Review Rodeo #2 Hot

Given the design paradigm of Eurogames, shouldn't it be called Magical Mathelete?

--Mike L.

But its Japanese...and the only math is adding, and then only numbers 1-6. There's no amortizing the price of corn versus the opportunity cost of a villa divided by the ROI on taking the Toilet Scrubber role.

You have implanted an insidious desire for me to buy Magical Athelete. I want to resist because it seems like quite a bit of money for what it is; however, I am worn down more and more.

I won't be buying Magical Athelete until released by FFG. Then the components might be worth the price tag. :)
I still can't make up my mind about Galaxy Trucker. It's been on and off my wishlist for ages. I think it should be on my wishlist, but some way down - there's too many other good games out there. And what about that price tag.. :o
Lifeboat wasn't on my wishlist as I was more tempted by Mall of Horror. But after reading your review, I think there's probably room for both in one's collection.

Just read the disclaimer, SG. And listen to your heart. MAGICAL ATHELETE is calling you.

I don't remember seeing it in your article, Michael, but what's the MSRP and availability of Lifeboat?

LIFEBOAT should be available anywhere that stocks Gorilla Games, which should be most places in the US since Alliance carries them. I believe it's $14-$15 from most online places. There's an expansion too, it adds an extra character and...cannibalism. Haven't played with it, but it seems like a pretty minimal addition.

Cannabilism is always an welcome addition, especially in an AT game.

Are you joking? Even in today's modern society cannibalism is still practiced in some of the more remote regions of the world. It is the greatest horror mankind has ever experienced That a man could eat another man still exists in our civilization... (cue 1980 thudding synth soundtrack).

Cannibals...do exist.

"It is the greatest horror mankind has ever experienced That a man could eat another man still exists in our civilization... (cue 1980 thudding synth soundtrack)."

Probably not what you intended, but now I have a Depeche Mode song stuck in my head, "People Are People."

Lifeboats sounds great. But my previous experience with Fat Messiah Games is that while their themes and ideas are great, their rules are overly complex and could use more playtesting. And it seems like Mall of Horror does everything this game does, only more efficiently and with better artwork.

Magical Athelete looks like a great candidate for drinking rules.

Oh my god, does it ever. I'm pretty sure you could still play the game after a bottle of Jaeger.

This is a 2nd printing of LIFEBOAT, so it seems that some of it's been cleaned up a little. It's now officially a Gorilla Games release. Compared to MALL OF HORROR, I think it's a little more direct, less rules-dependent, and really more fun overall. The love/hate thing really adds to the game a lot.

Where'd you find the hippo riders picture at?

The 2nd ed cleaned up the original's rules. I have Lifeboat 1st ed (printed Cheapass style on cardstock) and the rules were basically the same, but very abstruse.

The Siadeks are quite the clever designers. I would kill for a reworked Monster Rally (which is a more gamery mashup of Magical Athelete and Robo Rally. )

Japan and Eastern Europe are where actually new games come from at the moment. When I think back to games I've played in the past couple of years that feel really new or magical, they come from these faraway lands.

...and thus I've spent the past few days trying to lock in a care package full of Czech goodness. It will take a few weeks to make it here.

Actually, I was kidding.

But your response brings up an important question -- are there activities that go beyond acceptable for boardgames? My instinctive response to this is: Yes. However, the division isn't black and white and probably differs individually by comfort level. It is reasonable to argue that the themes don't matter but the mechancis do. Thematically, we have

1. Clearly, war is okay -- which paves the way for the concept of "death" being included in games.

2. Disease is okay -- see the ever popular Pandemic.

3. Serial Murder is okay -- see Mr. Jack; although the actual act is somewhat abstracted.

4. Pseudo-cannibalism is okay -- zombies eating human brains.

In fact, I imagine that if people would be okay with playing "armies of cannibals" and not bat an eyelid if the combat was resolved like in Risk(well, maybe an eyelid bat, but they would probably still play). It also might be okay to simulate cannibalism in a context where it was necessary for survival (a.k.a., extreme food shortages, Donner Party, other examples of mass starvation).

However, as the mechanics are initiated at a more personal level, different socially taboo themes might become more disturbint. For instance, what if the serial killer was required to choose things like: location, weapon, type of torture, etc -- this would most assuredly cross the line. Or what if the cannibal game gave you a variety of personal attribute boosts if you ate different body parts -- once again, over the line. The psychological immersion of the deviant act that most people see as repulsive is the problem....most of the killing and death happen at such an abstracted level as not to have an effect.

I don't generally like censorship, but I think that rape is an inappropriate topic for a boardgame. Racist insults, too. Necrophilia. Beastiality. Incest. Abortion. (Not expressing an opinion pro or con for abortion here, just saying it isn't a reasonable topic for a boardgame.) Maybe suicide. Cancer.

