Skycastle Event Centre Launch – Session Report

Paul | November 9, 2015 | Features | 6 Comments

Games. Games everywhere and I want to play all of them.

This mantra repeated in my mind for most of the eleven hours we spent gaming at the Skycastle Event Centre launch this past Saturday. That seems like a decent chunk of time, so you’d suspect that we made a fair dent into everything that was on offer?

Cloud Nine…

Five games. That’s about as effective as carving through a cement prison wall with a spoon – don’t forget that Andy Dufresne had TIME. Still, five games can certainly be considered a rather decent day of gaming, even more so when considering the lengthy period required to choose a title from the impressive selection of demos on offer – I even spotted Starcraft: The Board Game on a shelf up high.

Here’s a quick session report on what we did play:

Mission Red Planet 2nd Edition

Game over man, game over!

Toward the top of the list of titles the CBQ team were keen to play, this reprint of the popular two Bruno’s (Faidutti and Cathala) 2005 release made it to the table first. With updated components, rules tweaks and the inclusion of a sixth player, we had high hopes.

Mission Red Planet has been widely described as a mash up of Citadels and Alien Frontiers – mainly due to the fusion of the role selection mechanic to that of area control. The steam-punk theme is captured wonderfully in the updated artwork and the overall quality of the components is excellent. For those not familiar with the game, players head up a team of planetary mining experts on a mission to Mars to extract valuable mineral resources. Each team employs the same specialists represented by ten Citadel-like role cards, as well as a team of the most adorable plastic astronaut minis ever. On each turn, players will use one of their specialists to give their team of astronauts the advantage as they board rocket ships destined for Mars.

First off, the decision to order roles played each round as if initiating a Houston countdown was genius. Counting down from 9, as each number on the countdown is reached, players who have chosen the corresponding role card reveal their specialist and effect the cards ability. It adds a great deal of theme an enjoyment handling the reveal in this manner – I dare you to play the game without making crackling intercom sound effects. Ships that launch successfully land on one of ten of Mars’ regions, and the player with the most astronauts in a region is considered to control that region.

The area control aspect is solid, with sufficient depth to make decisions taxing but mechanically simple enough as to not detract from what is the game’s highlight – the roles cards. When do you play the Saboteur, who blows up a docked rocket with everyone aboard? Or perhaps you’ll utilise the Pilot to redirect a rocket to a location of your choosing?

Steer clear of this asteroid field if you prefer a prefer long term planning and minimal interference. At CBQ however, we love a healthy dose of the unknown and being forced to think on our feet and change strategy on the fly. All three of us were in agreement that Mission Red Planet was one of the two best games we played at the launch, look out for a full review soon.

Colt Express

This ‘ere town ain’t big ’nuff fer the both of us…

This one’s a bit of a surprise selection, Spiel des Jahres 2015 winner and Wild West programming title Colt Express. I do recall a fair bit of hullabaloo at its 2014 launch, mainly around the 3D train which acts as the game board. And to be sure, that train is indeed something to behold. We were lucky enough to play a version which included a promotional playmat – why this mat with its colourful rendition of train tracks and cacti and steer skulls isn’t a base component is beyond me, but at least there’s a free to print version available.

Players choose one of six bandits, including the rather derivatively named Tuco and Django, each with a unique special power and a deck of action cards. Said actions cards are used for moving, shooting, punching or picking up loot, and are played either face up or facedown in turn order and then resolved using meeples that play out the actions on the train in a kind of cardboard theatre.

As with any game built upon the programming mechanic, the joy is to be found in sequences playing out in slow motion. The realisation that an opponent has acted unexpectedly and you’re left shooting at thin air or grabbing a purse of gold coins that used to be there. Colt Express lacks the depth of a Robo Rally or a Lords of Xidit, but its quick playing time, evocative theme and guaranteed belly laughs are not to be overlooked.

Mysterium

Co-operative pottery not included

I’ve been blowing hot and cold on Mysterium since it’s Gencon launch. To be more accurate, hot when it was announced, and mostly cold since. Exposure to the game at this year’s rAge didn’t do much to change my cooling opinion, but this seemed like the ideal opportunity to play the full game at a more leisurely pace and with a more familiar group.

The game has been characterised by most as a cross between Cluedo and Dixit, and I’ve been guilty of doing the same, but the Cluedo label is actually a completely superficial one. Yes, a murder occurred at an appropriately spooky mansion and the players as psychics have been tasked with figuring out the who, where and with what, but the deductive nature of the game is pure Dixit. As the Ghost, I attempted to communicate clues to the psychics via the dreamlike imagery of cards from the Vision deck – an incredibly difficult task given the open-ended nature of the imagery. As an example, when attempting to indicate the weapon used in the murder to one of the players, I chose a card with a knight on it to indicate an iron as the murder weapon. However, that same card also had a Rapunzel-like tower, and since one of the options for the murder weapon was a rope, you can guess which weapon the psychic indicated.

