House Rules

Below is an article that I started drafting back in 2008 and finally have come back to finish it. I will try to start posting some more comments and updating some links on the site in the next few months. I'm still playing games but just haven't been updating the blog until now.
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Have you ever played a game of monopoly and thought, this is too long and I wish it had more decisions that just buy everything I land on? Have you ever wondered how useful the University might be in Puerto Rico or maybe the Cube Favor Track in Caylus?

I have always enjoyed tinkering with game rules and also with how a game "works". What I mean by this is that games tend to have one or more mechanisms or elements that really drive the game. Changing some of the core elements of a game can really result in a totally different game and this is not what I want when I create House Rules (at least not usually). What I want to do is modify a part of the design to either (1) allow for more strategy, (2) reduce a dominant strategy, and/or (3) just add more of what is fun about the game. I'm sure there are other reasons but I'll just touch on these for now... With these ideas in mind here are some of my house rules for games that I own. After each house rule I will list the reasons (above numbers) for why I created them.

Monopoly (1,2,and 3)
I'll start with a game that everyone is familiar with and probably associates with a long drawn out game. First, many people don't follow the Monopoly rules as written (nothing happens on Free Parking and there are auctions for properties that are landed on and not purchased).

House Rule #1 - Players start with $500 (instead of $2000). I have found that mosts games of standard Monopoly tend to open with players buying every property that they land on in the initial few trips around the board. This house rule addresses my primary concern on money and makes property purchases much more tactical in the early game.

House Rule #2 - Utilities count as RailRoads (cost $200, Rent for 5 RR is $400 and 6RR is $800). Utilities are impractical purchases as they cannot generate cash via Monopolies and are much less useful than a few railroads. This house rule makes Railroads extremely valuable in the early game and increases their sustainability over the long game.

House Rule #3 - When a player lands on a property they can buy it if they wish for the listed price. If they do not buy it then it goes up for auction among the other players. Beginning with the next player to the left each player may bid. First bid must be List Price or higher and each subsequent bid must be higher then the last. When a player passes they are out of the auction. This house rule keeps auctions starting at the property price which helps offset any cashflow problems in the early game by any players who make agressive purchases.

My experience is that this version of Monopoly is much more tactical and enjoyable AND it can often complete in 90 minutes or less. I have had one two-player game end before I made one complete lap around the board! It does tend to make the low cost monopolies more powerful as there is not enough cash to build up an expensive one early but I have found the games to be more enjoyable if I have to play it with the kids.

Puerto Rico (1)
Overall, I would not make changes to this game as it is a great design and I particluarly like to play it with the expansion buildings in the mix to make for a variety of different strategies. The only change that I have made with this game is to alter the cost of the University from 8 to 7. This makes the building more viable and I have never seen it abused in any games at the 7 level.

Amun Re (1)
I have talked about my house rules on this game in my Amun Re review. These changes have made decisions in the game more interesting and have helped to balance out the Power Cards so that I don't feel like any particular Power Card is "too weak". While they all have their uses some will still be more useful with particular players and/or strategies. This feels right for me.

To Court the King (1,2)
I love dice manipulation games, so I thoroughly enjoyed this game when I first purchased it. However, I quickly found out that the "strategies" were very limited and almost always the player who grabbe extra dice (particularly the General) would win 90+% of the time. Also, if a player missed on getting an advisor early and got a Jester then they would not be able to catch up with others. This was exasserbated in a 3 player game where the farmers would often go to the 1st and 2nd players and the 3rd player would have to get 15+ or else be stuck with a Jester. Not fun.

House Rule #1 - The General’s 2 extra dice are different (white) and they MUST be fixed prior to any other dice. This makes the General less effective overall and generally requires at least one control card to make him beneficial which balances him with other choices. I read about this one on the Tao of Gaming website and quickly implemented it with great success.

House Rule #2 - The following cards and card combinations provide players with an additional Fool/Charlatan card when they are taken (combo is met).
· Serving Maid
· Philosopher
· Merchant
· Noblewoman & Magician
· Nobleman & Alchemist

This rule really helps to balance out the control cards with the extra dice cards. It gives the ability to get extra dice (through the Charlatan) and it allows a player who gets a Jester early to have a viable way back into the game. It also makes for a variety of different strategies and a player who takes only extra dice will have to be extremely lucky to win against a player who takes a few control cards (balance seems about right now). These changes did warrant a slightly different change in the numbers of cards placed in the tablaeu for various numbers of players.

Marvel Super Heroes (3), War of the Ring (1,3), World of Warcraft (3)
These games are all longer games with a lot of theme. I will briefly touch on some of my house rules for these games.

Marvel - I added 12 X-Men, 12 Avengers, 5 FF, and 8 Marvel Knights to the original 16 heroes. Some of these can be used with multiple teams (She Hulk was an Avenger and part of the Fantastic Four in the comics). I also added 8 new Masterminds (12 total) so that each team has 3 different possible Masterminds to face. Some are tougher than others but I balanced this by how the teams are chosen in the beginning. These changes don't affect the gameplay but add a lot of flavor and replay value for comic fans. In addition, I made a few house rules so that turn order is by VP (instead of starting with the lowest and going clockwise) and in how story cards are used but generally I just added more variety.

War of the Ring - I have written a few articles just on this one so I won't go into more details again here. However, these changes increased the replay value for me and opened up a lot of different strategies in the game.

