Vault of Midnight

Mighty Board Game Schedule!

Drop-in Gaming (Free!)

Sundays 2p-8p

Featured Game Night (Free!)

20% off Featured Titles!

Thursdays 6:00p-10p

HeroClix (Clix needed to play)

Saturdays 1:30p-3p

Featured Game for Thursday, September 17

And just a reminder: Featured Games are 20% off when you come to play!

Featured Game for September 24: Snow Tails

Click Here For the Schedule of Upcoming Games.

• Pandemic: On the Brink Expansion (Z-Man)
  
• Dominion: Intrigue Expansion (Rio Grande)
• Race for the Galaxy: Revel vs. Imperium Expansion (Rio Grande)
  
• Space Alert (Rio Grande)
• Giants (Asmodee)
• Small World (Days of Wonder)
• Steam (Mayfair)
• Catan Geographies: Germany (Mayfair)
• Bakong (Asmodee)
• Modern Art: The Card Game (FRED)
• Many, many others

• March 11: Acquire - The classic game of stocks, acquisitions and mergers. And it's even more fun than it sounds!
• March 18: High Society / Chicago Express - In a rare, double-whammy feature, we'll be playing both the Reiner Knizia auction card game as well as the Henry Wu Meeple's Choice nominee. I have played both and they are sweet.
• March 25: Container - My favorite economic game. What more do you need? Nothing, that's what.
  

• Wed. Jan 7: Battlestar Galactica
  
• Wed. Jan 14: Cosmic Encounter
• Wed. Jan 21: Munchkin Quest
• Wed. Jan 28: Android

• Munchkin Quest
• Wasabi
• Genji
• Municipium
• Ilium
• Conflict of Heroes
• Ghost Stories
• Lost Cities: the Board Game
  

• December 3: Genji - Card Game - become the greatest lover in Japan!
• December 10: Municipium - Board Game - Archaeology, Knizia style.
• Decemebr 17: Wasabi! - Board Game - Make sushi, become a master sushi-chef!
• December 24 & 31: NO GAMES - HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Carcassonne Tournament

• FANTASTIC RUNNER UP PRIZES!

• Spiel des Jahres 2008 was named: KELTIS by the Man Himself... Reiner Knizia! Special Prize for Best Complex Game was awarded to Agricola and Best Children's Game was Awarded to Who Was It? also designed by Dr. Knizia. Banner year for The Man. I couldn't be prouder.

• Meeples' Choice 2007 Winners were announced - Race for the Galaxy in First Place, followed by Agricola and Brass. None of these games are currently in print in the U.S. though Agricola is due any minute. Stay tuned for details there.*

• We had our first Settlers of Catan Tournament! It was totally awesome! The competition was fierce. We checked all firearms and bats with nails driven through them at the door but even still, nerves ran high. After sneaking out a close win in the Qualifiers, Darren Poltorak, long time friend of the Vault, went on to claim the whole shebang in the finals by a narrow margin. I chewed my fingernails to the nub. I fainted once. What a good time.

It's May! Oh, Man!

Friends,

It is May! The most fertile month of the year! Mad Green Stuff Abound! What a perfect time of the year to play board games...

There are plenty of extra exciting things happening this month. Firstly, Congratulations are due to William for winning the First Annual Battlelore Tournament! He fought with a passion that would cower Satan Himself and his enemies fell before him like so many Jenga Blocks. It was a sight to see, I tell you. William won a Free Copy of Battlelore and I have it on good authority that he falls asleep cradling the box in his arms every night. I have no interest in explaining how I acquired that information.

But this leads me to the next point: MONTHLY TOURNAMENTS! Henceforth, the first weekend of every month will hold a FREE TO ENTER TOURNAMENT whereby YOU could walk away with free games and other prizes! Do you see how many exclamation points I'm using here?!? This is Serious!! Here's the deal; the goal of these tournaments is not to find the best of the best in order to start training for national board game competitions. The goal is just to have a Good Time, to feel invested in playing and to introduce new folks to great games that they might otherwise have never heard of. The tone of the Tournaments will be VERY LOW KEY and very relaxed; families are welcome, amateurs are welcome and professional Board Game Sharks are welcome but they may be laughed at. Fire Vampires are not welcome and I think they know why.

First up is SETTLERS OF CATAN, on JUNE 8. This is one of the games that started me on the Path of Cardboard Glory and 99.99% of people love it. Details to come.

"But, Nick! What's going on THIS month? I NEED TO KNOW!" Fine, jeez. Settle down.

