are being released to the public, and the whole process is profitable. Not necessarily profitable enough to sustain a livelihood. We know that is extremely rare. Just something that gives you a small side Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-21425973357833797062024-02-13T19:00:00.001+08:002024-02-13T19:00:00.263+08:00Dominion - digital version
I recently found out that the digital version of Dominion is out. When Dominion was first released in 2008, it was an important game in the history of boardgames, because it was the first deck-building game. For quite some years after that, many other game designers made other deck-building games. By now, I rarely hear of pure deck-building games, but there are still some boardgames Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-15893713589605099812024-02-09T20:34:00.000+08:002024-02-09T20:34:00.961+08:00Five Three Five / Oh! Meow! Bow!
The Game
Five Three Five aka 535, Oh! Meow! Bow! is a climbing card game from Japan. Climbing games is something many non-gamers are familiar with too. Games like Big 2 (Cho Dai Dee), Fight the Landlord and Tichu are climbing games. Five Three Five offers some twists to the genre. It has numbers 1 to 15, but not 6 or 10. It doesn't have suits. The most unusual element is instead of Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-8788400690416432892024-02-08T19:00:00.001+08:002024-02-08T19:00:00.154+08:00Snow White roadshow at Book Xcess
This was yet another new experience for me - doing a roadshow at a bookstore. I am now distributing Snow White and the Eleven Dwarfs and Dancing Queen to Book Xcess bookstores. As part of this, I did a roadshow at the store at KL Pavilion. It was on Sun 4 Feb 2024, 2pm - 5pm. They set up a small table for me right at the entrance.
The crowd was very different from that on Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-81729132655119298712024-02-07T19:00:00.000+08:002024-02-07T19:00:00.138+08:00Ikat Tepi x Game On Lah 2024
Sat 3 Feb 2024 I took part in the Game On Lah event, which showcased local Malaysian boardgame designers. It was part of the Ikat Tepi event organised by Locco, which in turn was part of a Putrajaya Open Day event. The main event was huge, and the guest of honour was Dr Wan Azizah. It was a grand fair. The Ikat Tepi event had a school sports day theme, which was fun. Visitor are registered Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-17889219055184077412024-02-06T19:00:00.001+08:002024-02-06T19:00:00.138+08:00nana / TrioThe GameNana is a card game from Japan. The first edition is called nana (without capitalisation). The second more widely distributed version is called Trio. Lately I tried quite a number of card games, mostly courtesy of Han. I've played some trick-taking games and some climbing games (i.e. the Big 2 / Cho Dai Dee type). Nana is not in either of these common categories. It is a simpler gameHiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-62027398226507160722024-02-03T09:00:00.003+08:002024-02-03T09:00:00.131+08:00Snow White fan art #1Okay that's a lot of exaggeration. Snow White and the Eleven Dwarfs is too new to have any fan art. This was just my friend Chung putting the original box cover (below) through generative AI. I think it's pretty decent. It's meant to be in the Pixar style I believe. Link: Snow White game page at Cili Padi GamesHiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-62547091999350311662024-02-02T09:00:00.025+08:002024-02-02T09:00:00.198+08:00Snow White coming to Book XcessSnow White and the Eleven Dwarfs will soon be available at Book Xcess bookstores in Malaysia! Sun 4 Feb 2024 2pm - 5pm I will be doing a roadshow at the Book Xcess store in KL Pavilion. If you are in the area, come visit me! Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-60262000678984317412024-02-01T09:00:00.001+08:002024-02-01T09:00:00.145+08:00Game On Lah! 2024 We have another Game On Lah! event on Sat 3 Feb 2024! This time it is in Putrajaya. The main event is Ikat Tepi (1). It is a local cultural event not specifically about boardgames. Game On Lah! is one of the segments of the event. The overall theme is school sports days. I bet there will be a Milo truck. This time I will be promoting not just Dancing Queen but also Snow White and Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-58865946594806064132024-01-31T18:32:00.003+08:002024-01-31T18:32:58.556+08:00Snow White - unboxing and how to playAs part of promoting Snow White and the Eleven Dwarfs, I made an unboxing video, and a series of gameplay videos, for the basic game and for the many variants that come with the game. This is the unboxing: This is the basic game: More information and videos available at the Snow White game page at the Cili Padi Games website. You can order the game there. If you are in Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-40064810537139702232024-01-26T19:00:00.001+08:002024-01-26T19:00:00.133+08:00The White Castle
The Game
The Himeji Castle is a famous tourist spot in Japan. The game The White Castle refers to it, and is a heavy Eurogame. One thing which
surprised me is the size of the game. When I first saw photos of the game, I
had thought it was about the size of Ticket To Ride. It turns out to be
much smaller. I guess it's because of how many components it has. It gives the
Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-70024544918371814602024-01-19T19:00:00.001+08:002024-01-19T19:00:00.150+08:00boardgaming in photos: Through the Ages - A New Story of CivilizationMy wife Michelle and I used to play a lot of Through the Ages. This is a heavy 2-3 hour game. I am blessed to have played it this many times. In 2015, a new edition was released, called Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization. The game was mostly the same. There were just a few minor tweaks. For this edition, there was an expansion released in 2020, containing tweaks, and more importantly Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-91778268038904077592024-01-16T19:00:00.001+08:002024-01-16T19:00:00.360+08:00Yokai Septet The GameYokai Septet is a trick-taking card game from Japan, by yio and Muneyuki Yokouchi (Cat in the Box). It has some interesting twists. You are monster hunters helping villagers hunt down these naughty creatures which have been terrorising them. Cards numbered 7 in the game are the monsters. In terms of gameplay, you want to win tricks which contain 7's. There are 7 suits in the Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-68264482033708729472024-01-12T19:00:00.001+08:002024-01-12T19:00:00.148+08:00BibliosThe GameBiblios was first published in 2007. It was an indie game from Dr Steve Finn, originally named Scripts and Scribes. There was a version called Scriptorium. Eventually it was picked up by a larger publisher, IELLO. It was published by other companies in different languages too. The game is doing well. Up till now it is still regularly reprinted. I heard of it when it was first released, Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-45771516552138524832024-01-10T20:44:00.000+08:002024-01-10T20:44:11.403+08:00Snow White is released!
Woohoo! I am super excited because my second game Snow White and the Eleven Dwarfs has now landed in Malaysia and I can officially announce that its status is released.
This time round I looked for a game manufacturer in China to produce the game for me. They are more experienced and I can get the game produced at a reasonable cost, even though I am only doing a low volume, and I Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-13460999388040794342024-01-09T19:00:00.001+08:002024-01-09T19:00:00.337+08:00Barrage
The Game
Barrage is a recent and popular heavy Eurogame. Set in a fictitious
1922, it has nations vying for power, literally. They compete to build
hydroelectric dams to generate power. You will be constructing all sorts of
structures and completing hydroelectric projects. You compete for choice
locations for dams and power stations. You will get to manipulate the flow of
Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-57840561503594128312024-01-05T19:00:00.002+08:002024-01-06T08:11:42.416+08:00Zodiac Go
Zodiac Go is the first published game from Malaysian designer Choe Chee Kong. I have been involved in the development of the game in small ways, and it's a great feeling seeing it evolve and eventually get published. It's like witnessing an old friend's journey from dating to marriage to children. Zodiac Go is not a singular game. It is more like a game set, like a deck ofHiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-56061737826588395582023-12-31T07:00:00.029+08:002023-12-31T07:00:00.130+08:00my 2023When I started this blog in 2007, I was still a salaryman. Boardgames was purely a hobby. Blogging was about capturing memories and sharing stories. Now I have left full-time employment and I am self-employed. For many years I have always considered boardgames as just a hobby. However now it has evolved to be also part of work, part of business. Tell me 10 years ago, I wouldn't have believed it.&Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-92023713397007935392023-12-29T19:00:00.001+08:002023-12-29T19:00:00.134+08:00Arboretum
The Game
Arboretum is a beautiful card game. You build parks with trees. The trees on the cards are absolutely charming. You create paths in your parks to score points. A path is a sequence of cards where the numbers are in ascending order. This is an abstract game.
This is what a 3-player game looks like. The number of tree types (i.e. suits) used depends on the player count.Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-48325850803462566082023-12-26T19:00:00.001+08:002023-12-26T19:00:00.133+08:00Cat in the Box
The Game
Cat in the Box is a trick-taking card game from Japanese designer Muneyuki Yokouchi. I just realised he also designed Yokai Septet, which I also played for the first time recently. Both of these are unconventional and clever trick-taking games. Cat in the Box was first released in 2020 in Japanese. The international deluxe edition was released in 2022 in multiple languages. It was Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34958803631138938.post-2086079799368388262023-12-22T19:00:00.001+08:002023-12-22T19:00:00.133+08:00Faiyum
The Game
Faiyum is a 2020 title from Friedemann Friese (Power Grid, Friday), our mad scientist of a game designer who often comes up with crazy ideas. I've seen many Egyptian-themed games from Reiner Knizia. This is the first time I see one from Friedemann Friese. In Faiyum, you are advisors to the pharaoh, and you have been tasked to develop the Faiyum basin into farmland. EverythingHiew Chok Sien 邱卓成http://www.blogger.com/profile/17243478408389021695noreply@blogger.com0