\nPoisons<\/strong><\/a>, con\u00e7u avec avec Chris Darskalis, est sorti juste au moment confinement. Le timing n\u2019\u00e9tait sans doute pas le bon pour un jeu qui ne prend toute sa dimension que quand les joueurs sont assez nombreux. Maintenant que les choses s\u2019all\u00e8gent un peu, j\u2019esp\u00e8re qu\u2019il va prendre un nouveau d\u00e9part. C\u2019est un petit jeu de bluff et de psychologie bien rigolo.
\nLa sortie de mon autre petit jeu de cartes, Vintage<\/strong><\/a>, a \u00e9t\u00e9 un peu retard\u00e9e. Il est arriv\u00e9 cette semaine, et j\u2019esp\u00e8re qu\u2019il va d\u00e9marrer plus vite. Ce jeu de cartes simple et mignon mais n\u00e9anmoins m\u00e9chant fonctionne en effet tr\u00e8s bien d\u00e8s 3 ou 4 joueurs.
\nGrosse d\u00e9ception, mon \u00ab\u00a0jeu des coffres<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb auquel je croyais beaucoup et pour lequel j\u2019avais sign\u00e9 avec des gens que j\u2019aime beaucoup a \u00e9t\u00e9 victime des coupes dans les programmes des gros \u00e9diteurs. Du coup, je me suis un peu repench\u00e9 dessus et lui cherche un nouveau point de chute.<\/p>\n
Lorsque le confinement a commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 \u00eatre all\u00e9g\u00e9, j\u2019ai repris les soir\u00e9es jeux mais en respectant soigneusement les consignes, donc en petit comit\u00e9, ce qui m\u2019a donn\u00e9 l\u2019occasion de jouer \u00e0 quelques jeux pour trois, quatre ou cinq joueurs que j\u2019avais envie d\u2019essayer depuis longtemps. Je les ai tous trouv\u00e9s excellents, sans que je sache bien si cela signifie que la qualit\u00e9 des jeux publi\u00e9s est meilleure qu\u2019elle n\u2019a jamais \u00e9t\u00e9, que ma connaissance du monde ludique me permet de choisir \u00e0 coup s\u00fbr les trucs que je vais appr\u00e9cier, ou que je suis devenu trop bon public.<\/p>\n Root<\/strong>, de Cole Wehrle, est infiniment plus convaincant que son anc\u00eatre Vaast, dont j\u2019avais \u00e0 peine compris les r\u00e8gles. Les joueurs s\u2019affrontent sur la m\u00eame carte, mais chacun y joue \u00e0 un jeu diff\u00e9rent, un peu comme dans certains jeux des ann\u00e9es soixante-dix et quatre-vingt, comme Dune. Il y aurait aussi toute une r\u00e9flexion \u00e0 avoir sur l\u2019utilisation des animaux anthropomorphes dans les jeux, et j\u2019\u00e9crirai sans doute un jour un article l\u00e0 dessus. La mani\u00e8re dont c\u2019est fait dans Root m\u2019a sembl\u00e9 extr\u00eamement pertinente et efficace. Chats, oiseaux et blaireaux y fonctionnent un peu comme les elfes, nains et orques des univers fantastiques, mais de mani\u00e8re moins ambigu\u00eb ou, au moins, plus l\u00e9g\u00e8re. Apr\u00e8s, oui, c\u2019est de l\u2019essentialisme, mais on peut, comme moi, \u00eatre on ne peut plus existentialiste dans la vraie vie et trouver que l\u2019essentialisme, c\u2019est vraiment pratique pour faire des jeux. Les jeux, ce n\u2019est pas la vie \u2013 c\u2019est m\u00eame la d\u00e9finition du jeu. Et puis, puisqu\u2019il para\u00eet que Root \u00e9tait au d\u00e9part inspir\u00e9 de la situation au proche Orient, m\u00eame s\u2019il s\u2019en est \u00e9loign\u00e9 au fur et \u00e0 mesure du d\u00e9veloppement, on a essay\u00e9 de deviner qui \u00e9tait qui, ce qui a permis de se moquer gentiment des vedettes libanaises du petit monde ludique fran\u00e7ais.