Where to buy board games in Cebu

The board game selection in the big stores here in Cebu are pretty bland. It’s mostly composed of the traditional abstract games like chess, checkers (dama), and such. The mass-marketed games from Mabuhay Games, a local game publisher, to which their most popular product is Millionaire’s Game, a cheap knock-off of Monopoly. And lastly, the usual suspects from Hasbro and Mattel, like UNO, Monopoly, Scrabble, Pictionary, etc. So you can pretty much ignore these stores when looking for the modern board games that we are after.

Play 2 Learn is a toy shop located in Ayala Center Cebu. They have a bigger selection but still almost limited to Hasbro and Mattel. Some time ago, they had a copy of Settlers of Catan for sale, albeit priced steeply but still, that’s better than nothing, although, I only saw it once. It’s good to check this store from time to time, as you’ll never know, a gem of a board game might appear in their shelves.

A nearby FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) would be pretty awesome to have around as these are hobby-centric stores that caters to board gamers. The nearest to a FLGS here in Cebu would be Neutral Grounds at JY Square. However, Neutral Grounds only stocks Magic: the Gathering nowadays. As I remember, they used to have board games when they were still located at Mango Square a few years back. From time to time, they also carry the current popular CCGs (collectable card games) and miniatures, like Mage Knight, HeroClix, VS, World of Warcraft TCG & Warhammer 40K. But all throughout, their consistent seller has always been Magic: the Gathering. There is one glimmer of hope though, in that they do accept orders for board game which is shipped from the bigger branches in Manila, which carries board games. Hurray for this! To know what’s in stock, you can ask Rod, the owner of the store, or you can lurk theFacebook page of Neutral Grounds Philippines. As they don’t catalog the board games, it’s not that easy to search for the games.

There are some stores that I missed out, like Next Star Hobby Store, which I have never been to and just recently read about in a blog. I will write about them as I go along visit or discover these stores.

This pretty much sums up the local stores for now and as you can see, there is no way you can buy any modern board game right off the shelf anywhere here in Cebu, which is frustrating for any board gaming hobbyist out there. But nevertheless, I stil managed to acquire board games thanks to online stores, which will be the focus in my next blog.

Until next time, may you find ways to acquire that board game you’ve been dying to own.

Session V Report

Playing board games - that's how we spent our first Sunday of March. And it was a time well-spent. :)

We played 8 games and there were 10 people who joined the fun. Grace, a close friend at work joined us for the first time. I'm super happy she accepted my request. I'm exhilarated when she texted me that she had so much fun and will join again next time. Yohooo! The more, the merrier!

Welcome to the club, Mam Gracie!

We had the session at Kesner's place again. This was the 2nd session held at their place. Thanks to them for the yummy diner of lechon manok and liempo. The rest of us chipped in PHP 100 for the drinks, ngohiong, fish and pork belly. Games plus foods...hmmm...if this would continue every Sunday, then might as well make my exercise regimen rigid..or else...you know what I mean. Haha!

Thanks again, hosts!

As I've mentioned, 8 games have been played but that doesn't mean all of us managed to play all. See below for the details.

Apparently, it was a happy session (to me). :D Out of 6 games joined, I won thrice. I am improving. :)

The strongest player for that day is Victor for winning 3 out of 5 games played.

Congrats, Vitchtor!

And the weakest...if you asked me....

Boooooo Paul!

Hahaha!

Till next time folks! :)

Players & Board Games

Our board gaming activity has been active since the start of 2012. Fortunately, we just had our 5th session last Saturday. Wohooo! I’ve been lazy for the past days that I was not able to post something about each session. I’ll make up for the lost times by summarizing the events of the past 5 sessions. Weeee!

Players

Who have attended the most sessions?

Who are the new players?

When was their first play?

Who haven’t come back since the last time they attended?

Who have complete attendance?

Answers of the preceding questions can be found below. Note that this is only the sessions for 2012. I haven't tracked the sessions of 2011. BTW, we just started this activity last September 2011.

People who joined the first time is marked by a bold text.

Games Played

What are the games played each session?

How many games we have?

What are the games we haven't played yet for 2012?

Games played the first time is marked with a bold text.

