Re: Good games for introducing piecepack

["James K Droscha" <jdroscha@...>]

--- In piecepack@yahoogroups.com, "piecehead2003" <sbk@c...> wrote:
> Last I tried to introduce my gaming group to the piecepack. It
didn't
> go down entirely well because some members had problems with the
> abstract nature of the playing pieces - it's the same with computer
> games, they go for everything with nice graphics and ignore the
game
> play.
>
> I need some suggestions for games that have a high "fun factor",
are
> easy to learn and donøt take too long to play.

Hello Soeren,

This is a great question, but I am afraid that it requires the
dreaded "depends" response.  It depends entirely on the group of
people.  And the piecepack may not even be appropriate at all for
your gaming group... does your group ever get out a plain old deck of
poker cards to play traditional card games?  If not, the spectacle of
custom bits and nice artwork (if your group plays
German/Designer/Euros) might be half the appeal of boardgames for
them.

But I do have some suggestions.  I will only speak about games that I
have designed myself since, though I have tried several games
designed by others, I do not know them as well.  I hope that others
will not be embarrassed to recommend their own titles if they
sincerely believe they are what you seek.  (A little more info about
your gaming group might help us all here.)

One thing to note before I proceed is that I personally tend to
design games that are rather light, generally with only a page or two
of rules and perhaps a diagram.  Almost all of mine play in an hour
or less.

My general observation is that gamers are attracted to games where
you could walk into a game in progress, look at the board and maybe
listen for a few seconds, and immediately have some idea of what the
game is about.  For that reason, I can recommend Ley Lines.  Most
players recognize the board as the shape of Great Britain, and some
will have some familiarity and hopefully be intrigued with the
concepts involved (druids, cairns, ley lines, etc.)

On the other hand, some games may not be recognizable, but have an
interesting look as they develop which might appeal to players.  On
this score, I can recommend Hanging Gardens.  (I suspect one or more
of the "City" games probably also meets such a criterion.)

Mechanically, I believe Silver Isle would probably appeal to many
gamers, though sadly I cannot recommend the current ruleset (which is
in beta still).  But if your group is looking for more of a middle-
weight, you might read through it and see what you think.  (Warning:
Silver Isle takes perhaps an hour and a half to play.)

Cheers,
James