<\/p>\n Subtile transition pour parler d\u2019un autre tr\u00e8s gros jeu que j\u2019ai particuli\u00e8rement appr\u00e9ci\u00e9, Monumental<\/strong>, de Matthew Dunstan. L\u00e0 encore, c\u2019est \u00e0 la fois un jeu des ann\u00e9es quatre-vingt, une longue baston sur une carte avec des tours de jeu qui peuvent durer une quinzaine de minutes, et un jeu moderne, un deckbuilding avec quelques twists tr\u00e8s malins, dont le fait que les cartes achet\u00e9es ne vont pas dans votre d\u00e9fausse mais au sommet de votre pioche. Le jeu est finalement moins complexe qu\u2019il n\u2019en a l\u2019air, les syst\u00e8mes sont assez intuitifs, mais \u00e7a peut prendre un peu la t\u00eate quand m\u00eame. Nous avons jou\u00e9 avec la boite d\u2019un ami qui a achet\u00e9 l\u2019\u00e9dition de luxe avec \u00e9normes figurines, et je suis content de n\u2019avoir pris que la boite de base, car, comme dans beaucoup d\u2019autres jeux r\u00e9cents, les jolies statuettes en plastique surdimensionn\u00e9es rendent finalement le plateau de jeu assez peu lisible. J\u2019esp\u00e8re que cette mode va bient\u00f4t s\u2019arr\u00eater.<\/p>\n In the Hall of the Mountain King<\/strong> de Jay Cormier et Graeme Jahns est un peu moins long, mais \u00e7a reste du gros jeu. Le th\u00e8me est rigolo, les trolls sont partis en vacances et ont lou\u00e9 leur caverne sur Airbnb \u00e0 des gnomes. Bien s\u00fbr, les gnomes ont abus\u00e9 des champignons locaux, fait une f\u00eate pas possible et tout laiss\u00e9 en d\u00e9sordre. Les trolls, de retour chez eux, doivent tout nettoyer, tout ranger et remettre les statues des dieux trolls dans les temples sacr\u00e9s, sur leurs pi\u00e9destaux (oui, on dit bien des pi\u00e9destaux, j\u2019ai v\u00e9rifi\u00e9). Il vaut mieux \u00e9viter de f\u00e2cher les dieux, surtout les dieux trolls, on ne sait jamais. Et l\u2019\u00e9t\u00e9 prochain, on louera \u00e0 des nains, c\u2019est plus tranquille. Sinon, c\u2019est un jeu de pose calculatoire et dynamiqu, avec un petit c\u00f4t\u00e9 puzzle assez rigolo.<\/p>\n Dernier relativement gros jeu, Nidavellir<\/strong>, de Serge Laget, dans lequel on recrute des arm\u00e9es de nains pour on ne sait pas trop quoi, sans doute une grosse baston finale qui n\u2019est pas repr\u00e9sent\u00e9e dans le jeu. Le syst\u00e8me d\u2019ench\u00e8re, bien tordu, permet pas mal de subtilit\u00e9s. Je n\u2019ai aucune difficult\u00e9 \u00e0 \u00e9crire des r\u00e8gles en anglais en utilisant l\u2019\u00e9criture inclusive, je trouve m\u00eame \u00e7a plut\u00f4t sympathique, mais en fran\u00e7ais, j\u2019ai presque du mal \u00e0 les lire tellement c\u2019est tarabiscot\u00e9, et ne me risquerai pas \u00e0 \u00e9crire. Cela montre bien que le probl\u00e8me n\u2019est pas le principe de l\u2019\u00e9criture inclusive mais la mani\u00e8re dont elle est con\u00e7ue. Si cela a pris aux \u00c9tats-Unis et pas chez nous, ce n\u2019est pas parce que nous sommes plus sexistes, c\u2019est parce qu\u2019ils ont opt\u00e9 pour des r\u00e8gles plus simples, plus naturelles, et qui fonctionnent aussi bien \u00e0 l\u2019oral qu\u2019\u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9crit. Apr\u00e8s, sur le principe, je ne suis ni pour ni contre, je m\u2019en fous un peu car je doute fort que la grammaire ait le moindre effet sur la r\u00e9alit\u00e9 sociale. Pour revenir au jeu, il est vraiment tr\u00e8s bien foutu, on sent qu\u2019il y a beaucoup de tests derri\u00e8re\u2026. d\u2019ailleurs, j\u2019avais jou\u00e9 \u00e0 un premier prototype il y a une bonne vingtaine d\u2019ann\u00e9es.<\/p>\n En plus l\u00e9ger, on jou\u00e9 \u00e0 Belratti<\/strong>, un jeu coop\u00e9ratif dans lequel les joueurs sont des peintres et des commissaires d\u2019exposition qui, ensemble, essaient de d\u00e9jouer les ruses d\u2019un faussaire qui essaie de glisser ses \u0153uvres dans les mus\u00e9es. C\u2019est une variation de plus sur le principe de Dixit, Mysterium et autres Detective Club, mais c\u2019est tr\u00e8s rigolo.