| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Columns > Unplugged > #53: Dragons or Darters, both are a smart choice
Itﾒs Rube Goldberg meets Dragon-herding in this 2-player game.  A couple years ago, a small company - Future Magic Games made a big splash at GenCon Southern California with a handmade game about indirectly controlling four wooden "Darters" moving around on a chess placemat. Two players each place a wooden tile on an empty space on the board and then the four Darters move forward one space. However, after moving one space, the Darters are then affected by nearby tiles as well as tiles they move across, which can turn or redirect the Darters' paths. The game continues until a winner is declared when a Darter collides with their opponent's home base. The game is fast, fun, and is an excellent choice for anyone fond of spatial thinking. Gamers who enjoy RoboRally by Wizards of the Coast or Ricochet Robots published (in the US) by Rio Grande Games should definitely check this game out. My wife is a big fan of RoboRally, but as that is best with lots (five or more) of players, Darter (and it's sibling Dragons of Kir) are played far more frequently. Darter by Future Magic Games As mentioned, the game takes place on a standard 8x8 chess mat that "wraps around" so that each pair of opposite sides are considered to be connected. Four Darters are placed near the middle of the board, one facing each direction. Players then place their home bases on the board and draw four wooden tiles. (The tiles are nicely done, about 3/8" thick wooden squares with stickers printed on a clear surface placed on top.) Each player then places one tile from their hand on an empty space on the board, and then the Darters move. Players draw another tile and then continue the cycle by placing another tile and moving the Darters until a Darter runs in to a player's base, giving their opponent the win.
 The focus of the game is, of course, the tiles. There are two main types of tiles, explained in a handy reference chart supplied for each player ﾖ Impact Tiles and Indirect Tiles. Impact Tiles only affect a Darter when it runs directly over the tile. Most of the impact tiles redirect the Darter back out through another side of the tile. Examples include a tile showing a square that "bounces" any Darter back the direction it came from, a conveyer belt tile that pushes the Darter along an extra space, and several "Pipe" tiles that redirect the Darter from several entrances out a specific side. Indirect tiles affect Darters that are nearby, either one or two spaces away. Examples of indirect tiles include ones to push a Darter away, or pull a Darter in closer. There are even indirect tiles that serve as a pivot point for Darters to sweep around in either a 90 degree or 180 degree turns. One final tile type doesn't fit either category, and that is the bomb. Placed NOT on an empty square but on a Darter itself, it proceeds to blow itself up and any nearby tiles BEFORE the Darters move. With all this going on (I've seen a Darter sequentially affected by five or six tiles in a single move), there are going to be some conflicts between tiles. The rules to resolve tile conflicts basically boil down to two guidelines: 1) Impact tiles have precedence over any Indirect tile(s) and 2) Tiles that are closer have precedence over tiles that are further away. In the rare case where all tiles are balanced, the Darter simply remains where it is. Thankfully, the rulebook gives several graphical examples with explanations that help to clarify these sorts of conflicts. Finally, if a Darter enters an infinite loop, it simply stops (for this turn) once it returns to the first step in the infinite loop. There is a small initial learning curve as players get a feel for the tiles' abilities and the possibilities available to their opponent. However, this can occur within the timeframe of 2 or 3 quick games. And beginning games can go by quickly ﾖ until players begin to see game-ending situations a turn or two before they actually might happen. During the course of the game, a player will often find themselves playing in a distinctly defensive or offensive mode. The ebb and flow of this play, is at the heart of the game. One player may be pounding the other turn after turn with a single approaching Darter, but when it is finally deflected away for good, the feeling of offense and defense suddenly flip with a second Darter approaching the first player's home base. One player always goes first and the second player always places last. Thus, the first player is always threatening to swoop down and take the juiciest open square for the immediate win. The second player thus needs to be thinking ahead and figure out the situation at the end of the turn. However, player two gets to place a tile right before the Darters move, with no time for the first player to react. Thus, player two can often win with a sneaky unforeseen attack at the very last minute, while player one has the chance to pull off a win by placing a tile down and fill up the empty square of their choice ﾖ blocking out some of the better choices for player 2. There are several variations to the game that can be played. For the abstract purist, the tiles can be equally divided up before the game, and players start with a complete set at their disposal. Thus, true "tile counters" could even keep track of what moves an opponent might have at their disposal. A four player expansion to Darter is in the works that includes two new player bases, and an additional tile of each of the twelve basic tile types. The game can then be played with two teams, or even a winner-take-all chaotic game with four players and four bases all fighting it out for the victory. I am typically not a fan of Abstract games, but the spatial reasoning and tile-drawing parts of this game are a huge hit in our household. It also earns big bonus points as a fast-playing 2 player game, with games lasting anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. As players increase in ability, the time increases slightly with particularly long games lasting the better portion of an hour ﾖ but still a fairly quick playing game as abstract games go. Its only drawbacks are the slight initial learning curve of learning the tile types and how to resolve tile conflicts. Unless you already know you're not a fan of tile-laying/spatial reasoning, you need to check this game out.