MAY IS REINER KNIZIA MONTH!!! The King of Game Designers! Creator of such wonders as:

• Tigris and Euphrates (May 14)
• Ra (May 21)
• Blue Moon City (May 2

• Modern Art
• Samurai
• Ingenious
• Lord of the Rings
• Through The Desert
• Many, many others.

Finally, keeping in spirit of Catan, Mr. Alexander Yeager will be dropping by on Sunday, MAY 18 to play GIANT SIZED SETTLERS OF CATAN WITH CITIES AND KNIGHTS. You better BELIEVE that's going to be sweet. 1-7pm, check it out.

A summary of all of these dates are available on the Games Schedule Link at the top of this page.

• Thurn and Taxis
  
• Zooloretto
  
• Carcassone
  
• Ticket to Ride
  
• Caylus
  

Vault of Midnight's Game of The Instant!


Thebes

Why is it that the games I love the most seem to have themes that cause my customers to groan in pain? Those of you who read my last review for 1960: Making of the President will surely remember that describing the game to people is half the battle and with good reason. The first impression is important when considering spending a couple of hours on any activity, much less spending hard earned scrilla on it. I want to be perfectly clear; no one loves a good fantasy based game more than the Vault of Midnight. But folks who are already familiar with those games don't have to be sold on another wizard vs. dragon vs. warrior romp. It's these ones, the reality based gems, which need the love I push here on the internet.

So, that being said, what is the deal with Thebes? In a nutshell, it's archaeology without the sexy. Indiana Jones has lied to us, my friends. In reality, there are very little whips involved in uncovering artifacts from the past and Nazis are incidental and only relevant to a certain period in human history. Also magic isn't real. I don't know if this is the forum to break the news, but it happens to be true; no such thing as magic. Sorry. But we can have a good time without it! Thebes takes us through the grunt work, the head-work, if you will, of archaeology in unique and completely engrossing ways. You might be able to actually go and dig for goodies at any point in the game but if you don't do the prep-work, the research, the hiring of assistants, if you don't get your blimp, you might end up disappointed and get nothing but dirt.

Each game takes place over a period of two to three years (1900-1902), depending on the number of players (goes up to 4). The board is a map of Europe and the Middle East. Eleven cities are represented and at any given time a number of activities are available throughout particular locales. The European (and Russian) cities house "research" players can acquire, shovels for digs to come, assistants to hire and various means of transportation. The research can be general or can apply solely to one of the regions in the south where the artifacts are; Greece, Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia or Crete. You can perform whatever tasks you want in whatever order you want, limited only by the items available and time.

The use of Time is the biggest innovation in Thebes. The track surrounding the board goes up to 52, each space representing one week. Every item you might acquire has a location where it can be found so the first step is traveling to that city; at the cost of one week per adjacent city traveled. Each item has a time cost on it as well; four weeks for three pieces of Specific Knowledge in Egypt, for example. The point being that every move you make costs time and everyone has the same limit of 2-3 years to work against. Efficiency is crucial, and every move has to be considered completely. Whoever is behind on the time track goes first so by playing against your opponents moves you can always be sure to keep track of your best options.

And there's actual digging! Sort of. Each region has its own color-coated bag filled with around a dozen artifacts of varying point values and a whole bunch of value-less dirt. The more research and goodies you've acquired the more you'll be able to reach into the bag and pull out whatever's available. So whenever you feel like you've earned enough aides, or when you see everyone else making mad dashes for the holy-land, you can mosey on down to see what you can dig up.

This game is unlike any I've played. Super innovative with a great mix of strategy and luck. Really gives a sense of what I can only imagine archaeology might be like; spending a year learning as much possible, pouring yourself into a field of knowledge only to have some other asshole get their first or to hit nothing but mud.

I see I didn't even mention the slide rule. Good to leave something for a surprise.

-Nick

COMING SOON!

• Cuba (Rio Grande Games): Reviews-ington, an experiment in fine living.
• The Reformed Church of the Pegacorn: Some Good News for your eternal whatever.

 

Sunday February 10th!

Mayfair Games presents...

GIANT CATAN!

Join us from 1pm to 7pm for big time Catan fun.  Experience a whole new level of road building, settlement and trading excitement!

Greetings,

For those of you closely following recent events, you'll recall that after a series of humiliating defeats on and off the board game table my arch-nemesis, SANDEE, the previous Resident Gamer at the Vault of Midnight, was driven to the far side of the continent. I am Nick and I have assumed his post as he plots his terrible revenge. My sources in the Pacific Northwest have informed me that his strength grows by the day and I eagerly await his return. Is this town big enough for the two of us? Time, I believe, will tell...

