Resident Evil 2: The Board Game. Solo Campaign Scenario 2A: The S.T.A.R.S. Office

Welcome back to the solo campaign playthrough of Steamforged Games' Resident Evil 2: The Board Game!

In scenario 1A of our solo campaign, Leon generally breezed through the zombie hoards roaming the streets of Raccoon City, and made it through the doors of the Raccoon City Police Department.  He ended the scenario with an extra shotgun, although one point of health was lost to an unfortunate zombie bite en-route.  However, scenario 1A was the tutorial mission, and scenario 2A promises to put our hero in some genuine peril!

Scenario 2A doesn't quite throw the players in at the deep end, but it certainly gives them a knowing little push in that direction.  We're now including two floors - which can only be accessed through the stairwell tile - and locked rooms - which can only be unlocked using keys gathered from the item decks.  Item chests are now included, which allow storage of items for later scenarios, freeing up potentially vital inventory space.  We also now feature the encounter mechanism, which is the reason behind the colour coded rooms...

From scenario 2A onwards, whenever a character steps into a red or yellow coloured room for the first time, this room is unexplored territory.  By rolling a D6 and comparing the result to the corresponding Encounter Dice Table, the player finds out what horrors are waiting in store for them!

And finally we have an additional enemy type: the Licker.  Fans of the videogame will recognise these as being highly damaging and tough to kill.  Fortunately there's only one on the starting board, but there's always the possibility of more appearing!

So with the slightly more elaborate board set up, it's time to head for... The S.T.A.R.S. Office!  Using the campaign rules, Leon's handgun has been fully reloaded, and the shotgun is now up to 6 shells out of the maximum 7.

"With eerily quiet halls, it seems the Raccoon City Police Department won't be the sanctuary you once hoped for.  The streets outside are overrun, though, so your only choice is to explore deeper within the RPD building and try to meet up with any other survivors.  With hesitant steps, the search begins..."

Entering the first room, the roll on the encounter table goes well.  Leon is forced to make an evade roll or forfeit the rest of the turn, but passes without problem.  Then, suddenly...

...for the second successive scenario, the first card drawn from the Tension Deck is Echoes in the Darkness.  This particular Leon does seem to be cursed by this card!  Fortunately, he's in a clear room so has enough actions in the next turn to be able to get out of the room before it takes effect.

Leon soon runs into the big threat on the board: the Licker!  With a big map to explore, the decision is made to conserve ammo and attempt to run past!  The first attempt fails, and Leon takes another point of damage, but the second attempt sees him dart past, hopefully able to put this tonguey menace behind him for the moment.

A few turns in, and things start to look bad for Leon!  After an unlucky room exploration he takes another hit of damage, just managing to escape the two zombies inside at the end of the turn...

...or so he thought...

Another yellow card appears from the Tension deck, instantly bringing those two very same zombies straight through onto Leon's square!

He'll now start the next turn low on health and facing a tough decision: turn and run, or stand and fight?

After a successful pair of attack rolls he killed one zombie and knocked back the second, buying enough breathing room to get into the next room and slam the door closed!  A brief moment of unhindered room-searching followed, furnishing Leon with a much needed handgun clip and some healing herbs, before he made his way up to the second floor.

One easily-avoided zombie later, and Leon finds himself in a quiet corridor right outside the S.T.A.R.S. office.  Unfortunately, not only does he not have the office key, but he doesn't even have the key to the room which contains the office key!  Looks like this mission's going to have to continue!

Another room search and 2 more zombie kills later, the Spade Key has still not been found, meaning there's only one possible remaining place for it!  At this point, the Tension Deck is half way depleted, meaning at least one of those dreaded red cards is approaching.

About. Damn. Time!  Now, with a green herb used to restore a point of health, and another ammo clip used to reload the handgun, it's time to get back down to the first floor.  The Tension Deck is now half depleted, so we're almost guaranteed to hit a red at any moment now!

After heading back upstairs there are 3 possible locations where the key to the S.T.A.R.S. office might be hiding; one is accessed through a clear room, and the other two are behind a door guarded by that Licker from earlier!  Leon crosses his fingers and heads to the easier location...

