Ubongo is the kind of game which works well for boardgame cafes. Few rules, easy to learn, exciting and engaging. I place my copy in the living room at a visible location. My family noticed it one day and suggested to play. So dear fellow boardgamers, do position your games strategically at home. It works! Okay in my case it took rather long to work, but we are patient right?
The game comes with many different player boards (right). Each player board specifies 6 different combinations of pieces. You will use one particular combination of pieces and then try to fit them all perfectly into the space on the player board.
The end result you try to achieve is something like this. All the 6 combinations shown on the player board can fill the space perfectly. It's for you to figure out how to do so.
Each combination is represented by an icon. You roll a die to determine which combination to use.
The combination being used here is the rightmost (shield icon).
If you manage to fill the space within the time limit (set by an hourglass), you get to collect gems. There are 6 columns of gems on the main board. You have a pawn on the main board positioned at the bottom of one of these columns. The earlier you complete your puzzle, the further you get to move your pawn before collecting 2 gems from the column it is under. This means you have more flexibility in selecting gems if you can beat your opponents in solving your puzzle. Your final score is the number of gems of the colour in which you have the most gems.
I have been digging up boardgames and card games I have bought on the iPad. Unfortunately some of them have been removed and I can no longer play them, e.g. Agricola. I guess this is due to license expiry or contract expiry. It feels unfair to buyers. Why should I lose something I've bought?
I play these games on the iPad against AI's and not other humans. I just want a relaxing pastime and not serious competition. It's quick, and I can put it down any time.
This above is Through the Ages. I'm not very good at it despite having played many games. I struggle to win against the AI's. I need to learn from them. Unfortunately my iPad is rather old and the game is not stable. Sometimes the app crashes and I can't continue playing. Restarting the app doesn't help. However sometimes if I boot up the app again after a few days the game loads successfully and I can resume. I still have not completed a recent game I started. Maybe I'll try again in a few days.
I recently had an opportunity to buy a physical copy of the latest version of Through the Ages and its expansion. I own an older version which uses starting cards and not player boards. I rarely play this game face-to-face now, so I don't proactively look for a copy to buy. It was only when I saw a second hand copy for sale that I considered getting it together with the expansion. I have not played the expansion. Even if I didn't get to play it soon, it would be nice to own the latest version of this game I like and hopefully get to play it some time in the future. The seller later took down the game because his expansion was the version with printing issues (colours not matching the base game exactly). While I was hesitating whether to pull the trigger, the decision was made for me.
I often play 7 or 8 games of Race for the Galaxy against AI's in one sitting. I am able to handle these AI's. I win some and I lose some. I have landslide victories and I am sometimes left in the dust. The AI's give me a challenge. In this particular game I managed to score more than 100, which is rare.
I had not played San Juan for quite a while. I find that now I can't seem to beat the AI's. This is supposed to be an easier game than Race for the Galaxy. They were both inspired by Puerto Rico. In my recent plays of San Juan I kept losing to the AI's. There must be something I'm still missing. I need to work hard to learn to beat the AI's. Perhaps the San Juan AI's are stronger because it is a simpler game compared to Race for the Galaxy. Being more complex, it might be harder to programme a strong AI for Race for the Galaxy.
San Juan is supposed to be a more relaxing game than Race for the Galaxy but I am more stressed playing it because I keep losing to the AI's. It is frustrating and enticing at the same time.
Splendor is beautifully done. Good user interface and fitting background music. The AI's are not very strong though. After losing to the San Juan AI's I play Splendor to console myself.
Tokaido is pretty. The only thing that annoys me is how I have to watch the animation of the characters walking along the path. It was probably nice initially, but soon I became impatient to get on with the game. At the moment I find the 5 player game dull. It seems the AI's almost always pick the nearest location when they move their pieces. This happens so often that it gives me the impression that there is no decision to be made. It is always best to visit the nearest location regardless of what type it is. I later tried doing 4-player games, and the AI's decisions seemed to vary more. Picking the nearest location might not be the wrong decision. The AI might indeed have considered all factors and found that the wisest choice. It's just that this makes a poor play experience.
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