<\/p>\n Le m\u00eame soir, on a jou\u00e9 \u00e0 Most Wanted<\/strong>, de Dominic Crapuchettes, Ken Gruhl et Quentin Weir, dont je suis assez surpris de voir qu\u2019il a sur le Boardgamegeek des notes assez m\u00e9diocres. C\u2019est sans doute le meilleur des nombreux petits jeux malins sur le th\u00e8me des cow-boys qui jouent au poker. Un peu de tactique, un peu de bluff, pas mal de chances, c\u2019est un jeu tr\u00e8s rigolo auquel on a instantan\u00e9ment envie de rejouer, ce que nous avons d\u2019ailleurs fait alors que pas mal de nouveaut\u00e9s nous attendaient.<\/p>\n Un autre petit jeu tr\u00e8s rigolo, que je connaissais pour y avoir jou\u00e9 l’an dernier au prototype avec Heiko Eller, est Decipher<\/strong>, con\u00e7u par les auteurs de Cosmic Encounter. J’aime bien les jeux de lettres, et suis donc content de\u00a0 voir qu’ils reviennent un peu \u00e0 la mode. Ceci dit, m\u00eame si en g\u00e9n\u00e9ral vous ne les aimez pas rop, vous devreiz essayer Decipher et Wordsmith, le syst\u00e8me de fabrication des lettres les rend vraiment diff\u00e9rents.<\/p>\n J\u2019ai m\u00eame jou\u00e9 \u00e0 un jeu \u00e0 deux, ce qui m\u2019arrive de plus en plus rarement. Dual Powers<\/strong>, de Brett Myers, a un titre un peu idiot quine r\u00e9v\u00e8le absolument rien du v\u00e9ritable th\u00e8me du jeu, la r\u00e9volution de 1917 \u00e0 Saint Petersbourg. The game should have been called Petrograd 1917, or something like this. C\u2019est un jeu de contr\u00f4le de territoire et de majorit\u00e9 malin comme tout, tr\u00e8s tendu, plus tactique que strat\u00e9gique. Je sais que beaucoup d\u2019autres jeux \u00e0 deux de ce type sont sortis ces derni\u00e8res ann\u00e9es, auxquels je n\u2019ai pas eu l\u2019occasion de jouer. Je ne suis donc pas s\u00fbr que ce soit le meilleur, mais j\u2019ai vraiment beaucoup aim\u00e9, et vous devriez appr\u00e9cier aussi si vous avez aim\u00e9 Raptor.<\/p>\n Sinon, juste avant que l\u2019on ne soit oblig\u00e9s de rester chez nous, puis de se retrouver en petits groupes, on avait eu l\u2019occasion d\u2019essayer un dernier vrai jeu d\u2019ambiance rigolo pour plein de joueurs, Wavelength<\/strong>, de Alex Hague, Justin, Wickers et Wolfgang Warsch. C\u2019est le genre d\u2019id\u00e9e que j\u2019aurais aim\u00e9 avoir eu, et \u00e7a marche tr\u00e8s, tr\u00e8s bien. Il est fort ce Wolfgang Warsch, quand m\u00eame\u00a0!<\/p>\n Bon, on peut de nouveau faire des soir\u00e9es jeux, en restant prudents, et j’ai quasiment fini le bouquin que j’ai \u00e9crit pendant le confinement, donc je vais me repencher sur mes prototypes.<\/p>\n Since I\u2019m not really excited by online playing, I didn\u2019t play many games during our six weeks of relatively strict confinement. As a result, I made only one new prototype and didn\u2019t progress much on my older ones. Even when it feels a bit trivial, I was really disappointed to see this crisis come up just when publishers had started to become more interested in game for many players, say 4 to 8, which are much more my specialty than those for 2 to 4.<\/em><\/p>\n Gold River<\/strong><\/a>, designed with Bruno Cathala, had been in French shops for a few weeks when it all started, and seems to have been well received. The first print run is nearly sold out, and a second one is in the pipe. Let\u2019s hope it will become a classic.<\/em> When game nights started again, it was first in small groups, which gave me the rare opportunity to play three, four or five player games I wanted to try for a while. I thought all of them were great, but I don\u2019t really know if it\u2019s because the average quality of games has increased, because I\u2019ve become better at selecting games I will like, or because I\u2019m becoming old and less discriminating.