WBC 2013 Puerto Rico Tournament

Posted on August 27, 2013 by RichMShay

Results from the WBC 2013 Puerto Rico Tournament will appear here. Starting with a transcript of the final game and pictures of the players’ final boards, followed by the long version of the event report written by your humble host who served as GM for the tournament this year.
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Recon #7: Trajan Part 2

Posted on July 22, 2013 by RichMShay

Welcome to another episode of Play Boardgames Better Recon.
In this episode, I’ll continue the examination of Trajan, Stefan Feld’s 6 ring circus of a Euro with more direct competition than many games.

Trajan Recon Part 2 [ 23:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is part 2 of a 2-part Recon. We’ll go over the mancala (and I was surprised at what I found when I tinkered with the bits) and each of the 6 rings of the circus in more depth. I hope it gives you something to think about on repeated plays of this great game.

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Recon #6: Trajan

Posted on April 16, 2013 by RichMShay

Welcome to another episode of Play Boardgames Better Recon.
In this episode, I’ll examine Trajan, Stefan Feld’s 6 ring circus of a Euro with more direct competition than many games.

Trajan Recona Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is part 1 of a 2-part Recon. Trajan has a lot going on and much important information is better understood if you go through game play once, then circle around for a deeper look. Aliens take over the volume for a brief time about 4 minutes in. I’ll fight them off better next time.

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Recon #5: Le Havre: The Inland Port

Posted on March 5, 2013 by RichMShay

Welcome to another episode of Play Boardgames Better Recon.
In this episode, I’ll examine Le Havre: The Inland Port.
Its Uwe Rosenberg’s 2-player, fast game based on Le Havre for theme and Ora & Labora for mechanisms.

Le Havre: The Inland Port Recon [ 26:28 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Recon #4: Village

Posted on January 22, 2013 by RichMShay

Welcome to another episode of Recon. This time we are going to explore Village.  It was designed by Inka and Markus Brand. Originally published by Eggertspiele, an American edition has been produced by Tasty Minstrel Games and is now widely available.
Because it is fairly new, I’ll go through play of the game, but it won’t substitute for learning the rules. In fact I’ll end up covering play fairly deeply.

Village Recon Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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WBC 2011 Yspahan Final Game

Posted on October 8, 2012 by RichMShay

In the “better late than never” category, I have finally finished and published the write up of the 2011 WBC Yspahan Tournament Final Game.
I think it is a good example of how the game is played by great players, since three of the most competitive gamers I know duke it out for the title. Unfortunately, describing play of a single game in detail doesn’t make for an entertaining podcast. So I have built a web page with graphics for each of the 3 weeks of 7 turns that makes a game. I hope you will follow along and either learn or be amused.
The Yspahan tournament has a mulligan round and a regular round. Winning a game in either round advances a player to the semifinal. The best second place finishers (based on the ratio of their score to the winner’s) are added to make at least 3 tables of 4 player games. The winners of the semifinal games play in the final game.
Follow along on the following pages:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

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Recon #3: Eminent Domain

Posted on August 27, 2012 by RichMShay

This is a podcast about Tasty Minstrel’s game Eminent Domain by Seth Jaffee.
It has more introductory information than previous Recon episodes because the game isn’t as widely know.
I’m a big fan of the game and my favorable opinion shows through.
As usual, I will try to give you enough information to play competently and make reasonable decisions starting with your first game.
Enjoy.

Recon #3: Eminent Domain [ 23:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I hope to be posting more regularly starting now, so stay tuned.
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Episode 4 – Puerto Rico the Beginning

Posted on November 29, 2011 by RichMShay

In this episode, I start a series on playing Puerto Rico and I interview Andy Latto, an incredibly good player and a nice guy to play with.
I’ll present what I think every Puerto Rico player should understand right after they learn the rules. This episode is a strategic overview. I’m sure plenty of folks will have dissenting views and I hope they will present them in future episodes.

I apologize for the long interval between episodes. They will come out quicker, at least over the winter. I was having too much fun this summer. Some of it wasn’t even gaming, but a lot was.

Puerto Rico Part 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Episode 3 – Just Enough Math & Meet the Other Sheas!

Posted on April 11, 2011 by RichMShay

In this episode I attempt to cover enough probability to help you make better decisions in games, without giving you so much that you fall asleep behind the wheel and drive into a ditch.
I interview the gamingest family that I have met, and they are Sheas (no relation, spelled differently, really). I met them at TotalCon in 2007 and have gamed with them at conventions since. Aside from being fun to game with, they are all excellent competitive gamers. I interviewed most of them at Euroquest in November, 2010 and I’ve added that to this episode.

Play Board Games Better Episode 3 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Total Confusion 25 (2011) Results & Comments

Posted on March 31, 2011 by RichMShay

Not only did I attend Total Confusion 25 in Mansfield, I also worked as the #2 Minion for boardgaming. Thanks to Rob Kircher’s experience and discipline, the events were organized and on time. Participation was up from previous years and many folks have commented on how well the convention runs.

The convention website has the winners’ name in each tournament listed, but I thought I would add a longer list of the boardgame finalists. I’m hoping more photos of the event will show up soon. Please add your comments on the tournaments.
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