World of Warcraft - I only play this game with the first expansion and I found that the base game allowed players to take out the overlord at 4th level without requiring anyone to get to 5th level. Also, the game didn't have enough interaction with other players (aside from a long Player vs Player combat).
House Rule #1 - I created tougher overlords so that all 3 of them require more powerful players to defeat them. This makes character advancement to 5th level more important (at least for 1 or 2 of the players) and opens up more possibilities while only slightly adding length.
House Rule #2 - Expanded town actions. I wanted to add more options for when a player is in town. Especially if they only wanted to get some training (and not healing). I added options to allow them to visit the Tavern, the Magistrate, the Oracle, or to even have more focused training and save some Gold.
House Rule #3 - Secondary Skills. All characters now get a random secondary skill that provides more flavor with some small benefits.
House Rule #4 - Advanced Quests. I added a whole new deck of quests that can be completed by either player. This opens up more options and also produces more interaction without promoting more direct conflicts (which bog the game down).

Caylus (1,2)
The two issues I have with Caylus are that players don't utilize the Cube Favor track and the stone production buildings are over utilized. I am still experimenting with my house rules to address these issues.
House Rule #1 - When a player would get a cube for someone else placing on their building they can only get the cube if they give up 1 victory point (the one they got when the other player placed on their building). This house rule seems to make these production buildings not so over balanced and my hope is that it will also open up more needs for players to acquire cubes from that favor track at certain times. I am hesitant to increase the capabilities on the favor track as I don't want to make it too strong. Small steps with house rules are generally best ;-)

My Gaming History

The news of Gary Gygax's passing saddened me although I never knew him personally. His game has influenced my life (and many other gamers) in countless ways. I had many good times playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends during my adolescent years and beyond. Reminiscing about AD&D prompted me to think about my formative years in gaming and I decided to go ahead and summarize my experiences here. Ah the nostalgia...

I was always interested in games and sports. I thrived on competition and always wanted to "be the best" at whatever activity I was doing. My grandfather did play me in Checkers, my brother taught me chess, and we played a few card games as a family during vacations. However, I mostly played games with my friends.

The first non-traditional boardgame that I remember playing was TSR's Dungeon! I still have a copy of it in my closet. This was a dungeon-crawl boardgame and my first D&D type experience. I remember looking at some maps my brother was drawing (he was 10 yrs older) and being interested in the game he was playing. I learned later that this was Dungeons & Dragons. I first started playing D&D when I was about 8 yrs old and I played the Keep on the Borderlands B2 module with the old D&D rules. I had no idea what I was doing except learning how to roll dice to fight monsters, but I got started and the experience evolved into something quite different.

I would later learn the rules for Advanced D&D (AD&D) and inherited the original hardback rulebooks from my brother as he didn't stay interested. I learned about playing a role playing game and how it was very different from any boardgame. First of all, there was no board! The game was created and played like a movie/play/story with the players "acting" as the lead characters while the Dungeon Master (DM) would design the plot and play the roles of all the characters in the game including the villains and monsters the players encounter. The DM was the author/director/referee and his goal was to make the game experience fun for the players. It was such a revolutionary concept to think that people could play a game without winners/losers and just enjoy it for the experience of playing. AD&D would be a fixture for Role playing games (RPGs) for decades and it appealed to me on many levels -- Fantasy themes, combat, good vs evil, imagination, creativity, and rolling lots of cool looking dice!

While I was still 10-11 yrs old, I picked up another role playing game called Champions. I was already a comic book reader (mostly Marvel comics Avengers, Marvel Team-Up, etc) and Champions was a RPG that allowed players to create their own superheroes and have comic book style adventures. The greatest design element in Champions was the character creation process. In AD&D you created a character primarily by rolling dice for various attributes like Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence and these attributes defined how inherently capable he/she was at being a Fighter, Thief, or Wizard. Champions gave you the capability to design your characters abilities and powers and make them the values that you wanted! If you wanted to build a character with Superman or Spiderman's powers then you can. You were only limited by your creativity. The game also had a built-in balancing mechanism where you had to pay for your powers with points and any points over a threshold (usually 100pts) had to be paid for with Disadvantages (Kryptonite, Aunt May, etc). So I could build a 200 pt hero but then he would need 100 pts in disadvantages while a 150 pt hero might not be as a capable but he wouldn't have as many "issues" with only 50pts in disadvantages. I have no idea how many characters I made in Champions but there were a whole lot more created then ever adventured in the game because the process was great fun on it's own. Champions and AD&D also taught me a lot of math calculations including fractions, rounding, formulas and probability (the first bell curve I saw was in one of the AD&D books).

I played many RPGs in Chicago and then when I moved to Atlanta I started playing many games with friends and my cousin who lived in Alabama. These games included: Risk, Grand Imperialism, Knights of Camelot, All the King's Men, The James Bond RPG, Marvel Superheroes RPG, SPI War of the Ring, Gamma World, Saga, Viking Gods, Gladiator, Wizards, Talisman, Dungeonquest, Chainsaw Warrior, Bowl Bound, Paydirt, Block Mania, Blood Bowl, Chaos Marauders, Fellowship of the Ring, Kingmaker, Axis and Allies, and Fortress America. Most of these were themed around Fantasy or Role playing games or created by companies in those markets TSR and Games Workshop along with the famous Milton Bradley big box series like Axis and Allies.

Then a tactical game called Battletech came out and I was hooked on a new boardgame. Battletech allowed players to play a combat simulation game where you control your 20-100 ton Mech's which are giant armored robotic looking vehicles armed with lasers, missiles, machine guns, and other weaponry. The sci-fi game produced by FASA had a great back story and it was fun to "blow up" the opponents by destroying armor in various locations and either causing it to overheat, hitting the ammo and igniting a chain reaction, or even blowing up the "head" where the pilot controls the Mech. Teams of Mechs could form Lances (4 Mechs) or Companies (3 Lances). The structure allowed for Battalions (3 Companies) but those battles were resolved with Mass combat rules. The game incorporated Fighters and Dropships too along with Infantry and Tanks which allowed you to simulate invading a planet or running an imbalanced forces scenario. This game was addictive and I can remember playing Mechwarrior (RPG addition to Battletech) for many all-night gaming sessions.