Standings, winnings and losses for the next post. Stay tuned to know who have the most wins, losses and etc. :)

Meet and Greet Part 1

Fortunately, because we've been together almost every lunch and snacks time, me and my best bud here run out of things to talk about today. I remember about the game session this Saturday so I talked about it. I ended up telling her about my current favorite: Ticket to Ride. I told her about this blog too. :)

And it was positive. She got interested to play Ticket to Ride. But I wish she would be interested in other games too. Hehe! But then telling her to scour the net for the game play of all the other games would be too demanding of me so I have decided to make an overview of all the games.

So here it is...

The games as of this time based on my classification.

Kring's Choice (Manager's Choice!)

I highly recommend these games for starters. Carcassone and Ticket to Ride are simple yet super fun competitive games. Let's face it, board gaming is not YET mainstream in Cebu (there's a board gaming event in Manila). People have this twisted idea about it. Board = Bored! I was one of those people before. Glad my converter is patient. Eventually I embraced the activity wholeheartedly.  Today, I look forward to every game sessions. Isn't it fun to meet with friends and play rather than talk about other people's mess the entire time?! Hmmm!



Classic

I hate these games at first. You see I I have this thing about memory so remembering things overwhelmed me. But as soon as I had the grasp of what the game is all about, I was hooked. They're definitely one of the games I love to play over and over and over again. These competitive games are timeless.

Up Next:

Detailed overview of Carcassone, Ticket to Ride, Race for the Galaxy, Alien Frontiers and Survive.

Why do I play board games?

...Because I don't have a choice. I was forced.

Ennnng! Wrong! I played board games because I enjoy and like it. Yes, I didn't start playing on my own but to make it a habit is. :) I'm not the athletic and the gamer type of girl, that's what I thought then when I opted not to join any games before. Later I realized the real reason I don't. I hate losing that's why I don't commit myself into something I'm not sure I could win.

In games, it is a rare occurrence to win but if I did, the feeling is intoxicating. It surpasses that of winning something I'm good at. That feeling is addictive. Playing board games fits that bakery tag line, "once tasted. always wanted."

I want my friends to join me on this journey but I don't know how to start. Board gaming is mostly associated to the geeky few (I'm not), I believe most of my friends aren't. I'm afraid they won't enjoy it as much as I do. But I won't quit. It is a dream to one day see all of my friends playing board game. Haha!

Why do I play board games?
Because aside from being fun, it takes away boredom. It's not popular so I pride myself to be part of the (gifted) few. Haha! And as someone said, board gaming is not for superficial (I thought I'm one) people. It needs talent, ability and a burning fire to win. And learning something new once in a while is mentally healthy. In board game, my time is well spent. :)

Experience: Ticket To Ride

[image source: gateplay.com]

Among the games that comprises batch 2, I like Ticket to Ride most. It is not because RFTG is super mind-boggling nor was it because LNOE was a little tragic (and boring). I like it because I never get tired of playing and winning. Haha! Plus it's really super easy to learn. No qualms learning it at all. Trust me!

I hate to lose and playing TTR gives me an equal opportunity to win. The entire game play is simple. Actually, everything in it is simple but surprisingly fun. I think new board gamers out there can easily appreciate and will surely love it on the first game. I hate to admit that Carcassone is no longer my favorite.

So without further ado, let me take you to a one-on-one trip with my new favorite, Ticket to Ride!

How to Win?

Most people start with the game play but I'm not most people. Haha! I'm mostly interested on winning so when a new game is introduced, I always asked how to win it.

Winning is easy but about how you'll do it, depends on your luck (train ticket) and strategy (destination ticket). You only have to accumulate the most points among your opponent. This can be played by at most 5 players.

How to Play?

You can actually read the game manual but I'll just assume that you're like the lazy me who's easily overwhelmed by manuals. Let's take a short cut.

note: boardgamerscebu is transferred to this blog.

Per turn, each player can only do 1 action. That action can either be any of the following:

1. Get a train ticket.

note: boardgamerscebu is transferred to this blog.

There are 8 colors of train tickets as shown above. You will use these tickets to claim a route (action no 3). There is one special train ticket, the multi-color. This can be any color you want it to. For example: If you like to claim a route that needs 4 pink train tickets and you only have 3 pink, you can use a multi-color to make it 4.

