February 4, 2008 11:08 - The Spiderwick Chronicles - The Fantastical Field Guide Mystery Game - race to discover the Field Guide and reach Uncle Spiderwick before the goblins catch you!
The Spiderwick Chronicles - The Fantastical Field Guide Mystery Game
The Spiderwick Chronicles is a 2008 film based on Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi's bestselling children's book series of the same name. The Spiderwick Chronicles: The story is about three children who battle goblins and other magical creatures who are after Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide.
Ever since Jared, Simon, Mallory and their mom moved into the old Spiderwick Estate, there have been strange goings-on afoot. Uncle Arthur Spiderwick's Fantastical Field Guide is the key to unlock the mystery and everyone - Grace children and goblins included - wants it! Players choose a side in this game of competition and cooperation. The Grace children work together, exploring the old house in search of the Field Guide. Once they find it, the race is on. Can the children get it to Uncle Spiderwick before the goblins steal it and take it to the ogre, Mulgarath? The goblins are tricky and very quick. Are you ready to take on the adventure? This deluxe game features a 3-D Spiderwick Estate as well as molded plastic goblins. For 2 to 4 players. Ages 8 & Up.
Unlock and explore the hidden world of the seen and unseen from the Spiderwick Chronicles movie.
February 12, 2008 13:53 - KHRONOS - Best Advanced Strategy Game. KHRONOS presents players with decision-after-decision, and requires very careful and clever play in order to succeed.
KHRONOS
In Khronos, each player plays a powerful lord and his faithful sidekick in a quest for dominance throughout time itself. You play simultaneously during three different epochs in a race to cover yourself with glory and wealth. Beware of your adversaries. They have numerous ways to counter your plans. What was true tomorrow might no longer make a difference yesterday. The game mechanisms in Khronos rewrite the laws of time itself.
Played on a large board in three different “ages”, what occurs in one age can ripple forward and have dramatic effects on the future. Visualizing the results of one’s actions can be tough, but mastering this process makes for a fascinating game filled with skill and cunning.
The large, tri-fold board depicts three identical maps, shaded slightly different to represent three ages in time: might, religion and reason. Mountains, plains, forest, rivers and hamlets are pre-printed on the board, over which is superimposed a grid pattern upon which various buildings will be constructed and dominions formed. Forests and mountains only have an effect when playing with less than five players, generally requiring players to pay additional construction cards when erecting buildings. Rivers pose a greater difficulty, as only larger civic buildings can be constructed on river spaces. Buildings come in three varieties – military, religious and civil – and each type has three different sizes. The artwork on the thick cardboard counters is quite good.
The limited number of actions a player has on his turn translated into a rather fast-moving 2-hour game.
Khronos is an intriguing and clever game, one requiring skillful and creative play.
February 19, 2008 12:41 - Through the Ages - Your civilization's culture is yours to shape -- and you can do it differently every time you play the game.
Through the Ages
Through the Ages is an exciting game of strategy and resource management. Players guide their civilizations up from Antiquity, through the Middle Ages, and into Modern Times. What will your civilization be like? Will it be warlike? Technologically advanced? Religious? Artistic? Choose from Leaders such as Hammurabi, Napoleon, and Gandhi. Build Pyramids, the Great Wall, or the Eiffel Tower. Your civilization's culture is yours to shape -- and you can do it differently every time you play the game.
Through the Ages is playable in three different difficulty levels. Play the short Tutorial Game to learn the game mechanics. Play the Advanced game when you are ready to face the consequences of politics and corruption. And when you want even greater challenge, play the Full Version of Through the Ages and take your civilization from spear throwing to space flight.
This edition has no rule changes from the original edition.
February 26, 2008 12:43 - The Pillars of the Earth - GAMES Magazine Game of the Year 2008 - A Masterpiece! Great for older kids and definitely great just for adults. Direct Source Games staff highly recommend it!
The Pillars of the Earth
GAMES Magazine Game of the Year 2008
International Gamers Awards Best Strategy Game Nominee 2007
Spiel Des Jahres Recommended 2007
The Pillars of the Earth is based on Ken Follet's best-selling novel. The Pillars of the Earth (the book) was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as the 60th Oprah’s Book Club selection in November 2007, and is #1 on the The New York Times trade paperback list and #8 on its mass market paperback list .
Few games are directly based on books (Dune being the notableexception), so The Pillars of the Earth (Kosmos and Mayfair Games,2007 – Michael Rieneck and Stefan Stadler) is an interesting game, based on a popular book by Ken Follett.
The Pillars of the Earth is a light strategy game about gathering resources and employing craftsmen to turn those resources into parts of a cathedral. Great game about construction and tough choices. I enjoy the escalating game play, and the games I’veplayed have stayed close and tense throughout the entire game. Pillars of the Earth may look like a hodge podge of typical game components and mechanics, but it really is a special breakout, and I can see it becoming quite popular due to easy game play (enhanced by the theme) and tremendous interaction. )Components: Mayfair games simply get better and better, and Pillars of the Earth is a testament to this. First of all, the boardis simply gorgeous, with an overhead view of a village building a cathedral, yet still functional enough for game play. The game also comes with six blocks that can be put together to make a nice miniature wooden cathedral. This cathedral has no function other than to show what round the game is in, but it still makes an excellent centerpiece for the game and adds to thetheme. The rest of the pieces , small cards and wooden bits (littleguys that remind one of “meeples”, four different colored cubes,scoring discs for each player) are standard fare for this type of game, but look nice and add to the game’s overall presence.
The game revolves around each player utilizing craftsmen that they control to build the cathedral and score victory points. At the beginning of the game, each player starts with three craftsmen: the Mortar Mixer, who can convert three sand cubes into a victory point three times a round; the Woodworker, who can convert two wood cubes into a victory point four times a round, and the Stonecutter, who can convert two stone cubes into a victory point four times a round. As the game progresses, players have the opportunity to purchase or acquire other craftsmen, who have better cube to point ratios. For example, getting rid of the Stonecutter bans the player from selling stone cubes at the market for the remainder of the game. The craftsmen are important, because they will most likely determinethe direction a player goes when playing the game, which resource they will likely hoard, and competition for them can be fierce, especially in later rounds. The idea of the game is to provide your craftsmen the resources or goods they need in order to make the cathedral. As the game goes on (over six rounds) the craftsmen get more specialized and the goods become more valuable. It's easy to learn, but like all great strategy games, the straight forward goals and rules lead to much "deeper" gameplay.
For those seeking an enjoyable game with a nice theme, tremendous components, and varied and tactical game play, Pillars of the Earth is an excellent choice.
