Quick Review - Hive

First post of the new year

So we've been having plenty of fun post-XMas. The boys got Hive, from a gramma. Hive is a great game. It's simple to learn, but with all the permutations, it has some interesting depth to it.

The pieces are made from bakelite, giving them some nice weight and durability. The set comes with a vinyl travel case making it idea to play pretty much anywhere, any 2' square or circular table should be sufficient.

The goal is to surround your opponent's queen bee; though the queen can be surrounded by either players pieces, if she's completely surrounded, it's game over. The other 4 pieces are as follows: The grass hopper of course jumps, it can jump any number of spaces, but can move around the hive, or over open space, it only jumps over tiles. The spider moves 3 spaces, no more, no less. The beetle is the most specialized piece, it can move over the top of the hive, locking pieces into place, especially useful for pinning down the queen to surround her. The last piece it the workhorse, or workant, the soldier ant can move any number of spaces around the hive, it is the equivalent to the Queen in chess. The ant is good for pinning other ants and making quick strikes into enemy territory. 

The game is for ages 8 and up, it says playing time is 20-30 minutes on the box, but I think only the first learning games we played ever lasted close to 20 minutes. The game is also a MENSA select winner. It's quickly become a favorite in the house, and I'm sure it will be popular at gaming club as well.

The game seems to just be getting better, with 2 expansions available, the doppleganger like mosquito, and the flitting Ladybug, which moves similar to a knight in chess, but hive-like as it moves on 2 on top of the hive, then back down.

This is an awesome game, that isn't that expensive. Running around $29.99 for the Color edition, or $33.99 for the Carbon edition, (black & white edition, that INCLUDES the mosquito and lady bug pieces). 

I know I've seen it at At Ease Games, going to look around to see if it's a the other stores. 

BOARDGAME REVIEW - FURT!

This is a review of the boardgame Party game, "FURT!" by WiggityBang Games:

FURT – Ages 13 & up / 3-8 players / 60 minutes to play

FURT is a befuzzling eruption of laughter in a box. It is a party game that defies logic and a reasonable explanation. You have to play to understand and when you do, you’ll laugh until your sides ache.

In this game players race to be the first INTO the mouth of a fiery volcano by completing actions from the six wacky-packed FURT categories. You might be making up outrageous lies about yourself. Freshening up with a quick shower in your host’s bathroom. Or acting out the words ‘butter patty.’

Perfect for: game nights, girls’ nights, family get-togethers, road trips to Vegas, frozen winter evenings in the Midwest, lazy days poolside, high school detention, prison riots, peace treaty talks, jury duty and any other gathering that could use a good laugh.

Availability: FURT is now available online and through select retailers.

Main Review: This is a great party game, we were laughing almost non-stop, the HotSpot spots were one of the most hilarious as we were constantly yelling out what the spots indicated. The game played quickly and we had a blast.

This is a turn based game. A color coded die is rolled, blue indicates one of the secret cards, which are pretty fun, though it would be better if the food related ones weren't in the deck, as it limits the number of places where the game can be played using the entire ruleset. The other colors indicate what part of the FURT! category card you read from.

BLUE this is the secret "What the?!" category, this can be a bluff, as you can say you completed the card, but others can challenge it. They can be really fun, or really annoying, or annoyingly fun.

BLACK the Volcano Has Spoken. This is a simple, read, then move (forward or backward)

RED is the straight-faced challenge. 30 seconds of trying to keep a straight face while verbally assaulted with the words from the volcano.

GREEN The Guess what challenge is really fun, you take from 1-3 funny words, then can either ACT, TALK or DRAW.

PURPLE Truth or Fiction, using the "example" question. Such as, "The last time I was at the airport I...." You have a truth/fiction token you hide the answer and reveal after everyone has guessed.


YELLOW "You are" This is one of my personal favorite categories, I particularly enjoyed being a Soccer Mom, explaining how Toe Jam and Doubloons helped save the day!

The final phase is the Volcano. Where you must survive the Straight Faced challenge. If you don't win, the others get to double move until they get to the Volcano as well.

Ages: The game is stated for 13+, the boys are about 12 and they played it fine. There are definitely things in here which are for more adult oriented minds.

Cost: This game retails for $29.95, pretty typical cost for a similar game.

The Verdict: For pure laughs this game is worth the money, though the "funny words" aren't die-cut, that doesn't matter as much, so this game is EPIC! Fun with a capital FURT!

Epic Sean says: "This was absolutely insanely awesome!"

Epic Ian says: "It's an awesome game, hardly anyone can keep a straight face!"

(Disclaimer: This game was provided for review)

FURT!

So, we received our first "for review" game, Matt Rivaldi of WiggityBang games sent us a review copy of FURT. It looks like an hilarious game from the word GO!  If you're not familiar with WiggityBang! games, they're a local game company, the creators of Quelf.

Now to read the rules so we can play it and review it this weekend!

FURT - A Befuzzling Eruption of Laughter

Here's what you get!