King of Tokyo

King of Tokyo was my present to myself for my birthday. I played a friends copy first and it seemed like it could be fun for lots of different kinds of players. It doesn't disappoint. The art is adorable, and gameplay is quick and competitive, and it has the perfect balance of luck and strategy. It's one of my favorite games to play with my family and non-gamer friends, but I pull it out with my tabletop game group fairly often as well.


TNG score:

Story - 4
In this game you are monsters attacking the city of Tokyo. If only all those other monsters would leave you alone to your work, right? Only one can be king of the hill, or city as the case may be. Each character does have a name and picture, but no back story or individual strengths. However, your strength and health do change as the game goes along so there is some character progression.



Immersive - 2

This is a basic dice game, and besides the art and monster character progression, there isn't a whole lot about this game that immerses you in the story. There are cards that you can buy (and adorable little glass energy cubes to buy with) that do boost the immersive score a little.

Learning Curve - 3
Almost everything in this game is pretty self-explanatory, and the main game mechanic is similar to Yahtzee so most people catch on to it quick. There are some complexities that give the game variety and interest, but I would say even if nobody had every played the game before, you could probably learn it in fifteen minutes.

Time - 2
Thirty minutes is a pretty good estimation for this game, not counting learning time. I've had it take almost an hour, but only because someone was determined to kill everyone else off to win. Half-hour seems to be the sweet spot for non-gamers: any longer than that and they can get bored. So this game works well for any group.




Total - 2.75
While I wouldn't recommend this game for your grandparents unless they are serious gamers, I do think this game works for most groups. It is quick to learn, competitive without being brutal (in most cases) and has the cutest art and game pieces. It isn't high is nerdiness, but I have yet to meet a nerd who didn't enjoy it.

5-Minute Dungeon

Oh, Five Minute Dungeon. How I love you. Kickstarter games are fun, but sometimes they end up lacking in one element or another, most often the game mechanics. Not so with Five Minute Dungeon. This game is cute, complex, co-op (hurray!), and full of future gameplay potential. Also, just enough nerdiness to be playable by gamers of all nerd levels. Who could ask for more?

The premise is that you are on a dungeon crawl, working together to defeat monsters, obstacles and mini-bosses. You do this by matching symbols that represent items and skills. It is very quick moving (five minutes unless you want to keep progressing to new dungeons) and the count-down timer app (awesome idea) has fun and famous voices.

TGN scale:

Story - 4-6

I know I gave a range instead of a solid number here, but this game is uniquely hard to nail down for me. On one hand, the story is pretty standard nerd-stuff: fight monsters, use magic items, become a hero. Each person takes on a character, and each campaign is slightly different, but at the same time, the story, characters and backstories are sort of assumed. There isn't any depth to the story, but mostly because there doesn't need to be; the game makers assume that the nerds only need the suggestion of background and you can fill in the gaps. They're right. We already know what a Valkyrie is, we already know how to fight monsters, so there is no need to explain. On the other hand, if you don't know much about dungeon games or about fighting monsters, it really doesn't matter, as none of those things affect gameplay at all. Brilliant.

Immersive - 3-5

This one is a lot like the story rating. It does feel like a dungeon crawl, but only if you want it to. The game could just as easily be completely devoid of all dungeon elements, and it wouldn't change the gameplay at all. It might take the fun out of it, though. At least for me. So basically, it isn't as immersive as some nerdy games, but it does have lots of possible immersive elements.

Learning Curve - 0-3

This game takes almost no explanation to learn to play. You could literally be thrown into the game half-way through with no explanation, and still play comfortably. There is a bit of strategy, though, and the longer you play, the further you get into the game, and the more strategy required to beat those bosses.

Time - 0-5

5 minutes is as short as any game I've ever played. But if you prefer your dungeon games to last a bit longer (and who doesn't) then you could keep playing this game for several hours without starting over. Or longer. It took us several days to defeat the final boss.

Total - 1.75-4.75

If I was to average out this game to a single number, that would put it at 3.25. But I put a range on each of these because you imbue your own nerdiness level into this game. For some people, it would play nerdier than others. This game has the potential to be almost like a basic party game, with just enough nerdy elements to draw serious gamers. I played this with my boardgamer friends and then later with my sister-in-law who likes to tell me she doesn't get any of my references because she isn't a nerd. It was just as fun both times. 

