PCB Game Night: Bohnanza!

I guess this bean is... planting himself?

What can you say about a game that pits you against your opponents to try to grow the most anthropomorphized beans? Fun, I say!

Bohnanza, by Uwe Rosenberg and distributed by Rio Grande Games, is such a game. Likely the only one, I'd wager. The game is a little challenging to explain, but once understood, is really easy and fun to play. The game itself is cute, of good quality, with friendly drawings of each kind of bean on the cards, and one gold on the reverse of each card.

The gist is this: you have a hand of cards with beans of different values on them. Plant the right number (place cards) of a certain bean in one of your two plots of land, and you can sell them. Once sold, flip the appropriate number of them over and they become gold. The player with the most gold wins!

Different beans, different money...

That's the simple explanation, but the reality is more complex. On each player's turn, they get to plant beans in one of their fields. A number of cards from the draw deck are revealed, and the player can plant them immediately. If they have enough to sell, they can do so at any time. But... you have to use the cards in your hand in the order they were received, first in, first out. It therefore takes planning to get the right set of beans together.

Each kind of bean has a different scoring schedule. For example, a stink bean can earn one gold for three of a kind, two gold for five, and so on, while a blue bean needs four for one gold and six for two gold.

It's cool to have
three fields.

Fret not, though. If the cards in your hand aren't in the order you need, you can trade! The current player must be in all trades, but any cards (no matter where in your hand) can be traded, as long as they haven't been planted. And, you can donate as well. You may want to if a card in your hand blocks a play you want to make. Oh, but... you need to plant your trades/donations at the end of the turn. If you don't have space, then you may have to forfeit some of your beans in order to finish your play. Unless you have enough gold to buy a third plot of land. Three is the limit, but that third plot can make the difference.

Play continues like that until all the cards are drawn, with special rules for situations like only one card left to draw or which part of the turn it is.

Inside the box - pretty simple,
definitely fun.

The fun of this game (once you work out the rules) is in the trading. Players come up with crazy or sincere reasons for accepting or denying trades. Anything from "I like your shirt" to "you forgot to take out the garbage" are all legitimate options.

Around here, shouts of "yay!" usually meet the suggestion of "Let's play the bean game!" I highly recommend this lighthearted romp in beanology.

Bohnanza
2-7 players, Rio Grande Games
$19.95

8 out of 10 beans (for challenge in explaining the rules)

(Like card games? Be sure to see our review of Guillotine!)

RAWR(for more)

Heroclix Batman No Man's Land News

I recently started playing Heroclix again and I am totally hooked!

For those of you who don't know, Heroclix is a collectible miniatures game from Neca/Wizkids featuring your favorite Marvel and DC Comics (and more recently Halo, Gears of War, Street Fighter, Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek) characters.

I got back into Heroclix back in January just as the Infinity Gauntlet event was starting. Each month one's local Heroclix venue held a tournament for Limited Edition (LE) figures for the winners. Everyone who participated received that month's gem for their Infinity Gauntlet object (the first month's participation prize). From January through July these tournaments were held once a month until the Infinity Gauntlet object was completed. This was able to be equipped to a normal figure (for a point cost) to grant it additional powers and abilities.

Finally, this Saturday there is a tournament to play for Thanos himself! This awesome colossal clix is a must for any Marvel Heroclix fan! This LE is already going for $500 on eBay! Check out the amazing sculpt below!

Why am I bringing all of this up after the fact? Well because there is going to be a similar event starting in November/December for DC Heroclix: Batman No Man's Land!

Although this event will be a little shorter (Nov/Dec - May), it already seems way more involved.

First off, there is a Utility Belt resource dial and Gas Pellet 3D object a for the first month and each month there will be another 3D object to add to the Utility Belt (Batarangs, Grapnel Gun, Flash Grenades, Re-Breather, Handcuffs, and Batman's Cowl!).

There is little know how the Utility Belt resource dial will work, but the 3D objects (like the Infinity Gauntlet gems) can be used as an object in game or combined with the Utility Belt for additional abilities. The official Wizkids press release says that the 3D objects will be used to "enhance and customize" the Utility Belt. Whether that refers to aesthetics or functionality, has yet to be seen.

A prototype image was leaked from a Wizkids Heroclix announcement slide (see below). I'm guessing that the Cowl will go in the "glass tube" on top and the belt 3D object "pockets" will fit on the sides.

Another new element announced for the Batman No Man's Land event is the ability to "tag" your gang symbol in one of 6 territories (one for each month) on a laminated No Man's Land map of Gotham City. Each month you'll be battling for control of a section of the city. The winner gets to tag their territory with their chosen gang symbol (below).

I'm not certain, but I'd imagine there will be a way to designate symbols because there are generally more than six players (at least at my venue). These lead up to a special prize at the end of month six, but what that is has yet to be revealed.

Batman No Man's Land Event Map

The LE figures include: Lock-up, Batgirl, Ultimate Clayface, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, and a Joker & Harley duo! Check out more of the info here: http://heroclix.com/nomansland/#axzz22p5Y7r5E

Also, on November 14th, Heroclix will be releasing a new DC set... you guessed it! Batman! A few details have been released so far, but each brick will consist of 9 boosters and a super booster (reminiscent of Marvel's Giant Sized X-Men set) contained vehicle Heroclix for the first time ever!

Again, there are not a whole lot of details released for the mechanics of the vehicles, but we do know that they will have different functions if they are "piloted" or "unpiloted." From the looks of the prototype pictures, the Batmobile, Batplane, and Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet are in the set.

Accompanying this regular set will be a Batman Fast Forces set (Nov. 14th) and a CounterTop display (Oct. 31st) and a Nightwing and Batgirl duo Marquee figure! Also, this set includes the introduction of the Wild C.A.T.s team ability!

Nightwing and Batgirl duo Marquee Figure

I'm extremely excited for this to start, because of my love of Batman and renewed love for Heroclix!

For more information check out the links below:

Official:

-Heroclix Website

-Batman No Man's Land Press Release

-Wizkids Heroclix Event Locator

-Wizkids Heroclix Store Locator

Other Resources:

-HCRealms: The Premier Heroclix Gaming Community

-Heroclix Subreddit 

RAWR(for more)