Battletech and Role Playing games along with Axis and Allies were played in High School and even at College. I can still fondly remember some of the battles and adventures that we had during that time. After college, I got married and started working in corporate America in Nashville. Gaming was pushed aside for awhile except for traditional games Monopoly, Scrabble, etc that I played with my wife.

Back in college a friend of mine introduced me to a card game where you played a spell caster and the cards were the spells you used to duel against your opponent. It looked okay but I was too busy and financially strapped to start on a new game. Well, in Nashville I met a co-worker's husband who introduced this game to me again and I became hooked on Magic the Gathering. My lovely wife unknowingly bought me a Starter pack from the 4th Edition because she saw how much I was interested without realizing how "interested" I really was... This game was another great evolutionary design in gaming. Yes, I know that it is a marketing and huge money pit but the game itself is pure genius. The idea that you can take a group of cards and build your own deck by combining elements from the cards together into a consistent and cohesive design is incredible and very, very, VERY, addictive. I invested more dollars than I care to admit into this game but I absolutely loved it. I played this game for several years in the late 90's and into the next century. Then played it some after moving back to Atlanta before I made the next change in gaming.

I remember reading about a game based on the Lord of the Rings but one where players worked together in a cooperative game (this was around 2000 or 2001). It was designed by some German by the name of Reiner Knizia and being a Lord of the Rings fan I was keenly interested. I bought the game along with both expansions and learned about a site with similar "German" games called Boardgamegeek. I also found out about an Atlanta group that met at a hobby store and run by Ward Batty. One Sunday night, I made my way over to the store and played Paris Paris and Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers there. It was great to meet other people with similar interests and most importantly I got a contact for a boardgame group that met in Acworth. This would be the group that I joined and even though the founder has since moved to Texas, we have continued to meet and play boardgames. I've been playing with this group for 5+ years now and I have played more games than I knew existed. I am blessed that both of my children have a real interest in games and a wife who has become quite the gamer herself (even if she won't play RPGs or wargames).

Thanks Mr. Gygax for an incredible eye-opening experience that brought me into the wonderful world of gaming.
Rest in Peace.

Lack of Updates

I haven't posted many updates recently for a variety of reasons...
1) My schedule has left me less time for boardgaming (two kids in sports and other activities)
2) Since Christmas, I've been spending more time on PS2 games (Guitar Hero, Final Fantasy, etc)
3) I decided not to post all my game group sessions (although I will add some from time to time).

I'm really enjoying the time with my children. This spring I will be assistant coach for my daughter's soccer team and also for my son's little league baseball team. They grow up quickly and so this takes a lot of time. They also are really enjoying more boardgames than ever and we play as a family on a regular basis. Some new Christmas games that were hits with the kids were...

Zooreka - this is a Cranium game that lets players move around collecting cards to build habitats for their zoos. It is simple (and we added a few house rules to make it more interesting) but the kids really get into the theme and the game is very colorful and tactile.

Ice Cream - this is a light card game but again the theme is what attracts the kids (particularly Heather).

Zooloretto - sure it is a light game for Game of the Year but the kids are both able to play it and it has opportunities for theme to win. Also, tactile with a fun theme. (is there a trend...)

Hare and Tortoise - a classic german boardgame that uses a lot of math skills and really leverages "position" in a race game. My son enjoys it but he has trouble with the decisions (he is only 6) however he likes to roll the die on the Rabbit spaces. Heather, on the other hand, is quite skilled at calculating the amount of carrots to spend to optimize her moves and cross the finish line. A great game for math oriented children.

David and Goliath - a fun card game that I purchased primarily for when we get together with non-gamers that like trick taking games. It is light and has some unique twists that make it fun to play regardless of the cards you are dealt.

Race for the Galaxy - Currently my favorite new game from Christmas. I haven't taught Heather yet (although she is good at San Juan) but this game is really fun. I think it appeals to my Magic the Gathering desires for intricate card combinations and interactions. Race is a game in the vein of San Juan but with more varied cards and strategies. Brian Bankler has many articles on this game on his blog the Tao of Gaming.

Lord of the Rings Confrontation - I've had this game for some time and really enjoy it but my wife doesn't like the artwork and she won't play it with me often. However, Matthew has shown an interest in it and we have played several games now. He seems to be getting some of the strategies and I give him both variant cards but he lacks the strategic thinking to really elevate his game to the next level -- he is only 6!

I have busied myself playing on our new PS2 (yes, we are behind in video game technology) recently and haven't played as many boardgames. This week I played Guitar Hero I and II and finished both games on Medium difficulty. Now I'm trying Hard and it is HARD to complete songs (which is a good thing because it is fun to play even if you can't finish the song).

I'll try to post some more game reviews and strategies over the next few months.

2007 in Review

2007 Games Played
This was the first year that I tracked all* of my boardgames played during a year. In 2007, I played 486 total games (146 unique). A little more detail is in order here:

Top 5 Games played in 2007 (# plays)
1. Fairy Tale (34)
2. To Court the King (26)
3. Uno (19)
4. D&D Labrynth Game (15)
5. San Juan (12)

Fairy Tale was a huge hit with my family. We purchased it for Christmas in 2006 and it became a favorite "filler" for my daughter and son. To Court the King was very popular with Matthew since he could roll a lot of dice, but his favorite game in 2007 was the Dungeons and Dragons Electronic Labrynth Game that I have had since the early 80's. It is still a clever game with plenty of luck but also with some great thematic elements and it is still very playable after over twenty years!