Games TGN Score Rundown

Here is my chart of every game I've scored so far. I will continue to add to it as I review games. There are a few on this list that I don't plan to review in full, simply because they are so well known. Being as popular as some of these games are seriously skews their nerdy results. But I've included my scores for them here anyway, just to give you something to compare against. If you wish your game was on this list, or if you know of an awesome and nerdy game you think I should review, send me a message to let me know.

Pocket Madness

Pocket Madness is really a a sweat

little game about, well, insanity. This is another game inspired by HP Lovecraft, so you know it's going to be good. Ok, so it's a little creepy, but look at that adorable art! look at that staring eyeball! Look at those cute little green cubes! It's almost worth it to collect the madness cubes just to shuffle them around and hear the satisfying clinking. Sure, it makes you insane but, some things are just worth it, you know? I fully enjoy this game, not just because of the cuteness, but also the gameplay is quick and engaging.


TGN score:

Story - 8
Because this is a Cthulhu game, it comes with a built in story. You are trying to invoke the Ancient Ones' powers using card sets to drive your play fellows insane. fun, right? The story isn't incredibly complex, but it enough fantasy and paranormal horror to drive up the score.

Immersive - 4
Not counting the artwork, the gameplay doesn't really have anything to do with the theme or premise. You cou
ld probably remove the paranormal elements and it wouldn't change gameplay at all. But on the other hand, there are elements that add to the immmersiveness (immersivity?) of the game. Not even counting the artwork, the collecting of the madness cubes keeps the theme in the forefront of your mind.

Learning Curve - 3
Because this is a numbered card came, it is similar enough to traditional card games to be fairly easy to learn. The rules take a few minutes to get the hang of, but reading the rulebook itself goes quick. This may take away from the nerdiness a little, but it is definitely a positive in this game.

Time - 4
Takes about a half hour to play. Again, this short time may take away from the nerdiness, but it does not take away from the enjoyment of the game. Sometimes you just need a quick little game with some nerdy themes, right?

Final TGN score - 4.24
All in all, this could be played by a wide range of players, even non-gamers if they can get past the initial nerdy theme. It makes it a perfect game to play with your friends as a gateway nerd game, or if you are getting tired of the hour long set up for Runebound and need a breather.

The Oregon trail

The Oregon Trail is one of those games that is as much a draw for its nostalgia as it is for the gameplay. Even if you've never played the original computer game, it still feels like you are playing an 8-bit kind of game, which is nostalgic all in itself. I love co-op games, and Oregon Trail does co-op in the best possible way. It manages to give everyone something to do without pitting you against each other. It is both challenging and silly. My only complaint against the game is all the constant dying. Knowing you can catch dysentery at any moment is funny and adds risk, but I hate when teammates are eliminated from a game and just have to sit and watch the rest. Lots of games do this , but it bothers me. It was my main complaint against Exploding Kittens too. At least in The Oregon Trail watching after you die is still pretty engaging.

TGN scale:

Story - 5
Ok. There is a story here, characters even, and even story progression beyond the initial premise. You are a group of people trying to follow the Oregon trail without dying completely out along the way. Well, actually you are a bunch of gamers playing a video game about people trying to follow the Oregon trail without dying along the way. Too meta? . . . No. It's fun.



Immersive - 7
The setting and story progression are absolutely what this game is about. No, you don't feel the pain of the sicknesses or the animal encounters, but you sort of feel like you do. This game draws you right into the story, and doesn't release you till it is over. The game is basically just drawing cards, but somehow it draws you in all the same.

Learning Curve - 2
There isn't much to this game, when it comes to gameplay. The cards tell you what to do, and as long as someone there knows how to play, the explanations can be minimal to the rest of you. Nor is there much strategy to learn.

Time - 4
You can expect the game to take about a half hour to an hour, depending on how many people are playing. And how anal the group is about straight piles and lines.

Final TGN score - 4.75
Like I said, most of the nerdiness draw comes from the nastalgia. But because the game goes pretty quickly and takes almost no time to learn, I think it could be interesting to just about anyone who likes games, even if they haven't ever played the computer game. So that puts it around the same level as Dominion or Forbidden Island or Flash Point, slightly above games like Settlers of Catan or Ticket to Ride, but below some more complicated games like Legendary.

Flash Point: Fire Rescue

Flash Point by Indie Boards & Cards is for 2 to 6 players, ages 10 and up, averaging about 45 minutes long. It first attracted me because it's for more than 4 players (there just aren't enough of those) and is completely cooperative. The premise of the game is that you are a group of firefighters trying to save all the people and animals stuck inside a burning building. In order to do this, you have to knock down some walls (but not too many) put out some fires (but not all) and keep explosions from happening (in theory, anyway). In addition to the basic game, there is an advanced game which adds character cards, more rules and pieces, even a more complex game-board. There were more differences between the basic and advanced game than I have ever seen a board game attempt, actually. Both levels of the game are really fun though.

