#Corey Konieczka

[talenlee]

Game Pile: The Initiative

The Initiative is a puzzle box and a legacy game and a kid’s story book and a toybox of indulgent pieces and a sleek puzzle all pulled into a cooperative game in a lovely snug box by Corey Konieczka. You don’t need to worry about spoilers, I’m not going to talk much about the story of the game. If you want to avoid even the potential imposition of spoilers then uh, you can go elsewhere, but that’s…? Weird?

Anyway, hey, I like this board game!

Heart of the system here is that The Initiative is a cooperative action selection board game. Players take on the roles of spies infiltrating a facility to try and deduce a secret code, on a board that changes over the course of several missions with things like movable walls and seeded stacks of files.

Each turn, players choose who plays first, cards from their hands onto a stack of actions, then does that. You can’t play a card onto a stack if that card has a lower value than the card on top of that stack, which means that at first, a stack has infinite potential actions and eventually it becomes limited so only six or three cards from the deck can take that action any more.

Fortunately, the game has a built in mechanism to get you out of this: one of the four actions is ‘regroup’ which lets you take all the cards in one of those stacks and clear it out. You can’t regroup the regroup action, which means this game has a lovely mechanical feel, of watching some things fill up, then reset, then fill up, then reset, and then – chances are – the deck is empty and you now have a new, final phase of the game of urgent timing as you try to solve things before the game fails on you.

To keep players from being able to too perfectly coordinate your actions, you’re required to take your turns one after another, and you’re not allowed to tell people what exists in your hands. Players also have special abilities that let them turn garbage cards into some effect, good or bad, and there are traps in the files to keep the game from being a purely methodical process of sorting out paperwork.

That’s a properly good little game, and I like it a lot. And then there’s a layer above it! Because the game that you’re playing is a game being played by the player characters in this game, who are working out a mystery that’s caused by their playing the game itself. The Initiative is the game around that other game (called The Key) and it comes with a comic book narrative that plays out based on how well or poorly you perform at the game, adding secrets and ciphers and more complexity to the game as you play through it.

It’s a slick game in the mould of a legacy game but instead of requiring everyone stay involved every step of the way, the game is built cooperatively, so players can push and pull against one another and the difficulty of the game scales to a changing group. None of which is to say that The Initiative is an entirely pure, smooth play experience, especially the first time, out of the box. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by looking at the box inserts for games like Fog of Love and Seafall, but for a game that relies on keeping a number of pieces isolated and sorted, the actual experience of opening the box is intimidating and untidy. There’s a lack of flow when you get a handful of plastic pieces you have to cap onto a rack, and then sort all the files into little boxes. It’s the thing that slowed my starting the game the most – opening the box up and seeing a big pile of things I then needed to sort out.

And it was me on this one; I played The Initiative solo. I know this changes a big part of the mechanics: Not knowing if someone has the best card for the task and being able to take my time making choices for myself certainly dispels some of the tension in the game. It is a bit sad, though: because I know that the game of knowing you have something perfect for a moment and being able to act on that is a really exciting feeling. It’s a feeling that The Mind presents as literally the only game mechanic it has, and in that game it’s really cool to watch it work.

This is one area in which the kind of game The Initiative is works against my ability to play it. The system for actions needs to be very clear and clean to get people engaging with it; but when there’s an unambiguous ‘good’ and ‘best’ choices that you’re not certain about, it can create the feeling of a player being anxious or tense about whether or not they’re doing the right thing by asking to act. A player making the best faith effort can result in feeling bummed about a turn.

Consider this; the players all know they really want to do a Gather action. There’s a 5 on the stack of Gather actions. Player A has a 7, and player B has an 8. Player B is pretty confident they’re not the best to act on this, but Player A assumes that means they have a 7 too, or worse, a 6, and these players can’t be specific about what they have. If A reads B wrong, and B plays the 8, then A’s 7 is now bad because it’s been blocked from what they want to do. This is a tiny moment of frustration and the more mature you are the more easily you can handle it, but part of playing the game is about being able to revel in these free play experiences, and sometimes, you just need a few of these sour moments to make the whole experience feel bad.

