Clans of samurai cats are in a battle for dominance in this suitless trick-taking game from Shiny Pigeon Games. Be careful though, each season ends with a peace treaty, and showing too much force will bring disgrace to your clan. Let’s dig into this card game from designer Caner Cooperrider and see what sets it apart.
Managing Your Clan
Disgraced House feels familiar because it uses a standard trick-taking mechanic. What makes it unique is that there are no suits or trumps in the game and it’s solely based on numbers. Each envoy card, which makes up the majority of your hand, has two values on the card. The standard value is in black at the top of the card while the red value at the bottom of the card can be unlocked by using a fate token. With cards having two values, players have flexibility with each card as long as they have fate tokens that they can spend.
When a player leads, they can play a single card or pair with identical numbers. Followers have to play the same quantity of cards but there are rules on what numbers you can play. Followers have to play the same number or higher. If they cannot or choose not to beat the played cards, they have to play the lowest card(s) in their hand.
Playing a high card(s) means that followers are going to be forced to play their highest cards or flush away the low cards in their hand. The twist here is that players need low cards for the final trick of the round.
The Peace Treaty
The final trick of each round is a single card trick called the Peace Treaty. Players will play the final card left in their hand but there will only be one loser in this trick. The player who played the highest card has used too much force during the Peace Treaty and becomes the disgraced house. All other players score points based on half the value of the card they played during the Peace Treaty. The Disgraced House will miss out on this bonus but is given a +1/-1 modifier card that they can use in the next round of the game.
Players score a point for each trick they won during the round plus any bonus points they received during the Peace Treaty. This final trick of each round is really creative. Players who choose not to plan for the end of the round may miss out on a significant number of points.
You also don’t want to hang on to cards that that have too low of a value. By holding on to a 0 value card, you’re guaranteed not to be the disgraced house, but you also don’t score any bonus points during the end of the round.
Samurai Legends
Disgraced House has one more trick up its sleeve in the format of Ally and Advisor cards. At the start of each round, players get one of each. The Ally card will go into your hand and gives a unique ability you can play during the round. The Advisor gives you an additional ability or scoring opportunity and this card sits on the table in front of the player for everyone to see.
Either of these cards can be discarded before the round starts to take a fate token from the supply. These fate tokens allow you to flip your envoy card during the round to the red value at the bottom of the card. More fate tokens means more flexibility during the round. These tokens roll over to future rounds so saving up over a series of rounds isn’t a bad strategy.
Honor in Battle
Disgraced House has enough twists during a round to keep everyone engaged. Players are trying to be the first to earn thirteen points. There’s even a catch up mechanic that gives players a free fate token when they are more than three points behind the lead player.
I think the only thing that I’m lukewarm on is the cat theme of the game. The samurai cat artwork from Parker Simpson is gorgeous in every way. But, it’s not a theme that really drew me into the game. I’ve taught this game to dozens of people and the theme wasn’t a huge selling factor for them. Players really loved how rounds shifted as players utilize Ally and Advisor abilities and force cards from their opponents hands.
As each game advances, the hand sizes of the players decrease based on how close a player is to thirteen points. Rounds become faster with less cards in hand. Leading with a pair of cards will also limit the number of tricks that can be won which is another satisfying strategy.
My very first game was at just 2-players and my expectations were low. Trick-taking games at just two is usually a bust. Disgraced House played really well at 2-players and can be played with up to six.
At the five and six player counts, you play a variant of the game called “Crowded Court”. Players always receive six cards in the round and have a new option to “bow out” during the trick. The first player to do this can play any card(s) they want, intentionally losing the trick and playing their card(s) facedown, ignoring the high/low rules. Bowing out locks other players who play after you from doing this which can be really strategic. There’s even a team play variant in the game that we’ve not played yet, but I’m sure that we’ll dig into that one soon.
Final Thoughts
Disgraced House does just enough to set itself apart from other trick-taking games in our collection. With each card having two values, fate tokens are incredibly important if you want options in your card play. This makes for dynamic gameplay and fun surprises during the game. In a year that was filled with trick-taking games, this one has flown under the radar because of its small print run. Thankfully, Shiny Pigeon Games is bringing this game to a broader audience with a larger print run through Kickstarter.
I really enjoy Disgraced House and it’s a game that I love to teach. It hits the table more often because of how smooth it plays at just two players which has been a huge plus. Don’t miss out on this card game has it hits a broader audience in 2025!
As our play testing of “Infernal Machine” continues apace, it is interesting to see how our teaching scenarios can be tinkered with to make sure they are providing much-needed information on game play and hints on strategy, as well as have some fun with the game system.
Scenario Ten has the Player fill the shoes of the Inventor, the “Man with the Dream”, who wants to design, build and then sail an Underwater Marvel of the Industrial Revolution, something that the newspapers have called a “fishboat.”
In the original Scenario Ten, the Player is a citizen of the Confederacy, who sees his fishboat as the means to drive off the Union Navy from the mouth of the Mississippi River.
I decided to see if we could work the scenario in reverse, and have the Union Navy under Admiral David G. Farragut send a ‘fishboat’ of their own up the Mississippi River to blow a hole in the obstructions that the Rebels had built to block the Yankee fleet in front of two fortifications protecting the lower River: Forts Jackson & St. Philip.
Here is what happened:
This time we are on the USA side at start, with our Machine Shop located in Boston, MA.
(Our fishboat is to be constructed at said Machine Shop in Boston, then assigned and shipped to the US Navy’s West Gulf Squadron. They are currently anchored at the mouth of the Mississippi River known as Head of Passes, south of New Orleans. Once there, our fishboat will be ordered to conduct raids (via Towed Launch) on the Rebel defenses centered around “Big Muddy’s” forts “Jackson” & “Saint Philip.”
The Union Player’s time factor is the same as that of the Confederate’s.