In getting the train tickets, please note the following:

(a). You can get all the 2 tickets from the train ticket gallery or train ticket pile or a combination of both.

(b). In getting a ticket from the gallery, you must replace that ticket from the pile. If in opening, the ticket is multi-colored, you cannot get the 2nd ticket anymore.

(c). If you get a multi-colored ticket from the gallery, you cannot get a 2nd ticket. If not follow (b).

2. Get a destination ticket.

note: boardgamerscebu is transferred to this blog.

At the start of the game, you will be provided with 4 train tickets, 3 destination tickets and 45 trains. You can keep the 4 train tickets but you have an option to discard 1 destination ticket. Destination tickets are your goals. If you're able to complete the route, it will be added to your score, subtracted otherwise. So you must not commit if you're not sure whether you can finish the route. You will use your trains to connect to your destinations.

3. Claim a route.

As stated above, you will be given 45 trains. You will use that to reach your destinations. Each point or places comprises one route. You can only claim 1 route per turn. See the colors on the board? Each of them match up to the colors of the train tickets. If you want to get a four train length of route with a color of pink, you need to have 4 pink train tickets (or see 1).

You will given a point in each claim.

I think that's all for this game. Tell me if I miss something out. :D Hope you can play ticket to ride soon. It's really a cool and nice. It's worth every penny if you buy one! Hehe!

You can check the following sites too for a review and some stuffs about ticket to ride.

http://gamesbyjohnny.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/ticket-to-ride/

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeksearch.php?action=search&objecttype=boardgame&q=ticket+to+ride&B1=Go

Found it while searching for TTR pics. Pictures here are courtesy of the above sites. I just add a little extras.

Bye bye!

Till the next game!

Budding Collection

It's been a while since my last post. Lots of things happened since. Yay! As of this post, collection includes 10 board games already. Ain't that handful for board game newbies? Blame it to his addiction.  I could not blame him. I wish you could not blame him too. :)

Last Saturday, he is quite excited to introduce his new treasures, Wits & Wagers and Survive - collection batch 4.  See the look on his face?! Warning: Board Gaming is pretty addictive. Don't commit if you're not ready. Haha!

I remembered blabbering about the 2nd batch. It was christmas holidays when he received the 3rd batch so I wasn't able to blog about it.

Citadels and Robo Rally comprises collection batch 3. Migo got it from Dice Tower's secret Santa gift exchange.

Citadels is quite hard. I played it twice but don't understand what I'm doing still. It's thanks to beginner's luck for winning on the 2nd try. Put your hands together please. :D

Robo Rally is vicious. Waaaaaaaah! I love and hate it at the same time. I hate it because it magnifies my sense of direction weakness. I'm having a hard time knowing the left and right side of my robot. It's frustrating to strategize  on such vantage. Hayst! I love it because it is excruciatingly FUN. It can accommodate up to 8 players which makes it more fun. And it's blood pumping to play it with a crowd of 8 hyperactive and vicious people. Hahaha!  Don't you just love a game like that?!!

Of the batch 3 collection, I like Robo Rally more. But playing it is time-consuming thus we opt not to play it more often that we wanted to.  Perhaps, if our group grow (we have 8 on-off players now) then probably we can play this more. Just message me if you like to join the fun, alright?!

And now back to batch 4. I cannot say much probably considering I just met them last Saturday.

Survive. Played it thrice. Lose. Lose. Win! Yay! I'm not at my best here yet because I still cannot form my strategy. I still need to familiarize the icons. I don't like the game so much. Haha! As its name suggest, maybe you already have an idea what's this game about...and (as you may now) I'm not a fan of survival. Haha! But I'm in it for the win. Let's see how I'll survive Survive on out next sessions. Stay tuned!

"Brainless trivia. Shameless fun." Oh, I just love Wits&Wagers tagline.  I would have marry this game if not for my brainlessness these days. Haha! I hate to always be the odd one out so I might stop playing this. Just kidding! Why would I stop?! To hell with being the odd one. Haha! As long as everyone is enjoying why ruin the mood by self-pitying that your guess is not as good as them?! I'm in this for the fun.  Why don't you check W&W to know what I'm blabbering about. Go!

Citadels.

Robo Rally.

Survive.

Wits and Wagers.

Welcome to our collections!