Black Sonata - Shakespeare for the win!

We have been thoroughly enjoying the game Black Sonata recently.

It calls to mind one of my favorite games, Scotland Yard, but it allows you to play it solo.

My print-and-play version, after winning.

The game is very simple. But I love this elegant mechanic: you have a deck of location cards that can go in a number of different but specific orders. Once the cards are in order, you cut the deck, and the symbol on the top of the deck tells you where the dark lady is right now. However, there are multiple places on the map with that symbol on them. So you're not sure which of those is the exact one she is in.

You have to play a little chasing game in order to find her, and when you find her you get a clue as to her identity. Then she flees again. the clues give you a little side game. A logic puzzle wherein you have to figure out which three symbols you are being led to with the help of each clue card.

Once you have enough clues to figure out which of the women in the dark lady deck she is, you find her one last time, see if you are correct (a reveal that is similar to that in Clue) and either win or lose right then and there.

My only concern with the game is this: is it possible to memorize the dark lady cards? I doubt it, at least for me, but if you have a good memory, I wonder if that would ruin the game for anyone. Maybe the publishersp can issue new dark lady cards every year...? Those could be easy and fun little $5-or-so expansions.

Those Darn Terraforming Mars Expansions...

So I played Terraforming Mars again today — this time with the Colonies expansion, which I just purchased the other day. I'm starting to think that I just don't like the expansions (other than the extra playing boards). None of them are really worth it.

I *love* the extra project cards that they each add to the deck; those are fun. But the Prelude expansion just gives you a couple of extra things at the beginning of the game but they don't really go very far; Venus adds extra confusion and I already have enough to think about while I'm terraforming Mars; Colonies didn't really add anything interesting (it was expensive to add use the colonies, and really would just maybe bump up production on something by one, or give you a little extra money -- but it cost a lot to use it).

And I don't like the new solo rules because I liked playing the way that's printed on the darn boards! Anyone else out there feel the same way? Just wondering if I'm the only one missing something here. 🤔

I guess what I'm saying is, unless you have the luxury of having a great game group that gets together a lot and likes to play games like this over and over and over, then you really don't need the expansions. People say they speed up the game, but I haven't found that to be the case at all, and the base game is complex enough if you're only going to play it a couple of times a year.

Terraforming Mars is one of my favorite games and I really wanted to love these. But I can't in good conscience ever recommend them. I wish they would sell the project cards separately to people who don't want to buy the expansions.

Grease Monkey Garage

Okay, yes, we are going a little print-and-play crazy these days... But we recently discovered lists of these free games that are available, so we are trying the ones that look the most interesting!

Grease Monkey Garage is today's game. It's a fun and easy little worker placement game where you are trying to obtain and fix cars by using your workers to gather the supplies needed, which are listed on each vehicle's card.

It's not easy, because when the pile of cards is used up, the game ends after one more round. And the pile of cards is not a big one!

We think it is more fun to play it with other people than solo. in Solo, the game goes by so quickly and you feel like you don't get enough done. You just need one or two more turns. Plus, there isn't really an opponent to beat, you just have to keep trying to beat your high score. I prefer mechanics in solo play that are more like the opponent in Tiny Epic Galaxies or Mint Works, where you have someone working against you.

One of the downsides of print and plays is that sometimes the people creating them are not very responsive, plus there are usually a ton of typos (which are of course not exclusive to unprinted rule books). Did I mention that as a side business I am a proofreader? 🤣 I need to get involved in some of these rule books...

The graphics are great and it's just a really quick game. We need to get our friends together for a quick game day and play about 20 games in a couple of hours 😄

Here's the link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/200691/grease-monkey-garage/files

2-Player Games

What are some of your favorite two-player games?

- We love Agricola All Creatures Big and Small. it plays very similarly to the big version of Agricola, which can take a couple of hours to play, depending on how many you are playing with, but the two-player version hones it down to maybe 30 to 45 minutes. My son still prefers the full version of Agricola, but it takes so long that we never pull it out of the closet. Sadness!

- Mr. Jack Pocket — stressful! But fun to play either as the detectives or as Mr. Jack. You only have a certain number of turns to do what you need to do to win.

- Akrotiri — you are building a map and using your ship to try and fulfill victory point goals. It's beautiful, and I feel like I'm going on a little bit of an adventure whenever I play it.

- Quarto is a great fast game, I love that you are picking the piece for the other person to put down. It's maybe a little bit like Connect Four, but since there are more ways to win, it really keeps you on your toes!

- Chaos — I guess I have a few of these modern and faster chess/checkers type of games on my list. Notice that chess and checkers are not on my list 😄

- Nowhere to Go, Razzle, and Input are all fun plastic games to pull out. By that I mean that they are on a plastic board with some plastic pieces and there's not a lot to them, but they are simply ingenious and addictive.

- Hive is a wonderful little game that everyone always enjoys. You each have a set of insect tiles — each insect has different ways that it can move — and you are trying to surround the other person's bee before they can surround yours.

