Carcassonne: Winter Edition

Today's review is of the 2012 release, Carcassonne: Winter Edition.  For 2-5 players, it takes 40 minutes.

Overview
Carcassonne: Winter Edition is exactly the same as the original Carcassonne, save for two differences:
- it's winter-themed, so the fields are covered in snow (no effect on gameplay)
- 12 additional tiles are included in this release

That's it! All rules are the same; check the original review for more details.

game in progress; image from here

Review
If you like the original, you'll like this. I have a mild preference for this version, only because it includes more tiles.

Rating: A-

Heir to the Empire (Timothy Zahn)

Five years after Return of the Jedi, the New Republic is still struggling to establish itself.   As the New Republic looks to solidify government and recruit more worlds, Leia and Han are married (and expecting twins), Luke looks to strengthen his mastery of the Force, and Lando has a new business venture.  Yet threats lurk, within and without.  Borsk Fey'lya, Bothan politician, is playing political power games, and Admiral Ackbar may fall victim . . . while the Imperial remnant is now led by Grand Admiral Thrawn, a genius with great plans to take back the galaxy- and destroy the Skywalkers. 

Thrawn sends squads of Noghri commandos to hunt Leia, seeks secret Imperial technology in the dead Emperor's fortress on Wayland, recruits Joruus C'baoth (a cloned Jedi Master ruling the planet) to his cause, and discovers ysalamiri, animals that push back the Force and render Jedi within their range powerless.  With such weapons at his disposal, the fledgling Republic will soon be at his mercy as he plans an attack on the Sluis Van shipyards . . .

But Thrawn is not alone in seeking Skywalker.  The mysterious Mara Jade, working for smuggler Talon Karrde, burns with intense hatred towards Luke, and seeks an opportunity to kill him.  She may just have her chance, as Luke's X-wing is disabled near Myrkr and Karrde's base.  Karrde has plans of his own, though, and imprisons Luke without turning him over to a snooping Empire.  Where does his allegiance lie? Can Luke escape? And against Thrawn, can the fledgling Republic prevail?

This is the original Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU) at its finest. Action, adventure, intrigue . . . it's all there.  13-year-old me loved this book; 40-year-old me still does.

Rating: A

Dangerous Calling (Paul Tripp)

In Dangerous Calling, seasoned pastor Paul Tripp discusses and confronts problems in pastoral culture.  He starts by examining the culture and argues that he sees several problems in this vein:
1) pastors let their ministry define their identity
"Human beings are always assigning to themselves some kind of identity.  There are only two places to look.  Either you will be getting your identity vertically from who are you in Christ, or you will be shopping for it horizontally in the situations, experiences, and relationships of your daily life."
2) pastors let biblical literacy and theological knowledge define their maturity
Too often we "buy into the belief that biblical maturity is about the precision of theological knowledge and the completeness of their biblical literacy."  And yet "it is possible to be theologically astute and be very immature.  It is possible to be biblically literate and be in need of significant spiritual growth."
3) pastors confuse ministry success with God's endorsement of their lifestyle
"The success of a ministry is always more a picture of who God is than a statement about who the people are that he is using for his purpose."

He spends the rest of the book being "unflinchingly honest while being unshakingly hopeful" as he discusses other common problems, typical fears, signs of trouble, and steps to help.  He reminds the reader that ministry "is never just shaped by your gifts, knowledge, skill, and experience.  It is always also shaped by the true condition of your heart."  Everything we do serves either ourselves or God, and Tripp argues that "the biggest protection against the kingdom of self is not a set of self-reformative defensive strategies.  It's a heart that's so blown away by the right-here, right-now glories of the grace of Jesus Christ that we're not easily seduced by the lesser temporary glories . . ." for "no one celebrates the presence and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ more than the person who has embraced his desperate and daily need of it."

The message of the book was outstanding, deeply humbling and convicting (while also encouraging and inspiring).  I know it's geared towards pastors, but it's appropriate for all Christians, as we can (and do) fall into the same traps all the time.  I ding it only because it gets really repetitive as the book goes on, and could be delivered much more succinctly.  But it's highly recommended.

Rating: A-

Carcassonne: Star Wars

Today's review is of the 2015 release, Carcassonne: Star Wars.  For 2-5 players, it takes 35 minutes.

Overview
Explore trade routes, navigate asteroid fields, and conquer planets as you look to rule the galaxy! 

Like the original, Carcassonne: Star Wars is a tile-laying game.  On your turn, you:
- randomly draw and place a tile, laying it on the existing map and making sure edges adjacent to existing tiles 'match'.
- place one of your meeples on a trade route, asteroid field, or planet on the tile you just laid down (if you can)
- if a feature (trade route or asteroid field) is completed, or if a planet is completely surrounded by tiles, the meeple occupying it is scored and goes back into your supply, to be used again later

game in progress; image from here

There are three main differences between this and original Carcassonne:
- here, you can't lay meeples down in space (like you can in pastures in the original)
- if you lay a tile adjacent to a planet, you can place your meeple on the planet- even if someone's already on it!- and a battle ensues (you both roll a number of dice based on a few conditions; the person with the highest number wins and kicks the other off the planet)
- similarly, if a newly-laid tile creates a situation where two players occupy the same asteroid field or trade route, they battle and the loser is kicked off

Once all tiles have been laid, points are tallied, and highest wins!