<\/em><\/p>\n Cole Wehrle\u2019s Root<\/strong> is far more convincing than its predecessor Vaast, whose rules I hardly understood. Players fight against one another on a big map, but every player is playing their own game, a bit like in older games from the seventies and eighties like Dune. There is a whole reflection to be had on the use of anthropomorphic animals in games, and may be I will write something about it some day. The way it\u2019s made in Root is extremely efficient and clever. Cats, birds and badgers have the same function as elves, orcs and trolls in fantasy worlds, but in a lighter and less ambiguous way. Of course, it\u2019s essentialism, but there\u2019s no problem with being totally existentialist in real life and making a clever use of heavy handed essentialism in games. Games are not life, it\u2019s even the very definition of games. And since we heard that the very first versions of what will become Root were based on the Near East mess, we tried to guess who was whom, and made a few jokes about the Lebanese stars of the French boardgaming scene.<\/em><\/p>\n This was, of course, a not-so subtle transition to introduce another really have game I really enjoyed, Matthew Dunstan\u2019s Monumental<\/strong>. Like Root, it feels both like an old classic from the eighties, a long war on a map and player turns which can last for fifteen minutes, and extremely modern, a deck building game with a few clever twists. I especially liked the fact that the cards one buys don\u2019t go in one\u2019s discard but on the top of one\u2019s drawing deck. The game feels less complex than it looks, the main systems are very intuitive, but it can still become a bit of a brain burner. We played with a friend\u2019s copy, which had all the big plastic miniatures, and I\u2019m quite glad I bought only the basic edition, because I\u2019m sure the board will be much easier to read with standard tokens than with these oversized pieces. I hope this big miniatures fad will soon end.<\/em><\/p>\n Jay Cormier and Graeme Jahn\u2019s In the Hall of the Mountain King<\/strong> lasts a bit shorter, but is still a relatively heavy game. Players are trolls who went away for holidays on the Riviera and rented their caverns to gnomes via Airbnb. Of course, gnomes tried the local shrooms, held a big party and left a terrible mess. Now trolls are back home and must put everything in order, being careful to put every god statue back in its own temple – better not make gods angry, especially troll gods. And next year, you will deal with dwarves, it\u2019s safer. In the Hall of the Mountain King is a dynamic and original tile laying game, with a nice puzzle element.<\/em><\/p>\n The last relatively heavy game we played was Serge Laget\u2019s Nidavellir<\/strong>. Players are recruiting armies of dwarves, probably for a big final fight which is not featured in the game. I write my game rules in English, using the neutral they and I have absolutely no problem with it, I even find it nice and fun. I have troubles even reading rules written using the convoluted French inclusive writing, and will never even try to write with it. So the problem is not inclusive writing per se, it\u2019s the way the new rules are devised. If it\u2019s used by everyone in the US and is still an exception in France, it\u2019s not because we are more sexist than Americans – it\u2019s probably more or less the same – it\u2019s because the neutral they feels simple and natural, and works in the same way when written and spoken, while the French have invented a complex system which can only be used with writing. Anyway, I don\u2019t really care since I seriously doubt grammar has any effect on the real social world. Back to the game – it runs very smoothly, and one feels that there has been many tests and fine tunings. Actually, I remember playing a first prototype more or less twenty years ago.<\/em><\/p>\n We also played lighter stuff. Belratti<\/strong> is a cooperative game in which players are painters and museum managers planning exhibitions and trying to outwit the faker Belratti who is trying to get his fake paintings into museums. It\u2019s one more variation on the Dixit, Mysterium, Detective Club idea, but it\u2019s really light and fun.