Shellhead -- I agree with many of those. The #1 non-game issue for me would be any form of child abuse. I wouldn't care how abstracted it is, I would refuse to play any game with that theme.

Leaping Lemmings. ;D

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29687

Where'd you find the hippo riders picture at?

Strangely enough, they were on the first page of a Google image search for "rodeo".

Japan and Eastern Europe are where actually new games come from at the moment. When I think back to games I've played in the past couple of years that feel really new or magical, they come from these faraway lands.

That's kind of true...the Poles and the Czechs are doing some fun stuff. The Japanese stuff has been kind of spotty I think...but MAGICAL ATHELTE...man. I think something that makes a difference there is that US/European games are likely very expensive and harder to purchase...and board game info on the internet is more limited since it's almost all in English, German, French, and Italian. So you've got these folks designing games with really a pretty limited frame of reference and not nearly as much involvement with or awareness of the issues talked about in online forums.

But your response brings up an important question -- are there activities that go beyond acceptable for boardgames?

I was just kidding about the cannibalism too...I think cannibalism is hilarious, really.

Games are make believe. However, I do think there are contexts and ways of politicizing actions and depictions that can be unacceptable and I do think that there are subjects that are just in bad taste. I find the animal/native slaughter in GOLDLAND to be offensive in a real world context, but in the game it's fictional and adds to the atmosphere. But it's kind of going back to what is fun...child abuse and any depiction of it is not fun. Racism is not fun. Rape is not fun. But committing genocide on and torturing elves is fun. It is funny that there are some kind of hazy lines between right and wrong in terms of game subject matter but I think it does come down to context.

I put Galaxy Trucker on my wishlist. I have been back and forth on it for a while, depending on various descriptions, but your description finally pushed me off the fence.

I don't know about Magical Athelete. I looked at the art and got this Pokemonish feeling, coupled with the fact that the gladiator doesn't chop off anyone's head and am still hesitant.

MAGICAL ATHELETE has got no time for doubting Thomases, Mr. Zir.

Damn you Barnes -- quit pedaling M.A. like crack on a street corner. My last vestiges of defense are almost down >:(

Look, I'm just sayin'...you only have to buy it ONE TIME and apparently there's some add-on characters on the internet somewhere, probably on Grimpreur Japon's (?) website.

Look at this way. You either spend $50 on MAGICAL ATHELETE or you throw it away on stupid stuff like bills and food. Do bills and food save your soul? Wash your car for you every sunday morning? Press your socks? Remember the anniversary of when you ordered it? I think not.

MAGICAL ATHELETE is all things to all people. It's truly magical, and it's truly atheletic.

In that case, MAGICAL ATHELETE can bite me.

I think it screams for a B racing movie re-theme, like Cannonball Run or even a space cadets racing tiny ships around.

Boards & Bits is out of stock, but they had MA for under $40. You can e-mail Tom and ask if he is getting more copies.

An interesting read as always. I'm curious though as to why you don't dig Siadek's other game- Battlestations.

There's a file on BGG which pretty much allows you to build your own copy of the game. Since the components aren't spectacular to begin with, I'd say that's better than spending $50 on a game that ought to cost $10. Maybe if I got some time at hand I'll do this. This could become F:AT's game Z.

An interesting read as always. I'm curious though as to why you don't dig Siadek's other game- Battlestations.

It's clumsy and I don't think the idea is implemented very well. I don't feel like running back and forth in the ship and pumping engines is all that exciting. I think the RPG elements are very half-assed, and the board game elements are half-assed as well. And the space combat element...quarter-assed. The result is kind of an incongruous game that never really gels. Don't get me wrong, the concept is great and I really appreciate the heart that was put into the game. But it just never worked for me.

There's a file on BGG which pretty much allows you to build your own copy of the game. Since the components aren't spectacular to begin with, I'd say that's better than spending $50 on a game that ought to cost $10. Maybe if I got some time at hand I'll do this. This could become F:AT's game Z?

Well, there's ANOTHER Japanese game called MAGICAL SCHOOL that blows KINGSBURG, TO COURT THE KING and all those other new dice games out of the water, so we might have 2 GAME Zs.

Avery is already talking about bootlegging a MAGICAL ATHELETE using CREEPY FREAKS minis or something...it's not a bad idea at all considering the woeful state of the components. I'd really like to see Zev pick this one up, it'd be perfect for the Z-Man roster.

JaponGames are the next wave. Ten years from now you all will be saying, "I rememeber when we had to paste up our own copies of JaponGames." Just like we all had to do with EuroGames 10 years ago.

Tom at Boards and Bits just got a couple copies of Magical Athelete in at $35, for anyone interested. I ordered a copy based upon this review.

Thanks for the info Jonny- I might have to grab one of those myself.