Rod's Games: 2024

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Alien: Fate of the Nostromo

An interesting RPG based of the Alien series of movies. This cooperative or solo game pits the crew of the Nostromo against the Mother alien. Gather scrap to acquire the tools that will defend against the alien and fulfill tasks needed to conquer the alien, and do this all before crew morale is decimated.

See a video on How To Play by Rodney Smith.

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Mystery Detectives Vol.1

An interesting game that is basically a version of twenty questions. This is a collection of mystery puzzles that you try to solve by asking questions to which you can get a yes or no answer. Recommended on the Watch It Played Youtube channel.

Friday, February 23, 2024

Village Rails

Village Rails is a British inspired railway game from Osprey Games.

From BoardGameGeeks: "In Village Rails, you will be criss-crossing the fields of England with railway lines, connecting villages together, and navigating the complex and ever-changing demands of rural communities. Connect stations and farmsteads to your local network while placing your railway signals and sidings ever so carefully. Meet the exacting standards of cantankerous locals planning strangely specific trips, and weigh their demands against your limited funding."

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Pass the Ace (Chase the Ace)

How to play Chase the Ace

Chase The Ace is an easy-to-learn bluffing card game for four or more players.

Goal
Avoid the low card each round to win this game!

Needed
52 card deck, three tokens per player. Best for 4 or more players.

Card Rank
Highest to lowest - King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace.

Setup

Each player is given three tokens to represent each player’s three lives.
Each player draws one card, the player with the highest card is the first dealer. The ace is always low in Chase the Ace.

Deal
Each player is dealt one card.

Objective
The object of the game is to avoid having the lowest ranking card at the end of each round; otherwise, you will lose one token.

Game Play

The player to the left of the dealer is first to play. During a turn, players can decide to keep their current card or exchange cards with the player on their left.
If a player decides to exchange, the player on the left must exchange unless he/she is holding a king. [A variation I saw on another website states that if the player is blocked from swapping because the next player has a king, then they must then move onto the next player to the left and exchange cards with that person.]
Play continues until the dealer is the last person to play. If the dealer wants to exchange his/her card, he/she will draw the top card of deck, and must keep that card.
After every player has had a turn, the cards are flipped up. The player with the lowest ranking card loses a token.

Winning
The last player with one or more tokens wins the game.

Rules

Players must exchange their cards when requested, except if one person holds a king. If a player has a king and is asked to exchange, no exchange occurs, and the king is flipped up.
A dealer cannot exchange for a king from the deck. If a king is the top card, the dealer is stuck with his/her original card.
If two players tie for the lowest ranking card in a round, they both lose a token. A variation can be played where tying players are safe, and the lowest unique ranking card (i.e., only one person holds that value card) loses a token.
Once a player is out of tokens, he/she is out of the game. [As a variation, when a person is out of tokens they have one more go "on their face" or "on their honour".]
If two players are left in the game and tie, neither player loses a token. The final deal is re-dealt.

Find a video tutorial and written explanation on how to play Chase the Ace here.

Source: https://gathertogethergames.com/chase-the-ace