I’m not basing this on play! I’m basing this on examining the mechanics and considering the players available to me! I’ve even spoken about it with one of those players, and it’s a really interesting way to consider what this game gives you as a possible experience. Optimal play is exciting and enjoyable, but even modest mistakes feels quite sour by comparison.

Communication rules are always a wobbly space because communication is itself wobbly. What if I start putting coded messages in the things I say, like using six-letter words only, or holding out the right number of fingers as I play – not so that I’m telling people, but so I’m leaking information and they’re encouraged to learn from what I say and how I say it. Is that against the spirit of the rules? Is it within the spirit of the rules of a game about communication and puzzles and codes?

The rules don’t say!

And that’s okay because the rules say you shouldn’t communicate specifically about what’s in your hand and you have to work out, from there, what that means and how okay with wiggling around that you are. Honestly if a player was doing that, I’d be kind of impressed, but I’d also ask them to shake it up for the next game, to make sure that it wasn’t just the normal way to play now.

All of which is an experience I haven’t had with The Initiative. I played it solo, like I said.

It’s a charming game, I liked it a lot, and I also think it’s a game that asks questions about managing loads of information. In a more ideal world, I think that The Initiative would open a box with small containers where your first play of the game just followed linearly, with all the extra boxes and extra pieces set aside waiting for them to be unlocked. But that’s really hard to do and is an example of the ways that games are material objects made by an industry for distributing products.

I wonder what a version of this game that didn’t use plastics, that could push that extra step into being as paper and card as possible looked like.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[romirplayhouse]

A cada nova partida de A INICIATIVA eu me impressiono mais com como Corey Konieczka conseguiu inventar um jogo tão cheio de segredos e coisas para se descobrir enquanto jogamos! Simplesmente fabuloso! 🤩 Um jogo de muitos segredos e queimação de miolos da @unexpectedgames e @mundogalapagos #ainiciativa #theinitiative #unexpectedgames #coreykonieczka #galapagos #segredos #secrets #solvingmysteries #solucionandomisterio #puzzle #quebracabeça #cifras #jogosdetabuleiro #boardgame #brettspiel #jeuxdesociete #cooperative #cooperativo https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn5j5-8LKy1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gemwire]

3000 SCOUNDRELS Engine-Builder Board Game Gets October Release Date

3000 SCOUNDRELS Engine-Builder Board Game Gets October Release Date

A couple of months ago, Asmodee announced a new engine-builder board game from Unexpected Games called 3000 Scoundrels. In the game you’re trying to make the best scoundrel in an alternate Wild West setting to bluff your way to victory.

There are 60 clear job cards that can be mixed and matched with the 50 trait cards for thousands of different combinations and help make each game unique. Unexpected Games recently announced that 3000 Scoundrels will be available on October 7 with pre-orders now open through Asmodee or Amazon with an MSRP of $49.95.

In 3000 Scoundrels, 2-4 players enter an alternative history Wild West, assuming the roles of rival crew leaders attempting to steal futuristic technology left behind by a mysterious man known only as the Traveler. During the game, players build their crew of scoundrels by layering transparent “job cards” with “trait cards,” making a team that’s ideally suited for their strategy. Each turn, they’ll play a poker card face down, then use all of their scoundrels that match that card – but they don’t have to tell the truth… and savy players will understand the power of bluffing their way to the top. At the game’s end, the player with the most tech will claim victory and determine the fate of the American Frontier.

3000 Scoundrels was designed by Corey Konieczka who has previously worked on incredible games like Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game, Star Wars: Rebellion, and Mansions of Madness First Edition. Those are fantastic games, so I’m very pumped for this new game from him.