Using the Spade Key to unlock the door, Leon steps inside the room and the Encounter Table drops a zombie right on top of the item.  With no time to waste, he takes aim with his shotgun, blowing the zombie apart and clearing the room.  He heads to the corner of the room, inspects the item...

YASSSS!!!  Finally the odds are in Leon's favour!  Now there's just a single zombie between him and the S.T.A.R.S. office, but of course those red cards are still lurking amongst the final 10 in the Tension Deck!

Leon heads up the stairs.  The zombie still waits for him, but with a spare ammo clip still in reserve, he unloads 3 shots with the handgun.  The zombie isn't killed, but it's enough to push the creature back, allowing Leon to get past and into the corridor with the S.T.A.R.S. office!  Safety is in sight!

Just one more draw from the Tension Deck, and in the next turn Leon can get through the door and the scenario is complete!

Oh..

...well this changes things.

Leon slams the door to keep out the zombie behind him, and uses another precious shotgun shell to blow the first zombie dog to pieces!  The second lunges at him, but he dodges past and throws open the door to the S.T.A.R.S. office.

With no actions left this turn, the zombie dog is able to move onto Leon's space, readying for an attack on the next turn.  Will the final draw of the Tension Deck go easy on our hero?

It does!  Knowing that a free handgun reload comes between scenarios in the campaign, Leon unloads on the remaining zombie dog.  It's not enough to kill the beast, but it pushes it back enough to allow Leon through the door and into the S.T.A.R.S. office at long last!

The win condition for this scenario is for all of the characters to be inside the office, and for no enemies to be on that tile, meaning that Leon has successfully completed the scenario!

Following the campaign rules, Leon's handgun is completely reloaded, and the shotgun gets 3 new shells.  The green herb in his inventory is used to heal another point of damage, as it would have to be discarded at this point if left unused.  All other ammo items are removed from the inventory, as well as quest items (in this case, the two door keys).  This leaves Leon in generally quite a strong position for taking on Scenario 3A: Heading Back to Marvin.

Once again, we hope you've enjoyed following Leon's exploits!  Come back soon to see how he fares as the campaign continues and the risks increase!

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Resident Evil 2: The Board Game. Preliminary Review & Solo Campaign 1A: Getting to the Police Department

As mentioned in the previous article, Games & Tea will largely be focusing on board games with a single player option for the time being, starting with Steamforged Games' Resident Evil 2: The Board Game.

Just like the original videogame, Resident Evil 2 drops the players into Raccoon City; the epicentre of a zombie outbreak.  And, just like the videogame, Resident Evil 2 is a game of survival horror.  Unlike some other zombie board games such as Zombicide, which reward players for going on a zombie-killing rampage, Resident Evil 2 will mercilessly punish reckless players, and leave you asking yourself "Can I really spare the bullet to take down the next zombie, or should I take my chance and just run past?"  The one and only goal in this game is to make it out of the city in one piece, and before the outbreak becomes inescapable.

Nice little nod to the videogame as soon as you open the box.

Rather than the simple box contents and gameplay format our reviews would typically take, this time we're recording a campaign run.  With the board consisting of modular tiles, the Campaign Book included with Resident Evil 2 allows you to choose between a number of different scenarios of increasing difficulty, each of which can be played as a standalone game session.  However, for those feeling a little adventurous and wanting something they can really get their undead teeth into, there is the option (and additional rules) to play them sequentially as a campaign.  For this purpose, the back of the Campaign Book does include a blank campaign sheet, which it's recommended to photocopy a handful when the opportunity presents itself.

If the photocopier at work is monitored with a login, try and con Kevin from accounting into copying some of these for you.  Everyone hates that guy anyway.

At the start of each scenario, the board needs to be put together using the modular tiles and following the map printed on that scenario's page in the Campaign Book.  As well as the board layout, this will also include the starting positions for the players, for all starting enemies, and any items, doors or terrain features.  Our campaign series will be using some of the Kickstarter exclusive upgrades to replace the terrain tokens with plastic models, however the rules and gameplay are the same as the retail version.  If the opportunity comes up to get your hands on the 3D upgrades however, it's highly recommended to take them.  As well as simply adding to the immersion of the game, the printing on the cardboard tokens is very dark at times, and can be a struggle to make out.

Once the board is assembled and ready to go, you should have something like this!  Next, you'll need you character card, a player board and health tracker token, and your starting equipment...