Union Adm. Farragut wants to see if “this new-fangled fishboat thingie” can help by raiding ships, clearing obstructions, destroying wharves and generally raising hell near the two forts.
Failure means Farragut’s plan to take New Orleans will hit a snag.
This won’t do Union General Benjamin “Beast” Butler’s short-fuse temper any good either The first image (see below) is at the end of Summer 1861, with hull built and Magnetic Engine installed, and an Air Lock next up for inclusion. This looks promising, with 2nd Mechanic converting a Journeyman to (Oh joy!) Sam Eakins of “Alligator” fame! Investments made on both Spring & Summer were middling. Autumn 1861 will have action beginning on Contract to keep funds flowing. Yep, Autumn ’61 is looking very interesting.
As I was running a previous playtest, I surmised that, if the Union Admiralty was less sold on traditional sailing warship practices and kept up with the advances being made through nautical engineering, they could have gotten out of the fishboat starting gate at the same time as Horace Hunley, James McClintock & Baxter Watson did in New Orleans.
If so, then the best place in Yankee-dom for a civilian contractor wanting the most up-to-date technology, along with the mechanics and engineers to wield it would be Boston, Massachusetts.
There were the Sciences and Engineering Departments at Harvard University, and also to the newly-founded (1861) Massachusetts Institute of Technology just next door to Harvard in the Cambridge suburb.
MIT’s engineering wizards of the era were a marvelously rich source; the Inventor’s team would be up-to-date on all the latest technical advancements, and just might be able to get their educated hands on a real engineering marvel: British physicist & inventor Michael Faraday’s battery-powered Magnetic Engine.
The choice of an Air Lock as the fishboat’s primary weapons delivery system would be easy to obtain from any competent steamship chandlery down at Boston Harbor, and a reputable salvage operation would be a source for a salvage and demolition Diver with the proper credentials.
Two guidelines to follow when starting this scenario:
1) Get a good Investor to start with. Mine is French émigré Brutus de Villeroi, a wealthy ex-French aristocrat, who is a naval designer, engineer and a self-described “Natural Genius.”
(At least that is what he told the Immigration folks his occupation was upon his arrival in New York City.)
2) Make sure you are hiring a capable multi-Expertise gang of Mechanics. You will need at least 12 Expertise total between your Shop and your crew so you can install the Magnetic Engine as soon as possible.
My plan is to finish building and training by Winter, 1862.
The fishboat and team will then deploy to the Gulf in Spring of 1862 where training missions and final tinkering occurs.
This will leave the Summer of 1862 is the only season for any additional training, plus the all-important attack mission.
“Fish Boat” under construction at Boston, Summer 1861
One more thing: you’ve got to make sure of your money.
Once you’ve got that key Mechanism in hand, (Mine will be the Magnetic Engine), you are looking at adding the Prow and Stern, plus one or two Boat Sections, a Steering Linkage, Ballast Tank, Propeller and Hatch.
Autumn 1861 is coming up. To scare up some ready cash, I plan to shift some Journeymen over to Contract work at that time, plus make another run at the Investment Table.
Hey, if it was easy being an Inventor of Fishboats, everybody would be one!
So here’s Autumn, 1861 where the “Spectre” (cool name, huh?) is being fitted out in Boston, MA.
Of course, I hadn’t paid attention to the weather.
In game terms, Boston in Autumn is little different from Boston in Winter, the only difference is that you still have a relatively active Machine Shop that brings in $7. In Winter, that Shop income plummets to $3.
Autumn is also the season our Boston machine shop will “promote” a Journeyman to Mechanic. This got me Mechanic Lodner Philips who can, once per game, promote a Journeyman to Mechanic all on his own, which he will do in Winter of 1862.
Praise the Autumn 1861 “Fortunes of War” table.
I rolled a 7 and got another Investor (instead of a Black Cube), one Professor Eben Horsford, currently on sabbatical from MIT who is Investing his grant money in our little fishboat project here.
His initial stipend plus that of Prof. de Villeroi’s funded the purchase of two hatches, a set of keel weights, plus a propeller and its shroud.
Fingers crossed, I should have enough for a steering linkage plus a snorkel and maybe a ballast/level tank pair.
With Winter 1862 coming up, Horsford and de Villeroi should “invest” a total of $15 as their “Holiday Gift” to the shop to bolster that meager $3 shop intake for the season. Despite there being only one Action this season, it has been a productive one for Project Spectre.
(Incidentally, I decided to drop the one season transfer cost for moving the completed fishboat from Boston to Head of Passes. Per the American Enterprise Institute, travel by steamship in 1857 between New York & New Orleans took just six days, with Boston to New York adding a half day steaming time.)
Thus, I have Spring, 1862 to complete building “Spectre” and deploy her to Head of Passes in Louisiana, leaving one Training mission and one Attack mission for Summer, 1862.
This is a tight schedule.
Each season’s Fortunes of War/Event could easily mess things up.
“Spectre” shown in final stages of construction. Note Magnetic Engine and improved propeller.
Winter 1862 turn finds Mechanic Sam Eakins exercising his Special Ability to add a second Action for the season. He’s quite the motivator, that one!
True to form Brutus de Villeroi & Professor Eben Horsford together add their $15 yearly benefit.
While at Eakins’ party, Mechanic Lodner Phillips uses his Special Ability to convince de Villeroi’s wife Eulalie to replace a departing Journeyman, which results in Eulalie de Villeroi joining both the project and the crew!
Remember, these are Mechanics, not superstitious Sailors.
Being French, de Villeroi is very proficient with pistol and saber.
As is Eulalie!
Winter, 1862’s first Action is an Investment Check of $5
A dr of 8 yields not only a $10 return but adds Investor Augusta Price, who adds $40 more to the project’s treasury.