Top 5 Games played in 2007 (at least 60 min in length)
1. Chess (11)
2. That's Life! (9)
3. Power Grid (7)
4. Wits and Wagers (7)
5. Transamerica, Ra, and Marvel Super Heroes (6)

Most of my games are played with family but I was surprised at the number of single plays I had (particularly within my game group). I played 61 titles only once and 52 of those were with my game group. In fact, I only played 14 games more than once with the game group and only 4 titles more than twice: Bang! (8), Power Grid (5), Shogun (4), Last Night on Earth (3), and Caylus (3).

While I'm doing lists I thought I would add a few top 10 lists...

Top 10+ Games I own
1. War of the Ring - My favorite game and I love the theme
2. Puerto Rico - Elegant design and superb multiplayer game
3. Power Grid - Just got the Power Plant expansion
4. Magic the Gathering - I don't invest in the game now but it is still a great design
5. Ra - My favorite risk taking game
6. Caylus - I still prefer this to the Magna Carta version
7. Amun Re - Great Knizia game
8. Settlers of Catan - Still an addictive classic
9. Lord of the Rings - I like both Knizia LotR games but this one I can play with the kids
10. Princes of Florence / Mystery of the Abbey / Ticket to Ride - 3 games that I just had to add to the list.

I would really like to play Tigris and Euphrates more so that I can adequately rate it against these others. Also, World of Warcraft and Race for the Galaxy are new in 2007 and they will both probably find there way onto this list soon. -- speaking of new games.

Top 10 New** games in 2007 (+ Christmas 2006)
1. Race for the Galaxy - Just got it Christmas and I really enjoy this game
2. World of Warcraft the Boardgame - Long but extremely addictive for me
3. Fairy Tale - It has been fun to see my kids learn this game
4. Age of Empires III - Very fun after one play
5. To Court the King - I really like advanced Yahtzee
6. Shogun - Great game but dry theme hurts it a bit
7. Fury of Dracula - I would like to try some more games of this one.
8. Zooloretto - Fun for the family
9. Citadels - A lot of fun with a large group
10. Marvel Super Heroes - Rating has dropped over time but I still like the theme
11. David and Goliath - Great "gateway" game (and I couldn't stop at 10)

* ALL actually refers to games played with family/friends and doesn't count solitaire games or online games.

** NEW for me (not necessarily published in 2007)

War of the Ring Strategy - Part III - House Rules / Variants

In this article I will detail the various changes that I have implemented as House Rules for the Base and Expansion Games. I will also point out why I implemented them and what areas they “fix” in the game (some are just added for fun/variety).

House Rules
South Rhun as a City
This is a fairly well known house rule that changes South Rhun from a Settlement into a City. It really only provides the FP with an opportunity to capture two SP cities for Military Victory (Angmar and South Rhun) since the other SP city is almost impossible to conquer (Far Harad).

Smeagol Tiles
Smeagol Tiles are treated like (0+reveal) tiles instead of (0) tiles. The second Smeagol Tile eliminates Smeagol but doesn’t trigger We Shall Get It!
These changes make Smeagol Tiles weaker and give the SP more opportunities to reveal the Fellowship.

Improved Ents
When the Ent faction is mustered place 1+h Ents in Fangorn where h is the number of Hobbits in Fangorn. If after an Ent attack, the defending Shadow army is completely eliminated, place the attacking Ent in the now-vacated region.
The first rule allows multiple Ents to be placed in Fangorn (as opposed to 1) and makes the Ents much more powerful. I really haven't playtested the first rule yet but it is a work in progress. The second rule prevents single regular units from stalling the Ents and allows the Ents the opportunity to have a real impact in the expansion.

Easterling Cavalry
These units are Elites that can only be mustered in North Rhun or South Rhun. In addition, Elephants can only be mustered in Umbar, Near Harad, and Far Harad. If using the Cavalry then replace the S&E Elite Elephant in South Rhun with an Easterling Cavalry unit.Easterling Cavalry are Elite units that have a Leadership of 1. However, they may not be reduced in order to continue a siege.

Black Uruks

Use a Muster Die to bring in the Black Uruk Faction

• When the Black Uruk Faction is mustered, replace up to 10 Sauron Orcs in the supply with Black Uruks on a 1 for 1 basis (these Sauron Orcs are removed form the game) and place 1 Black Uruk from the supply in any Sauron Stronghold.
• Black Uruks function like Sauron Regulars except that Event Cards cannot muster them.
• Black Uruks act like Elites for the combat card We Come to Kill
• Each Black Uruk sacrificed for Onslaught or Relentless Assault counts as two units.
• If a siege involves equal siege engines on both sides and Black Uruks are in the attacking army, then the FP rolls a die. If the result is equal to or less than the number of Black Uruks in the Shadow Army then the FP may not sacrifice a trebuchet this round in order to gain siege superiority.

The Cavalry and Uruk rules allow players to use the other new pieces from the expansion and provide more variety in combat and strategies.