This campaign will actually be primarily following Leon, which is why I wanted to show some Claire love here!

Finally, the decks need to be prepared and then you're ready to go.  First of all, there's the Tension Deck...

At the end of each player's turn, a card from the Tension Deck will be drawn and resolved, with green cards having no effect, yellows presenting mild danger, and red being a high threat.  The makeup of the Tension Deck is outlined on the scenario page in the Campaign Book, but the deck should usually consist mainly of green cards.

Then there are the Item Decks.  Again, these are outlined on the scenario page, and are broken down into Item Deck A and Item Deck B, each of which can only be accessed by getting to a square with a corresponding token.  Deck B tends to feature the more powerful - or scenario-critical items - but the tokens tend to be in more hazardous to reach areas.

And without further ado, it's time to get this campaign started!

"The characters have arrived in Raccoon City, only to find it overrun!  With the streets no longer safe, they must make their way to the Raccoon City Police Department, which should be much more secure..."

During each player's turn, they are allowed to make up to 4 actions, choosing from move, open/close door, search, trade, use item, and attack, with no limits to the number of times they can utilise one type of action.  So players can either use a turn to sprint full-on towards the door, or could stand their ground and attempt to thin out an approaching hoard of zombies!

Seeing as Leon has started the scenario 2 spaces away from a zombie - and also for the purpose of explaining game mechanics - he's going to use his first action to attack.

Each weapon has different stats which are covered on the corresponding card.  Left to right, the first stat is the range - "LOS" indicating that if the enemy is in Leon's line of sight, he can shoot it.  Next is the number of attack dice to roll - the blue "1" indicating that one single blue die must be rolled.  The dice have impact and double-impact symbols on them, and the next two boxes show the results of those rolls.  The arrow under the single impact means the enemy would be pushed back one square, whereas the "1" under the double-impact means that one point of damage would be done to the enemy; enough to kill a basic zombie, but just a scratch to larger enemies.

The bottom of the card shows any special features of the weapon.  In this case the three bullet symbol indicates that the pistol is a rapid fire weapon, meaning that up to three bullets (and thus up to the three dice) can be used in a single action.

As I don't want to be too frivolous with my limited ammunition, I'm going to fire 2 shots at the zombie...

One single impact - the zombie has been pushed back, but is still on its feet...

...and now I've expended 2 rounds of handgun ammo, taking the count down from 15 rounds to 13.

After a second, single-shot attack which knocked the zombie back again, I moved Leon forward 2 spaces to complete his 4 actions, and ended the turn.  Now it's the zombies' turn!

After each player completes their actions, the zombies have a Reaction Phase.  During this phase, all enemies within range of a player will make an attack, and any which aren't within range will move towards the nearest player, as long as they're on the same tile or a connected tile.  This is where the importance of doors comes into effect.  If a door is closed, the two tiles are no longer connected, and enemies will stay where they are.  This can lead to some serious tactical decision making, over whether to spend a precious action taking the time to close the door behind you, or whether to leave it open and hope that you don't get (literally) bitten on the behind over the decision later on!

After the enemies have all made their actions, the final phase of the turn is to flip over and resolve a card from the top of the Tension Deck.  Fortunately as this is the tutorial scenario, 16 of the 18 cards in the deck are green (no effect), so at least I should be fi-

...

...

Never mind.

Well it could have been worse.  The red cards have the most serious effect.  This one simply means that if I'm on the same board tile at the end of the next turn, I'll draw 3 cards from the Tension Deck instead of just one, thus increasing my chance of hitting the dreaded red card.  Time to get out of here!

With ammo being scared, and 3 rounds already depleted, I decided to try and run past the zombie to get to the door!  But as anyone who's played the Resident Evil videogames will know, zombies are grabby creatures, and will not just idly stand by as you waltz past.  For those of you questioning the curved arrows on the attack dice from the previous shot, this is where they come into play.

Each player's character card includes the number of dice they must roll to evade.  If you attempt an action other than an attack while in a square with an enemy, you must pass an evade roll.  In this case, my action was to run past the zombie, so I needed to roll at least one arrow to get past.  Finally I struck lucky with my rolling and darted past the zombie with ease!  If I'd failed the roll however, the zombie would have had a free bite at Leon and I would have lost the action.