This allows the crew to use the remaining Action to complete the “Spectre’s” mechanism manifest by adding a ballast tank combination, snorkel, periscope and gearbox.
A cold February Saturday finds all hands present on the wharf at Boston Harbor as the “Spectre” is loaded onto the deck of the USS “Varuna.”
With Investors Horsford and Price waving goodbye, “Spectre” and crew set out for Head of Passes, Louisiana and warmer climes.
Spectre construction completed
[Caption: “Spectre’s” Gauges Board at the close of Winter 1862. The crew positions assigned by de Villeroi have him Steering, with Eakins & Lodner Phillips in reserve if needed.
Log entry:
Acting Master Samuel V. Eakins, USS “Spectre.”
17 February 1862 – Aboard U.S.S. “Varuna” – at Sea, off coast of Long Island, NY.
(At this point I will let excerpts from Master Eakins’ personal log book tell the story of the “Spectre” and her crew on their journey from Boston to the mouth of the Mississippi River.)
-X-
We left Boston Harbor this morning about 10 o’clock. All passengers affiliated with the “Spectre” were assigned bunk space in officer’s quarters and had their gear stowed. The “Spectre” itself is currently tied down atop the central hold access gratings, lashed fore and aft between fore and mainmasts to prevent pitching during rough seas.
Which we’ve had plenty of, as the ship’s captain, Commander Charles S. Boggs, is determined to set a record for the fastest passage between Boston and the Gulf. To that end, “Varuna” was bouncing off a heavy snow squall in Long Island Sound that forced Boggs to tack continuously across the wind, with only the foretop sails set to assist “Varuna’s” remarkably noisy steam engine.
I’ve offered Boggs our mechanical assistance to help speed “Varuna” along.
Boggs sniffed at me, stole a glance at “Spectre” gently rocking in her stays on the main deck, and spat a large brown stream of tobacco juice over the side. Apparently, Captain Boggs enjoys his tobacco in its natural state.
The storm is really kicking up a fuss, with winds in excess of 20 knots and seas of 10 to 15 feet and increasing the further south we go, which is bad news for my crew of landlubbers.
Most of them are seasick, as is Madame de Villeroi who is being ministered to by the ship’s surgeon and de Villeroi himself.
I’ve avoided the effects of “mal de mer” by placing a sliver of fresh-cut ginger root under my tongue.
The “Varuna’s” helmsman, a garrulous Irishman named Reagan says we should be sailing out of the storm by the time we reach Cape May off New Jersey,
” – an’ that be some-toyme ter-night, Lord willing yore worship, sorr.”
We will see.
Log entry 18 February 1862 – Aboard USS “Varuna” – at sea off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
It is late afternoon (“Six Bells of the Afternoon Watch.”)
We’ve sailed out of yesterday’s snow storm and into a steady rain that has soaked through just about everything on board “Varuna”.
Thankfully, we’ve not encountered the usual gales found here above the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” but that may just be “Sailors Luck,” as the “Varuna’s” crew have it. Commander Boggs’ men are about as taciturn a gang of bluejackets as their skipper.
Though they are professional seamen, to a man they do have a sailor’s curiosity about “new-fangled equipment” and were very curious about “Jus’ whut be thet thang lashed down on th’ Main be, sorr?”
I’ve told my team to be friendly but not informative to the sailors about “Spectre.” The ship’s officers are another matter, and de Villeroi and I will be discussing where we are heading exactly, and when will we get there?
Before we left, the telegraph had brought news of Admiral Farragut’s West Gulf Squadron departing Pensacola for Head of Passes, which means he and the Squadron should be there by tomorrow afternoon.
The clock is ticking on our little venture.
Log entry, 19 February 1862 – USS “Varuna” – at Sea off St. Augustine, Florida.
We are making good time on our journey to Head of Passes. As we sailed past Flag Officer DuPont’s South Atlantic Blockade Squadron off Savannah, a US Navy cutter hailed us, then came along side “Varuna” and delivered the mail and a communique from Flag Officer DuPont, who wished us “…good luck in your endeavor, and death to the Rebels, every one!”
Commander Boggs read the communique to the ship’s crew, and to our crew as well. It got the usual response of sniffs, coughs and suppressed chuckling from the swabbies at the back of the gathering. Boggs glared back at those assembled but said nothing, then pulled his hat down in front and stalked off to his cabin.
Seems our crew of jolly tars have several among them “from Maryland,” which means they are Southern by birth; not necessarily “from Maryland” but still loyal to the Union, as far as that goes.
Serving on “Varuna” is Master’s Mate Henrik Schenderhans, a likeable Dutchman from Hoorn in Holland.
Henrik (he prefers this “familiarity” over my stumbling over his last name all the time) says that “Dis regionalz grumblin’ vill schtop!” as soon as “Varuna” joins Farragut on the Mississippi.
The meeting with Boggs’ officers over dinner last night was a frost.
None of them saw any advantage in sneaking up on the Rebels, blowing things up, then sneaking away again.
If sneaking means you get home with an undamaged fishboat and an uninjured crew, then I’ll have a double-helping of “Sneaking” and keep it coming, thank you very much.
Log entry, 20 February 1862 – USS “Varuna” – at Sea off Tampa, Florida.
We entered the Gulf of Mexico sometime last night, leaving cold, rainy and snowy weather behind for the balmy sun-soaked breezes of the Caribbean at about Six Bells in the Forenoon Watch (10:30 am).
Because of high winds in the Straits of Florida, we had to hug the coast, which brought us past Fort Jefferson to starboard. If there is any place more remote and forlorn than the Dry Tortugas islands, I don’t know of it.
God help the men who are building this monster way out here in the middle of the ocean, and it being all brick and masonry for the most part.
The February sun beating down was hot enough on board to have sailor and crew stripped to the waist for comfort.
