This weekend my girlfriend and I decided to just go crazy and play tabletop games over a 24hr period. Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.
This is how it went, with a running score total as I go.
DAY ONE
MAG-BLAST (2002)
Until I met my girlfriend, I’d never even heard of MAG-BLAST. She loved it, and she really wanted to teach it to me. Her enthusiasm has, for a while now, had me eager to see what it was all about.
She owns the second edition which I think has the better art compared to the more cartoony third edition. It also (we discovered while putting the cards away) takes its races from TWILIGHT IMPERIUM. So, bonus points there.
MAG-BLAST is a card game where each player has a flag ship they are trying to protect, which they do by surrounding it with Fleet ships in each of the four sectors. These can be Carriers, Cruisers, Scouts, and more. Then, using action cards, each player proceeds to shoot lasers, launch fighters, steal ships, set out minefields, and a myriad of other things that will annoy an opponent to no end.
I really like this game. It does rely on getting the cards you need at the right time, so I can see some players struggling when things don’t go to plan. But being made vulnerable when you don’t pick up what you need is balanced out by the absolute joy of getting a Direct Hit card and a Boarding Party card at just the right time. Because then I’m stealing your Dreadnought. And I’ll be laughing like the Joker as I do.
I really enjoyed MAG-BLAST, but unfortunately, my enthusiasm for the game wasn’t matched by my skills. I lost both games. Must train harder.
ME: 0
GIRLFRIEND: 1
KINGDOMINO (2016)
Lock down has made meeting up with people to play boardgames a little . . . difficult. Up until now, the girlfriend and I have been playing DRAUGHTS and CHESS on a phone app. The only time we tried a video chat game was almost two months ago when we played KINGDOMINO over Zoom.
Getting together in person was a chance to get this to the table in real life. Having some experience of this game allowed us to get straight into it (every other game this weekend was either brand new to both of us, or one was teaching the other for the first time).
And to be fair, KINGDOMINO is easy to pick up and plays quick too. The aim is to select domino’s that have different landscapes on them and slowly build your kingdom around your castle. The balance comes from knowing when to choose the weaker and stronger dominoes from the available column, as this affects the order of play for the next round. Grab a poor domino and you have first choice next time around, but get the best domino from the ones on offer, and you’ll be last to pick , which means no choice at all.
We played two games. First one we both had incomplete kingdoms, but I did manage a perfect 5×5 on the second. While this isn’t necessary to win, it always feels pretty damn good.
And I also took both victories giving me my first point on the scoreboard for the weekend.
ME: 1
GF: 1
HANAMIKOJI (2013)
A few months ago, we both started looking at bulking up the two-player-only section of our collection. The girlfriend picked up HANAMIKOJI. Her choice was mostly based on its art, which is amazing, but upon further investigation, we found a clever and tactical game beneath the gorgeous hood.
At first glance HANAMIKOJI looks a little simple. Both players are trying to carry the favour of seven Geisha’s using a selection of gifts that are specific to each.
But it’s not a case of just placing cards wherever you feel like. Each player has four tokens allowing each player to make only four different types of moves. And each move can only be made once per round.
It changes everything and means that planning your move needs some serious consideration. You can keep a card secret, remove two cards from play, let your opponent pick one out of three while you keep the other two, and finally you can select two pairs of cards, letting your opponent take two while you keep the remaining. And while this sounds unfair from your point of view, they have to sacrifice their own hand back to you.
It’s always tough, either which move you should make, or which cards you should present to your enemy. We really enjoyed this aspect of the game. Both being tied into the same limited decision and knowing that one false move could give your opponent the exact card they need.
I was leading in the first round, and managed to get four geishas at the end of the second round to take the win.
ME: 2
GF: 1
FOG OF LOVE (2017)
We rounded out the first day with the main course of our weekend. I bought FOG OF LOVE for the girlfriend a few weeks back because I’m a big softie, the game has always looked interesting, and I finally had my Player 2 to enjoy it with.
FOG OF LOVE is an interesting one, because while it is a game like any other, with objectives to achieve (Traits) and scores to keep (Satisfaction), to really enjoy it, I feel that you have to get into your characters and just mess around with it.
Your characters are created at the beginning of play with names, jobs, and features being picked. And while each player is working towards a binary target that only they know, it can be so much fun on top of the main game to just be a silly as you can.
So, while fun-loving TV star Peter Peterson just wanted to have fun and see where things went, Wedding Planner Trudi Richardson was working hard to make the relationship work while also secretly starting her own business.
We didn’t really play the game part of FOG OF LOVE until maybe mid-way through chapter two, as we were having fun playing our characters. My girlfriend got lucky and was on a good path. I, on the other hand, saw my goals in the distance and realised I wouldn’t make it. And when the girlfriend resolved enough of her traits to cause my Destiny to be null and void, she took the victory of our first play through.
