Cardcore Gamer: Giants, Leviathans and a Big, Pouncy Cat-Thing
A little earlier this year, I found out that I’m going to be a dad, which is about the biggest news one can expect to receive, the joy and panic of which goes some way to explain my recent absence. so while you wait for Cardcore Gamer to become the sleep-deprived ranting of a frazzled pseudo-grownup, here’s what’s been distracting me in the world of board games:
Babies aren’t much for board games, in fact they play only one game named Guess Who’s Pooped? in which there can be only one winner and it will not be you. As far as I understand it, these mini-people also syphon off a lot of your precious gaming time, but while I still have some, I followed up a rumour that El Cheapo UK book store The Works have been getting copies of some fair-to-good board game titles in stock, including Editions du Matagot’s 2008 beauty Giants. I jumped on this one like a big, pouncy cat-thing because I never got a chance to buy this one back in the day, so when the Derby shop finally received their wodge of boxes for £10 I was there like a shot.
A big, pouncy cat-thing.
Giants is a game about the Golden Age of Easter Island, before the deforestation and cannibalism rather spoiled things. You carve out giant Moai statues, drag them across the island, then optionally stick a hat on them for a laugh. The playing pieces (as with most Matagot games) are worth price of admission alone, but the game itself is a lovely medium-weight Euro. If you have any interest in worker placement games, Easter Island, or have a spare £10 to burn, buy it.
Deforestation hits Easter Island, but at least the Moai have hats!
At the start of this article I mentioned Leviathans, a colossal game of (sigh) ‘steampunk’ airship combat, set in the late 1900s. It’s pricey, but it’s had a hell of a lot of work put into making it a satisfyingly strategic flight of fancy and violence. While the release schedule is undeniably slow – the only current factions are England and France – there’s plenty of depth in the base game to keep me and my long-term nemesis throwing peurile curses over the battlefield for ages. You can read about it here.
The British destroyer (right) is about to be Rosbif.
There’s plenty more rattling around my braincase, such as why Soda Pop Miniatures haven’t released the new Super Dungeon Explore expansion in the UK yet, or the agony of waiting for the (now released! ARGH!) Spartacus expansion to turn up, or wrangling over whether I can justify buying Gears of War: The Board Game, given its rather large shelf price, but those are for another time. Now make sure you put on some sunscreen, drink lots of water and be home before it gets dark, or you’re all grounded!