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twodamnboard-blog · 7 years

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Paging Patterson, Party of Five

Planes by David Short published by Alderac Entertainment Group

Planes is a mancala-inspired game by the extremely talented David Short (we're both big fans!), published by Alderac Entertainment Group. It's one of thier "Destination Fun" trilogy of games along with "Trains" and "Automobiles" You and up to three other players are moving your party of five cubes around the airport, trying to get everyone onto the right plane and earn yourself victory points. Like real airports, you don’t start out near your gate and must navigate around other (annoying) travelers who are mucking up the corridors. In fact, if too many of them stop at a particular time (picture everyone standing there looking at the Departures board), a blockage happens and a cute little orange traffic cone halts all traffic temporarily. But, this airport is a modern, interesting airport, with dining experiences and gift shops, and you might also gain points by having your party members “visit” those locations before they jet off.

Leaving on a jet plane...

How we came to play this game: Susan was given this game by her AMNH board game collaborator, Barry Joseph, who snagged a couple of copies at the NY Toy Fair back in 2015.

This reminds us of: Susan: Because of the main mancala mechanic, I guess you could say “Five Tribes,” but it’s a rather unique game with how it blends that movement mechanic with goal achievement simultaneously. Mike: Yeah obviously it’s gonna give Five Tribes vibes BUT it also reminds me of a favorite aspect of "Tiny Epic Westerns" and Susan’s own "Gutsy" where key strategic moves can be made by sacrificing one benefit printed on a card for a benefit of another kind that is also represented on the same card. This positive take on a “Morton’s Fork” mechanic is gaining popularity in board game design lately, and I’m fan!

Game art: Susan: It’s classic AEG - simple, yet effective. This game has a bunch of symbols and the starter side of the board has some blank spaces - I feel like these could have been used to provide some legends. The player aids, which look like old-fashioned boarding passes (remember those? Before we had barcodes on our phones?) are very snazzy. Mike: The airport layout is inspired. It’s very cool thing to have built the game UI around and I dig the story it tells. It’s not incredibly detailed, it's functional, utilitarian even, but it gets the job done.

Snazzy!

Just get me to the gate!

Best part: Susan: I really like the way that players have to make strategic choices between using the cards as either, actions - to help them adjust their movement to their advantage - or to save them to use them as goals to score victory points. And I also really like the mechanic of having to balance out also moving the neutral cubes to try to get yourself more of those cards. Mike: Oh, I didn’t see that you mentioned this in my first read-through of your comments! Whoops! Oh well, as I have mentioned above I am also a fan of this but I get the most satisfaction in moving opponents pieces out of optimal boarding spaces. Soooo satisfying! Getting to move opponent’s pieces is something that’s not built in nearly enough to game design!

Worst part: Susan: I have no idea why the game includes so many traffic cones and I think the design is a little bland. Mike: I’ve always kind of felt this game missed an opportunity to have “plane meeples”, allowing me to fly around the board making jet sounds as I do it!! (This is a key point of fun in AEG’s Automobiles with the cars!) I mean the game is called PLANES after all!!

I don't know, maybe they shoulda called it...

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Mistakes we made: Susan: I’m pretty sure that the first time that we played, we didn’t quite get that if we were playing as red and blue, for example, that the other two colors were acting as neutral and so still needed to be moved and could be boarded onto their planes to get to draw cards. Mike: We may have played 3 times before we realized that you MUST have one of your own cubes in hand when you pick up at a gate! And if I’m being honest, it happens still at least once or twice a game (tho now we always catch it)

Play again? Susan: Absolutely. We got this game a while ago and just pulled it out again to show Susan’s fiancé. He picked it up pretty quickly and it was a good way to show someone how a mancala-based game works. It’s relatively quick. I think this will be a staple for years to come Mike: Well I guess Susan broke some news there! Yep, she’s off the market everybody! Our Susan’s getting hitched! Congrats Matt and Susan! (It’s still just TWO Damn Board though, but he can play with us every so often!).

That damn rock better not scratch any game boards!

#BoardGameHaiku

Now boarding zone 1

Where’s the rest of my party?

Stopped by an orange cone!

Times played: More than 10 less than 100

Game record – I mean, I’m not exactly keeping score but there is a rule of thumb that’s safe to bank on if you’re in any doubt:

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Outta the mouths of babes!