Poor Eulalie, being a lady, could not partake, though she did strip down to her chemise and a skirt and sported a parasol while on deck.
We should be off Mobile, Alabama soon, perhaps by tomorrow.
The next day should find us at Head of Passes, where our work really begins.
Log entry, 21 February 1862 – USS “Varuna” – at Sea off Mobile, Alabama.
Early this morning at Six Bells in the Morning Watch (6:30 am), we joined the Navy’s West Gulf Squadron off Ship Island, Mississippi.
Commander Boggs went ashore to report.
The harbor master at Ship Island promptly told Commander Boggs to get back on “Varuna” and “report to Admiral Farragut at Head of Passes. Now, Commander!”
Boggs did just that, and has driven his crew like John Paul Jones with a wasp in his pants; telling his engineers and stokers to make all steam possible and the navigation officer to plot the fastest course to the mouth of the Mississippi, “Because I mean to beat Farragut there or know the reason why!”
de Villeroi and the rest of us are busy attending to “Spectre,” getting her ready for her debut tomorrow on “Big Muddy.”
Log entry, 22 February 1862 – Head of Passes, Louisiana.
This will have to be short, as we are casting off on our first training mission.
A while ago, Commander Boggs mustered the Spectre” crew on the aft deck and addressed us.
In his gruff manner, Boggs complimented us on our skills, our perseverance and our bravery, and said “that we could ship with him anytime we asked to.”
There’s been some argument between de Villeroi, Philips and myself over who will be at the helm of “Spectre”.
de Villeroi won the toss, darn his luck…
… and there’s Philips blowing his bosun’s whistle, which means we are about to get underway.
Faraday’s Engine has been tuned up, and that gearbox we got from Robert Stephenson has been quietly whirring away in its machine oil coating in anticipation of the trip we will be making.
I’ve also had a word with our Diver. Signor Stefano Rojas knows the Air Lock’s operation, both out and in.
We are as ready as we will ever be!
-End of excerpt-
-X-
Turn 5 – Spring 1862 –
After settling an argument on the merits of Union General Hunter’s emancipating the Carolina Sea Island slaves, (-$1 to the Pilot Town Tavern’s keeper for breakage) “Spectre’s” crew began its first training mission, sailing up the Mississippi past Tripod, then past Alligator Station and Northeast Point, then returned to Head of Passes, both “Spectre” and crew passing their first sea trial.
In the process they repaired a snag-clogged propeller shroud at send-off.
Next, “Spectre” passed Alligator Station while surfaced.
de Villeroi then ordered “Spectre” to be crash-dived thru Awash depth to Below Shallow on her first dive to show that the Ballast/Level system worked as he had designed it to. He then ordered “Spectre” back to the surface and sailed home to Head of Passes.
With a total of four black cubes against one red cube earned on this mission, “Spectre’s” success attracted a new Investor (per Rule Book p. 43), and Russell Sturgis joins the team, adding $15 to the treasury (that is now at $52).
Sturgis’ Special Ability is to bring another Investor on once per game.
On being informed by de Villeroi of the success of this first training mission, Admiral Farragut ordered another training mission forthwith.
“Spectre’s” second training mission had Northeast Point as its goal.
Almost from the start, equipment began to malfunction.
First, the Gearbox began acting up.
Next the Steering Linkage locked, but Eulalie de Villeroi was there with her toolbox and repaired it while dodging her husband’s feet at the helm.
At Alligator Station, a seal in the forward Ballast tank ruptured which submerged “Spectre” to Awash depth (and caused Lodner Philips to Panic), before Eulalie got that Malfunction repaired.
Entering Northeast Point, de Villeroi ordered a descent to Below Shallow. At that point the gearbox began to Malfunction again, this time dropping the Power Grade from “A” to “B”. de Villeroi immediately surfaced the boat, reversed course and headed back downriver to Head of Passes.
Arriving there, the “Spectre” got caught in a current drift and sprung a leak in an aft hull seam. Recovery was uneventful, with repairs being needed on the gearbox and an aft hull seam.
Back alongside USS “Varuna” that was now serving as tender for “Spectre,” de Villeroi and Eakins determined that the aft-section Leak was caused by an impact to the Shroud’s support framing that had cracked through into the lower propeller mount, and then carried along the lower hull seam for about a foot and a half. Fortunately, de Villeroi had requested that the “Varuna” be fitted with a forge and metalworking shop, whose machinists and shipwrights joined “Spectre’s” crew in lifting and positioning “Spectre” on “Varuna’s” main deck to repair the aft hull leak. As for the jammed gearbox, mechanic J.B. Morrell discovered that the clutch mechanism responsible for changing gear speed had broken a tooth in its cog, which caused the jam. Morrell and Lodner Philips got busy fashioning a new clutch gear for the mechanism.
Spring slowly changing to Summer found that repairs to “Spectre” had been completed satisfactorily.
An examination by de Villeroi, Eakins and the assembled mechanics declared the “Spectre” fit for duty.
As the “Varuna’s” launch carried de Villeroi and Eakins and their good news to USS “Hartford,” (Admiral Farragut’s flagship) the West Gulf Squadron’s mortar schooner fleet opened a thunderous barrage upon the Rebel forts ”Jackson” and “St. Philip.”
In the din, Eakins leaned over, tapped de Villeroi on the leg and pointed back towards “Varuna.”
de Villeroi turned just in time to see the “Spectre” being swung over “Varuna’s” starboard side and lowered into the Mississippi.
Turning to look back at Eakins, de Villeroi realized that “Spectre’s” and their time to act had just gotten significantly shorter.
Union Gauges sheet shows “Spectre” with 2 Training Levels at the start of her Attack mission. Note that Brutus de Villeroi and wife Eulalie occupy the steering helm under the forward hatch. The Faraday (Magnetic) Engine occupies the whole of the next tile aft, with the rest of the crew occupying the stern. Also note that the second successful training mission netted another Investor.