 Dragons of Kir by Future Magic Games Dragons of Kir is basically the game Darter, but wrapped up in a mild layer of Asian theme. The Darters are now four different Dragons, and the various tiles are functionally the same but with new artwork on the stickers. For instance, the 2-directional blocking tile now depicts a martial artist Monk, bases are now considered Temples, tiles that "push" the Dragons are clouds blowing wind, and the pipe-like tiles are now rivers with waterfalls. There are also a few additional tiles that are slightly different from the ones available in Darter. Most of them are only new variations of the old styles, but there is a new Sleep tile. Placed on a Dragon like a Bomb tile (which are still present in a new form), a Sleep tile simply pauses a Dragon mid-flight. Not the most powerful tile in the set, it can be use to stall for time until you find a Bomb. It is invaluable if you already have a dragon incoming at your opponent and just need to survive one more turn to seal the game. On the whole, I prefer Dragons of Kir to the original Darter as it has a few more tiles and I enjoy a bit more theme to my games. I think the graphics are a little less intimidating to non-engineer types. Depicting the Darters as Dragons helps players to realize a very important rule: Dragons (or Darters) that hit an Impact Tile from the side, eliminate that Impact tile. Since Dragons have claws, it is more reasonable to understand how the tile is eliminated if the Dragon "slides" into it. However, the new graphics also have their own drawbacks. They are a bit less intuitive than the more mechanical-oriented tiles in the original Darter game. Even with the Dragons of Kir reference cards, people often get confused about the placement and effect of the Watchfire tiles. (Watchfires are the equivalent of the "pivot point" tiles in the original set.) As a prototype, the rules for Dragons of Kir also have fewer examples than Darter, making it a bit harder to learn for the first time. The best of both worlds would be to learn the game from someone teaching you with Darter, and then move on to the themed Dragons of Kit (with just a few more types of tiles available.) Not yet available to the general public, Dragons of Kir can be ordered as a "prototype" from the company upon request. As the stickers used to make the tiles are hand-cut, they are sometimes even printed in color (rather than the black and white die-cut polyurethane stickers used for Darter). Unfortunately, both games remain at the hand-made stage, so they can be difficult to acquire. The most reliable method to order them is directly from the company at Future Magic Games but supplies are not always be available. At $40 for handmade game containing wooden pieces, it is a good deal ﾖ I just wish the large mailing tube containing the game fit better on my gaming shelf. The company continues to investigate opportunities to involve a larger publisher. I, for one, hope that happens as Darter and Dragons of Kir are amazingly fun and enjoyable 2-player abstract games that challenge your mind, but typically don't drag on into long time commitment games such as Chess or Go. If you (or your significant other) enjoy spatial orientation games (like RoboRally, Connect Four, or possibly even Tetris), either of these two games are well worth the price. Kid Factor: OK, so it's all about thinking ahead and thinking about spatial orientation, so these are great games for helping children improve in those areas. While the full-fledged game may be a bit overwhelming for younger kids (say, 8-10), it is easy to slowly scale up the game by using only one or two Darters at a time. Preteens may struggle to figure out the rules by themselves, but should be able to play once they've got a handle on the types of tiles and how to resolve tile conflicts. The game pieces are very sturdy pieces of wood and a nice waterproof chess mat, making the game playable at less game-friendly places such as camping or trips to the beach.
|
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
