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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 bring our best Vulcan minds to the table for some logic games in Turing Machine
Next: We set sail to collect rare specimens one worker at a time in Darwin’s Journey
And lastly: We’re sussing out common phrases one clue word at a time in Get The Message
Turing Machine
Designed by: Fabien Gridel, Yoann Levet
Published by: Le Scorpion Masqué (2022)
Players: 1 – 4
Ages: 14 & up
Playing time: 20 minutes
Turing Machine is a logic deduction game, providing a unique experience of questioning a proto-computer that works without electricity or any sort of technology. Namely, good old punch card technology.
The goal is to find the secret 3-digit code before the other players, by cleverly questioning the machine. You start by making a guess as to what the code is. Let’s say my guess is 314
I will then use one of the punchcards to ask a question of the computer to try and learn if any of the digits in my guess is correct. if, for example, one of the questions I might be allowed to ask is: is the second digit of my code correct equal to one, or greater than one? The punch card will tell me if my guess concerning the second digit of my guess is correct or incorrect.
Gather as much valuable info as possible in the shortest amount of rounds and make your guess. If you are right, you win! If you are wrong, you’re out of the game and the other players continue their quest to crack the code. As my computer professor always said, if you want to break bigger code, use a bigger hammer.
Darwin’s Journey
Designed by: Simone Luciani, Nestore Mangone
Published by: ThunderGryph Games (2023)
Players: 1 – 4
Ages: 14 & up
Playing time: 60 – 120 minutes
Darwin’s Journey is a worker placement euro game in which players recall Charles Darwin’s memories of his adventure through the Galapagos islands, which contributed to the development of his theory of evolution.
Each worker has a starting proficiency, and in order for them to become more effective as the game progresses, the workers will have to study the disciplines that are a prerequisite to perform several actions in the game. These actions include: exploration by land, exploration by sea, correspondence, and the gathering and dispatching of animal species found in the island to museums. There are also separate objective tiles to be collected and achieved, along with tents to put up on the islands to establish more bonuses.
The game lasts 5 rounds, and with several short and long term objectives every action you take will grant victory points in different ways. The one with the most VP’s is the winner, and earns the title of evolution revolution solution volution.
Get The Message
Designed by: (Uncredited)
Published by: Milton Bradley (1964)
Players: 3 – 6
Ages: 10 & up
Based on the 1964 game show, players compete to discover a hidden message using secretly-written one-word clues supplied by team members. The team who scores the most points wins.