Boardgaming is an excellent way to bring your non-geek friends over to the Dark Side. Once you have gone through the party games (Trivial Pursuit, Cranium, Pictionary, etc) it’s time to break out the hard stuff. In episode #3 we suggest a few “gateway drug” games that you can try to pull them further in.

Also a review of our geek week, news and geek events in the northwest!

Our Geek Week

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a few pictures from ChibiChibiCon including select cosplay pictures are here. Leave us a comment if you can help us identify any of the characters.

Information on Innocente Seraphim convention and meetups

Oscar winners

Gus and Duncan at the EMP|SFM

The Slave Girl Leia dog costume mentioned in the podcast
Purchase info on Gus and Duncan’s Comprehensive Guide to Star Wars Collectibles and for the curious, the official website of the Titan Garrison of the 501st Legion Star Wars costumers who made an appearance at Gus and Duncan’s talk at the EMP|SFM.

For those who need to catch up on Fringe but don’t have the time to actually watch the show, you can listen to Fringemunks! Song parody recaps of all the Fringe episodes performed in a chipmunk style.

FREAKANGELS is a free, weekly, ongoing comic written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Paul Duffield. There is a trade paperback collecting the first story available to purchase but you can read the whole thing for free at FreakAngels.com. New episodes are posted every Friday.

Boardgame madness!

Boardgaming is an excellent way to bring your non-geek friends over to the Dark Side. Once you have gone through the party games (Trivial Pursuit, Cranium, Pictionary, etc) here are a few “gateway drug” games that you can try to pull them further in.

Difficulty ratings are from 1 – 5

PIRATE’S COVE
Pirate’s Cove is a game where you try to become the most feared and famed pirate of the world. Each person has a ship that they can outfit to help them get more fame and riches! There are 6 islands that you navigate to get fame, gold, tavern cards or treasure. You must fight not only the other players in the game but legendary NPC pirates like Blackbeard. To add to your fame, you must bury your treasure on “Treasure Island”. After 12 turns, to add to your final score everyone gets to read their tall tales cards. That’s got to be one of the best parts. Especially if you’re playing the German version. “Piratenbucht” is the way we played it the first time, in German, and had the rules translated into English. The English version is published by Days of Wonder the German version by Amigo Spiele. It sells for around $50. It’s for 3-5 players ages 8 and up. Game time runs about 90 minutes. Originally published in 2002. We give Pirate’s cove a difficulty rating of 2. Easy to play, great for kids, families, parties.

RA
Ra is an auction game set in ancient Egypt where players are bidding on resources to score and win the game with. It’s a typical, what can I do now, what should I save up to get later game. The game is played in three rounds called Epochs, and at the end of each epoch scores are tallied. Don’t let the words or the theme scare you, it’s a very easy game. Ra was originally published in 1999, again in 2005 and in May 2009 there will be a 3rd edition of Ra published by Rio Grande. The game is around $35 for the 3rd edition and you can now pre order it online. Ra is for 2-5 players and for ages 12 and up. Game time runs around 45 – 60 minutes. We give Ra a difficulty rating of 2 , it’s looks and sounds harder than it really is.

CLAIM IT!
Claim it! Is a claim jumping game where a lot of the luck depends on dice rolls. Each player takes turns rolling dice to see where their plots of land are matched up with squatter markers rows and colums. Each player can keep rolling, but if they can’t place a squatter marker because that plot is taken you have “Busted” and your turn is over. One more round is played when the number of claimed plots are matched up with the rules of how many you need with that many players. It’s important to have as many connected plots as you can. We played this for the first time 2 years ago at NWC, when the game designers were there. It a fun quicker game 20-40 mins. Made by local game designers from a company called Wattsalpoag ( WOT -sal– pohg). It’s also on the cheaper side of board games, only $24.00. For 2-5 players aged 8 and up this is a great game for kids, families, and parties. We give Claim It a difficulty rating of 2.5

VEGAS SHOWDOWN
Vegas Showdown is a game where the players are trying to build the best hotel/casino in the heart of Las Vegas. Each of you have a year to build your casino and just to make things interesting you’ve put a little wager on your venture. Players get to add tiles to their hotel/casino map that are various restaurants, lounges, gaming rooms and other attractions. The tiles are bid on by the players to help them make the most famed hotel/casino in all of Vegas . This is a great game to introduce to your non-geek friends, the overall mechanics are simple…and who wouldn’t want to be in Vegas?? The game is published by Avalon Hill (an off shoot of WOTC). First published in 2005, it’s for 3-5 players ages 12 and up. Retails for about $50 though you can get it cheaper online. Game time is about 75 minutes. We give Vegas showdown a 2.5 not as easy as RA, but we wouldn’t call it a 3.