Dodging the zombie on my first attempt was a stroke of luck, as I had just enough actions to open the door and make it through before the end of the turn, negating the risk of the Echoes in the Darkness card.  I've had to leave the door wide open for now, but I can close it next turn to give myself some breathing space.

A couple of turns later and things are looking more promising!  No red tension card yet, and I've now obtained an ammo refill for the handgun!

After 11 increasingly tense turns (it turned out the dreaded red card was second from bottom of the Tension Deck!), Leon has made it through the streets of Raccoon City and through the front doors of the RCPD!  Along the way he managed to pick up the shotgun from Item Deck B - a much more powerful weapon which will hopefully come in handy in later scenarios.  It didn't come without cost, however, as an unlucky dice roll left Leon with an unfortunate zombie bite and one less health point.

As per the campaign rules, I was able to fully refill my handgun and add 3 extra rounds to the shotgun, but then had to discard the additional handgun ammo I'd picked up along the way.  Had I found a healing item I'd have been able to use that between scenarios, but as it stands I'll be heading into scenario 2A with a minor wound to take care of.

So tune in for the next scenario and see how Leon gets on within the walls of the RCPD!  As mentioned, this was the tutorial scenario, which made for quite plain sailing whilst also allowing a demonstration of the basic game mechanics.  There are additional mechanics which come into play in later scenarios, so we'll cover those as and when we reach them!

For now, I hope you enjoyed Leon's little stroll around the zombie infested streets of Raccoon City, and come back for the next scenario of Resident Evil 2: The S.T.A.R.S. Office.

On a parting note, one of Resident Evil 2's weak points is the box.  While the insert is great for keeping the miniatures and cards secure and in good order even if stored on its side, it doesn't really leave much room for the plethora of tokens included in the game (made even more of an issue if you get your hands on the 3D upgrades!).  As such, it's worth picking up a small hobby box - this one in particular was £3.99 from B&M, so shouldn't break the bank at all.  This way you can keep them all nicely organised and easy to get your hands on whatever the scenario requires.

So, breaking down the game and giving it an initial score based upon the first few scenarios (score to be updated when the campaign is complete):

The Good Points

• Resident Evil 2: The Board Game definitely captures the aesthetic of the source material, with survival favoured over the action more frequently seen in this genre.
• Solo mode is an option (huzzah!).
• Campaign mode will appeal to hardcore gamers, while more casual gamers can enjoy the scenarios on an individual basis.
• The mechanics are fairly straightforward, with the tutorial scenario easing players in nicely.
• The components are generally of a high quality, as expected from Steamforged.
• Mercifully short set up time, as long as the tokens have been pre-sorted.

The Bad Points

• Some of the tokens are printed very darkly.  The double-sided doors are a prime example, with it being difficult to tell at a glance whether the door is open or closed.
• The game may have limited appeal to those who aren't established fans, and therefore have no prior attachment to the characters and settings.
• The price is a little steep for the core game.
• A better box design to incorporate some token space would have been nice.

Recommended Number of Players: 2(?)

While this campaign will be putting the solo mode through its paces, many of the scenarios demand a minimum of 2 characters.  While up to four can be used (Leon, Claire, Ada Wong and Robert Kendo), the game does appear to be set up to favour 2 players.

Average Game Time: 90-120 minutes

The game length will vary depending upon the chosen scenario.  While it took me a while to get through the tutorial due to stopping for photos and typing, it probably should have only taken 15 minutes or so to get through.  The more complex scenarios later in the campaign, however, promise quite extensive play experiences, and the estimated time given by Steamforged themselves is 90-120 minutes.

Replayability: Medium

With a selection of different characters and scenarios, plus the random element provided by the tension deck, Resident Evil 2 should have a decent degree of replayability.  That said, there are only 8 scenarios in the core box including the tutorial, so a dedicated gaming group could probably exhaust them quite quickly.  The B-Files expansion offers more scenarios and the Survival Horror Expansion adds additional characters to give it a little more shelf life, but the core box alone runs the risk of fizzling out amongst a single group.