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The post 3000 SCOUNDRELS Engine-Builder Board Game Gets October Release Date appeared first on Gemwire.

source https://gemwire.gg/en/3000-scoundrels-engine-builder-board-game-gets-october-release-date/

[cinematografieliebhaber]

Abgrundtief von Tony Fanchi und Corey Konieczka ist ein semi-kooperatives Horror-Brettspiel für 3 bis 6 Spieler*innen. Es geht um geheime Loyalitäten, Intrigen und Paranoia. Die meisten der Spieler*innen sind Menschen, die für das Schiff und das Überleben seiner Passagier*innen, sowie der Besatzung kämpfen. Andere hingegen spielen Verräter*innen, die von den Tiefen Wesen auf die S.S. Atlantica geschickt wurden, um sicherzustellen, dass sie niemals den Hafen erreicht.

[whovian223]

Top 25 Games Played of All Time - 2022 Edition (25-21)

Top 25 #boardgames Played of All-Time (2022 Edition) @PlayRenegade @garphillgames @gmtgames @FFGames @Psycorey @valens116 @strongholdgames

With the close of the year 2021, I have actually played 422 games since I really started playing boardgames in 2012. Since my “Top 25 Games Played of All Time” series in 2019 was predicated on my having played almost 300 games, I thought that 2022 would be a good time to update that list. I’ve played over 100 new to me games since January 2019! Thus, here is the first entry in the 2022 version…

[meeplegamers]

News: Fantasy Flight Games announces Discover

News: Fantasy Flight Games announces Discover

Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games Link to the announcement Designer: Corey Konieczka Initial Year of Release: 2018

Fantasy Flight Games announced Discover: Lands Unknown, the newest edition to their Unique line of games. Discover is a 1 to 4 player exploration game with a narrative focus that plays in 1 to 2 hours. Each box will feature some standard components, map tiles,…

[gameosity]

Fantasy Flight Announces Discover: Lands Unknown

  Hasbro gives a helping hand, Karen Gillian possibly getting chased by wild animals, and a whole lot more in this weeks News Round-Up.     Related Post Jess’s Fav Five Kickstarters of the Week 5/4/18 Ticket to Ride: First

https://is.gd/kBGQuM

[hermanwatts]

The Initiative is a genre-bending board game with plenty of tricks up its sleeve

Photo: Charlie Hall/Polygon

The debut title from designer Corey Konieczka’s Unexpected Games

Continue reading…

The Initiative is a genre-bending board game with plenty of tricks up its sleeve published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[mamaofthewildones]

The Initiative is a genre-bending board game with plenty of tricks up its sleeve

Photo: Charlie Hall/Polygon

The debut title from designer Corey Konieczka’s Unexpected Games

Continue reading…

from Polygon - All https://ift.tt/2QGJOYn via IFTTT

[misutmeeple]

Star Wars: El Borde Exterior (2019, Corey Konieczka & Tony Fanchi) Un juego de aventuras en el que encarnaremos a un personaje del universo de Star Wars para intentar convertirnos en el granuja más famoso de la galaxia. Si queréis saber más sobre el juego, tenéis disponible la tochorreseña correspondiente en el blog. #StarWars #OuterRim #bgg #boardgames #brettspiel #juegosdemesa #jocsdetaula #jeuxdesociete #jokoak #tabletopgames #boardgaming #jeudeplateau #boardgamegeek #jogosdetabuleiro #MisutMeeple (en Gijón, Asturias) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2lPoQZIkNc/?igshid=4tp1uw4yg4xo

[thegamecaveoakengates]

**In Stock** Masions of Madness £69.99 - A game of exploration, Mystery, and Horror for 1 to 5 Players. Game designed by Nikki Valens. Based on design by Corey Konieczka (at Thegamecave Oakengates) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxwp2_dnW9n/?igshid=104fnhv2lwcou

[romirplayhouse]

