Clans

Hello again and thanks for reading yet another post from Kid Superman.  As you can see, this post is about a game called Clans.  This is an simple yet intense strategy game that amazes me because of the literally countless strategies you can take.  It's also very fast!  You could play two games in one hour!  I'll continue down below.

First off, this game takes place in early prehistory where people are finally figuring out that living in groups, or villages, is better than trying to survive on your own.  There are five different clans, or colors (blue, green, red, yellow, and black), and you, as a player, belongs to one of them and therefore wants them to win.  The fun thing is the clan alignments are secret, so nobody knows what clans anyone belongs to except themselves.

Let's get to game play.  The board consists of sixty territories, these territories being one of the four different land types: forest, mountains, savanna, grassland, and plains.  There are also lakes, but clans can't dwell there.  Next, there are 60 individual hut pieces with one of the clan colors painted on it.  At the start of the game, these huts are all on an individual territory.  You can view the game rules below; they are fairly short: http://riograndegames.com/uploads/Game/Game_70_gameRules.pdf

As I said before, the tactics for this game are endless.  Because your color is secret, you don't want to let other players know what your clan color is, but at the same time you want your clan to score the most points.  While you're doing this, you want to make as many villages as possible, but as long as your clan gets points.  It's so overwhelming, but at the same time extremely simple!

But I do have some tips (not including the gaming tips included in the rules).  At the start of the game, I would recommend starting to make a village without your clan color included, but with your color near the village so you can include it later on.  Also, don't just leave villages open for your opponents to make.  Make it hard for them.

Also, review all of the moves you can take, and what might be the best choice to make.  Go over the pros and cons.  Take a risk.  See if you can destroy the other clan colors using strife or putting the village in an unfavorable territory types.  And make sure the last village includes your clan color.  This could make or break the game.

Well, thanks for reading about this game; I hope you enjoy it (if you have it)!  Happy gaming!

-Kid Superman

Legend of the Five Rings (CCG Emperor Edition)

Okay, before I start, I just want to say that this is one of the most intense games I've ever played.  Seriously. I don't even think you want to read this.  If you're not an avid gamer like me, or if you don't know the rules (I would not recommend reading them, unless you absolutely want to play), just continue on; read the next post. I'll be talking to you as if you already know how the game works.

If you don't know yet, Legend of the Five Rings (I'll call it L5R) is a card game, where you are a general or some type of leader of one of the nine clans of Rokugan.  I personally favor the Phoenix clan, but don't let that influence your opinion.

Like I said before, I'm going to act like you already know how to play, so I'll just skip the mechanics of the game.

Anyways, before you even start the game, pick a stronghold that you know works well with not only your cards and/or clan, but with how you yourself play.  Your stronghold is an important aspect of the game; you want its abilities/actions to help you as much as possible in play.

Also, some strategies have abilities affecting only personalities with certain keywords, so make sure some of your personalities have keywords corresponding with those strategies.

Now we can actually get into the game.  When you start, try and buy a lot of holdings, while also bringing in a constant supply of cheap (or expensive if you have enough money) personalities.  Remember you can get a clan discount of the personality you are buying has your clan alignment keyword.

You also don't necessarily need to play any actions, but if they help you, go ahead.  Also, try to have more personalities than your opponent(s).  When you know the time is right (I would qualify this to be having more than ten battle actions ready in your hand and on the table- but hey, circumstances change), go ahead and attack.  Play your most important battle actions first, like destroying/removing your opponents powerful or opposing personalities before they get to yours.  

But before this, while you are deciding what provinces to attack and with whom, strategically place your personalities into different groups so each section has a sufficient amount of force.  That is if you're attacking more than one province; you could always have a giant overwhelming force take over a single province at a time.

Cavalry is also a great option, but make sure the amount of cavalry personalities don't exceed that of non-cavalry personalities.  You want to have them evenly balanced for the best possible outcome.

Finally, try and fulfill the requirements for the rings in your hand, so you can play them for an easier win.

After the battle, if you won, then hooray for you.  If you lost, better luck next time.

On your next turn, if you're playing with only one other person, and you feel like you still have enough personalities to take another province, go ahead.  But try not to kill too many of your personalities every turn.  L5R isn't all about war.  And don't forget about your stronghold abilities!

As the game continues, try and make strategic decisions that will benefit you and your clan.  Watch what your opponent does and plan accordingly.

As you know, there are a couple different ways to win.  Remember the honor victory: you can get this easiest by buying your personalities with your clan alignment keyword without the discount.  Likewise, obtaining the military victory is somewhat simple.

Well, there you go, and thanks for reading yet another piece of insight from Kid Superman.  Happy gaming!

-Kid Superman

Imperial

If your looking for an intense strategy game for you and your friends, look no further!  Imperial is the game for you.  I'll go over the many rules, strategies, and pure awesomeness of this game down below.

 What's great about this game is that there's no chance involved whatsoever.  No dice rolling, no card drawing, just pure skill.  Sweet, right?

There are two separate versions of Imperial.  First, there's just Imperial, which takes place in Europe, and second, there is Imperial 2030, which includes the entire world.  For rules on both, click on the following links:
riograndegames.com/getFile.php?id=26  (Original)
riograndegames.com/getFile.php?id=479   (2030)


So what is Imperial? You might have read the rules, but if you haven't I'll give a basic overview. Basically each player is an investor who controls one or more countries/world powers. The object of the game is to get the most points at the end. You receive points by buying bonds for different countries, investing in the country that you think is going to win.

After a country reaches 25 on the track at the top (you advance from taxing), the game ends and you count up the amount of bonds you have for each country and multiply them by 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, depending on where those countries are on the track. Whoever has the most points wins!

But what is the best way to win? When you break everything down, it always comes to taxation. Taxation is counting up all the territories you control.  You get money, your country gets money, and your country advances on the line.  So you need to tax as much as possible, but also control enough territories so you can actually advance.  It's all about taxation.

Also, I've noticed that the countries that go first always win, because they tax first.  In Imperial 2030, Russia goes first, followed by China, India, Brazil, the USA, and Europe.  During my time playing, Brazil, the USA, and Europe have not won a single game.  So I would recommend buying bonds for the countries that go first.

And, last but not least, sometimes the Swiss Bank is always great to use.  If you don't know what this is, read the rules.  Anyways, if you have the Swiss Bank, you can invest every time someone passes or lands on investor, instead of only when you have the investor card.

Well, thanks for reading, and happy gaming!

-Kid Superman