I’m in a Mechs-ican Rodeo

I’m in a Mechs-ican Rodeo

reviews |May 19, 2017 |by klkitchens |0

a ones upon a game review Pre-Play Thoughts Not sure I’d ever heard anything about this one before I played it. There certainly was no hype at all surrounding Mechs vs. Minions. The box is a beast. It could literally be the foundation of your gaming collection. Or your house. Seriously, I normally avoid hype because that usually follows garbage that appeals to the masses and isn’t truly satisfying to play (out of kindness I won’t name games here). I’d never heard of League of Legends (and still know very little about it), however I looked up some solo [..]

Come on and Just Roll Through It, Baby

reviews |February 7, 2017 |by klkitchens |0

a ones upon a game review Pre-Play Thoughts I had only played Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization itself a time or two on boardgamearena.com and had learned about this smaller dice game from the other solo gamers. I downloaded the iOS implementation and attempted it a couple of times but was a bit lost on what it is I was supposed to be doing (sadly, the iOS port seems to be gone from the AppStore now). Usually playing the game physically makes things clearer so I was willing to give the real version a try.

Nothing Compares 2U

reviews |August 1, 2016 |by klkitchens |1

Pre-Play Thoughts:I have the luxury of having barely any knowledge of the other game on which Star Trek: Frontiers is based. The fantasy theme was a barrier to entry for me as with few exceptions do I find that to be appealing in the least. I enjoy a medieval setting, just not the baggage of magic that usually comes with it. I had heard that the system was quite good and very popular, especially among solo gamers… So when I learned they were releasing this “theme upgraded” version in a science-fiction setting, I was very interested. So as the title [..]

Hostage Negotiating Just Got Real-er-er-ish (and Dark)

game customization, game design, variants |May 26, 2016 |by klkitchens |1

Hostage Negotiator from Van Ryder Games has been a very entertaining and popular solitaire game (as seen in the last several months of Top 10 tracking). However, to me, one thing seems missing. Hostages. We have meeples for the hostages, but the game never told you just who those hostages were. We know who the Abductors are. We know who the Negotiators are. Why not a little back story on the men and women behind the meeples. This is a project I’ve been planning for several months and finally was inspired to get it done over the last several nights. [..]

Shoe Enough, You Might Find These Handy

game customization, papercrafting |January 12, 2016 |by klkitchens |1

One thing about playing games with stacks and stacks of cards is that you have stacks and stacks of cards. With sleeves, even if they aren’t too tall, they like to slide around and quickly make a mess. I’ve been meaning to share these for awhile. But I’ve been too lazy busy to create the file, the video, and this post to share them. So now I have. I’m talking about these quick card shoes, each made from a single sheet of 110# card stock. These are really nothing spectacular, except they are cheap, easy to make, and I quite [..]

Gaming is Social, Games Need Not Be – The Cons of Solitaire Gaming

commentary |August 28, 2015 |by klkitchens |1

Despite all the benefits of solitaire gaming, it’s certainly not without its problems. Problems that are unique to most solo gamers and especially those of us for which gaming alone is nearly 100% of the experience. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a complaint in any way, shape, or form. Just an observation. Inspired by this discussion on BGG, “Fighting the funk“, I decided to proceed with this post that I’d been “cooking” for some time. First off, with respect the to the title. Gaming is social, games need not be. A lot of people malign the solo gamer [..]

A Cardstock Dice Tower?

papercrafting |May 29, 2015 |by klkitchens |0

I’ve wanted a dice tower ever since I learned what they were and that they were not actually named after a popular gaming website/podcast/YouTube channel. But I could never bring myself to buy one or remember to tack a knockdown cheapie onto another order. I’ve toyed with ways of just designing and making my own, understanding the general principles. Then I thought… why not make one out of cardstock! I’d originally envisioned a smaller handheld device about the size of a dice cup, so you’d hold in one hand and drop the dice through it… then this thing developed from [..]