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Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out!
First: We light up the night sky with brilliant d6’s in Dice Stars
Next: We sail airships in search of fame and riches in Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest
Lastly: We test our sharp instincts and sharper reflexes in Snoopy and the Red Baron
Dice Stars
Designed by: Bruno Cathala, Ludovic Maublanc
Published by: Matagot and Wizkids (2016)
Players: 1 – 4
Ages: 10 & up
Playing time: 30 Min
Dice Stars is a roll and write dice game in which you have to make the best decision to score the maximum of points. On your turn, pick 1 2 or 3 dice at random out of a bag. The dice are d6’s and there are stars in place of the 1’s. Roll them. Take either all dice of the same color, or all dice of the same value. Any dice you do not take remain in the pool for the next player to potentially use after they roll.
If you choose a star or stars from the pool, all the dice scored up to that point return to the bag. Plus the next player has the option of putting all of the dice in the active pool back into the bag as well.
Depending on the dice a player chooses to take will determine how they score the roll.
Stars count toward unlocking multiplier bonuses. Numbers get scored left to right on that number’s track. Colors score on virtual columns along those same number tracks. It’s a grid.
EOG is triggered when a player fills all 20 white boxes in their grid, or if a player’s column overflows. Stop the game, count the points, victory is declared, and a Star is Born!
Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest
Designed by: Jamey Stegmaier, Alan Stone
Published by: Stonemaier Games (2022)
Players: 1 – 6
Ages: 14 & up
Playing time: 45 – 60 min
In Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest, players are the admiralty of their airships, as they pick up crew members, and sail through the air to islands filled with treasures. But other pirates are arriving at the same time, with plans of their own to grab those delicious Starburst candy looking goodies!
The game is played over the course of three voyages. Each voyage has a certain number of days. And on each day, you will have a chance to grab a piece of treasure.
Every player gets an identical deck of crew cards, no 1-40. Players start with 6 cards, chosen at random, but everyone has the same numbers. So if #8 is chosen, every player takes card #8 and add it to their hand.
One card (in secret) gets put into play, simultaneous reveal. Revealed cards are placed in order on the board, low to high. Then daytime effects take place in that order, assuming that card has a daytime effect. Then comes dusk. Time to grab some loot! Highest number chooses the best loot. Some cards have dusk effects to resolve as well. And finally nighttime effects occur and are resolved simultaneously. That represents one day of play.
Those are the most basic of rules, we’ll get deeper into it as we review this game, but I will say the most obvious possible thing in all of gamedom … the pirate with the most dubloons is the winner. Tell me, when isn’t that the object of a pirate themed game?
Snoopy and the Red Baron
Designed by: Marvin Glass
Published by: Milton Bradley (1976)
Players: 2
Ages: 7 & up
Playing time: ??
Snoopy and the Red Baron is a physical challenge game in which Snoopy the dog from the Peanuts cartoon – Snoopy sits on top of his doghouse, clad in his World War I pilot’s gear, as his arch rival, the Red Baron, bears down on him, firing marbles.
Marbles come in two colors – white and blue. Snoopy wants to capture the white ones, and Snoopy wants to block the blue ones. Snoopy will open the door of his doghouse to try and capture the while marbles. But Snoopy doesn’t know which marble the Red Baron will be dropping. White = +1, Blue = -1
Hand eye coordination is the key to this game. And of course you can still catch reruns of that classic cartoon ITS A BOARD GAME CHARLIE BROWN!