bradley newman

Pachisi Game Mod Reviews

Coattails

I had a lot of fun with this one. The act of sticking pins into the board was inherently satisfying (similar to popping bubblewrap), and added to my overall enjoyment, particularly the act of taking opponent’s pins and stabbing them back in the center. Sticking a pin has a degree of aggressiveness to it, which I read as a metaphor of ‘stabbing another in the back’.

I definitely liked how the game moved much faster, and how the theme of blocking was basically inverted by allowing you to leap frog. I think at times it was too fast leading to people going back to the center repeatedly.

Cops and Robbers

I think the theme was interesting here, but the rules took me a long time to decipher. The board and pieces could have been helped by clearer markings. I never figured out a reason to start a fire. Our game never got up much steam.

PREY (aka Tropical Circle of Life)

This was pretty fun. I liked the metaphor, and modifiers used to create separate ecosystems. I think if each piece had an animal associated with it, then it would have made the modifiers much more meaningful, and hopefully in turn create more meaningful play.

The constant calculation along with having to tilt one’s head to read the modifiers was difficult to get used to and could benefit from some design improvements.

11:09 PM    September 14, 2005    Comments 0