Advanced Strategy Board Game for Intelligent Carbon Based Lifeforms – Stack Tactics
(Disclaimer: Yes, I was given a copy of the game from the creator, but all opinions and photos here are my own and I am not paid for any endorsements from the game. I am posting this simply to share an awesome game and help a good friend get his creation out for the world to see!)
In our house, everyone seems to get excited for game night!
Over the years we have built quite the collection of games. In fact, we have a closet in the basement dedicated to our vast collection… It always seems to continually grow. We stumble across something new at the local game store or friends introduce us to games they enjoy. Then, in the case of today’s post, we were introduced to the game by the team of creators, and had the opportunity to learn how to play direct from the source!
Stack Tactics is the creation of our good friend Ken and his daughter, Sydney. After getting tired of playing the same board games over and over again, they decided to create their own game. Fast forward through a few years of board prototypes and rule changes, Stack Tactics was born and is in the early stages of production! You can read more about the history of how they got to where they are today with this game HERE.
Last weekend, we had the chance to sit down and enjoy this game with Ken and his wife Deanna, while Sydney offered up her expertise to help John and I learn the game, plot strategy and in the ended offer up some good fun competition for the afternoon.
Once we had the board game set up (took less than 5 minutes!), Ken took another 5 minutes to explain the basic rules of the game. We started off playing a few rounds with he and Sydney giving pointers etc to make sure that we understood the game.
Seemed pretty simple.
Roll the dice, move your chips based on the numbers on the dice to attack and overtake your opponents stacks of chips and ultimately have the last chips left on the board.
We learned quickly that, YES, it is a simple game, but filled with never ended strategy, working with your teammate (if you are playing the 4 player version) and hoping for the dice to be on your side!
After a few rounds, we had it figured out and that was the end of our tutorial from Ken (Sydney was still there to help us when we needed guidance). The cool thing with a 4 player game, you don’t have to overtake you
r opponents stack completely on your own! In the 4 player version of the game, you are seated NEXT to your teammate, instead of across from them, like in most of the “team” games. If you and your teammate are both close enough to your opponents stack, you can begin the attack on your turn (if you are the first player on your team to play), then your teammate has the opportunity to add to the stack to overtake and win the chips! This comes in handy many time when you are trying to take down full stacks!
We spent the afternoon laughing, plotting and keeping each other on our toes! In the end, the best part of the day… taking down the creator of the game, eliminating Ken and all of his chips first 🙂 a short time later, it was Deanna’s turn to be eliminated.
Yes, the first time we played the game, we were able to beat part of the brains behind the game! (I don’t think Ken will invite me back to play his game again… oh wait, he already did!)
At the end of the afternoon, Ken was gracious enough to send up home with our own copy of the game so that we could share it with our friends! (Ellyn and Shawn – you’re up next!)
Last night, while we were sitting at home waiting for the Packers pre-season game to start, we decided to break out the game and see how a 2 player game differed than the 4 player version. (Yes, gotta love those East Coast games that don’t actually start until 9pm local time – that’s past my bedtime!)
The biggest difference between the 2 and 4 player game, you don’t have your teammate to help you overtake your opponents stacks! You are on your own to do it yourself! In the end, John ended up victorious, but it was not without a battle! He actually could have ended the game a few rounds earlier than he did, but he missed the move he could have made to overtake my last stack of red chips! The photo at the right shows that (should have been) winning move that me missed. I’m not going to give away the answer, but check out the rules of the game and see if you can figure out how he could have won! Once he ended is turn and handed over the dice and I showed him how he could have won already, he was kicking himself!
Over the years, we have found some games that we really enjoy, and this one has quickly climbed to the top of the list! Simple rules, lots of strategy and can be played with 2 or 4 players and The game board is made of the same fabric as your mousepad, so it is easy to pack up and take with you and unrolls/folds flat every time! I will guarantee that this one will be coming with us on vacations in the future!
So, if you are looking for a new challenge and ever changing strategy, check out Stack Tactics! You can Pre-order your copy now and get in on the early, first edition of the board game! Be sure to tell them that you heard about Stack Tactics here at CrazyHamster!