TGN scale:

Story - 3
There is a fun premise and story here. It's interesting, but it isn't very complex. You can get the entire story from the box,and it isn't particularly far out there.  It may not be a traditionally nerdy premise, but on the other hand, I think everyone has imagined themselves a firefighter at one time or another, right?






Immersive - 7
This game does a pretty good job making you feel like you are actually trying to keep back a fire. The advanced game draws you into the story even more because of all the different characters, the explosions, and the hot-spots and everything. The fire feels alive (minus the heat), and it very hard to defeat.

Learning Curve - 5
The basic game isn't all that complex, but it does have some specifics that can be difficult to remember. The instructions are 12 pages long, and the game includes a card for each player that reminds them of which actions can be performed (a tell-tale sign of a nerdy game). Also, the strategy is not always easy, though it is similar to other co-op games. The advanced game is higher learning curve than the basic game, but 5 is probably the average between the two.

Time - 5
I have found the predicted 45 minutes to an hour to be pretty accurate once you get the hang of it. Not an overly quick game, but not as long as most other more nerdy games either.







Final TGN score: 5
On a scale from Chutes & Ladders to Dungeons & Dragons, Flash Point Fire Rescue falls somewhere in the middle as far as nerdiness. So it's around the same level (maybe slightly lower) as Forbidden Island, or Dominion, about what you would expect based on the art on the box, actually.

My biggest complaint with this game is probably the same thing that makes it interesting. I felt like the game creator Kevin Lanzing couldn't decide whether to make this a family game or a game for gamers, so he just made it both. I can't really complain about it though. How can I complain about two games in one? I can play the basic game with my family, the advanced game with my friends, and be happy both times. Besides that, I found the game interesting, intense, playful, and flexible. Co-op games rule!

As always, I am not at all affiliated with this game or its makers, and am reviewing this game just because I'm a nerd, I've got time, and I want to, and for no other reason.

What a Geeky-Nerd You Are, Dork.

In case it wasn't clear, the nerdy board-gamer? That's me. I'm not afraid to call myself a nerd. Usually though, if I tell people that I'm interested in nerd culture, they either laugh at me behind their hands, or argue that I mean geek, not nerd. Well I mean nerd. So there. But since the whole purpose of this blog is to review board games for their nerdiness, let me see if I can bring you over to my side.

Okay, here's the thing: you realize that nerd and geek are both just insults for odd people, right? I do think that accurate definitions matter (I'm studying to be an editor, and word choice is a big deal to me) but I don't think these particular terms differ as much as we sometimes pretend. Geek, nerd: these are just terms for someone uncool. Yes, I know that nerd has more technological connotations, and geek can mean obsessive, but the differences are flexible. And for me, the term geek has become too cool lately. You can be a geek about things that everyone likes. You can be an ultimate Frisbee geek. Or a geek about Mad Men.

Well, my peeps are the ones that are pursuing what most people find strange. We are obsessing over things that may or may not hurt our social standing. We play tabletop and role-playing games which require us to use our imagination. We dress up as Klingons in broad daylight. We have proudly claimed this lack of coolness as a part of our identities. Considering all that, I don't thing we want the term we call ourselves to be cool. And, honestly, geek just doesn't quite do it for me. So I've chosen nerd. And since we're basically just stealing and proudly wearing the insults that were previously used against us, I think that is my prerogative. So there, dorks.

Table Top Games - the Nerdiness Scale

Okay. I've decided to start reviewing games in earnest now. No more puttering around. Up till now I've been an amateur: just another TableTop watching nerd. No longer. I am kicking my spectator judginess up a notch.

I judge board games on their level of nerdiness, I do. So rather than a review of how I feel about the games, I will rate each game from 1 to 10 on nerdiness, so I thought I'd explain the system first. 

Although I play a wide variety of tabletop games, I prefer the nerdy games best. (I know there are some of you are arguing with me that I mean geeky, not nerdy. Too bad, dorks. But you can go to my post on the subject here.) Anyway, the nerdier the game, the happier I am to play, though I'm sometimes hard pressed to find people to play with me. Every time I get together with new people, I'm always trying to decide how nerdy of a game they might be willing to play with me. Of course, I could go strait for more general games like Quirkle or a 2500, but what if they would have enjoyed Dominion and I missed the chance to play it with them because I underestimated their nerdiness!! 