New Characters

Grima, the Wormtongue
(use a Marker in Edoras to represent Grima)

• Movement 0, Leadership 0
• Add 1 Die to the Shadow Action Pool.
• If Isengard is not at War, SP may use a Muster die to place Grima in Edoras.
• Theoden's Counselor - It costs the FP 1 Army/Muster die to advance Rohan on the political track (instead of just a Muster die).
• Black Whispers - Rohan is only activated by companions or removing Grima. If the Grima Event card is in play then you may draw an event card whenever any Character dice are used to play an event.
• If Helm's Deep or Edoras is attacked, Rohan goes to War, OR Gandalf the White moves to Edoras then Eliminate Grima from the game.
• When Grima leaves the game, move Rohan to War, Muster a Rohan unit (Regular or Elite) in any Free Rohan settlement.

Grima is not considered a Minion for the purpose of playing Gandalf the White. While Saruman is in play, Grima does not add 1 die to the Shadow Action Pool.

Grima provides a consistent method for the Shadow to halt Rohan’s development. He also gives the SP an opportunity to get two action dice with the first two Musters (Balrog and Grima). He can only be mustered pre-Saruman so he cannot replace a lost Saruman Action die. He also slows down the Rohan politics and combines well with his card (if drawn). The primary drawback of Grima is that Gandalf the White can move to Edoras and get Rohan to War quickly along with a free unit.

Elrond, Lord of Rivendell
(Use a figure to represent Elrond in Rivendell)

• Movement 0, Leadership 2
• If Saruman is in play and neither Gandalf the White nor Galadriel are in play, use a Muster die to play Elrond in Rivendell.
• Council of Elrond – Use an Elven Ring to change any action die into a Will of the West
• Healing Guidance – Remove 1 Corruption by using a Will of the West AND 1 Elven Ring.
• Elladan and Elrohir – Use a Will of the West to move an Elven unit (Regular or Elite) and an Elven Leader from Rivendell to the region with Strider/Aragorn. This unit can move into a stronghold under siege.
• Wisdom of Elrond - Use a Will of the West to activate any Free People’s nation and advance it one step on the political track OR to advance two active nations, one step each, on the political track.

If Elrond AND Galadriel are in play, or have been in play, then the SP may muster the Mouth of Sauron with a Muster die.

Elrond is designed primarily as an alternative to Galadriel. One problem with the expansion is the focus on Lorien. Elrond allows Rivendell to draw some attention and also provides some interesting assistance to the Free Peoples player. He can help the Ringbearers with Healing Guidance, assist Strider/Aragorn by sending aid, activate and energize the FP nations with Wisdom of Elrond, and his Council ability allows the FP to get Will of the West when needed. He doesn’t add a FP action die though and if he and Galadriel are mustered then the SP gets to bring in the Mouth of Sauron early. Otherwise, Elrond is not a huge drawback, but many of his abilities require Elven Rings, which can be dangerous with the new and improved Witch King (see below).

Witch King (Chief of Ringwraiths)

• Movement (Inf.), Leadership 2
• Add 1 die to the Shadow Action Pool.
• Play the Witch-king, Chief of the Ringwraiths in a Free Region with the Fellowship or in a region occupied by a Shadow Army, using a Muster die.
• When the Witch-king, Chief of the Ringwraiths enters play, Muster 2 Nazgûl in any 2 Sauron Strongholds (1 in each).
• Shadow of Despair - if the Witch-king is in play, each Nazgûl in the Region (including the Witch-king) grants one Hunt re-roll.
• He Sees, He Knows - if the Fellowship is declared in a Region, which is not a Free Peoples Stronghold, you may immediately move the Witch King to the Region with the Fellowship.
• Hound for the Dark Lord - When Witch-king, Chief of the Ringwraiths enters play, draw 3 Hunt tiles and choose 1 to be removed from the Game. This ability can be used again by discarding an Elven Ring and an Action die. Any Smeagol tiles drawn do not bring Smeagol into play AND they may be chosen as the tile removed.
• The Ring draws them – If the Fellowship is revealed AND you play a character card with a Palantir action die result, then immediately draw a new Character card.
  
  This version of the Witch King makes him more tempting and useful in the Hunt than the published expansion WK. For starters, he can be mustered into a Shadow Army, which allows the SP to get the WK at any time (instead of only when the FSP is not in a FP Stronghold/City). He comes out with two Nazgul, which allows his hunting to be more effective without Sauron being at War (and is also like a free Muster). His card cycling ability is only useful when the FSP is revealed but this can be very useful in cycling Character cards and improving the Corruption strategy. Finally, his ability to use Elven Rings (and one time use when he enters play) allows the SP to remove some Hunt Tiles (including removing Smeagol!) but only out of a limited random pool. Overall, these improvements make the Chief a much more viable option for the SP and since he doesn’t automatically activate nations he offers a different feel to the game.

Event / Combat Card Modifications

These changes to cards are to improve event/combat card effects. The changes are underlined for each card.

Shadow Events Changes in BLUE
Flocks of Crebain
Play Table. SP gets one re-roll on all Hunt rolls. Discard "Flocks of Crebain" to add 1 to the Hunt Roll. Discard if FSP Declares in a FP City or Stronghold.
Return to Valinor
SP Control Elven Stronghold. For each Elven Stronghold not under siege: Roll 1 die for each Elven Unit hitting on 5+.
Denethor’s Folly
Minas Tirith under Siege. Play Table. Eliminate 1 FP Leader in MT. FP player can't use Combat Cards for MT battles or sacrifice Trebuchets. FP can discard using Will or any action die if Gandalf or Aragorn in MT.
Stormcrow
FSP or FP Companion inside a Nation's Borders that is not "At War". Move Nation 1 step back on Political Track and the shadow player eliminates one Leader from that Nation.
Corsairs are upon us!
Move all ships. Move an Army from a Region with a Ship to a Region with a Ship. Move/Attack with that Army. FP cannot play a Card during 1st round of any ensuing battle. If FP withdraws into Stronghold, then SP gets 1 Free Siege Tower against that Stronghold.