The Future: Bright

Resident Evil 2 launched with the aforementioned expansions already available, along with The Malformations of G (and The Malformations of G: B-Files), giving additional bosses to butt heads with.  All of this gives players the option of further fleshing out the core game once it starts to get a little stale.  In addition to this, there is also the possibility that Steamforged may push on in the wake of Resident Evil 2's popularity, and bring out titles connected to the other games in the series.  After all, who doesn't want to wander the creepy halls of the original mansion, or flee from the Nemesis through the zombie-ridden streets of Raccoon City?

Price: £65

Resident Evil 2 does carry quite a hefty price tag, and will set you back somewhere around the £65 mark.  While you may look at the above images and think you're getting a long of bang for your buck, it's worth remembering that these included all of the Kickstarter upgrades.  The core set includes 4 characters, 12 zombies, 4 dogs, 2 lickers and 2 William Birkin boss models, which doesn't feel like much for the asking price.

INITIAL SCORE: 7.5/10 (8.5/10 with Kickstarter upgrades)

Tea consumed during this review: Teapigs Darjeeling Earl Grey with a dash of milk and 2 sweeteners.  Brew rating 10/10.

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A Solo Approach

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the tea cupboard!

That's right, Games & Tea still lives... sort of... barely.  Unfortunately over the last couple of years some big life events have taken their toll, and the gaming group of which Games & Tea used to be comprised has drifted apart and gone their separate ways.  At this point Teamaster Rob (myself) is the only remaining member, and while I still do manage to pull together a couple of people for a board game night every now and then, it's not frequently enough to really be able to get any decent reviews and playtesting done.

However, I do still have a lot of love for this blog, so it may be time to do things a little differently.  Time to take a solo approach...

With my addiction to board games in no way fading, and the number of board games with single-player options growing rapidly (only this weekend I've backed the exciting looking Etherfields on Kickstarter), I'm going to focus the blog more on these solo outings.  This doesn't mean I'll be abandoning multiplayer games altogether, just that I'll be reserving reviews of those for the rare occasions when the opportunities present themselves.

As an appropriate start to Games & Tea's return from the grave, I'll be looking at a Kickstarter game which arrived on my doorstep at the very end of last year:  Resident Evil 2: The Board Game by Steamforged Games.

Resident Evil 2 is nice enough to include a solo play option.  It's largely like a 2 player game, but with a single player controlling both characters, but there are a couple of other rules tweaks to keep it balanced.  So in the coming weeks (starting with this afternoon) I'll be attempting a solo playthrough of the main narrative campaign, and posting the results and thoughts on the overall single player gameplay.

Joking Hazard: An Offensive Card Game From Cyanide & Happiness

WARNING!

This review features subjects which may cause offence.  If you are easily offended by ANYTHING then for the love of God stop reading now!!!

Almost 3 years ago to this very day we posted our review for Cards Against Humanity (UK Edition), and it proved to be our most popular review ever by an incredible margin.  Now, whilst CAH didn't follow an original format (Apples to Apples being its main inspiration), it did set a pretty high bar for offensive "fill in the blank" games.  Since its release there have been many CAH clones trying to capitalise on the success, but finally it appears to have a true spiritual successor: Joking Hazard, from Cyanide & Happiness.

Cyanide & Happiness, for those who may not be aware, is an online comic strip series.  It features (usually two) stick-men, and over the course of three or four frames they play out an event which can sometimes be quite meaningful and moving, but most often dark and twisted.  For an idea of their format, you can check them out here (but please come back to us afterwards!).

Joking Hazard follows a similar format to Cards Against Humanity, but instead of creating a joke with black and white cards, 3-10 players compete to create the funniest (and usually most offensive) Cyanide & Happiness comic strip.

The box contains 350 cards, each depicting a single frame of the comic.  Many are generic and innocuous, but when combined in the right way can become something altogether more horrifying!  Unlike CAH, there are no black card/white card equivalents; everything is just of one single card type.

Each player begins the game with 7 cards in their hand, and then one player - chosen through non-violent means, as dictated in the rules - becomes the judge for the first round.  That player then draws one card from the top of the deck, and places it face-up in the centre of the table/floor/building site/satanic altar (here at Games & Tea we feel you should be able to play wherever you feel comfortable).

The judge then chooses one card out of their own hand to accompany this card.  It can be placed either before or after the first card, depending on what the judge finds most fitting.