Review
Carcassonne has produced several variants over the years because it's a solid and fun gaming system. Carcassonne: Star Wars is fun, though I think I prefer the base game or Carcassonne: Gold Rush to this version.  Something felt missing . . . perhaps having one fewer option (laying a meeple in space) was the gap.  That aside, the battles with dice was an interesting twist, and my kids really liked it.  It's a solid addition to the Carcassonne line.

Rating: B+

Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu

Today's review is of the 2016 release, Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu.  For 2-4 players, it takes 40 minutes.

Overview
You and your team hear of stirrings . . . whispers of a great evil.  You learn of four gates, through which horrors can arrive.  It's up to you to seal the gates, defeat the monsters and cultists, and (ultimately) prevent the awakening of Cthulhu.  Can you prevail?

Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu is very similar to other games in the Pandemic line (like the original, Iberia, and Fall of Rome).  It's a cooperative game where each player has a unique role (granting special abilities) and gets 4 actions on their turn to move, defeat cultists or Shoggoths, trade cards, and seal gates.  At the end of their turn, they draw cards for their hand, then flip over 'summoning' cards to place cultists (the 'viruses' of this variant) on the board, triggering 'awakenings' (outbreaks) if a fourth cultist would be placed in a town.  Some differences:
- the cards you draw are not unique locations, but one of four regions (cities).  This makes it easier to pass cards (as you just have to be in any city in a region with another player, not one specific locale)
- defeating a Shoggoth costs 3 actions
- there's a 'sanity die' you must roll before defeating a Shoggoth or using a gate to 'warp' between locations. Each player starts with four sanity, and if you lose it, you go insane, flipping your role card and having reduced abilities until/unless you trigger a hospital/church visit to recover.

game components; image from here

Review
I enjoyed the H.P. Lovecraft short story The Call of Cthulhu, and I love the Pandemic line.  Combining the two must be awesome, right?  It's pretty good. I felt this variant of Pandemic the weakest of the ones I've played- perhaps too easy, with twists that weren't as original or interesting as other versions.  The theme may put some people off, as well, as it's notably darker (but aligns with the spirit of the book). It's not a bad game, but it's not quite as good as other Pandemic versions.

Rating: A-

Der Rauber Hotzenplotz (Otfried Preussler)

The robber Hotzenplotz has taken grandmother's coffee grinder.  When the law proves powerless to assist, Kasperl and Seppel devise a plan to catch the thief.  But Hotzenplotz is craftier than the boys suspect, and soon the two find themselves in hot water- one serving the robber, one a wizard.  Can they escape, bring the robber to justice, and (most importantly) get back grandma's coffee grinder?

This German children's classic (it was written in 1962) was outstanding . . . I thoroughly enjoyed it.  As I read it 'auf Deutsch,' I'm sure I missed some things, but I understood enough.  The tale was simple but had humor, adventure, twists, and suspense.  I highly recommend it, and want to read some of his others- though perhaps in English.

Rating: A

Outfoxed!

Today's review is of the 2014 release, Outfoxed!  For 2-4 players, it takes 20 minutes.

Overview
A wily fox has committed a crime, and it's up to you and your friends to stop him!  Outfoxed! is a Clue-like game geared towards preschoolers.  A fox is placed on the board in the starting square, sleuth tokens (representing the players) are placed in the middle, clues are placed face-down in spots on the board, and 16 suspects are placed around the board, face-down. 

game components; image from here

On your turn, you roll three dice (and can re-roll them up to 3 times).  Before you roll, you announce your intentions- you'll either:
- search for clues, or
- investigate suspects
You then roll.  After up to 3 rolls, if you get three symbols matching your intentions (paws = clues, eyes = suspects), you get to perform your action.  If you get dice with both paws and eyes, alas!  The wily fox gets to move three spaces, and when he gets to the end, he gets away with it!  But if your luck holds:
- Searching for clues means you can move as many spaces on the board as the number of paws you rolled.  If you land on a clue (always an article of clothing), turn it over and place it in the orange device holding the card of the perpetrator; the device will tell you if the perp was wearing that piece of clothing or not.
- Investigating suspects means turning over two suspects around the board (your choice).  You can then remove any suspects based on clues that have been revealed so far.  For example, if you know the suspect is wearing a cloak (based on a clue someone turned over previously), you can remove any suspects that don't have cloaks around the board.

Eventually, you'll have a good idea of 'whodunnit.' When you do, announce it, and if you solve it before the fox reaches town, you all win (this is a cooperative game)!

Review
I was pleased with two prior Gamewright offerings suitable for children (Sleeping Queens and Dragonwood), so I had high expectations for this one.  Unfortunately, I found it lacking.  Okay, it's for preschoolers; I get that.  But the other two are also suitable for the little ones and also enjoyable for adults.  This one is a snore for the older ones, though perhaps good for helping kids develop deduction skills.

Rating: B-