Terahk is a board game in which you control a tribe of 'Mayans' for domination of the board. Each player has 3 different pieces (Mayans, an Elder, and an Idol), and a triangular board tile.
At the start of the game each player places their tiles together. This allows for a variety of game board designs based on how many people are playing. Mayans have an 'attack' and 'defend' mode represented by flipping the desired side of the piece up. he different modes confer different bonus in combat with other Mayans. Idols are like Mayans, but, instead of flipping, they have unique abilities like ranged attacks or ignoring defense bonuses. Idols can be offensivly or defensivly improved by defeating Mayans. Lastly is the Elder. This piece can bring defeated Mayans back into the game and rotate the section of the board it is on..
'Mana' is used to perform various actions in the game. Each player gets 5 mana at the start of their turn. Leftover Mana doesn't carry over to later turns. Mana is used to attack, move, revive Mayans, etc.
The last element of play are the cards. They are used to gain a tacticle advantage over opponents, though some cause trouble for everyone.
Terahk has a simple, almost cartoony look to it, but it is not the fastest of games. It can last up to 2-3 hours when 4-6 people are involved. This is due to a short learning curve, but a deep requirement of strategy that can be undermined by the chance of the dice. Underdogs can stop an assault and rise to the top in a couple of turns sometimes.
For strategy buffs, this is a great game. For others looking for something faster, give it a try with 2-4 players. It's easy to learn, and fun to master.
3/5
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Cyber((c) Truro Police Dept.) Game Draft
Game Type
Wall defense
Objective
Defend the 'firewall' from enemies by encasing them in a net fired from Cyber(c).
Challenge
Waves of enemies (bad messages, identity theives, etc) move towards the firewall. When they come to the firewall, they begin to deal damage to the wall and continue to do so until captured. When the wall takes enough damage, the game is over. Players win a level by holding off an entire wave of enemies. There are ten levels.
Mechanics
Cyber(c) can be moved up and down the screen to postition himself to aim his nets. Stronger enemies take more nets to defeat. At the end of each level, players can choose to repair damage to the wall or improve the strength of their nets.
Wall defense
Objective
Defend the 'firewall' from enemies by encasing them in a net fired from Cyber(c).
Challenge
Waves of enemies (bad messages, identity theives, etc) move towards the firewall. When they come to the firewall, they begin to deal damage to the wall and continue to do so until captured. When the wall takes enough damage, the game is over. Players win a level by holding off an entire wave of enemies. There are ten levels.
Mechanics
Cyber(c) can be moved up and down the screen to postition himself to aim his nets. Stronger enemies take more nets to defeat. At the end of each level, players can choose to repair damage to the wall or improve the strength of their nets.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Game Idea: Iliad XX
Chapter 20 of the Iliad begins with the gods dividing theirselves between the Greek and Trojan armies, with Zeus deciding to stay out of the conflict. The rest of the chapter has Achilles racing about the battlefield cutting down the commanders of Troy and fighting Hector and Aeneas.
The game I propose would be a combat game for 1 - 2 players to play as the heroes and gods fighting on either side.
As Achilles, players would be an invincible warrior, but must find and defeat the Trojan commanders in time to achieve victory.
As Hector and Aeneas, players must protect their soldiers from being overwhelmed on the battlefield, and survive against Achilles when he is encountered.
Finally, players would have the option of playing as the gods to support the heroes and soldiers in the battlefield and change the tide of the battle. The Greek supporters would try to help overrun the Trojan, while the Trojan supporters would try ro push back the Greeks.
The game would take place in an open 3D environment. Players would control their character from a 3rd person perspective with horizontal control of the camera to allow a better view of their surroundings. As a god, players move above the battle with markers to show where key characters are on the battlefield.
The would also be a 'Versus Mode' where players can choose to play as a hero or a god against each others forces. This feature should allow for online play as well as split screen to allow a broader range of people who can play.
The game I propose would be a combat game for 1 - 2 players to play as the heroes and gods fighting on either side.
As Achilles, players would be an invincible warrior, but must find and defeat the Trojan commanders in time to achieve victory.
As Hector and Aeneas, players must protect their soldiers from being overwhelmed on the battlefield, and survive against Achilles when he is encountered.
Finally, players would have the option of playing as the gods to support the heroes and soldiers in the battlefield and change the tide of the battle. The Greek supporters would try to help overrun the Trojan, while the Trojan supporters would try ro push back the Greeks.
The game would take place in an open 3D environment. Players would control their character from a 3rd person perspective with horizontal control of the camera to allow a better view of their surroundings. As a god, players move above the battle with markers to show where key characters are on the battlefield.
The would also be a 'Versus Mode' where players can choose to play as a hero or a god against each others forces. This feature should allow for online play as well as split screen to allow a broader range of people who can play.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Wings of War Review
Wings of War is a game based an aerial combat from the WWI era. At first, it looked like it would be complicated, but the rules felt natural once I got a couple of turns in. The method for moving the planes (players place a card showing the flight path infront of the plane card) has several openings for slight adjustments which could affect how the planes engage in combat, but it works anyway because it is an inexact system. Combat consist of short an long range attacks (determined by a special ruler) which are relativly balanced for power in relation to the agility of the plane. Further more, damage is assigned with numbered counters, some of which have effects like flames or jammed guns.
Improvements were made in a WWII iteration of the game in which the planes' movement is more precise, and only two movements are chosen a round to speed things up by quickening the pace of strategy.
There are several variants of the game, and I don't have any issues myself with the mechanics. It can be daunting at first, but the game has simplified versions to ease people in. You don't need to be an aviation enthusiast to enjoy, and there is enough flexability to play almost any way you can think of.
8/10
Ian C.
Improvements were made in a WWII iteration of the game in which the planes' movement is more precise, and only two movements are chosen a round to speed things up by quickening the pace of strategy.
There are several variants of the game, and I don't have any issues myself with the mechanics. It can be daunting at first, but the game has simplified versions to ease people in. You don't need to be an aviation enthusiast to enjoy, and there is enough flexability to play almost any way you can think of.
8/10
Ian C.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)