Ontem teve evento de pré-lançamento de INSONDÁVEL (UNFATHOMABLE), de Tony Fanchi pela @fantasyflightgames e @mundogalapagos , na @paladinohobbies . Ele é uma re-tematização de Battlestar Gallactica (originalmente de Corey Konieczka), de uma forma, a meu ver, bem mais fácil do que no jogo original. Agora a nave é um navio e os Cyclons são os monstros de Cuthulhu. Já os traidores são híbridos ou cultistas. Muito do que me lembro do jogo original está presente aqui, porém tinha que jogar novamente o original, já que a última vez que fiz foi a mais de 5 anos. #batlestargalactica #unfathomable #insondável #fantasyflightgames #galapagosjogos #coreykonieczka #tonyfanchi #cuthulhu #paladinohobbies #jogosdetabuleiro #boardgames #brettspiel #jeuxdesociete #boardgamephotography #prélançamento https://www.instagram.com/p/CcFpca4rZwC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cinematografieliebhaber]

Star Wars: Outer Rim, für 1 bis 4 Spieler von Corey Konieczka und Tony Fanchi, ist ein Brettspiel über die Jagd nach Prestige, bei dem die Spieler in die Rolle von Kopfgeldjägern, Schmugglern und Söldnern schlüpfen, welche ausziehen, um dem Outer-Rim-Territorium ihren eigenen Stempel aufzudrücken.

[whovian223]

Boardgame Geek Top 300 - Play or Played - #230-221

Boardgame Geek Top 300 - Play or Played - #230-221 #boardgames @FFGames @FuntailsGames @RioGrandeGames @EagleGryphon @ThamesAndKosmos @gmtgames @PlaidHatGames @Psycorey

It was a close one this week. Yes, I almost didn’t get this post done so that it would post this week at all. That would break my streak and we know that we can’t have that. But here it is! We’re three episodes away from finishing the series, and my plan is to have it done by early October at the latest. Let’s see if we can keep it up. Am I going to do the Top 400? Hell no! I admit that…

[mrjohnangulo]

Explore the Outer Rim in a New Star Wars Game from Fantasy Flight

by W. Eric Martin

In case you don't have enough Star Wars-related game options already available to you, Fantasy Flight Games has announced a new one for release in Q2 2019, one that might be viewed as the tabletop equivalent of FFG's Star Wars: Edge of the Empire role-playing game. The game in question is Star Wars: Outer Rim from designers Corey Konieczka and Tony Fanchi, and it bears a 2-3 hour playing time and a $65 MSRP. Here's an overview of the game:

Take to the stars and become a living legend in Star Wars: Outer Rim, a game of bounty hunters, mercenaries, and smugglers for 1-4 players! In Outer Rim, you take on the role of an underworld denizen, setting out to make your mark on the galaxy. You'll travel the outer rim in your personal ship, hire legendary Star Wars characters to join your crew, and try to become the most famous (or infamous) outlaw in the galaxy! But it won't be easy since the warring factions of the galaxy roam the outer rim, hunting down the scum that have proven to be a thorn in their side, and other scoundrels looking to make their mark see you as the perfect target to bring down to bolster their own reputation. Do you have what it takes to survive in the outer rim and become a living legend? In more detail, a game of Outer Rim takes place over a series of turns that sees players taking dangerous jobs, tracking down bounties, upgrading their ship, and more, all in service of gaining more and more fame. Regardless of the path you take to get there, your goal is to gain ten fame, which can come from a variety of sources, such as completing your character's personal goal, collecting on bounties and jobs, delivering illegal cargo, taking down patrols from the various factions struggling over the galaxy, and enjoying the finer things in life by purchasing luxury items with your hard-earned credits. While the path to victory may be different for scoundrels finding their way in the Outer Rim, everyone starts from the bottom with a simple starship. Your player board not only tracks your fame progress, but also contains slots for your ship, your character card, gear, reputation, modifications, jobs, and bounties. Keep in mind that while doing a job for someone can earn you fame, it can also put a price on your head when a competing factions decides that you're causing them trouble — and one of the other players might try to collect that bounty!