In addition to knowing the nerdiness of my friends, I also have to calculate the nerdiness of my games. My task would be easier if every game was required to list how nerdy it is right on the box. But alas, they don’t. There is no official scale for nerdiness. Somebody needs to get on that, right? Am I the only one thinking this?? But who even has that kind of time? Or is boring enough to do it?

Well. Lucky you, I am just such a boring, free-time possessing gal. It was this or binge watch Fringe again. I name it (cuz I never do things halfway) the Tabletop Game Nerdiness Scale. TGN Scale for short. Now you can learn how to rate your games yourself! Aren't you excited?

The scale is made up of an average from ratings in 4 categories.

The first category is Story. The more complex or fantastic the story, the higher the rating in this category. 

Many games, such as Catchphrase and Bananagrams, have no world, theme, story or premise. These are all about the mechanisms of the game. Most party games fall into this category. Nobody starts the explanation of a game like Apples to Apples or Curses with, "OK, so we're all prisoners in a intergalactic military prison . . . ." Nobody tells you the story, because there isn't one. Most party games rate a 0 in this category. 

Of course, some board games have a theme or story, but not a nerdy one: such as Monopoly. We know in Monopoly that we are supposed to be bigwigs buying up properties, but not only is that a one sentence story without plot or characters (unless a shoe and an iron are characters) but the story doesn't affect gameplay all that much. In other words, the fantastic setting does affect its rating as well. 10's on this scale are usually sci-fi and fantasy. Elves, dungeons, space, super heroes, pirates: these are usually gonna be right at the top of this scale.

The second category is Immersive. This is slightly different from story because it tells how deep the game draws you in. Lots of games out there have complex stories, but the story doesn't actually mean very much once the game starts. if the theme and feel of the game is an important element of gameplay, it will be high on the immersive scale. 

Role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons are obviously going to be a 10 in Immersive, because they are almost entirely about the world, characters and story you create. Munchkin and its many expansions are pretty nerdy in Story (maybe a 7). But Munchkin keeps a certain distance once you start playing, and isn't Immersive into that world (maybe a 4). The more a game demands you get involved in the world, the higher it rates on the Immersive scale.

Learning Curve is the next category. Games that are hard to master rate high on this scale. 

You can often judge how high the game will rate in Learning Curve by the size of the instruction booklet. There are games out there with such complicated rules that it takes a novel size rule-book to explain them. The Mistborn Adventure game manual is larger than some of the Mistborn books. On the other hand, Games like Chutes and Ladders can be explained by a friend in less like ten seconds. Also, with games that rate a 10 in Learning Curve, you can expect to keep the rulebook handy every time you play. With 0 rated games, you lost the rules years ago and don't care.

Time is the next category. This one is easy because it is often written on the outside of the box. Even if it isn't (and the nerdiest sometimes aren't), knowing how long a game takes to play isn't difficult. Quick games rate lower than long ones in nerdiness. Which is partly why Monopoly and Clue rate about the same over all, even though the Setting and Immersive levels of clue are slightly nerdier than that of monopoly, because Monopoly takes so much longer to play on average. A couple of notes: 

• many gamers like me play and enjoy games all over the scale, not just those that rate high. But while the good games that are low on the scale attract everyone, the nerdier games only attract a certain kind of people. 

• Also, nerdy does not necessarily mean fun. There are some games out there that I personally don't rate very high on enjoyment, but that rate a 10 on nerdiness. Honestly, that doesn't happen often. But it does happen. 

So. Lets do an example most people are familiar with.

Risk

Story-wise, I would put it at 5. It is about world conquest, epic wars and battles, though there isn't really a story about it, there aren't really characters, backstories, or a plot. 

Immersive is 5. The story is mostly shallow but it does have some importance in the game play.

Learning Curve is about 7; the basic rules are fairly simple, the rule book isn't very long. But there is a lot of strategy involved, which takes many games to master. 

Time is about a 9, depending on who's playing. There isn't many games that take longer than Risk does, though some games like D&D take months to complete a single story line.

So that would make Risk about a 6.5 on the TGN scale. Meaning it is nerdy, but not exclusively so. It is a step or two above games like Ticket to Ride, but a few steps below more immersive games like Race for the Galaxy.

Wow. I'm impressed that anyone is still reading. That was long. But necessary. For the world.