Flocks of Crebain becomes much more powerful than it was previously. Return to Valinor is actually playable. Denethor's Folly impacts siege engines. Stormcrow allows SP to choose the casualty. Corsairs is useful again.

FP Events
Gwaihir, the Windlord
Move or Separate one or more Companions from the FSP as if they were level 4. They can move into or out of a Stronghold under siege.
The Last Battle
Aragorn or Gandalf the White with FP Army in S or N Ithilien, Dagorlad, or Mordor. Play Table. Action dice used to move the FSP are not placed in the Hunt Box. Elven Rings used by the FP are removed from the game. Discard this card as soon as a FP Army is not in one of the Regions above.
Threat to the Fiefs of the South
Southrons and Easterlings at War. Recruit 1 Gondor Regular in Pelagir, Lossarnach, and Lamedon. Roll a die for every Ship in a Gondor Region and remove it on 4+.
Wisdom of Elrond
Activate a Free Peoples nation and advance it on the political track OR advance two active Free Peoples nations on the political track.
The Eagles are Coming!
Companion in FP Army in or adjacent to Region with both an SP Army and Nazgul. Roll 1 die per Nazgul present (max 5) and eliminate one for every 5+. All other Nazgul in that Region move to Barad Dur. Witch King is unaffected by this card.
Mirror of Galadriel
Add a Will of the West action die to your available action dice. Also, if the Fellowship is in Lorien you may immediately heal one Corruption.
There is Another Way
Immediately heal on corruption. Then if Gollum, or Smeagol, is the guide, you may move or hide the Fellowship.

Big changes are in Wisdom of Elrond and re-design of Mirror or Galadriel. Mirror allows avoidance of turn stalls in some situations (greatly helping FP player).

FP Combat Effects
Daring Defiance
Companion in the Battle. Shadow player's combat card effect is cancelled. One Companion’s Leadership is forfeit for this battle round.
Among the Siege Engines
For each hit you score during your leader re-roll, you may eliminate one enemy siege engine (if one is present) in addition to your hit.
Last Defenses
FP Siege Engine in Battle. Treat Trebuchets as Regulars for this combat round.
It is a Gift
The defending or attacking Army is in the FSP Region. Add 1 to all dice on your Combat roll and Leader re-roll.

These changes allow the FP many more combat options and improve many combat effects that were never very helpful.

In Summary

These changes really provide a lot of interesting openings and help to make event/combat cards more interesting and decisions more meaningful. Hopefully, they add more variety and options to both sides while maintaining most of the game balance.

Session Reports Oct 2 - Nov 6

Oct 2
Steve's House.
Attendees (6): Steve, Warren, Sharon, Michael, Adam, and Troy

Discretion
Discretion was an interesting game that was designed back in the late 70's. It has some clever mechanics involving how players place their developments but the game also has a ton of randomness. Players can try to prepare for it but sometimes a "death spiral" becomes inevitable and bankruptcy ensues.

We had a long game of discretion where only Sharon, Troy, and I remained until the end. Steve, Warren, and Adam went bankrupt through various means during the game. Sharon pulled away at the end and I was lucky to finish with any cash and avoid bankruptcy. Final scores: Sharon $5,850k; Troy $2,870k, and Michael $1,360k.

Oct 16
Our House.
Attendees (11): Sharon, Warren, Andy, David, Heather, Barbara, Chris, Michael, Troy, Matt, and Steve.

Pirate's Cove
Final: Sharon (44), Andy (36), David (23), and Warren (19).

Amun Re
Heather (49), Barbara (45), and Andrew (43)

Age of Empires III
This was my first time to play this highly rated game. It has worker placement like Caylus and area control plus some other elements that I had played before in various games all combined into one well-themed colonization game. I particularly likes the multiple strategies that the game offers allowing players to go for different VP elements. The game was a little lengthy but it was also was our first game and it kept me engaged throughout. I ended up following a heavy money strategy and leveraged my Sugar trade tiles to good effect, but ultimately it was Chris's exploration strategy that pulled out the victory.
Final Score: Chris (90), Michael (86), Matt (67), Troy(59), and Steve (44).

Caylus
A close 5 player game of Caylus.
Final Scores: Andrew (68), Warren (59), Sharon (57), David (55), and Andy (49).

Oct 20
David's House.
David hosted a Saturday game day (with Halloween theme) that I was able to make and I brought my 6 yr old Matthew to attend. (He got to play boardgames and video games)
Attendees (9): Mary Ellen, David, Sharon, Troy, Michael, Cheryl, Warren, Andy, and Matthew

Cowboys: The Way of the Gun
This was a game that David wanted to try out. We played the OK Coral scenario. The game is interesting thematically and other scenarios probably flesh it out more. It attempts to re-create gun fight situations but ultimately is a dice rolling game with only a little strategy. On the other hand, it didn't take long and once familiar with the rules it might be a fun filler

Give Me the Brain
This is a light card game about Zombies running a fast food franchise and they only have one brain to use... humorous but only a filler. I was lucky to be sitting next to Mary Ellen when we switched hands and I was able to go out for the win.

Fearsome Floors
This is a humorous game where players try to get across the dungeon without getting eaten by the Monster. It requires luck and timing along with some logic skills to succeed. When Andy arrived he took over for Cheryl and together they were able to pull out the victory.