<\/em><\/p>\n The same night, we played Most Wanted<\/strong>, by Dominic Crapuchettes, Ken Gruhl et Quentin Weir. I\u2019m really surprised to see this one has average rankings on the Boardgamegeek. It\u2019s probably the best of the many light board and card games about cowboys playing poker. There\u2019s some tactics, some bluffing, a good deal of luck. It\u2019s so much fun that we played several games in a row, even when other new stuff was waiting.<\/em><\/p>\n The last light new game we played was Decipher<\/strong>, designed by the Cosmic Encounter team. I happen to like word and letter games, so I hope they’re starting a comeback. Anyway, even when you usually don’t like them, you should try Decipher and Wordsmith, they feel completely different.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ve even played a two player boardgame, something I rarely do. Brett Myers\u2019 Dual Powers<\/strong> has a strange name which doesn\u2019t give any idea of its setting, the Russian revolution in St Petersburg. It should have been called Petrograd 1917, or something like this. It\u2019s a very tense majority and area control game, more tactical than strategic. Many other tactical two player games have been published these last years, and I\u2019ve played very few of them. I\u2019m not sure Dual Powers is the best one, but I really enjoyed it, and you should enjoy it as well if you like Raptor.<\/em><\/p>\n Oh, just before the confinement started and we had to stay home, and then to meet in small groups, I had a last big gaming night and we played Alex Hague, Justin Wickers and Wolfgang Warsch\u2019s Wavelength<\/strong>. That\u2019s the kind of game idea I would like to have, but I might be getting too old. I\u2019m more and more impressed by Wolfgang Warsch\u2019s multifaceted talent. <\/em><\/p>\n And now, I’ve more or less finished the book I’ve written during the confinement, we can have larger gaming sessions if we stay careful, so let’s go back to game design and prototyping.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Comme je ne suis pas tr\u00e8s jeu en ligne, je n\u2019ai pas beaucoup jou\u00e9 pendant les six semaines de confinement strict. Je n\u2019ai pr\u00e9par\u00e9 qu\u2019un seul nouveau prototype, et ceux d\u00e9j\u00e0 existants n\u2019ont gu\u00e8re avanc\u00e9. Ce n\u2019est pas le plus … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Cannes-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Root-box.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Most-Wanted-584x438.jpg\")
<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Most-Wanted-box.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Decipher-584x438.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
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\nPoisons<\/strong><\/a>, designed with Chris Darskalis, arrived in shops just when the confinement started. It was probably a bad timing for a game which is far more fun with more players. Let\u2019s hope it will really start selling now that we can again meet in groups of five or more. It\u2019s a really fun double guessing game.<\/em>
\nMy other light card game, Vintage<\/strong><\/a>, was delayed a bit and just hit the shelves. This cute and simple card game, with lots of player interaction, works well even with only 3 or 4 players. <\/em>
\nThe big disappointment was when my \u00ab\u00a0Chest game<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb, in which I really believed and for which I had signed with a publisher I really like, was canceled due to a big cut in some big publishers\u2019 programs. I\u2019m now looking for a new publisher for this one.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n