ME: 2
GF: 2
DAY TWO
KAHUNA (1998)
My FLGS started selling games over a month ago and I wanted to support them during this hardship that was the Covid Lock Down. After my first trip where I purchased THE CREW: QUEST FOR PLANET 9, and MEGALAND, I checked their online store a few days later and saw two perfect 2-player only games.
The first was PARIS: LA CITE DE LA LUMIERE, which we’ve yet to play, and the other was KAHUNA, which I knew would be exactly the kind of game we would both enjoy.
In KAHUNA, you play as two gods who are trying to control twelve islands. This is done by drawing island specific cards and placing bridges from or to these islands. Enough bridges leave an island in your colour, and you control the island. But don’t get complacent; your opponent can remove your bridges and sometimes this starts a chain reaction where you can do nothing but watch your control fall away.
It has an OTHELLO feel. Black and White with a back and forward tug of war until the end. Very simple to learn and looks basic to play, but a lot of thinking and planning required in the later turns when choosing market cards to pick for your hand and deciding when to play them.
We really enjoyed this. I struggled to gain a foothold the first round, caught up the second round, and then somehow pulled off a lucky move near the end of the third and final round to take the win.
ME: 3
GF: 2
STAR REALMS (2014)
When the girlfriend started looking to get her own 2-player only games she asked for my advice. Earlier that week I’d watched the Will Wheaton Tabletop playthrough of STAR REALMS. When she told me about her love of MAG-BLAST, I figured she might get on with this too.
STAR REALMS is a sci-fi deck building game. It’s all about buying better ships and outposts from a market and then blowing the living crap out of your opponent before they do the same to you. And as with all deck builders, you start off poor and weak, but soon it’s all about chaining cards together to maximum effect.
We both really like this. I started well enough and got a few decent hits in, but the girlfriend began building up an impressive deck, and when she got hold of The Needle, which has the ability to mimic another ship in your hand, she used it twice to great effect. With her last attack, she utilised The Needle and hit me for 20 when I only had 19 points left.
I can only bow down to her superiority with space combat card games.
ME: 3
GF: 3
THE FOX IN THE FOREST (2017)
When looking for 2-player only games, THE FOX IN THE FOREST was one of the first games on my hitlist, suggested by a lot of fellow gamers. Coupled with our familiarity with the card game TRUMPS, this was easy to pick up and pretty quick to play.
A simple trick taking game, but bolstered with five of the numbered cards having powers would be fun enough. But add in the interesting scoring mechanic where your potential score rises only so far before it goes back to zero, thus forcing you to not get carried away and have to purposefully lose some hands, means it has a little more tactical depth than the basic card game version.
Another game we picked up quick, I took an early lead but then looked to lose it for the next two rounds before having a good final run and taking the victory.
ME: 4
GF: 3
TAKENOKO (2011)
TAKENOKO, or Panda Nom Nom, as it’s more affectionately known, is one of my top ten games to date. I’ve only played it three times, but I’ve won each time. I’d previously told this stat to the girlfriend, and she thought it was adorable that I hoped to continue my winning streak forever.
She told me not to forget to bring TAKENOKO with me when I stayed over.
I got quite nervous.
A pretty cute game where players vie to complete mission cards (eat certain bamboo, grow certain bamboo, play certain tiles), TAKENOKO looks like a friendly peaceful and fun game, but seething rivalry and a lack of mercy simmer just beneath the surface.
It was a fun play, but I saw the girlfriend completing task after task and constantly eating my pink bamboo. Despite a surprising rush of completed tasks towards the end, I fell to defeat.
And then I wept.
ME: 4
GF: 4
SUSHI ROLL (2019)
I’ve played SUSHI GO! and SUSHI GO! PARTY a few times now and enjoy the cute artwork and amount of competitiveness that comes from fighting over Maki Rolls and Puddings. But switching from cards to dice? I couldn’t at first see that this would work in the same way.
A couple of reviews later, coupled with my girlfriend’s love of board games and sushi, and she was opening my present to her with a big smile on her face.
And the verdict? I think SUSHI ROLL is the superior version. The addition of refreshing your hand each pick, as well as being able to see every hand on the table at all times, means there’s no trying your damnedest to remember what cards might be coming your way. And the evil genius of the Swap tiles dropped a few tactical moments into our laps so it didn’t fall into auto pilot.
We both picked it up quickly, we both battled bravely, but only one person could accrue the most Puddings. And with the added bonus of having a nice pile of menus left for a few extra points, I took the final win of the weekend.
ME: 5
GF: 4
THE END
And that was it. 25 hours after arriving, I left. It was a close fought battle, all the way to the wire, but I managed to take victory. I know my girlfriend will be planning her next move and biding her time for revenge.
For the war is not over. And I fear she may not go as gentle on me next time.
Always Play Blue 