Last Night on Earth
This was another game that David wanted to get to the table and it fit in perfectly to close out the night of monster themed games. This one has a ton of theme and really plays like a "B" zombie flick. Players play various characters and pickup equipment and weapons to fight off a bunch of brain-eating zombies. We played the intro-scenario Kill the Zombies! and it was okay but the other scenarios looked to add a lot more to the game. It turned out that the heroes were able to kill 15 Zombies in time...

Oct 23
David's House
Attendees(6): Matt, Andy, Mary Ellen, David, Andrew, and Michael

Last Night on Earth x2
We played two more games of Last Night on Earth.
The first game was the Defend the Manor House scenario where the heroes tried to defend the house in the middle of the board from the invading zombies. Jake (played by Matt) tried to lure many of the zombies to him so he could blow them up with dynamite but he was able to kill many of them without blowing himself up, Sheriff Anderson (played by Andy) shot several zombies too, but ultimately the female characters (Becky, Jenny, and Sally) were zombie food and this was too much for the heroes.
The 2nd game was closer as the heroes tried to find the keys and gasoline to start an old pick-up truck and escape from the zombies. Johnny (Andy) and Father Joseph (me) killed 9 zombies combined but once again Becky, Sally, and Jenny got eaten by Zombies and Sheriff Anderson too. Even though Father Joseph, Jake, and Johnny were going to get away once 4 heroes fall to the zombies then it is a zombie victory.
The game was much more enjoyable with the scenarios since they added the "plot" to the game and made decisions seem more meaningful. All in all, a fun game with a great theme.

Oct 26
David's House
Attendees(2): David and Michael

Twilight Struggle
I went over to David's to play Twilight Struggle. Twilight Struggle is a card-driven game about the Cold War between the USA and Soviet Russia.
We got in most of one game and then completed most of a 2nd game. In both games one side got ahead and seemed to be in control of most of the board. We missed up several rules in the first game but it was a lot of fun. This game really forces players to make hard decisions to try an minimize the damage that their opponent will do to them. The theme is well crafted and the tactical decisions abound without feeling "stale" and without being simply a move/counter type of game. I would definitely play it again even though the game took us a lot of time to play (about 3+ hrs). In both games I played the US and David won game one while I won game two.

Oct 30
David's House
Attendees (7): David, Cheryl, Troy, Sharon, Adam, Warren, and Michael

Fury of Dracula
This was a game that I have wanted to play for some time. Andrew was unable to make it but he had just bought this game and loaned it to me so we could play it on Halloween Eve (thanks Andrew!). It is a great deduction/hunt game that oozes with theme. I played Dracula while Cheryl, Sharon, David, and Troy played the 4 hunters. Once they got on my trail, they were impossible to shake. I tried turning into a Wolf and was attacked by David (Van Helsing). He wounded me badly but I escaped out to Sea. Then I was hounded after arriving back on land but I got lucky with a trap. Nina (Troy) came after me but I had an event card that allowed my new vampire to automatically "bite" Nina and this gave me 2 pts toward victory! I had to only hold out for a few turns before my army of vampires became too strong for the humans to stop...bwha ha ha! Anyway, it was a fun game and I was very lucky to pull out the victory as the heroes seemed to have me cornered at every move. It seemed very difficult to get any hidden cards into the catacombs and I wasn't able to get even one during our first game.

Nov 6
Troy's House
Attendees (5): Troy, Michael, Steve, Andrew, and Adam

Escalation!
A humorous and light card game from Reiner Knizia. This game was okay but there are a lot of other card games that I would prefer. It is a light filler and it does this job well.
Scores (low is better): Troy (28), Michael (34), Adam (48), Andrew (74), and Steve (83).

Princes of Florence
I really want to get this one to the table more often. It has so many interesting elements and I haven't figured out the optimum strategy yet. In this one, I ended up with 3 builders and actually filled almost my whole board with tiles (something I hadn't done previously), however Andrew and Adam had superior strategies and they racked up bonus Prestige at the end.
Final Scores: Troy (42), Steve (44), Michael (53), Andrew (62), and Adam (63).

War of the Ring Strategy - Part II – The Expansion Game

In this article, I will discuss how the Twilight of the Third Age expansion affects the strategies and game-play of the standard game. I will discuss the added components and the value they bring to the game. Also, I will cover some of the issues that the expansion does not address effectively.

Factions
Dunlendings
The Dunlendings are an interesting addition to the Isengard armies. Normally, Isengard was unable to conquer Rohan easily since the Isengard forces are generally split between Isengard and Dunland. Capturing Helm’s Deep is often easy but getting Edoras can be tricky and often an un-checked Rohan can develop quite a formidable army in Edoras. The Dunlendings allow the SP to Muster additional troops directly in Rohan and this “forward mustering” capability is offset by their relative weakness in combat. Clever maneuvering allows the SP to reduce this combat weakness by separating Dunlendings from each other so that each individual unit is like a Regular in combat. However, this takes some time to achieve. Finally, the Dunlendings provide a threat to bolster Dunland/Moria and strike Lorien/Rivendell/Shire. Overall, they are useful but not needed every game so I really like their design in the expansion.

Corsairs of Umbar
The Corsairs faction provides the SP with a more strategic method for attacking Dol Amroth. Now the SP can siege this Stronghold when needed without having to draw a particular card. This flexibility comes at a cost, since the time it takes to muster S&E to War and to muster/move the Corsairs takes quite a few actions. Also, the Corsairs do allow for an assault on the Gray Havens from the Sea and they provide the SP with an easy way to reinforce sieges via the ships. I personally think that they are a good addition, but I’m not a big fan of the Corsairs card or the fact that mustering the faction actually doesn’t provide any “military” units (only ships). They can be useful but often they are just not needed and unless SP rolls lots of early musters they often don’t see play.