These two cards now form the "setup", and all of the remaining players now submit a card to the judge to be played as the final frame of the comic, and the judge must select their favourite to gain honour and glory (and also a point).

So in fairly standard offensive game fare, the players above have gone for options of violence, anti-Semitism, and sex.  Once the judge has picked a favourite, that player gains a point, all players draw back up to 7 cards, and the next player around the table becomes the judge, repeating the process until one player scores 3 points and is declared the winner.

If a red-bordered card is drawn off the top of the deck then it becomes the final frame of the comic, and the players must instead create the two card setup from their hands.  And that's pretty much all there is to it!

There are a couple of variants included in the rulebook, such as a set of drinking game rules, or "The Neverending Story", wherein each turn just adds a single frame to an ongoing strip, leading to the creation of truly epic stories!

Of course Joking Hazard will be primarily compared to Cards Against Humanity (at least until the Joking Hazard clones start hitting Kickstarter), and we have to admit we found it to have some advantages over its spiritual predecessor, and some disadvantages.

The big advantage is that due to the storytelling nature of each round, the cards played have to make sense.  We've witnessed several games of CAH where points were won by players just because they played the most controversial white card, despite it not fitting with the black card whatsoever.  With Joking Hazard any non-relevant cards played tend to draw few laughs, meaning that even those most controversial cards have to wait for their golden moment!

The largest downside is ironically in the same vain.  We often found ourselves with setups which didn't work for any of our cards!  Sometimes this was just down to nothing being suitable, but a lot of the time it was down to having a card with the perfect response, just being delivered by the wrong character.

The other downside is that the game creates a bit less of a social atmosphere than CAH.  Joking Hazard is very visual by its nature, and quite a lot of the cards actually feature no dialogue, just actions or facial expressions.  This means that when the cards are laid out on the table (altar... whatever), it's usually quietly with all of the players leaning over to read them, and this is where you can really feel the difference between everyone being told a joke, and everyone reading the joke for themselves.  Now, in fairness, the rules do say the judge should read out the cards, but again those dialogue-free frames don't really work with reading out-loud, and some players don't feel comfortable with effectively acting out a scene.  At face value it might not seem like much of a difference over the CAH format, but it does feel a little bit odd when you start playing.  It's certainly not enough to ruin the game or make it an unpleasant experience by any means... just a little odd!

The Good Points

• Joking Hazard is extremely easy to learn, pretty much taking just seconds.
• If you're a Cyanide & Happiness fan, this will tickle your funny bone in all the right places.
• Capacity for up to 10 players, making an excellent party game.
• Requires a little more thought than CAH or most of its clones.

The Bad Points

• As with CAH, some people will find it offensive.
• Sometimes it can be tricky to play a fitting card for the setup.
• Can create an odd non-verbal atmosphere.

Recommended Number of Players: 4+ (The more the merrier!)

Again, as with most games of this format, 3 players is the minimum requirement for the game, but 4 players is the minimum to get a decent selection of cards going for the judge to choose from.  Of course you could always import the Rando Cardrissian rule from CAH, as we did!

Average Game Time: 20-40 minutes

If you're just playing to the three point win condition in the rulebook, a game of Joking Hazard will last about half an hour.  Of course, this is one of those games where you can set your own win condition or just say "to hell with it, let's keep playing!", so games can go on for as long as you want!

Replayability: High

There are a lot of cards available in the base set, creating a truly gargantuan number of possible strips.  With a set gaming group it should last for quite a while, but with a group of rotating members it could feasibly last for years.

The Future: Bright

At the moment Joking Hazard is fresh of Kickstarter, and the only expansion is the Blast From the Past 50 card pack, all set to a historical theme.  However, the fact that there's already an expansion ready to go means that there will almost certainly be more to follow, and the idea of them being thematic is very appealing.

Price: £25

Joking Hazard is now available to buy on Amazon for £25.  Whether it will remain an Amazon exclusive much like CAH or whether it will quickly find its way onto the shelves of hobby stores remains to be seen.  It is also currently available to buy online through the Cyanide & Happiness store for a price of $35, which includes the aforementioned Blast From the Past expansion.

OVERALL SCORE: 8/10

Tea consumed during this review: Tetley with milk and 2 sweeteners.  Brew rating 7/10.

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