[Review] The Great Escape By Zadorf Games - A Solo WWII Prison Escape Card Game

...an Allied soldier jumps out of a nearby hole, knocks dirt off his shoulder, looks around nervously, and then pulls you in close...

"Listen up, 'cause I ain't got much time. I just escaped from Stalag 12 and the guards'll be looking for me any second now. We prisoners trained for this day by playing The Great Escape by Zadorf Games. I suggest you grab a copy so you can be ready when it's your turn. Great, it sounds like they released the dogs. I gotta go!"

The Great Escape is based on the exploits of POWs during WWII as they escaped from enemy encampments and made their way across the countryside toward freedom. In this great solo card game, you're playing the role of Escape Officer, trying to help as many of Your Boys escape as you can. A lot to expect from 48 cards, but The Great Escape pulls it off nicely with clever 3-stage gameplay.

In the first stage, you're digging three tunnels from the barracks in three directions. The objective is to build at least one tunnel of 10 cards in length to go under the wire. The center of each card shows a tunnel schematic, either empty, propped up, or ventilated. Every third card must be propped up, and every fifth card must be ventilated. And the final card of the tunnel must be propped up. You deal cards one at a time building your tunnels trying to meet the building objectives. Meanwhile, cave-ins, guards, and spies hamper your efforts. You may end up with all tunnels caved in or discovered, and the game ends! If you can get at least one tunnel built, the game moves to stage 2...Escape!

All cards played thus far are swept aside and you play with the remainder of the deck. You begin dealing down, revealing prisoner after prisoner, each with their own set of escape tools, papers, and disguises. With each prisoner revealed, more are escaping the camp. When a Guard appears, the tunnel has been found and sealed! And stage 3 begins...Avoiding Capture!

The prisoners revealed are laid face-up in front of you. The remaining deck act as the guards who have now scattered across the countryside looking for the escapees. The bottom icon of the cards reveal the guard's actions for that turn. If there's a train, they're checking the train stations, so any prisoner holding a ticket is caught. Remove those and reveal a new guard. Compass? Any prisoners heading in that same direction are recaptured. Dogs? One random POW is brought back. A radio? Any spies in your group turn in THREE prisoners! When the deck is depleted, any prisoners left have managed to avoid the guards and escape! Count up your score, and try again.

The deck is half the size of a regular deck of cards, but there is a LOT of action and replay in this game. I like how the game is only just starting if you successful build a tunnel. And even then, there's no guarantee that you'll win! (All of my prisoners were recaptured and brought back to camp.) The game is extremely portable with tons of action, and will likely be one of my go-to travel games. The Great Escape by Zadorf Games is only £7.99 with FREE UK delivery; for the rest of the world, it's £10.99 (around $14). Go get a copy for yourself. We'll meet up on the other side of the fence. Good luck, soldier.

[GameHack] Pulp Heroes For Pulp Detective By AV Studio Games

I recently reviewed Pulp Detective by AV Games, a clever little dice-rolling game of 1940s private eyes and gumshoes. (Click here for said review!) Although you have your choice of four pulp detectives and four police inspectors (and another four PIs if you pick up the expansion), I wanted the chance to play one of those early pulp action heroes. So I created a mini-deck of four cards that feature four of the classic "superheroes" of the pulp novel era: Doc Savage, The Green Hornet, The Spider, and The Shadow! These larger-than-life master detectives have Special Actions that may seem a bit over-powered, but I woiuld expect nothing less from these classic heroes! Click this link or the image below to download a copy for your own games of Pulp Detective!

[Review] Pulp Detective By Todd Sanders/AV Studio Games

NOTE: I swear I'm still blogging about role-playing games too. I just happened to have a backlog of board/card games I've been wanting to review, so enjoy the next few posts!

For anyone who's ever read a Sam Spade/Phillip Marlow crime novel, or those who have more than a passing interest in the Pulp Noir genre, Todd Sanders has designed a game that places you in the heart of your favorite pulp dime novel. Pulp Detective is a clever little dice-rolling card-based game released by AV Games. This game is designed to be played solo (which will be my focus in this review), although a head-to-head cooperative and competitive version for two players is also included. (The game is still being rolled out to Kickstarter backers and may not be retail available at the time of this writing.)