Ents of Fangorn
This is the only faction for the FP. Now the Ents are not just a part of the Character deck for the FP and they can strike more than just Isengard. The Ents do require a character in Fangorn (often a Hobbit or GtW) and a valuable muster die. However, they now put an extra cost on Saruman’s Voice ability, which was a key method for Isengard to muster a quick and powerful army. The ability to have the Ents attack Isengard, or clear away units in Rohan, or even protect Lorien adds a lot of options to the FP. However, strategically placed Dunlendings can contain them and they often don’t roll enough hits to warrant the effort to bring them into the game. I think that the Ents are a neat addition to the game but I wish they were a little more effective (but not so good that you would always need to muster them).

Siege Engines
The siege engines (towers and trebuchets) add to the complexity of siege combat. They do help the SP utilize late game musters more effectively and they provide the FP with good use of muster dice for active nations (not at War). The superiority rules and combat effects are very tightly balanced and I’ve seen discussions that they favor both sides (which means that they are pretty useful). They can draw out sieges by allowing the FP to sacrifice them for superiority and then muster more or to end sieges when the SP can continue without having to reduce Elites. I personally like the rule that allows the active nations to muster Siege Engines since this was one point that I argued for heavily during playtesting. Originally, they were only for nations (at War) and this greatly hindered the FP’s use for them.

New Characters
The Balrog
The Balrog allows the SP to get an extra die with only 1 muster and to control when he shows up in Moria. Like the Corsairs, the Balrog is an improvement since he can now be mustered when strategically needed and is not dependent on drawing a card at the right time. Also, he comes along with an Elite so mustering him is even better. He can “kill” the FSP guide when an Eye is drawn (adding more flavor and theme to the game). His downside is that the Dwarves, Men, and especially Elves advance 1 step politically. This is a big help for the FP and keeps the Balrog from being a “no-brainer” decision. I really think that he was a good design element and wouldn’t change anything from the design.

Galadriel
Probably the change with the most impact was the addition of Galadriel. She provides the FP with a critical action die when mustered and allows Gandalf the Grey to truly shine as the guide of the Fellowship. Her abilities to remove Eye tiles with Elven Rings and to muster Elves even when under siege are both interesting and useful too. The requirements for obtaining Galadriel changed quite a bit in playtesting but I am happy with the final version that requires either the Elves or Sauron to be at War. This puts extra emphasis on mustering the Elves early (and the impact of the Balrog) and it delays Sauron (and the base game Witch King) from going to War until after the Elves are at War OR the SP is willing to allow Galadriel to enter play.
Galadriel addressed two of my concerns from the base game. Namely, she varies the possible FP strategies and SP opening moves while providing an action die without requiring a Will of the West dice result. This makes her the addition to the game critical and simply makes the game much better in multiple ways.

Witch King, Chief of the Ringwraiths
The new Witch King adds an interesting element to the game. He can be mustered when Sauron is not At War and therefore can come into play without brining Galadriel into the game directly. He allows for more Hunt Re-rolls with multiple Nazgul and he doesn’t activate all the FP nations when he enters play. He must, however, be mustered in the region with the Fellowship and so can only enter games where Rivendell has fallen or the FSP is revealed. His hunting abilities are useful but since he lacks the card drawing power of the original WK he is considerably weaker. Also, successful hunting is further weakened by Galadriel’s ability to remove Eyes and the addition of Smeagol (below). Finally, the new WK has no special abilities once the FSP is in Mordor, which further limits his effectiveness.
This character was the biggest disappointment for me as I tried to continually argue for him to be more interesting and comparable to the original WK. I wanted him to provide an interesting choice for the SP. The WK chosen should really impact the “feel” of the game and both should be viable with different strategies. Instead, I would never choose this version of the WK except for a casual game where I wanted to “explore” different options.

Smeagol
Smeagol was added to the expansion in order to do two things. First, the corruption damage was so tough in the base game that the Fellowship had to stay together just to absorb all the potential damage. This meant that there was little opportunity to explore separating companions to defend/activate the Free Peoples and the designers wanted more opportunity for this. Second, most if not all of the playtesters wanted the FP to have a way to avoid the turn stalls. Smeagol became the means to do just that. He went through many versions but the design to include him in the Hunt Pool (instead of as an FP action die choice) was very creative and meant that neither side could predict when he might show up (but they had some minor control over it).
I think that he adds a lot of interesting elements to the expansion and I was very pleased with the design when it was first given to us. However, over many games I think that he gives too much value to the FP and really limits the corruption opportunities unless they separate several companions.

Re-makes / New Cards
Ents – These cards add nice value since they allow the FP to draw or play additional cards and don’t require Gandalf the White to be in Rohan/Fangorn to play.
Dunlendings – Okay effect.
Balrog – Often this is only used for combat but once in a while it allows the Balrog to venture forth and harass the FSP or lead a siege.
Corsairs – Strictly worse then the original surprise card. Would be much better if it actually helped the siege on Dol Amroth (95% of the time the target).
Wind from the West / Three Rings for Elven Kings / Rangers of the North – Great effects. Combat cards are okay but not used very often.
Threats to the Fiefs in the South – This card is useless unless Corsairs are in play and then only marginal.
Gates are Closed / Captain of Despair – Excellent event cards with great combat cards.
Deep Trenches and Great Engines – Very powerful card. Combat card is weak.
Shadow of Dol Goldur – Useful in some situations but weakest new SP event card.

To be continued in Part III House Rules / Variants.