- Steam Torpedo — it's lower on my list because it is clunkier, but I really appreciate the art and mechanics of it. You each create a submarine out of a set of tiles in front of you. Each room of your submarine has different defenses, crew, and ways to attack. Then there is a separate board where you track how your submarines are moving around each other so you can set yourself up to attack an area of their ship. You are just trying to destroy theirs before they can destroy yours. okay it's harder to explain than I thought it would be in one or two sentences. It really is a unique game.

I wish I could play all of these more, but the games that I end up pulling out more our games that I can play solitaire, or games that I can play with a group of four. I need to have a game night where I invite a few people over and we just pair off and play solitaire games, switching opponents after each one.

Spring Games

With Saint Paddy's Day around the corner, my friends and I were wondering if it would be a fun excuse to pull out some games and enjoy them with our Guinness and Irish stew. So what do we have that might fit in with the theme? We scanned our list and came up with a few goodies...

Get Lucky

This is the only one with the word "Lucky" in the title. I don't have the full board game, just this little card game, but it is a fun game full of murderous intentions and friendly backstabbing.

March of the Ants

Okay, yes, we are already grasping at straws here. Not a lot of Irish stuff on the shelves. But I chose this one because it hash"March" in the title, it is one of my newer games and I am really enjoying it! I purchased it used and think it was a Kickstarter game. Easy rules, with instructions on all the cards that explain what to do, which I love! Lots of different strategies to try to win. Is it spring themed? Sure, why not ;)

Bring Your Own Book

I thought this could be a fun one if you happen to have some Irish/spring books on your bookshelves. This is an easy Cards Against Humanity style party game. Someone draws a card that asks for an answer, and do you have to quickly have to quickly paw through the book you've chosen to play with, then you all laugh and pick the best one :) I'm a little over those types of games, but with a new crowd, they are always fun. This one tends to get more tedious, so we never play it as long as it suggests we do.

Terraforming Mars

Wait, what is spring themed about this one? Well you're going around planting trees! Starting new life! What could be more Earth-/Arbor-Day-ish? It also happens to be one of my favorite games. The cards make it interesting and force you to change up your strategy each time you play.

Catan British Isles

Ah, there we go! Ireland on the map! This one requires the Seafarers Expansion and possibly some labels that you make yourself. But it certainly fulfills my St. Patrick's Day needs. Maybe you can change the robber into snakes that you have to drive out of your territory ;)

Photosynthesis

Again, a game in keeping with the tree planting theme of spring and Earth Day and Arbor Day. This is a fun and easy one that is made for a younger crowd, but is actually pretty tricky to master and I enjoy playing it with a table full of adults. And, let's face it, it's a beautiful game.

What are you playing at your spring party? Let us know in the comments!

Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game

Hi there! I'm Atticus Levy, and I am now one of the Editors on Pile of Games! I hope you enjoy the things that I have to say!

There is a certain Movie series known as "Star Wars," that has been gaining popularity in the Nerd world. You should check it out, I think the series MAY be going places.

Anyway, when I saw this game, it caught my attention (as any Star Wars related merchandise does) and  so, of course, I got it, and I love it! From the picture I have at the top, the game may not look that complex or big, but believe me, you do not want to judge this game by it's cover. This game is one of those games that are built to be played with expansion packs. When you first buy X-Wing, You start out with Two TIE fighters and one X-wing. One player plays as the X-Wing, and the other plays as the TIE fighters. That is how the game will always work; Rebels VS Imperial. Your Miniature figure will have statistics on how many back-up shields your ship has, and how many lives it has once shields are down completely. The object of the game is to destroy all enemy ships.

Game play is quite simple. First, you need to choose where your ship is going to go on the board with a small dial showing the limitations of your ship(s) movement. Once you do that, The player of choice moves their ships using small strips showing the distance in which you move your ship. After all ships have been moved, The players attack! Taking turns, the players attack enemy ships if they are in range. The player being attacked rolls a certain number of green defense dice, while the attacker rolls a certain number of red attack dice. The attacked player removes the necessary amount of shields and/or lives from his or her ship, and this cycle continues until One team is left.

This game is normally played with 2 players. You can play with 4 players (two on each team), but a game with 2 players is recommended. My friend and I play it occasionally. We are very familiar with the rules, and we even have our own ships! Some expansion ships I have include the Millennium Falcon, Boba Fett's Slave I, a rebel B-Wing, TIE Interceptor Aces, TIE Advanced (Darth Vader's ship), and a rebel A-Wing. I had to retire from the original box, an bought my own case for everything. There is even a playable Tantive IV, which appears to be the largest ship in the series.

This game is truly recommended for all Star Wars fans, and for anyone who is a fan of Board Games of any sort! I rate this game 4 and a half X-Wings out of 5.

Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small

I have never played the big-box version of Agricola, but I saw this little 2-player version on sale at a local game store (shout out to timewellspentgames.com) and couldn't resist it.

The first time I tried reading the instructions aloud to a friend, we were in a Whole Foods cafe. It was just us at one table and three businesspeople at another table. One of the men was pontificating so loudly in the open space that his voice echoed everywhere, filling my head with his noise and making it nearly impossible to concentrate on the rulebook I was reading. So before we tried to play, we gave up and pulled out a game we already knew well.

When I got home I gave this one a try again. At first run-through, the directions seem REALLY complicated. But you just have to find the answers to a few basic questions, and then play a round or two. Then it starts to click.

The parts of the game are basically all placeholders so that you can keep track of the animals you've bought and bred, the land you've developed, and the turns you've taken. So you have lots of little pieces in the game: buildings, fences/walls, wood, stone, wheat, workers (represented by disks -- I want meeples!), sheep, pigs, cows and horses.

During setup, each player gets a farm board containing 6 grids and a Cottage. You also each get 9 yellow fences/walls (borders) and your workers (three for the red player, three for blue).

On the game board — used by both players — you lay out the starting markers next to any option with a tiny red arrow. Right now ALL of the options are available to both players, but as you take your "work phase" turns, the options start to disappear.

Let me give you an idea of some of the options: On the top left of the board is a half circle with the player disc shown and "1 Wood". In the beginning of the game you choose a starting player, but if someone chooses this space, they get to pick who goes first in the next rounds until the space is chosen again. And they also get one wood (a brown disc).

The player who chooses the half-circle on the top right of the board gets 2 stone. The player who chooses the grid with "+1 trough (yellow structure)" gets to build a trough. If that same player also has a lot of wood on-hand, additional troughs can be built for every 3 wood paid. See? Easy-peasy. But when someone takes that one grid you needed, you should think about trying to get the "first player" grid (the one on the top left that I mentioned earlier).

The player who chooses the grid on the bottom right of the board gets one horse. If no one chooses that grid, then the horse stays and, during the "refill phase" you would add 1 sheep. Add another sheep the following refill phase if the horse and sheep are still there. If you DO take an animal, you'd better have the space on your farm to keep it (an enclosed pasture, a building that allows for animals, a feeding trough — which will also double the number of animals that are in the area).

You use things like the stones and wood to purchase buildings, items and abilities. For example, there is a grid (second to bottom on left) that lets you build a Stall on your farm as long as you have 3 stone and 1 wheat to "pay" for it.  There are also grids that will allow you to build fences, buy more fences, and build more costly special buildings on your farm (or upgrade buildings). Or even add a strip of 3 grids to either side of your farm (you can add up to 4 of these; though there are only four available and you lose points if you don't utilize every space somehow)

After you've played all three of your workers, taking turns with your opponent, and have carried out each action (which you do immediately upon claiming it) there is the "breeding phase". If you have two of the same type of animal sharing an enclosure, you add one more (maximum) of that animal. If you have no room for it, you don't get to add it (and you can try to make room -- there is no limit to how much you can shuffle your animals around, but once your fences and other structures are placed, you can't move them).

Then it's the "refill phase" go back and reset the game board. So, if the wood is gone from the top left grid, you would place a new wood marker there. The 4th grid in the second row asks you to add a fence each turn — there are 8 fences after each player has his/her 9 fences at setup —  once all of those are placed, it is the last round. If a player claims that spot, he/she gets all the fences sitting there (there is always at least one there since you add one from the collection next to the board during each refill phase) AND a farm expansion, if they haven't all been taken.

...So you're taking turns to claim and carry out three actions apiece (from the 17 available actions) in each of 8 rounds, total. See? Easy :)

The goal? To obtain and keep as many animals as possible. Once the last round has been played, you add up your score. Each animal is worth one point. Then there are bonus points that come into play — those are listed on the side of the game box. For example, if you have 1-3 of any type of animal, that is MINUS 3 points per animal type. If you have up to 10 sheep (the easiest animals to collect) you get 1 bonus point. If you have 15 sheep you get 5 bonus points. And each animal has its own different scoring system. There are also some bonus points for some buildings, for completely used expansions, and if you have the Storage Building, you get bonus points for building materials you have at the end of the game. Like Carcassonne, the points can be small, but can add up.

I enjoy the challenge of this game and have even played solitaire versions, where I control both farms and just play against myself, trying to see if I can get some really high scores while trying to block my other self from doing the same. Haha! Yup, I'm a geek. But because it's only 8 rounds, it's a fast game. I'll have to try the big box sometime with more players and see how that goes.

Whew! I kinda went on there. Well, like I said, this game isn't the simplest. But once you play it through the first time it really does all click and makes sense. But if you have any questions, feel free to email me. LOL! ;)

I guess I would say that if you like games like Carcassonne, Catan, The Builders — games where you're working on your own goals while putting some obstacles in front of your opponent, then you'd like All Creatures Big and Small.