Is dope! So go buy one here:

#David Short #Board Games #BGG #Alderac Entertainment Group #AEG

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theworstbob · 8 years

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yellin’ at songs, 3.11.2017

after a rather rough week on the hot 100, bob! doesn’t know what he’s fighting for or why he has to scream

27) "Tunnel Vision," by Kodak Black

There’s this song, if you’ll permit me a second to discuss something I like, by Frank Turner called “Recovery,” and it has one of my all-time favorite lyrics: “Broken people can get better if they really want to/At least, that’s what I have to tell myself if I am hoping to survive.” To tie this to Kodak Black, we must first go on another tangent: Casey Affleck took home an Oscar for his performance in Manchester by the Sea. Casey Affleck settled two sexual harassment lawsuits out of court. These two facts co-exist, and while I'm in the camp that thinks maybe we should not be giving our highest honors to horrible people, I am also in the camp that suggests that flawed people should still be allowed to find themselves and make great art. I supported Michael Vick in his comeback to the NFL; should I not do the same for Casey Affleck? Vick went to jail, Affleck settled with the victims. When do we forgive someone for their crimes? That isn’t a question with an answer. What I need to see, though, is some act of contrition, of a debt being paid to society on the part of the offender. There needs to be a sign, just a subtle little glimmer, that broken people can get better, if they really want to. I don’t get that here. I don’t even get a sense this dude’s aware he’s broken. When the second line of the first verse of your song is, "I can get any girl I want, any girl I want" -- hell, when the line "I need me a lil' baby who gon' listen" is repeated in the chorus -- I am disinclined to believe there is any contrition on the artist's end, and I, as a human being and not a court of law, am under no obligation to afford anyone the benefit of the doubt. I’m not listening to this dude again.

41) "How Would You Feel (Paean)," Ed Sheeran

The best thing I can say for this song is, a lot of people learned a new word because of its title! It's nice that our boy is committed to expanding vocabularies! But yeah, this is an Ed Sheeran Ballad, it sure is. Again, like Bruno Mars last week, cheesy Ed Sheeran is always a threat to appear at any given time, but unlike Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran has yet to add a new dimension to his schmaltz. There is a valiant attempt at a Falsetto Moment, and I appreciate the gumption it took to go for it, but this is the sort of thing I was afraid of when I decided to undertake this silly project, the whole "Ed Sheeran is going to release the same ballad as he ever has" of it all. We’ve got at least two more down the pipeline, too, most likely. :/

44) "Love," by Lana del Rey

...Man, this is a rough week, innit? Might could be I'm just thrown off by the lack of breezy stoner jams on the occasion of the 3.11 chart. This one, though, this is... I'm trying to find the right word here, but the only one coming to mind is "boring," and there's not a lot of critical value in that word. But! I mean! There are thousands of songs about being young and in love, and none of them make that feeling sound as lifeless. I think I'm missing something. I never fucked with Lana del Rey because, before I started this chart, I didn't have to, and I never felt like I was missing much. Right now tho? I wish I’d been a little more into her. ‘Cuz like I’m kinda aware I think that Lana del Rey has some sort of persona thing going, and if that’s correct, understanding what that is is likely key to understanding what is supposed to work about this song. Right now I just kinda hear a version of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Maps” where everything is worse.

46) "Draco," by Future 49) "Mask Off," by Future 54) "Rent Money," by Future 91) "Super Trapper," by Future 99) "Zoom," by Future

Hey! I actually listened to the AAA release which litters the Hot 100 this week! That's a timesave, right there! Future is actually the most I've ever liked Future. With a lot of his other stuff, it kinda feels like he's going through the motions, bleakness here, despair there, trap beat, we did it, but here, I dunno, maybe it's the fact there hasn't been anything new from Future in a year, but there's a different energy on this album, I found myself enjoying it all the way through. I've actually been putting off HNDRXX simply because I want a little more time with Future, so I guess I lied in the last meandering sentence, I do know, it really is the fact there hasn't been a new Future release in a year. Still, I endorse Future. As far as these songs, I agree with the nation’s enjoyment of them. My favorite ("POA") is missing, which, enh, but "Draco" and "Rent Money" are clear highlights, and the other three are pleasant, and keep close these kind words for Future as we steel ourselves for three more Future albums before the solstice.