In Pulp Detective, you play a detective trying to solve one of three cases included in the base game. (More cases and options are available in the follow-up supplement which I'll describe later.) The game consists of various sets of cards that represent your detective, your held items, your stamina and clues found, the case you're trying to solve/timeline, and the deck that makes up the Storyline deck (Cliffhangers, Informants, and Follow The Lead cards). You also have a set of yellow Investigation dice, a red Paperboy dice, and a grey Underworld dice. Eight colored bits are used to mark your status on the various cards, and an assortment of black Twist Markers rounds out the contents. The art design of the game is AMAZING, using the covers and paintings from a variety of pulp novels to illustrate every scene and character you may meet. Even the box looks like it's been weathered and aged since the 1920s, lending a truly gorgeous design to the game's contents.

To play, you first select your detective -- each with a Special Action that gives you an advantage in the game. Each detective then gets a card to track his/her stamina, clues, and items found. You then select one of the cases, and place the tracking bits on the timeline and stamina depending on the difficulty level you want to start with. Beginners get full stamina and a full 24 hours to solve the crime; experts may have fewer hours and stamina at their disposal. Gameplay consists of pulling the top three cards of the Storyline deck, choosing one to tackle, one to discard, and one to place back in the deck for a future pull. Each of the three types of cards gives you a better chance of granting you a specific element needed to win the game: Cliffhangers are likely to replenish your stamina, Follow The Lead will give you items, and Informants give you valuable clues. (Four clues are needed to reach the endgame...)

As you draw and choose cards to play, you place them into a Storyline you build. (And you can add other cards to a Subplot line once too.) Once in the Storyline, you must roll the four Investigation dice and try to match the icons shown on the card. And, if you have Underworld contacts or a friend who's a Paperboy, you may also get to roll the red and/or grey dice too! Finally, if the icons on the edges of your new Storyline card matches any in the current Storyline card, you get to reroll another dice too. If you succeed with the roll, you get the element shown on the card. You could find a bottle of whiskey for more stamina, a taxi to gain extra time, or a tip from a reporter giving you access to the red dice. Or you may "dig deep" and regain some stamina. Or that Informant may let slip with a clue needed to solve the case. Conversely, if you fail, you lose the element shown. You could drop an item, get shot and lose stamina, or just waste your time and watch the hours tick down and down and down...

Time is something you never have enough of in this game. Each played card costs an hour. Each failure may cost you an extra hour. Use of your Special Action might cost your an hour. And as the hours wind down, the icon cost on the cards actually INCREASES, making successes even more difficult to accomplish. And once time is up, the game ends. The game is a true pressure cooker as you fight the clock to win.

However, with each failure, you may also take a black Twist Marker that matches one of the dice faces shown. This Marker can be used once with future rolls to act as that dice face. So at least failure may give you a chance at future successes!

Once (and only  *IF*) you've discovered all four clues -- and if time remains -- you can confront the Master Criminal who's behind the dastardly deed. The Criminal (chosen depending on how the Storyline/Subplots fleshed out) is super-tough to beat, usually requiring 5 dice to defeat. Hope you saved your Twist Markers and/or have your Underworld/Paperboy on-hand for the Big Confrontation!

For this review, I've tried to hit the basics of gameplay, but there are a lot of details and other elements I've glossed over. Although the game may seem simplistic (roll the dice/match icons), a lot of the game hinges on HOW you build the Storyline and Subplots, and what elements you decide to pursue. Sure, you could chase clues, but once you have the fourth one, will you have the resources to confront the Master Criminal? Not likely! And vice-versa, if you build up your stamina and grab a bunch of items to help you win, you may run down the clock, making it impossible to win as well! There a great amount of nuance at play here as you build your case, strengthen your detective, and prepare for the endgame!

There is a supplement also available called Sidekicks, Double Cross, and Masterminds that greatly expands gameplay! Sidekicks offer your detective their expertise in solving the case by giving you a one-time in-game bonus. (Plus a new Sidekicks dice!) The Double Cross cards bring a random element of bad fortune as you chase the bad guys. The Masterminds are World-Class Criminals with global plans of evilness who require **SIX** dice to defeat! Oh, and there are four new detectives to play, more items to find, and four additional cases to crack too!