And so, to war.
“Spectre” departed the fleet anchorage to the cheers of the sailors on board USS “Varuna.”
de Villeroi, standing in the fore and aft hatches took the cheers, doffing his hat as “Spectre” passed under “Old Glory” on the stern of USS “Hartford.”
His hat tip was returned by both Admiral Farragut, Commander Boggs.
“Spectre” leaves Head of Passes heading up the Mississippi River.
Steering for the westernmost bank of the “Big Muddy,” de Villeroi ordered half speed on the Faraday Engine, to which Mechanic Lodner Philips complied. de Villeroi chose his course well, staying in the calmer shore current as “Spectre” passed the old semaphore “Tripod” on the eastern river bank. Alligator Station also proved to be a calm passage, the Faraday humming along as fresh air whistled through the open hatches. A solid blanket of clouds kept Ol’ Man Moon from an unwanted appearance, while the wind gusts tested de Villeroi’s steering ability. Northeast Point saw the first malfunction, being a ballast pump valve stuck open, diving the “Spectre” from Surface to Awash. Eulalie de Villeroi assisted Acting Master Sam Eakins in freeing up, replacing the defective ballast pump valve and then surfacing the “Spectre” once more. Rounding the bend just south of The Jump, Lodner Philips spotted some watch fires ahead, whereupon de Villeroi had Eakins crash dive the boat to Below Shallow to avoid detection.
“Spectre” passes The Jump.
de Villeroi kept the “Spectre’s” bow pointed into the river’s current as it slowly passed the old Salt Works factory.
At this point the Faraday Engine decided to kick up a fuss.
Though making a racket (and panicking Lodner Philips) it was still capable of forward motion at the current Easy pace, but needed fixing should de Villeroi need flank speed at any point in the journey.
With Lodner cowering behind the Leveling Tank it was up to J.B. Morrell and Eulalie de Villeroi teaming up to effect repairs.
After several tentative crackles and a whiff of ozone, the Faraday recovered its comfortable hum. As they approached Beaver Station, de Villeroi told the rest of the crew that “Spectre’s” mission was to blow a hole in the submerged river obstructions near the eastern shore of the river.
Raising the boat from Below Shallow to Awash enabled de Villeroi to use the periscope to confirm that “Spectre” had arrived in the right place.
de Villeroi ordered Eakins to dive the boat back to Below Shallow, and to get Diver Stefano Rojas ready for duty.
Diver Rojas prepares to disembark with his demolition charge.
Lugging his demolition torpedo, Diver Rojas exited “Spectre’s” Air Lock.
J.B. Morrell and Eulalie both kept an eye on the Faraday Engine at this crucial moment of the mission.
Rojas’ journey to his target was slowed by the inevitable silting up that the Mississippi had “dusted” the fascines and “dragon’s teeth.”
Diver Rojas plants the demolition charge on target
Uncovering a pre-existing Rebel-made passage through the line of Obstructions, Rojas placed the Large Charge on the left side base of the obstructions.
Upon detonation, the charge would widen the Rebel’s current passage, and the stronger river current would carry additional debris of the explosion downstream, making the breach even wider.
Once set, Diver Rojas carefully returned to the “Spectre’s” Air Lock and climbed inside, cycling the water-filled Air Lock and replacing it with air.
Rojas hooked the charge’s insulated electrical wires to a bank of Leyden Jar batteries, then climbed through the Air Lock access hatch and into the main cabin. At a nod from Rojas, Eakins threw a nearby switch.
A most satisfying “THUMP!” resulted, that was not only heard but felt through the hull. Success!
Image 9: (Tactical Board)[caption: The demolition charge destroys the Obstructions.]
The demolition charge destroys the Obstructions.
“Let’s get out of here,” bellowed Eakins, as de Villeroi executed a classic pirouette that reversed “Spectre’s” course heading to downstream and home.
Instead of skulking along in the shallows to avoid the worst of the Mississippi’s current, de Villeroi now swung “Spectre” into the main channel, letting Big Muddy take the strain of travel while the Faraday engine was recharging the Leyden Jars. Double the number of watch fires now burned on both banks of the Mississippi, while picket boats swarmed like angry hornets on the river’s surface.
But “Spectre” lived up to her name, ghosting along safe in the rivers depths.
As “Spectre” passed opposite Northeast Point, a mid-evening fog bank rolled in which further hampered Confederate pursuit –
Image 10: (Mission Board) [caption: “Spectre” passes Northeast Point as the Fog rolls in.]
“Spectre” passes Northeast Point as the Fog rolls in.
When “Spectre” arrived back at Head of Passes, the Faraday Engine conked out again just as “Spectre” pulled alongside USS “Varuna.”
As de Villeroi opened the forward hatch, a sailor on “Varuna’s” fo’csle hollered “How was yer huntin,’ boys?”
Standing in the aft hatch, Lodner Philips reached down, pulled a broom out and waved it energetically over his head: a “clean sweep!”
The “Varuna’s” crew erupted in cheers, and Commander Boggs ordering a signal gun fired to alert Admiral Farragut of “Spectre’s” safe arrival.
Sighing, de Villeroi pulled a cigar from his vest pocket.
Lighting it up, he took a long drag of Havana tobacco smoke and permitted himself a rare smile.
Looking down through the hatch he saw his wife Eulalie looking up at him.
Eulalie was smiling, too.
May, 1862.
Having visited the White House and been feted by President Lincoln and Washington society, the de Villeroi’s were taking the train back to their Machine Shop in Boston, Massachusetts.
The destruction of the Confederate river barriers below Forts Jackson & St. Philip allowed Farragut’s fleet to sail virtually unchecked past those two old piles of now-smoldering masonry.
