Walking In Legendary Fuji

Another week has passed, and I’ve played some more games. NERD! Here are the new games I played. Of course, they were shaken, not stirred.

Legendary: A James Bond Deck Building Game

I’ve been anxious to play Legendary: A James Bond Deck Building Game from Upper Deck since the moment it was announced. Sure, I got to play a demo prototype at the GAMA Trade Show, but I needed to get my hands on the official release.

I am, by all accounts a James Bond nerd, and I own a LOT of the Legendary: Marvel Deck Building Game. So this game was a no-brainer pickup for me.

Here’s what I liked about this version of Legendary. I felt the villains, schemes, and missions immerse you in the films in ways the Marvel system often lacks. I love seeing the characters, gadgets, and vehicles from the movies and the Masterminds and schemes feel unique and tie together well.

Unfortunately, the Hero deck, like the Marvel series, isn’t very thematic. I never felt like James Bond as I played the game. I felt like, Deck-Builder, Doug the Deck-Builder.

The other aspect that felt off happened when I set up the Villain Deck. To make the game work for three players, I had to add a second villain group. Which usually isn’t that big of a deal, but in this game, I had to add a group of villains from a completely different movie! I would have preferred to make the villain group large enough to handle the full complement of players and remove cards during setup for lower player counts.

Either way, the theme, and system both work well enough that this game will be staying on my shelf. Though, I’m not holding my breath for the George Lazenby expansion. If you don’t like James Bond, you can skip this release.

Walking In Burano

Walking In Burano, from AEG, is a small-ish card game about constructing five buildings on the island of Burano, Italy. Burano is known for its brightly colored houses, and it is your job to create those houses. You select first, second, and third-floor cards from a central market, and spend money to build the house sections you’ve acquired. Once a building is complete with a first, second, and third floor you’ll attract tourists or inhabitants to score points, which is how you win the game.

The smaller hobbit-sized cards make seeing the details on the card difficult, and those details score points. I’m assuming it was a cost issue, but standard size playing cards would have worked here. I was concerned by the number of choices to make in the game, but I never felt overwhelmed, and I enjoyed the pacing of the game.

Will this stick around? I’m not sure, but my initial reaction is no. Though, I’ll have to play it some more to make a final verdict.

Fuji

Fuji, from Feuerland, is designed by board game Wunderkind, Wolfgang Warsch. The concept is simple, you and your friends are on the island of Fuji when a volcano erupts, and you need to run away from the burning hot magma and through the jungle to safety.

Fuji is a cooperative game, and I love it! It does a couple of things that I really like. First, there are no alpha-player problems. (An alpha-player is someone who takes control of a cooperative game by telling everyone else what to do instead of working as a group) The hidden information in this game keeps that from happening.

Another aspect I appreciate is the consistent tension throughout the game. The pressure doesn’t feel forced or manufactured, so it doesn’t feel like the game is cheating to win. You know where the lava is going, so get the hell out of the way.

I have yet to play a Wolfgang Warsch game I don’t like, and I recommend you give this one a look.