R2D2 Operation Game Review

I bought my wife R2D2 Operation as a present a while ago. She’s a huge Star Wars nerd so she danced with glee. She had told me she loved Operation as a kid so I felt like it was a no brainer gift idea.

Well, no brainer is an apt term for Operation. I used to love the game as a kid too but as an adult the game isn’t as fun. The game is all about hand eye coordination and what used to be challenging for an over-excited little boy is basic and simple for an adult used to lab work.

For little kids this game is a blast and a fun way to introduce them to the idea of engineering (for the R2D2 edition) or surgery (for the original edition.) Sure much of it is bad science (water on the knee bucket) but it needs to be understandable and fun for kids. The game does require patience and hand-eye coordination so kids who get into it will definitely develop these abilities. Or else they just get used to loud noises.

I like how the R2D2 edition makes various R2 sounds instead of just a loud buzz. Everyone who picks up the game has fun testing out the sounds it makes.

All in all I don’t have a lot to say about R2D2 operation because there isn’t a lot to the game. Draw a card to figure out what you need to remove from the board. Don’t touch the sides. Claim money.

To sum up Operation is a great game for teaching kids hand-eye coordination but as an adult (or teen) the game becomes a simple time waster with little to no challenge. This game is definitely designed for children which is okay because that is who should be playing this game. Pick this up if you will have young kids around looking to play an attention grabbing game or if you are a Star Wars ubergeek (like the wife and I) Honestly if it wasn’t for our extreme geekiness and the growing horde of nieces and nephews (who I will use Operation to teach the love of gaming on) I would give this game a pass.

Stock Ticker Game Review

New additions to the gaming group can bring in great new games. When my cousin married her husband he introduced us to stock ticker. A game admittedly most people I know wouldn’t have purchased based solely on the box. Stock ticker is a simply designed game that actually makes the stock market fun.

In stock ticker you are investors buying and selling six commodities hoping to make the most money in whatever time limit you set. These commodities are Gold, Bonds, Oil, Industrials, Grain, and Silver (or tech in the newer version).

The game starts with all stocks at $1 in value. Players invest their $5000 starting money however they choose. Invest all, some, or nothing in whatever stocks you feel like. Each player in turn rolls the three dice. One die will show which of the six stocks is affected by this roll. Another die shows if the stock goes up, down or pays a dividend. The third die determines the value of the change.

Stock that rises above the $2 mark splits, each player has their number of that stock doubled and the stock price returns to $1. Any stock whose value drops below the 5 cent mark crashes; all of the stock owned by players is returned to the bank without a payout and the stock returns to the $1 value. Any stock that is above the $1 mark can pay dividends when it gets rolled for that stock. Basically just owning this stock can net you money without having to buy and sell.

Since stock value is changed with each roll of the dice all players will be involved on every other players turn. Maybe their stock value will plummet, maybe it will pay off big time or maybe your stock will stagnate over several turns.

Due to the randomness of stock fluctuations the game really doesn’t reflect true stock market changes. There is no news source to give fair warning of a grain shortage or war in some oil producing country that will make those stocks soar. However it does reflect the volatility and gambling aspect that the market does have. After all; that down and out stock could really crash costing you a huge investment. Or it could suddenly upturn and net you huge profits.

I like that stock ticker is such a random game. At the start there really is no go to stock that will win the game every time you play. So new players have as much of a chance of winning as veteran players. All of the stock is the same value and randomness changes everything. Experienced players will build strategies as many in the stock market do. Sometimes they work sometimes they don’t.

Personally I find keeping stock above the $1 mark is the most valuable strategy as it should net you money for 2 out of 3 die rolls (up or dividend) I tend not to hold out for stock to split. I find selling high value stock and buying more of a slightly lower value stock (that is still above $1) pays off better, after all dividends pay out by volume not by value. If I ever do own a stock that splits I dump everything and invest in other stock. After all I want something that pays dividends and anything really close to the $1 mark is too close to dipping below that line.

The big gamble I like is buying stock that is close to crashing. After all it’s cheap and even a slight increase can double or triple my investment. It’s a risk, money lost on a crashed stock is gone forever, but when it pays off it pays off big time.

To sum up stock ticker is a fun game of playing at the stock market. It is simplistically fun and your whole group should be able to understand the rules by the end of their first play though. It’s a great go to game when players aren’t in the mood for a strategy heavy night and is best played with a large group of people who are willing to gamble with imaginary money. The self set time limit is nice because it allows players to play to their own schedule. The random nature of the game does lessen the strategy element but only a little. Everyone seems to let their imagination run wild with their idea of what’s lucky or what works. It’s simple nature and rules may get repetitive if played often so this will be an occasional game or something to get marathon gamers started for a night. I still recommend this Canadian title for your table.

Othello

Othello (often called Reversi) is an old game that I think really stands the test of time. It's rules are simple, the game is easy to learn and it can be quite challenging to play against a skilled opponent.

Othello is a two player game with one player playing black and another playing white. Each play involves laying a piece in a position where two of your colored pieces flank an opponents. Any pieces between the two are flipped to your colour. This alternates until a player cannot make a move on their turn. Then the pieces are counted, whoever has the most pieces of their colour on the board wins.

As you can see the rules are very basic, however the strategy can actually get quite complicated. For instance a piece in a corner can never be flanked so it will remain whatever colour it was when it was placed. Therefor manouvering an opponent into a position where you can claim a corner is very important. Some placements can have multiple lines vertically, horizontally and diagonally allowing you to take more pieces. Sometimes taking fewer pieces limits an opponent's placement options forcing them to allow you to take a more strategic token placement.

This game is great for teaching novice players to think multiple placements in advance. It is also great for teaching players to see deeper strategy in a simplistic rule structure.

The only negative thing I can say about this game is that some players view it as childlike due to it's simplistic concept making it difficult to attract players, however this childlike simplicity does make it more attractive to non-gamers and children.

Basically it's a gateway game. Start playing this next thing you know you'll up all night rolling dice and flipping cards.

To sum up I would recommend Othello (or Reversi if you must call it that) to any player. This game is fun and easy to pick up especially for children. It is great for easing novice players into deeper strategic thinking. It is a great example of simple, classic style gaming that will always be accessible and playable by anyone.