Finished: Orcs - Stan Nicholls

I finished this book yesterday and all in all was pleased with it. The action and plot moved along quickly, and it was engaging enough to keep the pages turning at a good rate.

This book does, however, have a few things going against it. In some cases, the story took seemingly random and inexplicably fate driven turns that were almost in the character of Alice in Wonderland...things just kept happening because, well, they happened.

The second downfall was the reading level. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem reading a book that is written for young adults, I wasn't insulted by the easy read. The part that bothered me is that the content of the book didn't match the reading level. There were parts that were pretty gory and some that were sexual (going a bit beyond just implication, but not necessarily over explicit), which again I have no problem with, aside from the fact that it didn't relate to the reading level. If you're going to write adult themed content, write at an adult reading level.

Overall, the book was enjoyable for what I expected it to be - a light read from a unique perspective in a new fantasy world. It was good enough for me to not hesitate to buy the second book in the series (called Orcs: Bad Blood), but I would only recommend it to fans of fantasy that are looking for a light read as a diversion between books or series'.

Started: Orcs - Stan Nicholls

I started reading this book last night, and got through the first bloody, action packed chapter and it looks to be a promising read. I picked this one out based on it's unique story perspective, written through the eyes of orcs. It will be interesting to see things from the "monster's" perspective, rather than the hero that is slaying these beasties.

Finished: A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin

I finished this book two evenings ago, taking out the last 150 or so pages in one sitting. I hesitate to even compare this book to the previous one, A Game of Thrones, since it is almost more of a direct continuation of a building plot line that is epic in both scope and execution.

Despite it's large size (the main book is just shy of 1000 pages, and then there is a 50+ page appendix) this book is completely packed with juicy storyline, there is no filler text in here trying to stretch out the book or the story, it's 100% full go all the way through.

I would definitely recommend this book to any fan of fantasy books who isn't frightened by a large page count.

Game Review: Galaxy Trucker

Galaxy Trucker - Rio Grande Games
2-4 Players; ages 10+
1 hour to play
$75

Galaxy Trucker is a great game with a good amount of chance involved, making it a fun board game for all. In Galaxy Trucker, each player is an intergalactic trucker who has to get their ship and as much cargo as possible across the galaxy while racing against the other players. The player who can earn the most space credits (money) by the end of the third race is the winner.

Each game round consists of a two basic phases - build and race. In the build phase, players work in real time to build their ship. Players scramble for ship pieces (tiles) such as cargo holds, cabins, lasers, shields and engines, and place them on their card to design their ship. Once players have completed their ships (the first round you can take as long as you want, in later rounds players are forced to finish within a minute of the first player done), then the race begins!

For each race there is a small deck of cards that represent things encountered during the race. Things such as planets to pick up carge, space pirates who attack your ship, meteor swarms that smash your ship to pieces, and open space where you gun your engines to try to get ahead are all examples of events you might encounter. Once all the cards are resolved, the race is over and money is handed out. Then the players return all their ship pieces to the pile, get a new ship card (bigger and better!) and it all starts again.

The game is well designed to bring new players into the fold easily (the first race is very basic, then additional rules are added for the second and third) and with a rule book of only 16 pages it isn't too overbearing to read and teach.

I would classify this game just beyond a "gateway game". If your players are into games, this is a good one that while involving plenty of strategy - your best laid plans can quickly end with poor luck during a meteor swarm. Great for an evening of fun, entertaining, and low pressure gaming for those who are into board games.

One last note: Don't be intimidated by the price tag! I know $75 is a lot for a board game, but there is a large amount of quality game components in that box, and those experienced board gamers out there will see the justification of the price when they open the box.

Weekly Gaming Update VI: Three in a row!

I got in a solid three days of gaming to wrap up my spring break. Great friends and great gaming, I couldn't have asked for more!

Thursday:
Warhammer 40K - 1250 pts, Space Marines vs. Necrons

Friday:
Dungeons & Dragons - 4E, Elven campaign

Saturday:
Galaxy Trucker - fantastic, out-of-control, fun board game
Hive - excellent quick, elegant and deep two player game
Taluva - a fantastic game, plays excellent from 2-4 players
Carcassonne: The City - one of my favorite Carcassonne variants
TransAmerica - fantastic train game, good gateway game
Blokus - great spacial sense game...you're brain will surprise you!
Coloretto - amazing and devious card game, great gateway game

Game Review: Hive

Hive - Gen42 Games
2 players; ages 8+
20 minutes to play
~$30

Hive is a head to head game that can easily be described as a game with elegantly simple rules with deep chess-like strategy.

Each player has a tile set consisting of 11 tiles made up of 5 different insects (1 Queen Bee, 3 Grasshoppers, 3 Soldier Ants, 2 Spiders, 2 Beetles), each with it's own style of movement. The object of the game is to get your opponent's Queen Bee completely surrounded before he does the same to you.

In this game, the playing pieces actually form the play area as they are brought in a moved around (called the Hive). The game begins with each player having all their tiles in reserve, and on your turn you can bring another tile into the game or move tiles that are already in the game. The unique movements of the insects create for some very diverse strategies and options making each game very unique.

Another great feature of this game is the playing pieces themselves. These are nice heavy tiles that are easily portable and washable, which means you can take this anywhere (I'm sure mine will get some play this summer on the beach) without worrying about ruining your game.

There is also an expansion tile set called The Mosquito which brings even more devious tactics into the game.

I can't even begin to express my love for this game - it brings many elements together that I like in a game, not least of which is quick, relaxed head-to-head style play with a monstrous replay factor (most of the time several games in a row are played). This is a must have for a game collection that includes two-player only games.

You can learn how to play and even play online by following the link to the Hive website.

Weekly Gaming Update V: Now with more Hive!

Got in another good round of board games this week: On Friday night I played a 750 point game of Warhammer 40K - in which my Daemonhunters got wiped off the table (but not as bad as I thought they would). Saturday I played about three more games of Hive, which I still can't recommend enough, and two games of Coloretto.

I brought in a few new games this week also - namely Galaxy Trucker, which will get played next weekend, and The Mosquito, which is a tile expansion for Hive (which in case you can't tell, is one of my current favorite games).

I'm hoping to top it all off with a game of Red Dragon Inn tonight. =)