Pulp Detective is a great game with awesome art elements and tight gameplay. And it's a tough game to win at. Out of a dozen games, I've solved the case and brought the villain to justice once. In fact,in the game illustrated above, I ran out of time and was brought down to 3 stamina, allowing me to roll only three dice. Hard to regain stamina or solve the case when 4-5 dice are typically required! Even the Twist Markers couldn't bail me out of my spiral. Sniderman says, "Check it out."

[Review] Palm Island and Sprawlopolis - Two Micro-Card Games That Fit In The Palm Of Your Hand

During my lengthy hiatus from posting here at The Savage AfterWorld, I've been doing quite a bit of board gaming. Because I'm usually on my own here at Casa Sniderman, I've discovered solo board games. Typically these games are spread out all over your gaming table with many figures, cards, counters, pawns, dice, and a sundry of other bits and pieces to lose or knock onto the floor. However during a Kickstarter shopping spree of the past two years, I discovered two solo games that consist of no more than 18 cards....each. These two games literally fit in the palm of your hand. First we'll take a trip to Palm Island, followed shortly by a visit to the thriving metropolis of Sprawlopolis.

Palm Island by Portal Dragon tasks you to develop and expand the resources of your tiny Island Kingdom. You do this by amassing resources and spending them to “level up” your island's temples, housing, markets, etc. As your island begins to thrive, you have access to more resources to further expand your domain. Did I mention the game is played solely in the palm of your hand?

The 17-card deck is shuffled, then each card in the deck is dealt with one at a time. To store a resource (fish, logs, and stone) for future use, you turn it 90 degrees to expose it. If you amass enough stored resources, you can then spend them to develop your island's buildings and temples by straightening them back up, paying the cost to upgrade. As your island grows stronger, you have access to better and more abundant resources. When you've gone through the deck 8 times, the game ends. Each developed card is worth a certain point value depending on how far you managed to upgrade it. I've oversimplified how to play for this review, but there is an amazing amount of depth and gameplay here. Plus, if you meet certain goals in play, you can add additional cards to the game, such a "Feat" card which gives you special abilities and bonuses. There are Villagers who can offer their help to your island paradise. The game can be played head-to-head, both cooperatively and competitively! And watch out for disasters such as hurricanes and volcanoes that could destroy your kingdom! The portability of this game allows you to play it anywhere you have a free hand, because you don't need a playing surface at all! Very highly recommended!

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Sprawlopolis by Button Shy Games challenges you to build a thriving city made up of industrial, residential, commercial, and city park blocks, while meeting certain predetermined construction goals. And your city will come together with only the 18 cards in the deck!

To begin a game of Sprawlopolis, you shuffle the cards, then pull three at random. On the back of each card is a unique construction goal that applies only to this game. For example, one goal might be "Morning Commute" which gives you a two-point scoring bonus for any roads that pass through both a residential and commercial block. Or "Go Green" which gives you a point for every park block, but penalizes you three points for every industrial block! Each goal card also has a target score number -- adding the three goal numbers together gives you your final Target Score which must be reached or exceeded to win. To play, you use each card in order in the deck from top to bottom. You can play a new card next to or overlapping any card in play, as long as it's always lengthwise oriented and not played corner-to-corner. Your placement determines whether you can meet the scoring conditions on the construction goals. After the last card is placed, you score points per the beginning goals. You finally score one point per block in your largest area of each zone type. If you reached or beat your target score, you win! The Kickstarted version I got also has a few bonus cards, such as Points of Interest (city beautification!), Construction Zones (under development!), and Wrecktar (monster attack!).

Both of these games prove you don't need expansive boards and fiddly bits to have a great game. These 17-18-card decks have given me a lot of gameplay is a very small footprint. Sniderman says, "Check them out!"

A Sneak Peak Into My "Gaming Projects" Notebook

Many of you who know me or have hung out with me have no doubt seen me toting around my little black notebook (pictured here). I have carried this notebook -- or one like it -- for years. I have it with me at work, at events, in my car, and resting on the table next to me as I hammer out this post. Inside my "Gaming Projects" notebook is a collection of notes, scripts, ideas, and works-in-progress for a variety of games and systems.

