Game Day – Penny Arcade: Gamers vs Evil, 1812: Invasion of Canada

So, it’s been three weeks since I’ve gone to Meeplemart on a Thursday.  Three weeks!  That’s just brutal.  I’ve been trying to work out a new gaming schedule in the new year with my wife that works around her work schedule, and gives us a good amount of time together, but also lets me get more than half a dozen games played a month.  So, Tuesdays is going to be regular again (pretty much for minis gaming), and either Thursday or Sunday will be the other day I go, depending.

Anyway, so today was one such Sunday.  It was abbreviated, but I was able to do some shopping (see later) and play two games!  That’s not a lot, but at least my January plays are up to 11 now (as opposed to the 20s+ it is supposed to be!).

The first game was Penny Arcade: The Game – Gamers vs Evil, the deck-building game based on the popular webcomic. 

This was my fourth time playing the game, and I continue to enjoy it.  While it’s a deck-building game similar enough to all the rest, it feels just different enough to warrant continued play.  It’s funny (cards like Baby Ninja and Laser Squid), crass-funny (cards like Scrotuum and TouchWeiners), has bosses (like Satan and Santa) and two different currencies/card groups (Tokens and Power/Green and Red). 

Knowing the webcoming helps, but you don’t need to to enjoy the mechanics of the game. I can see some people not wanting to play because of some of the crassness of the cards, or the fact that you have to add up all of your “+x Tokens” and “+x Power,” while paying attention to any special abilities on cards.  This is something else that takes this game out of the standrad “+x coins, +x buys, +actions” that other games have, and brings something less generic to the table on your turn.  Again, this can be either good or bad, depending on how you view it.

I like it.  Enough to buy the expansion when it comes out in a few months.  I’d definitely like to table this game some more, though.

The other game I got to play was the new 1812: The Invasion of Canada, a simple-rule wargame about the War of 1812.

I only got to play the intro scenario, spanning only two rounds, but it provided enough flavour and experience with the various mechanics to give a good sense of what the full game would feel like.  I also played in a five-player game, which showcased how well it actually worked with that many players, for a wargame.

Players take the side of either the Americans (Regular Army or Militia) or the Canadians (British Army, Canadian Militia or Natives) in a game of area control around the Great Lakes region.  Cubes, in one of five colours, represent the forces, with matching dice for combat and a unique deck of cards for each faction.  Turn order is random, and on your turn you play one of your cards that lets you move a certain number of your armies a certain number of spaces.  Your armies can actually include friendly units while it is your turn, so a force can be built up over multiple turns, by a few players on a side, and then later moved using the card of one player present.  That’s neat.

There are some number of territories representing forts, cities, towns or regions, and a bunch of these have a star on them, denoting them as objective territories.  At the end of the game, whoever controls more of the opponent’s objective territories wins.  Simple.

My single-play verdict is that this game seems to be a light, pretty wargame that can be played and enjoyed by some non-wargamers.  I personally love the not-frequently-visited theme of the War of 1812, especially on this 200-year anniversary.  I would like to explore this game some more, moving to the full game and seeing how it plays with different numbers of players.

* * * * *

I didn’t have much time left, so instead of taking out Sentinels of the Multiverse, I just shopped.  There are a bunch of things I’d like to buy, but instead I held back and only picked up some Citadels washes I was missing (blue and green), some new paint brushes as all of my others are frayed, and the Imperial Armada starter for Freebooter’s Fate!  Yes, I didn’t even have to order it, as it had come in this weekend already!  Great joy!

So I’ve already built the models, primed them with gesso and will start painting them tomorrow.  I’m not sure if I can finish them in a week again, but we can try.  As I go along I will also write up a little review as I was really impressed with these guys.  The details are superb, the overall look great, and the cleanup was so minimal!  Not a single bit of flash, and only three little lines to file down.  Good times!

Hopefully I can get in a game of this sooner or later!

Thanks for reading.