from BoardGameGeek News | BoardGameGeek http://bit.ly/2UOtemb

[starwarscommonwealth]

Tabletop Review - Star Wars Destiny: Boba Fett Starter Set

Designed by Lukas Litzsinger and Corey Konieczka Published by Fantasy Flight Games

For the uninitiated, Star Wars Destiny is a two-player Dice and Card game which makes use of Fantasy Flight's Dice Duel System (Or DDS, as it's referred to on the box and in accompanying literature). Using two characters, players can make use of weapons, droids, vehicles and random event cards to dispatch their opponent and win the day.

The Boba Fett variant of the Star Wars Destiny starter set contains 24 cards, and 9 premium dice. Boba Fett himself comes equipped with a pair of dice specifically for his attacks, as well as Slave I and wrist rockets. No jetpack to be found, but maybe that's in the booster sets.

Alongside Boba Fett as a starter set villain comes one of his most fearsome allies, a life-long compatriot and someone you'd naturally think of as his right hand man. That's right...

A Veteran Stormtrooper.

Yes, really.

That's not to say that the character is by any means bad in terms of the game balance, but really? There's nobody else that Fantasy Flight thought might combine well with a bounty hunter? Say...any other Bounty Hunter? I realise that we only see Fett engaging in work for the Imperials within the Original Trilogy, but come on! He's not an Imperial by any stretch, he's just working for Vader.

I mean, not for nothing, but there's a card with Bossk on it in the deck!

Anyway, fanboy rant over. I feel better.

The presentation, as always in these starters, is great. The cards feel substantial, the dice even more so and the artwork throughout is excellent. The art style on these cards has always been strong, and what's nice is that often where it might be easier to just whack in a still image from the movie, the artists instead just recreate it in the same style. Great stuff indeed.

In terms of components contained within, in addition to the premium dice and accompanying cards players can also expect to find a sheet of punch-out-able cardboard tokens representing shields, resources and damage tokens which are used throughout the game. There's also a fold-out rulebook which, while nice, is probably a little big to rest on the table while you play on the main bit. I do like that they integrate the cards you just bought into the rulebook within each set. That's a nice touch, which for me at least adds a little extra to the package and makes it feel a little more personal.

Along with the rulebook and tokens, the starter set also contains a collector's checklist in case you want to go down the route of collecting everything from the set (which could of course get expensive, but this is one of those things that games do quite a bit, and I'm a sucker for it as anyone who watches the E14 Toybox videos knows all too well). I really like the fact that they specify how rare each piece is on the list as well, along with whether you should expect a dice along with it. A nice way to get round any would-be mickey-takers on eBay and similar websites.

Provided you know someone with a starter of their own or a deck. Yes, as promised the other day, repeated here is the main criticism I have of the Destiny starter model.

While it's true that Destiny starter sets are cheaper than some of their contemporaries, the alternatives do at least include enough components for two players to get into the game and play together. Now, granted there are problems that are avoided when you go down the "everyone buys their own starter" route, but nonetheless it doesn't feel like the best presentation if you're looking to get people to play with friends.

Generally, I'm very positive on Destiny. It's a novel system, though it's a little complex owing to the novelty of the Dice Duel System (The guided tutorials on Youtube from Fantasy Flight are excellent though), and the presentation is visually very appealing with all the components shown a great deal of love.

However, of the starter sets made available thus far, this doesn't feel like the strongest available. There's something about the Villain decks that suggests that Fantasy Flight are really reluctant to stick a pair of named villains together, as this "take an established baddie and add a stormtrooper" model also occurred in the Kylo Ren starter pack as well. I'm not sure why that is, but clearly it's not a hang-up they have about the Heroes starter sets. If you asked me to recommend one of the two starters, I'd have to go with the Luke Skywalker starter of the two recent decks. Overall, I'd have to think about it. Maybe a Toybox video in the future!

Rob Wade

Originally published on Emotionally14.com