52) "Heavy," by Linkin Park ft./Kiiara

fucking christ I take no issues with the song on its own, the song's actually really good. I see this is a Julia Michaels joint! She is dope at this songwriting thing. I take issue with the fact that it's being delivered by Linkin Park. I just, I think that, it's hard t -- I keep imagining some 14-year-old, they're in their older brother's car, they're driving to a Shake Shack because that's what you do on a summer night, and this song comes on the radio, and it intrigues the 14-year-old. "Who is this?" they ask their brother. "Look at the fucking ticker, ya putz, this bit is clearly set in 2017. Use Shazam," the brother says, so the 14-year-old looks, and they see the name scroll across: Linkin Park. Intrigued, they go home and research Linkin Park, and they see Linkin Park has been around for over twenty years! "Incredible!" the 14-year-old says, elated to have discovered a band with such a deep back catalogue, and they're going to start with the first single: "One Step Closer." Do you understand what I'm getting at, here? Do you understand the dystopian future I am laying out before you? Our nation's #teens are in danger of discovering nu-metal. Say what you will about Ko[backwards R]n, but they have never stopped making the same shitty music they were making in 2001, and thus they are STAYING in 2001 where they BELONG, only to be visited by people already in their fanbase. The youngest living Ko[backwards R]n fan is 29, and that’s how we need it to stay. Linkin Park should be a whisper on the lips of those who have always believed. They shouldn't be chilling on Top 40 radio with Future and Selena Gomez. They should not be dueting with starlets, they should be inquiring as to Amy Lee’s availability. This is reckless endangerment of a nation’s youth. An actual living #teen may enjoy this song, and two months later they’ll have just discovered Staind and be watching the "It's Been a While" video while leaving the comment, "I was born in the wrong era," because they just heard the Hybrid Theory remix album and crAWLING WAS THEIR FAVORITE FIRST BETSY DEVOS NOW THIS HOW COULD WE LET DOWN OUR NATION'S YOUTH LIKE THIS FUCKING GODDAMNIT

56) "Something Just Like This," by The Chainsmokers ft./Coldplay

There is a tiny, faint drum fill I'm not 100% sure I didn't imagine at the 1:50 mark of this song. There was something of value in this song, which, given what this song is, I will gladly take. "I've been reading books of old/The legends and the myths" Classic literature! I'm glad Coldplay's taking time out of their busy schedule to broaden their horizons. "Achilles and his gold/Hercules and his gifts" Ah, and they're sitting down with some Greek mythology, too! How learned of Coldplay! The word "gold" doesn't appear on the Wikipedia page for Achilles, so I'm not sure what Coldplay is reading, but I'm glad they're reading it! "Spiderman's co Ah, yes, of course. Those classic tomes, the Spiderman comics! Nearly lost to time, they were, when the most recent reboot only made $750m at the box office! HOO BOY it says a lot about the week that was that this was probably only my fourth-least-favorite song. Always knew there'd be weeks like this.

Should I even do a Top 20 this week? There's only one new song. ...I'ma do a Top 20. It's routine. It's what we have, together. 20) "My Old Man," by Zac Brown Band (2.25) 19) "Castle on the Hill," by Ed Sheeran (1.28) 18) "Call Casting," by Migos (2.18) 17) "Running Back," by Wale ft./Lil Wayne (2.11) 16) "I'm Better," by Missy Elliott ft./Lamb (2.18) 15) "Way Down We Go," by Kaleo (1.14) 14) "Everyday," Ariana Grande ft./Future (3.4) 13) "Light," by Big Sean ft./Jeremih (2.25) 12) "Draco," by Future (3.11) 11) "Guys My Age," by Hey Violet (2.11) 10) "Good Drank," by 2 Chainz ft./Gucci Mane & Quavo (2.11) 9) "Yeah Boy," Kelsea Ballerini (3.4) 8) "It Ain't Me," Kygo x Selena Gomez (3.4) 7) "Now & Later," by Sage the Gemini (2.25) 6) "Shape of You," by Ed Sheeran (1.28) 5) "That's What I Like," by Bruno Mars (3.4) 4) "Despacito," by Luis Fonsi ft./Daddy Yankee (2.4) 3) "Issues," by Julia Michaels (2.11) 2) "iSpy," by KYLE ft./Lil Yachty (1.14) 1) "Run Up," by Major Lazer ft./PARTYNEXTDOOR & Nicki Minaj (2.18) swear to ra if my favorite song of my year with this project is a major lazer song that didn’t even spend multiple weeks on the chart i’ma throw a stool through my window. should i rerank? i feel i should rerank. “iSpy” is dope and “Issues” is dope and people have heard those songs. i -- ah fuck this wretched week.

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