The massive Confederate ironclad CSS “Louisiana” took a close-in pounding from the West Gulf Squadron and was last seen, adrift and on fire from stem to stern, floating downriver to the Gulf of Mexico, together with the wrecked remnants of the Rebel river fleet.
Upon a unanimous vote by the city council, New Orleans was declared an “Open City.” The councilmen then fled upriver to the state capital at Baton Rouge.
Union General Benjamin Butler and his soldiers were received by the now-leaderless Crescent City with something less than open arms.
Though there were still a number of firebrands calling for guerilla and urban warfare, most of the populace shrugged their collective shoulders and got on with life.
On de Villeroi’s recommendation, Acting Master Samuel Eakins was inducted into the US Navy and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.
Lithograph image showing the Washington Navy Yard during the Civil War {source: history.navy.mil}
de Villeroi’s crew all returned to the Washington Navy Yard as contracted civilian Mechanics in the Navy’s newly-created Bureau for Underwater Research.
And they all lived (those that survived the war, at least) happily ever after.
I’ve been thinking about building a Slicer, Hired Muscle commander deck where I load it up with equipment/auras and have it reap the “on attack/combat” benefits multiple times a turn cycle. The only problem: is this how it actually works?
I know that if, for example, an equipment you control grants hexproof to an opponent’s creature, you still can’t target it since the creature has the keyword and you don’t control the creature (explained here). But is the general rule, therefore, that if an equipment/aura controlled by you grants a keyword or ability (i.e. “creature gains/has ‘X’”), it benefits the opponent, whereas if it doesn’t grant the keyword or ability it benefits you?
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has “Whenever this creature attacks, create a Treasure token.”
So when an opponent attacks with my Slicer equipped with Diamond Pickaxe, who creates the treasure token? I assume the opponent, in this case, since the treasure creation is an ability given to the creature, which my opponent controls. On the other hand, I assume that if Slicer was instead equipped with a Bitterthorn, Nissa’s Animus, which says, in part:
Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
then when Slicer attacks on my opponent’s turn, it’s still me that gets to search for a land, since the ability is on the equipment, which I control. Have I got the right understanding in both cases, and in either case, where is this addressed in the rules?
I’m a big fan of spatial reasoning games. Over the years, games like Patchwork and Isle of Cats have always brought me joy. I don’t know if it’s something left over from all the Tetris I played as a child, but figuring out little puzzles to get everything to fit just right is just… fun!
So when I was first introduced to Tiny Towns, I was immediately intrigued. I loved the idea of having to put your resources on the board just right, but adding in different scoring elements? Oh yeah, this one’s gonna hit the spot…
We Built This… Town…
Each player is the mayor of their own… well, tiny town. There’s a back story about creatures and predators and all that, but it’s not really that important.
What is important is that the game tasks you with building structures in the 4×4 grid on your player board. This construction happens by placing resources in the patterns specified by the available buildings. A tavern, for instance, requires two bricks and a glass resource to be placed all in a single line, while the cloister requires four resources in a very particular L-shaped arrangement.
On a turn, one player is designated as the “master builder”. That player announces one resource type, and all players have to add a cube matching that resource to their player board. If anyone has resources in an arrangement that matches a building, they may remove the matching cubes from their player board and place a building token. The building has to be placed on a site where one of the resources was that built the structure.
Watch Where You’re Going
Placement is important for a few reasons. For some of the buildings, you get points based on location. The inn, for example, gets points if it’s not in a row or column with another inn. The bakery gets points if it’s next to buildings of a particular type. You’ll also have to be careful to keep your board open for future buildings. If you don’t leave enough room for the pattern needed for a particular building – well, tough. You won’t be able to create that building for the rest of the game.
If you ever reach a point where you can’t build anything else, then your game is done and your town is complete. You’ll wait for everyone to finish their building, then calculate your points. And, as per usual, the player with the most points at the end of the game wins!
Lookin’ Good
When Tiny Towns hits the table, its charm is immediately evident. The box art is great, and all of the little building meeples are great. The artwork on the different building cards is also wonderful, and it all comes together to create a really attractive look.
The game is also very creative in how it adds variety. Each building meeple is associated with four different building types, and you randomly choose which building for each type at the beginning of the game. It’s a small thing, but it allows for increased replayability without having to have a bunch of components that are only used for certain setups.
Monuments are another element of the game that add a little spice. Each player is dealt two Monument cards at the beginning of the game and select one to keep. These special buildings are unique to each player, and they can provide some major scoring opportunities if used correctly. This small wrinkle ensures that everyone will have their own strategies and approaches as they move through the game.
Like Coming Home
Tiny Towns is a game that strikes a perfect balance for me. It’s simple enough to teach in just a few minutes, but it’s complex enough that I have to weigh my options on each turn to decide what I should do. It’s not so complicated that I will sit for several minutes trying to decide what to do, but it also has enough going on that I feel that my choices are important.
People that don’t like spatial reasoning games are probably going to get a bit frustrated with this title. However, given that you’re not putting down polyominoes or anything like that, maybe it’s easier? I’m not sure.
What I do know is that Tiny Towns is a game that I really enjoy. It’s one that I could play with almost any group, and each time it’s going to be a solid experience. With the addition of a few expansions over the past few years, there’s a ton of variety that can keep people coming back for more. Tiny Towns is a game that I’d recommend for any hobby gamer to add to their collection. It’s certainly one that I’ll be keeping on my shelf for a very long time.
The stewardship of the U.S. economy is one of the most important political concerns for modern U.S. presidents, and American economic performance has a large and undeniable impact on election outcomes. Yet Mr. President isn’t, and doesn’t want to be, a macroeconomic simulator. The complexity of macroeconomic modeling, the limited effectiveness of most economic tools, time delays, confounding factors… the list goes on and on, and macroeconomics in particular (the study of aggregates, as opposed to microeconomics’ focus on how individual people and firms make decisions) has competing schools of academic thought. Mr. President is about a balancing act at a higher level, and the problems you’ll confront are more practical.
