M.B.T. From Feb 21, 2008

Thursday, February 21, 2008

O:8S 8.5 To say the least, it's been a strange week. From adding to the 'games played' list on Sunday, to the events at NIU on Thursday, and then back into the deep freeze for the past couple of days. It certainly hasn't been the greatest example of 'normal' that I've ever seen. Unless you've been off the planet for a while, no doubt the events of Valentine's Day at NIU are known to you. The process continues to grind forward as investigators and analysts try to figure out the 'why' portion of the whole mess. The sky is now empty of news helicopters, and it is once again a rarity to see anyone with a microphone and a camera on the street corner. The dark cloud, however, remains. For those of us who ever sat through a boring 100 level gen-ed class in Cole hall at 8 in the morning (or slept through one), anyone who used it as a shortcut to keep from freezing on their way to Faraday hall in the middle of the winter, or those who simply passed by it on a daily basis, things will never be the same. Instead of being a reminder of notes, lectures, and upcoming tests, will it now cause people to quicken their steps and look nervously over their shoulder? What of those who are half a world away from family and loved ones? And what about those whose first taste of independence or whose love of learning has been tainted by this ghoul that rose in their midst? I feel for all of them. As the pundits and newsmen continue to fill the airwaves with their chatter and analysis concerning every minute aspect of this event, I can only wonder if NIU will ever go back to being a small college in the middle of the cornfields. No transition works to move smoothly form that topic to any other, so I won't even try. Best In Show (Sababa Toys, 2006) made it's debut on the game table this past week. The show being referred to in the name of the game most obviously does not refer to any known game convention or trade show, a conclusion that can be reached by anyone who plays this game. If you have kids that are dog crazy, this would be a good family game for you. I wouldn't recommend pulling this one out if you have a group of adults to entertain. It would also fall into the category of family games for families that don't play games that often. The theme of the game is that you, as the owner of a bulldog, a golden retriever, an old English sheepdog, or a bassett hound (which are the only four playable breeds in the game), are trying to win your way from plain old dog to best in breed, and then to best in show. The board itself has two circular tracks which lay one inside the other. Players move clockwise around the outside track collecting the tokens necessary to be able to enter the inside track. Once on the inside track, they repeat the process, with a different set of tokens, to try and win the game. The playing pieces themselves are very nicely sculpted plastic dog figurines, which actually look like their real life counterparts. Again, very nice for the younger set, except for the fact that three out of the four are very obviously male. I guess that would make the game more interesting if you haven't had the whole 'birds adn bees' talk with the kiddies. All of the tokens and counters included with the game are very colorful and printed on decent cardstock. For a game that seems to be slanted towards the younger set, I think there are way too many pieces for the average kid to keep track of. Which makes for yet another example of how this becomes a good family game: the kids can play, and the parents can keep track of all the bits and pieces. And, if you can't manage to figure out that the game is supported/endorsed by the American Kennel Club by simply looking at the box, you should be able to tell by the fact that they have managed to put their logo on just about every single thing in the box. Multiple times, in many cases. I kid you not. Subtle product placement this aint. This game also includes one of my least favorite pieces of game equipment: the dreaded spinner. I don't like them. 'Nuff said. Another oddity about the game is the 3-D A-frame, seesaw, and hoop that get set up in the center of the board. Activity cards that you draw on both tracks of the game board will give you activity, or series of activities, that you must act using your canine playing piece on the equipment in the center of the board. Again, I kid you not. You have to take your little plastic dog and 'make' them jump through the hoop, traverse the seesaw, or go over the A-frame. Here is where I, as an adult (chronologically speaking), would have to say that I see kids having more fun with this than their parents, since this is far from being a once a game occurence. You may have to participate in this bizarre pantomime a dozen or more times in the course of a game. In the pair of test games Pinklady and I played, we very quickly abandoned this element of the game, as we found it to be more than just a tad creepy. In short, a good game for families. Minimal strategy and rules keep it kid friendly, but adults may quickly tire of the game as a whole, unless they develop a set of drinking rules to go with it. Production values are good, especially for a company I have never heard of. There is one HUGE exception to this opinion, however. The plastic pieces that from the seesaw, A-frame, and hoop are made from a plastic that absolutely reeks with a smell like oil, at least in the copy that I have. You may get the sensation when you open the box that you've stepped out into the garage. I haven't noticed any reduction in the intensity of this odor, either. So, if you intend to get this game for a child with allergies or breathing problems, it would be well worth your while to open it before you leave the store, rather than having a rude surprise when you get home. I also see kids as being just as interested in playing with the minature dogs outside of the context of the game. Couple that with the large amount of chips and counters, and you have a recipe for continuing gradual losses in game equipment. After that rather disappointing experience, it was time to retrieve a classic from the game vault: Sorry! For those of you out there who have never played Sorry! (Hasbro, 2003), and I can't believe that there are a lot of you out there, the game is a simple, yet often frustrating (hence the name) race around the board from start to home. The movement of your four pawns is controlled by cards drawn from a central stockpile. Cards are not held in the hand, but used as they are drawn. If possible you must use a card that is drawn (even if it is to your disadvantage), and options for using the cards are presented on the face of each card. The totally random element here is one I'm not too fond of, but the fun factor of the game more than balances that out. And the fun lies in being as nasty and vindictive to your opponents as you possibly can. If you make rude noises or insulting gestures as you send pawn after pawn of your opponent's back to their start, you are well on the path to enjoying this game. It may be less fun if your group is composed of straight-laced intellectuals who would rather quote Kant than pelt you with Cheetos when you make a nasty play, but you never know. As far as the production values of the game, they are up to the standards for a major market game producer. Nothing exceptional, but you should be able to get years and years of use out of it. If I had my way, the movement cards would be made of sterner stuff, considering how much the deck gets used in this game. And a card tray to keep them from going all over the board would be nice, too. My other gripe is the board itself. Instead of the eternally classic bi-fold board, the game is now produced with a quad-fold board. Not only does this keep the board from lying completely flat on the table, you still end up with a square (folded) board in a rectangular box that has tons of empty space. If you insist on making the square board, fine, but package it in a freakin square box. And snug up the dimensions of the box so the contents aren't flopping all over the place inside. And tell whoever came up with the 1980's-sci-fi inspired board graphics to lay off the cocaine for a while. On the up side, I do like the translucent plastic playing pieces, though. Sorry!=classic. Add. This. To. Your. Game. Collection. Period. Adults may actually enjoy it more tham kids. Especially if the adults have opted for alcohol using house rules. Official rules for team and point play are also included, but the game in it's simplest form can be more than entertaining enough. UNLICENSED CONTENT *Pancakes or a shower? Why not both? Of course, not at the same time... *DHawk, where the Hell are you? Touch base, kiddo. *The Ass End of the U. S. of A. aint looking too bad, after this past week. Never wanted to live in a suburb anyway, so it's getting nigh on time to be movin on. *No arranged words from Kittyluv? WTF?? *RN4.0, it was great to hear from you! Sorry about the circumstances, though.