A post mortem of the experience revealed a criticism I’ve seen reflected in many reviews – that the experience for the Ghost is far more enjoyable than that of the players. Similarly, Mysterium attempts to pack more ‘game’ in with the addition of a clairvoyancy side game and this ends up adding little to the experience other than unneeded bloat. That said, I personally enjoyed the game more than I expected too given that I was aware of the many criticisms going in. And it remains a stunning game to lose oneself in given the right environment and a group who are game for hamming up the experience.

Ca$h ‘n Guns 2nd Edition

Say hello to my little friend…

The heist went off like clockwork. The haul is bountiful – diamonds, artwork, cash. But with this many egos in the room, things are bound to go south very quickly. Stickyfingers Eddie is the first to whip out a pistol, Safecracker Suzie is seconds behind. A Mexican Standoff. Reservoir Dogs. Someone’s about to get very rich. Someone’s about to get very dead.

Ca$h ‘n Guns is a wonderfully simple party game. Eight items of loot dealt to the table, each player receives five blanks and three live rounds – load a round to the chamber, 3…2…1 and aim your foam pistol at your least favourite accomplice. Too many pistols directed at your head? Throw your arms up and you’re out of the round, but hey you have your health! Reckon the person pointing a gun at you is bluffing? Stay in the round – if you’re right a share of the loot is yours. If you’re wrong, pick up a wound. Three wounds, and you swim with the fish. There’s a Godfather and the game comes with individual player powers if you need to add some spice to the base game, but the bottom line is that Ca$h ‘n Guns is a blast. So much so, that one of the players at the table picked up his own copy.

Abyss

Down where it’s wetter…

There’s a reason Abyss made it to so many of 2014’s best of lists in the Artwork category – Xavier Collette’s art is superb. No, really, just look at that photo. It’s easy to see why this title was so eagerly anticipated and I’ve always wondered whether the early hype hurt the game in the long run. I can clearly recall the overall tone of disappointment in the initial reviews, and as us gamers are so often wont to do, I let Abyss slip off my radar.

Great games though have a tendency to endure hardship, and those who dived into Abyss after the waters had become more tranquil tended toward a more positive view. Nevertheless, when Stuart began to read through the rulebook, my brain decided to strand itself on the beach. Perhaps it was simply rules fatigue setting in, perhaps the rulebook could have been written clearer – either way as the first round began I felt like I was drowning.

Thankfully, the game is really just set-collection with location tiles that provide bonuses and Lord cards that manipulate the rules. It’s very easy to pick up, turns flow quickly and I can certainly see a four player game ending in less than an hour. Which given the depth of gameplay on offer is a rather attractive quality. The implementation of a press your luck mechanic is also masterfully handled.

As much as I enjoyed Mission Red Planet, I ended the game in 2nd place without actually knowing what my sub-optimal decisions had been. Dissecting the playthrough seemed an exercise in futility – I’d certainly play it again, but I can’t say I’d approach it with a better idea of what strategy to employ. Abyss, on the other hand, was still swimming through my mind on Sunday morning. Ideas for what to try the next time, how to balance the risk/reward aspect – this is why Abyss was my game of the day.

Thanks to Skycastle for organising a tremendously entertaining event. I know that they are planning to organise a regular game weekend in this style going forward, and CBQ will most certainly be there again. Also, shout-outs to John, Marvin, Marc and Deon for joining our table over the course of the day and adding significantly to the day’s enjoyment. Also, thanks to all those who took the time to say hi!

Stay tuned to our Twitter and Facebook feeds for a heads up as we release new content for the rest of the week.

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About The Author

Grim

Paul thinks about board games a lot. Mostly when he should be thinking about school fees and Eskom and staff meetings. In other words, Paul's clearly got his priorities in order. Constantly lamenting the lack of Mage Wars opponents.

David

That Starcraft is unpunched, never been played! And so is the Brood War expansion. I’ve just… seriously.

Was cool meeting you. See you at the next one.
- grim
  
  Yeah, pity it wasn’t a meeting held at gunpoint or tribal warfare 😉
  
  Next time!
- Kyle Hagues
  
  Know those feels. I wanted to buy brood wars off him.
Shereen Govender

Personally refuse to support anything Skycastle. How can a company, that is a sole importer of many titles, a distribution to the actual brick and mortar stores that is the biggest reason boargames and the like are so cool in this country, goes and sells direct to the public? Its such a bad business ethic. Its conflict of interest with the stores that only they can supply a vast range of titles to.

They sell at the mayor conventions, via takealot and via Digital sushi.

Skycastle is a true eyesore in the boardgame community. a Nkandla of the scene if you catch my drift
- grim
  
  Hi Shereen,
  
  Thanks for the comment we appreciate your taking the time to provide a different perspective. I think the first thing we’d suggest is that you chat to Skycastle directly about your concerns? We’re not affiliated with them, so unfortunately we’re not in a position to speak on their behalf. That said, we do feel it’s worth pointing out that Skycastle are not the only local distributor to use this model, nor is this something unique to SA shores.
  