Today, I went through my notebook and did a bit of organizing. I thought it'd be a fun "glimpse" for you if I were to make a quick listing of things and projects currently in the works.

(Don't ask me to expound on anything here, nor ask me what my timeline is for any of these. I work on them as the mood hits, and release them when they're done. But here's some stuff you can look forward to one day in the future.)

(CW = Cryptworld; TM = Timemaster; MF = Mutant Future; DCC = Dungeon Crawl Classics; HOPE = Our Last Best Hope; Fiasco = Fiasco; Anything is "quotes" is the working title of a scenario/adventure in the works)

CW - "Speed Demon" - Driverless vehicle terrorizes small town
CW - "Final Voyage of the Golden Dawn" - Abandoned ship found floating off shore.
CW - "Last Call/Wasted" - Zombies attack a remote tavern. Players are barflies.
CW - "The CW Atlas" - Worldwide locations of supernatural interest.
CW - "Expiration Date" - PCs cheat Death. He's not happy about it.
CW - "The Coldcreek Conspiracy" - Based on a Cryptworld adventure-writing exercise.
CW - "Kid Stuff" - Adults in a neighborhood disappear. Creepy kids terrorize the area.
CW - "Maul Be Home for Christmas" - A department store Santa is found murdered after hours in a locked-down mall.
CW - "Lost Vegas" - Unexplained murders in a Vegas casino.
CW - "Untitled Solo CW Adventure" - A one-person solo adventure to learn the system.
CW - "The Century of the Dead" - A village of the undead reappears for 24 hours every 100 years (Brigadoon-inspired).
CW - "Deadfall" - Collyer Brothers-inspired trap-laden house -- and something lurks within.
CW - Helltown, Ohio
CW/ROT - "Knights of the Living Dead"
CW - THINGS to stat uup: Drauger; Computer Virus; Worm That Walks; Succubus/Incubus; Tsukumogami; Bog Mummy/Salt Mummy/Ice Mummy; Pollo Maligro; Zombeak
TM - Jenny Everywhere
TM - "An Apple A Day" -- Millions of deaths due to the lack of a single piece of fruit.
TM - "Postage Due/The Day The Sky Fell" - Compilation of TM adventures I've written.
MF - "Dead In The Water" - Written; just needs to be assembled and distributed.
MF - "World of Korgoth of Barbaria supplement"
CAH - "Transylmania"
CAH - "SPY U"
DCC - "The Scourge From Beyond Infinity"
DCC - "Escape From Vulture Gully"
HOPE - "Virus"
FIASCO - "Small Town Ink"

[Review] Classic Game Review: Mayfair's Encounters

When my brother and I were in high school and junior high, respectively, we used to play a "fantasy combat card game" for hours upon end. At some point, this game we owned was lost or trashed or given away. (Not sure what happened to it.) And, over the years, I tried to remember the name of that game in hopes of one day getting a new copy of it. A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across a random entry on Board Game Geek, and a rush of nostalgia hit me. Placed an order with Noble Knight, and I now have this cherished game back in my hands.

The 30-year-old fantasy card game from my youth is Mayfair's Encounters.

Encounters is a very simple game based on fantasy combat. Each player has a fantasy party of Heroes that the other players are trying to kill of with the Monsters in their hands. They are also trying to outfit their Heroes with better weapons and spells, while also banking treasure. At the end of the game, whoever has the most treasure banked wins.

The game is played with two decks of cards (Hero and Monsters/Magic) and a pair of dice. Each player draws seven cards at random from the Hero deck and places them into two lines of defense. The Heroes can be Elves, Dwarves, Knights, Wizards, Clerics, Men-At-Arms, and Paladins, and each has a specific Ability Score depending on their strength.

The players then draw seven cards from the Monster/Magic deck for their hand.The Monster/Magic deck contains Wizard and Cleric scrolls (usable only by the appropriate class), weapons and magic items (again, usable only by specific classes, but can also be banked as treasure), and treasure (for banking as..you know...treasure). The remainder of the deck consists of a selection of fantasy monsters like Giants, Demons, Vampires, and -- of course -- Dragons.