This Crisis card represents a major bank failure. Like many other Cascading Events it has a clear play-around: if you can rescue the economy and get it back to 6 or more, then its stage 2 and 3 events will fizzle. Many of the economy-themed Crisis cards adjust one of the four State of the Economy tracks modeled in the game – U.S., China, Russia, and the Eurozone.
Sometimes one power’s economic problem is another’s opportunity – here we see Crisis Card #72, Oil Prices Spike to Record Highs. This card shows a unique pattern: in addition to immediate political pain in the form of Domestic Crisis and a Public Approval penalty, the public demands specific action in the form of energy independence legislation. Russia, as a major gas exporter, gets an immediate economic bonus; and if China and the U.S. are on good terms, a deal can be struck to help both countries recover.
But why do these economic tracks matter? For you, as U.S. President, a strong economy will offer political advantages. At high levels, you’ll get continuous upward pressure on your approval rating, bonus Action Points, and Congress will warm to you (every elected official wants to be seen as part of the solution to economic problems!). You’ll also get Economic Assistance actions that allow dice-free improvements to relationships with foreign allies or Regional Alignment – and those are precious, because it’s often easy to miss on them with standard actions, and high Regional Alignment will help you counteract the spread of Russian and Chinese influence. But a poor economy will cost you in all of these things, particularly with respect to your relations with Congress.
For Russia and China, your peer rivals in Mr. President, economic success brings bonus actions during their activation segments. This generally leads to more headaches for you: more influence spread, more military growth, or even war.
The Eurozone’s economy mostly drives that region’s Stability – at high levels, there are a couple of phases where the Eurozone can improve its Stability just by having a good economic level. Stability, of course, limits the presence of terror groups and civil wars, so more stability almost always means fewer headaches for you as President.
TRADE AND SANCTIONS
Two economic elements that get some explicit handling in Mr. President are Trade Agreements and Sanctions. Trade agreements, created with the Make a Trade Agreement action, require good relations with Congress to have a reasonable chance at passing, and carry a host of benefits and risks. In high Stability regions, they can lead to a lot of American economic gains on the State of the Economy and Public Approval tracks. They can also directly remove Russian and Chinese influence. But they can also lead to friction in both the trade partner’s Region and at home. Maximizing the impact of Trade Agreements requires a close eye on actions that preserve or improve Stability, and a strong relationship with Congress.
Sanctions, conversely, can only be targeted at four specific nations: Russia, China, the DPRK, and Iran. Sanctions make it harder for the latter two to develop their nuclear programs, and consume critical actions from Russia’s and China’s action budgets (which may mean fewer actions to spare for greater mischief).
WRAPPING UP
That may have seemed like a lot, but the simple track-based approach for modeling economic health, and the relatively small but well-purposed suite of actions that allows the player to interact with them, give economic considerations a scope and complexity budget appropriate to Mr. President’s big-picture design approach. The most complicated economic phenomena are reserved for the Crisis Cards, who can use their individual text to inject economic uncertainty and drama into the game without requiring players to learn a complicated economic model.
Ananda’s Previous Articles about digital Mr. President:
You can also check out Exia’s Mr. President Substack here for updates and perspectives from Exia’s artists, programmers, and developers.
Targets are selected when a spell or ability goes on the stack. Magda’s ability goes on the stack as soon as it’s triggered, i.e. when the target of Lightning Bolt is selected upon casting. Her ability is triggered and on the stack even before the targeted creature can become hexproof. The creature becoming hexproof will not remove Magda’s ability from the stack, nor prevent the targeting which already happened. It just turns the targeted creature into an invalid target.
115.1. Some spells and abilities require their controller to choose one or more targets for them. The targets are object(s) and/or
player(s) the spell or ability will affect. These targets are declared
as part of the process of putting the spell or ability on the stack.
The targets can’t be changed except by another spell or ability that
explicitly says it can do so.
The stack and resolution will look something like one of the below – things can resolve in slightly different orders, but the outcome is basically the same barring other effects:
Lightning Bolt is cast and goes on the stack. Magda’s ability triggers and goes on the stack. Hexproof spell/ability is put on the stack. Hexproof resolves. Magda’s ability resolves and creates a treasure. Lightning Bolt fails to resolve with an invalid target.
Lightning Bolt is cast and goes on the stack. Magda’s ability triggers and goes on the stack. Magda’s ability resolves and creates a treasure. Hexproof spell/ability is put on the stack. Hexproof resolves. Lightning Bolt fails to resolve with an invalid target.
Tom: September already? Summer literally collapsed in front of my very eyes here in Brighton, where the weather took a harsh left-turn into dribblesville. It’s SAD over here all of a sudden. But I’m HYPE about this month!
Four gleaming-hot videobabies for you to clap your peepers on this month – a cracking vid from Emily about a tiny little eurogame, a soon-to-be-filmed vid from Matt about a much hypedeurogame, and a couple videos from me about small card games – one classic and one brand new. It’s a zero-Quinns month, but his videos are both timed releases for October, so you’ll see more of him there where we’re covering two chunky (and very good!) boxes from Dr Kniz himself.
Podcasts are always a bit of an unpredictable soup based on what we have and haven’t played, but you can expect them to trickle out at their usual pace whilst we work on a few behind-the-scenes bonuses – more on that in our August and September newsletters.
That’s the month! Nice and simple before we hit ‘CHUNKY OCTOBER’ and ‘BIG NOVEMBER’ which are jam-packed with some real cracking titles.
We wanted to put out a quick announcement that the Shut Up & Sit Down Podcast is going to take a very small break, for a few weeks. A spread of bad luck with recording, a few bouts of illness, some planned holiday and a couple of imminent conventions have left us little time to play games, record chats, and edit the podcast!