SETTLERS OF CATAN
Settlers of Catan is the first of many Catan games. It’s a building / resource management game where a lot of what goes on relies on chance. You start out with an uninhabited island where players try to make the best settlements to win the game. You start out with small towns and a road and race to 10 points for the win. You gather resources to help make longer roads bigger cities, and can buy development cards which will award you with points or better resources to help win. There are titles you can win, like Biggest Army or Longest Road which add to your point total. There are many expansions for the normal Catan Game (seafarers/cities and knights/traders and barbarians) that can make the game more intricate. Starfarers is a stand alone game with new mechanics, but based on the original Catan game. The game is published by Mayfair Games, and sells for around $55 for the 3-4 player version and $25 for the expansion to play 5-6 players. The original Settlers of Catan was published in 1995, and expansions have been released since that time. It’s for ages 10 and up and gameplay takes about 90 minutes. We give Settlers of Catan a 3. You can also play Catan on Xbox Live arcade vs. the computer or online games. There are also free browser versions online.

CARCASSONNE
Carcassonne is a tile game where the object is to get the most points before the tiles run out. Each player picks a tile, places it and then can add followers to roads, cities, fields, or monasteries to add points. When roads or cities are complete you can get your followers back to your pool. Farmers on fields and followers on incomplete projects (roads / cities) stay on the board until the end of the game. It’s fairly simple game to play, but the strategies can take awhile to learn. The scoring at the end of the game is also a bit overwhelming at first. There are over 10 expansions to make the game bigger and better (the river, inns & cathedrals, the tower, etc). Xbox live arcade also has a version of Carcassonne that’s downloadable and you can play the river expansion too on there. Published back on 2000, the English version is published by Rio Grande games and sells for around $50. It’s for ages 8 and up and takes about 60 minutes to play. We give Carcassonne a 3, due to the chance of tiles drawn and the shifting strategy decisions you have to make.

EMPIRE BUILDER
Empire Builder was the first of many “crayon rail games” named for the implement that the players use to build their rails across the United States. Empire Builder is a geographically accurate rendition of the continental US, including mountain ranges and major rivers. Play consists of picking up resources from cities and delivering them to other cities at the request of the cards you draw. You get money for each delivery and the game is won by the first person to get $250 million dollars and to have rail in 5 of the 6 major cities. We played this and other rail games consistently about 10 years ago ( British Rails, Euro-rails, Australian rails, Nippon rails, etc.) and just recently discovered them again. Mayfair Games just recently came out with a 5th edition which sells for $45, with optional flat laminated map for an additional $12. The game is for 2-6 players ages 12 + and gameplay can be about 3 hours long. Which is part of the reason we give Empire Builder a 3.5. You need staying power to play it.

PUERTO RICO
In Puerto Rico, players are plantation owners trying to build their business efficiently by storing crops, deploying colonists, building up San Juan and sending crops to Europe. The play system is unique and provides “roles” to be taken up by the players such as “Mayor, Captain. Etc” . Public points are racked up by buildings and other resources and shipping points are secret and get harder to determine what everyone else has toward the end of the game. Another unique part of the game is that there are 3 possible endings to the game. With that it makes the same strategy difficult to replay each time. There is an expansion and a spinoff card game. Published back in 2002, the English Version is made by Rio Grande, it sells for around $40 . It’s for ages 12 and up and takes about 90 minutes to play. We give Puerto Rico a 3.5 in the rating system.

BETRAYAL AT HOUSE ON THE HILL
Betrayal is a tile game in more of a horror sci/fi genre. It starts out with a group of people searching through a spooky house and looking for items, encountering ghosts and visions, meanwhile dealing with the notion that one of them will betray the rest of the group. Gameplay is suspenseful and great for large groups. Once enough “omens” have been gathered there is an ever present chance that the “haunt” will start. The Haunt starts one of 50 scenarios where everyone but one member must fight to stop the betrayal. Scenarios range from aliens, zombies, demons, to just about any type of horror storyline you’ve heard of. It’s a unique game where you have to work together to stop the betrayer who has an agenda of their own to accomplish. This game is known for A LOT of errata but you can easily find it online and that should not sway you from this game. It’s really fun and easily replayable because of the 50 different scenarios available. Published in 2004 by Avalon Hill, it is currently not in print, and hard to find new. Sightings on ebay runs around $50-100. Hopefully soon Avalon will reprint it, but from the info we are aware of it was a VERY expensive game to produce and if they reprinted it with all of the errata it might top $100 for the game which would be a bit much, even a game this good. Find a friend to play it with or try to find it being played at a con. For 3-6 players, ages 10 and up, it takes around 90 minutes to play. We give Betrayal at House on the Hill a 4, since you have to think on your feet to win.