 On a player's turn, he draws two cards, then plays two cards if he can. You can bank treasure (placing it aside where it cannot be lost during the game); grant treasure (giving it to your Heroes for combat bonuses, where it can be lost to a successful Monster attack); and attack an opponent (by sending a Monster to attack the player). In this picture, the defender has banked some gold, and given his Elf a bow in the rear line and his Man-At-Arms an axe in the front line. The attacker has sent a Giant to attack a Knight in the front line.

Combat is resolved by each player rolling one die for his Hero/Monster, then adding the Ability Score on the card (as well as any modifiers bestowed by granted weapons). High roll wins, with ties going to the defender. Monsters can only attack the front line unless they have the flying ability (letting them swoop down upon weaker Heroes in the rear ranks). Before combat, Wizards can cast spells (if a scroll is held); Clerics can try to turn undead; Elves can fire bows at any attacker even if they're not targeted; etc. Meanwhile, the attacker can send Dragonfire down upon the defender; have a Demon's curse placed upon the Heroes; and even summon the specter of Death himself to vanquish a particularly troublesome foe.

Once all players but one have all of their Heroes destroyed, the players add up their banked treasure. The player who had heroes remaining is given a 1,500 gp bonus. High GP value wins. My brother and I would instead play "Last Man Standing" where we'd attack each other until there was a victor. (We didn't really bank treasure when we played.) As you can see, the game is incredibly simple, but there's a bit of strategy involved as you organize your lines of defense and arm your party for the onslaught. It's a great little game -- a fun beer-and-pretzels diversion. Apparently there was a later CCG version of the game, but the original version will always have a place in my heart -- and now, a place on my game shelf.

[GameHack] "We Found A Witch! May We Burn Her?" -- Two More New Monty Python Fluxx Cards

OK, I'm almost done, I swear. I made two more new cards for Monty Python Fluxx. One card is a new Creeper featuring A Witch!!! ("But I'm not a witch!") And there's a new Goal titled "May We Burn Her?" You win if you have A Witch!!! and Sir Bedevere on the table in front of you. (After we see if she weighs as much as a duck, of course.)

As with The Black Knight card, the card faces should be printed out and pasted to either two spare Fluxx cards or you can use two of the Fluxx Blanxx that are available. (Click the image for a higher-rez PNG file. You'll have to resize it yourself.)

[GameHack] "Camelot! (It's Only A Model...) Shhh!" -- Another New Monty Python Fluxx Card

What can I say? Inspired again to create another new card for Monty Python Fluxx, I created another new one featuring my favorite squire, Patsy, and his only line of the movie. This Action card allows you to discard any one Keeper or Creeper card currently in play on the table. After all, "it's only a model."

As with The Black Knight card, the card face should be printed out and pasted to either a spare Fluxx card or you can use one of the Fluxx Blanxx that are available. (Click the image for a higher-rez PNG file. You'll have to resize it yourself.)

I don't have it out of my system quite yet, as I have ideas for Tim the Enchanter, the Witch ("I'm not a witch!"), the Bridge of Death, and some new Goals for the game. Stay tuned...

[GameHack] New Custom Card For Your Monty Python Fluxx Game: The Black Knight

Been playing a bit of Monty Python Fluxx in my home games recently. Even have the Castle Expansion and "Sir Not Appearing in This Game" promo card. But the omission of one card was driving me nuts, as it's such an obvious addition, I'm surprised it doesn't exist.

Doesn't exist until NOW, anyway!

I've created a new Creeper card for your Monty Python Fluxx games: The Black Knight! Like most Creeper cards, he's brought out and played upon drawing. You cannot win the game if he's on the table in front of you unless the current Goal says otherwise. But unlike many other Creepers, The Black Knight has one weakness: You CAN win the game with him on the table, but only if you also have either the King Arthur Keeper or the Excalibur Keeper on the table as well. ("What are you gonna do? Bleed on me?")

The card face should be printed out and pasted to either a spare Fluxx card or you can use one of the Fluxx Blanxx that are available. (Click the image for a higher-rez PNG file. You'll have to resize it yourself.)

I have some ideas for some other additional Monty Python Fluxx cards, but thought I'd throw this out for those who enjoy the game as much as I do.

"I'M INVINCIBLE!!!"

"You're a looney..."