Okay, enough of that. I am excited to pick up where he left off. In the next few-to-several days we will have, on this very website, a definitive-ish list of events regarding that activity I so Love: Board Games. Those of you in the know are already well aware of the Mighty Game Schedule (see top of page). That will soon be supplemented by a schedule of particular games to be played on particular weeks. The featured gems will run the gamut of genres, from simple card based games to in depth-strategizers. They might be Beloved Classics or New Hotness. They will tantalize the eye and challenge the mind. Stay tuned for details.

Lastly, keep a look out for new reviews. They might not arrive with any consistency and my words may be tainted depending on how badly I was beaten the last time I played the game but they will be present, they will exist and that's better than nothing.

That's all for now. Please come down and give a visit on any of the evenings listed above. I guarantee one heck of a time.

-Nick

Coming Soon!

• “Sanford: The Myth, The Man, The Meat.” A stirring remembrance.
• “1960: Making of the President” Reviews-ville!

Vault of Midnight's GAME OF THE INSTANT!

This was my first experience with publisher ZMan Games, based out of Mahopac, New York, and I have to say, I'll be keeping an eye out for whatever they put out from here on in. 1960: Making of the President is fantastic. I had been reading the various buzzings about it throughout the inter-web and, being a political junkie, my interest was piqued. Kennedy and Nixon? Closest Presidential election of all time? In board-game-form? "I will bite a piece a that," I said to myself in a crowded coffee shop as I read a summary online. The woman at the table next to me picked up her scone and fled the building but I did not care. Politics have an Effect on me.

But you might not feel the same way. This was my concern as I looked forward to playing this game. Sure, I thought, this game might tweak the proverbial nipples of those of us who get off on electoral votes and policy initiatives, but will it appeal to your average gamer? Is this too niche oriented? IS AMERICA READY TO SEE HOW THE (election) SAUSAGE IS MADE?*

Turns out, the answers are yes, yes, and oh-god-yes. The game engine is loosely based off of Twilight Struggle (no.3 game on boardgamegeek.com). You control one of the two candidates, Nixon or Kennedy, throughout nine turns in the run up to the election. Each player vies for control over each of the fifty states and their electoral votes with red or blue cubes (Republican or Democrat) which represent their respective influence. This is down through cards, making the game dependant to some degree on Hand Management. Only one player can have their influence cubes in a particular state so in order to take control of a state you have to remove your opponent completely before placing your own cubes down. Suddenly, the idea of a "battleground state" stops being a hyped-up, sensationalized buzzword on CNN as you start to get a feel for what it might be like to hold the attention of a fickle electorate just long enough to get to election day.

And that's the beauty of 1960. It doesn't romanticize American Politics with trumped up patriotism. It doesn't laud the poetry of U.S. Democracy as the Great Shining Hope of the World, but, just as crucially, it doesn't score cheap laughs over the flaws of politicians, the absurdity of the Presidential Elections. It gives a cliffs-note experience of what it might be like to run a campaign To Win, by any means necessary.

The scope of the game is large. Beyond campaigning in individual states, players have the option to take influence in any of the Three Issues (Defense, Economy and Civil Rights) for various rewards, gain Media support, earn Regional Endorsements, and prepare for the Debates and Election Day itself, each of which are turns in themselves with their own set of rules. All of these activities assist you in the basic goal mentioned above; making sure it's your cubes, and not your opponents, on as many key states as possible when the game ends. I haven't played a game yet that hasn't gone right down to wire, with no clear winner or loser until the votes are tallied up.

I see that I'm running out of space here but there are a couple more things I should point out: First, the game is gorgeous. Each card is reminiscent of some relevant historical event from the time period and the whole game has a retro, fifties/sixty-ish kind of feel. Second, though every person I made play this game with me groaned when I explained the premise, every single one of them was on their feet, pacing around the room when election day rolled around and, if they lost, demanded an immediate rematch. I'm still getting calls asking to play as soon as possible.

Are there flaws? Sure. The board construction is a little shoddy and mine came with banged up corners, though I haven't gotten into another box yet. The rules are fantastic, but a compendium of cards and their explanation would have a been great addition. But these minor flaws should in no way discourage you from playing a great, exciting game that's just in time for Decision '08.**

-Nick

COMING SOON!

• Dust (Fantasy Flight Games): Reviews-burgh, population: You.
• Coffee Shop Anxiety: Communal food and the importance of Social Boundaries.

Kingsburg Demo

Wednesday January 30th

6pm!

Join us for a demo of the game Kingsburg!