  Similarly, there is a fair degree of overlap, and you may often find that events being hosted at your FLGS is being supported or assisted by distributors without actually advertising the fact. For example, the Unplug Yourself initiative was driven by two of our local distributors and was designed to promote boardgaming as a whole – something which is surely good for all involved?
  
  That said, it’s also important that distributors are seen to be transparent in the way they operate, and it is up to us as the consumer to ensure that they do so. If we observe instances of unethical practice, we should be able to bring those concerns to light without fear of discrimination. But let’s be sure that we don’t wander into slanderous territory – make sure we
  know all the facts first. As such, we’ll certainly speak to Skycastle management and revert with a response, as there are no doubt other consumers who perhaps share a similar concern.
  
  The CBQ Team
- Eugene Black
  
  Hi Shereen
  
  Eugene here from Skycastle.
  I appreciate your opinion here, and you certainly have a right to it, but perhaps I can shed some light on our business decisions and why we do what we do.
  
  Firstly, though we sell directly to the public it is perhaps less than 5% of our overall turnover, so the bulk of our sales go directly through the stores that we support 100%.
  
  As Skycastle we distribute literally thousands of titles into the SA market and, realistically, not many of the stores we supply to can, or would be interested in, buying all of these titles. We do however need to get these products out to the market, so creating avenues where all of these titles can be accessed to discerning buyers is very important to us, especially as our overseas suppliers expect as much as possible of their range to be distributed in South Africa.
  
  We bought over Digital Sushi from one of our customers to rescue it from closing down. Digital Sushi is a great site and we did not want to see a business with such a great footprint in the SA market come to nothing. Having a seller portal on Takealot was mainly an intermediary step and, as you may notice, the bulk of our sales on Takealot are what they buy directly from us and sell to the public.
  
  Conventions are a whole different kettle of fish and, may I point out, that we did not actually sell directly to the public this year, but recruited one of our client stores, Battle Wizards, to take over and run our store (they were the first store to ever be willing to take the risk along with us, even though this has been offered to stores as an option every year). rAge this year cost upwards of R200 000 to run the Unplugged Yourself stand, as do many of the conventions we exhibit at. Someone has to foot the bill for it, so often the only way we can do so and make a big enough splash to promote the hobby we love is to sell directly to the public so we can use the extra profit to pay for our expenses. We don’t really make any profit at these shows – often we pay in and are really just happy to break even.
  
  We are not the only distributor that sells directly to the public – in fact most board game distributors in South Africa do (e.g. Wizards and Boardgames SA), and in many industries in South Africa distributors have retail outlets (including books, music and other entertainment and hobbies). In the US Fantasy Flight Games has their own online site, their own event center and their own physical store, and at conventions ONLY Suppliers sell stock to the public (stores don’t attend these conventions in any official capacity). Most of the local stores you are referring to are also distributors of smaller lines and international suppliers and also sell these items directly to the public, as well as selling to other stores.
  
  We created the event center because we believed there was a need for it that none of our client stores are able to meet at the moment, but at the same time we chose a location that does not encroach on any of our clients’ territories.
  
  Our purpose is not to compete with the stores we supply to, but to provide the best possible service to both stores and the board game community as a whole. We love gaming, we love gamers and we love the stores we supply to, and we always try to be as fair as possible.
  
  When we entered the market 6 years ago it was a small scene and we went out of our way to find ways to grow it. Along with our fellow local distributors we have pushed the envelope in growing the community more than anyone before us has – we were the first to support conventions in a big way, the first to push launch events and demo games in stores. We provided stock at our own risk to stores who could not afford to buy stock from us, the first to push for organized play etc. We are pushing the boundaries all the time, both locally and internationally to get the best that we can for SA gamers, because we want you to have as much as possible of what the rest of the world has. I believe as Skycastle we have grown the SA gaming scene in ways that no one else has, and I’m saying this not in a prideful way at all, but simply as a matter of fact.
  
  We have certainly made many mistakes along the way, but we always try and learn from them and get better at what we do. If we have personally offended you in any way, then please contact me and we can sort it out over a cup of coffee or a board game or two. You certainly have a right to disagree with the system, but we are definitely not the Nkandla of SA gaming or the biggest eyesore to SA gaming – not by a long shot. J The only effective way you could refuse to support anything Skycastle does is by not buying from any local store as they all buy from us, which in turn would harm the stores you are so passionate about.
  
  We agree with you though – buying from your local store is VERY important and it is something we always encourage as they are our partners in South Africa. In fact, where possible, you should rather buy from them and not directly from us, but sometimes that’s just not possible for completely justifiable reasons, and that’s where our direct sales come in.
  
  Keep well,
  
  Eugene

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Grim