TALISMAN
Talisman is a fantasy based board game with a bit of RPG feel. Originally published in 1983, by Games Workshop this game has gone through many incarnations. There were many expansions (city, timescape, dungeon, etc). Then in 1994 Games Workshop made a 2nd edition, that had a few of the same expansions and The dragon’s Tower…which took a long to put together, and if I remember correctly, stayed that way. Sara had one. Finally in 2007 we got a 4th edition published by Black Industries. It looked a lot like the original game, so we were happy. Then last year Fantasy Flight took over the Talisman franchise. The have included an “Upgrade Pack” so you don’t have to buy a revised 4th edition, you can buy the upgrade pack and you’ll be compatible with the current edition as well as the Reaper Expansion. The revised 4th edition includes plastic figures that you use, a new mechanic “fate” tokens, and newly designed cards. The Reaper expansion has 4 new characters as well as the Grim Reaper who will chase the players through the 3 regions of play as they try to race to the Crown Of Command to win. Talisman is a great game and puts a “Monopoly” spin to an introduction to RPGs. We’re hoping that Fantasy Flights will continue to provide expansions. Just recently it was announced that in May 2009 they will publishing Talisman the Dungeon. Talisman is for 2-6 players for ages 8 and up. Talisman is around $50 and the Reaper expansion is around $25. It takes about 1-2 hours to play, just depends on how fast people get equipped. We give Talisman a 4 because there are lots of rules to keep straight and it can be a long game.

AXIS AND ALLIES
Axis and Allies is a strategy game based in WW 2 where the Axis (Germany and Japan) battle against the Allies (The US, the UK and the USSR). The basic gameplay is like Risk, but with many more units and resources that each act differently to help win WW2. Players on each side must work together to defeat the other side. Players also have to determine if risking resources to try to make a super technology that will turn the tide of the war. Though Nova Games originally published the game in 1981, Avalon Hill has recently put out an anniversary edition that introduces Italy as the 3rd Axis country, has over 600 plastic pieces, and introduces 2 setups spring 1941 and spring 1942. A&A anniversary is for 2-6 players for ages 12 and up. The anniversary edition sells for around $80 and you can find non-anniversary editions for cheaper. Gameplay is quoted at 240 minutes or 4 hours and can be potentially much longer. We give A&A a 4, mostly due to the length.

Geek News

Michel Gondry to direct Green Hornet movie

SPIDERMAN THE MUSICAL (shudder)

CW network’s SUPERNATURAL and SMALLVILLE renewed

Samuel L Jackson signs nine picture deal to play Nick Fury

Free Stuff Fridays from BusyGamerNews.com

Seattle Geek Events

Starship Troopers at the Egyptian Theater (on Capitol Hill ) midnight movie Feb 27th and 28th

Dak-Kon 14 gaming convention February 28 – March 1

Yojimbo
Grand Illusion
Date/Time:Daily from Fri., February 27 until Thu., March 5, 9:00pm, Daily from Fri., February 27 until Thu., March 5, 7:00pm
Price: $5-$8

Toshiro Mifune stars as the ronin hired by two rival gangs in medieval Japan. But, in this 1961 samurai classic from Akira Kurosawa, he double crosses them both. Both comic and violent, the film is the basis for the Spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars, among several subsequent remakes. (NR).

Shogun Assassin
Grand Illusion
Date/Time:Fri., February 27, 11:00pm, Sat., February 28, 11:00pm
Price: $5-$8

This 1980 American samurai-sploitation picture was reportedly recut and condensed from six prior Japanese films. Out go the quiet bits, and all you’re left with is swordplay and blood revenge. (NR).

March 5, 2009 6 – 11pm Utilikilts Pioneer Square 620 1st Avenue, Seattle – Gallery reception for The Photography of Libby Bulloff, steampunk and retrotech photography. Show runs March 1 – 29

Esther Pearl Watson exhibit at Fantagraphics – author of the comic “Bust”
Watson’s original drawings remain on view through March 4
Date/Time:Daily from Sat., February 7 until Wed., March 4

KIM HARRISON SIGNINGS

Sunday March 1st 5:30 pm Third Place Books
17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park
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Monday March 2nd 7pm
UW Book Store Seattle

The Pacific Science Center will be open until 9pm on February 27th & 28th, and March 6th and 7th to allow more visitors to see their Lucy’s Legacy exhibit which closes March 8th.

R2-D2 Big Build Friday through Sunday, March 6-8.

The Bellevue Lego Store needs 10 people to assist each day between the hours of 10 am (11am Sunday) and 7pm (all days).
There is a 30% (employee) discount for those who are willing to help for at least 5-6 hours.
Please call the Store to sign up (425- 451-2271)
Bellevue LEGO Store at the Bellevue Mall – actually at the heart of the mall, not at the store, although any needed information can be gained at the store. It’s not just open for the public to watch, it’s all about the public doing the build! Hence the need for helpers (more experienced builders to assist less experienced builders).

This week’s music was Chocobo Battle Theme by Nobuo Uematsu from the video game Final Fantasy 7.

With Watchmen on the horizon next week’s topic will be on comics!