Rather than scramble together some hasty pods, we thought it’d just be best to take a break and return after Essen Spiel – so that’s when you can expect to hear from us again, absolutely caked in games. We want to make sure that the podcast is in-line with the standards of our video output, and a quick break is the best way to ensure that.
We’ve skipped a few weeks recently, as you might have noticed, so I’m hoping a little time away will let us re-calibrate and get things back on track – as well as work on freshening up our format just a little! Expect more ‘Specials‘ in the coming months that tackle specific themes, genres, or questions.
Thanks for listening! We’ll be back very, very soon.
The original game of Scoville was published in 2014 by Tasty Minstrel Games (R.I.P.). This auction and set collecting game has been out of print for a while but is highly regarded by friends who have played it.
For years, I’ve wanted to add this game to our collection but wasn’t ready to spend the money for a used copy. Trick or Treat Games picked up the license and recently published Scoville Second Edition. Now that I’ve played this modern classic from Ed Marriott, does it live up to the hype that was in my head?
Mornings on the Farm
In Scoville, players are pepper farmers who are planting, harvesting, fulfilling pepper orders, and making chili. Each round starts with an auction where players will bid for their turn order in the round. The turn order allows players to choose a pepper card from the auction display, earning the pepper(s) on the card. Choosing your position matters because planting and order fulfillment takes place in turn order, but harvesting takes place in reverse turn order.
Each round follows this order:
Planting: In turn order, players will place a single pepper from their supply into the central board. Peppers will cross-breed with the peppers next to them. Each player has a player aid showing the color pepper that is created between two pepper colors.
Harvest: In reverse turn order, players will move their farmer up to three steps in the garden. The player will harvest a new pepper(s) from the supply based on the two peppers they are between on the board. For example, being between a blue pepper and a yellow pepper will produce a purple pepper.
Fulfillment: In turn order, players can turn in peppers to fulfill cards in the farmers market and/or fulfill a chili recipe card. This is how you earn more money and victory points. Players can also earn money by selling a single color of pepper, earning $1 for every two peppers of that color in the field.
Each game is broken into two halves, the morning and afternoon. Once players trigger the start of the afternoon phase, the auction block will gain better cards and the Farmers Market cards become tougher to fulfill but earn much better rewards.
Players also have three one time use actions that allow them to double-back with their movement, plant an additional pepper, and move an extra step. If you don’t use these special actions, they are worth four victory points each at the end of the game.
A Slow Burn
The gameplay is Scoville is a bit of a slow burn as you increase your pepper supply, gain new pepper colors, and move your way into the outer edges of the field. In your first couple turns, you’ll plant and harvest some of the same peppers. Players can choose to be selfish with their new cross breeds by planting a new pepper color out of reach of the other players.
Once players unlock the coal and white colored peppers, things really open up to fulfill high point chili recipes. Players are always looking to gain white and ghost peppers since they are present on the highest value cards in the game.
Scoville plays up to six players but I would rarely suggest playing with the max number of players. Often, players are referencing the cross-breed player aid and looking at what chili recipes they are close to fulfilling. This can make rounds drag out at the highest player count. If everyone knew how to play the game and had some experience with Scoville, I think playing with six players could be smooth. I would never play with new players at this player count.
When you get into the five and six player count, the pepper field begins to have hot spots where all the best peppers are located. We’ve seen two players break away from the center, dropping important pepper colors as far away as they can in order to limit access to other players. It’s important to watch what other players are doing during the planting phase and anticipate where the best peppers are being placed.
This second edition printing has a lot of upgrades that players should know about. The original printing came with wooden peppers, and colorblind players had big issues with the color choices. Trick or Treat Studios fixed this with new plastic peppers that have a very clear letter embossed on each pepper that helps players to know what color they have. I love the rounded, plastic peppers in the game and think it’s an absolute upgrade from the original wooden ones.
Vincent Dutrait also did a complete overhaul of the artwork which looks fantastic. His signature style is present on the board, cards, game box and even player screens. The board pieces together like a puzzle and is double-sided with the solo player experience on the back.
The game also comes with a brand-new solo experience for players to check out. At the time of this review, I’ve not played it yet, but I’ve been enjoying the game enough that I will absolutely check it out. Also in Scoville Second Edition is the Scoville Labs expansion that many struggled to find for the original game.
Players are given a lab board where they can plant additional peppers, immediately gaining the cross-bred peppers that are created based on adjacency. This expansion also adds a few new cards and will speed up the access to more rare peppers for individual players.
On top of all this, there are new fulfillment cards that haven’t been seen before. The number of chili recipe cards is impressive and no two games will have the same cards. This is nice for replayability.
Final Thoughts
Did Scoville live up to the hype that I had in my head? For the most part, yes.
Scoville has been a “grail game” for me for a long time. It connects with my love of spicy food, gardening, and includes some of my favorite mechanics. I’m a big fan of this game and I think the upgrades that were made in this second edition are fantastic.
I started to appreciate the slow burn of the game in those first few rounds after a couple games. Scoville is a game that is going to take every bit of 60 to 90 minutes but I really enjoy everything it does. Players are always working to fulfill orders, with their turn order in the round playing a very important part. The bidding and turn order felt less important at three players but is absolutely vital at four to six players.
If you missed out on owning the original printing of this game or just want the upgrade, Scoville Second Edition is a great addition to your game collection. This is one that I’m proud to finally have in our collection.
Scoville Second Edition is now available at your local game store, or on the Trick or Treat webstore.
This game was provided to us by the publisher for review. Read more about our review policies at One Board Family.
Highs
Big fan of the updated visuals from Vincent Dutrait
New edition includes new solo experience and Labs expansion
Loads of chili recipes and Farmers Market orders
Bidding mechanic really shines at the higher player counts
